A Celebration With G-d

A friend, who is Jewish, once said that the typical Jewish philosophy of life could be summed up this way; “our enemies tried to kill us, G-d saved us, lets eat.” and it is true.

Consider the book of Esther; the feast of Purim came from a mighty deliverance of the Jewish people from their enemies because of the faithfulness to G-d of the queen and her uncle. Today it's celebrated with costumes, lots of adult beverage, games and food.

G-d Himself even ordered the people that when they are celebrating on their feast days that they are to do it with much rejoicing.

Deut.12:7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. See also verses 12 and 18 along with chapters 16:11, 26:11 and my personal favorite 14:26 which says; “Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.”

In the world I grew up in wine and fermented drink were taboo and the idea of “celebrating” or even showing much emotion in a service was frowned upon, so Imagine my first time gathering with a Jewish congregation in Rhode Island and having Vodka and lemonade( after the service) with the Rabbi. It was quite an experience, that's where I started to learn about “rejoicing” and celebrating G-d.

G-d is into celebrations.

Continuing with the theme of the “in those days” and the time of the messiah there is a celebration coming that all of us will participate in and I can guarantee that all will be rejoicing as well.

Isaiah 25:6-9 NIV

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

This is a celebration of all celebrations, this is telling us that G-d is going to remove the “shroud” from all of us. What is this “shroud”? It is the end of death! All of man kind, since the beginning of time has been cursed with death, but at this feast G-d will destroy death for all time! It gets better though he will even bring back those that have died and remove death from them as well.

Hosea 13:14 JPS

“From Sheol itself I will save them, Redeem them from very Death, Where, O Death, are your plagues?Your pestilence where O Sheol....

Those that have died before us will be returned to life and all death will be removed forever! The curse of death will be gone, all of the children of G-d will have their disgrace removed and all of us will rejoice in the salvation ,from death, by G-d!

G-d likes a celebration!

Shalom.

Israel : The Center Of The World

Israel: The center of the world.

It has been said that if space aliens were to come and visit this world and go to the UN they would discover that Israel, one of the smallest nations in the world, was the center of this world, and the source of all it's problems.

The UN ,on any given day, is condemning Israel for something, usually for defending itself from it's multitude of enemies and terrorists. The fact that no other nation would sit still for continuous attacks is irrelevant and ,in fact, since the rebirth of the nation of Israel 70 years ago, they have been attacked time and again by the surrounding nations who have vowed that they would wipe Israel and the Jews off the map.

There are any number of passages that have the prophets, through the words of G-d, declaring that the nations would abhor and be disgusted by the Jewish people because they were being punished for straying after other gods, yet He also says that “in those days” he will restore Israel, both Judah and Israel, to their former glory and that they would be respected around the world. It doesn't seem possible because we can't even seem to have peace in the middle east. But what if told you that there are passages that show a very different world in the time of the messiah and the establishment of G-ds kingdom?

Isaiah 19:19-25

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a savior and a mighty one, and He will deliver them. Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.

In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

The first part of this passage speaks of the time of the messiah “in that day” and how the Egyptians will be saved from a great “oppressor” by G-d and that they will in turn worship the G-d of Israel just as the people of Israel do and the land of Egypt will be healed. Imagine Egypt restored to what it once was.

It is interesting to note that Egypt was the first country to make peace with Israel back in the late 70's, this despite much Arab and Islamic ugliness.

It's the second half of this passage though that really gives me some hope for the future.

It is saying that there will be a road going from Egypt through Israel and into Assyria “ in that day.”

Now some of you might be thinking that it's impossible because the Assyrian empire doesn't exist any more, and you'd be right, however it's not about the name of the nation, it's about the territory involved. That would include Jordan, Syria,Iran, Iraq,Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc. In other words there will be peace in that neck of the woods once the time of the messiah has come. In some ways it's starting to happen,as some of the Arab nations have started to realize that Israel is not their enemy, so it is entirely possible for this to become a reality in our time.

I know for myself, I want to see that day. The thought of “peace in the middle east” no more war and a universal knowledge of G-d in the world has a great deal of appeal to this old warrior, I hope it is true for you as well.

Shalom

All Israel Will Return

Today we will go with another passage that many are familiar with but , perhaps, haven't read and understood in context. Isaiah 11:10-13

Lets start with Isaiah 11:10

In that day the stock of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

In most Christian versions the word that is used in place of “stock”, which is what the Jewish scriptures have, is “root” capitalized, again trying to suggest that it has some bearing on deity and specifically on Jesus. The word is actually “stock” and would suggest the a fore mentioned twig in verse 1 “But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse a twig shall sprout from his stock.”

Using the word root is suggesting that it is the one holding the stump, or is the base of the stump, while the verse above says that the messiah shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, a twig, as I have mentioned before. Also the words “will stand” actually translates to “that has remained standing” giving you the phrase; “In that day the stock of Jesse, that has remained standing” giving it a bit of a different meaning then the Christian translations.

Next it says that he will become a “standard for all people, nations ( the word is goyim, which is all of us of non Jewish people) will seek his counsel and his abode ( resting place or home) shall be honored.

Verse 11

In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[ from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

The Jewish scriptures say, instead of the “islands of the Mediterranean” “the coast lands.” I bring this up because the point of the verse is that the G-d will bring the people of Israel back to the land of Israel and with the words “ the coast lands” would indicate world wide rather then just local, and even as we speak, Israel is celebrating 70 years and Jews have literally returned there from all over the world. However there are still many more to come, and, as we shall see, the lost tribes will return as well.

Vs 12

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

This verse is overlooked by many people because they assume it's only speaking of the Jewish people. It's not, it's speaking of all the children of Israel. Who are “the nations?” the goyim. As I explained earlier, goyim is speaking of anyone of non Jewish heritage. Who are the exiles of Israel? Not just the Jewish people, of whom G-d is gathering even as you read this, but those that were once a part of the lost tribes, people who's ancestry goes back to them. Whats truly amazing is that this may actually refer to you and me. When the tribes of Israel were taken away, over time they forgot, for the most part, their heritage and ancestry and moved up into various parts of Europe, and it has been suggested by many Jewish,as well as secular scholars, that the evidence is to be found in both the Hebrew scriptures as well as historical records, that if your ancestry is from Western Europe, all of the British Isles, or Latin America, that would include the USA, you may have ancestry form those lost tribes. This verse is speaking of us. For more information please check out this page http://www.britam.

How do I know this? That this is speaking of the lost tribes? Besides the link above, the next verse gives it away. Vs 13

Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.

Many times in the Hebrew scriptures, when referring to the tribes of Israel, other then Judah, the bible calls them Ephraim or Manasseh. Here we have the ending of this section which says that there will be no more jealousy between Ephraim and Judah and in later prophesies it says that the two shall become one kingdom once again and will be blessed beyond what they were in the old days, but that ,of course, is a topic for another day!

Bottom line is this; none of these things have happened as of yet, with the exception of the modern day return of the Jewish people to Israel but because it is happening, I have full faith and hope that the return of all Israel will be full filled too, hopefully in our lifetimes.

Shalom.

Lion And The Lamb

Back in the dark ages, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and I still had a FB account, there were several videos posted that showed people and animals interacting together in very unusual ways. There was one of a man who raised lions and other large cats and he was so comfortable with them and them with him, that he could literally lay down with them and sleep or even play with them and they treated him like one of their own pride. It was such a beautiful thing to see.

I have also seen various videos where animals,that should be chasing each other, were playing together, such as birds and cats, or dogs and deer, totally oblivious to the idea that they are supposed to be mortal enemies.

Imagine a time when this becomes the norm rather then the exception. Animals that should be afraid of each other interacting together. People intimately involved with creatures that normally would kill them.

Continuing with Isaiah 11,and the themes of the messiah, verse 6-9 give us a picture of G-d's Kingdom, that we have only seen a glimpse of through these video posts.

Isaiah 11:6-9

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

One of my favorite cartoons when I was younger was the story of a wolf and a sheep dog. They would both be seen carrying a lunch bag and would greet each other at the clock, punch in to work, and then have at it. The wolf always trying to steal and eat the sheep and the sheep dog spent his time coming up with ways to stop him. At the end of the day they would punch out say goodnight to each other and head home.

In the verse's above we are told that in the time of the messiah the wolf will live with the lamb. Not kill and eat, not punch into the clock and get chased by a sheep dog, no, they will live together as will the leopard and the goat. The cow and bear will eat the same food ,a child will lead them and will be able to play next to a den of Cobras and not be harmed. This is clearly not the world we live in today, yes there are some notable exceptions, but this will become the norm in the days of the messiah and the kingdom of G-d.

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

No harm and no destruction on His holy mountain, why? Because the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d. Not just in some intellectual way but in a truly personal manner; “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34-35

Again, universal peace and universal knowledge of G-d, in the time of the messiah. The wolf will lay down with the lamb and we shall all know G-d. Amen.

Shalom.