Go to Part 10...
Now
what does this have to do with what manner of man is this King of the Jews, the
man, the Moshiach Yeshua? Everything. All of what we know, all of what we
believe is based upon our choice to decide: In the above diagram [30],
we see how the choices before us are laid out.
This is the process of reason, of finding a solution, of making a
decision, of judgment. Think of it this way:
God chose to make man; God gave man His decrees. Man made a decision in the
Garden to disobey; God had to make a judgment, to decide on the measure and
determine the punishment. He then
resolved Himself to action, drove man out of the Garden and the long road to
redemption of man to God began. With His
own words, God “sealed securely” the plan by declaring through His prophets and
messengers the whole plan of salvation, crafted from the before beginning of
the world; the Lamb of God who would appear at the right time, destined to be
slain; this same Lamb who made a decision in the garden to follow His Father’s
will – it can be inferred They reasoned together…
Isaiah 53
(NKJV)
53 Who ahas believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no 1form or 2comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no 3beauty that we should desire Him. 3 bHe is despised and 4rejected by men, A Man of 5sorrows and cacquainted with 6grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and dwe did not esteem Him. 4 Surely eHe has borne our 7grief’s And carried our sorrows; Yet we 9esteemed Him stricken, 1Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was fwounded 2for our transgressions, He was 3bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His gstripes 4we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord 5has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet hHe opened not His mouth; iHe was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was jtaken from 6prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For kHe was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. lAnd 7they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any mdeceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased [delighted] the Lord to 8bruise [crush] Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul nan offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 9He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge oMy righteous pServant shall qjustify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 rTherefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, sAnd He shall divide the 1spoil with the strong, Because He tpoured out His soul unto death, And He was unumbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And vmade intercession for the transgressors. [35]
…Worship and Encountering the Divine…
Part Nine
…The Creed of Yeshua…
23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which
shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall
tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of
this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall
rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue
three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change
times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times
and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions e
shall serve and obey him.
28
Hitherto is the end of the matter.
As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed
in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. [4]
20 But the fact is that the Messiah
has been raised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came
through a man, also the resurrection of the dead has come through a man. 22 For
just as in connection with Adam all die, so in connection with the Messiah all
will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: the Messiah
is the firstfruits; then those who belong to the Messiah, at the time of his
coming; 24 then the culmination, when he hands over the Kingdom
to God the Father, after having put an end to every ruler-ship, yes, to every
authority and power. 25 For he has to rule until he puts all
his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be done away
with will be death, 27 for “He
put everything in subjection under his feet.” m But when it says
that “everything” has been
subjected, obviously the word does not include God, who is himself the one
subjecting everything to the Messiah. 28 Now when everything
has been subjected to the Son, then he will subject himself to God, who
subjected everything to him; so that God may be everything in everyone.
29 Were it otherwise, what would
the people accomplish who are immersed on behalf of the dead? If the dead are
not actually raised, why are people immersed for them? 30 For
that matter, we ourselves—why do we keep facing danger hour by hour? 31 Brothers,
by the right to be proud which the Messiah Yeshua our Lord gives me, I solemnly
tell you that I die every day. 32 If my fighting with “wild
beasts” in Ephesus was done merely on a human basis, what do I gain by it? If
dead people are not raised, we might as well live by the saying, “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
n
33 Don’t be fooled. “Bad company ruins good character.” 34 Come
to your senses! Live righteously and stop sinning! There are some people who lack
knowledge of God—I say this to your shame.
35 But someone will ask, “In what
manner are the dead raised? What sort of body do they have?” 36 Stupid!
When you sow a seed, it doesn’t come alive unless it first dies. 37 Also,
what you sow is not the body that will be, but a bare seed of, say, wheat or
something else; 38 but God gives it the body he intended for
it; and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all
living matter is the same living matter; on the contrary, there is one kind for
human beings, another kind of living matter for animals, another for birds and
another for fish. 40 Further, there are heavenly bodies and
earthly bodies; but the beauty of heavenly bodies is one thing, while the
beauty of earthly bodies is something else. 41 The sun has one
kind of beauty, the moon another, the stars yet another; indeed, each star has
its own individual kind of beauty.
42 So it is with the resurrection
of the dead. When the body is “sown,” it decays; when it is raised, it cannot
decay. 43 When sown, it is without dignity; when raised, it
will be beautiful. When sown, it is weak; when raised, it will be strong. 44 When
sown, it is an ordinary human body; when raised, it will be a body controlled
by the Spirit. If there is an ordinary human body, there is also a body
controlled by the Spirit.
45 In fact, the Tanakh says so: Adam, the first man, became a living human being; o
but the last “Adam” has become a life-giving Spirit.
46 Note, however, that the body
from the Spirit did not come first, but the ordinary human one; the one from
the Spirit comes afterwards.
47 The first man is from the earth,
made of dust; the second man is from heaven.
48 People born of dust are like the
man of dust, and people born from heaven are like the man from heaven; 49 and
just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so also we will bear the
image of the man from heaven. [5]
The
end of the matter. O if only it were
so. It has been a while since my last
post on this subject – a lot has gone on, we’ve posted some other matters, but
now need to return to this. Why? What
determines the how and why that one writes?
Well, life for one. My Hebrew teacher made an astute observation: “Life consists of getting punched in the stomach until your
stomach finally toughens up and then getting smashed in the face instead.” [6] Kind of where I have
been. Life delivers body blows and then
the upper-cut. So what has his to do
with our subject today? Friend, all of
us at one time or another have been tired.
Take enough blows and you get weary – you begin to wonder if even God
cares..
Despite what life chooses to throw at one
though, you have to rebound. I have
learned that it is all a distraction; it either is allowed by God or maybe set up by the enemy
of our soul or both, but a distraction
none-the-less. Why you might ask? To keep us focused. Again, though, some might say “God doesn’t
test men, just like He doesn’t tempt men…”
Let’s see:
Judges
7:2-8 (NASB95)
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me
to give Midian into their hands, afor Israel 1would become boastful, saying, ‘My own 2power has delivered me.’
3 “Now therefore 1come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘aWhoever is afraid and trembling, let him
return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000
remained.
4 aThen the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are
still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there.
Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with
you,’ he shall go with you; but every one of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall
not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon,
“You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps,
as well as everyone who kneels to drink.”
6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was
300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water.
7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you awith the 300 men who lapped and will give the
Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to
his 1home.”
8 So 1the 300 men
took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And 2Gideon sent all the other men of
Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was
below him in the valley. [7]
Or how about:
Psalm 11:4-5
His ceyes
behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.[8]
One more:
Who can understand it?
10 “I, the Lord,
asearch
the heart, I test the 1mind, Even bto
give to each man according to his ways, According to the 2results
of his deeds. [9]
There are many more examples, but yes, Yahveh tests us. There are just as many reasons for the tests
as there are outcomes, but a choice is made. It involves reasoning with God, it
involves us thinking. The diagram below
shows some of the processes related to thinking:
It is in this process that we make up our minds, that we
come to a decision. Almost all of the
branches can be further expanded, with more and more choices, but you see, in
the end, we all make a choice. That is
why I spoke of the “distractions” I have faced – I had to make a choice. Keep getting pummeled, or change
direction. It involves thinking,
deciding, and moving forward. No matter
the cost to me, God has sent me back to the keyboard, to write what I have
found, and to accept the consequences of my beliefs. O if there were an “end to the matter”. If only I knew for sure what God is trying to
tell me – but then – I would have to be like so many others, so sure and smug
in my beliefs that I’d have no room in my heart for God to correct me if I
needed it, or teach me what I do not know.
So I come to you humbly, and say, this is what I know now. May God correct me if I am wrong or uphold me
if I am correct. But teachable and
correctable I must be. Study what I say,
do not trust me, but check out all things against His Word. As God tests the hearts of men, so should we
test their words, but do so with a heart open to truth and to the Spirit so
that if there be found truth in my conjectures, you can safely then let God
teach you further. And oh yes, God does
care; otherwise He would not have tested me so.
He has guided me through the rough spots and patched up my wounds; part
of what I’ve been going through is simply because I have not been obedient and
continued to write on this subject.
Worship and encountering the Divine…
When you go there, prepare to be astounded, prepare to be changed. May Yeshua grant me wisdom, and may my words
only reflect His glory, to the everlasting glory of the Father of us all, YHVH
Adonai, the LORD of hosts, praises and blessings to His Holy Name, Amein…
I need
to expound a bit, and ask you a question…
Mark 4:35-41 (NET)
4:35 On that day, when evening came, Jesus38 said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.”39 4:36 So40 after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat,41 and other boats were with him. 4:37 Now42 a great windstorm43 developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. 4:38 But44 he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” 4:39 So45 he got up and rebuked46 the wind, and said to the sea,47 “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then48 the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. 4:40 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” 4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another,
4:35 On that day, when evening came, Jesus38 said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.”39 4:36 So40 after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat,41 and other boats were with him. 4:37 Now42 a great windstorm43 developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. 4:38 But44 he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” 4:39 So45 he got up and rebuked46 the wind, and said to the sea,47 “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then48 the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. 4:40 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” 4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another,
The King James reads verse 41 as this:
Mark 4:41 (KJV)
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another,
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another,
That is the question is it
not? “What manner of man is this?” The whole premise of this epistle series is
on who Yeshua is and the relationship He has to Yahveh the Father. Is there a trinity? Is it more correct to say
there is a “tri-unity”? Is Yahveh unique, or has He indeed shared His glory
with another? Is the Son begotten? Is He divine? Was He a man? Is the Father,
Son and Spirit one in the same? Do you care or is this the question that
divides us? What does Daniel 7 tell us
about the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man?
What manner of man is this?
I
could extend this study to one hundred parts and safely say I cannot reach a
conclusion that would please anyone or everyone. So, let it be known the conclusions I have
come to are based solely upon my understanding of the words of our Messiah and
the clues given in the Holy Scriptures.
My understanding is always subject to correction by the Spirit, and by
the leading of the Father and Son, and it is predicated by the idea that I see
darkly and in part. No man should come
to his understanding of God in a rigid, unyielding manner, for God Himself
says:
let him return to the Lord, so
He may have compassion on him,
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
⌊This is⌋ the Lord’s
declaration.
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from
heaven and do not return there
without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout,
11 so My word that comes from My mouth will
not return to Me empty,
Why do I think God has to conform to my way of
thinking, or that of a “church” system that has shown itself over time to be at
the worst corrupt or at the least greatly ignorant? Why should I think God has to conform to the
rulings of rabbis, the councils of men or modern day symposiums that herald
themselves as the last word on the subject ?
Isaiah 1:16-20 (NASB95)
16 “aWash yourselves, bmake yourselves clean; cRemove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
16 “aWash yourselves, bmake yourselves clean; cRemove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Says the Lord,
Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
What does YHVH mean when He says “Come
now, and alet
us reason together,”? In our Western,
English way of thinking, how do we define “reason”?
“…Full
Definition of REASON
1 a
: a statement offered in explanation or justification <gave reasons
that were quite satisfactory>
b : a rational ground or motive <a good reason
to act soon>
c : a sufficient ground of explanation or of
logical defense; especially : something (as a principle or
law) that supports a conclusion or explains a fact <the reasons
behind her client's action>
d : the thing that makes some fact intelligible :
cause <the reason for earthquakes> <the real reason
why he wanted me to stay — Graham Greene>
2 a
(1) : the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking
especially in orderly rational ways : intelligence (2) : proper exercise of the mind (3)
: sanity
b : the sum of the intellectual powers
3 archaic
: treatment that affords satisfaction
— in reason
— within reason
— with reason
Now, to a non-English speaking person, or one that is learning English, how
would you explain “reason”?
(1)
“…Learner's definition of REASON
1 [count] : a statement or fact
that explains why something is the way it is, why someone does, thinks, or says
something, or why someone behaves a certain way
- I gave a reason for
my absence.
- Is there a reason
for your strange behavior?
- There is a reason
why they don't want to come.
- I can't give you the report
for the simple reason that it isn't yet finished.
- She explained her reasons
for deciding to change jobs.
- He wanted to know the reason
for their decision.
- “Why don't you want to go
to the party?” “No (particular) reason. I just feel like staying
home tonight.”
- Give me one good reason
why I should believe you.
- For obvious reasons,
we can't do that yet.
- For reasons of
space, some of the charts and graphs have been omitted from the article.
- She resigned for personal reasons.
- He is always late, for
some/whatever reason. [=he is always late, and no one knows why]
- He tends to get upset for
no reason.
- She did things for no
good reason. [=there was no acceptable explanation for her actions]
2 [non-count] : a fact, condition,
or situation that makes it proper or appropriate to do something, feel
something, etc.
- There is no reason
[=cause] to panic.
- There's no reason
for you to feel that way.
- I had
sufficient/adequate/enough reason [=justification] to leave.
- He saw no reason to
pursue the issue any further.
- They want to try something
different, and that's reason enough for the change.
- He was found not guilty by
reason of insanity. [=not guilty because he was insane when he
committed the crime]
- We have (every) reason
to believe he is lying.
- The company fired him with/without
reason. [=there was/wasn't a good reason for the company to fire him]
- She decided, with reason,
to find somewhere else to live.
- Poor work conditions are all
the more reason to find another job.
3 [non-count] : the power of the
mind to think and understand in a logical way
- Human beings possess the
power of reason.
- (old-fashioned) He lost
his reason. [=he became insane]
4 [non-count] : ideas and
opinions that are fair, sensible, and appropriate
- I can't get him to listen
to (the voice of) reason. = I can't get him to see reason.
- He is not open to reason.
[=he is not listening to logical or sensible thinking]
rhyme or reason
— see 1rhyme
stand to reason
: to be sensible
or understandable
- If her friends don't want
to go, it stands to reason [=it makes sense] that she won't want to
go either.
within reason
: within
reasonable or sensible limits
- You can do anything you
want, within reason.
- The price is within
reason…
(2)
Learner's definition of REASON
1 [no object] : to think in a
logical way
- He lost the ability to reason.
2 [+ object] : to form (a
conclusion or judgment) by thinking logically
- He reasoned that
both statements couldn't be true.
- She reasoned that
something must be wrong.
reason out [phrasal verb]
reason (something)
out or reason out (something)
: to find an
explanation or solution to (something, such as a problem, question, mystery,
etc.) by thinking about the possibilities
- He reasoned out [=worked
out] the problem by himself.
reason with
[phrasal verb]
reason with
(someone)
: to talk with
(someone) in a sensible way in order to try to change that person's thoughts or
behavior
- They tried to reason
with him, but he wouldn't listen…” [16]
As
you can see from this lengthy set of definitions, we can infer many different
meanings from the word “reason”. But how
does this help us in determining what the Lord’s intentions were when He spoke
these words? It all comes down to our
understanding of what the Scriptures truly are.
For me, what I have found is that, first and foremost, they are a legal
document, penned over the course of time by men under the influence of the
Spirit of God, concerning the covenantal relationship between God and mankind,
especially Israel. (Note: You might have
a different opinion, but for the sake of this epistle, we’ll focus on mine –
sorry if that offends anyone…K) For all that Scripture is, the Holy Word of God, the
teachings, the histories, the wisdoms, the knowledge of the Divine, it all
comes down to this one fact: God has
laid out His contract (or better, His covenant) with a specific people, those
He called the Hebrews (later history separated them under one name, the Jews).
These were those whom He designated “His people” and in time included those who
would join themselves to Him through their relationship with His people. Basically what He said to them was this:
“Your choice… follow the
contract/covenant and these things will happen;
Do not follow the contract/covenant
and these are the things that will happen.”
(See
Deuteronomy 28 for a fuller explanation of what happens when His people keep or
don’t keep covenant with Him.)
We have made the mistake of making the
covenant of God into a religious experience instead of realizing it is legal,
binding contract[17]
with benefits and punishments; the main benefit is His love showed to us by
grace and truth if we obey – the main detriment is His judgment, His wrath
brought about by disobedience or better, unfaithfulness. Does this make Him harsh? Does this make God unfair? Why do we even think this? Does not the Creator have the right to say to
us how we should act, how we should treat one another, how we should interact
with Him? If you are not a believer then
I suppose you feel all this is irrelevant, that you as a free moral (or not)
agent can choose whatever path you deem appropriate. Even believers think this way, that as free
moral (or not moral, however you wish to define it) agents they can choose the
path that seems right to them, and then begin to pick and choose what they will
follow in the word and what they just will not adhere to. Just because you (or I) try to decide what is
right, is it?
The paths I have chosen to walk
I hope I have done with much consideration, much thought, much “reason”. But for it all to work for me, I have had to
make choices – I have had to decide to obey (see the reason tree again). I have had to set aside my ways, my
“reasoning”, and accept YHVH’s as the only right path there is. So what does it mean when God says “…let us reason together…”?
See if you can get
the sense of the meaning in these other passages:
Is 1:18 | 18 “Come now, and alet us reason together
(ונוכחה
)[18]” Says
the Lord, “bThough
your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow;
Hos 4:1-2 aListen
to the word of the Lord, O sons of
Israel, For the Lord has a bcase (ריב )[19] against the inhabitants of the
land, Because there is cno 1faithfulness or 2kindness
Or dknowledge
of God in the land. (2) There is aswearing,
bdeception,
cmurder,
dstealing
and eadultery.
They employ violence, so that fbloodshed 1follows
bloodshed.[20]
Ps 50:1-4 A Psalm of †Asaph. 1) aThe Mighty
One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth bfrom
the rising of the sun to its setting. 2) Out of
Zion, athe
perfection of beauty, God bhas shone forth. 3) May our God acome and not keep silence; bFire
devours before Him, And it is very ctempestuous around Him. 4) He asummons the
heavens above, And the earth, to judge (לדין )[21] His
people…[22]
Isa 43:25-26 I, I am the one who blots out your
transgressions for my sake, and I will not remember your sins.
26) Take me to court; let us enter into judgment
(נשׁפטה )[23]together. You, ⌊make an account⌋
z so that you may be
in the right. ( ספר אתה למען תצדק׃)[24] [25]
(See Also :Dt
4:26, 32:1; 2 Sa 22:16; Ps
50:1, 4, 7, 104:5;
Is 1:18, 3:13, 43:26; Je 2:9; Eze 36:4; Ho 4:1, 12:2;
Micah 1:2)
The Hebrew is clearer than the English.
Is Isaiah 1:18 the word translated as “reason” is the Hebrew word נִוָּֽכְחָ֖ה, which comes from the root:
“- Original: יכח
-
Transliteration: Yakach
- Phonetic: yaw-kahh'
- Definition:
1. to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be
right
a. (Hiphil)
1. to decide, judge 2. to adjudge, appoint 3.
to show to be right, prove 4. to convince, convict
5. to reprove, chide 6. to correct, rebuke
b. (Hophal) to be chastened
c. (Niphal) to reason, reason together
d. (Hithp) to argue
- Origin: a primitive root
- TWOT entry: 865
- Part(s) of
speech:
Verb
- Strong's: A primitive root; to be
right (that is correct); reciprocally to argue; causatively to decide
justify or convict: - appoint argue chasten convince
correct (-ion) daysman dispute judge maintain plead reason (together) rebuke reprove
(-r) surely in any wise…” [26]
The article in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament puts it this way
[highlighting and bold emphasis by your author]:
“…865b תּוֹכַחַת (tôkaḥat) argument, reproof.
yākaḥ does not occur in the Qal. It is used fifty-four
times in the Hiphil, and three times in the Niphal.
The juridical notion of yākaḥ is
clearly established by one of its early uses: Laban, having caught up with Jacob and having searched in vain
through all Jacob’s belongings for his valuable amulets, is scolded by Jacob,
“What is my sin, that you have set in hot pursuit after me? Though you have
felt through all my goods, what have you found? Set it here before my relatives
and yours, that they may decide (i.e. judge) between us two” (Gen 31:36f.).
Then referring to Laban’s dream the night before, he claims, “God has seen my
affliction … and rebuked you last night.” NASB translates, “So He rendered
judgment last night”; NIV “rebuked” (v. 42). See also I Chr 12:18; Job
9:33 where “daysman” is used, but ASV and RSV “umpire.” Yet other
usages are also witnessed, e.g. Gen 24:14, 44, “appointed.”
The forensic
use is clearest in the covenant lawsuit context. See Huffmon, JBL 78:286–95. Psalm 50:8, 21, Hos
4:4, and Mic 6:2 are considered cases where
Yahweh in his covenant relation with a people who have repeatedly broken the
covenant, now brings a lawsuit against them after the pattern of Deut 32.
Dahood translates Ps 50:21c, “I will accuse you and draw up a case before your
eyes” (AB, 16, p. 304, but ASV “reprove,” NIV, “I will rebuke you and
accuse you to your face”). He refers to Job 40:2 where the nuance of the
participle môkı̂aḥ “he who accuses” God (RSV “he who argues”) is clearly
present as understood by the ancient versions.
However, the most
familiar passage where yākaḥ occurs is in Isa 1:18 which is within a
covenant lawsuit. Following a record of rebellion where Yahweh, the plaintiff,
condemns Judah for their self-designed religious festivals (1:10–15), Isaiah
issues a call to repentance (1:16–20).
Within this context then we should understand the expression “let us reason
together” (KJV, NIV as meaning “let us debate our case in court.” Micah 6:2
supports this notion, speaking of “the indictment of Yahweh,” then of Yahweh’s
case against his people" (rı̂b “lawsuit, case”) in parallel
with the phrase “with Israel he will dispute” (RSV and ASV “will contend,” NIV
“is lodging a charge,” BDB “will argue”). This judicial
element, which is the primary meaning of yākaḥ, has a clear
theological basis as seen in Isa 11:3, where the activities of “the Stem of
Jesse, the Branch” is spoken of as one who “will not judge (šāphaṭ) by
what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear.” The parallelism underscores our thesis. In addition, v. 4 uses the same
two words, “But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with
fairness for the afflicted of the earth” in connection with the ever loving
concern for the innocent party, the poor, the widow, the orphan, who are
oppressed by the greedy and ruthless (cf. Isa 1:17, 23; Mic 6:8). But it is
precisely because of the covenant that Yahweh acts in such a manner, that he
requires his people to exhibit in their lives this element of the imago dei.
It is not without
significance that Lev 19:17 enjoins the people of God to confront their
neighbors when they sin, “thou shalt surely rebuke your neighbor” (ASV), “you
may surely reprove” (NASB). RSV weakens it considerably with “you shall reason
with.” This in view of the command “you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God
am holy” (v. 2). But this confrontation has two reasons attached: to avoid
developing a hatred for the neighbor, and to avoid complicity in his sin. Verse
18 further amplifies the action with the second great commandment, “You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.” Confrontation, rebuke, correction is to be
considered, therefore, as an integral part of brotherly love.
To rebuke, to correct, to convince or
convict would not only imply exposure of one’s sin but also to call a person to
repentance. It has a theofugal[27] motion which points away from sin and to repentance
toward God. Hence the tremendous implication for discipline in the church—not
only to purify the Body of Christ, but also to restore the wayward to holy
living and covenantal service (cf. Mt 18:15; Eph 5:11; I Tim 5:20; II Tim 4:2,
etc.).
Furthermore, when one examines the many
passages that speak of God’s loving correction (e.g. Prov 3:12, “For whom
Yahweh loves he reproves”; Job 5:17), one finds the parallel term yāsar
“to instruct, discipline” or mûsār “discipline, instruction” (Ps 6:1 [H
2]; Job 5:17; Prov 3:11 [H 12]; 10:17; 12:1; 13:18; 15:5, etc.). It is evident
that there is a pedagogic[28] force to yākaḥ and yāsar. But whereas yāsar
has the notion of paternal chastisement (as evidenced by the LXX’s
translating paideuō), yākaḥ denotes education and discipline
as a result of God’s judicial actions. “This embraces all aspects of education
from the conviction of the sinner to chastisement and punishment, from the
instruction of the righteous by severe tests to his direction by teaching and
admonition” (Buchsel, in TDNT, II, p. 473). [For a somewhat varying view of the
covenant lawsuit motif, see the articles on mišpāṭ and rı̂b.
r.l.h.]…[29]
I
realize I give you more information than you probably need; the point is to
show you that I believe that my thesis of Scripture being a legal document in
the judiciary sense is correct. God is a
God of order and discipline. All that He
does has to be done in correct fashion, re, without
fault; this is different to how He expects us to behave or conduct
ourselves – He knows there will be fault in our actions... With this in mind then, think of Him as being
the Supreme Magistrate, the Most High Judge of all – how can He prosecute the
guilty if He Himself has not carried Himself blamelessly? Can God be a God of mišpāṭ, or justice, if He could be found guilty of such prosecutorial
malfeasance? There can be no proper understanding of God and His relations with
His creation if we are not acutely aware of the mišpāṭ (justice or judgment) of God.
The heart of the sufferings of our Messiah Yeshua rests upon the proper
comprehension of this fact, to the point where our salvation relies upon
it. The knowledge and ability to grasp
the magnitude of the coming age, the Kingdom of God, depends on our coming to
terms with this God of justice. We
either come as repentant sinners, trusting (believing) in the atonement
performed by Yeshua, or we will come as unwilling participants in the greatest
cosmic act of justice ever seen, the Day of Jacob’s Troubles, the great and
terrible Day of the Lord. All Scripture speaks of this impending mišpāṭ, this judgment, and none of us will escape if we ignore the salvation
offered to us. I am not saying that
there has to be complete understanding before we are drawn to Messiah – that is
the work of God through the Ruach Ha’Kodesh.
By the power
Figure 2 Decision Tree - created in FreeMind ©2000-2013
of God we begin to feel that
lurking some place in time, this justice awaits. It is because of our sins, our
unfaithfulness to our God, that we need a Savior - what I am saying is that
after He saves us (the evidence of His mercy), we need to understand who He is
so that we will start to walk in truth.
They, God the Father and the man
Yeshua, agreed to the path.
That is
reasoning together with God, to hear the case, to make a decision and to agree
with Him.
Mišpāṭ
found its implementation on the Mount of Olives, in the place the Jews called
the “ The Place of the Skull”, near to where the Red Heifer was offered. Here on this hill, where the Execution Stake
- the “Cross” would face the Temple Mount – here is where the eternal plan of
salvation would be carried out. In the
Greek, the word we translate as “Cross” is defined as:
“…- Original: σταυρός
- Transliteration: Stauros
- Phonetic: stow-ros'
- Definition:
1. an upright stake, esp. a pointed one
2. a cross
a. a well-known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment,
borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed
among the Romans, down to the time of Constantine the great, the guiltiest
criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and abettors of
insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of
the governors, upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens
themselves
b. the crucifixion which Christ underwent
- TDNT entry: 16:32,1
- Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
- Strong's: From the base of G2476;
a stake or post (as set upright) that is (specifically) a pole
or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively exposure
to death that is self-denial; by implication the atonement of
Christ: - cross.
Total KJV Occurrences: 22
• cross, 22
Mat_27:32;
Mat_27:40; Mat_27:42;
Mar_15:21; Mar_15:30;
Mar_15:32; Luk_23:26;
Joh_19:17; Joh_19:19;
Joh_19:25; Joh_19:31;
1Co_1:17; 1Co_1:18;
Gal_5:11; Gal_6:12;
Gal_6:14; Eph_2:16;
Php_2:8; Php_3:18;
Col_1:20; Col_2:14;
Heb_12:2 …”[31]
The base (root) word that σταυρός (stauros) comes
from is ἵστημι, ttransliterated as [h]istemi.
It is defined as:
“…to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set
a.
to bid to stand by, [set up]
1.
in the presence of others, in the midst, before judges, before members of the Sanhedrin;
2.
to place
b.
to make firm, fix establish
1.
to cause a person or a thing to keep his or its place
2.
to stand, be kept intact (of family, a kingdom), to escape in safety
3.
to establish a thing, cause it to stand 1b
2. to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything
a. to set or place in a balance
1.
to weigh: money to one (because in very early times before the introduction of
coinage, the metals used to be weighed)
3.
to stand
a.
to stand by or near
1.
to stop, stand still, to stand immovable, stand firm 2a
b.
of the foundation of a building
c.
to stand
1.
continue safe and sound, stand unharmed, to stand ready or prepared
2.
to be of a steadfast mind
The definition highlighted is the one I wish us
to look at. In paraphrase, “..to uphold
or sustain the authority…to set or place.. a balance…” What was upheld in the crucifixion of Messiah? What was restored (balanced out)?
…Justice and Mercy…
Justice was meted out, peace was restored. This is part and parcel to the preaching of
the Gospel, to defining what manner of man is He. This is the mišpāṭ of
God, this is the heart of worship, the touching of the divine. This is the Gospel, the restoration of the Houses
of Israel, the drawing of the remnant, the creed of Yeshua.
To better comprehend this, we need to take a step back and see how,
over time, my own understanding has had to grapple with two seemingly
incompatible forces. The following discourse ran in an earlier blog post (Author’s
note: I have made a few edits, but have largely left my main thoughts
unchanged, for I do want to contrast what I thought then with what I realize now
– remember – teachable and correctable) : [33]
“…This nation is not Gospel hardened; it is Gospel ignorant because
most of its preachers are. Why does our
country appear so outwardly depraved? Is
it because of the liberal politicians, the corrupt bankers or Hollywood? Does it have more to do with the Wall Street
thieves, the gamblers, drunkards and drug abusers? Is it the conservative politician, the left
wing, the right wing, the immoral, the abortionist, the pro-life movement, the
straights, the gays? What is the cause
of our country’s maladies today?
I’ll
tell you the truth, and you won’t want to hear it. The problem is in reality the so
called evangelical pastor of today, the preacher and the evangelist. It is the televangelist, the “seer”, the
self-proclaimed prophet and prophetess, the self-appointed “anointed” apostles
of today that are at the root of this corrupt society and nation in which we
live. We do not know the Gospel. We have taken the Glorious Gospel of our
Blessed God and have turned it into “four spiritual laws” and “five things God
wants you to know” with a little superstitious prayer at the end and we hope
someone repeats it after us with enough conviction so that we can raise our
hands and shout “Hallelujah!” and then we can pope-ishly declare him forgiven
of his sins and say to all he is born-again!
We’ve traded regeneration for
decisionism.
How many will
admit, and I mean, how many of you who say you’ve walked with Yahveh Adonai all
your lives some 10, 20, some thirty years and then will say at the end of this
discourse “I’ve never heard this before!”?
You haven’t heard it because it isn’t taught: the doctrines that speak
of knowing and understanding the nature of God are not taught. The mišpāṭ
of God is ignored and
replaced with “your best life now!” If we ignore the sacred and embrace the
profane, this then sets up the
great dilemma. If God is just – and He
is – He cannot forgive you. This is the
greatest problem of Scripture. How can
God be just and at the same time be the justifier of wicked man? Scripture plainly tells us in Proverbs 17:15 :
Yet in spite of this we will
sing every Sunday about how God justifies the wicked. The greatest problem we face is a just God
that cannot and will not forgive wicked men.
If you understood the nature of God, you wouldn’t be
sitting in your pew; you’d be prostrate on the ground before Him! O wicked man! It isn’t for you that you have
found justification – it is for His Glory and His purpose, His Eternal Purpose,
laid before the foundation of the world that He would send His Son, His only
begotten Son to the tree – to bear upon His blameless self and pay the cost for
the sins of you and the sins of me. He
would become a curse to remove the curse – for love’s sake, for His Glory. God to be just must condemn wicked man; but
He Himself made a way – and sent the Way – to redeem us. All of us, all who claim to be
believers, know the story. But do you know the truth? O we say “Yes!”, that Yeshua hung on that
cross, suffering, bleeding, dying – and God, God had to turn away, had to
forsake this man who became sin…
Some
would say God didn’t have it in Him to bear it…
- NO! -
In the garden
Yeshua prayed “…take this cup from me…” We all assume it was the cup of suffering,
the death that awaited Him, but no, the cup was exactly what Messiah knew it to
be: the Wrath of God. The wrath that had
to be poured out onto sinful man – someone had to die… Someone had to be the vessel of wrath:
53 Who ahas believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no 1form or 2comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no 3beauty that we should desire Him. 3 bHe is despised and 4rejected by men, A Man of 5sorrows and cacquainted with 6grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and dwe did not esteem Him. 4 Surely eHe has borne our 7grief’s And carried our sorrows; Yet we 9esteemed Him stricken, 1Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was fwounded 2for our transgressions, He was 3bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His gstripes 4we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord 5has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet hHe opened not His mouth; iHe was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was jtaken from 6prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For kHe was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. lAnd 7they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any mdeceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased [delighted] the Lord to 8bruise [crush] Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul nan offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 9He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge oMy righteous pServant shall qjustify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 rTherefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, sAnd He shall divide the 1spoil with the strong, Because He tpoured out His soul unto death, And He was unumbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And vmade intercession for the transgressors. [35]
It pleased the Father to crush
Him, and crush Him He did. We think of
Messiah’s suffering, the scourge, the crown of thorns, the beatings, the
humiliation – we consider this punishment at the hands of men as Messiah was
going to the cross to be the propitiation of our sins, that by these, His
sufferings, our debt was paid. This is
our romantic powerless view of the Gospel, the reconciliation. It pleased God to crush Him. Wrath had to be poured out for sin and only
the Son could bear it. This suffering
had to be - this wrath of God – but it
wasn’t payment for our sin. Messiah
bearing the weight of our sin – that was payment. Messiah taking on our sin – that was
payment. If we stop at the suffering of
Messiah – we don’t have a Gospel.
Messiah was crushed by the mišpāṭ of God.
By satisfying the justice of God with His death, God the Just could
become the justifier of wicked man – the debt was paid.
…We
wonder why the Gospel as it is preached has no power…
…All
we focus on is the suffering – not the redemption by justice…
We can and
sometimes do spend a lifetime searching the Scriptures. We dig and dig, looking for the next “golden
nugget”, and when we gleam one, we want to shout and share with all who will
hear. We will spend month’s studying
Paul’s Epistles, and will comb endlessly through John’s and Peter’s. Maybe we’ll even spend some time trying to
understand Torah, the Prophets and
the Wisdom literature. But the
Gospels? O, we know the story. Verily,
verily I tell you, we know nothing. We
don’t even understand the seven parables of the Kingdom of God! First and foremost, forget the rest! Pick up the Bible – don’t put it down until
you understand one thing: fill yourself with the Cross. Get around it; grab hold of it, for without
it we are pathetic indeed. It isn’t
about suffering, or substitution, it is about justice revealed and
redeemed. What is the message taught by
the Apostles? Messiah crucified –
Messiah resurrected – that is what we must know! Paul says in 1
Corinthians 2:2 (NKJV ):
Barnes says of this verse:
“…Not to know - The word “know” here εἰδέναι eidenai is used probably in the sense of “attend
to, be engaged in, or regard.” I resolved not to give my time and attention
while among you to the laws and traditions of the Jews; to your orators,
philosophers, and poets; to the beauty of your architecture or statuary; to a
contemplation of your customs and laws, but to attend to this only - making
known the cross of Christ. The word εἰδω eidō
to know, is sometimes thus used. Paul says that he designed that this should be
the only thing on which his mind should be fixed; the only object of
his attention; the only object there upon which he sought that
knowledge should be diffused. Doddridge renders it “appear to know.”
Anything among you - Anything while I was with you. Or,
anything that may exist; among you, and that may be objects of interest to you.
I resolved to know nothing of it, whatever it might be. The former is probably
the correct interpretation.
Save Messiah Yeshua - Except Messiah Yeshua. This is the only
thing of which I purposed to have any knowledge among you.
And him crucified - Or, “even καί kai
him that was crucified.” He resolved not only to make the “Messiah” the grand
object of his knowledge and attention there, but even a “crucified” Messiah; to
maintain the doctrine that the Messiah was to be crucified for the sins of the
world; and that he who had been crucified was in fact the Messiah. See the note
at 1Co_1:23. We may remark here:
(1) That this should be the resolution
of every minister of the gospel. This is his business. It is not to be a
politician; not to engage in the strife’s and controversies of people; it is
not to be a good farmer, or scholar merely; not to mingle with his people in
festive circles and enjoyments; not to be a man of taste and philosophy, and
distinguished mainly for refinement of manners; not to be a profound
philosopher or metaphysician, but to make Christ crucified the grand object of
his attention, and seek always and everywhere to make him known.
(2) he is not to be ashamed anywhere of the
humbling doctrine that Christ was crucified. In this he is to glory. Though the
world may ridicule; though philosophers may sneer; though the rich and the frivolous
may deride it, yet this is to be the grand object of interest to him, and at no
time, and “in no society” is he to be ashamed of it!
(3) it
matters not what are the amusements of society around him; that fields of
science, of gain, or ambition, are open before him, the minister of Christ is
to know Christ and him crucified alone. …
(4) the
preaching of the cross is the only kind of preaching that will be attended with
success. That which has in it
much respecting the divine mission, the dignity, the works, the doctrines, the
person, and the atonement of Christ, will be successful. So it was in the time
of the apostles; so it was in the Reformation; so it was in the Moravian
missions; so it has been in all revivals of religion. There is a power about
that kind of preaching which philosophy and human reason have not. “Christ is
God’s great ordinance” for the salvation of the world; and we meet the crimes
and alleviate the woes of the world, just in proportion as we hold the cross up
as appointed to overcome the one, and to pour the balm of consolation into the
other…”[37]
“What?” say
you… I can get by with knowing so little
about the Second Coming – even if all of Christendom wants to know when, cause
that’s all they seem to care about – pre-tribulation, mid-trib, post-trib, no
trib – I say just give me the cross!
I cry “O let me know you Yeshua on that
cross! Let me know and understand how
You took the wrath, the justice of God for me!
Let me weep at what I don’t know, teach me O Holy One what I must know –
let me spend eternity trying to understand that which even the angels
don’t…”
How can we
continually treat the cross and the justice it represents as if it is a ten
minute lecture, with a beginning, a middle and an end? What good is it to me to know all the
mysteries if I neglect the cross?
It is all
about Him, on that tree, that execution stake.
Catch a glimpse at what He did on that tree. Before the tree there was Abraham and Isaac. We know how God stayed Abraham’s hand. Thousands of years later, with Abraham’s
knife in His Hand He produced His own lamb, and slaughtered His own Son under
the full force of mišpāṭ.
Messiah did not become sin; to have been spotted with sin would have
blemished Him, making Him unacceptable; He was a pure sin offering, once for
all. Nothing blackened the heart of this
offering, not the stripes, the thorns, the beatings. Nothing besotted the pure Spirit, no guile,
no sin. He stood in the face of the
gale, the maelstrom of Holy Anger and Justice, and gave His own what they could
not obtain; the satisfaction of Holy Justice.
Do you see now why this little gospel you preach has no power?...” [38]
Christians do not understand it; Muslims do not
understand it; the rest of the “-isms” and other religions do not understand
it; only Judaism seems to grudgingly grasp and tries to ponder the role of
justice in God’s dealings with man, but they only see with one eye. For us to perceive the manner of man Yeshua
was is to try by taking ahold of the way in which He was brought up – in the sphere
of worship that God instituted with His chosen people, the Jews.
Now before we go on, I have to offer this up for
discussion: what I had written before concerning God’s justice has also,
necessarily, had to undergo a thorough re-evaluation. So why the long discourse
if my views have changed? Not because my views have undergone a significant
change, but more of a re-alignment if you will. I still see justice and God’s legal contract
in the writings of the Scriptures – the language is clear. What I didn’t see before is that justice and
mercy go hand in hand, just like law and grace.
In his book Possession and
Persuasion: The Rhetoric of Christian Faith, author Robert Hach says this:
“…A re-examination of the
prophetic and apostolic references to the justice and the righteousness of God,
however, suggests that a paradigm shift,
in regard to the meaning of God’s justice, is in order. A plain reading of both
Testaments points to an alternative concept of the justice of God, a justice
that is in accord rather than in tension with mercy. A justice that is
comfortable with forgiveness…”[39]
Hach says that God’s justice
is “…not of law but of promise…”[40]
What is meant
by this? I have to admit, since I started this series on “Worship and
Encountering the Divine”, many of my “cherished” beliefs have been swept away,
many “bondages” that blinded my eyes due to wrong thinking have dropped to the
way side. A look at the cross as only
“justice satisfied” is one of these. Yes, justice had to be satisfied, but it
was satisfied with mercy. Many will look
upon the suffering of Messiah as a strange way to define mercy, but when we
look to what exactly happened at the cross, then the evidence of God’s mercy
abounds. We (meaning “I”) must
re-examine what the “Law” is in relationship to God. Is it what we have been taught for so long,
meaning, a “snap-shot” of the Father’s nature, existing internally within Him,
or is it external, a means, a plan, used by God to further His over-arching
plan of salvation for mankind? How this
matter is defined is how Yeshua’s sacrifice upon the cross is understood and
how mercy and justice fit so closely together.
For if a price had to be paid to satisfy God – that is if His nature
demands a sacrifice for sin – then is forgiveness free? Think about this: if we
are to forgive others their trespasses against us, in order to be forgiven,
what price do we extract from them? If forgiveness is not free, then what is
it? Isn’t forgiveness by its very definition the cancellation of a debt that
is not paid or satisfied? If it (forgiveness) demands a price, then is
it now just a transaction, regardless of who paid the price? Shouldn’t
forgiveness be offered freely, without regard to the debt?[41]
Clearly,
there had to be (for myself anyway) another way of looking at the Scriptures. I
had to ask myself, what was I missing? What was missing was a fuller
understanding of Yahveh’s character. As I have said earlier, many things have
changed in my thinking, and a greater grasp on just how magnificent
our Father in heaven truly is; how great is His mercy, how faithful He is even
when I’m not, how just He truly is. The
deeper I look, the more I understand just how little I know. Not a good thing for one who has been called
to be a teacher to admit maybe? O but to
be truthful – it is like Rabi Sha’ul said:
Romans 11:25-36 (NASB95)
25 For aI do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this bmystery—so that you will not be cwise in your own estimation—that a partial dhardening has happened to Israel until the efullness of the Gentiles has come in;
25 For aI do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this bmystery—so that you will not be cwise in your own estimation—that a partial dhardening has happened to Israel until the efullness of the Gentiles has come in;
26 and so all
Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “aThe Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove
ungodliness from Jacob.”
28 1From the
standpoint of the gospel they are aenemies for your sake, but 2from the standpoint of God’s choice they are
beloved for bthe sake of the
fathers;
30 For just as you
once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their
disobedience,
31 so these also
now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may
now be shown mercy.
33 Oh, the depth of athe riches 1both of the bwisdom and knowledge of God! cHow unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His
ways!
36 For afrom Him and through
Him and to Him are all things. bTo Him be the glory 1forever. Amen. [42]
The depths
and the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God…. Profound words,
even for today. As I go deeper into the
word, looking more into what manner of man was and is Yeshua, as I try to
better understand the Father, I am left in awe of Their grandeur, power and authority
that They have over my life. Now
we all have tried at one point or another to side-step God’s authority, either
by choice or design. Sometimes life gets in the way and we compromise – doesn’t
make it right but this life today is so complex that we get overwhelmed by the
forces that squeeze in on us. I don’t
believe any true follower of God goes out of their way to circumvent His
authority – we just make choices that put us in that position. This is where knowing how God’s mercy and
God’s judgment work together.
Alas, we are at that dreaded
place where size constraints matter. We
shall continue our exploration in Part 10 (I’m working on it right now, so
hopefully there won’t be as big as lag between these parts as has been in the
past…) Bear with me beloved – I pray
this study has been enlightening.
…Till we meet again, may God richly bless you my beloved, Amein…
[1]Authors
note: Use of information from
Jewish-themed websites should not be construed as these sites endorsing or
confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this epistle. I present the
information from their respective sites for instructional purposes only and/or
to aid in the readers understanding of the subjects discussed.
[2] Author’s
note: Throughout this study
I’ll be using the Net® Bible and the
Net® Notes: within the notes you’ll see symbols
like this: ( א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are abbreviations used
by the NetBible© for identifying the principal manuscript evidence that they
(authors and translators of the NetBible©)
used in translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a
more complete explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way
the NET Bible uses them.
[3] Author’s Note:
In these studies I have used the notes that come along with the passages I cite
from the sources that I cite: these need a bit of a disclaimer though. As in
all things, not everything that is footnoted is something that I necessarily
agree with, especially if it contradicts what I believe pertains to any matters
of the Torah or the commandments of God. I give you the notes as they are written by the authors of the
material I cite from, so that you can see the information contained within
them. It truly is not my place to edit or correct them; if they state anything
that is in opposition to what I teach, then so be it. I will address these
issues if requested, but for the sake of brevity (as if any of these posts of
mine are brief ☺ ) I insert them and let them stand as they are. If I don’t
agree with them, why do I include them you might ask? I don’t believe in
censuring anyone’s opinions or scholarship; as I would not want mine censured,
so I will not do to that to another. As Rabbi Hillel once stated, “What is
hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Torah. Go and learn it.” Torah
leads me to respect others, even if I disagree; it leads me to present
both sides of the coin, even if it could mean I’d lose part of the argument.
That is not to say I should not challenge something I believe contradicts the
truth of God’s word; that I will do in the main body of my epistles; that is
where my gentle dissent belongs. Most (but not all) of the differences will
come when I quote from the NET® Bible (but not exclusively); it has a decidedly
Western/Greek mindset to it, but as a wise man once said “How do you eat
chicken? Swallow the meat and spit out the bones..” I do though want to present
the NET® notes because there is a wealth of information and research contained
within them that I hope you find helpful.
e dominions: or,
rulers
[4]The Holy Bible :
King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.) (Da
7:23-28). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
m Psalm 8:7(6)
n Isaiah 22:13,
56:12
o Genesis 2:7
[5] Stern, D. H.
(1998). Complete Jewish Bible: an English
version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament)
(1st ed., 1 Co 15:20–49). Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications.
a Ps 18:6; Mic
1:2; Hab 2:20
1 Lit Lord,
His throne
b Ps 103:19; Is
66:1; Matt 5:34; Rev 4:2
c Ps 33:18;
34:15, 16
a Gen 22:1; Ps
34:19; James 1:12
b Ps 5:5
[8] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Ps 11:4–5). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10] Joerg Mueller, Daniel Polansky, Christian Foltin, Dimitry
Polivaev, and others. FreeMind - Free Mind Mapping and Knowledge Building
Software (version 1.0.1). http://freemind.sourceforge.net/ , ©2000-2013.
·
[The following notes are taken from the NET
Bible® footnotes,
copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d. Numbering system is unique to NET®
Notes.. For more information see
footnote #2 and 3.]
38 tn Grk
“he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 tn The
phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has
been supplied here for clarity.
40 tn Grk
“And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response to
Jesus’ request.
41 tn It is
possible that this prepositional phrase modifies “as he was,” not “they took
him along.” The meaning would then be “they took him along in the boat in which
he was already sitting” (see 4:1).
sn A boat that
held all the disciples would be of significant size.
42 tn Grk
“And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition
to a new topic.
sn The Sea of Galilee
is located in a depression some 700 ft (200 m) below sea level and is
surrounded by hills. Frequently a rush of wind and the right mix of
temperatures can cause a storm to come suddenly on the lake. Storms on the Sea
of Galilee were known for their suddenness and violence.
44 tn Grk
“And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast
present in this context.
45 tn Grk
“And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied
result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
47 sn Who has
authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7;
107:23–30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making
a statement about who he was.
48 tn Grk
“And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied
sequence of events within the narrative.
49 sn Jesus’
authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was
exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed
Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.
50 sn This
section in Mark (4:35–5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the
storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to
Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years.
All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and
his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the
kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had
power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was
regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.
·
End “NET®” notes
[11] Biblical
Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English.
NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[12] The Holy Bible :
King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[15] "Reason." Merriam-Webster.com.
Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 7 June 2014.
[18] From H3198 – meaning “to reason together, to rebuke, to judge, to
correct”
a Hos 5:1
b Hos 12:2; Mic
6:2
[19] From H7379 – meaning “case [legal], dispute, strife, quarrel, cause”
c Is 59:4; Jer
7:28
1 Or truth
2 Or loyalty
d Jer 4:22
a Deut 5:11; Hos
10:4
b Hos 7:3; 10:13;
11:12
c Gen 4:8; Hos
6:9
d Deut 5:19; Hos
7:1
e Deut 5:18; Hos
7:4
f Hos 6:8; 12:14
1 Lit touches
[20] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Ho 4:1–2). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[21] From H1777 – meaning “to judge, to contend”
[22] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update.
1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[23] From H8199 – meaning “to judge, to execute judgment; to rule”
z Literally
“count up”
[24]
The phrase is from H5608-H859-H4616-H6663
– its sense is that God literally remembers their acts and calls on them to
state their case, their cause, to prove themselves: “speak so [you] can be right”.
[25] Harris, W. H.,
III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., &
Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham
English Bible (Is 43:25–26). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[26] F. Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs; J. Strong; J.H. Thayer. Brown
Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, and the Strong’s King
James Concordance. Vol. Electronic Edition, ©2000–2013, ver. 10.2.1,
e-Sword by Rick Meyers, n.d.
RSV
Revised Standard Version of the Bible
[27] Basically “one who flees from
God”; in this sense it is used to illustrate how the revelation of sin and its
rebuke can turn one back to God.
[28]
From the root pedagogy,
which is the method and practice of teaching, especially
as an academic subject or theoretical concept.
LXX The Septuagint
Version of the Old Testament in Greek
[29]Harris, R. L.,
Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. (1999, c1980). Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (376). Chicago: Moody Press.
[30] Joerg Mueller, Daniel Polansky, Christian Foltin, Dimitry
Polivaev, and others. FreeMind - Free Mind Mapping and Knowledge Building
Software (version 1.0.1). http://freemind.sourceforge.net/ , ©2000-2013.
[31] F. Brown, S. Driver,
C. Briggs; J. Strong; J.H. Thayer. Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon,
Thayer’s Greek Definitions, and the Strong’s King James Concordance. Vol.
Electronic Edition, copyright 2000–2013 e-Sword by Rick Meyers, n.d.
[32] …Ibid…
[33] The following has been adapted from my blogpost http://davidseedofabraham.blogspot.com/2014/04/before-reformation-10-indictments-of.html
One day I will take the time to revisit this post and address the
changes in “attitude and latitiude”… my apologies to Jimmy Buffet… J)
[36] The New King James Version. 1982.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[37] Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, ( electronic edition), e-Sword®,
ver. 8.0.4, copyright ©2000-20008 by
Rick Myers
[39] Robert Hach. Possession and Persuasion: The
Rhetoric of Christian Faith. Xlibris Corporation, ©2001 www.Xlibris.com. Pg 78. Used with permission.
[40] …Ibid…
[41] Robert Hach. Possession and Persuasion: The
Rhetoric of Christian Faith. Xlibris Corporation, ©2001. Adapted from
discourse found on pgs. 74-75. www.Xlibris.com Used with permission.
b Rom 16:27; Eph
3:21; Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; 1 Pet 4:11; 5:11; 2 Pet 3:18; Jude 25;
Rev 1:6; 5:13; 7:12
[42] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update.
1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
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