|
| Life and Faith from a Messianic PerspectiveHome Articles Our Mission Resources Statement Of Faith Link To Us Newsletter Tell A Friend About Us Support Us Contact Us "Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever." - Psalm 117, NIV All contents copyright © 2001,2002, all rights reserved. |
Parasha Beshalach (When He Sent)
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Scripture readings for the Shabbat of January 18/15 Shevat are: Shemot/Exodus 13:17-17:16; Mishpatim/Judges 4:4-5:31; Yochanan/John 6:22-40. The same yesterday, today and forever Shemot {13:17} It happened, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that G-D didn't lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for G-D said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Mizrayim (Egypt);" {13:18} but G-D led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the Bnei Yisrael (Children of Israel) went up armed out of the land of Mizrayim. This passage seems like a very simple and straightforward statement of facts, and it is, or then again is it? The answer is two fold, that is, it is and it is not! Let me explain. If we look at this passage in solely secular terms it appears to be very straightforward. Bnei Yisrael having been newly released from slavery in Mitzrayim, were not prepared for war. Had they ventured into Philistine territory, such a large number of people may have provoked the Philistines into thinking they were being attacked. The result would have been disastrous. Bnei Yisrael would have turned around and headed back to Mitzrayim, something G-d did not want to happen. This is all very reasonable and very understandable considering the circumstances and the preparedness, or lack thereof, of Bnei Yisrael. But is that all there is? No, I believe that is not all there is! Bnei Yisrael were newly redeemed by the blood of the lamb. They had put their faith in the Word of the L-rd, killed their lambs and applied the blood to the door posts of their houses. This resulted in their release from slavery. I think, considering what took place, we can safely say that Bnei Yisrael were saved and redeemed by the blood of the lamb. This is a perfect symbolism of the salvation and redemptive work of Messiah Yeshua. Allow me to give you some insight into who the Philistines were. They were an aggressive, non-Semitic group of people who dwelt on the southeastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Their primary god was Dagon. It was an idol, which had the hands and face of a man and the tail of a fish. Its name is a derivative of "dag" which is "fish". It is interesting to note that the priests of Dagon wore hats shaped like the mouth of a fish, identical to the hats worn today by priests in the Catholic Church. But what is even more interesting is that they also worshipped a god know as Baal-zebub, later worshipped by the Greeks as Beelzebub. It was to this god the Pharisees attributed Yeshua's miracles. This accusation by the Pharisees was the unpardonable sin. The Mashiach (Messiah) was in their midst. He was performing miracles by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) but they attributed those miracles to the demon god Beelzebub. The judgement for the unpardonable sin was the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. For those of us reading this D'var Torah who are born-again, saved and redeemed by the blood of Messiah, I would like you to remember back to when you were first saved. Did G-d immediately put you into spiritual battle with the enemy, the likes of Beelzebub, or did He, as in my case, give you a grace period where you experienced His love and His wonderful miracles in your life? Time and time again I have said, "if you want to know how G-d is working or going to work in your life, all you have to do is read how He worked with Israel." Israel was not yet prepared for spiritual warfare; they did not yet fully know the wonders, power and love of their G-d, Redeemer and Saviour. They needed to be trained spiritually. During this two-year period, which I call my honeymoon with G-d, I was constantly being confronted with the sin in my life, yet at the same time I felt cradled in the loving arms of my L-rd and Saviour, experiencing His miracles as never before. Once saved, Israel too had to be confronted with her sin. In this case they had to face the biggest and most obvious one first, their attachment to Mitzrayim. For this reason I believe, G-d led them away from the Philistines and a spiritual battle that would have led them back into the slavery of sin. Instead He led them to confront their sin at the Red Sea. It is amazing how our eyes are opened when we are confronted with our sin as a redeemed person. We see ourselves as we never saw ourselves before and we are drawn closer to G-d not farther from Him. Seeing the Mitzrayim rushing towards them in full battle array must have been a real eye-opener for Bnei Yisrael. They saw with their own eyes to whom they were in bondage and from where they came. Then and only then was G-d able to show them to whom they were going. As we are confronted with our sin, G-d miraculously peels away the layers of sin in our lives one sin at a time, showing us from where we came and where we are headed. Shemot {14:13} Moshe said to the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of HaSHEM, which he will work for you today: for the Mizrayim whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again. {14:14} HaSHEM will fight for you, and you shall be still." There is something I would like us all to understand from this D'var Torah. The G-d of the Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures) is the same G-d of the Brit Chadash (New Covenant). The spiritual salvation process He used with bnei Yisrael is the same process He used throughout the Scriptures, and it is the same process He uses today. Our G-d is consistent, that is why we can rely on Him that is why we can trust the entire Bible. He works the same yesterday, today and forever.Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2003
- Romans 1:16, NIV |