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God declares certain days to be mo’adim (מעדים); that is, “appointed times.” He says, “The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations–My appointed times are these.” (Leviticus 23:2)
What does this mean? Leviticus 23 is like God’s day planner. He has made appointments on which to meet with His people. They include the weekly Sabbath, the Feasts of Passover and Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths.
The Apostle Paul teaches that the festivals are like a shadow cast by Messiah. (Colossians 2:16-17) That means that each of God’s appointed times should teach us something about Messiah.
Almost all of the appointed times commemorate some great past act of redemption. For example, the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the exodus from Egypt.
But the biblical festivals can also be understood as an eschatological blueprint. In a sense, they lay out the pattern of redemption because they truly are God’s appointed times for interacting with man. Each appointed time foreshadows one of the appointed times of God’s plan of redemption. In that regard, they are the appointed times of Messiah. They are the “times [and] epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.” (Acts 1:7) They represent the appointed time “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) To study the festivals is to study the future. To study the festivals is to study Messiah.
The appointed times communicate deep spiritual lessons to those who practice them. Every festival draws us closer to the living God and His holy Son.
The appointed times of the LORD are like annual rehearsals for the appointed times of redemption. They are like the blueprints for the work of Messiah. The spring festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, the Omer, and Pentecost all received a messianic fulfillment in the Master’s first advent. The fall festivals of the Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Atonement, the Festival of Sukkot, and the Eighth Day all point toward His second coming. They are a “shadow of what is to come” (Colossians 2:17).
On the other hand, the fire of the LORD did not blaze forth in that manner on a daily basis. The priests continued to serve and bring the offerings every day after that first miraculous worship service. They kept the divine fire alive by feeding the flames of the altar, but the amazing glory of the LORD did not blaze out again.
There were probably some Israelites who felt as if something was amiss. “Why has this Tabernacle become so spiritually dry?” they might have wondered. Perhaps they went looking for other tabernacles where God’s Spirit was “really moving.” Some people are always looking for spiritual fire. They are in constant pursuit of emotional highs and pneumatic dazzlement. They judge the quality of a worship service and the sincerity of other worshippers by means of their own internal, emotional barometer, and they equate the mundane and routine with spiritual lifelessness.
Other people are more like the priests. They may have had experiences with spiritual fire, but they do not live their lives in pursuit of experiences. Instead of demanding fresh fire from heaven every week, they are diligently keeping the spiritual flame alive as they go through the seemingly mundane routines of serving the Almighty according to His instructions. Sometimes there is fresh fire, but the mature man of faith serves steadfastly in all seasons.
Which of the above two types of people would you prefer to be married to? Would you want the person who is always looking for romantic and physical thrills, even to the point of abandoning the relationship if he feels it has dried up? Or would you prefer the person who is willing to stay steadfastly committed in both good times and bad? Which kind of worshipper do you think God is seeking?
The divine fire did appear again from time to time: at the announcement of the birth of Samson in Judges 13, when Solomon dedicated the first Temple in 2 Chronicles 7 and when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. The divine fire signified that both the sacrifice and the sacrificer had found favor in God’s eyes.
In Acts 2, the flames of God’s glory appeared among the believers, signifying the bestowal of the Holy Spirit upon them. It happened during the feast of Pentecost while the people of Israel were worshipping at the Temple and offering the prescribed festival sacrifices. We are still keeping that Pentecost flame alive today.
When we gather together, we should do so for God’s sake, not for our own. We should be desiring to bestow our gifts upon Him and to serve Him according to the careful instructions He has provided.
Posts in Category: First Fruits of Zion
Emor
On May 1, 2021 0 Comments
- First Fruits of Zion
TORAH PORTION for Shabbat: May 1, 2021
- Emor (אמור | Say)
- Torah: Leviticus 21:1-24:23
- Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
- Gospel: Matthew 26:59-66
God’s Day Planner
Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these.” (Leviticus 23:2)In Leviticus 23, God gives a calendar to His people. This biblical calendar is different from the one to which we are accustomed. The biblical calendar is lunar: It is based on the phases of the moon. The waxing and waning of the moon determines the day of the biblical month. The tiny sliver of the new moon always appears on the first day of the month; the full moon indicates the middle of the month; the disappearance of the moon indicates the end of the month.
God declares certain days to be mo’adim (מעדים); that is, “appointed times.” He says, “The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations–My appointed times are these.” (Leviticus 23:2)
What does this mean? Leviticus 23 is like God’s day planner. He has made appointments on which to meet with His people. They include the weekly Sabbath, the Feasts of Passover and Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths.
The Apostle Paul teaches that the festivals are like a shadow cast by Messiah. (Colossians 2:16-17) That means that each of God’s appointed times should teach us something about Messiah.
Almost all of the appointed times commemorate some great past act of redemption. For example, the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the exodus from Egypt.
But the biblical festivals can also be understood as an eschatological blueprint. In a sense, they lay out the pattern of redemption because they truly are God’s appointed times for interacting with man. Each appointed time foreshadows one of the appointed times of God’s plan of redemption. In that regard, they are the appointed times of Messiah. They are the “times [and] epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.” (Acts 1:7) They represent the appointed time “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) To study the festivals is to study the future. To study the festivals is to study Messiah.
The appointed times communicate deep spiritual lessons to those who practice them. Every festival draws us closer to the living God and His holy Son.
The appointed times of the LORD are like annual rehearsals for the appointed times of redemption. They are like the blueprints for the work of Messiah. The spring festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, the Omer, and Pentecost all received a messianic fulfillment in the Master’s first advent. The fall festivals of the Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Atonement, the Festival of Sukkot, and the Eighth Day all point toward His second coming. They are a “shadow of what is to come” (Colossians 2:17).
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Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
On April 24, 2021 0 Comments
- First Fruits of Zion
TORAH PORTION for Shabbat: April 24, 2021
- Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (אחרי מות/קדושים | After the death/Holy)
- Torah: Leviticus 16:1-20:27
- Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19
- Gospel: Matthew 15:10-20;
A velvet cloth embroidered with an artist’s depiction of the Temple in Jerusalem covers a table in front of the Kotel, the Western Wall, Jerusalem, where prayers are offered daily. (Image: © FFOZ/Boaz Michael)
I Need Atonement
The high priest carried the blood of the sin offerings into the holy of holies and splashed it seven times on the ark of the covenant, then seven times on the curtain that divided the holy of holies from the rest of the Tabernacle, and finally seven times on the altar of incense that stood before the curtain.
The high priest had to enter the holy of holies in order to make atonement for Israel, atonement for the holy of holies, atonement for the Sanctuary and atonement for the altar. Because these things remained continually in the presence of God, they needed expiation. He atoned for Israel and the Tabernacle through a complex series of blood rituals.These rituals provided the purgation necessary for the LORD’s presence to remain within the Sanctuary and among His people for another year.
The Hebrew word kafar (כפר), which our English translations render as “atonement,” can imply the forgiveness of sin and removal of guilt, but the Levitical sense of the word carries a broader meaning. It is helpful to think of kafar as purgation of spiritual contamination. In that sense, atonement involves the purgation of elements that offend the deity: sin, ritual impurity, and any other ceremonial or moral defilement that repel the presence of God. Without purgation, a human being cannot draw near to God, and without purgation of the Sanctuary and the holy things, the presence of God could not remain within the Tabernacle or Temple.
In the ritual context of Israel’s worship system, the worshipers, the priesthood, and even the Tabernacle and its furnishings all require atonement in order to stand in the presence of God. Without such covering, they would not survive the encounter with the consuming presence of God. God is dangerous. If common, mortal, finite and sinful man enters the presence of the holy, immortal, infinite and righteous God, the man must have some form of atonement. Typically, the Torah prescribes sacrifices or the application of blood as a protective covering; i.e., atonement.
The word kafar has a second, not unrelated implication. It can also be rendered as “ransom: for one’s life. In the Torah, a kofer can mean a monetary payment made in exchange for a blood-debt.
The suffering and the death of the righteous Messiah also accomplished atonement—not in the Sanctuary on earth but in the heavenly Sanctuary. Yeshua serves as “a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, not man” (Hebrews 8:2). He has entered into the holy of holies in heaven—the throne room of God—and applied the merit of His own sacrifice to accomplish atonement. He entered into the presence of God for us so that He might usher us in as well:
The high priest had to enter the holy of holies in order to make atonement for Israel, atonement for the holy of holies, atonement for the Sanctuary and atonement for the altar. Because these things remained continually in the presence of God, they needed expiation. He atoned for Israel and the Tabernacle through a complex series of blood rituals.These rituals provided the purgation necessary for the LORD’s presence to remain within the Sanctuary and among His people for another year.
The Hebrew word kafar (כפר), which our English translations render as “atonement,” can imply the forgiveness of sin and removal of guilt, but the Levitical sense of the word carries a broader meaning. It is helpful to think of kafar as purgation of spiritual contamination. In that sense, atonement involves the purgation of elements that offend the deity: sin, ritual impurity, and any other ceremonial or moral defilement that repel the presence of God. Without purgation, a human being cannot draw near to God, and without purgation of the Sanctuary and the holy things, the presence of God could not remain within the Tabernacle or Temple.
In the ritual context of Israel’s worship system, the worshipers, the priesthood, and even the Tabernacle and its furnishings all require atonement in order to stand in the presence of God. Without such covering, they would not survive the encounter with the consuming presence of God. God is dangerous. If common, mortal, finite and sinful man enters the presence of the holy, immortal, infinite and righteous God, the man must have some form of atonement. Typically, the Torah prescribes sacrifices or the application of blood as a protective covering; i.e., atonement.
The word kafar has a second, not unrelated implication. It can also be rendered as “ransom: for one’s life. In the Torah, a kofer can mean a monetary payment made in exchange for a blood-debt.
The suffering and the death of the righteous Messiah also accomplished atonement—not in the Sanctuary on earth but in the heavenly Sanctuary. Yeshua serves as “a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the LORD pitched, not man” (Hebrews 8:2). He has entered into the holy of holies in heaven—the throne room of God—and applied the merit of His own sacrifice to accomplish atonement. He entered into the presence of God for us so that He might usher us in as well:
But when Messiah appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered [the holy of holies] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:11-12)This indicates that the ceremony of the Day of Atonement foreshadows the work of Messiah: His death, His sacrifice, and the atoning merit of His blood. We boldly enter the presence of God because the blood of Messiah covers us. Today He intercedes on His people’s behalf before the throne of God as a high priest.
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Tazria-Metzora
On April 17, 2021 0 Comments
- First Fruits of Zion
TORAH PORTION for Shabbat: April 17, 2021
- Tazria-Metzora (תזריע/מצורע | She will conceive/Leper)
- Torah: Leviticus 12:1-15:33
- Haftarah: 2 Kings 7:3-20
- Gospel: Luke 2:22-35; Mark 1:35-45
(Image: © Bigstock/Gustavo Frazao)
The Haughty Spirit
The Torah prescribes an elaborate ritual for the cleansing of a leper after his symptoms have abated. The ritual involves several components including two live birds, scarlet wool, living water, and cedar wood. Jewish tradition provides meanings for each of the symbols.
Why did the cleansing of the leper require cedar wood? The sages believed that biblical leprosy resulted from evil speech. Rashi suggested that the purification ceremony employed cedar wood because the cedar, as a tall and lofty tree, represents the haughty spirit. The metaphor of a cedar as a haughty person comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah.
In our attempts to elevate ourselves by stepping on others, we inevitably lower ourselves. This is part of what Yeshua meant when He taught that if a man lifts himself up he will be humbled, but if he humbles himself he will be lifted up.
Imagine yourself at a Sabbath table with friends from your community when your friends raise the topic of a person known to be an adversary of yours. Your friends begin to criticize your adversary’s faults. How do you respond? It feels good to have your friends on your side, and the temptation is to join them in pointing out your adversary’s flaws. It makes you look better. Or does it? The higher path is to come to the defense of the person and quiet the criticisms. When you show that kind of integrity and humility, it not only makes you look better; it makes you better.
Why did the cleansing of the leper require cedar wood? The sages believed that biblical leprosy resulted from evil speech. Rashi suggested that the purification ceremony employed cedar wood because the cedar, as a tall and lofty tree, represents the haughty spirit. The metaphor of a cedar as a haughty person comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah.
The LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up. (Isaiah 2:12-13)A haughty spirit finds it difficult to tolerate other people’s character flaws. The haughty person fails to recognize his own shortcomings. Instead, he focuses on the shortcomings of others. Most often, when we speak ill of others, it is because we are defending our own pride. People elevate themselves by stepping on other people. By putting someone else down, we think we are lifting ourselves up. The Proverbs contrast two kinds of people: a person who guards his words and a person with a haughty spirit:
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles. “Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names, who acts with insolent pride. (Proverbs 21:23-24)The Psalms also equate haughtiness with evil speech. Psalm 101 warns that God punishes the slanderer and does not endure haughtiness:
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. (Psalm 101:5)The big, tall, haughty cedar is the most likely tree in the forest to be cut down. As the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). The Bible says that God’s “eyes are on the haughty to bring them low” (1 Samuel 22:28).
In our attempts to elevate ourselves by stepping on others, we inevitably lower ourselves. This is part of what Yeshua meant when He taught that if a man lifts himself up he will be humbled, but if he humbles himself he will be lifted up.
Imagine yourself at a Sabbath table with friends from your community when your friends raise the topic of a person known to be an adversary of yours. Your friends begin to criticize your adversary’s faults. How do you respond? It feels good to have your friends on your side, and the temptation is to join them in pointing out your adversary’s flaws. It makes you look better. Or does it? The higher path is to come to the defense of the person and quiet the criticisms. When you show that kind of integrity and humility, it not only makes you look better; it makes you better.
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Shemini
On April 10, 2021 0 Comments
- First Fruits of Zion
TORAH PORTION for Shabbat: April 10, 2021
- Shemini (שמיני | Eighth)
- Torah: Leviticus 9:1-11:47
- Haftarah: 2 Sam. 6:1-7:17
- Gospel: Matthew 3:11-17
Spiritual Fire
Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:24)When we assemble together to worship, we should anticipate a close encounter with God. When Israel gathered for the first worship service in the Tabernacle, fire blazed forth from God and consumed their offerings. Everyone fell on their faces before the glory of the LORD. When we gather in His houses of worship on His appointed times, it is reasonable to expect that He will be present in some manner and impact our lives.
On the other hand, the fire of the LORD did not blaze forth in that manner on a daily basis. The priests continued to serve and bring the offerings every day after that first miraculous worship service. They kept the divine fire alive by feeding the flames of the altar, but the amazing glory of the LORD did not blaze out again.
There were probably some Israelites who felt as if something was amiss. “Why has this Tabernacle become so spiritually dry?” they might have wondered. Perhaps they went looking for other tabernacles where God’s Spirit was “really moving.” Some people are always looking for spiritual fire. They are in constant pursuit of emotional highs and pneumatic dazzlement. They judge the quality of a worship service and the sincerity of other worshippers by means of their own internal, emotional barometer, and they equate the mundane and routine with spiritual lifelessness.
Other people are more like the priests. They may have had experiences with spiritual fire, but they do not live their lives in pursuit of experiences. Instead of demanding fresh fire from heaven every week, they are diligently keeping the spiritual flame alive as they go through the seemingly mundane routines of serving the Almighty according to His instructions. Sometimes there is fresh fire, but the mature man of faith serves steadfastly in all seasons.
Which of the above two types of people would you prefer to be married to? Would you want the person who is always looking for romantic and physical thrills, even to the point of abandoning the relationship if he feels it has dried up? Or would you prefer the person who is willing to stay steadfastly committed in both good times and bad? Which kind of worshipper do you think God is seeking?
The divine fire did appear again from time to time: at the announcement of the birth of Samson in Judges 13, when Solomon dedicated the first Temple in 2 Chronicles 7 and when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. The divine fire signified that both the sacrifice and the sacrificer had found favor in God’s eyes.
In Acts 2, the flames of God’s glory appeared among the believers, signifying the bestowal of the Holy Spirit upon them. It happened during the feast of Pentecost while the people of Israel were worshipping at the Temple and offering the prescribed festival sacrifices. We are still keeping that Pentecost flame alive today.
When we gather together, we should do so for God’s sake, not for our own. We should be desiring to bestow our gifts upon Him and to serve Him according to the careful instructions He has provided.
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Shevi’i Shel Pesach
On April 3, 2021 0 Comments
- First Fruits of Zion
TORAH PORTION for Shabbat: April 3, 2021
- Shevi’i Shel Pesach (שביעי של פסח | Seventh Day of Passover)
- Torah: Exodus 13:17-15:26, Numbers 28:19-25
- Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
- Gospel: John 20:1-14
Painting of splitting of the Red Sea, September 2009, Source: Biblical Paintings – Dr. Lidia Kozenitzky (Image: Via Wikimedia Commons)
A People Ransomed by God
Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
In Paul’s day, one who wanted to become a disciple of Yeshua had to go through a ritual immersion. This rule applied to both Jews and Gentiles. Prior to the immersion, the new disciple confessed and renounced his sins in keeping with the tradition of John’s immersion. Then he descended into a gathering of living water “for the name of Yeshua.” The immersion brought ceremonial cleansing from Levitical impurity, and it symbolized spiritual cleansing, death, and resurrection.
Judaism teaches that one who immerses in a mikvah (immersion pool) symbolically dies as he descends into the water and is reborn as he leaves the water. The apostles applied the death and rebirth imagery of the immersion ritual:
Paul warned the Corinthians not to think too highly of themselves. Paul warned them that the generation that perished in the wilderness had similar credentials to their own. They had all been “immersed into Moses in the cloud and the sea,” yet they did not enter the Promised Land (which is compared to the Messianic Era).
Paul was not the only Torah teacher to compare the crossing of the Red Sea to the water of the mikvah. In the Midrash Rabbah, the nation of Israel passes through the Red Sea to purify themselves in preparation for their journey to Mount Sinai:
In Paul’s day, one who wanted to become a disciple of Yeshua had to go through a ritual immersion. This rule applied to both Jews and Gentiles. Prior to the immersion, the new disciple confessed and renounced his sins in keeping with the tradition of John’s immersion. Then he descended into a gathering of living water “for the name of Yeshua.” The immersion brought ceremonial cleansing from Levitical impurity, and it symbolized spiritual cleansing, death, and resurrection.
Judaism teaches that one who immerses in a mikvah (immersion pool) symbolically dies as he descends into the water and is reborn as he leaves the water. The apostles applied the death and rebirth imagery of the immersion ritual:
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Messiah Yeshua have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death … if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5)For the apostles, immersion into the name of Messiah represented the transition from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. By way of analogy, Paul saw the same imagery at work in the crossing of the sea. The children of Israel left Egypt, Pharaoh, and slavery behind as they descended into the water, and they arose on the other side as free men—a people ransomed by God.
Paul warned the Corinthians not to think too highly of themselves. Paul warned them that the generation that perished in the wilderness had similar credentials to their own. They had all been “immersed into Moses in the cloud and the sea,” yet they did not enter the Promised Land (which is compared to the Messianic Era).
Paul was not the only Torah teacher to compare the crossing of the Red Sea to the water of the mikvah. In the Midrash Rabbah, the nation of Israel passes through the Red Sea to purify themselves in preparation for their journey to Mount Sinai:
The crossing of the sea can be compared to a woman who, having completed the days of uncleanness, purified herself and came to her husband. When he saw her he asked, “Who can testify that you are clean?” She replied, “Behold, my maid can testify that I have purified myself by immersion in the mikvah.” (Exodus Rabbah 23:12)
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