Rabbi’s Reflections – Saturday, July 16, 2022
Shabbat Shalom,
Growing in Love for God 25
by David Harwood
I know this may sound unusual, but part of developing intimacy with Yeshua is sharing in His appreciation and praise of the Father. In the late 1970’s I heard a song written by Joel Chernoff. I didn’t realize how profound it is. Here are some lyrics:
I will talk to my brothers
About God my Father
Together we’ll sing His Praises.
Together we will sing His Praises, Hallelujah
This song came from Hebrews 2
For both He who sanctifies and those being sanctified are all from one—so He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers and sisters. In the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You.” (Hebrews 2:11-12 TLV)
Hebrews 2 cites a prophecy depicting Yeshua’s glorification. He is described as a worshiper of the One who delivered Him from death. Imagine, the risen Messiah praising His Father for answering His cry for deliverance.
Psalm 22:23 I will declare Your Name to my brothers. I will praise You amid the congregation. 24 You who fear Adonai, praise Him! All Jacob’s descendants, glorify Him! Revere Him, all you seed of Israel. 25 For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the lowly one. Nor has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.
Note that within this psalm is an exhortation from the Risen One. He says: “praise Him”, “glorify Him”, “revere/stand in awe of Him.” This is just amazing.
Do you think that Yeshua, the everlasting Melchizedekian High Priest knew that His verbal expression of wholehearted love was meaningful to His Father? I think He did. I think He does. The Messiah is God the Son. He is omniscient and glorified incarnate wisdom.
Messiah. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. (Colossians 2:2c–3 TLV)
Is the Messiah’s praise valuable to God? Is ours? Pertaining to our praise: if God doesn’t enjoy it why do it?
Our praise is meaningful to Him because He created us to elicit His love. We were created to be significant to Him. God reveals Himself to us to draw our love. He loves being loved by those He loves. Our love, expressed in praise, is significant to Him because in His eyes we are. Therefore, the First Command.
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37 TLV)
Why is this command the foremost? Why does it precede every other command!? Because:
God wants to be known and He wants to be loved.
He wants to be loved by you.
That is the type of relationship Adonai is after. It is an eternal interaction. It is so prized in His eyes that it was worth dying for. Our love relationship with God is mutual and dynamic. We relate to God within Him. He relates to us within us and amongst us.
We experience mutual abiding. It is the active, normative spiritual life. Yeshua said that we are to dwell in Him and He in us. He stressed this in agricultural terms.
Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. The branch cannot itself produce fruit, unless it abides on the vine. Likewise, you cannot produce fruit unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4 TLV)
We are to have this mutual sharing of heart from within one another’s hearts. This is fellowship that the Ruach ha-Kodesh provides.
The Spirit indwells the Father, and the Son, and us. He is the Spirit of our Father (Matthew 10:20b). He is the Spirit of the Son within us (Galatians 4:6).
It is plainly written that both Father and the Son dwell in us.
We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. (John 14:23b TLV)
This describes the mutual indwelling of persons. We don’t allow the non-personal metaphors of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (water, fire, rain, wind, oil, etc.) to rob us of the Personality of the Spirit. And this wonderful Spirit interrelates with us through love.
He will reveal the truth about our God so we might participate in the fellowship of joyous love-for-God. He is the Spirit of Truth. He’ll show us the truth.
Ask for illumination about the Creator who treasures your love.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat 16-Jul-2022 17th of Tamuz, 5782 Parashat Balak
Nu 24:14-25:9 Mic 5:6-6:8 2 Pe 2