אשׁר ידבר הנביא בשׁם יהוה ולא־יהיה הדבר ולא יבא הוא הדבר אשׁר לא־דברו יהוה בזדון דברו הנביא לא תגור ממנו׃
When a prophet speaks in the name of Adonai, and the prediction does not come true -- that is, the word is not fulfilled -- then Adonai did not speak that word. The prophet who said it spoke presumptuously; you have nothing to fear from him.
(Deu 18:22 CJB)
A 14 year old girl from a school where I used to teach in Oregon came to me one day. She told me that her Mom wanted to take her on a trip to the other side of the country to listen to this self-proclaimed prophet. The daughter was a bit confused and upset about it and as her Bible teacher, she wanted my advice. I looked online for the 'prophet' and saw this man full of tattoos performing healing miracles, and freely using foul language while uttering prophetic and theological proclamations. Through this format, he was able to gather quite an audience from the four corners of the United States and even abroad.
While looking and listening, I developed my personal opinion concerning this 'prophet'. This was a bit of a complicated situation for me because whereas I feel a certain sense of responsibility for people's spiritual balance and safety, especially easily manipulated teenagers, I am also dealing in sensitive waters as this concerns a relationship between a Mom and daughter.
The best way I thought of dealing with the situation and answering the desperate teenager's question was to use my Bible class time at the school to teach a generic study about prophets and prophecy in the Bible and let her make her own decisions. Here is a synopsis of the study.
WHAT IS A BIBLICAL PROPHET AND WHAT IS HIS ROLE:
--- The first person ever declared a prophet was Abraham. (Gen 20:7)
--- While speaking to Moshe about his brother's Aaron's role, Hashem defined the role of prophet as a simple mouthpiece for someone else, (Ex 7:1)
--- A its lowest level, a prophet of God is one who speaks the Words of God to His people for his time. If the Word happens to relate to future events, that is a mere bi-product of communication with the Eternal, not necessarily the main goal.
FALSE PROPHETS IN THE BIBLE.
KORAH:
--- Because he was a Levite priest, Korah declared to be a prophet at the same level as Moshe. This caused a contradiction because in the parasha preceding the Korah episode, HaShem tells Miriam and Aaron that He communicates with Moshe 'face to face, which He does not do with any other prophets.
Moshe did not argue with Korah but brought the case before Adonai who consumed Korah along with those who followed his arrogant, proud rebellion. (Numb 16)
HANANIAH:
---Jeremiah's prophesied impending doom for Jerusalem and told the people to submit to the punishing Babylonian invasion and live.
Hananiah, a prophet from within the congregation of Israel, challenged Jeremiah and gave a prophecy of victory and vindication for Jerusalem. Hashem fully vindicated Jeremiah. (Jer 28)
THE LITMUS TEST:
--- Last week, the Torah portion gives us the litmus test for the authenticity of the prophet of Hashem.
(13:2) "If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, (13:3) and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, 'Let's follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them,' (13:4) you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For Adonai your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love Adonai your God with all your heart and being. (13:5) You are to follow Adonai your God, fear him, obey his mitzvot, listen to what he says, serve him and cling to him; (13:61) and that prophet or dreamer is to be put to death; because he urged rebellion against Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from a life of slavery; in order to seduce you away from the path Adonai your God ordered you to follow. This is how you are to rid your community of this wickedness.
(Deu 13:1-5 CJB)
--- In other words, the litmus test of the authenticity of a true prophet IS NOT PREDICTIONS OF THE FUTURE (even if they are fulfilled) NOR MIRACLES, but whether THE PROPHECIES PROMOTE ADHERENCE TO HASHEM THROUGH OBEDIENCE TO THE TORAH or not.
(NOTE: This is why restoring the Jewishness and the Torah obedience of Yeshua is so critical. As long as the Jewish people see Yeshua as someone who went against the Torah, they consider Him a false prophet and the Torah decrees to kill such people.)
--- This week's parasha teaches us some more about prophets:
" 'But if a prophet presumptuously speaks a word in my name which I didn't order him to say, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet must die.' You may be wondering, 'How are we to know if a word has not been spoken by Adonai?' When a prophet speaks in the name of Adonai, and the prediction does not come true -- that is, the word is not fulfilled -- then Adonai did not speak that word. The prophet who said it spoke presumptuously; you have nothing to fear from him.
(Deu 18:20-22 CJB)
QUESTION: Many prophecies of the prophets of old have been fulfilled but at a later time. How then, under these conditions, can people define if their prophets are authentic prophets of God or not?
ANSWER: When the prophecy is to be fulfilled at a later time, there may be a partial fulfillment at the time of the prophet, or he is supposed to give a supernatural sign in order to vindicate his prophecy.
EXAMPLE:
1Ki 13:1 Just then, as Yarov`am was standing by the altar to burn incense, a man of God came out of Y'hudah, directed to Beit-El by a word from Adonai. 1Ki 13:2 And by the word from Adonai he cried out against the altar: "Altar, altar, here is what Adonai says: 'A son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Yoshiyahu; and on you he will sacrifice the cohanim of the high places who burn incense on you! They will burn human bones on you!'
The prophecy in question was not to be fulfilled for about 250 years by King Josiah. (2 Kings 22), so the prophet gave a sign of authentication in:
1Ki 13:3 That same day he also gave a sign: "Here is the sign which Adonai has decreed: " 'The altar will be split apart; the ashes on it will be scattered about.' " 1Ki 13:4 When the king heard what the man of God said, how he denounced the altar in Beit-El, Yarov`am took his hand away from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But his hand, the one he had stretched out against him, shriveled up; so that he could not draw it back to himself. 1Ki 13:5 Also the altar was split apart, and the ashes scattered from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Adonai.
Yeshua also prophesied and when he was asked for a sign to vindicate His prophecy He replied,
"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Yonah. For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the depths of the earth. (Mat 12:39-40 CJB)
(NOTE) It was not the asking for the sign that made them wicked. That was normal. The 'wicked' attribute is not connected to the asking for a sign. It is a right thing to test would-be prophets; even Paul says to do it (1 Thes 5:19-22; 1 Co 14:29-33) and it is good practice. The generation was wicked because it was wicked. As a vindication of His prophecies, Yeshua then gave the people of Israel the sign of His resurrection which did happen. After the resurrection, the Jewish Messianic movement in Israel boasted of a surge unparalleled till this day. We discover the beginning of it in the Book of Acts.
Both Yeshua, His disciples and all the apostles told us that in the time of the end we will see many would-be prophets. We should test them with the litmus test the Word gives us.
Each year, as the Fall feasts approach, many would-be prophets prophecy impending doom. If they were wrong last year, why do we listen to them again this year? Ancient Jewish prophets do suggest that the last battle of the world, the battle of God and Magog and the return of Yeshua will happen with the backdrop of the Fall Feasts, so if they say it every year one day they will eventually be right, but that's not proof of a prophetic gift.
The early communities of believers also had many problems with would-be prophets, that's why Paul helped establish rules on the use of prophecy.
He was all for people using the gift but he said,
Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise inspired messages. But do test everything -- hold onto what is good, but keep away from every form of evil. (1Th 5:19-22 CJB)
--- He also advised set rules for would-be congregational prophets in:
Let two or three prophets speak, while the others weigh what is said. And if something is revealed to a prophet who is sitting down, let the first one be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, with the result that all will learn something and all will be encouraged. Also, the prophets' spirits are under the prophets' control; for God is not a God of unruliness but of shalom. As in all the congregations of God's people,
(1Co 14:29-33 CJB)
In other words, while Paul promoted the use of prophecy, he did not promote it a s a free-for-all 'freedom of speech type of thing. A would-be prophet would need to have his prophecy weighed or vetted by the others in the congregation before being given approval.
************
False prophets within the congregation of Messiah is a sign of the approaching end. Yeshua warned that,
At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people; and many people's love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. (Mat 24:10-12 CJB)
Thanks to HaShem, Yeshua is the true Prophet like unto Moshe whose Word we can trust and must obey. The parasha this week gives us a direct command to obey Yeshua. It says,
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him. Whoever doesn't listen to my words, which he will speak in my name, will have to account for himself to me. (Deu 18:18-19 CJB)
--- Though today there are rabbis who deny it, in the Second Temple era, this prophecy was understood as being about Messiah. The Sadducees who came to Yochnanan the Immerser knew it (John 1:21); the Samaritan woman knew it (John 4:19, 25), Peter knew it (Acts 3:22), and Steven also did (Acts 7:37). If people do not believe it is about Messiah, who do they say it is about? They say it is about Joshua and all the other prophets, but how can it be when the Torah itself says,
Since that time there has not arisen in Isra'el a prophet like Moshe, whom Adonai knew face to face. (Deu 34:10 CJB)
SHABBAT SHALOM
שבת שלום
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אבד תאבדון את־כל־המקמות אשׁר עבדו־שׁם הגוים אשׁר אתם ירשׁים אתם את־אלהיהם על־ההרים הרמים ועל־הגבעות ותחת כל־עץ רענן׃
ונתצתם את־מזבחתם ושׁברתם את־מצבתם ואשׁריהם תשׂרפון באשׁ ופסילי אלהיהם תגדעון ואבדתם את־שׁמם מן־המקום ההוא׃ לא־תעשׂון כן ליהוה אלהיכם׃ You must destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods, whether on high mountains, on hills, or under some leafy tree. Break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, burn up their sacred poles completely and cut down the carved images of their gods. Exterminate their name from that place. "But you are not to treat Adonai your God this way." (Deu 12:2-4 CJB) DEFACING HASHEM'S NAME.. "But you are not to treat Adonai your God this way." says Moshe by the mouth of Adonai. All these things that we are told to do to the pagans shrines and names in Hashem's Land, we are not to do to Him nor to His Name. *We must take note here that this commandment concerns the shrines and names of pagan deities in the Land of Cana'an, not anywhere else! On a literal level, within the Jewish community, this commandment has taken the form of not writing the Sacred Ineffable Name in any place where it could be soiled or defaced, such as:
Another application of this commandment is to treat sacred books with respect like not taking them to a bathroom, laying them on the floor. ...Even in sacred books though, due to the possibility of its mishandling, the Name is often inferred with a double yod. In ancient times, HaShem's Name was to never be mentioned except within the precincts of the Temple or for sacred ritual/ceremonial purposes. That is why the Tanach and the Brit mostly use circumlocution when referring to HaShem. Yeshua Himself used some of those. He referred to His own Father as:
I fear that our modern society has lost some sort of respect for sacred building, places, books, or even people. This is a great irony as in truth, we do not address earthly important personalities by their first or family names either; we say, Mr President, Mr Speaker, your Honor, your Majesty, etc... I am aware that some my disagree with me about these rules concerning the Sacred Name, and even would tell me that since the Brit seems to infer that we are 'the Temple of HaShem', we can use the Name. To this I would say that if we really believe that we are the Temple of HaShem, we should set foot in palaces of worldly materialism such as Malls and department store. We should never watch TV or listen to worldly music, as through our eyes and ears, we would bring ungodliness into the Temple which is forbidden. And even if we were to completely go out of this world and live somewhere by ourselves in a cave, we would at this point discover the depth of the truth of the Words of the Master, "For out of the heart come forth wicked thoughts, murder, adultery and other kinds of sexual immorality, theft, lies, slanders. . . . "(Mat 15:19 CJB) I have actually done the experiment!!! On a midrashic level, there are some other ways in which we regularly deface HaShem's Name. The Tanach teaches us that we are made in the similitude and image of HaShem, therefore, whatever wrong we do to those made in His Image, we do to Him. -Whenever we lie to someone made in His image, we lie to Him -Whenever we kill one made in His image we kill Him. -Whenever we defame someone made in His image, we defame Him. -Whenever we steal from someone made in His image, we steal from Him. -Whenever we publicly shame someone made in His image, we publicly shame Him. (Deut 20:8 :we will talk next week) -Whenever we refuse help or charity to someone made in His image, we refuse help or charity to Him. (Deut 15:8) -Whenever we disobey the rulings of the judges of Israel who judge by His image, we disobey Him (Deut 8-13). In light of this, we need to remember that Yeshua our Rabbi and Master established for us a Sanhedrin composed of His disciples (Mat 19:28), appointment which started right at the first Shavuot after the resurrection as we read in Acts 2, and that was vindicated by the death of Ananias and Sephirah as recorded in Acts 5:1-14) The examples are endless and at this time when we are entering the season of introspection that precedes the Fall Festivals, it should cause us to review some of the standards of our lives. We should ask ourselves: How do I deface Hashem's Name in my selfish? proud? argumentative? abrasive? condescending? overall wrong attitude towards my parents? my wife? my husband? my children? my friends? and all those that are in contact with me. IMPORTANT NOTE: -Make sure not to do the opposite and search how others deface Hashem's Name by treating you wrongly. Remember... The King will say to them, 'Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!' (Mat 25:40 CJB) and not ... as they did it to you ..., they did it to me.' והיה עקב תשׁמעון את המשׁפטים האלה ושׁמרתם ועשׂיתם אתם ושׁמר יהוה אלהיך לך את־הברית ואת־החסד אשׁר נשׁבע לאבתיך׃
"Because you are listening to these rulings, keeping and obeying them, Adonai your God will keep with you the covenant and mercy that he swore to your ancestors. (Deu 7:12 Three main attributes distinguish Israel from the nations
Mercy should be a natural virtue for us as we have been shown much from our Father. A sense of shame: There is something wrong with us if we cannot blush and hang our heads low at the mention of our sins. Ezra mentions "blushing" for the sins the sin of the nation. Jeremiah on the other hand is appalled that the people of Jerusalem cannot do not even blush because of their sins (Ezra 9:6; Jer 6:15, 8:12). Modern psychology teaches us that shaming a child for wrong-doing, or even an adult for that matter is a form of psychological abuse, like "guilt-tripping" someone, but there is such a thing as wrong-doing and blushing/feeling ashamed of ourselves is the natural reaction of HaShem's spirit within us. If we can't be ashamed of ourselves for our sins/mistakes, maybe we lack of the Spirit of HaShem within us. Even King David felt shame for his actions. Kindness/mercy The Hebrew uses the word: Chesed חסד): Rabbi Boruch Epstein explains: HaShem deals with a person as that person deals with others (sotah 9b). Therefore, if the Torah mentions that HaShem will bestow kindness/mercy on Israel, it is implied that Israel must bestow mercy/kindness upon others. Discipleship is the idea of imitating the lifestyle of a teacher. If therefore Hashem shows kindness to His people and never forgets His covenant with them, so should we do if we call ourselves disciples. Paul, the faithful shaliach who imitates his Master and Lord Yeshua, exhorts us to imitate HaShem as we walk in love and kindness. He says, So imitate God, as his dear children; and live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave himself up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance. (Eph 5:1-2 CJB) ... try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah. (1Co 11:1 CJB) How do we show kindness?
Therefore, if you have any encouragement for me from your being in union with the Messiah, any comfort flowing from love, any fellowship with me in the Spirit, or any compassion and sympathy, then complete my joy by having a common purpose and a common love, by being one in heart and mind. Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves --look out for each other's interests and not just for your own. (Php 2:1-4 CJB) A woman made the cut in the Brit for the world to read about her kindness throughout all generations. Her name was Tavitha. Now in Yafo there was a talmidah named Tavita (which means "gazelle"); she was always doing tzedakah and other good deeds. It happened that just at that time, she took sick and died. After washing her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Lud is near Yafo, and the talmidim had heard that Kefa was there, so they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come to us without delay." Kefa got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him into the upstairs room. All the widows stood by him, sobbing and showing all the dresses and coats Tavita had made them while she was still with them. But Kefa put them all outside, kneeled down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said, "Tavita! Get up!" She opened her eyes; and on seeing Kefa, she sat up. He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet; then, calling the believers and the widows, he presented her to them alive.(Act 9:35-41 CJB) I know I have written a lot about this subject and I want to explain why. I have been studying the lifestyle of the early Israeli messianic Jews, the life of our 1st century brothers and sisters. For many year, from the time of the miraculous Shavuot 50 days after the resurrection, though the disciples were persecuted by the Sadducee priests, they overall enjoyed the favor of the people, even in Israel. They were known for their unswerving dedication to their rabbi Yeshua, as well as for their beautiful "easy yoke" Torah observance which caused them to be known for their compassion, their charity, their love, their abnegation, and over all altruism. I'd like to share an example of how I feel it might have looked like, and of course this is my humble opinion. For 1995 to 2005 my wife and I have been involved in a work to help the many street kids of the Portland area. We used to bring them in to our house, feed them, talk to them, counsel them, pray for them, and even teach them. Every year we also setup camp at the Rainbow Gathering,which is a yearly hippy/street kids gathering somewhere far away in a national forest. There we would do the same thing as well as have a singing evening by the campfire and my wife would host a first aid station. There were many other camps of believers there, even a camp called 'Jerusalem Camp'. I'd like to tell you about two times (and there were many others) when I felt very honored. It was during the night, a young girl had arrived at the camp. She had struggled through mud,rain, and cold in her wheelchair in order to come to the camp. It was early July high on a mountain and it had just snowed. This poor hippy girl needed help and care. The organizers (as if there was any organization) decided that the best place she will be taken care of was ours. They felt that we would take care of her unselfishly without judgment, just showing her love, respect, and consideration. Then, a couple of days later in the middle of a snowy cold and muddy night, a sick young man desperately needed to go down the mountain and go to the hospital. This required to take him on a stretcher to the parking lot 3 miles away on a muddy mountain trail on a near freezing night. Again, the organizers came to get us (it was not just my wife and I, we had a whole team of young people we had trained for this event). I personally consider it the greatest of all honors that these people came to us for these things knowing for sure that we would do it. I am not writing this in order to brag, but in order to give an example of what we, HaShem's people and congregation should be known for in this world. According to the teachings Yeshua's disciples left us, compassion and kindness are more important than letting people know what we eat or don't eat, how we dress, on what day we rest, how we worship ... It is the sign of our discipleship (John 13:35). Yeshua Himself tried to tell the Pharisees that compassion, forgiveness, and altruism was more important than sacrifice. The second of course does not cancel the first, but what Hoseah was teaching then was that if not done in the spirit of the second, the fist is invalid. For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices, knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hos 6:6 CJB) SHABBAT SHALOM ואהבת את יהוה אלהיך בכל־לבבך ובכל־נפשׁך ובכל־מאדך׃ ...
... and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. (Deu 6:5 CJB) Our Torah to the World: An Exemplary Behavior. Everybody likes to receive love, and some of us apply ourselves to be loving persons. Playing on a famous saying, we may need to remember that love is a multi-faceted diamond. Some things that some people call 'love' may make us feel like, 'With this kind of love, who needs hatred!' Here are some questions to ask ourselves. Can love be defined within certain parameters of conduct? If the answer to this question "no", is love therefore a free-for-all expression? But if "yes", how is love defined? How do we love HaShem? Does HaShem need our "gooey-shmooey-marshmallow-sugar-and-whipped-cream" type of emotional expression? Does He need to be constantly reminded about it like an unsecured lover or as if He had memory loss issues? Does He even need to see spiritual manifestations of our faith in Him in order to know it? As usual, I'd like to start this midrash by looking at what the sages have gleaned from Deuteronomy 6:5. Some of the sages of Israel teach that this passage tells us that we must behave in a manner that will cause the Name of Heaven to be beloved. As . Here is what they say. "One should study Torah, serve Torah scholars, be honest in his business dealings, and speak pleasantly to others. Then people will say about him, 'Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah. Fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah. Woe to those who have not learned Torah. See how pleasant are the ways and how pleasant are the actions of one who has learned Torah.' If however, someone studies Torah and serves Torah scholars, but is not honest in his business dealings and does not speak pleasantly to others, what do people say about him? "Woe to that person who learned Torah. Woe to hos father who taught him Torah. Woe to his teacher who taught him Torah. See how corrupt are the actions and how ugly are the ways of this person who learned Torah." (Yomah 86a) As I read this passage, I was pleased with what it considered our 'witness' to the world;
And what do we learn from this? We all have our own ideas of how to express our love and obedience to HaShem; how to make it manifest to others. The problem is that most of us rely on outward external signs of obedience such as open public displays of tzitzits, head coverings, a certain type of clothing, diet restrictions, holiday schedules, and even an 'hebraicised' lingo. I noticed that the less one is secure in his messianic identity, the more outward signs he feels they has to manifest. Having been raised in Judaism, know that while not denying, and even while being proud of who we are, we always kept a certain discreet profile. This attitude comes from our history which tells us that being Jewish is like having a target on our chest. On the overall, outsiders do not really care about what we eat or don't eat; how, why and when we take a day of rest, and how we dress. Everybody has diet, schedules, and clothing preferences for all sorts of reasons that to them are as valid to them as any others. So, we should ask ourselves, 'Are these today the things that are important as far as our witness to the word concerning the greatness of HaShem?' This talmudic passage gives us other ideas to consider. It tells us that in order to show an exemplary behavior one should 'be honest in his business dealings, and speak pleasantly to others.' I'd like to bring another passage to light as the typical reactions people who do not know Torah should have Therefore, observe them [the commandments]; and follow them; for thenall peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, 'This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him? What great nation is there that has laws and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today? (Deu 4:6-8 CJB) ...If instead of this, our Torah lifestyle comes out as abrasive, argumentative, arrogant, harsh, inconsiderate and provokes division, awkwardness, hatred, and anger, maybe we should consider re-calibrating our Modus Operandi. Of course, I can already hear some telling me about Jeremiah, and even about Yeshua who sometimes did otherwise, but the prophets had a special mandate from HaShem, as well as Yeshua. Theirs is not our mandate. Our mandate concerning the fruits of our witness in the world has been given to us by Moshe in Deut 4:6-8 as well as by our Rabbi and Master Yeshua in, "You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don't cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven." (Mat 5:14-16 CJB) He also told mandated us with, " Everyone will know that you are my talmidim by the fact that you have love for each other." (Joh 13:35 CJB) I started this midrash by trying to define the proper expression of love. Our love for each other is defined in the Torah. A synopsis of it can be found in Ex 20:1-14 commandments which are further elaborated upon in the rest of the Torah. I'd like to suggest that the proper expression of our love for HaShem is to live in a way that impresses other people to love Him. Paul had much to say about this. Here are some of his teachings about love to the Corinthians' congregation, and to us: I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith -- enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing. I may give away everything that I own, I may even hand over my body to be burned; but if I lack love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not gloat over other people's sins but takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. Love never ends; ... for now, three things last -- trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love. (1Co 13:1-13 CJB) To Timothy, a congregational leader he admonishes, ... and a slave of the Lord shouldn't fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will. (2Ti 2:24-26 CJB) There are many other passages like these that you can probably find yourself. I'd like to conclude this midrash with the idea that if our Torah observance in the world does not produce the 'fruits of the spirit in our lives and in that of others, we need to 're-calibrate our perspective. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Gal 5:22-26 CJB) For you used to be darkness; but now, united with the Lord, you are light. Live like children of light, for the fruit of the light is in every kind of goodness, rightness and truth -- (Eph 5:8-9 CJB) |
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