Look and See How Good it Can Be
When I worshipped in a Messianic congregation, one of my favorite songs to learn was called Hineh Ma Tov. It was built on words from this verse in Psalm 133:1.
Psalms 133:1 WEBUS
[1] See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!
https://bible.com/bible/206/psa.133.1.WEBUS
So what happens when people do not live together in unity? My suggested emoji after that sentence was a sad, crying emoji like this 😭. But my last word was unity, and I didn’t say anything in the sentence that could lead my keyboard to think I was talking about something sad. Right? Or is even a keyboard smarter than many humans to know the end result of refusing to look for unity?
But I digress; I was only going to talk about the not-so-pleasant and not-so-wonderful effects of division. Chaos, anger, and jealousy, are just a few of the effects that go with not being on the same page. But THAT is really the problem. No ONE page that everyone can stand on together to allow the unity. Unity without a foundation is simply an illusion.
When the psalmist speaks in this chapter, the pleasant things he describes include the oil dripping from Aaron’s beard. That is pleasant to him because that oil is from a time of anointing to do priestly works for God Almighty. The priesthood was originally created and ordained by Yahveh as part of His mercy and grace to cover the sins of mankind. And if the priest was being ordained, it meant the law was being followed.
Law is a blessing! Think of this: When you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, and you have a green light, the law that makes cross traffic stop and let you through will benefit you more than chaos at the intersection. But all it takes is one person who spurns the law and wants to do things their own way to mess up everyone’s day.
God put law in our hearts, and all it took was one evil tempter challenging God’s way of doing things to create chaos for every human for the rest of time. At least until time stops counting because we move into eternity. So what would happen if all of mankind decided to look and see how good it would be to follow God’s way? We would be in unity, and behold how wonderful and pleasant it would be.
And here’s a video and lyrics with Paul Wilbur singing Hineh Ma Tov…
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When Good Gifts Go Bad
The last half of today’s reading from Genesis 11:1-32 is the genealogy of Shem, the oldest son of Noah. But before we get to that point, we get to hear a story about good gifts being used for the wrong purposes. The key verse here is Genesis 11:4 where it says, “Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.’ ” The rest of the story is the familiar tale of “The Tower of Babel” (aka “The Tower of Confusion”) where God confused their languages, so they could no longer work together to create things for their own name.
In this story, God has given men the whole earth and all they need to create a life for themselves. He has given them language to communicate with each other. He has given them bricks and mortar to build shelters for themselves. He was their Ultimate Provider then just as He is our Ultimate Provider now. But they forgot that even when they had to work for something, It was God who created the ability to work and the products to work with or from.
With all those gifts, including the gift of unity that was so strong even God said it could make nothing impossible for those who worked together, where do you hear any words of praise echoed to God, or any thoughts of working with His will or plans? You don’t. Instead, these men took God’s provisions as their own, built with them according to their own will, and then used them to make a name for themselves as if it were all their own from start to finish. They forgot that God is the Author and Finisher. They failed to realize that unless The Lord builds the house, all labor is in vain. (See Psalm 127:1.) They allowed the fear of being scattered to overtake them rather than asking God where He would have them to go. They let all the good gifts of God end up being used for selfish, prideful, fearful, and other bad reasons.
Today, there are many gifted people doing the same with the gifts God has given them. They become haughty and act as if the world cannot live without their gift of entertainment or prophecy. If something they have to offer is that important, it’s even more important that they keep it in line with God’s perfect will. Even our faith must be an act of obedience, so if we’re obeying our Creator, where do we get bragging rights? I pray frequently that God will keep me in check when someone positively comments on something I have done–be it singing and writing or helping and encouraging. I know I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, and I also know I can do nothing apart from Him. I know that, even when I am doing His will and accomplishing things through Him, it is only by His grace. According to His word, even my desire to serve Him is from Him. Philippians 2:13 in the Easy-To-Read version states it this way: Yes, it is God who is working in you. He helps you want to do what pleases him, and he gives you the power to do it. So, there is nothing to boast in except Him. May we always keep that perspective that none of the wonderful gifts He pours out on us will go bad.
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Brothers United
Today we get to see what Jacob will do differently after meeting God face to face. It’s a short reading from Genesis 32:31 through Genesis 33:5, and it starts out with Jacob naming the place of his wrestling Peniel meaning “The Face of God.” He so named it because he had met Yahveh Almighty face to face and lived to tell about it.
But something more than Jacob’s name changed during his encounter; something even more than the limp he walked away with from the touch to his hip muscle. As we continue in the reading, we find Jacob setting out again toward his brother, Esau, knowing that he was still going to meet both him and the 400 men he had with him. But where Jacob was previously hiding behind all the other groups, now we see Jacob pushing his wives and slave girls and children behind him and racing in front of them despite the possibility of dangerous consequences. Jacob had somehow gained confidence, and it would seem he trusted God to answer his prayer to be reunited with his brother as family instead of as an enemy.
When Jacob saw Esau, he fell on the ground and bowed before him. When Esau saw Jacob, he ran to him and hugged him and wept on his neck. They were more than reunited, they were united like they had never been since birth, and maybe even since growing together in Rebekah’s womb. And when Esau asked about the women and children who were walking behind his brother, Jacob humbly acknowledged that they were gifts of God. In the Complete Jewish Bible, Jacob answered, “The children God has graciously given to your servant.” Jacob was truly no longer a supplanter, but was happy to see Esau as not only his brother, but as his older brother to whom he owed respect.
P.S. NaNo has been slow going of late, but I am at 24,319. Also, I just remembered today about a video by ApologetiX that uses the song “Takin’ Care of Business” and turns it into “Jacob’s Name is Israel.” I’ll be adding it to yesterday’s blog after I post today’s.
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November 18, 2013 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Adonai, Almighty, Bible, Bible Gateway, Bible reading, Bible study, brother, Complete Jewish Bible, Creator, crystalwriter, Esau, family, Genesis, God, Holy Bible, humble, Jacob, Lord, Old Covenant, Old Testament, Parashah, Portions, Scripture, servant, The Complete Jewish Bible, Torah, Torah commentary, Torah Portions, Torah Reading, united, unity, Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, www.biblegateway.com, Yahveh, Yahweh | Leave a comment