Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, October 26, 2020
Shalom,
You, my friends, are not going to believe this… it just keeps getting better. Lars informed me last week that his son has created an app for the Daily Bread. I used this link to download it onto my smartphone. https://apps.apple.com/se/app/daily-bread-scripture-journal/id1534704934?l=en It is amazingly robust. Try it out! (It only works on smartphones and iPads, but not on computers, laptops, or notebooks.)
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Let’s try something new. Once every 3 months, there is one month with a 5th Saturday in it. Next Saturday, October 31st, is that one 5th Saturday for the last quarter of 2020. What we’re going to do different is have a big covered dish dinner followed by a worship service on Friday night and then take Saturday as a full Shabbat of rest. This is something we are going to try to see how we like it. We will have a great Erev Shabbat Friday night followed by a locked building with a sign on the door that explains what we are doing. Take some time to creatively decide how you will honor this Shabbat in a special way. What a great opportunity to pray. Feel free to send me your testimony of how you honored God on this special Shabbat, October 31st.
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Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Mon 26-Oct-2020 8th of Cheshvan, 5781
Ge 12:14-13:4Jos 19-20Ps 19-20Mt 13:31-58(1 Jn 1)
Part of the reading for today is Psalm 19. I love these verses…
Psalm 19:8(7) The Torah of Adonai is perfect, restoring the soul.
The testimony of Adonai is trustworthy, making the simple wise.
9 The precepts of Adonai are right, giving joy to the heart. The mitzvot of Adonai are pure, giving light to the eyes.
10 The fear of Adonai is clean, enduring forever.
The judgments of Adonai are true and altogether righteous.
11 They are more desirable than gold, yes, more than much pure gold! They are sweeter than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
While this is all very beautiful, only the first phrase is necessary. “The Torah of the Lord is perfect.” What can we add to that? Everything that follows to the end of verse 11 is redundant, yet beautiful. To put it in a better light, it is an amplification that tells us how perfect the Torah is.
Time for a short Hebrew lesson. We are presented with testimony, precepts, mitzvot, and judgments, (and I want to talk about these) but just before judgments there is “fear” (and I want to talk about that too).
Testimony (twdu) (Ay-dut) This word, like all the other words in this list, describes the Torah. This is the idea of a witness. God is a witness to His own goodness and faithfulness. A “witness” provides testimony of what he has seen and heard. When a witness testifies of the truth, that testimony stands the test of time and becomes eternal. There is an eternal nature to “Aydut” as it’s Shoresh is frequently translated in scripture as “forever.”
Precepts (ydwqp) (Pikudei) These are “official appointments.” A “Pakeed” is a ticket taker, or the teller at a bank. God has made official appointments in the world to accomplish His purposes. Isaiah 55:11 so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me in vain, but will accomplish what I intend, and will succeed in what I sent it for.
Mitzvot (twxm) (no transliteration is needed, this is Hebrew) These are commands that require a positive response. God says it, we do it. It’s that simple. Reminds me of the saying, “Don’t just stand there, do something.” God says “jump” and we want to ask, “How high?” If we are intent on asking questions about jumping, it’s better to ask while jumping.
Judgments (yfpvm) (Mishpatei) These are another type of Law (or Torah command). These are rules in the Torah that govern our relationships with each other. God commands in Leviticus 19:18b …love your neighbor as yourself. We are called upon to judge with righteous judgment. This means to allow God (and the wisdom of His Word) to inform our decisions regarding issues of relationship.
Fear (tary) (Yirat) This is called in several places (in Scripture) the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10a The fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom. I took this one out of order to save the best for last. The entire Scripture must be read with fear or respect. We must study God’s Word with a heart for submission. We don’t want to see if God’s Word qualifies as worthy of our obedience. We read it to learn how we may qualify to obey it. And the only way we “qualify” is by faith in the salvation of Yeshua.
Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear Adonai. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm.
Week 44
Memory Verse: Romans 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are tearing down false arguments.
* 216 10/26 Monday: 2 Corinthians 9-10
217 10/27 Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 11-13
218 10/28 Wednesday: Romans 1-2; Acts 20:1-3
219 10/29 Thursday: Romans 3-4
220 10/30 Friday: Romans 5-6
Question of the day: Can we see the difference between the flesh and the spirit in 2 Corinthians 10?
Answer: Sure! Look at this… 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are tearing down false arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah—
We’ve got to get past the flesh and into the Spirit. In the flesh, we are locked out of the Holy of Holies, even though Yeshua has “made the way.” Hebrews 12:24 and to Yeshua, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than the blood of Abel…. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude—through this we may offer worship in a manner pleasing to God, with reverence and awe.
Only by the Spirit can we truly enter in to the presence of God. Matthew 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” For every physical reality, there is a greater spiritual reality. To stand in the presence of God is only possible in the Spirit. Let’s purpose to enter in to our spiritual destiny together with God.