Rabbi’s Reflections -Monday, September 13, 2021
Shalom,
The Equip: Day 4: https://gatesofzion.net/blog-articles/jb-bernstein/the-equip-series/the-equip-series-day-4-magnify-your-ministry/18
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Oh Foolish Galatians – part 4: We are continuing our analysis and commentary on Galatians 3. Consider these verses… Galatians 3:15 Brothers and sisters, I speak in human terms: even with a man’s covenant, once it has been confirmed, no one cancels it or adds to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It doesn’t say, “and to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “and to your seed,” who is the Messiah. 17 What I am saying is this: Torah, which came 430 years later, does not cancel the covenant previously confirmed by God, so as to make the promise ineffective.
In verse 15, Paul is saying that even with earthly covenants, covenants cannot be cancelled. What is unspoken here is, how much more with heavenly covenants made by God Who keeps His promises and only tells the truth (cannot lie). God made a covenant with Father Abraham, a covenant by grace, that covenant cannot be cancelled.
Then Paul elaborates on the confirmation of that covenant. Yeshua came to confirm the Abrahamic Covenant. Following the binding of Isaac, the angel (messenger) spoke from heaven on behalf of God…. Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed—because you obeyed My voice.” And Paul affirms in Galatians 3:16 that seed is Messiah Yeshua.
The “punch line” comes in the next verse…. The Torah does not cancel the previous grace covenant. The promised blessing is not the Torah, but the person of Yeshua HaMashiach. We can and should obey God in every way, but we can never obey our way to salvation. We will always fall short of the mark. Yeshua said of Himself… John 14:6 Yeshua said to him (Thomas), “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Don’t be surprised if we pick this up again tomorrow.
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Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Mon 13 Sep 2021 7th of Tishrei, 5782
De 32:7-12 Zec 3-4 2 Ch 27 (Ac 19) Rev 13
The Torah portion this week (between Yom Kippur and Sukkot) is called Ha’azinu. An “Ozen” is and “ear.” The text is only from the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 32. Ha’azinu literally means “in our ears.” It comes from Deuteronomy 32:1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak! Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
Moses has been told by God that his time is short, so he is taking this last opportunity to address the children of Israel by speaking chapter 32 of Deuteronomy as a last word to the people he has been raising up for 40 years. The entire Torah portion is a prophetic warning not to repeat past mistakes. We, ourselves, would do well to read it and internalize it, as if it were written to us today.
Week 38
Memory Verse: Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. And they were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
186 9/13 Monday: Acts 2-3
187 9/14 Tuesday: Acts 4-5
188 9/15 Wednesday: Acts 6
189 9/16 Thursday: Acts 7
190 9/17 Friday: Acts 8-9