The Torah's Promises of Redemption (#3)

Well, we have now seen that the Lord had an elegant plan, that started back in Genesis, the concept that the war wasn't just to show what Sinners we are. So that we will say Center. I need the grease. That's all the law was for Or no, maybe it is to teach you how to walk in God's ways and to be his loving, people who have just an upright societies. Were people are destroyed by corruption. Just even in the prices of everything have to absorb all the little extra Cheats what upward one of our people out here with saying, that start with a joke, that's a Jewish joke about a rabbi was once walking between from to the next one is retired. And there's a man who had it was from Kurt. And he said, I can ask this fellow to let me ride in his cart with him. So he does he says, okay sure I would love to have you On my cart with me and so they're bumping along bump and then they get to a field full of ripe, cabbages. And so the man says I am going to go get some cabbages hahaha

cry out if there's anybody watching. And so the man runs out, he starts peeking cabbages. And thought he says he hears, the man comes running back. He says there's nobody here. God Is Watching. God is always watching and so sorry. I hope I haven't just put the fear into you, but I can see that this is such a blessing when it does change you from the inside and say, you know, I know the selfish thing is a part of me, but boy, I do want to learn how to love you Lord. And I want to learn how to love others and we need to face that fact. And how can I know that my loving father in Heaven came as a loving Rabbi teaching history. To come and to help me learn to walk in his ways. Praise You, Lord and so it's off and not fear and yet, we know that Grace is always watching. And to have you no to Trimble. In his presence. It's a sense of his presents. Wow, the often and synagogues, you'll see.

Leave met me at Tahoe. Med is written over the Torah Scrolls, it means know, before whom you, it's not just humans. We're not just that a lot of people now who don't try to believe that God even exists anymore and the fundamental command is, I love you. Your precious stop doing stuff. Walking my ways you will be much happier. The fear of the Lord is a source of great. Wonderful. Intex families, loving relationships, obedient children's. You know, when it says evil and all that raising children will be so hard. I think it's because of the sinfulness in children that is going to be so hard, you know? Just as God, Is grieved the same word for grieved that his people that same word is about Adam and Eve, they will suffer the same grief in their toils in the grief and raising children, it's because of sin goddess. Aine

Walk in my ways. And we can live better than that. Wow. So that's my point.

How many of you have been a part of a reading through the Torah kind of a program? Okay. Many of, you know, it sounds crazy but you'd like me a few years ago. 20 years ago I think before I went to Rob seminar where he said he could read through the what crazy idea is this and? And and so I said, okay well we'll try it, you know, that Jewish people have been reading through the Torah, they have weekly readings for the past fifteen hundred years, the whole Community reads through the Torah week by week. It's so much a part of their fabric of their cultures that you can get a bank account. Under totally secular. Bank is really Bank calendar and it will have little names on their receipt luck with the era level by those are the names. Usually, the first words of the Torah readings of the week and it's like how you remember time is by what reading we have in That's how they think is, it's part of our time system, practically. It's showing green and I said, okay, I will try this. I will read through the Torah with my friends and I will follow the readings along with them. And so I and I said it was kind of like going with the Israelites on a hike in the desert for 40 years. It's honestly it is about Leviticus where it starts wearing thin and where you get your house, all clean up cuz your friends are all going to come over in the computer. We forget to come that weekend. You're the one that got already and nobody came. I don't have a resentfulness or anything about that at all. But it's honestly the first time through, you know, actually did a while you start Savory. Can you start understanding enough for the starts meeting together is like, wow, this is a great wound, it changes. But the first time through, it can be kind of a long tough journey and it's like you're eating Manna with the Israelites until you're sick of it, sick of it. And you get to hear all these in the whining and the Rebellion, rebellion. And then you're finally, you get to Deuteronomy? I call Godley. Well, thank goodness. We're finally Deuteronomy, you know, it's a good summary and then you get these great blessings and Deuteronomy that go for a half a chapter

The curses and the first year, I read this, it was a hot supper. It was, you know, some of yours, the calendar finishes in mid-september. And then sometimes it's October. It's always an early September that I'm reading the curses is hot every morning. It would be hot to then I would be reading these in like these poor Israelites got to go to Smite them. And this is what it sounded like to me planes and droughts and white and mildew and boils and stores and blindness and Madness, like, oh, you're killing me. I can't stand it. It's so horrible. I can hardly stand to read my Bible anymore, you know. Honestly, I was so horrified. I had a little zipper Bible, my Bible app for a good couple weeks. I can't read this anymore. It's killed me. I'm dead. I can't stand anymore. I'm so and partly cuz you know they actually is going to happen. Babylonians, it just breaks my heart. I was so horrified. I was just like, I don't know if I want to like this good anymore. He's so awful.

and then a couple weeks later than the biggest curse of all, Is the undoing of the Covenant. This Covenant, to give them a lovely wonderful land where they can Worship the Lord gets out early, I'm done and that's called going into Exile. They're going to go into Exile and Worship gods of stone as slaves to them. I mean, that's the most awful. I have to tell you one. Most interesting use of the coat imagery. My friend Millie from Uganda who I keep credible insights.

She was telling me about her childhood in Northern Uganda.

during the time of Idi Amin, when the insurgents came to her Village to Bruno the houses down, and she watched them for her house down. And what with her family into the bush. For a couple of years starving, starving people were starving. And she said, I said, what did you do to survive? And she said, well, we built those little, you know, like the Israelites, the booze they talk about, that's what we built. So she has a very visceral understand what a booth is, and that's the bear sustenance that keeps you. Barely that keeps the her son from beating you on the head, man. So she knows what she has in a way that we don't do it to meet her because being, it's cute. But those drawings in it, we don't appreciate the idea of I kept you alive when you had nothing. I kept giving you food when she knows. She sucked the most horrible. You know, when you have heating everything and there is nothing. People eat leaves and Roots, poisonous plants. She saw people die of poisonous plants and I can't even children's. Picking up dried feces. Gathering together and eating them. I mean desperate hunger. Death-bringer, there's a credible things. And so when we talked about so cuz we have to remember once again to appreciate the memory of the reality and she does in a way that we can't. What? Exile means. She understands exile By the way, if you want to donate, I'm filter website, Kingsway Uganda at work 30. That was, but I just wanted to remind you of, she has seen what it's like to survive the curses. And the Lord has brought her through so, okay, so what some butt?

Is there been many nations like Uganda that have seen war and aggression and dictatorships and tyrants? God, retails Israel's 3 and he talks about, he will watch over them but when they Do not park faithful it's going to be as a punishment in the same way as that, they punish the people of the land. When they did not because of their sinfulness. They themselves were going to be Pushed out if they did not know the law of the land itself will vomit you out. She's a pleasant image, isn't it? But he is. And so remember how I said that God was undermining, this idea that things worse to establish justice. And righteousness is a little phrase on Earth, he wants his people to establish justice and righteousness, I'm going to teach you my ways and they're going to have. We're going to have a wonderful place. That is, is not oppressive wonderful, but then he starts seeing through the prophets. You know what? Things are not happening, the way I want yesterday. I have chosen him that he may come in, two children in her household to keep the way of the Lord, my righteousness and Justice. Cuz they're going to be people of Integrity who love each other and love me by being. Being righteous. But then Isaiah start saying, I looked for justice. And behold Bloodshed I look for righteousness. And behold and outcry. And you here for me spot and I found me, I look for Seneca, there was an outcry and boy. When God, hears an outcry, he must respond. And so you can see his people. They're not establishing the righteous Injustice that they were supposed to. We know we're all Sinners. Of course, the Israelites were really no better than any of the pagans when they started out to me, many of them struggled to be obedient, just like we have great. And so Got followed through on his commands for justice. And then I told you about all of those awful plagues and and curses and they all came true. All came true. And then Two weeks later. I got my Bible back out. I turned the page and I discovered a new accredible thing.

Deuteronomy 30. Which this and when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you and you called into mine, among all the nations were the Lord, your God has given you.

Then the Lord, your God will. Restore return your fortunes to you and have mercy on you and will give you again from all the peoples or the Lord, your God has scattered you. And the Lord, your God will. Circumcise your hearts in the hearts of your children, so that you will love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, that you may live. Like what? What I could not believe it.

One thing we might just be hearing that is that God is just telling them that he'll exiled from the land, but he'll bring them right back if they're, you know, if they repent but we cannot quite here in English that in the Hebrew over, and over there, using the word shoov, if you return to God, God will return you to the land. He will return your fortunes to you and he will cause your return. If you turn God will turn. He will help you. And so he's telling them repentance will bring them back, okay?

I thought this blew my mind. I mean it gave me New Hope that God had not given up and destroyed his people. Honestly, a lot of Christians will say. Yeah, course she did. He broke his Covenant with the old, the Old Testament, and broke his Covenant and then he made a New Covenant with us Christians yet. No. No. Yeah, and that many. So I started reading the scholarly commentaries Kylie's. Okay, the scholars. They were really fascinated by the fact that they found this was this Covenant has the same forms as the dates to Serene like, wow, look at that. And even those curses which I know their kind of blood curdling, they're found on the ends of every Covenant. So you know, this is kind of standard format that we understand, we do this. You know, even as a kid, you'll say, I promise cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye. You're invoking curses on yourself, but if I don't do what I promised, you can do something awful to me and it's just kind of standard format language, do the right, but they I think the scholars were so enamored with the fact that they had figured out, these are suzerain treaties. The thing, they did not actually really like that little blessed wonderful section about God says, but if you repent, I will bring you back and someone said, oh, it might have just been written in later. You know, you know scholarship might just be written in later. Yeah I know and it's I'm speaking not like that. I just want my team to win but good scholarship for Skyler says it is everywhere. Once you look at it in Leviticus in Deuteronomy there at the end of what I was talking about was Deuteronomy 30. Well earlier and on Deuteronomy for that first, few chapters is kind of like a preamble short version in Instagram before. He says. If they do not obey, the Lord will scatter. You among the people that you will be less, you would number among the nations were the Lord would drive you. But from there, you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him. Who does that sound like? Jesus, did he say something like that? If you searched after him with all your heart, all your soul. And so there's once again that promise there. It's also in Leviticus 26. So it is if somebody just inserted that he must have had two inserted, a lot of places especially because it's repeated throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible at every occasion, at Great Beginnings. God like penguins phone built the temple. Why credible, you know, it's so exciting that got it. Built this sounded built the temple and takes the occasion to remind God of his promise is, if the people sit against you and you were angry with him. So that away captive to the land of the enemy offered near. If they repent with all their heart on their sold in forgive you, people and Grantham compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive. So sound is reminding them that God promised to forgive his people if they only repent notice. But here it's not just about returning them to the land. You might just think it's only just a promise to come back to the land and give him a different heart. Help us be your people if you just turn around. So there's one from phone. And then, when they come back to the land and Nehemiah Nehemiah reminds God, again, remember the word that you commanded. Your servant Moses. Seeing, if you were Unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you returned to me and keep my Commandments and do them from there, I will gather them and bring them back to the place. I have chosen to make my named while they're everywhere, and you find the prophets. So excited in the prophets and his whole books with the prophet, raging against the people about how awful they are like, Hosea Unfaithful wife. They go on and on and on, but at the end, they say, but God promises, if you only repent, he will bring you back.

and so, Do you notice the thirst? The prophet words, you noticed, it's Gathering, he will scare you, the money, the nation's and he will gather you. To us. We are individuals cuz we didn't America and individualistic Tendencies. We don't quite get how when much of the world is much more family? Communally focused, where you have your people I know, but people don't know being with them at all times and you can break your heart to be scattered. Is a people. It's like destroying your identity. Your primary duty is fine people. I'm part of my people would do to be scattered, is to be killed as a people. In some sense, you're still alive. Actually that's part of the reason why it where it will say. And we utterly wiped out those people. You scared them, you didn't kill everybody, you just wipe them out. So they won't come and pack you. Again, it's more about the people but when you're good thinker that's a big deal. But, but scattering and Gathering her major. That are going to come up even in the life of Jesus and he's her calling this promise even there. Okay. I'm so in Micah, I will assemble the lame and gather, those who have been driven away and Those whom I have Afflicted in the lame, I will make a Remnant and those who are cast a strong Nation kingdom of God. We see it here again and the Lord will reign over them in Mount, Zion from this time forth and forevermore. He's repented people will once again be goods between nation and treasured possession. God will reign over them as their King. Your Jesus said about the kingdom of God and he's thinking of these passages. You hear it in another important passage that, we Christians really like. He who scattered Israel will gather them and we'll keep him as a Shepherd. Keeps his flak and a few lines later. I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel in the house of Judah. I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts, you noticed this New Covenant is with the people of Israel. it's not, I'm going to dump the people of Israel and then I'm going to bring The Gentiles instead.

And Ezekiel.

This is Ezekiel. 34 is a passage where God has infuriated, at the leaders of his people and he calls them bad Shepherds. Instead of feeding the Sheep, they Feast on the sheep. They eat the Sheep, they destroy the sheep for their own. Goals and God is so angry. He says, won't you bad Shepherds and in one at some of the most run language? Possibly says behold. I myself will come and search up my sheep and seek them out as a Shepherd speaks out his flock when he is among the sheep that they've been scattered, so I will pick up my sheep on a rescue them, from all the places where they've been scattered on a day of clouds and thick Darkness. This whole Passage Maybe after does that sound a little, like Jesus talking noticed that it says, I myself and it says, we talked about Jesus, a man, or is he Divine god? Well, this passage God's is high myself. Thus, the Lord of hosts I denied civil suit, is going to come And redeem his people. I would say this is a passage that says God himself is going to walk on earth to find his people. Very interesting, let me read you guys are passionate enough to see her with me when I've gone over time. I just want to. I mean, do you recognize how it says? woe to you, who What were shepherds of Israel? Should not the shepherd's feed, the sheep, you eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you Slaughter, the fat ones, you do not feed the sheep the week. You have not strengthened the stick, you have not healed the injured, you have not bound up in the street. You have not bought bought brought back, the lost. You have not sought and what forces person is you for all over them. So they were scattered because there was no Shepherd and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered. They wanted all over the mountains on every high heel. My sheep were scattered all over the face of the Earth were none to speak. It starts or seek after them.

So right after that. After God promises that he himself will come and search for his lost sheep. He says, as for you my flock, thus says, the Lord. I will judge between sheep and sheep between Rams and goats. Does anybody does that sound like something you read in the Gospel of Jesus uses? A lot of this language, to speak of himself and believe in John.

Okay, hang on.

It's okay. I will get that in a minute. But in John, when he says, I am the Good Shepherd. You know, all who the shepherd's before me were bad Shepherd. I'll get to that little later. So, He says he is often putting himself in this role. I am the one who is bringing us people back, but I'm top of these wonderful promises to Israel about this New Covenant with his people. He starts making promises even to the bugarium. The Gentiles, who are with the says, in Isaiah 56, in the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord? This I will bring to my Holy Mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. For my house will be called a house of prayer for all people, the Lord, your God gathers, the outcasts of Israel declares I will gather yet others to him, besides those already gathered, right? And so, when Paul talks about God for you, The Gentiles we make that into the thing about predestination and you know we have all this prediction issues, he's talking about that, he foreknew his plan to redeem the Gentiles along with the juice. The nation is speaking about the people as a whole and this is where we come in Christians, read these passages or they can course they don't ruin the profits. They don't read the Torah very much and they don't understand most of what it's talking about us to Israel. But then he makes this magnanimous problem. Is that when I bring my dears, can people back to me. I'm going to bring him whole enormous. All the nations will be blessed and might have a king who sacrifices himself to redeem his people. It is too small, a thing for him to just have his nation of people. I will make him King over the whole earth and he will be your king and Glory. So Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, lays down his life, for the Sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this flock, that's us. I must bring them all so they will live to listen to my voice will be one flock and one Shepherd and here in a couple places in Luke John he's kind of writing is very obvious to us Gentiles. We get his point. Luke Jesus is a little more, his Jewish sophisticated self and he says things like, the son of man has come to seek and save the lost that was when Zacchaeus repented of his sins. And we don't notice seek and save the Lost Woods from Ezekiel and the son of man. From Daniel 7. He's he's doing this very sophisticated combination of of gila Rush Limbaugh to say this is my mission to come and see I am God's is God's response. I have come to

Asgard prophesied in. Ezekiel 34. He has come to seek and save. God bless. You know, when we talked about the Lost, we tend to think in terms of all of the everybody doesn't know God, but really biblically when Jesus talked about its really talking about the lost people of Israel and has two. So I guess you can put it in there, but that's its original context. Is this And even when Jesus is angry with the Pharisees for their false accusations and he said, whoever is not with me is against me and who does not gather with me scatters. That's you see where he's, he's hinting right back to the big promise about. I will gather you back if you only repent. So that's where he's thinking of those things and ultimately, of course,

This is the Gathering passage once again, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him. The iniquity of us all by his knowledge. The righteous one. My servant shall make many to be accounted righteousness riches, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Is great. Way of returning, God's flock. End in Revelation it celebrates this. We find this. Difficult imagery but he says, with your blood, you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and Nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and Priests to serve. Our God to rain on Earth. wow, once again now we have This God is raining over his people and they are now a loving. Wonderful example of God's loving presents that teaches the rest of the world, how to live, according to God's ways. And show his loving humble rain.

Isaiah 32, so gorgeous. I'm going to end with this. I love it.

I am a preacher and Isaiah 32, but I just behold the king, Maureen and righteousness and princes were Rolla, Justice each will be like a hiding place from the wind and Ice Shelter From The Storm like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. How many of you been to Israel?

Like when you take the bus down Highway 90 and you get off the bus and Blasting hot. Is it coming at you? It's like somebody turn their hair dryer on your face, blasting at you 300 degrees heat, and then there's a little grocery shop where you walk in there and that cool are you know they didn't have that back in the olden days but like the shade of a great walk. Maybe some of you have been out hiking where you walk underneath a huge Shade, that's what we're supposed to be. See the rains and righteous is a humble King, who serves as people, he loves answers his people and his his princes, you know, his disciples. you know, he talks about those of us who Are his disciples who walk after him will serve in Reno along with it him but we're going to rain by being like air conditioners in shops for people who have been out blasting hot heating like Falls do so good. That's what we're supposed to be like that. Just gorgeous I just imagine Let we're the ones who are bringing God's loving. Redemptive incredible, rain, 2 Earth, 2. Right? The wrongs and allow others to enjoy the precious, wonderful wives that God has given them.

Amen. Okay.