When a person sees a movie for the second
time, he/she often gains additional insight into the story. How much more when we read the Bible. I often learn more the second, third, and
fourth time I read a passage, than during the initial reading. This occurs because the Bible is the best
source for defining scripture. The more
you know, the more you will learn, like ground prepared to receive a new planting. The experience is also a testimony to the
faithfulness of God’s word, “For everyone
who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be
open,” (Luke 11:10).
Some related passages in scripture became clearer to me after
reading this week’s (3/7/2015) Torah portion (Ex 30:11-34:35). I have
read these chapters at least four times in the last five years. Yet, it was during my reading on Saturday
when I saw so many connections to other passages in the text. Here is a brief synopsis of a few, but you
will find more and might not agree with all the ones I saw.
(1)
The payment of a half a shekel was said to be “a ransom” for each individual to the
LORD, (Ex 30:12). Although not
specifically commanded for his purpose, by the first century this “ransom” was collected for the daily
sacrifices. Connection: Jesus’ referred
to Himself as the “ransom”, “The Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a
ransom for many” (Matt 20:28).
Referring to Jesus’s life as “a ransom for many” and “a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5-6), draws on the image of the daily sacrifice that was continuously
before the LORD for every member of the nation.
For those who place their faith in Jesus, He is the “ransom”
continuously before the LORD in the "more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands," (Heb 9:11).
(2)
One passage I frequently refer to is Acts 3:19-21, “Therefore
repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that time of refreshing
may come from the presence of the LORD; and that He may send Jesus the
Christ appointed to you..” Connection: Although I believed
this passage to be a reference to the Millennial Kingdom, I was not sure
exactly how “refreshing” conveyed that understanding. Then I read this, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh
day He ceased from labor and was refreshed,” (Ex 31:17). Refreshing is
associated with the Sabbath, which we understand as a picture of the Millennial
Kingdom. RVL has suggested that Jesus
often healed on the Sabbath to demonstrate the coming power of God in the Millennial
Kingdom.
(3)
The Acts passage also holds another interesting
nugget. “Jesus the Christ” will come “from
the presence of the LORD.” Connection: In this week’s Torah
reading, the LORD promised Moses, “My
presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest,” (Ex 33:14). In Acts 3:20-21,
Peter has defined for us that, “the
Presence of the LORD” is “Jesus
Christ” who led Israel through the wilderness. We already knew from Paul, that the “spiritual
rock which followed them…was Christ,” (1 Cor 10:4). Now I see another connection to Jesus in the wilderness.
(4)
Exodus 33:14 concludes with
God saying, “I will give you rest.” Connection:
These words remind us of what Jesus said, “Come
to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matt 11:28). This is one of the numerous statements in the
Greek text that directly connect Jesus to God the Father.
(5)
In describing the sin of the golden calf, scripture
records, “The people sat down to eat and
to drink and rose up to play,” (Ex
32:6). Connection: When I read this passage, I immediately think of
the Shema portion that seems written with the sin of the golden calf in
mind, “You shall teach them (the
words of God) diligently to your sons and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when
you lie down and when you rise up,” (Deut 6:7). In the Shema, God appears
to be saying, “Do not be like the generation in the wilderness that worshipped me part of
the time, while the rest of the day they rose up to play. I want you to be my people 24/7, both when
you lie down and also when you rise up.”
(6)
One of Paul’s quotations in Romans comes from this week’s
Torah reading, “For He says to Moses, ‘I
will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion.’ So then it does not depend
on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God Who has mercy,” (Rom 9:15-16). Connection: Paul’s reference is the
LORD’S response to Moses’ request, “I
pray You show me Your glory!” (Ex
33:18). The LORD responded by saying
to Moses, “‘I Myself will make all My
goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you;
and I will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.’
But, He said, ‘You cannot see My face for no man can see Me and live,’” (Ex 33:19-20). In the context of the original passage, the LORD is
referring to the revelation of His nature, which is completely at the LORD’S
discretion. He can choose to show mercy and have compassion, yet He is still limited by the nature of the finite creation, "No man can see Me and live." The passage does not relate to the LORD predetermining
an individual’s fate in the world to come.
Although some may like to read Paul’s words as predestining a person’s
fate, that understanding is not consistent with good Bible interpretation, and only
adds to the general impression of non-believers that you can make the Bible say
anything.
(7)
The statement of the LORD, “You cannot see My face…and live,” (Ex 33:20), will cease to be true in the world to come where it is
said of the saints, “They will see His
face, and His Name will be on their foreheads,” (Rev 22:4).
