Prophetic Stance

 In an excerpt from Hebrew Insights into Parashat Nitzavim, we noted that Parashat Nitzavim may be subtitled “The Hebrew People - A Testimony of the Covenant and of the Promises”. Although Nitzavim is translated "You stand…" - it actually means "standing in position, standing firmly, or taking a stand"…. Embodied in the two Parashot is the definition of the nation, as well as the ultimate promise of grace. Interestingly, about the “nations” which “rage” and “the peoples” who “contemplate a vain thing”, with their “kings and rulers” (mentioned in Psalm 2:1-2), it is said that they “take their stand together against YHVH and His Anointed…” (v.2). In Hebrew “take their stand” is, again, “yit’ya’tzvu”, which places the latter in a parallel but contradictory position to those who are now standing in solemn formation before entering the land promised to them by their Elohim. Thus, these two “stances” present a choice of, where to stand and with whom… This takes us to Zechariah 9:13a. If there was ever a time for this word of prophecy to begin to take shape, it is now.

Through the prophet, YHVH declares: "I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim". Zechariah further informs us that Judah is "like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle" (10:5), and that, "From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together" (v. 4 emphasis added). So here we are, the battle bow is mentioned once again. But as much as the "mighty men" are equipped for battle, they still lack the arrows. Notice that the Judeans are not the only ones who are called "mighty". Here is what Zechariah says about Joseph: "Ephraim shall be like a mighty man…" (10:7). Isaiah 11:11-15 also describes the battle theater that both Judah and Ephraim share. 

While Judah is engaged in the ground battle, much like Joshua in his battle with the Amalekites, Ephraim is to be more like Moses on top of the mountain with his hands lifted, so that the "ground" (earthly) battle may be won, while he fights the spiritual one on behalf of his brother (ref. Exodus 17:8-13). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:12-13). 

Ephraim, the bow is waiting to be filled with your straight arrows! Whether Judah is aware or not, if you are his brother, you must be his keeper, taking up your role during this formidable time. "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat [Yah judges]; And I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.  They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink" (Joel 3:1-3).

At this time of sifting and decision-making, YHVH says: "Proclaim this among the nations: 'Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.  Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, 'I am strong.'  Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O YHVH. Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations'" (Joel 3:9-12).  

The decision to join the battle and to be counted is NOW. The bow needs the arrow in order to succeed. But it doesn't end there. Back to Zechariah 9:13, where we already read: "For I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim", which leads to a very exciting outcome: "And raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a mighty man." The joint warfare of bow and arrow results in a total union, of becoming a (one) sword, a unit that is no longer divided into two entities with two different roles. Now they are one, "sons of Zion", forming a sword in the hand of Yah that defeats the proverbial "sons of Greece". This requires Ephraim’s willingness to be placed by YHVH in Judah's bow, and thus to take part in the battle that Judah is fighting. Let's read the conclusion of the aforementioned "sword battle":  "Then YHVH will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. YHVH Elohim will blow the shofar, and go with whirlwinds from the south. YHVH of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar.  YHVH their Elohim will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land --  For how great is its goodness and how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women" (Zechariah 9:14-17).  

To that we may add Hosea's echoing cry: "For great will be the day of Jezreel…  In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely.  I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know YHVH" (Hosea 1:11c, 2:18-20).

Protocol

  Recently, I became reacquainted with the term “protocol,” as I am involved with a Canadian First Nation prayer group. Connections with other Indigenous groups from other nations who are protocol-conscious have also put this practice on my radar. These people groups all seem to understand the importance of “protocol” for and in their community and nation.

At our local meeting last Monday, held at our house, one couple, who have just returned from Canada, shared their recent experiences. The wife had also recently been to Australia for an Indigenous women’s conference. We were made more aware that by understanding Biblical protocol, these groups, from far and wide, know that the Jewish people are native to the land of Israel and see us as their “older brother”. 

In order to gain a more precise meaning of the term “protocol, at our meeting, we read its definition:  “The official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions”.   What immediately came to my mind was, that this is what the Apostles drew from the book of Genesis when they shared the gospel of the kingdom.  YHVH established the “protocol” of His Kingdom order in the family of humanity, and more specifically in Abraham’s family.  In my book Firstborn Factor in the Plan of Redemption, I (unwittingly) delineated YHVH’s “protocol”.  I called it “YHVH’s judicial order”, which is basically what protocol is.  When I mentioned to the group that the book of Genesis is YHVH’s protocol, one woman leaned forward and exclaimed in excitement, “these are the lost tribes of Israel!” referring to the first nations who were at the focus of our discussion.  Although this subject makes Messianic Jews a little nervous, I could not but hear the voice of the Spirit speaking “truth” to them. 

Several years ago, at an indigenous conference in Nazareth, a leader from the South Sea Islands delivered a very strong message to the Israeli Messianic believers, exhorting them to take up their mandate and responsibility as the elder brother. Most probably did not have a clear idea of what he was trying to convey to them, but how appropriate that was!

Because of “divine protocol” in the family of Jacob and Yeshua’s role in setting up His Kingdom in the House of Jacob, restoring the Kingdom to all Israel is paramount to the redemption of the rest of humanity, along with the creation itself. This is the reason for the strong call from the prophet to, "remember the Torah of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHVH. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:4-6). 

Those who embrace the gospel of the Kingdom and its Messiah need to ask the Holy Spirit whether they are from among those addressed in Romans 4:16, who have the “faith of their father Abraham” and are in the Messiah by that same “faith” because one cannot be in Messiah without it.   “Therefore know that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7).  

“If you are in Messiah you are Abraham’s seed” according to the promise in the covenant to the Patriarchs (Galatians 3:29).  Being in Messiah doesn’t make one a descendent. No. It proves that one is of the natural seed and heir to that promise no matter where one currently resides. Restoring this identity by the New Covenant is supremely important in the prophetic fulfillment before the “great and terrible days of YHVH”. In fact, not having this identity restored at this time could jeopardize one’s witness and put one in danger of being caught in replacement theology, and worse… subject to the “curse”. 

To Know the Father

 In His High Priestly prayer, Yeshua requested: "… as You [Father] have given Him [Yeshua] authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true Elohim, and Messiah Yeshua whom You have sent” (John 17:2,3). Paul was also adamant about this all-important topic. In Ephesians 1:17, the following is recorded:  “That the Elohim of our Master Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him”. Being that we have to be born from above in order to be able to attain this knowledge, it takes going through a course of stages of spiritual growth and maturation. During the baby or toddler phase everything is about ‘me, myself and I’, as described by Paul: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Messiah. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” (1^st Corinthians 3:1-3). We need not go any further… a toddler’s behavior is unmistakable.

In his first epistle, John elaborates on the stages of growth: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake… I have written to you, children, because you know the Father” (1^st John 2:12-14).  Spiritual childhood entails first getting to know our new creation family. We cry out “Abba” and drink the "milk of the Word". Being nurtured, we learn that our sins were forgiven and that Elohim our Father loves, disciplines, teaches us Torah, and will take care of us. 

We mature into manhood when we learn the truth of our victory over the power of sin, the flesh, and the evil one.  “I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one… I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of Elohim abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1^st John 2:13-14). At this stage we know Him as our Messiah, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my [our] own derived from Torah, but that which is through faith in Messiah’s [indwelling presence], the righteousness which comes from Elohim on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:9-10).

The above leads us to the “father” phase: “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning…  I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning” (1^st John 2:13-14). We have now entered the reality of “it is no longer I who lives, but Messiah lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).  Fathers give life, therefore “… we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Yeshua’s sake, that the life of Yeshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death works in us, but life in you” (2^nd Corinthians 4:11-12).

Paul alludes to the fact that the believers do not have many fathers, “yet you would not have many fathers; for in Messiah Yeshua I became your father through the gospel” (1^st Corinthians 4:15).  In another reference he gives an example of his father’s heart: “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all” (Philippians 2:17).  Fatherhood is a present experiential knowledge of Him who has been from the beginning, in order to become fully cognizant of our future involvement in setting the captive creation free from its bondage (ref. Romans 8:21). After all, He is the alef and the tav, the beginning and the end, the same yesterday, today and forever (ref. Rev. 1:8; Heb. 13:8)!

 

Netanel's Epilogue

 Netanel's Epilogue

For about a year or so now, a teacher named Netanel Ellinson has been embarking on a series of Bible (Tanach) studies. The vast materials he has taught, orally and in written form, on the book of Judges have been compiled into a book. The course of the study was just about to be completed when October Seventh burst into our lives, and Netanel was drafted to serve in Gaza. Shortly after, he wrote the book's epilogue. Here is its translation for you to ponder.

"These lines are being written a few days after the termination of my four-month spell in the war in Gaza, having been mobilized with the rest of Israel in the middle of the feast of Shmini Atzeret on the 7^th of October. Nowadays, living in a Hebrew State, with its army, government, offices, etc, we may pose the question, 'What is the relevance of the book of Judges, which covers a period during which, "everyone was doing what was right in his own eyes", and when no official state institutions were in existence?'

On that very trying day, when our enemies beat us so brutally, for several hours, we returned to the era of the Judges. On the 'eighth' day, we experienced being deprived of a State. The IDF was sunk in battle fog, with no commanding leadership and the other State authorities – a total eclipse had set in.  It was as though this 'thing' called the State of Israel had been turned off. Some call this genocide 'a one-day holocaust'. Others 'a pogrom'. I do not have the faculties to determine and make a categorical comparison, but I want to point out one main difference between the above portrayals. Even in the most disadvantaged first-line positions during those early hours, there were warriors with an upright Israeli spirit who fought back with every means at their disposal. The stories of their heroism, revealed in those moments, could fill up a whole library. It seems to me, therefore, that during those accursed hours, not having State-establishments and no military we returned to the era of the Judges. It was up to each individual to rise and act in power and might.

In those instances, it was as though the Judges were resurrected. Deborah rode tanks and faced dozens of terrorists. Ehuds fought stealthily with their meager means and against all odds. Yaels drove mallets into the heads of abysmal Siseras. We had Gideons who overcame their fears and lit the night's darkness. But mainly, thousands of Samsons lifted Gaza's heavy gates, crying out: "Let my soul perish with the Philistines" for the sake of rescuing their brethren. When, for several hours, the State imploded, we didn't return to the Diaspora. We returned to the days of the Judges. Each tribe and sector of Israel revealed its unique light; some by fighting, others by rendering a helping hand and support in different and multiple ways.

Those hours also proved that when all seems well and secure, and one can (supposedly) depend completely on State institutions to take responsibility and act, when the moment of truth comes, the needs are met by the mobilization of motivated hearts that sparkle like the individual stars of the Judges era.

The book of Judges seeks to point to the shining stars that are not visible in the sun's blinding light. But when the sun sets, they shine, giving off their special lights. The stories of the Judges of Israel are not just historical accounts of aloof nobles. On the contrary. They are the stories of everyday people from all walks of life. Not being blue-blooded royalty, who could have imagined these individuals to be so heroic? But in that moment of truth, they glowed, illuminating the night's dark sky and pointing the way.

You are my beloved brothers and sisters who took your stand when there was no one else to do so. "And in those days, each man was doing what was right in his own eyes". And you…  you did what was right."