The Urgency of Life
Notes
Transcript
The Urgency of Life
The Urgency of Life
As we read Vayirka (Leviticus) 16, I believe there are 4 major elements that need to happen for a successful Yom Kippur. Anyone want to give a stab as to what those might be?
An acceptable High Priest.
Acceptable offerings.
A humble people.
A God who accepts the offering and offerer.
Perhaps the major theme of the day is that of the suitability of the High Priest. This is something the author of the book of Hebrews delves into in a magnificent way. I encourage you to read and reflect on that.
But today, I want to focus on one theme of Yom Kippur that we cannot forget - the urgency of the day. A brother who likes to ask questions approached me yesterday and asked, ‘what is the Neilah service?’. It was a good question and later this evening we will be having a type of Neilah service. Neilah refers to the closing of the gates. It is understood within Judaism that this is not simply referring to the closing of the temple gates on earth, but the closing of the temple gates in heaven. It is understood as the final chance to pour out our hearts in supplication and prayer to be received in the heavenly throne room of The Almighty.
I saw the community chats pouring in toward one another ‘if I have offended you, please forgive me’. It was great to see. And as followers of Yeshua HaMashiach we know that this urgency needs to be behind every breath we take, not just on Yom Kippur. But what we have in Yom Kippur is that tangible reminder our wise Father has worked into His annual cycle to remind us of That Day. Our life is one of urgency.
Only One Way
Only One Way
Why is there such urgency? Where does this urgency come from? No other festival do we find such an urgency, but why on Yom Kippur? It is because Yom Kippur teaches us that there is only one way to obtain atonement. The world around us wants us to believe there are many ways to the same destination, but the Torah teaches us that there is only one way to a right relationship with the Creator.
Atonement only found on one day of the year
In the Holy of Holies that is only accessible once a year
Only in one Temple in the world.
Only accessible by one person in the world - High Priest.
Only through one nation in the world - Israel.
Indeed, atonement of this nature is only found on one day of the year, in a place that is only accessible once a year, and only in one place in the world, and it is only accessible by one person in the world, and only through one nation in the world. I believe it is this underlying truth that sets the urgency of the day and causes us to realise just how narrow the path to clean hearts and pure hands really is.
On this day it is customary to say G’mar Chatima Tovah (A good final sealing). You see, during the days of awe prior to Yom Kippur, it is said ‘May you be inscribed in the Book of Life’, but on Yom Kippur it is said, ‘A good and final sealing’. There is a recognition that The Almighty is the great judge, and He watches and knows our ways. Every careless thought and word are recorded and will be replayed at the final day when the judge opens His book. We want to ensure that our names are written there under the column heading that says, …‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy!’ Matthew 25:21 (TLV).
The Open Ark
The Open Ark
Neilah service - tradition of urgency.
Closing of the heavenly gates.
A reminder every year.
The gates of life will not remain open forever.
During much of the neilah service the ark that holds the Torah, dressed in festival attire, remains open to symbolise the open door of teshuvah and repentance. People recognize there is still time, “hurry, ask for forgiveness and compassion from the true judge!”. The urgency is there. But why? We must ask this question again. Why is there such urgency? Because we know that if He is the true judge those doors will be closing. They cannot always remain open. The fact that the doors are closing causes the urgency within its onlookers.
And yet we need to ask ourselves the question. If the neilah service is for the closing of the gates of heaven, how long will those gates be open? Every year we cycle around and fast and conduct our Yom Kippur rituals and every year we do a neilah service. If I were the author of the Book of Hebrews I would say “but in doing the neilah service every year there is only a reminder of the heavenly gates, not the true gates themselves…otherwise we would have stopped holding the annual service as the gates would have been truly closed”.
You see, the truth is we don’t know when the gates of heaven will be closed. Every day we look at the world before us and know that the heavenly gates are still opened and ready to receive our teshuvah. But we also know they could close at any moment, or at least, we should know that. Why do we have Yizkor right before neilah? To remember our loved ones. But we should equally be reminding ourselves that the gates of life will close for us too, none of us know when.
Indeed, our true repentance, not simply a ritual we do every year, is what our Father is after and He has reminded us of this through these traditions.
Fruits of Urgency
Our faith is borne out of a time in Jewish history where urgency and expectation was the main ingredient. I want us to read the passage about John the immerser and get a sense of the urgency that existed during the first century.
Luke 3:7–18 (TLV)
7Therefore John was saying to the crowds that came out to be immersed by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance; and don’t even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees, so every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!” 10The crowds were asking him, “What should we do?” 11He answered them, saying, “Whoever has two coats, let him give to the one who has none; and whoever has food, let him do the same.” 12Tax collectors also came to him to be immersed. “Teacher,” they said to him, “what should we do?” 13He said to them, “Do not take more than you are supposed to.” 14Also soldiers asked him, saying, “And what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not take things from anyone by force, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be content with your wages.” 15Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, whether he might be the Messiah. 16John answered them all, saying, “As for me, I immerse you with water. But One is coming who is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” 18So with many other exhortations, John proclaimed Good News to the people.
Luke 3:7–18 (TLV)
Therefore John was saying to the crowds that came out to be immersed by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance; and don’t even begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees, so every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!”
The crowds were asking him, “What should we do?” He answered them, saying, “Whoever has two coats, let him give to the one who has none; and whoever has food, let him do the same.” Tax collectors also came to him to be immersed. “Teacher,” they said to him, “what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not take more than you are supposed to.” Also soldiers asked him, saying, “And what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not take things from anyone by force, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be content with your wages.”
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, whether he might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “As for me, I immerse you with water. But One is coming who is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals! He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” So with many other exhortations, John proclaimed Good News to the people.
As you read this you should sense that something is fueling our urgency. Anyone notice what that is? It is the coming wrath of God, the axe that is laid at the tree, the fire, the coming messiah. All of these are descriptions of the time when the season of teshuvah has ended and the time for judgement has arrived. It is this expectation, a future worldview, an eschatalogical worldview, that produces the urgency and drives our response.
What is the response we should have to this coming wrath? A changed life, fruits worthy of repentance. A life where we don’t allow our brother to go in need while we have the means to assist. A life Tax Collectors no longer steal, where soldiers no longer take by force. A small glimpse of this response is what we experience at Yom Kippur, when chats circulate clearing up wrongs, asking forgiveness, making things right, restoration. This is great. Let us do this not only on Yom Kippur, but every day - for we don’t know when the gates of heaven will be closing.
It says in vs 18 that John proclaimed the Good News to the people. Good News? How can that be good news? How can any of that be referred to as good news? He calls it Good News because it is the good news, besorah tovah, of the coming kingdom. A kingdom foretold by the prophets, where the promises of God are finally fulfilled, Israel is the head not the tail, she has a king seated in Jerusalem and all of her inhabitants are clean both in the heart and in the flesh, and God has extended the kingdom to include those of us from the nations to join in with His people.
It is not good news for those who do not expect its coming and therefore do not live in accordance with the laws of that kingdom. But it is good news because for those of us who grab hold of it, it becomes the hope we fix our eyes on, so that no matter what happens around us we know our ultimate end is not what we see now, but what we will see in the world to come. This is hope rightly fixed.
The Urgency of Tonight
Luke 12:16–21 (TLV)
16And Yeshua told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. 17And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do? I don’t have a place to store my harvest!’ 18And he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do! I’ll tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I’ll store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, ‘O my soul, you have plenty of goods saved up for many years! So take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight your soul is being demanded back from you! And what you have prepared, whose will that be?’ 21So it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich in God.”
Luke 12:16–21 (TLV)
And Yeshua told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do? I don’t have a place to store my harvest!’ And he said, ‘Here’s what I’ll do! I’ll tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I’ll store all my grain and my goods.
And I’ll say to myself, ‘O my soul, you have plenty of goods saved up for many years! So take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight your soul is being demanded back from you! And what you have prepared, whose will that be?’ So it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich in God.”
Yeshua tells a parable here. The man’s thoughts lack urgency. If the man would have realized that tonight his soul is being demanded I think he would have acted differently. God was calling his number that very night and here he was concerned about a long future of earthly riches while his barns in heaven were empty and dry.
This is the urgency of tonight. Just as we sense such an urgency on the evening of Yom Kippur so should we have a sense of urgency every day. It should shape and drive our actions. Ask yourselves, what would change if you knew tonight was the night? That is what Yeshua is impressing upon us here.
If I ask my colleagues in the IT department and say “can we implement this new advancement in technology improvement?”. Do you know what they tell me? They say sure. Anything is possible. It is just a matter of time and money. Why I mention this is because Yeshua speaks here of money but closely related to that is time. How do you spend your time? What is your week looking like? What is prioritised in your life? Yeshua said for where your treasure is, that is where your heart is. We can easily flip that. For where your time prioritisation is where your heart is.
Work/School
Family/Relationships
Fun
I taught the young teens a few years back and explained the concepts of 3 buckets. One bucket for work/school, one for family/relationships, and one for fun. They had to fill in each bucket and ask themselves the questions - are my buckets rightly prioritised. I’d suggest we each do the same thing.
Forecast of Urgency
Luke 12:54–59 (TLV)
54Then He also was saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, instantly you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming’—and so it is. 55And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It will be a scorcher’—and so it is. 56Hypocrites! The surface of the earth and sky you know how to interpret yet you don’t know how to interpret this present time? 57Why can’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58For while you are going with your accuser to the authorities, make an effort to come to a settlement with him—so he doesn’t drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer of the court, and the officer of the court throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back the last little bit.”
Luke 12:54–59 (TLV)
Then He also was saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, instantly you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming’—and so it is. And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It will be a scorcher’—and so it is. Hypocrites! The surface of the earth and sky you know how to interpret yet you don’t know how to interpret this present time? Why can’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
For while you are going with your accuser to the authorities, make an effort to come to a settlement with him—so he doesn’t drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer of the court, and the officer of the court throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back the last little bit.”
Yeshua rebukes the crowds for their keen sense of earthly forecast and their willful ignorance of the heavenly forecast. He expects them to look around at the wickedness and lawlessness around, just as the prophets foretold, and for them to forecast that judgement is at the door.
If this man in the parable truly appreciated the widespread lawlessness, he would have forecasted that the no nonsense judge would be ready to throw him into prison. He would have done everything to settle this foolish dispute as quickly as possible. This is truly a lesson for us. The disputes and arguments we have when framed against a judge like this urges us to deal with them now, as if every day is Yom Kippur.
The Framework of Urgency
We could go on for a while here - the parable of the virgins, the wise stewards, how the lilies of the fields are clothed better than Solomon today and are thrown into the fire tomorrow, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and on and on. Urgency is the fabric of the apostolic scriptures because it is properly framed in an eschatology that truly believes what the prophets foretell.
1 Peter 1:13–16 (TLV)
13So brace your minds for action. Keep your balance. And set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. 14Like obedient children, do not be shaped by the cravings you had formerly in your ignorance. 15Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. 16For it is written, “Kedoshim you shall be, for I am kadosh.”
So brace your minds for action. Keep your balance. And set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. Like obedient children, do not be shaped by the cravings you had formerly in your ignorance. Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. For it is written, “Kedoshim you shall be, for I am kadosh.”
We set our hope on the grace that Yeshua will bring at the revelation of his return. We won’t fall under the wrath because we have been cleansed by grace - we have pure hands and clean hearts. We know it’s coming and so every day we dig in living in anticipation for that glorious kingdom.
Hebrews 10:35–39 (NASB95)
35Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Therefore, do not lose your boldness, which has great reward. For you need perseverance so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet “in a very little while, the Coming One will come, and He will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by emunah; and if he shrinks back, My soul takes no pleasure in him.” But we are not among the timid ones on the path to destruction, but among the faithful ones on the path to the preservation of the soul.
The author of Hebrews is here describing what faith is. Just after these verses he moves into chapter 11 that great chapter many call the hall of faith which outlines those who have gone before us. But what we should also notice is that right here he quotes Hab 2.3-4.
Habakkuk 2:2–4 (TLV)
2Then Adonai answered me and said: “Write down the vision, make it plain on the tablets, so that the reader may run with it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time. It hastens to the end and will not fail. If it should be slow in coming, wait for it, For it will surely come—it will not delay.” 4Behold, the puffed up one— his soul is not right within him, But the righteous will live by his trust.
Then Adonai answered me and said: “Write down the vision, make it plain on the tablets, so that the reader may run with it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time. It hastens to the end and will not fail. If it should be slow in coming, wait for it, For it will surely come—it will not delay.” Behold, the puffed up one— his soul is not right within him, But the righteous will live by his trust.
God says write down the vision and make it plain to the people. They were to understand the oracle. Do you know what the oracle was? It was the declaration that Adonai was bringing the Babylonians upon them. Do you know when Habakkuk wrote this oracle? Around 600 BC. Do you know when the temple was destroyed? Around 585 BC. Just 15 years prior to the Babylonians arriving.
It was coming, it won’t delay. Act now, urgent, believe - for the righteous will live by faith. In other words, the one who really believes the words of God will act upon them and repent and live in accordance with the Torah in covenant faithfulness. This is what faith is. It is believing the oracle of God and acting upon it in faith-fulness because you see the Day approaching. The just person shall live by this type of expectant and hopeful faith.
This is why we should be understanding Herbews chapter 11 vs 1 as saying “faithfulness shows the reality of what we hope for, being convinced of things we cannot yet see”
The Urgent Oracle for Us
So with all of this said. What is the oracle for us? What is that word that Adonai is giving us to act upon in urgency? Just as Israel had to act upon the oracle of Habakkuk, what oracle should Israel act on today? That word upon which we can demonstrate our faithfulness to his declarations and receive life?
Revelation 22:10–21 (TLV)
10Then he tells me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
11Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do righteousness, and the holy still be holy. 12Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to pay back each one according to his deeds. 13“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14How fortunate are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may enter through the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify these things to you for My communities. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” 17The Ruach and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come—let the one who wishes freely take the water of life! 18I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life and the Holy City, which are written in this book. 20The One giving testimony to these things says, “Yes! I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua! 21May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!
Revelation 22:10–21 (TLV)
Then he tells me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do righteousness, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to pay back each one according to his deeds. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
How fortunate are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may enter through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify these things to you for My communities. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
The Ruach and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come—let the one who wishes freely take the water of life! I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life and the Holy City, which are written in this book. The One giving testimony to these things says, “Yes! I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua! May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!