For the week of October 19, 2024 / 17 Tishri 5785

Sukkot
Torah: Shemot/Exodus 33:12 – 34:26; B’midbar/Numbers 29:26-34
Haftarah: Ezekiel 38:18 – 39:16
Originally posted the week of October 15, 2022 / 20 Tishri 5783 (updated)

A special word first. I cannot reference the Festival of Sukkot without taking a moment to acknowledge how it will forever be associated with the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. Not only was it a Shabbat (English: Sabbath), but it was also “Shemini Atzeret,” the special extra eighth day observed at the conclusion of Sukkot (see Vayikra/Leviticus 23:36). In Israel, it coincides with Simchat Torah (English: Rejoicing of the Torah), the traditional celebration of God’s gift of his Word to Israel. Outside Israel, Simchat Torah occurs the following day. As discussed below, Sukkot is a time to reckon with both our vulnerability and God’s wonders. As we remember October 7 and the ongoing crisis since then, including the hostages, dead and alive, still held by cruel terrorists, it’s a challenge to rejoice, be it over God’s wonders or his day-to-day provision. But, let us not give the enemy a double victory. Let us grieve, let us acknowledge our trauma, but let’s not allow them to rob us of the ability to see the hand of God at work in the midst of it all. All through history, evil forces have prevailed for a time, but eventually, they all meet their end. Am Yisrael Chai! The people of Israel live!

* * *

And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” (Shemot/Exodus 34:10)

The festival of Sukkot (English: Booths or Tabernacles) begins this year the evening of October 16 and lasts eight days. The readings this week are special for the festival. Outside the Land of Israel, due to ancient issues with the calendar, it continues for one more day[1]. Sukkot is a harvest thanksgiving festival that includes two special features. First, the people were directed to “take…the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and…rejoice before the LORD” (Vayikra/Leviticus 23:40). Traditionally these four things are willow, palm, and myrtle branches, plus a lemon-like fruit called an etrog (English: citron). Second, the people were to build temporary dwellings called sukkot (one sukkah, many sukkot). They were to live in these sukkot for seven days. This was to remind the people that their ancestors lived in similar accommodations the years they were in the wilderness (see Vayikra/Leviticus 23:43).

It is interesting how this festival of rejoicing is to occur while living in sukkot. Calling the people to leave their permanent homes for a week to connect with the years of wilderness wanderings is powerful. Think of how effective it is for parents to tell their children stories of God’s miraculous provision and protection while sitting in a flimsy hut far more exposed to the elements than their normal residences. But more than simply providing a tangible backdrop, the environment places the people into a state of vulnerability, so that they could better relate to the vulnerability of their ancestors.

Within the context of getting in touch with their forebears’ state of vulnerability the people would more than just remember that God took care of them, but also how he did. As we read in this week’s Torah reading, God protected and provided them by doing “marvels.” The Hebrew word for marvels is “pala’,” which is often translated as “miracles.” The word carries the sense of “special” or “out of the ordinary.” God had promised Israel he would do extraordinary things, marvels, never experienced before to cause others to realize how awesome he really is.

God does more than take care of his people. He does so in marvelous ways. For Israel in the wilderness, it was through a physical manifestation of his presence in the form of a pillar of cloud and fire, which both guided them and protected them from the elements. He also gave them manna for their daily bread, which miraculously appeared on the ground every day except the Sabbath (he doubled the amount the day before). He sent quail to give them meat, he cleansed undrinkable water on one occasion, and caused water to emerge from rocks twice.

Note, however, that we can list God’s marvels yet not be impacted. Somehow we can tell these and other marvelous Bible stories and they remain just that – stories. Stories that happened to a people in such a different time and place, they may as well be fairy tales. This is why he sent Israel back outside into a wilderness-like environment. Perhaps there, in a place of vulnerability, we can feel the need for him in a way our more secure permanent houses don’t allow us to. For it’s in the place of vulnerability that we realize how much we need God.

The extraordinary nature of God’s marvels is most often due to the state of our vulnerability. The greater the need, the greater the marvelous nature of his provision. The more vulnerable we are, the more extraordinary is his power in and through our lives. But if we don’t allow ourselves to be in places of vulnerability, we might have a general sense of God’s presence and goodness but fail to experience his marvels. I wonder what we may be missing.

[1]  The duration of the festival is a bit complicated. It would be more accurate to say that Sukkot lasts seven days plus one. The people were to celebrate with the specified growing things and live in the sukkah for seven days. The first day was to be treated as a sabbath (the first two days are sabbaths outside Israel). God also directed that an additional eighth day, known as “Shemini Atzeret” (Eighth Day of Assembly) was also to be observed. Traditionally, a special ceremony to mark the restarting of the annual Torah reading cycle, known as “Simchat Torah” (Rejoicing over the Torah), is observed during Shemini Atzeret (in the diaspora, it is observed on the extra ninth day).

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of October 12, 2024 / 10 Tishri 5785

Yom Kippur
Torah: Vayikra/Leviticus 16:1-34; B’midbar/Numbers 29:7-11
Haftarah: Isaiah 57:14 – 58:14

And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. (Vayikra/Leviticus 16:21-22)

It’s been a year since October 7, the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas terrorists breached the Gaza security fence and slaughtered about 1200 men, women, and children, including babies, wounded around 5000, and took over 230 Israelis and others hostage, with about 100 still being held. If that wasn’t bad enough, this unthinkable atrocity unleashed not a wave of sympathy for Israel and the Jewish people but rather a tsunami of worldwide Jew hatred.

The Jews have been the eternal scapegoat of just about anything and everything that has gone wrong in the world. Scapegoating is when an individual or group is blamed for problems they did not cause. The concept of scapegoating is derived from the Hebrew Scriptures but has nothing to do with wrongly blaming the Jewish people or any other people group.

How the term scapegoat historically came to us is worth investigating. The Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Torah portion includes a ritual performed in the days of the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle) and the later Temple. Two goats were to be taken. One was chosen by lot as a sin offering; the other became known as the scapegoat. I say “became known as” because the term scapegoat resulted from ancient English translations (e.g., Wycliffe, Tyndale, and the King James Version). The Hebrew word translated as scapegoat is “la-aza-zel.” Many modern translations, including my “go-to,” the English Standard Version, no longer use the term scapegoat but “to Azazel” instead as if it refers to some sort of demonic entity. The problem is, as we read in what I quoted at the beginning, the cohen (English: priest) was to send the second goat off to wander in the wilderness. There is no mention of giving it up to any particular entity. This more reasonably fits with the idea of scapegoat, but not in the way you might think.

The reason why the older English translations chose the word scapegoat to describe the second goat was not because this goat was a scapegoat in the popular sense, that of taking blame. But rather, this was the “escape-goat,” as in the one that would be led away to be lost in the wilderness. While it is true the sins of the nation were placed upon this goat, scapegoat in the Torah context refers to its carrying away the sins, not taking the blame for them. How ironic, then, that the very people who were given a scapegoat (in the biblical sense) to carry away their sins would become the scapegoat (in the modern sense) for the sins of the nations.

And yet, the two uses of scapegoat are related. Scapegoating in the modern sense reflects our inability to accept the true nature of negative situations or circumstances. It could be due to an unwillingness to accept responsibility, so we blame shift. Or we are unwilling to do what is necessary to engage the actual dynamics of evil. Perhaps we are afraid of being personally indicted in the process or we may find ourselves having to change our perspective of long-held beliefs. Whatever the reason, we find resolve in victimizing others through blame, a scapegoat, regardless of the damage we may cause them.

Through the Yom Kippur ritual, God acknowledged that human beings could not bear their individual and societal wrongs on their own. His loving mercy provided a way to release us from such a crushing burden. The need to repeat the ritual year by year reflects the reality that it didn’t permanently solve the problem. That would wait until the coming of the true scapegoat, the Messiah, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Note: I am aware that goats and lambs are not the same, but I think you get the point.

Tragically, much of the world hasn’t discovered the wonderous relief of the forgiveness of sin that has been offered to us through the messianic scapegoat. Unable to cope, they seek others, most often the Jewish people, God’s Chosen Ones, upon whom to lay the burden of sin. They don’t realize that when they do so it’s ultimately God they are blaming.

Ironically, God wants to take the burden of sin onto himself through the Messiah. But for that to happen, we need to stop blame-shifting and take personal responsibility for our sins. As we read in the New Covenant Writings:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of October 5, 2024 / 3 Tishri 5785

Ha’azinu/Shuva
Torah: Deuteronomy/D’varim 32:1-52
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2-10 (English 14:1-8); Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-17
Originally posted the week of September 23, 2017 / 3 Tishri 5778

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. (D’varim/Deuteronomy 32:8-9)

Near the end of Moses’s life, God directed him to teach the people a song. This is no simple folk song, but rather a complex prophetic lyric designed to confront them as they will inevitably one day stray from God and his ways. Contained within these inspired words is a reference to God’s providence in the establishment of peoples and their God-allotted regions. Nationhood and defined territorial boundaries are not the outcome of human will alone, but primarily emerge come out of the purposeful oversight of the Almighty.

That much is clear in the verses above, but they include a curious statement about the relationship between borders and, according to this Bible version, “the number of the sons of Israel.” I make mention of this particular version because the text here is controversial. A quick glance over other English translations shows that another common rendering of this phrase is along the lines of “the number of the sons of God” (see ESV, etc.). Exactly what is meant by “sons of God” isn’t certain. It could be another way to refer to the sons of Israel, a generic reference to people of God, or to heavenly beings such angels. The reason for the difference is in the manuscripts. The most common Hebrew manuscript is called the Masoretic Text (MT). Some English versions rely heavily on it, and only seldom prefer readings from other manuscripts. The MT reads, “sons of Israel.” The alternate reading, “sons of God” is from the oldest Greek translation of the Hebrew called the Septuagint (LXX). While it may seem to be more reasonable to prefer the MT over the LXX, since it is written in the original Hebrew, many scholars believe that the Hebrew manuscripts that were used by the LXX translators were older and thus closer to the original than the copies upon which the MT relies.

Textual Criticism is the study of ancient manuscripts to determine what the original writings were. It might come as a surprise to some of you that this sort of thing is necessary at all. We might prefer to believe that exact copy after exact copy was passed on from generation to generation, but that isn’t the case. But note that in spite of differences like the one we are looking at here, there is far more agreement between manuscripts than not. Remarkably and thankfully, no discrepancy threatens any major element of Scripture. Whether the text reads “sons of Israel” or “sons of God” certainly doesn’t greatly affect the Bible’s teaching either in this passage or others.

What’s most interesting to me is that many English versions prefer “sons of God” even though most other versions rely on the MT. While I hope the translation committees followed this route due to a high standard of scholarship, there may be something else is going on. If indeed the correct reading is “when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel,” then we are made to understand that the makeup of world geography is intimately linked to the people of Israel. I am concerned that the real reason to prefer the LXX over the MT here is a resistance on the part of Christian scholarship to accept the centrality of Israel in the outworking of world history.

Few biblical scholars deny the place of ancient Israel in the development of God’s plans and purposes particularly with regard to salvation. But there is a tendency to cast off literal Israel in favor of a supposed New Israel, a generic people of God as were. But if the MT reading is correct, then the very framework of nations and borders is somehow dependent on the people of Israel. By disregarding the ongoing nature of Israel in God’s economy, Christians unknowingly contribute to the disintegration of legitimate nationhood through misguided globalization in the name of unity, Christian or otherwise.

But as I mentioned, the Bible’s central teachings are unaffected by the relatively few discrepancies in the various manuscripts. This verse is no exception. Whatever may be intended in this statement concerning the connection between national boundaries and the sons of Israel or sons of God, Scripture is abundantly clear about the foundational and ongoing place of literal Israel. For there is nothing controversial about what follows. As verse nine reads: “For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.” The use of Jacob reminds us that references to Israel in Scripture is not code for “the Church” or a post-Jewish generic “sons of God,” but that God has special regard and connection to the real, actual, physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To deny that is to deny the essence of the Bible.

Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995

For the week of September 28, 2024 / 25 Elul 5784

Nitzavim & Vayeilech
Torah: D’varim/Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:1-30
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. (Isaiah 62:1)

Have you ever found yourself unable to stop talking? There are many reasons for that. Some people like the sound of their voice. Some have no respect for others. But then there are times when something is so vital that silence is not an option. That’s what was happening with the prophet Isaiah here. Though taking a closer look at the passage, it might not be Isaiah who was the one who couldn’t keep quiet, but rather God himself.

God’s concern for Jerusalem is such that he can’t stop talking about it. It might seem strange to think about God this way. But let’s not miss the point. God is so concerned for Jerusalem that he will speak about it until his heart’s desire for this city is completely fulfilled.

Tragically, God’s insistence in addressing this issue hasn’t prevented people from trying to shut him up. And that includes those who claim allegiance to him. Of course, they would never admit to this, all the while subtly and not-so-subtly denying or deflecting his words.

They may redefine Zion from being an actual place, the hill from which Jerusalem was derived. They claim it should be taken metaphorically as a generic, immaterial “people of God” sort of thing. They don’t realize the damage they do when they twist the very real David’s City into a spiritual transnational collective. Spiritualization of real things can feel so bright when it, in fact, undermines God’s grand plan for all creation. Similarly, focusing solely on how the messianic good news transforms individuals not only neglects God’s grand global narrative, it robs those same individuals of the fullness of God’s design for their lives.

Others, refusing to spiritualize literal promises to a literal people, limit God’s concern to the ancient past. Either Jerusalem had a sufficient taste of its destiny at some point, perhaps in Solomon’s day, or it lost its claim to God’s promises due to disobedience. Both of these perspectives misrepresent the passage. No matter how glorious Jerusalem was in Solomon’s day, it in no way measured up to what is described here. And as for the effects of disobedience, to think that Israel’s failures annul God’s promises is to betray great ignorance of Scripture. God is absolutely determined to bring Jerusalem to a glorious future.

God will not be silenced! He will fulfill every word of this prophecy. The world will behold a Jerusalem fully right with God as it does his will in every way in the earth. It will be fully delivered by God from all its troubles. However its reputation has been affected by its own poor judgments through the centuries, God’s delight in this city will be evident to all.

Because this matters to God so much, he calls others to join him in his cry:

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:6-7).

The redemption of Jerusalem through the Messiah is central to all that God is doing in and through his creation. To claim to follow the Messiah but neglect God’s heart for the Holy City is to be callous toward him.

If you are a follower of the Messiah, have you stopped to think that perhaps what’s important to God should be important to you? There is so much confusion over the place of Israel in God’s plan, and yet God’s passion regarding Jerusalem’s future is clear. If he won’t stay silent on this, why would you?

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of September 21, 2024 / 18 Elul 5784

Ki Tavo
Torah: D’varim/Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 (English 26:1 – 29:9)
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22
Originally posted the week of September 1, 2018 / 21 Elul 5778

Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.” (D’varim/Deuteronomy 27:9-10)

Why do Moses and the priests say to the people of Israel: “This day you have become the people of the LORD your God”? Were they not already God’s people? Didn’t God direct Moses and his brother, Aaron, almost forty years earlier to tell Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to let his people go (e.g. Shemot/Exodus 5:1)? God’s considering Israel as his people was based on an already established relationship, rooted in their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That’s why God said to Moses when he first spoke to him at the burning bush: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Shemot/Exodus 3:8-9).

Much had transpired since that time. This week’s parsha (Torah reading portion) takes place about forty years later. The bulk of the generation who had been slaves in Egypt have died by now. They died, not simply due to natural causes, but God’s judgement upon their faithlessness when first faced with the prospect of taking the Promised Land (see B’midbar/Number 13-14). Could it be that due to the previous generation’s obstinance, Israel’s peoplehood status was lost, and that it was not restored until Moses and the priests made this pronouncement? Could it be that they are not only being given a second chance to take the Land, but also in terms of their divine chosenness?

It is difficult to overstate how farfetched such a conclusion is. From God’s promises to the forefathers to his continued involvement with Israel in spite of their attitude and behavior throughout their wilderness wanderings, God couldn’t make it any clearer that he was absolutely committed to them. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be reading about their getting ready to enter the Land again.

If their status as God’s people isn’t in question, then what’s with this kind of wording? Could you imagine, my taking one of my adult sons aside and saying, “Today you have become my son”? Or maybe you can. Relationship is a complex thing, whether it be of a very personal nature as in me and each of my children or on a broader scale as in a leader and his or her community. My children will always be my children, but they may or may not grow up to embrace their heritage and their destiny. That’s up to them. That which establishes the parent-child relationship is one thing, that which fully expresses it is another.

This generation of Israel was different than the one before. Tragically, their parents didn’t reflect the reality of who they were as God’s people and suffered as a result. Their status as God’s chosen was no different from the next generation, but their children embraced who they were in a way they (the previous generation) did not. The reality of this difference would be evident in the days and years ahead.

Relationship with God must not be taken for granted. Remember, the ones who survived the ten plagues, celebrated the first Passover, crossed the sea, ate the manna, received the Torah, and on and on, failed to trust God when it was time to enter the land of promise. Peoplehood in and of itself doesn’t guarantee embracing it. This is why the next generation needed to hear this affirmation. The true essence of their peoplehood was not solely based on their past, but upon the reality of who they were at that moment, a moment that needed to continue from that day onward.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of September 14, 2024 / 11 Elul 5784

Ki Teitzei
Torah: D’varim/Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1-10
Originally posted the week of September 2, 2006 / 9 Elul 5766 (edited)

You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. (D’varim/Deuteronomy 22:1-3)

I can remember very clearly when I was young learning a very important principle regarding personal property. It was “finders keepers, losers weepers.” This was very easy-to-remember. Just in case you are not familiar with this saying, it means if you found something someone lost, it was yours to keep. Of course, if I did happen upon something of significant value, I was expected to look around to see if the possible owner might be nearby. But if not, whatever it might be, it became rightfully mine.

As one who claims to respect the authority of Scripture, the verses I quoted at the beginning challenge (or should I say contradict?) this principle. God calls us to return lost things to their original owner even if we don’t know who the person is or if they live far away. Moreover, we are to take care of the thing found until the person comes looking for it.

Godly directives such as these should lead us to ask certain questions. Does this apply to things of small value? For example, if I find twenty-five cents in a vacant parking lot, should I take it home and wait for someone to claim it? What about perishable items? Perhaps in that same vacant lot late at night after the grocery store is closed, a bunch of ripe bananas is found. Would it be wrong for a homeless, hungry person to eat them? Looking again at these verses, they are referring to items of substantial and lasting value, not things of little value or perishables.

Another question has to do with how long we should hold on to something before the original owner loses his claim to it. The passage does not speak of a time limit. Perhaps if it were an animal, then it should never be slaughtered, but would it be okay in the meantime to milk it, if it were a milking animal, or to shear its wool if it were a sheep, or to use its services if it were a work animal? I don’t know. And if the item were a cloak—which today might be a coat, jacket, or sweater—should it be put away in a closet forever just in case the owner comes to claim it? Again, I don’t know.

What I do know is that we need to take our responsibility toward the care of other people’s things seriously. There is more to biblical property rights than the prohibition regarding stealing. My losing something does not cancel my ownership of an item. I also have an obligation to others to ensure that I do my part in returning lost items to their original owner. How we deal with some of the implications of these directives must at least start with accepting our God-given responsibilities.

Whether it is this or another directive, we need to allow the Bible to confront and contradict our long-held life principles. It may even confront and contradict what we thought God was saying to us more recently. If we want to walk in God’s ways, we need to hear what he is saying about all of life and live accordingly.

All scriptures, English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible

For the week of of September 7, 2024 / 4 Elul 5784

Shoftim
Torah: Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 – 52:12
Originally posted the week of August 26, 2017 / 4 Elul 5777

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7)

This week’s Haftarah (excerpt from the Hebrew prophets) includes what might be the prophetic high mark in all Scripture (if I am exaggerating, then I should only correct myself by saying “one of”). The great prophet Isaiah makes this proclamation after much of ancient Israel had been overrun and scattered by the brutal Assyrians, while the remaining region known as the Kingdom of Judah, where he lived, had barely escaped the same fate. Moreover, God had revealed to Isaiah that it was only a matter of time before Judah would be exiled by the next great world power, Babylon. Yet like much of the Bible’s prophetic literature gloom and doom is tempered with words of hope.

And a good deal of the last third of Isaiah’s book contains some of the Scripture’s brightest light and this one verse I quoted is the brightest (or one of the brightest) of them all. The picture painted here is one of relief and excitement due to a messenger’s appearing upon the hills surrounding Jerusalem as he announces good news of peace and deliverance.

The core of this hopeful expectation is found in the promise of the eventual reign of Israel’s God. This is what makes this proclamation so climactic. For it is God’s being established as king – first and foremost over Israel and then extended to the entire creation – that is the supreme goal of Scripture. But doesn’t the Bible teach that God was, is, and will always be king? Yes and no. Ultimately that is always true. The traditional Jewish way to address God in prayer as “Lord God, King of the universe” is certainly correct. But in another sense, God’s rule over the earth is dependent upon the submission of human beings. From the beginning, God desired that people do his will on earth as it is in heaven. Our failure to do so undermines his reign.

Through the Scriptures we see this played out in the story of Israel. The spotlight of divine revelation shone on this particular people to demonstrate to the whole world how God’s reign was to be lived out. Or not, as was the case. And in case I need to remind you, any nation would have similarly failed, for this is the state of human nature. But in the genius of God, through his commitment to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he made a way to establish his rule on earth in spite of human dysfunctionality. And that’s good news!

And that’s the good news first proclaimed by messengers in around Jerusalem two thousand years ago. The Middle English word, “gospel,” based on the Old English, “godspel” (meaning “good tale”), is the translation of the Greek word “euangelion,” the term used in the Greek New Covenant Writings (New Testament). Euangelion is the word that was used to translate the Hebrew for “good news” in this verse. Therefore, the good news expressed through the proclamation of the coming of the Messiah is summed up in: “Your God reigns.” The early Jewish followers of Yeshua, therefore, were announcing that through his coming the long-anticipated reign of God over Israel (and the whole world) had come.

The power of the Greek word euangelion is made even greater by its use outside the Jewish community. This is the word commonly used to describe proclamations about Caesar, the Lord and King of the Roman Empire. To proclaim the Good News of the Jewish Messiah, was to announce the reign of the earth’s true king. In other words: Yeshua is King and Caesar is not. The subversive nature of Gospel proclamation is in full keeping with the essence of Isaiah’s’ prophesy – through the Messiah the reign of the God of Israel has come.

Knowing Yeshua is not simply a personal, private spiritual experience designed to comfort adherents by giving them a ticket to heaven. It is about welcoming the rule of God into our lives, allowing him to be Lord in every way. And that’s not just something that lives inside a tiny spiritual vault called our hearts. It’s a reality that is to affect every part of us and to be lived out in every aspect of life, because our God reigns. That’s good news!

All scriptures, English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible

For the week of August 31, 2024 / 27 Av 5784

Re’eh
Torah: D’varim/Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5
Originally posted the week of August 15, 2020 / 25 Av 5780

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. (D’varim/Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

The welfare of ancient Israel was intimately tied to their adherence to the covenant established by God through Moses. Faithful adherence would result in blessing, the Torah term for possessing the potential for life, reproductive life. They would have large, healthy and thriving families over multiple generations; their animals would abundantly reproduce; and they would live in safety and security. Conversely, the consequences for disregarding Torah were curses, the removal of life, including illness, desolation, fear, and being overcome by their enemies resulting in eventual exile.

God never intended obedience and disobedience to be understood in absolute terms as if the tiniest infraction would be deemed as breaking covenant and thus inviting disaster. The God of Torah is merciful and patient, ready and willing to forgive when wrongdoers humble themselves. The grave disobedience that results in cursing is defined as “to go after other gods that you have not known” (D’varim/Deuteronomy 11:28). Breaking covenant was expressed by rejecting the one true God in favor of the false gods of idolatry.

The God of Israel’s prohibition against false gods was both personal and impersonal. It was personal in the sense that he alone was their savior. Not only did he establish them as a people through their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he became their redeemer by rescuing them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Therefor Israel owed their existence and their freedom to this God alone. To engage other gods would be a personal act of disloyalty.

The prohibition against false gods was also impersonal in that there are issues in engaging other gods that apply to all people and not only due to the kind of covenant relationship that Israel had with God. Whatever was true universally for all people regarding other gods would also apply to Israel in addition to that which uniquely applied to them due to the covenant.

The first universal principle would be that other gods are not gods. God-ness, so to speak, was erroneously ascribed to concepts and entities by people. To worship false gods was to create false reality. Not only does the worship of false gods misrepresent the truth of the God of Israel as being the only god, it misrepresents truth in general. People may enjoy or find some other perceived benefit in living in a false version of the world, but that has never gone well for them.

The second universal principle regarding other gods is that whether they be represented via a sculpted image, such as an idol; or a personalized force of nature, such as Thor the supposed god of thunder; or the de-religiousized gods of today, be they sex or success, they all are derived from the creation instead of from outside of it. Every other god is humanly based as the product of analyzing nature or imagination or both. The God of Israel precedes and dwells outside of creation. His word has been given to the world via the people of Israel from the outside in.

The myriad of false gods from time immemorial operate from the inside out. If only we can figure it out, we can make the world a better place. We somehow think we can find identity, meaning, success, and lasting joy within the creation. It can’t be done. Every attempt to accomplish salvation from inside creation not only fails but invites disaster. As beings made in the image of one who resides outside of creation we need outside help.

The warning to Israel is a warning to all. Life is not found in ourselves or the world around us. Life is only found in the creator God, the redeemer of Israel. Not only has he communicated his word into the created order through Moses and the Prophets, he embodies his word in the person of his Son, Yeshua the Messiah. Like the covenant of old, Yeshua came from the outside in to rescue those who put their trust in him. Once we discover the outside-in reality of the creator through Yeshua, then we are equipped to live life within the creation as we were truly meant to.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

For the week of August 24, 2024 / 20 Av 5784

Ekev
Torah D’varim/Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3

Note: Due to the nature of this week’s message I recommend listening to the audio version. – Alan

Beware lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.” (D’varim/Deuteronomy 8:17)

The 2004 Pixar film, “The Incredibles” is one of my favorites. I love stories of people struggling with their particular giftings. Perhaps they are unaware of their abilities, or they are aware, but can’t or won’t express them. In some cases, they may see their ability in a negative light, not knowing that what they perceive as a curse is actually a blessing.

The Incredibles, as you may be aware, is a comic-book-style animated film of a family of superheroes, who are coping with a government crackdown on such folks due to liability issues. The film’s villain, Syndrome, has a double-pronged plot to destroy any remaining superheroes and later to sell off his technology, providing superhero-like enhancements to the general population. His goal is: “When everyone’s super, no one will be” (see clip here). In his twisted, bitter mind, he conceives that if no one has greater abilities than anyone else, he will resolve his own feelings of inferiority and rejection.

Ironically, what Syndrome doesn’t understand is that, comic-book superpowers aside, everyone is already super. While I am pretty sure you cannot fly, run at superspeed, make yourself invisible, or stretch your limbs infinitely, you have been endowed with power from God, enabling you to do all sorts of things you would never be able to do on your own.

I am not here referring to extraordinary talents such as those on display at the recent Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Or those musical and artistic capabilities that relatively few have been given. I have learned how even extremely talented and successful people can look on with envy on those who appear to be more talented and successful than they are.

But let’s forget comparison for a moment. Let’s simply try to grasp the wonder of what it means to be a human being. Not one of us chose to be born. We didn’t create our heredity. Perhaps we worked hard at developing our innate characteristics, but even our ability and the opportunities to develop ourselves aren’t self-derived.

Everything that makes us who and what we are comes from outside of us. That is why God, through Moses, warns us so sternly: Beware lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (D’varim/Deuteronomy 8:17). To assert that our human abilities are derived from ourselves is to deceive ourselves and misrepresent the One who gave us all life. In other words, to fail to acknowledge that even the most basic of human abilities comes from God is to live a lie.

Once we realize that every human ability is a gift from God, then we can also begin to appreciate the miracle that human life is, including every ability we have. And if every ability is a gift of the supernatural God—that makes us all super!

Everyone being super, contrary to Syndrome’s assertion in the Incredibles, doesn’t undermine our superpowers, so to speak. Syndrome was caught in a web of rejection and envy, blinding him from the beauty of the vast array of superpowers bestowed upon humanity by our creative and benevolent Heavenly Father.

I am aware that most of us don’t feel super. We struggle with a great many limitations and are objects of deep suffering at times. Some are beset by the kinds of circumstances similar to the fictional Syndrome. But that doesn’t mean we must be like him.

In order not to fall into Syndrome’s trap, we need a better grasp of what’s wrong with us. According to Scripture, “sin,” is the principle of evil at play behind the brokenness of our human nature. While that brokenness may obscure our superpowers, it doesn’t obliterate them. In fact, it’s often the human propensity to overcome sin that is most super.

Through the Messiah, God has provided an opportunity for us to connect with our supernaturally derived abilities. He didn’t do so like a comic-book superhero, however. Instead, Yeshua became just like us and demonstrated the fullness of what it means to be human. This included taking on the full brunt of our brokenness, in order to enable us to be superheroes in a broken world.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

Va-etchannan
For the week of August 17, 2024 / 13 Av 5784
Torah: D’varim/Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11
Haftarah: Isaiah 40:1-26
Originally posted the week of July 28, 2018 / 16 Av 5778 (revised)

Note: I am posting this earlier than usual this week, as we approach the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month Av. This day is remembered as the occasion of the most devastating events in Jewish history, including the destruction of both Temples (see this Wikipedia article for more information including the list of tragedies). This year is especially grievous given the anticipation of a devastating Iranian attack on Israel. Whatever happens, may the following TorahBytes message speak to the hearts of Jewish people everywhere and to all who love Israel’s God.—Alan Gilman

* * *

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2)

One cannot overstate the drama of Isaiah’s comfort call. The contrast of these words with what comes before is so great that scholars tend to assume that they are authored by a different speaker/writer. The contrast of tone isn’t the only reason for the common scholarly determination of more than one “Isaiah,” but I don’t find such a conclusion compelling. What we really have is the start of a sequel or a new act.

Act One had ended with the stage gone dark. All hope is lost because Israel had spiraled down an apparent point of no return. The narrative closed with a most cynical tale of King Hezekiah, one of the greatest of all Jewish kings, receiving God’s message from Isaiah that even though he successfully overcame the Assyrian siege and was miraculously cured of a lethal illness, Babylon, the empire to succeed Assyria, will vanquish his dynasty and take the people into exile. If that’s not bad enough, the hitherto noble king, comforts himself with the news that this won’t happen until he is long dead.

Act Two begins with a brilliant explosion of good news: “Comfort, comfort my people,” says Israel’s God—judgment has run its course, warfare has ended; sin is forgiven. The Hebrew word for “comfort” is “nacham” and has two meanings, depending on how it is used. Either way, it denotes change. It could mean “to relent,” a change of intention—one plan of action replacing another. The meaning in this context, however, is “to comfort” or “to be comforted”—an emotional change, where one feels a certain way, usually bad, and is consoled, shifting their outlook on life.

Against the backdrop of despair and cynicism is the promise of comfort. The diagnosis was devastating, the sickness far worse than imagined. Under normal circumstances, such a road leads to nothing but complete destruction. But not in this case—not as far as God’s people are concerned. The God of unconditional covenant love always has a positive future in mind for his precious people in spite of relatively short-term hardship.

Israel’s desperate plight at the end of Act One typifies our own day in many ways. In spite of previously unknown levels of affluence and the exceptional quality of life experienced by so many, societal and personal darkness pervades. From old and new terminal illnesses to political instability to grand-scale people displacement, to increasing violence, and the threat of nuclear annihilation, one little spark can set the entire world ablaze. We are becoming unglued as a cloud of meaninglessness and hopelessness saturates the global psyche. What’s the point of being human anyway?

God’s word to Israel was that the day was coming when their suffering would cease, creation would be renewed, and peace would reign forever. The Jewish people’s incessant angst and anguish would finally and forever be transformed, when chaos turns to order, destruction to rebuilding, sickness to health, death to life. Therefore, be comforted. The darkness will not last forever. Light will not only return but will never fade again.

These words of comfort are not for Israel alone. God’s heart for the Jewish people as expressed at this stage in their history is a reflection of his desire for all peoples. Every human being has a story like Israel, albeit with a different cast of characters and unique sub-plots. Yet, whatever our heritage, the human story is the same: tragically dark and often hopeless, especially if we are honest. Yet, like Israel, your story needn’t end there. With God, there’s a second Act for you too.

You may have thought that your story ends with Act One. You may think there’s nothing beyond the darkness of your life. Or, like Hezekiah, you comfort yourself with short-term vision, making the best of your situation. “It could be worse,” you say. Yet you know if you would look beyond yourself, you couldn’t handle the state of the world.

But the story isn’t over. God will come through. He has proven that through the resurrection of the Messiah. You may already believe this even though you have a hard time being comforted. It might be that you are still stuck at the end of Act One, thinking in spite of your claim to faith, darkness has the final word after all.

Excuse me while I flick off and on the lights. Intermission is over! There’s more to your story, because there is  more to God’s story. Not only does he win in the end, he invites you to be part of it. Perhaps that’s your problem. All the while you have been sitting in the audience when you are cast as a star in the show. You don’t only get to be part of the grand conclusion, you have an essential role to play.

I understand why you are sitting there. Life has been so painful and so confusing. You have tried to comfort yourself to no avail. But that’s the problem. Right now, God wants to heal and restore you. And he will if you cooperate with him. You will be comforted, once you allow him to comfort you on his terms.

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version