Freedom in Shabbat?

Shabbat Shalom means Sabbath peace, peaceful Sabbath, good Sabbath. Shabbos is another word for Sabbath. Shabbat comes from the Hebrew word rest.

God set the Sabbath apart and clearly stated it was the last day of the week, which was discussed in a previous post.

Exodus 20:11 - "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (NIV).

First of all, keeping the Sabbath cannot be viewed as a means to salvation. Yeshua is our Salvation. When we do what God commanded and what Yeshua did when He walked this earth, we do so to be made more like Him. So the idea of the Sabbath is to cease from work, as God did, and spend time in His presence--studying His Word, worshipping Him, fellowshipping with family and friends in the Lord, and if the need arises, going out and finding that lost sheep, healing the sick.

We can misinterpret what God instructs us to do as bondage or see His Word as Truth and realize it as freedom. The Sabbath is a day of refreshing, renewal and it's one of those things, that you won't know if it "works" until you try it. Can we accept that the Creator actually knows what's good for us? Or do we know better?

Exodus 20:8 - "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (NIV).

It is customary to light two candles no later than 18 minutes before sunset on Friday evening because Shabbat begins at sunset. This week's time is 4:07 pm (EST) today--find the time in your area. The two candles symbolize the two commands God gives in the 4th commandment: to remember and keep or guard this day as holy unto Him.

For believers in Yeshua, the candles also represent Yeshua as the Light of the world. And there is a blessing that incorporates Yeshua in the traditional Hebrew custom, which is said after you light the candles: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to be a light to the nations and who gave us Jesus, our Messiah, the Light of the world." - from Lighting the Sabbath Candles

Restful Sabbath, in the name of Jesus, the Messiah!
Shabbat Shalom, BaShem Yeshua HaMashiach!

Bark at the moon?

On the fourth day God said, "'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years'" (Genesis1:14 NIV).

God set up our moon-driven calendar system on the fourth day of Creation, which Jewish history deduces was approximately 5768 years ago, as that is the current Jewish year. So the Jewish people have maintained the Hebrew calendar system, while the world saw fit to revise this method--in order of development: Roman Calendar, Julian Calendar, and the now widely used, Gregorian Calendar.

While the Gregorian calendar is ruled by time alone, the Hebrew month is calculated by the phases of the moon.

So the beginning of each month (there are 12 months, 13 during leap year) is a new moon or Rosh Chodesh. The appointed holidays, for example, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, fall on the same day of the month every year as calculated by the moon. Yom Kippur, for instance, falls on the 10th day of Tishri (the 7th month) every year and Passover occurs on the 15th day of Nissan (the 1st month). But that has nothing to do with our secular calendar and so Yom Kippur can occur in September or October and Passover or Pesach can occur in March or April.

If you celebrate Easter, did you ever wonder why it could be early March one year and late April another? As Christian holidays are uncannily related to Jewish holidays, so their dates often coincide, as Christianity is really based on Judaism, right?

Wikipedia: Lunar Phase
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary-Calendar

In the northern hemisphere, the crescent moon is visible on the right side of the moon on the 1st or 2nd day of the Hebrew month, then waxes to the left as the month progresses; in the southern hemisphere, the crescent is on the left, then waxes to the right. View the Current Moon phase--northern hemisphere.

The full moon is the middle of the month which is the 15th of the month. God appointed certain festivals where His people were to travel to Jerusalem to be on the 15th--Passover and the 1st day of Sukkot--so that the full moon would remind them it was time and the light would guide their pilgrimage.

So bark at the moon if you like--but don't sneeze at it (sorry, pathetically poor pun). God may have called it the "lesser light"(Genesis 1:16) but He gave it incredible power: to light the night, guide the time, determine His appointed times, control the tides. Non-sequitur alert: that reminds me that our bodies are 50-70% water.

breaking the silence

The album For Zion's Sake and the March of Life (previous post) is about breaking the silence of the holocaust. In relation to this, our Rabbi spoke of this generation's silence: abortion. About 6 million Jews were killed in the holocaust-horrific. But how does abortion compare?

Worldwide abortions from 1920-2006: 804,000,000 reported abortions, estimated 929,000,000 total abortions. We are nearing 100 MILLION abortions! Estimated current global monthly average: 1,202,000 abortions. Statistics from: Johnston's Archive.

Interesting to note countries with the most abortions:
China- 303,466,603 abortions
Russia- 292,513,720 abortions
Japan- 67,116,644 abortions
United States- 47,241,423 abortions

Is this not a tragedy? Could it be the great silence of our generation? And a silence that should be broken? Who will God hold accountable if we don't break the silence on abortion?

More information:
Human Life Issues
Pro Life America

what's your ark made of?

I've been thinking a lot about Noah since rereading that Torah portion. Read the building of the ark and flood story. God told Noah to build an ark and through that ark He brought salvation to 7 people and He destroyed the earth, of which He reasoned: "Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth" (Genesis 6:11-12). Does this sound like the earth we are living in?

The ark carried those 7 people and many animals to life. Centuries later there was another ark and that is the cross of Yeshua: the vehicle also made of wood but more importantly that "ark" was an act of complete submission to God and in a sense to creation, the sacrifice that is able to lead ALL to salvation. Noah's ark carried the seed of Yeshua (Yeshua is in the lineage of Noah's son Shem); and that "seed" carried the cross (the ultimate ark) for us. And so like Noah we enter an ark--Christ--and even more amazing, He enters us and lives in us--in our ark, temple, tabernacle, body--we are of His seed.

If Yeshua is not your ark, then you are probably building one. We all build something to live for, rely on, enjoy: whether it's a philosophy, a hobby, an object, a relationship. So what's your ark made of and will it withstand not only the waters that come into our lives but the fire that will come someday?

On a lighter note: for more about Noah and for some laughs, watch the movie Evan Almighty.

Noah's Ark ready for floods in Holland

Do you want to know a secret? Well do you?

Many verses of Scripture are abused by twistings and misinterpretations. Deuteronomy 29:29 is one such verse. And in addition to a twisting, this verse often suffers omission and it is that omitted part that holds a directive and a treasure for believers.

Deut 29:29 "(1)The secret things belong to the LORD our God, (2)but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." (NIV)

The first part is the often twisted piece. It is often tossed around when someone is questioning why God would allow something to happen, particularly a bad something. It was tossed into my life when my father died at 47. A Pentecostal/Word of Faith Pastor who had visited him at home just days prior to his death first said to my confused, grieving mother that perhaps my father died because he doubted his faith. When she responded with incredulity, he then said, "Well the secret things belong to the Lord." Great. I am glad that God has secrets, that He knows much more than we do. But...

I think in this instance I would have much more appreciated the pastor reminding us: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones" (Psalm 116:15). [Of course I did not know that verse then--as it was my father's faith through his illness and death that brought me to Yeshua in 1995--but that is another story.]

Now to the second part of the verse, often omitted or glossed over in Christian teaching which if we omit its truth, maybe we should omit the entire Old Testament--including the much-quoted Psalms . . . Anyway, this verse is stating that what God reveals to us and what He's given us in His Word are such that we might live according to those things. That we might choose life and follow Him (Deut 30:19-20). As mentioned before, when "the law" is mentioned, it usually refers to Torah. So could this verse be saying that God has revealed to us things and given us knowledge so that we would follow Torah?

I think the answer is YES. And it appears that the "but" which begins the 2nd part may even add more weight to this argument. Could we think of it this way: yes there are things that we don't know, that we don't understand, God's secrets. BUT the things that you know, that God has made clear, do those things. And what can be more clear and a more beautiful experience than following God's instructions as Jesus did in His earthly life? What will you do?

Shabbat Shalom

The 4th commandment (which Catholics have made the 3rd--more on that later) reads:

(Deuteronomy 5: 12-15) 12 ‘ Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (NKJ)

Did you ever think that in keeping the Sabbath, each week we get to symbolically experience the Creation? God created for 6 days and then rested on the 7th as a teaching for us so that we would understand His command. Think about it. Read Genesis 1-2:3

It seems some are confused as to what the sabbath means. Here is a dictionary definition:

Sabbath - O.E. sabat "Saturday," observed by the Jews as a day of rest, from L. sabbatum, from Gk. sabbaton, from Heb. shabbath, prop. "day of rest," from shabath "he rested." The Babylonians regarded seventh days as unlucky, and avoided certain activities then; the Jewish observance may have begun as a similar custom. From the seventh day of the week, it began to be applied c.1410 to the first day (Sunday), a change completed during the Reformation. The original meaning is preserved in Sp. Sabado, It. Sabbato, and other languages' names for "Saturday." Hung. szombat, Rus. simbata, Fr. samedi, Ger. Samstag "Saturday" are from V.L. sambatum, from Gk. *sambaton, a vulgar nasalized variant of sabbaton. ~ Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

I've been keeping the Sabbath since July and it has been a blessing in so many ways. There is so much meaning in this God-appointed day. One of the elements of the Sabbath is the candle-lighting before sunset on Friday. In case you are interested you can sign up to receive candle-lighting times and search thru the other resources on hebcal. This the current week's email:

Candle lighting for Friday, 19 October 2007 is at 5:41pm
This week's Torah portion is Parashat Lech-Lecha http://www.hebcal.com/sedrot/lechlecha.html
Havdalah (72 min) for Saturday, 20 October 2007 is at 7:10pm
These times are for: Warwick, RI 02889 GMT -05:00 (U.S. Eastern)

Shabbat Shalom!

I want to be like Daddy

How many children look up to their fathers, particularly boys? A five year-old takes his father's razor and pretends to shave. So his father puts shaving cream on the boy's face and the boy feels like his dad. A fireman's son wants to dress like a fireman and on and on. Children want to be like their fathers and fathers love it.

So how much more would our Father love to see us following His perfect instruction in the Torah--even if we don't do it quite right? Walking in His steps is a beautiful experience: the in-pouring and the out-pouring.

But really isn't it less about what WE get out of this? Isn't the believer's goal to manifest the glory of God wherever that believer goes?

Instructions not Law

This bears repeating: Torah means "teaching" or "instruction", not Law. Believers in Yeshua who closely study and folllow Torah do not do so to earn salvation or attempt to be "right" in God's eyes. We can never be right in God's eyes without the Messiah.

Closely studying The Hebrew Scriptures greatly increases understanding and appreciation of the New Testament because Torah is the foundation of the entire Bible. Following Torah can bring a believer into a deeper, more personal relationship with God because he or she is living as God instructed His people to live, even before He designated people as Hebrews: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah . . .

Consider this article: Is the Torah in Force Today? by Brian Stephens

The Perfect Sacrifice

God instituted animal sacrifice as a way for His people to atone for sins. The sinner (that would be all of us) would have to acquire and then take the animal to the temple to be killed. Imagine having to watch an animal die or kill it yourself because of what you've done? That animal is innocent; you are guilty. Then imagine doing this over and over again. That temple was literally full of blood.

But repeated animal sacrifices never "removed" sin. Instead, God used those acts and that history to prepare hearts for Jesus. Yeshua was killed once and for all. He is the perfect sacrifice.

This week's Torah reading: Week 2 - I didn't mention last time: the complete Torah portion also contains a reading elsewhere in the Old Testament--this week and often, in Isaiah--also I have included the New Testament reading. Noach is the Hebrew for Noah.

Noach

Gen 6:9-11:32

Isa 54:1-55:5

Mt 24:36-46; 1 Pet 3:18-22

Reading the Torah

The Jewish tradition is to read a weekly Torah portion and in so doing, in one year you have read or reread the entire Torah. Each year of this reading cycle enables the believer to learn more and see new insights into God's Word. And so in our pursuit, the best way to test what relevance the Torah has in our lives as seekers is to read it. But read it as you never have before--as if every letter pertains to you and see what you discover.

Consider this thought: "To read the Torah at any level beyond "Sunday school," one must have a sense of the whole when one reads the parts. To comprehend what happens in the exodus and in the revelation at Sinai, you have to know what has happened in Genesis 1. Like some films that begin with a sweeping shot that then narrows, so the first chapter of Genesis moves gradually from a picture of the skies and the earth down to the first man and woman. The story's focus will continue to narrow: from the universe to the earth to humankind to specific lands and peoples to a single family. (It will expand back out to nations in Exodus.) But the wider concern with skies and the entire earth that is established in the first portion will remain. When the story narrows to a singular divine relationship with Abraham, it will still be with the ultimate aim that this will be "a blessing to all the families of the earth. "Every biblical scene will be laden--artistically, theologically, psychologically, spiritually--with all that has come before. So when we read later of a man and his son going up a mountain to perform a fearful sacrifice, that moment in the history of a family is set in a cosmic context of the creation of the universe and the nature of the relationship between the creator and humankind. You can read the account of the binding of Isaac without being aware of the account of the creation or the account of the covenant between God and Abraham, but you lose something. The something that you lose-depth--is one of the essential qualities of the Torah." read entire article by Richard Elliot Friedman

And so here's a challenge: begin reading the Torah today. I will post each week's reading. This a great time to start as we have begun a new Torah reading cycle. So let's begin mining God's Word, in the beginning . . .

Genesis 1:1-6:8
if you use the above link, you can change the reading to different translations

Holidays or Holy Days

Over the centuries Christians have replaced God-made festivals with man-made days: Christians celebrate Easter instead of Passover and First Fruits; Pentecost instead of Shavuot; Christmas instead of Sukkot and Chanukah.

Leviticus 23 discusses the feasts of the Lord. Check out this commentary, with Biblical text of Leviticus 23, that relates the feasts to Yeshua.

Don't think only theologically about this. Think practically. God appointed these holidays. Does it make sense that believers make up different holidays when the One who is perfect, the Creator, our Savior set apart days that He would fulfill?

Not abolish, but fulfill?

A prominent Christian belief is that when Jesus says He came to fulfill the Law & the Prophets that meant He lived according to the Law so that those who trusted in Him wouldn't have to. So He kept the Sabbath, observed the festivals, adhered to dietary laws etc and because He did so, we don't have to. We are "under grace" as they say. Does this really make any sense?

How is it grace to be without the instructions that God purposely created, carefully crafted, and obviously deemed important for His people? God created these instructions and taught them to His people who kept falling away from Him even with the instructions. How much moreso without them? And if the Law is abolished that would mean that God descended to earth as Jesus, lived as an obedient Jew, and left His people with . . . what instructions to follow? The 10 commandments? Those are from the Old Testament. Isn't that part of the Law that they say is done away with?

He left good teaching; He was a perfect and sinless example. But we are mere humans who need all the help we can get to move toward sanctification and discovering God's will and following it in the minute details as God leads. Wouldn't it be beneficial then to have that set of instructions that God deemed perfect and which God in His perfection adhered to?

Could it be that Jesus came to live out the Law perfectly and beautifully to show us the blessing, the sanctifying grace to be found in following God's holy instructions? If so, then He came not to abolish but to fulfill, or bring the Law to its fullness by living it. Could it be that He came to stress His instructions, not remove them. Many say the Law is a burden but those instructions are not burdens. Jesus said "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). If we view the Law properly and keep it, maybe we will see that the so-called burden of the Law is light (in weight and in brightness of our Spirit: God is light; Jesus, the light of the world), a true blessing.

Christians, Jews & Torah

For nearly 2000 years, Christians have argued that because Jesus came, the "Old Testament" has passed away--meaning we can and should read the stories, but God does not expect us to really live by any of what we find there. In other words, we are not to follow it like the Jews do. Instead, for Christians, the "New Testament" states how we are supposed to live. And many contend that the New Testament nullifies God's original instructions. (Incidentally, Torah means "instructions".)

And so the Torah, the first five books of both the Jewish and Christian Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy), which God gave His people to live by, has become a bunch of stories and rules that Christians have a hard time reading without nodding off, particularly when you get to Leviticus . . .

What role then should the Torah play in a Christian's life? Has it really passed away? Is it just for Jews? These are questions that many have struggled with over the past 2000 years. And many have a definite answer:

1) the Torah is or was only for the Jews

2) the Torah is also for Christians (believers) today

Which do you agree with and why? Before answering, did you even know what the Torah was? If we aren't familiar with the Torah, can we really have an informed answer?