Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young. (Bob Dylan, Planet Waves)
Have you ever wished that you could start over? That you could be “forever young”—going back to your earliest years of life to erase all your mistakes, cancel all your debts, undo all your sins? This may sound like wishful thinking, but it was a reality in the Torah legislation of the Jubilee.
Read MoreGrowing up as a teenager on the Mississippi gulf coast, I could not wait to finish high school and spread my wings and fly. I was operating under the youthful understanding of freedom as being free of restraints. It did not take me long, however, to discover the error of my thoughts. You see, my choice for expressing that freedom was to join the US Marine Corps.
Read MoreIn Amos 9:7, God is telling Israel that he is concerned for all peoples, not just them. Therefore Israel should not assume that she will go unpunished for her sins. Amos points out that chosenness is not just a gift, but a gift that bears responsibility.
Read MoreAfter David was crowned king in Hebron, he conquered Jerusalem and defeated the Philistines. Our haftarah picks up just following these events, when King David decides to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem from the home of Abinadav, where it had remained since being returned to the Land of Israel by the Philistines in the time of Samuel. Thus, our haftarah begins with the Ark at rest in the home of Abinadav and ends with the promise of its future home in the Temple.
Read MoreWe are a community excited about Messianic prophecy. It fortifies our faith in our claims about Yeshua, and we look to texts like this week’s haftarah reading to equip us for propagating and defending our faith. All of this is good.
But it would also be good for us to realize that we who are intimately joined to him through repentance, faith, and immersion in his Spirit, are also meant to bear his image.
Read MoreOne of the most compelling verses in the Prophets comes in this week’s haftarah reading: "Since I, ADONAI, have not changed, so you sons of Jacob have not been annihilated” (Mal 3:6).
This verse certainly had great meaning in its peshat (plain sense) to Malachi’s hearers in the 5th century BCE. Yet I cannot help but think that it reveals a general principle that has held true for our Jewish people throughout our entire history.
Read MoreThis week culminates in Shabbat HaChodesh, the New Moon of the first month (March 16–17), which means Passover comes only two weeks later, at the full moon. Now, New Moon might sound like an esoteric topic in our high-tech urban world, but we’ll see that it’s actually most relevant—not just to the simple agricultural life of our ancestors, but to our lives as well.
Read MoreGod is a specific God. He loves details. He shares these details with his servants. His children hear his voice and they obey. This week’s parashah deals with many details of the building of the mishkan (tabernacle). It reminds me of building Legos as a kid.
Read MoreIn Parashat Ki Tisa the Israelites are in the desert waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. Until this point the narrative has moved rapidly: the enslavement of Israel, the calling of Moses, the drama of the plagues, the events of the first Pesach, the Exodus itself, the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, and traveling through the desert to Mt. Horeb. Suddenly, the fast-paced and miraculous events have stopped. Israel waits.
Read MoreA good friend writes, “Clothing is a prominent theme throughout the Bible.” Clothing is significant throughout Scripture, from the clothes God designed for Adam and Chavah in the Garden (Gen 3:21), to the wedding gown of the bride for her marriage to the Lamb (Rev 19:8). At times it provides covering against the elements, and at other times it serves as a symbol of rank or status.
Read More
