Romans 11:26

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

I can never wonder enough at the majestic heavenly foresight in the Word of Torah. We have seen so many times how the deeds of the fathers were portent to the children. This time in Jacob’s life is nothing but a direct prophecy; something that relates to us today; it shows us God’s plan and destiny for the world.

Deceiving Babylonish Laban owned everything. He had a big business that he ran sleazily without any scruples or apologies. Kill, steal, lie, cheat, everything was allowed to ‘make a buck’. He even sold his own daughters and consciously tried to manipulate God’s blessing in Jacob to his own advantage. On the other hand, for twenty-one years Jacob showed purity of spirit which owed him God’s blessing. Time and again he turned the proverbial ‘other cheek’ as he allowed himself be used and abused. Finally, like the gambler enthralled by the euphoria of several wins, Laban got so arrogant and sure of himself that he lost everything with one throw of the dice in his last attempt at treachery.

Jacob arrived in Babylon with nothing, but returned from this exile with the children that would later become the foundational families of the Kingdom of God. The sinner's wealth is truly laid up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22). This same story was to be repeated a few hundred years later when Jacob’s children this time would live their Egyptian exile with spoils. Is this an indication of future events?

Our Master Yeshua said no less. He said that if we, those who belong to Him while in this Babylonish Laban-like adulterous and perverse generation, live by the virtue of the Word of Torah instead of by instinct vengeance and greed, we would inherit the Land. Just like in Egypt, the nations would bring us their glory (Matthew 5:3-10; Isaiah 61:6)).

The book where we find Jacob’s biography is called in Hebrew: ‘Bereshit’, meaning: ‘In the Beginning’. We know that, What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In the story of Messianic patriarch Jacob, we see the redemption program of Messiah for Israel and the world.

Like Jacob, Messiah is exiled in the nations due to the wrath of His ‘brother’. Like Jacob, Messiah takes a wife from among His exiled relatives. Like Jacob then, with the spoil of the nations (Jacob had Laban’s sheep; Messiah has the people of the nations), Messiah eventually returns to re-establish and repopulate the Land.

Can you see the plan? Who do you work with today? Righteous Jacob, who was later renamed: Israel? Or wicked Laban who represents the wicked babylonish systems of this day? The choice is yours. Your future depends on it!

Luke 6:38

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

The patriarch Jacob arrives at the same place where many years before Eliezer his grand-father’s servant came to fetch his mother Rebecca. Eliezer finds a wife for Isaac at a well; Jacob meets his wife to be Rachel at a well; and Moses will also meet his wife Tzipporah at a well. There seems to be something special in the Scriptures about finding wives, or at least meeting women at wells. It could be because in those days, if you wanted to meet a woman, the most likely place to go to was the community well where they came to draw water.

When Rebecca met Eliezer, she exerted a very great effort if not supernatural strength in drawing about one hundred fifty gallons of water for Eliezer’s camels. This was done as an answer to the servant’s prayer, but also was to be considered as an act of kindness from the House of Nahor to the House of Abraham. Whether consciously or not, in the same manner Jacob now returns the favor from House to House and exerts a great effort if not supernatural strength in lifting the stone at the mouth of the well to water Rachel’s flocks.

And what does this teach us?

The other morning I was disappointed at my son’s disregard over something I had needed him to do. He is sixteen and half so rather than scolding him for disobedience and carelessness I wanted to stress the fear of our heavenly Abba into him. I proceeded then to explain to him that life really acts as a boomerang; that whatever we dish out is exactly what returns to us. In the same way he can today ignore demands made upon him, demands he makes for his need may one day be denied to him. This is a principle written in Heaven; a principle as infallible as the law of gravity.

Many people in this life seem lonely and poor and whereas we can feel sorry for them and help them, the question remains to be asked: how have they led their lives? Was it in friendship and generosity or in meanness and selfishness? An analysis of one’s life can easily be done by looking at their friend’s attitudes towards them, that is, if they even have friends.

Measure for measure, everything returns to us, Wise King Solomon expressed it so well when he said, Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2). Like many of the Almighty’s promises in His Words, this represents a principle that is at the same time comforting … and scary! Which is it for you?

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.

Let me indulge today in a Talmudic –style analogy. Throughout the Biblical text there are many repeated themes. These are usually the Heavenly Author’s way to get our attention towards some commonality. Twice in the Apostolic Writings we observe the rolling of a heavy or large stone: once in Bethany with Lazarus (John 11:39).and once at the resurrection of the Master (John 20:1). The common theme of these two events is obvious: resurrection.

When he arrives in the Land of the people of the East (Genesis 29:1), the patriarch Jacob gives us a preview of this ‘large’ stone. Jacob had just been given the promises bestowed upon the Abrahamic Messianic line (Genesis 28). Because he became a forerunner of the Messiah of Israel, the events of his life are to be observed for Messianic clues. His arrival in Paddan-aram is of utmost importance. The scene is set-up like a well-written screenplay. It is a skit, an analogy with a prophetic message for future generations (Genesis 29:1-12).

Jacob arrives near a well at about noon. Three flocks wait for water before going to pasture but it is not time yet as not all the flocks are arrived. The large stone also waits to be rolled from the mouth of the well. Rachel arrives. Jacob falls in love with her at first sight and opens the well for Rachel’s flocks. Having watered the flocks of Rachel the water is now available for those present and those still to come.

Search this analogy with me and see the beauty of the Father’s message in the life of Patriarch Jacob as reported in the Scriptures. The Messianic Redeemer is the One who opens the door to the waters of life giving resurrection. When He, Yeshua is manifested on the world’s scene, people are already waiting for the resurrection, others will be coming. First, the Messianic Redeemer had to be manifested coming out of what seems the wilderness of time to water ‘Rachel’s flock’ (Israel), then the water would be available to the waiting flocks and those still arriving. Rachel’s flocks were watered at noon day; all throughout the rest of the day other flocks will come to this water of life until such a time when night falls and the well is closed again.

Do you hear the cry of the prophet? He is calling to all the nations saying, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat (Isaiah 55:1)! Sad to say, many false teachers have fouled the Water with their feet (doctrines of man) (Ezekiel 34:18-19). City-folks drink stagnant water from a man-made reservoir filled with chemicals. At my house I have well drawing water straight from Mt Hood’s snowy reserves. City people come to fill up at our well. In these days when there is a famine and drought for the pure Words of the Father, we are commanded to be an oasis for the arriving flocks. Are you?

John 1:51

And he (Yeshua) said to him (Nathaniel), "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Jacob flees from the face of his brother Esau. The blessing he thought to receive turned into a curse where he now has to leave the Promised Land not knowing if he would ever return. On his way to Paddan-aram the patriarch makes a stopover for the night, he gathers a stone to use as a pillow and falls asleep.

During the night Jacob makes a strange dream. He sees a ladder with angels descending and ascending upon him (the Hebrew text says the angles ascended and descended upon Jacob), angels leaving the Heavens and returning. The message was clear: as Jacob left the Land, he would also return. The Lord stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis 28:13-15). With these words Jacob is comforted and dedicates himself again to the Lord (Genesis 28:20-22).

This story constitutes for us the main elements of Jacob’s resume as a patriarch for the House of Israel, as the leader of the people. It is God’s irrefutable and undeniable endorsement of Jacob which has been fulfilled through the years. From Laban’s, Jacob returned rich to the Land where the same angels welcomed him (Genesis 32:1).

When Yeshua met Nathaniel, He introduce Himself making allusion to this story. He told Nathanael in essence that, ‘from where I came from, you will see Me return’. That fact was to be the proof of Yeshua’s Messianic claim, the sign by which all sincere Israelites with no deceit like Nathaniel should recognize Him (John 1:47).

Yeshua mentioned seeing Nathanael under the fig tree. Fig trees speak of the coming age called the Millennium (Micah 4:4) and were often used by people as the preferred place to pray and meditate.

As Nathaniel was, may we at His appearing also be found praying and watching (Luke 21:36) with sincere hearts and with no deceit in our mouth.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Be ye followers (imitators) of me, even as I also am of Messiah.

When Abraham arrived in the Land, an idol-worshipping Philistine ruler took notice of the patriarch’s godly ways. The relationship between the two men grew into a binding inter-generational covenant in the following terms, Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned" (Genesis 21:23).

Several years later, due to a famine, Isaac, the inheritor of Abraham, finds himself in the position of claiming the privileges of this covenant. There was a problem though; the new Philistines of that generation did not really know Abraham or Isaac, so they started plugging Isaac’s wells and contend with him. Finally, feeling threatened by Isaac’s prosperity the Philistines ask him to leave. For all good purpose, the covenant was broken and now invalid.

The Genesis narration continues. Phicol continued watching Isaac and his tribe. After awhile, the Philistine general came to the conclusion that the God of Isaac was the same as the God of Abraham so he asks for the treaty to be re-enacted as if nothing had happened with the wells. As ludicrous as it sounds, Isaac accepts.

This teaches us that the deeds of the parents are portent to the children. It teaches us that though we may automatically inherit the reputation and hard work of our fathers, we must show ourselves of the same spirit if we want to enjoy their privileges. In this case, it is not until Phicol carefully observed Isaac that he recognized that the God of Isaac was the same as the God of Abraham, therefore, Isaac could also be trusted with the same covenant.

Maybe this is a lesson for our people today: it may not be until the worldly powers in the land recognize the ways of Messiah in Israel that they will see in them the ways of the God of Abraham and that they will concede to the re-instatement of the covenant (John 8:56)!

Shlomo Carlebach, an Orthodox Rabbi was known in Israel and the U.S. as the singing and dancing Rabbi, but in Apartheid S. Africa he was known as ‘Master Jesus’. The black people of S. Africa surnamed Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, ‘Master Jesus’. They did so because of his loving and caring inter-action with them. Just as by observing Isaac Phicol recognized the God of Abraham, the people of S. Africa saw Yeshua in the inter-actions of this Orthodox Rabbi who, not knowing Him personally (and who am I to even say that) knew about Messiah’s nature and character solely by studying the Word and obeying it.

Someone said one time that discipleship is the art of imitation. When was the last time someone mistaken you for Yeshua just because they observed the way you lived and couldn’t make out the difference?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgkz6wbCcFo

Luke 3:4

'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’

This challenge from John the Immerser echoes the prophetic words of Isaiah, Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples (Isaiah 62:10). In the same manner as John did, Isaiah was preparing the people of Jerusalem for the arrival of the promised Messianic King. This verse is actually written in the language of road improvement and reparation projects in view of the arrival of a great dignitary; projects that had to be started long before the onset of the event. Isaiah’s message continues in this way, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward, is with him, and his recompense before him." And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken (Isaiah 62:11-12).

In the ancient world a young maiden chosen to marry a king would also ready herself for sometimes up to a year (Esther 2:12); she would go through body ‘improvements and reparations’ so to speak. She would regularly immerse herself in baths filled with aromatic herbs and plants with skin cleansing properties. She was also given food from the king’s table until the appointed time when he would decide which one will be his bride.

We are this bride and we ought to behave as such. We are to make ourselves ready and immerse ourselves in the baths of repentance to present ourselves to Him in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27); betrothed to one husband, as a pure virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2).

Immersion in waters filled with His cleansing Words (John 15:3) is our preparation before we come to Him at the end of the age. May we let it clean us each day from the Canaanite culture that surrounds and snares us. As we do, may we sincerely and honestly pray in the same manner as King David, the great Messianic foreshadow did, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you (Psalms 51: 1-2; 7; 10; 13).

Hebrews11:20

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

Jacob’s ruse, the taking advantage of his father’s blindness to extort from him the blessing that would otherwise be wasted on his spiritually void brother lends itself to much speculating: does God endorse lying and deception? Certainly not! This text though can provide for the unspiritual soul an acceptable excuse for such practices. Far be it from Hashem to endorse the darkness of devilish lies; in presenting us with such a story, the God of Light actually reveals to us an eternal messianic truth.

The Jewish people had certain expectation for a Messiah, expectations that are right, and true. Many expected the Messianic Redeemer to be a great military hero like David or the judges of old, one who would deliver them from the tyrannical hand of Rome. The Messiah truly is all that, but as Balaam prophesied, I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh (Numbers 24:17), the Messiah’s coming follows a pattern of concealment.

In musing on the coming of the Messiah we are reminded of Nehemiah. Before revealing his kingly mandate to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah spent time under the cover of night to scout out Jerusalem incognito (Nehemiah 2:11-16). We see the same pattern in Queen Esther, who concealed her identity before she was able to put her life on the line to save the nation (Esther in Hebrew means: concealed). We also remember how Joseph received the brothers he would later save under the concealed identity of an Egyptian Viceroy so he could test them (Genesis 42-45).

Jacob shows us that the Messiah will initiate His mission in a concealed manner. We also learn from the patriarch that the Messiah will spend a long time in the exile of the nations until He finally returns in glory to the land of His birth.

The Messiah did come to His people to fulfill their deepest yearning and expectation, but His coming was concealed. Until this day He appears to them under the identity of a stranger but oh, what a rejoicing it will be for the whole world the day He reveals Himself to them. It will dwarf the rejoicing of Joseph’s brothers, even that of the Hebrew nation as they were saved from the clutch of Haman.

Far from teaching us to lie and deceive, the story of Jacob and Isaac teaches an eternal truth, a truth concealed under a seeming lie.

In our daily discoveries in the Words of Truth, may we do more than read and study; may Abba grant us also to understand the Truth that is concealed underneath the Words.

Romans 9:13

"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Jacob and Esau live in each of us. When in Rebecca’s womb, before they had even done anything right or wrong, Hashem had already judged between the two brothers. Their nature was within them from conception, a pattern left for us today to serve as a moral map.

Esau, the wild man whose sword is against everyone especially his brother, is the resurrection of Cain. He lives and fights against all that called righteous. His very nature is to defy, reject, and challenge whatever is of God and to endorse the very antithesis of everything that is good, true, and pure. We call him the ‘old self’ (Ephesians 4:22), the ‘mind that is set on the flesh’ (Romans 8:7), a small representation of the anti-Messiah that is within each of us (1 John 4:3). Rebecca’s complaint “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" (Genesis 25:22) expresses the cry of every man and woman who fervently desires to follow God’s ways of righteousness yet as the Master’s apostle says, through trouble and persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

Jacob is the one who allowed Hashem to search his heart. He allowed the Spirit, the Flame of the Almighty God in his heart to search him through and through, to clean him from deceit, corruption, and all other forms of unrighteousness. He lived for twenty-one years in exile in the house of idolatrous Laban and returned home purer than before. A camp of angels welcomed him as he returned to the Land with his family which he snatched from Babylon (Genesis 32:1). Though God had already accepted him (Genesis 27:26-29; 28:11-21), Jacob worked out his salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), and when ‘graduation’ time came, Jacob took hold of the kingdom blessing with passionate love and violence (Genesis 32:24-32; Matthew 11:12).

None of us is a helpless victim of our generation and godless environment. Each one of us is given the choice to emulate Jacob or Esau, to yield to the ‘old self’ and the ‘flesh’ within us, or to combat our innate human nature in order to live in the resurrected new man who holds on to the Angel until the blessing is bestowed, even at a price. The choice is yours!

Galatians 5:6

… Only faith working through love ….

I recently read a story about the mother of an Israeli soldier in the I.D.F. Like all good Jewish mothers, she had for her boy ambitions that defied the rules of the possible (Matthew 20:20-23). When approaching the Chief Officer of her son’s battalion to make her motherly impossible request, the officer replied: ‘Jewish mothers are one step above army chief officers, so we’ll see what we can do’.

When she saw that God was ‘lingering’ in fulfilling His own Word, Sarah decided to help Him out (sarcasm intended) using the stratagem with Hagar. Rebecca who took over the role of matriarch after Sara’s death proved herself to be cut of the same cloth. She had received a personal prophecy that Jacob should receive Isaac’s blessing and not Esau, and she was going to make sure God did not ‘mess up’ (again, sarcasm intended!) about it.

First we can wonder about God; ‘What takes Him so long anyways?’ (Don’t our wives always get on case for procrastinating on ‘important’ projects, especially theirs?) It is easy also to wonder about these two women’s ways. Did they not trust God? Other questions beg to be asked though: ‘Did these women by their actions show unreserved dedication and faith in the prophetic destiny of their lineage, even at the cost of a seeming lack of integrity? Could they maybe have been more interested in the Word of God being fulfilled than in themselves and their own reputation?’ It takes a mother, a Jewish one at that, to fight with the devil himself on these kinds of terms.

We tend to judge people through the screening of personal virtue, but it seems that Hashem judges us more by virtue of the force of our dedication and love for him. About the kingdom of God, Yeshua did mention that we break into it through forceful determination. This is not to say that the ‘end justifies the means’. It is only to reiterate the words of dear Apostle Paul in which he explains that the most important element of our spiritual walk is a faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

Our love for the Master (oh, could it ever match Hashem’s love for us (John 3:16)) needs to go beyond the concerns of our personal posture. Our love for Him needs to expand; it needs to live in utter abandonment, above and beyond the restricted borders of the acceptable, breaking through the narrow confines of the possible. Does it in your life?

Yeshua made Himself of no reputation for us. Can we, should we do the same for Him and what he asks us to do?

Luke 2:49

And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

After Adam and Eve resolved to disobey they were afraid of the presence of Adonai. The Heavenly Presence came in the evening to fellowship with them as was His custom (Genesis 3:8) and looked for Adam. Being omniscient, Adonai already knew about the whole ordeal of the forbidden fruit but like any responsible parent would do, He wanted Adam to own up to his actions. “Adam where are you? He said (Genesis 3:9)”. Upon hearing the familiar voice, Adam presented himself and explained, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10).

After attending the Jerusalem Passover festivities, Joseph and Miriam started on their way back to Nazareth only to realize after one full day that they had forgotten their most important piece of ‘luggage’: Yeshua. People traveled in groups and families, Yeshua and John (later called: ‘The Immerser’) were cousins so they could have been hanging out together. Unlike Adonai, Joseph and Miriam didn’t know ahead of time where their son was. When they finally found Him among the sages of the Temple, they rebuked Yeshua for not telling them where He was to which He answered, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

In the two stories, one is lost being away from the will of the Father, while the other is lost in the will of the Father. We thank our great Abba though because as it is with us today, the first Adam is ‘found’ by the second (1 Corinthians 15:22,45). Adonai puts on a new ‘covering’ on Adam: the ‘covering’ of the redemptive work of Messiah finished from the foundation of the world (Hebrews 4:3). Yes Adam still lost his Edenic home, but he was given the ‘way’ back. Redemption doesn’t mean that we do not need to do the hard work of learning our lessons (Philippians 2:12). So it is with us today: we are redeemed, but we learn our lessons as we find our ‘way’ back. How beautiful that the Father in His foresight had it all planned from the beginning.

When Adonai comes to find you in ‘cool of day’ at the end of the age; when he comes and says to you, “Where are you?”, where will you be? Lost out of His will, or lost in His will?

2 Corinthians 6:14

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

We have mused with the idea of Abraham’s son Isaac being a foreshadow of Messiah. Isaac was bound to the wood and destined to a certain death which God averted, thus he did not see corruption. Now, Isaac disappears from the text of Torah while Abraham does not return to Sarah his wife. Who knows, maybe he could not face her after what he had just done on Mt Moriah; would you go tell your wife? He only returns to bury her. Abraham’s next concern is the choice a wife for Isaac who is now nearing forty. Keeping our analogy in mind, let’s see how Abraham handles it.

Abraham sends his servant Eliezer with the task of finding a wife for Isaac. First the old patriarch extols two promises from Eliezer: to not choose a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites around them, and to not take Isaac out of the land. Isaac was to stay pure from any worldly influences. Even though his wife would come from the area that would later become ‘Babylon’ (meaning: confusion), she would be from the same genealogic stock as Abraham. Isaac was to marry Rebecca, but he would not go to her, she would come to him from Babylon. It is Abraham’s servant Eliezer, which means in Hebrew: ‘the help of my God’ who goes to look for her.

Today, the Holy Spirit also runs to and fro through this confused world to gather the Bride. The Sprit is to bring to the Master a pure Bride undefiled. The Bride is to come out of Babylon; she is to clean herself from her Babylonish ways and culture in order to meet her husband in purity. Isaac does not go to Babylon and tries to assimilate to the culture so he can be agreeable to a potential bride. He stays in the land, sends a messenger and the bride comes and changes her ways for Isaac. This should teach us something about evangelism.

Paul’s injunction, ‘I have become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22)’ may today have been taken to an extreme where today Yeshua has become a-cultural. It may provide great attraction, but from the minute we remove Yeshua from His Hebraic context, all that remains is an adulterated copy of the real thing. We take Him out of the biblical context and create a new ‘god’ out of him, which is what has happened. In the last 2,000 years, the world has created a Jesus as a white western person with western thoughts and ways, a Republican from the Bible Belt. We all want Yeshua to come and relate to us, but it is us who have to go to Him and become like Him, and whether we like it or not, He is Jewish.

Let us therefore learn to not only come out of Babylon but also not to carry Babylon with us. Let us rid ourselves of our Canaanitish/Babylonish/Helenistic Western ways and learn to endorse the culture of Messiah which is Torah culture: the culture of the Bible. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to teach us through the Word all the ways of the Master so that when we come to Him at the end of days, we are a pure bride, undefiled from the ways to the world.

Hebrews 11:14-16

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

A young man at a university was expounding to me his beliefs about the end of the world. He was very excited and convincing in his arguments that the end was coming soon and that we should get ready. He was explaining to me that there will soon be an economic collapse which will cause a downright breakdown of society; that seismic activities also were on the rise and that we should learn to survive. He was showing me that it was all in the Bible and that there was nothing we could do about it. When the conversation shifted gear, I asked him what he was presently studying. He said he was going for some sort of law degree in economics. This is the point I stopped listening.

This man may have been right in his conjectures I do not know, but whatever our beliefs may be, our arguments seem very hypocritical when our lifestyle is contrary, if not the downright opposite of our rhetoric. If this young man believed that the whole social and economic system was on the brink of collapse and that there was nothing he or I could do about it, why in the world was he going for a long set of studies on economics? Why doesn’t his lifestyle reflect his rhetoric?

We are taught in Scriptures that we are all in exile here. That our true home is in the ‘World to Come’, when all is restored the way it should be; that we are really here like the Children of Israel in the desert. We believe this but how much do we live it? Do we live like we are settling down in this world? Do we take part of its Canaanite culture? Do we let its influence shape our thinking? Do we get weighed down with extra unnecessary baggage which makes our journey heavy? Or do we live the lifestyle of the passing through pilgrim?

I heard one time a story about a poor Rabbi; I forgot his name. This Rabbi was so poor he had nothing in his house, just some straw he used for a bed. One day as he was visiting a wealthy neighbor, his host challenged his poverty and said, “But Rabbi, is it wrong for us to own things or to be comfortable?” The Rabbi said, “Of course not; King Solomon was the richest man on earth, but let me ask you a question now, ‘Do you always travel with all your things?’ “Of course not”, replied the host, “when I do, I usually travel light; but I am home now’. To the wise Rabbi then to answer, “Aaah, but I am not home yet!”

Are you ‘home’?

Hebrews 11:9

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

Abram is ordered by God Himself to leave his cozy comfortable home in Babylon. God’s leads him, along with Lot, his nephew who decided to go with him to Cana’an, a land which already occupied. They settle south; are driven to Egypt by a famine; Abram’s wife is taken captive by Pharaoh; God sends a plague to Pharaoh, who releases Sarai and showers Abram with wealthy gifts; Abram returns to the Land; separates from Lot and it is then that God makes an eternal covenant with him. Abram then has to fight to keep the Land away from five foreign invaders and to free Lot his relative. He then meets with, tithes to and honors the King of Jerusalem.

After God renews and specifies His covenant with Abraham, Hashem gives him Isaac; destroys Sodom; has Sarah again taken captive; freed in the same manner as before; has Isaac miraculously born; then ‘resurrected’ (Hebrews 11:19); Sarah then dies.

Abraham now wants to buy a piece of land to bury his wife. His only ownership of the Land is in the promises of God, which sadly do not constitute currency in our world. Hephron the Hittite at first seems to make an altruistic offer, but pragmatic Abraham sees the ‘strings’ attached to the ‘gift’ and wants nothing of it so he yields to an exorbitant price for a piece of land in Hebron. Abraham wants this to be a closed undisputable affair. Along with two other such, since the covenant follows Isaac’s line, this biblically recorded transaction serves today as a record of the indisputable Jewish ownership of that Land. God allowed these to be recorded in His Word so there would be no doubt about it. .

Wonder today at the encrypted message in this story. The prophet Isaiah said it so well, Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, (Isaiah 46:10).

Read with me in the lives of Abraham and Sarah the life and destiny of Jacob whom Mashiach renamed, ‘Israel’ (Genesis 32:28). Coming out of Babylon Jacob came to an occupied land. Israel was made captive in Egypt, freed through plagues then showered with gifts. When Israel returned to the Land, he still has to fight for control even through kings who wanted to dominate him. Israel is again taken in captivity, this time in Babylon from where he returns with gifts from the King of Persia. The whole story takes us to the miraculous birth of Yeshua and to His resurrection. Eventually, the Land will be legally owned by its God ordained inhabitant. …, for an exorbitant price!

Here is now the rest of that verse from Isaiah: 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,' (Isaiah 46:10).

Hebrews 6:10

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

The itinerant prophet Elisha often traveled through the Jezreel Valley also called the Plain of Megiddo in the Northern Kingdom. A prominent childless woman from the village of Shunem noticed the that this oftentimes wonderer was a prophet of God, so her and her husband who were part of a small remnant of believers in the area decided to offer him hospitality whenever he passed through. They added an extra bedroom on the roof of their house which they equipped with a bed, a chair, a table, and an oil lamp. The first Hebrew letters of each of these elements in the room spell the word: Mishkan which is the term used for the area where the Ark of the Covenant used to rest. This teaches us the very important principle that he who practices hospitably transforms his house into a Sanctuary for the Divine Presence to dwell in. Our Master relates to this Shunamite woman when He said, The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward (Matthew10:41) .

Against the woman’s protests knowing how God rewards those who care for His saints without personal motives but just because they are God’s people, Elisha desired to reward the woman for her kindness. When Elisha’s servant pointed out to him that she was barren, the prophet proceeded to tell her that by next year, at the time of life (same Hebraic expression used by the angel who spoke to Abraham about Sarah in Genesis 18:10) she will embrace a son, a son which Elisha later raises form the dead.

These events not only carried an uncanny resemblance with those told in the Book of Genesis about Sarah after Abraham practiced hospitality to strangers, but they also followed closely those that Elijah, Elisha’s master performed in that very same area. These local stories were still recited in those towns of Israel when the Master arrived on the scene. They were still fresh and people encouraged each other with them as they waited for the final Messiah who would deliver them. They knew that He would do the same miracles and even more. What a surprised then it must have been for the people of Nain when this new prophet who was born not too far from them in Nazareth crashed one of their funeral procession and being moved with compassion brought a young man back to life (Luke 7:11-15).

If you want Hashem’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; if you desire to make a Sanctuary of your heart and of your house for the Presence of God to dwell in; if you want to see the life-giving blessings of the Almighty fill your life: practice hospitality, especially on the Sabbath.

Hebrews 11:10

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

At Mt Horeb, God instructed the people of Israel about the different types of offerings. The first one mentioned in the Book of Leviticus is the ‘burnt offering’ called in the Hebrew the ’olah’ or ‘ascent’ offering. This offering is fully burnt and dedicated to God; no-one takes a piece from it like with the other offerings. This is meant to speak of total abandonment to Hashem without reservations. This is what Abraham was asked to do with Isaac on Mt Moriah, which he did with the ram provided by Adonai.

This event took place at Mt Moriah. This was the place occupied by the city of Salem where Melchizedec was king. This was the place that later on hosted the angel that was destroying Israel because David sinfully decided to take a census of the nation (2 Samuel 24). Under the instructions of Gad the prophet, David bought the place to build an altar for Adonai. We must remember at this point that God had forbidden that altars should be built in random places. The only altar to be used so far was the one in Shiloh by the Ark. This was therefore a strange command from Gad. David also knew that at some point and time, God had a place in the Land of Canaan where He would write His Name. A traditional source tells us that in order to honor both Melchizedec and Abraham, David later renamed the place to be called, ‘Yireh-Salem’, or Jerusalem meaning: ‘He will provide peace’. What a name for a city that has seen more than its share of wars and conflicts, and still waits for ‘the big one’!

Oh but He will provide peace. Like Abraham we must not stop our eyes at this imperfect world. We must seek for our true homeland; desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That’s why Hashem is not ashamed to be called our God, for He has prepared for us a city, a city that will finally see and know peace, a peace like no other city or even country in the world has ever known or seen. Not a ‘Pax Jerusalema’ enforced type of peace, but a peace from within originated by Yeshua the Messiah: the Prince of Peace Himself. This Jerusalem is the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is the Almighty God. Abba, the Father. He has the true peace-plan and road-map to peace in Jerusalem. Yes, Jerusalem will see peace; He promised it (Hebrews 11:10,16)!

Matthew 1:20

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

When instructing Moses about the future Mediator that will stand between Him and Israel, God defined Him as a prophet that would resemble Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15,18). Looking therefore at the life and ministry of Moses, we should be able to define this mysterious prophesied Mediator.

First let us look at Moses’ conception. In those days, feeling threatened by the proliferation of the Hebrews in his country, Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites to his building ambitions. One of Pharaoh’s wise men came to him one day with a star-omen that a boy is to be born to the Israelites that would deliver the Hebrew nation from his hand. Our angry Pharaoh then decided to kill all male new-born throwing them into the Nile River.

At that time, Amram who already had a son, Aaron and a daughter, Miriam, divorced his wife because he didn’t want to be faced with the possible tragedy ordered by Pharaoh. Because of his clout as a Levite, many of Israel followed Amram’s sample which caused Miriam to chastise him with the following words: ‘What you have done is worse that Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s decree was only against males, yours is against males and females alike. His decree may not come to pass, but yours certainly will!’. Upon these words, Amram returned to his wife only to find that she was three months pregnant. In the wording of the story, the Talmud alludes to a miraculous conception.

I cannot ascertain that this Talmudic story is the report of true events, but it certainly offers a very uncanny parallel with the Master’s conception. Actually, Jewish sages refer to Moses as the first redeemer, and Messiah as the second.

In the conception accounts of the Master we also have wise men, Chaldean astronomers, who come to Herod, a Pharaoh-like king, with an indication from the stars that the Savior of Israel is born in Bethlehem, Judea. This in turn provokes Herod to want to kill all two years and under babies in that city. A little while before, Joseph, thinking that Miriam his fiancé committed adultery found himself with no other option but to divorce her, but like Amram did, he returns to her after the intervention of an angelic messenger.. .

PRAISE

“Oh, for the wonders of the Torah! Why do so many seek wisdom and wonders North and South, East and West, or high and low? All the secrets of heaven and earth are imbedded right there in the Words of theTorah.

Hebrews 11:19

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

NOTE: The Greek text for ‘figuratively speaking’ says: ‘as in a parable’, thus referring to an ancient Jewish parable by Pirkei de R. Eliezer suggesting that Isaac actually died and resurrected when on the altar. Isaac did not die on the altar, but the author of the Book of Hebrews was aware of this ancient tradition to which he referred to in order to explain his point.

Oh for the provision of our Almighty Abba! When we don’t bring in our part of the bargain, He provides the missing elements. He provides the missing elements and yet teaches us our lesson of faithfulness. Abraham was ready to go though the whole of God’s plan. He was letting go of his own plans for Isaac to accept God’s plans instead.

One could blame Abraham for being a fanatic and a lunatic; a religious nut of some sort but wait. We may also have the idea that Abraham was bringing an innocent unsuspecting young boy to an untimely death, but the text tells us that Isaac was actually a young bachelor, a young man who willingly allowed himself to be tied up to this altar on Mt. Moriah in full knowledge of what was going to happen to him. He had seen his father do it many times before and probably did it himself. In the days of the Tabernacles and temples, animals brought to the altar were to be calmed down before going through the whole offering process; they had to be willing victims. Such was Isaac. A young man who utterly trusted his Father and who lived solely to do his father’s bidding.

That is why Isaac was in the mind of Jewish people a representation of the coming Messiah, a representation alluded to in Jewish literature and most of all in the tradition of the Afikomen of the Passover Seder.

Abraham’s confession of faith came with a test that provoked in him immense turmoil. Did he believe, as is alluded to in the text that God would resurrect Isaac and provide something else for the offering on Mt. Moriah? What if God were to ask you to sacrifice your son and tell you, ‘Don’t worry though, I am going to resurrect him right away!’ The same could be said of Isaac when he realized what was happening. His faith in his father was tested then, but he still relied entirely on the faith of his father who told him, ‘Adonai Yirei’: ‘God will provide’. It also cost to the patriarchs and all people who made the serious commitment of giving their lives the Adonai.

The test provides a standard to quantify the value of the commitment, a touchstone to define the caliber of our faith. From one to a hundred how would you grade Abraham’s test? Probably off the charts. And what about Isaac’s” Off the charts too. How about yours?

Hebrews 11:17-18

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."

Here is a conversation I often have with my Bible student, “Do you believe in Yeshua the Messiah?” When they reply positively I then say, “That means that you believe in a man who resurrected from the dead” I then say. Do you really believe that God can resurrect someone from the dead?” They say yes a bit less self-assured. I then ask, “What then if today God would say to you, “I want to use you for a little skit that will teach the generations to come about resurrection. Take your little sister, put her on a table, stab her with a knife and burn her. Don’t worry because I will resurrect her right away. You do believe I can resurrect her right?”” There is usually a silence among the students then I ask again, ‘Do you believe in the bodily resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah? After all, you bank your whole faith system on that very fact!”

Much ink has been shed about God asking Abraham to sacrifice His favorite son Isaac. Most of what is written denotes of the extreme love of Abraham had for God, love that gave him the strength to sacrifice the most precious thing he owned: his precious son Isaac. This story is usually offered to encourage people of whom God seems to require great loss or sacrifice. There is a problem with this idea though, because human sacrifice is not acceptable to God. The Father defined what He wanted as offering and humans are off the list. They are actually forbidden, non-kosher, not fit for offering. That’s the whole idea; that’s why we need the blood mediation of a fit animal. Abraham also knew that one of the main differences between the God heaven and earth and the idols of his days, is that God abhorred human sacrifice.

What Adonai was asking of Abraham was not a proof of his love by giving up Isaac, but a proof of his faith by believing in resurrection. When he went up the mountain Abraham said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you (Genesis 22:5)." The Hebrew there is specific; it says, “We will come again to you.” The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back (Hebrews 11:19). (The Greek for ‘figuratively speaking’ says: ‘as in a parable’; referring to an ancient Hebrew parable on the potential death and resurrection of Isaac).

In this case, Abraham, the father of all believers in the Messiah, of Jews and non-Jews, believed in God in the same way that we do now: through believing in a non-human mediated resurrection.

Hebrews 13:2

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

It is very common in hot countries for people to take a break from work around noon. Due to the heat, they break at twelve and sometimes do not work again until mid-afternoon. In the case of Genesis 18, Abraham was not taking a mid-day nap due to the heat of the day, he was convalescing from undergoing circumcision (Genesis 17). The fever lasted three days. The highest being the third day (Genesis 34:25), the first verse therefore of Genesis eighteen could infer that this was the third day of Abraham’s fever.

While Abraham was convalescing, the Torah tells us that Adonai came to visit him (Genesis 18:1). The Master Himself came to check on Abraham. This verse is the true origins of the apostle’s injunctions to visit the sick. Discipleship is to want to be like your Master. If the Master therefore took the time to visit Abraham when he was sick, we should also practice the visiting of the ill.

This visit resulted in several tests. 1: Hospitality. The hospitality of Abraham was legendary. His table was like no other. To be at the table of Abraham was like being at the table of the Lord. When we receive brethren in our home’s to share with us, we should also do our best to honor them. The meal that Abraham served was composed of dairy and meat; a full meal worthy of a King. Did Abraham know who he was serving? All the text tells us after the verse’s beginning narrative is that Abraham saw three men, strangers in the plain of Mamreh. Even the Book of Hebrew seems to indicate that Abraham didn’t have a clue at first (Hebrews 13:2). We should always share our best with stranger and consider it a high honor to host the Saints, those for whom our Master died. 2: Belief: Adonai had a message for Abraham. When Sarah (89 years old) heard that she would give birth, she laughed a cynical laugh for which the angel reproved her. Abraham did not as he had already gone through that a few days before (Genesis 17). Similarly we should learn not to laugh at the impossible doings of God. The Talmud compares Sarah to Jerusalem. If He is able to take an old woman, rejuvenate her and make her fruitful throughout generations, Adonai is also able a broken down seemingly barren city such as Jerusalem and resurrect her to be a blessing to all forever after. 3: Motives: How was Abraham going to use his new standing with God. Since Adonai and Him were now covenanted together, Abraham right away used his new assets as a blessing towards the incredulous world around him, not without motive thoug. He pleaded for the sparing of Sodom and Gomorrah just for the sake of saving Lot his wayward nephew. How do we use our covenanted standing with the Master. Are our prayers a repetition of ‘gimme’s’, or are our eyes turned toward those in need.

I think Abraham passed the test. Would we?

2Corinthians 7:10

… For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret …

At the time of Jechonias, the last Davidic king to ever sit on the throne of Jerusalem, we find the following words in an oracle pronounced by the prophet Jeremiah: Thus says Adonai: "Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah" (Jeremiah 22:30). These words are troubling because according to the prophets Samuel and Nathan, the lineage of David was to be never-ending culminating to the Messiah. If this Davidic king was to remain childless the hope of Israel was gone and with it the hope of the world.

As we continue looking into the Davidic genealogy, we realize that Jechonias has a son, Salathiel who dies. Pediaiah, the brother of Salathiel fulfills the levirate law and marries his brother’s widow thus raising seed to him in Zerubabel whom God chooses to continue the Davidic line (Haggai 2:23). It is then fair to ask the question: did God reverse Jechonias’ curse? But we also should ask another question: Did God annul the blessing on the Davidic line and the world because of the iniquity of one? These are very serious question imbedded in the reading of the genealogies.

It would not be the first time that because of our unfaithfulness towards our covenant made with Him God would decide to annul the whole thing. We have seen it happen in the Sinai desert. One thing we learn from our dear Hashem is that ‘though we are faithless, He remains faithful’: Blessed be His Name. Jewish sages knew that so in Talmudic literature they conclude that Jechonias repented while in exile, thus even though his son died, God reversed the curse through the accepted Toratic principle of levirate marriage. The repentance of Jechonias cannot be documented but what this shows us is that the people of Israel looked at God as a One of mercy who reverses the fruits of our disobedience because of our repentance. Repentance therefore becomes essential to renewal and fulfillment of God’s promises.

Come to think of it, it is not the first time that the levirate law comes to the rescue of the covenantal lineage. It happened with Judah and Tamar, Boaz and Ruth, and in the immediate family of the Master Himself (Julius Africanus).

The Davidic Messianic line is filled with people of disrepute who desperately needed absolution and renewal through sincere and true repentance. So when you feel that you’ve really blown it this time and that there is no hope left for you, look at whom God chose; look at the descendance of Messiah and know that Hashem is a God who rewards true and sincere repentance. David, more than anyone else knew it. He was destined to death because of murder and adultery, so he said, If you, O Adonai, should mark iniquities, O Adonai, who could stand (Psalms 130:3)?

Matthew 6:12

… and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

We have all been plagued by the media feeling responsible to expose celebrity’s indiscretions. It used to be that adultery was a career-killer for high-ranking politicians or media-idols but now, like Thomas Beckett’s King, it seems that all they have to do is to go under the lash of a self-humiliating public apology and they can go on with their merry life under the simple reprimand of the shaking of a finger. We see them all rebounding either in other public fields or even in politics like nothing ever happened. The idea of course is that technically no-one can really shake a finger of accusation at them because everybody does it and those who don’t dream to. Non-religious people don’t care and religious people believe that they are forgiven as soon as they say ‘sorry’, but really how does forgiveness work? Actually I’d like dare ask the question: is there such a thing as pure forgiveness from God?

I know that Scriptures in both Hebraic and Apostolic texts exhort us to forgive, but let’s look at this a little closer. The Scriptures compare sin with the idea of a debt. When we sin we owe one to God just like when we break traffic rule we owe one to the city. In the wilderness, God forgave the Children of Israel for the spiritually adulterous sin of the golden calf, but it wasn’t without Moses’ offering his life in exchange. The people were forgiven by God by virtue of Moses. Moses forgave them and in doing so he lay down his life. A price had to be paid; a ransom had to given (Exodus 32-34).

To forgive someone, is never free. It is always at the cost of someone ‘swallowing’ their pride and the psychological, emotional or financial price of the sin. You don’t pay for it so it may seem free to you, but in reality it is because somebody else does. God is a God of justice. Justice requires for the price to be paid, by us or by somebody else. When God forgives us, it is solely by virtue of Messiah’s payment!

I heard this politician insert in his apology: “I hope my family forgives me and that people forgive me. I know also that God already forgave me.” This politician continues now to live the same life he did before enjoying everybody’s forgiveness. Is that what the Master died for: to allow us the so-called freedom of sinful indulgence without payment? To dance to the proverbial fiddler and never pay?

Good leadership dictates that a law that is not enforced is not a law. How then do we expect people to be obedient to God’s Word when we tell them that their sins are automatically forgiven but they are not expected to change their lives in repentance? It is a travesty of God’s justice.

A mother one time was so frustrated with her disobedient little boy that she said to him. OK; each time you disobey and are mean to me I will have you slap my hand. The boy enjoyed it for little while but he loved his mother; he didn’t want to continue slapping her.. Do we love Messiah enough to stop ‘slapping’ Him?

Romans 2:29

But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

When it was time for God to honor and bless Abraham, God made a covenant with him. This covenant took the form of a legal contract of partnership (Genesis 15) where God and Abraham became venture partners each one having responsibilities towards each other. The culture of the day required that contracts between parties be ‘signed’ through some sort of blood producing cut in the flesh that would then become an outward sign of this new relationship. The idea was is that since this new contract made you a new person with new assets, liabilities, strengths, weaknesses and responsibilities, that societal change needed to be visible and therefore applied to your flesh. You needed to actually become a new person by altering your body in some way. The cutting alteration required by God of Abraham was that of circumcision. The terms of the contract God makes with us is His Word, that’s why the Hebrew word for circumcision is: brit-milah: the Covenant of the Word.

According the Hebrew Scriptures, it wasn’t enough to be circumcised in the body. We needed also to be circumcised of the heart with new desires and appetites (Deuteronomy 10:16); our ears also with a new pure sense of hearing which also means obeying. When gentiles joined the local synagogues in first century Asia Minor, Paul made sure that people did not put so much attention on the physical part of their new life, but rather that their heart was right as he said, For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation (Galatians 6:15). Paul was teaching them in essence that whereas the works were good, they were not enough to justify a change of heart; that it would be better that the works be motivated by the change of heart.

Today we have the opposite problem. People feel that they can have a change of heart without involving any change of behavior. God must of course do His part of protecting, supplying, loving and mostly of forgiving while we seem to not want to take upon ourselves any term of the contract that would cramp our lifestyle.

Anyone who comes to Yeshua becomes a new creature. Paul, a perfect rabbi was also a perfect disciple who wanted so much to be like his Master. He made sure to receive in his body the marks of the cost of true discipleship to the Master. He did not try to shirk away from them. Can people see the marks of your covenant with Him in your flesh? Is your life a living testimony of a life change that reflects that you belong to God? Do you carry the marks, the cuts of Yeshua not only in your heart but also in your body?

Hebrews 11:9-10

By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

We are on a journey. We presently live as strangers in a world that will eventually be under our ruling. Until that day we must not lose the vision. Oh how easy it is in the constant uncertainly of the roaming to want to settle down somewhere, anywhere, before the full vision of God is accomplished in our lives!

Both Lot and Abraham prospered. They increased so much that the Land could not bear them the Text says. Their servants quarreled. This is the test that results from prosperity. Prosperity brings with it discontent and an ungodly sense of justice and fairness. Along with it we count; we become concerned about numbers and lose the original vision, mostly the sense that people are more important than numbers.. That’s what happened to Lot as he was lured by the prosperous life of the city folks in the area of Sodom. He was tempted by their dainties. Little did he know that as in the case of this generation, Sodom’s false sense of security was about to be shaken; its days were counted.

Abraham on the other hand kept the heavenly vision. He was not at home in this world; he had already found the prosperity of his former worldly station lacking. He therefore went out to look for the true riches that come with desiring the Kingdom of Hashem. The king of Sodom even tried to reward Abraham, but again Abraham made the right choice and turned Himself towards the true King: Melchizedec: the King of Salem: the King of Jerusalem.

May we as we hear His voice today, learn to turn away from the call of this world’s false wealth. May we reject its adulterated sense of justice and fairness where gains and numbers are more important than people. May we turn our heads instead towards the obedience of the true king who owns the true wealth of the true Kingdom that will last forever.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Do you hear the Voice? Do you hear the call? How many times does Hashem call us to a place to be Him but we don’t go?

He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). To be with Him He requires a total abandonment of everything else. He requires that we completely strip ourselves of our personal attempts at righteousness, protection, security, and sustenance. He wants us to lie bare and prostrated before Him down to our utmost vulnerable point because without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Where is Hashem taking you today? Has He asked you like Abraham to, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. (Genesis 12:1)? Has He asked you to leave the comfortable place of familiar surroundings, to venture out from the comfort zone of familiar beliefs and into the unknown?

In this day of fundamental changes in the society of man, in this time of economic, political and societal international upheavals we may feel the rug pulled off from under us. We may feel insecure and uncomfortable. For the person lacking faith it is a test for the one in faith has been already tested, it is a joy. The world is going to a place we are not familiar with and God forbid that we should become at ease with the direction it is taking.

It is now high time for us to do like Abraham and hear the call of Hashem’s Voice, For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work (Psalms 95:7-9). .

Let us with Abraham let go of our comfort zone and walk in the new dimensions of faith He leads to. Who knows, it may take us to the Promised Land!

Matthew 5:21-22

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

Paul, Yeshua’s apostle teaches us that the reward of sin is death (Romans 3:23). Furthermore John, another apostle teaches that sin is the breaking of the Commandment (1 John 3:4). Yeshua Himself was against even the relaxing of the commandments (Matthew 5:19), and challenged us to be even more righteous than His very conservative brothers (Matthew 5:20), but how that possible?

Because the breaking of the Torah was so dangerous, the teachers of Israel decided to make fences around Its Commandments. The idea was to proclaim the interdict in a way that it made it impossible to break it. It’s like having an important meeting start at six thirty, but being aware of people’s procrastinating nature, you declare it at six o’clock. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s called wisdom. We do it all the time especially with children like “don’t go in the kitchen” when what we don’t want them to do is touch the knives..

After their return of Babylon, the sages of Israel finally understood that they had gone to exile because of their breaking of the commandments. They realized that it wasn’t very fun to go to exile, so they adopted a principle to make ‘fences’ around the commandments in order to make it more difficult to break them. We must remember that the responsibility of the elders of the Hebrew nation was very great. People did not have Scripture scrolls around their homes in these days. The teachers were the means by which people could even know what the commandment is.

God allowed Cain the first murderer to live. Because of that, when Lamech (Cain’s great-grand-son) also committed murder he thought that he should get away with it (Genesis 4:23-24). Eventually at the time of the flood the Father made it a universal law that murder warranted the death penalty (Genesis 9:6). The idea was that to kill a man was to kill something made in the image of the almighty. It’s like killing your son: you will want revenge for his shed blood. Through Moses, the Father reiterated His position about murder (Numbers 35:30-31) and finally Yeshua taught us that the ‘fence’ against the sin of murder was to stop it at anger (Matthew 5:21-22).

When we kill unlawfully, we actually commit murder against ourselves. If the law doesn’t catch us, the true Avenger of blood does. God is a God of justice and mercy: justice for the offender and mercy for the offended.

I told my students one time: how would you feel if you lived in a world where you never had to worry about people lying, killing, stealing, hating and all the likes? They said, “It would be like Heaven!”, to which I responded, “we can have it, by just deciding to obey the Ten Statements written on stone by the finger of God Himself at Mt Sinai. By the way; why don’t we?

John 3:3

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

I n Hebrew the word for ‘baptism’ is: mikvah. The etymological meaning of ‘Mikvah’ is: gathering, as in the gathering of waters.

In the days of Noah, The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart (Genesis 6:5-6).

Our sorry Father could have also opted to destroy the earth, but somehow, He opted instead to try to fix it. I lived ten years in S.E. Asia. Upon my arrival in the U.S.A., I was sharing with a friend about the miserable state of many places in India. My friend reacted by saying, ‘They just need to blow it up and start again!’ The Father could have done the same thing with the world, to ‘blow it up and start again,’ but no; somehow He wanted to give us a chance. He instead opted to try to fix us, and this fixing took the form of a planet-wide mikvah, or ‘baptism’.

The idea of being born-again is vividly portrayed in our Scriptures. .The first one is of course that of the flood. The narrative of the sixth chapter of the Book of Genesis tells us that the earth had become polluted by angels who renounced their heavenly station in order to settle down on earth with women. In the process they taught mankind a knowledge they were not supposed to have and thus the earth became polluted with violence and wickedness. The Father then proceeded to gather all the waters of the planet and clean humanity. In the process of this worldwide ‘bath’, God rid the earth of the bad elements and through Noah and his family gave a chance for humanity to continue.

Later, God wanted to separate for Himself a people through whom He would redeem the world. He brought them out of Egypt all the way to the Eastern arm of the Red Sea. He needed them to go through a ‘mikvah/baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). As they did, they shed behind them their Egyptian culture to re-emerge on the other side a new people, a new nation, a new culture: God’s people and nation. Before entering the Promised Land, the Red Sea scenario was repeated, through the Jordan River this time. This place of the Jordan River became the place where later John the Immerser would mikvah people unto repentance. People would have to cross the Jordan out of the Land to meet John, mikvah, and re-enter the Land as born-again creatures.

Friends; the message is clear. Unless we have shed behind ourselves the evil spirits that push us to evil, the ‘Egyptian’ culture that keeps us in idolatry and the doubtful disobedient behavior that keeps us in the desert, we cannot enter the Promised we cannot call ourselves: born-again. The proof of mikvah, baptism, or of being born-again, is the evidence of a new creature ruled by the Torah of God.

Luke 1:38

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."

Whenever we want to describe a certain principle or event in a very quick manner, we often use a famous expression like: Life is like a box of chocolates …. Because the hearer is familiar with the origins of that line, he understands exactly what we mean. This principle is fundamental to understanding the intent in the statement of Bible characters. A careful attention to Biblical terminologies reveals the intense connections between the Hebrew and the Apostolic Scriptures.

In our passage in Luke, Mary proclaims that she is ‘the servant of the Lord’. Was she using a terminology revealing a deeper dimension in her words? Ruth was another young girl who used the servant terminology at a very opportune time. When she came to Boaz on the threshing floor she said to him, "I am Ruth, your servant (Ruth 3:9). What is the connection between Ruth and Miriam, the mother of Yeshua?

Ruth and Miriam were both maiden. In his recollection of events, Matthew uses a prophecy originally uttered by Isaiah (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14). The original Hebrew text of the Isaiah prophecy actually uses the Hebrew word for maiden or young woman, not virgin. The prophecy still applies to Miriam as Matthew used it but we are left to wonder if our English translator didn’t push the concept a bit too much to make a point. In an Hebraic reading though, Isaiah was referring to a young woman, not a virgin.

Jewish literature and teachings, which are what Miriam would have been familiar with, proclaim that Ruth was ‘barren’ and having miraculously conceived. The sages use the text, “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her and the Lord gave her conception (Ruth 4:13) to show that she had no womb but God miraculously gave her one. The idea is that since Ruth was a gentile, she was barren as far as bearing seed for Israel, but God gave her a womb through her marriage with Boaz. This becomes all the more interesting when we realize that through these events, Ruth became related to Yeshua. The story of Ruth also contains a Messianic interpretation where Boaz foreshadows Yeshua, the Messianic redeemer who would someday redeem the land and people of Israel from dispersion, as well as bring in gentiles into Covenant life.

Miriam therefore saw herself like Ruth for whom a conception miracle had been performed, whom also became part of a great inheritance for both Israel and the gentiles. This certainly came true in the birth of Yeshua.

May we learn when our name is called by the Almighty for great and greater things, to do like these two great women of faith Ruth and Miriam and say, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word."

Luke 1:18

"How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

For centuries Israel understood through Toratic Scriptures that a Redeemer would someday come and rule supreme on the earth, governing the world by God’s Word. This coming Savior was the only hope of final lasting independence for the tiny Jewish nation. O how many have come that were thought to be the One; so many that it procured cynicism on the part of the people of Israel.

As he was serving his course at the Temple (Luke 1:5), Zechariah had an encounter with an angel. Angels did not necessarily appear as a flying entity or as an ethereal light. In the case of Abraham and Lot they appeared as people who could be hosted for a meal. No one but the serving priest was supposed to be in the Holy, the first room of the Tabernacle, so it was quite a surprise to Zechariah not only to have company there, but also to hear an oracle telling him that both he and his wife would conceive in their old age. He also received instructions concerning the coming child. Luke’s narrative tells us that Zechariah doubts the angel who therefore punishes him with muteness.

Throughout the whole Biblical narratives, God has always made a point to draw attention to certain individuals by making their birth the result of barrenness. Such was the case for many patriarchs, judges and prophets. First temple Judaism even considered that the Messiah would come from a young maiden who had not yet been with a man. Because of Torah though, Jews were trained to try the spirits demanding a sign to confirm prophecy even from angels. To ask for a sign was not a bad thing, it was the norm in testing prophecy (Deuteronomy 13), and I think we may do well to do a bit more of that today!. God Himself provided signs to help prove His points to people. The fact that Zechariah was not punished for asking for a sign, but for incredulity, and Gabriel being the angel of judgment didn’t seem to appreciate that. This attitude of incredulity was even pointed out by Yeshua later (Matthew 12:29). Notice the Yeshua did give the people a sign, the sign, which was the story of Jonah, a foreshadow of Yeshua’s death and resurrection.

Even today, as His return seems to be lingering, it is easy for us to become incredulous. Yeshua gave us signs where with to identify His return (Matthew 24), the biggest one of course being the restoration of the State of Israel. As we see them fulfilled today, let us not be incredulous, but we should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." … But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (1 Peter 3:2-9); and we are thankful for His patience in waiting for us!

John 1:4-5,9

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

The first creation mentioned in the Book of Genesis is the primeval light. The Hebrew gives two different words for ‘light’ in the Book of Genesis, ‘or’ in verse three referring to the primeval Light of the beginning of creation, and ‘mah’or’ referring to the two lights in the firmament in verse fourteen.

The primeval light was the beginning of God’s creation. Without it nothing was created that was created. The word ‘beginning’ in Hebrew comes from the word ‘rosh’, or ‘head’. In Hebraic understanding, the beginning is the head like the engine is the head of a train. It leads the rest and without it no one goes anywhere. It works also with the idea of the head of a snake that pulls the rest of his body. Yeshua introduced Himself to the Laodicean congregation as the ‘beginning of God’s creation’ Revelations 3:14), the ‘head’ without which nothing else moves.

John’s introduction of Yeshua mirrors the Genesis’ account of creation. Whereas the ‘Word’ referred to by the Aramaic ‘Memrah’ in Jewish literature, existed with the Almighty as His Executive Agent, It revealed itself at the beginning, or the ‘head’ of creation as the Light, the Light by which everything else would be done. How fitting this is with the account of John who from His studies under the sages of Israel had understood what they said by the Talmudic statement, “God said ‘let there be Light,’ to reveal that God will ultimately illuminate Israel with the Light of Messiah”.

This was John’s hinted message embedded in the format of his introduction. He was mirroring the text of the first chapter of Genesis. John wanted to reveal that Yeshua was the incarnation of that Messianic primeval Light. God revealed the Light in the very beginning of creation; He revealed a light provoked phenomenon at another beginning through Noah’s rainbow, and finally revealed It as a human 2,000 years ago fulfilling the promise made in Mt. Sinai that God will come live among His people (Exodus 25:8).

As we try to do things in our own effort, as we attempt to lift ourselves up by our own boot straps by trying to change our environment, may we learn to realize that nothing is done without the Light of Messiah; He is the ‘Beginning’, the ‘Head’ without which nothing else is done; by Him and by Him only can anything be done. He pulls and as we yield to His command we let ourselves be pulled. May we learn to be fully satisfied simply basking in the Light of His greatness and beauty, solely obeying His commands. Who knows if we do, it may actually change the world to the better!

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

Here is John’s prelude to his accounts of the life of Yeshua. He starts the chronicle not with ‘Once upon a time … ‘, but rather in the same manner and wording as the chronicles of creation with the words: ‘In the beginning … ‘. The Genesis account tells us of creation in the following terms: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).

The consistency of the imagery is perfect. In the beginning, when the earth was without form, the spirit of God hovered over the face of the earth. About fifteen hundred years later, at the time of another beginning, we see a repetition of this imagery when Noah’s dove hovers upon the face of the water. At first she could find nothing where to rest her feet. The spirit of God always looks for someone, a host to rest upon. Unlike the raven who did not come back, the dove couldn’t just rest and feed on dead corpses. It did not agree with death and corruption. At the opportune time though, she found the olive tree and brought back a torn branch to Noah.

At the time of another beginning when the world was in the confusion of the ‘Pax Romana’ enforced peace, there was another primeval beginning. In John’s latter days, Yeshua introduced Himself to him as the beginning of the creation of God (Revelation 3:14), so at the beginning of the ministry of our Master, the Spirit of God also came over Him like a dove as He emerged out of the water (Matthew 3:16); a beautiful fulfillment of Isaiah’s Messianic prophetic words, And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11:2).

The Holy Spirit’s dove rested upon He who is called the Branch (Zechariah 6:12), the ‘Torn Branch’ of the olive tree of Israel. Through Him the nations learn to praise the God of Israel as the rest of Isaiah’s oracle says, 'In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples--of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day Adonai will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations … (Isaiah 11:10-12).'

John1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Yesterday was the day after the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles. That day is called in Hebrew ‘Simchat Torah’; ‘Simcha’ means: joy, ‘Torah’ means: Teaching/Instruction, capitalized as to refer to: God’s Teaching and Instruction. Translated into English, this day could be called: ‘The Rejoicing of the Teaching’.

Isn’t it strange to give a human virtue to something that is not biologically human? O my friend, come with me and look a little deeper. There is a tradition in Judaism that on the twenty-third day of the month of Tishrei, in synagogues around the world the Torah scrolls are taken out of their cabinets and put in the arms of congregant. On that day, you will see otherwise austere rabbis laugh, and dance holding the Torah scroll in their arms. People will have a great party surrounding the ‘dancing of the Torah’. What is this party and dancing of the Torah all about?

Upon returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, Ezra understood that the country went to exile because of their disobedience to God’s commands. He then felt concerned for people to be more exposed to the Torah so he established a national reading schedule. This schedule took the people of Israel through weekly sections that completed the whole Torah in a year’s time. The twenty-third of Tishrei in the day when this schedule is completed and Torah scrolls are rolled back to their beginnings to start a new cycle in the following week.

On that day, the Torah rejoices that It has been read and studied through for a whole year. The Torah is now looking forward to teach God’s people again for another reading cycle. The Torah wants to dance, laugh, and rejoice but It has no mouth, no legs and no arms, like the old joke says, ‘Why didn’t the ghost go to the dance? (Answer singing the familiar song): ‘I ain’t got no-body …’ The Torah wants to dance, but It has no body.

On Simchat Torah, we take the Torah in our arms and we become the singing and rejoicing mouth, the dancing legs and the waving arms of the Torah. In essence, we become an incarnation of the Torah to allow It to rejoice in us and through us.

This application of rejoicing in the Torah shows that Jewish sages understood the idea of the Torah incarnated in us as Jeremiah taught it (Jeremiah 31:31-40). All the more, it shows that they understood the idea that the Messiah would be a Son of Man (in Hebrew: Son of Adam) who would be the Incarnation of the Torah, of the Commandments of God spoken at Mt Sinai.

Yeshua, the son of Joseph and Miriam was truly the Son of Adam who became the incarnation of the Torah.

Luke 24:50

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.

In all things Yeshua was a ‘prophet’ like Moses. Before ascending the mountain where God would bury him, Moses blessed the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:1); he offers a personal blessing for each one of the tribes. In the same manner, before ascending to the Father Yeshua lifted up His hands and blessed His disciples. We do not know what He said but the language of the text gives a clue.

In the Book of Numbers God gives instructions on how His people should be blessed. Aaron and the Levites (Moses was also a Levite) were to lift their two hands up in the air in the form of the Hebrew letter ‘Shin’ to represent one of the Names of God: El Shaddai and they were to say, the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:23-26). In Mishnaic writings, this became known as the Aaronic blessing, but also, the blessing of the ‘lifting of the Hands’. So every time the Bible text mentions that the priests lifted up their hands to bless the people, we know what they did and said. It is therefore very likely that this is also the very blessing wherewith Yeshua blessed His disciples as He lifted up His hands before ascending to His Father.

We are used to mean ‘LORD’ as Yeshua, but in the Hebrew text, the word used is the tetragrammaton signifying the Name of God. Therefore when Yeshua prayed this prayer, He was praying for God to bless and keep us, for God to shine upon us, for God to be gracious unto us, to lift His countenance upon us, and give us peace. This is really the whole reason why Messiah came: to put us back in good standing with the Father through the agency of His righteousness. The Aaronic blessing therefore can only be fulfilled through the agency of Messiah. When we pray it on people we pray that they find Messiah.

As it is now, so it was then. From creation’s days, the Messiah has been the Father’s Executive Agent (John 1:1-3). Even before the days when He came ‘to tabernacle/ to sukkah’ with us (John 1:14) the Messiah was alive, well and active. It is He who appeared to Abram in the Plain of Mamre; He that spoke to Moses on the Mount; He who fought with Jacob; who appeared to many people and did mighty acts even before the time of His sojourn on earth. Forever and always, He has been the radiance of the glory of God and(H) the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).

As Messiah prays this blessing over us before ascending to His Father just as Moses did unto the Children of Israel before he left them, may we receive the imprint of Messiah; may we be formed and conformed according to His will by the work of His righteousness. May we be yielded clay that we may become like Him.