The plagues continue, starting with the eighth plague of locusts, followed by the days of darkness, and the final and ultimate plague: the death of the firstborn.
And with this last and terrible event, God’s plan of salvation for the Israelites is completed and they are sent out of Egypt.
In this reading we have the first, the original, Passover and we learn about the Passover Lamb.
We call Yeshua the “Passover Lamb”, but is that really what He is?
God is compassionate; God is loving; God is not just willing to forgive, but He really wants to forgive.
But God’s love is tough love, and no matter how badly He wants to forgive us, we will suffer when we reject His guidance and commandments.
You won’t ever hear God ever saying, “Oh no- not my baby! My baby is a good boy.” as they drag the mass murderer to prison.
This title is a little misleading- it’s not really the problem people have with God, it’s the problem people have accepting the truth about God.
That truth is simply that He is in charge, wants to do the best for us, but also will make the rules and enforce them.
And God will do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and how He wants it to be done, despite what, when or how we want Him to!
As a child I was constantly reminded that “You Jews killed Jesus” by my Christian friends and acquaintances.
Back then I didn’t know and (frankly) didn’t care about God or the Messiah, but I knew enough to say that Jesus came to die for their sins, so all we did was help Him.
Now I know better- it wasn’t the Jews who killed Jesus, nor was it the Romans: it was ME.
They say evil succeeds when good people do nothing about it. But what if the good people don’t even know there is evil being done?
Have you ever really watched and thought about some of the TV commercials we are saturated with?
We are being conditioned to accept as good that which is evil.
In Luke 4 we read of Yeshua teaching at a synagogue and reading from Isaiah. He reads a few passages from the scroll, folds it up and tells the people that He is the one talked about in that scroll.
But He didn’t read the entire scroll- in fact, He left out the part about salvation and resurrection of Israel and the Jewish people.
Why?
A new year, a new beginning for most everyone in the world. But how do we start it?
Many make resolutions to do something that they know they need to: a diet, give up smoking, be more helpful to the needy….whatever.
As for me, I think the best way to start anew is to get past the past, and the only way to do that is to learn forgiveness.
And that’s not just a good idea- it is a commandment!
This week we come to the end of the book of Genesis.
Jacob blesses Joseph’s children, and adopts them. He later blesses each of the 12 Tribes, then acob dies. The book ends with Joseph’s death and his request to make sure his bones are brought back to the Land when the children of Israel return.
When Jacob blesses Judah, we have a messianic prophecy of the coming of Yeshua…or do we? Where as Christianity sees this as a messianic prophecy, Judaism rejects it as such,,,but why?
Part of the definition of a Demagogue, according to Wikipedia, is:
Demagogues overturn established customs of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so.
Although the term is usually applied to a political system, can it be found within spiritual circles?
And if so, how do we recognize it?
A bridge gives us passage from one place to another over a terrain or obstacle that cannot be crossed by walking or driving. In the Marines Corps, one of the things I was responsible to do was to be able to blow up bridges that gave the enemy a tactical advantage
We have a bridge that is between us and God, which has it’s entrance here in the world and leads to salvation. Like all bridges, it is composed of components that provide the support needed to allow us to cross over.
The enemy of God wants to destroy that bridge, and we need to know how he plans to do it.
