Solomon said it most accurately (all scriptures NKJV):
Eccl 5:7 – For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.
Sometimes research and deep pressing in to the writings of other man can reveal insight and truths. God will reveal things to us, through others, that we might appreciate our need for others. It is part of the divine plan for community. Prov 18:1 warns us against withdrawal from others.
Other times research and deep pressing in can become a crazy-maker. Sadly, the Talmud and the Mishnah each contain both truth and madness. The Jewish intellectuals, in denying their Christ, have spend countless hours over two thousand years theorizing, speculating, arguing, accusing, justifying, and denying that their God sent them their Savior, in Jesus Christ, at the appointed time, in the appointed place, to say and do the deeds appointed for Him to accomplish. Those Jewish writings accuse Jesus of embracing Egyptian magic, illegally proclaiming the name of YWYH, having been the illegitimate child of an affair, and more. I hesitate to insert web links into this blog, but would offer you the option of your earn Google searches, were you to be so inclined.
God has never been mocked. Throughout Scriptural account, the Lord has dealt fairly with mankind, while mankind has typically failed to respond fairly to God:
Ezek 18:25
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?
26 “When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.
27 “Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.
28 “Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
29 “Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
That remains the complaint of man: The ways of the Lord are not fair.
As a result, mankind (particularly religiously-motivated mankind – Jew, Christian, Muslim, you name it) continue to invest countless hours foolishly trying to argue and intellectualize themselves against God – always to their destruction. It is not simply an issue with Jewish scholars. It is a mankind issue.
2 Pet 3:14-18
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
15 and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation– as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
God Himself purposely sharpened both edges of His Word, so that it would cut the humble and sincere in such a way as to circumcise their/our hearts and minds, and meanwhile it would slice and dice all of the philosophy of mankind, cutting deep into the madness of thoughts and intents that would purposely rage against God’s truth.
There is a place in God where we can grow in simplicity and truth, in grace and true knowledge, where we can avoid the pitfalls of religious madness and intellectual confusion – even though man will continue to spew forth vast amounts of writings and speculations. It is a work of Satan that would inspire such rantings.
I believe this verse in part describes the satanic agenda of spiritual noise:
Rev 12:15
15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
Thankfully, it is the Word of God that endures forever, and that Word tells us that God is more than able to safely maintain that which is His – His people – throughout all ages.
And at the same time, God Who is not mocked, has always allowed the proudly religious, the argumentative, the charlatan, the pseudo-intellectual, and all others who would rage against Him, to continue to rage. Their time comes.
Ps 2:1-5
1 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:
God continues to move upon mankind as He has always moved upon mankind – by His Spirit. This “true Christianity thing” is centered upon a born-again, Spirit-led, Spirit-activated, Spirit-responsive lifestyle that is anchored in the clarity of Scripture, thankfully not requiring the madness of confusion of the incessant writings of men – writings oftentimes only written in vain attempt for an end-run around the clarity of God’s Word.
Keep your eyes looking upward. Stay in prayer. Spend spend spend your life building your Spirit-led relationship with God. Pray in the Spirit. Live in the Spirit. Soak in the Word. That is the formula for success.
Creation is not waiting for a revelation of the church. It is waiting for something more profound, more supernatural, and more mystical than that:
Rom 8:14,19
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
ALL THAT SAID, with all that prelude to the clarity and simplicity of God’s revelation, I say this: There are some deep truths in the writings of the Jewish scholars that should not be excluded, and ought not be discounted. The noise of writings that CONTRDICT Scriptural truth in no way ought to cause to us miss out on the revelations of God that CONFIRM spiritual truth, and sometimes offer us deeper insight into the majesty of the creation plan of our great God.
I would go so far as to proclaim an additional beatitude – a thought backed up by the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, and many others who were not only not afraid to chase God wildly, but were also not afraid and not so religious that they would fail to press in to spiritual revelation that oftentimes appeared to contradict the spiritual status-quo of their time.
Blessed are those who would press in, having no religious agenda, but indeed having a solid foundation of scriptural understanding, so that they can then carefully and prayerfully proceed to uncover the truths that our God has established in His divine creation process, speaking to us, once again and as Paul mentioned, in some things hard to understand.
But they are understandable.
The Jews cite 13 as a profound number.
The gematria of the word three letter Hebrew word for ECHAD, as recited in the Sh’ma – GOD IS ONE (“Echad”), is the number 13. (Jesus recited Sh’ma in Mark 12:29)
The gematria of echad – אחד is thirteen:
א = 1
ח = 8
ד = 4
———-
Total: 13
The Hebrew male is considered OF AGE when he turns 13. He is regarded by his community as a man, able to participate in the religious duties of a man, accountable for his actions and decisions as a man. It is a number of graduation, of shifting into a place of maturity. Bar Mitzvah.
5773 vs. 2013 – Yes the Hebrew calendar differs from the currently observed world calendar. But God has proven many times that He will and can and desires to work within all the systems of man. AN ASIDE: I believe the acts of 9/11 did not haphazardly occur that particular month and day. First, it was America’s self-designated phone number for emergency. Second, read Jeremiah 9:10-13. Sadly, verse 9:10 was ignorantly/proudly/prophetically proclaimed as a motivation for the plan to rebuild on the World Trade Center site. God knew that plan 9:10 of plan of America in advance of 9/11. That is another sorrow…..
2013. May it be a coming of age of the Spirit-led sons and daughters of God. May it be a year when God moves notably, obviously, and mightily upon those who would conscientiously turn to Him in even greater measure. Whatever depth of relationship we have already attained, may it go deeper in Him.
May 2013 be a release of bounty upon the truly faithful – the ones who have been through the wilderness of God, who have pressed in to Him, and who vow to continue to press in to Him. Love the Lord, oh you saints.
Ps 13
1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
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