COVENANT – A PROPER VIEW OF SCRIPTURE

Let us always be aware of the fact that we subconsciously accept many things as true, because we have been “conditioned” to believe these concepts by our culture, family heritage and traditions, etc. One of these is our view of Scripture. I personally feel that it is very unfortunate that our Bibles are printed in two separate and distinct sections, i.e., the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament.” Even the word “Testament” is somewhat misleading in that it does not convey the true “heart” of what these collections of writings are. A testament is thought of by most Americans as that which is left regarding one’s estate or worldly assets, because they have most often heard the word in conjunction with one’s “last will and testament.” Testament is a Middle English word that is from the Late Latin testamentum which literally means “covenant with God.” This, in turn, is from the earlier Latin form of testari which means “to be a witness” or “call one to witness.”

Ah, Covenant! Now there is a word to sink one’s teeth into! Covenant is a reciprocal, binding, irrevocable, and life-long promise (pledge) attested to by witnesses and sealed by the shedding of blood. Covenant is the very heart and soul of our relationship with God. God has reached out to fallen mankind and called us to Himself. He has initiated His Eternal Covenant with us, and it is more than salvation (redemption); it is the intimate relationship of a husband and wife who have spoken their vows. God has called us to be His Bride and His Covenant vows spoken to us are progressively and wondrously revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.

(to be continued . . . .)

The Poor in Spirit

This passage is often misunderstood, because when we who have been raised in a “western,” that is a Greco-Roman mindset, “hear” the word “poor,” we instantly think quantitatively ~ how much? ~ less, rather than more of something.

When we “retrain” our mind to think Biblically, we begin to think relationally ~ not in terms of quantity, but of quality! What is the depth of our intimacy with the Father, our Creator God? What is our love relationship with the lover of our soul, the Lord Jesus, like? How closely are we moving in rhythm with the resonance of the Holy Ghost?

When we realign our hearts to think and relate to G-d in this manner, then we realize that there is no quantitative measure being referred to in these words of the Messiah. Then how do we gauge the relational quality, the condition of our spiritual poverty or our spiritual wealth?

There is only one primary indicator, and in this realm there is no middle ground, no gray areas. At any given moment there is only one person on the throne of our heart. Two cannot sit in this seat of lordship at the same time. One option is that we, ourselves, once again attempt to “call the shots” in our lives, and in every moment that we do so we are inclining toward pride, self-absorption and the sin of rebellion. This inclination toward evil is as old as the Garden and is every bit as seductive in its impulse to have us position ourselves as a god as it was when Satan first spoke it into Eve’s ear and his lie hooked itself into the fibers of her heart.

The other option is to bow before the King of the Universe and joyfully worship Him in spirit and in truth as we gratefully live under the shelter of His wing as He rules and reigns in every aspect of our being and in every thought, word and deed of our lives. It is then that we are, by choice, humble, yielded and still. It is then that we know joy unspeakable and full of glory and live with the peace that passes all understanding.

How do we become so yielded? (to be continued . . . .)

The “Kingdom of Heaven”

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:3)

Such a familiar passage! ~ But, what does it mean? Let us begin with the last phrase ~ the Promise ~ for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The preaching about “the kingdom” and its immanence was the theme of the message of both John the Baptist and of Jesus. After Jesus baptized Himself in the Jordan, He was compelled by The Spirit (of God) to go into the wilderness of Judea where he fasted and prayed and engaged in spiritual combat with Satan for 40 days and nights. (So much to say about all of that, but we must stay “on track” here and keep a laser focus!)

Matthew 4:17, and parallel passages in Mark and Luke, tell us that after vanquishing Satan with the now-famous tri-fold, “It is written!” ~ quotes by Jesus from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13), “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

In the parallel sections of the gospel of Luke, the writer quotes Jesus as saying “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Matthew was the gospel written with a distinct audience in mind – the Jews of the 1st Century. Committed and righteous followers of the Torah would never speak the holy name YHWH, because they were afraid that if they spoke His Name without the proper degree of awe and reverence they would violate the fourth Commandment that forbids one to use the Holy Name “in vain” (literally, empty of said awe and reverence). Therefore, “substitute” titles were spoken instead. When one meant to say the Name of The Holy One, Blessed be He, one would say either “Ha Shem” (The Name) or Adonai (Lord).

The phrase “at hand” translated in modern translations as “near” would, for the modern ear, better be translated as “very, very near!” I demonstrate this with my students physically. I first tell them that I would never, ever touch one of them in an inappropriate way, but if they could imagine that I was about to violently punch one of them right in the nose . . . and as I am speaking I am drawing my fist back in position to deliver a completely devastating blow . . . I begin to move my hand forward and repeatedly stop the motion of my arm and ask, “Is my fist ‘at hand’, yet?”, and then I say slowly and softly, “No!” Finally, when I was a “hair’s breadth” away I would declare, “Now, my fist is “at hand!”
(to be continued . . . .)

Introduction

Prosperity! When you hear this word, what thoughts or images come immediately to mind? What feelings are evoked? Do you think in terms of dollars? If so, how many dollars? (How much money connotes prosperity to you?) Do you think in terms of material things? Does prosperity mean to you home(s), cars, furnishings, vacation resort property, etc.? Do you think in terms of a specific job and/or career? If so, what is it, and what type of security and benefits does it provide?

The Bible does speak to material wealth in many passages as blessings from God, e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Solomon, and others. The Bible also speaks of success and prominence of position, e.g. Abraham, Melchizedek, Joseph, Gideon, Deborah, Samuel, David and Solomon, and others. However, when I use the phrase, “True Biblical Prosperity,” I am referring more specifically to the spiritual intangibles, e.g. salvation, deliverance, healing, peace, joy, contentment, et. al.

The lyrics of a beautiful song, “How Rich I Am,” come to my mind often:

How rich I am since Jesus came my way,
Redeemed my soul and turned my night to day ~
How rich, how very rich I am.
All things have changed,
My eyes once blind, but now I see,
And the whole wide world is now a symphony,
How rich, how very rich I am.

There are more stanzas to the song, but I believe that we understand the point I wish to emphasize: true Biblical prosperity has to do with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-22.

We are not to lay up for ourselves treasures here on earth where they can decay and rust and be stolen; rather, we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where they will never decay or rust and where they cannot be stolen, because our hearts are centered upon those things we truly treasure!

In verse 33 Jesus also exhorts / commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do so, He promises that all of the material things that we need will be given to us. In addition, Paul serves as an excellent role model for us when we shares with his Philippian disciples that he has learned the secret of being truly content in this life no matter what his physical circumstances may be (4:11-12).

In order for us to be recipients of, and to experience the riches of, the prosperity of the spirit that the Father has for us, we must be “vessels” that can receive and hold such riches. The “Beatitudes” Jesus enumerated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3 ff) reveal the truths that will set us free and allow our hearts to be open to receive the blessings the Father desires to lavish upon us!

(to be continued . . . .)

Stucture of the Beatitudes (continued)

In this case, David used the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Therefore, instead of “a to z,” of the English alphabet, or from the “alpha” to the “omega” of the Greek alphabet, we have from “aleph” to “tau” of the Hebrew alphabet.

Every line of the first eight verses of Psalm 119, if read in Hebrew, begins with the first letter of the alphabet, “aleph,” and each the second eight verses begins with the second letter, “bet,” and so on throughout Psalm 119, with the last eight verses each of which begins with the last letter of the alphabet, “tau.” Now, just as a reminder, when you read through Psalm 119, please remember to read the verses in pairs, as “couplets,” that express the same idea over again using different words and phrases. Finally, when you get into the “rhythm” of the psalm, you realize that the power of this repetitive technique only grows stronger as the main themes of David’s love for and dedication to God’s Word are themselves repeated over and over again.

Note, too, please, that David uses many synonyms to refer to the Word of God. He exhorts us to study, to delight in, to revere and to obey God’s Word, His commands, His statues, His laws, His precepts, His testimonies and His ways ~ Hallelujah! As we turn to study the Beatitudes, it will help us to realize that Jesus, the greatest of all Rabbis, the greatest Teacher of God’s Word in all of history, spoke to His audience, the Jews of the 1st century, spoke to them and taught them in ways that would “click” for them, in ways that would instantly attract and hold their attention.

Therefore, like the greatest of the psalmists of Israel, David, so, too, the greatest of the teachers of Israel, Jesus, “sang” to the people a beautiful song of blessing, calling to the deepest part of their psyche – their heart of hearts, the depths of their souls – in such a way that they hung on His every Word. Now, then, before we go farther into the heart of this teaching, the “meat” of the Word, if you will, please go back and read the Beatitudes, and read them, please, in their context of Matthew 5:3-16. Read them with the specific intent of “hearing the rhythm” of His thoughts as He repeats them – first as simple couplets, or two lines paired together – and then again as couplets repeating couplets, thereby building one upon another and building the strength and the power of the image that He is embedding into our hearts as we hear Him calling to us to be Kingdom People!

Background / Structure

Before we actual “dig into” our study of the Beatitudes, it will be very helpful to understand some of the basics of reading Hebrew literature, in general, and some specific insight regarding the structure of the verses from Matthew 5 that we have come to know as “The Beatitudes.”

When one refers to “poetry,” many of us think immediately of rhyming verse. Hebrew poetry, conversely, is more about conveying visceral images that excite the senses and involve the reader by “drawing one into” the experience being conveyed. Hebrew poetry also focuses more on inviting one into a conceptual declaration or dialogue that engages the mind as well as the five senses thus making the experience one that absorbs the reader and involves him/her completely ~ a participant rather than an observer ~ an act of worship, celebration, or mourning, et. al., as the case may be, rather than offering a mere form of entertainment.

To this end, the Hebrew authors of our Bible employed repetition as the main instrument of emphasis. Technically this is dubbed parallelism. This technique is easy to appreciate, because it reinforces our natural tendency to repeat back what we have just heard, thought, or spoken when that in which we have just been engaged is of real importance to us. For example, if my friend Rachel had designs on a young man named Tom, and if Rachel asked me if I had seen Tom lately, and I replied to her, “Yes! As a matter of fact, I just spoke with Tom last night after he and Susan returned from Vegas. They apparently have just eloped and gotten married!” It would be very natural for Rachel to respond, “What!?! Tom and Susan eloped to Las Vegas and got married?!” I would not chastise her and say, “Well, that is what I just said, isn’t it?” No. I would understand Rachel’s mental processing, and I would reply, “Yes ~ it’s true! I saw their wedding rings, and Tom and Susan showed me the pictures they had taken in the Chapel in Las Vegas where they were wed!”

Once again, if one of my students heard me say from the front of the classroom, “Don’t forget, folks, on the Test tomorrow, it is imperative that you know all Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 in the order written, it would not be uncommon at all for me to hear mutters from around the classroom, as students scrambled to get pen and paper to write this key point of information, “Ten Commandments . . . Exodus 20 . . . in order!” ~ and them hear several or many of them repeat those words more than once as they are writing it down.

Yes, repetition is a key to learning, and repetition is even more valuable and is wisely employed with more intentionality when the information to be remembered is important to us. The specific style of repetition used in the Bible is the employment of “couplets,” sometimes “triplets” of thought wherein the idea being conveyed is repeated using different words. For example, Psalm 119:105 reads, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my pathway.” The phrase “a light unto my pathway” repeats the concept of “a lamp unto my feet” using different words to convey the same visual image for the mind to “see” and to remember.

This repetition also creates a rhythmic cadence that enhances memory retention. This same principle helps to explain why we can remember so easily the tunes or “jingles” that we hear and sing. The advertising professionals who create the little jingles for radio and TV to promote their particular product brand know this and employ it to their maximum advantage; and remember also, please, that the psalms are songs that the people of Israel sang.

Occasionally, a “triplet” is used. For example, in Psalm 1:1 we read: “Blessed is the man who (1)does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly,
(2) nor stands in the path of sinners, (3) nor sits in the seat of the scornful, . . .
However, the most consistent pattern we find is with the use of couplets that are then arranged together with other couplets.

For example, Psalm 119, the longest psalm, and the longest chapter, in the Bible is an extended litany of praise to God’s Word comprised of couplets, built together in sets of eight couplets each, as an acrostic to declare the glory of G-d’s Word from “a to z.” An acrostic is the use of letters of an alphabet employed at the beginning of each line to form a specific pattern.

(To Be Continued . . . . )

True Biblical Prosperity

TRUE BIBLICAL PROSPERITY
as Revealed in The Beatitudes

Introduction


Prosperity! When you hear this word, what thoughts or images come immediately to mind? What feelings are evoked? Do you think in terms of dollars? If so, how many dollars? (How much money connotes prosperity to you? Do you think in terms of material things? Does prosperity mean to you home(s), cars, furnishings, vacation resort property, etc.? Do you think in terms of a specific job and/or career? If so, what is it, and what type of security and benefits does it provide?

The Bible does speak to material wealth in many passages as blessings from God, e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Solomon, and others. The Bible also speaks of success and prominence of position, e.g. Abraham, Melchizedek, Joseph, Gideon, Deborah, Samuel, David and Solomon, and others. However, when I use the phrase, “True Biblical Prosperity,” I am referring more specifically to the spiritual intangibles, e.g. salvation, deliverance, healing, peace, joy, contentment, et. al.

The lyrics of a beautiful song, “Howe Rich I Am,” come to my recall often:

How rich I am since Jesus came my way,

Redeemed my soul and turned my night to day ~

How rich, how very rich I am.

All things have changed,

My eyes once blind, but now I see,

And the whole wide world is now a symphony,

How rich, how very rich I am.

There are more stanzas to the song, but I believe that we understand the point I wish to emphasize: true Biblical prosperity has to do with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-22 We are not to lay up for ourselves treasures here on earth where they can decay and rust and be stolen; rather, we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where they will never decay or rust and where they cannot be stolen. Why? Because our hearts are centered upon those things we truly treasure!

In verse 33 Jesus also exhorts / commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do so, He promises that all of the material things that we need will be given to us. In addition, Paul serves as an excellent role model for us when we shares with his Philippian disciples that he has learned the secret of being truly content in this life no matter what his physical circumstances may be (4:11-12).

In order for us to be recipients of and to experience the riches of the prosperity of the spirit that the Father has for us, we must be “vessels” that can receive and hold such riches. The “Beatitudes” Jesus enumerated in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3 ff) reveal the truths that will set us free and allow our hearts to open to receive the blessings the Father desires to lavish upon us!

(to be continued . . . .)