Category: Applied Theology

Scattered Feathers

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn Applied Theology, Inspiration2 Comments

Imagine standing on a hill on a windy day with a fluffy feather pillow in your hands. As the wind continues to blow, you tear open the pillow and empty its feathery contents into the wind. As you stand and watch the feathers being scattered by the wind, imagine attempting to retrieving each of those feathers. As you focus to pick up just one or two, the wind continues to blow feathers a greater and wider distance from you. It would seem a hopeless task.

When teaching on gossip and it effects, we find in rabbinic writing the imagery of scattering the feather pillow is sometimes used. While it seemed only a small thing, it very quickly grew beyond control or repair.

Matthew 8:1-3, “After Yeshua/Jesus had come down from the hill, large crowds followed him. Then a man afflicted with leprosy came, kneeled down in front of him and said, ‘Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand, touched him and said, ‘I am willing! Be cleansed!’”

After Messiah Yeshua/Jesus speaks the Sermon on the Mount, He is approached by a man afflicted by leprosy. According to Jewish law a leper was not to touch, speak, or otherwise interact with a ritually clean individual (Lev. 13:45-46). On this occasion, as we note in several instances in the Gospels, a leper approached Yeshua to be healed. Why was this man so moved that he risked social scorn, ridicule, or even threats of violence to ask Messiah to heal him? And why did Jesus touch this man, rather than simply speak healing to him?

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Prov. 18:21).

The rabbinic sages have concluded that leprosy, detailed in Leviticus 13 and 14, was the result of the sin of gossip or slander: לשון הרע/lashon harah, evil speech or the bad tongue. The Torah directs the people of God to “love your neighbor as yourselves” (Lev. 19:18), and to treat others, including an enemy, favorably (Ex. 23:4-5). Gossip, while seeming but a small matter, can destroy lives and reputations.

Even after forgiveness is sought and received, the reputation of the individual affected will never be completely recovered. Biblically, the gossip, should he remain unrepentant, was physically afflicted and then separated from the community. As he was not careful to guard his words, he would sit, reflect and seek healing from the Lord. His words to the general public would be limited to two: טָמֵא טָמֵא, “Unclean! Unclean!” By such a declaration, people would know his sin: he had to stay away from them, and they would stay away from him. He ate the fruit of his evil speech (Prov. 18:21).

The apostle James writes, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (Jas. 1:26). Additionally, Messiah Jesus said, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk. 6:45).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua details how following Him will change the lives of His disciples. There is an inner transformation by faith that effects the outer reality of the disciple. The inner transformation by faith impacts the wider community by obedient-action to His command (Jn. 14:15).

The leper, by speaking to Messiah, was confessing his condition with faith that Jesus could make him whole again: “if you are willing,” not “if you can.” Messiah responds, “I am willing,” touching him and healing him.

As followers of Messiah we are called to humble servanthood. We are called to give people good news, not scandalize and ruin them. Messiah touched this leper to remind all of us that no matter how defiled we, or someone else may be, His touch cleanses and restores.

We may not be able to gather the scattered feathers of our sinful mistakes, but He will take the most painful of mistakes, with their far reaching implications, and make something beautiful of them.

Be well. Shalom.

The Daily Thank You

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

In Leviticus 7:11-18, read of the laws concerning the peace or fellowship offering. In the midst of regulations concerning dedication offerings, sin offerings, trespass offerings, grain and fat offerings, there is a sacrifice that recognizes peace.

The זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים/zevah shelamim, peace – fellowship – or well-being offering, were shared, not only with God and the priesthood, but also with the worshippers family and friends. It recognized a general condition of well-being: reconciliation, forgiveness, rescue, health, success, etc. Yet, there is something deeper here.

The law regarding the זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים/zevah shelamim, peace offering first addresses a subcategory of that offering: the תּוֹדָה/Todah, or thank-offering. This offering expresses gratitude, but also confession and praise. I am reminded of Psalm 100:4-5:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

The words of Psalm 100 convey the heart attitude of entering before the Lord, with a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Entering His gates with thanksgiving recognizes, not only His goodness, but an internal recognition, knowing our own inner reality, of our unworthiness to receive His kindness. We receive His kindness by grace, and in our thanksgiving offering we confess this fact. What joy, and ultimately peace this should establish in our hearts!

Still, the Torah is teaching us something of great value by the peace offering. The זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים/zevah shelamim, peace offering can be eaten on the first and second day after it has been presented (Lev. 7:16-17). On the third day, anything remaining of the offering must be consumed by fire (Lev. 7:17). Yet, the תּוֹדָה/Todah, or thank-offering is only consumed on the day it was offered (Lev. 7:15). Why?

Some rabbinic opinions suggest that consuming the peace offering multiple times, over multiple days will aid in cultivating an experience peace in our lives. In that enduring communion, we seek His peace in the midst of all our circumstances, as Paul wrote, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Ro. 12:18).

Yet, this sub-offering, in the category of peace offering, the תּוֹדָה/Todah, or thank-offering teaches us to recognize His daily miracles operating as faithfulness, kindness, grace and mercy in our lives: a daily communion! (Ps. 100).

In Vayikra Rabbah 9:7, a midrasnhic teaching on Leviticus, states that in the future all sacrifices will cease, except for the thanksgiving offering (cf. Jer. 33:10-11). From this we learn of our need to recognize the daily kindness, daily mercies, daily miracles and the overall goodness shown to us by the Living God.

Where do we find this in the Apostolic Scriptures? In Hebrews 13:15, “Through him (Yeshua/Jesus) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips giving thanks to his name.” Offering continually, daily, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, praise and confession of His goodness (cf. Ro. 12:1).

While cultivating His peace in all circumstances takes time, as we are all a work in progress, giving thanks to Him from a grateful heart, even in the midst of trail, and when experiencing the greatest of joys, should be the disposition of the renewed heart that has been filled by the Holy Spirit by saving faith in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. Salvation we could not earn and do not deserve but for His love and grace, while we were yet sinners (Ro. 5:8).

Where do we enter His gates? Where we are, as we acknowledge Him in all our ways (Pro. 3:5-6). Give Him thanks, praise, glory and honor, for He is worthy.

Be well. Shalom.

Building Pressure

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

The Book of Leviticus, with its explicit instructions on matters of ritual purity and holiness, is often a very difficult book for Christians to approach. Where do these ideas fit into a life of faith in Messiah? In every case, even the most rigid of instructions contained in it, point us to a diminishing of self, and an increase of the Lord’s presence in our lives. From the beginning of this book, hidden in the very first word in Hebrew, Vayikra, is the key to its understanding – the diminished alef.

וַיִּקְרָא אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי-יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַיהוָה–מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה מִן-הַבָּקָר וּמִן-הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ

“Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offerings of the livestock – of the herd and of the flock” (Lev. 1:1-2).

The Lord’s instruction in Leviticus begins with sacrifice, specifically the burnt offering. This offering represented the one bringing it, “when anyone brings an offering of you,” the text says. The offering was meant to be us, the animal was the innocent substitute (II Cor. 5:21).

The burnt offering was of the best of your herd or flock, unblemished. It was sacrificed before the Altar, skinned, its blood was applied to the Altar, it’s innards washed, all before it was set loose in holiness and offered by fire to the Lord. There is no human logic to this. It is, in fact, illogical. As you approached the Lord, what good did it do to kill the best of your flock or herd and gain no benefit from it?

The answer is found in the final letter of the Hebrew word וַיִּקְרָא, and he called. In the Torah scroll, the final letter of the word וַיִּקְרָא is written approximately half it’s size. It is dimished. When you approach the Lord as He calls, your strength, your position, your esteem, represented by the א/alef, must diminish. At the heart of sacrifice is the recognition of someone greater than yourself. The recognition that everything you have comes from the Lord. In this act of sacrifice, the worshipper drew near with the עֹלָה קָרְבָּנוֹ, the elevation offering, humbled, to the Lord in order to be lifted up. David, as he was preparing to buy the threshing floor of Aravnah, who wanted to give it to him, said, “No; I insist on buying it from you at a price. I refuse to offer to the Lord my God burnt/elevation offerings that cost me nothing” (II Sam. 24:24). In order to increase, first David had to decrease.

This is still true today, but the Lord does something amazing as we are pressed in His hand.

John the Baptist was the herald of the Messiah. His ministry was one of calling Israel to repentance in preparation for the work of Yeshua/Jesus; and he did this in the spirit of Elijah.

John was a priest of Israel by birth. As such he was guaranteed support and honor among the Jewish community. He is described as a bit of a “wild man” in Matthew, “And John had a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist. And his food was locusts and wild honey.”

Yet, John walks away from his birthright, and begins to announce something very different, something contrary to Altar sacrifice, repentance by water immersion. He made it clear that repentance was not simply in word, as he proclaimed, “If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it! And don’t suppose you can comfort yourselves by saying, ‘Abraham is our father!’” Repentance is the act of turning away from one direction to another. In the case of biblical repentance, it is turning from our way to Him.

John attracted so much attention that leaders from Jerusalem would come and ask him, “Are you Elijah?…Are you the Prophet?…Who are you?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” As he gained followers, and upset the religious elite, it would certainly seem that he had measurable ministry success. But then Yeshua arrived.

In John 3:30 we read, “It is right for Him to increase, but me to decrease.” John knew that his purpose was to make straight the way for the coming of the Lord, to announce a season of repentance, literally the changing of the mind, and at the end of his season, he was to decrease, as Yeshua increased.

When the Lord enters our lives, and we become more serious about our walk with him, we feel a pressing enter our lives as well. This pressure occurs for two reasons: 1) to remove ungodliness from our lives, and 2) to give us room to grow and mature in the Lord.

As a baby chick develops in the egg, it has no way of knowing that the pressure that it begins to feel is for its own good. The pressure is a sign that it is about to break-forth. As it begins to press on the shell, and its body takes up more space within, the Lord’s design takes shape, and it consumes the last of the yoke for strength. External blood vessels that had supplied it with life dry up, the egg softens, and it begins to struggle against the shell.

The struggle is preparing it not only to break-forth, but to stand after it does. The chick does not know that the pressure was preparation to stand in the world. Unfortunately, many well-meaning people have observed this struggle and believed the chick would die from it, only to break it out to find that it lacked the vigor it needed to stand, and unprepared for life, it died.

John’s pressure was to decrease as Messiah increased, and that decrease would lead to exaltation. The Scripture says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and in due time He will lift you up.” Dear reader, the pressure you are feeling today is the hand of the Lord tightening around you as He matures you; and the struggle is building you.

Godly pressure brings forth the greatest treasure, when we allow Him to work us through it; but we must be willing to stand before Him, offer the best we have, submit to His Word, and lay down upon the Altar in repentance: He must increase in us, and through the pressure, we shine brighter for Him (Ro. 12:1).

Be well. Shalom.