Parashat Matot-Massei and the Melchizadek Scroll (11Q13)

Last week in the annual cycle of Torah study, we read a double portion and it is also the final portion in sefer B’midbar – the book of Numbers. The opening line of the first portion (Numbers 30:1-2) is addressed only to the heads of the tribes as opposed to the entire community. The opening statement enforces the importance of keeping one’s vows or oaths, i.e., keeping one’s word – having our actions and our words line up with one another. It is another example of God’s desire for His people to reflect His image. He cannot break His word or fail to keep His promises and therefore if we would live our lives consistently with His principals and character, we should try never to break our word either. After this we find a number of statements regarding the authority of a husband over the wife and a father over his unmarried daughter (Numbers 30:3-16) regarding the making of vows. This has often been interpreted to be demeaning to women, in that it allows men to exercise undue control over their wives and children, but actually, the truth is that women, in this case are allowed more freedom then men, in that if they make a hasty and unwise promise or commitment, they need not be bound to it, if after the husband or father learns about it, he feels it is an unwise commitment for them to make. It protects them rather than unfairly restricting them. Furthermore, as I will attempt to demonstrate in this article, this statute may be prophetic in nature by alluding to the protections afforded to the Church - the Bride of Messiah as a result of the authority of the bridegroom, Yeshua the Messiah, to nullify vows or commitments we may have unwisely made. 

In the Same portion we later find that the Torah commands the establishment of cities of refuge where a murderer is allowed sanctuary from the punishment of execution by a kinsman of the slain. The text in Numbers 35 describes the number of cities that are designated cities of refuge, and the process by which someone guilty of unintentional murder, can take refuge. Under ancient tribal law says a person would be subject to execution by a close kinsman of the murdered person. The Torah is careful to differentiate one guilty of intentional murder because that person cannot avail themselves of protection from capital punishment. There is a strange clause given, whereby the guilty party would be unable to leave the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. There is no other commandment in the Torah like this. The closest thing would be the commandment regarding the Jubilee year when people who have sold themselves as bond servants to pay their debts are freed and allowed to return to their families and their home in the year of Jubilee which comes around once every 50 years. The similarity here is that in either case there is a potential for unfairness in the application of these Commandments. A person trapped in the city of refuge for 20 years and another person who had committed unintentional murder only days before, would both would go free on the same day, triggered by the death of the High Priest. The person who had sold themselves into slavery 40 years before the Jubilee year, would go free the same year as someone who sold themselves into slavery only a year before. This hardly seems fair. 

According to Bible scholar Dr. Ken Johnson, this unfairness points to a prophetic meaning connected with Messiah. In a recent presentation on one of the the Dead Sea Scrolls known as 11Q Melchizadek (11Q13), Dr. Johnson reviews the text of the scroll and how it identifies Messiah to the enigmatic character from Genesis 14:18, Melchizadek and connects the commandment referred to regarding the Jubilee, when everyone would go free (Leviticus 25) with the commandment for the release of debts on the Schmittah (Deuteronomy 15:2) with the prophesied coming of Messiah (Isaiah 61:1). We know from the gospel account (Luke 4:18) that Yeshua read this text in the Synagogue in Nazereth to declare that He himself was the Messiah and said after the reading, “today in your hearing these words are fulfilled.” I.e., the prophecies regarding the coming of Messiah were fulfilled in Him. Here is a portion of the text from the Melchizadek scroll which is dated to approximately 200 B.C.:

“Moses said, ‘In that year of Jubilee, each of you will be free to return home [Lev 25:13]’ and he described how, saying,” now this is the manner of the release: Let every creditor remit when he has lent his neighbor. He shall not press his neighbor or his brother for repayment, for the LORD’s release has been proclaimed [Deu 15:2}. Its interpretation pertains to the end of days. The captives Moses speaks of are those whom Isaiah says, ’To proclaim freedom to the captives [Isa 61:1]. Its interpretation is that the Lord will assign those freed to the sons of Heaven and the lot of Melchizadek. Even those whose teachers had deliberately hidden and kept secret from the truth about their inheritance through Melchizadek. The lord will cast their lot amid the portions of Melchizadek, who will make them return [repent] and will proclaim freedom to them, to free them from the debt of all their iniquities. This event will take place in the first week of the jubilee that occurs after the ninth Jubilee [AD32].” 

The Essenes employed a unique calendar system different from the Lunar calendar employed by the Pharisees and Sadducees of the time, but it is quite clear that according to their calendar, the date of the fulfillment of the prophecy relating to messiah was AD32, i.e., the approximate year of Yeshua's death on the cross. Keep in mind that this document is dated to approx. 200 B.C. The identification of Messiah as Melchizadek is clear and consistent with the New Testament writings. Five times in the New Testament, Jesus is called, directly or indirectly, “a priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:11, 17). The text in Hebrews 5:5-10 presents two examples of the designation of Jesus as High Priest:

“So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:5-10 ESV).

But I want to return to the earlier suggestion that when we see statutes or commandments in the Torah that seem to be unfair, it should be considered prophetic in nature and it is almost certainly a pointer to Messiah. We started by examining the seemingly unfair and possibly Sexist commandment regarding the nullification of vows made by a daughter by her father or of a wife by her husband. How is this commandment potentially unfair? A widowed woman, divorcee or an unmarried woman not living in her fathers house would not enjoy this protection and therefore the unfairness. As we have just learned it is this very potential for unfairness that reveals the prophetic nature of this statute and that points to the Messiah our Bridegroom who protects us from unwise vows and commitments. Whatever sway the powers of this world may hope to hold over us because of ANY unwise agreements we may have made, our redeemer has already delivered us from this debt and obligation.

More on Melchizadek

But more recently discovered in the trove of over 950 documents is the Melchizadek Scroll. Analysis of the text of this scroll is illuminating to say the least. It clearly points to the true understanding of the Essene Community as it relates to the coming of Messiah. In fact as we gain more and more understanding of the beliefs of the Essenes we see that, of all of the Jewish sects that existed 2,000 years ago and during the inter-testamental period. The beliefs of the Essenes line up most perfectly with Christian understanding of scripture as documented by the writers of the New Testament. In fact one could almost say the the New Testament authors were reading from the same scrolls and interpreting them in the same manner in many respects as the Essenes. E.g., they taught that the Messiah was God Incarnate, that He comes to die for our sins, and that He redeems us through His sacrificial death. Because the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm beyond any doubt the Jewish presence in the land of Israel during this time period, that the biblical text we have today is consistent with the ancient texts written over 2,000 years ago, modern day Jews are beginning to examine these writings and as a result , many are coming to faith in Messiah - becoming Messianic Believers.

Of all the unusual individuals that show up in Scripture, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, is one of the most fascinating. Throughout the Old and New Testament, Melchizedek is only mentioned in three books: Genesis, Psalms, and Hebrews, with Genesis being the only book where he appears in person. Very little information is given in Scripture about Melchizedek, however, among the discoveries made at the Qumran caves, the Melchizedek Dead Sea Scroll, dating back to the 1st Century BC, gives more information about the importance of Melchizedek the priest.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:

Genesis 14:18-20 “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth;

And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all.   

The spiritual authority of Melchizedek and the way in which the author of Genesis brings the readers attention to the absence of any genealogy relating to Melchizedek, indicates the uniqueness of Melchizedek as a figure of Scripture. Melchizedek has no genealogy, he is a priest of God during a time when there were very few godly men, and the author of Hebrews draws comparisons between Melchizedek and Yeshua (Jesus), saying that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham (Hebrews 7:7). 

Similarly, in John 8 the Jews ask Jesus if he is greater than Abraham. Jesus (Yeshuah) answered, 

John 8:54-57  “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”  

The parallels between Jesus and Melchizedek are so striking, that some Biblical scholars have speculated whether Melchizedek may have been a manifestation of Messiah before the the Nativity of Yeshua. On the other hand, the references made in Hebrews, stating that Yeshua “is a priest after the order of Melchizedek”, would seem redundant if Melchizedek had himself been a manifestation of Messiah. What is certain is that Melchizedek was a great priest of God and that he was recognized as such by Abraham, King David, and the author of the Book of Hebrews. Whether they were in fact the same personage, we will have to wait to ask Him when he returns or when we meet up with him in the heavens.

Heb 7:1-10   For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

More on the Dead Sea Scrolls

Is been said that the greatest discovery in human history was the cache of documents known as the The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and about 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. These scrolls are believed to have been hidden away by a community of Jewish believers known as the Essenes. The timing of the discovery was coincidental with the founding of the modern nation of Israel and therefore indicates to many that the discovery has great prophetic significance. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek and were written on parchment, or in a few cases, papyrus. Only seven of the scrolls were found mostly intact. Nevertheless, scholars have managed to reconstruct approximately 950 different manuscripts from the fragments discovered.

Possibly the most famous of Dead Sea Scrolls is the great Isaiah Scroll.

The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa^a) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. It is the largest (7.34 meters or about 24 feet long) and best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is almost complete. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the biblical Book of Isaiah. Dating from ca. 125 BCE, it is also one of the oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some one thousand years older than the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible known to us before the scrolls' discovery. (1)

The manuscripts fall into three major categories: biblical, apocryphal, and sectarian. The biblical manuscripts comprise some two hundred copies of books of the Hebrew Bible, representing the oldest surviving biblical text in the world. Among the apocryphal manuscripts (works not included in the Jewish biblical canon) are works that had previously been known only in translation, or that had not been known at all. The sectarian manuscripts include biblical commentary, religious-legal writings, liturgical texts, and apocalyptic literature. Most scholars believe that the scrolls formed the library of the sect that lived at Qumran. 

In 2019 Cindy and I visited the Shrine of the Book which houses the first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran. It was an amazing experience. The Shrine of the Book was built as a repository for the first seven scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947. The unique white dome embodies the lids of the jars in which the first scrolls were found. This symbolic building, a kind of sanctuary intended to express profound spiritual meaning, is considered an international landmark of modern architecture. Designed by American Jewish architects Armand P. Bartos and Frederic J. Kiesler, it was dedicated in an impressive ceremony on April 20, 1965. Its location next to official institutions of the State of Israel—the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), key government offices, and the Jewish National and University Library—is appropriate considering the degree of national importance that has been accorded the ancient texts and the building that preserves them.

Sources:

1. The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls
   http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah

2. The Dead Sea Scrolls
   https://www.imj.org.il/en/wings/shrine-book/dead-sea-scrolls

4. Melchizedek Dead Sea Scroll Found at Qumran
   https://livingpassages.com/melchizedek-dead-sea-scroll/ 

5. Melchizedek in 11Q13 (11QMelch)
   https://otstory.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/melchizedek-in-11q13-11qmelch/

5. Dr. Ken Johnson: Dead Sea Scrolls 11Q13 from the Defender Conference - Rise 2021, by Subscription only from SkyWatchTV.com at https://defenderconference.com

Other sources:

Astour, Michael C. 1992. “Melchizedek.” ABD IV: 685-88.

Brooke, G. 1992. “Melchizedek (11QMelch).” ABD IV: 687-88.

Fitzmyer, Joseph A. 1967. “Further Light on Melchizedek from Qumran Cave 11.” JBL 86/1: 25-41. 

Garcı́a Martı́nez, Florentino ; Tigchelaar, Eibert J. C.:The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Translations). Leiden; New York : Brill, 1997-1998.

Martinze, García. 1992. Qumran and Apocalyptic. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Van de Water, Rick. 2006. “Michael and Yhwh: Toward Identifying Melchizedek in 11Q13.” JSP 16/1: 75-86.

Acappella "Create In Me"

 Pinchas and Circumcision

Loren Abraham

This week in the annual cycle of Torah Study, we are reading from Parashat Pinchas (English: Phinehas) - Numbers 25:10-30:1. The opening verses introduce the character of Phinehas, son of Eleazar the High Priest, who after the Israelite men are seduced by the women of Moab to commit sexual immorality, takes it upon himself to execute Zimri, a leader of the tribe of Simeon and Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite Prince who are committing sexual intercourse openly before the people. As a result a plague which had up to that point killed 24 thousand Israelites was stopped and God confirmed that the Lord would grant to Phinehas His Covenant of Peace - a perpetual priesthood. 

There is a connection between this Torah portion and the Jewish rite of Brit Milah - circumcision. When God made His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:10-14) he was required to circumcise every male as a sign of the covenant. We can understand this in several ways. Cut into the reproductive flesh, it was meant to intimately put the mark of the Lord at the point of contact with the lower reproductive nature. In this way it was meant as a sign of separation from Abrahams pagan past. In a deeper sense it represents the blood covenant God made with Abraham. When a blood covenant is struck between two parties, the flesh is cut producing blood. The blood was often intermingled between the parties symbolizing that they were now one family or blood. This type of ritual was done to seal the promises made. Through this blood covenant God was confirming three promises made to Abraham - promises of descendants as the stars of the heavens, of land, and of material blessings. So Abraham and his descendants are bound to this blood covenant through the right of circumcision. But one might ask how is it possible for God to bleed since he is a party to this covenant? The answer is that He would later be born in the flesh, fully man, live a sinless life, and be crucified, wherein He would bleed. 

Until this very day, nearly all Jewish males are circumcised at the age of 8 days. A mohel — usually pronounced so it rhymes with boil — is the man or woman (mohelet) who performs the circumcision. Some mohels work full time in this profession, but many are also physicians, rabbis, cantors or nurse-midwives. A mohel is trained in the Jewish laws concerning circumcision, as well as in modern surgical hygiene. The ceremony performed is called Brit Milah - covenant of circumcision. Now, I want to be careful, here because what is done to the male child during this rite, is not necessarily what is commonly referred to as circumcision by western medical standards. In Brit Milah, it is only necessary to remove the tip of the foreskin, whereas in the medical procedure commonly referred to as circumcision, the entire foreskin is removed. (Source: https://www.littleimages.org/blog/should-christian-parents-circumcise-their-infant-sons/) Furthermore, some Jewish parents opt to have the circumcision done in the hospital rather then in the Synagogue by the Mohel (Rabbi) and some elect not to circumcise their children altogether. However, Circumcision is considered by most to be a requirement for entry into the Abrahamic Covenant and into the community of God’s chosen people, the Jewish people. In the eyes of most Jewish authorities, if you are not circumcised, you are simply not a Jew.  

Is there any corollary in the Christian Faith to the Jewish rite of Brit Milah? No, the closest thing would be the Christening of a newborn by his or her parents before the congregation, where the child is set apart at an early age for God and both parents and congregation promise to raise the child according to the tenets of the Christian Faith. But you do not have to be christened as a newborn in order to be considered a Christian or a believer in Messiah. However it begs the question - should christian parents or Messianic Jewish Believers circumcise their male children? This is a very good but also a very contentious question. Therefore, I will address this a little later after exploring the connection between Brit Milah and Parashat Pinchas.

At the start of a traditional Jewish circumcision or Brit Milah, the mohel customarily begins with the recitation of the opening verses from the Torah portion Pinchas:

Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the children of Israel, in that he was very zealous for My sake among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say: “behold I give unto him My covenant of peace,” _Numbers 25:11-12

As we have already discussed, Pinchas intervened in a moment of great sin involving perverse sexual immorality and lewdness on the part of the Israelite men who were seduced by the women who were enemies of Israel and therefore enemies of God. The things they were engaging in were clearly against the commandments of the Torah and the text implies that God allowed a plague to break out among the people and 24,000 died of the plague. The text credits Phinehas for acting zealously for God’s sake - i.e. to defend His reputation among the people. 

Perhaps it is not surprising that God rewarded Phinehas even though he circumvented normal jurisprudence and acted on his own without Moses’ approval to stop the spread of Sexual Immorality and therefore the spread of the plague?

Why was Moses impotent to act decisively in this situation rather than forcing Phinehas, who did not have judicial authority, to act? Rabbi Cohen explains:

The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 20:25) states that Zimri dragged Cozbi by the hair in front of Moses and the elders, and challenged Moses, saying, "Tell me, son of Amram, is this woman permitted to me or not?" When Moses replied, "She is forbidden", Zimri gave an insolent riposte: "You call yourself a faithful interpreter of God's law. How can she be forbidden to me when you yourself, Moses, married a Midianite. Furthermore, this one is the daughter of a king, whereas your wife, Zipporah, is the daughter of an idolatrous priest!' Moses broke down in tears, unable to answer the personal insult hurled at him or to recollect the punishment Zimri deserved for his outrageous behavior. It was this embarrassing impasse which prompted Phinehas to leap into the breach and take the law into his own hands. 

What is the connection of this to Brit Milah - the Jewish Covenant of Circumcision? Rabbi Cohen addresses this question also stating: 

“This may, of course, be explained quite simply by the fact that during this ceremony we are bringing a child into the faith of Israel and giving him a Jewish identity. At that moment, we remind ourselves of the occasion in our early history when we were guilty of a flagrant act of apostasy and defection from the high moral standards that membership of Israel demands. The reference to Phinehas thus reinforces the implications of that membership, and it constitutes an implicit plea for the newborn initiate to live up to the exacting moral standards exhibited by Phinehas.”

He also connects the Covenant of Peace awarded to Phinehas to the Covenant of circumcision in this way: 

“In addition, the climactic two words uttered by God in appreciation of Phinehas's action, I will give him et-beriti shalom – My covenant of peace, also have a close link with circumcision. Beriti, "My covenant", is, of course, the term used for circumcision, and shalom connotes (among its many biblical nuances) the sense of family continuity. For example, Psalm 128, which speaks of the blessing of a wife and a large family, concludes with the words: U-re'eh vanim le-vanekha shalom al Yisrael – When you look upon your children's children, you shall experience the peace[ful continuity] of Israel (verse 6). Thus, that final word (shalom) in our Phinehas episode also has a semantic association with the context of birth and circumcision. 

In the footnotes, Rabbi Cohen further explains this apparent contradiction in this way:

“In a lighthearted vein, one might explain the connection between "seeing children's children" and "experiencing peace" as follows: the multiple chores, responsibilities and anxieties occasioned by the raising of one's children, afford little opportunity to enjoy peace and tranquillity. In the case of one's grandchildren, however, once they start to become obstreperous and to disturb one's peace, one can simply hand them back to their parents!”

As a grandparent of five grandsons, I can very readily affirm this clarification. But there is also a close connection of the personage of Elijah to the rite of Brit Milah and to the character of Phinehas. Rabbi Cohen explores this connection in this way:

“In midrashic tradition, the prophet Elijah was invested with the soul of Phinehas, both having shared the characteristics of zeal and the pursuit of peace. When Elijah says, ′′I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant′′ (I Kgs. 19:10), this distinctly echoes the words used to describe Phinehas – be-kan′o et-kinati – who was very zealous for My sake (Num. 25:11).”

He goes on to explain the actual physical place reserved for Elijah at the circumcision ceremony:

“Indeed, Elijah is called malakh ha-berit, "the angel of the covenant,” and immediately after reciting the verses from Pinhas, the mohel designates a seat of honour as Kisse shel Eliyyahu ha-navi, "the Chair of Elijah," presupposing that he attends every circumcision and occupies his seat.” 

We must also allow the great Jewish sage, Maimonides to weigh in on this question. According to Maimonides: 

”As regards circumcision, I think that one of its objects is to limit sexual intercourse by weakening the organ of generation as far as possible, and thus causing man to be temperate . 

So, here is the point of all of this. We can see that just as Phinehas stands out more than Moses, as the one who sought to "counteract excessive lust" by wreaking vengeance on Zimri, the prince of Israel who publicly displayed and promoted that misguided passion, so it is incumbent upon every Jewish man (and His parents) to zealously resist the human inclination toward sexual immorality from an early age, for the betterment of the Jewish people and for all humanity. 

On the question of whether Christians or Messianic Jews should circumcise their children, it would seem perfectly acceptable for both Christian parents and Messianic believers to desire to circumcise their children. And as long as one is seeking divine wisdom about it through prayer and doing their best to research the medical options available, I would not argue against circumcision. However, there are some important questions to address before making that decision. What are the risks to the child? …and what are my motives for making this decision for my son? …and what if my son at a later age wants to know why I chose this for him? How will I answer him?

Finally, if we believe that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17) Then we can definitively say that it is not necessary or compulsory in any way for Christian male children to be circumcised. Paul addresses the issue with the church in Corinth:

“Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision.”  1 Corinthians 7:18

Therefore, if you’re circumcised when you come to Christ, no problem. Don’t try to hide it.  If you aren’t, that’s fine too, don’t feel that you have to be circumcised.  Paul further argues that if you are circumcised out of a desire to keep the law, then you’ve rejected the grace that comes from Jesus’ sacrifice:

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. Galatians 5:1-11

Again it boils down to what are your motives for pursuing circumcision? If you are a Messianic Jewish believer, there may be more reasons to consider this physical sign of participating in the covenant of Abraham, however, whether as Messianic believers or Gentile believers we are all already grafted in to this covenant and no physical right of entry is required. 

Sources: 

Phinehas, Elijah and Circimcision by Jeffrey M. Cohen

https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/411/jbq411pinchascohen.pdf 

Should Christian Parents Circumcise Their Infant Sons?

https://www.littleimages.org/blog/should-christian-parents-circumcise-their-infant-sons/

Should a Christian be Circumcized?

https://hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Circumcision/circumcision.html

Is it wrong for Christians to be Circumcized?

https://www.uncoveringintimacy.com/is-it-wrong-for-christians-to-be-circumcised/

Black Babies Lives Matter Too! Don't they?

The time for boldly proclaiming the truth has come. There is one thing that has come to irritate me more than anything else and I cannot hold my peace... 

During my daily walks with my wife and my dog through our neighborhood, I am confronted by the scores of black and white signs. I find these signs offensive. You've seen them. Why are they offensive you may ask? Two reasons come to mind. The first reason that I find these signs offensive is that the organization that printed these signs and distributes them has core values that do not line up with the message on the sign and therefore the sign is deceptive. Recently, one of the leaders of this organization in our city of Saint Paul very publicly separated from the organization stating, "'Black Lives Matter' doesn't care about black families or about the black children" in Saint Paul.

The second reason that I find these signs offensive is the glaring hypocrisy hidden in the words on the sign. What hypocrisy you may ask? Here it is … the sign at its face ascribes value to Black lives. The progressive agenda and goals of this organization clearly do not value Black Lives. If they did they would decry the statistics surrounding the number of black deaths that result from everyday crime, gang warfare, drive-by shootings, and the accidental deaths of children who get caught up in the crossfire of all these criminal attacks. Not to mention the fact that over 80% of black men in prison come from families where there is no father involved in the raising of the children. A fact that is also overlooked and even ignored by this organization and its activist supporters who reject religious and family values that seek to correct this societal ill.

But the most incredible and inexplicable truth that proves the hypocrisy of these signs is the fact that since 1973, about 20 million black lives have been snuffed out due to abortions, and statistics prove that black women are being targeted by abortion providers far more than other races in our country. Not only that, but abortion is the number one cause of death in black communities. More than crime! More than accidents! More than cancer, heart disease, and AIDS. Abortion has taken more Black American lives than every other cause of death combined since 1973. In the United States, the abortion rate for Black women is almost 4 times that of White women. On average, 900 Black babies are aborted every day in the United States. This tragedy continues to impact the population levels of African Americans in the United States. Here are the facts:

• More than 20 million Black babies have been aborted since the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision legalized abortion in the United States.
• Black women have a significantly higher abortion rate than Whites and Hispanics.
• 38.0% of all abortions in the United States in 2016 were performed on Black women, however, only about 13.4% of the total population is Black.
• African-Americans are no longer the nation’s largest minority group. Today, Hispanics have outpaced Blacks in population growth.
• For every 1,000 live births, non-Hispanic Black women had 401 abortions. Non-Hispanic White women had 109 abortions per 1,000 live births.
• The tragic reality is that 79% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are located within walking distance of neighborhoods that have proportionately higher populations of Black or Latina women. An analysis of census tract data clearly documents that this kingpin of the abortion industry targets women of color, selling them the illusion that they must choose between career advancement and the lives of their babies.
• In some cities, like New York, more Black babies are aborted than born.
• In America today, a Black baby is three times more likely to be killed in the womb than a White baby.
• Since 1973, abortion has reduced the Black population by over 25%. (Source)
• Sadly, Margaret Sanger’s racist legacy at Planned Parenthood lives on in today’s pro-abortion movement. As recently as 2009, Ruth Bader Ginsburg told the New York Times that “at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” (Source)

For more information, see these resources:

Black Preborn Lives Matter

Babies Lives Matter

Anti-abortion Group says its First Amendment Rights were Violated

Black Lives Matter, Born and Unborn

Planned Parenthood Utah, Babies Lives Matter Mural

Healthcare Workers Protesting Black Babies Lives Matter Video

Students for Life

On the Issachar Community Website

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Psalm 121 in HEBREW! בעברית // LIVE at the TOWER of DAVID, Jerusalem // ...

Counting the Omer 2020 - Shavuot

Shavuot

12th of Sivan 5781 – from sundown on May 22nd to sundown on May 23rd, 2021

Chag Shavuot Sameach!! 

You have now completed the Mitzvah of Counting the Omer and have arrived at the point in time that we have been looking forward to and counting up to with great expectations these past 49 days. The counting of the omer is in some way preparation for the festival of Shavuot. Something should have been changed in you during the Sefirat, the count of the omer, that was needed in order for you to fully apprehend the outpouring of the Ruach ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit at your Mount Sinai event. Together let’s explore the meaning and symbolism behind this sacred appointment (Moed) and having studied the story behind the omer count, and obediently carried out the commandment, let us revisit the historical context once again. 

Shavuot is more than just a day of celebration. It is symbolic of several things. The most significant is that of a wedding. Our Lord wants a permanent covenant relationship with us and for that reason He instructed Moses upon arriving at Mount Sinai to tell the Israelites to consecrate themselves, wash their garments, stay away from the mountain and maintain purity for three days - this is analogous to the preparation of a bride for her wedding. 

Secondly, Shavuot represents a harvest. One of the requirements of the observance of Shavuot is a new grain offering – two loaves of bread made from fine wheat flour and baked with leaven, unlike the unleavened bread eaten during Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. The wave offering made at the beginning of the Sefirat, the omer count, was a first fruits offering from the barley harvest made in the form of grain. This wave offering is the first fruits of the wheat harvest and now it is made in the form of finished loaves of leavened bread. Something has changed, the grain is potential and must be sifted, beaten, crushed, ground into flour and then it can be kneaded, raised and baked into bread. This is similar to the process we ourselves have been going through during the past 49 days. Did it feel like that to you? Following the death of Yeshua on the cross, at the beginning of the omer count, He was the first fruits of the barley harvest – risen from the dead, proving that he had conquered the grave.  On the day of Pentecost – Shavuot, the three thousand souls that believed and were saved represent the first fruits of the wheat harvest. There is yet one more great harvest to come and all who believe will be receiving the Ruach ha Kodesh and bringing in a multitude (some say a billion) of saved souls on that great Shavuot in the future.

Deuteronomy 16: 9-11

"You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 

Leviticus 23:16-21

Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Historical context – B.C.E.

Let’s review the events at Mount Sinai in the time of Moses beginning shortly before the giving of the Torah when they were allowed to come up to the mountain and during the aftermath until the Golden Calf incident. Although Moses does not technically give us a name for this festival, the name Shavuot is taken from the reading of the text in Deuteronomy 16: 9, "You shall count seven weeks for yourself..." Shavuot is Hebrew for Weeks and from this we get Festival of Weeks. Another name for Shavuot is Mattan Torah – the giving of the Torah. In our review of the events of Week seven of the omer count, we learned that God had brought Moses up to the Mountain [Exodus 19:3] and told him what to say to the Israelites. The words used here can be likened to those of a bridegroom expressing romantic love to his bride, for example He said “…how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself.” and “…if you will keep my covenant, you shall be a special treasure to Me above all peoples.” [Exodus 19:4-5]

When Moses speaks of this to the elders of the people, they immediately answered, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." [Exodus 19:7-8] Thus they affirmed the terms of the covenant “sight unseen” or in this case unheard. The Lord then instructed Moses on how the people were to consecrate themselves for three days, abstain from intimacy with their wives and they were not to come near the mountain until they heard the sound of the trumpet. [Exodus 19:10-15] All of these things a bride would have done in preparation for a life-long union with her future husband. For example, she would consecrate herself, wash her garments and stay away from the groom for a period of several days prior to the wedding.

Then on the third day (day fifty in our omer count) Moses brought the people to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. [Exodus 19:16-17] There was lightning and thunder and smoke as the Lord descended upon the mountain and a long sustained trumpet blast sounded – the Tekiah Gadol. [Exodus 19:18-20] Then God spoke the ten words (10 commandments) directly to the people for the first time without using Moses as an intermediary. [Exodus 20:1-17] It must have been a frightening event for the people because some asked Moses to speak with God and relay his words to them rather than being subjected again to the intense experience of God speaking to them directly. [Exodus 20:18-19] So very early on we see a communication problem developing. Could they already be having second thoughts about the promise they had made when they said "All that the Lord has spoken we will do"? (emphasis added)

God again spoke to Moses asking him to speak to the people. He repeated the commandment specifically forbidding them to make images of silver or gods of gold for themselves and instructed them on how to build an altar. [Exodus 20:22-25] During an extended conversation God gave many other commandments and ordinances to Moses which were to provide the Israelites a blueprint for how to live as His chosen covenant people – His special treasure who were to represent Him as Kings and Priests to all the other nations of the earth. [Exodus 21-23]

Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded once again with a single voice, "We will do everything that the Lord has commanded." [Exodus 24:3] The young men made sacrifices and Moses sprinkled the blood on the people saying “this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words." Thus fulfilling a requirement of a covenant - that it should be signed in blood.

Moses then ascends into the cloud that rests upon the Mountain and is given the tablets containing the Torah – the terms of the covenant, but when he descends and finds the Israelites engaging in idolatry and debauchery. In an outpouring of rage at this shocking sight so soon after the vows that were made by the people, he destroyed the first set of tablets. Rabbinic tradition holds that if he had given them to the Israelites, it would have consummated the marriage at that point making them guilty of unfaithfulness. Again the picture we continue to see here is that of a covenant relationship between a husband and wife.

Historical context in the C.E.

Fast-forward fifteen hundred years to the eleven apostles waiting in Jerusalem as they had been instructed by their master. The miraculous events that followed day forty-nine of the counting of the omer must have astonished them, however, Yeshua had told them plainly what to expect just before He ascended into heaven only ten days earlier. According to the account of Luke, on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and filled the house where the apostles and one hundred twenty believers were. The arrival of the Ruach Ha’kodesh – the Holy Spirit was signaled by flames of fire appearing on their heads and they were speaking or at least understood in all the languages of everyone who lived in or were visiting Jerusalem for the festival. This was no doubt quite a few different tongues. Three thousand people believed in Yeshua and were saved. It is important to note that the number of saved souls here is the same as the number that were lost at Sinai fifteen hundred years earlier as a result of the Golden Calf incident.

Acts 2:1-13  Baptism of the Holy Spirit

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." 

Acts 2:14-24  Peter explains the significance of the events being witnessed

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.' "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know -  Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Acts 2:36-41  Three thousand souls are saved

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

What are the names associated with Shavuot and their meanings?

1. Shavuot literally means weeks –  or Feast of Weeks
2. Mattan Torah – the giving of the Torah
3. Chag Habikkurim Festival of First Fruits (Wheat Harvest)
4.  Chag Hakatzir – Harvest Festival (Ex 23:16)
5.  Pentecost – Greek meaning literally “the fiftieth day” or “Holiday of 50 Days.”
6. Atzeret (in the Talmud) which means conclusion or “Solemn Assembly” and “Holy Convocation”

Themes of Shavuot: A new revelation of God’s will  

1.     The giving of the Ten Words and the giving of the Torah.  Torah = God’s instruction or teaching to us in order that we may understand Him better. Torah is not Law as some people believe. This was never its purpose, nor should it ever be understood by non-Jewish people to mean a code of do’s and don’ts. The Torah was given by God in the third month of the biblical religious calendar, which is the month of Sivan, exactly 50 days from the parting and crossing of the Red Sea.

2.     The giving of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) by God. Yeshua was resurrected on Feast of first fruits (Bikkurim)  and fifty days later the Ruach HaKodesh came to dwell in the hearts and lives of all believers in Yeshua just as He had promised on the 40^th day before ascending into heaven. On Pentecost, a sound was heard as of a great rushing of wind and cloven tongues of "fire" alighted on the 120 elect as they gathered causing them to be of one accord and preaching the gospel in all the known languages. This event heralded the birth of the Ekklesia (Gk. Community) community of believers in Yeshua - the body of Messiah – the Church. The two leavened loaves waved as a wave offering on Shavuot represent Spritual Israel and Gentile believers.

3.    Harvest.  Shavuot or Pentecost is observed in early summer at the time of the last grain harvest each year and symbolically represents the great Harvest yet to come. While Yeshua was the Firstfruits of the harvest of souls to come in the future (1 Cor. 15:20); the three thousand who believed and were baptized on Pentecost represent a greater harvest yet to come (see the wedding supper of the lamb below.) 

4.     Shavuot as a Marriage – a covenant relationship between God and His people. One of the meanings of Shavuot is “Oath” or “Vow” – when the Israelites are asked if they will honor the terms of the convenient, they answer “WE_ DO.” It has been noted that if Moses had given the tablets to the Israelites rather than destroying them, it could be considered consummation of the marriage making them guilty of unfaithfulness. Shavuot was being observed in the story of Ruth when Boaz was moved to invoke his right as kinsman redeemer to marry her. In this story, traditionally read during the observance of the feast each year, Ruth a Moabitess is married into Israel and with Boaz she produces a male child Obed, who is grandfather to David and therefore in the line of the Messiah. This forshadows the grafting of the church into the covenant nation Israel and prefigures the marriage of the Messiah to His Bride the church. Revelation foretells that after the final trumpet (Tekiah Gadol) is heard Yeshua will return followed by the wedding supper of the lamb the great and final harvest. The counting of the Omer is the countdown to the wedding of the Bridegroom and the Bride – which ushers in the millennial Kingdom and the great harvest prophesied in Joel 2:28.

5.     Shavuot also presents the pattern of the "catching away" of the bride – the rapture. (see Song of Songs 2:8-13 and the book of Ruth)

Taking Stock

You have now run the race and kept the good fight. You have persevered through countless obstacles that tried to prevent you from sticking with your commitment to observe the mitzvah of Counting the Omer. Congratulations! Perhaps you encountered new understanding or received revelations about the things God has been doing or is currently doing in your life. Things that are changing you more and more into the person God created you to be, capable of accomplishing the things He planned for you to accomplish. Or on the other hand, perhaps you have completed the process and you don’t really feel anything has changed, that you have not really seen any spiritual growth in yourself.  If that is the case, don’t be alarmed. Often change is so gradual that we don’t feel or notice it while it is happening. Whether you feel you are changed or not, I would encourage you to continue to pray on a daily basis for God to move powerfully in your life and continue to change you into the person He designed you to become. A person that reflects the image of His son Jesus the Messiah – Yeshua haMashiach. It may involve some discomfort and it may even be painful, but if we would become gold then we must submit to the Refiners fire and if we would be fine flour suitable for that special purpose, we must undergo cutting, sifting, threshing, beating, parching and grinding. There is no other way. Where are you today? Are you ready and willing to be used by God for the purposes he intends? If so, perhaps you will receive the fire of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost this year. I hope so and I wish for God’s work in you to continue till you are perfect, lacking nothing. 

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Suggested activity for today: Take a moment to focus on the last forty nine days and the all the ways you have grown and rejoice in the very special person God created – the person you now are and have sought to become. 

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Suggested reading for Shavuot: Exodus 19:1-20:23; Numbers 28:26-31; Ezekiel 1:1-28; 3:12

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Here are some other related posts:

Count the Omer with me this year in 2021

Counting the Omer - Sefirat haOmer

How this guide is organized

Counting the Omer Guide Organization and Historical Context

Counting the Omer and the Feasts, the Year of Jubilee and Jewish Mystical Tradition

Download a printable copy of this book.