JEREMIAH 34:8-22, 33:25-26
Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because Israel had returned to idolatry and corruption. YHVH sends him with a message to Israel, “Repent” and “turn from your sins”, one of the sins was to go back on their word. Jeremiah told them that God had said, “release your slaves” since they had no released them after 7 years, they did that, but afterwards, they “re-captured” their slaves and returned them to captivity, this is to be “double-minded” for “appearance sake” they released the slaves/servants, but when they thought that “the prophet wasn't looking” they went back on their word. Result? Babylon came and captured Israel! And King Zedekiah was taken to Babylon as a slave.
I would like to take this opportunity for those who like learning new facts about the Bible. Jeremiah reminded Israel about the laws of God, one being to free slaves after 6 years. All the commandments of God can be classified under three different categories.
MISHPATIM: Rational laws that are obvious and make sense to us. Laws on human relationships (such as the law to set slaves free at the end of 6 years), Laws on charity, tithes, offerings, and the 10 commandments.
EIDUT: Laws that tend to be symbolic, that would remind us who Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is. Examples: The Sabbath Day, The High Holy Days of the Jewish Calendar, the wearing of fringes (Tzitzit) on the undershirt of Jewish men. Today, we even have Sunday worship to remind us of the Resurrection of our Messiah on the First Day of the week. Paul reminds us not to forsake the gathering together of brothers and sisters in the LORD. He may have been thinking of the Sabbath (Saturday), but this also applies to Sunday, the first day of the week, as the disciples got together on the first day of the week in the Book of Acts.
HUKKIM: laws and commandments that may not make much sense to us, and we might not understand the why of these laws, yet these were laws the Israelites had to follow; example: The Red Cow that was reduced to ashes and mixed with water to cleanse someone who was "unclean"; speaking to a Rock to bring forth water (in the case of Moses). Making a bronze serpent to bring healing for "snake bite" to those who just "looked at it."
How well do we as believers respond when someone calls our attention? When we are in the wrong, do we really repent and turn from our sins? Or.... when we think no one is looking, go back to our sins? Our old attitudes, our old “issues?” A thief looks ahead, in back, to the left, to the right, to make sure that no one is looking, but the thief never looks “up”! Yes, our Heavenly Father who is on high is looking down on us all, and observes ALL our actions, even in private, so, we really are NEVER alone! Someone is always watching us.
God, his holy angels, Satan and his demons, all that are in the spirit realm, are always watching our every move. So, make sure our lives are holy, unto God on high.
MARK 1:1-2:28
The talmid/disciple Mark writes about John the Baptist, his ministry to prepare the people for the coming of his cousin, Yeshua, preparing hearts and minds. Baptism was important in Jewish life; it symbolized who was once unclean is now clean, from “Tamei” to “Tahor”, from “death to life”.
When a born-again believer is baptized, the believer identifies himself or herself with Yeshua in death and life, death, burial, and resurrection. But John was just “preparing” the way for He who is THE WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
Yeshua is the WAY to eternal life, He is the TRUTH, which is the opposite of lies and deception, and He is LIFE eternal, to those who embrace Him as Savior and LORD.
So, how are we to walk our “Halacha” (Spiritual walk), we need to walk in HIS WAYS. What are HIS WAYS? The way of the Torah, obedient to HIS mitzvoth. If we are walking in HIS WAYS, we are walking in the TRUTH, and if we walk in the TRUTH, and we have accepted the LIVING TRUTH (Emet Chai), then we have ETERNAL LIFE. No wonder Yeshua identifies himself by these three words.
Yeshua went walking along the Sea of Galilee, and there he invited Kefa and Andrew to come with him, and later, at K’far Nachum (Capernaum), went to the synagogue there and began to teach the people. Here we also see that many came to Yeshua to be healed of different diseases, and he had compassion on the people, and he healed those who came. But that is the point. We must SEEK Him first, and ASK. Yes, God will heal people today of diseases, some by miracles of healing, others by natural medicine, or by doctors and surgery. Yet sometimes, God takes us home through diseases. We are all living in corruptible bodies that are wearing out; it is all part of the sin nature. "The wages of sin is death".
The synagogue at Capernaum is still there. It has been rebuilt a few times, yet the floor is the same floor that Yeshua walked on 2000 years ago. I visited that synagogue back in 2015 when I went to Israel to serve with the IDF in a reserve unit. My friend Alon Tamir (an Israeli singer) and I went by car to Capernaum, walked around, and visited the part of the lake that served as a dock for the fishing boats, which is probably where Yeshua met Kefa and Andrew.
We are all called by Yeshua through his spirit to follow him. Do we follow Him? Or...do we expect HIM to follow US? He teaches us through HIS word. Are we listening?