Tag: repentance

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 38:21–40:38: Abomination of desolation vs. glory of habitation

"The Tabernacle in the Wilderness," Holman Bible, 1890
"The Tabernacle in the Wilderness," The Holy Bible. Illustration. Public domain (U.S.). Philadelphia, Penn.: A.J. Holman & Company, 1890. Via BreadSite.org.

During the course of Israel’s settlements in the wilderness and later in the Promised Land, God’s name rested on several places, including Shiloh and later Jerusalem. The Tabernacle was never desecrated by outside forces but it’s worship was compromised from the outside in.

The Temple, in Jerusalem, on the other hand, was sacked several times by corrupt kings as well as foreign invaders. Sometimes, God blessed the dedications of His temples with a visible sign of His Divine Presence, sometimes he did not. In the Torah reading פקודי Pekudei (“countings,” Exodus 38:21–40:38), we will look at how and why God did or did not visibly show His presence when the various Tabernacles and Temples were dedicated or rededicated through Israel’s history.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 15: One law for Israelite and foreigner

Studies in Torah

There is a difference between sins done in ignorance vs. those done willfully. But there is no substantial difference between how the native Israelite and the sojourner are judged under God’s instructions and called to repent.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

John 15:12-25: Friends with God

The friends of God are those who trust the promises and testimony of God and want to communicate with God face to face, despite knowing how disastrous that could be for one’s casual observance of God. We can know God as one speaks to a friend, but once God calls you to be His friend, you life will never be the same.

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Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings

Jonah 4: God does not desire the death of the wicked

The primary lesson of the book of Jonah is this: God is willing to hear to remove sin, even for people you don’t like. God doesn’t want to kill anyone: Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, whatever. God wants all these groups to be saved. When Yeshua (Jesus) said that the sign of His being the Messiah was the “sign of Jonah” (Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Luke 11:29), it was not only about the three days in the fish representing his three days in the grave. The entire book of Jonah is the “sign of Jonah” Yeshua references.

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Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings

Jonah 3: Contrasting contriteness of Nineveh and Israel

Jonah 3 is a short chapter, but there is a lot in there. We are shown how the individual Ninevites responded to the message of Jonah. The repentance of the people grabbed the attention of the king of Nineveh who encouraged their repentance. The people of Nineveh believed God, and “it was credited to them as righteousness” (cf. Gen. 15:6), just as it was for Abraham.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

Jonah 2: Yonah’s messianic psalm on salvation for a righteous man

Yeshua (Jesus) said that the “wicked generation” was going to be only given one sign which Yeshua called “the sign of Yonah (Jonah)” (Matt. 12:38–41; 16:1–4; Luke 11:29–32). This chapter is the key to the “sign of Jonah” that Yeshua lived. The sign of Jonah was how Jonah’s reluctance to perform the duty God had for him was transformed into acceptance of God’s task for Him. Yeti was also reluctant to accept the task God set out for Him. When Jonah accepted his duty, Nineveh was saved. When Yeshua accepted His duty, all mankind was saved.

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Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings

Jonah 1: Beginning look at the ‘sign of Yonah’

The book of Jonah is the Haftarah reading during the Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur. The main theme of Jonah is how God deals with different kinds of sinners and brings them into His fold: repentance and sacrifice. We have been taught this idea that all sinners are equal and because all sinners are equal, all sinners require the same remedy, but it’s not that simple. As Yonah sets out to run away from God’s mission, we discover that the more we know, the more God requires. Although God saved both the mariners and the people of Nineveh from His wrath, He did not use the same method to do so.