Israel – The Core of the Bible

The Biblical Calendar and Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost

I believe the annual biblical holidays are the true appointments with God that he has established for all eternity.

Core of the Bible podcast #109 – The Biblical Calendar and Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost

In today’s episode, we are continuing our doctrinal topics but taking a slight detour from our study of the nature of God to discuss the biblical holiday of Shavuot, also known as Weeks and sometimes Firstfruits. Why is this significant, and why should believers today understand the biblical calendar and the feast days?

Most Christians today do not recognize or celebrate the biblical feast days. This is due primarily to the fact that Christianity teaches that the sacrificial aspect of the rites conveyed in the Torah have been fulfilled in Messiah Yeshua. I agree one hundred percent. But “fulfilled” does not mean “done away with.” I believe the Bible teaches that in Messiah, that which was a physical requirement for ancient Israel has become a spiritual reality for all time; more on that later. But what I want to focus on first is how the biblical calendar is filled with symbolism of the Kingdom and God’s relationship with his people. I believe it is as we maintain recognition of these days that we can be reminded of God’s, and our, purpose. These days become practical object lessons that point to the totality of God’s work among his people, and his presence in this world.

The annual biblical calendar contains seven appointed times known in Hebrew as moedim, meaning seasons or appointed times. I believe the annual biblical holidays are the true appointments with God, the seasonal moedim that he has established for all eternity. They are centered around three central “feasts” or “festival gatherings:” Unleavened Bread, Weeks/Shavuot, and Tabernacles/Sukkot. These occur in the first, third, and seventh months of the annual biblical calendar.

Deuteronomy 16:16 – “All your males are to appear three times a year before Yahweh your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread (first month), the Festival of Weeks (third month), and the Festival of Tabernacles (seventh month).”

Interestingly, these festival-gatherings follow the agrarian timelines of the early barley harvest (first month), the early wheat harvest (third month) and the ingathering of all of the remaining crops (seventh month). All of these festivals surround God’s provision for his people. These three annual gathering seasons focus on seven appointed times which are described as memorials or re-enactments to be used to keep God’s people focused on his will and purpose.

I also find it fascinating that God has placed these appointments on the annual calendar in a way that can still be recognized today, even though worldly calendars and methods of timekeeping have come and gone. I believe this is why they are described the way they are, and why we are still able to keep those appointments with him.

How are we to keep these appointments? Certainly we are not to sacrifice animals; as mentioned earlier all sacrifice has been fulfilled in Messiah. However, on these special days we can still gather together as his people to review the symbolism of those sacrifices to bring greater awareness to our understanding of our relationship with God. Whether it is through deeper fellowship and community among his people, as well as renewing our total devotion to him and consummation in his service, we can become serious about our faith by living it out as object lessons that others can see and learn from, as well. After all, as you may know from previous episodes, I believe that God’s Torah or Word is eternal, and therefore has lasting influence on those who approach the God of the Bible as his people. These should be as much a part of our doctrinal understanding as any other major proposition such as the study of who God is or the Kingdom of God.

I would like to discuss all of these biblical holidays throughout the course of the coming year, but as I record today’s podcast, we are in the season of Shavuot or Weeks, which was recently completed. It is the festival which follows Passover and Unleavened Bread by seven weeks, hence its immediate namesake in Hebrew. The day itself falls on the day following the conclusion of 49 days from the barley firstfruits. This was technically the 50th day and became known by its Greek title of Pentecost, meaning “fiftieth.”

Many Christians may recognize Pentecost as the day the holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a powerful way, allowing them to speak in different languages to the assembled Jews in Jerusalem, telling the Good News about the Kingdom of God. It is defined by many as “the birthday of the church,” but I believe that definition is not only a misnomer about its purpose, but a misunderstanding of the nature of the day itself.

To gain a better grasp of this holiday, we need to go back to its ancient Hebrew understanding as it is related in Torah.

Leviticus 23:16-21 – “You are to count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath [that is, seven weeks after the barley firstfruits] and then present an offering of new grain to Yahweh. Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation [wave] offering, each of them made from four quarts of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Yahweh. You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to Yahweh. You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. The priest will present the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before Yahweh; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to Yahweh for the priest. On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations.”

Okay, so in this detailed passage we can learn several things. Shavuot was to be a special appointed day where no customary work was done, in which the people of God would gather and sacrifices and offerings were brought to the Temple. The primary offering of this day involves two loaves of bread as a grain offering of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. Along with the loaves are included burnt offerings, drink offerings, sacrifices for sin and sacrifices for fellowship.

How do these ancient sacrifices and offerings apply to believers today? Even though we don’t bring actual sacrificial animals before Yahweh anymore, I believe these offerings were designed by Yahweh to represent real aspects of our spiritual lives, and I think it’s important that we continue to recognize these. So let’s take a look at what each of these different types of sacrifices means from a symbolic perspective:

A burnt offering represents total consummation in God’s service.
A sin offering represents that which is a substitute for us due to our disobedience to God’s torah.
The trespass offering was offered for unintentional or unknown sin.
A fellowship or peace offering represents thankfulness for God’s mercy and enjoyment of his relationship.
The grain and drink offerings represent our gratitude for God’s provision as firstfruits of all he has provided us.

I think it becomes readily apparent how these emblematic sacrifices apply in the life of the modern believer. If we are to honor these appointed times throughout the year, I believe they should be memorialized in the spirit of these attributes.

There are many facets to the symbolism of the biblical moedim or appointed times, but one of the most glaring attributes relates to their numerical significance. As rich and enlightening as this can be to review, unfortunately, many people over the centuries have taken to a kind of numerology or study of biblical numbers which has become quite complex and frankly, unhelpful. Even the contemporary expression of Judaism has devised a whole system of numerology and mysticism known as Kabbalah, which is not at all what I am proposing here. I simply look for patterns in the Bible to see how they relate to and bring meaning to one another.

For example, the Bible outlines seven days in a week. Shavuot pertains to seven “sevens” of weeks. On the day of Shavuot, all of the sacrificial symbolism falls on the fiftieth day that occurs after the week of Passover and Unleavened Bread, both of which represent the miraculous rescue from the worldliness and slavery of Egypt.

Now it’s important to understand something here from a Hebraic perspective. In this worldly existence, seven is a number that represents this Creation. Why? Well, the weekly Sabbath was given to God’s people as a reminder that God is the Creator of all.

Exodus 20:8, 11 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: … For Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

In Hebraic understanding, the weekly Sabbath is the Sabbath of Creation. Everything in this Creation is governed by the limit of a cycle of seven. For example, a week is a cycle of seven days; there are seven appointed times throughout the year occurring within a seven-month time period. Even in the broader calendrical cycle of the Bible, every seventh year was to be a sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land.

Leviticus 25:1-4 – Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you, the land will observe a Sabbath to Yahweh. “You may sow your field for six years, and you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce for six years. “But there will be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land in the seventh year, a Sabbath to Yahweh: you are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.

Additionally, after seven “sevens” of sabbath years, or forty-nine years, the Israelites were to set aside the fiftieth year as a “Jubilee,” a sort of re-set for all economic activity, freedom for all slaves, and a realignment of all of the tribes with their heritage.

Leviticus 25:8-10 – “You are to count seven sabbatical years, seven times seven years, so that the time period of the seven sabbatical years amounts to forty-nine. Then you are to sound a trumpet loudly in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month; you will sound it throughout your land on the Day of Atonement. You are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants. It will be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and each of you to his clan.”

Through these we can see how the Bible relates sevens of days, sevens of weeks, sevens of months and sevens of years, but the fiftieth is something special, something that points to realities beyond these sevens of this world.

I found this editorial comment in the Voice version of the Bible, relating the nature of the Jubilee in Leviticus 25:

“The year of jubilee is a far-reaching idea in the ancient world. In the 50th year, land that has been sold to pay debts during the preceding 49 years returns to its original owners. Israelites who had to sell themselves into slavery to pay debts are set free. All debts are declared “paid in full.” The jubilee is a regular reminder to God’s covenant people that every acre of ground, every soul belongs to God, not to those rich enough to buy them.”

So, the timing of the annual festival of Shavuot also has great significance mirroring that of the sabbatical years and the year of Jubilee which focuses on the centrality of Yahweh as Creator and Owner of all that exists. Shavuot, also being based on this principle of fifty, is a fulfillment of seven weeks (seven “sevens” of days) and then takes place on “the day after the seventh sabbath,” the fiftieth day. The remembrance, this regular reminder every year of the Exodus events on this fiftieth day represents a re-set, a new beginning, freedom from captivity and a restoration of all things to the God of the universe. In a spiritual sense, it points to realities beyond this Creation, to eternal principles that exist outside of the sevens of this world. To my way of thinking, this is a perfect illustration of what occurred on that very famous Restoration Shavuot two thousand years ago.

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Let’s take a closer look at that famous Restoration Shavuot or Day of Pentecost in which the holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a powerful way, allowing them to speak in different languages to the assembled Jews in Jerusalem, telling the Good News about the Kingdom of God. I said a few moments ago that this event is defined by many as “the birthday of the church,” and that I believe that this definition is not only a misnomer about its purpose, but a misunderstanding of the nature of the day itself.

You see, to say that is the birthday of the church is to imply that the “church” never existed prior to that time. What many call the “church” today (universally speaking) is called the ekklesia in Greek terminology, and it simply means “a called out assembly.” But the ekklesia was not “born” on that day, it had existed since the times of Moses. This is revealed in the speech of Stephen in his defense before the Sanhedrin.

Acts 7:38 – “He [Moses] is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us.”

If you check your King James or American Standard Versions of the Bible, you may notice that this verse here says that it was the “church in the wilderness” who received the living oracles. The translators were simply using the Greek word in a consistent fashion. But this highlights the point: if there was an assembly, something which could be called the church which was present in the wilderness with Moses, how could it have been “born” on Pentecost in the early part of the first century? I believe it can be shown that the ekklesia, the called out assembly, was always present in those through whom God was working at any given time in the biblical narrative.

For us to approximate a Hebraic understanding of this, it can be said that there has always been a faithful remnant among God’s people, even when the nation as a whole was steeped in idolatry and wickedness. For example, when Jerusalem was being attacked by Sennacherib’s Syrian army, Isaiah the prophet revealed how God would protect them:

2 Kings 19:30-31 – “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. “For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will accomplish this.”

When returning from captivity in Babylon with only the few thousand faithful who desired to reestablish the Temple, Ezra prayed the following prayer:

Ezra 9:8 – But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from Yahweh our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.

Even the apostle Paul, in teaching about the faithful among God’s people in that day, illustrates this idea of the remnant with the story of Elijah:

Romans 11:2-5 – God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah – how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal. In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

This “remnant” of God’s people was the assembly at each point in Israel’s history, sometimes even down to one person and their family, such as a Noah or an Abraham, or a Jacob. God’s purpose has always been based on the assembly of those who are faithful to him, so the ekklesia throughout the ages has been comprised of those who feared and served Yahweh.

So to carry this mental understanding into the events of the first century day of Pentecost, we can see that same principle applying there: a faithful remnant, the disciples, faithful to the principles of the Kingdom which Messiah had taught them, were given miraculous abilities by the Spirit of God to testify to the truth of the gospel of the Kingdom to the rest of the Jews who had come from all over the world. This faithful remnant was not “born” on that day, but, in alignment with the Jubilee symbolism of the day of Shavuot, they were the ones proclaiming the eternal re-set, freedom from captivity to sin, and a restoration of all things through the Kingdom of God. In a sense, this was the ultimate Jubilee.

Just as the original ekklesia was comprised of those who were assembled at Sinai and heard Yahweh speak the Ten Commandments of his Kingdom which were written in stone, the renewed ekklesia on that famous Day of Pentecost proclaimed the principles of God’s Kingdom which were to be written on their hearts.

The connection between these events is further established when it can be shown that, at the receiving of the Ten Commandments, due to their rebelliousness and idolatry, three thousand people were killed.

Exodus 32:28 – The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people.

However, at the Restoration Pentecost, due to their obedience, three thousand people were added to the ekklesia.

Acts 2:41 – So those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

As another example, the big picture of the Bible story can be described in a similar type of parallelism. God established a physical Kingdom when he revealed his Ten Commandments to his assembled people at Mount Sinai. Those commandments were written in stone by his own finger. In the first century, God established an eternal, spiritual Kingdom when, through his Messiah, he revealed those principles to the to the assembled people listening to the Sermon on the Mount. These were spiritually based on the same commandments, but now they were to be written on the heart by God’s own finger, no longer in stone. These types of parallels and symbolisms are all through the Bible.

The apostle Paul, in the context of speaking about the comparison and contrast of Adam and Yeshua, states a principle that I believe carries over into a well-ordered understanding of the Bible.

1 Corinthians 15:46 – But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

In the Bible, the natural things, people, and events were real things that happened to real people, just like those who heard the commandments at Mount Sinai, or those who heard Messiah preach his Sermon on the Mount. But I believe we are to look to those things as types, shadows, and examples of the spiritual realities that have become evident through the restoration of all things in Messiah Yeshua. The prophesied remnant was that first-century assembly, but with all things consummated by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, believers from that point on up until today are simply members of God’s eternal, universal Kingdom. Since the age of natural Israel ended at that time, there is no longer a “remnant” ekklesia or assembly; it had been fulfilled in that generation in that time.

When Paul illustrated his teaching with stories from Israel’s wilderness journeys, he also emphasizes the purpose of learning and re-telling these stories.

1 Corinthians 10:11 – Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

That first century ekklesia or assembly of Messiah believers in the natural world was to become the touchstone for all future generations of believers as spiritual descendants. The ancient biblical ages, the ages of Abraham, Moses, and of natural Israel, were coming to a consummation in the soon destruction of the city in 70 AD. Beyond that event, the spiritual principles of the Bible would be cast forward into the future, lighting the way for all future generations of believers as the eternal Kingdom of God would continue to spread throughout the world.

So I believe that Shavuot has not been done away, nor have any of the other biblical holidays, but I believe they have been renewed and elevated in this great spiritual restoration accomplished by Messiah. Paul writes how even believers were to view themselves as having been completely renewed within their faith in Messiah.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In Messiah, all things are new now, not just in the future!

So as we view this seasonal moed or appointed time of Shavuot, we can catch a glimpse of its renewed nature and purpose in the symbolism of its biblical parameters. That first-century restoration Pentecost was the fulfillment of the Jubilee symbolism, the fifty beyond the sevens and forty-nines of this world, declaring the eternal nature of the Kingdom of God. Just as Yeshua taught, this was to be a Kingdom based on the structure of the Ten Commandments, as both a near and present reality, a realm where vigilance would be required of those who sought to participate. These believers would be set apart and holy, trusting God for all of their needs, just as he did, and they would operate with God’s characteristics of forgiveness and compassion, demonstrating that they are the children of God.

Well, I hope this brief introduction to the biblical holidays and the restoration Shavuot or Pentecost brought you some concepts and ideas to meditate on and to study out further on your own. But remember, there is also a Core of the Bible virtual Bible study group that is hosted through the Marco Polo video chat app. It is designed to discuss the topics that we cover each week and to help people with responses to questions that may come up. If you are interested in joining the discussion, simply download the free Marco Polo app and email me a request to join the group at coreofthebible@gmail.com. I will be happy to send you a link to join the virtual Bible study group. You can also feel free to email me any of your thoughts or comments at that email, as well.

The Bible: A Divine Revelation

What is the Bible and what does it say about itself?

Core of the Bible podcast #104 – The Bible: A Divine Revelation

Today, we will be looking at the Bible itself and what some of the historic creeds have stated about the nature of the Scriptures. I will also be sharing some of my own views on the Bible and aspects of these creedal positions. Before we end today, I would also like to discuss how these positions influence the core Bible principles we discuss here each week.

So I’d like to begin by describing my view of the Bible and its purpose.

The word Bible comes from the Greek “ta biblia” meaning “the books”. It is a collection of books that have been written over a period of one and a half millennia. They were written by a variety of Hebrew people primarily to and about the Hebrew people during various stages of their history as a nation, from approximately 1,500 BC to the 60’s AD.

The Hebrew Bible is generally what would be called by Christians the “Old Testament”. In Hebraic communities, it is known by the acronym TNK, or Tanakh. TNK stands for the Hebrew words Torah (Instruction), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).

Here is a broad outline of the categories of books contained within the whole Bible:

Beginning with the Tanakh, the Torah (Law or Instruction) is considered to include primarily the first five books of the Bible, and they are attributed to Moses. They describe the beginnings and the establishment of the nation of Israel and its religious system of worship. These books provide a foundation for the rest of the Bible story to be contextually understood and built upon.

The Nevi’im or prophetic books were largely written as urgings to God’s people to return to the right ways of God when they had gone astray, and described the hope for future reconciliation.

The Ketuvim or Writings include the historical books explaining the origins and out-workings of the physical kingdom of Israel, and the rise and fall of various Hebrew leaders. Through these stories we learn of God’s faithfulness and justice with his people and with those of the nations surrounding them. The Ketuvim also include other poetic writings which describe God’s wisdom and care for his people through elaborate word pictures, hymns of praise and worship, and proverbs.

Now as we move from the Tanakh into the “New Testament” writings, we also move from Hebrew documents into Greek. The New Testament or Apostolic Writings is a collection of books written in Greek in the early first century by the followers of Yeshua. Some believe these also may have been originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic. These books relate stories and instruction regarding the life of Yeshua (the Gospels) and the lives and experiences of those who would form new communities based on his teachings (Acts and the letters to the various congregations). They include historical narratives, correspondence between communities, and a form of Hebrew literature known as apocalyptic prophecy (the book of Revelation). They are all filled with references to and quotes from the Tanakh and its stories.

Different groups today will categorize the books of the Bible in different ways, and some will include different books here and there. The important thing to remember, however, is that within these pages, I believe God has revealed his mind and purposes for the benefit of his creation.

Okay, so that’s my perspective on what the Bible is. As we consider the writings in the Bible, it is important to keep in mind that these books are a collection of ancient middle-eastern writings that cover a wide variety of literary styles and are not all literal “newspaper accounts” of God’s dealings with men. They were not written specifically to us in our present day. They were written to the Hebrew people in a context appropriate for their moment in the history and culture of that nation. However, even though they were not written to us, we can say they were written for us, that is, for our benefit. Through these writings we are privileged to see how God has chosen to express himself and work with and among those whom he has chosen to do so. Understanding this distinction is one of the most important aspects of coming to know what the Bible narrative is really all about.

With that background, if we take all of these books as collectively telling a cohesive story, let’s see what the Bible books have to say about themselves.

2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

This statement, attributed to the apostle Peter, demonstrates how the books of the Bible, and here specifically speaking primarily about the Tanakh, claims to be divinely inspired. Believers in Messiah will typically include the New Testament writings within this category of divinely inspired writings, since they are completing the narrative of the Tanakh.

Besides considering the writings to be inspired, the Bible also teaches God has chosen to reveal himself through nature, the people of Israel, and most significantly through his Son, Yeshua.

In regard to the natural revelation of God in nature, the psalmist writes:

Psalm19:1-4 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world…

The apostle Paul also used the creation as a basis of his speech to the Greeks assembled in Athens:

Acts 17:22-27 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things; and He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…

The Scriptures also portray God specifically revealing himself and His will for men to and through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel.

1 Kings 8:53 “For You have separated them [Israel] from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yawheh.”
2 Kings 17:13-14 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God.
Nehemiah 9:30 “However, You bore with them [Israel] for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

Finally, the Bible claims that the ultimate revelation of God has been through his Son, Yeshua:

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things…
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Yeshua, Messiah.
John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
1 John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

The Bible therefore claims to reveal God in nature, Israel, and most significantly, through his Messiah, Yeshua. It is in this sense that I believe the Bible to be a divine revelation.

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Now let’s take a look at some of the creedal descriptions of various organizations and denominations. All denominations and faith traditions within the Christian tradition understand that if we desire to have a biblical worldview, then we need to recognize some basics about these documents that shape our faith.

Here are a few examples of some random organizations that I pulled up in a quick search for “Statements of Faith”:

National Association of Evangelicals: “We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.”
BasicChristian.org: “We believe the Holy Bible is God’s word Personally spoken by God for mankind for the purpose of revealing who He is and it is without error in all issues to which it speaks.”
Chicago Statement on Biblical Application: “We affirm that this God can be known through His revelation of Himself in His inerrant written Word.”
Church of God in Christ: “We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God.”
Torchbearers International: “The Bible is, in its entirety, the revelation of God for mankind, inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Simplyscripture.org: “We believe the Bible to be the only revealed, pure, complete and preserved Word of God throughout all the ages. Scripture is solely contained within the 66 books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible, unchangeable Word of God and is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.”

Okay, so you get the idea. Among the list of qualities about the Bible, it is considered by churches and para-church organizations to be revelatory, inspired, inerrant, infallible. So let’s define some of these qualities for a better understanding of what they are saying, and then I will add some comments about my own perspective on each of these qualities.

First of all is the idea that the Bible is REVELATORY: God has revealed himself in the Bible and he can be known through his workings as related within its pages.

I don’t disagree with this, other than different groups may define what God has revealed about himself differently from one another. I would simply say that God, who is unknowable outside of his own revelation of himself, desires his people to honor and represent him, living according to the principles his kingdom. I would also include the fact that nature itself is a form of God’s revelation of his power and majesty. And while general principles about God can be deduced from nature, it is only in the written revelation of the Bible where the specifics of God’s desires for mankind are revealed.

Secondly, these creeds say that the Bible is INSPIRED: The writers of the Bible were inspired by God or the spirit of God to convey what he wanted to communicate.

Based on my previous statement about God being unknowable, then it follows that those who would write about the nature and workings of God would necessarily have to be inspired to do so. This type of inspiration is typically recognized as God working through the various authors of the Bible to communicate. Again, many different groups define this inspiration differently, whether being immersed in God‘s spirit, or receiving ideas and wisdom from God and writing it out in their own way. Even Jewish thinkers throughout the centuries have had varying opinions about levels of inspiration for the various writings. In my mind, I am simply content to recognize God‘s influence over those who wrote the actual texts to ensure his will would be made known.

Thirdly, these creeds assert that the Bible is INERRANT. Now the specifics of inerrancy are typically defined further by the organization, but in general, it means the Bible is 100% without error. However, this is usually qualified by saying inerrancy was only in the original written documents, not necessarily the many manuscripts we have today. This qualifier is necessary because, quite honestly, there are errors in the manuscripts that we use for Bible versions that we have today. There are spelling differentials, numerical differences in some generations or years of a king’s reign, and some insertions into the text from later hands.

However, for me, this makes for a more robust understanding of the reality of just how old these documents really are. If we had perfectly preserved autograph documents from the original authors there would be more questions as to how something could be so perfectly preserved when everything else in the natural world of antiquity has been diminished. Therefore, they would more likely be considered forgeries of some type. In reality, the Bible can’t win with this type of logic. Either it’s too perfect, or not perfect enough.

The reason these minor grammatical areas do not pose a problem for me is that through tireless research they have been identified, and we know where they are and how little they impact the overall message of the Bible as a whole. So stating that the Bible is inerrant is kind of not true unless it is defined further. For me, to say the Bible is inerrant is difficult to do. Even to say that the original written documents had no errors is a stretch, because they no longer exist anywhere. Therefore that is a statement that cannot be validated.

Lastly, we come to the topic of the Bible being INFALLIBLE. This theological term simply means the Bible is considered unable to be wrong on the topics it covers.

Again, I don’t necessarily have a problem with this concept in theory, because I do believe the Bible contains the word of God, but infallibility isn’t something practical and readily understandable to the general person. Infallibility is a theological term that for me connotes a high religious supremacy of some type. This is not untrue about the Bible. But with the concept of infallibility comes judgments of infallibility about practice based on fallible interpretations of these ancient texts, and this is why I try to avoid this type of terminology.

I believe it is simpler to say I believe the Bible is true primarily because Yeshua believed in what the Scriptures said. Since I am a follower of Yeshua, then it makes sense that I would also place the same level of regard on the Scriptures as being God’s word as he did. He repeatedly referred to the authority of Scripture by saying “it is written” and then quoting it, and by using the argument that “Scripture cannot be broken” when making an argument with the religious leaders. Since he trusted the writings as authoritative and reliable, then I also do. To me, this is the crux of the issue: not inerrancy and infallibility but reliability. I want to know the textual basis of my worldview and belief system is reliable.

Now as for the New Testament writings which were penned after Messiah, a primary reason I believe these books are also trustworthy as inspired records is due to the evidence of recurring patterns and consistent themes throughout all of the writings. Many of the patterns and themes begun in the Tanakh are carried over to fulfillment in the writings of the New Testament.

Tanakh	New Testament
Paradise lost	Paradise regained
Scattering of God’s people due to disobedience	Reconciliation and return provided for
Seeking of God’s Anointed leader (Messiah)	Messiah realized in Yeshua
Natural principles of instruction	Spiritual principles based on the natural
Hope for God’s future kingdom	God’s kingdom a present reality

These types of parallels is what makes the Bible such a cohesive whole, and is the joy of those who study it deeply.

I believe it was God‘s good design to entrust the bulk of his communication with the Jewish people who were extremely faithful in maintaining his revealed word. Even in the past one hundred years, this has been evidenced by documents discovered among the dead sea scrolls which were much earlier than previous manuscripts texts available to us. These earlier documents showed remarkable consistency with manuscripts generated centuries later.

So for my own creedal position on this issue, I want to make it clear that I do believe the Bible, as a repository of the witness of God about himself to mankind, is a reliable collection of books in which the truth of God is found. I have come to recognize that even though there are legitimate textual questions about specific biblical passages, the Bible is still trustworthy, and maybe even more authentic because of them.

So if I was to make a declaratory statement regarding the Bible, it would be something like this:

I believe that complete message of the Bible points to the faithfulness of God with his people Israel, culminating in the person and ministry of the Lord Yeshua.
Through God’s holy Spirit and his Word, the Bible, God desires to lead people to faith in Yeshua and to guide them in a life of faithful obedience to his will.
I accept the entire Bible as authoritatively testifying to the nature, work, and wisdom of God. These are the Scriptures or sacred writings concerning God’s revelation of himself to mankind.
God’s purpose in these revelations has been an exhibition of his own glory and the establishment of his Kingdom on the earth.

In summary, the broad statements of my own understanding and faith concerning the Bible are:

The Bible is the authoritative revelation of God for us, for the purpose of establishing his Kingdom on the earth.
It was not written to us in this 21st century, but it was written for us, for our benefit.
I believe it’s a stretch to say the Bible is inerrant, and it’s equally vague to claim infallibility where poor interpretive principles are usually apparent; however, I also believe the intent behind those claims of inerrancy and infallibility are made with the intent to honor God.
I do believe the Bible is absolutely reliable and contains the Word of God for people today. Indications of its reliability are found in its recurring themes and patterns.

It is because of the Bible’s reliability we can see the broad basis for the importance of understanding its core principles which I believe God has revealed through the Ten Commandments and the principles of the Sermon on the Mount:

Separate yourself to seek first the Kingdom with vigilance.
Love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength, trusting him for everything.
And love others as yourself with integrity, forgiveness, and compassion.

Next week, closely aligned with this topic of the Bible, we will take on the concept of the Eternal Torah.

Remember, if you are interested in joining the Core of the Bible virtual Bible study, simply download the free Marco Polo app and email me a request to join the group at coreofthebible@gmail.com. I will be happy to send you a link to join the virtual Bible study group.

Vigilantly protecting our hearts keeps our way sure

When the heart is right, right actions will follow.

Core of the Bible podcast #102 – Vigilantly protecting our hearts keeps our way sure

Today we will be looking at the core Bible principle of vigilance, and how the strength to stay on the right path begins in the vigilant commitment to keep our hearts pure. We will be reviewing some of the Proverbs of Solomon and a history of civil strife in Israel to help us understand how important it is to have hearts that are pure.

The Proverbs contain a wealth of instruction and wisdom, and yet even amidst this treasure of understanding, there remains an indication of something more that is necessary for a righteous person to stay within the boundaries of God’s wisdom. In a brief statement in Proverbs 23, Solomon reveals that right actions of the children are likely to follow the right actions of the parent.

Proverbs 23:26 – O my son, give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways.

This requires a large measure of vigilance on the part of the parent in order to ensure they are always setting an appropriate example for their children in all their ways.

Throughout the Proverbs, Solomon is writing in the context of conveying all of this information and instruction to his child. As a parent wants to instill their children with all of the right information they can, he continually reminds his son to maintain what is right in the face of surrounding adversity.

But the point of the message today involves a wider background and some context to fully grasp the ramifications of choices we make. This involves choices in regard to following wisdom that has been exemplified for us, or following our own way, or even bad examples that have been set for us. In order to understand more about the importance of the heart and the examples we set, we must glean some insights from a turbulent time in Israel’s history. This is the story of two men who succeeded one of the wisest rulers the world has ever seen.

The books of Kings and Chronicles in the Bible tell similar stories of the history of Israel’s earliest kings. Saul was the first king over the nation, and he was followed by David. David then prepared the kingdom for his son Solomon to rule after his death. While Solomon had enjoyed God’s favor and provision during the early part of his reign, the latter part of his rule had become marred with the poisonous stain of idolatry.

1 Kings 11:4-6 – When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to Yahweh his God, as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to Yahweh.

Now, as disappointing as this may be to read of the demise of God’s anointed ruler, God knew that this eventuality would lead to a new condition in Israel. During this period, God brought to Solomon’s attention one of the young men in his service, a man named Jeroboam, an industrious and energetic individual.

1 Kings 11:28 – Now the man Jeroboam was capable, and Solomon noticed the young man because he was getting things done. So he appointed him over the entire labor force of the house of Joseph.

It was about this time that God had also arranged for a prophet to meet Jeroboam and reveal what he was about to do with Solomon’s rule, since Solomon had allowed the nation to fall back into the corruption of idolatry.

1 Kings 11:29-32 – During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as Jeroboam came out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself with a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he had on, tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what Yahweh God of Israel says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten tribes, “but one tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel.

Here we find the first indication that God was going to split the physical kingdom of Israel into two main groups: the northern ten tribes which would be called Israel, and the southern two tribes of Benjamin and Judah which would be blended under the name of the larger tribe of Judah. Civil war was about to break out; it was only a matter of time until Solomon would die, and Ahijah prophesied that the nation would become two rival kingdoms: Israel and Judah.

When Solomon found out about the exchange that took place between Ahijah and Jeroboam, the text says he attempted to kill Jeroboam to squash the rebellion. But Jeroboam fled to Egypt and stayed there out of Solomon’s reach until Solomon’s death. It was then that we find out about Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, and how he assumed the throne after his father’s death.

1 Kings 11:42-43 – The length of Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem over all Israel totaled forty years. Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Just as Solomon had received the throne of Israel from his father, David, Rehoboam received the throne from his father, Solomon. Now, here’s where we can begin to consider some ramifications of the teachings of the Proverbs and how it relates to the heart. It is not beyond reason to consider that Rehoboam, as Solomon’s heir, was the son who is mentioned throughout the Proverbs.

Proverbs 5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.
Proverbs 6:20 My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
Proverbs 7:1 Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands.

If this is the case, one would think that Rehoboam would have been groomed as a righteous and upstanding individual who would have been well-fitted to sit on the throne of Israel. These wise admonitions from his father, proverbs which we are still learning from three thousand years later, should have been so relevant to Rehoboam that there would have been no question of his integrity or wisdom.

However, the Bible records that Rehoboam did not follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, David, or in the wisdom of his father, Solomon. When given the opportunity to act wisely regarding what the tenor of his new kingly administration would be, Rehoboam disregarded the wisdom of his father’s advisors and instead chose to follow his own ambition and the advice of his friends.

1 Kings 12:1- Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

Now the plot thickens. Solomon is dead, his son Rehoboam is about to be crowned as king. But what about Jeroboam, the industrious and energetic leader that the prophet Ahijah had said would rule over the ten northern tribes, who had fled to Egypt?

1 Kings 12:2-3 – When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about it, he stayed in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon’s presence. Jeroboam stayed in Egypt. But they summoned him…

Those who had heard about Jeroboam and Ahijah sent for Jeroboam and told him that Solomon had died and what was about to transpire with the transfer of the entire kingdom to Solomon’s son Rehoboam. They must have convinced Jeroboam to come back and represent the labor forces of the ten northern tribes, much like a union negotiation might take place today.

1 Kings 12:3-17 – …Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam: “Your father made our yoke harsh. You, therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” Rehoboam replied, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people left. Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to this people? ” They replied, “Today if you will be a servant to this people and serve them, and if you respond to them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.” But he rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and attended him. He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’? ” Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us! ‘ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! “Although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.’ ” So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had ordered: “Return to me on the third day.” Then the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice the elders had given him and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.” The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events came from Yahweh to carry out his word, which Yahweh had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him: What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Israel, return to your tents; David, now look after your own house! So Israel went to their tents, but Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

After all that had transpired, everything unfolded just as God had foretold through the prophet Ahijah. The kingdom was now divided under two rival leaders, Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruling over Benjamin and Judah, and the popular leader Jeroboam ruling over the northern ten tribes of Israel.

In a moment, we will take a look at how all of this applies to the matters of the heart, and how a loss of vigilance over the purity of the heart can lead to strife and division.

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Solomon’s admonitions to his son throughout the book of Proverbs fall along the same lines as the charge of David that Solomon himself received as a young man.

1 Kings 2:1-3 – As the time approached for David to die, he ordered his son Solomon, “As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be a man, “and keep your obligation to Yahweh your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn,

The narrative then tells us that this is what Solomon did, at least early on in his reign over the people of Israel.

1 Kings 3:3 – Solomon loved Yahweh by walking in the statutes of his father David…

Here we see unfolding the roots of Solomon’s upbringing, how early in his adult life he followed his father David by following the righteous example David had set in regard to the commands of God. It appears that, throughout the Proverbs, Solomon was attempting to instill that same sense of vigilance and right actions in his son, Rehoboam. In the fourth chapter of Proverbs, in typical Hebraic fashion, Solomon lays out a string of admonitions for Rehoboam that each build upon one another:

Proverbs 4:20-27 – My son, pay attention to my words. Open your ears to what I say. Do not lose sight of these things. Keep them deep within your heart because they are life to those who find them and they heal the whole body. Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. Remove dishonesty from your mouth. Put deceptive speech far away from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your sight be focused in front of you. Carefully walk a straight path, and all your ways will be secure. Do not lean to the right or to the left. Walk away from evil.

Here we see revealed for us how the root of remaining vigilant and keeping one’s way pure is centered on the heart: “…keep [my words] deep within your heart…Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.”

According to the Bible, the heart is the wellspring of life. All thoughts and consequent actions flow from the heart, therefore, a pure heart means a pure walk.

A thousand years after Solomon, Yeshua also instructed his followers that what one says, and thereby does, comes from what is within the heart:

Luke 6:45 – The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

So, taking the full counsel of God’s wisdom into account, in like fashion, when we keep God’s word deep within our hearts, our walk becomes more sure. Dishonesty and deceptive speech disappear. Distractions from the way of truth become less frequent. Our way becomes more firm as we stay on the path laid out for us. We find the strength to walk away from evil.

It would seem that Rehoboam acted foolishly by following his own ambition and the advice of his friends, not because he didn’t have the instruction of the wisdom of God from his father, Solomon, but because his heart was not right. He desired to “make his mark” by becoming a harsh and unreasonable ruler over God’s people. Even though he had been personally counseled by the author of the Proverbs, it appears that it wasn’t that the instruction was faulty, but the example set by his father Solomon.

Proverbs 23:26 – O my son, give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways.

As Solomon’s rule continued to slide further into idolatry and slave labor of his people, Rehoboam must have seen that as a path to his own future administration. Rather than following the clear-headed wisdom of his father from his younger days, he appears to have chosen the way of his own ambition and popularity with his friends, following the ways of the example of his father during the latter years of his reign. The end result was not a stronger nation, but a civil war that split the kingdom in two.

This proverb now takes on the light of a different color. While the story of Rehoboam is not a picture of encouragement, it still has the power to teach us one of its lessons. It may be that Rehoboam actually followed his father’s direction by “following his ways.” As Solomon’s rule became more compromised by idolatry, Rehoboam simply took his father’s “ways” to a new level.

Now, I am not suggesting that Rehoboam had no responsibility in the matter, as we all make decisions that have real-world consequences. But what I am proposing is how powerful the example of a parent is to a child, or even a mentor to the student. It is not always what is said or taught, but what is lived.

I believe this is why Yeshua stressed the importance of the heart condition above obedience to the letter of the law.

Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matthew 15:19 – “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.
Matthew 18:35 – “So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”
Mark 7:6 – He answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Luke 6:45 – “A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
Luke 10:27 – He answered, “Love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

When the heart is right, right actions will follow. And when right actions are evident, then positive examples are set for others to see and follow, as well. This story of Rehoboam should sound a note of of warning to our ears. While it is a prime example of how we cannot be vigilant in the wisdom of God unless the wisdom of God is in our hearts in the first place, it also demonstrates how the example of our life has the powerful potential to influence others in ways that honor God.

This is why the motivation to stay on the right path begins with vigilance: a vigilant determination to keep our hearts pure at all costs. By being committed to remain faithful to the deep truths God has placed there, then, just like a true child of the Proverbs, we can find deep reserves of strength to always do what’s right, bringing forth “good treasure” and positive examples for others to see. When we do so, God’s purposes can be continually fulfilled within each generation as we remain faithful to his will in both our hearts and our actions. And when God’s will is accomplished on earth as it is in heaven, this is the tangible expression of the Kingdom of God and how it will continue to spread until it fills the earth.

If you enjoy these articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

How to do what is right in God’s eyes

Meditating on God’s word and understanding it in its entirety provides us the correct context for our outward actions.

Core of the Bible podcast #101 – How to do what is right in God’s eyes

Today we will be looking at the core Bible principle of integrity, and how it is only when we understand what God’s perspective is that we can know what’s truly right and what’s wrong.

Deuteronomy 12:28 – Observe and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.

Doing what is right in the sight of God is the biblical definition of integrity. It means following his instruction or acting according to his precepts. Today, I would like to take a look at some examples of ancient Israelite kings who have done what is right in God’s eyes: King Asa and King Josiah. I believe this can help us to understand what this practical righteousness or biblical integrity looks like.

2 Chronicles 14:2-5 – Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of Yahweh his God. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace.
2 Kings 22:1-2 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. … He did what was pleasing in Yahweh’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.
2 Kings 23:24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols, and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in Yahweh’s Temple.

Notice in these examples that Asa and Josiah were considered doing what was right in God’s sight because they were taking action according to God’s Word. The texts tell us that “Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of Yahweh his God,” and that Josiah “did what was pleasing in Yahweh’s sight.” How did they know what God’s perspective was? It says that Asa followed God’s “law and his commands” and Josiah acted “in obedience to the laws written in the scroll” that had been found in the temple.

These reforms did not get underway until each king had a standard to act on. In the example of Asa, the details of this reform are actually backfilled in the following chapter from the narrative we read previously. Looking at the wider context of his reforms, we can see where his motivation to enact these reforms came from.

2 Chronicles 15:1-4 – The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. Yahweh is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction, but when they turned to Yahweh God of Israel in their distress and sought him, he was found by them.

Notice here how Azariah mentions two main points: first, Israel has been without God and instruction for many years and, secondly, he recounts God’s dealings with Israel in the past (i.e., a biblical narrative) that were examples for them to understand and learn from. The narrative continues:

2 Chronicles 15:5-8 – “In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. But as for you, be strong; don’t give up, for your work has a reward.” When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh’s temple.

See how the reforms did not begin until Asa was made aware of God’s perspective from the previous examples from Israel’s history? What is even more startling is the fact that Asa reigned in Israel a scant 100 years after the broad successful reign of Solomon, somewhere around 900 BC. And in that short amount of time the nation had fallen into deep corruption; so deep, in fact, that the Word of God had become lost to where there was no true instruction of God available, and idolatry had quickly overtaken the people.

As amazing as this seems, it’s the same way with Josiah’s reforms, as well. When we look at the “backstory” of his reforms, we find a similar pattern to Asa.

2 Kings 22:8, 10-13 – The high priest Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in Yahweh’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. … Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes [which was an act of repentance]. Then he commanded the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah: “Go and inquire of Yahweh for me, the people, and all Judah about the words in this book that has been found. For great is Yahweh’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

For context, Asa reigned around 900 BC and Josiah reigned approximately 625 BC. Josiah’s reign ended less than a decade from the nation of Judah’s capture and carrying off to Babylon.

Again, Josiah was motivated to conduct these reforms only when he became aware of God’s requirements, God’s view on how things should be conducted. It wasn’t until Hilkiah the high priest “found a book of the law in the temple” and Josiah was made aware of it that his motivation was kindled. His response to hearing and understanding the instruction of God was to repent of his ignorance and lack of understanding, and then take full action based on the clear directives of God.

By contrast, those who instead follow their own ways do what they think is right, not paying any attention to the commands of God.

Proverbs 16:25 – There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
Proverbs 21:2 – People may be right in their own eyes, but Yahweh examines their heart.

Essentially, we as humans have the capacity to justify whatever we think is right and appropriate for ourselves, whether those things are right in God’s eyes or not. Unfortunately, as Solomon wrote in his Proverbs, typically those ways “end up in death.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that our own ways always lead to our physical death (although many times they do), but the path of “death” in these ancient texts is typically the antithesis of the path of “life.” Our own ways driven by our own understanding cannot come to the realization of what is truly right. This is the symbolism contained within the meaning of the story of Adam and Eve: they had the right to eat from the tree of life (i.e., in obedience to God’s righteous ways) or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (i.e., operating within their own understanding of what they thought was good or bad). When they chose incorrectly, they experienced “death” and were cast away from God’s presence.

Solomon also says that people may do what they think is right in their own eyes, but God looks at their heart. Similarly, we can see peoples’ stature and the impressive way they present themselves, but unlike God, we don’t always know what’s in their heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 – But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. Yahweh doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”

We may think that someone is being super-righteous because of their outward actions, but in reality they may actually be hypocritical because they are doing things only to be seen as righteous by others. This is a heart condition that God recognizes, even if we don’t. Yeshua had to combat this type of unrighteousness among the leaders of his day.

Luke 16:15 – He said to them [the Pharisees], “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

There are things that are right in the sight of God, and there are things that are an abomination in the sight of God. The key factor is understanding what God’s perspective is, then we can know what’s truly right and what’s truly wrong. He has revealed what he considers right and wrong within the pages of the Bible, and it is up to us to saturate our lives with his Word so we can operate from the baseline of his principles with the power he provides us.

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Asa and Josiah were two faithful kings of integrity living approximately 350 years distant from one another. Yet, they had similar experiences of repentance and renewal based on their exposure to God’s Word, demonstrating the power of a constant and intentional review of biblical information.

As kings, they had the ability to make laws and take actions that would guide and protect the people of Israel. They had chosen to take action, to do what was right in God’s eyes (according to his Word), in regard to the corruption and idolatry they saw which had continually crept in among God’s people. They were men of practical vision who recognized that the idolatrous influences of the surrounding cultures had been polluting God’s people, and so they both chose to act in accordance with God’s Word; they did what was right in God’s eyes.

Now, based on the fact that these two stories seem so similar and that this process of reform needed to be repeated, some might say: “Well, look how hopeless things are. Regardless of the faithful integrity of these kings and the widespread reforms they brought about, the nation still fell back into its idolatrous ways and was carried off to Assyrian and Babylon anyway. What they did had no effect at stopping the corruption of the land.”

Well, if we step back and look at the bigger picture, God already knew that the nation would remain rebellious despite these reforms; it had been prophesied since the days of Moses hundreds of years earlier. But that’s not the point. The point is that both kings acted with integrity when they were confronted with the Word of God that had become lost in their respective generations. I believe that what we should take away from this is not to feel hopeless in the continual fight against corruption, idolatry and worldliness. The point is for believers to act on what we know is right in the face of that corruption, idolatry and worldliness. God doesn’t ask any believer to single-handedly correct the entire world, only to be faithful with the truth that they have received.

Paul wrote about this type of mindset as he encouraged the Philippian congregation to strive for a mature realization of their faith by continually looking ahead:

Philippians 3:13-16 – …Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Messiah Yeshua. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.

We can’t be faithful in the things we don’t yet know about, but we can be faithful with the truth that we have received, and this is all God expects of us. When we do so, God then has the opportunity to bless us for our obedience to what he has revealed to us so far.

Consider how both kings, and the people under their reign, benefitted from the integrity of these two men.

2 Chronicles 15:12-15 – Then they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul. Whoever would not seek Yahweh God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman. They took an oath to Yahweh in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns. All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought him with all their heart, and he was found by them. So Yahweh gave them rest on every side.

2 Kings 22:14-20 – So the priest Hilkiah … went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. … She said to them, … “Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh: ‘This is what Yahweh God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard, “because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’ – this is Yahweh’s declaration. “‘Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’ ” Then they reported to the king.

Because of the faithfulness of these men, the land had rest from its enemies. People under their reigns could prosper within the safety of this favored status before God. Their repentance led to peace; peace with God and peace with their enemies. The integrity of these men had real impact on themselves and the people of their respective generations. Sure, the land would eventually lapse back into their idolatrous ways, but within their lifetimes and within all of their capacity that they had available to them, these men stood as shining lights amidst the darkness of their generations to create a safe haven for those under their rule.

What about us? It is easy for us to become overwhelmed by the negativity, divisiveness, and corruption we see around us every day. But, as believers, that’s what we’re here for. We are to be the city on a hill, the light shining in the darkness, standing up for what’s right according to God’s Word. We have to take action on the instruction of God for it to be impactful in the lives of those around us. It’s been said that believers are the only Bible that some people will be exposed to, so what kind of example of God’s instruction do you want your life to emulate?

As believers, even if the rest of the world doesn’t understand our motivation, we can still do what’s right in God’s eyes. Meditating on his word and understanding it in its entirety provides us the correct context for our outward actions. Like Asa and Josiah before us, this type of obedient integrity purifies God’s people and accomplishes God’s purpose in each generation.

I know it’s popular in these days to be part of a movement that seeks to change the world. But changing the whole world is not our job; that’s God’s job. His expectation for us is that we change OUR world, those people we see and touch and interact with each and every day. We do that by acting on the instruction of God in a way that others around us can see and know what God’s perspective is: what’s right and what’s wrong in HIS eyes. This is how we make a difference for God. And when we collectively do so as faithful individuals of biblical integrity, God ends up, through us, changing the world.

If you enjoy these articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Keeping God’s Word before us at all times

Believers should be so imbued with God’s Word that it causes them to act with the integrity of his commandments as a reflex.

Core of the Bible podcast #94 – Keeping God’s Word before us at all times

Today we will be looking at one of the seven core Bible principles: integrity. Reviewing the information today I hope to show how believers should be so imbued with God’s Word that it causes us to act with the integrity of his commandments as a reflex.

Deuteronomy 6:18, 25 – Do what is right and good in Yahweh’s sight, so all will go well with you. … For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands Yahweh our God has given us.

As Moses was preparing the Israelites to enter the land of Canaan, he encouraged them to continually be reminded of doing what is good and right so that they would be sure to follow all of the commands of God’s law. If they were to do what was right from the heart, that is how they would be sure to be following all of God’s commands and they would be considered righteous.

In the same way, Yeshua taught that believers should demonstrate virtue and purity that exceeds those who are merely following external commands.

Matthew 5:20 – “For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What Yeshua was teaching the audience of his day was nothing new. God had continually put before the Israelites that the integrity of the actions they were to pursue and the decisions they made should have been coming should have been coming from a genuine place in their hearts, not just outward compliance. Moses had urged this of the Hebrew community over a millennia earlier:

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 – Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart…

In order to continue this focus in their culture Moses had provided them a specific set of instructions or a template that they could implement in the lives of their communities. Over the years, the Israelites would form many traditions around his original template. Ultimately, this was by design to help them to maintain a continuous recognition of the commands of God.

Deuteronomy 6:7-9 – and you shall teach [these words] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates.

One of the primary methods used by Hebrew believers over the years to accomplish this doing of the commands stems from the ongoing recitation of the Shema and the practices associated with it. What is the Shema? As outlined from a popular Jewish website Chabad.org, this process has become a daily declaration of their faith.

“Shema Yisrael (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל) (“Hear, O Israel”) are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is the centerpiece of the morning and evening prayer services, encapsulating the monotheistic essence of Judaism: “Hear, O Israel: G‑d is our L‑rd, G‑d is one.” In its entirety, the Shema consists of three paragraphs: Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–41. Its recitation twice daily (morning and evening) is a biblical commandment. In addition, we recite it just before retiring for the night, as well as in the Kedushah [set-apart] service on Shabbat. Indeed, this succinct statement has become so central to the Jewish people that it is the climax of the final Ne’ilah [closing of the gates] prayer of Yom Kippur, and is traditionally a Jew’s last words on earth.” – Chabad.org – What is the Shema

So let’s take a closer look at the principal section of the Shema that we reviewed a few moments ago in Deuteronomy 6.

First, Moses states the purpose of this instruction in the opening verse: “These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart…” This is his over-arching objective in the instruction he is about to reveal: to have the words that God commands on their hearts, not just in their minds. When God’s Word is on the heart of the believer, then all of the actions that stem from that foundation will be correctly motivated and acted upon.

Moses then proceeds to explain how to imbue the entire community with the richness of God’s Word.

Deuteronomy 6:7 – “Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Notice the progression he outlines here. First be sure the children are taught the truth of God’s Word. If they are not exposed to the Word of God on a regular basis, they will likely form their own opinions based on the corrupted cultures around them and they will potentially fall away from the one, true God to a belief system of the popular culture or one of their own making.

“You shall teach them to your children…” The Hebrew phrasing in this passage could be literally rendered as, “You shall diligently sharpen your children.” The imagery is that children need to be constantly honed in the things of God in order to be a useful implement to God throughout their lives, much like a sharp knife is much more useful than a dull one. This is a process, not a program. It is something they must be exposed to on a regular basis through the course of their lives.

Moses continues, “You shall talk of them…” The commands of God are something that should be a topic of discussion as situations are encountered each day, whether at home or out and about in the community, or traveling on an extended journey. How do God’s commands apply to what the children are experiencing, or the family situation that is at hand? What better way to demonstrate the truth of God’s Word than to live it out in our daily, practical experiences? But in order for believing parents to do so, they must also be imbued with God’s Word. Adults must take the time to understand how God’s Word applies in their lives as parents so they can faithfully share that wisdom with their children.

Moses says to talk about the commands of God “when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road.” This constant focus on God’s commands would show that his Word is being implemented within the daily fabric of the family, not only at home but when running errands or traveling. When children see that the God’s Word is a vital part of the parents’ lives at all times and in every place, they are more likely to be receptive to it themselves seeing that it has universal application.

He says to also be sure to review it “when you lie down and when you get up.” This is where Judaism derives the principle that the Shema should be recited twice daily: in the evening (when you lay down) and in the morning (when you get up).

As an aside, notice how the day is reckoned in Hebraic culture: first there is evening, then there is morning. We get a glimpse here of how sunset begins the day and the morning begins the second half of the day. In our Western culture, we might have stated it as “talk about God’s Word every morning, noon, and night.” But for ancient Hebrews, a total day is halved between darkness first, and light second. This mirrors the Creation narrative:

Genesis 1:2-3, 5 – Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. … God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening [listed first], and there was a morning: one day.

Ancient cosmology aside, the focus of Moses’ command is to indeed have a constant attention to God’s Word throughout the totality of every day. If the Israelites were to do so, the commands of God would always be the constant focus of his people, acting on it from the heart in all they do.

The next section of the Shema illustrates another picture of the constancy of the Word within the hearts of the believing community.

Deuteronomy 6:8 – “Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.”

Now from this one sentence has come a Jewish tradition that was practiced up through the days of Yeshua and is still practiced by Jews today: the wearing of tefillin or phylacteries. From the website of the Jewish Virtual Library, we gain the following definition of tefillin:

“Tefillin are two small black boxes with black straps attached to them; Jewish men are required to place one box on their head and tie the other one on their arm each weekday morning… The Pharisees … took the text literally; the words of the Torah are to be inscribed on a scroll and placed directly between one’s eyes and on one’s arm.”

However, with the entire section of this instruction from Moses beginning with “these words shall be in your heart,” the command has also been understood to be figurative, in the sense that every thought (between the eyes) and every action (of the hands) should be prompted from the commands of God. The Jewish Virtual Library article also points out how various Jewish groups have had this type of interpretation over the years.

“Certain Jewish groups — including probably the Sadducees, and definitely the medieval Karaites — understood the last verse to be figurative; it means only that one should always be preoccupied with words of Torah, as if they were in front of one’s eyes.”

In my view, I believe that is the intent of Moses’ instruction, seeing how the primary emphasis is not on any outward show but on ensuring that the words of God are in the hearts of the believer. I think this is illustrated most clearly by seeing how this phrasing of signs and symbols on the hand and between the eyes is used in another section of Scripture where Moses is explaining about the annual practice of observing the week of Unleavened Bread at Passover.

Exodus 13:6-10 – “For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to Yahweh. “Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that Yahweh’s instruction may be in your mouth; for Yahweh brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.”

Notice how the practice of observing the week of unleavened bread was to be a sign on the hand (in practice) and a reminder on the forehead (in the mind). It was established as an annual object lesson to remind the ongoing Israelite descendants of the significance of the flight from Egypt. By keeping this command in a physical way, the believing community would be bringing to remembrance, as a memorial, the event that formed them into a nation of God’s own people.

Well, so far we have looked at the commands of Moses and how some Jewish traditions have sprung up around those commands. In a moment, as we continue to look at other commands and traditions, it is my hope that we can glean an understanding of the importance of keeping God’s Word at the foremost of our thoughts and actions every day.

Having reviewed some of Moses instruction in Deuteronomy, we now switch gears for a moment to review a secondary passage of the Shema that Israel recites each day from the book of Numbers.

Numbers 15:37-41 – Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner. These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all Yahweh’s commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes. This way you will remember and obey all my commands and be holy to your God. I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”

So, a secondary practice that has arisen out of the texts of the Shema passages is the wearing of tassels on one’s garments. The tassels were to be reminders to be diligent in following all of God’s commands. There is nothing in this command that suggests it is a figurative type of imagery, but by all accounts it appears to be the literal description of a specific practice. When worn on one’s own clothing, the tassels were to be a personal reminder to keep God’s commands throughout every daily situation. Seeing others wearing the tassels would also bring to remembrance the diligence needed in keeping God’s commands.

But over the years, as the practice grew within the leadership of the community, it had become corrupted as well. The tassels had become the equivalent of a religious status symbol, and, as with all social trends, it began to be abused. People began to change the appearance of their tassels to appear more righteous than others by lengthening them beyond what the typical tassel might be. Between this and the practice of wearing tefillin as mentioned previously, these things led to a pious hypocrisy of the religious leaders that Yeshua ultimately called them out on. But note: Yeshua didn’t condemn the Jewish leaders for the wearing of tefillin or tassels, but he did confront them because those things had become status symbols depending on how large the scripture boxes were, or how long their tassels had become. The outward show had replaced the inward meaning, and this opened them up to pride and hypocrisy.

Matthew 23:2-7 – “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.'”

When the object lessons we use to remind ourselves of God’s commands or to teach others about his Word become the primary focus of our practice, then we have lost sight of the spirit of God’s Word and we have succumbed to the idolatry of our traditions. This can be a slippery slope, which is why I believe God prefers simplicity from the heart. If a believer today wants to wear tassels as object lessons in the genuine spirit of the command of being reminded of the significance of God’s Word throughout the day, then I believe they should be free to do so. But if the wearing of tassels is only for attempting to appear more righteous than others, then the tassels have become idolatrous. It’s not necessarily the practice itself (excepting outright idolatry) but the motivation behind it that has any value.

Returning now to the Deuteronomy passage, the final admonition from Moses regarding the commands of God in this section was to, “write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates.” Again, this constant and intentional placing of God’s Word where everyone in the household and where guests would pass on a regular basis would serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in providing his people with his instruction. God’s instruction only has meaning when hear it, see it, and know it. The repetition of talking about it in the house and when traveling, to wear the tassels and see them on others, and to touch the commands of God in the entering and leaving of the home all work together to keep the believing family knowing the one true God.

It’s been said that immersion in a foreign culture is the best way to learn another language. In a sense, the Kingdom of God is foreign to the cultures of this world, and it takes immersion for us to truly understand the scope and power of its presence here in the lives of believers.

The idea of being intentional about how we handle God’s Word is the key. In reality, as Yeshua illustrated, there is nothing wrong with using physical reminders as object lessons for the deeper spiritual significance. A problem only arises when those physical reminders and traditions become the objective that surpasses the underlying spiritual meaning.

The method Moses outlined of identifying what is most important in the Bible and reviewing it in an intentional way should be an example to us today. It demonstrates the tenacity required to imbue our culture with a recognition of an obedient life, an upright and righteous life, a life of true integrity.

How diligent are we in making sure the words of God are in our hearts so we can act on them without even thinking? Like physical reflexes, we should respond to our situations and conditions in ways that honor God because his instruction is thriving in our hearts. When situations arise that demand our obedience, we shouldn’t have to seek commentaries and biblical concordances; we should be so imbued with God’s Word through our daily practices that his Spirit can bring those insights to the forefront of our thinking (between the eyes), and therefore our actions (through our hands), whenever needed.

Moses’ method in his template for the family and the community involves a constant, daily, repetitious routine that would saturate the culture of the people with God’s Word. Some of the practices were to become symbolic object lessons that would keep God’s Word before them at all times. If we could find ways to incorporate this level of diligence in our daily routines for ourselves and within our families, we would not only be following the commandments as God outlined through Moses, but we would also be living lives of integrity that would be clearly and intentionally patterned on God’s Word.

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Becoming compassionate givers

By being willing to give and loan freely, we demonstrate we are God’s children.

Core of the Bible podcast #92 – Becoming compassionate givers

Today we will be looking at the topic of compassion, and how God is honored when we respect him in all things, including how we demonstrate that compassion to others through obedient and intentional generosity.

Deuteronomy 15:7-8 – If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

The concept of giving to those in need is evident all through the biblical writings. Traditionally, this has come down to us through the ages as the giving of “alms.” Alms is a word that is not used much in modern English these days, but it is interesting to note a little about the history of the word.

It’s definition is typically along the lines of “charitable relief of the poor,” especially as a religious duty, or “that which is given to relieve the poor or needy.” It comes from the old English word aelmesse, which was based on a Latin version of the Greek term eleemosyne, meaning mercy, pity, or compassion as exhibited in charitable giving. This Greek phrase is used in Bible passages describing the charitable obligation to help others. For example:

Matthew 6:1-4 – “Be careful not to practice your charitable giving in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. “But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, “so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Acts 3:1-3 – One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to ask for charitable giving from those entering the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked to receive a charitable gift.

But the term in its wider usage really means any act of compassionate giving across a spectrum of generous actions. For example, it can mean kind actions towards others.

Acts 9:36 – There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and charitable helping of the poor.

Acts 10:1-2 – There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.

It can also mean charitable offerings for the purposes of God’s people.

Acts 24:17 – After many years, I came to bring charitable gifts and offerings to my people…

However when it comes to giving to those in need as mentioned in our passage in Deuteronomy 15, the idea of helping the poor is depicted as lending to them, not outright giving. Why is it important to understand this distinction?

Well, it has more to do with the receiver than the giver. Many times, people will struggle to accept outright handouts because of their pride. They don’t want to be made to feel they are unable to meet their needs on their own. This is actually an emotionally good and healthy response for anyone who is otherwise able to provide for themselves but may have just fallen on hard times; it happens. When encountering someone who is need, whether a friend or relative, to provide them assistance with the idea that they can pay back what was lent to them whenever they are able to allows for a sense of dignity in providing that assistance.

In ancient Israel, those who would beg for charitable handouts were typically those who had no other means of income: the lame or blind who could not work, widows and orphans (who had lost their husband/father as the provider). In the Hebraic culture, these were considered legitimate reasons for true charity, and helping and giving donations to these individuals was commanded by God and highly commended within their social culture.

Deuteronomy 26:12 – “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levites, resident aliens, fatherless children and widows, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Zechariah 7:9-10 – “This is what Yahweh of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

Notice, foreigners or resident aliens were also included in this social order, as they would suffer from having the status of immigrants, and were typically afforded only the most menial of jobs in that ancient society.

However, for those who had the ability to work but had simply gotten into financial straits, the Bible conveys the idea of loans from family and friends as legitimate assistance until they could get back on their feet.

Exodus 22:25 – “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.

Leviticus 25:35-37 – “If your brother becomes destitute and cannot sustain himself among you, you are to support him as an alien or temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you. “Do not profit or take interest from him, but fear your God and let your brother live among you. “You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit.

In our passage above, God, through Moses, is urging that the Israelites would open their hearts to those who were poor, and lend freely. This was a necessary urging from him because many times people would take these loans and never repay them, and it would cause bitterness between family members and friends.

In a moment, we will look at how all of this background was built upon by Yeshua in his teachings of giving and loaning to those in need. As is typical, Yeshua not only reinforces these principles of Torah, but then elevates them to new levels of generosity that is to be expected within the kingdom of God.

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As we move into the New Testament writings and the teaching of Yeshua, we find that some of the familiar passages where Yeshua is teaching on generosity have even more meaning when he relates how believers should be viewing acts of giving and loaning to others. For example:

Matthew 5:42 – “Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Notice the emphasis on not turning away from those who would seek to borrow.

Luke 6:35 – “But love [even] your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.

Now, here is where we begin to see God’s true heart of compassion for those in need. Yeshua teaches that even if our intent is to genuinely help others by providing them a loan of some sort, he says if you are doing so, don’t expect anything in return. This echoes the instruction of Moses in not expecting to receive interest on the loan, and takes it to the next level of not even expecting to be repaid at all.

This is a radical upgrade to the principle of generosity that the Jewish culture of his day would have been familiar with from the previous passages of Torah. Just as Yeshua upgraded the command against adultery to not even looking at a woman with lustful intent, Yeshua here upgrades the command to not charge interest to not being concerned about being repaid at all!

This is an indication of how Yeshua continued to uphold Torah yet demonstrate its true intent when operating from the heart, not just the written command. It’s as if he was saying, “You think you are upholding Torah by not charging interest, but if you really want to uphold Torah, don’t even expect to be repaid.”

To take it even further, this wasn’t just a command for fellow Israelites, but it was to be applied towards enemies, as well! In the economy of the Kingdom of God, there was to be no more social distinctions between foreigners and natives, men and women, slaves and free. Paul illustrates this in the context of describing the equality of those who were demonstrating faith in Messiah.

Galatians 3:26-28 – for through faith you are all sons of God in Messiah Yeshua. For those of you who were baptized into Messiah have been clothed with Messiah. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

Even though we are off on a bit of a tangent, this sense of equality before God in Messiah is the glue that held the remnant assemblies together through the persecution they endured from their fellow Jews and from the oppression of the Romans. Having a united stance in the face of adversity can overcome all odds.

Back to to the topic at hand of generosity that Yeshua taught, if believers were to loan money with the idea of not expecting anything at all in return, they would be operating in the true spirit of generosity that God desires. This accomplishes two purposes: it maintains the dignity of the receiver and it removes any chance of hard feelings for not being repaid in the future. If anyone was to “loan” to someone in need, that loan should be treated as a donation and any repayment as a bonus. All types of giving are highly recommended in the Bible, as we know that “God loves a cheerful giver,” (2 Cor. 9:7). Giving freely is a required dynamic within the economy of the kingdom of God.

Additionally, God has proclaimed that those who demonstrate generosity and compassion toward others will receive generosity and blessing in return.

Psalm 41:1-2 – Happy is one who is considerate of the poor; Yahweh will save him in a day of adversity. Yahweh will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

Proverbs 19:17 – Kindness to the poor is a loan to Yahweh, and he will give a reward to the lender.

Psalm 112:4-5 – Light shines in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous. Good will come to the one who lends generously and conducts his business fairly.

Having a larger understanding of the context and social dynamic of biblical giving can make us more responsible givers. In outwardly loaning to those who have need, we can allow them dignity. Inwardly considering these helper-loans as outright donations or charitable giving, not expecting anything in return, we free ourselves from any negative ties to those relationships if the money is never repaid in the future.

God is honored when we honor and respect him in all things, including how we manage our finances and our relationships with others. By being willing to give and loan freely, we demonstrate we are his children by operating with the same compassionate principles he provides to us.

If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

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Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks

If forgiveness resides in our heart, we can then speak and act on that forgiveness.

Core of the Bible podcast #91 – Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks

Today we will be looking at the topic of forgiveness, and how it relates to the condition of our heart. If forgiveness resides in our heart, we can then speak and act on that forgiveness. However, if what we say is unforgiving, then the words we speak illustrate or reveal what is actually in our hearts.

Luke 6:45 – The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.

I knew a man who was recently honored at his work for being an outstanding performer, always receiving gracious comments from customers with whom he interacted on a regular basis. He even received national recognition and many accolades from his company for his achievements. However, when a particular crisis arose and he was challenged by his boss with a sharp disagreement over his mishandling of a particular situation, what began as a discussion of strategy degraded into a string of profanity and lashing out. He ended up blaming a customer for what was in reality his own inability to bring a situation to its proper conclusion. This indignation, it would seem, was always simmering and bubbling under the surface of the polished outward appearance of his performance. When a situation challenged his work, what was truly in his heart boiled over and out of his mouth, revealing the true nature of his character.

Yeshua calls this the “fruit of the tree.” The wider context of our verse today demonstrates this idea.

Luke 6:43-45 – For there is no good tree that brings forth rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that brings forth good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.

If, as Yeshua teaches, “each tree is known by its own fruit,” then we can ascertain very quickly what is in a person’s heart by what they say, how they say it, and what they do. What we say is important, because our speech is what makes the contents of our heart known to others; it is the authorized (by us) commentary on what is in our heart.

Proverbs 10:20 – The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.

Notice how the tongue of the righteous is contrasted with the heart of the wicked. By locking these two themes together, Solomon is passing commentary on how the tongue (that is, what we say) and the heart are absolutely connected.

In a heated discussion with the Pharisees, Yeshua says the following:

Matthew 12:34-37 – “Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Yeshua teaches that the heart is like a storeroom where either good things exist, or where evil things exist. The underlying Greek term is where we get our word thesaurus from. Consider what a thesaurus is: a thesaurus is a storehouse of words that have similar meanings. Our heart is a storehouse where similar things are stored, either good or bad. It implies a wealth, abundance, or treasure; either a treasure of positive, helpful things or an abundance of unhelpful and wicked things. We make deposits in our hearts with every thought, every interaction, and every distraction. Based on what we allow ourselves to be engaged with every day, it is up to us if those things that we are storing up are good or evil. Either way, Yeshua teaches that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart, so whatever we have stored up in our heart is what is going to come out at some point.

According to the logic Yeshua uses here, the words we say are evidence that can be used in our favor, or against us. This is the same principle today used in courtrooms to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals. How many times on a courtroom drama on TV or a courtroom scene in a movie have you seen the story lead up to a climax when an individual becomes trapped in the witness stand being confronted with information that varies from what they are testifying under oath?

This is the same type of process that goes on in people’s minds when we are interacting with each other. We all pass judgment on others, not necessarily to be overly critical, but to gauge the sincerity of an individual to see if their words line up with their actions. When they do, we consider that individual trustworthy; when they don’t, we de-value what that person says because they are inconsistent and therefore unreliable. In essence, we are conducting “fruit inspections” as part of our normal course of interacting in a society of individuals.

Looking at these passages, we can see how Yeshua is teaching that the heart is the driver of what we say and do. If our speech and actions are not where they need to be, we may be in need of some work on our hearts.

This is where things can get challenging.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 – The heart is more deceitful than anything else, frail and weak – who can understand it? I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.

Notice how Yahweh lets us know that the difficulty we face when we explore our own hearts is that we can easily be deceived when doing so. It’s like being dropped into a dark cavern without a map and being expected to know where every winding passage leads. The light from our headlamp only shines for a limited way in front of us. From time to time, the cavern walls crumble with the threat of cave-in due to the frailty and weakness of the structure. We may travel for hundreds of yards down a passage only to reach a dead end.

Additionally, we have difficulty being objective when we explore our hearts because we are intimately and inextricably emotionally tied to outcomes that are based on our heart motives which can be weak and unsupported. When we discover long-standing perspectives that may be unfounded or not as we expected, we can become disoriented and lose our way within the emptiness of failed ambitions or missed opportunities.

But the good news, according to Jeremiah, is that Yahweh also says that he understands our heart by searching out its depths, and testing and trying the mind. He provides everyone according to their way, “according to what their actions deserve.” In this type of biblical karma, God is providing an experience for each person based on what actions are being driven by the heart’s disposition.

If this is the case for all of humanity, then it is in our best interest to look to Yahweh as the Creator of all to understand the true condition of our heart. This is not something we should attempt on our own due to the potential dangers we just discussed. If the heart that we have is so frail and deceptive, how can we control what comes out of its overflow in our speech and actions? How can we fill our hearts with love and forgiveness that is necessary to engage with others in ways that our Creator desires?

In a moment, we will see how God has provided a solution to the challenges we face in the wayward directions of our hearts. He himself can provide the motivation and strength that is so critical to living a life that has real and demonstrable love for others.

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If we revisit what Yeshua taught in relation to our hearts, that we speak comes out of the overflow of whatever good or evil is stored up in the heart, then it is in our best interest to know how to ensure that we have only good in our hearts. However, from what we have learned so far, the heart is frail and can be deceptive even to our own reasonings.

There was a promise made to ancient Israel that we can look to to help us understand how God views the situation. Israel had become corrupt before God, and because they refused to listen to his instruction, they were removed from the land he had promised to them and they were spread among the nations as a punishment for their disobedience. Yet, God reveals this happened as a way of teaching them that they would need to rely on him, not their own strength and reasoning, to accomplish his Word.

Ezekiel 36:23-28 – “I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations – the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh – this is the declaration of Yahweh GOD – when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

This is an amazing passage that provides us some critical information in the discussion of the heart. Yahweh said in order for Israel to be the light to the nations that they were destined to be, he would need to not just renovate or repair but to replace their collective heart with a new one. This new heart would provide the motivation and strength, guided by his own Spirit, to actually follow his statutes and ordinances, as he had originally intended for them.

This same thing is also mentioned in the famous passage in Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – “Look, the days are coming” – this is Yahweh’s declaration – ”when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. “This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt – my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” – Yahweh’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” – Yahweh’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. “No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” – this is Yahweh’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

This teaching that would be in their hearts would be placed there by God himself. He would provide them the new hearts of obedience that would accomplish his purpose in the world. Ezekiel relates that the nations would come to know Yahweh when they saw him demonstrate his holiness through them by restoring them to himself, even though they had strayed so far from him.

When Yeshua arrived to instruct the nation one last time before they would disappear from the world stage, he pronounced the same message to Nicodemus, a leader in Israel, this message previously revealed by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

John 3:3-8 – Yeshua replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “How can anyone be born when he is old? ” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born? ” Yeshua answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

To be born of the Spirit of God was another way of saying they needed to have a new heart. This was the only way for Israel to have the contents of their hearts switched from evil to good. God was doing a work with the remnant of his people who would hear this message of the kingdom to become the born-again people of the new covenant and the new Creation. In doing this work in their lives, God would be demonstrating his holiness among his own people, and through this faithfulness those from among the nations would be drawn to Yahweh, as well.

Romans 15:8-12 – For I say that Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to your name. Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! And again, Praise Yahweh, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him! And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him.

God knew all along that once he chose Israel, they would fall away and he would have to scatter them throughout the known world. But this was also with the understanding that in drawing them back to himself through Messiah, others from among the nations would also be drawn to him. This was and is the method that God has set in place to draw all people to himself through Messiah Yeshua. God has demonstrated himself faithful with Israel, thereby providing a firm foundation for those of other nations to come to him, as well.

If we are to be speaking and demonstrating forgiveness and reconciliation with others, then that forgiveness and reconciliation will truly need to be in our heart. This can only be accomplished when we step out of the way of our old natures and allow God to work through our renewed nature in those situations.

2 Corinthians 5:16-19 – Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Messiah after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Yeshua Messiah, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

As this message of reconciliation spreads, more and more people have their hearts changed out to become hearts of obedience guided by the Spirit of God. That’s the good news of the kingdom. The even better news is that, knowing we still have the capability to slip and fall accidentally from time to time, we still retain the ability to ask for ongoing renewal when we mess up.

1 John 1:6, 9 – If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. … If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If, as Paul writes, we are new creations, then we need to operate within the new Creation of God’s kingdom, and live and abide by its principles, not the principles of this old Creation. Both Yeshua and Paul convey that the principle of reconciliation and forgiveness is a core principle of God’s kingdom. If our hearts have been renewed, then that forgiveness and reconciliation can truly reside in our new hearts. What we place in our heart from that time on is up to us.

Our ability to speak this forgiveness and reconciliation to those around us appears to be a choice that we have every day, but only when we recognize and remember who we really are. It is in this fashion that God is honored among the nations when his children are operating with the righteousness of his kingdom regardless of the outward situations and conditions they encounter. When the abundance of the heart is good treasure, then that good treasure can’t help but be shared with those who need it most.

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Hezekiah demonstrates how trust in Yahweh is the opposite of idolatry

Exhibiting a strong trust in God should be based on defending God’s honor for his glory.

Core of the Bible podcast #90 – Hezekiah demonstrates how trust in Yahweh is the opposite of idolatry

Today we will be looking at the topic of trust, and how exhibiting a strong trust in God should be based on defending God’s honor for his glory and not relying on the idolatrous practices of our culture. To do so, we are going to be reviewing a pivotal event in the life of King Hezekiah, considered to have been one of the most faithful kings in all of Israel’s history.

2 Kings 18:5-6 – Hezekiah relied on Yahweh God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. He remained faithful to Yahweh and did not turn from following him but kept the commands Yahweh had commanded Moses.

One of the primary achievements of Hezekiah’s reign was the removal of idolatry from Israel.

2 Kings 18:3-4 – He did what was right in Yahweh’s sight just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.

As we look at the descriptions of some of his actions, we find that he had “shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.” These are descriptions of the implements that were used in the worship of false gods. The sacred pillars were roughly the equivalent of a type of memorial obelisk made of stone used in the worship of false gods. Poles of Asherah were wooden carved images or sacred trees, sometimes translated as a grove. These were locations where idolatrous worship of the Phoenician goddess Ashtoreth or Asherah took place.

However, it is important to note that Hezekiah also removed the worship sites known as “the high places.” These were ancient worship sites that had been used by the Canaanites long before Israel inhabited the land. Especially before there was a temple in Israel, and sometimes after, it was a common practice to worship gods, including Yahweh, in areas on high mountains that were considered sacred. Both the prophet Samuel and Solomon are recorded as frequenting high places in the worship of the one true God, Yahweh.

1 Samuel 9:19 – “I am the seer,” Samuel answered. “Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. When I send you off in the morning, I’ll tell you everything that’s in your heart.

1 Kings 3:2-4 – However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for Yahweh’s name had not been built. Solomon loved Yahweh by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

It was from this environment, the high place at Gibeon, that God appeared to Solomon in a dream and granted him wisdom above his contemporaries.

From these few examples, it can be seen that the worship of Yahweh had become intermixed with the worship of the false gods of the land of Canaan. But this was something that God had specifically warned the Israelites not to do.

Deuteronomy 18:9 – “When you enter the land Yahweh your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations.”

Albert Barnes in his commentary on this passage relates how the high places had become part of the culture of the land.

“They were the rural centers for the worship of Yahweh, standing in the place of the later synagogue, and had hitherto been winked at, or rather regarded as legitimate, even by the best kings. Hezekiah’s desecration of these time-honored sanctuaries must have been a rude shock to the feelings of numbers…”

For Hezekiah to remove the high places and re-direct everyone’s worship to the temple in Jerusalem was a monumental task. In today’s terms from an American perspective, it would be the equivalent of a state governor essentially destroying rural church buildings in every small town and telling everyone they can only worship God “officially” in the capital city of the state. Not likely to be a popular move. But Hezekiah was not doing this as a popularity concession; he was dutifully upholding the law of God, as a king should:

Deuteronomy 12:10-11, 13-14 – “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land Yahweh your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to Yahweh. … Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see. You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place Yahweh chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.”

Hezekiah took this command seriously because the people had strayed back into their comfort zone of local idolatry. But by any standard, this was a bold move that demonstrated just how zealous Hezekiah was for God’s honor. In fact, his zeal was so strong that he even took action against a shameful practice of his own people regarding the one, true God.

2 Kings 18:4 – He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.

The Israelites had become so corrupted in their idolatry that they had even begun to worship the bronze snake that Moses had made during the wilderness journeys of Israel six or seven hundred years earlier. Apparently it had become a religious relic that was elevated to the status of an object of worship. Ironically, that which had brought the Israelites healing in the desert had become the corrupted focus of worship rather than keeping their focus on the God who had healed them.

From these examples, it would seem that, left to our own devices with no regard for God’s law, people will always default to a type of personal worship of our own choosing based on the cultural norms of their environments. All of these actions that Hezekiah was forced to take on God’s behalf only underscore the reforms that were necessary against the ingrained idolatry of the land. He was adamant he would not succumb to the cultural influences that continually crept in among the people of God, and he would stand firm for God’s honor at all costs.

In a moment, we are going to look at the pivotal event in Hezekiah’s reign that forced him to rely even more strongly on his trust in Yahweh than he had demonstrated with his reforms against idolatry. In doing so, I’m hopeful we can glean some principles which we can apply in our own lives to grow our own trust in God for his increased glory and honor.

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The events surrounding Hezekiah’s encounter with Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, are so prominent in Israel’s history that the story is recounted in three different books within the Tenakh or Old Testament: 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36. Assyria at that time, roughly 700 B.C, had become the equivalent of an ancient superpower and was on a military campaign against the surrounding nations when Israel had come into its sights. In pursuit of his objectives, Sennacherib had declared war on Jerusalem. Prior to setting up a siege, the commander of Sennacherib’s army was declaring the king’s intent to the people of the city. This was a common practice as a form of intimidation and as a way of undercutting potential resistance against the forces that would seek to overpower them.

To begin this process of intimidation, he first tries to destroy the character of Hezekiah in the minds of the people who were within earshot of his message:

2 Kings 18:22 – “Suppose you say to me, “We rely on Yahweh our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”?’

Notice how he zeroes in on the contempt many in Israel likely felt when Hezekiah had destroyed the high places which were their familiar places of worship. He tries to undermine the righteous actions of Hezekiah by accusing Hezekiah of destroying the altars of Yahweh in the high places. But the reality, as we have seen, is that God forbade the Israelites from worshiping at all the “sacred places” that they would see when they entered the land. He never authorized worship of himself at the high places, only at the place he would name. By removing the high places as worship sites for Yahweh, Hezekiah had actually been upholding the law. Sennacherib tried to use this righteous action against him, and convince the people that Hezekiah was against the worship of Yahweh.

So, one of the first principles we can see is that our detractors will try to use our righteous actions against us, because when we act in faith according to God’s Word, our actions typically don’t line up with the cultural norms.

Next, we see how the commander of the Assyrian army levels his sights on the trust and faith in Yahweh that Hezekiah had been trying to instill in his people.

2 Kings 18:30-32 – “Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on Yahweh by saying, “Certainly Yahweh will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ‘ “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each may drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own land – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey – so that you may live and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will rescue us.”

Our next principle for application is that if the detractors can’t malign our character and actions, they will then turn to undermining our faith. They will attempt to provide reason and examples as to how our faith in Yahweh is worthless in the face of their superior reasoning and practical provision.

Notice he says he would allow them to return to their own homesteads and have autonomy until he was to take them away to a land like their own land. He essentially is trying to get them to trade their faith and trust in Yahweh’s protection for a return to their homes and a larger security that he claims he can provide. “No need to believe in all this Yahweh stuff,” he says, “when I can clearly provide you what you really are expecting from Yahweh anyway.” Believers need to be aware that the detractors will always offer some form of security outside of the provision of God to compromise their faith.

Finally, after defaming Hezekiah and the peoples’ faith in Yahweh, the commander then crosses a line that spells the doom of the Assyrian campaign against Jerusalem: he maligns, not just the character and actions of Hezekiah or the faith of the people, but the character of Yahweh himself.

2 Kings 18:33-35 – “Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my power? Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will Yahweh rescue Jerusalem from my power? ‘ “

This is the common mistake of those who would come against the people of God: they equate Yahweh with the rest of the false gods in the world, and in doing so, they attempt to set themselves in the place of, or even above, God himself. They position themselves as the final authority, claiming the ability to operate independently of any deity, and in their own interests. The sad reality, though, is that in taking this stance, the commander had now made the conflict with Israel not about Hezekiah, or the faith of the people in the city, but he had set the Assyrian army in conflict with God himself.

Having heard this rant of the commander of the Assyrian army and having received a letter outlining their demands, Hezekiah, being strong in faith and not being deterred by the king’s arrogance, did what all of us should do when confronted with intimidation against the honor of God: he brought the situation before God. He laid out the demands of the Assyrian king before God in the temple, and simply prayed for God to make himself known in the midst of the conflict.

2 Kings 19:14-19 – After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to Yahweh’s Temple and spread it out before Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before Yahweh: “O Yahweh, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Yahweh, and listen! Open your eyes, O Yahweh, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God. It is true, Yahweh, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all–only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O Yahweh our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Yahweh, are God.”

Notice, Hezekiah recognized that this was not a battle of armies or protection, but a battle for the honor of God’s Name. “Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against [you], the living God.” This isn’t about Hezekiah’s honor, or the faith of the people, but about the Name and character of God himself. Hezekiah knows that this is the opportunity for God to demonstrate his superiority over the fake gods of the land, and to let the other kingdoms know he really is the one, true God. Hezekiah rightly places the battle in God’s hands, since it was to be a demonstration of his power against the enemies who had defied him. If God were to deliver Jerusalem, known even to his enemies as his favored city, then “all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, Yahweh, are God.”

Although Hezekiah had previously attempted to placate the king of Assyria by sending him silver and gold, he knew that now was the time, not to act, but to step out of the way and to trust Yahweh to accomplish his purpose in defending his chosen city and his Name. Through this act of incredible trust and humility demonstrated by Hezekiah, God responded through the prophet Isaiah that he would indeed protect Jerusalem and the honor of his Name.

2 Kings 19:20, 32-34 – Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’ … “Therefore, this is what Yahweh says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it. He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is Yahweh’s declaration. I will defend this city and rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

True to his word, the very next day, almost the entire Assyrian army was dead:

2 Kings 19:35-36 – That night the angel of Yahweh went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

It’s one thing to trust God for one’s own private needs or the needs of one’s own family, but consider how much faith Hezekiah was displaying by trusting God for an entire city, and even the nation of Israel against a foreign invading army! Think of some of the alternatives he could have reasoned through with his advisors: he could have mustered troops to come out in battle against Assyria, trusting in the might of his own army. Or he could have sent word to Egypt trusting in a foreign country as an ally to come and defend the city, but he didn’t do either of these things. When he recognized the battle was really not about him or his faith, but about God’s honor, he simply laid out the situation before God and prayed humbly and sincerely for God to act. Through his simple act of faithfulness, the aggression of a military superpower was averted.

So, what other kinds of applications can we draw from the story of this encounter? Well, the main thrust of the story appears to center on Hezekiah’s faith and trust in Yahweh, relying on Yahweh to provide the necessary and appropriate resolution to the defense of his favored city. When we truly trust God, we need to learn to get out of his way and allow him to move in situations and arrange outcomes that are far beyond our capacity.

But there is also a strong, underlying subtext regarding Hezekiah’s zeal against the idolatry and complacent worship prevalent throughout the land. It took a clear understanding of God’s Word and bold action to re-set the time-honored practices of God’s people who had strayed from the truth. This corruption of idolatry is contrasted with the faith and zeal of Hezekiah. That which can be seen (a false god) is devalued in light of that which cannot be seen (the one, true God). We must not only repent of our own idolatrous tendencies, but to provide God’s perspective for those who may not yet realize the depth of their own complacency and compromise with the culture, much like those who would worship Yahweh at the idolatrous high places throughout the land of Israel.

Let’s think about that for a moment. Consider the things we worship today (that is, things that we look to for refuge, rescue. or solutions to our problems). Things like our phones and devices, social media, television, movies, celebrities, politicians, sports, our homes, sometimes even ourselves. On the religious side, we may have a favored denomination, or place of worship, or tradition that does not line up entirely with God’s Word. What types of “Hezekiahan” reform would be necessary in our culture today to honor God? How is God’s honor and Name being maligned today? How can we lovingly but firmly present the case for God’s honor to those who are wrapped up in the idolatry of these worldly distractions?

But be aware, as we remove some of those “high places” in our lives, we may begin to feel the pressure and resistance of those who have not yet reached that same level of trust and faith. This is where we have to consider deeply where we are making our stand for God, and like Hezekiah, be prepared by laying out the oppositional positions before God and praying for his honor to be maintained, not ours. Hezekiah staked everything on God’s honor and reputation above the gods of the invading force and the culture around him. He had reached the point where he had removed himself as being able to do anything further in his own might over these false deities, and instead allowed God to manifest himself as a demonstration to others that “all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, Yahweh, are God.”

As individual believers in Messiah, we can only look at the patterns and habits of our own lives as examples to others. We are not authorized to go around tearing down other peoples’ idols, but we are authorized to teach them how to do so. When we not only trust in God for ourselves but live out actions and practices in our interactions with others match that internal perspective, we honor God and then have the potential to rally others to the cause of Messiah in this world.

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A faith that leads to new realities

Exhibiting true faith in God provides him the means with which to be glorified in ways beyond our imagination.

The prophet Samuel was one of the greatest prophets to arise in ancient Israel. His mother, Hannah, was a woman of great faith. Even though she had been childless for many years, she steadfastly trusted in Yahweh through the depth of the emotional trauma she experienced at lacking the ability to conceive.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 – She was deeply distressed and prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

This is the prayer of someone of great faith. Hannah was placing all of her trust in the One whom she knew could provide for her deepest need, even though she could not yet see the results of that faith. In the anguish of her heart, she prayed silently but earnestly in the presence of the Eli, the high priests at that time, who inadvertently thought she was muttering to herself due to drinking.

1 Samuel 1:15-17 – But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before Yahweh. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”

Hannah replied to Eli that she had been “pouring out her soul” before Yahweh. The Hebrew phrase means to spill over, or gush out. This describes the intensity with which she prayed to God, and exhibits the depth of the anguish in her very soul.

I can recall in my own life only a handful of times where I have prayed with a similar level of intensity. Yet it was in those times of my deepest anguish that I also felt closest to the presence of God. God seems to reward our honesty within ourselves with his own presence; when all of our defenses are broken down and we are left alone with only the bare root of some raw emotion. It is as if the intensity of our experience and the diminishment of self somehow thins the veil between the natural and the supernatural, and suddenly we somehow sense his presence, even though he is always there. This type of deep communion with God when we have reached the end of ourselves is the most honest expression of faith. In Hannah’s case, it resulted in the granting of her desire for a son.

1 Samuel 1:20 – And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from Yahweh.”

This event so strongly influenced Hannah that she could only rejoice in the blessing of receiving what she had asked for.

1 Samuel 2:1-2 – And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh; my horn is exalted in Yahweh. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like Yahweh: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

I believe it was this intensity of Hannah’s’ faith that provided the foundation for Samuel to become one of the strongest and most influential prophets Israel had ever known. Her practical experience of God’s providential working in her life set the tone that allowed her to guide and direct the small boy Samuel to God’s service in the tabernacle. Her faith spilled over into the blank canvas of her son’s life which then resulted in the establishment of a kingdom and the oversight of the direction of an entire ancient nation.

We must never underestimate the influence of our sincere faith as it affects the lives around us in ways that God can use for his purpose and glory, and in ways that we may not even be able to fathom. This is how faith in God can move mountains.

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The graciousness of our forgiving God

Our gracious actions towards others are a reflection of the graciousness which has been extended to us by God.

When Yeshua taught his disciples to be forgiving, it was not some new principle that they had never been aware of before. It was something that he emphasized was important for them to practice, since their Father in heaven practiced it. If they were to be considered his children, they should likewise exhibit his characteristics.

We would be hard pressed to find a more stark example of this forgiving nature of God than to review the life of one of the most notorious kings of Judah: Manasseh.

2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 9 – Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that Yahweh had dispossessed before the Israelites. … So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations Yahweh had destroyed before the Israelites.

Manasseh was so enamored with idolatry that the text says he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit greater abominations than even the original Canaanites whom God had Israel conquer because of the horrific nature of their detestable practices. You may recall that when Moses was preparing the Israelites to take the land, he reminded them at that time why God was doing this.

Deuteronomy 9:4 – “When Yahweh your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘Yahweh brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ Instead, Yahweh will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

God had used Israel as a cleansing, purifying force to clean the land of the impurities of the wicked practices of the Canaanites. Here in the Chronicles, it is recorded that Manasseh was so idolatrous it was worse than the original idolatry that caused God to raise up the army of the Israelites in the first place. So, as it turns out, God had to resort to a similar strategy to once again demonstrate justice against a nation of rebellious idolaters.

2 Chronicles 33:10-13 – Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahweh his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to him, and Yahweh was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God.

Even though Manasseh had become so depraved, he finally came to his senses, but only after God had raised up the Assyrians to come against them for their rebellious idolatry. But even so, it appears to have been a sincere repentance, and we know this because of the actions that Manasseh demonstrated after coming to truly realize that Yahweh is God when he was restored to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 33:15-16 – He removed the foreign gods and the idol from Yahweh’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of Yahweh’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. He built the altar of Yahweh and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.

There is great comfort in knowing that even in the depths of some of the most heinous idolatry, God honors those who repent and turn to him. Manasseh’s repentant spirit provided him the opportunity to make amends and to do his best in correcting the wrongs that he had committed. Not everyone gets that opportunity. Sometimes the people we have wronged have moved on or have died, and we have no physical way to reconcile with them. At other times our situation may have changed so dramatically that it we cannot correct the wrongs that have occurred.

But the example of Manasseh should teach us at least one most important principle: God is willing to forgive when we are sincerely repentant of the errors of our ways. It is then that we can learn obedience to do whatever we can to make amends to those who may have been hurt by us, but also to maintain a sense of forgiveness that we have received toward those who would seek the same from us. Experiencing this depth of true forgiveness from God allows us to extend that same type of forgiveness to others.

Now also on YouTube, find us at: Core of the Bible on YouTube.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me at coreofthebible@gmail.com.