If There Were A Garden by Flickr User Lee Ann Petropoulos, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
There is something about mosaics that really catches my attention, especially the ones made from broken pieces of glass or ceramics. Maybe it’s the whole idea of something crushed and broken becoming something beautiful that attracts me, and maybe it attracts me because I feel like that represents my life. It gives me hope that anything put into the Potter’s Hands has a hope. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.
In our reading today from Numbers 20:14 through Numbers 20:21, we will read about a continuing sibling rivalry and the end result of a broken and unrepaired relationship. As the Israelites are traveling, they come to the border of the land of the Edomites. Moses sends a message from Kadesh to the King of Edom that begins with a salutation including “from your brother, Israel.” The request is a simple one asking that Israel would be allowed to pass through the land, and stating that Israel will stay on The King’s Highway and not come off it go through fields or vineyards.
The king returns the answer as a resounding “No” and accompanies it with a threat to attack Israel with the sword. But the people ask again, this time promising the same promises plus the added promise to pay for any water the people or livestock might drink. The hateful King didn’t even take time to answer this time but came out against Israel with many people and much force until they turned Israel away.
It took me two reading to notice the statement about the brother, so I looked up the story of the Edomites and found that Edom was the son of Esau and chose to retain the sibling rivalry as if they were “The Hatfields and The McCoys.” If you’ll recall, Jacob brought gifts to Esau to rebuild their relationship, but apparently, the message didn’t get passed along to future generations. I found a great history of the Edomites at a site called “Got Questions.” I wholeheartedly recommend a reading of their article, “Who Were the Edomites.”
When something is left out of God’s hands, it can very easily in on a similar note as the rivalry between the Edomites and the Israelites and be broken beyond repair. But if we see God as the Potter, and we trust that He knows both how to create and how to re-create, we know He can turn that which is damaged to that which becomes beautiful. God even tells Israel something similar to this in the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 18, verses 1 through 6 (New Living Translation)…
1 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
The whole chapter is encouraging for Israel, and these words can be encouraging for any child of God. There’s a beautiful scene in the movie “Joshua” where the visitor (Joshua) takes some pieces of broken and crushed glass and makes a whole new object from them. I love when something with God is not broken beyond repair, and I cannot thank God enough for all the repairs He made in me. Many years ago, I wrote a chorus for the Messianic Synagogue I attended. I’ll close with the words to that chorus…
MY POTTER IS YAHVEH by Crystal A Murray
My Potter is Yahveh,
He is my Maker,
He’s my Creator,
I am His clay.
My Redeemer is Yeshua,
And when I am wounded,
I can run through the Lamb’s blood
to my Potter, Yahveh.
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June 17, 2014
Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) |
Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Edom, highway, Israel, Numbers, potter, repair, rivalry, Scripture, Torah Portions |
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Elaborate Throne image by Flickr user Cliff1066
This is one of those readings where it’s pretty much genealogy, so I was trying to find a fun way to say that. Thus, the play on the song title, and an image of an elaborate throne by Flickr user Cliff1066. And today’s reading spans Genesis 36:20 to Genesis 36:43.
I don’t have a lot to say about today’s reading, except that it’s got a few interesting parts where people became kings by dethroning other kings–sometimes by birth order and sometimes by murder. Oh, and one guy discovered some hot springs while taking care of his father’s goats.
Okay, so that last part was a bit more interesting, but mostly because I just got back from a stay at French Lick Springs Villa where I learned some stuff about hot springs and the restoration of the resorts built around the villa. Next time I go for a stay of any length, I hope to actually be able to spend some time in one of the hot springs spa treatments because then I will know if they really make you feel that much better. If you have experienced a dip in a hot spring, please share your experience.
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November 22, 2013
Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) |
Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Adonai, Almighty, Bible, Bible Gateway, Bible genealogies, Bible reading, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Creator, crystalwriter, Edom, genealogies, genealogy, Genesis, God, Holy Bible, kings, Lord, Old Covenant, Old Testament, Parashah, Portions, reign, reigning, Scripture, The Complete Jewish Bible, Torah, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, Torah Reading, Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, www.biblegateway.com, Yahveh, Yahweh |
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Crystal Writes A Blog 
Broken Beyond Repair
If There Were A Garden by Flickr User Lee Ann Petropoulos, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
There is something about mosaics that really catches my attention, especially the ones made from broken pieces of glass or ceramics. Maybe it’s the whole idea of something crushed and broken becoming something beautiful that attracts me, and maybe it attracts me because I feel like that represents my life. It gives me hope that anything put into the Potter’s Hands has a hope. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.
In our reading today from Numbers 20:14 through Numbers 20:21, we will read about a continuing sibling rivalry and the end result of a broken and unrepaired relationship. As the Israelites are traveling, they come to the border of the land of the Edomites. Moses sends a message from Kadesh to the King of Edom that begins with a salutation including “from your brother, Israel.” The request is a simple one asking that Israel would be allowed to pass through the land, and stating that Israel will stay on The King’s Highway and not come off it go through fields or vineyards.
The king returns the answer as a resounding “No” and accompanies it with a threat to attack Israel with the sword. But the people ask again, this time promising the same promises plus the added promise to pay for any water the people or livestock might drink. The hateful King didn’t even take time to answer this time but came out against Israel with many people and much force until they turned Israel away.
It took me two reading to notice the statement about the brother, so I looked up the story of the Edomites and found that Edom was the son of Esau and chose to retain the sibling rivalry as if they were “The Hatfields and The McCoys.” If you’ll recall, Jacob brought gifts to Esau to rebuild their relationship, but apparently, the message didn’t get passed along to future generations. I found a great history of the Edomites at a site called “Got Questions.” I wholeheartedly recommend a reading of their article, “Who Were the Edomites.”
When something is left out of God’s hands, it can very easily in on a similar note as the rivalry between the Edomites and the Israelites and be broken beyond repair. But if we see God as the Potter, and we trust that He knows both how to create and how to re-create, we know He can turn that which is damaged to that which becomes beautiful. God even tells Israel something similar to this in the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 18, verses 1 through 6 (New Living Translation)…
The whole chapter is encouraging for Israel, and these words can be encouraging for any child of God. There’s a beautiful scene in the movie “Joshua” where the visitor (Joshua) takes some pieces of broken and crushed glass and makes a whole new object from them. I love when something with God is not broken beyond repair, and I cannot thank God enough for all the repairs He made in me. Many years ago, I wrote a chorus for the Messianic Synagogue I attended. I’ll close with the words to that chorus…
MY POTTER IS YAHVEH by Crystal A Murray
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June 17, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Edom, highway, Israel, Numbers, potter, repair, rivalry, Scripture, Torah Portions | Leave a comment