The Right Delight
24 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Bible, Book of Esther, Esther, Ezra, God, Haman, Jew, Nehemiah
“Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” — Nehemiah 8:12
Rebecca just got promoted at work. As soon as she leaves the office with her new paycheck, her first stop is the car dealership down the block. She drives away with a brand new car.
Tom just celebrated a milestone birthday. In honor of the occasion he drives over to the jewelry store and buys himself a snazzy, new watch.
These stories sound familiar to most of us, and chances are that most of us either have done something like this, or know others who have. And in fact, there’s nothing wrong with these actions. People certainly are entitled to mark happy occasions with personal celebrations. Turning to the Bible, however, we see that perhaps there is an additional component to celebration that we might have overlooked.
In the wake of Ezra the Scribe’s success in reviewing the Bible’s teachings with the large crowds that had gathered, the people declared a holiday marking their spiritual achievements. Strikingly, the resultant revelry was marked by people sending to others less fortunate “portions of food” (in Hebrew, manot) as gifts.
This recalls a similar mass act of giving recorded in the Book of Esther, where we are told that in commemoration of God’s salvation of the Jewish people from the hands of the evil Haman, the Jews of Persia sent “presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:22).
In both of these examples, we find a celebration of thanksgiving marked not just by self-indulgence, but also by a desire to ensure that one’s neighbors and friends – as well as those in need – are included in the joyous occasion. Indeed, what more appropriate reaction to God’s abundant kindnesses could there be than to share the bounty of His goodness with others who have less than we do?
Over the course of our lives we all hopefully have the chance to experience success or joy, even if only small or fleeting. When we do, let us remember these biblical examples and share our happiness with others. And in turn – and perhaps more importantly – let us commit to rejoicing with our fellows – our coworkers, spouses, children, next-door-neighbors – when they succeed.
For after all, as we learn from the books of Nehemiah and Esther, when we spread happiness and good tidings with others, we are engaged in the truest form of gratitude to and worship of the Almighty.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-right-delight
Total Devotion
18 May 2012 1 Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Ezra, God, Holy Land, Israel, Jew, Judaism, Second Temple, Temple
“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” — Ezra 7:10
Ezra, a great priest and teacher of Israel, was extremely blessed. When he began his journey to the Land of Israel he was given many gifts by the king of Persia who supported his initiative and even encouraged Jews to join him.
The king furnished Ezra with gold, silver, cattle for offerings, and as much food as he needed for the way. He gave Ezra power to govern in the Holy Land and waived taxes for anyone working in the Temple. This was a far cry from the previous kings who had outlawed building the Temple altogether!
In addition, Ezra and his followers journeyed safely and securely over the four month period that it took them to reach Israel. Nothing that they had brought with them was stolen or damaged along the way. A highly unlikely scenario in the ancient world!
What did Ezra do that allowed him such wonderful and unusual divine providence? It seems that he got a huge dose of help from above. Something that we could all stand to receive!
Judaism has an oral tradition that says “Align your will with My Will, in order that I will align My Will to your will” (Ethics of our Fathers 2:4). In other words, when we want what God wants, then God wants what we want. When we dedicate our lives to doing God’s work and His will, we become partners with Him. We play for the same team – and who wouldn’t want the Master of the Universe as their teammate?
The Scripture teaches us that Ezra wholly devoted his life to study, observance, and teaching the word of God. So it’s not surprising that God took extra special care of him. Ezra’s world revolved around God, and so God made the world revolve around him.
Now, this doesn’t mean that everyone needs to quit their jobs and become a teacher or scholar of the Scriptures! You can be fully committed to God’s will and still be a doctor, a business owner, a teacher, or a mother. There are always opportunities to pass along God’s word and God’s love. And of course we teach best by example – by living the words that we teach.
Without a doubt, there is always room to grow in our devotion to God. For the most part we are on the same page. “Don’t murder,” check. “Don’t steal,” got it. But then it can get a little more difficult: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone” (Leviticus 19:18). “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8). Not always so easy! But as we make it our will to do His will, God’s will becomes our priority, and we become His.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/total-devotion
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Embracing Resistance
17 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Ezra, God, Jew, Judah, Persia, Samaritan, Second Temple, Temple
“Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.” — Ezra 4:4–5
As the Jewish people progressed in the building of the Second Temple, they encountered resistance. Everything was going smoothly until a group of people, the Samaritans, decided to rock the boat. They came under the guise of peace and expressed interest in helping to build the Temple, but what they really wanted to do was sabotage the construction.
The Jews politely declined and basically said “thanks for the offer guys, but this is something that we’ve got to do on our own.” This didn’t sit well with the Samaritans and they showed their true colors by making all kinds of trouble for the Jews.
They used every trick in the book to dissuade the people from completing the project. They frightened the Jews, sabotaged their work, and told lies about them to the ruling government. And they succeeded.
Construction of the Temple was stopped. All the momentum and all the joy that had accompanied the Jews thus far came to a screeching halt as they encountered one obstacle after the next until they could overcome them no more.
And so it goes with life. One moment we are flying high with our newest idea or our latest plans; the next moment we collide head on with a wall in our way. What do we do then? How do we respond? Do we turn around and go back the way we came, or do we stick around until we can find a way around the barrier?
The Jewish people stuck it out for eighteen years until they were able to continue building the Temple. They persevered and eventually reached their goal. We can do the same. With perseverance, we can overcome almost any obstacle. But why does God put them there in the first place? Why did the Master of the World allow the Samaritans to stand in the way?
When a person wants to strengthen their muscles, there is only one way: resistance. Go to any gym and the strongest individuals are working the hardest. They load on the weights and push themselves to their limit. The more they sweat, the stronger they get.
And so God helps us out when we want something by making us work hard for it. When we work hard for something, it strengthens our commitment to that goal. The more we are committed to a goal the more likely we are to achieve and sustain it in the long term.
So it was for the Jews who built the Temple, and so it is for any goal that we pursue today.
Next time you find yourself up against a wall, don’t dismay. Embrace the resistance. It’s that very resistance that gives way to your goals.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/embracing-resistance
Great Expectations
16 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Ezra, God, Israel, Jew, Levite, Second Temple, Solomon's Temple, Temple
“With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.” — Ezra 3:11–12
What a joyous moment it must have been when the foundation for the Second Temple had been completed. The Jewish people had succeeded in returning to their homeland after a 70-year exile and now they were well on their way to rebuilding the Temple that the Babylonians had destroyed. Everything would be good again, just like it once was.
The completion of the Temple foundation was a big deal. They blasted the trumpets, clanked the cymbals, and sang praises to the LORD. The joy was palpable and sounds of celebration could be heard from afar. But not everyone was happy.
Many of the elders who had seen the First Temple before its destruction wept at the site of the new Temple’s foundation. Why? Because it was obvious to them that the Second Temple paled in comparison to the first. They were disappointed, and so what should have been a joyful victory was experienced as defeat.
On the other hand, those who couldn’t remember or never saw the First Temple in all its glory – they were ecstatic! To them, the Second Temple was the greatest accomplishment that they had ever known.
While we can admire the elders for their desire to see God’s Temple rebuilt in the most glorious way possible, we can also learn from the young who had no such expectations. Expectations are often an invitation to disappointment. That’s because our expectations are rarely met. Home renovations seldom turn out exactly like home owners would have liked. Children are hardly ever the perfect little people their parents envision when they are born. The lives we live now are not always in sync with what we might have imagined when we were younger.
It doesn’t really matter if things end up better or worse. The fact is that when we are attached to things turning out a certain way, we are bound to experience defeat. The trick is to shed the expectations of what should be, so that we can experience the joy of what actually is.
Are your great expectations getting you down? Do you find yourself thinking about how different you wish things would be? Don’t let the beauty of the moment pass you by! Open your eyes to the reality around you – without any expectations of what you think should be. Then “with praise and thanksgiving,” you too will also be able to sing to God!
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/great-expectations-2
When Opportunity Knocks . . .
15 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Babylon, God, Israel, Jerusalem, Jew, Judah, Levite, Psalm 137
“Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.” — Ezra 1:5
At first blush, the response to King Cyrus’s declaration that the Jewish people can return to their homeland seemed positive. People left Babylon and went to Jerusalem. But who, exactly, went? Or, more importantly, who did not go? The overwhelming question remains: how is it that every last exile did not run, skip, and hop his way back to Jerusalem?
The time period that we are speaking about is known as “Shivat Zion,” which means “the Return to Zion.” There are two important things to note about that time period. Firstly, only two tribes actually got to return — Judah and Benjamin. These two tribes were part of the kingdom known as Judah. The other ten tribes — known as the kingdom of Israel – had been exiled hundreds of years earlier by the Assyrians and therefore were not part of this return.
The second thing to understand is that most Jews did not participate. They chose to remain in Babylon. In fact, Jewish tradition teaches us that had the Jews come back to the Land of Israel in droves, they would have built the Holy Temple and ushered in the messianic era right then and there! Why did so many Jews miss this grand opportunity?
The answer, in a word, is comfort. The exile only lasted for 70 years, but that was enough time for the Jewish people to become comfortable in their new surroundings. These were the very same people of whom it is written in Psalm 137, “by the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (v. 1) and “if I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill” (v. 5). Yet, less than a century later they seemed to have indeed forgotten!
The truth is that the Jewish people never did forget Jerusalem. Jerusalem was always the dream. But Babylon was their reality. For many Jews, it was simply easier to stay.
Change, even for the good, is not easy. It requires us to leave our comfort zone and venture into the unknown. That can be hard, and change may bring about difficult consequences. But there are also consequences for resisting change, and those consequences can be tragic. More than two thousand years of human suffering could have been averted had the Jewish people embraced change and danced their way back to Jerusalem. A fantastic opportunity was missed, and we are suffering the consequences even today! Yet we can learn from the past and change the future.
It has been said that opportunity never knocks twice on any man’s door. Next time you here a knock at your door, run – don’t walk – and answer it.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/when-opportunity-knocks
Partners with Zion
14 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Gentile, God, Holy Land, Homeland for the Jewish people, Israel, Jew, Jewish, Theodor Herzl
“And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.” — Ezra 1:4
Theodor Herzl was the father of the modern State of Israel. Like many great men, he kept a diary. Herzl recorded the journey that he underwent trying to birth the state of Israel into being, and he spoke about those who helped him along the way. One name, in particular, is mentioned more than any other in the entire account.
That name is Reverend William Henry Hechler. The greatest ally of the Jewish journalist from Vienna was an English priest. Hechler’s partnership with Herzl played a fundamental role in the re-establishment of the State of Israel and the return of the Jews to their homeland.
Partnership between Jews and Gentiles for the sake of Israel goes back thousands of years to biblical times. The book of Ezra opens with a monumental declaration by Cyrus, King of Persia. Seventy years after the Jewish nation had been exiled from their homeland by the Babylonians, the Persians had taken control and initiated the Jewish return to their land. Not only did Cyrus grant permission for the return and rebuilding of the Temple, he also urged local residents to donate to the cause. It was with the help of these Gentile friends that the Jewish people were able to return to their homeland.
Sound familiar?
The time period that we are living in today shares many similarities with the time period in which Ezra lived. While his generation saw the first people in history to re-establish a homeland after being exiled from it, today’s generation is witnessing the only nation in history to return to its homeland twice! And just as the initial return to Israel was only possible because of the partnership between Jews, Gentiles and Christians alike, today’s return to Zion is the product of a Jewish and non-Jewish alliance once again.
I don’t think that’s an accident. God wants to give all people a chance to be involved in the rebuilding of the Holy Land. Israel may be the homeland of the Jewish people, but Israel is for everyone. The Holy Land contains everyone’s past, and also their future. The Scripture tells us that the third and final temple will be a house of prayer for all nations. So it is only fitting that every nation should have the opportunity to contribute to its making.
We are witnessing the fulfillment of ancient prophecies before our very eyes! The children of Israel are returning to their land, and we invite you to become a part of it through prayer, through visits, through your voice, and your support of The Fellowship’s many programs and ministries.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/partners-with-zion
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More than Words
11 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: God, Huldah, Jerusalem, Jew, Josiah, Sefer Torah, Shallum, Torah
“Hilkiah and those the king had sent with himwent to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.” — 2 Chronicles 34:22
During the time of Josiah, there lived three renowned prophets. Jewish tradition teaches that Jeremiah prophesied in the streets of Jerusalem; Tzefaniah prophesied in the synagogues; and Huldah – a woman – had a school for women. Together they formed the spiritual leadership of the nation.
Josiah was a good king and took on the huge task of restoring God’s Temple. Kings before him had neglected and even desecrated the holy space. During the renovations the workers were thrilled to uncover an ancient Torah scroll that had been hidden away in the Temple walls. But the joy was short lived when they discovered that the scroll was open to an ominous section in Deuteronomy that describes all of the terrible things that will happen to the Jewish people if they forsake the ways of God. The king was deeply shaken and heartbroken, remembering how his father and grandfather had lived. He rent his clothes and ordered his men to take the scroll to a prophet for further clarification and advisement.
From all of the great prophets that were available at the time, the men chose to go to Huldah. Why?
The truth is that any prophet they would have gone to would have said exactly the same thing. A prophet is required to speak the word of God word for word. The king and his men already had a good idea of what the prophet was going to tell them. They knew that they could not change what they were about to hear, but they could change the way in which it was said. Huldah, as a compassionate woman, would give over the prophecy with love and grace. If they were about to hear bad news, at least she would break it gently.
As Josiah anticipated, Huldah prophesied that the Jewish people were about to experience the exile described in Deuteronomy. It wouldn’t happen in Josiah’s lifetime because of his righteousness, but it was on its way.
The reaction to the prophecy is positive. Josiah leads the people in repentance and even though they never fully return to God, perhaps it was that strengthening of spirit that gave the Jews the ability to withstand the harsh exile. This productive reaction and positive outcome can be attributed to Huldah. Had another prophet conveyed the message it might have lead to despair and more distance from God. But Huldah’s gentle tone inspired hope and encouraged change.
Every time we speak, people hear so much more than just the words we say. They hear how we say them. So whenever we open our mouths to speak, we have an opportunity to encourage and give hope through our words and tone, or we have the ability to tear down and cause despair.
As it says in Proverbs, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (16:24).
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/more-than-words
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Whom Will You Serve?
01 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Amorite, Euphrates, God, Israel, Jew, Joshua, Masada, World War II
“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” —Joshua 24:14–15
Next to Jerusalem, the ruins of Masada are one of the most popular destinations of Jewish tourists visiting Israel. Why? Because the events that took place atop this high rocky mountain have become a modern-day symbol of Jewish resistance and faith, and their desire to serve the one true God.
The courageous and tragic story of the 960 Jews who killed themselves rather than submit to Roman capture and enslavement in the first century has inspired Jews for hundreds of years. Historians have credited this story as retold in a poem by Isaac Lamdan in the 1920s with inspiring the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Masada is also where Israeli soldiers even today pledge their loyalty to the defense of Israel, reciting this oath: “Masada shall not fall again.”
They are the final words of the Masada leader, Elazar ben Yair, that resonates the most with people of faith: “Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God Himself, Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice.”
Throughout the Bible, men and women of faith have given voice to their determination to choose God over idols, over foreign rule, over the culture. We hear it echoed in the words of Joshua: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14–15).
We hear it in Ruth’s beautiful declaration of loyalty, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Having met the God of Israel through her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth chose to leave her homeland, Moab, and her family to go where she could worship the Lord.
We hear it in Elijah’s challenge to the people of Israel on Mount Carmel as he prepared to battle the prophets of Baal: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).
We may never face the same circumstances as the Jews living atop Masada, or as Joshua, Ruth or Elijah, but we each must make a choice daily who we will serve. And that choice will become evident in so many ways in our lives — how we manage our money, how we handle the pressures of our culture, whom we choose to marry, what we do with our free time, whom we spend time with, and so much more.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/whom-will-you-serve-3
A Matzo by Any Name
12 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Holy Land Moments Tags: Bible, Bread, Egypt, Israelites, Jew, Kabbalah, Matzo, Passover
“Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste — so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.” — Deuteronomy 16:3
Matzo makes for a not-so-great cracker. Yet for seven days out of every year Jews all around the world will trade in their regular bread for the “unleavened bread” we call matzo. When you taste it, it’s no wonder the Bible refers to it as the “bread of affliction.” Tasteless and flimsy, matzo is a poor man’s bread containing nothing but the basic elements of sustenance, flour and water.
Curiously, matzo is also known as the “bread of freedom.” Matzo is born out of the exodus narrative when the children of Israel are told to leave Egypt in such a hurry that their bread doesn’t have time to rise. The matzo they ended up with is the matzo that we eat today in remembrance of their freedom from slavery.
How is it that the same item can represent both affliction and redemption? One symbolizes our pain, the other our greatest pleasure. The discrepancy is reconciled by a third term for matzo. Jewish mysticism refers to matzo as the “bread of faith.”
Pain and pleasure are not opposites. Rather, they are two sides of the same coin. The source of our greatest pain is often the same source of our greatest pleasure. Take parenting for example. Most parents will affirm that their children have given them the most grief and also the most joy in their lives. The key to joining the two is faith.
So when my child is painfully stubborn, I have faith that he will turn out to be a very successful and persistent adult. Along those same lines, when we find ourselves in painful situations, we need to have faith that they are part and parcel of great things yet to come. Matzo reminds us that no matter where you find yourself on your journey – whether it’s all uphill or you’re enjoying a smooth ride down the other side – it’s all part of the story of redemption.
Think about a challenge that you are facing right now and ask yourself how it can also be an opportunity. What can you learn from it? How can you become better from it? Every wall that keeps you out can be transformed into a doorway that lets you in. We just need the faith to believe it.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/a-matzo-by-any-name
