- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Feb 3, 2023 19:23:05 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Exodus 22:25(26)-23:33
Haftara- Isaiah 49:1-26
D’rash: I’m only going to focus on two verses here, and I will pull from the Winchester Leningrad Codex, the oldest complete Hebrew text of the TNK we have. I think these have some important lessons for us.
Exodus 23:20 (WLC) הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י שֹׁלֵ֤חַ מַלְאָךְ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמָרְךָ֖ בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ וְלַהֲבִ֣יאֲךָ֔ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי
Exodus 23:20 (ESV) “Behold, I send מַלְאָךְ֙ malach, a messenger לְפָנֶ֔יךָ lefanecha, before your face to guard you on the way and to bring you to הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי hamakom asher hachonti the place that I have prepared.
The term מַלְאָךְ mal'âch is from the same root as הֲלָכָה halacha, to walk; in this case how we walk with God. Malach means “messenger,” and can be a man, a heavenly being, or God Himself; anyone or anything that brings a message. So we should not automatically think of winged heavenly beings; the archetypical “angel.” Think more some entity, corporeal or spiritual that “walks” between God and man. And the term “walks” can be literal or allegorical. The point is there is an interaction between the messenger and God. The messenger may either deliver a message or complete some task set for him by God. And, of course there is a lot of argument (with good points on both sides) about whether this was a spirit being (the most popular stance by far) or a man; possibly it was to be Moshe himself.
לְפָנֶ֔יךָ lefanecha, which is translated “before you” actually means ‘before your face.’ This sounds like more of a supernatural force than either a being which takes physical form or a man who is being sent ahead. I think contextually we can conclude as the translators did this was to be a supernatural being; a heavenly angel. However, how he would manifest is not clear. He could take any one or several forms.
The main point is, if God’s messenger goes with you it means it is as though God Himself is going with you. When He sends a messenger before your face, He sends a being not only to show the way, but to protect you. What this being could not do was to forgive sin. Only God can do that.
“Hamakom asher hachonti הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי, the place I have fixed, made, or established for you.” It is a biblical principle that when God sends someone to accomplish some task, He always prepares the way. In the case of ha’moshiach this means preparing our hearts, but we must be willing to receive Him.
Isaiah 40:3 “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John 1:23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
The idea behind the idiom “make straight the highway” was more to make the path easy. The “highways” of the time were nothing like what we’d envision today. They were paths, most of them in hilly or mountainous country, and most very narrow. Again, Hebrew is descriptive, so the mental picture would be to clean the path; throwing rocks off for example. Spiritually this would mean getting the “rocks,” or sin out of their lives. In the 1st cen. they knew it was time for ha’moshiach to appear, but there was a popular belief he could not come unless they prepared themselves spiritually. Of course there was a lot of bitter argument over just what this looked like, and (figuratively speaking) they often threw those stones at each other.
Matthew gives a better idea what is actually meant:
Matthew 3:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
We remove those stones from our hearts and minds by repentance. It’s as simple as that. But what does this mean, to repent:
G3340 μετανοέω metanoeō- to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.
The problem with this being a Greek translation of a Hebrew original text is that things are invariably lost in translation. The Hebrew word for “repentance” is תשובה “teshuva.” It means more than being sorry, more than turning away from our sin, more even than to think differently. Certainly those are involved. But it literally means to return, or to turn back to something. We are to return to that relationship Adam had with God in the Garden. But to do this we must have a change of heart that is born out by our actions. God tells us what this looks like:
Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Let’s back up to the statement this messenger could not forgive sin:
Exodus 23:21 WLC)) הִשָּׁ֧מֶר מִפָּנָ֛יו וּשְׁמַ֥ע בְּקֹל֖וֹ אַל־תַּמֵּ֣ר בּ֑וֹ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ
Exodus 23:21 (ESV) Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for Ki lo isa lepishachem כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם he will not pardon your transgression, Ki shmi bikerbo כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ for my name is in him.
Ki lo isa lepishachem כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם, litterally “he will not lift up your transgressions.” פֶּשַׁע pesha‛ rebellion is willful disobedience. Ki shmi bikerbo כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ, “for My name is in him: or more accurately “‘within’ his innermost being.” God’s authority and power rests with and is manifest through this messenger. It is possible this is a heavenly being (an angel). But some say it is also possible it is Yeshua. However Yeshua being God forgives sin. He does not however forgive unrepented transgressions, but this says the messenger will not even lift them up! If they are not “lifted up” how can one be forgiven? So I doubt it was Yeshua. Evidence to me says it was to be what we’d call an angel, but not necessarily with wings.
God will send the messenger so that Israel can count on the resources of El-Elyon, the Most High. However they cannot count on forgiveness with the messenger as they can with God Himself.
Moses will later approach El Chai, the Living God with what can only be described as chutzpah:
Exodus 34:9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
He will ask his God to go with the Hebrew people instead of His messenger; furthermore refusing to go anywhere otherwise. However this is for a later parashah to deal with.
So while they would have this messenger from Elohe Yeshuathi, God of My Salvation, they will not have forgiveness through him. He will not pardon; he will not lift up their transgressions before God.
One lesson here is we must think and research to find how things are translated. Only then will you know whether the translator's are correct or not. Also you get the deeper meanings and connections which are all to often lost in a translation. But the real lessons come from the understanding of these two verses: what they really mean and how they apply to us. Make straight the way of the Lord, but please do not take the rocks from your heart and throw them at your neighbor! And I’m serious. Too many times we dump the inevitable negative emotions and the spiritual trauma that occur with this deep self reflection and realization of our sin on those around us. The idea is to bring them to repentance as well, not to drive them away.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study TNK: D Stern: Drs. Parker, Eli and Schaser of the Israel Bible Center: D Prager: E Cole; Greenes’ Interlinear: my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 24:1-18
Haftara- Is 60:1-61:9
Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Exodus 22:25(26)-23:33
Haftara- Isaiah 49:1-26
D’rash: I’m only going to focus on two verses here, and I will pull from the Winchester Leningrad Codex, the oldest complete Hebrew text of the TNK we have. I think these have some important lessons for us.
Exodus 23:20 (WLC) הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י שֹׁלֵ֤חַ מַלְאָךְ֙ לְפָנֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמָרְךָ֖ בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ וְלַהֲבִ֣יאֲךָ֔ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי
Exodus 23:20 (ESV) “Behold, I send מַלְאָךְ֙ malach, a messenger לְפָנֶ֔יךָ lefanecha, before your face to guard you on the way and to bring you to הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי hamakom asher hachonti the place that I have prepared.
The term מַלְאָךְ mal'âch is from the same root as הֲלָכָה halacha, to walk; in this case how we walk with God. Malach means “messenger,” and can be a man, a heavenly being, or God Himself; anyone or anything that brings a message. So we should not automatically think of winged heavenly beings; the archetypical “angel.” Think more some entity, corporeal or spiritual that “walks” between God and man. And the term “walks” can be literal or allegorical. The point is there is an interaction between the messenger and God. The messenger may either deliver a message or complete some task set for him by God. And, of course there is a lot of argument (with good points on both sides) about whether this was a spirit being (the most popular stance by far) or a man; possibly it was to be Moshe himself.
לְפָנֶ֔יךָ lefanecha, which is translated “before you” actually means ‘before your face.’ This sounds like more of a supernatural force than either a being which takes physical form or a man who is being sent ahead. I think contextually we can conclude as the translators did this was to be a supernatural being; a heavenly angel. However, how he would manifest is not clear. He could take any one or several forms.
The main point is, if God’s messenger goes with you it means it is as though God Himself is going with you. When He sends a messenger before your face, He sends a being not only to show the way, but to protect you. What this being could not do was to forgive sin. Only God can do that.
“Hamakom asher hachonti הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲכִנֹֽתִי, the place I have fixed, made, or established for you.” It is a biblical principle that when God sends someone to accomplish some task, He always prepares the way. In the case of ha’moshiach this means preparing our hearts, but we must be willing to receive Him.
Isaiah 40:3 “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John 1:23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
The idea behind the idiom “make straight the highway” was more to make the path easy. The “highways” of the time were nothing like what we’d envision today. They were paths, most of them in hilly or mountainous country, and most very narrow. Again, Hebrew is descriptive, so the mental picture would be to clean the path; throwing rocks off for example. Spiritually this would mean getting the “rocks,” or sin out of their lives. In the 1st cen. they knew it was time for ha’moshiach to appear, but there was a popular belief he could not come unless they prepared themselves spiritually. Of course there was a lot of bitter argument over just what this looked like, and (figuratively speaking) they often threw those stones at each other.
Matthew gives a better idea what is actually meant:
Matthew 3:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
We remove those stones from our hearts and minds by repentance. It’s as simple as that. But what does this mean, to repent:
G3340 μετανοέω metanoeō- to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.
The problem with this being a Greek translation of a Hebrew original text is that things are invariably lost in translation. The Hebrew word for “repentance” is תשובה “teshuva.” It means more than being sorry, more than turning away from our sin, more even than to think differently. Certainly those are involved. But it literally means to return, or to turn back to something. We are to return to that relationship Adam had with God in the Garden. But to do this we must have a change of heart that is born out by our actions. God tells us what this looks like:
Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Let’s back up to the statement this messenger could not forgive sin:
Exodus 23:21 WLC)) הִשָּׁ֧מֶר מִפָּנָ֛יו וּשְׁמַ֥ע בְּקֹל֖וֹ אַל־תַּמֵּ֣ר בּ֑וֹ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ
Exodus 23:21 (ESV) Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for Ki lo isa lepishachem כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם he will not pardon your transgression, Ki shmi bikerbo כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ for my name is in him.
Ki lo isa lepishachem כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם, litterally “he will not lift up your transgressions.” פֶּשַׁע pesha‛ rebellion is willful disobedience. Ki shmi bikerbo כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ, “for My name is in him: or more accurately “‘within’ his innermost being.” God’s authority and power rests with and is manifest through this messenger. It is possible this is a heavenly being (an angel). But some say it is also possible it is Yeshua. However Yeshua being God forgives sin. He does not however forgive unrepented transgressions, but this says the messenger will not even lift them up! If they are not “lifted up” how can one be forgiven? So I doubt it was Yeshua. Evidence to me says it was to be what we’d call an angel, but not necessarily with wings.
God will send the messenger so that Israel can count on the resources of El-Elyon, the Most High. However they cannot count on forgiveness with the messenger as they can with God Himself.
Moses will later approach El Chai, the Living God with what can only be described as chutzpah:
Exodus 34:9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
He will ask his God to go with the Hebrew people instead of His messenger; furthermore refusing to go anywhere otherwise. However this is for a later parashah to deal with.
So while they would have this messenger from Elohe Yeshuathi, God of My Salvation, they will not have forgiveness through him. He will not pardon; he will not lift up their transgressions before God.
One lesson here is we must think and research to find how things are translated. Only then will you know whether the translator's are correct or not. Also you get the deeper meanings and connections which are all to often lost in a translation. But the real lessons come from the understanding of these two verses: what they really mean and how they apply to us. Make straight the way of the Lord, but please do not take the rocks from your heart and throw them at your neighbor! And I’m serious. Too many times we dump the inevitable negative emotions and the spiritual trauma that occur with this deep self reflection and realization of our sin on those around us. The idea is to bring them to repentance as well, not to drive them away.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study TNK: D Stern: Drs. Parker, Eli and Schaser of the Israel Bible Center: D Prager: E Cole; Greenes’ Interlinear: my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 24:1-18
Haftara- Is 60:1-61:9
Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
