Sabbath and Slavery

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There are two places in the Torah (Pentateuch) where the 10 commandments are listed.  The listings are nearly identical, but there is an interesting difference between the listing for the Sabbath.  God gives two completely (seemingly) independent reasons for keeping and observing the Sabbath.

In the one listing in Deuteronomy chapter 5 states that the we should remember the Sabbath because we were slaves in Egypt, but God brought us out by a mighty hand.

Why this?  Why the change from remembering the six days of creation as listed in Exodus chapter 20?

We as people tend to judge ourselves rather harshly.  At least I do – it is one of the things I struggle with often.  When I’m in the throws of judging myself, I realize that I’m a slave to the oppressing thoughts.  I’m not alone in this.  We so often get trapped (enslaved) by our thoughts.  This is why God tells us to remember weekly – for a whole day – that He brought us out of slavery.  All types of slavery; even that from thoughts.  We would do well to remember that every Sabbath.

The other idea mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 5 is that we need to remember that we were brought out of the land of Egypt.  What does Egypt represent?  In sort, all manner of paganism.  Throughout the Torah (law of God), He makes it clear that we are to remove ourselves from all manner of paganism.  For you Christians, the apostle Paul states that you are to avoid even the appearance of evil (I know most of you interpret that to mean some sort of vile sin, but in the context of Paul’s life, paganism is included in his comment).

We, both Jews and Christians, would do well to look at our lives and judge it by the word of God.  Judge it to see just where different forms of worship, forms God does not want, have crept in.   God asked us to do this weekly as it is a continuous battle.

-Yosef

 

Moses and Pharaoh

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This week we read about the first time Moses goes before Pharaoh.  I have often wondered why God let it work out such that the first thing that happens is life becoming much more difficult for the Israelites.  Why didn’t God just start with the process of getting them out of Egypt?

Moses asks God this same question in Exodus chapter 5 verse 21 through chapter 6 verse 1.  God’s only answer is, “now you will see what I do.”  I’m still left wondering why God chose to do it this way.

Could it be because of our character as humans?  The Israelites had cried out to God about the burden of slavery, but the Bible doesn’t actually record what they wanted.  Did they want freedom and the promised inheritance, or did they only want the burdens to be less?

I put forward the possibility that the Israelites only wanted less work.  They didn’t want to leave Egypt as, other then the forced labor, things were good there.  They weren’t concerned about God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The increased suffering was necessary to get them to even be open to the idea of actually leaving the “comfort” of known surroundings.

Is it not the same with us many times (or always?) ?  We ask God to lessen our burdens and increase our portion in life, but we aren’t concerned with actually furthering His kingdom or accepting His promises.   Often it takes extreme discomfort or pain to kick us out of our comfort zone and force us to move in a direction that is ultimately much better.  And, according to Jewish tradition, this would be a direction that brings the coming of the Messiah closer!

-Yosef

 

Messiah Son of Joseph

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The story of Joseph is well known.  How is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery, and his subsequent rise to leadership in Egypt.  In Jewish tradition, there will be two messiahs.  The first is Messiah son of Joseph who prepares the way for the Messiah son of David.  The Son of Joseph dies in an act of self sacrifice for his people.

It is interesting to note the similarities between the one called “Jesus” and Joseph.  Jesus was Jewish, but was hated by many of his brethren, and his death was really a self sacrifice (read the accounts of his death; He had to give the high priest the grounds for the death pronouncement – see the book of Matthew chapter 26, verses 59 to 66).

Christianity then took him and so made him up to be as a gentile that he is no longer recognizable by his brethren.  To a Jew looking at Jesus, they see a gentile who has little or nothing to do with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Yet the time will come, hopefully soon, when this Jesus will reveal himself to his people.  May it be soon!

This story paints a big picture of our God.  His love extends to all people, and He reveals Himself to all who will look.

-Yosef

 

The U.N. and Hanukkah

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The U.N. passed a resolution recently condemning Israel and the settlements.  For the first time, the U.S.A. did not veto the resolution.  Here are a couple thoughts.

In the time of the Hanukkah story, there was a ‘peace for land’ deal.  (Read the history – fairly recent discoveries).  A king told the leader of the fledgling nation, “Give us land or there will be war.”  Land was given.  Did it work?  Of course not – that king shortly thereafter invaded.

Now the U.N. is saying, “give land or they can be no peace.”  Will it work?  What land is wanted?

It is said that Israel should go back to the 1967 boundaries.  Okay.  What happened in 1967 that the boundaries changed?  There was a war – the ‘6 day war.’  Israel’s neighbors, including countries such as Egypt and Syria, we planning on invading Israel, and were amassing troops and weapons.  Egypt even convinced the U.N. to pull out of the zone it was monitoring so that Egypt could invade.

So, the U.N. is saying to Israel, go back to the way things were where your neighbors were planning and executing invasions to wipe you out.  This is supposed to be reasonable?

-Yosef

 

Creation

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There are all sorts of stories, theories, and explanations about the creation story in the first couple chapters of the book of Genesis (Bereshet).   This post is not addressing any of those.  Rather, it is about the comment God makes about making man “in His image.”  Besides, even the context of the creation story reveals that we aren’t going to understand it when we think of it from our viewpoint.  Think about it.  The story starts off with the first few ‘days’ of creation before, but not until on the fourth day are the things that mark passage of day and night, from our viewpoint, first made.  That is just food for thought.

Comments and theories abound about what “made in His image” means.  Take a look at the comment from God in context.  God is creating.  Then He rests.  He made man with the ability to choose to do the same.  We can choose to work for 6 days, and rest on the seventh, in honor of the God who made all things.  Mankind is the only creation on earth that can do this.  We can set aside the seventh day and honor the creator.

Read the story.  Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 2 verse 2.  After that comes the story of Adam and Eve, but that is not for this post.

Shalom!

-Yosef

 

Christmas vs. Hanukkah

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The internet is full of reasons why the one holiday is better then the other and vice versa.  But there is one difference that most simply ignore, and that difference is the core of the issue.

Christmas is all about assimilation.  Taking in practices of many people so as to be acceptable to as many people as possible.  Morphing to be relevant.

Hanukkah is all about resisting assimilation.  Staying pure.

It is written in the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 30, “…do not ask about their gods, saying, ‘how did these nations serve their gods?  I want to do the same. You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.”  There are other verses stating the same principle: don’t assimilate.

So, which holiday pleases Yehova (or Yahweh), God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

– Yosef