The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount [Sinai],” Leviticus 25:1–26:2) teaches that debts are released after seven-year cycles (Shemitah, sabbatical year) and 49-year cycles (Yobel/Jubilee) to memorialize God’s forgiveness. This pattern is seen in Messiah Yeshua’s (Christ Jesus) teachings on forgiveness in Matthew 18 and manifest in his role as suffering servant who takes our debts (Isaiah 53). By forgiving others as we’ve been forgiven (Matthew 6:12), we reflect the Heavenly economy of releasing debts, underscored via receiving God’s mercy on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; Leviticus 16; Isaiah 58:1–12).
Tag: Matthew 06
What does “the Lord’s prayer” have to do with Moshe’s (Moses) asking God to show him “Your glory”? You might be surprised. And what does Pesakh (Passover) have to do with tithing, remission of debts every seven and 50 years, and pilgrimages to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) for Pesakh, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles)? Here’s the thread through all of these and topics: We are to remember from Whom our sustenance and wealth come and from Whom our freedom comes from the things that hold us captive.
God doesn’t explain everything, largely because our search for the answers is key to God’s revealing them to us. As paradoxical as that sounds, it’s a key takeaway from the Torah reading ויקהל Vayaqhel (“and he assembled,” Exodus 35:1–38:20). It’s a repetition of the Tabernacle elements, but it does reveal what the LORD really has always wanted — our heartfelt connection.