Hello!
- Posted on FebamTue, 16 Feb 2016 05:37:56 -06002016-02-16T05:37:56-06:0005 17, 2016
- in Bible, Tetzaveh, Torah, Yeshua
- by Hallelujah Girl
“When I was pregnant with you”, my mother used to tell me, ” I was going to name you Bobbi-Jo.” I cannot imagine this… She would continue with, “but, When I first looked at you, you looked like an ‘Angela’.” I’m thankful, HalleluYah ! According to some candle someone once gave me, my name means, Angel, Messenger, and can also mean “lovable”. The Sages, say when a parent names a child, it’s the closest a person can come to “prophesy”. Beyond my name, there is an “essence”. This essence is who My Father is. My Father spoke The Torah. This is who I desire to be, the bride! The Bridegroom-King is Coming soon.
Beyond your name is your very essence as well. It is who you are. It is what defines you. Do you believe in G-d? What do you do with that belief? How many people who say they believe in G-d are depressed? Sick? Tired? Unhappy? How can this be?
For those of you who only read the “New Testament” (I like the thought of it all being one book), consider what Peter means to “submit yourselves to the elders” here:
Likewise, you younger ones, submit yourselves to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up at the appropriate time. 1 Peter 5:5-6
I believe Peter may have been teaching from this weeks’ portion in Torah, Tetzaveh, meaning, “you shall command”, see how it begins:
“Also you are to command Bnei-Yisrael , that they are to bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.” Exodus 27:20
The Sages, some of our “elders”, say this particular Torah portion deals with Aarons appointment as the High Priest and the duties of his descendants. From the time of Moshe’s birth until his death, his name is mentioned in each Torah portion—except this one, Tetzaveh. It’s clear to see that in the first two words here that G-d is having a private conversation with none other than Moshe himself, The man of humility. Face to face, reflecting His Presence. Indeed, Moshe had the humility to “step aside” and “let Aaron have his moment” (as any good leader should do) ..but, there may be a deeper understanding as well.
What is it that G-d is instructing Moshe to do? G-d is telling Moshe to command Bnei-Yisrael (The Children of Israel) , that they are to bring to Moshe “pure” olive oil. “beaten” for the “light” to cause the lamp to burn “continually”.
First things first, consider, the “Light” here that is to burn continually, in the dark of night, for all generations, I tend to believe, this refers to The Messiah! He is The Light of The World. “Beaten” is kind of interesting because the process of extracting olive oil from the olive involves crushing and then refining or filtering to remove the bits and pieces. Since the oil comes from the pit itself, once an olive is ripe, the oil begins a natural excretion inside the fruit. If you wait until the olive is really super ripe, you can just squeeze it and out will come the purest form of oil. “Pure” in the Hebrew text here is zak (זך) which comes from the verb root zakak (זכך) which means pure, clean, to be bright, and purer. Look into the primitive root of this word you will see zakah (זכה) meaning blameless, to be clear, cleansed. The tsade, ז, is a picture of a sword, a weapon, or an axe. The kaph, כ, is an open hand, to cover, the power to suppress or lift up, or a wing. The heh, ה, means an open window, G-d’s breath, to show, reveal, to behold and it’s pictogram is a man praising HASHEM.
Does this begin to explain what Peter meant by clothing ourselves in humility towards one another? The true nature, the purity, of Holiness rises above the chaos, weapon in hand (The Word), to illuminate HASHEM. Look again at what Peter says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of G-d..” Pride is, “it’s all about me”. Peeking ahead to next week’s portion you might notice it’s the scene with the golden calf. After the tablets were ruined, Moshe has to go back up the mountain. HASHEM is ready to wipe out this ‘stiff-necked’ people and give it all to Moshes’ seed. At this point IF Moshe was full of pride, he could have said, “go for it!”. Instead, look at the “atonement” Moshe made,
Yet now, please forgive their sin. But if not, please blot me out of Your book that You have written.” Exodus 32:32
If you blot them out, blot me out as well. Humility at its best. Talk about laying down ones life! Moshe knew it was not about him at all. Abraham, the man of kindness, refers to himself as dust in Genesis 18:27, as he interceded for Sodom, Then Abraham answered and said, “Look, pray, I have decided to speak to my L-rd, though I am dust and ashes.” and David, the man of Leadership, a “King”, a man after G-d’s own heart sang, in Psalm 22, “Am I a worm, and not a man? Am I a scorn of men, despised by people?”
A name is given to each of us. Mostly to get our attention. We come into the world nameless and our parents give us a name. It sets us apart as an individual. For a moment, let’s think about Beethoven. If Beethoven would have never learned to play the piano, all that talent inside and nothing! He still has his name, just no essence of symphony. Beethoven had to be introduced and educated, work at it, then came the beautiful music. On the flip side.. Doctor X can spend years studying to be a doctor, get his degree, set up a practice, but he could still be a crummy doctor. Unless you work at it, you have nothing. So if we say we believe in G-d, then we have must have something there, hidden inside, the talent of a King, the obedience of a good son or daughter, the very bride of the Bridegroom. It’s that essence that needs to be “educated”. Shalom (peace) can be achieved when you come to that level of clearness, blameless-ness, cleanliness, like the pure oil for the lamp. Torah provides that education. We all go through our own “crossing of the sea” and we will face battles. These things educate us. Pride destroys families, relationships, marriages, & congregations. But G-d ! He has a mighty hand and And His Word is Truth.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up at the appropriate time. 1 Peter 5:6. This would be the illumination. The result of the clear, pure, “blameless” oil. The essence of who G-d created you to be in The Messiah Yeshua. He made the ultimate atonement so we can rise to the very level of what Our Creator desires us to be.
What is beyond your name? Do you know what the hidden treasure inside of you contains. G-d has His name written in your very DNA. To discover what that is you have to educate it with Torah. The very Word of The Holy One, the Father, The Bridegroom, Yeshua!
💗Hallelujah Girl
#TorahISTruth
#tetzaveh Torah :Exodus 27:20-30:10, Haftarah: Ezekiel 43:10-27, New Testament: Mark 4:35-5:43
#ItsAllAboutYeshua