Post by Mark on Nov 21, 2007 5:23:19 GMT -8
Every Tuesday evening, members of my congregation gather around our dining room table and we read through and discuss the Parasha for the week. The meeting lasts for (at least 2 1/2 hours). Since my workday starts at four in the morning, I'm usually at some effort to rub two coherent thoughts together by nine o'clock.
I begin my study on Saturday afternoon, starting to prepare for and worship in the next week Scripture reading. By Tuesday evening I've read at least half a dozen commentaries from both Christian and Jewish perspectives, parsed through the Greek texts, and waded cautiously through the Hebrew. By Sabbath, the hope is that I will grab onto some thought that is worthy and of benefit to share with the congregation on Sabbath. Typically, it is not a single thought that I find valuable or interesting; but rather an idea that grabs tenaciously onto me and will not let me go.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
(Gen 32:29 KJV)
Why did Jacob ask this fellow's name? And, even more perplexing, what generated the response that followed? There are two possible conclusions: one is that the mystery person did not wantto reveal Himself to Jacob. The second is that the answer should have been that obvious. One morning I was speaking on the phone to my wife while the children were with her at the breakfast table. I heard her say to me, "I love you... I miss you... you're so sweet..." then in an altogether different tone to the children, "Yes, it's Dad!" There was an explosion of laughter... the little monsters. Later, in verse 30, we understand that Jacob knew who he was dealing with. It was obvious.
In Matthew 17, Peter, James and John witnessed a meeting between the Messiah and two of the greatest men told of in Jewish hsitory: Moses and Elijah. I've often wondered about this meeting and how early in it these three witness knew who it was with whom Messiah was speaking. It didn't appear that there would have been a formal introduction, nor had Kodak preserved the physical identity of these men; yet, it seems that their identity was unquestionable and easily perceived.
Our technology has made us to many degrees lazy in our perceptivity. We need fingerprints and retina skans to see what folks in olden days would have found painfully obvious. This is because we have allowed our technology to do the diagnostics for us, while Peter, James and John, by their intimacy with the Scriptures and their knowledge of the familiar old stories, knew these two men as fathers, though they had never before met them.
My challenge to us today is that when we hear the voice of Adonai speaking to us, or see Him in the way, do we know HIm? Is there any question? Do we ask, "What is Your Name?" And will He respond, "What are you asking that for?"
Expect God to speak to you. As you begin to walk in a way of
, making every aspect of your life a thing of worship, He will be with you, often startlingly so. What a wonderful experience is His fellowship.
Mark
I begin my study on Saturday afternoon, starting to prepare for and worship in the next week Scripture reading. By Tuesday evening I've read at least half a dozen commentaries from both Christian and Jewish perspectives, parsed through the Greek texts, and waded cautiously through the Hebrew. By Sabbath, the hope is that I will grab onto some thought that is worthy and of benefit to share with the congregation on Sabbath. Typically, it is not a single thought that I find valuable or interesting; but rather an idea that grabs tenaciously onto me and will not let me go.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
(Gen 32:29 KJV)
Why did Jacob ask this fellow's name? And, even more perplexing, what generated the response that followed? There are two possible conclusions: one is that the mystery person did not wantto reveal Himself to Jacob. The second is that the answer should have been that obvious. One morning I was speaking on the phone to my wife while the children were with her at the breakfast table. I heard her say to me, "I love you... I miss you... you're so sweet..." then in an altogether different tone to the children, "Yes, it's Dad!" There was an explosion of laughter... the little monsters. Later, in verse 30, we understand that Jacob knew who he was dealing with. It was obvious.
In Matthew 17, Peter, James and John witnessed a meeting between the Messiah and two of the greatest men told of in Jewish hsitory: Moses and Elijah. I've often wondered about this meeting and how early in it these three witness knew who it was with whom Messiah was speaking. It didn't appear that there would have been a formal introduction, nor had Kodak preserved the physical identity of these men; yet, it seems that their identity was unquestionable and easily perceived.
Our technology has made us to many degrees lazy in our perceptivity. We need fingerprints and retina skans to see what folks in olden days would have found painfully obvious. This is because we have allowed our technology to do the diagnostics for us, while Peter, James and John, by their intimacy with the Scriptures and their knowledge of the familiar old stories, knew these two men as fathers, though they had never before met them.
My challenge to us today is that when we hear the voice of Adonai speaking to us, or see Him in the way, do we know HIm? Is there any question? Do we ask, "What is Your Name?" And will He respond, "What are you asking that for?"
Expect God to speak to you. As you begin to walk in a way of
, making every aspect of your life a thing of worship, He will be with you, often startlingly so. What a wonderful experience is His fellowship.Mark
