Seder 100: Leviticus 26:3-13---Interlocking Categories of Blessing

 In Leviticus 26:3-13, God presents to the children of Israel a vision of what is possible for them if they embrace his covenant with them.  Sharon Rimon summarizes the promised blessings under five headings (A-E below).  These five are interspersed with some additional blessings (a)-(d). 

A.  Productivity of the Land (vv 4-5)

      (a). "and dwell in your land securely" (v 5)

B. Peace and Tranquility (v. 6)

      (b). "and the sword shall not go through your land (v 6)

C. Victory over Enemies (vv 7-8)

D. Human Fertility (v 9)

     (c). "and will confirm my covenant with you" (v 9)

     (d).  "You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new" (v 10)

E. God's Presence with his People (vv 11-12)

Rimon points out that items (a)-(d) function as bridges between categories of blessing.  Dwelling in the land securely is made possible by the productivity of the land.  When crops are good, people are not forced to sell their land or travel elsewhere in search of food.  And dwelling in the land securely is part of living in peace and tranquility.  So item (a) is a sort of bridge between A and B.  

In (b), the sword could stand for fighting among Israelites, which would disrupt peace and tranquility; or it could stand for attacks from enemies and relate to victory over enemies.  Item (b) links B and C.

The reference to the covenant in verse 9 could have in mind the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, including the promise of numerous offspring (Ge 15:5, e.g.).  On the other hand, it also connects with the enhanced relationship with God described in category E.  Item (c) is connected to both D and E.

Verse 11 relates to productivity of the land as well as to the fact that God will provide food for a larger number of people as the population of Israel increases.  Item (d), then, relates to both A and D.  

The structure of verses 3-13 as outlined by Rimon suggests that wholeness (shalom) has several interrelated facets, all of which need to be present for blessing to be complete.  It is this complete blessing that God desires for his people.  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, Open you mouth wide, and I will fill it," God declares in Psalm 81:10.  "Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!" he adds.  "I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes" (verses 13-14).

Seder 45: Exodus 1 and Isaiah 27---Israel the Fruitful Vineyard

 After the family of Jacob settled in Egypt, they prospered.  Exodus 1:7 reports, "But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled them."  This was a fulfillment of promises God had made to Abraham (Ge 15:5).  The family's growth continued even after their enslavement (Ex 1:12).  

Israel has experienced lots of ups and downs during its long history.  Prophecies like Isaiah 27 make clear that God's ultimate purpose is to bless the nation.  They experienced suffering for the purposes of correction and cleansing (vv 7-11), but they will be regathered and restored and will bear fruit again.  Isaiah 27:6 says, "In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit."

Seder 44: Genesis 49-50---Joseph's Bones

 The patriarch Jacob told his children that he was to be buried at Machpelah with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah.  Joseph made sure those instructions were carried out. 

Joseph himself died about 54 years later.  He did not ask to be buried immediately in Canaan.  Instead, he indicated that at a later date God would bring the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the land.  When that happened, they were to take his bones with them and bury them in Canaan (Ge 50:24-25).  

There's an indication here that Joseph had knowledge, perhaps both practical and prophetic, about the future enslavement of his family.  (He would have been aware, for example, of what God had told Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14.)  Still, that enslavement had not yet begun at the time of Joseph's death, so Joseph could have requested that his body be taken back to Canaan right away.  That raises a question:  Why didn't he?  

Jewish tradition has proposed some interesting answers.  One is that the responsibility of burying Joseph's bones gave the family a long-term commitment to return to Canaan and some extra incentive to return.  

Another is that the presence of Joseph's coffin with the family would remind them of who Joseph was.  There were important qualities of Joseph's character that the family as a whole would need to emulate to be successful in their mission.  Joseph was able to live his life in Egypt and still maintain his commitment to God and his identity as a Hebrew.  When he was imprisoned, he did not give up hope but continued to live a productive life.  The Israelites would need to be like Joseph to survive and get beyond their time in slavery.  

Seder 28: Gen 29:31-30:21---A Competition for Sons

Sibling rivalry is a major theme in Genesis.  The rivalry between Jacob and Esau is featured in Genesis 25 and 27.  The theme continues in Genesis 29 when Jacob marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah.  Leviticus 18:18 will tell us that this is a bad idea, and we see concrete examples of the problems that can arise with "sister wives" as we study the Genesis narrative.  

Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah" (Ge 29:30), leading Leah to compete with Rachel for Jacob's love.  She hoped that Jacob would be drawn to her as she gave birth to four sons---Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah  (29:31-35).  

Meanwhile Rachel, who did not immediately give birth, felt left behind, and she competed with her sister in a kind of baby contest.  On one side were Rachel and her servant Bilhah.  On the other side were Leah and her servant Zilpah.  

When Bilhah gave birth to two sons, Rachel proclaimed, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed" (30:8).  Team Rachel had narrowed the lead of team Leah to 4-2.  

Team Leah responded by getting Zilpah involved in the action.  They extended their lead to 6-2 when Zilpah gave birth to Gad and Asher.  

Competitions between teams often involve trades as the season progresses, and that actually is the case here as well.  At one point Leah's young son Reuben found some mandrakes, plants believed to promote fertility.  Rachel traded a night with Jacob for the mandrakes.  

Rachel's strategy apparently backfired, however.  Leah went on to have two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, making the score 8-2.  

Jacob, an essential player, does not appear often in the Genesis account of the game.  His role is to occupy the tent to which his wives direct him each night.  When Rachel demands that he give her sons, we see the frustration in his response:  "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"  (Ge 30:2)  Jacob is strong, diligent, and resourceful, but he cannot grant Rachel's request on his own.  

Despite the strife in Jacob's family, God worked with the situation to fulfill his promise to grant many descendants to Abraham (Ge 15:5; 17:4-6).   

Commentators often point out that Jacob's question in Genesis 30:2 was repeated by his son Joseph many years later in Genesis 50:19.  In that case Joseph stated that it was not his prerogative to judge the brothers who had sold him into slavery.  

Genesis 30:2 and 50:19 highlight God's roles as lifegiver and judge.  Those roles comes together in Jesus of Nazareth, as Philip H. Kern points out in chapter 5 of his book, Jacob's Story as Christian Scripture.  One place where these roles are mentioned together is in John 5:21-22.  

Seder 27: Genesis 28-29---Jacob Enters a Time of Growth

 At age 77, Jacob reached a critical juncture in his life.  He would be leaving the land of Canaan, where he had lived his whole life, and heading over 500 miles away to Haran, where his mother had grown up.  At this time God brought encouragement, appearing to Jacob in a dream to emphasize that he would be with him throughout his travels (Ge 28:12-15).  

We have not been told anything up to this point about Jacob's relationship with God.  There are a couple of details that may indicate this relationship was not yet well developed. One is the fact that God revealed himself to Jacob in a dream---as he did to people like Abimelech (Ge 20:3) and Pharaoh (41:1)---rather than in, say, a vision, as he had appeared to Abraham (15:1).  

Fifty three years later, God did appear to Jacob in a vision (Ge 46:2).  By that time Jacob had been walking with God for many years.  

A second detail is the vow that Jacob makes after his dream.  Jacob vows that if God is with him and brings him back home, then he will worship God and give him a tithe (verses 20-22).  At this point Jacob's relationship with God seems rather transactional; the wording of the vow suggests that Jacob is trying to "cut a deal" with God.  

After receiving reassurance from God, Jacob makes the long walk to Haran with spring in his step.  Genesis 29:1 says that he "lifted his feet" as he continued his journey.  He will have many lessons to learn during his sojourn with Laban.  Some of them he will learn the hard way.

In particular, Jacob the deceiver will be the victim of deception.  When Jacob believes he is marrying Laban's daugher Rachel, Laban subsitutes his older daughter Leah on the wedding night.  One midrash imagines a later conversation between Jacob and Leah.  When Jacob asks Leah why she posed as Rachel, she reminds Jacob that he had once posed as Esau.  He had received a classic "measure for measure" consequence of his actions.  (Whoever was being deceived in Genesis 27, Jacob's intent had been to deceive his father.)

Through this lesson and others, Jacob will grow through experience.  

Seder 13: Abram's Faithfulness

 Genesis 15 begins with the phrase, "After these things....", a phrase that also appears in Genesis 22:1, 20.  Joseph Soloveitchik suggests that this phrase marks transitions in Abram's life and divides his life into four periods.  The second one is covered in Genesis 15-21, chapters that feature God's covenant with Abram.

At this point God comes to Abram in a vision, as he would later to other prophets.  Commentator John Sailhamer sees Abram portrayed as a forerunner of Jeremiah, who later would be given a message about Judah's exile and return.  God reveals to Abram that his descendants would endure slavery in Egypt before settling in the land promised to them (vv 12-16).  

But before receiving that revelation, Abram asks God about something that is troubling him.  God has promised him numerous descendants (Ge 13:16), but he is still childless.  God assures Abram that the promise will be carried out (Ge 15:2-5).  The narrator then reports in verse 6, "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

Abram's belief was not something that occurred in an instant.  He grew in faith as he walked with God over many years.  James the brother of Jesus saw Genesis 15:6 exemplified by Abram's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. In this case Abram's obedient actions demonstrated his faith (James 2:14-26).  

Language similar to Genesis 15:6 appears in Ps 106:30-31, where it is applied to Phinehas.  When Phinehas took decisive action to stop the apostasy at Baal Peor, "that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever" (verse 31). 

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 27, 2024, Kyle Kettering explored the meaning of Genesis 15:6.  He noted that this verse marks the first appearance in Scripture of tzedakah, the Hebrew word for "righteousness."  Looking at other places where the word is used (Ge 18:19; Dt 6:25; 24:13, e.g.), we can see that the word often designates "right deeds or actions that accord with God's desire and plan."  Psalm 106:3 declares, "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!"

By Jesus' time, the word had come to be used specifically for deeds of charity.  Jesus uses the word this way in Matthew 6:1-4.  

Kyle observed that righteousness is a goal of man's relationship with God, and that trust is an essential component of biblical righteousness.  As Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please him." Habakkuk famously wrote that "the righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab 2:4).  The ESV footnote observes that "faith' In Habakkuk 2:4 means "faithfulness."    

In Romans 4, Paul holds up Abraham as example on one who was deemed righteous based on his faithfulness, not on specific deeds of the Torah.  

In the phrase "he counted it to him as righteousness," there are technically two ways to identify the antecedents of the pronouns "he" and "him."  We almost always think of "he" as God and "him" as Abram, but the other way around makes sense as well.  Certainly Abram deemed God to be righteous as well.

Seder 131: Numbers 34---Boundaries of Canaan

 Numbers 34 lays out the boundaries of Canaan, the land that God was granting to the Israelites.  Commentators note that Canaan was a recognizable entity at that time.  It is mentioned, for example, in some Egyptian texts.  

The land area described in this chapter includes more than Israel ever managed to claim, even in the time of David and Solomon.  We might call the boundaries listed in Numbers 34 "aspirational boundaries" for Israel.  

Much more expansive is the description of the promised land that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 15:18:  "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 21, 2023, Rob Wilson explained the possibility that Gen 15:18 is intended as a merism, in this case a way of referring to the whole world.  It is God's plan to bring salvation to all nations through the seed of Abraham.  In this reading, Gen 15:18 is a Messianic prophecy.

Seder 121: Numbers 25---The Zeal of Phinehas

 The oracles of Balaam communicated the depths of God's commitment to the people of Israel.  The only thing that could separate the Israelites from the blessings of God would be a lapse in their commitment to God.  And Israel's commitment did lapse soon afterward.  In an event that was a sort of "golden calf incident" for the younger generation of the Exodus, the Israelites were lured into idolatry and adultery by the Moabites and Midianites (Num 25:1-6).  

We learn later that a trap was set, at Balaam's suggestion, to lure the Israelites into apostasy (Num 31:15-16).  Although Balaam grudgingly communicated the message God made him deliver, he apparently still wanted to somehow curse Israel.  

God told Moses to put to death those responsible for Israel's apostasy (vv 4-5).  The situation was serious, as one Israelite was openly committing adultery with a Midianite woman in the Israelite camp (v 6).  

Then Aaron's grandson Phinehas took action.  Catching the couple in flagrante delicto, he ran them through with a spear (Num 25:7).  Honoring the zeal of Phinehas, God stopped the plague that he had sent (v 8).  Twenty four elephs died in the plague. (Remember that "thousand" is not necessarily the correct English translation for eleph.) 

Phinehas has been celebrated throughout Israelite history for his zeal on this occasion.  His quick action "was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever" (Ps 106:31).  He was a role model for the Maccabees (1 Macc 2:13-28).  

The apostle Paul admonished Christians to learn from what happened at Shittim (1 Cor 10:1-13).  We know that God's commitment to his New Covenant people is just as firm as his commitment to Israel (Rom 8:31-39), but we should not become overconfident (1 Cor 10:12). 

One question often raised in regard to I Cor 10 is Paul's statement in verse 8 that "twenty three thousand fell in a single day" at Shittim, in apparent disagreement with the twenty four thousand of Num 24;9.  There is no clear way to resolve this difference.  Some have suggested that of the 24 elephs who died in the plague, 23 died on a single day. This is possible, but we have no other witness to this detail.  The exact number who died in the plague has no bearing, of course, on the lesson Paul was communicating.  

The fact that the discrepancy has been preserved speaks to the integrity of the transmission of the text of scripture.  It would have been easy for a scribe at some point to remove the discrepancy, but that didn't happen.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 22, 2022, Kyle Kettering reflected on the zealous examples of Phinehas, John the Baptist, and Abraham.  Both Abraham and Phinehas had their believing loyalty "counted to them as righteousness" (Gen 15:6; James 2:18-26). We are called to the same kind of righteousness.  

Rob Wilson further addressed the subject of zeal in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 29, 2022.  How can one tell the difference between the godly zeal of Phinehas and one's personal zeal?  He mentioned several examples:

• Paul's zealous persecution of Christians before his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Phil 3:6).
• Zealous protestors who are willing to bomb abortion clinics.
• The zeal of abolitionists like John Brown.

We need to be sure of God's approval before undertaking zealous actions, Rob stated. 

Seder 52: Exod 11-12---Departing with Treasure

 After nine plagues Egypt was reeling, but Pharaoh still pretended to himself that he was in control.  He threatened Moses when Moses would not agree to his demands, as if somehow Moses were his real problem (Exod 10:28-29).  

Moses announced that there would be one more plague.  At midnight God would kill all of the firstborn of people and livestock in Egypt, and then Egypt would beg the Israelites to leave (Exod 11;4-8).  

In preparation for leaving, the Israelites were to ask the Egyptians for their silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing.  Israel would then leave Egypt with great wealth.  This is a detail that the Bible mentions several times.  It was even prophesied to Abraham generations earlier.  (Gen 15:14; Exod 3:21-22; 11:2-3; 12:35-36)

Scholars refer to this event as the "despoliation of Egypt".  Why was it important?  There are several lessons that we can learn from it. 

1.   God is in control of history and keeps his promises (Gen 15:14; Exod 12:35-36).
2.   God is a God of justice.  The Egyptians had exploited the Israelites as slaves and were required to pay wages or reparations at the end.
3.   God was also requiring Eygpt to keep the Torah, which specifies that masters should provide servants with some financial help when they set them free (Deut 15:2-4).  
4.   God is consistent.  There is a pattern here.  Abram left Egypt with wealth (Gen 12-13).  Jacob left Laban with wealth (Gen 31:17-19).  The Philistines returned the ark of the covenant with golden treasure (1 Sam 6:8,11).  When Jews return from exile in Babylon, King Cyrus gives them gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11).  Finally, the prophets envision a future exodus from exile when those who afflict Israel "shall become plunder for those who served them " (Zech 2:9: 14:4).  

In a sermon on Seder 52 at Church of the Messiah on April 17, 2021, Kyle Kettering observed that the real treasure leaving Egypt were the people from Israel and the nations (Exod 12:37-38).  God's purpose is to use Israel to bring blessing to all nations, and the Exodus is one step in that program.  

A further step occurred at the Cross.  Kyle made a connection between Exod 11:1 and Jesus' statement on the Cross:  "It is finished" (John 19:30)  Since the time of Jesus, God has been claiming treasures from the nations for himself.  They leave slavery behind.  

As Paul envisioned it, the time had come for the nations to come to God.  They were not to convert to Judaism, but to walk alongside the Jews in following God.  This has been happening ever since.

Seder 15: Psalm 105---Praising God for Mighty Works and Faithfulness

Psalm 105 calls upon the children of Abraham to praise God for his mighty works (verses 1-6).  The original context of the psalm may have been the ceremony in David's time when the ark of the covenant was brought to the tabernacle in Jerusalem.  In the psalm for that event recorded in 1 Chron 16, verses 8-22 line up closely with Ps 105:1-15.

This kind of praise is also good for spiritual children of Abraham.  It helps us to remember who God is (Psalm 105:5), which is something that everyone on earth should know (v 1).

The psalm goes on to rehearse God's works from the days of the patriarchs, through the time of the Exodus, and right up to the conquest of the Promised Land.  Israel's complaints during the Exodus are not mentioned.  (That's the subject for Psalm 106.)  The emphasis is on God's sovereignty and his orchestration of the steps in his plan.  There is also emphasis on God's faithfulness to the eternal covenant (vv 8-11).

Some of the statements in the Psalm make us pause for a minute.

Verse 16:  "When he summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread..."

Verses 24-25:  "And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them stronger than their foes, whose hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants."

These verses declare that God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens, including the famine that brought the children of Israel to Egypt and the hardships the Israelites suffered in Egyptian bondage.  (Gen 15:13-14 implies the same thing.)

Also implied, though, is the fact that God is always there through all the things that we suffer, and he intervenes on behalf of his people.  His plan is to bring blessing to the whole world.  Knowing that he is in control, we can dedicate ourselves to playing our part in his plan.

Seder 13 Sermon: The Great Reward

After Abram rescued Lot and other captives from an invading northeastern army, and after Abram affirmed his trust in God, God came to him in a vision, saying,

"Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great" (Gen 15:1).

In a Seder 13 sermon, Kyle Kettering reflected on what Abram might have feared (besides the initial fright of receiving this vision).  His response in verses 2-3 suggests that he was anxious about the future---as we all tend to be.  We all experience fear, which can be a great motivator but also can be debilitating.  We need to bring our fears under control. 

In Psalm 27:1, David declared,

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

He came to this conclusion after fervent prayer about his fears (27:8-12).

God told Abram in the vision that he would receive a great reward (Hebrew sakar).  One part of that reward would be the many descendants he had been promised.  As it says in Ps 127:3, "Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

Jesus taught, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6), that there would be great reward in the world to come for those who followed him and lived selflessly.

Kyle explained that Gen 15:1 also can be rendered, "I am your shield, your very great reward."  In this rendering, walking with God is a great reward in itself.  He is the reward!

Seder 13: Gen 15 and Ps 27---Waiting for God

Abram had traveled to the land of Canaan at God's direction, placing his life in the hands of the Creator of the Universe.  God had promised that Abram would be the father of a great nation, and Abram trusted in God's promise.  But he still had questions about how the promise would be carried out, especially because he and Sarai so far had been unable to have children.  In Gen 15:3, he pointed out,

"You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."

God responded in verse 5,

"Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.  So shall your descendants be."

However, God didn't give Abram a detailed outline and timetable on the fulfillment of the promise.  So Abram faced the challenge of waiting to see how and when it would be carried out.

David, in Psalm 27:14, encourages readers,

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"

In a short teaching at Church of the Messiah on June 13, 2020,   Jack Starcher noted that the word "wait" in Psalm 27:14 comes from a root meaning "to bind."  So another way to say "wait for the Lord" might be to say, "bind yourself to the Lord."  He reflected on what this kind of waiting might look like.  He said that it is not an entirely passive kind of waiting, but a faithful doing one's part while counting on God to see things through.

Hundreds of years later, Moses affirmed that the promise of Gen 15:5 indeed had been fulfilled:

"The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven" (Deut 1:10).

Jack also traced the imagery of stars through the Bible.  In Psalm 147:4, we read, "He determines the number of the stars' he gives to all of them their names."  We can infer from this that God knew about each individual descendant of Abram, including the Messiah, who is called "the bright morning star" in Rev 22:16.