Tag: parashah

Parashah Bo (come) Exodus 10 – 13:16

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The plagues continue, with locusts, darkness and the final plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt.

Moses is instructed by God what the Israelites must do to be protected from the angel of death, for even though Goshen had been protected from the other plagues, it seems that the angel of death was over everyone and everything, and only the blood of the Passover Lamb would protect you from death. They are also told to sacrifice the lamb, and to make sure that the sacrifice is eaten in the prescribed manner, with nothing left over, and only those who are Israelites, or slaves and sojourners with Israel who have been circumcised may eat of this meal.

After the death of all the firstborn, both men and animals, Pharaoh lets the people go. They plunder the Egyptians, who give willingly, and leave the very next day. Moses reminds the people of the Passover regulations, commanding them to teach this story throughout all their generations and to eat the Passover meal (Seder) every year according to the way it should be done, with no leavened products for a week.

The term “The Passover Lamb” is first introduced to us in this parashah. To the Jewish people, the Passover Lamb represents freedom from slavery to Egypt, and is a very important part of our history. Because the Temple no longer exists, and the Torah specifies that the Passover Lamb had to be sacrificed at the Temple, we do not eat lamb at Passover; the usual dish chosen is chicken.

I have this great recipe for baked chicken: grease a pan, place the cleaned chicken pieces in the pan and spread butter over them. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh parsley flakes. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes, or until the skin is browned and bubbling. YUM!!

The Passover Lamb means freedom from slavery to Jews, and to Christians it is a reference to Yeshua, who sacrificed Himself to free us from a different form of slavery: slavery to sin.

Now here is the interesting part: the Passover sacrifice was not a sin sacrifice- it was a thanksgiving sacrifice. There are 5 types of sacrifices:

  1. Whole Burnt Offering
  2. Meal Offering
  3. Peace Offering
  4. Sin Offering
  5. Guilt/Trespass Offering

The first three offerings are voluntary, and the last two are mandatory for atonement from sin. The main difference is that of all 5 sacrifices, the only one where both God and the person sacrificing shared of the meat was for the Peace, or Thanksgiving sacrifice. This was representative of the communion between man and God.

Yeshua’s sacrifice was clearly one made for the atonement of sin- it was most representative of the wholly burnt sacrifice, since His entire body was given to God. But wait! If the sacrifice Yeshua (Jesus) made was a sin sacrifice, why is He called the Passover Lamb? The Passover Lamb sacrifice was a peace offering, a Thanksgiving sacrifice, and not a sacrifice to atone from sin. So, then, is calling Yeshua the Passover Lamb really accurate?

Not from a human timeline, but since God is not subject to any timeline, we need to look at another specific sacrifice to find the complete relationship opportunity that Yeshua’s sacrifice made possible. That sacrifice is described to us in Leviticus 16- it is the Yom Kippur sacrifice. We are told to have 2 goats (not lambs)- one to be sacrificed and one to be released into the desert after the people have placed upon it’s head their sins. The goat that was chosen by lot to be sacrificed had it’s blood used to atone the alter and the Most Holy Place, and the rest of it was a burnt sacrifice. I checked the Chumash and did not see specifically where it mentioned if any portion of the Yom Kippur lamb was to be given to the Priests, but since God says that we are all to afflict our souls ( fast), clearly this had to be a wholly burnt sacrifice, with no parts being eaten by the Priests.

As we can see, Yeshua’s sacrifice was more like the Yom Kippur goat, not the Passover Lamb, so which is it? Did Yeshua’s sacrifice cleanse us of our sins, or bring us into communion with God?

The answer is: it has done both of these things at one time.

The way I see this working is that Yeshua took on our sins, as the Yom Kippur goat does, and freed us from sin when He sacrificed Himself on Passover. The Passover Lamb sacrifice was a Thanksgiving, or Peace offering which allowed us to commune with God. But, communion with God is not possible when we are covered in sin, so first we must have the sin removed. Only after we have been cleansed of our sins can we have complete communion with God and come into His presence. Under the Sacrificial System one had to perform two, separate sacrifices to attain this state of communion, but with Yeshua’s sacrifice both were accomplished, at once.

Yeshua is the Passover Lamb, which was a lamb chosen by man whose blood would protect them from death, and He is also the the Lamb of God, the Yom Kippur lamb chosen by God (through throwing lots) to atone for the sins of the people. He is both of these: God chose Yeshua to atone for the sins of the people, and when you choose Yeshua as your Passover Lamb, then you have both atonement of your sins and protection from death (not the first death, of course, but the second death, which is for all eternity.)

PS: Next week Donna and I will be on our annual anniversary cruise so I will not be blogging. Have a great week, and I will be back on February 13. 

Parashah Va-ayrah (and I Appeared) Exodus 6:2 – 9

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And so it begins: Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh and tell him (it seems Moses is not requesting anymore, but demanding) to let the people go. Pharaoh refuses, and God pummels Egypt with miraculous events to convince Pharaoh to obey God. The rod to snake, the water to blood, and the frogs from the river are all miracles that the Egyptian magicians can duplicate. But the next plague, the plague of gnats, the magicians are helpless to create or stop. This is the first sign that demonstrates God’s absolute preeminence over the magicians and gods of Egypt.

Next the plague of flies is sent, and God “ups the stakes” with this plague by not only doing something that the Egyptian magicians and gods cannot duplicate or control, but God sends this plague against all of Egypt except in the land of Goshen, where His people live.

Pharaoh begins to weaken a little, setting conditions on the release of the Israelites to go into the desert and worship, but Moses holds fast to God’s command that everyone and every animal go forth; all of Israel and all of Israel’s possessions. Pharaoh refuses, and the next plagues attack that which Pharaoh refused to allow Israel to take: all the people (men, women and children) and their cattle. But only the people and cattle of the Egyptians. The next plague was against the produce of Egypt, with the hail destroying the flax crops, but again, none of these plagues affect the Israelites in Goshen.

I saw one commentary on this, in which the author was giving a drash on the idea of bondage; he showed the relationship between how God was freeing the Israelites from human bondage to the Egyptians in the same way that Yeshua (Jesus) has freed humans from spiritual bondage to sin. I thought that was a good message, which is why I mention it here, but it’s not the message I will bring today.

I feel that what we need to talk about is how Pharaoh, in spite of the absolutely undeniable proof of God’s existence and power over him, his magicians and his gods, still chose to defy God. When you’re reading this, aren’t you asking yourself, “What is it with this guy? Hello! Anyone home? Think, McFly, think! C’mon- get with the program, already!”? I know I do. I can’t believe how anyone, even the Pharaoh, could be so stubborn in the face of overwhelming power. Yes, this is a new one for the Pharaoh- I mean, in all fairness to him, the Pharaoh has grown up in a world where he is the all-powerful one, himself, and has never had to move over and make room for someone greater than him. He probably isn’t really believing this, and maybe, even, thinks that after Moses entreats God to stop each plague, that he, Pharaoh, commanded Moses to make it stop. Who knows for sure?

The bible tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s, heart, but could that have been through a lifetime of being an absolute ruler? Maybe the hardening God did of Pharaoh’s heart was not just there and then, but had been part of God’s plan from before that Pharaoh was even born?  Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?

The lesson for us, I would like to offer, is that we need to help others see the power and glory of God in everything that happens. I would guess that most everyone reading this (especially those who have blessed me by being a follower of this blog-ministry) know the Lord, or at least recognize His existence and influence, but what about the rest of the world?

What I am trying to say (and not doing a good job of) is that people need to see the wonder, power and proof of God’s existence in everyday miracles, which happen all the time. I am not talking about hail from a clear sky, or rivers being split open, but about events that happen every day . For instance, what about a Tsunami? Isn’t that a force to be reckoned with? Sure, scientists will tell us it is the natural result of an underwater earthquake, but doesn’t God use the natural to show His supernatural power? That is what the world fails to recognize, just as Pharaoh failed to recognize (and accept)- God uses the natural to show that He is supernatural. We have fallen into a sort of ennui when we see supernatural occurrences because, I believe, when we can explain how something happens we think that it can’t be a miracle anymore. Yeah, I watched that Tsunami, I see that volcanic eruption, I lived through a hurricane…so what? It’s nature, it’s based on coincidental weather manifestations, it’s not a miracle.

My Webster’s Dictionary (1993) defines a miracle as, “A supernatural event or happening regarded as an act of God.”  What it doesn’t define is, what is an ‘Act of God’?

As far as I’m concerned, when I breathe that is an act of God. When I eat something and it gets broken down to it’s molecular level in my stomach and intestines, then is distributed to each and every one of the mitochondria in each and every one of the billions of cells in my body so that I can move, walk, talk, act, think…that is an act of God.

When my heart beats and the blood carries life to my body, which is why God said never to eat the blood (Leviticus 17:11), that is a miracle, a divine intervention by God, an act of God that continues to occur. From you and I being able to breathe, to everything else that happens in the universe, every moment of every day, all are a miracle that God has made happen. He has set the ball rolling, and whether He controls which way it goes or just lets it roll whichever way it wants to for a while, it is still an act of God that made it go and keeps it going.

Miracles are all around us and we, as Believers, need to explain to people that even a natural occurrence is something God has caused or allowed to happen. God is in charge of everything, and just because we can duplicate what He does or because we can explain in scientific terms the mechanics of the occurrence, doesn’t mean it isn’t a miracle.

The only thing that can’t be explained is how people can deny God’s existence, power and influence in the world. That is what I cannot explain; this is what I consider something that has no explanation in the natural, that there are still people who refuse to believe in God.

What’s the “take-away” today? This: look for the miracles, show the miracles to others, and proclaim God’s power and glory in every little miraculous thing you see to everyone you talk with. Hit them between the eyes with it (I am talking figuratively) by explaining that that just because we can explain how something happens doesn’t mean it isn’t a miracle.

Let me leave you with this little joke:

Scientists can now read the complete human genome, and in a meeting of the great scientists of the world they decided that with this knowledge they will soon be able to cure any disease or malformation, so God isn’t really necessary anymore. God asks them, “Can you make a living human being from a handful of clay?” The scientists gather and confer, then tell God they believe they can. God says to them, “Show me.” They go out and get a large clump of clay, and when they bring it into the laboratory God says to them, “Oh, no! That’s my clay- you have to make your own clay.”

If a miracle can be defined as an act of God, and we know God created the universe and how it all works, then everything that happens in the universe is, by definition, a miracle. Our job is to teach this to those that refuse to see and accept the truth of it.

Parashah Shmot (the names) Exodus 1-6:1

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We all know this story- the Pharaoh that was hundreds of years after Joseph was of a totally different people and enslaves the Israelites from fear of their size. All the male babies are to be killed, Moses is hidden then sent down the Nile by his mother who trusts in God to protect her son. He is found by a daughter of Pharaoh, raised for the first years of his life by his mother, then returned to the Princess to be adopted into the royal family. Years later, as an adult, Moses sees one of his countrymen being beaten by an Egyptian (his mother had taught him about the God of Israel and his heritage), loses it and kills the Egyptian, then runs for his life. He goes to Midian, marries and becomes a shepherd. Years later he sees the burning bush, and is told by God that he will be God’s spokesman in order to get Pharaoh to free the people.

NOTE: If you feel you don’t know what your calling from God is, just be patient: Moses was 80 years of age before he found out.

He goes back to Egypt, faces Pharaoh and declares to Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”

Pharaoh doesn’t take too well to this, and orders that the Israelites are to now make bricks without being provided the straw, so instead of going home at sundown to rest they had to glean the fields all night. That didn’t make them very happy at all, and the Parashah ends with Moses about to get stoned by the people for making their lives even more miserable than before he came to free them.

I want to take one little line, just a few words from this Parashah, and talk about them today. They are found in Chapter 3, verse 14, when God tells Moses His name. The exact translation is: Ehyeh asher ehyeh– I am that I am.

This seems to be a simple statement, but it is in reality, vast. Popeye the Sailor says, “I yam what I yam, and that’s all that I yam…”and in his case, his statement is simple. Popeye is his own man, he is a modest and simple person who doesn’t profess to be anything other than what we see.

However, when God says “I am that I am” He means that He is now what He is, He has always been what He is, and He will always be what He is. Popeye is Popeye only during his lifetime, but God is God, God has been God, and God will always be God- there is no timeline for God.

When we try to put a timeline on God we end up upset and disappointed with Him. But how can we ever expect God to be constrained to our parameters of time and space? He is beyond physics, He is beyond restrictions, He is beyond understanding.

I can count to a Million, but can I really understand what a Million is? I can know who God is, but can I understand Him? Not a chance. He is beyond human understanding; as such, we must trust in His knowledge and timing, and ability to do that which He says He will do. Such was the lesson Moses was learning when he first went to Pharaoh. He had the staff that turned into a snake and the hand-leprosy trick: to Moses that must have seemed like more than enough to get Pharaoh’s attention. When it failed, and failed miserably, I am sure Moses was having second thoughts. In fact, we read how he asks God, essentially, what’s the story? Why isn’t this working as you said it would?

That’s because God had more planned to happen then Moses was aware of, and God kept it that way. God told Moses what He was going to do, but didn’t spell out every step of the procedure. He didn’t need to because He is (after all) God, and Moses didn’t have a “Need to Know” at that time. Faith is walking in complete darkness and trusting God to tell you where to step. Moses needed to develop that level of trust, which is why (in my opinion) God took Moses step by step through the Plagues, telling Moses only that which he needed to know, and only when he needed to know it.

We should be walking as Moses did (once he caught on), trusting in God to tell us where to step and where to avoid stepping. Moses was the most blessed of people in that he got to speak with God, face-to-face, but what we have is the very next best thing- we have the in-dwelling Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, to be our spiritual GPS, leading us in the way God wants us to walk. The hard part, for us, is to listen to it.

Well, maybe not for you, maybe you can hear and obey the Ruach, but I confess it is very hard for me to continually be led by the Spirit. Even my language is hard to control (we could do an entire year of lessons on the difficulty of controlling the tongue), so you can imagine how much more difficult is it for me to control my actions. I am happy to report that I am making progress, slow as molasses going uphill against the wind in February, but still, it is progress. Three steps forward and two steps backsliding is still one step closer to God, and that is all we can hope for- getting closer to God, day by day, step by step.

When you feel that God isn’t doing as you thought He should, or you are getting impatient waiting for a prayer to be fulfilled, remember that God is eternal and we are mortal- apples and oranges- and it is unfair to God (and to us) to expect that we will be able to understand what is happening in our lives as God directs us. Work on following God’s instructions, remembering and trusting in the fact that He is what He was, and He will always be that which He is. That’s a really difficult concept to wrap your head around, but don’t worry about understanding it. You don’t need to.

Understanding what God is going to do is not necessary to accomplishing what God is calling you to do: all you need to do is trust Him and follow His lead.

Parashah V’yegash (and he approached) Genesis 44:18 – 47:27

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Joseph has kept his true identity a secret from his brothers, and after setting up Benjamin to take the fall for robbing from him, Joseph now has them where they believe that Benjamin will be kept as a life-long slave to the Grand Vizier of Egypt, and this will just kill Israel.  Judah steps forth, as the guarantor for the boy, and offers a beautifully poignant plea on behalf of Benjamin, offering to give his own life in servitude if only Benjamin may be allowed to return to his father, or else the fact that Benjamin is being left in Egypt will kill their father.

At this point Joseph has heard enough, and is convinced of the truth of the T’shuvah (turning from sin) and repentance his brothers have done after the way they treated him as a child. He reveals who he really is to them, and immediately defers any fear of retribution they may have. He gives them assurance that he knows God was the one who placed him where he is so that he could save his family (reminds me of what Mordecai says to Hadassah/Esther, that maybe she was queen and in her position for such a time as they were going through.)

The brothers are overjoyed to see Joseph alive, and with Pharaoh’s approval and help, the entire family of Israel (67 in Canaan and 3 in Egypt, totaling 70) move to Goshen, and thus is planted the seed of a nation. This is why God tells Israel in a dream to go to Egypt, and foretells of the 400 years before they will be able to come back to the land God promised them.

There is so much to talk about regarding Joseph’s spiritual perception. Here is an innocent and God-fearing man who has been mistreated by family, unjustly accused by his master’s wife, forgotten by one who owed him a debt and unfairly jailed for years, yet when he has it in his power to revenge himself on those that caused it all to happen, he forgives and consoles them. He rightly (or better yet, righteously) accounts the events in his life that led to where he is as the work of God. He sees past the obvious and realizes the truth of the meaning of his life, his ups and downs, and all that has led to this moment.

We need to have revelation, just as Joseph did, as to what God is doing in our lives. Joseph’s brothers were blind to his true identity. To be fair, who would have expected to see your brother as Grand Vizier of Egypt when 13 years earlier he was sold into slavery? Yet, as an Egyptian, Joseph would have been clean shaven- no full beard (that a Hebrew would have) to hide his face. Even though it is 13 years later, his face would still be very recognizable, especially to his brothers. His voice should be very similar, also. Yet they didn’t recognize him at all- their expectations of who they were going to see blinded them to be able to see their very own brother, right there in front of them.

That is also what happened with Yeshua: the expectations the Jewish people had for their Messiah was that He would be a Rambo- someone who would lead them in gaining political freedom from Rome. Yeshua wasn’t here for that, and the Scriptures also were clear about the Messiah’s spiritual leadership. When it comes to prophecies about the regathering of the people to the land, it is always God that is the progenitor of that event. Yeshua didn’t meet their expectations, and as such many did not have revealed to them the truth of His ministry and what He was there to do.

When I was a salesman, I learned that perception is everything- once someone perceives the value to be greater than the cost, you have a sale. The value is built up by creating the expectation of the rewards the buyer will receive once they own this thing. When our expectations are unrealistic, due to marketing hype, our personal desire for what we want something to be, or just because we were told to expect something by someone else, there is often much disappointment when that “thing” doesn’t meet our expectations. When we have it and finally realize it is not what we expected, the truth is revealed; but, by then, it is too late.

The end times are very near- Yeshua told the people they could read the signs of the weather but not the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3), and He chided them for their blindness. It was their unrealistic expectations that blinded them, and we are going to be blinded, too, if we expect anything but what the bible tells us is going to happen.

Keep your eyes open for the unexpected- in fact, expect it! Shaul (Paul) tells us that the End Days will come upon us like a thief in the night (Thessalonians 5:2) and so we must always be watching. There are many parables Yeshua tells about being prepared and not knowing when He will return, but He does tell us what signs to look for.

You don’t need to look for Yeshua because His return will not be a secret one- He’ll be riding on the clouds, the entire sky will be filled with His presence. I don’t think you will need to strain to see that. But the Anti-Christ will be the exact opposite at the beginning- he will work secretly, in shadows and subversively until he comes to full power, so you need to watch for him, but maybe not for any one person. Look at the fruits, as Yeshua told us, because you can tell the good tree from the bad tree by the type and kind of fruit it produces. No one really knows who the Anti-Christ is, and as far as I am concerned, I don’t know if it is really just one person. The United Nations seems to be acting just as we would expect the enemy to act, yet it is not one person. If the UN is not the Anti-Christ, it is unquestionably one of the tools of the enemy. It’s fruit is rotten and full of worms.

The point today is this: look for the fruits, do not let yourself be blinded by human expectations or what you have been told by your religious leaders alone- read the bible, read Revelations (I don’t think anyone really can understand it, but it will help a lot just to be familiar with the process) and especially read what Yeshua tells us about the End Days. Knowledge is power, and as the old adage says, “Luck favor’s the prepared”, so make your own luck by knowing what to look for and not blinding yourself with unrealistic expectations. Perceive with spiritual eyes, ask the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to see for you so that you will not be like the blind man being led by another blind man, with the end result that they both fall into a hole.

Perception is everything- so be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves, let the Ruach guide your perception so that you will not be blinded by human expectations.

Parashah V’yashev (and he dwelt) Genesis 37 – 40

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The stories of Joseph and Judah are contained in this parashah: Joseph from the time of his childhood to his imprisonment after asking the Cup Bearer of the Pharaoh to remember him, and Judah from the death of his first two sons to the seduction of Judah by Tamar, his daughter-in-law and birth of her twins.

Why, in the middle of the exciting adventures (or more correctly, trials) of Joseph, would we be told about Judah? It’s like a long infomercial right near the end of a Columbo mystery.

The Chumash says that this is to show us the difference between how these two very influential sons of Israel, one who saves the nation and the other whose descendants lead the nation, reacted to temptation.

Joseph is tempted by Potiphar’s wife, and Judah is tempted by Tamar, his daughter-in-law (while in disguise.) Joseph, while he could easily have gotten away with the betrayal (of the trust) of his master, chose to resist sin. On the other hand, Judah fell easily into the sinful trap that Tamar set for him. Judah had no second thoughts about having sex with a cult prostitute, a representative of a foreign and forbidden god.

Yet, all Judah lost was his staff and seal, which could be replaced; Joseph, on the other hand, lost his position of importance and was thrown into prison for many years.

It just ain’t fair, is it?

Joseph never really showed any lack of morality (although as a child he showed a lack of judgement in the way he made his brothers angry with him) and Judah showed lack of morality in how he associated with prostitutes, but when Tamar revealed that Judah had neglected his duty to provide her a husband, he admitted his guilt and justified her actions, removing the stigma she was under as an unmarried woman who was pregnant. Judah showed the strength of character that is such an important part of true leadership in accepting responsibility for his actions when he was in the wrong.

Joseph also showed his strength of character by accepting the position he was placed in and continuing to do what is right, even when he was not responsible for doing anything wrong. Judah did wrong and accepted responsibility for it when he was made aware of it; Joseph did nothing wrong, yet he accepted the consequences of what happened and continued to do his best.

The lesson for us is that whether we do wrong or right, we will always be OK in God’s sight if we continue to strive to do what is right in God’s eyes. Judah sinned, Joseph resisted sin, yet Judah got off easy and Joseph suffered years in prison. It doesn’t seem fair, but in the long run Joseph was ruler over all the land, and through his trials not only did Egypt survive, but Israel, too. As Joseph tells his brothers later in this book, it was God that sent Joseph to Egypt so that he could save them from starvation. Joseph saw the truth of his suffering, the reason for it, and accepted it as God’s plan of salvation for him and his family. It’s interesting also that Judah’s story is placed smack-dab in the middle of Joseph’s story because it was Judah who first came up with the idea of selling Joseph into slavery, knowing that he would end up in Egypt. Although the brothers never got that chance (the Midianites found Joseph before the sale to the Ishmaelites could occur), Judah would have been the reason for Joseph ending up in Egypt.

When we have either strife or joy in our lives, we never really know where it will lead until we are already there, and by then it’s too late. So what can we do? We can do our best to always do what is right in God’s eyes. Judah did wrong but accepted responsibility for it, which was something that is right in God’s eyes, and ended up as the ancestor of Messiah. Joseph did right but was treated wrongly, yet because he continued to do what was pleasing to God, even in the midst of slavery and imprisonment Joseph was rewarded and honored. Joseph and Judah were like two sides of the same coin: Joseph in the right and Judah in the wrong, but both showed that, in the end, they did what was proper and pleasing to God, and both ended up in positions of honor. It doesn’t matter if you are always righteous, or if you perform an unrighteous act, God wants you to do what is right as you continue to go on with your life.

As God told us in Ezekiel 33:18:

“When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.”

Judah did wrong, but turned from his iniquity (when he took responsibility for it and vindicated Tamar); Joseph never did wrong even when wrongly accused of iniquity, and both were honored by God. It may seem to us that Joseph got the short end of the stick, that what happened to Joseph just wasn’t fair compared to the sin Judah committed (and sorta got away with), but from God’s perspective all went exactly as it should have.

Considering how everything ended up, I think God did alright, don’t you?

We need to remember that no matter what happens in our life, so long as we trust in God and continue to try to do what is right in God’s eyes, we will be OK.  We will all succumb to iniquity at one time or another, and we will all be mistreated at one time or another, but as long as we take responsibility, atone and try to stay on the path of righteousness, then no matter how many times we fall, God will always be there to help us back up.

I guess what it really boils down to is this: “fair” has nothing to do with it. “Fair” is something conceived of by someone who wasn’t treated the way he or she thought they should have been treated. “Fairness” is a condition of the flesh. I don’t care about “fair”, but I do care about God’s will, and how He says we should treat each other. “Fair treatment” isn’t in the Torah, but compassion is, love is, respect is, and justice is. They are in the Torah and they are how God wants us to treat each other.

 

Parashah V’yishlach (and he sent) Genesis 32:4 – 36

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There’s so much in here: Jacob becomes Israel; Jacob and Esau are reunited; Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies; Dinah (Jacob’s daughter) is raped and after forcing the entire town to have every man circumcised, Simeon and Levi slaughter them all as they are recovering and weakened, forcing Jacob to leave Shechem; we learn that the wives and children of Jacob have foreign gods with them (Genesis 35:2-4) which they have to remove from among them, indicating they were still influenced by the religion of Laban (remember that Rachel stole the family gods when they fled); Isaac dies; we are given the generations of Esau and the kings that ruled his land.

So, nu? Where to start? And, once I have started, how do I end?

I feel led to talk about what Jacob wrestling with the angel might mean to us, and I will be so bold as to talk about what it means to me and let you consider if you agree or not. That’s just one of the many wonderful things about the word of God- it can mean two totally different things to two totally different people, and both can be correct.

Jacob had striven against men and he did pretty well: he managed to buy the rights to the firstborn, he succeeded in fooling Isaac to give him the blessing that was associated (and rightfully belonged) to the one who had the rights of the firstborn,  and he outsmarted Laban more than once. All of these challenges to Jacob during his life he was able to overcome. Now, as he is about to face a life-threatening challenge, i.e. Esau with 400 men, he calls to God for protection and God sends to him an angel to prevent him from crossing the Jabbok river (Genesis 31-32).

Jacob wrestled with the angel and overcame him, but at the cost of a painful injury to his thigh, which he never recovered from, causing him to limp for the rest of his life.  So, although Jacob won the match, he sustained a life-changing injury which weakened him.

I think of Shaul (Paul) asking God to remove the thorn in his side (2 Corinthians 12:7), which Shaul tells us was there to prevent him from becoming too conceited. Jacob has prevailed against both man and God, so if anyone had a right to be proud, it was Jacob. Yet, here he is- the angel is back in heaven, none the less for wear,  and Jacob will limp for the rest of his life. He may have won that match, but it cost him something, or….maybe the limp was a blessing in disguise? Maybe this limp represents his ego, his self-importance, which God is using as a thorn in Jacob’s side, a reminder that no matter how successful Jacob (now called Israel- another reminder) may be, he is still dependent upon God and it is God who is behind his success.

I know that I need constant reminding that whatever I do that is worthy of praise, it is more the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) which leads me to do good that deserves the glory than anything I do on my own. My nature is to do wrong, to do what I want for selfish and self-serving purposes. I am not saying this to demean myself, I am saying it to remind myself- I was born into sin, and have a sinful nature. Sin is natural for me, as it is for all of us, and only by recognizing this can we overcome it.

An alcoholic or a drug addict can never even start to recover until they hit what is called “rock bottom”, which is the time when they realize they are not in control of the substance but the substance is controlling them. Only when they do their own form of T’shuvah (turning) and “own” their habit can they truly start to overcome it.

And the healthy and sustainable attitude is that they are never cured- they are simply recovering. An alcoholic is always an alcoholic; a drug addict is always a drug addict; what they are while they remain sober/clean is a ‘recovering’ alcoholic or addict. Recovering: not recovered, but recovering. That is a very important attitude they have to have because, like Jacob’s limp and Shaul’s thorn, it is a constant reminder of what they are trying to overcome.

We all have our own thorn or limp; we are all “recovering sinners”, so to speak. The 12 step program for recovery says, “One drink is too many, and two drinks aren’t enough” (or something like that) and the same is true for sinning. We do it unintentionally (I hope!) and, often enough, without even knowing we just committed a sin. That is why the sacrificial system includes a sacrifice for forgiveness for the sins we do that we don’t even know we did. We need a reminder, a limp, a thorn, something to keep us on the straight and narrow.

I wear a mezuzah around my neck as a sign of my faith, and also as a reminder. I also wear a gold bracelet, part of my sales training, to remind me that it is more important to listen than to speak (James 1:19.) At first I didn’t wear a gold bracelet, I wore a rubber band. The lesson was that every time I wanted to say something during a sales pitch, I was to stretch the rubber band and let it snap back onto my wrist. It was a painful lesson, but I learned it well, and my successful sales career demonstrated that. Once I didn’t need to snap the rubber band, I “graduated” to a gold bracelet (being a good salesman, I could afford it then) but it is still a reminder, just a little nicer looking reminder.

Maybe you have something you wear? A mezuzah, a cross, a plastic “WWJD” bracelet? A rubber band around your wrist? Whatever you use to remind yourself to do everything you can to overcome your sinful nature, cherish it because it can save your life. When we can be reminded to do as God wants us to do, and that reminder keeps us from sinning, even if it is just one sin a day less than we would do on our own, it is a blessing from heaven.

And if you limp, have bad knees, suffer from some debilitating disease or physical/mental challenge, accept it not as punishment (too many times I hear people blame God for their problems) but as a reminder of who is in charge, and what is really important.

God is really important. Whatever you have or don’t have or suffer with today, it will mean nothing in eternity. That is the goal, that is the prize- eternal life in God’s presence. So embrace your problem, embrace your challenges, and strive against them as Jacob did, trusting in God to help you overcome them.

That which seems to be a curse can always become a blessing in disguise- it is all up to you and how you deal with it.

Parashah V’yetze (and he went out) Genesis 28 – 32:3

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Jacob has left his home in fear of his brother, whose blessings were given to Jacob. He goes to Haran where Rebekah’s brother, Laban, lives and Jacob stays with him. On the way he has a dream in which God appears and confirms to Jacob the promises that He gave to Abraham and Isaac.

Jacob sees Rachel before he sees Laban, and falls in love with her right then and there. Laban welcomes him into his home, and after a month Laban offers to pay Jacob. Jacob names his wages: he will work 7 years and then Rachel is to be his wife.

Now we start to see how the one called the “Supplanter”, who manipulated his brother into giving up his birthright, now meets his match. Well, almost his match.

After 7 years Jacob is all set to marry Rachel, but Laban throws Leah into the tent and by the time Jacob realizes who he has been celebrating the honeymoon with (I gotta think- how drunk was he to not notice the difference?) it is too late. Laban has pulled a fast one on Jacob, who now is forced to work another 7 years for Rachel (at least he gets to marry her first, after he spends the mandatory 1 week with Leah.)

Now that he is married and the years of labor for Rachel are in full swing, Leah starts to drop male rug-rats like there’s no tomorrow, whereas Rachel is barren.  Then Rachel orders Jacob to give her children through her handmaiden, to which Leah counters with the same demand, and eventually Rachel gives birth to Joseph, and we have the birth of 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel, and are told the reason for each of their names.

Meanwhile, back at the sheep troth, Jacob asked for speckled and dark sheep and goats (the less valuable) as payment for tending  Laban’s flocks, and by using streaked rods when the animals drink and mate, he manages to get the strongest kids and lambs to be in his flocks, whereas Laban’s flocks are weaker. Jacob hears Laban’s sons becoming hostile and decides it’s time to go back home, so he takes his family and flocks and beats a fast retreat to Canaan when Laban is not anywhere around. Laban goes after him and catches up, but God warns Laban in a dream not to do anything bad to Jacob.

Laban is also upset because, unknown to Jacob, Rachel has taken the family gods which are the inheritance of the firstborn and gave Laban authority over the other members of the family. Laban never found the gods because Rachel said she was in her time of Niddah (menstruating) so that Laban would not come near her to search under the saddle she was sitting on, where the gods were hidden.

Finally, Laban and Jacob make a pact that neither will cross over a standing stone to do the other harm, and Laban goes back to his home.

Well, well, well…what goes around comes around, doesn’t it?

Jacob finagles the blessings and rights of the firstborn from his brother, then is tricked into marrying Leah, consequently forcing Jacob to work an additional 7 years to marry Rachel (who was first promised to him.) Then Jacob manipulates the flocks so that he has the healthiest and Laban has the dreck (Yiddish for trash.) Then, when Jacob sneaks away, Rachel steals the family gods, which are part of the birthright of the firstborn.

‘Round and ’round, up and down- Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!

I find it interesting that here we have the Patriarchs! The fathers of Judaism, the ones that are righteous before God, who God, Himself, talked to. More than once, even! And yet, they are deceptive, they are self-centered (telling your wife to allow herself to be taken into a harem to protect your own skin) and they end up marrying the same type of person: Rebekah told Jacob to fool Isaac and Rachel stole from her father.

I read in my Chumash that the Midrash explains why Rachel stole the family gods: it was so that her father wouldn’t worship them. C’mon, really? That is what I call giving something that isn’t holy a holy “spin.” Those gods represented power and authority in that culture: the other family members would go to the oldest, who was the keeper of these gods, and pay him to pray to the gods so that their crops would be plentiful and their herds reproduce well. I don’t believe for a second that Rachel had anything else in mind other than to take what she felt was hers.  I base this on Genesis 31:14, where both Rachel and Leah state that they no longer have any inheritance in their fathers house. They accuse Laban of having sold them and used up what there was of the purchase price. In other words, Laban has nothing left to give them as an inheritance. I think it is pretty clear that Rachel stole the gods to recoup what she felt was owed to her.

This is what is so wonderful about the bible- we see the people in it for who and what they really are: human beings. There is no “sugar-coating” their actions or their intentions. And why I think this is so wonderful is that it shows us that we don’t have to be super holy to be loved by God; we don’t have to be sinless to be saved; and God will help us even when we aren’t doing everything on the “up and up” so long as we are trying to do what He wants from us.

The bible stories are so interesting, so full of romance, deceit, murder, retribution, and (best of all) a happy ending for the good guys. I am not at all surprised that thousands of years after these events happened, we are still fascinated reading about them (well, I am) and the message they have is never old or out of date.

Maybe that’s because the bible is about more than just God and salvation- it is about us. About people, about society, and about what the world is like. And, of course, about what the end will be and how to finish on the winning side.

If you aren’t reading the bible every day, please do so. If you know someone who doesn’t read it at all, share these stories but don’t tell that person where they are from until he or she asks. I really want to do something to help people read the bible because they need to know what God is saying, not only what some Pastor, Rabbi or Priest is telling them they learned in Theology class.

The world is witnessing the fulfillment of God’s promise of judgement on the nations, and seeing the regathering of Israel. It is not coming soon, it is happening now! We who know the Lord and know what is to happen are obligated to tell those who are ignorant and obstinate.

Tell someone else about this blog- I don’t mean to sound uppity or self-important but I am trying to write in here that which will always give glory and honor to God, and I want to help people realize the truth about what God says so they can compare it to what they are being told. We need to understand what being “holy” really means, and not what the church or synagogue makes it seem like.

To be holy means to be separated, that’s all- and when we are separated from the world, which is a cursed and sinful place, although we may still be sinful in our hearts we can control ourselves to be less sinful.

I was a sinner before I knew the Lord, and now that I know the Lord I am still a sinner! BUT- I am a saved sinner because I have done T’shuvah, I have turned from my desire to sin and now have a desire to sin less. I understand I can never be sinless, but I know that I can always sin less.

Read the “manual” and get to know the people in it, who and what they are, and be empowered by their weaknesses which they overcame with God’s help. As Shaul (Paul) says in 2 Corinthians, 12:9:

And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me.

Let the weaknesses of the Patriarchs encourage you so that you, too, can be a Patriarch (or a Matriarch) of your own future.

Parashah Toldot (the history) Genesis 25:19 – 28:6

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One of the best known stories of the Bible is in this parashah- the selling of the birthright. Or, as some describe it, Jacob steals Esau’s birthright and blessing.

We all know the story: Esau, Mr. Right-This-Minute-Who-Cares-About-Tomorrow , comes in from the field after a hard day, sees Jacob with some lentil stew (“That red stuff! Give me some of that red stuff!”) and says if Jacob doesn’t give him some stew he will starve to death. Jacob takes this opportunity to offer the stew for a price- the birthright of the firstborn.

Esau, not caring for anything past right now, says (essentially), “Sure, take it. After all, what good is it to me if I am dead.”  Jacob then feeds Esau, and please note he also gives him bread and water, so he wasn’t all that bad. Consider Ebeneezer Scrooge, who wouldn’t even pay an additional half-penny for a piece of bread. After eating, Esau goes on his merry way, forgetting the whole thing.

Now later, Rivka (Rachel) gets wind that Yacov (Isaac) is getting ready to give the blessing to Esau, so she gets Jacob to cross-dress as Esau and “steal” the blessing. Of course, afterwards Isaac can’t give the firstborn blessing to Esau and Esau gets second-best, which doesn’t go over very well with him.

I want to mention that there is no mention, anywhere, that Rivka knew of the selling of the birthright so what she cajoled Jacob into doing was her own idea. Like mother, like son?

So, here’s the question: did Jacob really steal anything?  After all, he did buy the birthright, so he also owned the blessing that goes with the birthright, right? If you buy a plot of land and it isn’t specified about the mineral rights, then you own the mineral rights, so if you own the birthright of the first-born, you own the blessing that the birthright is entitled to.

Here we see another example of how God’s ways are not our ways:

  1. Ishmael is first-born to Abraham but Isaac, the younger, gets the birthright;
  2. Jacob is younger than Esau, but Jacob gets the birthright;
  3. Ephraim is younger than Manasseh, but Ephraim receives the blessing under the right hand of Israel (reserved for the eldest);
  4. Solomon is much younger than Absalom and some of his other brothers, but he gets the kingdom.

Humans give the birthright and a double portion to the first-born son, but God has made sure that from the first of the Patriarchs all the way down the line, the son that is worthy is the one who gets the blessings.

Jacob did not steal the birthright or the blessing- he bought the birthright and by ownership of same, was entitled to the blessing. We could look at it this way: because Jacob owned the first-born blessing, which Isaac was going to give to Esau, by fooling his father Jacob actually saved his father from sinning against Jacob by giving Jacob’s rightful blessing to the wrong person!

What would have happened if Esau had been just a little more mature, just a little more cognizant, and just a little less immediate?  Maybe he wouldn’t have given up his birthright so quickly, but in the long run it was good that he did. We see later, at the end of the parashah, that Esau just didn’t “get it”: when Isaac and Rebekah show their displeasure with Esau’s Hittite wives, he goes and marries Ishmael’s daughter.

Just not getting it.

But Jacob knew what he was doing from birth- after all, he did supplant, did he not? He knew what he wanted and how to get it, and although he was a bit sneaky and manipulative, it served him well and (eventually) served us all well. Jacob married well, too- Rachel was just as sneaky as Jacob was, stealing the family gods then pretending to be in her time of Nidah to prevent Laben from finding them.

But, then again, that’s another story.

 

Parashah Chaiyei Sarah (the Life of Sarah) Genesis 23-25

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The end of the beginning, and the beginning of the promise happen in this Parashah. Abraham and Sarah, the beginning of the Jewish faith, both die in this parashah, and between the passing of Sarah and Abraham, Isaac is married to Rivkah (Rebekah) and it is through his progeny that we have the founding of both the 12 tribes of Israel and also the nations of the Arab people (In Gen. 25:23 God tells Rebakah she has two nations in her womb.)

The burial cave of Abraham is in Hebron, a very dangerous place for Jews to visit as the majority of Hebron is Arab controlled, with a few Jewish settlements. I have been told by people who have made multiple visits to Israel that, as sad as it is, a place so important to Judaism is so dangerous to see that most Jews going to Israel will not be able to visit it.

The Chumash (a “Chumash” is a commentary of the 5 books of Moses, the Torah, as well as the Haftarah readings.  The one I have is the Soncino edition, and was a present from my Reform Temple when I had my Bar Mitzvah) states that when Sarah died the blessings and pious customs of the Patriarch stopped, and were not re-initiated until Rebekah came into the tent. This is understandable because the wife is the one in charge of the household. The Father is the leader of the family, but the wife is, traditionally, the one who runs the house.

Here is an excerpt from the chabad.org website which describes the role of the Jewish wife (I bold printed explanations I have added):

She has been entrusted with, and is completely in charge of, the kashrut (ceremonial cleanliness) of the foods and beverages that come into her kitchen and appear on the dining table. She has been given the privilege of ushering in the holy Shabbat by lighting the candles on Friday, in ample time before sunset. Thus she actually and symbolically brightens up her home with peace and harmony and with the light of Torah and mitzvot (laws, as well as good deeds). It is largely in her merits that G-d (many Jews will not misuse God’s name, even in the spelling of it) bestows the blessing of true happiness on her husband and children and the entire household. This is the great task and mission which G–d gave to Jewish women – to observe and disseminate the observance of Taharat Hamishpachah (Laws of the Family) and of the other vital institutions of Jewish family life. For besides being the fundamental mitzvot and the cornerstone of the sanctity of Jewish family life, as well as relating to the well-being of the children in body and soul, these pervade and extend through all Jewish generations to eternity.

Too often we hear people tell of the misogyny of the bible, but in truth both in the New and Old Covenants, woman are respected and honored. The problem people have with the bible is the separation of the roles of men and women. That would be, in my opinion, like saying (I really don’t like sports analogies, but have to admit they often work really well) the pitcher of a baseball team should also play in the outfield, and the catcher should be allowed to pitch. If you are not familiar with baseball, this is a ridiculous thought, since each of these positions are unique in the skills needed. True, there may be someone talented enough to pitch well and play the outfield, but you can’t do both at the same time, or do both interchangeably and do each one well. The wife has her role, the husband his role, and when they work together they can achieve something impossible to achieve when everyone does the same thing- that is called synergy.  Synergy is defined as when the total is greater than the sum of its parts.

In my world, the world of technology, we need to have anti-virus programs to protect our data. However, if you have two anti-virus programs running simultaneously (both checking every single data stream, both reading through every file for something unusual, both tracking and dissecting every attempt to read or change anything on the hard drive), instead of having twice the efficiency, what happens is that you can’t get anything done! The computer resources are so over-worked that even opening a web site takes longer, editing a Word document takes a lifetime, and you end up with less productivity than if you had no anti-virus running at all. Now, if you have an anti-virus program and you supplement it with an anti-malware program, which doesn’t interfere with the anti-virus but adds to its effectiveness by checking things the anti-virus doesn’t, now you have a synergistic effect.

This is what we want in the Jewish home. Actually, in every home there should be the proper separation of roles that husband and wife play so they can show their children how well people can get along when they are different, have different things that they do, and work together as a team.

When Sarah died, a very important team member of the family was missing, so that role, that position on the field (so to speak), was left unoccupied. When Rivkah (Rebekah) joined the family (in Hebrew, family is “Mishpachah”) that role was again filled. Hence, the blessings that the wife provides within the family unit returned to Isaac and Abraham.

This is what is so wonderful about the bible- you read about Sarah dying and with the appropriate commentary and understanding of the cultural and historical context, you receive a message that is not directly given in the text. We read about Sarah’s death and then Isaac took his new wife into his mother’s tent, indicating that Rebekah took over the role of Sarah, and with that the family was once again made whole and the blessings available that are based on the role of the wife returned to the Patriarch.

How do you distribute the responsibilities in your home? Are they seen as a burden or as a blessing?  Does the husband help the wife and the wife help the husband, or do you both just do what you want to do? I clean the dishes because Donna usually does the cooking, and since I will be retiring at the end of this year I will be able to cook more often and when I do, Donna will clean up. Donna does most of the outside gardening, and I do most of the heavy lifting and work in the yard. We know that we each have our own duties to perform as a team, which doesn’t mean we always do the same things but that we do what we each need to do and work together to accomplish getting everything done; we each work within our best skill sets. It may not be “perfectly biblical” with regards to what we each do, but it is biblical in that we each have our own role to play and we are responsible to do what we are supposed to do for , as well as with, each other.

Don’t let the world’s view rule your life. The world says that everyone should be the same, everyone gets the same treatment, and that everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want to: C’mon, let’s get real!- having the right to do whatever you want to do doesn’t mean you have the ability.  The truth is that we are all different, blessed with talents that are meant to serve the Lord (not ourselves) and when we use the gifts God gave us to serve Him and each other, then we will live such a blessed existence that heaven will almost appear to be anti-climatic!

Treat each other with respect, work together to achieve synergy, do what you are supposed to do before you worry about what the other person is supposed to do, and if that person needs help, then help. Teamwork is not doing something for someone else, it is doing what you are supposed to do and then, if the other person needs help, supplementing their duties. That is how you achieve synergy, and I believe God wants us to be synergistic in our relationships with each other and with Him.

 

Parashah V’Yerah (he appeared) Genesis 18-22

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There are two famous stories of the bible in here- the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the binding of Isaac, called the Akedah (also the traditional reading for Rosh Hashanah services.)

How often I hear myself saying (or, more correctly, see myself writing), “There is just SO much in here to talk about!”, and I guess the reason for that is that there is so much in here to talk about.

One thing that I find interesting, a minor but (again) interesting item: there were three men who came to Abraham at the beginning of the chapter, and yet only two men went to Sodom. Actually, the two men who went to Sodom were identified as angels- according to my Chumash, the beginning of Chapter 19 is the first time they were identified as angels, even though in the prior chapter (18:17) it is the Lord, Himself, who wonders if He should tell Abraham what He is about to do.

I have heard some people discuss whether the angels of the Lord we read about being sent to humans are just angels, or are they also God? Often it seems to be God talking because there is authority in the way they speak, and yet they are called angels. Today, we read about three men, but later we can’t help but know that one of them is unquestionably God, because the Torah says “And the Lord said…” The next chapter starts with, “And the two angels came to Sodom..”, so we know neither of them is the Lord. Wait a minute! Three men came to Abraham, the Lord says He will go down to Sodom to see for Himself if the cries of injustice that have reached His ears are real, yet God isn’t there when the angels arrive in Sodom. God told Abraham He was going to investigate, but He isn’t there. What’s with that? Did God lie? Did God change His mind?

It really seems that way, doesn’t it? God told Abraham He was going to go down to Sodom, yet only the two angels that accompanied the Lord actually went there.  Of course, since God is omnipresent, He can’t really go anywhere, since He is already there, right? And, likewise, because God is also omniscient, He already knew there were no righteous men in Sodom; not 50, not 30, not even 10. However, God allowed Abraham to negotiate on Sodom’s behalf as a way to test Abraham’s compassionate nature.

But God already knew Abraham’s heart, so why test?

God tests us not to find out about something He doesn’t know, but to show us what we don’t know- about ourselves! In this Parashah, Abraham is tested a few times:

1- when the angels and God appear to him, Abraham’s generosity and charity is tested

2- when an angel tells Abraham he will have a child through Sarah, his faith is tested in whether or not he believes

3- when Abraham goes to Gerar (20:2) his faith was tested, and he failed (in my opinion) to show faithfulness in God’s protection because he told Sarah to say she is his wife to protect himself

4- the greatest test was when Abraham unflinchingly offered Isaac as a sacrifice to God

Maimonides says that Abraham was tested no less than ten times:  1. God tells him to leave his homeland to be a stranger in the land of Canaan.

  2. Immediately after his arrival in the Promised Land, he encounters a famine.
3. The Egyptians capture his beloved wife, Sarah, and bring her to Pharaoh.
4. Abraham faces incredible odds in the battle of the four and five kings.
5. He marries Hagar after not being able to have children with Sarah.
6. God tells him to circumcise himself at an advanced age.
7. The king of Gerar captures Sarah, intending to take her for himself.
8. God tells him to send Hagar away after having a child with her.
9. His son, Ishmael, becomes estranged.
10. God tells him to sacrifice his dear son Isaac upon an altar.

The first test was a hard one- to leave everything and everyone you know and go somewhere else without even knowing where that somewhere else is. The other tests show both when Abraham was faithful (4 and 6) and times when he was not so faithful ( 3, 5, and 7). Finally, with the willingness to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham’s faith is at it’s fullest, and Abraham reveals his own understanding of this by calling Mt. Moriah ‘the place where God is seen’- prophetic, as that will be the very foundation of the Temple in Jerusalem, thousands of years later.

We are all tested, just as Abraham was, and I doubt that we even know it is happening when we are in the midst of it. The testing becomes known to us only after it is done, and sometimes (as my own experiences have shown me) it isn’t until much later that we realize what happened. If only I, myself, was able to hear the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) more clearly then I would know I am being tested while it is actually happening. Then I would at least have a chance of passing (I confess I don’t usually do well on these types of tests.)

God tests us all, but not for His sake- it is for our sake. We can have our faith strengthened and feel more empowered to do God’s will when we realize that we have already done what is right. Looking back, do you see times when you were being tested and failed to live up to what God wanted from you? And, can you look back and see times when you were being tested and you passed? If you are like me, after you realize that you were being tested and know that you did what was right in God’s eyes, don’t you feel proud (in a good way) to know that you passed? I am so happy, and thankful, when I don’t argue back even though I am really mad, when I overcome my instincts and take the side of compassion (even though I am a cynical so-and-so), or when someone tells me they are grateful for what I did and I didn’t even realize I was doing something good for them. That is not me, trust me on this- that is not me; it is God in me doing those things.

When I write a particularly meaningful posting, give a heartfelt and spiritually uplifting message, I can say, without false humility, that I am absolutely positive it comes from God in me, from the leadership of the Ruach HaKodesh, and not from Steven. Steven is becoming holy because he is dying to self and letting God live more and more in him. But don’t get the idea that this is happening quickly- I have been a Believer for nearly 20 years and the percent of God to the percent of Steven is really small. I mean, REALLY small.

But it’s there, and as slowly as it is growing, it is growing. Every day I get a little closer: many days I fall back, I slip, and almost every day I do or say at least a dozen things I would rather not have done or said, but even with this I am closer to God than I used to be.

And the way I know this is because God tests me so I can see how well I am doing. We are tested in school to show where we are weak in our learning; we are tested in sports to show what skills we need to improve; we are tested at our workplace to show what knowledge and abilities we need to work on. And when God tests us, it is for the same reason- to show us where we need to grow.

God knows what we are, who we are, and what we really want even when we don’t know or understand what that is. I think I want something but God knows what I really need, and that is what He provides. When He does that, isn’t that also a test? A test to see if I am willing to look into myself, to see why this happened (i.e., I ask for one thing but God gives me something totally different), to trust in God’s judgement and be thankful to Him for doing what He does and not what I ask?

Look for the testings in your life- past and present. Be always watching for them , and ask the Holy Spirit to lead your understanding about what is happening while it is still happening, so that you may pass the test. We need to pass in order to get to the next class, and each class brings us closer to graduation, to a better and more intimate relationship with God….to Paradise.