The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath… (Mark 2:27 KJV)

What did Yeshua mean by that? If we consider just those words alone there are a number of possibilities. Perhaps He meant that the sabbath is a plaything for man. If man doesn’t feel like playing along, that’s okay. Or perhaps Yeshua meant that man has dominion over the day and, as its master, can take it in whatever direction he pleases. Another possibility is that YHWH really doesn’t care about the day as it was made for man anyway and so it would be all the same to Him whether men took it or left it. I could come up with more possibilities but I won’t. You get the point.

That phrase, like almost any other, can have a variety of meanings if taken outside the context in which it was spoken. In fact, Yeshua’s words can be made to say just about anything one might happen to want to make them say. And they often are.

Usually this sabbath phrase is used in defense of what amounts to a “man-made sabbath,” that is, a sabbath made in the image of man’s desire for the day. And that usually means doing away with it or replacing it with something else. But for those of us concerned with hearing what Scripture actually says, rather than making it say what we want to hear, we must ask “What did Yeshua mean by those words?”

If we really want to know what Yeshua himself meant by His words, then we must consider them in the context in which He spoke them. Once we understand the point Yeshua was trying to make, in the specific situation in which He spoke them, we can then derive general principles from what He said which can be applied to our own faith and practice today. So let’s start there, at the context, to understand what Yeshua specifically meant in His comment about the sabbath having been made for man and not the other way around.

Happily, we have plenty of context to work with. The context is given from three different perspectives via Matthew (12:1-8), Mark (2:23-28), and Luke (6:1-5). That will allow us to get a clearer picture of what was going on. And that will help us arrive at a better interpretation of Yeshua’s words.

Of course, each of those passages have the yet broader context of the rest of the gospel in which it appears. I’ll refer to that broader context where necessary, but you might find it helpful to reread the Matthew, Mark, and Luke passages referenced above if you are a little rusty on the details. For your convenience, I’ve included the text of all three of these passages below, after the article.

Turning our attention to the event we should first consider the facts presented. To begin with, we have the players: Yeshua, His disciples, and some group of Pharisees. Then we have the setting of place and time. The place: A field of grain, which the KJV refers to more archaically as “corn.” The time: one sabbath day during the course of Yeshua’s itinerant ministry. It is a point in His ministry where He has already begun to draw the ire of the “religious” status quo and they are at the point of actively seeking to discredit Him. The Pharisees are one sect of that establishment.

Next we have the situation: The disciples and Yeshua were passing through a grain field on a sabbath day. They were hungry. As they walked along they picked grain and ate it. The Pharisees, attempting to discredit Yeshua, criticized His disciples by accusing them of breaking the sabbath. Yeshua turns it around on them, as He had done so many other times, by demonstrating that the application of their religious traditions stood in the way of their actually doing and teaching Torah.

Those facts lead us to an important question: “Were Yeshua’s disciples actually breaking the sabbath here?” We shouldn’t assume the Pharisees were correct in their accusation. Their motive was often to protect their traditions by discrediting Yeshua as a teacher of Torah. We know that many of the Pharisees addressed by Yeshua in Scripture were not necessarily concerned with truth. The ones we mostly see in the gospels were usually interested in preserving their religious position.

As we look for an answer to that question in what was written of the event, we find that the disciples weren’t harvesting, carrying loads of grain, or even preparing a meal on the sabbath (other than to “unwrap” it by rubbing them in their hands). There was no cooking or fire made to prepare dinner. They were eating as they went because they were hungry.

The fact that they weren’t criticized by the Pharisees for stealing another person’s crops underscores the fact that the disciples were only picking what they were immediately eating. By Torah, they had the right to pick and eat from a field belonging to another as long as they didn’t harvest or otherwise carry away any produce with them (Deut 23:24-25). The bottom line is that the disciples were doing the equivalent of walking alongside a food table on sabbath and picking up something to eat from it in passing.

The disciples weren’t harvesting, carrying work loads, or otherwise conducting business on the sabbath. They weren’t actually breaking the sabbath. Yeshua verifies this by describing them as “blameless” in the matter (Matt 12:7).

So what then was the problem for the Pharisees? The same as it usually was in Scripture. They had imposed a number of their own rules around Torah, so-called “fence-laws,” that attempted to not let anyone near any possible violation of Torah to begin with. Though an arguably commendable idea, these fence-laws ended up becoming more important in their eyes than Torah itself. As a result, they broke Torah, or at least the spirit of it, with the letter of their rules devised to keep Torah. Yeshua adressed this situation with them over and over:

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. (Mark 7:6-9 KJV)

Other examples of this common criticism of certain Pharisees by Yeshua can be found in Mark 7:1-13 and Matthew 5:20-48. The underlying issue between Yeshua and some Pharisees was the use of the letter of their own man-made additions to YHWH’s law to kill the spirit of His law, and thereby break it.

And that is the heart of the issue in this instance as well. They were excluding mercy from sabbath observance by their sabbath rules. Because they did that, it was they who broke the sabbath, not the disciples. That’s why Yeshua said:

Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? (Mark 2:25-26 KJV)

His point was that mercy (an expression of love) is the whole point of Torah. Even to the extent that even the letter of Torah itself does not do away with the requirement to act in the spirit of Torah, which is love for YHWH and love for one’s neighbor. To further support His point, Yeshua quotes (in Matthew 12:7) from the prophets:

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice…(Hosea 6:6 KJV)

The entire issue at hand in the context of our “sabbath for man” phrase is that the Pharisees were falsely accusing the disciples of breaking sabbath when they themselves broke it in the very act of trying to exclude mercy from it—something not even done by YHWH-inspired Scripture, let alone their own man-inspired traditions.

And then Yeshua said it:

The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath… (Mark 2:27 KJV)

From the context it is very clear that by this phrase Yeshua is teaching the Pharisees the proper spirit in which the sabbath is to be observed. The sabbath was made for man. Therefore it should be a blessing to man. It should not be a curse to him by withholding mercy or kindness on the day in order to make man a servant to the sabbath.

Nowhere in the context of these passages is the idea that the disciples were breaking sabbath and that it was okay because they were somehow exempt from it because it was made for them. Rather, the lesson was that the sabbath (as is true with all Torah) is to be observed in the spirit in which it was given: as an expression of love for YHWH or love for one’s neighbor.

And that message is consistent with Yeshua’s message throughout Scripture. In His “sermon on the mount,” for example:

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee…(Matthew 5:20-23 KJV)

And Yeshua continues on for the rest of the chapter describing how the letter of the law was to be followed in accordance with the spirit of the law. And that was the point of the context in which Yeshua stated the “sabbath for man” phrase.

So if we are to interpret Yeshua’s meaning from the point He was making on the occasion of His statement, we must interpret it to mean that the sabbath is to be observed in the spirit in which it was given. Yeshua’s statement actually supports sabbath observance.

The issue at hand was not whether or not man has the right to dictate how and even whether to observe sabbath. The issue at hand is that the sabbath is to be observed as YHWH intended and not changed by man’s imposition on it.

With that understanding of Yeshua’s meaning and purpose, I can draw an illustration from personal experience to better understand how something made “for us” means “for our benefit” and not “for us to do with as we see fit.”

For a number of years my children have observed the house rule I made that they would read for one hour each week day. One half-hour is to be spent reading from a fiction book and the other half-hour is to be read from a non-fiction book. They are almost always free to choose the book, subject, and sub-genre within those two assigned categories, though from time-to-time I do make “suggestions” about specific books as I see fit.

As a result of this rule, they are now voracious readers of a wide variety of books on a wide variety of topics…on their own in addition to the required hour. They have experienced the benefits of becoming good readers and the enjoyment to be found in reading a variety of books, as well as the ability to learn how to do things they desire to pursue using books to teach themselves. That was my intention in making the rule. It lead them into the path of a good habit that has, and will continue, to enrich their lives. They would not have naturally chosen that path for themselves.

I made it the rule for the good of the children. I certainly didn’t have the children in order to make the rule. If I didn’t have children, I wouldn’t have made the rule. The reading rule was made for the children, not the children in order to make the reading rule. But because the rule was made for them, that doesn’t mean they can do with it as they please.

Imagine if they had come to me and said: “Since you made this rule for me, and not me for the rule, that means I can change it to suit my liking, and in fact my liking is to just disregard it altogether.” That argument wouldn’t have worked with me. I made the rule for their benefit, not for their ownership. It was not optional.

They were and are free to enjoy the benefits of it, that’s why I made it for them. And I left many decisions in regards to how they would carry out the reading rule up to them. But there were parameters I set that were not negotiable. Those parameters were put in place precisely because I had made the reading rule for them. It was for a specific purpose I set them. To not do them would have negated my purpose in establishing it in the first place.

Getting back to the Scriptures at hand, no where in the context is the meaning that man “owns” the sabbath and may do with it as he pleases. Rather, the specific meaning is that the law of the sabbath was given in the spirit of blessing humans. It was not meant be be a curse to them in that it precludes acts of mercy on that day. So the specific meaning of the phrase, as defined by the context, is that sabbath is to be observed properly by keeping it in the spirit in which it was given. From that we can draw principles to apply Scripture to our lives.

The general principle that we can draw from this specific teaching of Yeshua here is that it is a proper application of Torah to show mercy on the sabbath. We can heal, feed, bless, and otherwise help alleviate human suffering or need that arises on the sabbath.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions. Your input will help me to revisit this again and make my points more clearly or differently, as the need may be.

________________________________________________
NOTE: You may find refreshing your memory of these three texts to be helpful to following my points in the article above:

At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (Matthew 12:1-8 KJV)

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:23-28 KJV)

And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Luke 6:1-5 KJV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jzboran.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. (1 Corinthians 9:24 KJV)

Certainly a part of running our race in a manner that will cause us to finish successfully is to run in the right direction. But many are not running that way! They run in the wrong direction even though they may have all the “Jesus” endorsement patches in the right place.

Here’s a great little message to hear and then ponder: “Sure I’m running. But am I running in the right direction?”

The Lies Young Women Believe 1/3

The Lies Young Women Believe 2/3

The Lies Young Women Believe 3/3

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth YHWH, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 KJV)

Why should this catch my attention every time? Perhaps because I live in a culture that teaches just the opposite. While it is not a part of my own family and personal culture, still I see that culture (and the effects of it) all around me every day.

Our culture tends to stretch life miles wide while living only surface deep. Ironically, many end up “drowning” in that approach to life, unable to get up out of it and breathe. Here is an instance where YHWH threw someone a life line:

I am an admirer, perhaps even an “afficianado,” of the beauty found in creation and in all its various forms and expressions. But this worshipping of beauty is a masterstroke of haSatan. By it he uses the work of Yah to destroy the work of Yah in many. As followers of the Way, and people of Torah, we must learn to cultivate an eye for beauty from Yah’s perspective. And that begins with what is inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Through a process of Scripture reading, prayer, and keeping in step with His Spirit, we often hear His voice personally. We become convinced that He has some great hope specifically for our future, a situation in which we find ourselves, or a challenging task we begin to recognize as our own. Whatever it is, it is bigger than we are at the moment.

But because we are sure we heard Him, we press on in faith. Even when reason says we should do otherwise. And everyone else does, too. But then the breakthrough comes, and along with it a day of rejoicing.

But sometimes, before that point of breakthrough and subsequent rejoicing, we get impatient. We begin to wonder if YHWH isn’t waiting for us to be a part of the solution more than He let on originally.

So we try to “chip” through to the other side ourselves by dreaming up ways in which we can move things along a little faster. But we only get in the way. We grasp at the straws within our reach in hopes that He will use them to build the castle He has shown us.

Invariably those man-made attempts to solve YHWH’s problem of doing something major in our lives ends up costing us in the long run. In the end, we may receive the promise anyway, but we also often end up with a mess created solely by our impatience.

And we know the mess was not YHWH’s fault:

The blessing of YHWH, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22 KJV)

No, we didn’t wait for His blessing so we end up with the sorrow that accompanies our own half-baked scheme to make something happen in YHWH’s name. If only we had waited patiently until He came through for us!

But that is fallen human nature, and that is a part of the process we go through to learn how to walk by faith. In our attempt to prematurely grab hold of a promise from YHWH, we end up coming up with something I call “Sarai Solutions.”

We all remember one of the greatest breakthroughs in Biblical history. It has had a profound impact on all our lives. That was the breakthrough of a child for childless Abram and Sarai:

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. (Genesis 15:2-4 KJV)

The Scriptures tell us that Abram believed YHWH. And so he waited. But nothing happened. He and Sarai must have been painfully aware that they weren’t getting any younger. Perhaps they started focusing on the fact that the promise said the child would come from Abram. Sarai came up with a “solution,” a possibility, to move things along:

And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, YHWH hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2 KJV)

Why did Abram “hearken to the voice of Sarai?” Perhaps because it was the voice of reason. He knew a son had been promised and nothing was apparently happening naturally. (And the promised son didn’t end up arriving for well over a decade! How long are we willing to wait for YHWH?) Maybe Abram even rationalized that perhaps this was YHWH’s way of “leading him” into the fulfillment of the promise made to him.

But really, it was Sarai’s solution to make YHWH’s promise come to pass. She was helping YHWH out, in a sense. And we know the great problems that resulted from that “solution.”

Don’t we do that too sometimes? We find ourselves recognizing by the Spirit a promise in Scripture that applies to us in our situation. So we lay hold of that promise and wait. Sometimes we wait some more. And then we start thinking that maybe we’ve missed something. So we begin looking to see if there isn’t some “answer” to our prayers we have overlooked. We look for signs, and we listen to the voice of reason. On top of that, lots of well-meaning folks have lots of ideas for us. How often do we end up trying to help YHWH “help us” this way?

Like Abram and Sarai, our “helping” out often ends up causing more grief. In the end YHWH will do what He intends to do. And He’ll do it His way. It will always be better than our way. But that doesn’t mean we won’t have to live with the results of our own efforts to do YHWH’s work. Sarai and Abram found that out.

What promise in Scripture has the Spirit led you to lay hold of for yourself? Is is a big one? Is it impossible? All the better. He is the Master of breakthroughs. Are you waiting and watching for His movement to bring it about?

Usually you will have to be part of the solution in that you’ll have to act when the time comes. But until that time comes, are you waiting or are you trying to make it happen?

Has YHWH promised you a spouse? Don’t force marriage with someone just because they are available. Has He promised you companionship? Don’t settle for the wrong friends just because the right ones are nowhere to be seen. Need a car? That one being offered to you “that only needs a little work to get going” might be the one. But it might not be (boy, did I learn that one!) so wait until everything “fits” right.

If you have to work too hard to make things happen, it probably isn’t time for it to happen. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to work hard when the time comes. It’s just that you won’t have to work hard to make it happen. It will be time and you will know it. The Spirit will tell you, if you are in tune with His voice. If you aren’t, then Bible reading is the dial and prayer is the antenna. Now, before things happen, is a great time to find His station!

Sarai Solutions are a siren-call leading to sadness, despair, and conceivably even a shipwrecked faith. If the Spirit has led you somewhere, and you are sure of that leading, then it is a matter of faith and not reason. That requires believing, not scheming. A Sarai Solution is a sorry solution. So set it aside and wait for YHWH to work out His own solution. You’ll be blessed in the end!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Today we usually call “talebearing” by the name “gossip.” But however we refer to it, YHWH has said not to do it!

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:16 KJV)

Some would argue that we are no longer under Torah, so that doesn’t apply. My response is: huh?

What part of love is talebearing? A talebearer can’t be walking in their so-called “Law of Love” because their talebearing is in no part the love of Messiah. Rather than making erroneous proclamations about a dead law, they need to focus on putting to death their evil ways. They really need to open up Torah and get an education in what walking by the law of love actually looks like!

Talebearing is no part of Spirit-led love, nor of Spirit-filled wisdom. Talebearers can only be walking in the flesh because it is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). And it’s also just plain unwise. Proverbs addressed talebearing:

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. (Proverbs 18:8 KJV)

He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. (Proverbs 20:19 KJV)

Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. (Proverbs 26:20 KJV)

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
(Proverbs 26:22 KJV) (Yes, it’s in Proverbs twice, just for good measure!)

To summarize those quotes from Proverbs: talebearers leave a lot to be desired. So whether by Torah, or by the Law of Love (for those who don’t realize that Torah is the Law of Love), talebearing doesn’t fit in the life, practice, or experience of the Kingdom of YHWH. In fact, our King hates it:

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16-19 KJV)

That’s what a talebearer does: sows discord. Some sowing is obvious and we can dispense with it relatively easily. But other sowing is much more subtle. So subtle, that I submit to you that most of us engage in it quite commonly without even realizing it.

How can this be? Because many of us come from backgrounds that were not built on a culture of YHWH’s word and way. So we are not always in tune with the revealed righteousness of YHWH. But we can learn something about talebearing from the culture that has been grounded in the Bible long before there ever was something called a Christian.

In the Jewish culture, there is a developed understanding of talebearing, its effects, and its nuances. One aspect of talebearing is the spreading of lies in order to destroy someone, whether literally or figuratively. That is called “motzi shem ra” or “spreading a bad name.” That one is pretty obvious to us.

We all have been the victims of liars who have attempted to destroy us in some way by spreading what they understand to be lies. Thankfully for us, we have a Father who has promised to free us from such murderers and exact justice for their crimes against the innocent.

It’s not that kind of talebearing I want to look at today. What I want to discuss today is much more subtle and therefore not so obvious to our untrained eye. But it is still talebearing, and we have still been told not to do it. And even if we claim some sort of Law of Love outside of Torah, we cannot in good conscience claim to be acting under Love if we engage in talebearing.

In contrast to motzi shem ra, we have something called “lashon hara” (evil tongue, or speech). Lashon hara differs from the defaming of someone by lies in that its focus is on the use of truth for a wrongful purpose. That is gossip, or talebearing, also. And I see that going on ALL the time.

Lashon hara is anything that is said about another person that is derogatory or even damaging in any way (physically, financially, socially, stress-inducingly, and the like). Anytime we say anything that discredits or casts a bad light on someone we are talebearing. It’s not our place to “bring someone down,” even if the things we discuss about them are true. There are some limitations to this that I’ll describe a bit later.

How much do you really love someone? Do you love them enough to not even say good things about them? What? Yes, it’s a violation of this mitzvah (a mitzvah is walking in love of YHWH and His Word) to say even positive things if those positive things will discredit or damage someone. How does that work?

Well, let’s say you are speaking with an enemy of Tom. You say, “That Tom is really such a nice guy!” What you said about Tom might be nice, it might be true, it might be positive, but it is talebearing that will likely lead to damaging communication about Tom.

That’s because you are provoking Tom’s enemy to say something bad about Tom in order to contradict your appreciation of Tom or in order to convince you that Tom is not at all nice. The best thing to have done was to not say anything at all about Tom. And if Tom’s enemy says something about Tom, just smile politely and don’t say anything.

See how subtley lashon hara operates? Even when we think we might be peacemakers we could actually be acting as trouble makers! Sound complicated? Not really. The thing to do is learn not to say anything good or bad about anybody, except to their face.

Let’s do say things to build others up, but to their face where it will actually be a blessing. Wouldn’t you be more of a blessing to Tom by express your appreciation of him directly rather than to his enemy? It’s simple, only we complicate it.

Here’s another example. You are thankful that Joe has given you $100 to help you make your full mortgage payment on time. You express that appreciation to Mark and Larry. But you don’t know what is going to be going through Mark and Larry’s minds when you compliment Joe in regards to this matter. It’s possible your communication will cause damage to Joe in some way.

Mark or Larry may become irritated that Joe didn’t provide help to them too. Maybe they’ll ask, but Joe won’t have anything extra because he already helped you out. They’ll potentially get the wrong picture of his refusal to help and it will cause Joe to be damaged socially, at least.

But our talebearing is not really this innocent often, is it? Isn’t it common to hear the truth being told, but in such a manner that the person who is the object of the truth being spread is in some way being damaged? Remember, it might be true but that doesn’t make it right to tell others in gossip, or talebearing.

How many people have been damaged by so-called prayer requests shared? How many “concerned” saints have there been that have spent many an hour discussing others business in the name of a caring spirit?

Whether we are using truth as an excuse to be a talebearer, or we are just telling somebody else’s business without malice on our part, we could very well be causing harm in some way to the person we are talking about. We just don’t know. But we’d still be talebearers.

In some ways, talebearing is worse than physically harming someone or their property. Property can be restored and bruises can mend. But the tales we bear about others can never full be taken back from the minds, hearts, and attitudes of other people. The damage caused by talebearing is, to some extent, irreversible.

And lashon hara, truth misused, can be worse that motzi shem ra, a slanderous lie. That’s because a lie can potentially be proven to be a lie and a reputation restored. But the truth cannot be denied honestly, so the damage is not repairable. The person might deserve to have their reputation destroyed, but that is YHWH’s place, not ours. We must not be talebearers of false tales, nor of true tales.

Now, the concept of lashon hara has been abused by predators. There have been cases of abusers attempting to silence their victim with this concept. But it is not talebearing to seek help or rescue from one’s oppressor. But it would become lashon hara if we were to go about telling everyone about the abuser after we have been rescued in order to bring harm to them. Again, that is YHWH’s place.

Lashon hara also raises concern when we are placed in a position to help someone out of a potentially harmful situation by telling them something we know about another person. Tread carefully here. There is sometimes a fine line between genuine concern for someone while having an ability to save them from harm, and sticking our noses in where they don’t belong.

So what can we do to save ourselves from committing lashon hara? It helps to have a general personal policy of not saying anything good or bad about someone not present, whether it is true or not. Let’s spend our time saying good or bad, as appropriate, about the people we are with at the moment. That’s where it is going to do the most good! And then we must develop a very keen ear for the Spirit’s leading in what we should or shouldn’t say, when, where, and to whom.

Something that will help tremendously in combating lashon hara is to develop our mind, heart, and actions toward thinking well of others as a general rule. What we think of others makes a big difference in what we say about them. This will help us to not be too quick to criticize others in a moment of weakness. What we feel towards others leads to our actions. If we have an attitude of genuine concern for others, we will automatically act in accordance with their well being. Finally, we just need to act like our Messiah. It’s right to do good to others, even when they don’t deserve it.

This is a big topic, and my purpose here is to introduce it to you. A fuller and more nuanced understanding of these things belongs to those who will search them out in Scripture (I didn’t tell you any examples of lashon hara in action from Scripture. They’re there–search them out!) and seek to follow the Spirit in being set-apart from the ways of the world.

Finally, the fall feast season is upon us. The ten days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are known as the days of Awe. They are traditionally days of self-searching and repentance in preparation of Yom Kippur. The tongue is an area of defeat for many within the kingdom. This is a perfect time for us to consider what our words and communications with others look like from YHWH’s perspective. If they are something that He really hates, then it’s time to seek forgiveness, put them behind us, and step forward in His Torah.

Blessings! And Shana tova!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 KJV)

Notice that He doesn’t say that entering the narrow gate is hard to do. Actually, Yeshua just says that it is easy to miss. And in fact most will miss it because they are looking the wrong way even though they may pass by quite frequently. How frequently? For many, every day. But we’ll get back to that shortly.

Many don’t realize that this grave warning of Yeshua is followed by a series of three related teachings that address the issue and tell (those who want to hear) how to avoid missing the narrow gate themselves. Let’s take a closer look at three ways to miss the narrow gate:

Confidence in the Wrong Leaders

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:15-20 KJV)

One way many miss the narrow gate of life is that they get on the bandwagon of false teachers. They become so focused on being part of a popular movement, or of being accepted by a particular group, that they ignore evidence that something is amiss with the teachers to which they adhere.

Many misunderstand the false prophets referred to here as being promoters of other religions or worldly philosphies. But Yeshua was speaking specifically about those that wrap themselves in Christ-clothing in spite of the fact that inside the Spirit of Messiah is not to be found.

A Mohammedan, an atheist, a Buddhist, and others who reject Yeshua the Messiah are not in sheep’s clothing. They are typically upfront about differences in their faith and ours. Sometimes they might sugar-coat differences so as to be ingratiating and hoping to use some good old “friendship evangelism” on us. But even then, when “push comes to shove,” the differences cannot be denied. They are not sneaking up on an unsuspecting flock. It is clear that what they teach is very different than what the disciples of Yeshua follow.

Rather, the wolves in sheep’s clothing are those who pretend to be teachers of Yeshua, but are nothing of the sort in reality. Like the Mormon, the Jehovah’s Witness, the Christian Scientist, and a host of others. These are just a few examples of a large variety of wolves in sheep’s clothing ravening to steal away the souls of the real Shepherds flock. They sneak in with “plastic words” that are molded to look like the real thing, but they are only a cheap imitation. Those are some of the blatantly obvious examples to make my point. There are a great many more false teachers who are VERY hard to discern initially.

Even though these wolves might look like the real thing on casual and distant observation, followers of these people are not typically casual or distant to them for long. The wolves promoting false doctrines in an effort to steal sheep don’t have the Spirit. So they don’t display the fruit of the Spirit consistently irregardless of the show they may be able to keep going for the moment. But after some time, the works of the flesh marking these pretend apostles can be seen by close observation. And those fleshly fruits are the branding of a faker for the flock.

But those warning signs are ignored by many followers unwilling to take their idolized leader off his or her pedestal. Sadly, they will bear the price of missing the narrow gate because they idolized a teacher rather than the Word of Truth, which they have access to whenever they reach for their copy of Scriptures.

Confidence in Religious Works

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)

Yeshua was not referring to followers of anything other than a Christ-wrapped religion. Notice they say “Lord, Lord.” Notice also that they do religious things “in His name.” Yeshua was not talking about Buddhists, or Muslims, or Atheists, or anybody other than someone walking in some form of Christian religion. This group clearly thought they were doing religious service in the name of Christ. But Yeshua’s response to them clearly shows they were wrong: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” That means they were on the broad road to destruction. What happened?

They were workers of iniquity. “Iniquity” here in the Greek is “anomia,” which literally means “anti-law,” or “anti-Torah” if we use the Hebrew word translated into “law” in the Greek texts. They were not doing what Yeshua wanted them to do. Rather, they were doing what they thought was good to do in their own eyes. They were obviously impressed with their religious works and wonders, and that was another problem. They were idolizing their own righteousness. To do that, they dethroned YHWH’s righteousness.

Had they set aside their religious pomp and circumstance they might have seen the Torah of Yeshua, so clearly communicated in the entire Bible, and walked in that way. Instead, they miss the narrow gate because they are so focused on the broad road, looking unswervingly ahead to their next Christo-shindig and holy sham-wow session.

Confidence in Biblical Knowledge

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27 KJV)

Finally, we have another teaching that is often misinterpreted to be applicable to the world at large. It isn’t uncommon to have the sand-builders compared to those who follow other religions while the rock-builders are compared to Christians. But that interpretation is based on a very sloppy reading of the text. And worse, it is in error. It’s easy to see upon closer inspection.

Notice what is common about both the rock-builders and the sand-builders: they BOTH have Yeshua’s words in their ears. What is different? The rock-builders take His words to heart and do them. The sand-builders let Yeshua’s words pass in one ear and then out the other. They never take His words to heart as evidenced by their failure to actually do them.

Though the sand-builders have Yeshua’s words, they actually rejecting them and instead trust in their own way. That is proven by their actions. They prefer the broad road of their christo-religious ideas as opposed to what Yeshua Himself said to do. And as the broad road leads to total destruction, so too does building upon the sand.

The core problem for the sand-builders is that they mistakenly believe that knowing YHWH’s word is the goal of their faith. They miss the oft-spoken testimony from all of Scripture that our walk in faith is all about doing what is right, not knowing what is right. There are a great many (remember, the road is broad) that are confident in their knowledge of Scripture and fully expect, based upon their knowing “the right things,” that the doors of life are open to them. But they are deceived by their supposed Biblical “sophistication.”

But like the wise-fools represented by the sand-builders, they build their own theological systems based upon what they want to incorporate into their religion while ignoring those parts of Scripture that don’t fit into their lifestyle. Ironically, they often claim a “freedom” that leads to the worst kind of bondage of all. They are bound to the broad road that only ends in destruction.

In the end, they will be found to have idolized their theological systems and intellectual prowess. The righteousness in action that they were so uninvolved with in life will come back to haunt them in death.

So there we have an important warning from Yeshua to those who think they are following Him but really are not. His warning is followed by three specific ways that one can be pursuing “Yeshua,” but completely missing the gate He calls for them to enter through. Many are on the broad road of “almost anything goes” in terms of Biblical teachers, practice, or knowledge. But Yeshua calls us through the very narrow gate of following His teachers, His Torah, and His example of faith in deed and not just words.

Let’s take another look at the opening warning. That warning is not to the world at large, it is to those that actually think they are on the right path with Yeshua. It is significant that this warning and the applications that followed were given to those who went up the mountain with Him. They were His disciples. Or at least they thought they were at the moment. Yeshua was not offering this warning to the world. He had other warnings to give them. He was directing His words to His flock. Or at least to those who thought they were.

So let’s heed Yeshua’s words and examine ourselves under their light. Are we paying attention to teachers that speak to Biblical truth but live the world’s lies? Are we impressed with the things we are doing for the kingdom, or are the words of the King being impressed upon us? And are we building our lives upon obedience to YHWH’s way or are we building sandcastles of the shifting sands and tides of our own moral whims and fancies (or fantasies)?

We know better brethren because He has taught us better. So let us do better, as unto the reverence and honoring of our King. In so doing we enter the narrow gate to which He calls us. L’chaim, mishpocha!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Having received my theological training from a highly respected Midwest Bible college over twenty years ago, and the experience in ministry and interaction with many, many pastors over the years since then, I have first hand knowledge of this issue. And my answer therefore ends up being more “nuanced.”

In short, I don’t think pastors are trained “to” undermine Yeshua’s message. In fact, their training is intended to do just the opposite. BUT, the sad result of their training is that it almost always does end up undermining Yeshua’s message.

That’s because of what I call “Biblical Sophistication.” They have been deceived into making the irrelevant important. In that process they largely and consistently ignore what is vital to the faith of a New Covenant believer. The end result is to slip further into error. In the slipping, their error must be even more rigorously defended and more blindly embraced irregardless of the truth.

What is reaped in this folly is a vicious downward cycle. Sadly, they unintentionally (generally) lead others blindly down into the same pit. The broader problem here is something I call “Biblical Sophistication.” I’m using the word sophistication with a sense of irony here of course.

“Biblical Sophistication” is the attempt to know all things Biblical from an intellectual standpoint. The major motivation in “doing” the Bible for many of these biblical sophomores becomes to demonstrate the level of their sophistication with the Bible. In other words: to show off how smart and righteous they are. Bad news already. But it gets worse.

In order to aid in that hell-spawned effort (and profit from it), all kinds of systematic theologies, pop religious idols, glossy Bible “studies” and a whole host of gimmicks disguised by biblical-sounding lingo and pious buzzwords are hatched. The net result is that, by and large, flocks of believers are led away from what is absolutely vital for all under the New Covenant: to simply (and faithfully) read their Bible and do what it says.

Biblical Sophistication is not equal to Biblical Understanding. Biblical Understanding is the experienced and event-shaped understanding of YHWH’s word that leads to the moral living that is the mark of YHWH’s people. “Biblical Sophistication” acts as a cheap substitute. In fact, the brand of Biblical Sophistication I’m referring to actually leads to an argumentative, self-righteousness, and judgmental spirit. A sure mark of the flesh.

Reading the Bible, and most vitally important, doing what it says to do, leads to “Biblical Understanding.” Biblical Understanding is the internalized word of YHWH that is nurtured in us by the Spirit and truly impacts the world as we apply it, by the Spirit again, in an experienced and skilled manner. The result is that the Bible comes to life and is expressed (demonstrated and communicated) through our life.

To sum up, pastors are (usually) not trained to undermine Jesus’ message, but their training usually results in doing just that. They have been deceived. I thought the video above does a good job in describing a major trap into which so many pastors (and many more laypersons, for that matter,) fall.

We must be careful to not fall into the same kind of traps ourselves. The trap works on non-pastors as well. And don’t get too caught up in titles. I’ve run across more than a few “messianic rabbis” (of both the real and the three-dollar-bill type) making the same mistake from a different angle.

Our best defense? Our greatest hope in this mess? As always: read our Bible and do what it says. That is always the bottom line for New Covenant believers. And since I’ve reached the bottom line of the issue, that’s all I have to say about the matter. Today.

Blessings, family in Messiah

PS. If the embedded video above didn’t play, you may have better luck viewing it here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

Being homeschoolers, we happily avoid that rush. And besides that, the Zboran homeschool has already been up and running since July 1st (that’s the first day of the Missouri school year). We start slow and early so we’re running full-steam by the time September rolls around.

And full-steam this year will include the beginning of a Biblical Hebrew course of study for the kids. And so, as I’ll be leading the Zboran brood in those endeavors, I was hunting for some relevant supplemental study materials online the other day.

And did I ever come across a great resource for when they begin to really “hit the books” again! And, even better (they’ll think), this book will be a comic book! Since I know some of you are studying Biblical Hebrew, and many more of you know someone who is, I thought I’d point you in the direction of this free(!) and fun educational resource.

At www.animatedhebrew.com you’ll find a number of free educational resources for studying Biblical Hebrew. The one that really caught my eye was the Jonah comic book. Here’s the author’s description (I’ve highlighted what I especially like):

Every word of the Hebrew text is included in this Jonah comic in multiple scripts (square, cursive, paleo-Hebrew) and multiple forms (consonantal, pointed, cantillated). You can also listen to my slow, deliberate read of the Hebrew text, and pause or repeat at any time. At the bottom of the screen you’ll find ancient and modern translations that you can compare with the Hebrew text (Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Latin, German, French, and 3 English translations). This comic is a great way to learn or practice your biblical Hebrew. It will help you develop an “ear” for the language and wean your dependence on pointed texts. For an extra challenge, use the ‘no text’ option to try memorizing the whole book.

Pretty impressive sounding! Does it live up to all that? I think so, but check it out for yourself. You can set it to manual or auto play and toggle between text scripts. It takes a little bit to figure out how to download and set up, but it’s worth it.

Viewing requires a free Adobe Shockwave player, which you probably already have on your computer. There is an option to view online, or to download for offline use. For off-computer use, screenshots (color or black-and-white) and their accompanying mp3 audios may be downloaded. Just load the audio to your mp3 player and print off the screenshots.

Here are some sample pages to look at now:

Sample page in square script.

Sample page in cursive script.

Sample page in paleo script.

And here’s a sample of one of the mp3 files that can be downloaded to go along with the printable pages of the comic book.

There are a number of links on the Jonah comic book main web page and it will take a few minutes to figure out all your options. Probably best, if you want to try it out first online, is to follow this link. It’s a 16MB file, so it takes a little bit of time to load. (There’s a game that plays while waiting, though!)

While you’re looking at the Jonah comic, be sure to take a look at the other free (not to mention impressive) resources offered by Charles Grebe, M.A., of Briercrest Seminary inSaskatchewan, Canada.

Just to mention another of his notable offerings:

…35 hours of audio/visual lectures covering the first 40 chapters of the textbook Introducing Biblical Hebrew by Allen P. Ross. In them I try to explain everything very carefully, including all the English grammar that so many people are missing and that most textbooks assume you already know.

If you happen to have the Ross textbook, or would be willing to buy one, this would be a good project to undertake in your spare time.

Hope you enjoy the Jonah comic, or at least hearing about it. With the summer season on the verge of winding down perhaps this will help you “fall” into some new Hebrew studies before too long!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimblogz.com | www.jimblogz.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.

It doesn’t happen often but when it does it can be stunning. Even more so when we stumble across a Scriptural gem just sitting there plain-as-day that we never “noticed” before and no one has introduced to us previously. That’s when things get really exciting!

Daniel, a personal hero of mine, was a man who was given many prophetic dreams and visions. And yet, I can imagine Daniel had that same stunned and excited feeling when he discovered relevant prophecy in the writings of other prophets.

We know of one such instance:

In the first year of his (Darius) reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:2 KJV Unmasked)

Daniel came to his understanding in the first year of Darius. That was also the first year of Cyrus who set the fulfillment of that very prophecy in motion (see Ezra 1:1). So Daniel came to understand the prophecy on the verge of its unfolding. His response holds an interesting lesson which we will consider in a moment. But let’s consider something more basic first.

How did Daniel work out that bit of prophetic understanding? Even though Daniel didn’t tell us I think it’s easy enough to figure out. Let’s look at Jeremiah. Here are the verses that were likely the key that the Spirit used to unlock Daniel’s understanding:

For thus saith YHWH, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith YHWH, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith YHWH: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith YHWH; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:10-15 KJV Unmasked)

Wow! That was it? Sitting there right out in the open. And yet it apparently took Daniel decades to notice it. It’s impossible to imagine this was the first time he had read those words. He had to have been over eighty years old at that point!

The more believable explanation is that the words never “hit home” for Daniel before then. He had read them on previous occasions but they had never made an impression on him. That’s how Scripture is often times. It’s almost always very plain, open, and easy to understand…at the right time.

The Holy Spirit is involved in presenting the truths of Scripture to us as we need to become aware of them. The trick is for us to be continually (ie. daily) in Scripture to allow the Spirit to reveal His truth to us at the right time.

But besides exposing ourselves to YHWH’s Word regularly, there is another vitally important lesson for us learn by example from Daniel’s “discovery.” Let’s continue where we left off with the Daniel passage:

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; (Daniel 9:3-4 KJV Unmasked)

Why did Daniel respond this way to his understanding the relevance of Jeremiah’s prophecy to himself? There is a very subtle lesson here that is easy to miss if we just assume that Daniel’s response was random or generic in nature.

I think Daniel did something more important than simply react to his discovery. Rather, Daniel acted in fulfillment of the prophecy when he realized it’s application to him. Let’s look again at the prophecy in Jeremiah:

For thus saith YHWH, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith YHWH, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith YHWH: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith YHWH; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:10-15 KJV Unmasked)

See that? YHWH said He would accomplish what He wanted done by Babylon in seventy years. At that point, Judah would turn to Him and seek Him earnestly and diligently. Then He would turn away Judah’s captivity.

Daniel not only understood the prophecy, he understood the response of Judah that would lead them out of captivity. As a man of Judah taken captive, Daniel understood and acted upon the role Judah would play in the fulfillment of the prophecy. He turned to YHWH with prayer and repentance as indicated in Jeremiah.

Compare the Jeremiah and Daniel verses again. Daniel not only understands that captivity time is drawing to a close, but he also understands that the people of Judah will respond to YHWH in a certain way at that point to bring the event about. So Daniel responds appropriately!

When the Holy Spirit reveals prophetic truth to us from Scripture it is for a reason that likely involves some kind of action by which we become a part of the fulfillment. That’s why we are given an understanding.

Even Daniel didn’t understand all the prophecy given him to write for a future generation. That’s because it was for someone else:

And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. (Daniel 12:8-9 KJV Unmasked)

Daniel was given understanding of those things he needed to understand. The same goes for us, I believe. When we see for ourselves something from Scripture we can be sure that the Holy Spirit has revealed it to us for a reason. And what is that reason?

Usually it’s to get started preparing, responding, and/or teaching an application to the revelation. It is a call to present action in light of advance understanding of what is coming. We become a part of the fulfillment of prophecy when the Spirit shows it to us from Scripture and we respond in accordance to what has been revealed.

And what if you don’t see these things revealed so that you can respond? You will. But you need to be in Scripture regularly, all the while seeking the Spirit’s revelation of what you need to know today. If you don’t have a daily Scripture reading program that would be a great place to start.

Just read something, even only a chapter (5-10 minutes) each day. Before too long, you will be “noticing” verses as if for the first time. They will be ripe with meaning just for you.

Relax, be patient, and read. When the “gem” sparkles at you, grab it! Consider why the Spirit should have brought it especially to your attention. Then seek an understanding from the Holy Spirit as to how you might apply what He has shown you. Then you must apply it. He won’t keep showing you new things if you refuse to follow through on what He has already shown you.

Eventually, He will show you prophecy that applies to you. But at first it is more likely that your revelations will be moral or relational (with Him) in nature. Those are far more common. But they are just as exciting when they appear. You know they are hand picked by the Spirit just for you!

So let’s keep in Scriptures daily and respond with action. And when the Holy Spirit reveals something prophetic to us we will be prepared to respond. And responding to revealed prophecy can be very fulfilling indeed!

Abba, Father, thank you for placing your Spirit within us to reveal to us your Word. Help us to expose ourselves to your Word regularly, help us to hear your Spirit in your Word, and help us to respond as your people. We ask this in the name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let us know! Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t miss a Minute Message! Get it delivered to your e-mail. Simple and free sign-up with this form!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce and distribute hereby granted if the following four conditions are met: 1) The article must be reproduced in its entirety and the content may not be modified in any way. 2) Author’s name and copyright information, including these permission conditions must appear with article. 3) Author’s contact information (jim@jimzboran.com | www.jimzboran.com) must appear with article. 4) Article must be freely distributed without charge or financial gain.