Reading Again
There is a time to act for God; set aside the Torah Psalm 119:126 (Heschel)
To act for God – You won’t get this translation in the English Bibles. Most English Bibles, and a lot of translations of the Jewish Tanakh, read something like, “It is time for the Lord to act, for they have broken Your law.” But Heschel’s translation is certainly legitimate. In fact, the Hebrew text is quite difficult with verbal constructions that appear as nouns and ambiguous case and tense problems. Robert Alter notes that the verse is understood in many different ways. Heschel’s point drives home the lesson that Torah study is not the goal of faith. God is the goal of faith, and at times, it is necessary to set aside the Torah in order to draw closer to the Author. “It is easier to study than to pray. It is harder to become a God fearing person than a scholar.”[1]
Oh, how we know this to be true! Hundreds of books on the shelf. Thousands of pages on hundreds of words. Commentary after commentary. Where does that leave us? Right where we started, still unable to pray for an hour without constant mental dispersion. How much closer are we to the Father for all the study we have done? How much more do we have joy as a constant companion? Or are we not simply more educated, more conversant with Scripture, more arrogant in our understanding?
There are times when Torah needs to be set aside. There are times when work for God is all that keeps us attached to Him. The rituals are empty without His presence. The rites are a sham without the Spirit. And yet we continue to do them, knowing full well that we have side-stepped the real lover of our souls. When was the last time you were bathed in the holiness of God? Was it that long ago? Has life become such a burden of routines that even He is pushed to the edges?
We could go on today, talking about the grammar of this most difficult Hebrew verse. We could search the etymologies and the pictographs. We could wax eloquently on its implications and connections. We could – but why would we when we know what the real issue is? “Where are you?” the Lord asks Adam. He asks us the same question. Where are we when we should be right next to Him?
There is a time to act for God. It is now.
Topical Index: time, et, Torah, prayer, scholar, Psalm 119:126
[1] Abraham Heschel, A Passion for the Truth, p. 56.
Perfect. I am going outside now to see the sun rise.
Gayle, I would love to go out to see the sun rise but it is cloudy and raining in Port Orford, Oregon. I guess I will go out into the rain and let it wash over me. I use to enjoy doing that as a child. Maybe I can recover some of that this morning.
Hi Skip
I do agree that rituals are empty without His presence.
But unfortunately I cannot fully agree with you on ” There are times when Torah needs to be set aside”. May be I can set aside the study or the rituals of Torah for a while.
Personally, I have been ” acting for God, with God” for way too long, without His Torah.
When YHWH calls out to me I want Him to find me, there, where my husband should also be looking for me, in Torah, in God, in the center of the camp. Hitting the mark( well, trying)! Even all my “asides” should be hidden in Torah. And that includes every second in all my daily, and the not so daily activities.( very hard to get it all connected to Torah, if I am not first into God)
From the Torah portion this week: ” When Adonai heard it, His anger flared up , so that fire from Adonai broke out against them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.” Numbers 11: 1
I do not want to be on the outskirts of the camp, trying to decide should I or not, try to make it to the center. With YHWH, I start running to the center first! On our journey to the center I will find YHWH, His Spirit, big baths(Mikvahs) full of Holiness, joy and sometimes a piece of the wilderness when running from tent(Torah) to tent.
If Torah is how I get to know YHWH, the lover of my soul, then the Ruach HaQodesh should also be part of all the ” works or rituals ” of Torah. I just need to look for/call on YHWH and His showering holiness first and then make the connection to the rituals and there will be no need to put Torah aside?
Luzette, I can only echo what you have said :
”acting for God, with God” for way too long, without His Torah.’ Eight or so years ago when I began to walk in Torah observance my whole life changed and I realised that half of me had been missing!
However Skip I see what you are conveying – we need to be careful we are not just studying and not doing. I concur with you when you say:
‘The rituals are empty without His presence. The rites are a sham without the Spirit. And yet we continue to do them, knowing full well that we have side-stepped the real lover of our souls. When was the last time you were bathed in the holiness of God?
This last Shabbat I was asked to tell about 9 people from a local village church why I believe it necessary to be Torah observant…..I was so unsure as to what I would say, I was nervous as I did not want to talk about rituals, sound legalistic etc…… as I quitely sat in my car praying for direction before entering the house YHWH said ‘ just tell them what happend to you’. He bathed me in his Spirit and I could not tell you what I said as I relayed my story but the reponse was questions about where in Scripture it talks about Shabbat, Diet, Festivals….what is Torah? Why torah?
As Luzette said ‘If Torah is how I get to know YHWH, the lover of my soul, then the Ruach HaQodesh should also be part of all the ” works or rituals ” of Torah. I just need to look for/call on YHWH and His showering holiness first and then make the connection to the rituals and there will be no need to put Torah aside?
Christine
Amen to this word! And how refreshing
You canl know the ‘living WORD’ by reading the Word (torah) but you can
also know Him in a real tangible way by His presence with you every day
no matter what the circumstance. He’s REAL
I too want to learn,and it’s important, but sometimes all this putting the
word under a microscope makes my brain and heart hurt.
I LOVE G-d’s word in the written sense and it the Living sense, Yeshua
I love Him with all my heart, mind and spirit. There is nothing like being in
Love with Yeshua and it’s so simple and what He desires.
I understand what you are saying in Today’s Word Skip !
Let’s just love Yeshua for a day, simply Love Jeshua and put the focus on Him
and His redeeming love for us ! How wonderful ! Wonderful Yeshua
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1.35)
If Yeshua is G-d, (and He is!) then why did He pray? Did He need to pray? Was it because He lived His short sojourn here as a man? So often we hear Yeshua say “Father.” He also instructed the talmudim to say and to pray “Our Father.” In Jewish thought we often hear of mighty Creator but how often do we hear “our Father?” This was an entirely new idea or concept that G-d could be considered or be called “our Father.” (a relational word!)
How amazing it is (have we lost the sense of wonder?) to call G-d, yes El Gibbor, (the mighty G-d), host of heaven’s armies, Creator of the known and unknown universe, “Father.”
A very timely word, especially with a Father’s Day celebration soon to be happening. How I love my children and my wife, but nothing compared to the love my ABBA has for me. I have yet to discover the depths of this love and believe will all of my known heart- it will take eternity for me to begin to know. All I have here below on this side of the Door is but a glimpse of glory. Even in my wild, fertile, imaginative, creative, emotional heart, I cannot begin to fathom the things G-d has in store for them that love Him.
As a Father, how I enjoy spending quality time with my family. How I love hearing from my children and watching them as they share with me the events of the day and their plans and dreams for the future. If, at all I can meet their needs I want to do so (and more.) Oh friends, -“how deep the Father’s love for us!”
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
I am His.
Amen brother Carl. Amen. So simple for the chosen who are simple and so profound for those who aren’t. All things to all men that He may win a few. Halleluia! JESUS is LORD!
Skip,
I loved this word. Reading the Word for today, we consider the source. You have given your life to studying and knowing the truth, so when you say set Torah aside we know you mean for the moment not the life style. So many times when people really delve into the Torah and gain knowledge they do seem arrogant, and yet it is God’s message. We need to know Torah, but we need to share Torah making sure the Holy Spirit is with us, the test is in the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, faith, meekness, and self-control. Often when people share you feel judgement coming from them. It amazes me that I find that when someone is arrogant, critical or judgemental, I don’t want to do the things they are sharing, even if I already do them. So you wonder why others don’t listen or follow that person. Who wants to? So sad, because it is not all about them, it is all about God, and people aren’t being brought into the truth because the one with the answers gets in the way.
It makes you feel they are doing what they are doing out of obligation, and not out of Love. When you are in love with the Lord and His holiness you want to share it out of Joy. Like a young girl in love. So many of us have lost that first love where we share the things of the Lord with the wonder of who He is.
When you share with that heart, people listen because they are drawn to your “testimony”. And that is one way we overcome the enemy. The “Word of our Testimony”.