B’chukkotai (By My Statutes) Leviticus/Vayikra 26:3-27:34
Torah Portion: B’chukkotai (By My Statutes) Leviticus/Vayikra 26:3-27:34
Haftorah Reading Jeremiah 16:19-34
Tonigh,t we will finish the book of Vayikra or Leviticus by looking at chapters 26 and 27. Chapter 26 covers G-d’s blessings and curses that will come upon Israel for either their faithfulness or their disobedience. I would ask you to look at these chapters in light of Romans 11:11-27. In Romans we see Shaul speaking to the believers in Rome, many of which were not Jewish. Shaul apparently was battling an idea that is still popular today, replacement theology.
Vayak’hel (He Assembled) Exodus(Sh’mot) 35:1-38:20
Torah Portion: Vayak’hel (He Assembled) Exodus(Sh’mot) 35:1-38:20
Haftorah Reading: I Kings 7:13-26, 7:40-50
Tonight, we cover basically two major subjects in this portion. We start off with G-d giving His directions about the Shabbat, a subject I want to cover in a few minutes and get your thoughts on the question I sent out this week.
Vayak’hel and P’kudei Ex. 35-40
Torah Portion: Vayak’hel (He assembled) and P’kudei (Accounts)
Shemot (Exodus) 35:1-40:38
HafTorah: I Kings 7:40-8:21
New Testament: II Cor. 9:1-15, Hebrews 9:1-14; Revelations 11:1-13; 15:5-8
In Shemot (Exodus) it says, “They shall make me a sanctuary and I shall dwell among them.” This verse is the basis for two names for G-d’s earthly dwelling places. The Hebrew word for dwell is “Shachin,” from this comes the word for Tabernacle or Mishkan. Later the Temple was known as “Beit HaMikdash.” Mikdash is from the root word Chodesh or holy. From it we also get sanctify and sanctity. So these places of G-d can be seen together to show us that G-d sanctifies that which He inhabits. G-d is seen by those who look for Him. To one person a tree is merely a tree – to another it is the handiwork of G-d, depending on the viewer. Our own joys and tragedies can seem quite accidental or they can be seen as G-d’s hand in our life. How we see it depends on us. Everything in and about our life can reveal G-d if we allow it.
Vayakhel (And He Assembled)
Torah Portion: Vayakhel (And He Assembled) Exodus 35:1-38:20
HafTorah: I Kings 7:40-7:50
II Cor 9:6-11; I Cor 3:11-18
Tonight we look at the Torah section, “And He Assembled.” The root word in Hebrew Khal is the word usually translated as assembly. In the Hebrew Scriptures this word often refers to the people in the tabernacle or temple as the assembly. You have heard me often refer to the group here as the kehila which is the assembly. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated to Greek, in the 2nd or 3rd century BCE, this word passed over into Greek as ekklesia. It appears throughout the Septuagint in place of khal. However, when this same Greek word appears in the New Testament it is almost always translated by the English word “church.” What does it matter? A recent letter to the editor in the Pensacola News Journal highlights this problem by stating, “The Old Testament is Jewish scriptures; those living under it are living under the law. Although it is our history, for Christians it has been replaced with the New Testament. Those living under the New Testament are living in the age of grace, which was ushered in by the resurrection of our Lord….” This gives the impression that the church is an exclusive New Testament term and draws a stark boundary between the two sections of the Bible. It is a way of disconnecting us from our Jewish roots as believers. Another even more striking example is the Hebrew word “eda” translated in Exodus 35:1 as congregation. When it came into the Septuagint it was translated with the Greek word “sunagogay”, it was usually linked to the place the “eda” met. However in places like James 2:2 the Greek again was translated into English as assembly. Paul uses the same word in I Cor. 11:16. The effect of such translation biases has been to hide any connection between Judaism, from which we sprung and Christianity. We as believers are the worse for it. We have to a large extent been deprived of the sweetness and spiritual food of the Hebrew Scriptures because of these sort of deceptions. And I for one count us most blessed that we have begun to restore some of what has been lost for almost 2000 years.