TorahBytes: Don't Be Fooled by Appearances (Balak)

And God came to Balaam (Hebrew: Bilam) at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you." So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. (Bemidbar / Numbers 22:20-22; ESV)

This week's Torah portion includes the account of Balak, king of Moab, and how he hired a diviner by the name of Bilam to curse the people of Israel. The people of Moab, a country on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea within modern day Jordan, were in great fear of Israel. So King Balak turned to Bilam for help.

The interactions between God and Bilam are confusing. Bilam told Balak's men that he would report back to them what God would say to him. He either sincerely anticipated that the God of Israel would speak to him or he purposely gave a false impression. Either way, God did speak to him and told him not to do what Balak had asked.

When Balak was told that Bilam refused to come, he sent another entourage with promises of great honor to try to get him to do the king's bidding. Bilam gave to them what sounds like the response of a true believer:

Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more (Bemidbar / Numbers 22:18; ESV).

But when Bilam inquired of God a second time, God told him to go with Balak's men, yet he was to do only that what God told him. So he goes. But then we read that God was angry with him because he went. What's going on here?

The clue to this apparent contradiction in God's directives to Bilam is found in the fact that even though God clearly told Bilam the first time not to go, he inquired of God again. Bilam already knew God's will for this situation. There was no need for further inquiry. Yet he persisted and God sent him in a direction that God himself did not approve of.

This may seem strange, but is it? How often does God allow us to pursue the things that we know are wrong? How often have we prayed and knew deep down what God's will was and yet, not being satisfied with his answer, continued to pray until God let us do what we wanted.

Some may look at Bilam and think he was a really good guy, who faithfully followed God. Did he not only go when God said to go? And did he not speak over Israel only the words that God put in his mouth? Doesn't he seem to be a man truly blessed by God? Not if we see everything the Torah says about him.

We already noted that God was angry with him for doing this. Then, following this incident, Israel committed immorality with the Moabite women and worshipped their idols, thus resulting in a plague which killed 24,000 Israelites. It is not until some chapters later that we learn that this had been instigated by Bilam (Bemidbar / Numbers 31:16).

How often do we think that the evidence of God's power and presence in the life of an individual is an indication of God's approval of that person? We equate God's favor with his approval even when we are aware of very questionable issues in that person's life. Yeshua himself said that there would be people who would show signs of God's power and presence to whom he would one day say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23; ESV). Just because God allows certain behaviors or he uses someone does not necessarily mean he approves of them.

The associated Haftarah (reading from the prophets) speaks well to this. I close with reading a portion of it:

"O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam (Hebrew: Bilam) the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD. With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:5-8)

TorahBytes: Death Is Not Our Friend (Hukkat)

Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him. (Bemidbar / Numbers 19:13; ESV)

In this week's parsha (Torah portion), we read about the ritual cleansing that is necessary when coming into contact with the dead, as well as the deaths of Moses' sister Miriam and his brother Aaron. How people have related to death throughout history has varied. Today there is growing interest and openness to euthanasia. Euthanasia is commonly thought of as mercy killing, whereby causing or aiding in the death of a suffering person is viewed as a better option than allowing them to continue to suffer.

But is killing someone ever a better option than living? One of the things that this depends on is what death really is. To hear some of the arguments in favor of euthanasia one would think that death is a welcome friend to the sufferer, or that death is just one of many natural parts of life. For some who believe in an afterlife death is a doorway to a better place or the long awaited freedom from our bondage to our flesh. While these kinds of notions about death are not the only thing fueling the growing acceptance of euthanasia, it would be difficult for society to embrace such a thing if death itself was seen in a negative light.

But according to the Bible death is negative. Death is not natural. It is an aspect of God's curse upon the human race due to the rebellion of our first parents (See Bereshit / Genesis 2:15, 17; cf 3:17-19). We were created to live, not die. Death is not a solution, but a problem - our biggest problem. It is not our friend; it is an enemy - an enemy that God has purposed to destroy (See 1 Corinthians 15:26).

For those who have been made right with God due to trusting in the Messiah, death poses no threat. For even when it works its evil upon us, it will not have the final word. God's children are kept safe in his care after death and anticipate the receiving of incorruptible bodies at the resurrection.

However, while we have no reason to fear death, it continues to represent God's displeasure with humankind and will continue to be part of our plight until the Messiah returns. At that time, we will not be reconciled with death; it will be destroyed.

The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek, meaning "good death," but there is no such thing. Death is bad. Putting a positive spin on it distracts us from its purpose in human experience. To pretend that it is a welcome friend, when it is really our enemy, undermines the God-derived value of life.

TorahBytes: Perspective (Korah)

They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" (Bemidbar / Numbers 16:3; ESV)

This week's Torah portion includes a rebellious challenge by several key individuals of the community of Israel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Even though the people knew full well that the roles of Moses and Aaron were clearly defined by God, Moses offered to the rebels an opportunity to see God yet again confirm their leadership. This was not acceptable to the rebels, however. Their minds were already made up. God therefore severely punished them by causing the ground to swallow them alive.

This disaster set the whole community against Moses and Aaron. God's response was to destroy the whole nation, except that Moses and Aaron intervened on their behalf. God relented, but not until over 14,000 people had died.

This is one of the many examples of Scripture that illustrates what happens when we stubbornly rebel against God. Not only did it ruin the lives of the rebels themselves, but it destroyed their families and resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths. Rebellion against God is not just an individual matter; it brings destruction far beyond our own personal lives.

But how did the rebels get to the place where they would take such a stand against God's will? How is it that they could so misunderstand God's intentions for their community? When the rebels refused Moses' invitation to allow God to reconfirm the leadership he established, they said,

We will not come up. Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. (Bemidbar / Numbers 16:12-14; ESV)

These people had struggled ever since leaving Egypt. This is not the only time that a reference had been made to their having been well fed there and perhaps they were, but that may have been one of the only positive aspects of their lives as slaves. Somehow the hardship of living in the wilderness since their deliverance helped them to forget how terrible their lives had been and why it was they had cried out to God for help in the first place.

Living in the wilderness was not easy. More than once they were without food and/or water, many of their number had already died, and they failed to enter the Promised Land. But it wasn't the hardships themselves that fostered rebellion in their hearts; it was how they responded to those hardships. Instead of seeing life from God's perspective, learning the lessons he sought to teach them, they gave in to discouragement. Their discouragement skewed their view of the situation. They really believed that Moses and Aaron had overstepped their bounds by assuming leadership, when actually they were the ones who were overstepping their bounds by challenging them. Their warped understanding was due to their choosing to view their lives from a place of discouragement. They were completely convinced that Moses and Aaron were the problem and thus failed to learn what God was seeking to teach them.

Many of us tend to think that how we see life and life situations is the way they really are. We don't always realize how profoundly affected we are by the way we respond to circumstances. This is not to say that reality is based on our perspective or that life has no objective meaning. Rather, how we respond to our lives makes all the difference in how we see our lives. This is not just about having a good attitude, though good attitudes can help quite a bit. But good attitudes can only take us so far. In order to view life correctly in the face of serious hardships, we need to have God's perspective.

TorahBytes: Don't Fear! (Shela Lekha)

Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them. (Bemidbar / Numbers 14:9; ESV)

A few years ago I wrote a TorahBytes message entitled The Fear Is Real, where I proposed that it was understandable that the Israelites who spied out the land of Canaan would be afraid of its inhabitants. I mentioned at that time that their real problem was not that they were afraid, but that they gave into their fears. I have heard courage explained as not the absence of fear, but rather doing what needs to be done in spite of fear. There may be some truth in that, but I don't know if that is the way God sees it. For I cannot think of a scripture that says "It's OK to be afraid, as long as you do what is right". Rather, what we read over and over again is "Don't fear."

When the people of Israel were afraid because they were told how big and powerful the inhabitants of the land were, Joshua and Caleb confronted their fear. They told them not to be afraid and why. The reason they gave was that God was with them and would work on their behalf. God had said he would give the inhabitants of the land into the hands of the Israelites, and Joshua and Caleb believed him.

God was real to these two. God's word was true as far as they were concerned. The inhabitants of the land may have been big and numerous, but God was more powerful. If God said he would give Israel victory, he would give Israel victory. There was no reason to fear.

There is a fascinating story about Yeshua, where a synagogue official asked him to heal his daughter. As Yeshua arrived at the place where she was, she died. The people who informed the official of this also suggested to him that he needn't take any more of Yeshua's time. But hearing this, Yeshua said to the official, "Do not fear, only believe." (Mark 5:36; ESV). Yeshua didn't say, "Don't doubt, just believe", he said "Don't fear, only believe." Was the official scared? Maybe not in the way we might think. He wasn't afraid in the same way the people of Israel were afraid of losing their lives in battle. In the case of the official, his was a fear of quiet acceptance of something quite normal, a child dying after an illness. Understandably to believe that there was still hope for his daughter would make him a laughing stock, something many of us have fear of being, and more so for someone of this man's stature as a synagogue official. As it turned out, Yeshua was laughed at when he said to the mourners, "The child is not dead but sleeping" (Mark 5:39; ESV), viewing her condition from God's perspective. To be called by Yeshua into living life this way can be very frightening.

So whether we are the Israelites facing the conquest of the Promised Land or a follower of Yeshua being called to trust him for a miracle, fear will prevent us from doing what God calls us to do.

Fear isn't always a noticeable, conscious emotion. At times the reason why we don't feel afraid is because of fear. That's because we tend to avoid what frightens us to the extent that we aren't afraid. We often only become conscious of our fears when we are forced to face whatever it is we are afraid of. The people of Israel were already afraid of big powerful armies before they faced the prospect of taking the Promised Land. The people already didn't trust that God would help them in such a circumstance. They may not have been in touch with their fear until the situation presented itself, but it was there. Yeshua knew the heart of the synagogue official and confronted his fear in the midst of what was, in the natural, an impossible situation. In order for him to walk in the miraculous, he needed to turn from fear and trust Yeshua.

Fear cannot co-exist with faith. Even if our initial state or reaction is one of fear, in order to live by faith we must reject fear. God knows how much we struggle with this. That is why Yeshua confronts it. We don't have to stay afraid, only believe.

TorahBytes: Good Complaining (Be-Ha'alotkha)

I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness. (Bemidbar / Numbers 11:14,15; ESV)

The chapter in which these verses appear begins like this:

And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp (Bemidbar / Numbers 11:1; ESV).

This is but one example of Israel complaining about their hardships during their years of living in the wilderness. Several times we read of their grumbling and God's punishing them in response. One would get the impression from these incidents that complaining is bad. God doesn't like it; so we shouldn't do it.

The problem with this conclusion, however, is that it doesn't seem to be consistent with the earlier verses we read. In that case, Moses is complaining to God that what he believed God expected of him was more than he could handle. His complaint is pretty intense. He even asks God to kill him rather than let him continue in his situation. In both these cases the complainers had enough of the challenges they were facing. Whether or not they could actually handle their situations or whether or not God would give them special ability to do so didn't matter to them. Enough was enough as far as they were concerned.

Yet unlike the people who were punished for complaining, God responds favorably to Moses and alleviates his unbearable burden. The difference in Moses' case has to do with to whom the complaining was directed. Moses complained to God. The people just complained among themselves. The people simply vented their frustration and fueled discontent among themselves. Moses' complaint engaged the only one who could truly help him with his problem. There is nothing wrong with bringing a reasonable complaint to those who truly have the authority and power to address your situation. But when they are unable or unwilling to alleviate the situation, what are we to do? Does God expect us to just suck it up and quietly endure every negative situation?

The writers of the Psalms didn't think so. A large proportion of the Psalms are complaints. They were not just "singing' the blues", but rather they believed that God heard their complaints and expected him to do something in response.

When we face challenges and hardships, God is not expecting us to suffer in silence. As our Heavenly Father, he longs for us to come to him with our troubles, with our fears, even with our doubts. For only he is able to help us.

As we read in one of the New Covenant letters:

Don't worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. Then God's shalom, passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua. (Philippians 4:6,7; Complete Jewish Bible).

This doesn't say "Stop worrying and keep your problems to yourself." Rather, instead of worrying we should come to God with what worries us. As we do, we will experience his shalom, his peace.

TorahBytes: Some Things Only You Can Carry (Naso)

All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. (Bemidbar / Numbers 4:27; ESV)

The sons of Moses' brother Aaron were assigned by God to be priests (Hebrew: cohanim), whose primary responsibility was to offer the sacrifices. The priests were part of the tribe of Levi. The rest of the Levites (Hebrew: levi-im), who were not descended from Aaron, were assigned the job of assisting the priests. This week's Torah portion includes some of the specific responsibilities God gave to the Levitical clans. One of the stated responsibilities was the carrying of the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle). The Mishkan was a large tent-like structure in which the sacrifices were offered. God was very particular with regard to what each clan had to carry.

The Levites are not the only ones to whom God gives burdens to carry. In one of the New Covenant letters followers of Yeshua were given instructions about carrying burdens, albeit figurative ones. One of the interesting aspects of these instructions is that there is a distinction between those burdens only we can carry and those of which we are to help each other carry:

Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won't be tempted too. Bear one another's burdens - in this way you will be fulfilling the Torah's true meaning, which the Messiah upholds. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is fooling himself. So let each of you scrutinize his own actions. Then if you do find something to boast about, at least the boasting will be based on what you have actually done and not merely on a judgment that you are better than someone else; for each person will carry his own load (Galatians 6:1-5; Complete Jewish Bible).

While some people find life more burdensome than others, we all have burdens to bear, loads to carry. These include our day-to-day responsibilities, problems we face, opportunities that present themselves, managing our personal health, relationships, and on and on. All of these require some amount of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical energy for us to effectively handle them. To refer to responsibilities as things we carry is not to imply that they are negative necessarily, but only that they are responsibilities.

Sometimes we make life heavier for ourselves than it needs to be. We can do this by placing unreasonable expectations on ourselves or by buying into the expectations of others. Yeshua addressed this when he said,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30; ESV).

The Messiah isn't saying here that our lives should be responsibility free. Rather he is saying that he would not lay upon us anything beyond what God himself requires of us. The religious leaders of those days had piled all sorts of extra responsibilities upon the people, far more than they were able to bear. Yeshua had come to restore right relationship with God, which included removing all sorts of unnecessary burdens from our lives.

The light burden of Yeshua doesn't mean that we should irresponsibly cast off those things which God has determined we should carry. We may attempt to do that through simple neglect or by trying to get others to carry those things which we ourselves must bear. If God is the one who has placed a particular burden on us to carry, no matter how much we try to ignore it or lay it on others, it will keep coming back to us. The sooner we accept our God-given responsibilities the better.

TorahBytes:Owned by God (Bemidbar)

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD." (Bemidbar / Numbers 3:11-13; ESV)

The Levites (Hebrew: levi'im) fulfilled a special function within ancient Israel. Instead of being given territory within the Land as were the other tribes they were to be the religious ministers. A subset of the Levites were the priests (Hebrew: cohenim), the descendants of Moses' brother Aaron, who offered the sacrifices. The rest of the Levites assisted the priests in their duties and fulfilled other religious tasks throughout the nation. There is a sense in which the Levites belonged to God in a way the rest of the people did not, for their daily concerns were consumed with the service of God rather than normal human endeavors.

The setting aside of the Levites was not simply due to the need of having religious ministers. Rather they stood in the place of all the firstborn males who survived the Exodus. God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt by striking the Egyptians with ten plagues. The final plague was the killing of the firstborn males, both human and animal. To protect the people of Israel from this, God told them to sacrifice a lamb and apply its blood to the doorframes of their houses. When God came to strike down the firstborn males, he passed over the houses upon which the blood was applied. This is why the festival commemorating this event is called Passover (see Shemot / Exodus 11:1-12:13).

An important element of this is how it relates to the Levites. The tenth plague was not limited to the striking down of the Egyptian firstborn only, but rather of all the firstborn of the land of Egypt regardless of nationality. The stubborn disobedience of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, brought general destruction upon his land. There were certain plagues in which the people of Israel experienced special protection, but not all of them. With regard to the tenth plague, if any Israelite home did not follow God's instructions, their firstborn males would have perished as well. Therefore, the preservation of the Israelite firstborn males was due to God's special grace. Thus, the firstborn males of Israel were indebted to God to a greater extent than the rest of the nation. While the whole nation was indebted to God for their freedom, the firstborn males were indebted for their very lives.

The preservation of the firstborn males and their special relationship to God was to be remembered throughout future generations. Instead of the actual firstborn males of the whole nation being called into religious service, God determined that the Levites should stand in their place. Their service to God was more than a special calling simply due to the need for religious ministers. Rather they represented God's unique ownership of the firstborn males.

Just as the Levites were God's special possession, so are all followers of the Messiah. Like Egypt of old, God's judgment is coming upon the whole Earth. Due to our stubborn refusal to obey God according to his standards, God himself will condemn everyone to eternal destruction, unless we apply the blood of Yeshua's sacrifice to our lives. Like the firstborn males, God's judgment will pass over us if we follow God's instructions and entrust ourselves to Yeshua the Messiah.

Like the firstborn males, if we believe in Yeshua, we are indebted to him, not just for our freedom, but for our very lives. Therefore, like the Levites, we are God's special possession. Since we are owned by God in this way, we don't have the freedom to live however we wish, pursuing our own goals and desires. Rather, we are owned by God, set apart to serve his interests alone.

TorahBytes: Worthless Lies (Be-Har & Be-Hukkotai)

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: "Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!" Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD. (Jeremiah 16:19-21; ESV)

The story of the Bible is one of rescue and restoration. The human predicament, which is largely denied today, yet is nonetheless prevalent, is explained in the story of Adam and Eve. Our first parents' rebellion against the Creator resulted in the profound dysfunction which has overwhelmed humankind ever since. But even as God pronounced judgment upon us, he promised that the day would come when evil would one day be destroyed. It would not be until the time of Abraham that how God would accomplish this would begin to unfold: from Abraham would arise a nation that would be the instrument of God's blessing to all other nations (see Bereshit/Genesis 12:1-3). As the history of Israel developed the nature of this blessing became clear: through faith in the Messiah, the son of David, Abraham's descendent, the nations of the earth would be reconciled to God.

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophetic writings in particular, the anticipation of this reconciliation is expressed in a variety of ways, an example of which is found in this week's Haftarah. God through Jeremiah predicted that the day would come when the non-Jewish nations would realize that their religions, traditions, and philosophies were nothing but worthless lies, were of absolutely no benefit to them, and that the God of Israel is the only true God. In so many different ways from Abraham onwards, this is the emerging picture. The world existed in spiritual darkness, but God made himself known to the people of Israel in anticipation of restoring the nations to himself.

This is exactly what has happened since Yeshua the Messiah came about two thousand years ago. The Jewish people of that time believed correctly that through the Messiah the reality of God would come to the entire world. How they envisioned it happening was very different from how it did happen, but happen it did. Or I should say, rather, that it is still happening. Beginning with Yeshua's first followers, the reality of the God of Israel has transformed the lives of people the world over. Entire cultures have been transformed by the truth of God's Word as people from almost every nation have realized that the ways they inherited from their ancestors were worthless and that the God of Israel is the only God.

Notice the two aspects of this. Not only do the nations realize the truth of the God of Israel, but they completely reject the worthless lies that they inherited from the past. Just because we claim to believe in the true God doesn't automatically mean that we have cast off everything that is not of him. We have a tendency to retain or incorporate aspects of ungodly thought and practice with our worship and service of the true God. We may not always recognize this, but anything that is not of God's Truth is a lie and is worthless. True faith in the Messiah includes both embracing everything he stands for and rejecting all that he rejects. Why hold on to worthless lies?

TorahBytes: Waiting for Clarity (Emor)

Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp, and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in custody, till the will of the LORD should be clear to them. (Vayikra / Leviticus 24:10-12; ESV)

There are two important areas of life that this portion of the Torah speaks to: one specific, one general. The specific area of life has to do with establishing a godly justice system. In this instance the community knew that the blasphemer did something worthy of punishment, but was not clear about what it should be. Instead of thrashing out at him based on their assumptions, they put him in custody "till the will of the LORD should be clear to them." Once they received clear direction from God, they enacted justice. I don't know enough about the history of law to say that this is where Western Civilization got the idea of holding a suspect in custody before determining his guilt, but it is likely it did. This allows for protection of the suspect and a rational, clear-headed determination of guilt.

This is a specific application of a more general principle of life, which is when God's will is not clear, we need to patiently wait until it is, before we act. It is not only in justice situations that we know we need to do something, but are unclear as to exactly what that something is. Too often we assume we know what is best in a situation, when we haven't given enough time to seek God for clarification.

Joshua, Moses' successor, brought Israel into an ungodly alliance with another nation, because he didn't wait for clarification from God (see Joshua 9:1-27). When David attempted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, a man died because they neglected to follow God's instructions regarding how to transport it (1 Divrei Hayyamim / Chronicles 13:1-14; 15:1,2). Relying on God in this way was one of the prime lessons that God wanted to teach the people of Israel in leading them through the wilderness (see Devarim / Deuteronomy 8:3). And the Messiah himself said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33; ESV). Unless we consider God and his ways first in everything, we will find ourselves going about life the wrong way. This is what Solomon was referring to when he wrote, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Mishlei / Proverbs 3:5,6; ESV).

I am concerned that many followers of the Messiah assume that they do this, but don't. Either we assume we know God's mind on things or we don't realize that he has something to say about it. We tend not to be aware of how we can be driven more by tradition, peer pressure, and personal desire than God's Word. This would explain why there often appears to be little distinction between those who profess to follow the Messiah and the general population.

In the incident we read about at the beginning, the people were faced with a situation where they had not yet received clear direction from God. So they waited on him for clarity. In that case they didn't know what to do, so they didn't take action until they knew. That's a great example for us to follow. It's best to wait on God when we don't have clarity. But what about when we realize that we have already done the wrong thing? That was the case with David and the Ark. Yet he and the people had the humility to accept what they had failed to do and adjusted their course of action for their second attempt, which was successful. Whether we failed to be attentive to God in the last minute or generations ago, it is not too late to seek clarity and to do things God's way.

TorahBytes: Love Your Neighbor (Aharei & Kedoshim)

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Vayikra / Leviticus 19:17,18; ESV)

The Messiah was asked the question, "What is the greatest commandment?" (See Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-37). It was popular among Jewish religious leaders to attempt to summarize the Torah. Here is Yeshua's answer:

The most important is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31; ESV)

Some people take this to mean that unlike the people living under the Old Covenant, followers of Yeshua have only these minimal requirements to follow. But that completely misses the point. Yeshua's summary statement is intended as a perspective by which to view God's requirements, not a recipe by which to ignore them. Yeshua was reminding a people who had become obsessed with the Torah as an end in itself that its directives were intended as the means of loving God and other people. Losing sight of these primary commands results in the failure to properly keep the others. Loving God and loving people is what God's commands are all about.

Hearing Yeshua highlight "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," should draw us to the context of what he was quoting, some of which we read at the beginning. Loving our neighbor is not a vague sentimental concept based on emotion. It has very practical and far reaching implications. For example we read, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him." This tells us first that when difficulties arise with someone with whom we have relationship, we are not to hate them. Hate is not simply negative and angry thoughts toward another person. It is the tendency to disregard them or not care about them. This may occur with very little emotion. God instructs us that instead of ignoring issues we have with others we need to deal with them through open and honest discussion and thereby avoid even greater issues arising between one other. This is what "love your neighbor" is all about or it is at least one example.

It could be that "but you shall love your neighbor as yourself" sums up a larger Torah section (see Vayikra / Leviticus 19:9-18) that includes being mindful of the poor among us, not stealing, having fair business dealings, not lying to others, not using God's name to justify wrong, not oppressing others or robbing them, paying wages on time, showing respect toward the physically handicapped, demonstrating justice in court without partiality, not slandering, and not taking vengeance or bearing grudges against others. This is not a complete list, though it makes it clear that loving our neighbor is far more and much deeper than what we may normally think it is.

Loving our neighbor is not just having warm affection toward others or showing kindness to them, though it may include those things. God's version of loving others involves a deep understanding of his ways and how they relate to how we are to treat others. To love is to be true to our God-given responsibilities towards those with whom we have personal and work relationships, business and legal dealings, as well as the needy and vulnerable around us. Let's not cheapen God's Word by reducing it to anything less.

TorahBytes: Worth Investigating (Tazri'a & Mezora)

So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, "Go and see." (2 Melachim / 2 Kings 7:14; ESV)

This week's Haftarah is part of a slightly longer story that begins in the previous chapter. In those days the land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom was called Israel or Ephraim with its capital in Samaria; the southern kingdom was called Judah with its capital in Jerusalem. Samaria was in the midst of a great famine due to its being under siege by the Syrian army. The siege and famine came to a miraculous end because God caused the Syrians to think they were under attack, prompting them to flee, leaving all their provisions behind.

This surprising turn of events was discovered by four outcasts who were lepers. They had decided to surrender to the Syrians, thinking that it was worth taking that chance, since the situation in the city was so desperate. When they came to the Syrian camp they found it deserted. So they began to feast and to help themselves to the goods that had been left behind. Eventually, they realized it was wrong of them to keep this all to themselves. So they announced the good news of their discovery to the gatekeepers of the city. When the news got to the king, his immediate reaction was to think that the Syrians were trying to trick them in order to lure them into an ambush. A servant suggested, therefore, that some men should be sent to investigate. As they surveyed the area it became clear to them that everything was as the lepers said, and so the people of Samaria plundered the Syrian camp.

It was right for the king to be cautious. It was his responsibility to care for his people. It would not have been wise for him to send his people out into what could have easily been a trap. At the same time, the lepers' claim was suffciently reasonable and the situation desperate enough to, at least, check things out. Once the report arrived, confirming the claim of the lepers, the people ran to take hold of God's miraculous provision.

Sometimes good news is too good to be true. When we are presented with extraordinary offers for little or no money, and without effort or time spent, it is wise to be cautious. This is not to say that such things don't exist, but they should be carefully investigated before accepting them.

The good news of Yeshua the Messiah, like the claim of the lepers, also may seem too good to be true. Through Yeshua, God offers forgiveness of every wrong we ever committed, direct continual access to him, his commitment to actively work for our good forever, empowerment by his Spirit so that we can live blessed and effective lives, his joy, his peace, and an eternity free of pain and sorrow. All this can be ours in response to our turning from our sins and trusting in Yeshua as Messiah and Lord.

People find many reasons to reject God's offer. They, like the king of Israel, may think that there is a good chance that it isn't as it seems to be. They may think that people who present the claims of Yeshua may have ulterior motives or be deluded. After all, some things are too good to be true.

But is not Yeshua's offer worth investigating? What many people don't realize is that it can be investigated. What convinced the investigators in our story was that they found all sorts of items scattered over a large area and this fit the lepers' claim. Similarly history is strewn with evidence of Yeshua's reality. Most of the good in the world over the past two thousand years is due to the transformed lives of Yeshua's followers. Yet most people refuse to leave the city of their preconceived ideas and take the time to examine the abundance of evidence. There is no reason to continue in the desperation of spiritual famine when the abundant provision of God is available to all who put their trust in Yeshua the Messiah.

TorahBytes: The Basis of Acceptance (Shemini)

And Moses said, "This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you." Then Moses said to Aaron, "Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded." (Vayikra / Leviticus 9:6,7; ESV)

This section of this week's Torah portion describes the rituals that were to be performed as part of the commencement of the service of the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle). The Mishkan was the large tent-like structure that was to be the sole place where sacrifices were to be offered. Moses told the people what was to be done in preparation for an extraordinary manifestation of God. After everything was done as prescribed, we read

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Vayikra / Leviticus 9:23,24; ESV)

One of the striking aspects of the preparation is the person doing them - Aaron. We know why Aaron had a leadership role; God chose him for that. But it wasn't too long before the above passage that he was in the middle of misleading the people in the worship of a cow statue, which he claimed was the God who delivered them from Egypt. Should not such behavior disqualify him from being the Chief Priest? It could not be that God simply overlooked this. Many people died as a result of that sin. Was it that Aaron was given preferential treatment just because he was Moses' brother? There is no indication that this was the case. God makes himself clear that he doesn't treat people that way. So how could it be that such a person could continue to play such a crucial role in the service of God?

We are told how. Aaron had to make atonement for both himself and the people through certain sacrificial offerings. Acceptance by God depended on the poured out blood of these offerings.

Whenever I refer to biblical sacrifices, I am conscious of how such a concept is completely foreign to most contemporary societies. Many people find the slaughter of animals for any reason distasteful, not to mention doing so for some religious purpose. But what it really comes down to is that we don't understand the implications of sin. If we could only grasp God's original intention for the world and the devastating effect of sin upon it, then we might be more able to accept what it takes to deal with sin. The death of innocent, helpless animals served to dramatically illustrate the sacrifice of God himself. The shedding of the blood of animals as prescribed in the Torah foreshadowed the shedding of the blood of the Messiah, through which we can be made right with God.

Notice Aaron's acceptance by God was dependent on Aaron's personal involvement in the offering of the sacrifices. Aaron could not just offer sacrifices for the people without doing so for himself as well. True sacrifices require intimate identification with the sacrifice offered. This is why later on God would chastise the people for offering meaningless sacrifices. Unless a person grasps the seriousness of their sin and looks to God for mercy, humbly regarding that the animal is dying in place of their own life, the ritual would do them no good.

The same is true with regard to the Messiah's sacrifice. I get the impression that some people think that since Yeshua paid the price for our sins, that God now accepts all people and that our alienation from God only has to do with our ignorance regarding his acceptance. According to this view, the sharing of the Good News of the Messiah's coming is about informing people that they are already forgiven and accepted. But the Bible teaches no such thing. While what Yeshua did is sufficient for all people to be forgiven for their sins and be restored to right relationship with God, receiving the benefits of his sacrifice requires an acknowledgement of our sin and an acceptance of Yeshua's death as the substitute for our own.

TorahBytes: Seeing God (Pesach)

The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation." (Shemot / Exodus 34:5-7; ESV)

The Torah reading this Shabbat is special as it is one of the intermediate days of Pesach (English: Passover). The words I just read are God's answer to Moses' prayer, when he said "Show me your glory" (Shemot / Exodus 33:18; ESV). From the context it seems that what Moses was asking for, was to see God. This would be why God's response is as follows:

I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name "The LORD" And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But...you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live...Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock,...and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. (Shemot / Exodus 33:19-23; ESV)

It is instructive that when God comes to reveal himself, his revelation is primary communicated through words. There is no fire or earthquake, no miraculous surprises. He revealed himself to Moses through words, words which we still can hear today.

To see God is to rightly perceive his character. While we may think that it would be preferable to have some sort of physical encounter with God, which might be what Moses was asking for, having a right understanding of who he is, is what we really need. So I would like to take a brief look at what God said to Moses that day. For through these words we too might see God.

"The LORD, the LORD". This use of God's name denotes that he is the self-existing, self-defining one. He is not to be understood by our perceptions of him. Rather, his identity and character are absolutely dependant on himself.

"A God merciful and gracious". God does not treat us as we deserve, in fact he is the one who gives us the power to live.

"Slow to anger". God doesn't instantly react to our misdeeds. He is patient with us.

"And abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness". God is continually dependable. We can always count on him to do what is right and good.

"Keeping steadfast love for thousands". God's love is not for a select few, but for everyone.

"Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin". God forgives sin. We need not remain in a state of alienation from him. No matter what we have done, we can be restored to him.

"But who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation." Those who do not avail themselves of God's mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness will bring the consequences of their actions on generations. Unresolved wrongs begin a cycle that is difficult to break. But thankfully, that cycle can be broken if and when we get right with him.

TorahBytes: Only Judaism Explains Christianity (Zav)

This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai. (Vayikra / Leviticus 7:37,38; ESV)

If you know anything about Christianity, you are aware that it makes much about the death of its central character. His was no typical martyr's death. He didn't die for a cause. The leaders of his day did him in to prevent an uprising of the common people. The Jewish people in the Land of Israel had a delicate relationship with the world power at that time. They enjoyed basic religious freedom as long as they didn't upset the political situation. While there were some among them who believed in armed rebellion, the majority looked to God alone to deliver them from foreign oppression, much like in the days of Moses. So for the leadership it was disconcerting to see how the young rabbi from Galilee was getting the masses stirred up with talk of the Kingdom of God and performing miracles. To seriously consider whether or not he truly was the Messiah was too much for their leaders to handle. Out of fear of what the Romans might do, they decided he had to be stopped. Upon his arrest and unjust execution, his followers were scattered and completely discouraged. It would not be until after Yeshua's resurrection and the outpouring of the Ruach Hakodesh (English: Holy Spirit) that his followers would have the courage to fulfill the mission to which God had called them.

So it wasn't Yeshua's death that spurred his followers on. Yet they would come to understand that it was his death that made all the difference. Remember, it was not as if his death inspired them to action. Far from it. It actually profoundly discouraged them. His death also brought about no change of heart from his detractors. It would only be later that his followers came to understand that it was through his death that those who believe in him have forgiveness of sins.

Today, two thousand years later, the forgiveness of sins through the death of Yeshua continues to be the central message of Christianity. But what is the basis of such a concept? From where does such an idea come from? How could it be that the shedding of blood would make such a difference? To be able to answer that question, we need to see that this didn't happen out of nowhere. It is not as if God just did this unexpected thing, and then somehow expect people to understand that through Yeshua's death they could be forgiven.

Yeshua's death was a Jewish sacrifice. While sacrifice was common in the ancient world, Jewish sacrifice had been particularly prescribed by God to teach his people the reality of sin and forgiveness. Through the Jewish sacrificial system, God's people learned what was holy and what was not. They learned about the seriousness of righteousness and morality. They were taught about the sacredness of blood, the value of purity, and the importance of restitution. By the time Yeshua came, the people of Israel knew that God provided sacrifice as the means to cover sin and maintain their relationship with him. At the same time the many sacrifices reminded the people of their sin and their need for forgiveness.

When Yeshua rose from the dead, his followers began to understand the implications of his death. All that they had learned and anticipated due to the Jewish sacrificial system prepared them to proclaim forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations.

So today believers in Yeshua can return to Torah portions like this week's and plumb the depths of the significance of the Messiah's death on our behalf. Everything that has kept people from intimately knowing God: our sin, our guilt, our impurity, our immorality, our ignorance, our self-centeredness, our unfaithfulness - has all been resolved through the death of Yeshua.

TorahBytes: Return (Vayikra)

Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. (Isaiah 44:21,22; ESV)

With these words, Isaiah captures much of the essence of the message of the Hebrew prophets. The people of Israel - God's people, rescued from slavery in Egypt, gifted with the revelation of God, the Torah, and established in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - were estranged from God. Called to be a reflection of the reality of the Creator and Master of the universe and destined to be a light and blessing to the entire world, they instead had corrupted themselves by adopting the lifestyles of neighboring cultures. At times they ignored God altogether, following false religions, while at other times they attempted to adapt the true God to these false religions. Either way, they distanced themselves from God and his ways.

And so God sent his spokesmen, the prophets. Year after year, these holy men and women would confront their kinsmen with the errors of their ways and foretell the consequences of their misbehavior. Their neglect of God would result in enemy invasion and exile. Removal from the Land symbolized their alienation from God.

Israel's alienation was to demonstrate to the world that all nations were in a similar condition. The consequences of our first parents' rebellion in the Garden of Eden had fallen upon all people for all time. Israel's inability to live up to its chosen status was to be a sign to all peoples of the depth of our sin.

All of mankind, no less Israel, has sought to cope with our sinful condition in all sorts of ways. When our religious fabrications don't prove effective, we may try harder: more fabrications and/or with more intensity. Others assume that all religions must be false and thus try to divorce themselves from anything spiritual. Either route leads us to self absorption as we seek to find peace and security within ourselves, resulting in addictive and destructive behaviors far more oppressive than Israel's bondage as slaves in Egypt.

All the while God calls to us, just as he called to the people of Israel in Isaiah's day. What we ourselves could not do to restore us to a right relationship to God, he himself has done. There is nothing we can do to cleanse ourselves of our sin. Our greatest efforts can never bridge the gap between us and God. Yet, through the death and resurrection of the Messiah, all that is necessary to restore us to God has been accomplished. There is no reason to remain distanced from God, lost in our sin and destined for judgment.

Some may think that because God has done it all, then all that is needed on our part is to simply realize what he has done. They assume that because God has made full provision for our restoration, then we are already restored. Our only problem then is that we don't realize it. But that is neither what God was saying to Israel in Isaiah's day nor what he is saying to us today. Rather because God has made the way for us to return to him, he now calls us to return. To return is not just a state of mind. It is a lifestyle. It includes a change in our thinking, of course, but also a change in behavior. Our efforts can never bridge the gap between us and God. Only God can do that. But because of what God has done, we can return to him. What's stopping you?

TorahBytes: The Lost Art of Preparation (Va-Yakhel & Pekudei)

Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day. (Shemot / Exodus 35: 2,3; ESV)

One of the necessary implications of God's Sabbath laws is the need of preparation. The prohibition against making fires on Shabbat was not intended to force the people of Israel to freeze during bouts of cold weather. It was not that they couldn't be in the presence of fire on Shabbat; it was that they were forbidden from purposely starting a fire. If a household neglected getting a fire started before the beginning of Shabbat, then they risked being unnecessarily cold for a day. Weekly Sabbath observance as commanded by God would help develop in the culture the art of preparation. Effective preparation requires us to have an accurate understanding of the future and the wisdom to know exactly what to do in face of what is to come.

In today's instant culture, preparation is quickly becoming a lost art. More and more we expect to get what we want as soon as we want it. Not only are information, goods, and services instantly available at the press of a button, we have an economic system that encourages us to acquire things we can't afford. We can have whatever we want, whenever we want, whatever the cost.

Our instant culture tells us that we don't need to think ahead, we don't need to prepare. In fact, those who drive this way of life don't want us to. That's because they fear what would happen if we realized that we don't need this or that right now. What would happen if we actually thought about the implications of our actions before we act, before we buy, before we speak, before we make relational decisions?

Yet we have been led to believe that we don't need to be concerned about the implications of our actions. We think we can always deal with it later, expecting that the problems we cause in an instant today will be fixed in an instant tomorrow. But we are only fooling ourselves, if we think that consequences such as divorce, abortion, drug addiction, and bankruptcy are fixes. Perhaps you haven't come to such extremes, but I wonder how many of us are living lives in the cold, so to speak, having failed to prepare the fire in advance.

While we shouldn't worry about tomorrow, effective living demands wise preparation. Worry is being concerned over those areas of life of which we have no control. Preparation is required for those things for which we are responsible. A farmer needs to prepare his field for harvest; a chef prepares a menu and ensures all necessary ingredients are available; an athlete spends great amounts of time in training to be ready to compete. In the same way God calls us to arrange our lives today in light of what is required of us in the future.

Considering God automatically confronts our instant culture. It is God who dictates to his people that if they want to be warm on Shabbat, they better think ahead. They better be prepared.

Following God means following him at his pace, to make time for what he says we should make time for, to set the priorities of life based on his priorities, to structure our lives based on how he says life should be lived. If our instant culture prevents us from being properly prepared to obey God, then it's the culture that has to give way.

TorahBytes: Impatience Breeds Idolatry (Ki Tissa & Parah)

So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Shemot / Exodus 32:3,4; ESV)

The incident of the golden calf is one of the most tragic in the Torah. Having been rescued by God from oppressive bondage in Egypt, having witnessed his great acts of power through the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, having known his miraculous provision and protection, having heard the sound of his voice speaking from the mountain, it didn't take the nation of Israel long to fall into great depravity of spiritual darkness and moral perversion.

The situation that led them to their sinful behavior was Moses' extended absence. He had gone up the mountain to receive the details of God's covenant, but the people grew impatient. Notice that in a sense the people didn't really turn to other gods, but rather they fashioned a tangible representation of the true God, who delivered them from Egypt.

There are two kinds of idolatry. One kind is the worship of objects that represent false gods. The other is the worship of objects that represent the true God. The sin of the golden calf is of this second type.

It may seem bizarre to you that the God of Israel could be imaged in this way. How could it be that the Master of the Universe, the uncreated creator of all things, be represented as a cow? And yet how often do we image God as something other than who he really is? We prefer to fashion him into all sorts of forms that appeal to us, that make us comfortable, something we can understand and be proud of.

Idolatry misrepresents God. Idols cannot come close to who and what God really is. It's no wonder that the behavior that stems from idolatry is perverted and destructive. When we don't worship God as he really is, we become something other than what we were intended to be.

Israel's impatience which led to this sin is the very thing that continues to drive us to idolatry in our day. The God of the Bible cannot be represented through our own creative endeavors, tangible or intangible. We are to know him through faith, not by sight or feelings. And like the people of Israel long ago, he often leads us in situations in which he doesn't seem to be anywhere around. He is usually doing far more than anything we can imagine, but to us it may seem as if he doesn't really exist or care. So, in our impatience, we substitute all sorts of things to make ourselves feel better, but in the end bring harm to ourselves and to those around us.

Idolatry is an attempt to relate to God on our own terms. It arises from a desire to take control of our lives rather than submit to God as Lord and King. What might appear to be a humble and sincere adoration of our great Redeemer may actually be a self-centered, arrogant, and disgraceful exhibition of false spirituality. Attaching the name of the one true God to the products of our imaginations will certainly lead us to all sorts of perversions and eventually God's judgment.

We must therefore be careful to relate to God in the way that he has revealed himself in the Scriptures. While true worship is not the most comfortable or self-pleasing form of spirituality, it is the only one that leads to a life of lasting blessing.

TorahBytes: When God Changes His Mind (Tezavveh & Zakhor)

The word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." (1 Samuel 15:10,11; ESV)

These verses refer to God's response to Saul's rebellion against him. Saul, the first king of Israel, began well, but as time went by tended to do things his own way rather that trusting in God and his Word. What God said to the prophet Samuel sounds as if God had second thoughts about making Saul king and that if he would have known that Saul would blow it the way he did, then he would have chosen someone else.

This is the kind of incident that someone might use to show that God is not omniscient. To say that God is omniscient is to say that he knows everything. But if he knows everything, how could he regret his own decision? Even if God purposely chose Saul knowing he would fail (which God did know), then would not his response be something more like "Did I not know that Saul would be unfaithful to me?", rather than something along the lines of "Oh no! What have I done?"

That God is omniscient is a given in the Scriptures. The Bible assumes that he is the Creator and Master of the Universe, who never loses control over his creation. It is on this basis that David, Saul's successor could write "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether" (Psalm 139:4; ESV).

But if God indeed knows everything in advance, then how could he "regret" that he made Saul king? The Hebrew word, translated here as "regret," is nacham. Interestingly this same word is used later on in this same Haftarah portion, where the prophet Samuel says to Saul, "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret (1 Samuel 15:29; ESV). It is helpful that this translation uses the exact same English word in each case, even though the Hebrew word may be understood differently in different contexts. It is better that we are left having to struggle with a supposed contradiction, than having the English translators resolve it for us.

The word nacham carries with it the idea of change. It has two primary meanings. The first is "to relent," which is a change of intension whereby one course of action is replaced by another. The other primary meaning is "to comfort" or "to be comforted". Here the change is an emotional one in which someone feels a certain way, usually bad, and is consoled, thus causing their outlook on life to change. An example of this use is found in Psalm 23, where we read, "your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4; ESV)

So nacham denotes what we might call a change of heart or mind. Our Haftarah portion, which uses the meaning of "relent" tells us that this is something that God both does and does not do. When Samuel says that God "is not a man, that he should have regret", he is saying that he is not fickle. He is absolutely dependable. His Word is true and his character is unchanging. He cannot and will not be manipulated by anyone or anything. Those who cooperate with him, stand in right relationship with him. Those who don't are alienated from him. As long as Saul stayed true to God, God was with him. But once Saul rebelled, God's relationship with him had to change.

When the Bible tells us that God relents or expresses regret, it is not saying that God made a mistake that he wishes he could have prevented. Rather, it is that he is grieved over a situation that necessitates a new course of action. Thankfully, this also works the other way. Saul's rebellious course typifies the state that we all as human beings find ourselves in, but a state in which we need not remain. Through turning from our rebellion and trusting in the Messiah Yeshua, we need not anticipate God's wrathful judgment. If we turn to him, he will relent. We can count on that!

TorahBytes: Particulars (Terumah)

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle (Hebrew: mishkan), and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. (Shemot / Exodus 25:8,9; ESV)

Many people think that in the Old Covenant knowing God required keeping his rules, rules that no one could actually keep. They contrast this to their understanding of the New Covenant. Under this new system, they say, we can relate to God by grace, which, according to them, is based on God's unconditional love, meaning, because of what Yeshua did for us, then no matter what we do, God accepts us.

While there are smidgens of truth laced through this explanation, it actually misrepresents both Old and New Covenants. If under the Old Covenant, the only way to have a right relationship with God was to fully keep his rules, then no one had such a relationship, which is not the case. All the way through the Old Covenant writings, we find many people who truly knew God, imperfect though they were.

As for the New Covenant, the Messiah himself spoke of the narrow gate and hard way leading to life that few people find (see Matthew 7:14). Paul and the other New Covenant writers are clear that anyone who concludes that God's forgiveness through the Messiah implies that we can doing anything we like, has completely missed the point (See Romans 6 for example).

Our Torah portion describes the particulars of the mishkan (English: tabernacle). The mishkan was a tent-like portable structure that was to be the central place of sacrifice and worship for the people of Israel. It was a precursor to the permanent Temple that Solomon would build many years later. Many people who attempt to read through the Bible get bogged down when they get to passages such as this one, because they find the details uninteresting. It is understandable that people would find the narrative portions more gripping, but that doesn't make them more important. God is very particular when it comes to how we are to relate to him. He didn't tell Moses to make any old structure he wanted or that the people were free to sacrifice however they liked. Far from it! They were to follow God's directions very carefully. Every detail of the mishkan was designed to help the people know who God really was and what he was really like. Failure to stick to his particulars would lead the people to create a god of their own imaginations, instead of knowing the "I am" who revealed himself to Moses (see Shemot / Exodus 3:14).

While there are significant differences between the Old and New Covenants they both are clear in their insistence regarding the need to stick to God's particulars. The ultimate purpose of the mishkan was to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah. To then think we can relate to the Messiah any way we wish is to undermine the essence of biblical teaching about God and his ways. Using a metaphor of a vine and its branches, Yeshua said, "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned" (John 15:6; ESV). In order to be in right relationship with God, it is absolutely necessary to abide in the Messiah. But how does one abide in him? Yeshua himself tells us when he said, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love" (John 15:10; ESV).

What many don't seem to understand is that under both Old and New Covenants the only way to properly relate to God was through trusting in him. Right standing with God could never be accomplished by our own moral and spiritual uprightness. We all have fallen short of God's standards and deserve judgment. It is only by his grace that people at any time in human history could truly know him. At the same time what trusting in him entails and how to maintain a right relationship with him has always been based on his particulars, whether it be the mishkan and the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant or the Messiah under the New.

TorahBytes: Nevertheless (Mishpatim and Shekalim)

And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places. (2 Melachim / 2 Kings 12:2,3; ESV)

The books of Melachim (English: Kings) recount the happenings of the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah. Much of what we read centers around the life of the various kings. Our Haftarah recounts the reign of King Joash, also called Jehoash. As is common when the Scriptures introduce us to a king, we are told whether or not he did right in the sight of God. Very few of the approximately forty kings of Israel and Judah are classified as good to any extent, Joash being one of them. How this is described in our reading is interesting in that the writer provides us with this disclaimer of sorts: "Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places."

There were certain kings like Joash, who did what was right for the most part and yet tolerated this significant inappropriate aspect of the life of their nation. The people had been instructed by God to perform his prescribed rituals only at the location God determined. By this time, that place was the temple in Jerusalem. These other locations, called "high places", were sometimes used for pagan worship and other times for the worship of the true God. From the way the kings are assessed by the biblical writers, it sounds as if the issue of the "high places" was secondary, yet nevertheless important. Kings like Joash did what was good. Nevertheless, their reluctance to remove the "high places" to some extent undermined the good they were otherwise seeking to do.

We see by this that God seems to have some toleration for the inaccurate ways in which we relate to him. There are some aspects of inaccurate spirituality that he puts up with. Nevertheless, just because he tolerates them doesn't mean that we shouldn't address them.

Among our "high places" today are all sorts of traditional and cultural expressions of worship that have great importance to us, but were never sanctioned by God. He puts up with them, but, nevertheless, would prefer that we remove them. We preserve our "high places" to our own detriment. We may be technically doing what is right in the sight of God, yet at the same time, there hangs over us a significant "nevertheless." How much better off we would be if we no longer tolerate our "high places" and would not have to hear God say about us, "nevertheless".