Post by Mark on Aug 11, 2008 6:00:55 GMT -8
HafTorah Blessing
"Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, who selected good prophets, and was pleased with their words which were spoken truthfully. Blessed are You O Lord, who chooses the
, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel, and prophets of truth and righteousness."
First, we need to understand that the Bible is divided up in several ways. The most obvious for us is between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Yet, even those are divided into sub-catagories. In the New Testament we have the Gospels and the Epistles (or correspondences). In Judaism, the Tanakh (or Old Testament) is divided into the and the hafTorah (or "after" ). To many Messianic believers, the New Testament Scriptures apply to this same definition.
The hafTorah blessing suggests an important question that is worth our consideration. How can we tell a good prophet from a bad prophet? warns us that bad prophets will come and will even be permitted to perform miracles; but if they lead you away from the prescribed worship of Adonai, then they are false (Deuteronomy 13). The prophet Isaiah, 8 verses before he heralds the advent of our Messiah (Isaiah 9:6) states that any teaching that does not lead us back to possesses no light of truth (Isaiah 8:20).
The was handed directly to His chosen people by Adonai through Moses. It is considered by the Jewish people as the foundation of all truth. If we accept the writings of the Prophet Isaiah as inspired truth, then it should be our foundation as well.
Unfortunately, much of the Christian Church has denied such words of Scripture as pertinent, though Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, consistently declared that his faith stood unwavering to the and to the good prophets who came after.
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets…
(Acts 24:14)
We read the blessing of the hafTorah, identifying for ourselves the qualifications of the good prophets: that they stand in committed obedience to the Word of Adonai, not qualifying their disobedience by half-truths and misquotes of the Bible. We recognize that good prophets and false prophets still rise and fall today. It is our duty to judge between them.
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
(Joshua 24:14-15)
"Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, who selected good prophets, and was pleased with their words which were spoken truthfully. Blessed are You O Lord, who chooses the
, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel, and prophets of truth and righteousness."First, we need to understand that the Bible is divided up in several ways. The most obvious for us is between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Yet, even those are divided into sub-catagories. In the New Testament we have the Gospels and the Epistles (or correspondences). In Judaism, the Tanakh (or Old Testament) is divided into the
and the hafTorah (or "after" ). To many Messianic believers, the New Testament Scriptures apply to this same definition.The hafTorah blessing suggests an important question that is worth our consideration. How can we tell a good prophet from a bad prophet?
warns us that bad prophets will come and will even be permitted to perform miracles; but if they lead you away from the prescribed worship of Adonai, then they are false (Deuteronomy 13). The prophet Isaiah, 8 verses before he heralds the advent of our Messiah (Isaiah 9:6) states that any teaching that does not lead us back to possesses no light of truth (Isaiah 8:20).The
was handed directly to His chosen people by Adonai through Moses. It is considered by the Jewish people as the foundation of all truth. If we accept the writings of the Prophet Isaiah as inspired truth, then it should be our foundation as well.Unfortunately, much of the Christian Church has denied such words of Scripture as pertinent, though Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, consistently declared that his faith stood unwavering to the
and to the good prophets who came after.But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets…
(Acts 24:14)
We read the blessing of the hafTorah, identifying for ourselves the qualifications of the good prophets: that they stand in committed obedience to the Word of Adonai, not qualifying their disobedience by half-truths and misquotes of the Bible. We recognize that good prophets and false prophets still rise and fall today. It is our duty to judge between them.
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
(Joshua 24:14-15)
