Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Secrets from the foundation of the world

Reading Matthew Chapters 12 and 13.

13:35 The Lord spoke in parables to the multitude but explained them in private to his disciples. See 13:10ff and 13:17,18.
These are things kept secret from the foundation of the world!
13:17 They were sought, unsuccessfully, by many prophets and tsaddik (righteous men)

The Parable of the Tares

13:36 - 39 Just like in 13:17,18, the Lord explained this parable only to his disciples, after he had sent the multitude away and had gone indoors with his disciples.
  • The Son of Man                  : the sower of the good seed
  • The world                           : the field
  • The Sons of the Kingdom     : the good seed that were sown
  • The Sons of the Wicked One : the tares sown by the enemy
  • The Devil                            : the enemy who sowed the tares
  • The Harvest                        : the end of the age
  • Angels                                : reapers

Let us ponder, fearfully, over this:

Who are those among us who have been sown by the Sower of the good seed? And who, among us, are actually the tares sown by the Devil? The secret of this parable is found in the answer to the question,

"Dear Seed, Who is your Sower?"

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tested and Loved

20th October 2010
Reading Psalm 11 (Revised Berkeley Version)

I had always noted that the Psalmist often affirms God's blessings on the righteous while pronouncing His wrath on the wicked. This morning, that was again my first impression when reading this Psalm.

Verse 5 tells us about the wrath of YHWH: His soul hates the wicked. The next verse goes on to say that He rains coals of fire and brimstone on them, and a burning wind will be their portion.

As I read on, however, I noticed another contrast, not between the righteous and the wicked but among the righteous only. It's a contrast between what the righteous experience from YHWH and what they receive from Him.

"The LORD tests the righteous . . .", verse 5 says.

In contrast,
"The LORD loves righteousness, His countenance beholds the upright" verse 7 says.

The righteous will experience times of testing from the LORD. At the same time, however, they are loved by Him. They receive His love and attention. His countenance beholds them all.

The apostle James wrote to the Twelve Tribes in Dispersion, telling them in James 1:2-4 (Young's Literal Translation)

"All joy count it my brethren when ye fall into temptations (trials) manifold; knowing that the proof of your faith doth work endurance, and let the endurance have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire - in nothing lacking."

Let us remember that we are tested and loved by God our Father in Heaven.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Scribe who answered wisely

Originally written on: Fri 22Oct2010

Reading Mark 12:24-27, 28-34

The scribe, having perceived that the Lord Yeshua had answered the Sadducees well, asked the Lord which commandments given in the Torah are the greatest.
The Lord answered him:

Firstly, by affirming the Shema: "Hear O Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH is One", before quoting the greatest commandment from Deuteronomy 6:4, that we shall love YHWH our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

And the second, Yeshua told the scribe, is like the first, i.e. it is also a commandment to love. And he said, quoting from Leviticus 19:18, that we shall love our neighbours as ourselves.
In verses 32-33, the scribe agreed with Yeshua and paraphrased the Lord's words to express his understanding of what he had heard:

There is One God - no other but He alone.
And to love Him with all your heart, understanding, soul and strength is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Our Lord saw that the scribe answered wisely and told him "You are not far from the Kingdom of God".
What did the scribe understand? In what way was his answer wise in the sight of the Lord?
The answer is two-fold.

Firstly, the scribe understood that God is One. YHWH his God is One. His paraphrase of the words of the Torah confirmed his understanding,"There is One God, no other but He alone".

Secondly, when one understands that YHWH our God is one, only He alone, then one can love Him. Likewise the scribe. To him, it was because there is One and only One God, it is of utmost importance to love Him with all our heart, all our understanding, all our soul, and all our strength.
This is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices commanded in the Torah.