TorahBytes: Giving Birth Is not a Disease (Tazri'a & Hahodesh)

And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, and he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. (Vayikra / Leviticus 12:6, 7; ESV)

The Torah does far more than provide lists of rules and regulations. Through the study of Torah we are drawn into seeing life from God's perspective. A fancy, popular term for this is "worldview." Most of us are not aware that we live our lives based on a worldview, but how we see the world controls the way we live. A worldview is something far more caught than taught in that, for the most part, how we see the world is unconsciously derived from our families of origin and the unstated values of the cultures in which we live.

The Torah is an expression of God's worldview. The explicit statements we encounter in the Torah arise from how God sees life. God's view of reality, which I accept to be the only true reality, is not always explained, but rather assumed. The reason for something is not usually given. After all God has no need to explain himself; he is the Creator and Master of the Universe. When he provides a directive, it is based on his correct understanding of life. But as we look closely at what he tells us, we can pick up on his perspective. As we do so, our understanding of life becomes enriched, which in turn puts his directives in their context, enabling us to fulfill them as God intended.

Before we look at a particular example, I want to point out that the context in which to best understand God's directives is that we live in the messianic age. Unlike the original recipients of the Torah who anticipated Messiah's coming, we live out God's directives in these days of messianic fulfillment. Yeshua's coming and the destruction of the Temple revolutionized how God's people conduct their lives. Yet the radical differences between the Old and New Covenants should not distract us from God's perspective on life which we encounter all through his sacred writings.

Now to our example of how the Torah provides us with God's worldview. This week's Torah portion begins with a section regarding the purification regulations of child birth. This is then followed by a lengthy section on infectious skin conditions. There are similarities and dissimilarities between these two sections. What these two conditions have in common is that special attention was to be given to their conditions and certain rituals were to be observed when the conditions were resolved. The state of being unclean in each case placed the person in a special relationship to the things of God and in the community. This was designed to protect the community and the individual during their time of ritual uncleanness. However, the port-partum mother did not pose a risk to the community in the way those who contracted an infectious skin disease did. If it was determined that a person truly had an infectious skin condition, they were to be placed in isolation. There was no such requirement for the specified time period following childbirth. While both the post-partum mother and the person with the skin condition were to be regarded as "unclean", whatever else unclean meant, childbirth is not a disease.

That childbirth is not a disease is, of course, rooted in God's overall perspective on children, which is that they are a blessing and a reward (See Bereshit / Genesis 1:28, Devarim / Deuteronomy 7:4, Tehillim / Psalms 127:3, Matthew 19:14). Yet even though many cultures correctly understand the differences between these two conditions and no one would outright say that giving birth is a disease, the amount of time and effort put in by so many people trying to prevent themselves from having children may expose a worldview very different from that of the God of the Torah.

TorahBytes: When Feeling Bad Is Good (Shemini & Parah)

Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:31, 32; ESV)

This week's Haftarah (reading from the Prophets) includes one of the Hebrew Scriptures' predictions of the physical and spiritual restoration of the people of Israel. These portions make it clear that while Israel will suffer serious consequences for rejecting God and his ways, he will not cast them off forever, but rather will restore them to himself and to their land. This restoration will not be a simple reset back to the way things were, but rather to the way God has always intended, though yet has never been experienced.

However this works out, God is the one who does it. The way the Bible references the work of God is not a poetic or metaphorical way of describing life at a human level alone. When we read, "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt" (Ezekiel 36:33; ESV), God will really do it.

But the fact that God is the one who brings such things about doesn't mean that there isn't a human factor. The restoration of Israel is not something that just happens to the people. As God does what God does, so the people react and respond. In fact the reality of the restoration is that the people will react and respond in a very particular way.

One aspect of that response is contained in what was quoted at the start: "Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations" (Ezekiel 36:31; ESV). When God brings about the promised heart change in the people they will look at their bad behavior and feel terrible about it. And so God says to them: "Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel" (Ezekiel 36:32; ESV). In order to experience the restoration of God, the people first need to be ashamed.

That's not the kind of message I hear these days. What I most often hear is that God wants us to feel good about ourselves. What we're told is that the human problem is low self-esteem and if we only knew how God felt about us, everything would be okay (or, at least, a lot better than it is now). Our problem supposedly is that we haven't learned to accept ourselves. Since, according to this way of thinking, if God accepts us the way we are, then we should to.

But God doesn't accept us the way we are. The reason why the human situation is as bad as it is is because God rejects us in the state we are in. Our acceptance is based on his mercy and sacrifice on our behalf. The good news is that anyone who wants to return to God on his terms will be accepted. But it must be on his terms, which includes loathing ourselves because of our iniquities. Unless we see our sin for what it is, we will never receive the forgiveness necessary to be restored to God. How can we be forgiven if we think we have nothing that requires forgiveness in the first place? To claim to participate in the Messiah's sacrifice but deny its very purpose is to reject it.

It's not as if God wants us to live the rest of our lives feeling bad about ourselves. It's that seeing our wrongs from God's perspective is a necessary part of being restored to right relationship with him. Once we admit the truth about the nature of the evil that pervades our lives, we are in a place where we can receive his forgiveness and experience his acceptance.

TorahBytes: What Is Sin? (Zav & Zakhor)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely - in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby -" (Vayikra / Leviticus 6:1-3; ESV).

This section of the third book of the Torah gives directions regarding what to do when a person did certain wrongs to another person. Notice that in the verses I read, doing such things are considered sins against God and not just against the offended party. The Torah, in this way, puts our behavior into proper perspective. Doing wrong to others badly affects our relationship to God.

Some may think that referencing God with regard to human behavior is simply a way to control a community's behavior. After all the Torah is a religious document. Of course it will reference God with regard to most things. But the God of the Torah is not just an impersonal rule maker. There is no sense that his commandments are designed as behavior modification tools. The Torah's morality is deeply rooted in the reality of a relational God.

God rescued the people of Israel from a horrible situation in Egypt. This redemptive deliverance created a unique eternal bond between the people and God. As a result their lives were to reflect the nature and character of God. Failing to do so constitutes what we call "sin." Sin is not the breaking of an arbitrary rule, but rather it is the denial of or the attempt to destroy an established relationship. Sins are not demerits or mistakes on an exam, where too many can lead to a final mark of "Fail." Rather they are the bad fruit that arise from a state of being out of sync with what was intended to be a most intimate relationship. Justice, equity, respect for property, and honesty are essential aspects of the nature and character of God himself. To ignore these things is to turn one's back on God. To do wrong to others breaks relationship with him, or in other words, it is to sin.

Until we understand that our misdeeds toward each other are first and foremost an affront to the God who made us, we will never effectively deal with them. Philosophy, psychology, and all sorts of religions attempt to resolve human dysfunction, but no amount of self-understanding, personal improvement, mind games, or behavioral techniques will ever resolve our inability to live rightly towards others, not to mention establish and maintain right relationship with our Creator.

It is only as we recognize our misdeeds for what they really are - sins against God - that we can begin to not only know the kind of relationship with God we were designed for, but we will also begin to experience the kind of relationship with each other we so desperately long for.

TorahBytes: The People of God (Yayikra)

This one will say, "I am the LORD’s," another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, "The LORD’s," and name himself by the name of Israel. (Isaiah 44:5; ESV)

The central theme of the whole Bible is God's plan to reestablish right relationship with human beings. Having been made "very good" by God in the beginning, our first parents rejected God's word and listened to the Tempter, thrusting the human race into a state of alienation from our Creator. God determined from that day to restore our broken relationship with him (see Bereshit / Genesis 3:15). One might wonder why God didn't fix things on the spot. Why has the reconciliation of mankind to God been so drawn out, difficult, and complex? The complexity of this solution underscores the complexity of the problem. The more I ponder this, the more I realize how terrible our rebellious state really is. God's approach to this problem is the exact appropriate and most effective solution there is.

It would be centuries between God's promise of restoration in the Garden of Eden and the real beginnings of the outworking of his restorative plan. This occurred when God promised blessing to the whole world through Abraham. While so much of the focus of the Hebrew Scriptures is on Israel itself, throughout its pages we see how God's work in and through Israel would result in great benefit for all peoples and the entire creation.

An example of this is found in this week's Haftarah portion. Through the prophet Isaiah, God speaks of a time when he would restore wayward Israel to himself. As this occurs even those who were not of Israel originally would consider themselves as such and regard themselves as belonging to Israel's God.

The turning of non-Jewish nations to the God of Israel is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham - the fulfillment of God's promise in the Garden. Israel was not chosen as a holy nation for itself, but for global blessing.

How this was to work out was a major challenge to the early followers of Yeshua. It took a while for the first generation of Jewish believers to accept and embrace God's desire to make himself known to non-Jewish people. Then, once more and more non-Jews began to trust in the Messiah, it would be through controversy that the place of non-Jews within the community of believers would be adequately understood. In time, non-Jewish believers would be accepted as full members of the New Covenant community.

Through Yeshua all people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, are restored to right relationship with God. As such, all believers are equally regarded as part of the people of God. God is equally Father to all who are reconciled to him through the Messiah by faith. We all have the same access to him. God has no favorites. How much one may benefit by their relationship with God and their particular calling and gifts may differ from person to person. Yet at the same time, all believers are equally part of God's family.

The establishment of the New Covenant community as a multinational gathering of people based on faith in the Messiah should not be confused with God's particular plans and purposes for the people of Israel, however. While Israel's tendency to see itself as the sole benefactor of God's blessings became an obstacle to its comprehending its call to be an instrument of those blessings to all nations, the incorporation of the nations as part of the people of God in no way undermines the particular aspects of God's plan that applies particularly to Israel.

This "both/and" of the one messianic people of God and God's continued covenantal faithfulness to Abrahams' descendents through Isaac and Jacob is an essential element of biblical truth. To fail to grasp the importance of these two essential aspects of God's overall plan of reconciliation is to disqualify ourselves from full participation in that plan.

Israel was called to be God's instrument of blessing to the entire world. Contrary to popular thought, this was realized through the Jewish Messiah and his early Jewish followers. The New Covenant (New Testament) writings is the legacy of Israel to the world. The temporary failure of the majority of Israel to embrace its messianic call in Yeshua in no way undermines God's plan for the world or Israel's own destiny, for God will yet fulfill his promises to them.

For more information regarding the identity of Israel in the New Covenant writings, please see my article, God Did Not Reject His People - The Identity of Israel in Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 11.

TorahBytes: The Visibility of God (Pekudei & Shekalim)

For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (Shemot / Exodus 40:38; ESV)

The Torah teaches us two essential factors about the nature of God. First, God is non-material. He is not made up of the stuff of creation. This is one reason why he is not to be represented by idols. Man's greatest attempt to represent God through man-made items is futile, for his fullness cannot be comprehended by our physical senses.

The second essential factor is that while God himself is immaterial, he makes himself known within the material world he has made. Even though he is unseen, what he does is clearly seen. The creation is prime evidence for his existence. The design of the universe from the smallest particle to the vastness of space shouts to us of the reality of the Designer. More than that, God also makes himself known through unusual acts of power. God's deliverance of Israel from oppression in Egypt is an example of this. The ten plagues were not natural disasters. They were intended by God to show to Israel, Egypt, and the world how powerful he was and where his allegiance lay.

During the 40 years of Israel's wilderness wanderings, God also showed himself through various miracles of protection, provision, and punishment. Israel was to learn that God was not just a concept or a power to manipulate. Though he himself could not be seen and no image could be concocted that could adequately represent him, he was very real.

Another way God communicated himself was through a cloud that stayed with them during their wilderness years. The cloud protected them and guided them in their journeys. The cloud itself wasn't God. They didn't worship the cloud. Yet the cloud was a visible representation of his presence.

How wonderful it would be to have such a visible representation of God's reality and presence with us today! How certain we would be of God's existence, love, and leading! But then again, would we? The visibility of God didn't actually make a difference to the majority within the nation of Israel. All the adults who were miraculously delivered from Egypt were judged by God for their unfaithfulness and died before ever entering the Promised Land. All these visible manifestations of God's reality made no difference in their lives.

The people's lack of faithfulness to God in no way diminishes the reality of God's visibility. This lack only testifies to the depth of human beings' alienation from God. For those who were faithful to God, his visibility was a great comfort and help. God's visibility doesn't produce right relationship with him. But for those who truly trust him, the various ways God makes himself known, make an enormous difference.

This is not to say that knowing God is a personal, subjective experience as if the visibility of God is dependent on faith. Just like the whole nation of Israel saw the cloud and was benefited by it, God makes himself known to all people in a variety of ways. The difference that trusting him makes has to do with the effect of his visibility on us. When we are in right relationship with him, then the ways he reveals himself enhances that relationship.

TorahBytes: You Are an Artist (Va-Yakhel)

Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded. (Shemot / Exodus 36:1; ESV)

Years ago I was at a business meeting and the featured presentation was given by an art-oriented company. At some point during the meeting everyone attending was to introduce themselves and say something about their artistic ability. I was struck by how many people began by saying they weren't artistic, but loved gardening or were an engineer or software developer. Almost every person who seemed to be somewhat embarrassed by not being an artist in the classical sense of the word, clearly possessed some sort of creative ability.

As products of intentional creative design, human beings should expect to find all sorts of creative abilities within ourselves. From our first task as gardeners in Eden, people are called by God to creatively interact with our environment. We don't have to be painters, dancers, or musicians to be artistic. From parenting to building construction to assembly line work to management to even politics, life requires the ability of the artist to effectively perform the vast number of tasks we face throughout our lives.

This week's Torah portion helps us to understand our artistic ability according to God's design. God gave Moses detailed directions regarding the construction of the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle). The Mishkan was to be the central location for the sacrificial system for the people of Israel. As we read, the people who were to be involved in this project were the "craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary."

The most important aspect regarding human artistic ability is that it comes from God. Believers in God may quickly agree, but do we really relate to our abilities this way? We may refer to our talents as "gifts", but do we really accept that they are fundamentally rooted in God and not in self? Do we relate to our abilities as if they have been bestowed upon us from our Heavenly Father? Or do we think of them (or the lack of them) as just the way we are? The Torah is clear: skill is something that God has put in us.

Once we grasp this, then we can begin to look at our artistic abilities as the gifts they are: gifts to treasure, gifts to care for. If our abilities have been entrusted to us by God, then it is easier to accept the second aspect that we find in what we read. The craftsmen were to "work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded." The artistic abilities we have been given are not to be used in any way we like, but rather they are to serve the purposes of God.

So much of human creativity today is self expression. Being true to oneself and serving oneself in almost everything we do is our highest value. My abilities exist to serve my desires and my purposes. Even the reward of benefiting others is often expressed in terms of self gratification. And if my abilities make me lots of money, all the better!

This is so far from our Creator's perspective. God created us to be creative for his purposes. His directive to us to use that which he has entrusted to us within the confines of his will is not an expression of his own selfishness as if he is just like us only bigger. It's that for us to truly reflect the One in whose image we are made, we need to express our creativity with the same generosity, attitude of service and moral integrity as him.

A note to the artistically challenged: When we realize that creativity is truly a gift from God, we no longer need to accept our own (or others') view of our abilities. Just ask God, the Creative One, for his creative gifts. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you will discover he has put in you.

TorahBytes: Avoiding the Philosophical Trap (Ki Tissa)

The LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. (Shemot / Exodus 32:14; ESV)

I appreciate the study of theology. As we grow in our understanding of Scripture, we have the opportunity to get to know God better and be better equipped to live life the way God intended. However, I find that sometimes instead of theology, scripture study becomes nothing more than philosophy. It's not that philosophy itself is useless or that we should never grapple with some of the difficult philosophical issues that arise from Scripture. It's that sometimes philosophical questions can get in the way of the wisdom that God has for us in his written Word.

For example, this week's Torah portion contains a philosophical trap. In the incident of the golden calf, Moses was with God on Mt. Sinai for over a month. The people's impatience led them to idolatry and gross sinful behavior. God told Moses that he was going to destroy the people and make a new nation from Moses. In response Moses pleaded on behalf of the people, asking God to change his mind, which he did.

But how could it be that the all-knowing God could change his mind? If God knows everything, and he determines to do something, why would he change his course of action? Didn't God know that Moses would respond the way he did? If so, then was his original intention simply a ploy to get Moses to do what he did, so that God could appear to change his mind, when in fact, he had no intention of destroying the people in the first place?

Others look at a passage like this and conclude that God must not be all knowing after all and is just one of the players in the story, albeit a strong player. They assert that God's purposes are dependant upon the affairs of mankind. The problem with this view is that it doesn't hold up to the overall view of God in the Bible. Claiming that God is limited may provide philosophical satisfaction, but it doesn't alleviate the tension that arises from the study of the whole Bible.

The real difficulty about a passage like this is not what we know about God, but not realizing what we don't know. If we assume that the Bible is exhaustive in its revelation of God, then we might think that resolving philosophical issues like this would be only a matter of study. But the Bible isn't exhaustive in what it teaches about God; it is sufficient. While it provides all we need to know about him, the infinite Master of the Universe is way more than what we could ever comprehend. The fact is the Bible doesn't give us all the information necessary to resolve some of its own philosophical problems.

But God didn't give us the Bible to satisfy our philosophical needs and desires. He gave it to us to help us to be the people he designed us to be. This is how a passage like this one is meant to function. Here we have the example of Moses - a man who truly knew God as the all powerful and all knowing God he is. But when Moses was faced with a most tragic situation of God's judging the people, he didn't grapple with a philosophical crisis, he rather cried out on the people's behalf instead. Knowing God, his power and his faithfulness, enabled Moses to successfully pray for God's forgiveness and mercy.

Getting to know God and how to live for him is not a matter of figuring him out. That doesn't mean that we don't use our minds - far from it! But as we use our minds to grapple with Scripture, we need to stop trying to do philosophy. Instead we need to allow the great complexity of biblical truth, philosophical problems and all, to do its work in our hearts and lives.

TorahBytes: No MSG (Tezavveh)

You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, "Holy to the LORD." And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. (Shemot / Exodus 28:36-38; ESV)

Years ago I was talking to a business colleague, who made reference to his way of dealing with people, by saying "no MSG". He wasn't referring to the infamous flavor enhancer, but rather to "manipulation, shame, or guilt". I don't know about you, but in my growing up years. "MSG" (not the flavor enhancer) was a staple and it didn't enhance anything! One of the reasons this kind of MSG is so common is that it works. It may not work with you, but where I come from, it worked big time.

Some people claim that shame and guilt are illusionary, nothing more than a state of mind, a psychological condition concocted by the power brokers of society. There might be some truth in that when we address false guilt and shame. There are all sorts of people who, for all sorts of reasons, unnecessarily suffer from the burden of guilt and shame, but that doesn't mean that real guilt and shame don't exist.

The Hebrew word for "guilt" in the verses I quoted is "av-on'" and is often translated "iniquity." It comes from the idea of being twisted. In the context of these verses, guilt was experienced by the people for not properly fulfilling their obligations before God. As a result they were in a twisted condition as far as their relationship with God was concerned. A better way to express it in contemporary terms would be "being out of sorts."

Real guilt, then, is a relational condition, not a psychological one. Real guilt may be accompanied by feelings of guilt or not. For example if you commit a traffic violation, and the authorities determine you are in the wrong, whether or not they are correct, you are guilty and must satisfy the penalty of guilt before your relationship to the authorities can be fully restored. How you feel about the situation is beside the point.

Unlike the imperfect determinations of human institutions, God's determinations are perfect. If he determines we are guilty, then we are guilty. But just like my traffic violation example, while God's determination of guilt may or may not provoke guilty feelings, if we are guilty before God, then we are out of sorts with him and the evidence to that fact will manifest itself in a variety of ways.

The story of ancient Israel was designed by God to reveal reality and truth to the world. Through the sacrificial system we see God's desire to have an intimate relationship with his beloved human creatures, but at the same time we see that mankind is out of sorts with God and not able on our own to be in right relationship with him. And so God appointed priests (Hebrew: cohanim) to bear the people's guilt before him. The priestly role enabled the temple service to function even though it never fully resolved the problem of guilt. That would have to wait until the coming of the Messiah.

Before we can truly experience the freedom from guilt that is available to us in Yeshua, we need to acknowledge the reality of guilt in our lives. Don't confuse this with MSG. We should not be manipulated by a false sense of shame and guilt. We shouldn't be manipulated by real shame and guilt either for that matter. Having to face reality is not being manipulated. While facing guilt is not comfortable, it is the first step to true freedom in life. But we cannot be free from guilt until we can admit that we are out of sorts with God is so many ways. Freedom from MSG is possible, but only as we cooperate with God in acknowledging our guilt and accepting his provision for it in the Messiah.

TorahBytes: The Key to Spiritual Riches (Terumah & Rosh Hodesh)

Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:1, 2; ESV)

When Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, he prayed,

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. (1 Melachim / 1 Kings 8:27-30; ESV)

Solomon in his day understood what God would say many years later through the prophet Isaiah: that God cannot be contained by a man-made house. While the Temple was central to the life of the nation of Israel and would eventually become a source of pride, virtually taking God's place in the minds and hearts of the people, Solomon himself understood its intended function as representing God's presence among the people.

But a source of pride it did become and so it was necessary for God through Isaiah to remind the nation that the existence of the Temple was not proof positive that they were in good stead with him. God's regard for the people was not based on the Temple, but upon their relationship with him - a relationship based upon a certain kind of heart attitude. This kind of person is described by Isaiah as "he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

This description is reminiscent of Isaiah's own experience when God appeared to him as recorded near the beginning of his book (see Isaiah 6). When he was drawn in to witness the heavenly worship scene, he became a most broken man - a man most unfit to speak God's word to the people. And it was because he was humble enough to recognize the reality of his condition before God, that God was able to equip him to speak on his behalf.

The description of the type of person that God regards is one that most people would resist. What is translated here as "humble and contrite" is the usual way to describe the poor, the needy, and the afflicted. These are those who are at the mercy of their circumstances, their oppressors, and their environment. They have no power and influence and there is nothing they can do about it. But by adding "in spirit" most likely denotes that these people are not afflicted in the natural, though they might be that as well. This is a description of people who are stricken in their hearts, people who see themselves as most needy in their spiritual state, just like Isaiah, those who tremble at God's word.

The people whom God regards are those who are keenly aware of their constant need of him. No matter how confident they may be in their relationship with him, that confidence never crosses into self-confidence as evidenced by their ongoing dependency on him and their continual openness to his correction and teaching.

It is so easy for us to "temple-ize" the work of God in our lives, where we regard that which we have learned in the past as his final word upon which we focus our lives. Our hearts become sealed in the concrete of our perceptions and find comfort in predictability and easy-(or not-so-easy-)to-define formulas.

To be in that place is to lose sight of who God is or, rather, to lose sight of God altogether. Just as the Temple of old could not contain the Creator of the Universe, we need to recognize that our perceptions of God, no matter how good, correct, and helpful they may be can never fully contain him. No matter how well off we may be spiritually, compared to his riches, we are all just spiritual paupers in great need of him. Once we are able to truly acknowledge how spiritually needy we really are, we will be in a place where we can get to know God as never before.

TorahBytes: Liability (Mishpatim)

When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed. (Shemot / Exodus 21:18, 19; ESV)

The wisdom of God regarding liability in physical conflicts is clear: wrongdoers are not to be held responsible for more than the harm caused, but are responsible for both the lost wages of the injured party and for the cost of healing. Following God's directive on such matters contributes to a healthy thriving community.

Some people would rather address the issue of liability by proclaiming that fighting is wrong and ignore it. Others insist that the New Covenant approach contradicts the Torah and places all burden of crime on the victim. I am aware of the Messiah's teaching on "turn the other cheek" and what Paul wrote against lawsuits:

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! (1 Corinthians 6:7, 8; ESV) 

What the Messiah and Paul are teaching have to do with personal conflicts, not the establishment of godly laws governing a society. Sadly wrongs do happen to people and we will not always see justice in our personal conflicts. The Messiah, through his life, teaching, death, and resurrection, shows us how to handle being wronged. Paul is simply applying Yeshua's teaching and example to the life of a most dysfunctional congregation in the ancient Greek town of Corinth.

The need to learn to suffer wrong is not to be twisted into a societal dictum that gives wrongdoers free reign to abuse others. Even if the Messiah's "turn the other cheek" means that we should never speak up for ourselves when wronged (which I doubt is the intent), this is not a directive for people in authority to impose such an idea upon their people, whether those authorities are government officials, congregational leaders, or parents. When one of our children punches his little brother or sister, Yeshua does not expect us to get the two of them together and practice "turn the other cheek". While this might be a time to learn forgiveness (which is a different issue), it is also an opportunity for the wrongdoer to learn the principle of liability. In the same way congregational leaders and government officials would do well to follow God's ways to protect the innocent by ensuring that wrongdoers bear the responsibility of their actions.

TorahBytes: Presuppositions (Yitro)

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (Isaiah 6:1-5; ESV)

I have heard it said that Isaiah's vision of God, even though it is found in the sixth chapter of his book, must have occurred before he began his prophetic ministry. I can understand why. It is in this experience that Isaiah receives his marching orders and therefore serves the purpose of an introduction. Another clue that suggests this took place before he ever spoke to the people on God's behalf is his reaction. First, it devastated him: "Woe is me! For I am lost", which is not something we would expect from a faithful servant of God. Second, he confessed to have "unclean lips" just like the rest of his people. What kind of prophet of God has unclean lips? I would propose: a genuine one.

While it is possible that Isaiah's vision is set out of sequence, is it necessary that his dramatic experience had to come first before he took up his prophetic vocation? That assumption says more about our presuppositions of how God works than truly grappling with what is going on here.

I am aware of the many biblical accounts of people to whom God appeared and/or spoke to before they began their divine task. But there are also people that God appeared and/or spoke to well into their ministry. So why can't it be that Isaiah is an example of the latter? Well, as I already mentioned, the nature of the vision and the level of interaction is so foundational both in terms of Isaiah's personal spiritual state and the scope of the mission to which he was called, it is difficult to think of this coming to him midstream.

But why not? Why do we assume that Isaiah must have had all this in place prior to the beginning his work? Many people hearing or reading this are engaged in some sort of work for God. Do we believe that we are completely spiritual and that the scope of our ministry is perfectly defined? Oh, but we are not Isaiah, we might say. We cannot compare our callings to his. Why not? How different are we from him really? Isaiah, as were all the significant biblical characters, was a human being just like us, serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as we are called to do. Does it sound that far fetched that this great prophet of God might discover that he is not as spiritual as he thought he was and that he may not have yet fully grasped the scope of his calling?

Isaiah wasn't alone in his need to grow in his faith and work. All through Abraham's life God expanded his understanding of what was being promised to him and how it was to work out. It took Jacob years to become a true believer. Moses had a lot to learn before he was ready to assume his leadership role and even then the challenges that he faced forced him to draw closer and closer to God. David's whole life was one of getting to know God better. Some of his personal weaknesses did not rise to the surface until after God used him in very significant ways.

God uses imperfect vessels. He doesn't perfect us prior to his using us. When God calls us unto a task, he doesn't usually give us all the details. So then let us not presume that whatever understanding we currently have of God, our relationship to him, or the nature of the work to which he calls us, is complete.

God may not appear to or speak to us in the same manner as he did Isaiah, but let's be careful not to let our presuppositions about God and how he deals with us prevent him from working in our lives.

TorahBytes: Don't Refuse God's Commandments (Be-Shallah)

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?" (Shemot / Exodus 16:27, 28; ESV)

These words refer to the failure on the part of some of the Israelites regarding God's instructions about the gathering of manna. Manna was the miraculous bread-like substance that God provided for the people of Israel during their forty years of wilderness wanderings. Each morning the people were to gather only the amount necessary for their family. If they would collect too much it would go bad by the next day. The only exception was on the sixth day of the week (modern day Friday), when they were to collect twice as much so that they would have enough for Shabbat, the seventh day, when there would be no manna.

But some of the people didn't obey the Lord's words and went to gather on Shabbat anyway. The problem with what they were doing was probably not their attempt to gather, since they could not gather what was not there. What most likely happened was either they didn't collect double as they were told, perhaps due to not believing it would go bad overnight as it usually did, or they ate the entire double portion. Whatever it was, they didn't believe God and so did not obey his directives.

Years later Moses would reflect on God's provision of the manna and tell the people that its primary purpose was to teach them the essential lesson of relying on and obeying God's word:

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD (Devarim/ Deuteronomy 8:3; ESV).

This is why God chastised them the way he did by saying "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?"

God provided the manna to feed his people. But the gathering of the manna had to be on his terms. To neglect his clear instructions was detrimental to the society and its individuals. God was seeking to train Israel to be a godly people, who would be a light to the nations. In order to do that, they needed to pay attention to his words and to do exactly what he directed them to do.

That lesson is the same lesson we all need to learn today. When the Messiah was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, one of the verses he used was the one I quoted from Deuteronomy (see Matthew 4:4). Yeshua said it is foolishness to neglect his teaching (see Matthew 7:24-27). His commandments which he instructed us to keep (see John 14:15) are the correct interpretation of the Torah (see Matthew 5:17, 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). His disciples were mandated to teach the nations to obey his teaching (see Matthew 28:18-20). According to the book of James, the person who is blessed in his activities is the one who perseveres in God's law (see James 1:23). Some adherents of the New Covenant Scriptures claim that in the Messiah God is not so concerned about the details of his directives. But if anything, he is more so. As we read in the book of Hebrews:

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven (Hebrews 12:25; ESV).

It's tragic that both Judaism and Christianity have tended to be confused over this essential topic. In Judaism, the tendency has been to view the keeping of God's commandments as an end in itself. Christianity, on the other hand, has often over emphasized that a relationship with God is based on grace through faith to the neglect of doing God's will.

The Biblical balance is found in our trusting in the Messiah for the restoration of our relationship with God and then living out that restoration by carefully heeding his directives. This includes being open to hearing him confront us as he did the Israelites of old, when he says to us "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws"?

TorahBytes: Noisy Lives (Bo)

Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, "Noisy one who lets the hour go by." (Jeremiah 46:17; ESV)

Can a person miss their life's calling? This sort of question presupposes that each person has a specific God-given destiny that needs to be discovered. I don't know if the Scriptures teach that this is God's intention for each and every person, but it certainly seems that he intends this for some. It's not that these people's lives necessarily matter more than others. It's just that some people are chosen by God for very particular purposes.

Whether or not each one of us has a general life's calling, throughout our lives God presents us all with all sorts of opportunities. How much effect on history these opportunities might have differs from situation to situation, person to person. The things we do may seem very insignificant to us, especially at the time, and we may or may not be aware of how crucial the outcome of an opportunity might be. But just as seeds are so small in comparison to what they produce, so are our deeds in relation to their results.

This week's Haftarah portion is from the prophet Jeremiah. It is a message to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The selection of this passage to coincide with this week's Torah portion is obviously because it harkens back to the Pharaoh of Moses' day. Jeremiah's description could be applied to either Pharaoh: "Noisy one who lets the hour go by." Both Pharaohs held positions of great power. Their decisions had wide-reaching effects. It was in their power to do a vast amount of good for the benefit of many. But in the case of both men, they let the hour go by, or, in other words, they each missed their opportunity.

Whether or not we can miss our life's calling is irrelevant if we miss the opportunities that God brings our way. What good does it do, if we have correctly discerned our vocation, but fail to respond properly to God-given opportunities as they arise?

One of the things that can easily distract us from responding effectively to God-given opportunities is found in how Pharaoh is described in our verse, where he is called "noisy one." The Hebrew word "sha-'own" may indicate more than just a lot of sound, but rather the clamor of a great amount of useless activity.

It is so easy to fool ourselves and others into thinking we are living truly productive and successful lives by increasing our noise level - the noise of busyness that is. Being busy, even doing good things, can function as a smoke screen, clouding over our reluctance to do what God is actually calling us to do.

Busyness often breeds more busyness in that it never allows us to turn down the noise level of our lives long enough for us to face the possibility that we have been neglecting God's will.

This is not to say that being busy in and of itself is just noise. It might be that God himself has you very busy. But let's not be fooled into thinking that busyness itself is a sign of being true to God's call on our lives. Turning down the noise of our busyness also doesn't necessarily mean we need to change vocations or other major aspects of our lives. It might, but we won't know until we turn down the noise of unnecessary busyness. As we begin a new calendar year, what a good time to stop and turn down the noise.

TorahBytes: A People in Process (Shemot)

Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites." (Shemot / Exodus 3:7, 8; ESV)

There are many unique features regarding the nation of Israel. First and foremost is that even though every nation is the product of the providence of God, Israel was specially created by God for a particular purpose, namely to be God's chosen channel through which to make himself known to the world. It is no wonder therefore that Israel's history should be as complex and interesting as it is.

One interesting aspect to Israel's history is how the nation migrated from place to place under God's direction for very specific reasons. This started with Abraham and his call to move his household from Mesopotamia to what was then known as the land of Canaan. Even though all he came to possess in his own lifetime was a burial plot, God said his descendants would one day possess the entire region. But God told Abraham that before this would happen his descendants would first be servants in a foreign land for 400 years (Bereshit / Genesis 15:13, 14).

It would be through a most complex set of circumstances that Abraham's grandson Jacob and his clan would be brought to Egypt, where at first they were most graciously treated and only sometime later would come under oppressive servitude. This is what sets the stage for God's deliverance of the people under the leadership of Moses and his brother, Aaron.

God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt was itself a process by which God demonstrated his power. It was necessary for Israel to witness God's mighty hand in this way in order to prepare them for serving God in the years ahead. They would be taught many important lessons through this and their years of wandering in the wilderness followed by the conquest of Canaan under Moses' successor, Joshua.

As they came to possess the Land, God would continue to instruct them in his ways. As the people and their leaders would most often fail to live according to God's instructions, God would send prophets, his spokespeople, to speak his Word to them in hopes that they would trust God and live life as he intended. However, human nature as it is, Israel did not live up to God's standards, thus resulting in dispersion and exile. Most nations by this time would cease to exist, but God was not finished with Israel - more lessons to be learned - more of God and his ways to be revealed to them and through them. During this period, the anticipation of a Great Deliver, the Messiah, began to become part of the psyche of the nation.

Eventually some of Israel returned to re-establish itself in the Promised Land. The anticipation of the Messiah grew until Yeshua appeared on the scene. He accomplished all that God purposed for him, including the giving of himself as the perfect and eternal sacrifice for sin and the conquering of death through his rising from the dead. During his time on earth he continued to put Israel through a process by preparing a small remnant to journey out into the world, thus fulfilling God's promise to Abraham by making himself known to all peoples.

I get the impression that people don't like being put through process. We tend to want to learn things easily and quickly and get to a place in life where we are done: no more learning; no more process. We like to have things figured out. This is true for the atheist and believer alike. We make our philosophical and theological determinations and spend the rest of lives defending our positions and/or ignoring challenging ideas. The agnostic is no different in their stubbornness to accept that Truth can be known, preferring to hold onto the illusionary comfort of indecision.

But for those who truly walk with God, there is a process through which God puts us. God is preparing us for an eternity with him. This preparation involves a lifelong education through which all sorts of means are at God's disposal. God is not satisfied with leaving us where we are at in life. In order for his plans and purposes to be accomplished in and through us, he will often upset our circumstances, taking us on to the unknown and the uncomfortable. It is as we give ourselves over to God's process that we are most able to learn the lessons he is seeking to teach us and be all that he wants us to be.

TorahBytes: Misinformed Feelings (Va-Yehi)

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, 'Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. (Bereshit / Genesis 50:15-17; ESV)

Just as God revealed to Joseph in dreams years before, God placed him in a position of power over his family. No one could have guessed the context in which this would occur. Second only to Pharaoh in Egypt, Joseph administered a massive food program which sustained not only Egypt during a severe famine, but also the surrounding region. Joseph's brothers had no clue that when they plotted against him they were seeking to destroy the very person God had planned to use to save them. In a way only God can do, he used Joseph's brothers' violent hatred of him as the means by which Joseph was put into a position to preserve not only their own lives, but the destiny of their whole nation.

Imagine what it must have been like for the brothers to spend the rest of their lives in Egypt under the good graces of Joseph. I am sure they were well aware of how blessed they were in a material sense, having suffered through the first years of the famine. At the same time, it must have been very difficult emotionally. We know this from our passage. They had figured that Joseph was only being kind to them for their father's sake. They thought that once Jacob had died, they would be the targets of Joseph's vengeance.

It is most likely that the message they sent to Joseph about Jacob's request regarding forgiving them was fabricated. But they were understandably scared of what Joseph might do to them. After all, they deserved retribution for their evil, and Joseph had it in his power to severely mistreat them.

But note Joseph's response to them. He wept. Joseph was heartbroken that they thought the way they did. As we saw last week, Joseph regarded God as having the upper hand in his ordeal. He knew that God was using him to preserve his family. He had no animosity towards them, his graciousness toward his brothers was firmly rooted in his trust in God.

I don't blame the brothers for not being quick to accept where Joseph was at. They certainly had not conducted their own lives this way. If the roles would have been reversed, then they may have taken advantage of their position of power and insist on retribution. They couldn't fathom that someone could forgive, accept, and love them as Joseph did.

I wonder if God weeps for us much like Joseph did for his brothers.

How often do we relate to God, not on the basis of reality, but from misinformed feelings? He has done everything necessary so that we could be in an intimate relationship with him. Through the Messiah he has demonstrated to us his forgiveness, acceptance, and love. It is understandable that those who refuse to turn to him in repentance and trust would feel alienated from him, but those who have been reconciled to him have no reason to fear his rejection.

One reason for being uncertain about how God relates to us could be due to serious unresolved issues in our lives. Having a sense of God's disapproval when we are involved in truly wrong things is appropriate. That sense of disapproval is a sign of God's work in our lives and should drive us to get right with him.

But other times we are uncertain in our relationship with God due to misinformed feelings. This comes from basing our understanding of him more on how we see ourselves and life, than on how God has revealed himself. God, like Joseph, grieves over our how we allow our feelings to misinform us. When we begin to base our understanding of God on his own revelation of himself rather than upon our misinformed feelings, we will begin to relate to him in the way he longs for us to.

Hanukkah Day Eight: Taking Action

Tonight we light the eighth and final Hanukkah light for another year. We wouldn't have anything to celebrate if Matitiyahu and the Maccabees hadn't moved from thought to action. It is one thing to remember the events of the past and perhaps respond emotionally, but until these events move us to action, then the purpose of the holiday is not fulfilled.

As we light the eighth light this evening and once more acknowledge the miracles God did for our ancestors long ago at this time of year, may God do miracles through us now. And just like long ago, miracles happen when we don't just think about them, but act upon what we claim to believe.

Hanukkah Day Six: On being a lamp stand

The most common symbol of Hanukkah is a nine-branch candelabra, called a Hanukiah or Hanukah Menorah. Eight of the lights represent the eight days of Hanukah. On the first evening (the Jewish day begins at sundown) one candle is lit and then an additional candle is lit on each subsequent evening until all eight are lit on the final evening. The special ninth candle is called the Shamash or the "servant ". Its purpose is to light the other lights and is always offset from the others. This way the purpose of the eight lights is preserved, whose sole purpose is to proclaim the miracle of Hanukkah and nothing else.

Hanukkah happened partly because the Jewish people had forgotten their purpose. Having been called to be a light to the nations, their light had all but extinguished. The people were beginning to adopt the customs of the prevailing culture and neglected those things that distinguished them from the rest of the world.

In order to be what we are called to be we need to be what we are called to be. Obvious perhaps? Yes, but it is so easy to neglect what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. To be the lights we are called to be, we must make sure that we don't give ourselves to other purposes.