Rabbi’s Reflections – Friday, July 21, 2023
(Early) Shabbat Shalom,
One In Messiah part 21 – Romans, part 132
Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on Torah, “The man who does these things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks in this way: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Messiah down), 7 or, ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith that we are proclaiming: 9 For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
I read, copied and pasted these 5 verses. Now my head is spinning. How do we “unwrap this package?” I feel like the essence of what is being said is found at the end of verse 8…. “The word of faith that we are proclaiming.” When does the Torah (Law of commandments) become the “word of faith?” The answer is found in the first part of verse 8. When it goes from “in your mouth” to “in your heart.”
This takes us to verse 9, which is the clearly stated conclusion. Romans 10:9 For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
The “Word” is Yeshua. He is not far off, but very close.… John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
There has never been a better time to be alive on the earth. (I say “on the earth” in case some of you are from other planets. We know you’re out there.) We have so very many blessings. Take the Scriptures alone… the Word of God is available and accessible like no other time, ever. Scriptures that (years ago) would take all day to find are accessible in seconds due to advanced electronic search features. And yet, even with all that knowledge (so readily available), libraries of commentaries too, we still have to live in love by faith.
1 John 4:16b God is love. Now whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17a In this way, love is made perfect among us.
One last point from our subject verses. We don’t have to go (up to heaven or down to hell) looking for Yeshua. The Scripture promises He is near, when we speak of Him and believe in our hearts (have faith). What if you were on trial and you were asked a question (by the defense or the prosecution)… “Tell the court what you believe.”
My answer would be, “I believe the promises of God, all of them.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. One last word… 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on the alert! Stand firm in the faith! Be men of courage! Be strong! Shabbat Shalom.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Fri 21 July 2023 3rd of Av, 5783
De 2:31-3:14 Ez 27 1 Ch 7 Col 3 (Lk 23:26-56)