Post by alon on Jun 15, 2015 20:27:39 GMT -8
It occurred to me that the books of the Maccabees might go well with the par'shahs we are going through in Vayyiqra (Leviticus). 1 Maccabees can be viewed as a direct condemnation against the Catholic and Protestant churches. It tells of a people zealous for and Shabbath. These were Jews who not only rejected what their brethren were doing but came against them and killed them. They destroyed the alters erected by pagans and paganized Jews, rebuilt and rededicated the Temple and restored God's Law (), including the seventh day Shabbath. There is also a warning for us as modern day Meshiachim:
1 Maccabees 5:1-2(NABRE)When the nations round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary restored as before, they were enraged. So they decided to destroy the descendants of Jacob who were among them, and they began to kill and eradicate the people
They "nations" (goyim) that surrounded them were not angry over the thousands that the followers of Judas Maccabeus had killed or the embarrassing defeats they had suffered. They were angry because these Jews were worshiping HaShem as He had told them to do! Their solution was to destroy those Jews who were faithful to their Elohim.
The current trend is to marginalize and even demonize both Israel and the church. That we are not on the radar is mostly due to our small size. But when the time comes that evil prevails, I think we will be the first targeted. How could we not be? We are the ones worshiping Who and how we are commanded in . We are the ones who will not compromise with evil, as some Jews did in 1 Maccabees and were so themselves destroyed. But the Hebrew soldiers in 1 Maccabees were always outnumbered, tired, hungry- all the things which will demoralize an army. However they went into battle with prayers on their lips, and were victorious! They trusted God, it was counted to them as righteousness, and they were saved both physically and spiritually.
It is a good study so far, and does compliment our readings in Leviticus. Will go well with Joshua too (probably my favorite book of the Bible) if anyone wants to study that.
Dan C
1 Maccabees 5:1-2(NABRE)When the nations round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary restored as before, they were enraged. So they decided to destroy the descendants of Jacob who were among them, and they began to kill and eradicate the people
They "nations" (goyim) that surrounded them were not angry over the thousands that the followers of Judas Maccabeus had killed or the embarrassing defeats they had suffered. They were angry because these Jews were worshiping HaShem as He had told them to do! Their solution was to destroy those Jews who were faithful to their Elohim.
The current trend is to marginalize and even demonize both Israel and the church. That we are not on the radar is mostly due to our small size. But when the time comes that evil prevails, I think we will be the first targeted. How could we not be? We are the ones worshiping Who and how we are commanded in . We are the ones who will not compromise with evil, as some Jews did in 1 Maccabees and were so themselves destroyed. But the Hebrew soldiers in 1 Maccabees were always outnumbered, tired, hungry- all the things which will demoralize an army. However they went into battle with prayers on their lips, and were victorious! They trusted God, it was counted to them as righteousness, and they were saved both physically and spiritually.
It is a good study so far, and does compliment our readings in Leviticus. Will go well with Joshua too (probably my favorite book of the Bible) if anyone wants to study that.
Dan C