Post by alon on Feb 2, 2018 7:52:54 GMT -8
Next week’s reading schedule:
Date of reading- 10 Feb 2018/25 Shevat 5778/25-11-5778
Name of Par’shah- Mishpatim
Par’shah- Ex 21.1-24.18
Haftara- Jer 34.8-22, 33.25-26
Brit Chadashah- Mat 5.38-42,15.1-20; Mk 7.1-23; Act 23.1-11; Heb 9.15-22, 10.28-29
This week’s readings:
Date of reading- 3 Feb 2018/18 Shevat 5778/18-11-5778
Name of Par’shah- Yitro, Jethro
Par’shah- Ex 18.1-20.23(26)
Haftara- Isa 6.1-7.6, 9.5(6)-6(7)
Brit Chadashah- Heb 1.7, 12.29; 1 Peter 2.9
D’rash:
Exodus 18:5 (ESV) Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
The Hebrews did not reach Mt Sinai until the next chapter, so this story is out of sequence. This may tell us something about the mind of the Hebrews. Where we like things to be in a linear, sequential order, many times stories are not told like this in the Bible. Those who compiled
apparently saw nothing wrong with 2 creation accounts which did not match sequentially. This may even reflect the mind of He who called Himself “Ani Rishon v’Ha’Acharon- I [am] the first, and the Last (Isaiah 44:6):
Yeshayah 46:9-10 (OJB) Remember the rishonot (former things) me’olam (of old); for I am El (G-d), and there is not another [G-d]; Elohim, and there is none like Me. Making known acharim (end-times things) from reshit (the beginning), and mikedem (from ancient times) the things that have not yet happened, saying, My etza (counsel, purpose, plan) shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure;
According to the sages often lists things out of sequence for literary purposes or for effect. They also said “There is no earlier or later in .”
This next passage is an important one for synagogue leadership. I grew up a PK, and I’ve seen firsthand how pastors who can’t let go, who have to micro-manage everything that goes on can burn themselves out. One of the jobs of a leader is to train up those who can help him, and even take over on short notice. I’ve managed work crews, and I always judged my efforts not by how well things worked when I was there, but how well they worked when I wasn’t. And yes, I had to deal with some situations. But those problems are how we and they learn and grow. We should always allow our leaders, whether over or under us to fail without undue blame.
Exodus 18:13-14a,15-18 (ESV) The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing … And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
Yitro, looking at this from the outside immediately saw the problem. Moshe could not handle every detail involved in leading the people. He also came up with a plan. They say you should not bring a problem to a leader without a solution, and Yitro came up with a good one:
Exodus 18:19-20 (ESV) Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
So Moshe was to be their representative before their Elohim and handle giving of the law as well as halachic rulings.
Exodus 18:21 (ESV) Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
He was to pick men to help him. But notice there were standards, and none of them had to do with looks, popularity or nepotism. Be careful who you place in charge of the things under your authority, because you will be lending your authority and your name to them.
Exodus 18:22,25 (ESV) And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. … Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
So Moshe would handle only the weightier things while they dealt with the petty problems. This kind of command structure allows for flexibility and allows the leader to better do his job. It also trains up others to lead. This would be extremely important when they entered HaEretz, because it was essentially a military campaign. Armies have a leadership and command structure for a reason. But it also worked well for civil and religious purposes.
Exodus 18:23-24 (ESV) If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
Often it is human nature to get so involved trying to take care of everything, we don’t take the time to listen to and consider the advice of others. That is a mistake. But Moshe listened to his father in-law and came off the better for it.
The next chapter is the fulfillment of the promise given Moshe earlier:
Exodus 3:12 (ESV) He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Exodus 19:2 (ESV) They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain,
Exodus 19:5-6a (ESV) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ …”
The “If/then” conditions typical of covenants. If you obey, then you are treasured by G-d. We also see here what His people are to become- “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” A nation set apart to Himself, and an example to the goyim so that they will want to join this people and follow El Elohe Yisro’el. I don’t think this means that every Jew is called to preach or teach or minister to the masses. But within the restrictions of their own talents and training they are ambassadors for Him.
They would however enjoy the status of priests, being set apart, sacred and secure. And when Yeshua came to renew the covenant we have once more been granted this status:
1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
We’re all familiar with the popular 10 Commandments, so I’m not going into all of Ex 20 here. I do however want to focus on a part of a debate I recently had with an Eastern Orthodox fellow; one which lasted several weeks over having idols in the sanctuary. He argued from the standpoint of the Seventh Ecumenical CouncilI which lasted a century and a half itself. I am of course an iconoclast (idol smasher) and he is an iconodule (venerator of idols).
Exodus 20:3-5 (ESV) “You shall have no other gods before [Or besides] me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image [Heb pecel], or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Now we both had messages that went 6 or more pages. But here to show the lengths and the mental contortions otherwise very smart people will go to in order to hold onto their cherished doctrines I am going to give just a little bit of one such long post:
“Regarding the Exodus take on the 2nd Commandment, I do however maintain that pesel (פֶּ֫סֶל) in context refers strictly to idols, images crafted to represent gods, and does not refer generally to all "graven images" … You cannot know for sure what "pesel" originally meant in this particular context millennia ago. So I offer the following commonsensical narrative of the evolution of "pesel" as a word. Pesel, among the ancient Israelites, was at one point a rather ordinary word carrying the connotation of something carved while directly referring to any crafted 3D depiction. Then, in a culture drenched in and highly aware of idolatry, pesel developed an association with idolatry and was commonly used to refer directly to idols without further explanation; at that point, pesel developed into a multivalent word—depending on the context it either meant "statue" or “idol" … ” Eventually, … pesel came to refer primarily to idols, and would not have been commonly used in reference to non-idolatrous statues. At that point, God handed down the 10 Commandments, using pesel to mean only "idol" per the common Hebraic usage as the time. Later on, Rabbis recovered the earlier meaning of pesel and began reading this earlier meaning into the commandment, so that nowadays we erroneously think God prohibited all manufacture of statues.”
Note his reliance on conjecture unsupported by any evidence and his own assigning of meanings to God, the Rabbis, and the Hebrew language. This came after I had time and again answered every rational argument he had over the course of a two month long debate online. And I had to refute each idea many times, as he just kept making the same arguments as if I hadn’t even replied to him. This is the hold church dogma and brainwashing have on people! And I showed him specific ways the church does this to him; which he didn’t take too kindly to but could not refute either.
Another argument he used that is often used against us is that God commanded they make a copper serpent and the seraphim in the Temple.
2 Kings 18:4 (ESV) He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it.
The serpent was destroyed because it had become an idol to the Hebrews. But was it an idol when set up by God? It was prophetic as a clear picture of Yeshua, later lifted up to become sin for us. Still, making such an object is clearly prohibited, except for in two places; the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Temple. Both of these were made to very exacting specifications because they represented a picture of the heavenly court and the throne of God. So yes, He commanded seraphim to be in the Temple and on the Ark of the Covenant. They would after all be in the heavenly court. Great, so that’s the Temple accounted for. But what about that doggone snake?
Numbers 21:6 (ESV) Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
nâchâsh, naw-khawsh' :נחש from H5172; a snake (from its hiss):—serpent.
sârâph, saw-rawf'שרף; from H8313; burning, i.e. (figuratively) poisonous (serpent); specifically, a saraph or symbolical creature (from their copper color):—fiery (serpent), seraph.
And this brings us to our haftara:
Isaiah 6:2 (ESV) 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.
Seraphim is simply the plural form of that same word, saraph. So we see here that those seraphim are actually part of a depiction of the throne of El-Elyon- Most High God (Genesis 14:18).
Hebrews 1:7 (ESV) Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
In Hebrew thought there is a connection to all of these scriptures:
G'zerah Shavah (Equivalence of expresions) An analogy is made between two separate texts on the basis of a similar phrase, word or root – i.e., where the same words are applied to two separate cases, it follows that the same considerations apply to both. Hillel’s rules for scriptural exegesis, #2.
Because these all speak of seraphim, fiery messengers (“angels” are referred to as “malachim,” messengers- but so is Yeshua and so are other men, and the fiery serpents could be seen as messengers of God’s wrath), there is an equivalence of expression. This serpent on a pole is actually tied to the Temple by g’zerah shavah. At least in Hebrew thought; and the Bible is a Hebrew document.
Hebrews 12:29 (ESV) for our God is a consuming fire.
One last thing about the bronze serpent: it would likely have been set up in the center of the camp so everyone could have equal opportunity to see it. And what was at the center of the camp? The Mishkan. So if it was set up in the Mishkan compound it would be covered by the exception anyhow. However this is conjecture as scripture doesn’t say where exactly it was set up.
Date of reading- 10 Feb 2018/25 Shevat 5778/25-11-5778
Name of Par’shah- Mishpatim
Par’shah- Ex 21.1-24.18
Haftara- Jer 34.8-22, 33.25-26
Brit Chadashah- Mat 5.38-42,15.1-20; Mk 7.1-23; Act 23.1-11; Heb 9.15-22, 10.28-29
This week’s readings:
Date of reading- 3 Feb 2018/18 Shevat 5778/18-11-5778
Name of Par’shah- Yitro, Jethro
Par’shah- Ex 18.1-20.23(26)
Haftara- Isa 6.1-7.6, 9.5(6)-6(7)
Brit Chadashah- Heb 1.7, 12.29; 1 Peter 2.9
D’rash:
Exodus 18:5 (ESV) Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
The Hebrews did not reach Mt Sinai until the next chapter, so this story is out of sequence. This may tell us something about the mind of the Hebrews. Where we like things to be in a linear, sequential order, many times stories are not told like this in the Bible. Those who compiled
apparently saw nothing wrong with 2 creation accounts which did not match sequentially. This may even reflect the mind of He who called Himself “Ani Rishon v’Ha’Acharon- I [am] the first, and the Last (Isaiah 44:6):Yeshayah 46:9-10 (OJB) Remember the rishonot (former things) me’olam (of old); for I am El (G-d), and there is not another [G-d]; Elohim, and there is none like Me. Making known acharim (end-times things) from reshit (the beginning), and mikedem (from ancient times) the things that have not yet happened, saying, My etza (counsel, purpose, plan) shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure;
According to the sages
often lists things out of sequence for literary purposes or for effect. They also said “There is no earlier or later in .”This next passage is an important one for synagogue leadership. I grew up a PK, and I’ve seen firsthand how pastors who can’t let go, who have to micro-manage everything that goes on can burn themselves out. One of the jobs of a leader is to train up those who can help him, and even take over on short notice. I’ve managed work crews, and I always judged my efforts not by how well things worked when I was there, but how well they worked when I wasn’t. And yes, I had to deal with some situations. But those problems are how we and they learn and grow. We should always allow our leaders, whether over or under us to fail without undue blame.
Exodus 18:13-14a,15-18 (ESV) The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing … And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
Yitro, looking at this from the outside immediately saw the problem. Moshe could not handle every detail involved in leading the people. He also came up with a plan. They say you should not bring a problem to a leader without a solution, and Yitro came up with a good one:
Exodus 18:19-20 (ESV) Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
So Moshe was to be their representative before their Elohim and handle giving of the law as well as halachic rulings.
Exodus 18:21 (ESV) Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
He was to pick men to help him. But notice there were standards, and none of them had to do with looks, popularity or nepotism. Be careful who you place in charge of the things under your authority, because you will be lending your authority and your name to them.
Exodus 18:22,25 (ESV) And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. … Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
So Moshe would handle only the weightier things while they dealt with the petty problems. This kind of command structure allows for flexibility and allows the leader to better do his job. It also trains up others to lead. This would be extremely important when they entered HaEretz, because it was essentially a military campaign. Armies have a leadership and command structure for a reason. But it also worked well for civil and religious purposes.
Exodus 18:23-24 (ESV) If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
Often it is human nature to get so involved trying to take care of everything, we don’t take the time to listen to and consider the advice of others. That is a mistake. But Moshe listened to his father in-law and came off the better for it.
The next chapter is the fulfillment of the promise given Moshe earlier:
Exodus 3:12 (ESV) He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Exodus 19:2 (ESV) They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain,
Exodus 19:5-6a (ESV) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ …”
The “If/then” conditions typical of covenants. If you obey, then you are treasured by G-d. We also see here what His people are to become- “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” A nation set apart to Himself, and an example to the goyim so that they will want to join this people and follow El Elohe Yisro’el. I don’t think this means that every Jew is called to preach or teach or minister to the masses. But within the restrictions of their own talents and training they are ambassadors for Him.
They would however enjoy the status of priests, being set apart, sacred and secure. And when Yeshua came to renew the covenant we have once more been granted this status:
1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
We’re all familiar with the popular 10 Commandments, so I’m not going into all of Ex 20 here. I do however want to focus on a part of a debate I recently had with an Eastern Orthodox fellow; one which lasted several weeks over having idols in the sanctuary. He argued from the standpoint of the Seventh Ecumenical CouncilI which lasted a century and a half itself. I am of course an iconoclast (idol smasher) and he is an iconodule (venerator of idols).
Exodus 20:3-5 (ESV) “You shall have no other gods before [Or besides] me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image [Heb pecel], or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Now we both had messages that went 6 or more pages. But here to show the lengths and the mental contortions otherwise very smart people will go to in order to hold onto their cherished doctrines I am going to give just a little bit of one such long post:
“Regarding the Exodus take on the 2nd Commandment, I do however maintain that pesel (פֶּ֫סֶל) in context refers strictly to idols, images crafted to represent gods, and does not refer generally to all "graven images" … You cannot know for sure what "pesel" originally meant in this particular context millennia ago. So I offer the following commonsensical narrative of the evolution of "pesel" as a word. Pesel, among the ancient Israelites, was at one point a rather ordinary word carrying the connotation of something carved while directly referring to any crafted 3D depiction. Then, in a culture drenched in and highly aware of idolatry, pesel developed an association with idolatry and was commonly used to refer directly to idols without further explanation; at that point, pesel developed into a multivalent word—depending on the context it either meant "statue" or “idol" … ” Eventually, … pesel came to refer primarily to idols, and would not have been commonly used in reference to non-idolatrous statues. At that point, God handed down the 10 Commandments, using pesel to mean only "idol" per the common Hebraic usage as the time. Later on, Rabbis recovered the earlier meaning of pesel and began reading this earlier meaning into the commandment, so that nowadays we erroneously think God prohibited all manufacture of statues.”
Note his reliance on conjecture unsupported by any evidence and his own assigning of meanings to God, the Rabbis, and the Hebrew language. This came after I had time and again answered every rational argument he had over the course of a two month long debate online. And I had to refute each idea many times, as he just kept making the same arguments as if I hadn’t even replied to him. This is the hold church dogma and brainwashing have on people! And I showed him specific ways the church does this to him; which he didn’t take too kindly to but could not refute either.
Another argument he used that is often used against us is that God commanded they make a copper serpent and the seraphim in the Temple.
2 Kings 18:4 (ESV) He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it.
The serpent was destroyed because it had become an idol to the Hebrews. But was it an idol when set up by God? It was prophetic as a clear picture of Yeshua, later lifted up to become sin for us. Still, making such an object is clearly prohibited, except for in two places; the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Temple. Both of these were made to very exacting specifications because they represented a picture of the heavenly court and the throne of God. So yes, He commanded seraphim to be in the Temple and on the Ark of the Covenant. They would after all be in the heavenly court. Great, so that’s the Temple accounted for. But what about that doggone snake?
Numbers 21:6 (ESV) Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
nâchâsh, naw-khawsh' :נחש from H5172; a snake (from its hiss):—serpent.
sârâph, saw-rawf'שרף; from H8313; burning, i.e. (figuratively) poisonous (serpent); specifically, a saraph or symbolical creature (from their copper color):—fiery (serpent), seraph.
And this brings us to our haftara:
Isaiah 6:2 (ESV) 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.
Seraphim is simply the plural form of that same word, saraph. So we see here that those seraphim are actually part of a depiction of the throne of El-Elyon- Most High God (Genesis 14:18).
Hebrews 1:7 (ESV) Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
In Hebrew thought there is a connection to all of these scriptures:
G'zerah Shavah (Equivalence of expresions) An analogy is made between two separate texts on the basis of a similar phrase, word or root – i.e., where the same words are applied to two separate cases, it follows that the same considerations apply to both. Hillel’s rules for scriptural exegesis, #2.
Because these all speak of seraphim, fiery messengers (“angels” are referred to as “malachim,” messengers- but so is Yeshua and so are other men, and the fiery serpents could be seen as messengers of God’s wrath), there is an equivalence of expression. This serpent on a pole is actually tied to the Temple by g’zerah shavah. At least in Hebrew thought; and the Bible is a Hebrew document.
Hebrews 12:29 (ESV) for our God is a consuming fire.
One last thing about the bronze serpent: it would likely have been set up in the center of the camp so everyone could have equal opportunity to see it. And what was at the center of the camp? The Mishkan. So if it was set up in the Mishkan compound it would be covered by the exception anyhow. However this is conjecture as scripture doesn’t say where exactly it was set up.
