Month: September 2023

Give ear, and I will speak!

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַאֲדַבֵּרָה; וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ, אִמְרֵי-פִי

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak! Let the earth hear the words of My mouth” (Deut. 32:1).

The ministry of Moses beings with a song after the crossing of the Red Sea, as recorded in Exodus 15; a song that praised the works of the Lord, and the victory that the children of Israel received by His hand. Now, Moses stands just outside the Promised Land singing a song of remembrance of Israel’s past and hope in her future.

Both songs of Moses are hopeful, expectant, and anticipatory of the life beyond the wilderness, the life that lay ahead in promise. This feeling of hope and anticipation as we wait patiently in the promise is certainly relatable. Moses reminds Israel of her past in order to prepare her and set her heart for the future. Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks writes, “To mend the past, first you have to secure the future.

As disciples of Messiah, must commit ourselves to what the Lord has ordained for us, even that which has yet to be revealed; while we learn from our past to understand how to navigate the times we are in. We must learn from history, and be careful not to repeat it.

Moses explains, “Set your heart on all the words with which I warn you today…” (Deut. 32:46). There is an interesting connection between “set your heart” and the chapter number of this portion, Deuteronomy 32, in Hebrew 32 is לב, which also spells “heart.” The Lord, we find, is speaking to our hearts through the words of Moses on what is perhaps his last day of life.

Life, as many of us experience it, is filled with twists and turns – the expected, the unexpected and at times, the unimaginable. We do not always arrive at the place we had planned in our youth, at times this is for the better, and sometimes it is not.

If we dwell too much on these issues, we can become paralyzed with sorrow, grief and anguish – looking to blame those who have put us in our predicament. After all, have we not been put upon in this life? Are we not just the product of the environment that we have found ourselves in? I say no, Heaven forbid!

The apostle Paul writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:28). All of us have been influenced by sin, which has had a direct impact on our actions, words and deeds.

However, something marvelous happens when we acknowledge this and turn from it, as John writes, “If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

This is the process of repentance. The Lord says through Zechariah, “Turn back to Me,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I shall turn back to you” (Zech. 1:3).

Repentance, תשובה/teshuvah, brings with it the promise of new life, and it is a life of new and endless possibilities, as Paul writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Ro. 8:28-29). Only in Messiah is this possible, and Moses is singing this song to us.

Be well. Shalom.

Return (שוב)

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, InspirationLeave a comment

In Amos 5:4, the Lord says, “Seek Me, and live.” Yet, the message of Amos 4:6-11 is, “you have not returned to Me.” The month of Elul begins a time of reflection; and now as we approach Rosh Hashanah, we enter a time of return in order to gather in unity (Ps. 133:1) before the Lord.

Rosh Hashanah begins the fall festival season, as the “head of the year.” This is a feast entirely dedicated to fulfilling one mitzvah/commandment: hearing the sound of the Shofar. It prepares us to listen for a greater trumpet.

The trumpet (shofar) plays an important role in the lives of God’s people, as it calls us to assembly, to movement, to war and to attention. It is also a sound of victory and joy. It is used by men and angels. It is, at its heart, a primal sound.

Yom Teruah, now known as Rosh Hashanah, is called “The Day of the Broken Sound.” Teruah comes from the root, רוּעָ , which means “to mar” or “to break down” or “brokenness.” The shofar is a sound of victory, of gathering in joy; but at its very root it is a broken sound, the cry of a wounded or lost lamb. The ram’s horn from which the Shofar is made is called the glory, or beauty of the ram. It is their crown; yet, with this broken crown we cry out with a sigh, a deep moan and a primal yell from the very depths of our souls unto the Lord: a cry for change and renewal by seeking Him.

Messiah will return in the fullness of the shofars meaning: attention, gathering, movement, joy and victory. The season of Rosh Hashanah draws our attention to brokenness, the result of sin, and opens our heart to the work of the Holy Spirit in anticipation of the day of His return.

This brings us to Amos. According to Amos 3:6, the people of Israel trembled when they heard the sound of the Shofar, because of its power and corrective reminder. But even in trembling, “you have not returned to Me.” The word translated “returned” in this verse is from the Hebrew שוב, meaning repent, return, or turn back. The oracles, or prophecies of Amos were spoken in years of peace, splendor, and prosperity. In peace, however, the people of God pursued their own good pleasure, and false gods. They continued in their injustice, with a lack of concern for their neighbor, and continued to offer sacrifices that were unacceptable before the Lord, at feasts He abhorred.

Calamity would come upon these people (Amos 1:1), but would they harken to the sound of the shofar? The sound of the shofar, the ram’s horn, when the heart is open to the voice and presence of God, makes one turn away from to – the definition of repentance.

Amos (עמוס), meaning burdensome or to impose a load, was called by God, but he says, “I am no prophet, nor am I a son of a prophet. Rather, I am a shepherd tending fig trees. But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me: ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel’” (Amos 7:14-15). The Lord imposed a burden on Amos, to call the people of Israel to repentance, to hear the sound of the Shofar, to recognize by the vision of the plumb line that their righteousness was not measuring up (7:8), as it was apart from faith-ing to the Lord. Without repentance, judgment was coming.

He would lay waste in order to restore.

Still, with such messages, there is the thread of hope, as Amos writes, “In that day I will raise up David’s fallen sukkah (tabernacle), I will restore its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old – so they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations called by My Name” (9:11-12). This is pointing us in a direction: Israel’s Hope – Messiah. The restoration of the house, or dynasty of David begun with the birth of Yeshua/Jesus.

In John’s Gospel, the birth statement in chapter 1 reads, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14). John’s language describes Jesus as “tenting” among us, translated differently, “And the Word became flesh, and fixed his tent among us.” The restoration, Israel’s Hope, began with the “tenting” of Yeshua in the flesh, and it ends, with those having been blood washed, atoned for by His cross (Yom Kippur), gathering together at the feast of Tabernacles in Revelation 7:9:

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all the nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”

And in Him, we now lay hold of God’s promises, which are caught up in the Messiah, Israel’s Hope, and we depend on His “yes,” and “amen,” as we continue faithing to Him until He returns at the sound of the Ram’s Horn, or He calls us home. Glory to God.

Be well. Shalom.