domingo, 2 de diciembre de 2018

25 de DICIEMBRE algo para reflesionar

Vamos a romper un poco el buen hábito que tenemos del estudio del sermón del monte  y dado que estamos en el mes de diciembre  quiero que penséis en algo que yo he estado meditando alrededor de tres años

Jeremías 25:32.................el  mal  ira  en  aumento
Ezequiel  3:16-21……………..el atalaya  avisa del peligro, una analogía de el profeta
Judas 3..............

Que relación tienen estos pesajes entre si?  cuando cada uno les dista un espacio de tiempo realmente largo                 ¿donde nos quiere llevar el hermano ¿…………………….

Empezando por el ultimo  el escritor de el libro de Judas se proponía escribir una carta sobre la salvación la gracia común de todos los creyentes destacando la unidad y la comunión entre los hijos de Dios atraves de la gracia que se nos dio en Jesucristo, pero se vio obligado a cambiar de tono…………
Me vi obligado o me ha sido necesario  exhortaros  para que contendáis ardientemente por la fe  que una vez fue dado a los santos  la razón la encontramos  en el v4,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

La palabra contender  ardientemente mas que una lucha a el estilo que el mundo entiende El creyente NO DEFIENDE SU FE  EN LA MISMA FORMA  O AL MISMO ESTILO QUE EL MUNDO DEFIENDE SUS INTERESES  hay mucho carnal en esto ,…………  deja la idea, conocer la sana doctrina y discernirla de el error , pensar dentro de uno mismo dejando que esta forme carácter,en griego  (DIALEGOMAY)

Es esto un  fenómeno de los días de Judas?   no……….. 
Es necesario en nuestros días también  y no solo esto si no ya  en los tiempos antiguos  fue necesario que se contendiera  y hubiera  buenos atalayas sabemos lo que es un atalaya sobre un muro de la ciudad estaban siempre vigilantes para avisar si venia un peligro   para avisar al pueblo  con voz segura y firme…………..el Señor lo usa como analogía de Sus siervos 

Es por eso que encontramos lo que hemos leído en Ezequiel…….. Dios lo había puesto  como atalaya  al profeta  durante la deportación a Babilonia………..

 Oía la palabra de  boca de Jehová y trasmitía el mensaje una tremenda responsabilidad  por ello los predicadores de el evangelio deben de ser buenos atalayas que sin temor  proclamen al pueblo las verdades de el Dios vivo……………
NO SOLO EL PROFETA  SI NO EL CREYENTE EN EL LUGAR DONDE ESTA  debe de ser un buen atalaya
¿Ahora bien que relación tiene  todo esto  con el versículo que hemos leído?
 En jeremías  25:32
32Así ha dicho Jehová de los ejércitos: He aquí que el mal sale de gente en gente, y grande tempestad se levantará de los fines de la tierra.
Es  una amonestación  primero en su contesto para el pueblo de Israel    que sufrirá el castigo de babilonia  por olvidarse de su Dios y seguir las costumbres  y tradiciones  de las gentes y las naciones  aunque estas serán juzgadas por sus hechos pero              el juicio empieza primero por la casa de DIOS
 Hay una tremenda advertencia  para el creyente por que tiene su cumplimiento cabal en los últimos tiempos  que cosa
  QUE EL MAL   SE ESPARCE Y SE LEVANTA sale de gente en gente  pasa de generación a generación  CON TEMPESTAD  HASTA LOS TERMINOS MAS ESCONDIDOS DE EL PLANETA  vendrá el juicio de DIOS ………………por lo tanto al igual que Israel  somos exhortados  a que no se contamine con los dioses de alrededor   que no mezcle  lo profano con lo santo  este fue el gran pecado de Israel  la mezcla  y éste es el gran reto de el pueblo de Dios en nuestros días .

Lo que  yo te voy a decir aquí ahora a mí y a mi esposa  como a mis hijos en un principio, ellos ahora tienen responsabilidades familiares y no se si siguieron lo aprendido en casa, como decia nos  costo algo mas de tres años el entenderlo  y yo no pretendo que tu esta noche salgas convencido o convencida, hay personas que nunca lo entenderán  y siguen siendo HIJOS DE EL SENOR  LAVADOS POR LA SANGRE DE JESUS.
  
Quizás herirá  la sensibilidad de muchos de vosotros  aunque no es la primera vez ,,,,,,,, creamos o no las tradiciones forman parte de nosotros y nos son difíciles de quitarlas  por algo que estamos acostumbrados a realizar que siempre nos pareció que estaba bien.

Este mes es caracterizado por  luces, arboles, vacaciones, compañerismo, familia, comidas especiales, NAVIDAD  viene de la palabra  natividad o es nacer de nuevo.

 El termino esta equivocado por que Cristo no nace de nuevo pero si que nosotros deberíamos nacer de nuevo para ser salvos.
Algunos podíamos decir  bueno nosotros celebramos el nacimiento de JESUCRISTO  EN MEDIO DE LOS HOMBRES  y no participamos en lo que el mundo  hace, bueno esto es una forma poco comprometedora  por que en definitiva  de forma indirecta participo de esta fiesta, que no es de el Señor no podemos ser buenos atalayas   
 
  Hace dos anos justamente  llevados de la mano de la escritura  es posible que no os acordáis  la palabra de Dios nos convenció………..   Siguiendo  el evangelio de Lucas  capitulo 1y 2 junto con 1cronicas  24:3-10 y comparando alguna escritura  llegamos a la conclusión.
 Que  el Señor Jesús no nación el 24 o el 25 de diciembre  la escritura es clara en este aspecto AUNQUE  NO SE PUEDE DECIR EL TIEMPO  Y NUNCA LOS PRIMEROS CRISTIANOS  celebraron su nacimiento  ni el nos dejo mandamiento en esto
 La escritura nos señalaba entre últimos de septiembre-primeros de octubre que casualidad es la fiesta de Sukot  o fiesta de los tabernáculos (esta si que es una fiesta ordenada por el Señor)
Bueno  yo me preguntaba igual que tu te puedes preguntar  lo importante es que nació [pero LO MAS IMPORTANTE   es que el nazca en nuestros corazones
  Bueno en ninguna parte de la escritura se nos dice que tenemos que celebrar el nacimiento de JESUS  Y SI ES QUE HAY QUE CELEBRARLO   desde luego  la fiesta  del 25 de diciembre es la menos apropiada por ser una fiesta pagana. Y ES HORA QUE LA IGLESIA DE EL SENOR SEA UN BUEN ATALAYA.
Permíteme que os pase algunos datos sobre esto,  primero  quiero pasaros dos datos de dos enciclopedias  de mucho prestigio  dignas de confianza, CONSIDERADAS POR TODOS  y tomadas en serio
  Británica  y   Colliers  después vamos a mirar  el profeta Isaías que nos previene de esto y después  miraremos como  al igual que el pueblo de Israel cayo en la mezcla  así el pueblo de Dios  ha mezclado lo santo con lo profano
La Enciclopedia Británica señala

 "Las costumbres tradicionales relacionadas con la Navidad se han desarrollado a partir de varias fuentes, como resultado de la coincidencia de la celebración del nacimiento de Cristo con las observaciones paganas agrícolas y solares en pleno invierno.

 En el mundo de la Saturnalia romana (17 de diciembre ) fue una época de festejos y el intercambio de regalos.

 25 de diciembre fue considerada también como la fecha de nacimiento del dios Mitra misterio,IRANI  que se remonta  ni mas ni menos que poco después de el diluvió universal  el Sol de Justicia.

 Enciclopedia Colliers está de acuerdo. Cita: ". Tras el triunfo de Constantino, la iglesia de Roma asignó 25 de diciembre como la fecha para la celebración de la fiesta, posiblemente hacia el año 320 o 353 poniendo esta fiesta como decreto de estado obligación a guardarla
 A finales del siglo IV todo el mundo cristiano  celebra la Navidad en ese día , con la excepción de las iglesias orientales, donde se celebra el 6 de enero.

La elección del 25 de diciembre fue probablemente influenciada por el hecho de que en este día los romanos celebraban la fiesta de Mitra del dios-Sol (Natalis Solis Invicti), y que las saturnales también llegó en este momento. " final de las citas

Ambos enciclopedias revelan claramente que el origen de la celebración del 25 de diciembre es el cumpleaños de Mitra, el pagano dios del sol.
Los amantes del sol desde la época de Babel reconocidos en esta época del año en honor de sus dioses.
25 de diciembre es conocido como el cumpleaños de varios dioses paganos.
 
Un calendario romano elaborado por un "cristiano" en el año 354 dC (El Calendario del Codex de 354) muestra 25 de diciembre para el cumpleaños de Sol Invictus.

 No sólo está catalogado como un cumpleaños pagano, pero, aparece como el cumpleaños pagano más importante de todo el año. Se celebró en el circo romano con extra carreras de carros…………….vamos a poder ver esto

 Este es el dios sol que Constantino el Grande adoraba mientras que dice ser un "cristiano". Sus monedas de estado que estaba "comprometido a Sol Invictus".
 En 273 dC Aureliano trajo la adoración de Baal, de Siria , de vuelta a Roma, e instituyó el culto del Sol Invictus, que combinó el culto de todos los dioses del sol paganos en una - ". Sol Invictus"

Otro dato histórico



  Aureliano emperador romano antes de Constantino, antes que el cristianismo se convirtiera en la religión de el estado   fue capaz de conseguir  que todo el mundo, con sus propios dioses para ser feliz,  celebraran  25 de diciembre  el cumpleaños del Sol Invictus,uniendo a todos en esa fecha


El culto abominable de Tamuz, como se habla en el libro de Ezequiel, está relacionado con 25 de diciembre,
Esto nosotros no  sabíamos hace 10 años que estuvimos allí,en Belen en 2008
Un comentario  histórico reza asi
Los visitantes de hoy a Belén son llevados a una cueva subterránea, bajo la " Iglesia de la Natividad "y se les dice que Jesús nació allí el 25 de diciembre.

Era Elena, madre de Constantino, quien declaró que el sitio para ser el lugar de nacimiento de Cristo.

Jesús no nació allí. Es una cueva de  adoración pagana en honor de Tamuz.

 Historiador  de la iglesia Jerónimo, que escribió en latín  la Vulgata" nos dice que Tamuz era venerado allí. Él debería saberlo.

Su escuela estaba justo al lado. De hecho, la puerta trasera de su escuela conduce al templo de Tamuz. A pesar de todos estos hechos, miles de cristianos ignorantes inclinarse y besar el lugar en el nicho donde se colocó el ídolo de Tamuz

. Aunque los teólogos saben, no van a decirle a la gente la verdad. Ellos tendrán que rendir cuentas.

Hermano  cuando nosotros entramos allí  yo tuve la sensación  que eso es mentira,  allí estaba la piedra desgastada donde la tradición dice que estuvo el pesebre tremendo agujeró de toda la gente que la ha besado ,,,……………..nosotros no lo hicimos…..yo no conocía esto……………pero en mi espíritu me decía que no estaba  bien


 

A mi me a sorprendido las connotaciones  que tienen esos dioses con los baales que nos hablan los profetas los dioses cananeos……………
hay un hermano estudioso de el asunto David  Rives   que llega a la conclusión que son los mismos pero que han pasado de generación a generación………..he preocupado de estudiar esto y vamos a mirar  en Isaías……………
Cuando somos  confortados con estos hechos no podemos escapar a la conclusión  de que la navidad como es conocida y celebrada hoy tiene un trasfondo pagano cada vez mas grande  que ha sido mezclado con cristianismo……..podíamos decir que ellos mismos quieren ya  eliminar cualquier cosa que tenga parecido con CRISTO……………..  
Fue debido a esto que los grandes reformadores Lutero Calvino repudiaron estas prácticas, aunque  hay que decir que no pusieron mucho énfasis ya que en el fondo esta fiesta así como otras alejaban o ponían una tremenda barrera entre JUDIOS Y CRISTIANOS   y en cierta forma esto les conformaba.
Ahora bien los pastores en los colegios bíblicos saben esto?, claro que si  cuando se estudia temas mitológicos sale a la luz
¿Por qué algunos siguen entonces con la pantomima  de celebrar una fiesta que no tiene nada de bíblico, por  la TRADICION  esto es tremendamente poderoso y si el Espíritu Santo no ilumina esto,  es difícil quitarlo,  es fuerte y algunos dicen con buena intención  es una forma de presentar el evangelio
  ¿y yo me pregunto /sobre una base pagana? 
 No hay nada de bendición esto es mezclar  es mas a nivel personal me gusta repartir tratados pero elegiría otro día para hacerlo  que la época de navidad para que no se me confunda.

Miremos un momento la escritura  isaias 65;1-11

V11  ponéis mesa para la fortuna
Fortuna es la traducción de la palabra hebrea GAD……….  para referirse al dios de la buena fortuna que adoraban los babilónicos
De aquí bien la palabra afortunado la cual es de origen pagano…………….
Fortuna es una referencia también a GUIDE  cuya palabra viene de una antigua raíz aramea que significa invadir con tropas atacar,…..  El ejercito romano lo adopto como su guardián……. Y esta fortuna  no es ni más ni menos  que la  la figura de MITRA el dios personal de CONSTAMTINO quien vino luego a ser el jefe de la iglesia romana.
Este mismo  que ya estuvo en CANAAN ………… venia de Babilonia……..fue pasado a los persas………adoptado por  los soldados romanos  y llego a formar parte de lo que hoy tenemos  la fiesta de el invierno…os habéis fijado  en algun coche los dos cuernos de los renos,  una forma de celebrar al dios de la fortuna.
   
Isaias 65;11…………..si os fijais  aquí no solo se menciona a fortuna si no también a destino, estos son nombres de dos deidades paganas que adoraban los babilónicos
Que dia adoraban los paganos e estas deidades babilónicas
El 24 de diciembre y el 25 de diciembre
Como lo adoraban miremos Isaías 65;2-4
Iban a los huertos tomaban un árbol y adoraban bajo ese árbol, allí debajo  del árbol sacrificaban el puerco que se comerían al llegar el dia 25 de diciembre
Otra referencia  1 REYES 14;23  OS DAIS CUENTA LA CONNOTACION   debajo de todo árbol frondoso la relación idolátrica de esto
Jeremias 10;1-4 nos damos cuenta las connotaciones  de el árbol con la idolatría

 Estas [practicas  fueron adaptadas por la iglesia cristiana,PERO NO HACE MUCHO FUE PRIMERO LA IGLESIA CATOLICA APOSTOLICA ROMANA como aproximadamente hace unos 250 años,un siglo despues hace aproximadamente las iglesias llamadas protestantes pensando en cristianizar al no creyente,  mezclaron la fe con fiestas y fechas y practica paganas y el resultado ha sido una abominación al Señor
Este sentido de la mezcla es bien antiguo EL PUEBLO DE ISRAEL SUFRIO ESTE GRAN PECADO EN SUS DIAS
Éxodo 32:1-5…1MAS VIENDO EL PUEBLO QUE MOISéS TARDABA EN DESCENDER DEL MONTE, ALLEGóSE ENTONCES á AARóN, Y DIJéRONLE: LEVáNTATE, HAZNOS DIOSES QUE VAYAN DELANTE DE NOSOTROS; PORQUE á ESTE MOISéS, AQUEL VARóN QUE NOS SACó DE LA TIERRA DE EGIPTO, NO SABEMOS QUé LE HAYA ACONTECIDO.
2Y Aarón les dijo: Apartad los zarcillos de oro que están en las orejas de vuestras mujeres, y de vuestros hijos, y de vuestras hijas, y traédmelos.
3Entonces todo el pueblo apartó los zarcillos de oro que tenían en sus orejas, y trajéronlos á Aarón:
4El cual los tomó de las manos de ellos, y formólo con buril, é hizo de ello un becerro de fundición. Entonces dijeron: Israel, estos son tus dioses, que te sacaron de la tierra de Egipto.
5Y viendo esto Aarón, edificó un altar delante del becerro; y pregonó Aarón, y dijo: Mañana será fiesta á Jehová.


 os dais cuenta  se aprovecha  con buena intención  usando los dioses de Egipto [para acercar al pueblo a Jehová
El Señor no acepto esta mezcla v10.. cerviz:
10Ahora pues, déjame que se encienda mi furor en ellos, y los consuma: y á ti yo te pondré sobre gran gente

1reyes 12:26-3326Y dijo Jeroboam en su corazón: Ahora se volverá el reino á la casa de David,
27Si este pueblo subiere á sacrificar á la casa de Jehová en Jerusalem: porque el corazón de este pueblo se convertirá á su señor Roboam rey de Judá, y me matarán á mí, y se tornarán á Roboam rey de Judá.
28Y habido consejo, hizo el rey dos becerros de oro, y dijo al pueblo: Harto habéis subido á Jerusalem: he aquí tus dioses, oh Israel, que te hicieron subir de la tierra de Egipto.
29Y puso el uno en Beth-el, y el otro puso en Dan. 
30Y esto fué ocasión de pecado; porque el pueblo iba á adorar delante del uno, hasta Dan. 
31Hizo también casa de altos, é hizo sacerdotes de la clase del pueblo, que no eran de los hijos de Leví.
32Entonces instituyó Jeroboam solemnidad en el mes octavo, á los quince del mes, conforme á la solemnidad que se celebraba en Judá; y sacrificó sobre altar. Así hizo en Beth-el, sacrificando á los becerros que había hecho. Ordenó también en Beth-el sacerdotes de los altos que él había fabricado.
33Sacrificó pues sobre el altar que él había hecho en Beth-el, á los quince del mes octavo, el mes que él había inventado de su corazón; é hizo fiesta á los hijos de Israel, y subió al altar para quemar perfumes. 
El Señor no acepto esto  1reyes13;33-3434Y esto fué causa de pecado á la casa de Jeroboam; por lo cual fué cortada y raída de sobre la haz de la tierra.
Ahora bien el Señor siempre ha tenido un remanente POR GRACIA
No todos los israelitas participaron de la adoración al becerro
No todos los israelitas participaron en la adoración introducida por Jeroboam
No todos los judíos adoraron al dios fortuna y destino.
No todos los cristianos en el imperio romano aceptaron el paganismo introducido por Constantino y sus descendientes.
No todos los creyentes se unen en nuestros dias a esta celebracion.

Gracias al Señor  que esta habiendo un despertar son muchas las iglesias que están reconsiderando esto  y volviendo a las raíces  como nuestros primeros hermanos  del primer siglo
 Por que  se esta notando cada vez mas esta fiesta la relevancia que tiene  no es solo comercial  si no que tiene connotaciones  malignas ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hemos estudiado el libro de apocalipsis cap 11 que cuando los dos testigos sean muertos  habrá regocijo en las naciones y se enviaran regalos unos a otros  una especia d NAVIDAD  UNIVERSAL
Es posible que todo esto pueda herir sensibilidades…………Y YO NO SOY QUIEN PARA CONDENAR A UN HERMANO QUE NO LO ENTIENDE.
La ultima cosa que deseo  es tratar la navidad de una forma legalista y creemos que nadie va a acabar en el infierno por celebrar el nacimiento de JESUS el 25 de diciembre, a pesar que no tuvo lugar en esa fecha y soy consciente  que se tratan de tradiciones profundamente arraigadas en las familias no es fácil de cambiarlo de la noche a la mañana y sobre todo tampoco que se produzca un distanciamiento entre los pocos que somos.
 A quien no le gusta tener una buena reunión familiar donde se pueda compartir alimentos un tiempo agradable de conversación  regalos  etc.
  Por que no elegir otro momento o otra época del ano que no sea esta  por que no volver  a estas fiestas señaladas por el creador para tener  esos tiempos de compañerismo.
 En levítico 23 tenemos preciosos momentos que nuestro creador nos dio para disfrutar de el y de los demás, LAS PRIMICIAS, PENTECOSTES TABERNACULOS, son fiestas de regocijo hay congregaciones que así las tienen…………y no necesariamente congregaciones mesiánicas sino de corte bautista etc…….

Romanos 11:1-5
Quienes son el remanente?
Aquellos que no aceptan mezclar lo santo con lo inmundo que no aceptan mezclar la verdad con la mentira que no aceptan mezclar la mesa del Señor con la mesa de los demonios
¿Y quien es quien decide esto?
Cada uno de nosotros
Usted es el que tiene que llegar a un punto de su vida donde decide si acepta esta abominación de mezclar lo santo con lo inmundo o si decide exclusivamente por lo santo.

Resumimos

La biblia ensena que el Hijo de Dios vino a este mundo nacido de una virgen que hubo gozo por ello y los ángeles y los hombres se regocijaron  por ello pero

 NO enseña que nació en el 25 de diciembre si no en últimos de septiembre primeros de octubre fiesta de los tabernáculos


Jesús jamás mando que se celebrara su nacimiento y ninguno de los apóstoles  trasmitió este deseo  sino que se recordara su muerte  en la celebración de la santa cena

Que la navidad que el mundo celebra es pagana que la iglesia católica apostólica romana la traslado como fiesta cristiana pero que sus raíces son totalmente contrarias a nuestra  preciosísima fe  que mezclar a nuestro  bendito SALVADOR  CON UN dios pagano Mitras   no es ser un buen atalaya

Que es hora que el creyente  no se identifique  con nada de lo

sábado, 20 de octubre de 2018

2 Samuel 12:1-4 (from Torah teaching Tom Bradford)

RE-READ 2ND SAMUEL 12:1 – 14

As chapter 11 concluded, it seemed as though King David was above the Law. Adultery, murder: who, exactly, had authority to punish the King of Israel according to the Torah Law for these capital offenses? Civilly and practically speaking, the only way this tended to happen to a king was through insurrection and revolution (far too drastic to even consider, let alone be successful).  But no one was in the mood for that because 1) Israel was in a protracted and difficult war with a number of enemies, and 2) most of Israel preferred David regardless of his questionable and even immoral behavior. But that doesn’t mean that justice is averted. Yehoveh is king over the king. Sin will be paid for. So while we see that the civil code of justice as prescribed in the Law of Moses (the part that is carried out by human authority) won’t be applied to David, divine justice will be (because that’s the part that is carried out by the Lord Himself). 


Natan is sent by Yehoveh to confront David. But Natan does NOT present his story as having come from the Lord as part of an oracle. In other words, Nathan doesn’t say, “King, I have a message from God for you”. Rather the king grants an audience to Nathan who has something personal that he wants to say to David. So the Prophet presents David with the case of a wealthy and greedy man who takes advantage of a poor and powerless man. It is presented NOT as a parable or a story with a punch line but rather as a real and actual matter for the King to judge and then to administer justice (something kings do regularly as part of their position).

The story is essentially that a wealthy man who had vast flocks and herds of animals decides to entertain a guest who has suddenly shown up, and part of the entertainment of course involves a festive meal. A poor man who was under the control of the rich man had a single lamb as a possession. So not wanting to take from his own limitless supply of lambs, in a heartless act the rich man takes the poor man’s one and only lamb and has it cooked as the meal.

Naturally, just as all of us who are reading the story do, David impulsively sees the wrong in such a terrible thing and says that the rich man should die for his over-the-top callousness and harm done to the poor man, and that the rich man should provide restitution that is 400% greater than what he took.

Then Nathan springs the trap: “You are that man”, he says to David.

Only beginning in verse 8 does Nathan cease speaking to David from his own heart in his own words and begin to recite God’s oracle to David (as a Prophet typically does).

Sheep were often pets in that era, in the same way that dogs and cats are in our Western culture. So this story is not about the poor man’s supply of meat being taken from him. Rather this is a man (and his family) who has a great emotional attachment to the lamb the same way one would to their beloved family pet. Now as we work our way through this story that is meant to be an analogy to what David did to Uriyah, we have to be careful not to make the comparisons too technically literal at every detail. Even so, there are some choices of words used that help to make the connection in an unmistakable way; and one of these is in identifying the poor man’s lamb as a “small ewe”; in Hebrew a kibsah qatanKibsah means ewe-lamb, a female sheep. Qatan means little in the sense of “small because it is young” (like we would say a “little child” to get across that this was not an adolescent but a child that was somewhat younger than that). The idea is to compare this young lamb to Bathsheba, and thus the tradition is that Bathsheba was not a fully mature woman but rather a younger girl (perhaps 16 or 17 years old). This is further validated when there is no mention in the Scriptures of Bathsheba having any children; so she and Uriyah were likely not married very long (a year or two at most). 

The rich man’s large herds of cattle and sheep are illustrative of David’s enormous harem. The idea being that David had so many wives and concubines that it is incredulous to think that he was sexually bored by having relations with the same women because the variety was nearly unlimited. And therefore to be covetous of the poor man with his one single lamb that meant everything to him is all the more wicked.

That the rich man should die was NOT a judicial order by David to go and fetch the imaginary rich man and execute him. The Law does not allow a man to be executed because he stole another man’s sheep and ate it. Rather it was just an expression of shock and anger that anyone could be as pitiless as to do such a thing, he doesn’t deserve to live.

The real issue here is not stealing. And the focal point is not the ewe-lamb. It is all about the poor man who was victimized, and it is a story of the abuse of power of the powerful over the powerless.

Look at verse 4. The Talmud has a very interesting and profound take on this passage that we’d do well to note. The Sages explain that the person who comes to visit the rich man as his “guest” is referred to 3 times, and each time by a different connotation. And the Sages say that this guest or wayfarer represents theyetzer hara, the evil inclination. Follow me please, because this is fascinating.

First this guest is called a traveler or wayfarer (a helek), then a visitor (an arach), and then finally a man (an ish). Remember now that the term ish, man, also has the sense of “master of his domain”. In the Hebrew male dominated culture men were always in charge of their household; and men were seen as the vehicle to carry out God’s instruction in Genesis to have dominion over the earth. So when studying the Bible we must not think of man and woman (ish and ishah) strictly in the sense of male and female. For the modern Westerner male and female are rather sterile scientific and medical terminology that doesn’t carry any more than basic biological characteristics in its intent. But inherent in the Hebrew words ishand ishah are the understood foundational God-ordained roles that each are to play throughout their lives.

So the guest comes as a helek, after staying for awhile become an arach, and then finally assumes the role of an ish. The Rabbis say that at first the evil inclination arrives as a wayfarer (helek) who says he will not stay long or exert any long term influence on his gracious host. Once it has succeeded in causing the person to sin it becomes a visitor (an arach) who stays for awhile causing trouble. Eventually it stays long enough to become the master (the ish) and the evil inclination completely dominates his host. And thus is the insidious nature and method of our evil inclinations, our yetzer hara. I readily confess that I don’t know for certain if this was indeed an underlying intent of this Scripture passage or merely great lesson that comes from allegory. But at the least it is certainly an apropos description of how evil comes into us stealthily; then we “invite” it to stay because we like it and so it grows until it takes over and controls every aspect of our lives (an unintended consequence).

So, to be clear, the guest is the evil inclination that took over David, the little ewe is Bathsheba, and David is the rich man while Uriyah is the poor and powerless man. Notice that nowhere in the story does the rich man kill the poor man; so that’s why we must not go overboard in trying to make every last aspect of this story fit the precise series of events in the David/Bathsheba/Uriyah story. And since this was a personal story told to David by Natan (not a direct oracle from God) no doubt if the Prophet had concocted a story that had the powerful man killing the powerless man, David would have instantly figured out that this was about him and so the end result of David’s self-incrimination and eventual admission of guilt wouldn’t have happened. Nathan cleverly led David into it.  

Verse 5 has David ordering restitution to the poor man of 4 times the value of the lamb (in other words, the rich man was to give the poor man 4 lambs in return for the 1 he took from him). The number 4 is not an arbitrary choice.

CJB  Exodus 21:37 "If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

Once David has been allowed to finish his rant and pronounce the awfulness of anyone who would do such a thing (that man should die!), and he orders the penalty (a 400% restitution), Nathan springs the trap. “You are that man”. Suddenly David’s world has been rocked. I can only imagine the fallen look on his face and the wheels that began to turn in his mind. It was always going to take a lot to get this powerful man’s attention. He had the world by a string; many beautiful women and scores of children. Rich, powerful, living in a glorious capital city. He was feared and respected; the first King in history to unite the 12 tribes of Jacob and reign over a sovereign nation of Israel. Sometimes the Lord has to take extreme measures to rescue those He loves.

Verse 8 begins God’s verdict upon David and the administration of His divine justice since there is no way that David would ever submit to the standard civil and human justice called for by the Torah Law. 

The first thing God does is to remind the King of Israel that indeed he does have a master, even though he has been behaving as though he were untouchable. It is Yehoveh, God of Israel, who has anointed David as king, not the people. It is Yehoveh who rescued David from the previous king, Saul, not David’s cleverness. It is Yehoveh who gave David his master’s house and gave him Judah and Israel to rule over.

Let’s dissect that for a moment. The master that is being referred to here is King Saul (David’s former master). And his master’s wives are referring to Saul’s harem. Interestingly, there is no record of Saul having established a substantial collection of wives and concubines. However we must remember that there was an interim king of sorts who ruled in between Saul and David: Ishbosheth.  Very likelyIshbosheth expanded whatever limited harem he inherited from his father Saul and quickly expanded it (since he had practically nothing else to do anyway as Abner really ran the Kingdom and Ishbosheth was a puppet). So from a practical standpoint David inherited a harem that was started by Saul but had been passed down to Saul’s son Ishbosheth and multiplied before David received it.

Saying that David had received his master’s (Saul’s) household is probably referring to Michal, Saul’s daughter. It is certainly not referring to a dwelling place and David didn’t inherit Saul’s family. And we also know that Saul’s house can’t be referring to Saul’s estate because that was given to Mephibosheth after it had been run by a gentile overseer (Tziva) for a number of years.

And says the Lord, if this was not enough He would have given him more. What is the “this” that is being referred to (“this” wasn’t enough)? Everything in general, or was it something in specific? The Rabbis say (and I fully agree) that since this entire episode revolves around the story of the rich man with all the flocks and herds (the big harem), then the “this” was referring to the size of David’s flocks (his harem and family….or better, the number of women needed to gratify him). No matter, the essence of the statement is that David had been richly blessed by God’s blessing and if more blessings were needed God would be the source. So for David to go “help himself” to another man’s wife equated to contempt for the Lord’s commands and for the Lord’s gifts to him.

Before we discuss that contempt, please notice once again how the kingdom that David rules over is said to consist of Judah and Israel. I probably overdue it a tad in emphasizing it at every opportunity, but the reason is that understanding this reality is the key to understanding some basic doctrinal issues of Christianity and Judaism (and especially end times issues) that have ventured far off of the reservation because the significance of Judah and Israel as separate entities is set aside.

Please notice something else that kind of pops up out of nowhere and frankly ought to shake us to our core. David wasn’t satisfied with the gifts and blessings that the Lord had provided especially for him; he wanted what another man had (even a much poorer man). This problem may be one of the most prevalent and troublesome issues that individuals who form the community of Christ deal with. Who among us has not belittled the spiritual gifts that we have received (even in a kind of insincere humility), and instead coveted the spiritual gifts that the Lord had given to someone else. God gave you the important gift of being a gracious host but you prefer to be a teacher. God gave you the important gift of administration, but you want to possess the gift of evangelism that your friend has. The Lord has given you the marvelous gift of exhortation, to support and comfort those with other gifts; but you want the gift of giving (meaning you want more money so that you can enjoy giving more). No matter what gift we are given, we seem to either want more or want another gift that we see someone else has received. That is sin. In fact this passage calls it outright contempt for God (scary). This contempt (perhaps even rejection) of the gifts that God has graciously provided to you is (from a spiritual standpoint) essentially sin that has sprung from the same well as David’s wicked desire to possess another man’s wife (and was willing to do anything to get her). Something to ponder.

Verse 9 has Adonai saying to David that David murdered Uriyah. The CJB has it right in using the word murder instead of the more standard translation of killed. Killed is a somewhat neutral term that merely explains that you ended the life of some creature under some set of circumstances. But the Hebrew word used here is harag and (as it pertains to the death of a human being) it refers to killing that is intentional and not appropriate. And the Lord says that David did the killing; the idea of course is that the one who orders the killing is equally guilty as the one who did the killing. Thus while David probably had put it out of his mind or rationalized it away that he did not personally apprehend blood-guilt for Uriyah’s death (after all the enemy killed Uriyah in battle, David didn’t lay a hand on him), the Lord imputes blood-guilt to David because David arranged it and intended it. It is probably just now that David is starting to realize that his destiny is Sheol due to his arrogance and criminal acts; and that there is no escaping it because 1) there is no sacrificial atonement for murder, and 2) the condition of his afterlife is at stake; and it is not decided by men, but by Yehoveh. David knew that he was an eternally dead man walking.

But now the other shoe drops. Verse 10 is the pronouncement of the first part of David’s sentence. For his blood-guilt the sword will never leave David’s house. Since Uriyah died by the sword, the Lord will reciprocate in like kind. Thus this part of the sentence is as payment and consequence for David’s murder of Uriyah. This is an application of the principle that we learned a long time ago in Torah study called Lex Talionis; an eye for eye. Proportional punishment. Only the Lord can take this to a whole different level (a spiritual level) than can man.

Let’s go back to when David pronounced the sentence that the rich man had to compensate the poor man by giving him 4 sheep in return for the 1 he stole from him. This exact punishment is going to be wrought upon David, in time, but at a supernatural level that David could never have imagined. As a fourfold retribution for Uriyah’s death, four of David’s children will die; Bathsheba’s baby at God’s hand, and Amnon, Absalom, and Adoniyah in violent deaths that the Lord essentially arranged through the hands of men.

In fact, even David’s own callous words that he sent by messenger back to Joab upon getting the good news of Uriyah’s death would be thrown back in his face. Recall that upon hearing that several Hebrew soldiers had to die in order for David to achieve Uriyah’s death, David said that Joab shouldn’t feel bad about it since “the sword devours in one way or another”. Now this is applying to his own family; his treasured sons (even his firstborn) are dying violent deaths in almost willy-nilly fashion. Those soldiers who died just so David could have Uriyah eliminated had families who felt the devastation of those deaths; but there was some comfort because so far as they knew it was by means of an honorable death in battle for the sake of their people and their land. They had no idea that the whole thing had been contrived by their own king. But each time David lost a son he was all too aware of what was happening; his sons’ death were the consequences (even years later) for David’s total disregard for those Israelite soldiers whose lives he saw as having no value, and for taking Uriyah’s life for no other reason than to steal the one thing of value that he had: his wife, Bathsheba.

martes, 7 de agosto de 2018

1 samuel 12:2'0-25


RE-READ 1ST SAMUEL CHAPTER 12: 20 – end
 
Here’s the thing: God, through Samuel, is concerned that since what Israel has done is so terrible and apparently permanent, and the depth of their evil deed will have such widespread and long term effect (and the people are coming to realize it), that they’ll simply throw up their hands in despair and give up. This concern is one that many of us in this room, or who are listening, may be confronted with right this very minute thinking: I have done such evil in my life, even doing great evil as a redeemed person who knows Jesus as my Savior, how can God still love me? Why would the Lord still put up with me? How can it possibly be that in this seemingly bottomless pit of diminished circumstances in which I now find myself (circumstances caused by my own destructive behavior and attitude), that I have any reason for hope? Hope for a better future or even hope for a restored relationship with God?

And here is Samuel’s (God’s) answer to this humanly insolvable dilemma:  “just don’t turn away from following Yehoveh; serve Him with all of your heart.”

Let me paraphrase this: You indeed have done great evil, now don’t turn yourself over to it. You have done a wicked thing, but the Lord has not abandoned you, so don’t abandon Him.

Humans are the oddest creatures. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve known or counseled who either have decided, or were on the verge of deciding, that what they had done now destined them for Hell so they may as well live like it. They were doomed, and God had disposed of them (and they knew they richly deserved it), so they may as well eat, drink and be merry because what else was there to live for?

Little upsets and angers me more than to hear a Believer (or worse a Christian leader) say that grace didn’t exist until the New Testament era. That statement is either one of utter ignorance of the Scriptures or is itself an act of purposeful blindness or rebellion meant only to fulfill a manmade denominational doctrine.

If what we are reading right now isn’t about divine grace, then grace doesn’t exist at all. And by the way, grace goes back to Creation, and we can read about the Lord bestowing His grace when human merit was nowhere present, over and over in the Torah. By God’s grace Israel is forgiven for this amazing affront to God. And all He requires is for them to reestablish their trust and faith in Him and to demonstrate their sincerity by means of obedience to Him. And how is this obedience demonstrated? By scrupulously following His ways, as defined and already established in His Torah. It’s there for us to read and examine to this very day. Their circumstances would not change, but they could set their hearts on God and be faithful even within these circumstances.

The second part of God’s (and Samuel’s) concern is expressed beginning in verse 21. The concern is that on the one hand, if Israel is convinced they are doomed and with no hope, they will seek to replace Yehoveh with the false gods of the region, which amounts to placing their hopes in nothing. And on the other hand if they want to stick to God Almighty, in their great desire to show repentance and sincerity they might be tempted to do all sorts of whacky, hollow, and meaningless things that accomplish absolutely nothing. Things that do not add to their righteousness, do not atone, and are not at all demanded by God. And the effect of either of those two bad choices is to wind up even FURTHER from the Lord, offending Him even more. And yet, these two choices are probably the most common ones that Believers choose when we have greatly sinned and our guilt has overwhelmed us.

God merely says, “Come home”. Grace. Come home, the door’s open. But you must come home on God’s terms, not yours’. God’s terms seem too easy so they don’t satisfy our human desire to DO something BIG! God’s terms are the terms that have always been, but we want to do something new and spectacular. Sell our house and drop $100,000 in the collection plate. Shave our heads, put on an itchy brown burlap robe and check in to a Monastery. Pray 12 hours a day. I’ve known of people who have quit their job, leave their family behind and penniless, and go on a mission all the while thinking they are doing a righteous thing that will show the Lord just how serious they are about wanting to please Him.

Folks, it’s this same kind of misguided mentality that has kept millions (maybe billions) of men and women from coming to Messiah; the New Testament calls it The Stumbling Block. It is that faith, trust, and love of God (through Yeshua) are the only requirements for redemption. Anything we try to add to it but demeans it. However for the bulk of mankind faith is just too easy and it doesn’t satisfy our want to do something that makes us feel as though we’ve merited our salvation through deeds and expressions of worthiness. Samuel knew His people well and that they would immediately begin to think of countless actions to work their way back into God’s good graces, none of which had any value to Yehoveh whatsoever. And you know what? Those ways were bound to look suspiciously like the ways their pagan neighbors would attempt to get back into the good graces of one their gods that they thought they had offended.

So there’s the good news: God is going to conditionally forgive Israel for rejecting Him and choosing a human king to rule over them. But there’s also another piece of information supplied that although not new is humbling all over again. Verse 22 says, “For the sake of His great reputation He will not abandon His people”. Sometimes it is implied by theologians that all that God does is for our benefit; not true. The protection of His Holiness and Holy Name easily outweigh our needs and well being. His concern is less for the people of Israel (who have knowingly and purposefully violated the covenant and if not for His decision to offer grace are done for); but rather it is to uphold His Holy Name.  In fact, Samuel will continue to intercede on Israel’s behalf not so much for Israel’s sake as for the sake of God’s reputation.

So in verse 23 Samuel reiterates that he will continue to be an intercessor for Israel because to do otherwise would be a sin added to his account. This is just another way of saying, “I’m not going to intercede for you because you deserve it. I’m going to intercede for you because that’s the assignment God gave to me and for me to NOT do it would, therefore, be my sin”.

Leaders (especially of congregations) I am speaking specifically to you now so please hear this: when your people speak against you, show you disrespect or ingratitude, gripe and are never satisfied you are NOT given permission by God to abandon your post. When the people you have taught, cried with, loved, cared for, and served for years hurt you or demand more than you can possibly give, you must not stop striving to lead them in the ways of righteousness. Rather, you must persevere all the more because obviously your people need it all the more.

Easy? Hardly. But perhaps you can look at things another way. If you don’t see the people reciprocating in an appropriate way to your dedication to them, maybe you can see that for God’s unfathomable reasons it remains your holy job to teach them the ways of the Lord and to care for them on behalf of our Savior. And it would be sinful to do otherwise.

miércoles, 13 de junio de 2018

1samuel 10:1-27life-pattern of Saul, think about and picture the similar pattern that played out in Jesus’ life.

READ ACTS 2:1 - 13
The Holy Spirit acting upon men with such profound effect as to make them speak in ways that didn’t seem possible, or to see things they couldn’t possibly see, certainly happened in the New Testament, but it also happened centuries earlier in the Old Testament era.
I’d like to end today’s lesson with some food for thought. We have spent this time together exploring how we ought to consider Saul and his life in a much broader context and how (as our study of the books of Samuel continues) Saul will compare and contrast with the ideal king of Israel and the divine savior (both of which most of the Hebrews rejected). So let’s take an abbreviated look at just how eerily similar Saul’s life pattern compares to Yeshua’s, with the glaring difference being that the former is but a natural flawed man, while the latter is the incomparable, the perfect, the divine God/man.
As I list this life-pattern of Saul, think about and picture the similar pattern that played out in Jesus’ life.
  1. He was born into a small family in a small village...
  2. He was humble, agreeable, and very conscious of his family duties.
  3. As an adult, he is given the mission to search for his father’s lost possessions and bring them home.
  4. He runs into a strange seer/prophet out in a remote location; one who had been expecting him.
  5. The seer/prophet recognizes the man as the one God has chosen to be king over His people
  6. The seer/prophet anoints the chosen one, in a private and simple ceremony.
  7. The Holy Spirit of God then descends upon him.
  8. Now empowered by the Holy Spirit the chosen one begins to prophecy and profess God’s Word and do mighty deeds.
  9. He is taken to a high place and there finds his arch enemy (in Saul’s case, the Philistines).
  10. Some mysterious Men of God minister to him at this high place called the Hill of God.
  11. Until the right moment the chosen king hides his new identity from the public at large and refuses to openly acknowledge that God has anointed him as king
  12. Few of the Hebrews have any faith in him and don’t believe that this man can possibly save them.
Add to this the several references we looked at today of Saul being given the Priests’ portion and being anointed as a priest is anointed for holy consecration and we see that just as Yeshua is king and priest, so is Saul honored as king and priest.
The ultimate contrast between the failed Messiah (King Sha’ul) and the successful Messiah (King Yeshua) is that Saul is the first physical king of Israel and Yeshua will be Israel’s last physical king. But in an even larger picture we see a historical circle completed: the divine God of Israel is their original king and deliverer, then because of the people’s rebellion they demand that one of their own race become their king and deliverer, and then after an inevitable series of failures (finally as history comes to a close) the divine God of Israel appears, wrests back control from the corrupt and failed earthly ruler, and once again the Lord becomes the perfect king and deliverer for Israel.
We’ll continue in 1st Samuel chapter 10 next time.
 
 
 
 

martes, 12 de junio de 2018

Mathew 5:17

NAS Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Our Savior says two critical things in this single verse that are central to our study today (and also especially to New Testament study). First He says that He did NOT come to abolish the Law (meaning the legal section of the Torah that Jews often call the Law of Moses), nor did He come to abolish the Prophets (meaning He did not come to discard or change what Yehoveh proclaimed would eventually occur regarding Israel’s future and mankind’s redemptive history). Second He repeats (for emphasis, apparently) that while His purpose and mission is not to abolish, His purpose IS to FULFILL the biblical legal code as well as the numerous ancient prophecies of Holy Scripture (especially as pertains to Him).
I have spoken scores of times about this passage (and the next 3 verses that further cement what I’m about to tell you). I’ve explained to you that the sense of the word “fulfill” is not to “end” something (not to eradicate or stop something), which is the typical and erroneous explanation that most denominations offer. Let me quote for you Webster’s New World College Dictionary as to the meaning of the word “fulfill”. 1) To carry out something that has been promised. 2) To obey. 3) To fill all the requirements. 4) To satisfy all the conditions. All of these 4 variations of meaning of “fulfill” are generally in line with what the Greek word that is being translated (pleroo) intended. A 5th definition is offered and it is to “complete or end” in the sense of to finish writing a term paper, or deciding that your family is large enough so you’ll have no more children. If you complete a term paper and turn it in, you haven’t also abolished your term paper or the requirement to have one. The arrival of the last child you intend on having (thus “completing your family”) certainly doesn’t mean that you have abolished your older children or discarded them in favor of something or someone else.
Thus just as He so plainly said, Christ didn’t end the biblical legal code; to the contrary He obeyed it. Yeshua didn’t erase and discard the Laws of Moses; rather He carried them out to their ultimate purpose and accomplished all their requirements. So was Jesus a legalist? Should we accuse Messiah Yeshua, His disciples, Paul the Apostle and others of legalism because they continued to obey the Law of Moses? Were they not “under grace”? Did the grace offered to them collide with their obedience to the Law? If one is under grace does this, of necessity, separate a person from the obligation of obedience to God’s laws?
Let me ask you another question: are you committing “legalism” because you obey your community’s posted speed limits? Are you committing legalism because you pay your taxes? Are you a slave to the law because you don’t murder people or steal from them?
Here’s the point: the relationship that all disciples of Yeshua have with God is absolutely the result of Yehoveh’s laws that are written down in His covenants. At Mt. Sinai the God of Israel established the basis of any relationship we might hope to have with Him, and it includes laws and a justice system that enforces those laws. God established and maintains a legal relationship with the people He redeemed, Israel. And that legal relationship continues with those who are spiritually grafted-in to Israel: the Church.
Of course what entitles us and obligates us to that legal relationship between God and all members of His Kingdom is our faith and trust in His Son, the Messiah Yeshua. And ironically the legal relationship is formed from a mutual love between God and we, His worshippers. I did NOT say that Salvation comes to us by following God’s Laws; but the legitimacy of Our Savior, Yeshua, indeed WAS established by His faithfulness to God’s Laws and to bringing about what the Prophets foretold.
 
 Let me illustrate another aspect of how it is that as Believers we have agreed to subject ourselves to a way of righteous living that is defined by and expressed in God’s laws and ordinances.
 
 As an Austarlian  citizen living in Brisbane do you have a legal relationship with England? No you don’t, but if you go there you will be subject to some of their laws. If you voluntarily become an English citizen (even a dual citizen of the Australia and England) THEN you have established a legal relationship with England and are now subject to ALL of their laws. You will receive the benefits of that legal system as well as the consequences of violating its laws.
 
Yeshua is Our Messiah because He met all the biblical legal requirements. That is, He did not sin. What is sin? The breaking of God’s legal code. Does obeying all of our American laws make you or keep you a citizen? No. Neither does obeying all of God’s laws make you or keep you a citizen of Heaven. But there are varying degrees of consequences when you don’t obey God’s laws. Generally speaking God’s grace offered through trust in Jesus mitigates those penalties so that we are not eternally destroyed.