RR Psalm 68:20 Part 14

(Early) Shabbat Shalom,

Psalm 68:20 Blessed be my Lord! Day by day He bears our burdens—the God of our salvation! Selah

Oh boy, oh boy!  Today we focus on the last two Hebrew words, “HaEL Yeshuatenu,” meaning “the God of our salvation.”  Wait a minute, I thought “salvation” is a Christian concept.  What is “Yeshua” doing in the Jewish Bible?  It shouldn’t surprise you to know that Yeshua (the Jewish Messiah, Whose name means “salvation”) is mentioned specifically more than 75 times in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Out of the 150 Psalms in the Book of Psalms, Yeshua is mentioned at least once in 33 of them (I counted).  Actually, even with all that talk of salvation, the concept itself is quite foreign to most Jewish people.  It must be the ultimate paradox that Yeshua’s own people have little orientation to the need for a Savior at all.  

Ask a Jewish person, “What is your plan for salvation?”  You are likely to get a spectrum of answers.  Most Jewish people deny that there is original sin, which negates the need for a savior.  But, even if original sin is a non-issue, the Scriptures clearly state that all have sinned.  While this is regarded as a New Testament teaching, there are at least 9 Old Testament Scriptures that affirm that all have sinned.  

Ecclesiastes 7:20: Surely there is not a righteous person on earth who does what is good and doesn’t sin.
1 Kings 8:46b (repeated in 2 Chronicles 6:36b): —for there is no man that does not sin—
Psalm 14:1b,3 (nearly identical to Psalm 53:1–3): They are corrupt; their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good…. 3 They all turned aside, became corrupt. There is no one who does good—not even one.
Psalm 143:2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for in Your eyes no one living is righteous.
Proverbs 20:9:  Who can say: “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?
Isaiah 53:6a We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us turned to his own way.
Isaiah 64:5a For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a filthy garment,

Yet, even with all that evidence, the blinders are still affixed, so the obvious prophetic truth is missed.  Who needs the Savior?  EVERYBODY!  Most Jewish people believe the answer lies in “Teshuvah” meaning “repentance.”  Can we really repent enough to get right with God?  

Without Yeshua, repentance involves relying on our own righteousness.  It’s like saying, “Try harder to get right with God.”  The basis of true repentance is not our righteousness, but Yeshua’s righteousness.  

2Corinthians 5:21 He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

I’ve heard Jewish people make the claim that an intermediary between God and man is unnecessary.  Yet, there has always been an intermediary.  First Moses, then through Aaron, the High Priest.  Beside, it is much better to receive the gift from Yeshua, Who went willingly to the Cross, than to get on the Cross yourself.

1Timothy 2:4 He desires all men to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and there is one Mediator between God and men—a human, Messiah Yeshua, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony at the proper time.

This is a better covenant….  Hebrews 8:6 But now Yeshua has obtained a more excellent ministry, insofar as He is the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on better promises.  Do you agree?  Shalom shalom.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Fri       06-Nov-2026             26th of Cheshvan, 5787
Ge 25:1-11       Jdg 8               Ps 31             Mt 24:29-51   (Ro 8:18-39)