Musing – Who Should I Be Like According to Scripture?

Hebraic Musing – Who Should I Be Like According to Scripture?

Today, I will be...

Like Paul, I will forget the past and press forward. Phil. 3:13

Like David, I will lift my eyes unto the hills, from where my help comes.  Ps. 121:1

Like Abraham, I will trust in YHVH.  Romans 4:20-21

Like Enoch, I will walk in daily fellowship with Abba. Gen. 5:23

Like Jehoshaphat, I will seek YHVH.  2 Chron. 20:3

Like Moses, I choose to suffer with the persecuted, than have an easy life of sinners. Heb. 11:25

Like Daniel, I will commune with YHVH.  Daniel 6:10

Like Job, I will be patient.  Job 6:11

Like Caleb and Joshua, I will refuse to be discouraged.  Num. 14:8-9

Like Gideon, I will advance, trusting YHVH to defeat my enemies.  Judges 6:15-16

Like Aaron and Hur, uphold others, in prayer.  Exod. 17:12

Like Andrew, strive to bring others to Messiah.  John 1:41

Like Stephen, I will forgive those who hurt me.  Acts 7:60

Like Paul, I will press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil.3:13

No wonder Almighty God’s Holy Scriptures required so many biblical characters just to convey His love and plan for our lives!

 Points to ponder

Are these worthwhile reflections for first thing in the morning?

As Paul said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”. 1 Corinth. 11:1   RSV

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               October 31, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – From Johanna Hocker’s email “Today, I will…”  Sept.12, 2017

Musing - Can Prayer Replace Sacrifices?

Hebraic Musing - Can Prayer Replace Sacrifices?

Pharisaic Rabbinic Judaism was in trouble after the temple was destroyed in 70AD.  How could traditional Judaism survive without the sacrificial system as the bedrock of their worship liturgy?  The foundation in Lev.17:11 was no longer available – “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.” NIV   The temple was gone, now what?

Ben Zakkai and his worldwide center of Jewish learning quickly realized that converts would not be attracted to a Temple-less Judaism and would instead flock to Yeshua (and they did!).  It would have been great if he had understood that in light of Yeshua’s death, the Temple was no longer needed.   But Ben Zakkai came up with an answer to save Judaism.  How?  He sought to create a new Judaism—a bloodless, sacrifice-less, Temple-less Judaism.  He convinced his newly established Sanhedrin to replace the need for sacrifice with prayer, quoting from Hosea 6:6 (out of context) – “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Thus he claimed there would be no need to rebuild the Temple.  Before this, sacrifice was central to Judaism; the focus of Jewish life had been the Temple and the sacrifices.  So, now, temple ritual was replaced with prayer service in synagogues which built upon practices of Jews in the Diaspora of the Babylonian exile.

Sadly one of the main arguments that Orthodox Jews use today to try and refute Messianic Judaism is that prayer and repentance are enough to atone for sin.  Of course this was not the Jewish view until after the Second Temple was destroyed.

A few years before this, the writer of Hebrews had already said – “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” Hebrews 8:13   Unfortunately some Bible teachers wrongly interpret this passage as God rendering the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets obsolete.  Impossible for two reasons: 
1) Yeshua said He did not come to destroy the Torah when He said “I have not come to abolish them(Law & Prophets but to fulfill them” in Matt 5:17 and went on in v.18 "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”  NIV
(2) almost all New Testament theology is based on the Hebrew Scriptures; Paul and the Gospel writers constantly quote them.  

What was obsolete, however, in light of the death of Yeshua, was the sacrificial system. Yeshua was the once-for-all-time and all-sin sacrifice.  Sadly Ben Zakkai could not see this.

Whenever God condemned sacrifice it was not because He is condemning the very system that He Himself established, but rather He is condemning the people for forsaking Him while still offering sacrifices. In the context of the Hosea passage, this is clear. He continues the verse about desiring mercy, not sacrifice with, “and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” God was not against sacrifice, but was seeking to confront hypocrisy; He was seeking relationship with His people.  Even in the Babylonian Exile, the dream was always to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The book of Lamentations is about a broken-hearted prophet lamenting over Jerusalem’s demise. Ben Zakkai’s response is the opposite.  He cared not for Jerusalem nor the Temple, but preserving the traditions of the elders, the Oral Law.  It was successful and practical, but not the biblical response that we see after the first destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.  

Even today, there is virtually no movement in traditional Judaism to rebuild the Temple.  The few who seek it are considered extreme.

 Points to ponder

How many people today still resort to and rely solely on “Prayer & Repentance”?

♫  O the blood of Jesus, It washes white as snow  ♫  

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               October 24, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing – Some Miracles were Signs; of what?

Hebraic Musing – Some Miracles were Signs; of what?

John’s Gospel was written to reveal Jesus’ divinity as stated in John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…”  The seven miracles John records were significant signs which defined Jesus.  Look closely at the “divinity” messages in each of these seven signs:

1.   Changing water into wine (Jn.2:1-11):  This first sign reminds us of Jesus’ mission, to be glorified upon the cross.  So He said “my hour has not yet come.”  However, by responding Jesus launches himself on the path to that hour.  He performed the miracle because there was a significant need – ran out of wine at a wedding.  The issue is not the volume that was changed, but the sign that He was bringing ‘New Wine”.   Weddings are important because we’ve all been invited to “the wedding supper of the Lamb”!   And in  John 2:5, Mother Mary gave us good advice -- "Do whatever he tells you."

2.   Healing the royal official’s son (Jn.4:46-54):  All Jesus did was to tell the man: “You may go. Your son will live.”  This shows that Jesus’ word alone has power and reminds us that he is God, as the John’s prologue says: “the Word was with God and the Word was God”.   Even the greatest and most powerful men come to God as beggars and paupers; world strengths and possessions are meaningless. 

3.   Healing the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (Jn.5:1-15):  healing the paralyzed man born blind happened on a Sabbath, which lead Jesus into controversy with the religious leaders of his time. Through these signs we see Jesus as “the Lord of the Sabbath.”  The man at the pool waited 38 years for a physical healing; but Jesus reveals the more important healing.  The man was sinning and needed healing from spiritual blindness.  We are all born Spiritually blind, from birth.  And Christ delights in helping the helpless. Observe the process:  (1) Christ addresses the man;  (2) he then commands;  (3) the man obeys, the obedience of faith;  (4) In the act of obedience he is healed.  This lame man represents all men; we all need Spiritual healing by obedience and faith in Jesus.

4.   Feeding the 5,000 (Jn.6:5-14):  To the Jews, this is a powerful reminder of how Jesus can and does do what God was credited with doing by feeding mana to the Israelites in the wilderness journey.

5.   Walking on water (Jn.6:16-24):  Again, Jesus fulfills the promises of the Old Testament when God parted the waters of the Red Sea to save the Israelites.  So, the fourth and fifth signs are both connected to, the Passover narrative, and symbolize a new exodus.”  All four Gospels indicating that all of mankind can be miraculously saved if they only place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

6.   Healing the man born blind (Jn.9:1-41):  The man born blind was persecuted by the officials but then confesses in John 9:38 “Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him.”  John is writing of the physical cure in such a way that it reflects and calls to mind the cure of spiritual blindness — from birth.  We are all born blind of Godly truth, and we do not see the light until that precious day when we acknowledge Jesus as Our Lord.  He is the only light source, and once you believe in Him and make Him your Lord, then your eyes will be opened.    Interesting -- The clay made of Christ's spittle was much more precious than any balm or medicine from a physician. BTW - God originally formed man out of clay!

7.   Raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn.11:1-45):  Jesus tells us the significance of this miracle in verse 25 -- "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"   Only then does Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.  The resurrection of Lazarus showed that only through Jesus can we have victory over death and thus obtain eternal life. “He that believes in me will never die.”      

Do these seven signs in John’s Gospel confirm that Jesus is the LORD; “the way, the truth and the life”?

 Points to ponder

Do signs, wonders and miracles today point people to Jesus?

♫  “Only believe, only believe; All things are possible, only believe;… ♫  

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               October 17, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing – Has the Lord Not Given You a Mind that Understands?

Hebraic Musing – Has the Lord Not Given You a Mind that Understands?

The obvious first blush answer is “Of course I have understanding” and we may continue “and it comes from God!”  This opening question in the title comes directly from a statement or accusation Moses made to the Israelite leaders in Deut. 29:4.  “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”  NIV   Obviously this has to be put into context.

In Deuteronomy 28, Moses had just described to the Israelite leaders the blessings and curses “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will…”.  That’s the opening verse of Chapter 28 which contains a series of critical “if, then” promises.  Moses tells the leaders “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today” then you will receive the wonderful blessings spelled out in the following thirteen verses.  And Moses continues in verse 15 “However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, (then) all these curses will come upon you …”  There were thirteen verses of blessings promised, while the next forty-four verses, verses 15–68, spell out a litany of promised curses.

Moses follows up with a recounting of the Lord’s mighty deeds.  “Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, … and to all his land.  3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. 5 During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, ….  You ate no bread …. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.  7 When you reached this place, Kings … came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land ….” Deut 29:2-8, omitting vs.4.

And in the midst of those examples of wonders the Lord did on their behalf, Moses said in verse 4 “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”   In today’s terminology, Moses is telling them “After all that the Lord has done for you, you still don’t get it!”

At this stage I have to ask myself “Do I get it?  Do I realize how important it is to “fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands?  Have I misused my God-given freedom of choice and decided to not fully obey?”  Ouch! 

I am reminded of the favorite song they to sing at services we do at the Assisted Living home.
♫ Count your blessings, name them one by one,   Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,     And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. ♫

I have found that when I take the time to try to count my blessings, it becomes easier to “fully obey the LORD”; and to understand Him.

 Points to ponder

Are we too much like the Israelite nation?

God gave us our minds, eyes and ears,
but what do we have to do to get “a mind that understands
or eyes that see or ears that hear”?

 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Ps 119:18 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                           October 3, 2017
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”  Weekly “Hebraic Musings”    

Note – Thanks to Ardelle Brody the inspiration from her commentary on Ki Tavo  Sept 6, 2017