Yeshua Matters

famous lambs

howard silverman — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:34:08 +0000

Passover begins tomorrow night so I thought it would be interesting to see how lambs are written about in the Bible.

Sheep are often mentioned in the records of the ancient Near East. They were valued for a great many things such as being a source of milk, meat, and wool for clothing. Lambs were particularly valuable for their future – what they would produce. In addition sheep were used to tread grain into the soil and as sacrificial animals.

The first place that sheep are mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis when we read the Abel “brought the firstborn of his flocks” to the Lord. The Hebrew word for “flock” is “tzon” which is often translated “sheep.” So the first offering that we read about in the Bible is a lamb.

The next famous place we read about a lamb is when Abraham tells Isaac that God would “provide for himself a lamb” rather than making Isaac be the burnt offering. But when God does indeed provide a substitute for Isaac, it is a ram and not a lamb. What does this mean? I will come back to this, but the point is that the second famous lamb gives us the picture of a the offering as a substitute for a person.

The most famous lamb in the Hebrew Scriptures is the Passover lamb which died so the first born could live and the Jewish people could be redeemed out of Egypt. We see in the first three well know uses of the lamb in the Bible is as an offering; a substitutionary offering and an offering for deliverance. In the Torah lambs are also used in the levitical offerings. Isaiah builds on these themes when he refers to the suffering servant who takes out sins upon himself as a lamb led to slaughter in Isaiah 53:7.

In the New Covenant, John builds on the lamb themes of offering, substitution and deliverance when we read of Yeshua, “behold the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world!” He is using the concept of the Passover lamb, and the sacrificial lambs as well as Isaiah’s lamb – offering, substitution and deliverance - to describe Yeshua. But Yeshua is not just described as a lamb – but rather the “lamb of God” the greatest lamb of all. Yeshua identified himself as the “Passover lamb” when he told his disciples at a Passover seder that the matzo and the third cup symbolize his body and blood. Throughout the New Covenant, Yeshua is identified as the Passover/sacrifice lamb. See Acts 8:32; 1 Cor. 5:7 and 1 Peter 1:18-19.

The pinnacle of New Covenant references to Yeshua being the lamb is in the book of Revelation. In this book, he is identified as a lamb more than any other name or title! In fact the whole book of Revelation can be framed as a “second exodus.” There are plagues, there is an evil regime, and there is deliverance by the blood of a lamb – there is even a seder!!. When you read this apocalyptic book carefully you see that the lamb is the hero. the lamb is the only one who can bring forth the historical developments that will result in the final redemption. The lamb is the judge of the earth; the lamb defeats the enemy, the lamb redeems the righteous remnant. The lamb has the identity of God – not another god but the God of Israel. In revelation 5, we read about the lion from the tribe of Judah becomes a lamb. The powerful lion is victorious but not by military means but rather by being a lamb, a valuable, vulnerable, precious lamb who was slain. This lamb is described as having horns. I have a friend who is a farmer who told me that when a lamb grows horns, it becomes a ram. So the lamb in Revelation 5 is a lamb/ram. If you go all the way back to the first book of the Bible we read that Abraham told Isaac that God would provide a lamb but what did he provide? A ram!! The lamb was a ram! In the last book of the bible, the lamb who was slain is a ram. In his humiliation and suffering, Yeshua brought deliverance and victory. What looked like his most humiliating moment was in reality his finest hour.

There is much more to say about the lamb of the apocalypse of John. But for now, let us rejoice that when we celebrate Passover, we can point back to our redemption out of Egypt.

But through the blood of the passover lamb of God, Yeshua, we can look to the present where we can experience the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from the bondage of sin we can look forward to our final redemption – the redemption of our bodies and of the world – through Yeshua the blood of the lamb.

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” (Rev 5:12 NAU)

Happy Passover!

Israel My Servant

howard silverman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:06:19 +0000

Many years ago, I was speaking at a church and afterwards a man came up to me and commented to me that the Messiah just happened to be born Jewish – he could have been of any nationality but it “just so happens” that he was Jewish. He said this is to me because he wanted to communicate that his nationality was somewhat irrelevant to his role as the Messiah and the enfleshment of God.

I recalled this conversation because I am teaching a course on the prophet Isaiah and we just completed the section in which we read about the “Servant of the Lord” in chapters 40-55. The issue of the identity of the Servant in Isaiah is important because of the claim that Yeshua is the Suffering Servant. This section can be confusing because sometimes the Servant is clearly Israel as a people (41:8, 42:19, 43:10, 44:1,2,21, 45:4) and at other times the Servant seems to be an individual (42:1, 49:5-6, 52:13, 53:11). The entire section is about Israel – the Jewish people – whom God will redeem because they have a unique calling as the “servant of the Lord” The servant is a witness to the nations of the reality of the God of Israel and are called to bring the nations to the God of Israel. The passages in which the servant seems to be an individual picture Israel as an ideal person – the perfect servant – the perfect Jew. In fact in ch. 42 we read that the Servant will open blind eyes (v.6) and then later on in the same chapter we read that the servant is blind (v.19)! The text is indicating that the servant (the Jewish people) does not measure up to fulfill her calling – but the ideal servant – the ideal Jew – does fulfill the calling of Israel. Yeshua is Israel, the perfect Jewish person. I do not mean that yeshua replaces the nation but rather as the greatest citizen and son of Israel Yeshua represents all of Israel in her calling. The Messiah had to be a Jewish person because it is the Jewish people who are called to bring salvation to the nations. Yeshua himself said “salvation is from the Jews” (John 10:22). Yeshua is the only Jewish person who ever lived who could qualify to fill such a role. He came to Israel first in order to prepare the Jewish people to fulfill her calling of bringing salvation to the nations. It is the saved remnant of Israel who brings the message to the Gentiles. This is how Paul understood his calling of bringing the Good News to the nations (Rom. 15:25-26). As the saved remnant of Israel we also have the responsibility of preparing our people for their calling of bringing salvation to the nations. we do this by introducing our people to Yeshua the Messiah. In addition we also have a responsibility of bringing Messiah to the nations.

Like Yeshua the Messiah, the nations is called to suffer for the sake of the nations. We read in Romans 11:11…because of their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles. the same passage also indicates that when all of Israel follows the Messiah the consummation will come. “…for if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead. (Rom. 11:15)”

We look forward to the day when the nations will come streaming to Jerusalem to hear the Torah from the Messiah. we look forward to the day when 10 gentiles will hang on to the coat of a Jew and say we have herd that God is with you. The concluding chapters of Isaiah – especially chs. 60, 61 and 66 picture the Jewish people bringing the nations to Jerusalem. It is only because of Yeshua, the greatest Jew who ever lived – that Israel can fulfill her calling of being a light to the nations and it is only because of Yeshua the greatest Jew who ever lived, died and rose again that the world can experience atonement from sin and intimacy with God.

Psalm 90 and prayer for the New Year

howard silverman — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:32:55 +0000

This year January 1st was on a Shabbat. What a great way to start the New Year! My message that day was taken from Psalm 90. This is the only Psalm attributed to Moses. The text can be divided into two parts. The first part is a lament over the disrupted relationship between God and the Jewish people presumably that took place at Kadesh-Barnea when the people rejected the call to enter the land. The Psalm begins with the words “Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” This statement at the beginning of the Psalm was a reminder that God was to be the refuge and shelter for Israel. Moses laments that it seems that because of the rebellion of the people that this covenant blessing of shelter is no longer present. It is interesting that God Himself is referred to as the dwelling place. In the English Bible the Hebrew word is often translated “habitation” referring to the place where God dwells. In the covenant relationship therefore the place where God dwells is where we dwell with him – a place of refuge, comfort and shelter (see the next Psalm – Psalm 91). Perhaps this sheds some light on the concept in New covenant of being “in Messiah” as we read numerous times in the wrings of Paul. The phrase “in Messiah” refers to dwelling in the presence of God – comfort, peace, empowerment and a host of other blessings. The next few verses describe the situation of feeling away from the presence of God. They culminate with the question: “Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?” But rather than wallow in self pity, Moses now turns to a series of prayer requests for renewal. These prayers certainly apply to all of us and may they be our prayers in the new year.

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

TEACH US to treat every day of our life like a gift that God gives us to fulfill our calling in life to be a holy people. The word “number” can also be translated “our portion” (is. 53:12), “our destiny” (is. 65:12), “our appointment” (1 chron. 9:29). God has given each of us a period of time to live in this world. Each day is “our portion, “our destiny” “our appointment. “ We must recognize that we only have so much time in this world and that we are accountable for that time. As Paul says in Eph. 5, we must look for opportunities to use our time wisely. Notice that Moses does not say Lord- make things easier for us- but he says, given life’s drama, help us to appreciate every day and see every day as time that is given to us. The text says that living this way is called a heart of wisdom. It is a wise person who lives this way. It helps us to make wise choices every day, and to view each day as significant. May this be a year in which we make wise choices and have wise priorities.

Psalm 90:13
Do return, O LORD; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.

2. RETURN TO US. In this verse the word “sorry” is better translated as “compassionate.” Moses is saying to God, “it feels like you has left us. We are not experiencing your comfort and protection – please return. We too sometimes wonder where God is. -May our prayer this year be that God would show us comfort and we would have a true sense of his presence and care for us. This is what it really means to be in the dwelling of God. Mercy instead of wrath!

Psalm 90:14

O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

3. SATISFY US. The Hebrew word is almost always used in the context of eating and feeling full – a sense of contentment. This could be viewed as a selfish prayer. After all, we are here to serve God and not the other way around. But did not Yeshua say, I have come not to be served but to serve? Does not the Psalmist say, “delight yourself in the Lord"? When we are satisfied in the Lord we glorify him the most. We often seek and try to find satisfaction in all kinds of endeavors and things. But when we are satisfied in our spiritual relationship with God we are giving him honor and glory in all that we say and do. Satisfaction comes via the chesed or loving kindness of God. “In the morning” means all the time. Moses is asking that God would bring his covenantal blessings upon us.

Psalm 90:15

Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.

4. MAKE US GLAD. “samach” is the Hebrew word for “glad or “happy” – samach is a synonym for satisfaction. “according to the days You have afflicted us,” Moses is praying that God would replace all of the days of sadness with days of gladness. In other words erase the sad days with glad days.

Psalm 90:16-17

Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

5. LET YOUR WORK BE SEEN IN ALL THAT WE DO – May your deeds be manifested to us and to our children. in all that we do. In doing so our work is established or confirmed – our work is significant and meaningful regardless of the standard of success that our world has created. “Work” here does not mean simply our “occupation.” It refers to who we are as people and all that we do in life. It means that the reflection of God in our lives becomes our legacy to our children. Moses prays that all that we do would reflect the majesty of God and the beauty of God. The word “favor” is “naam” which is translated “beauty” in Psalm 27:4 and is also translated “pleasantness” in other passages. By repeating the phrase “confirm the work of our hands” Moses finishes the prayer by asking God to make what we have done and what we do meaningful. As we read in Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Overall, this is a prayer for covenant realities to be experienced. It is a prayer for restoration. From the perspective of Moses perhaps it is a prayer that the covenant of Moab – the New Covenant would come to pass. When Yeshua came, the New Covenant was inaugurated. As Messiah followers, as we grow deeper in our relationship with God these prayers become a reality as we live “in Messiah” in the dwelling place of God (v.1). This means that each day is meaningful; that we find our satisfaction and joy in the Lord. May this year be a year of breakthrough in our lives and that we will be more satisfied and content in the Lord and that the work of our hands would manifest the very presence of God.

Yeshua the uninvited guest

howard silverman — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:12:35 +0000

This has been a month of celebration for many people. Earlier this mornth we celebrated Chanukah and like many others we remembered the “great miracle that happened there.” That is, the providential care for the Jewish people by God when he gave the Maccabeus victory over their Greco-roman oppressors. Also many people this month celebrated Christmas, a Gentile expression of thanksgiving for the birth of the Messiah. While these celebrations are quite different in their orientations they both are celebrated more culturally then spiritually. The sad thing about it all is that much is said about God and specifically much is said about Yeshua while the fact is that God and specifically Yeshua is often the uninvited guest to many celebrations commemorating the marvelous things he has done. Yeshua is our brother in exile.

In our weekly Torah readings, we just completed the long narrative about Joseph. Joseph serves as a paradigm for many of the descriptions of godly prophets and kings in the Bible. There are many similarities between Joseph and the Messiah. Let me name just a few and what it means to us at this time of year.

Joseph and Yeshua were misunderstood. From the very beginning of the narrative in Genesis 37 we read that the brothers were jealous and that they hated Joseph because of his relationship with Jacob and because of his dreams of overseeing his brothers. (Gen. 37:4-8). Likewise Yeshua was and still is greatly misunderstood. When Yeshua spoke up on the 7^th day of Sukkot his words of invitation and blessing were met with confusion. Some understood him as the Messiah but others wanted to attack him. There are a number of passages that tell us that there was confusion and division over the words and actions of Yeshua. (Jn. 7:43, 9:16, 10:19)
Joseph and Yeshua were rejected. The brothers of Joseph desired to kill him. But God spared him and rather than death, he spent the rest of his life in Egypt. Yeshua was rejected by his brothers as well. In John 18 and 19 we read the narrative of the arrest, humiliation and execution of Yeshua.
Joseph and Yeshua both desired to bless their brethren despite ill treatment. When the brothers of Joseph encounter him when they come to Egypt in search of food they do not recognize him. However Joseph recognizes them. We read a long section in which Joseph makes them go back home and return to Egypt several times. Joseph was very desirous of seeing his brother Benjamin and his father Jacob. We read that Joseph wept when he saw his father and when he saw Benjamin and when he reveals himself to his brothers. Weeping was an emotional expression of endearment. When the brothers realize that it is Joseph with whom they had been dealing they do not weep. In fact they never really show much remorse or contrition for what they had done. They show fear. They concoct a story to tell Joseph so that he would forgive them. Even though they never realy repent or show remorse, Joseph forgives them and treats them well. When Yeshua approached Jerusalem for the last time he looked over the city and he wept. (Luke 19:41). He lamented the people’s rejection of him (Matt. 23:37-40). In Romans 5 we read that while we were helpless..while we were enemies…Yeshua provided salvation and reconciliation for us (Rom. 5:6, 10). Both joseph and Yeshua took the initiative and treated their brethren much better than the way they were treated.
Ultimately there is reconciliation. The brothers of Joseph are received by him and they are blessed in the land of Egypt – until a new Pharaoh came who knew not Joseph (Ex. :8). Regarding the Messiah the day will come when all Israel will be saved – when all Israel will embrace Yeshua and be blessed.

Today Yeshua is in exile from his brothers. He is still misunderstood and rejected. He desires that we as Jewish people and the nations accept him so that we can participate in his promises. How sad must he be to see all of the celebrating going on while at the same time he remains the uninvited guest. He still stands at the door and knocks. God has called us to stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of our people. May we do so in a way that bridges the gap so that our people will know Messiah and experience his blessings of forgiveness and reconciliation.

in the margins

howard silverman — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:35:56 +0000

If you have been around the Messianic Jewish Movement for a while you know that you are forever having to explaining yourself to the rest of the world. It starts in elementary school when friends ask you “what are you?” When you get a little older – and for the rest of your life you get the inevitable follow up question, “How can you be Jewish and believe in Jesus” or “Why do you go to a Jewish service if you are not Jewish?” We are a misunderstood people. While we might look forward to the day when Messianic Judaism is so mainstream that our synagogues are full and everyone knows who we are, may I suggest that we are exactly in the right place. We should not be on the defensive or lamenting our position but rather rejoicing in the Lord! We have always been a nation of “aliens and sojourners.” In the wilderness, God warned us not to be like the people around us – Egyptians where we came from or like the Canaanites where we were going (see Le. 18:3) but to be a unique people. But even within Israel, the remnant,(the prophets and those who believed them), were in the minority and quite misunderstood. When Yeshua came it was no different. He was considered a rebel, a radical and was rejected by most but not all of the Jewish world. We should not be frustrated or disappointed that we are not embraced by either the rest of the Jewish community or the community at large. I will suggest that God has called us to be in the margins. Yeshua came to change the status quo of the mainstream community – not to simply join it! That is what he wants us to do. This is done from the margins of the community – at the edges but within the community. We are called to be a witness of the presence of Yeshua the Messiah within the Jewish community. We do this through our words and actions. We speak into the community with the messianic claims of Yeshua and we live in community with like minded messiah followers in order to manifest the life of Yeshua to those around us. But we are not a ghetto. We must take Yeshua out of the synagogue and into the community. This means getting involved in the larger Jewish world and the world at large and displaying the life of Messiah in all of our interactions. But we must be intentional. In other words, if we are going to change the status quo – if we are going to be radical – if we are going to be like Yeshua we must be forthright about his claims and the difference he has made in our lives. We must exhibit the radical joy; the radical love; the radical servanthood of Messiah and the satisfaction that he provides. The result will be spiritual growth in our own lives and communities as we fulfill our calling and we will see some people will heed the message and become messiah followers.

Let us remember that while we may be misunderstood we will find those who are sympathetic and friendly. In addition and most importantly, we are a “segulah” a treasured possession to the Lord. Let us focus on being pleasing to him in all things – in our holiness, our joy and in our calling to bring Yeshua to our people and to the world.

Are we building arks or towers

howard silverman — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:52:46 +0000

It has been a while since my last blog post. It has been one thing after another since the beginning of the summer. I was quite busy with our annual UMJC conference – the Camp Yeladim, a few days of R&R visitng my daughter in Cincy and then the holidays and two weddings! Now things are settling down to normal and I will try to be better at posting regularly.

I know that it is a little late for this past week’s Torah portion of Noach but there are some interesting insights about it that apply very much to our world. This second portion from Breishit includes the building of two structures. One is the ark that God instructed Noah to build and the other is called the Tower of Babel. Most of us are somewhat familiar with “Noah’s Ark”. The narrative in Genesis tells us that ever since the sin of Adam and Eve, it has been a downward spiral for humanity. We read of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain and when we get to Noah the text tells us “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart (Gen. 6:5-7). Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord and God instructed him to build a boat so that he and his family and a representative number of animals would be saved from the flood and essentially begin all over again.

Unfortunately, the problem of sin was not alleviated and when we come to chapter 11 the descendants of the three sons of Noah are moving east toward Shinar (Babylon) and decide to build a city and tower: They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”(Gen. 11:4) The tower symbolized the independence of man from God. According to the text, the tower who have made man invincible – godlike.

The ark represented our dependence on God and the way of salvation while the tower represents independence from God and judgment. The ark can serve as a metaphor for a place of refuge from the storms of life. In once sense we are to be building an ark – a safe haven for people to come and be encouraged and built up. Ultimately Yeshua is the Ark. He is the place of safety. Yeshua said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt.11 :28-30) That is what we are to reflect as a messianic Jewish community. We are to be building arks.

However, I fear that we spend too much time building towers to heaven. By this I mean relying on our own ingenuity and technology to accomplish great things. That is not to say that technology and human ingenuity are bad things. Not at all! Wonderful discoveries have been made and great things have been done through hard work and creativity. But when we act independently of God; focusing on our own agenda; when we are building a name for ourselves then we become as it were, a god unto ourselves – this is the problem. We are building towers and not boats! We can accomplish wonderful things on our own and build institutions; congregations but unless it is an ark, the heart of man remains the same. We are living in a marvelous age – an age of great discoveries and inventions. Human progress is unequalled. But human progress without the leading and guidance of God often leads to the opposite of our intentions. As a community of Messiah followers, we must ask ourselves if we are building arks or towers. Are we bringing Yeshua to our people/ are we living out a way of life that is commensurate with refuge and shelter? Or are we making a name for ourselves, building towers that reach to heaven? The result of tower building is squabbling and tearing down rather than buiding up. Is our focus on Yeshua and the salvation that he provides or is our focus on what we can do to build our own towers, cities and kingdoms. Let us refocus our priorities and be Yeshua centered. Let us use our creativity and ingenuity to build arks, not towers.

17th of Tammuz

howard silverman — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:10:46 +0000

Today is the 17th of Tammuz. It is a fast day that memorializes many calamities that have befallen the Jewish people over the centuries. It begins the three weeks of mourning leading of to Tisha B’Av or the 9^th of Av, the culmination of these days of mourning.

This morning at Shacharit we were lead in prayers of confession and then in a loud refrain we chanted,

The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; and who cleanses. May you forgive our iniquities and our transgressions and make us your heritage. Forgive us our father for we have sinned; pardon us our king for we have willfully sinned; for you my lord are good and forgiving and abundantly kind to all who call upon you.

This fast day reminds us that we are accountable to God. As individuals and as a community we are not free to live apart from the instruction of God and assume that nothing will happen. As a messianic community we are sometimes under the false impression that because we have embraced the Messiah, we no longer must obey the commands of God. Even though we know that we are accountable, we sometimes think that because our sins have been atoned for by the death and resurrection of Yeshua nothing really will happen if I sin – after all I am forgiven.

While it is true that our sins are forgiven by the death and resurrection of the Messiah, we are still accountable and will still face a judgment for the way we have lived. We read this in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Messiah, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This is an uneasy truth. It should cause us to fear the Lord. By fearing the Lord I do not only mean to view God with awe – but to fear being in his presence because of our sins; to fear his chastisement. We read in the liturgy for the 17^th of Tammuz: “we were exiled…our enemies tore down the sanctuary…we were scattered from city to city…” these are the consequences of sin. One might think that this should cause us to run away – to turn away from God.. Yet this fear does not cause us to run away but to draw near to God – to love God as we sing the refrain over and over again about the chesed or loving kindness and forgiveness of God. It reminds me of the famous line from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe about Aslan the Lion: ‘Course he isn’t safe; but he’s good. He’s the king I tell you! The Torah describes the Messiah as a lion. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? Gen. 49:9 this is a “scary” image. This should keep us from being complacent in our faith and practice. This image should motivate us to serve God and not take him for granted.

But like the description of Aslan, God is good. The Messiah is describes as a lamb as well as a lion, All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 53:6

The Judge is also the Savior. We are judged but we are also forgiven. The assurance of our salvation is that God is Good! How is he good? He provided the atonement for our sins in the person of Yeshua. He is our judge and our savior. Embracing Yeshua does not relieve us of our obligation to walk in righteousness. Embracing Yeshua assures us that our sins are forgiven. Embracing Yeshua empowers us via the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. This is a day for contemplation of our lives, confession of sins and thanksgiving for our salvation in Messiah.

jewish and arab reconcilliation

howard silverman — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:38:15 +0000

Back in 1988, when I was living in Los Angeles I initiated a joint meeting of Arab Christians and Messianic Jews. The occasion was the 40^th anniversary of Israel’s statehood. I thought it would be a wonderful testimony to display in a very physical way the peace that Yeshua desires to bring to this world and specifically the peace that is available for Israel and her neighbors in the Middle East. I contacted the Fuller seminary Center for World Missions and was given the names of several Arab pastors. Jamil Fakhoury was the pastor of the Arabic Evangelical Church of the Nazerene and after our initial phone conversation, I visited him in his home. Both of us realized the potential of this meeting and we were fascinated with each others’ story and with the fact that there are Arabs and Jews who believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. This began a series of conversations that ultimately led to a joint service on May 1, 1988. Our conversations helped us to understand each other and our respective peoples. We talked about the modern history of Israel and the Arab nations; how we as Messiah followers reconcile political and peoplehood issues; and how we understand what the Scriptures have to say about the destiny of our peoples and the land of Israel. Jamil was born and raised in what was known as “Trans-Jordan.”’ As a young adult he lived in East Jerusalem. He was there in 1967 when Jerusalem became a unified city. I cannot write publically about the contents of our private conversations but I will say that it was an amazing experience to develop a relationship with Jamil. Obviously, we come from very different perspectives. He is a man of God whose primary objective is being a “slave of Messiah” and following him wherever that may lead. The joint service reflected that attitude for both of us and all in attendance. We sang songs in Arabic, Hebrew and English. Our kids sang a praise song in Arabic and the Arab kids sang “Heyvenu Shalom Alechem.” Without negating our respective cultures – or the calling of Israel in relationship to the nations, we developed real relationship. It was not dialogue nor simply a symbolic gesture – it was real relationship. It was a physical manifestation of the peace that Messiah brings. It really felt like a foretaste of the future when the lion will lay down with the lamb.

I left Los Angeles in 1991 but the meetings have continued. Jamil has worked with several Messianic Jewish leaders and for the last number of years with Michael Brown (not the author and messianic apologist). Michael is the Messianic Pastor of Adat Yeshua Ha’Adon Congregation in Los Angeles. He and Jamil have done a fine job in keeping these meetings going. Over the past number years, both Jews and Arabs have shared testimonies of coming to faith in Yeshua and the change that God has made in their lives. I was told that one particular year a former Israeli IDF soldier shared his testimony at the same meeting as did a former Fatah fighter with Yasir Arafat. This was followed by a great moment of forgiveness and reconciliation between them. Since that meeting these two men have travelled and spoken together about reconciliation.

I was invited back this year for the 20^th anniversary meeting. (yes, it started in 1988 but they missed two years along the way.) It was exhilarating to see Jews and Arabs dancing and singing, eating and praying together. One of the speakers who was a former terrorist said “to the Jews I was a terrorist, to the Arabs I was a freedom fighter but to God I was a sinner.”

There are important lessons to learn from these meetings. The real enemy is spiritual – Islam is truly the enemy. Another huge lesson is the importance of “blessing the other.” God calls different people(s) to bless one another. I will write more on this later. In Messiah there truly is no enmity and if Arabs and Jews can come together and have real relationship – then we as Messianic Jews; husbands and wives; parents and children and others can find peace and understanding as we are filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and walk in manner worthy of our calling. May God use us to bring the message of Yeshua, the “Prince of Peace” to the peoples of this world.

Shavuot

howard silverman — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:27:43 +0000

Today is the 49^th day of counting the omer. When the sun sets it will be Shavuot. The 49 day period of counting the omer is really a microcosm of all of life. On one hand it is a time of anticipation of things to come. According to tradition, we are to count the omer with expectation; of looking forward. We are to look forward to Shavuot when we remember the receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. On the other hand it is a time of sadness, of remembering many of the sad events in Jewish history. Isn’t that the way life is? For most people life is a mixed bag of good times and sad times. I don’t know anyone whose life is always just right. Everyone has some form of sadness – unmet expectations, disappointments, regrets or perhaps tragedy. But for people who believe in the Scriptures there is always hope –always looking forward. That is the meaning of Shavuot. The second paragraph of Aleinu contains a wonderful promise that comes from Isaiah 45:23 that can encourage us to keep going.

Therefore we put our hope in you O Lord our God, that we may soon see your mighty splendor, to remove detestable idolatry from the earth, and false gods will be utterly cut off to perfect the universe through the almighty sovereignty. Then all humanity will call upon your Name to turn all the earth’s wicked toward you. All the world will recognize and know that to you every knee should bend and every tongue swear loyalty…

In the New Covenant we read that

God highly exalted Yeshua, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:2-10

When Moses received the Torah the process of redemption was beginning. Yeshua came to move that process forward and he will ultimately bring it to its conclusion. As a result of his work, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh has been poured out in the lives of those who trust in him. Shavuot is the anniversary of both events. Shavuot represents the assurance of the fulfillment of the promise of the World to Come contained in the Torah and experienced via the Ruach HaKodesh. .

Shavuot represents not only historical events – the giving of Torah and the pouring out of the Ruach Hakodesh. It represents the day that we long for; a day to which we look forward. There are many wonderful promises in the Bible that describe what life will be like in that day. Just like counting the omer, today we struggle but we anticipate a day of redemption.

As we are encouraged in the New Covenant

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

With this promise and assurance, how do we live our lives today? Certainly it should give us encouragement. But it should also play a role in our values – of what is important to us. On Shavuot we remember our covenant relationship. We remember the gifts of God and our responsibility to live holy lives. The hope of this world is not to be found in politics or the “kingdoms” of this world. Our hope is not to be found in what we call “progress.” The hope of this world is only found in turning to God and embracing Yeshua the Messiah and the Word of God.

Chag Sameach!

UMJC Conference in Seattle july 28-31

howard silverman — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:23:25 +0000

Every year the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations holds its annual conference in a different city. This year’s conference is in Seattle and is being hosted by Beit HaShofar. It is the first time that our conference has been in the Northwest.

Attend seminars designed to teach, motivate and nurture meaningful messianic Jewish life.
Hear music from up and coming messianic jewish artists
Schmooze with old friends
Celebrate Shabbat with with your UMJC family
Meet people from Messianic Communities from around the world

Our theme this year is Walk the Talk!

Seminar tracks include:

W – Working	Are you *working* …on your character traits? Are those around you affected positively by your example of Messiah Yeshua?
A – Alive	Are you *alive* … living a spiritually healthy and vibrant Messianic Jewish life? Are Scripture, tradition, and prayer through the Spirit of Messiah empowering and renewing you daily?
L – Learning	Are you *learning* … committed to your personal spiritual growth as a diligent student of Scripture? Are you becoming the knowledgeable teacher Messiah Yeshua needs to help build his Messianic Community?
K – Kiruv	Are you doing *kiruv* … reaching out within your Jewish community with the Good News of Messiah Yeshua? Do you both publicly and privately share about God’s truth and faithfulness in Messiah?

Come and Celebrate Messianic Jewish Life!

Learn more about the Conference at www.UMJC.org

http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=836791

See you in Seattle!