Melanchthon’s Mistake
Commit your way to YHWH, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:5 (Hebrew text)
Bring It To Pass – Philipp Melanchthon was born Philipp Schwarzerd, but changed his name to the Greek Melanchthon in 1531. He was an exceptional scholar in astronomy, law and particularly Aristotle. He earned his baccalaureate degree at age 15 and his master’s degree at age 17. He was considered an expert in Greek grammar. Melanchthon became a close friend of Luther and for 42 years he worked alongside Luther in Wittenberg. Melanchthon contributed to Luther’s translation of the Greek New Testament into German. We owe Melanchthon the debt of converting the concept of external evidence found in Hebrews 11:1 into an internal inner confidence. That mistake altered the face of faith for the next 500 years.
Why is this history important for our examination of Psalm 37:5? Because Psalm 37:5 is an answer to the question, “How do I get my heart’s desire?” (see the previous verse). If this verse is simply a spiritual magic formula that obligates God to fulfill my desires, then God becomes the “cosmic butler” of my faith. My religion will be focused inwardly, on my heart and my wishes and my expectations. This, of course, is nearly blasphemy. God is not my servant. He is my Master. Therefore, His desires must become the focus of my heart. If it weren’t for mistranslations like those of Melanchthon, we would never have imagined that God would fulfill our desires. We would realize that it is God’s desires that replace my past self-centered preoccupation. What God will bring to pass is what He intends – and I am privileged to participate because He chooses to use me to accomplish His will. The focus of my faith is not inward; it is outward. It is about restoring righteousness in God’s creation and bringing back the harmony that once ruled the world. Faith is not about how I feel. It is about what God is doing. To have faith is to put myself at God’s disposal and let Him use me as He sees fit.
The translated phrase, “bring it to pass,” is the Hebrew verbal construction ya’ase. This is from the root verb ‘asah, “to do or make, to accomplish or complete.” It is about performing an activity with a distinct purpose in mind. Notice that in this verse it is God’s distinct purpose that is in view. God will make, He will accomplish, He will complete the desires He puts in my heart. How can I be utterly confident that this will occur? Because the desires are His, not mine. As long as I am aligned with what He intends to accomplish, I can be absolutely confident that I will be used by Him.
Is it possible to know the will of God? Of course it is. He has revealed it clearly. He has specified it in detail. There can be no doubt about how He intends us to live and what He wished to accomplish through us. The only question is how do we commit and trust. The rest is guaranteed.
Topical Index: bring it to pass, ‘asah, Melanchthon, Psalm 37:5, Hebrews 11:1
“I will do Torah and then I will understand.”
“Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.” “Faith is our right response to what G-d says.” And, of course, our right response is to obey. To do what G-d says. G-d says “do this”- what is our right response?- We do this. G-d says do that- what is our right response? do that. G-d says “turn left.” What is our right response? We turn left. I hope I’ve successfully made the point. Abraham didn’t just sit around “believing” G-d wanted him to go and sacrifice his only son.
If I met you on the street and you and I met and embraced on the street and I said to you-“Skip, I really do appreciate your ministry and the way I have grown exponentially in my Christian life from your detailed explanation of the words of our Abba. I have recently received a bonus in my paycheck and I would like to give you one hundred dollars toward your ministry.” Since I “believe” in what you do, it is followed by action. (Faith without works is dead- unproductive, useless to no one). I reach around next to my heart and produce my wallet. I open it, withdraw a hundred dollar bill and hand it to you.
You now have “faith” I am actually going to depart with said one hundred dollar bill. You hear my words, believe what I am saying and what is your “response?”- You extend your hand (action) to receive the gift.
What we have in this crude example is “faith”. We have exhibited here a benefactor. In this case, me. We also have one in need (could you use an extra hundred?). We have one who is offering (a giver) and we have one who is (first) believing and then (believing my words) -extends the hand to receive- (action) receiving. I am blessed in giving/ you are blessed in receiving. All is well.
Psalm 37.4 seems to be the root of the problem. “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” This verse (as all others)- is absolutely,positively true. It is true and trustworthy, completely reliable.
With apologies to translators all over the world, and stepping out ever so gingerly- may I say- “delight yourself in the LORD and He will become to you the desire of your heart?”
You are correct when you say “G-d is not our cosmic genie.” Who on this green planet came up with that idea? It wasn’t me my friend. Who ever came up with that, doesn’t have a clue who G-d is. Does “LORD of lords” and “KING of kings” resemble a “cosmic genie?” Haven’t we read and don’t we believe these words: “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead.” (Revelation 1.7).
If we erroneously think Elohim is our “cosmic genie”, my suggestion is that we today start practicing “falling down.” “Every knee shall bow” and that includes the two I wear. I will “bow the knee” to Elohim.
Are we getting too “friendly” with YHWH? “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Where has this fear gone? Sometimes “fear” can be a good thing, especially when it is toward the ONE who not only created us, but became one of us and then willingly became our sin substitute on the cross of Calvary.
Yes, “delight yourself in the LORD.” “Try it”, you’ll like it.
O worship the King, all glorious above, and gratefully sing His wonderful love. Our Shield, and Defender. The Ancient of Days. Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise. O tell of His might, O sing of His grace -whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
We sing today, a popular song- “I am a friend of G-d.” This is true. He calls me “friend.” While this is true, please listen closely.. I call Him “LORD.” He is my Abba, true enough. He invites me to “come into His presence.” But when I do, it is on my knees with my face to the ground. I do so, trembling before His holiness. Were it not for the covering and cleansing of the atoning blood of the Lamb, I would never attempt to “enter in” for YHWH is holy.
G-d is not my buddy. He is not my chum or my bud. No, no and no. Yes, brother Skip, the desires are His. Not my will-His.
Hallelujah!-because of the new birth we may now align our desires with His. He (Himself) is becoming to me- the desire of my heart. He is (according to His own words)- “the Desire of nations.’ (Haggai 2:7.) He gives unto all a new heart for a new start.
When we come to the place where we can say from the center core- “I delight to do Your will”, -that is the place of contentment, fulfillment, completeness and shalom. “It pleases me LORD, -to please You.” “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. Amen.
It’s interesting (sad? wrong? confused?), and I don’t know if it’s because I’m still in the middle of a struggle to understand all this, but I used to think of God as warm and comforting, as someone I could snuggle into when I was afraid and talk to when I am afraid. But, now He seems more cold and distant, more a king than a comforter, more a holy GOD than a relate-able, tell-me-what’s-wrong-I’m-listening Father.
Is He warm, kind, and loving, or is He cold, unapproachable in holiness, and loving me as a piece of a larger plan? Sometimes it seems that I don’t matter (I don’t mean that selfishly, but more that I’m a pawn in a larger game which matters much more than I do). And if the plan is bigger and better, if I don’t matter in the grand scheme of it all (being such a tiny player), why did God create me?
I miss feeling like God cares about me. I’m not saying that He ignores me or that He’s made a mistake. It just seems like the personal aspect of a relationship with God has been removed because the communal, over-everyone, unapproachable-because-I-am-not-worthy part is so much bigger. I feel that I’m constantly unacceptable and walking on eggshells because I want to obey Him but don’t know how.
I’m sorry, I feel rather confused and melancholy this morning. Perhaps I’m struggling with what I want vs. what He wants, and I need to remember what it’s like between me and my children – sometimes they don’t get what they want because I know something they don’t know and I have something better/safer/cooler for them up my sleeve.
“but I used to think of God as warm and comforting, as someone I could snuggle into when I was afraid and talk to when I am afraid.”
Hi Amanda,
I’m sorry you are feeling that way, maybe it is because we are trying to be so “objective” about analyzing the text.
And, in the process, the “subjective” aspect of God, the personal warm and comforting experience of our relationship, is being left out of the conversation.
That’s no good 🙂
There is a sense, usually absent from Christian thinking, in which God is truly apart from us. He is holy, unapproachable, the King of the universe. In fact, the only reason we have any “relationship” with Him at all is because He permits and creates it. So, there is need to recognize how marvelous and terrifying it is to stand before Him. On the other hand, God represents Himself as our Father, so the personal engagement with Him is also a result of His demonstration of concern for us. David marvels that the God who created the stars even thinks about us – BUT HE DOES! We are blessed with both sides of this divine equation. With the Christian myopia on relationship (comfort, pals, kindly grandfather), we have forgotten that He is awesome, holy, El Shaddai. Time to remember both.
Skip, Did you really mean to echo Amanda and put the word ‘unapproachable’ in your list of God’s attributes? He certainly is the awesome, set apart, King of the Universe… but He certainly isn’t unapproachable (as long as we observe the right protocol).
‘Unapproachable’ was what the pagan God’s were; it was they who wouldn’t ‘get themselves dirty’ by mixing with the created beings. Judaism doesn’t believe that God is unapproachable, but that it is we who will not return and draw near. As you have often said, it is Hellenised Scripture that present the wrong picture, making God seem stand-offish, e.g. Hosea Ch5 v4 (NASB) “Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, and they do not know the LORD.” Compare with the Tanakh: “They do not abandon their deeds to return to their God… “.
Ian & Tara, I’m not sure what Skip meant by that, but I know he probably can’t reply for a few more days as he is mostly-disconnected in Honduras until this Sunday.
Hi Ian and Tara,
Moses covers his face when he realizes that the burning bush is God.
For God’s majesty is such that no man can look upon it and live.
Odysseus on the other hand is like a “friend” of the goddess, Athena.
And with less formidable Greek goddeses, he has intimate affairs.
As there is no ‘reply’ link for the two posts below I’ll reply here.
Thanks for the information, Patrick.
Hi Michael
Sorry – I was just typing very quickly earlier as I was about to rush from one thing to another – and (you know how it is) you write something that you read later and wonder why you didn’t make the point clearer in the first place! In my passing reference to the pagan gods (and not, as I put in haste, “pagan God’s”), I should have said that Greek (neo-Platonic) philosophy has the all-powerful, entirely good, god sitting at the top of a hierarchy. Below “the god” are the “emanations”; these are less spiritual/more physical and less perfect. And so on. Eventually, we get to those who are further down the ladder – those who (because of their overall lack of spiritual substance/goodness) are not permitted to come into contact with the “holy one”. Now, I know that this is no more than a summary of the philosophy, but it was only a ‘passing comment’!
By the way, I assume you know that there is a difference between the historical and literary character of Odysseus, but that you simply responded to my quick comment.
As for Moses in Exodus Ch3 – the Jewish sages teach that, after Moses removed his sandals, that God called Moses to come closer to the bush… it was then that God introduced Himself. The sages teach that the LORD wanted Moses to look upon His face, and learn His ways – this is the revelation level of “see My face”. We cannot, they say, fully know the infinite character of God, but we allow Him to teach us His ways. However, it is believed that (at the burning bush) God was prepared to show Moses more – perhaps because of God being “aware of their (His people’s) sufferings”. But Moses turned away and hid his face – and forfeited the opportunity… forever.
The rabbis argue over two explanations for this. The first explanation – Moses felt he did not merit the privilege; that he was unprepared spiritually. Like many of us, Moses hesitated… he did not know, at that stage, if he could truly devote his life to serving God. As he hesitated, he hid his face. This school of sages say that Moses was punished – God said: “Now you don’t want? Don’t expect the opportunity to present itself again. When you want, I will not want…”
The other explanation is that Moses felt unworthy of this special attention, and he hid his face in humility and a sense of unworthiness. The rabbis of this school say he was, therefore, blameless. Moses felt that even if he had sacrificed his whole life to God he would still have been unworthy – this was how humble Moses was.
In the passage Moses was at the bush and was introduced to God – the Jews say Moses was called closer. In both explanations it is Moses who turns away from God.
You said: “For God’s majesty is such that no man can look upon it and live.”
The sages believe that God wanted to raise Moses’ level of understanding to the highest level – to a level higher than any human can experience by their own effort. The level of human effort is: “…you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus Ch33).
There are references to Moses and others meeting with God “face to face” in Hebrew this is (I’m told) “big face to small face”. The Ba’al Shem Tov says: “And HaShem spoke to Moshe face to face as a person speaks to his friend.’ This means that just like one person makes himself small before his friend, likewise his friend will make himself small before him. Their faces will become equal. Likewise Moshe, after he made himself small before HaShem, then HaShem as it were, made himself small and spoke to Moshe face to face.”
Sorry – this is rushed once more… but we hope it helps.
“I should have said that Greek (neo-Platonic) philosophy has the all-powerful, entirely good, god sitting at the top of a hierarchy.”
Hi Ian & Tara,
Thanks for the very interesting reply!
I need to go get a photo at Costco for my passport (40 hrs of work on the horizon), but let me quickly respond to a couple of points regarding neo-Platonic philosophy.
For me the world of Moses in the Bible is much closer in kind to the Odyssey than it is to neo-Platonic philosophy, which for me is more like the New Testament.
And after reading about Moses covering his face in fear of God, I agree there is nothing about “God’s majesty is such that no man can look upon it and live.”
But if Moses was afraid to look at God, then I would imagine most of us would probably die of fright at the sight of the Angel appearing in the shape of a flame.
And saying “come no nearer.” 🙂
Ian and Tara- thank you for your response and the historical perspective of Moses.
I have a lot to say this morning and my prayer is for my tangue not to get toungled.
I want to give a bit of my background as our culture does “flavor” our perspective.
Whether Catholic, Jew, Muslim, or Southern Baptist- our “upbringing” influences our outlook. (nothing new here- just sayin’- “it is so”.) “It is so” is also written in a single word- “amen!”
Yeshua said many times- “verily,verily” “truly,truly” “it is so”, “it is so”, amen!, amen!- and when Yeshua speaks- it is with the voice of G-d. Truly, truly, Yeshua (Jesus- to the Gentiles) is G-d the Son and He is the Son of G-d. He also referred to Himself as the “Son of man.” (His mother was mortal). Yeshua- fully G-d and fully man. Perfect Divinity. Perfect Humanity. The union of two houses- the human and the Divine.
An event took place at the crucifixion of (the) Christ. It was forever to alter history. This is one event I had overlooked until one day it jumped off the page in front of me. We need to go back and revisit this occurrence.
I need not tell a Jew about the history of the tabernacle or the temple. One was a temporary structure – the other permanent.
Exodus 26:31 states: “You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. This “veil” was part of the structure of the tabernacle separating the final, inner chamber (called the holy of holies) from the (holy place). Inside the this veil (supposedly over six inches thick) – the high priest entered once a year on the Day of Atonement. One special man and only on one special day. He had a job to do while inside. He also had a rope tied around one of his ankles just in case he “messed up”. Tiny bells were sewn into the hem of his robe. While ministering before the presence of YHWH these bells would assure whoever waited on the other side of the veil- “all was well.” Should things become dead quiet- the high priest could be assumed quite dead. Yes, G-d is holy. -How holy?- Very.
Now we fast-forward to Calvary. and Matthew 27.51: “At that moment the parokhet in the Temple was ripped in two from top to bottom; and there was an earthquake, with rocks splitting apart.” What is the significance of this event?
This is the separation of B.C. and A.D. This is the dividing line of history.
If we ever “lay hold” of the “the veil was torn in two from top to bottom”, we ourselves will be “torn in two from top to bottom.” Who tore the veil? 6″ thick, made from woven linen. Who tore the veil? Who did this and why?
Lay aside the futile study of the false gods and look a little closer at the one true G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “Behold” the Lamb. We don’t have to hide our faces- we have been given a heavenly invitation: “Behold!” -“Come and see the place where the LORD lay..”
Quoting Carl: “Psalm 37.4 seems to be the root of the problem. “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” This verse (as all others)- is absolutely,positively true. It is true and trustworthy, completely reliable.
With apologies to translators all over the world, and stepping out ever so gingerly- may I say- “delight yourself in the LORD and He will become to you the desire of your heart?”
I like that, Carl!! Some time ago, someone pointed out to me that “He will give you the desires of your heart”, does not mean that God will GIVE to you those desires, but the word “give” could mean that God CREATES the desires in our hearts. If He Creates the desires, then He is sure to Give those to us.
Proverbs 3:5-6
-Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
and He will direct your paths..(halakhah) the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. -a more literal translation might be “the path” or “the way of walking.”
According to His word(s) there are three things we must “do” to receive: “and He will direct our (halakhah) way of walking” or “paths”.
-But be you “doers of the word”, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (James 1.22)
Yes, “shema” O Israel.. -“hear and obey.” “Today- if you will hear His voice..”-(Hebrews 3.15)
“..(halakhah) the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.”
Hi Carl,
“Ah ha” that is a very good point; and I guess we could say that the Torah is not the Law, but rather the key to understanding the law and the basis for the addition by Rabbis of new laws.
According to Judaism 101:
The word “halakhah” is usually translated as “Jewish Law,” although a more literal (and more appropriate) translation might be “the path that one walks.”
If the focus of my faith is to be on Him, it IS inward, not outward. He is the vine and I am the branch, and without His own life doing it through me it has no eternal value because He said only the Spirit gives Life the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). If I am not looking inward to fellowship with Him first, then my outward actions are likely to be my own “good works” for Him and will end up in either self condemnation because I will keep finding that it is futile to measure them up to enough for Him, or I will find my self exasperated with my Christian life which is what He will allow to happen to force one to let go of all their “fleshly done goodness for God” that does not have the power to do what His own Life can do through them. The flesh has to die to see His Life come through. My focus of faith cannot start with the doing of Spiritual things and then somehow it becomes pleasing. Without faith it is impossible to please God and that is not faith in my doing, but faith in the only One who can accomplish His one Spiritual life, through me. I guess I better quit there before I get repetitive but I have personally been through the trying to please Him route, doing all the good things and good methods for God, and He loved my desire, but had to put to death my effort to follow all the good rules with my flesh. I can promise you a dead end if it is your performance that is trying to do the pleasing. There came a point where I stopped doing every “good Christian spiritual action” just so I could find what was really being initiated by Him through me and what was I just doing because I was taught the good formula on how to be a good follower. I went back to just fellowshipping with Him as my best friend which is where I had started after I met Him, and I found it allowed Him to begin bringing back to me His own desires to do His own instructions as I walked with Him, and reading His Word went back to being a joyful fellowship between us. My worship was from the heart like it was when I met Him and use to make up my own songs to Him and dance with Him in the woods in the sunshine. That kind of fellowship was His hearts desire and He can also accomplish the rest by His power through us. Well, this is longer then I expected but then, so was the route and He was patient to let me run to the end of me, so I could see the reality of His Life that can take over. He still has to show me what is of me that needs to get out of the way for Him, but now it doesn’t take 20 years.
Kay
“Therefore, His desires must become the focus of my heart.”
“If it weren’t for mistranslations like those of Melanchthon, we would never have imagined that God would fulfill our desires.”
Hi Skip,
Just to clarify what you are implying in the second statement above.
Let’s say I pray for the fires to stop burning all of the wheat crops in Russia.
Although I’m praying for others, aren’t I praying for my desires to be fulfilled?
And not praying for his desires to become the focus of my heart.
The fires would seem to be a sign of his will.
Like the Gulf oil disaster.
Determining what is the plan of God in the history of men is nearly impossible without a prophet to tell us what God is actually doing, and even then it is often obscure. His hand works secretly among us. We see it with temporal distance in hindsight, or when He breaks into our blindness and reveals Himself, but most of the time we can’t determine how the fires in Russia fit the grand design (notice I did not say “if” the fires in Russia fit the grand design). So, when it comes to “my desires,” of course there is room to pray for benevolence toward others, the removal of sin, and justice. But then those are His desires, so how did they get to be mine too? God put them in my heart. That is very different than the kind of desires I had before I turned myself over to him. In those past days, the fires in Russia might have meant little to me and I certainly would not have been praying for benevolence toward enemies, etc.
Skip, a wonderful lesson that our God is awesome and how He is the Master craftsman. If we could only grip this in our understanding of Who He IS! NOTHING can thwart the plan of God and this IS comfort food for those who belong to Him. (NOTE**NOT saying if you are uncomfortable at the present, you are not OK or not one of His)Irregardless of what the natural man considers to be normal or prosperous, our lives are hidden in Christ, we are the fruit/produce of His mighty light and the hand that covers our lives. The crook of His staff is able to bend lightly or harshly around our oftentimes stiff-necks that will not bow in submission or look up to the hills where our help comes from. I, for one, am thankful He dwells on the inside and convicts/makes me aware of sin and encourages me to press toward the mark of His high calling.
We must KNOW, by faith, that when His Word speaks of blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience, that this is in NO WAY legalism other than it is the law of the Kingdom. Legalism is following the letter of the law for the sake of the law and not for the glory of God. This is the true law of sowing and reaping in the land of the living…the Kingdom of His people. Obedience regardless of the “natural, worldly results is the power as His sons and daughters to live with joy and to persevere in the face of adversity. We persevere because that is what we are called and empowered to do.
The balancing act is to obey what God has determined to be right and true and not what is mere tradition or “feels” right. We are so quick to use the definition of insanity to invoke the need for change if we really have an agenda, but if our applecarts are upset too much to our liking, we will balk at the change and even try to make up excuses to NOT go through the pain of change. We will use whatever theology suits us to keep us from bending our stiff=necks to fit his yoke. WOW…He is truly everything we need…Gardener, Father, Husband, Friend, Potter, Shepherd, Provider, Creator, Love, Peace, Food, Gentle, Meek, Judge, Warrior, Jealous, Eternal…the list goes continues and grows the more we learn of him. Brothers and Sisters, let go and let God have His Way. Emphasis is on HIS WAY! Shalom
All I can say is that I’m so very thankful to be walking this path with all of you! Thanks for the insight, encouragement, and good reminders of all of God’s many facets. 🙂
We’ll post this as the latest post on the page as we can’t follow where the replies should be submitted!
Hi Carl – With the big build-up we thought you were going to let us know a bit of your story – then you didn’t! Yes, it is important to understand cultural differences. US Christian practice is very different to Christian practice in England, and (for all their similarities) our two countries are very different culturally. Ian worked in the US for 6 years and he says that the West Coast is culturally different from the East Coast – never mind the UK!
To the community – when we post our insights of what we are learning about Jewish culture we simply hope that you read them as information. We are not saying that anyone is right or wrong – we’re just saying, “Hey, look what we found out” in the hope that it fires you up to do some research for yourself. We feel that it is really important that we don’t just go along with things without knowing what and why we believe the things we do.
As to the story about the High Priest having a rope tied around his ankle/leg/waist, it seems that this would be against halacha and so is probably a misunderstanding. There were 12 tzaddikim appointed High Priest during the 410 years of the first Temple and, in the 420 years of the Second Temple period, there were 4 tzaddikim appointed High Priest and a few hundred others who were not considered so. I believe that only one of these died during his ministry on Yom Kippur – and he wasn’t wearing a rope or chain. Neither the Talmud nor the Midrashei Halacha mention a rope or chain in their detail of the High Priest’s ministry.
Now – as to the priest who died – little known fact: other priests (preferably Kohen, but Levites too) were allowed to enter the Temple’s Holy Places if there was a reason to do so – and one of those reasons was to remove any impurity. So there was no need for a rope. There are numerous accounts of priests entering the Holy Place because the High Priest had been gone so long they thought he had died – not because of sin, but of old age! And, as I said above, one did actually die. The other priests heard him fall to the ground and they went in and found him dead.
A number of commandments would be broken if the High Priest was wearing anything other than the commanded white linen garments (which didn’t have bells on them, by the way. The bells were sown to the outer garments). Halacha says that there must not even be so much as a bit of dust between the High Priest’s garment and his skin, so the rope didn’t go under his clothes. And a High Priest could not wear extra garments or anything of significance (I imagine that would include a rope or chain) otherwise his service was invalid and he should expect to die.
There is only one Hebrew work that mentions a rope or chain in connection with the High Priest and his Yom Kippur duties – it is a work that looks at the mystical elements of Judaism and, so, it is just possible that the sage who wrote those comments was talking symbolically of the need for the High Priest to not get so caught up in the spiritual that he forgot to that he was representing, and bringing prayer and sacrifices for, the Children of God on earth.
I’m glad you raised the subject of the ‘torn veil’, Carl. I wondered if anyone had read, or knows of, any contemporary, non-NT historical record of that event? When the veil was torn, it would have been necessary all celebrations – Passover and subsequent Sabbath and Feast of First Fruit – to be cancelled, and the Temple (the Holy Place at least) put ‘out of bounds’ until the repair was carried out. However, Jewish history does not record there ever being such an occasion, or any such damage. Does anyone know of any such historical record?
Got internet connection for a few minutes here in Honduras. Am reading all these, but writing will have to wait for better connection. Not ignoring any of you.
Amanda- my apologies for not replying sooner (the “busyness” of life!).
We are not ignorant of the devices of our Enemy and one of these “devices is to get us to think negatively about G-d. (..more cold and distant, more a king than a comforter, more a holy GOD than a relate-able, tell-me-what’s-wrong-I’m-listening Father.)
Amanda-everthing you have written, (warm and comforting, as someone I could snuggle into when I was afraid and talk to when I am afraid) is true. This is our “Abba”. He is the approachable, listening, compassionate, caring, loving Father.
He is holy and hates any form of sin (it is true) but He has made a way for us to be able to “enter in” to His presence through the cross of Yeshua.
The blood of Jesus Christ G-d’s Son (and G-d the Son) cleanses from all sin. (1 John 1.7) Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. (John 15.3). That word is “forgiven.” “Now” you are the children of G-d through faith in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3.26)
All for now- the clock is the enemy.. -with much love- Carl