The NAME

In Ki Tisa, God says His Name, as His Shekhinah passes by Moses, which many translations write as LORD or ADONAI (note all caps). That name is Yahweh or as it would be written with just consonants in Hebrew YHVH (pronounced Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey) also translated as "I am who I am." The LORD having shown Moses His Glory and having said His personal name (second time for Moses-the first time Exodus 6:2-3) was more amazing than most of us can realize.

Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth'" (JPS).

God also refers to His Name as His memorial:

Exodus 3:15 "And God said moreover unto Moses: 'Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations'" (JPS).

The special and sacred way in which God revealed His Name is one reason why God is sometimes spelled G-D, primarily in Jewish writing, because the name of the LORD is to be treated with utmost care because it is holy. This thinking goes along specifically with the third commandment, Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." All things of God and things used in relation to God are sacred, holy, set apart--His Name being one of those sacred things.

Some Christians might be offended or at the least annoyed at the G-D spelling. "We are to go to the throne of God with boldness." "God was Abraham's friend, the Bible says. He's my friend too." It's almost like a young child who treats his parents as his friends, and so shows little to no respect for his mother and father. A parent should become something of a friend to a child (particularly in adulthood), but not at the expense of losing the respectful, love-in-discipline relationship. Likewise and even moreso with God, the creator of the universe and author of our lives. Understanding what is sacred and why and how to handle sacred things will dramatically transform our relationship to God. I have a lot to learn.

Baruch Hashem / Blessed be the Name of the LORD

Parashat Vayakhel (and he assembled)

This week's Torah portion is Parashat Vayakhel which means "and he assembled."

Blessing before Torah study: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah.

Torah portion: Exodus 35:1 - 38:20
God tells Moses to gather the people and ask them to bring materials to build the Tabernacle and all its components as offerings to the Lord. So they brought gold, silver, copper, acacia wood, oil, spices, linen, animal skins, gemstones.

Exodus 35:29 "Thus the Israelites, all the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord."

God appoints one Israelite, Bezalel, to lead the project who He endows with all artistic and practical skills needed to complete this huge project. He appoints Oholiab to work with him and also divinely imparts skills to him. They are to work with all those who are skilled in any of the areas where labor is needed. Then the artistry begins...

Summary from Hebrews4Christians

Haftarah and Haftarah blessings
I Kings 7:40-50

Brit Chadashah
2 Cor 9:6-11;
1 Cor 3:11-18

Blessing after Torah study: Blessed art thou, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who gave us the Torah of truth and set everlasting life in our midst. Blessed art thou, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Why bother?

Shekhinah

In last week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, Moses asks the LORD if he may see His Glory.

Exodus 33:18 "And he said: 'Show me, I pray Thee, Thy glory.' 19 And He said: 'I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.' 20 And He said: 'Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.' 21 And the LORD said: 'Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. 22 And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by. 23 And I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back; but My face shall not be seen.'" (JPS)

God does what He says:
Exodus 34:1 "And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou didst break. 2 And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to Me on the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.' 4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; 7 keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.' 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

Shekhinah is Hebrew for the Glory of the LORD or the LORD's presence among us and literally means to dwell or rest on. God showed His Shekhinah to the Israelites in a cloud over the tent of meeting and it was this cloud that directed them on their journey:

Exodus 13:21 "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; that they might go by day and by night: 22 the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people." (JPS)

This "cloud" occurs a number of times throughout Scripture.

Matthew 17:1 "Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!'"(NASB)

Compared to the Israelites, Moses had a much more intimate and personal encounter with the Shekhinah. When he came down from the mountain, Moses had to veil his face because it glowed so brightly. Thereafter whenever he returned from being with the Lord he veiled his face for the Israelites were afraid:

Exodus 34:30 "And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face sent forth beams; and they were afraid to come nigh him."

Have you ever noticed a person who has an unexplainable glow? Maybe he's in love? If it's a woman, maybe she's pregnant? Did you ever consider he or she may have just been in the presence of the Lord? If it happened a few thousand years ago, it happens today.

written on hearts of stone

In Exodus 20 the Israelites hear God speak the 10 commandments. And then after the 10th commandment is spoken:

Exodus 20:18 "When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'"

20 Moses said to the people, "'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.'"

And so Moses goes off to talk with God alone. Imagine what that would be like! And the first thing God says:
Exodus 20: 22 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.'"

Moses returns to the people after talking with God:
Exodus 24:3 "When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "'Everything the LORD has said we will do.'" 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said."

And then the LORD said to Moses: Exodus 24:12 "'Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.'"

Moses receives more details about the commandments, which simply put is a Godly way of life, as well as specifics as to how to build the tabernacle. And then...

Exodus 31:18 "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."

But...
Exodus 32:1 "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"

2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

How quickly they forgot their agreement in Exodus 24:3 and Exodus 24:7. (How quickly do I forget my holy proclamations? "Yes of course I will do that or won't do that, God.")

Exodus 32:7 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "'Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ''These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.''

9 "'I have seen these people,'" the LORD said to Moses, "'and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'"

And then
Exodus32:19 "When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it."

And after Moses' continued repenting for the people and offering his own life for the Israelites' salvation, God told Moses to return to the mountain to receive the commandments again.

Exodus 34:4 "So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands."

And there Moses received the second set of commandments, written on stone, front and back. Interesting that while Moses is with God receiving the first tablets, the people, having hearts of stone, or as God refers to them: a stiff-necked people, beg Aaron to make for them a god that they might worship. And still God gave His people a second chance. and more than that, He promises to write His Word on our hearts, our very own hearts of stone that are only truly softened and made whole by His love and mercy and grace.

Jeremiah 31:33 "'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'"

Hebrews 10:16 "'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.'17Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'"

Much of these details are found in last week's torah portion: Ki Tisa
Exodus 30:11-34:35. Read the story of Moses receiving the Commandments: Exodus chapters 20-35

Parashat Ki Tisa: Shabbat Shalom

In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, the Lord reaffirms the gift of the Sabbath: and clarifies that it is a covenant that God's people will keep...forever.

Exodus 31:12 "And the LORD said to Moses, 13'You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, "Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. 14You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."'" (ESV)

Put to death? Confusing to some degree. But when you think about it spiritually, keeping the Sabbath is the only ritual that God included in the 10 Commandments. Not keeping the Sabbath to the Lord could be considered a type of idolatry--putting other things above the One, True God--another commandment. And so not guarding and keeping the Sabbath would be breaking two commandments: the one that says "you shall have no other gods but Me." But above all, the Lord is merciful and just and works with each individual in His way and timing. And when He calls, celebrating the Sabbath is an amazing blessing.

from aish.com
"When you observe Shabbat," continues the Chofetz Chaim, "you testify that the Almighty created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. By keeping Shabbat you proclaim that you have this awareness. A person who fails to keep Shabbat removes this sign. This is the reason for the importance of Shabbat."

Shabbat Shalom! / Sabbath Peace!

Ki Tisa: Shekels

In this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, God commands the Israelites to give 1/2 shekel for the service of the tabernacle. Incidentally, this is the first mention of a 1/2 shekel in the Bible.

Exodus 30 - 13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary--the shekel is twenty gerahs--half a shekel for an offering to the LORD. 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for your souls'" (JPS).

Today(2/21/2008) 1 Israeli shekel = 0.27777 U.S. dollars : Exchange rate for the Israeli shekel

The shekel was the predominant silver coin, weighing about 1/5 of an ounce of silver. But there were also gold, brass, and iron shekels. A shekel was the standard form of currency, like the American dollar or the Japanese yen.

The first mention of shekels in the Bible is in Genesis 20 where Sarah earned Abraham quite a take:

Genesis 20:16
To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."
Genesis 20:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)

But in this Torah portion, God asked for 1/2 shekel--no more, no less. So today, Americans would give 50 cents. Or I guess 13.9 cents if we base it on the current shekel value.

Timeline of the shekel

Half-Shekel introduced by Moses		1289 B.C.E.
Reintroduced by King Yoash		800 B.C.E.
Halted by Nebuchanezer		586 B.C.E.
Reintroduced by Nehemiah		445 B.C.E.
Halted by Titus		70 C.E.
Banned by Hadrian		135 C.E.
Reintroduced after 1,863 years		1998 C.E.

Israeli Shekel to Become Globally Convertible, February 14, 2008

shekel background--above taken from Begedivri.com

shekels in wikipedia

Parashat Ki Tisa - "when you take"

This week's Torah portion is Parashat Ki Tisa. Summary of this portion.

Blessing before Torah study: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah.

Torah portion: Exodus 30:11-34:35 - which begins:

11"The LORD said to Moses, 12 'When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.'" (ESV)

Messianic reading of Ki Tisa.

Haftarah and Haftarah blessings
Haftarah: 1Kings 18:1-39

Brit Chadashah: 2Cor 3:1-18

Blessing after Torah study: Blessed art thou, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who
gave us the Torah of truth and set everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Why bother?

Parashat Tetzaveh (“you shall command”)

Parashat Tetzaveh
Tetzaveh means to command (mitzvah), and this reading begins with God telling Moses to command the children of Israel to use pure olive oil to keep the seven lamps of the menorah constantly burning. The priestly garments, worn by the Kohanim (priests) while serving in the Holy Place and the altar of incense are also described in this Torah portion.

Blessing before Torah study: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah.
Torrah portion:Ex. 27:20-30:10

Haftarah and Haftarah blessings
Haftarah: Ezek. 43:10-27

Brit Chadashah: Heb. 13:10-7

Blessing after Torah study: Blessed art thou, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who
gave us the Torah of truth and set everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Why bother?

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I never played the Rock, Paper, Scissors game as a kid, but I have played it a few times oddly enough as an adult because I felt that it was an unfortunate omission from my childhood, as was Sesame Street , Chutes & Ladders, and Candy Land. But I am not bitter. Did I mention 3-2-1 Contact? The Electric Company?

Anyway, this game popped into my head yesterday morning and it seemed an apt way to describe Adonai.

Paper: God gave us His Word;

Scissors: We violate that Word (over and over again) and should be permanently cut-off from Him;

Rock: But God, in His never-ending mercy gives us Himself, Yeshua which literally means "God Saves," as the Rock of our salvation, our covering.

Back to my childhood: amongst other TV memories, I do remember watching Romper Room and Davey & Goliath quite a bit. In the first, I learned to walk on those cups with the plastic, stretchy ropes that you hold onto--cup stilts, I guess. Imagine that, they are called cup-stilts! In the second program, I remember a small character who learned a lot of good lessons and who had a very wise dog, oddly named Goliath...but the metaphor still works. This same Davey, who as an adult I learned, was David who killed Goliath, a giant of a man, with a slingshot and a rock by trusting in the Rock of His Salvation.

Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in Him I take refuge; my shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower" (JPS)

Shavua Tov! - - Good Week!

The Book Thief

The Book Thief is a 2005 best-selling novel by Markus Zusak. The setting is World War II Germany and the narrator is Death. The actual "book thief" is 9 year old Liesel Meminger, sent to live with a foster family, the Hubermanns in Germany, where they end up harboring a Jew named Max who spends some of his time in the basement creating something of a graphic novel for Liesel. The line drawings are a nice addition to the book, rather poigant. Some themes: the power of words, the hope and power of reading, the power of love and truth. Interesting exploration into a different lens of the Holocaust. Worth the read!

Shabbat Shalom - Sabbath Peace

The command to celebrate the Sabbath has its foundation in Genesis 2:2-3:

2 "And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made." (JPS)

We have to do a lot of things every day: show up for work on time, stop at red lights and stop signs, obey the speed limit, get dressed, treat your spouse nicely, discipline our children, eat (our stomach commands that!), and on and on...but has anyone commanded you to celebrate and so that you can truly enjoy the day?

There is freedom when we realize that God tells us to rest on the Sabbath. And there is freedom in knowing that we can enter Sabbath rest every day by trusting in the Lord, praising His name, reveling in all His creation. But if not every day begin with one and follow His beautiful invitation found in Exodus 20: 8-11 ~

8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (JPS)

God lovingly instructed that all should rest: Jews & Gentiles, male & female, adults & children, servants & the free, cattle & donkeys, strangers & friends.

The sabbath was not some ordinance that God created and then said to us, "Now keep it." No the sabbath was created for us and for our benefit.

Mark 2:27 ~ "Then he [Yeshua] said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'" (NIV)

So this Saturday rest and take a few moments to sing, dance, praise the Holy name of the Lord and enjoy the day. It was created FOR YOU!

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Terumah - Contribution

This week's Torah Reading is Parashat Terumah which means "Contribution." Typically the names of the weekly readings come from the first or second line of the passage, sometimes the first word.

Blessing before Torah study: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has made us holy through His commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah.

This week's Torah portion begins in Exodus 25: 1 - "And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take My offering.'" (JPS) So "terumah" means offering or contribution. It's important to realize that Adonai only wants offerings from those who are willing, who are giving with freedom and joy.

Be prepared, this section of Scripture is one you might call boring and so you'd be apt to skim or skip it completely because it contains an abundance of measurements and materials for building the tabernacle, also called mishkahn, that would be God's dwelling place with the people.

But if the scales of "the Torah isn't for me" mentality have fallen from our eyes, this portion of Scripture will be fascinating because we now realize that every detail that God has included in His Word has significance on many levels. And believe it or not every detail has significance in our lives today.

Caution: I would recommend reading 1 chapter per sitting and rereading it. (Actually in any book of the Bible, to really know His Word we should read 1 verse at a time and let that sink in before moving on.)

However you read it, let your heart absorb the details of the tabernacle because now...that tabernacle is you!

Torah portion: Exodus 25-27 (JPS-Jewish Publication Society version-you have to move from chapter to chapter)
Summary of Parashat Terumah

The next part of the weekly reading is the Haftarah which is a passage from Nevi'im which is the section of the Tanakh referred to as the Prophets, e.g. Isaiah, Kings 1. More about Haftarah and Haftarah blessings.

Haftarah portion: 1Kings 5:12-6:13

Brit Chadashah: 2Cor 9:1-15; Matt 5:33-37

Blessing after Torah study: Blessed art thou, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who
gave us the Torah of truth and set everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Why bother?

Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph

Today is the New Moon for Adar 1 or Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph (aleph is the first letter of the alphabet and represents number 1 in Hebrew). This year there are 2 Adars because it is a Jewish leap year (the Jewish leap year does not always coincide with the Gregorian leap year, though this year it does).

[the image was created from Jewish Heritage Online Magazine where you will find great information on adar and all the wonderful things that are part of this month.] >>>>

Here's a short, interesting article: What is the New Moon?

And a little excerpt from the above:

"For believers, the celebration of the new moons carries great significance. Not only are they calendar events, but also the cycle of the moons speaks to the new birth and recreation which is ours in Messiah. Just as the moon is born again, we are renewed in Messiah. It is the festival of the born again."

Scripture references:
"The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down." (Psalm 104:19)

"'it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,' says the LORD." (Isaiah 66:23)

The New Moon in the Hebrew Bible

Rosh Chodesh Blessing
May it be Thy will, LORD, our God and God of our fathers, that You begin for us this month for good and for blessing. May You give to us long life, a life of peace, a life of goodness, a life of blessing, a life of sustenance, a life of physical health, a life in which there is fear of heaven and fear of sin, a life in which there is no shame or humiliation; a life of wealth and honor, a life in which we love Torah and fear God; a life in which the LORD fulfills the requests of our hearts for good. Amen. Selah.

Rosh Chodesh Blessing

Chodesh Tov!

Wake Up!!

In trying to encourage someone else's walk with God, I realized that I have been sleeping lately--so big yawn..........waking up. Here is what I said to that person but now realize it was for me:

Your heart is alive with the Spirit of God--sometimes our heart takes a nap--but God says:

"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."(NIV) (Ephesians 5:14 - New Testament)

and He first said this in Isaiah 60:1 (Tanakh) :

"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you." (NIV)

So the first point is WAKE UP! - the Spirit of the Lord lives in us.

The second point is the verse in Ephesians is simply a repeat of the original verse in the book of Isaiah which was written about 2700 years ago but is clearly about the same Messiah of the "New" Testament," Yeshua Hamashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

This song speaks of Yeshua being brought into the temple to be dedicated 40 days after his birth as instructed by the Torah.

Now That I've Held Him In My Arms by Michael Card



Now That I've Held Him In My Arms

by Michael Card

That old man in the temple
Waiting in the court
Waiting for the answer to a promise
And all at once he sees them
In the morning sunshine
A couple come and carry in a baby
Chorus
Now that I've held Him in my arms
My life can now come to an end
Let Your servant now depart in peace
Cause I've seen Your salvation
He's the Light of the Gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel
Marry and the baby come
And in her hand five shekels
The price to redeem her baby boy
The baby softly cooing
Nestled in her arms
Simeon takes the boy and starts to sing

Chorus
Now's the time to take Him in your arms
Your life will never come to an end
He's the only way that you'll find peace
He'll give you salvation cause
He's the Light of the Gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel