Posts Tagged With: Yom Kippur

Tishrei: From Dust to Glory

Posted on September 7, 2026 by K. Gallagher

Earth and Water

“But a mist came up from the land and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then Adonai Elohim formed the man out of the dust from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life—so the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:6-7, TLV)[1]

A potter begins with earth and water. He takes a weight of clay into his hands, kneading and pressing it until hidden pockets of air are released and the whole mass becomes pliable beneath his touch. The sense of touch is traditionally associated with the month of Tishri. He places the clay at the center of the wheel, wets his palms, and sets the wheel in motion. As the clay turns, his hands remain steady. One braces the outer wall while the other presses inward, opening a hollow at the heart of the vessel.

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Water glistens across his fingers, allowing them to move without tearing what is still forming. With each revolution, he senses what the eye cannot yet see: where the clay is uneven, where it resists, where the wall is thinning, and where it can be drawn higher. To an observer, the wheel appears to be traveling the same circle again and again. Beneath the potter’s hands, however, the clay is not merely going in circles. It is being transformed.

Water is not an incidental part of this process. Dry earth will not yield to the potter’s hands. Water makes it responsive, allowing it to be pressed, opened, raised, and reshaped without breaking apart. The water does not determine the form of the vessel, and the clay does not shape itself. The potter uses water to work with the clay according to the form already held within his intention.

This gives us a fitting picture for the seventh month, Tishrei. Scripture calls the seventh month yerach ha’etanim, “the month of Etanim,” when Solomon gathered Israel to dedicate the Temple during the feast (1 Kings 8:2). Etanim evokes that which is enduring or continually flowing and has traditionally been associated with streams that do not dry up, alluding to the Living Waters of eternity. During Sukkot, water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and carried to the Temple in the joyful water pouring ceremony.[2] As the agricultural year turned, changed, or ended in the seventh month,[3] Israel looked toward heaven for the early rains upon which the next harvest depended. The Mishnah says that during the festival the world is judged concerning water.[4]

The month also returns us to the waters of creation. According to the tradition we considered last month for Elul, the original creation week began on the twenty-fifth day of that month.[5] This makes Tishri 1, Yom Teruah, align with the sixth day of creation, when Adonai formed the human from the ground and then blew the breath of life into Adam. In this sense, the first day of the seventh month is the birthday of mankind.[6]

Yom Teruah is called a zikkaron in Leviticus 23:24, a remembrance or memorial accompanied by the sound of the teruah – a shouting or great cry. [7] When Adonai speaks to Job from the whirlwind, He asks, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” He then recalls the morning stars singing together and the sons of God shouting for joy (Job 38:4–7).[8] The verb translated “shouted” comes from the same root as teruah. The sound that marks the beginning of Tishri carries an echo of creation and the joy that accompanied it.[9]

Genesis 2:6–7 brings water and earth together in the formation of humanity. Water rises and moistens the face of the adamah. Then Adonai forms the adam from its dust. The text does not explicitly describe God mixing clay at a wheel, but the rest of Scripture repeatedly interprets human formation through the work of a potter.

Job says, “I, too, have been formed out of the clay” (Job 33:6). Isaiah addresses Adonai directly: “We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). Jeremiah is sent to the potter’s house to watch a spoiled vessel being worked again in the potter’s hands (Jeremiah 18:1–6). We are earth that has been made responsive by water and then animated by divine breath. Our bodies carry the substance of the ground (adamah), yet our life depends upon what comes from God from the heavens above.

Jewish tradition draws the altar into this scene of human formation. According to Genesis Rabbah 14:8, Adam was created “from the place of his atonement,” an interpretation grounded in the command, “An altar of earth you shall make for Me” (Exodus 20:24).[10] Rashi makes the location explicit, explaining that God took Adam’s dust from the place where the altar would stand so that he might receive atonement and be able to endure.

Adam was formed from the adamah, and Israel later built a mizbach adamah, an altar of earth. In this reading, Adonai’s provision for human frailty was already present within the story of our formation. He knew the mercy Adam and his children would need in order to stand before Him.

Every human body still carries the testimony of that beginning. We are animated dust, both resilient and vulnerable, capable of bearing glory while remaining dependent upon the breath and provision of our Creator. According to the tradition, our clay also carries a memory of the altar, the place where sin is answered by mercy and the fallen are enabled to stand. The water imagery of Tishrei brings us back to the place of our first formation and prepares us to consider what the Potter intends for the clay.

Two Formations

The Hebrew text of Genesis 2:7 preserves a unique spelling that gives this reflection prophetic depth. The word translated “and He formed” is vayyitzer, from the verb yatsar, which is often used for the shaping work of a potter. Only here, in the account of Adonai forming the human, is vayyitzer written וַיִּיצֶר with two yods. Everywhere else this form of the verb is written with one yod. The unique spelling invited the sages to ask what the second yod might reveal about humanity’s formation.

Rashi interprets the two yods as two formations appointed for the mankind: one for this present world and another for the resurrection of the dead. The first is described in Genesis, where Adam receives breath and becomes a living being. The second looks beyond mortal life toward resurrection. According to Rashi and Bereshit Rabbah, the unusual spelling carries both the origin and destiny of humanity.[11]

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The Potter who formed Adam from the dust has another formation in view. This is especially striking in Tishrei. The month begins on the anniversary of humanity’s first formation, while its appointed times reach toward the second (and last) formation of man in Messiah, the last Adam, at the resurrection.

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven… Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47, 49, NAS95)

The first Adam was formed from the dust and received life, while the Last Adam is from heaven and became a giver of life. All humanity is descended from the earthly Adam and remains subject to corruption and death. In Yeshua, however, the destiny of Adam’s children is no longer confined to the dust.

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah will all be made alive.” (1Co 15:22, TLV)

Though Rashi was not reading through a New Testament lens, his understanding of two formations based upon the doubled yod in humanity’s creation aligns remarkably well with the Pharisaic Rabbi Paul’s argument concerning the two Adams. Only a few verses later, Paul connects humanity’s promised transformation with the sound of the last trumpet:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, NAS95)

1 Corinthians 15 is one of Scripture’s clearest summaries of the Gospel proclaimed through the moedim (feast days). Paul begins with Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection, identifies Him as the Firstfruits of those who sleep, and carries the reader forward to the last trumpet and the resurrection harvest. The chapter gathers the redemptive pattern of the appointed times into one sweeping movement, from death to life and from the image of the earthly man to the image of the heavenly.

This promised change is especially fitting at the turn of the year. The Hebrew root shanah means “year,” while the root carries the sense of repetition or change. Paul wrote in Greek, but his promise that “we will all be changed” resonates beautifully with this Hebrew wordplay. Each shanah returns us to the appointed cycle, yet the Potter’s wheel does not return the clay unchanged. He continues drawing His work toward completion.

Tishrei holds the beginning and end of this mystery together. The month begins on the traditional anniversary of the first Adam’s formation and sounds the shofar that anticipates humanity’s final transformation in the Last Adam, Messiah Yeshua. The seventh month remembers the dust from which we came while announcing the glory we are destined to bear.

The In-between Space

For now, we live between the two formations represented by the doubled yod. We bear the image of our Creator while remaining subject to corruption and death. Genesis 3 shows the adam hiding from the One whose breath gives him life. The man and woman become ashamed of the bodies God fashioned, turn against one another through accusation, and find themselves estranged from the ground from which they were taken. The dust that received God’s breath now fears His voice.

Every generation enters the world within that fracture. We add our own choices to its damage and receive impressions from histories already bent by the fall. Human clay is shaped by other human clay; we bear marks we did not choose and inflict marks we do not fully understand. Even so, we remain image-bearers, and the Potter has not relinquished His claim upon the clay.

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Jeremiah encountered this mystery at a potter’s house. He watched a vessel become marred in the potter’s hand and then saw the potter work it again “into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jeremiah 18:4, NAS95). The image warns Israel that Adonai retains the right to uproot or rebuild according to their response, yet the warning itself is a mercy.

When we encounter malformation, we often begin by searching for someone to blame. We examine the damaged place, decide why it happened, and begin identifying the person with whatever has gone wrong. A failure becomes an identity. A wound becomes a destiny. Once the label has been applied, it becomes difficult to imagine another form. The Potter sees the damage more clearly than any observer ever could, but He also sees what the clay may yet become. This difference in perception becomes especially clear in the Gospel of John.

The Last Adam Stoops to the Dust

There is a moving description of formative mercy in the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. As the story stands in the traditional text of John, it unfolds in the atmosphere of Sukkot in the seventh month. The religious leaders place the woman before Yeshua and demand a judgment that would return her body to the dust.

David Stern locates the encounter more specifically within the final day of the feast: “The interchange with the woman caught in adultery took place after daybreak (Jhn 8:2) the next day, which was still Hoshana Rabbah (7:37), since Jewish days begin at sunset. Later the same day he said, ‘I am the light of the world,’ which relates to Hoshana Rabbah customs (Jhn 8:12).”[12]

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Yeshua responds by stooping toward the ground and writing with His finger. The text never tells us what He wrote, yet the gesture itself invites us to linger. The One who formed humanity from the ground bends toward that same earth while a daughter of Adam stands threatened with destruction. The finger that inscribed the covenant upon tablets of stone now traces words in the dust. And those who invoke Torah against the woman suddenly find its light turned upon their own hearts.

Yeshua rises and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stoops again. One by one, her accusers leave. When Yeshua rises the second time, the woman discovers that the One who knows the truth about her does not expose her further or ask her to defend herself. Instead, He asks where her accusers have gone, and then speaks the words that return her life to her:

“Straightening up, Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, Master,’ she said. Then Yeshua said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.'” (John 8:10-11, TLV)

 His words recall the tradition that Adam was formed from the place of the altar so that atonement might enable him to stand. The woman had been made to stand in the midst of her accusers, and she remains standing after they have gone. Yeshua takes her sin seriously without allowing it to become her final form. His mercy preserves her future, while His instruction gives that future direction.

Many of us know what it is to stand inwardly accused. We remember what we have done, where we have failed, and whom our choices have wounded. Shame tells us that the marred place has revealed our truest identity and that nothing new can be made from us.  This woman allows us to see with better eyes. When she looks up from the dust, the only One qualified to condemn her remains, and He has made room for her to walk forward.

Immediately afterward, Yeshua declares, “I am the Light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12, TLV). Then the ground (adamah) appears again in the next chapter, where the Light of the world encounters a man who has been blind since birth (John 9:1).

The disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Their question reveals the human impulse to explain visible brokenness by locating guilt. Yeshua refuses to interpret the man’s blindness through blame. While the disciples search for the sin that explains his condition, He directs their attention toward the work God is about to reveal in him: “It was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3, NAS95).

Then Yeshua repeats His declaration from before: “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (John 9:5, TLV). Afterwards, he spits on the ground, makes clay, and applies it to the man’s eyes. The action is startlingly physical. The One through whom all things came into being[13] bends toward the earth again, joins moisture to dust, and works the substance into clay. Genesis described the ground being watered before Adonai formed the human. In John 9, moistened earth is again worked by the hands of the Creator, and a human body is brought closer to wholeness.

Yeshua tells the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. John pauses to explain that Siloam means “Sent.” The location carries particular significance in the atmosphere of Sukkot.[14] Only a short time earlier in John’s account, Yeshua had stood on the last great day of Sukkot and cried, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37, NAS95). Now the One sent from the Father sends a man bearing clay upon his eyes to those same waters. The man goes, washes, and returns seeing.

The accounts in John 8 and 9 mirror one another. Both encounters begin with people trying to interpret another person through sin, but Yeshua redirects their attention from assigning guilt to revealing “the works of God” in a human life. He refuses to treat either person as a theological problem to be solved. While we become preoccupied with the malformation of our neighbors, Yeshua remains concerned with their transformation.

As the people continue interrogating the healed man, another kind of sight opens within him. At first, he refers to “the man who is called Yeshua.” Later, he calls Him a prophet and argues that He must be from God. Finally, when Yeshua finds him after he has been cast out, the man addresses Him as Lord and bows before Him. His healing continues beyond physical sight as courage, testimony, and spiritual perception take form within him. Meanwhile, the leaders who are certain that they can see become increasingly unable to recognize the One standing before them.

“Yeshua said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, so that those who don’t see may see, and the ones who do see may become blind.’” (Jhn 9:39, TLV)

This is the sharp irony running through the two chapters. During the season when everyone should be “altogether joyful,” people remain occupied with judgment, blame, and traps. Yeshua continues into the next chapter by contrasting the one who destroys life with the purpose for which He came: “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!” (John 10:10, TLV)

The haftarah reading for Yom Kippur confronts us with a similar irony. Jonah, whose name means “dove,” knows that Adonai is “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and full of kindness, and relenting over calamity” (Jonah 4:2, TLV). Yet he sits beneath his shelter awaiting Nineveh’s destruction and becomes angry when malformed people receive mercy.

His response raises an uncomfortable question during the season of judgment: Can we rejoice when the mercy that preserved us is extended to someone else? We may sit with Jonah and watch for the destruction of the world, or we may stand beside the woman and the man who received room to live, see, and change. The Last Adam stoops toward the dust because He still sees the potential within the clay.

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Treasure in Jars of Clay

Paul gathers the images of light, sight, glory, and human clay into one remarkable passage:

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:6–7, TLV)

 The imagery closely follows what we have seen in John. Yeshua, the Light of the world, works clay with His hands and opens the eyes of a man who has never seen. Paul takes those elements inward: the light of Messiah gives spiritual sight to an earthen vessel. The work of new creation has already begun within bodies that still bear the frailty of the first Adam.

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Paul does not speak of that frailty with shame. An earthen vessel is vulnerable to pressure and easily damaged, but its weakness makes the source of the treasure unmistakable. The life within the vessel does not arise from the strength of the clay. It comes from the One who inhabits it. Even where mortality remains visible, the resurrection life of Yeshua is already at work.

This is why Paul can describe himself as “hard pressed in every way, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9, TLV). His sufferings do not mean that the Potter has discarded him. They reveal the sustaining presence of Yeshua within a vessel that could not preserve itself by its own strength. Paul says that he carries the dying of Yeshua in his body “so that the life of Yeshua may also be revealed in our mortal body” (verse 11).

Formation into the image of Messiah occurs within this tension. Our bodies remain mortal, our histories remain part of us, and places within us still need healing. At the same time, the Spirit is renewing the inner person and making the life of Yeshua increasingly visible through the vessel. Paul speaks of Messiah being formed in us (Galatians 4:19), of our being conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29), and of our transformation into that same image “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Paul carries this work toward resurrection. “We know that the One who raised the Lord Yeshua will raise us also with Yeshua and bring us along with you into His presence” (2 Corinthians 4:14, TLV). For now, the outer person experiences the weakness and decay of mortal clay while the inner person is “being renewed day by day.” Beyond this present formation waits “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (verses 16–17).

Until the Vessel Is Complete

Tishri gives us courage to look honestly at what has taken shape within us. The seventh month may reveal places where the clay has hardened, collapsed, or become misshapen beneath the pressures of life. Our assessment remains incomplete if it accounts for the damage without accounting for the Potter. He sees what has become marred, remembers what He intended, and knows how to continue working with the clay in His hands.

Those hands formed Adam from dust taken from the holy altar as a testimony that He will complete the work. Yeshua knows what we have done and what has happened to us without confusing the marred place with the finished vessel. The dust is real, but it is not our final destiny.

We presently bear the frailty and mortality of the first Adam while the Spirit renews us inwardly, forming the life of the Last Adam within us. When the last trumpet sounds, the Potter’s intention for humanity will be revealed in fullness. Those who have borne the image of the earthly man will also bear the image of the heavenly.

Until that complete redemption, we can yield without fear to the hands that know us. The pressure we feel is not evidence that we have been abandoned, and the places still unfinished are not proof that His work has failed. The Potter has not lost sight of the glory for which your clay was formed.

I pray you have a blessed seventh month. As the Potter searches and shapes our hearts during the High Holy Days and Sukkot, may our attention be drawn toward what He desires to form within us. May we repent and receive His mercy without begrudging that same mercy to our neighbors. May we become more like Yeshua most especially in the ability to see the potential that still remains in other jars of clay.

“I am sure of this very thing—that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the Day of Messiah Yeshua.” (Philippians 1:6, TLV)

I’ll leave you with this song by David Crowder (one of my favorites!):

Glory Glory (God Is Able)

 

 

[1] Bereshit, the first Torah portion of the new reading cycle, is read during the seventh month on the Shabbat after Simchat Torah. This will fall on October 7th in the year 2026. The verses quoted are part of the Bereshit portion, which is Genesis 1:1-6:8.

[2] Sukkah 4:9 describes the water libation and the drawing of water from Siloam.

[3] See Exodus 23:16; 34:22, Deuteronomy 14:28; 31:10-11.

[4] Rosh Hashanah 1:2 associates Sukkot with judgment concerning water.

[5] See Rosh Hashanah 11:10b -11:1a and 11:3a or check out this article.

[6] Vayikra Rabbah 29:1.

[7] Complete Word Study Dictionary: OT and NT for e-Sword: H2146 זִכָּרוֹן zikkārôn: A masculine noun meaning memorial, remembrance, record, reminder. This word conveys the essential quality of remembering something in the past that has a particular significance. H8643 תְּרוּעָה terû‛āh: A feminine noun indicating a shout of joy; a shout of alarm, a battle cry.

[8] “Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said, “Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge? “Now tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me! “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the measuring line over it? “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:1-7, NASB)

[9] A few examples: Leviticus 23:40 – Rejoice before Adonai for seven days. Deuteronomy 16:14 – You shall rejoice in your feast.Deuteronomy 16:15 – You shall be altogether joyful.

[10] Bereshit Rabbah 14:8.

[11] Rashi on Genesis 2:7. See also Genesis Rabbah 14:5.

[12] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, commentary on John 8:2 and 8:12.

[13] Colossians 1:16-17

[14] The Mishnah describes water being drawn from Siloam in a golden flask and carried through the Water Gate with blasts of the shofar before it was poured at the altar during the feast. (Sukkah 4:9)

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The Unforgiving Servant

Posted on April 17, 2023 by K. Gallagher

The vast mercy, grace, and abounding chesed (lovingkindness) of our Father and King culminates in His willingness to forgive. So, as recipients of His lavish love, why do we often prefer vengeance, pay back, and punishment when wrongs have been committed against us? The parable of the unforgiving servant demonstrates this truth perfectly; and yet, I wonder if we really can see just how much we resemble this servant in our attitudes towards others who have hurt, wronged, or insulted us.

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The more the Father has had me revisit this parable and other related passages, the more I am convicted when I look into the perfect law of liberty and see how distorted my reflection is in comparison to the Master. My nephesh (flesh) desires vindication, damages, and justice when I have been wronged, slighted, misunderstood, hurt, taken advantage of, misrepresented, slandered, wounded, stolen from, or even when I am simply offended. It feels like righteous anger, but is it?

When I think about what Messiah endured for lost, unrepentant, and even degenerate souls, my anger dissolves into a puddle of shame and conviction. Can I embody this kind of mercy, empathy, and forgiveness towards those who have deeply wounded me or one of my children? In my flesh, it is futile. But praise Adonai, we are given His Spirit, so the impossible IS possible. Hear the parable from the Literal Standard Version[1]:

Matthew 18:21-35 (LSV)

21 Then Peter having come near to Him, said, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him—until seven times?”

22 Jesus says to him, “I do not say to you until seven times, but until seventy times seven.

23 Because of this was the kingdom of the heavens likened to a man, a king, who willed to take reckoning with his servants,

24 and he having begun to take account, there was brought near to him one debtor of a myriad of talents,

25 and he having nothing to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and the children, and all, whatever he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant then, having fallen down, was prostrating to him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all;

27 and the lord of that servant having been moved with compassion released him, and the debt he forgave him.

28 And that servant having come forth, found one of his fellow-servants who was owing him one hundred denarii, and having laid hold, he took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that which you owe.

29 His fellow-servant then, having fallen down at his feet, was calling on him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all;

30 and he would not, but having gone away, he cast him into prison, until he might pay that which was owing.

31 And his fellow-servants having seen the things that were done, were grieved exceedingly, and having come, showed fully to their lord all the things that were done;

32 then having called him, his lord says to him, Evil servant! All that debt I forgave you, seeing you called on me,

33 did it not seem necessary to you to have dealt kindly with your fellow servant, as I also dealt kindly with you?

34 And having been angry, his lord delivered him to the inquisitors, until he might pay all that was owing to him;

35 so also My heavenly Father will do to you, if you may not forgive each one his brother from your hearts their trespasses.”

 

If you have been deeply wounded, hurt, manipulated, oppressed, or worse by another person, Peter’s query of forgiving up to seven times seems very generous. How many times does God expect one to “put up with” a person who continues to transgress against them? Isn’t this actually dangerous in some cases?

As a quick aside, consider that forgiveness is NOT a feeling. Forgiving someone does NOT mean that one must put themselves at risk physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to give the “weapon” back to the one who assaulted you. This fallacy of belief prevents a lot of people from truly forgiving, because it seems to ask too much. True forgiveness is choosing to release the debt another person owes you. It doesn’t erase what happened. It doesn’t condone their behavior or words. You don’t have to become bedfellows with your betrayer (or even have warm, fuzzy feelings about them), but you do have to forgive the debt they owe you. Let it go and entrust them to Adonai. This releases you from the “torturers,” which will be explained later in this post.

Seven, being the number of completion and rest, was a reasonable, and even a Biblical, deduction made by Peter in regards to forgiveness. But Messiah says something shocking to our human sensibilities in response – we are to forgive our brothers/sisters up to seven times seventy! Rather than this being a clever way of saying 490, Yeshua is hinting back to a story that involved brothers and unforgiveness. When we fail to forgive, we are actually going the “way of Cain.”[2]

 

Cain & Lamech

In Genesis 4, Cain was offended and hurt that Adonai accepted the offering of his brother Abel, but not his. It is noteworthy to point out that by faith Abel offered firstfruits, his best, which is a better sacrifice.[3]  Though Cain also made an offering, it was not from his firstfruits. He cared more about himself than his brother. Cain’s hurt turned into jealous anger towards his brother. Adonai warned him that he needed to master these emotions or sin would overtake him, and encouraged him that if he did well (in the future), it would go well with him too. But Cain did not listen. He didn’t “hear” the Word from Adonai and his anger resulted with the first murder in human history. Afterwards, Adonai asked Cain:

Genesis 4:9-10 (TLV) 9 “Where is Abel, your brother?” “I don’t know,” he said. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”10 Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground.”

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Rather than repenting for murdering his brother, Cain smugly replies, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In the eyes of Adonai, yes, you are your brother’s keeper! In Hebrew, keeper is הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר, ha-shomer, from shamar, a verb meaning to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch carefully over.

This is true for you and me too. We should keep, guard, and carefully watch over our brothers and sisters despite how we feel about them. What is most telling about the character of Adonai in this episode is that despite Cain’s unwillingness to repent, God still chooses to exercise long-suffering (patience) towards him. Even though Cain was only concerned about himself and only had remorse for the consequences/punishment of his actions, God protected him.

Genesis 4:13-15 (TLV) 13 Cain said to Adonai, “My iniquity is too great to bear! 14 Since You expelled me today from the face of the ground and I must be hidden from Your presence, then I will be a restless wanderer on the earth—anyone who finds me will kill me!” 15 But Adonai said to him, “In that case, anyone who kills Cain is to be avenged seven times over.” So Adonai put a mark on Cain, so that anyone who found him would not strike him down.

There are several ways the sevenfold vengeance is interpreted. Some suggest that this was a reference to seven generations, implying that the slayer of Cain should not only be punished in his own person, but in his posterity, even unto seven generations (Targum Onkelos). Others like Rashi and Ibn Ezra interpret it to mean that God deferred his vengeance on Cain unto seven generations, and at the end of them took vengeance on him by Lamech (Gill).[4] Whichever way one views it, in the seventh generation, Cain’s grandson Lamech says something interesting:

Genesis 4:23-24 (JPS) 23 And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me; 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

The phrase seventy and sevenfold is what Messiah said in Matthew 18, but the difference is striking. While Cain and Lamech demonstrated lack of concern for those whom they had wounded or killed, were never noted as being repentant, and were very “I” centered, Yeshua used these same numbers to highlight patience and radical forgiveness towards one that has transgressed. Instead of sevenfold vengeance or vindication, one lays down this right to bring about something far more profound: repentance.

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, NASB)

In this sense, Cain and Lamech represent the elder, firstborn (like Esau), who is one’s flesh (old nature or old man.) Flesh can never please Adonai, for the mind set on the flesh is death.[5] Knowing this, the chesed, mercy, and compassion of God reserves His wrath, and even immediate justice, because above all, His desire is for no one to perish.[6]

In the parable in Matthew 18, the “King” has compassion upon the servant when he pleads for “patience,” which is longsuffering. He forgives a debt so enormous that the man would never have been able to repay it in his lifetime. Instead of expressing gratitude through the trait of chesed (lovingkindness given to one who doesn’t deserve it), the man immediately finds a fellow slave who owes him a tiny debt and grabs him by the throat demanding repayment.

If we think we aren’t just like 
this servant, we are lying to ourselves.

Shepherd

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The role of “shepherd” might not appear to be connected to these stories at first glance. But recall that Abel was a shepherd and Yeshua’s hint back to Genesis 4 would have been apparent to a first century hearer. Perhaps this is why Yeshua prefaces the command to forgive one’s brother and the parable of the unforgiving servant with a message about shepherding:

Matthew 18:10-14 (NASB) 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] 12 What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”

A wayward sheep is one that has wandered off from the righteous Way, like Cain. While God certainly cares about the pain and devastation that we experience at the hands of others, He is also concerned with “finding” the perpetrators who have went astray. His will is for them to repent and be reconciled to Himself and the other sheep. When we are told to pray for our enemies, this should be our prayer for them too.[7] It is the heart of our King. We are not to “despise” one of these “little ones,” as Messiah, the Good Shepherd, calls them.

Matthew 5:43-48 (NASB) 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This is not easily accomplished, and is impossible without the Spirit of the Living God residing in one’s heart. God knows this all too well. Longsuffering or patience means to “bear a burden.” It is a burden to bear the sins of others. It is afflicting to bear the emotional weight of our own pain. But this is precisely what Messiah did for us. And He tells us: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me (Mt. 16:24).

According to 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, one can speak the tongue of angels, know all mysteries and knowledge, have faith to move mountains, give all of their money to the poor, willing give their body over to be burned, but if they don’t have love – all of it, even their faith, is useless. This passage goes on to list the attributes of love. The first listed trait is patience. I don’t think this is a coincidence.

Webster’s 1828 defines patience as “the suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. The act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent. The quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge.”

Are these the traits of a good shepherd? I certainly see Yeshua the Messiah in each aspect![8] Many times I’ve witnessed people demean, condemn, shame, and harass other Believers for not believing, thinking or doing exactly what they do, and when confronted about their behavior, rather than repent, they say, “I’m just speaking the truth in love.” No. They aren’t. Love does not behave that way. Period. The phrase “speaking the truth in love,” comes from Ephesians 4:15. The context of that chapter is about unity in the Body and “growing up,” maturing and becoming like Messiah. It begins with:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NASB) 1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4 concludes with a few reminders about anger. “Be angry, but sin not.” The furious conduct I see on social media must make Adonai sick to His stomach (figuratively) as He continues to suffer on our wayward behalf. Most believers do not approach their fellowman with humility, gentleness, patience, or tolerance. Instead, they do what is right in their own eyes and seethe with anger, aggression, sarcasm, and passive aggressive behavior and say that they are “speaking the truth in love.” But their anger is dangerous. It has deluded many, and has its root in the way of Cain. Anger, according to verse 27, gives the enemy a “place” in our lives.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (NASB) 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

The next time you feel the need to “speak the truth in love,” ask yourself if you can do so while also being kind, tender-hearted, and without bitterness, anger, clamor, and malice. If you are angry, have been hurt, or are bitter toward a particular group, denomination, sect, or person, you are part of the problem. The rotten fruit that comes forth causes more damage and gives the impression (because you are claiming to be and image bearer of Adonai) that He is like you – when He is NOT.

Yonah

Forgiveness is major theme in the Book of Jonah that is read during Yom Kippur. In many ways, the days of counting the omer mirror the days of repentance during the month of Elul and the High Holy Days. Have you ever wondered why Jonah is read on the holiest day of the year? Jonah means dove (the bird), a figure of the Holy Spirit and carrying the Seed of the Good News.

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But Yom Kippur is also the Day of Judgment. It reflects the question of day six of creation – are you a man (the image of Elohim) or are you a mere beast of the field (image of the beast)? Many think that Jonah is read on this day to represent a nation repenting, and it is. But there is a deeper reason that relates directly to the parable of the unforgiving servant and even the stories of Cain and Lamech. Though Jonah knew what He was called to do, he didn’t want to obey, because he despised the Ninevites. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria – an aggressor of Israel and Judah. Jonah tried to run, but that landed him in the belly of a great fish. Jonah cried out the LORD in his distress and God delivered him; the fish vomited him out on dry land (a hint back to day 3).

Afterwards, Jonah reluctantly went and preached to Nineveh with great success. The people listened and repented, so God relented and didn’t destroy the city. Their repentance and God’s pardon infuriated Jonah. Even though he had enjoyed the mercy and grace of God, he resented it when God extended it to his enemies. The final chapter of Jonah is vital for every Believer to wrestle with – and every Yom Kippur we need to know if our heart is aligned with Adonai or has become like Jonah, who would rather die than see God show mercy and forgive one’s adversary.

Jonah 4:1-11 (NASB)

1 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.

2 He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

3 Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

4 The LORD said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.

6 So the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.

7 But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.

8 When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.”

10 Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.

11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

Jonah understood God’s mercy and compassion – that’s why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He knew God would be gracious and forgiving if they repented. Even a successful prophet of Adonai can prefer death over life. Three times Jonah says this is his preference. Notice how many times anger is mentioned. Anger is an emotion of the soul/nephesh/flesh, and is NOT of the Spirit of Adonai. This makes Jonah’s name quite ironic. One who should typify the Ruach and Good News, chose death (the flesh).

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, [7] because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, [8] and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8 NASB)

When we hold resentment, bitterness, grudges, and contempt against other human beings (even if they have deeply wounded us by unspeakable means), we are like Jonah, Cain, and Lamech. Jonah wanted to sit back and watch Nineveh burn to the ground. Isn’t that often our desire towards our enemies? He even built himself a sukkah in hopes that Adonai would change His mind and smite them all. A true sukkah is a covering akin to love; it conceals the sins and faults of others and brings reconciliation and unity. Rather than having compassion for those who “know not what they are doing,” Jonah was more upset over a plant dying because it gave him physical comfort.

The Release

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What an awful prison Jonah made for himself. How many jail cells have we built and locked ourselves in? Humans are stubborn. It’s easy to read these stories and see “their” problem. But can we see that these examples were written for our own correction (mussar)? That we embody their selfish, ungrateful, and self-righteous attitudes? I recently listened to a Bema podcast with Marty Solomon and Brent Billings called “The Key to Your Own Prison.” Near the forty-two minute mark, they point out a nuance with the Greek pronouns of the following verse in Matthew 18:

“And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.” (Matthew 18:34, NASB)

Did the King who was compassionate and gracious revoke His forgiveness? Does God go back on His Word? Did he forgive an insurmountable debt and then change His mind and have “torturers” wring every last cent from the first slave? If so, that’s a terrifying god. And yet, that’s how most of us read the story, because the truth is that this IS something we would do to, and desire for, someone who was ungrateful for our kindness. But the Greek showcases another possibility that does not compromise the nature of Adonai. What if (and the Greek easily allows this) the Lord handed the first slave over to the torturers until he repaid all that the second slave owed him?

In other words, what if the King required the first slave to be “tortured” until he forgave the second slave’s debt? The next verse implies this too: “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” When we are in a state of unforgiveness, who is imprisoned? Who is tortured, embittered, and in turmoil? The one we haven’t forgiven, or us? Marty Solomon said we are “given the key to our own prison,” but will we use the key (forgiveness)?

The word “torturers” conjures visions of the Greek god Hades and his hellhound Cerberus. But the Greek word actually means a prison keeper or jailer. Unforgiveness is a jailer, and forgiveness opens the door to the cell. God is not fickle or sadistic. He is not Hades. His attributes of mercy haven’t changed. The main reason we struggle so much with forgiving with the willingness of our Master is because we are afraid. We fear that our oppressor or aggressor is not going to get what they deserve (Jonah).[9] We are afraid that our pain doesn’t matter to God, but it does. We hurt so bad that we no longer can see the “other” as human. We deem them unworthy of God’s grace (the height of haughtiness, which blinds us to the truth).

But those are all feelings. Fear is a liar. The truth is that Adonai will not let the guilty go unpunished. But that punishment will be perfect. It will not be too little or too much. His justice is righteous. It is precisely middah keneged middah – measure for measure. Thus, we can freely forgive, have patience and compassion, and entrust them to Adonai.

Exodus 34:6-7 (TLV) 6 Then Adonai passed before him, and proclaimed, “Adonai, Adonai, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, 7 showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Erekh Apayim

There are two Hebrew words that comprise the English word for longsuffering. Literally, it means a long nose (nostrils). This is an idiom for taking in a long deep breath. It is a pause, a refrain from the short pants and flaring nostrils that anger invokes. Physically, taking long deep breaths calms one’s heart rate, relieves stress, and can even alleviate anxiety. In the west, when we say, “I need a breather,” it refers to removing ourselves from a stressful situation so we don’t make a hasty decision born from anger, frustration, exhaustion, or panic. We need a break, a reset.

When the Bible refers to God as having a long nose or nostrils, it means that it takes a long time for Him to take in a breath. He is calm and patient with us, and that means He suffers on our account when we are wayward and obstinate. Breath is associated with life, not death.  God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of man and he became a living soul. Adonai’s deep, longsuffering breath is also what allows our life to continue despite our wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Praise His Holy and Merciful Name! On the other hand, anger’s rapid, short breaths figures the opposite.

When being tested, try some deep breathing exercises to separate yourself from your emotions, and to realign yourself with the Spirit of God. Pray the Lord’s Prayer, which reminds us to forgive the debts and trespasses of others because Adonai has forgiven us. This also reminds one of our proper place and position before the King – that is a place of humility and submission.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB) 9 Pray, then, in this way: “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

In closing, I leave you with Graham Cooke, who has an excellent podcast episode on patience called “The Patience Advantage.” In it, he outlines patience as fruit that:

  • Guards us from negatives.
  • Acts as an entry point to encounter with God.
  • And is a critical component in walking from where we are today, into the outcomes God has planned for our tomorrows.

As you count the omer this year, may the leaven of unforgiveness be replaced with the New Grain, the New Bread that is our Messiah who was stripped, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and nailed to a tree, and instead of demanding justice or calling down fire from heaven upon the guilty, He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

“Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”  – Martin Luther King Jr. – Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, 10 December 1964

[1] https://biblehub.com/lsv/matthew/18.htm

[2] Jude 1 – read the attributes/traits/actions of those on this path.

[3] Firstfruits require faith because they are the first to come up from the ground or be birthed in the flock. There is no earthly guarantee of more to come. Hebrews 11:4 (NASB) By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

[4] https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/genesis-4-15.html

[5] Romans 8:6-8 (NASB) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, [7] because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, [8] and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[6] John 3:16 (NASB) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

[7] See also Luke 6:27-36.

[8] As a contrast, review the actions of wicked shepherds and “fat” selfish sheep in Ezekiel 34.

[9] Later, Nineveh reverted to their wayward ways and God destroyed the city. It wasn’t in Jonah’s timing, but according to the Sovereign King of Universe and the future actions of the Assyrians.

Categories: Ethics, Mussar | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Awake, O’ Sleeper!

Posted on September 1, 2018 by K. Gallagher


Song of Songs 5:2 (NASB) “I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the damp of the night.’

One of the themes of Elul, especially leading up to Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah, is being aroused from sleep, a stupor, or mystically, from the grave. Yom Teruah, often dubbed the Feast of Trumpets, literally means “the day of the awakening blast.” While the ultimate manifestation of arising from “sleep” is bodily resurrection, other figurative or spiritual applications are equally valuable to our walk with Messiah.

I was blessed to have recently joined the ladies of “The Hidden Voice of Hadassah” on Messianic Lamb Radio. (Listen here.) AviGayle O’Hare mentioned a podcast she had made the previous week on Jonah. This intrigued me as Jonah is the haftarah on Yom Kippur, the end of the forty days of teshuvah. (You can listen here by clicking the title “You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide.”)

Sometimes, hearing the Word is different than reading the Word. When AviGayle read the words of Jonah chapter one, a particular section captured my attention. (See the bolded text below.)

Jonah 1:3-6 (NASB) But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4 The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god.Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

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When Jonah flees the commandment or Word of YHWH to go to Nineveh, he boards a ship headed to Tarshish. Because of his disobedience, Adonai caused a storm with great winds to threaten the ship and its occupants. Despite this dire circumstance, Jonah falls into a “sound sleep” below deck.

Have you ever been on a ship at sea during a storm? I’ve been on a cruise ship that avoided the worst of a storm, but the waves still managed to cause us to rock and sway far more than was comfortable. Many grew deathly sea sick. Sleep eluded most people until the waters calmed. So, how is it that when the rest of the crew was awake and panicked, that Jonah fell into a sound sleep and managed to stay in that condition? We will come back to this question later. First, let’s examine sleep in the Bible and let the Word interpret itself.

The Creator sovereignly chose to create mankind with the ability and NEED for sleep. On average, we sleep about a third of lives. That is a massive chunk of time! Getting a good night’s rest improves one’s cognitive abilities and decreases the likelihood of disease and sickness. According to various scientific studies, someone lacking sleep is equivalent to a drunk. Judgment skills and motor function are severely impaired.[1]We NEED sleep. True rest rejuvenates and restores one’s mind, body, emotions, and spirit. Perhaps this is why the Hebrew word for dream, chalom, is nearly the same as shalom in spelling and meaning. But, that’s a topic for another post.

The Hebrew words for normal sleep are yashen and shenah.

Strong’s H3462 יָשֵׁןyâshên A primitive root; properly to be slack or languid, that is, (by implication) sleep (figuratively to die); also to grow old, stale or inveterate: – old (store), remain long, (make to) sleep. Total KJV occurrences: 19

Strong’s H8142 שֵׁנָא  שֵׁנָה shênâh (The second form used in Psa 127:2); from H3462; sleep: – sleep. Total KJV occurrences: 23

While Strong’s links these two words together and suggests that the latter (shenah) is rooted in the former (yashen), there is another possibility that I find quite intriguing, particularly in relation to the season of teshuvah and the upcoming feast of Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah. Carefully look at H8142 above. Now, look at the Hebrew word shanah, the word for year and to repeat, and its verbal root:

Strong H8141 שָׁנָה   שָׁנֶהshâneh  shânâh (The first form being in plural only, the second form being feminine); from H8138; a year (as a revolution of time): –    + whole age, X long, + old, year (X -ly). Total KJV occurrences: 812

H8138 שׁנהshânâh BDB Definition: 1) to repeat, do again, change, alter. 1a) (Qal) to change. 1b) (Niphal) to be repeated. 1c) (Piel) to change, alter. 1d) (Hithpael) to disguise oneself. Part of Speech: verb A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

The words for sleep, repeat/change, and year are related. There are other words that fall into this family that are also interesting. You can read more about them here. How does sleep (shenah) relate to change or repetition (shanah)? Well, for starters, we sleep over and over again in a repeating daily cycle, so the repetition is obvious.

Does sleep change one in some way? Modern science could answer this question with empirical evidence supporting the notion that sleep restores the mind, body, and emotions, which is a change for the better. If this is true in the natural, then it must also be true in the spiritual. In some way, sleep restores and changes one spiritually. While I believe dreams play a strong role in this nocturnal process, this post will stick to the related activity of sleep and deep sleep.[2]

Now that we’ve connected sleep (shenah) to change (shanah), what about the Hebrew word for year, shanah? A year is also a repeating cycle, a revolution of time that is like the previous cycle, but new and different, a change. Since we are approaching Rosh Hashanah, the change or turn of the year[3], which is also the time of the awakening blast, I couldn’t help but to point out this word play to my readers. I don’t believe in coincidences.

This is the season to make a change, to turn, to repeat the things that need to continue, to stop and change the things that need to be corrected. Spiritually speaking, this is WAKING from slumber. It is becoming conscious of the reality of one’s sin and consequent death. It is, as King Solomon recorded in the Song of Songs, being asleep with a heart that is awake ready to receive the King, our Beloved. Rambam[4]said it this way:

“Even though the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a Biblical decree, it hints at something, i.e., ‘Wake up, sleepers, from your sleep! And slumberers, arise from your slumber!  Search your ways and return in teshuvah and remember your Creator!  Those who forget the Truth amidst the futility of the moment and are infatuated all their years with vanity and nothingness that will not help and will not save, examine your souls and improve your ways and your motivations! Let each of you abandon his wicked ways, and his thoughts which are no good.’”- Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3[5]

My prayer for you in this season of teshuvah leading up to the High Holy Days is to be fully awake and aware of what is in your own heart. Yeshua is Light, and light reveals what is in the darkness. May we be sensitive to the gentle discipline of the Holy Spirit and be merciful with our neighbors that struggle in their slumber. May the blast of the shofar pierce your heart and soul so that sincere change occurs. Notice how this verse from Isaiah reflects the message of the Shulamite woman in Song of Songs quoted at the beginning of this post, and the direct references to waking and resurrection.

Is. 26:19 (NASB) Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

More Hebrew Words for Sleep

Sleep is a strange and wonderful thing. Sentient beings laying down, closing their eyes, and becoming unaware of the conscious world around them is rather mystical when one meditates upon this phenomenon. It’s not difficult to see why sleep became an idiom for death in the Bible.

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So far, we’ve looked at two words for sleep, yashen and shenah. Now, we will examine the first mention of sleep in the Bible. It is found in Genesis 2:

21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept (yashen); then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. (NASB)

The Hebrew word translated as “deep sleep” is tardemah.[6]This word is only found in seven places in the Bible. The context of the first mention above makes it clear that this is no ordinary sleep or rest. In fact, YHWH is the cause of this trance-like state. It’s second use is equally compelling.

Gen. 15:12 (NASB) Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. (Context is the Covenant of the Pieces)

Both Adam and Abram are a type of Messiah. Adam’s tardemah results in him receiving a bride. Abram’s tardemah results in him receiving a nation (descendants) and the Land of Promise. Mystically speaking, Adam and Abraham “died” (deep sleep) to receive the covenant of marriage (his house), descendants, and a land. In fact, terror and great darkness was felt by Abraham. Did Messiah suffer anything like this?

While Messiah’s death was literal rather than figurative, the lives of these ancient fathers prefigured Messiah’s work. His suffering and death also resulted in a covenant, a bride, a people, and the Land. In fact, Messiah’s work was far greater in that He overcame the whole world, even sin and death (the grave)!

The other instances of tardemah demonstrate that God uses this type of deep sleep in other ways as well.

 1 Sam. 26:12 (NASB) So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep (yashen), because a sound sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

Job 4:12-14 (NASB) “Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13 “Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14 Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake.

Job 33:15-18 (NASB) “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, 17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.

Pr. 19:15-16 (NASB) Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger. 16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die.

Is. 29:10 (NASB) For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.

A deep or sound sleep can result in a divine message from the Creator, but it can also prevent one from waking or experiencing what is happening in the conscious human world. It also seems that one can fall into this type of sleep in a figurative way by being lazy, idle, or because of rebellion. One thing is certain based on the complete mention of this noun: this is a spiritual or supernatural type of sleep.

Tardemah comes from the verbal root radam. While radam can mean to sleep naturally, it is also used figuratively for death, of a stupor, confusion, or of a prophetic trance-like state. Consider the following definition and verses:

H7290 רָדַםrâdam A primitive root; to stun, that is, stupefy (with sleep or death): – (be fast a-, be in a deep, cast into a dead, that) sleep (-er, -eth). Total KJV occurrences: 7

Jdg. 4:21 (NASB) But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

Ps. 76:6 (NASB) At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

Pr. 10:5 (NASB) He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

Dan. 8:18 (NASB) Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright.

Dan. 10:9 (NASB) But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Radam is the word for “fast sleep” and “O sleeper” in the Young’s Literal Translation below. This is the type of sleep that Jonah fell into on the ship headed to Tarshish.

Jonah 1:5-6 (YLT) and the mariners are afraid, and cry each unto his god, and cast the goods that are in the ship into the sea, to make it light of them; and Jonah hath gone down unto the sides of the vessel, and he lieth down, and is fast asleep. 6 And the chief of the company draweth near to him, and saith to him, ‘What—to thee, O sleeper? rise, call unto thy God, it may be God doth bethink himself of us, and we do not perish.’

Near the beginning of this post, I asked how Jonah could be sleeping when chaos and eminent danger were upon him in the conscious human world. Based on the type of sleep that Jonah experienced (radam), his rebellion and lack of compassion put him in a stupor, much akin to death. In other words, Jonah was spiritually “dead” long before he was swallowed by the great fish.

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Jonah wanted Nineveh to suffer. He desired strict justice for these ancient Assyrians, not the compassionate mercy that He knew YHWH was known for. In Jonah’s mind, these people deserved to be punished and wiped off the map. The last thing he wanted to do was be the mouthpiece or vessel of the Holy Spirit to offer them repentance. This was true even after YHWH had had compassion upon Jonah by hearing his prayer from the belly of the fish, a figurative death.

Nineveh[7] was one of three major ancient Assyrian cities. Since the discovery of the Library of Ashurbanipal,[8]many clay tablets with text and reliefs from the centuries near the time of Jonah makes it evident what sort of wickedness provoked God to want to destroy it.[9] But, YHWH’s mercy warned them of their coming destruction through the reluctant prophet Jonah.

Jonah is an intriguing character. On the one hand, we chastise him for his lack of concern for 120,000 ignorant souls.[10] How could anyone be that compassionless? On the other hand, we are guilty of the same rebellion and lack of compassion when it comes to those that have hurt and betrayed us. The truth is that, if we could, most of us would call down fire from heaven to rain upon the heads of the ignorant, cruel, and wicked. Hurting people often revel in hurting back.

Ironically, Jonah or Yonah in Hebrew means “dove,” the universal symbol of peace, shalom. He was called to a heathen (pagan) city, and he had no love or compassion for them. It was only by proverbially dying that he did as he was told. But even this didn’t pull Jonah out of his stupor. In chapter four, he was angry that the people repented!

Jonah 4:1-4 (NASB) But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. 3 “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” 4 The LORD said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

I think it’s interesting that Jonah basically quotes Exodus 34, but leaves off the part where Adonai says, “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” We often have a skewed sense of justice. It’s as if we are afraid that those that have hurt us will not get what we think they deserve. We forget that vengeance belongs to Adonai.

Ex. 34:6-7 (NASB) Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

Lev 19:16-18 (NASB) ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD. 17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

When you’ve screwed up or hurt someone, would you rather receive strict justice or mercy? Will you grant the same request to your enemy? Even if they have committed great atrocities toward you or those you love? That is the question. And, it’s one that Jonah would have rather died than to have seen actualized. He repeats this three times in chapter four. This is not the evidence of a changed heart, regardless that he fulfilled his commission to Adonai.

Jonah is a book with a mighty message at this season. While God certainly gave Jonah a second chance despite his rebellion and disobedience, Jonah couldn’t bring himself to sincerely offer the souls of Nineveh the same. He reveled in the idea that God was going to destroy them for their wickedness.

Jonah 4:3-5 (NKJV) Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter (sukkah) and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.

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Beloved, if you have been deeply wounded, hurt, betrayed, or suffered horrific abuse at the hands of another person or people group, please consider Jonah. Though he knew the truth, and eventually preached it to a people he hated, he still held out hope that they would die in their debauchery. He even built a SUKKAH, sat in its shade, and instead of recalling that Adonai had Israel dwell in sukkot after delivering them from Egypt[11] (something they didn’t deserve), he longed to see the destruction of an entire city.

I wonder if we have done the same? Have we sat in our own satisfaction and self-righteousness, thinking it was a fine covering, forgetting whom we serve and the GREAT mercy He bestowed upon us? Have we been asleep when chaos is shaking our lost neighbors? Have we judged people and people groups that have acted wickedly and danced at the thought of their demise? If so, now is the time to WAKE UP! These secret relishes belong to darkness, sleep, and death.

Repent AND Forgive before you sit in your sukkah or there will be no true joy, no real waking life, only the desire for sleep. The Book of Jonah ends with HaShem asking Jonah a rhetorical question.

Jonah 4:11 (NASB) “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

If you want to be forgiven, forgive. If you want to receive mercy, extend mercy. If you desire God’s compassion, give compassion. When you’ve been broken, hurt, or betrayed, this becomes extremely difficult. This week, Sombra Wilson shared her testimony of radical forgiveness on Renewed Radio. If your pain has placed you in rebellion or a stupor, a trance-like sleep (death), and it is preventing you from moving forward, I encourage to listen to her testimony.

May the Faithful One bring you and yours into complete unity, health, and restoration before the upcoming High Holy Days. May your deeds be complete. Messiah, speaking to the 5thassembly of Sardis (Red Ones) in the Book of Revelation that corresponds to the 5th festival of Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah)[12] says:

Rev. 3:1-6 (NASB) “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4 ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

May you be inscribed for a good year!

 

[1] What Happens to You When You Don’t Sleep for Days

[2] Job 33:15-18 (NASB) “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16 Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, 17 That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride;  18  He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.

[3] You can read more about why Yom Teruah is also called Rosh Hashanah in the footnotes and comments of this post.

[4]Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon), the author of Mishneh Torah (Sefer Yad HaHazaka).

[5] Mishneh is also related to the words sleep, change/repeat, and year! It means repetition.

[6] H8639 תַּרְדֵּמָה tardēmāh: A feminine noun referring to deep sleep; a sound sleep. It refers to a deep unconscious state needed, usually, for rest. God may bring it on in special circumstances (Gen 2:21; Gen 15:12; 1Sa 26:12). It is a common event in the middle of the night and may be accompanied by dreams naturally or from God (Job 4:13; Job 33:15). Laziness, a moral problem, can result in a person falling into this state (Pro 19:15). It is used in a figurative sense of a moral and spiritual stupor (Isa 29:10).

[7]Gen. 10:11

[8 Ashurbanipal: The Oldest Surviving Royal Library in the World with Over 30,000 Clay Tablets

[9 Nahum, Nineveh and Those Nasty Assyrians

[10] Jon. 4:11 (NASB) “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

[11] Lev. 23:43 (NASB) so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'”

[12]See The Creation Gospel Workbook One by Dr. Hollisa Alewine.

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The Vinedresser, the True Vine, and the Branches

Posted on September 1, 2017 by K. Gallagher

The month of Elul is often called the month of repentance, as it is a time to prepare for the upcoming High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and the last great festival of Sukkot. This traditional period of return is an opportunity to examine one’s life and the fruit that is being produced. What needs to be uprooted? What needs to be pruned? What needs to be nourished? It’s the season to set things right with Adonai and our fellowman. While these things should be a daily exercise, the moedim (feast days) direct the path of the righteous to dedicate this season, the time of harvest, to give an honest account of one’s soul.

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The moedim center around agriculture and harvest. During the month of Elul, Adonai our King is “in the field” and people are His planting. We are His vineyard, and He is looking for fruit that will be judged at the High Holy Days. While the King is in the field, He is particularly accessible, as near as a co-laborer and a friend. Yeshua says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” During Elul the vintage begins; may we submit to His tender affections, pruning, and cleansing before He returns to the Throne of Judgment on the High Holy Days. His desire is for us to enter Sukkot, the figurative end-time harvest and wedding feast, clean and sealed in Him with a heart that is altogether joyful.

 

John 15:1-15  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  2  “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.  3  “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  4  “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  5  “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  6  “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.  7  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  8  “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.  9  “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.  10  “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  11  “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.  12  “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  13  “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.  14  “You are My friends if you do what I command you.  15  “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 

Deut. 16:11-15  and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.  12  “You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.  13  “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat;  14  and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.  15  “Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

 

 

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