NOVEMBER 25, 2021 Exodus 30:12 When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. In our day and time, a census is conducted by counting heads, but in ancient […]
NOVEMBER 24, 2021 Exodus 30:1, 6 You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood…. And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. As we discussed yesterday, the smoke that arose from […]
NOVEMBER 26, 2021 Exodus 30:15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. When it came to supporting the upkeep of the sanctuary, everyone was considered equal in that all could do something — the poor and […]
NOVEMBER 23, 2021 Exodus 30:1, 6 You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood….And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. Considering that the altar of incense was situated before the […]
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 Exodus 29:43-44 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. In these verses we see a summation of […]
NOVEMBER 21, 2021 Exodus 29:21 And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed. In consideration of the fact that […]
The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. (Genesis 39:2)
As a slave in the house of Potiphar, Joseph should have lived in a state of dejection and bitterness. He had been betrayed by his brothers, kidnapped, exiled and sold. He had gone from the position of a favored son to that of a lowly slave. But Joseph did not let his circumstances dictate his life. He refused to succumb to depression. Instead, he diligently set his hands to his work and quickly won the confidence of his new owner.
From where did Joseph find the inner strength to rise above bitterness? Some people cannot seem to let go of past wrongs, real or imagined. They wallow in self-pity and anger, holding on to old resentments. This seems to be a normal human reaction to misfortune and conflict. Someone like Joseph, who could shrug off even the worst of circumstances and make the best of whatever situation in which he finds himself, is exceptional.
The difference was that Joseph had an unshakable confidence in the goodness and faithfulness of God. He knew the stories of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He knew the promises that he stood to inherit. He did not suppose that God had forgotten or abandoned him. Instead, he humbly submitted himself to God's higher, mysterious purpose.
Many of us struggle with an artificial sense of entitlement. We assume that we have the right to be happy. We assume that we deserve the good and comfortable circumstances of life. Why? What makes us think we have the right to happiness or that we deserve anything? When things go amiss, we react with shock, bitterness and anger, as if our rights have been violated.
This can be compared to a situation in which a benevolent and anonymous millionaire decided to send one thousand dollars cash every week to a certain person. The recipient never knew where the money was coming from, or why. Of course he was grateful for the influx of cash, but week after week, month after month, year after year, he began to expect that the cash would be coming in the mail next week. He made investments, purchases and life choices based on the regular thousand-dollar installments. One day the cash suddenly stopped. As inexplicably as it had begun, it ended. Would the man be justified in being outraged or bitter? Would he have the right to be angry? Of course not. He did not deserve the money in the first place. It was not a right or an entitlement of his.
Like the man in the parable, we take things like good health, adequate sustenance, food, shelter, relationships and all of life's comforts for granted. Because we experience them day by day, week after week and year after year, we think of them as rights rather than privileges. In reality, they are no more deserved than misfortune or woe. We have no right to be bitter when life's circumstances turn unpleasant.
Because of Joseph's steadfast confidence in God, he possessed an undying optimism that transformed even the low estate of slavery into success. As the Torah says, he became “a successful man.”
Vayeshev – וישב : “And he dwelt” Torah : Genesis 37:1-40:23 Haftarah : Amos 2:6-3:8 Gospel : John 2:13-4:42
NOVEMBER 20, 2021
Exodus 29:20
Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.
At first glance this instruction seems a bit odd and, for those not inclined to see beyond the surface of things, maybe even bizarre and troubling. Yet, we know that God has a purpose for everything He does and for everything He instructs us to do. First of all, understanding the role of blood in the process of redemption and its necessity for the forgiveness of sins is essential if we are to understand anything about the role of the priests and the Sanctuary itself. Blood is emblematic of life itself and it is through the shedding of blood that the guilt of sin is atoned for.
That something regarded as precious as blood was to be placed upon the priests begs us to consider why it was on placed on their right ear, their right thumb and right big toe. Rabbinical commentary offers an opinion on the matter. Rabbi Raphael Hirsch offered this interpretation: “Through the ear, one hears and understands; through the hand, one acts; through the feet, one moves about. All three are consecrated to show that the Cohen dedicates all his faculties to God's service.”
In other words, as the priests were being inaugurated into service, they were reminded that they were to “hear” what God said and to “do” what God said. Likewise, as representatives of the Messiah, we are consecrated to hear and to do according to His will. Our ears are not to be dull of hearing but are to be sensitive to heed and understand His voice. Our hands and feet must not be polluted with sinful deeds but be dedicated to go and to act according to His will. In short, this ritual was a reminder to them and to us that those who are called to serve the Almighty are to dedicate their entire being to Him without reservation or exception. So then, let us serve Him in the way that He expects and deserves — with all of our heart, soul and strength.
NOVEMBER 19, 2021 Exodus 29:4 And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. On the day the priests were consecrated, and on every day they entered the sanctuary, the priests had to be ceremonially washed before they could “draw near” unto […]
NOVEMBER 18, 2021 Exodus 28:36 You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. There is a tradition that says when the High Priest was to enter the Sanctuary, he would place his hand upon the golden plate worn upon his crown so […]
