Rabbi’s Reflections – Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Shalom *|FNAME|*,
April Fool’s Day a day early… in Messianic Judaism we do everything a day early. For instance, we worship on Saturday, a day before the rest of the body of Messiah. We also celebrate April fool’s day by not sending the March 31st RR until March 31st at 8:30AM, 14 1/2 hours behind schedule. Seriously, I wrote it as usual, but didn’t press “send.” Please forgive me.
Special Announcement: Knoxville Leadership Foundation is inviting anyone who wishes to pray to come together… “This is a citywide request for the people of God to come together and pray for all those who are afraid, who find themselves in a desperate place and/or who need God’s peace.” I was on the call last Friday and it was a very effective and wise use of my time. Try it and see if the Lord is in it.
This is done on behalf of the Compassion Coalition, https://compassioncoalition.org/. Here are the details: Please join us Friday morning, April 3rd at 9 am via Zoom. This will be a 30 minute time of prayer. There will be several leaders that will pray with times for silent prayer. Thank you and we look forward to joining in prayer with you.Topic: Compassion Coalition Community Wide Prayer Summit
Time: Apr 3, 2020 09:00 AM Eastern Time
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/334181234?pwd=TkZ4SGdRUW94dHpkWk0vMTQycnUvZz09
Meeting ID: 334 181 234 Password: 531453
One tap mobile +16465588656,,334181234# US (New York)
Psalm 91:3 For He will rescue you from the hunter’s trap and from the deadly pestilence.
Blah! That’s what I think of the translation of this verse in the TLV. The word translated as “rescue” is “Yatzil’cha,” meaning God will deliver you. A form of that word is used over 200 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Of those, more than 150 times it is translated as “deliver.” The second most is rescue (11 times). I don’t want to be just “rescued” from the hunter’s trap, I want to be “delivered” from the fowler’s snare.
“It’s a trap!” And God name is not referenced in the verse itself at all. The verb “Yatzil’cha” is 3rd person future tense, “He will….” It references “Elohai” who is specifically mentioned in the previous verse. “Elohai” (My God) promises in this verse by the first word, “Ki” meaning “On account of….”
This simple word, “Ki,” is usually translated “when” or “because.” Don’t miss the point. God promises to rescue us. And His promise is never in doubt (throughout the whole Psalm). “On account of…” doesn’t mean “maybe;” it means it’s going to happen. The end of verse two is in Hebrew “Evtach Bo,” meaning “I will count on it!”
Week 14
Memory Verse: Psalm 19:14 Also keep Your servant from willful sins. May they not have dominion over me. Then I will be blameless, free from great transgression.
66 3/30 Monday: Judges 6-7
67 3/31 Tuesday: Judges 13-14
* 68 4/1 Wednesday: Judges 15-16
69 4/2 Thursday: Ruth 1-2
70 4/3 Friday: Ruth 3-4
Question of the day: Can you tell us the story of Samson?
Answer: Yes, I could. But if you read Judges 15 and 16 yourself it will bless you more. I will point out that there is a gap of 20 years between chapters 15 and 16. Still, I want to say this to Samson. “She is not your covenant bride. She has proved repeatedly she cannot be trusted, and that she is trying to get you killed. Why don’t you just pack up and leave her?”
But no, Samson finally tells her the truth. And it is to his own destruction. In many ways Sampson was troubled. He certainly never saw himself as God saw him. He didn’t even know when the power of God departed from him.
Anyway, it’s a terrible story with lots of terrible twists and turns. In the end, Samson kills more enemies of Israel in his suicide than he did all during his life. And only then was Samson buried by his own people. The end.
Okay, one more thought… This proves that God’s will will be done even though man may seem to lack good sense.