2 Corinthians 7:1 Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
As we celebrated Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and are in the midst of “Yamin Noraim” or the days of awe, the days between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur, it is the season of repentance.
This is the season that the shofar (rams horn) is blown to heed the call of warning to repent from our sins and be clean. The shofar’s unique sounding blast is a wake-up call to all who will hear.
Those of you who know what a shofar looks like, know it’s quite intriguing. As a matter of fact, I have a shofar displayed on a shelf in my living room as a centerpiece (and a reminder) and most who enter often comment on its beauty. My wife makes sure our shofar is dusted and shined it to keep it looking its best.
However, I don’t know how many of you have ever smelled the odor of a ram’s horn before it’s properly cleaned, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is by far one of the most putrid, revolting and rancid smelling things I’ve smelled in my lifetime. And it is a common dilemma among shofar owners as to how best to rid it of that awful smell. Some say washing it out with vinegar does the trick, others say soaking your shofar in alcohol guarantees a clean smell, and still others firmly stand by some strange hodgepodge of ingredients they’ve concocted.
Interestingly enough, the Hebrew root of the word shofar is the word “shifra”, which means to beautify, which is directly related to the Hebrew word “shapair” which means to improve!
Now, I think most of us remember to wash our outward bodies in order to look and smell nice as we go out into the world around us. But how many of us are walking around just gorgeous on the outside but the stench of sin reeking within us?!! As the shofar blasts this season, let us heed the call to improve and beautify ourselves, not only outwardly but from our ignorance of and rebellion against God’s perfect will for our lives.
There is much work to be done for the Kingdom and we can’t accomplish any of it with our outward beauty! Let’s ask the Lord to do some revealing and cleansing in our hearts and lives as we continue in the season of repentance.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]It never ceases to amaze me, the way the devil uses our offenses and our “offendedness” to divide and conquer marriages, relationships, churches — even entire nations!
There’s an old adage, “Have the heart of a lion!” Hearing it, we think, “courage”. This recalls a quote I once heard; “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened”. I doubt there’s a single hero story in which the fearless leader fails to inspire the righteous determination of his army or people. The voice of the captain resounds through the ranks evoking the fierce cry of every warrior ready to face death or worse, for the cause. Courage truly is contagious.
The Hebrew word for “face” is “panim”, (the Hebrew letters, peh-nun-yud-mem), literally “faces”, a plural word. Normally, when we think about God, we focus only upon one of His “faces” at a time. God is “love” – or He is “holy”– or He is “just”— or He’s a God of “wrath”. Yet, of course, ALL these “faces” are His at once; and so the word “panim” accurately reflects the truth of God’s multifaceted being. As we get to know Him better we begin to appreciate the complexity of His nature and the fact that our focus on one “face” is a very limited view, since there’s so much more going on in His amazing “Personality”.
Patience is one of those things… so hard to learn it… so hard to practice it faithfully in our daily walk. It’s one of of those things I truly wish we didn’t have to learn — but God requires it of us! As I was reading through this passage again in Exodus, it dawned on me that Moses sat on the mountain for six entire days before the Lord spoke to him. He had to patiently wait for the Lord for six days!
The book of Isaiah, often called the Old Testament Gospel, reveals that a child was to be born and his name called “The Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father”. We know that this Child was Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, that He is the unique Son of God, the express image of the invisible God. The throne of David was to be given to Him and He now holds its “key”, a symbol of the right and authority of His reign, which will be consummated when He returns to this world and restores the Kingdom to Israel [Acts 1:6-7].
When I studied Isaiah 53 earnestly in the ancient Hebrew, I was taken back by the Hebrew word for “afflicted” (me-u-neh). In modern Hebrew this word means “tortured”. When I was young, and first learned what torture actually involved, my soul was shocked that this could happen to people; in fact that it was happening to people. That a person could be kept alive for the purpose of intentionally causing him intense agonizing pain was an astounding enigma for my young soul. It really frightened me; and I think that fear of torture is probably the greatest fear that humans can experience. We read about people who have been tortured, with a kind of horrified awe. And quietly we wonder inside, “How can this be?” And, “Could this ever happen to me?”
I love this story! Peter was sitting between two guards and suddenly an angel of the Lord comes to him and frees him — and he thinks it’s a vision! He’s not sure if he truly believes it.