Rabbi’s Reflections – Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Shalom,
Here is a word for today… Jehaziel was filled with the Spirit of God when he made this declaration… 2 Chronicles 20:15 and he said: “Listen all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus Adonai says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
I believe this is a word for God’s people today. First, 2 Chronicles 20:15b “Do not be afraid or dismayed.” Let’s get that part right. God loves faith! He calls on us numerous times in Scripture not to be afraid. Faith and fear never exist in the same place at the same time.
It is better to have faith than to have fear. But why? Because both faith and fear are magnetic forces. They draw more of the same to you. Fear breeds fear and faith breeds faith. So this is really a question of how we plan to live, in fear, or in faith? Romans 1:17 In it the righteousness of God is revealed, from trust to trust. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by emunah.” (Emunah is eternal truth which has a trust component. We count on the truth to be truthful.)
Then the Lord continues speaking through Jehaziel, as He tells us why we do not have to be afraid. 2 Chronicles 20:15c “For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” The battle belongs to the Lord. He will fight for you. In the story from which this quote is taken, God turned the swords of Israel’s enemies on themselves. Israel’s enemies killed each other.
Oh Lord, do for us today what you did for Israel long ago in the days of Jehoshaphat. Psalm 34:5 I sought Adonai, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Reminds me of the song by Joseph Prince… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW6whvgrdmk
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Wed 17-Feb-2021 5th of Adar, 5781
Ex 26:15-30 2 Ki 20 Ps 145 Jn 17 (Heb 2)
How can I resist writing about Psalm 145? We pray parts of this Psalm every week to start our worship service. In Hebrew liturgy, this is the most prayed Psalm. It is called “The Ashre” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashrei because that word starts both verses of the preamble which are taken from Psalm 84:5 and 144:15. It is an acrostic, which allows for easy memorization of the Hebrew.
Rabbi Trail: The acrostic is that each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph-Bet). One letter is not present at the start of a verse. The verse that starts with “nun” is missing. The rabbis removed it, supposedly because the “nun” starts the word “Nafel” which means “fall down.” However; that word is used in the following verse, Psalm 145:14 (as “HaNof’lim, meaning “the fallen ones”).
Now we are only using one verse per week to begin prayer over our service. It is my hope that we will go deeply into each verse of this valuable Psalm. This RR is for February 17th. So, let’s take a moment to review Psalm 145:17 Adonai is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
In this verse, the first word is “Tzadik.” God is called a Tzadik. What is a Tzadik? A righteous person who not only controls every deed (as the verse states), but also every thought (as the verse also states, “all His ways.”) The rabbis believe one of their rabbis in every generation is a “Tzadik.” The Scriptures disagree… Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
But wait, there is nothing new in the New Testament. Psalm 14:3 They all turned aside, became corrupt. There is no one who does good —not even one.
And many more, for instance… Isaiah 64:5(6) For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a filthy garment, and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away, like the wind.
The point is simply this, we all need a redeemer. None of us can fix our sin problem by ourselves, with our own good deeds. We need the promised savior. Isaiah 44:6 Thus says Adonai, Israel’s King and his Redeemer, Adonai-Tzva’ot: “I am the first, and the last, and there is no God beside Me. Yeshua HaMashiach is His name.
Week 8
Memory Verse: Galatians 5:14 For the whole Torah can be summed up in a single saying: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
36 2/15 Monday: Exodus 19-20
37 2/16 Tuesday: Exodus 24-25
* 38 2/17 Wednesday: Exodus 26-27
39 2/18 Thursday: Exodus 28-29
40 2/19 Friday: Exodus 30-31
Question of the day: Let’s take the rest of the day off. At this point, with the two parts I’ve written above, I feel like that is sufficient. Please pray for those who need a healing touch from the Lord today; a “Refuah Shelayma” (complete healing) for them all. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.