Tag: obedience
Mark Call – Torah Teaching for Portion “Pekudei”
The Torah reading called “Pekudei” (for the “accounts” that summarized the...
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 127 (Rosh HaShanah: Who’s Counted and What Counts?)
The three reckonings of Yom Teruah…
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 125 (The Wild Kingdom)
The Wild Kingdom
As we approach the High Holy Days, we prepare to read a passage of Scripture on The Feast of Trumpets called The Akeidah. It refers to the binding of Isaac. A key verse is this:
Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.” (Ge 22:7)
For now, notice two things:
1. Isaac respectfully addresses Avraham, “My father.”
2. Avraham responds, “Hineni.” “Here I am, my son.”
They are in unity as to what is about to happen. Avraham will sacrifice Isaac, and Isaac will be figuratively resurrected from the dead. From henceforth, there is no question as to the line of succession. Two sons. One will be labeled “a wild donkey” (Ge 16:11-12), and one will receive the promise of a Land, Covenant, and People to pass along to his offspring. Although Avraham longed for Ishmael to live before Adonai, the birthright was awarded to the one who would sacrifice himself. The son walks with the father. The Son walks with the Father.
When it is time for Isaac to in turn bless one of two sons, he nearly makes a mistake. Rivkah his wife knows that Esau unburdened himself of the birthright for a bowl of stew. He “hated” the promise, though later he sought it carefully with tears when he realized he wasn’t entitled to the blessings if he didn’t accept the birthright. Believers are not so different today. They quickly claim the promises, but when it comes to the obligations of the Torah, they are nowhere to be found. They’re just playing a wild game. In order to deceive Isaac, Rivkah instructs Jacob to dress in Esau’s special garment and to put goat skins on his arms.
“So he [Jacob] came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed…” (Ge 27:27)
Although the voice didn’t add up to Isaac, the pleasant field fragrance was apparently a singular aroma, one not easily duplicated or confused with another. Where did it come from?
The sages say it was from the blessed field of Creation, the garment Elohim made for Adam when he drove the first couple from the Garden. The garment was handed down to Noah, but after the Flood, the fear and dread of mankind fell upon the animal kingdom. With the special garment, though, the animal kingdom continued to have no fear. It still held the fragrance of obedient Eden. The animals would approach anyone wearing the garment, recognizing his authority in the Creation. It is thought that eventually Nimrod “the mighty hunger before the Lord” took control of the garment, which gave him power over the animals. When people saw this special power, they submitted themselves to him, giving him dictatorial power. At some point, Esau killed Nimrod and took this pleasant garment for his own:
Then Rebekah took the best (chemdah) garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. (Ge 27:15)
????????? ??????? ???????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???????????? ??????????? ??????? ?????????
???????? chemdâh feminine of H2531; delight:—desire, goodly, pleasant, precious.
Chemdah [chamud/chamuda] can apply to precious things like jewelry or clothes, but it especially applies to the Land of Israel, the reflection of the Garden above it. Here are some examples of its use in context with the Land:
“Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe [??????????] in His Word…” (Ps 106:24)
“…but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.” (Zech 7:14)
Israel, “the pleasant Land,” is the most beautiful inheritance one may have among all the nations that the peoples may inherit. Those who bear the lingering fragrance of obedience founded on their belief, or faith, will be collected from the nations to inherit with “sons”:
‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; ‘For I am a master to you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.’ “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the LORD,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. “Then I said, ‘How I would set you among My sons and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father, and not turn away from following Me.’ (Je 3:14-19)
That’s the key. Those who return will say, “My Father” and not turn away from Him and His commandments as Esau did. Esau, the Red One, the wild red beast of Revelation, is a human in whom the soul practices subjugation of the spirit. The spiritual authority of the Father is only their second thought, hindsight, with regret for the goods lost, not necessarily the rift with the Father. As an example, Esau took two idolatrous wives without his parents’ permission, and only later did he take a daughter of Ishmael.
Esau only regrets selling his birthright when he realizes the “loot” of the blessing was also forfeited. The scarlet beast is fully invested in the economic system to satisfy his soul. He serves the Father to obtain the goods and crown. He loves competition and games because he loves to win. That’s why he hunts. Not just to eat, but to win. The taste of wild game is the reward of the hunt, fueling feelings of superiority and dominance over the creation. In Esau’s case, he doesn’t even want to wear the garment of the blessed field to hunt the wild game for his father. It’s not enough of a challenge if the animals just walk up to him. It wouldn’t have the taste of “wild” game.
Notice the difference and progression of these “my fathers” related to garments:
Then he [Jacob] came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am (Hineni). Who are you, my son?” (Ge 27:18)
Then he [Esau] also made savory food and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” (Ge 27:31)
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” (Ge 27:34)
Jacob approaches in shepherd-skins and says, “My father.”
Esau approaches and orders his father to arise, eat what he has hunted instead of shepherded, and bless him.
Only after Esau realizes what has happened is he humbled to plea, “O my father.”
Yeshua explains that real “food” is not wild, but obedient work on the obligations of the birthright: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.'” (Jn 4:34)
So, who are you, my son? Who are you, my daughter? Are you wearing the garment with the fragrance of obedience in Eden? Are you serving the Father for the loot, or to sacrifice for the sake of all the souls who will be added to the Kingdom?
Now is the time to examine our garments. Do they smell of the fruitful, sown seed of the diligent servant who went weeping on his way, carrying a bag of seed? Or do they smell of wild game?
When the last shofar blows, he who wept first will reap gladness and joy. He who practiced disobedience will weep last, find out that his reward was only in the physical world, the here and now. His garment could not withstand the fiery swords of the cheruvim at the entrance to the blessed field.
Seek first the Kingdom, the birthright of the redeemed. It may feel as though you are bound, but you will resurrect to more riches than eternity can hold.
At the resurrection, only then all the things of the blessings will be added to you.
Walk on with the Father. Forever.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 124 (Rise Up Come Down Jerusalem – Part 2 of Charm School)
Rise Up Come Down, Jerusalem
(Part 2 of Charm School)
The haftarah (reading from the Prophets) supplies our study this week, a continuation from “Charm School” of the Torah portion Vaetchanan. It is Isaiah 51:12-52:12. Verses and 1 and 2 supply our question and answer:
Does Jerusalem, the Bride, arise at the resurrection or does she descend to be seated (dwell)?
YES!
First one, then the other.
The foreshadowing of the restoration is found a little farther along in Isaiah:
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. (Is 62:4)
This explains the “New Jerusalem” as Eden above able to once again “marry” the physical Land of Jerusalem and Israel from which she withdrew after the first sin. Once the Land is cleansed, those who could heed the command to “Arise” at the resurrection at the Last Trump will descend adorned with the ornaments of the written and lived Word, and they will be seated, or “dwell” (sheviyah) in the Bride’s renewed intimate Edenic habitation:
Then I saw a new [renewed] heaven and a new [renewed] earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Re 21:1-4)
Not all who were called will be fully clothed in the garments that allow them to pass into and out of the ”cloud” of New Jerusalem as they minister to the nations and kingdoms of the millennium. Although all were educated by Moses and the Ruach in the cloud in the wilderness, not all obeyed His compassionate mitzvot with joy, and they died either in the wilderness of the exodus from Egypt or the wilderness of the peoples in the last exile (Ezek 20:35). The Cloud expels rebels and practicing sinners. They evaporate in the Light of the Word, not the cloud.
Nehemiah explains their royal priestly semi-Edenic journey, reiterating the special garments in a cloud dwelling where the Lamp was the Lamb, the Word of God, and how they ruled and will again rule the peoples from this portable Jerusalem/Temple. (Re 21)
“You, in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, to guide them on their way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go. You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, and You gave them water for their thirst. Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness, and they were not in want; their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell. You also gave them kingdoms and peoples…” (Ne 9:19-22)
The bridal garments are garments of a royal priesthood tried in the wilderness, ready to reign and rule with Messiah Yeshua, the Living Word of the Father. He is Bread, Water, garments of righteousness, and peace that do not wear out, for those royal bridal blessings of eternal life are from the Garden above. The feet don’t swell because those feet are not exactly touching the natural earth after Jerusalem once again is married to the earth below. The Bride is adorned with beautiful mitzvot full of the Light of the Torah and the Lamp of the Word.
That is the Light with which they also will light the world when they have come to rest in the Holy City:
“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Re 21:22-27)
The Lamb is the Word of God, full of light that calls the Bride to arise and shine, for her Light has come. She also wears garments of glory, the 24 garments of the Word that light the way for the nations. Gates that never close have no threat from the Beast, who always strives to carry burdens of commerce through the beautiful gates of glorious Jerusalem.
You. You, Jerusalem below, are adorning yourself to arise, to prepare for your role as Jerusalem who will descend and dwell on earth to serve Adonai.
“You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.” (Ex 28:2)
Each of the eight garments of the Kohen Gadol atoned for different sins, depending on
a) the sincerity of Israel’s repentance +
b) pure intention of the Kohen Gadol.
1. The Tzitz had the power to atone for brazenness, as it was worn on the Kohen Gadol’s forehead, Metzach is synonymous with brazenness.
2. The Mitznefet had the power to atone for haughtiness. It raises the Kohen Gadol’s height when wearing it.
3. The Ephod had the power to atone for idolatry.
4. The Chosen Mishpat had the power to atone for miscarriages of justice.
5. The Me’il Techelet had the power to atone for public slander, as the golden bells which were attached to its hem made noise while the Kohen Gadol walked, a reminder to guard our tongues.
6. The Ketonet Tashbetz had the power to atone for certain capital crimes.
7. The Avnet had the power to atone for sinful thoughts, as it was wrapped around the Kohen’s torso from just above his hips to just under his heart, where its end was tucked in.
8. The Michnasayim, which cover the Kohen from the waist to above his knees, had the power to atone for sexual misconduct. (The Temple Institute. 2-6-22)
Reb Tzadok HaKohen from Lublin writes: “The concept of Shabbat is mentioned twelve times in the Torah, and we know that everything on Shabbat is double, so essentially Shabbat is represented by the number twenty-four. This idea is also reflected in the fact that a bride adorns herself with twenty-four ornaments, and the Shabbat is referred to as the bride. A Torah scholar (familiar with the 24 books of the TANAKH) is akin to Shabbat, and the Priests and Levites were the quintessential Torah scholars of Israel, so it is appropriate that the Priests are referred to as Levites twenty-four times in Scripture.”
We are a royal priesthood, adorned with bridal garments more numerous than that of the Kohen HaGadol. If the Kohen HaGadol could die upon serving without all eight garments in place, so we should diligently study and apply the whole Word, lacking nothing. Whom we serve on Shabbat is the sum of those garments.
Like the 24 earthly courses of the kohanim and Leviim put on their garments of beauty and glory, we put on 24 garments of the royal priesthood. What “good” are our 24 garments of Yeshua’s righteousness?
They shine the Light of truth, exposing sins, leading many to repentance, and atoning for them among the nations of the world where our little tabernacles are scattered…
Time permitting, we’ll give practical examples of how the priestly garments provide insights into how we can put on our 24 royal priesthood bridal garments each day to bring the Light of Yeshua to the nations and kingdoms among which we live.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 123 (Field Notes)
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 122 (Charm School)
Charm School
Have you ever seen something in a Judaica catalog or shop that made you scratch your head? Symbols are always a hot topic in our circles, and often the discussions are full of extremes. In our quest to be willingly obedient to the Word of Adonai, sometimes it’s obvious we never went to charm school. Or charm and symbol school.
Frank Houtz, may his memory be for blessing, did an excellent job addressing fears of idolatory in words and symbols in his lecture, “Discerning Between Good and Evil” (2010), and he presents a reliable hermeneutic to identify customs that are indeed evil from those that mean exactly what those who use them believe them to mean.
In Creation Gospel Workbook Six, we address some of the controversy: “The Magen David (Star of David) is a good example of symbolism that has been appropriated by some pagan religions. Because of that, some believers with a poor hermeneutical skill set have averred that the Magen David is a pagan symbol. Without adding anything but common sense to Houtz’ insightful, careful work with the subject, the obvious questions are, “What is the symbol’s primary source, and what did the Magen David mean to the people who began to identify with it?”
If pagan cultures at some time appropriated the symbol, it has no bearing on what it originally meant to those who began to use it, for the Fourth Day of Creation of sun, moon, and stars antedated by far any pagan identification. I’m sure no Christian wants Christianity judged by the number of cross necklaces worn in mug shot photos or at lewd, filthy concerts. Just because trees have been worshiped as gods and used as pagan symbols doesn’t mean we can have trees in our yards.
The symbol of the Magen David is accepted universally as a symbol of the Jewish people. It is not so much an ancient Israelite symbol, but more cultural and ethnic identity. At this point in history, it is the observance of the Biblical moedim that sets apart Israel from the heathen nations, making the association of the Magen David with paganism antithetical. The Jewish people have long been associated by other nations both with the moedim of Scripture as well as the symbol of the Magen David. Monotheism. (*Scroll down for full communication from Frank)
But what about other symbols, like charms? There is a fine line between a symbol of remembrance or identification and believing the symbol itself has power that belongs to the Creator. For instance, in times past, our congregation was accused of worshiping a Torah scroll. No, we respect the Word; it is valuable to us.
Now if we marched the scroll down to the local ATM, held it up to the machine and believed it would miraculously spit out $10,000 every time, there’s a bronze serpent problem.
Twenty-four ornaments of the Bride are based on the richness that Israel used to seduce her lovers instead of her Bridegroom who gave them to her:
“…and the LORD will make their foreheads bare. In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils. Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp…” (Is 3:18-24 NASB)
In the Shabbat livestream, we’ll examine the spiritual significance of each of these bridal ornaments, but one of them, the amulet, is a head-scratcher. That’s primarily because we’re only familiar with the corruption of the symbol, not the Scriptural, Hebrew meaning of it that makes it an ornament fit for a bride.
amulets [lehashim] ?????? a whisper, i.e. by implication, (in a good sense) a private prayer, (in a bad one) an incantation; concretely, an amulet:—charmed, earring, enchantment, orator, prayer.
Are they forbidden magic and superstition, or is there a more ancient use?
The variety of necklace-type adornments links the wording of how to lay tefillin to wearing a pendant, amulet, necklace, etc.
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. (Pr 7:1-3)
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. (Pr 3:1-4)
The above is very much like the description of how Yeshua grew in Scriptures and with people, the exact vertical/horizontal relationship found in the two greatest commandments, love Adonai and love your neighbor. “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Lk 2:52)
My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother; bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life… (Pr 6:20-23)
A permitted Bridal amulet should have the Word in some form that draws you to hear the voice of the Ruach guiding you and protecting you from sin. The writing is silent, “whispered,” like the Ruach in a still, small voice. Traditionally, Jewish amulets contain a verse of Scripture. Those containing mystical combinations of Hebrew letters are sketchy because of the Scriptural understanding of an amulet’s function: to remind the wearer of Adonai’s protective power. If the wearer doesn’t understand the words or symbols, it is not the thing to wear because it’s missing the mark.
Different contexts of lachash, the root of amulet, which is connected to protection from harm:
Positive
“O LORD, they sought You in distress; they could only whisper a prayer, Your chastening was upon them.” (Is 26:16)
“The captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter*.” (Is 3:3)
Negative
“If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.**” (Ecc 10:11)
“For behold, I am sending serpents against you, adders, for which there is no charm, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD. (Je 8:17)
The Word destroys the venom of the serpent, which is the “trick” of snake charmers. They remove the fangs and venom ducts before training it. If the snake bites before that, it harms. The Bride has no fear of snakebite, for the Word neutralizes venomous lies. The serpent may bite, but it cannot destroy. Shake it off. This enrages the serpent in Revelation.
*The context is honorable people, so likely an orator or Scriptural wordsmith who is skilled with writing prayers for amulets.
**Literally, “master of the tongue”
As an ornament of the Bride, an amulet represents a hushed prayer, a reminder of Scripture for protection. The daily prayer, the Amidah, is prayed in a whisper. Although silent, the amulet connects the wearer with the Scriptural prayer. It’s fine to wear a necklace or any other jewelry with Scripture or its symbols if it is a reminder of the One who holds the power.
Why are amulets associated with protection? If we read the contexts around the Proverbs passages concerning the binding of Torah around the neck or fingers, the promise is that it will “keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.” (Pr 6:20)
Scripture mentions snake charming as the evil example of amulet use. It is not the amulet that will prevent the snake from biting; it is the relationship of the wearer to the Word on the amulet and the One to Whom the prayer is directed. One cannot behave any way one wants and expect the “amulet” of tefillin or a Shema necklace to protect him or her.
Snake venom is false doctrine…another reason the 24 ornaments should be completed. The number twenty-four represents the original number of the books of the TANAKH. The more we immerse in the Word, the Son of Elohim, the more protection we have against evil. Using it as a magic charm undercuts the actual use of an amulet, a piece of jewelry that reminds us of our intimate relationship with the Bridegroom and the Word He sent us to bind us to Him. A “hamsa hand” charm can no more prevent evil than not stepping on a crack will preserve our mothers’ backs or pointing a cross at a vampire will keep it away.
If there were vampires. Which there is not.
Except for vampire bats.
There’s those.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 121 (Dog Food)
Dog Food
Your lips, my bride, drip honey;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
The Torah, the Word of Adonai, is compared to milk and honey. The more we learn, the more we do. The more we learn, the more we can speak with spiritual intelligence.
Midrash Rabbah 4§22 says:
If one can make his words pleasing like honey and milk mixed together when he is speaking [under your tongue], then he is fit to say words of Torah [honey drops from your lips]…he must incorporate multiple branches of Torah knowledge in his addresses, like the different tastes of honey and milk mixing together.
The “different tastes” can mean incorporating different parts of Scripture into one’s words, or it can mean selecting the words to fit the understanding level of the hearers. Incorporating different parts of Scripture in an exhortation or teaching is likened to the twenty-four adornments of the Bride listed in Isaiah. Just as the high priest may not serve if he is missing even one of his eight garments, so the Bride should be well-versed (!) in all of the Word so that she may present them as delicious meals that are both appreciated and digested. The Midrash continues:
Before one undertakes to present a reproachful sermon to an audience, he must determine that his message of inspiration and reproof will be so appealing to its recipients that it can potentially turn them around, transforming ‘unclean’ sinners into pure and holy people. Only when one’s sermons meet this ‘milk-and-honey’ standard-when they resonate with the masses and inspire them to repentance-does he have license to give them; otherwise, they are better left unsaid.
Anyone who says words of Torah in public, and they are not pleasing to those who hear them is like the bride, who is pleasing to people when under her wedding canopy, it would have been better for him had he not said them. If the audience does not appreciate them, the words of Torah that he is imparting will suffer disgrace. One must ensure that he teaches Torah using the choicest of words, entirely free of inaccuracy or imperfection.
A teacher should not teach according to his or her own disappointments, hurts, anger, fears, or grief. Those words will not be beautiful, nor will they move people to repentance. Life experiences inform what we teach, but personal emotions should never be allowed to direct the Word in a way to inflict one’s own anger, fear, or disappointment onto the hearers. Those types of tantrums disguised as teaching or preaching bring reproach to the beautiful Word.
Additionally, if the teacher is unfamiliar with the whole Word, or the teaching is not in harmony with the whole Word, the teacher will teach inaccurately. This is the danger of fixation on one doctrine. There is another danger as well…
Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Mt 7:6)
While this sounds harsh, look at the Torah clues to Yeshua’s warning. Dogs may eat trafe, or “torn” meat, that which does not meet the criteria of food for the holy community. Such food is not slaughtered precisely, without cruelty, according to high standards. Dogs slaughter and eat their food through strangling and tearing. Yeshua isn’t calling people dogs and pigs; he’s using the analogy to show how the food offered needs to fit the eater.
Pigs do not recognize as valuable what is valuable to humans. They only value what goes into their stomachs. The beautiful pearls of Scripture are not useful to them.
It’s important to know your audience or students. Teach over someone’s head, and the time is wasted. Insult their learning level, and the time is wasted. In a mixed audience, try to hit somewhere in the middle. Teach to the students’ needs, yet stretch them to holier places. Challenge with milk and honey until they can consume holy meat without tearing it in the processing.
If they are “hogging” on a single doctrine, consider whether the pearls of Torah will be trampled in their pursuit. Their appetites may need to change before the whole Word is appreciated.
The prophets often proclaimed the Word to people who didn’t heed their words, nor did they repent. They often tore and trampled the prophets or killed them.
On the other hand, a remnant heard. If you are inspired of the Ruach HaKodesh to proclaim the Word, then do so. You might be planting seeds of repentance such as Stephen planted in Paul even as he was being martyred. Stephen’s dying sermon was full bridal adornment, taking the hearers on a TANAKH tour. Peter’s Shavuot sermon moved thousands. We don’t have control over what the hearers do with the Word, whether they will let it encourage them or cause them to repent.
The remnant heard and repented, passing along the Scriptures we have today. What is the balance then? Milk and honey, or fiery hellfire diatribes?
It’s not that you can’t speak hard words, but how they are delivered. Kindness and truth are intrinsic to the Torah. Truth draws the spirit, while kindness draws the soul.
If we disregard the whole person who is listening, our lecturing may reveal a soul sickness within ourselves, not those whom we are “reproving and correcting.” Moses and Aaron paid dearly for “you rebels.” The Israelites weren’t rebelling, they were grieving.
When someone says, “It’s just the way I feel,” it’s all and only about what they feel. Assume that whatever follows will not be balanced with truth or balance. The person is telling us plainly that facts don’t matter and he or she has no concern for the object of their words or actions in that situation. He or she is telling the truth about one thing: the person only cares about how he feels.
Maniacal social media posting usually gratifies those who are “with” us, distances even more those who aren’t, and confuses others. Such careless dissemination of the Word is only marginally for the benefit of the hearer or reader. It is primarily for the careless, soul-controlled sower worshiping his or her current perceptions.
Who knows how much inaccurate “out loud” thinking has dropped into a reader’s or hearer’s heart when we fancy ourselves a Stephen being martyred for truth? The Word is beautiful. Delicious. Fragrant. Pleasing. It is the teacher’s job to instruct so that the beauty of the Word is imparted.
It is also important for the student to find a teacher who has the ability to impart the Word in a way that is milk, honey, and eventually, meat to the soul. Not every teacher fits every student. If the teacher’s delivery doesn’t click, then it’s no reason to tear or trample the sower. Find a teacher able to click and coach into holier spaces of service.
A few weeks ago, Ulpan-Or Hebrew Newsletter wrote:
The Hebrew word for donkey (in general) is “khamor” – ????.
Khamor also refers to matter / material / clay – ????.
Both are derived from the same Hebrew root – ???
In Exodus the verse states:
???? ??????? ?????? ?????????, ????? ?????? ?????????, ???????????, ??????? ??? ????? ????????, ??????
When you see the donkey of your enemy being overburdened by its burdens, don’t ignore it. It’s incumbent upon you to help relieve its burden.
You observe “khamor”, meaning – your physical body and the coarse materialism of life – and you see that it is your enemy, opposing all things spiritual, and feeling overburdened by the sublime responsibilities of the soul. You may then think of ignoring your body so that it does not distract you from fulfilling your calling. You may even want to punish the body through asceticism and self-affliction.
Says the Torah: No! You are responsible to support, refine and elevate the material aspect of your being – the “khamor”, even if it appears to be your enemy. Thus, our Torah portion reveals the following principle:
At times, when we are unable to hear the voice of the spirit within us, we must listen to our material body’s voice. (summarized from Ulpan-Or Newsletter, July 19, 2024)
Throwing harsh words into the ether is like screaming to make yourself heard in the crowd around the Tower of Bavel. Throwing harsh words at believers without understanding their physical and emotional state is not something a teacher should do. Like the Israelites complaining about the water, there may be more to know about the situation before firing off Word canons.
Most likely, the fiery words of Torah are falling on uncomprehending ears. Another stick thrown on their donkey. A trampled pearl. Torn beyond recognition. Shouldn’t they hear the Word as milk and honey, as truth to the spirit AND kindness to the soul?
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God… (Ja 1:19-20) If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? (Ja 2:15-16)
Sometimes what the body and soul need are milk and honey. Nurture a disciple, know them, and form a relationship. Just as a mom knows what her children can eat or not at each stage of growth, the teacher selects the Words. No tearing or strangling necessary when the students grow into appeciating solid, holy meat fit for a nation of royal priests.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah Part 120 (Booking It)
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah 119 (The Filling Station)
The Filling Station
When I was around four years old, my aunt borrowed my dad’s work truck, probably to carry a load of tomatoes to market. If you’ve never had a freshly-picked southwest Arkansas-grown Bradley tomato, you don’t know what you’re missing.
My Aunt Frances took me along, and she pulled into a filling station to get gas. For those of you too young to know what a filling station is, it’s a lot like a gas station, but there’s someone there to pump the gas, often dressed in a uniform. He checked the tire pressure and cleaned the windshield while the gas pumped. Eventually, they called that “Full service.” Back then, it was the only kind of service.
The attendant asked my Aunt Frances what kind of gas she wanted. My aunt wasn’t sure what Dad used, so she asked me, “Hollisa, what kind of gas does your daddy put in this truck?”
Happy to have the right answer to a very adult question, I replied, “He gets Fillerupregular.”
Nowadays, I suppose it’s even more important to select the right kind of fuel for different kinds of engines.
In the Kingdom of Heaven, often disputes arise about grace vs works because we are pouring the wrong kind of fuel. The fuel is wrong because the question is wrong. The question is wrong because of a misunderstanding of the fundamentals of salvation, grace, obedience, and holiness. Like my four-year-old understanding of gasoline, often we simply parrot what we’ve heard someone say, someone older or wiser than we. We memorize the answer before we understand the words.
There is a reason two cheruvim guard the entrance to the Garden. Death cannot dwell there. Sin falls under the legal purview of death. Rebellion and transgression sins transfer a person under the custody of death. To allow a sinner to enter the holier spaces of the Presence is to consign them to the custody of death. It’s like trying to drop a quarter into the slot only big enough for a dime. The way to the most powerful dwelling of the Divine Presence grows narrower as we walk with Adonai.
Salvation begins the walk, but sanctification is a lifelong process of letting the Ruach HaKodesh shape us and strip away impairments that might delay our ability to stand and serve in holier places of the Presence. Adonai does not want us foolishly scampering into a holier place than that for which our obedience has prepared us. Just as there is glory to glory, life to life, growth to growth, so there are different kinds of “death.” Death is a matter of separation.
The Mishkan drew levels of holiness in the Camp of Israel. The pattern of the kohanim illustrates how a nation of priests should approach the holy spaces of ministry in holy garments so that they are not cut off…
You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make:..(Ex 28:2-4) … “They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die.” (v. 43)
Even the Kohen HaGadol could die from his service!
It doesn’t mean he wasn’t saved from the second death, but that he couldn’t fit into that holy space in disobedience.
Rashi comments to the passage above:
“When they enter the Tent of Meeting…and die.” See that you have learned from this verse that a Kohen who performs the service lacking any of the Kohen’s garments in subject to death.” This is a death “at the hands of Heaven,” not execution by the courts.
It may or may not have an immediate visible effect to the natural eye.
Rashi to Ex 28:41
“With them you shall dress Aaron your brother and his sons with him; you shall anoint them [with anointing oil], and you shall fill their hand, and you shall sanctify them, and they shall be Kohanim…” “Any filling of the hands in Scripture is an expression of inauguration when one enters upon a matter to be acknowledge as holding it from that day on that is called filling of the hands…filling the hands connotes taking full possession of something, e.g., a position of authority.”
Even though Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu had died in a holier place of the Presence than their obedience and level of consecration permitted, nevertheless, Aaron was required to stay in the Mishkan because the anointing oil was upon him. The authority and responsbility had been poured into his hands.
As Kohen HaGadol, his consecration had prepared him for the realm of holiness, the incense service, for which his sons had not yet been authorized. Obedience and consecration fills our hands with the authority of the Holy One to serve in the holier places, and unlike the rest of Israel, Aaron was limited in how he could grieve. The anointing prepares us for the suffering we will do in order to “fit” in those holier places of the Presence.
How does this enrich our understanding of Boaz’ statement to Ruth not to appear before Naomi “empty-handed” in the House of Bread, Beit Lechem?
Filling our hands with offerings when we approach the holy places such as Mishkan, Mikdash, or even our local congregation, is an affirmation of our position as a Kingdom of Priests willing to serve in the holier spaces. Juxtaposed with these extensive explanations of the Kohen HaGadol’s garments in Exodus 28 is a comprehensive list of oil-infused matzah “lechem,” “challot,” and “rakik” in Exodus 29:2-3.
Ruth was engaging in an act of consecration on the threshing floor of Beit Lechem. Boaz acknowledged her clean garments, her anointing, her request for a holier place of the Presence of Adonai. A marriage should create a holy place for the family to thrive in the service of Adonai. Most likely, Boaz had been longing for this moment of pouring into her hands this promise of a closer place in his home, extending his authority into her hands to minister on his behalf, encouraging Naomi of restoration.
This should inspire us to never have a garment lacking as we await the Bridegroom. Let us never lack for oil to anoint our gifts of “poor man’s bread” or for oil of anointing on our heads and hands as royal priests of the Kingdom. As we grow in obedience, we will grow in respect to our salvation and step into the holier places attained only through service and suffering for the sake of the Word.
What if we despair of family or friends who don’t seem to be preparing to stand in the holier places of the Presence?
“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Ro 14:4)
While it is important to pray for the unsaved, yes, often the saved are not interested in dwelling in holier places in eternity. Maybe they are so consumed with their own interests that we doubt their salvation. The good news is that there are many realms of holiness, just like the Israelite camp. Although many servants may not be able to stand in the Temple, there are less holy spaces that they can be made to stand where the brightness of the Divine Presence will not bring about the second death.
Yeshua taught in Luke 14:7-11 that we shouldn’t make assumptions about one another’s “place” in the Kingdom, but to remain humble servants:
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
If we strive to obey the Word, let it not be in order to gain a reward of a higher position over others, but for the intimacy of holier places to serve and linger near the “livelier” realms of holiness.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah 118 (That Day You Went Missing)
That’s not like you.
He wasn’t himself.
She’s having a bad day.
Ever say that to or about someone?
After the beloved Miriam’s death, the gracious Moses and Aaron go missing:
And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there. Now there was no water for the congregation.
And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy. (Nu 20:1-13)
When Moses and Aaron took the message to the congregation, did they transmit the Glory of the Presence? Was it consistent with Kadesh, a place of testing in holiness?
When they delivered the message, did Israel see what they saw in the Tent of Meeting?
In Chukkat, there are three examples of the “sanctification of the Name” to witnesses through the death of a righteous person:
1)The death of Miriam
The death decrees of
2)Moses and
3)Aaron.
Before that, the deaths of Nadav and Avihu…
Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘I will be sanctified by those who are close to Me, and before all the people I will be honored.’ So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.” (Le 10:3)
When a righteous person is judged or simply passes away peacefully, it definitely creates awe, mourning, and fear in those who see or hear it, thus sanctifying the Name.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore, you will not bring this congregation to the land which I have given them.” They are the waters of strife, where the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was sanctified through them. (Nu 20:12-13 Artscroll)
As a result, the trio were all removed from the congregation before entering the Promised Land. Missing.
A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up. (So 4:12)
A hint to our missing persons, Miriam, Moses, and Aaron, may be found in the “eyes of the people,” the Bride being tried in the wilderness:
“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water.” (v 8)
“…to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel…” (v 12)
Einayim (pl), ein, “eye,” or “sight” also means a spring, a fountain. Had Moses and Aaron spoken tenderly to the sealed “rock garden,” it may have released the holy spiritual power of faith, hope, and love within the Bride. Instead, they scolded angrily, and it released only natural water. This did not really help the congregation through the test, only pointed out their shortcomings.
Nothing has changed in our Exodus story at this point. Israel is the Bride being tested according to the mitzvot, particularly the Ten Words they agreed to at Har Sinai:
“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Dt 8:2)
In this week’s Torah portion, we can find tests of at least five of the first six Words:
First Commandment (Exodus 20:2)
I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Second Commandment (Exodus 20:3-6)
You shall have no other gods beside Me.
Yet, Moses and Aaron say, “Shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?”
Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7)
You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain [falsely, in vanity, in emptiness]
Moses and Aaron’s words are not exactly a vow, but a violation of the spirit in which the message was received. It was passed on to the people in a spirit of anger, not holiness. “And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them…” In other words, Moses and Aaron, “do it like this…” in a spirit of glorious assurance just as you’re experiencing it in the Tent of the Assembly.
Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.
We’ll come back to this one.
Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you.
“Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.” (Ex 15:20) “You rebels…”
Miriam was a mother in Israel, a prophetess, and the congregation needed to mourn her and honor her memory. Instead, Moses calls them “rebels,” a play-on word to Miriam’s name [Hamorim-Miryam]. As a result, they did not progress to the Land.
?????????–???????
Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not murder.
“Death and life are in the hand of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Pr 18:21) “You rebels…” The text implies that the water stopped because Miriam died. The people were grieving more than just the loss of water, but Moses and Aaron, likely exhausted from grief themselves and the weight of leadership, went missing that day. They murdered the congregation’s reputation by calling them rebels when the Holy One knew it was a grief and glory problem, not a rebellion. They were accused with Moses and Aaron’s own shortcoming that day.
Maybe the simplest explanation is found in the beauty associated with the Tried Bride…
Your lips, my bride, drip honey;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon. (So 4:11)
Torah is milk and honey; it should be pleasant to those who hear it. The Bride’s fragrance is that of Lebanon, the “bones” of the Temple structure. It houses the Presence and glory of Adonai. The words spoken to the Bride of Israel should have comforted them with their pleasant encouragement and released the fragrance of Adonai’s glorious Presence.
Midrash Rabbah 4§22: “Anyone who says words of Torah in public, and they are not pleasing to those who hear them is:
Like the fine flour that floats on top of the sieve, it would have been better for him had he not said them.
Like the bride, who is pleasing to people when under her wedding canopy, it would have been better for him had he not said them.
If the audience does not appreciate them, the words of Torah that he is imparting will suffer disgrace.
One must ensure that he teaches Torah using the choicest of words, entirely free of inaccuracy or imperfection.
The midrash is explaining that if the teaching is not in harmony with the whole Word, the teacher will teach inaccurately, not discerning the hearts of those listening. Moses and Aaron needed to bring the whole glorious experience they had in the Tent of Meeting to the people whose hearts were grieving. Assurance of help coming. By omitting it, this test in the wilderness brought disgrace to Israel, especially Moses and Aaron.
Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy…Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Where is this in the story of the rock? It is in the equivalency of expression in holiness. Even as we are in the “wilderness of the peoples” seeking to draw close to the Presence of Adonai, so He has provided us the cooperative means just as He provided a Tent of Meeting to the Bride in the wilderness…
You shall keep My sabbath is equivalent to reverencing the sanctuary.
Our test in the wilderness of the peoples is to keep the Shabbat! As the Levitical priesthood guarded the holiness of the Mishkan and Mikdash, so the royal priesthood guards the sanctuary of holiness by creating a place of assembly in the Presence of Adonai so that we are filled with His glory to pass on to those in need.
You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make:..(Ex 28:2-4) … “They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die.” (v. 43)
Rashi: “When they enter the Tent of Meeting…and die.” See that you have learned from this verse that a Kohen who performs the service lacking any of the Kohen’s garments in subject to death.” This is a death “at the hands of Heaven,” not execution by the courts.
Leaders and priests are tested to see if they will uphold the holiness of Adonai; so is His royal priesthood. If the priests are lacking a garment, they suffer a kind of death different from a typical death. Likewise, the royal priesthood will be tested for her bridal garments. She will be tested for the Ten Words to which she agreed. She should lack nothing faith supplies for her beauty.
As Boaz tested Ruth, and as The Holy One tested Israel in the wilderness as a Bride, so we are tested in the wilderness of the nations, “abroad”:
To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Ja 1:2-4)
It is believed that the manna was provided in Moses’ merit and the pillar of cloud in Aharon’s merit. The water came from the Rock in Miriam’s merit.
The three siblings operated as a unit. Although the para aduma was burned in the second year in the wilderness for use in the Mishkan, the Torah portion inserts it in Chukkat, drawing the connection between the purifying water of the ashes of the red heifer and Miriam’s life, which helped to purify Israel. In this test, perhaps Moses and Aaron could have helped the Bride release the faith Miriam modeled for them, not simply to give them, but to teach them to operate their gifts from within themselves.
Moses and Aaron were to speak, not strike, the rock to release its water. Who knows if the whole congregation could have learned from their example to release Garden words with faith and kindness?
Sometimes we need, “Suck it up, Buttercup.”
Sometimes we need, “Words of life and healing are within you…release it.”
When we grieve over a missing person or opportunity, we are vulnerable. We may complain, lash out, or go missing ourselves. Chukkat is the story of the whole community. What happens when it is not the leaders who are missing, but the members of the congregation?
Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1 Co 14:23-26)
The Holy One is sanctified in the eyes of unbelievers when ALL contribute to the assembly. There are different kinds of prophecy, but all involve a telling or affirmation of the Word, which convicts, heals, provokes to repentance, encourages, comforts…because it is manifest through gifts, it is exactly what the grieving, exhausted, or rebellious heart needs to hear. If, like Moses and Aaron had a bad day grieving for their sister, a leader goes missing on Shabbat, a royal priesthood can stand in the gap even though they may also be grieving. Their willing presence directs attention to Heaven and releases pure, clean water for the needs at hand.
It is a Bridal test of released, purifying waters. The words we speak in the assembly should be milk and honey: purifying, edifying, provoking to repentance, comforting, healing, encouraging, inspiring joy.
When leaders or congregants go missing, the Bride has a hard day of testing.
What is worse than a Bride who dies trying? One who never tried dying.
At least Moses, Aaron, Nadav, and Avihu died serving. Our presence on Shabbat invites the holy Presence to dwell among us. It honors Him, not our emotion of the day or our purposes. He will be sanctified when someone goes missing, one way or another.
So on those days when I’m not quite myself yet, but I’m not anyone else either, that’s a day to speak less as I serve, as Aaron remained silent about Nadav and Avihu. Let the assembly step in and release pure water.
Let us honor the Holy One in the assembly, using His gifts just as we received them so that they become glory to His Bride.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah 117 (A Tried Bride)
A Tried Bride
In Creation Gospel Workbook Five Volume Four (Bamidbar), students are challenged with the following exercise:
Draw a circle on a sheet of paper, but don’t close it. Inside write all the gifts, abilities, and characteristics that you KNOW are completely you. Don’t write what you’d like to be or do, but what you already know describes you. Let the circle sit for a few days or even weeks. Add or remove as necessary. It is okay to consult close friends or family who know you well. When you’re satisfied that what’s inside that circle describes what can be definitively known about you, close the circle.
This simple exercise helps us to explain the problem in the Torah portion Korach this week:
Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him? (Nu 16:11)
The leading administrators from the tribes of Reuven and Levi became jealous and bitter against Moses and Aaron. They are influencers of their generation. Moses reminds them that they were each given important leadership roles and service in the Body of the their future Messiah, but for some reason they became angry with Adonai; however, Moses and Aaron were the physical scapegoats for their jealousy. Moses wants to know why they were picking on Aaron. Who was he but an assigned agent of the Holy One? Authority comes from Heaven, not personal ambition or the ability to influence people.
Aaron was a man walking in obedience to his gifts and calling; he was walking in the Way. When a disciple walks in The Way of obedience to Adonai, then he walks in a power of the Ruach HaKodesh that threatens the satan. Aaron was walking in the power of THE NAME. He was operating to the best of his ability in the gifts and abilities he’d been given to intercede for Israel. We saw his Divine gift early in the story when he met Moses and willingly interceded as a speaker for Moses when Moses was still struggling to walk in his own gift of administration…which he’d learned early in the house of Pharaoh, then abandoned for a time while he learned shepherding in the wilderness.
The simple circle warmup exercise above was taken from a rabbi who was teaching on confusion and doubt. It is better to inventory one’s strengths and weaknesses early in a journey than to leave the path littered with ill-fitting armor and unrealistic dreams. In this context, the exercise points out where Korach and his assembly, and we as well, covet and enter spaces and places not apportioned by HaShem.
Once the circle is closed, spend all your effort developing what’s inside it, never what is outside it. This is your portion. If something else will be added later, it will grow from what is inside the circle, not what is outside.
The warmup exercise of drawing the circle is a way of helping disciples avoid doubt and confusion as to their roles in the Body of Messiah, families, work, etc. Every disciple must build the “name” or reputation and deeds uniquely apportioned to him in this world. The writer of Proverbs acknowledges that a Godly balance is desired in the portion:
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion… (Pr 30:8)
The Father knows how to apportion His gifts to His children. He supplies food and water inside the circle, like the Garden of Eden. The difficulty for most of us is that we don’t want to close the circle. We want to keep our options open so we can be or have more or be responsible for less.
This brings us back to Shavuot and the story of Boaz and Ruth. Once Boaz realizes who Ruth is, he doesn’t react exactly as we’d expect him to. Yes, he invites her to his table, makes sure she gleans more with less effort, and she’s protected in his field. What he doesn’t do is lavish gifts or an all-expenses paid new home and car. Or donkey. He doesn’t woo her with expensive gifts. If he is such a close relative, and we know that from the first time he laid eyes on her he was attracted, why not roll out the red carpet?
Even as she sweats to glean in his field, Boaz and the whole city know this about Ruth’s name, her reputation:
“Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.” (Ru 3:11)
Boaz wants to see if she would be content with her portion. Having been Divinely guided to his field, would she be content in it and grow into maturity with him, or would she seek a faster way to the top outside his authority? Would she follow the reaping crowd to new fields? This was the testing of the future bride as the testing of the Bride in the wilderness.
Korach and the other leaders had the potential to build within their assigned positions. Had they applied the energy of coveting Aaron and Moses’ positions into developing their own, imagine what a blessing they would have been to Israel. They failed the test of the Tenth Word:
Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:17) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s [in order to steal it].
Boaz tried Ruth to see if she had any residue of covetousness, a rebellion against her portion. And then, Boaz demonstrates he also follows the principle of authority by refusing to “steal” Ruth from a man who had a stronger legal claim to her and the property:
“Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning.” (Ru 3:12-13)
And Ruth waited for the result. Boaz would do what she couldn’t. Yes, working within one’s circle takes longer, but the result is less confusion and doubt in the Body and Bride of Messiah.
Today we struggle with so many people who are adept with technology beyond their sense of responsibility to the Body of Messiah. They are called “influencers,” and they love to gather a crowd. Because the goal is to influence and gather, not to build and gather, they daily subvert the work of local congregations.
Those congregations provide face-to-face opportunities to explore the Word, an opportunity to follow the model of Yeshua by physically attending a congregation each Shabbat, and by gathering at the feasts. The local leadership knows the sheep by name and reputation: when they hurt, when they need help, and when they triumph.
?They are not driven by a single doctrine, which often contributes to feelings of self-righteousness among those crowded around the influencer. The local pastor or rabbi wants to build and feed the flock on healthy fields and pastures where they can grow within the circle of their portion on a balanced diet, not the Sugar-Pops of the latest “wow.”
Influencers gobble up “likes” and statements of affirmation. Some of them even thrive on negative feedback…I suppose they think negative attention is better than no attention. Attention is their food, a feeling of power. This is covetousness, not of a good gift, but often in order to steal the attention of the flock and plant “grumbles.” Coveting a good thing is a good thing, but not to the point we “steal” from someone else’s place in the Body:
And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. (1 Co 12:28–31)
Yes, desire the greater gifts, but allow them to grow out of the circle of gifts Adonai has placed within us. A greater gift must stand the test of the wilderness.
Influencers know how to gather a crowd, but the question is whose authority will they trample and steal to achieve their goals? How many flocks will they scatter?
The attention-gobblers might take a lesson from Korach and his band. The average Israelite may be left standing in doubt, but the Ruach HaKodesh is not confused. The single-doctrine attention-gobblers might even pull people with completely different agendas into the same demonstration or challenge to authority, but Korach’s family and the Reubenites, if successful in their power play, would have soon turned on each other. In the end, they both thought they deserved the authority. They certainly wouldn’t have shared it as they demanded Moses and Aaron do!
The Boaz and Ruth example shows us the discipline of hard work and patience that establishes a spiritual legacy passed on to children. We can be gobbled up by the wilderness, or we can diligently serve the community in the wilderness so that we become a community in the Land of Promise.
A tried Bride.
Circle closed.
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Dr Hollisa Alewine – Footsteps of Messiah 116 (A Wedding of Words Pt 2)
A Wedding of Words
Part Two
Recap: Each year, it is traditional to read the scroll of Ruth at Shavuot. We might say the three scrolls of Ruth, Esther, and Song of Songs are the Bridal Scrolls of return from exile.
What happened to Israel in leaving Egypt at Pesach is what happened to Ruth in leaving Moab and arriving at the House of Bread (Beit Lechem) at Pesach. The Israelites left Egypt as strangers there before she became a Bride, and Ruth left Moab to become a stranger inside the gate of Judah before she became part of the Bride.
Israel and Ruth moved to holier places in their journeys.
The setting of Ruth’s story is Beit Lechem, the House of Bread, where Judah was recovering from the famine. The wilderness also was a place of miraculous, Heavenly Bread and Living Water. A place of covering, anointing, preparation, and clean clothes for a nation of priests. The wilderness was where the Bride was purified with the Torah as she walked as she walked after her Bridegroom, picking up what He dropped for her each morning.
Let’s see if there are wilderness template parallels in the story of Ruth:
The Ten Words to the Bride
at Shavuot, Mount Sinai,
Via Moshe, Friend of the Bridegroom
become Ten Witnesses to the Bride’s purity and offspring.
If what happened to Israel in the wilderness at Mount Sinai happened to Ruth, then we should be able to find the Ten Words at work in the Megillat Ruth. Last week, we found the first four commandments. This week, we’ll find the remaining six:
Fifth Commandment (Ex 20:12)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you.
Ruth honors her father and mother in a way that many have had to when their parents were idolators and habitual sinners…she doesn’t do what they would want, but what her mother “in Torah” would want. Her disobedience to her parents to honor her Heavenly Father is the only way to honor her earthly parents.
All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and came to a people that you did not previously know. (Ru 2:11)
Enjoying “long days on the earth” is a kind of security that is thought to allude to eternal security in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.”
She said to her, “All that you say I will do.” So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. (Ru 3:1-6)
In Ruth, the Moses role and priesthood role along with “young men” shifts to Naomi as the friend/mediator between bride and bridegroom, and the young women (na’arot) are emphasized instead of young men (na’arim). Boaz tells Ruth to follow his young women. This shift in emphasis honors the “mother” [in law]. Whereas Moses instructs Israel what to do, Naomi instructs Ruth, who obeys her in all.
Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!”
Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. (Ex 24:3-5)
She said to her, “All that you say I will do.” So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. (Ru 3:1-6)
Naomi’s instructions to Ruth to wash herself and her garments and anoint herself echo Moses instructions to the Israelites to prepare to meet the Bridegroom:
“Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day [first fruits of barley] the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.” (Ex 19:10-15)
Ruth’s obedience also echoes the Israelites’:
Ex 19:8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
Ex 24:3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!”
Ex 24:7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”
Sixth Commandment (Ex 20:13)
You shall not murder.
Seventh Commandment (Ex 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery.
Ruth is recognized for her clean conduct:
So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” (Ru 3:14)
Ruth does nothing but request redemption and marriage from Boaz, and Boaz in turn protects her reputation by sending her away before she can be seen so that there will not even be an appearance of evil. Boaz makes sure her reputation is not murdered by evil talk. Even before he knows her intentions, Boaz takes steps to protect her reputation and purity:
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you.” (Ru 2:8-9)
Boaz even acknowledges that Ruth has pursued a husband for the sake of sanctifying the Name of the Holy One, not simply to have a young handsome husband or a rich one:
“May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.” (Ru 3:10)
Seventh Commandment (Ex 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery.
“It was not Boaz’ habit to inquire about young women. What caught his notice was her exemplary conduct and knowledge of the Torah. She would only glean two ears out of three, for three ears remain the property of the farmer (Pe’ah 6:5, Shabbos 113b). She did not mingle or jest with the young men harvesting, nor did she lift her skirt or bend immodestly as she gleaned.” (Midrash Rabbah)
Going after men opens the door to sexual immorality, akin to idolatry. Let the righteous man notice a young woman’s dedication to the Word first.
Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not steal [a person].
Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:14)
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s [in order to steal it].
Boaz acknowledges that there is another who is legally entitled to redeem Ruth and her deceased husband’s property. Rather than make the transaction secretly because he loves Ruth, Boaz takes it to the proper court to make the transaction. He refuses to steal her from one who might take up the claim. He testifies to the truth both to Ruth and before the court.
Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning.” (Ru 3:12-13)
Ruth is also an honest worker.
And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ (Ru 2:7)
Even though Torah gives the poor the right to glean, in her modesty and humility, Ruth asks permission.
And thus, both the Israelites and Ruth married their bridegrooms and Bridegroom, making a covenant of wedding Words, ’til death do us part.
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