“Was that strange to you?” he asked.
“I’ve just never seen them sing like that.”
“Or lift their hands?”
“Is that important?”
“You are free here to sing and worship however you like, but yes, the lifting of hands is of significance. Do you remember when we spoke of the mystery of the word Jew, how it comes from the words Yehudim or Yehudah?”
“Yes.”
“But it goes deeper,” he said. “The word Yehudah comes from yadah. Yadah means to praise, to give thanks, and to worship. But it’s specifically linked to holding out one’s hand.”
“As in, they held out their hands in worship?”
“Yes. And yadah, in turn, comes from the word yad. And yad means hand.”
“So the word Jew comes from the word hand?”
“Ultimately, yes,” he said. “But not just from the word hand—but from one particular kind of hand.”
“What particular kind of hand?”
“An open hand. The word specifically speaks of an open hand. For the hand of worship is an open hand. The hand of praise is an open hand. The hand of thanksgiving is an open hand.”
“So to live a life of praise and thanksgiving,” I said, “is to live a life of the open hand.”
“Yes, and an open hand is the only hand that is able to receive blessings from heaven. So the more you live a life of praise, worship, and thanksgiving—a life of yadah—the more your life will become an open hand to receive the blessings of heaven—the yad. The more you praise and give thanks without condition, the more you will have to praise and give thanks for.”
The Mission: Live this day giving thanks and worship at all times, no matter what. Open your life to blessings through the power of the yad.
Psalms 63:4–7; 150; Ephesians 1:12
The Yad People
DAY 260
THE ALPHA COMMANDMENT
WHAT,” ASKED THE teacher, “was the first perpetual commandment God gave to the nation of Israel?”
“The first of the Ten Commandments?”
“No,” he said, “the first continuous command given to the nation of Israel was this: ‘On the tenth day of this month everyone shall take for himself a lamb . . . ’ This was the command that established the Tenth of Nisan as the day when the Passover lamb had to be taken to the house . . . the Tenth of Nisan, the same day that Messiah, the Lamb of God was taken to Jerusalem on the day we know as Palm Sunday.”
“So the first command God gave Israel is take the lamb.”
“Yes, but in Hebrew, the word for take is lakakh. Lakakh also means to bring. So it can be translated as bring the lamb. So they brought the Lamb, Messiah, on a donkey into Jerusalem. But lakakh can also mean to purchase and thus, purchase the lamb. It was this that the priests of Israel fulfilled as they paid for the life of Messiah. So they purchased the Lamb. And lakakh can also mean seize, and thus seize the lamb. So Messiah would be seized, arrested, and taken captive. And there’s one more thing that lakakh means.”
“What?”
“‘Receive.’”
“Receive the lamb.”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “This is Alpha commandment, the first perpetual commandment given to Israel by God: ‘Receive the lamb.’ Or ‘Receive for yourself the lamb’ . . . the Alpha commandment . . . and the Omega commandment.”
“Why the Omega?
“Because all of Jewish history, all of world history, is waiting for that commandment to be fulfilled. When the children of Israel finally fulfill their first commandment, when they receive the Lamb for themselves, then the Lamb will come, then Messiah will come, then the kingdom will come. Thus it is the first and last command—and not just for Israel, but for every life. It is the commandment which, when fulfilled, brings salvation to everyone who obeys it. Everything begins and ends with that . . . Receive the Lamb.”
The Mission: Is there something in your life that God has called you to do, that you haven’t yet done? Open up the blessing. Do it today.
Exodus 12:3; Matthew 23:39; John 1:12; Colossians 2:6–7
The Nisan Lamb
DAY 261
THE GRAPES OF HEAVEN
WE WERE STANDING inside of one of the vineyards. The teacher broke off a cluster of grapes from the vines and placed it in my hand.
“A most important fruit,” he said. “Upon it once hung the future of a nation.”
“On grapes?”
“Yes,” he replied. “When the children of Israel came to what should have been the end of their journey in the wilderness, on the verge of the Promised Land, Moses sent twelve men into the land to spy it out. They returned with a cluster of grapes from the Valley of Eshcol. The grapes were the firstfruits of the Promised Land, the first evidence they possessed that it was all real, the first taste of what up to that point they had only heard about and believed by faith. It should have been an encouragement for them to press on and take the land. But they refused the encouragement. They believed their fears over the grapes. And because they lost sight of the grapes, they lost the Promised Land . . . a most critical key,” he said.
“What?”
“Never lose sight of the grapes.
“The grapes of the Promised Land?”
“The grapes of your Promised Land,” he said.
“Heaven?”
“Throughout your journey God will give you grapes from the Promised Land.”
“What do you mean?”
“He will give you the firstfruits of heaven and of heavenly life, signs and evidences of that which you believe by faith, the first taste of the age to come. Every answered prayer, every moving of His hand in your life, every whispering of His voice, every providing for your needs . . . these are the grapes, the clusters of the Promised Land. Every encouragement that you know came from Him, every guiding of your steps, every provision, every measure of unexplainable peace, every moment of heavenly joy, and every touch of His Spirit . . . these are the firstfruits given to you as an encouragement so that you won’t give up or give in to fear, but press on, to fight the good fight, to take your inheritance. And all these things are just a taste of the blessings yet to come . . . the firstfruits of your Promised Land . . . the grape clusters of heaven.”
The Mission: Gather the clusters of the Promised Land—every answered prayer and blessing from God. Take strength from the grapes of heaven and take new ground for God.
Numbers 13:23–28; Romans 8:23; Hebrews 11:1
Clusters of Your Promised Land
DAY 262
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
WE STOOD ON the ridge of a high mountain. The teacher had in one hand a tallit, the Hebrew prayer shawl, and in the other, a shofar, the ram’s horn. The sun was just about to set. It was the Feast of Trumpets.
“Later on,” he said, “we’ll observe it with the rest. But I wanted to share of it now with you. It is written: ‘You shall have . . . a reminder by the sounding of trumpets, a holy convocation . . . ’ the Feast of Trumpets.”
“I have a question about that,” I said. “Why is it that the holy days of Israel appear, in one form or another, in the New Testament . . . except for one, the Feast of Trumpets? Why is the Feast of Trumpets missing?”
“It’s not,” he said. “You just didn’t see it. When in the sacred Hebrew year does the Feast of Trumpets take place, at the beginning or the end? At the end. So then its mystery doesn’t focus on the beginning of the age, but the end. The Feast of Trumpets announces the closing of the sacred cycle. So too it will announce the closing of the age. And what is it that you find in Scripture when you look at the prophecies concerning the end of the age? Trumpets. The trumpets of Israel announced the coming of kings and kingdoms, the approaching of armies. So it is prophesied that when the trumpet sounds, the kingdom of God will come. The trumpets called the people of Israel to gather before God. So it is prophesied that at the sound of the trumpet, God’s people will be gathered up to His presence. The sound of the tru
mpet was a wake-up call. So it is foretold that when the trumpets sound, the dead in Messiah will be awoken. And lastly, it was the sound of the trumpet that announced the beginning of a king’s reign. So it is foretold that when the trumpet sounds, the reign of the King will begin, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of the Lord. The Feast of Trumpets and the holy days of autumn are just as much a part of the new covenant as are the holy days of spring. They tell us that our faith is not only in what was, but in what is yet to come . . . as is Messiah. We live from salvation and yet to redemption, and we are, above all, a people of hope.”
At that he covered his head with the tallit, lifted the shofar to his mouth, and blew. The sound echoed throughout the wilderness. He then turned to me.
“So live confident and in hope of what is yet to come . . . and ready for that day . . . the Day of Trumpets.”
The Mission: Live this day in confidence and hope, looking to the future, knowing He is already there, Lord of the future, and awaiting you to arrive.
Leviticus 23:24; Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Yom Teruah
DAY 263
THE WARS OF THE HOLY
HE OPENED ONE of the drawers in his study and took out a thin rectangular wooden box. Inside was a collection of ancient coins, most of them badly worn, but some well preserved. He gave me time to examine them.
“Of the entire surface of this planet,” said the teacher, “what plot of earth do you think has been the most fought over plot of earth?”
“I wasn’t a history major,” I answered. “I really have no idea.”
“The answer is Jerusalem. All these coins are from that plot of land, each representing a kingdom or empire that approached its walls. Jerusalem, the City of God, the City of Peace, yet it’s been reduced to ashes more than once and been laid siege to over twenty times. It’s been the ground of over a hundred conflicts. From ancient times to the modern world, no city on earth has been so fought over or the focus of so much warfare. Why? It has no great military or strategic value, and no great resources. If we were visiting this planet for the first time, it would tell us that there’s something about that city, something that sets it apart from all other places, and beyond natural explanation. What conflict would there be from that which is beyond the natural . . . to war against the City of Peace?”
“A conflict in the spiritual realm. The conflict of the enemy.”
“And why?” asked the teacher.
“Because Jerusalem is at the center of God’s purposes?”
“Yes,” he said, “at the center of His purposes, past, present, and future, the place where His feet will touch the earth, and the throne from which the kingdom of God will go forth. Thus it must be the most warred over of grounds. So all the conflict, the controversy, and the warfare itself is a testimony to Jerusalem, to what Jerusalem is—the central ground of God’s purposes on earth. And why is the conflict so great? Because the purposes God has for Jerusalem are so great . . . And so too in your life, and in the lives of all God’s children . . . . as you do the will of God, there must be conflict, and warfare, and attacks. But don’t ever let that discourage you. Be encouraged. It’s a sign of revelation by default, that you’re on the right path and what you’re doing will be of great effect and reward. Don’t stop. But press on all the more. For the greatness of the battle is only because of the greatness of God’s purposes for His holy place—you!”
The Mission: Don’t fear the battles. Embrace them. What is of God will be opposed. And that which is good is worth fighting for. Fight the good fight. And you will prevail.
Isaiah 52:1–2; 2 Corinthians 6:4–10; 10:3–5
Jerusalem Besieged
DAY 264
THE SECRET OF THE THIRD PRINCE
WE WERE WALKING through a large open plain covered with loose sand.
“Walk on,” said the teacher. “And seek to walk in a straight line.”
So I kept walking as he watched. He let me go on for a few minutes.
“Stop,” he yelled from the distance. “Now turn around and look.” I was sure I had been walking a straight line. But the footprints in the sand revealed that I had veered markedly off to the right. The teacher then approached me.
“Let me tell you a story,” he said. “There was once a king who issued a challenge to the princes of a neighboring land that whoever among them could, over a long journey of varying landscapes, walk in a straight line to the king’s castle would have the right to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
“The first prince embarked on the journey, looking to his right and left to make sure he was not veering off in either direction. But, like you, despite his best efforts, the farther he journeyed, the more off course he veered.
“The second prince determined to look down, to keep his eyes on his feet, making sure that every footstep followed in the same path as the footstep before it. But he too ended badly off course.
“But the third prince embarked on the journey, looking neither to the right nor the left, nor down at his footsteps. And yet at the end, it was determined that he had walked in a straight line. No one could figure out how he did it. So he told them his secret: ‘All I did was look into the far distance to the light on the crown of the castle tower. I didn’t look at my path or the landscape to my right and left. I just kept my eyes on that light, and kept pressing forward to that light until I arrived there.’ And this,” said the teacher, “is the secret to your walk in God. We are all called to walk a straight path in God. But how does one do that over the course of a lifetime and over a long journey of varying landscapes and changing circumstances? Not by focusing on your circumstances or even on your own walk. Rather, you fix your eyes on your destination, despite your surroundings, despite the mountains and the valleys, despite the highs and the lows, despite even your own walk and footsteps. You fix your eyes on the Eternal, on Him . . . and you press forward, always onward and closer to that goal . . . and you will end up there . . . and straight will be your footprints in the sand.”
The Mission: Practice today the secret of the third prince. In all things, in all situations, fix your eyes on your goal, on Him, and draw continually closer.
Psalm 25:15; Jeremiah 31:9; Hebrews 12:1–2
To Finish the Race
DAY 265
THE DAYS OF TESHUVAH
HE LED ME into the Chamber of Garments and over to an assortment of white prayer shawls.
“These,” he said, “are for the Days of Teshuvah, the holiest time of the Hebrew year.”
“What is teshuvah?” I asked.
“It comes from the root word shuv and means to return.”
“So teshuvah would mean the return?”
“Yes,” he said, “the Days of Teshuvah are the Days of Return. But it’s a particular kind of return, a return to God. And to return to God is to repent. So teshuvah also means repentance. So during the Days of Teshuvah the Jewish people are called to turn away from wrongdoing, to confess their sins, to repent, to return to the Lord, and to seek His mercy.”
“When exactly are the Days of Teshuvah?”
“Late summer and early autumn, the time of the High Holy Days, the Feast of Trumpets, the Days of Awe, and the Day of Atonement, the days ordained for returning to God . . . ”
He paused for a moment, then asked, “When do you think the Days of Teshuvah fall, in the beginning of the sacred year, the middle, or in the end?”
“The beginning?” I said.
“No,” said the teacher. “The Days of Teshuvah fall at the end of the sacred year. And therein lies a prophetic mystery. Every year the Jewish people return to the Lord, not at the beginning of the sacred cycle but at the end. And here is the mystery it bears: The Jewish people will not, as a whole, come to the Lord at the beginning of the age—but at the end. The time of their Teshuvah will be at the end. They will only return to the Lord as a nation at the end of the age. Their return will be linked to the end. But
teshuvah has a double meaning. It can also mean a physical return. And so the Days of Teshuvah contain another revelation, which is this: Before the end of the age, the Jewish people must return to their land, to the land of Israel, and to the city of Jerusalem.”
“As they have,” I said. “And it was all there from ancient times in their calendar. They return at the end.”
“Yes, they will return to the land . . . and to their God, all at the appointed time . . . in the Days of Teshuvah.”
The Mission: Repentance is an entire life. Live your life in the days of teshuvah. The greater your repentance, the greater will be your return.
Isaiah 30:15; Jeremiah 3:22; Hosea 3:4–5
The Three End-Time Teshuvahs
DAY 266
THE HEAVEN SCENARIO
IT WAS LATE at night. The teacher and I were sitting around the dying embers of the campfire when I heard a noise. It sounded as if someone or something was walking over a bunch of broken branches.
“What do you think that was?” I asked.
“An animal,” he said, “or the wind.” We stopped talking for a few moments, waiting to see if the noise would resume, but it didn’t.
“What would be the worst case scenario?” he asked.
“Right now?” I asked. “With the noise? If it turned out to be that of a lion or a bear . . . or a murderer. I would say any of those would qualify.”
“And what would be the worst case scenario after that?”
“We’d get killed.”
“What if it was a less extreme scenario,” he said. “You get sick. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“The sickness turns out to be fatal.”
“And the worst case scenario after that?”
The Book of Mysteries Page 38