THE LEPER MESSIAH

Mark 1:40

  And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean."

The Torah spends a considerable amount of time detailing a condition called leprosy. It tells us about people’s leprosy, but also about leprosy in beards, fabrics, and houses (Leviticus 13:18–59). Leprosy in the Bible seems to relate not only to the loathsome disease by that name, but also to all sorts of corruption and decay. The term seems to be used to refer to the advance of death and corruption in matter (Leviticus 13:4–8).

On a metaphorical level, Jewish sages referred to leprosy as the disease the snake inherited as part of the curse. Ritual contamination and mortality is part of the curse brought on man because of sin so the metaphor is certainly befitting.

Leprosy is also associated with one of the most important sin in the Bible, the one called lashon harah which literally means the evil tongue. The term refers to gossip and slander because after slandering Moses, her brother and divinely appointed leader of Israel, Miriam was afflicted by this leprosy (Numbers 12). Leprosy and the state of ritual impurity are irrelevant today because they technically only relates to the Temple in Jerusalem which does not exist at this present time.

At the time when religiosity accorded undue emphasis to ritual purity, Yeshua came to put it back in its proper perspective. In the days of the Master, Priests and Levites were so obsessed with ritual purity that they would ignore the commandments about mercy and helping those in need for fear of defiling themselves. We can see this in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33). Yeshua on the other hand was not afraid of being defiled by leprosy. On some occasions he even voluntarily touched a leper to heal him (Matthew 8:2-3). He even entered the house of Simon the Leper to eat with him, and this is where he met Mary-Magdalene (Matthew 26:6-7).

The Talmud tells of one called, The Leper Messiah. It presents a supposed discourse between the great Rabbi Joshua ben Levi and the prophet Elijah. The rabbi asks "When will the Messiah come and by what sign may I recognize him?" Elijah tells the rabbi to go to the gate of the city where he will find the Messiah sitting among the poor lepers. The Messiah, says the prophet, sits bandaging his leprous sores one at a time, unlike the rest of the sufferers, who bandage them all at once. Why? Because he might be needed at any time and would not want to be delayed (Sanhedrin 98a). While this may seem to be a far-fetched story, it is not the only Jewish text which associates Messiah with leprosy. One of the names of the coming Messiah in the Talmud is:  ‘The Leper Scholar’.

Unlike the exclusive religious leaders of his days who stayed away, Yeshua came to us and voluntarily put on the decaying condition of mortality. He even contaminated himself by touching our leprosy. While were still in our mortal decaying condition, he entered our house to fellowship with us. But the story doesn't end here; the most wonderful part of it is that as he goes back to his Father and our God, he takes us with him to partake of his pure resurrected body. What a wonderful Messiah we have. Amen and Amen. May it be soon, even in our days!

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

www.thelumbrosos.com

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

MARY DIDN'T HAVE A LITTLE LAMB ...

Luke 2:22

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Leviticus we are told"

'If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.  And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed’ (Leviticus 12:2-4).

Luke ties this verse to the birth of Messiah when he says, "And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to Adonai" (Luke 2:22). 

Miriam therefore came to make an offering at the end of the days of her purification as was prescribed by Moses and that is when she meets Simeon (Luke 2:25). Luke actually makes sure to tell us how Miriam and Joseph did everything according to the Levitical process.

It is important here to note that even though most English Biblical texts relate to Miriam’s post-natal state as unclean and therefore having to present an offering at the Temple; her condition has nothing to do with moral deficiency or spiritual unworthiness. A woman giving birth actually performs one of the highest of Hashem's commandments. She fulfills what she was created for. What the Torah refers to as the ritual unclean state is solely the reality of being human and therefore impure before. Ceremonial contamination is solely Temple related.

We are told in the Gospel of Luke that,

When the time came for their (Miriam and Joseph) purification according to the Law of Moses, they  brought him (Yeshua)  up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:22-24).

We see in Luke’s rendering of the story that Miriam and Joseph brought "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."’, and that is because they could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:6-8).

Little did young Miriam know, oh how little did she know that whereas she could not afford to bring Lamb to the Temple for her purification, she actually brought with her the ultimate Lamb, he  who would end up purifying not only her, but the whole world with her!

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

www.thelumbrosos.com

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.http://www.amazon.com/Under-Fig-Tree-Messianic-ebook/product-reviews/B00ANS40FK/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

THE HEART OF THE TORAH

Hebrews 9:28

Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

            The middle verse of the Tanach says, "Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up!" (Leviticus 10:16).  To understand what happens in this passage we must go back to chapter 9 when the grand-priesthood inauguration begins.

            Hashem, who is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24) had established a very serious protocol whereby Israel was to approach him. Moses gave very specific instructions about it. Nadab and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron were careless in their application of the protocol and were utterly burned by the fire of God as they approached the Sanctuary in an unauthorized manner (Leviticus 10:1—3). Aaron was obviously devastated and in mourning but he and his other two sons were in the middle of the grand inauguration (Leviticus 9) so they couldn’t stop for mourning; Aaron therefore held his peace (Leviticus 10:3).

            Some may argue that God’s punishment of Nadab and Abihu was out of proportions and could be qualified as the tantrums of a capricious deity, but instead of reviewing God’s actions, maybe we should review our own sense of what is important and what is not. Intersection with God is not to be taken lightly. There may also be more to the event than meets the eye!

            Part of the priesthood’s inauguration was that Aaron and his sons were to eat sections of the goat offered as a olah עולה, burnt offering inside the Tabernacle precinct. Moses couldn’t find that goat so he searched diligently for it until he discovered that it had been fully consumed. The patriarch then got angry and asked for an explanation to which Aaron answered,

Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before Adonai, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would Adonai have approved?" (Leviticus 10:19).

            What happens here is that Aaron reminds Moses that it was unpleasing to God for a priest to do office while in sadness or mourning (Deuteronomy 26:14; 16:11), a theme even found later among Semitic kings (Nehemiah 2:1-2). So because he was uncontrollably saddened at the death of his two sons, Aaron felt he could not do proper justice to that part of the service which he then forewent. Moses was pleased with the explanation (Leviticus 10:20).

            What is to be noticed here is that this center verse of the Torah verse tells us to "search diligently" for the goat of the sin offering which is an early representation of Yeshua’s covering. Therefore the central goal of studying to Torah is the search for Messiah's covering.

            The Talmud explains that the death of Aaron’s sons is not really justifiable, so that it can only be counted as the ‘death of the righteous which creates atonement for others’, a very prevalent theme in Biblical text. Whether we agree or not with the Talmud’s interpretation, since Yeshua is our High-Priest as well as our covering (Hebrews 9:25), this is an idea that very much fits the theme of the priestly inauguration.

            May we also spend our lives seeking diligently to approach God through the atonement of Yeshua.

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

YESHUA SAID WHAT???

1Pe 1:15

But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

            On the second Sabbath after Yeshua's second Passover with his disciples, Jerusalem Pharisees who came to check out this itinerant Rabbi caught his followers not being particular about the ritual hand washing before eating (Luke 6:1 KJV/DHE).Most English texts report the issue with Yeshua declaring all foods clean/edible which leads to readers to assume that Yeshua abrogated the Torah's dietary laws (Mark 7:19).

            The aforementioned clause in the ESV is in parenthesis. This was done to tell us that this particular clause is not part of the translated text, but rather an addendum to the text, which the editors pointed out. This part of the text does not even exist in the KJV which in general tries to keep a more literal translation of Greek sources. As we read this sort of issue in the apostolic texts, before coming to any conclusion, we also need to remember that the instructions Hashem gave the Children of Israel at Mt. Horeb are meant to be eternal and that according to his own words, Yeshua did not come to change them (Matthew 5:17-18).

            Some of the mix-up may come from a poor choice of words in English translations. There are two forms of what English biblical texts of Levitical instructions call clean or unclean foods. 1-What meats are edible or non-edible defined today with the Hebrew words, kasher כשר or taref טרף. 2-What is ceremonially fit or contaminated defined by the Hebrew words, tahor טהור and tamei טמא. The latter one concerns foods, walls, fabrics, and even skin afflictions. English texts usually use the expressions clean/ unclean for both which causes confusion.

            In the days of the Master the still new pharisaic religious majority was in the process of defining religious observance for everybody. In Judaism, one cannot come to the Temple or even in the presence of the Almighty in a ceremonially contaminated state. As a fence commandment, some Pharisees established that everybody should go though the ritual washing of hands before ingesting any food so as not to contaminate it. This was not part of Torah commandments but rather an interpretative application. In the days of the Master the discussion was still raging among rabbis, and as a Jewish Rabbi, Yeshua took part in the conversation giving it his own perspective, which reflected not only a better understanding of the laws of contamination, but also another side of the Talmudic teachings of the day. Rabbis always expected that the Messiah would one day come and settle their controversies and Yeshua did just that.

            The editorial mention that Yeshua made all foods clean with an understanding of an abrogation of the laws of kasherut really is out of place. The concern of the discussion between Yeshua and the Pharisees was not about the Disciples (not Yeshua) eating grains (not meat) with unwashed hands. To therefore interpret that added clause as being about edible or non-edible foods in the Bible is in itself erroneous.

            Thus again I advocate that is its crucial for one to know and understand the Levitical Laws, as well as the politics, the culture, and the linguistics present in the days of the Master in Israel in order to properly interpret the narratives left us by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

            The laws kasherut and ceremonial fitness were not given to us for health nor any other than an identification of being holy/set-apart as the people of God (Leviticus 11:44). Even today, we can tell people's cultural background by their eating habits, thus the old adage is true: "you are what you eat!" May we learn to apply these rulings in the perspective of the Master just because Daddy said so!

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

ARE YOU MORE HOLY THAN YESHUA?

Acts 10:15

What God has made clean, do not call common.

            It seems that in the days of the Master Israel had taken the considerations of Leviticus 11 to such an extreme that it rendered fellowship with common folks and non-Jews impossible. In a way, it may have been the actual idea behind the commandment.

            There is nothing wrong with giving due diligence to the Commandments; Yeshua himself taught extreme measures in order to avoid breaking them (Matthew 5:27—30). In all ussues though, Yeshua was helping the leaders of Israel to apply these commandments in balance with other ones, especially concerning their universal mission to the world, which required fellowship and contact. What he was teaching was the idea of, “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23). Yeshua personally spoke to Peter about it in a vision telling him, “What God has tahor-ed, (consider ceremonially fit) do not tamei (consider ceremonially contaminated) (Acts 10:15). This allowed Peter to go to the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius. By obeying the Master's vision, Peter initiated a revolutionary theological break with the Judaism of his day.  He was throwing the newly-born Nazarene movement into its universal mission of teaching Torah to the gentile world, move that Paul followed in Syrian Antioch, later in Turkey, Greece, and finally, Rome.

            Peter was the one chosen to challenge the stiff religious status quo of his day. As great as a disciple as he was, his weakness often surfaced. We saw him denying the Master the night of his arrest, and again in Antioch, to Paul’s horror, withdrawing himself from fellowship with Gentiles (Matthew 26:75; Galatians 2:11—14). In both cases Peter yielded to peer-pressure and fear. He was afraid to stand up because he valued the opinions of men.

            It is easy to blame Peter, but what the Master was teaching here was of utmost importance. Whereas Yeshua retained the Torah ideas of holiness, of being kadosh דושק, set-apart for Hashem, he was teaching it in an application that did not hamper the mission of being a light to our brothers, and to the world. The Master in effect was saying, "Do my will and trust me for your ceremonial sanctity; you can never attain it anyways!”; “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23).

            Sad to say, I meet many today who in an undue attention t these things separate themselves from even their relatives. I have seen people even divorce on the same sort of imbalanced religious grounds. If he were there, the Master would be rolling in his grave, but we know that he is not there, praise be Hashem. He actually sadly watches us wondering how come he, he who is the holiest one of Israel, he who was set-apart for Hashem from creation, Hw come he was not afraid to put on the tamei  (ceremonial contamination) of the world in order to reach us but we, we are too holy  do it in order to reach out to our peers?

            Even though Peter denied the Master in front of men (Matthew 10:33), the Master forgave Peter and reinstated him (John 21:15—18). Later Peter also repented from his self-righteous separatism in Antioch and died as a martyr while ministering to the believers in Rome, Jews and Gentiles. May we also like Peter and Paul learn from Yeshua's teachings and properly balance the commandments. A wise man may learn by his experiences, but a wiser man learns by the experiences of others!

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

 For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

MORE ON 'CLEAN' AND 'UNCLEAN'.

Philippians 2:5-8

  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Yeshua HaMashiach, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

            Before even the end of the first century, non-Jewish believers reading Paul’s letters outside of their original Jewish contextual matrix misunderstood them and forsook the Torah’s dietary laws. Not only did they forsake the ideas of food being tahor or tamei (ceremonially fit or unfit), but also the idea of certain animal species not being fit for consumption.         It is true that when read outside of their natural context, Paul’s letters seem to indicate that faith in Yeshua makes these elements of Torah observance obsolete. The same problem actually appears with any text and ruling when read outside of its original context. Even the American Constitution ideas of freedom of press and religion suffer from an identity crisis when quoted outside of their original context and intent into today's.    

            The Jewish community of believers on the contrary had no issue with the whole idea of tahor and tamei (Acts 15: 20, 29; 21:25). It always was part of their lives and of Torah and they understood Paul’s letters within a Jewish contextual understanding. They also continued adhering to the injunction that sin is the breaking of Torah (1 John 3:4) and that a false prophet is one who teaches to disobey it, consequently, they could not have imagined the Master or Paul teaching against these things (Deuteronomy 13:1—5; Matthew 5:19).

            Would it have been clear from the beginning that the Master taught non-observance to these issues, Paul would not have needed to address them. The very discussion about it in the apostolic letters tells us that there were concerns about the levels of obedience on that issue, especially concerning Gentile observance; but that there were no problems concerning the issue itself being obsolete or not. From the very start of the Nazarene Movement Yeshua himself rebuked two Asia Minor congregations for promoting the consumption of meat sacrificed to idols, which would then be tamei (Revelations 2:14, 20).    I would even claim that nowhere in the apostolic texts are issues of relevance concerning consumable and non-consumable foods or of ceremonial fitness raised. Jews already knew these things as clearly defined in the Book of Leviticus. The only issues raised were concerning the levels of observance to these things concerning the new Gentiles followers of Messiah. And what did both Yeshua and Paul say about it? That whereas these are legitimate Torah concerns to be observed, it should be done within the balanced perspectives of our obligation to love and fellowship, to help those in need, and of teaching the Torah. The Master also taught that these concerns did not require a spirit of self-righteous separatism, which was what was happening in the days when he walked the earth.

            The whole idea of Torah wisdom rests on knowing how to apply Hashem’s commandments with balance and the right spirit, especially when these commandments cross path with each other. It is so easy to apply the outer letter of the Torah and forget its weightier matters of justice, compassion and mercy which Yeshua mentioned recalling the exhortations of former prophets (Matthew 23:23; Hoseah 6:6; Micah 6:8).

            May we not be guilty of the same. May Abba give us the wisdom to apply his commands in his spirit, not forgetting that from the realms of sanctified glory, of his own volition Mashiach came down. He put on the Tamei garment of humanity; being tahor he made himself tamei so he could bring us to the tahor-ness of the Father.

P. Gabriel Lumbroso

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

TO OBEY OR NOT TO OBEY

Hebrews 5:8

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

There is an expression in English: “The devil is in the details.” It is funny that the enemy is given this attribute. Hasatan השטן, the Adversary doesn’t know anything. All does is copy God. He only tries to be a counterfeit in order to deceive us. God is the one really into details as is revealed in this week’s reading sections. In one place we have Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who perish for offering unauthorized incense, and in the other one Uzzah who dies for touching the Holy Ark while not being authorized, probably because of not being in a ritually clean state. (Lev. 10:1-2; 2 Sam. 6:6-7). These two stories are very similar and that is why they are read together. Their similarity lies in the lesson that they teach.

Both stories happen at a time of spiritual ecstasy and jubilation. In the incident with Nadab and Abihu, it was the eighth day of the dedication. Fire had just come from heaven and the people saw the glory of Adonai. Can you imagine the jubilation and the spiritual ecstasy? We can easily picture the joy, the shouts, the dancing, the clapping of the hands (Lev. 9:23-24). It was the same when David was bringing the Ark into Jerusalem. We are told of musicians, of dancing, of joy, and merry-ing (2 Sam. 6:5). In both cases tragedy strikes for what could be considered in our eyes, a breach in protocol.

These two events teach us a very important lesson, a lesson often forgotten and ignored by people of faith today. They teach us that religion without the instruction and the parameters of Torah is unacceptable to Hashem. Hashem teaches us how to come to him, how to worship him, and how to honor him. He also told us how not to (Leviticus). Oh, but that goes against our natural instinct and desire for spontaneity. Do you mean that we won’t to be able to follow the leadings of our hearts? We will have to only act in obedience to commands? "Oh, but that wouldn't be natural!" We say. "Where is the spontaneity?" We ask. You mean that it's not just the heart and the intent that counts? Form and format is also important in the eyes of the Almyghty. Really though, when we ask these questions we doubt his ways. It is nothing more than pride acting out in the form of an inability to submit to instructions and wanting things our own way.

We understand that even in this world we cannot approach a high dignitary such as a King or a President without going through protocol hoops. If one were to just barge in the Oval Office in the White House without permission and unannounced he would surely be arrested. If he resisted he might even get shot at. The difference is that in the case of an earthly dignitary, they try to protect the dignitary; in the case of Hashem, the protection is for us.

We simply cannot approach God on our terms and it is his prerogative. Why can't we just obey? But no; people always want to find new ways to approach Hashem. They even borrow ways from the pagans in manifestations that are not from him. The simplicity in which he told us to do things is not enough; we must tweak it and give it our own imprint. It is pride, and the pride of man leads to destruction.

May we learn to be in the details as he is in the details. Obedience is not a small thing: in obeying God we emulate the Master. Even he had to learn obedience through the things which he suffered (Heb. 5:8).

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

"HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH": ISAIAH 53:7

For P. Gabriel Lumbrosos devotional 'UNDER THE FIG TREE' in Kindle version click here.

Matthew 12:37

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Extreme tragedy often accompanies extreme glory. On the very day when Hashem accepts the hard work performed by the Israelites in building the Tabernacle and sanctifying the priesthood, two of Aaron’s sons die (Lev. 10:1-2).

Everything was in place. The Children of Israel had performed beautifully. They were finished with the building of the Tabernacle and the priesthood was sanctified. Everything was ready for the great moment. Suddenly, fire came from heaven to light the wood on the altar and consume the offerings of the Children of Israel. God was pleased. Whereas he had been refused entrance before (Exod. 40:35), now, with the offering accepted, Moses could approach his God again (Lev. 9). Things have not changed very much. We are still only allowed in the Divine Presence by virtue of the death of an innocent victim.

No sooner was the ecstasy of joy settled that Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, decide to make an offering of esh zarah אשׁ זרה, foreign fire to Adonai. As suddenly as before, Hashem's fire came out from heaven, but this time to devour the two young men. The Torah does not give us many details about the event; speculations by commentators abound as to God’s seeming irrational reaction. What I would like to bring out today is the boys' father's, Aaron’s reaction to Moses’ attempt at comforting him; the text says, "Aaron kept silent" (Lev. 10:3). Maybe that is the reason why the Torah itself remains silent; because Aaron was silent.

Aaron suffers this tragedy in the middle of a service when he is not allowed to mourn nor get out of character. Whereas he later acknowledges his grief and mourning heart (Lev. 10:19), Aaron does not permit himself to blot Hashem’s reputation and name by expressing his own feelings during the service. His two boys die, but he remains silent.

Jewish texts have commented on this with the statement, "By your silence you shall live." The idea is related to Aaron’s lofty position of honor as the High-Priest of the people.   As spiritual leaders, when inexplicable tragedy strikes, when what seems unreasonable and irrational happens to us, we are not forbidden to mourn or be sad, but we may we not publicize it through words of personal anger or doubts about Hashem’s wisdom and absolute justice and righteousness.

The Master agreed to that in that he taught his disciples, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matt. 12:37). He himself, in the image of the innocent lambs daily offered on the altar was subject to a cruel and inhumane death for crimes he did not commit and yet, "he opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).

May we learn from Aaron’s godly attitude. Though our hearts may be bleeding, may we learn to have control over our mouths, souls, and spirit when inexplicable tragedies strike. Hashem knows our hearts, but our mouths need not to seal our burdens on those around us who may be carrying a heavy burden of their own. Ours may the one to make them stumble and fall.

Patrick Gabriel Lumbroso

THE SHABBAT OF RESURRECTION

John 5:28

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

This is the fourth day of the S'phirat Ha'omer  העמר םפירת, the Counting of the Omer. The Master has appeared in his resurrected body to several of the believers. Cleopas and his companion who met him on their way to Emmaus are probably sharing notes with those to whom he appeared in the upper room and with the women who saw him at the tomb (Luke 24). The event that may have become the greatest conversation piece at that time might have been the fact that at the time he committed his spirit unto the Father,

 Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many (Matt. 27: 50—53).

It seems actually that all the resurrected apparitions of the Master appeared during the first forty days of the Counting of the Omer.

One of the days of Chag Hamatzot  המצות חג or Unleavened Bread is usually a Shabbat. Ezekiel 37 is usually read in synagogues on that day. It is interesting that Ezekiel 37 is all about the resurrection of Israel it its own land, an event significant as to the coming of Mashiach.

The schedule of the Book of Ezekiel provides us with timeline of events we can refer to as we see History unfolding. Ezekiel 34 exposes the false shepherds who lead Israel astray and announces the Good Shepherd, the David who comes to be the true king of Israel, a prince among us. Ezekiel says that at the time of his rule,

I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am ADONAI, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am ADONAI their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares ADONAI (Eze. 34:25-30).

In Ezekiel 37, after the introduction of the David, of the one who died, and behold is alive forevermore, who has the keys of Death and Hades, (Rev. 1:18) Israel becomes a nation resurrected in its own land. Interestingly enough, the next two chapters tell us about the war of Gog and Magog, and starting with Ezekiel 40, the Book of Ezekiel ends with the rebuilding of the Messianic third Temple

May it be soon Abba, even in our days!

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's other devotional 'Under the Fig Tree' in Kindle edition click here.

THE PASSOVER OF THE KING

Matthew 26:29

I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. … He did what was right in the eyes of ADONAI and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

As King Josiah undertook the restoration of the Temple of Hashem, the Temple's secretary handed him a Torah scroll found in the Temple. The scroll was opened at Deuteronomy 28, the passage about the blessings and the curses. As Shaphan read the text to the King, the King tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:11). In Josiah's days, most people in Israel had forgotten the Torah. They practiced religious forms and traditions inherited from earlier generations and adopted from foreign nations. They did not fully realize that their worship of God was polluted with idolatrous practices. Josiah's mother had taught her son a healthy fear of Hashem, and the words of Torah worked in his heart.

The king wanted the land to repent, but instead of sending edicts and rebuke the people, the king made repentance something personal,

And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before ADONAI, to walk after ADONAI and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant ( 2Ki 23:3).

Josiah also undertook a series of religious reforms where he deposited the priests of Ba'al, overthrew the altars to the foreign gods, and went on an all-out campaign against idolatry. This campaign culminated to a renewing of the Passover observance like no other,

And the king commanded all the people, "Keep the Passover to ADONAI, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant." For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to ADONAI in Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:21—23).

A similar situation exists for believers in Yeshua today. They have not totally forgotten Torah, but because of erroneous theological assumptions they have declared it obsolete and mixed it with pagan religious elements. Like in the days of Josiah, today many are rediscovering the Torah of Moses and experiment religious reforms in their hearts. Sometimes all congregations go through these reforms.

These attempts at restoration are great but they are very fragmented and confusing due to a lack of leadership. We look a lot like, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judg. 21:25). We desperately need the King to return and as Josiah lead us with a strong hand in this reformation. When he does, he will also lead us into the marriage supper of the Lamb and partake with us from the Seder cup which he omitted to drink when he celebrated an early Passover dinner with his disciples (Matt. 26:29; Rev. 19:9).

May it be soon Abba, even in our days!

THE COUNTING OF THE OMER

1 Corinthians 15:54

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Starting from the sixteenth of Nissan, the day after the Passover Sabbath, we are asked to count seven weeks and one day, fifty days, until Pentecost (Lev. 23:15). On the fortieth day of this counting the Messiah ascended in the cloud in the plain view of the disciples. They were at the same moment told that as He went in the cloud, so will He return (Acts 1:11). As believers this period between the resurrection and the ascension is very special. It is the period when we are told that the Messiah made all His resurrected appearances up to five hundred disciples plus (1 Cor. 15:6). 

This fifty days period is called in Hebrew s’phirat ha’omer העומר פירתס, meaning, the Counting of the Omer. It could also mean, the Recounting of the Omer,as if it were a story to be told, or even the Shining of the Omer as in cleaning. I would say that all these translations are correct in their own rights. As we count the days of the Omer, we can tell the stories of the appearances of the risen Messiah, thus shining and preparing our souls for the great day of Pentecost when in the similitude of Mt. Horeb’s events, through earthquake, wind, and fire, the Torah was sealed in the disciples hearts 2,000 years ago (Acts 2).

I would even say that remembering the resurrection is vital to our faith. Up to the time of the resurrection the disciples were weak in their faith. Many of those also who had previously believed in him because of the signs and the miracles were easily swayed by the tide of prevailing public opinion. What sealed the deal for Israel was the resurrection. After the resurrection, the whole city of Jerusalem was filled with believers who had become quite a force and even a positive element in Israel until such a time when persecution started again under Herod Antipas (Acts 12) and the wicked High-Priest who executed James (Josephus).  It is during that time that the Letter to the Hebrews was written encouraging the Jewish believers of Israel by telling them that even though things below looked bleak, they could comfort themselves and each other with the reality which is from above. Still a good advice for today!

This belief in the resurrection is the corner stone of our belief system. It is this very same belief that made innocent victimized Job say, "I know that my redeemer lives" (Job 19:25). It is also the same belief that that brought Abraham to the mountain in the face of an insurmountable trial (Heb. 11:17-19). Many people dare to challenge the authenticity of the apostolic texts, but their biggest vindication is the historically proven cruel martyrdom of each of the disciples who saw the resurrected Messiah. People can’t go through do that unless they are being told to deny something that they have witnessed to be real.

Even today as the world gets darker, it is that same faith in the resurrected ne that needs to be our beacon of light, hope, and faith, in the face of the seeming irrationalities life seems to deal us. Telling the stories of the resurrected one, particularly of the events surrounding his various apparitions during the Counting of the Omer, should give a shine to our faith and the assurance that even though death may seem prevalent, he has resurrected so that through his resurrection, corruption and death puts on incorruptibility.

"HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH" ISAIAH 53:7

Matthew 12:37

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Extreme tragedy often accompanies extreme glory. On the very day when Hashem accepts the hard work performed by the Israelites in building the Tabernacle and sanctifying the priesthood, two of Aaron’s sons die (Lev. 10:1-2).

Everything was in place. The Children of Israel had performed beautifully. They were finished with the building of the Tabernacle and the priesthood was sanctified. Everything was ready for the great moment. Suddenly, fire came from heaven to light the wood on the altar and consume the offerings of the Children of Israel. God was pleased. Whereas he had been refused entrance before (Exod. 40:35), now, with the offering accepted, Moses could approach his God again (Lev. 9). Things have not changed very much. We are still only allowed in the Divine Presence by virtue of the death of an innocent victim.

No sooner was the ecstasy of joy settled that Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, decide to make an offering of esh zarah אשׁ זרה, foreign fire’ to Adonai. As suddenly as before, Hashem's fire came out from heaven, but this time to devour the two young men. The Torah does not give us many details about the event; speculations by commentators abound as to God’s seeming irrational reaction. What I would like to bring out today is the boys' father's, Aaron’s reaction to Moses’ attempt at comforting him; the text says,  "Aaron kept silent" (Lev. 10:3). Maybe that is the reason why the Torah itself remains silent; because Aaron was silent.

Aaron suffers this tragedy in the middle of a service when he is not allowed to mourn nor get out of character. Whereas he later acknowledges his grief and mourning heart (Lev. 10:19), Aaron does not permit himself to blot Hashem’s reputation and name by expressing his own feelings during the service. His two boys die, but he remains silent.

Jewish texts have commented on this with the statement, "By your silence you shall live." The idea is related to Aaron’s lofty position of honor as the High-Priest of the people.   As spiritual leaders, when inexplicable tragedy strikes, when what seems unreasonable and irrational happens to us, we are not forbidden to mourn or be sad, but we may we not publicize it through words of personal anger or doubts about Hashem’s wisdom and absolute justice and righteousness.

The Master agreed to that in that he taught his disciples, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matt. 12:37). He himself, in the image of the innocent lambs daily offered on the altar was subject to a cruel and inhumane death for crimes he did not commit and yet, "he opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).

May we learn from Aaron’s godly attitude. Though our hearts may be bleeding, may we learn to have control over our mouths, souls, and spirit when inexplicable tragedies strike. Hashem knows our hearts, but our mouths need not to seal our burdens on those around us who may be carrying a heavy burden of their own. Ours may the one to make them stumble and fall.

THE MASTER'S PERSPECTIVE ON RITUAL PURITY

John 1:4

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Studying the Biblical laws of clean and unclean seem to take us to a world far removed from our present society. We cannot though, read these passages in the Book of Leviticus and assess them according to the dynamics of our present world; we need to understand them according to their own context.

All the issues of ritual impurities in the Bible have to do with separating the holy from death, decay and corruption. All the regulations mentioned about ritual purity in the Torah can be understood in the idea that God, being life itself cannot, and does not have anything to do with whatever decays and dies. All the earthly elements therefore that represent him must be (at least symbolically) free from corruption. We easily see these ideas in the gold covered acacia wood that makes the Holy Ark, a wood with the properties of cedar that fights corruption. Salt also, which is a preservative has to be added to meat offerings and the meat discarded within three days before it turns rancid. Of course, as long as we are in this mortal body and on this temporal earth, we cannot fully get rid of corruption; the whole idea is therefore a message from the Father to teach us about himself.

Ritual uncleanness has nothing to do with us committing any particular sin. For example, a woman has done nothing wrong when she enters her monthly time and even less when she has a baby, the fulfillment of one of Hashem's greatest commandment, but yet, at these times she is considered ritually unclean. Being ritually unclean is a mere acknowledgment of our mortal human condition. Also the condition of ritual uncleanness mostly relates to the Temple and its service. All one needs to do to be ritually clean again is immerse in a mikveh (ritual immersion pool).  

The best way to understand it is to relate it to protocol. There is certain protocol to enter for example in the presence of a President of any country, or even in the presence of a King; it doesn’t mean that we are criminals.  

In the days of Yeshua, some people went overboard in their concerns with ritual purity. The Master tells us about it in this story about a dying wounded man on the road to Jericho. Both a Levite and a priest pass him by but choose not to help him because they were concerned about ritual cleanliness which forbids the touching of blood (Luke 10:25—37). This shows a misunderstanding of the idea. The Master himself who is sinless and coming from the halls of heaven was not afraid to put on the impurity of humanity and make himself impure in order to rescue us from our mortality. Again, ritual purity is not about having committed a sin; one can obey every dictum of the Torah and still be impure. It is solely about our human condition.

May we in our sense of righteousness not be found to be like the afore-mentioned Levite or priest who because they were so concerned about their own purity, failed to obey the commandment to reach out to those in need. The Master did not discard the practices of ritual purity which came from him to start with, but he does teach us to have a proper balance and perspective in our commandment observance; he says, "These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23).

WHEN LIFE SWALLOWS DEATH!

1 Corinthians 15:53

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Three days is such a repeated theme in the Torah. It is on the third day that Abraham and Isaac climbed the mountain (Gen. 22:4); Israel had to purify itself then God came in their sight on Mt. Horeb after three days(Exodus 19:16); Jonah was spewed out of the fish after three days (Jonah 1:17); Joshua crossed the Jordan as on dry land on the third day (Joshua 3:2,17), and the remainder of the flesh of any offering needed to be burned after three days (Leviticus 7:17).

The theme of the third day denotes of resurrection, of corruptibility putting on incorruptibility (1 Cor. 15:53). It is also on the third day that the Master rose (Matt. 16:21), that there was a wedding in Cana (John 2:1), and the two witnesses are raised up after three and half day (Rev. 11:11).

On the other hand, Yeshua waited four days to go to Lazarus (John 11:17). The Master wanted to wait that long because the third day is actually the time when unrefrigerated meat starts to decompose (John 11:39). The disciples hesitated to open the tomb not only because of the smell, but it represented a desecration and exposure to uncleanliness. Even in the Temple,  meat from peace offerings was not allowed to remain on the altar more than three days; after that it had to be burned (Lev. 7:16—18). The Master waited till the fourth day so the people would know that Lazarus was truly dead and not just sleeping.

The three days theme speaks to us of the most wonderful process and miracle in our redemption program: that of corruptibility putting on incorruptibility. The corruptible is transformed into an incorruptible state before it is allowed to decompose. This also represents the greatest promise Hashem made to his people. Through the prophet Hoseah came the following words for an apostate Israel who would soon face exile and deportation,

Come, let us return to ADONAI; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hos. 6:1-2).

One day for God is 1,000 years. In the third millennia of exile, Israel is resurrected to its former Salomonic grandeur as when nations brought their glories to Jerusalem and came to learn from the wisest king in the world. We can see the beginning of it even now.

All these scriptural themes foreshadow our passing from mortality to immortality, from the corruptible to the incorruptible, from death to resurrection. 

May we always live in the understanding of these things. No matter what life throws at us in what seems at times tsunamis of troubles, may we as Children of the Most-High be perfect (Matt. 5:48) and not have a morbid attitude towards the ending of our temporal passage in this dimension. May we always remember that the end of the vanity of our sad temporal life is fullness of eternal joy; that the end of death is life and that in due time, corruptibility puts on incorruptibility; death is swallowed up by life.