Rabbi’s Reflections – Friday, June 18, 2021
(Early) Shabbat Shalom,
Yesterday’s discussion on Why is the Red Heifer red, leads us to todays topic. Why is the Red Heifer a heifer? Various sacrifices are commanded in various parts of the Bible. In the first two chapters of Leviticus there are 4 such offerings, the bull, the pigeons, the flour (or grain) and the lamb. The birds and the grain are not gender specific, while the bull and the lamb are… Leviticus 1:3 “If his sacrifice is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present a male without blemish.”… 10 “If his sacrifice is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall bring a male without blemish.”
While we have seen evidence that the Red Heifer is representative of Yeshua (for the cleansing of sin), the fact that she is female must mean something. The female part of Yeshua’s family is His Bride. Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Read the context of this verse from Revelation 19. This is a vision of worldwide revival. And yes, the Bride of Messiah will be partnered (through marriage) with Yeshua.
We read in Isaiah 55:12 “Yes, you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills will break forth before you singing, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands!” But then there is this verse that further identifies us with the trees. There is a vision at the end of Revelation, a tree is fed by the water of life…. Revelation 22:2b and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
We are the leaves of the tree. We are the Red Heifer. We are the 4th specie of Sukkot (I will explain this during Sukkot). We are the Bride, partnered with the groom for the salvation of the world.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Fri 18 Jun-2021 8th of Tamuz, 5781
Nu 21:10-20 Jer 50 Esr 9 (Lk 8:26-56) 2 Co 11
Two verses stand out in Jeremiah 50 amid all the prophesied destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah 50:19 I will bring Israel back to his pasture. He will feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “Israel’s guilt will be sought, but there will be none, also for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found. For I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.
Did you catch that? “I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.” God made the provision to pardon His people through the sacrifice of His Son, Yeshua. Where is this prophesied? Zechariah 8:7 “Thus says Adonai Tzva’ot, ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. 8 I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’
Week 25
Memory Verse: Daniel 4:32(35) All the inhabitants of earth are counted as nothing. He does as He wills with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. No one can hold back His hand, or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’
121 6/14 Monday: Jeremiah 31:30(31)-39(40),32–33
122 6/15 Tuesday: Jeremiah 52; 2 Kings 24-25
123 6/16 Wednesday: Ezekiel 1:1-3; 36:16-38; 37
124 6/17 Thursday: Daniel 1-2
*125 6/18 Friday: Daniel 3-4
Question of the Day: What should I write about; the fiery furnace or the king who lived like an ox?
Both stories are quite remarkable. We have His servants delivered out of the fiery furnace of Daniel 3 and the king forced to living like a wild animal apart from all people in Daniel 4.
With Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, it wasn’t enough that they were cast into the super-hot furnace, the king saw 2 things… they were unbound (because their bindings had been burned off them, but they themselves, and their clothes we not burned) and there was someone else walking with them… Daniel 3:25 But he (the king) answered saying, “Look! I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the fourth has the appearance like a son of the gods!”
This portion of Daniel is written in Aramaic. The English translation of the TLV is poor. We must presume it is an effort to marginalize the text which clearly quotes the king as saying, “The 4th man is like the Son of your God.”
Then in chapter 4, there is the Babylonian king who must live like a wild animal until he understands the sovereignty of God. This chapter is written in the first person by king Nebuchadnezzar. For 7 years the king lived in the wild, until he came to understand and appreciate who God is.
Daniel 4:31 But at the end of the appointed days, I Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes up to heaven and my sanity returned to me. So I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored Him who lives forever. “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation!”
Each of us needs that same revelation in our own life. The theme of the recent Tikkun Conference was “Lift Up Your Eyes.” What do we see? We don’t just see Yeshua; we also see Who He is, the sovereign Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Judge of the Universe. He is the creator of all and sustainer of life. When He is our Lord, we obey Him in all things.
Daniel invited the king the way of righteousness. He chose the hard way and ended up eating grass.… Daniel 4:24 Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: Renounce your sins through righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”
It seems that the king did that for a season. But then… Daniel 4:26 At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 27 the king exclaimed, “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
When we take our eyes off Yeshua and put them anywhere else, we have begun to follow the path to destruction. Eyes on Him, hearts on Him too. Then you will be blessed.
Luke 10:23 Then turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you are seeing yet did not see, and to hear what you are hearing yet did not hear.”
Now you choose for yourself. Eyes on Him.