Rebuild by The Barking Fox

Learning to Gather

From the beginning, our Creator intended to gather all humanity into the same redemptive covenant. He's made a lot of progress over the ages, even though those who are gathered tend to put obstacles in the way - often because they think they are the only ones being gathered.
Exodus 13:17-17:16; Judges 4:4-5:31; Isaiah 49:5-6; Ezekiel 11:14-21; Matthew 12:22-32, 23:14-15; Acts 10:9-16; Revelation 7:9-10
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Learning to Gather
How grieved is God that the various parts of his redeemed people spend so much energy trying to exclude others among the redeemed? Our covenant-keeping God insists that he will receive the praise of multitudes from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Isaiah explains how that happens:
And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:5-6 ESV
The Savior mentioned in this passage issued a scathing indictment about how the spiritual leaders of Israel in his day administered access to the Kingdom of God:
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23:14-15 ESV)
Readers of this passage might assume that Messiah Yeshua was pronouncing the end of Jewish exclusivity, and perhaps even Jewish access to the Kingdom. That misunderstanding has contributed to the tragic history of Christians and Jews as each maintains the belief that the other is in grievous error and excluded from the counsels of the Almighty. Actually, Yeshua was indicting not only the Jewish spiritual authorities of his generation, but religious leaders of all ages who have maintained that they alone have the right formula for entering the Kingdom. We have seen that in the Christian wars of religion that pitted Protestants against Catholics, and in the doctrinal disputes that continue to divide us. We’re not as familiar with the history before the cross, when the various segments of God’s Covenant people of Israel fought against one another and against outsiders, all the while claiming exclusive access to the God of Israel. That’s why God had to explain through Ezekiel:
Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.” (Ezekiel 11:15 ESV)
Ezekiel recorded this message as Israel’s southern kingdom of Judah was about to be conquered by the Babylonians. The northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered over a century earlier. Even at that desperate hour, some among the leadership in the Jewish kingdom sought to exclude the remnant of the non-Jewish Israelites who had remained in the land because they were no longer pure according to their standards. Centuries later, the Jewish leadership continued to exclude the descendants of those people, whom we know as Samaritans. They also excluded God-fearing Gentiles from full participation in the community of faith. In contrast, Yeshua chose a Samaritan woman to be the first to hear him assert his identity as the Messiah of Israel. As for Gentiles coming into the faith, God explained to Peter, “What God has called clean, do not call common [unholy]” (Acts 10:15).
The problem is, we all tend to establish our own criteria of what is holy and unholy. That’s what it means for every man to do what is right in his own eyes. We may start with some knowledge of God’s ways, but unless we remain humble and teachable, we are in peril of claiming our imperfect understanding as the final revelation. That’s why Yeshua spoke so harshly to the Pharisees of his day, and why he would speak just as harshly to the Pharisees of our day – both Christian and Jewish.
When God made his covenant of redemption for the world, he specified the nation of Israel as the vehicle of that covenant. That’s why the mixed multitude of Egyptians and others who left Egypt with Moses after the Ten Plagues were no longer identified by the nations of their birth, but as Hebrews of the Israelite nation. However imperfect their understanding of the God of Israel and his ways, they knew enough to attach themselves to him when they saw his power to save his people.
Some Jewish sages have said that this foreign-born multitude could have comprised half or even more of the total number of Israelites in the Exodus. The native born probably felt threatened by the demographic changes such an influx of foreigners brought to the nation. Even so, the Bible doesn’t say anything about a pecking order at the Red Sea crossing, other than Jewish tradition that Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah, was the first to step into the parting waters. That is in keeping with the biblical principle that Judah must go up first, or, as Paul says, “to the Jew first.” At that moment of crisis, however, no one was checking ID cards or temple purity or even circumcisions to ensure that only properly vetted Hebrews could go through the sea and escape Pharaoh’s chariots. When they came out the other side and realized the great salvation God had wrought, all of them, foreigners and native born, praised the Lord together.
That is the great salvation we await in the final redemption of Israel and the nations. The divisions we suffer now will fade away at the full revelation of Messiah and the advent of the Messianic era of peace that we all desire. Until then, we would be wise to learn how our Messiah gathers the redeemed of Israel, and then do likewise.
Cover photo by Stephen Paterson, October 12, 2020, on Unsplash.
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

The Right Time, or the Opportune Time?

God promises redemption, both to individuals and to nations, in the fullness of time. The problem is, while waiting on Him we tend to open the way for our Adversary when we forget to act like redeemed people.
Exodus 10:1-13:16; Jeremiah 46:13-28; Luke 4:1-13 
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Right Time, or The Opportune Time?
The Exodus story is much more than a Jewish cultural memory. Even those who don’t know the scriptures understand the basic outline of the story. When Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth, enslaved God’s Chosen People of Israel, God sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of captivity. Their freedom came after Egypt was destroyed by the Ten Plagues Moses administered at God’s direction. Thus God pronounced judgment on Egypt, which is summed up in this verse:
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him.”
Jeremiah 46:25 (ESV)
Except that this verse isn’t about Israel’s Exodus from Egypt; it’s about the judgment God rendered on Egypt 850 years later, during the lifetime of the prophet Jeremiah. So much of Israel’s ancient history happened in those 8½ centuries: the 40 years of wandering the wilderness, the conquest of Canaan, the era of the Judges, the united Kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon, and the time of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After all that, the world had come right back to the same place. By the time Jeremiah’s prophetic career ended, both halves of Israel’s Covenant People were scattered in exile, and God was ready to judge the nations that had enticed his people into rebellion and then dismembered them when that rebellion resulted in the removal of his protection.
We might think that the Egyptians would have learned the first time around that it’s not wise to challenge God. Actually, they did. By the time Egypt had recovered from the Ten Plagues, Israel was established in the Promised Land and was on the way toward becoming a regional power and rival to the kingdom of the Pharaohs. Egypt became an ally of Israel during the reign of Solomon, but afterward capitalized on Israel’s division to keep the rival kingdoms of Israel and Judah weak. After centuries of that, God finally pronounced judgment again, humiliating Egypt with the same Babylonian army that conquered Judah.
Egypt’s humiliation didn’t end there, and neither did it’s opposition to God’s plan to bring final redemption to Israel, and through Israel to the nations. The Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks all dominated Egypt. After the division of Alexander the Great’s empire, Egypt under the Ptolemies provided a haven for Jewish exiles, while using the Jews and the land of Israel as pawns in their ongoing struggle against the Seleucids of Syria. Then came the Romans, who occupied Egypt and Judea for seven centuries until the Muslim Arabs conquered both.
As part of various Islamic caliphates, Egypt continued to be both a refuge for and an oppressor to the Jews, even into the modern era. When God’s promised restoration of Israel happened in the 20th century, a newly-independent Egypt resumed its role as Israel’s adversary. Even the treaty between the two nations in 1979 hasn’t brought genuine peace. It’s a fragile, cold peace that could turn into active hostility on short notice.
So why haven’t the Egyptians learned that it’s better to cooperate with God than to oppose him? That’s a complicated question with multiple answers, any number of which could apply over the 3,500 years since the Exodus. One answer applies both on a national and an individual level. It concerns the activity of the Adversary we call Satan, who has always sought to derail the works of our Creator. The Gospels tell us he tempted Messiah Yeshua, who also had been a Jewish exile in Egypt. Yeshua withstood Satan’s temptations, but Luke’s account ends with this alarming note:
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13 ESV
It would be nice if the devil would leave us alone once we defeat his schemes, but that’s not his way. He knows that individuals, communities, and nations eventually relax their vigilance, forget why it’s important to be righteous, lose their way, and open themselves to his beguiling deceptions. That’s why we are always in danger of repeating our history, even if we haven’t completely forgotten it.
There is hope. God has already opened the way to redemption through the atoning work of his Son, Messiah Yeshua. Even Egypt has a place in the redemption, as Jeremiah’s prophecy declares:
I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 46:26 (ESV)
Jeremiah goes on to explain that the context of Egypt’s restoration is Israel’s final redemption. He says:
But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
Jeremiah 46:27-28 ESV
By now we should understand that our eternal destiny as individuals is bound up in the destiny of Israel. Once we pledge allegiance to Israel’s Messiah, we become part of his eternal Kingdom. It’s the same with nations: those that align themselves with the Covenant Nation of Israel will survive and prosper, but those that do not will perish. All of us must undergo God’s judgment, but in the end it will be made right. So then, we have a choice: we can position ourselves for final redemption at the right time, or wait for the devil to come along and have his way at the opportune time.
Cover photo by Chandan Chaurasia on Unsplash.
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

Meeting the God of Reality

It's easy to believe in God as long as we can keep him confined to the spiritual realm. The problem is, he doesn't stay there. That's why it's so uncomfortable to admit that the resurrection of Israel as a people and a nation is his handiwork.
Exodus 6:2-9:35; Ezekiel 28:25-29:21; Zechariah 8:20-23; Luke 1:30-33
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Meeting the God of Reality
It’s easy to maintain the fiction of devotion to God as long as we keep him confined to the spiritual realm. As long as faith is simply the hope of an ethereal heavenly reward, then we can do whatever we please in the here-and-now. The problem is, our Creator is the God of the here-and-now as well as the by-and-by, and from time to time he reminds us of that. He is very much part of our reality, and that’s what makes true devotion to him both uncomfortable and rare.
It's always been that way. We can see how God intersects with human reality through these instructions to Moses:
Say therefore to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” (Exodus 6:6-8 ESV)
Some would prefer to relegate the Exodus account to myth and legend. And yet, those ancient words of God are relevant to our reality because the descendants of those ancient Israelites are still here. They are the Jewish people, and they have returned to that very same geographical location God spoke about to Moses: the Promised Land he himself had guaranteed as the possession of Israel’s Patriarchs and their descendants. We can go to that place right now and walk on the same ground the Patriarchs walked. It is also the land where Yeshua walked, and that’s why this connection to Israel’s land and people is part of both the Christian and the Jewish reality. In the end, those realities are the same because the same God of Abraham established them.
It might be said that the Christian reality has focused more on the spiritual truth of God’s Kingdom. We are, after all, devoted to the King, Messiah Yeshua. We know he is the King because the angel Gabriel declared that when he told Mary about the child she would bear:
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:32-33 ESV)
From this we learn that our Lord is the Son of God and Savior of the world. We follow Yeshua’s teachings because they are instructions about how to live at peace with God and men. That’s a good start, but unless we connect our Savior with the physical people and the geographical place called Israel, our understanding of Messiah’s Kingdom is at best theoretical.
Our Jewish brethren are good at emphasizing the historical and geographical reality of God’s Kingdom. That’s why they say every year at Passover, “Next year in Jerusalem.” It’s also why Jews have mourned and prayed and repented for millennia in expectation that God will end their exile and restore them to the very same land to which he led them in the days of the Exodus. Their prayers have not been in vain. The proof of that is the reality of the Jewish State of Israel. It’s the sign that there is a God, and that he is willing and able to come through on his promises. And yet, for the most part, Jewish people have missed the King. That means all their commendable devotion to the Torah, the land, and the God of Israel has missed the power of the direct connection to the King.
We will understand in time why this disconnect between the two halves of God’s Covenant People was necessary. The multitudes from the nations who have proclaimed their loyalty to Messiah Yeshua – the one we first met as Jesus Christ, Son of David – needed only that. The reality of the Kingdom has permeated hearts on every continent over the last two thousand years, creating a people from those who were not a people and transforming them from the inside out through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Over those same centuries, Jewish saints have carried the oracles of God in their hearts and in their Torah scrolls even as they were persecuted from one city to another, often by the very ones who should have been the first to defend them and seek to learn from them. They have, as a people, remained true to the Covenant calling of Israel, walking it out as faithfully as they could in expectation of the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel and the revelation of Israel’s Messiah.
Now we are here in the fullness of time, just as Moses appeared before Pharaoh in the fullness of time. Back then, God intervened in human history to establish his people Israel in the land where he had placed his name. Now he is intervening in human history to remind both Jews and Christians that his name remains on that particular land, and that both of them have a connection to it. As God said through Zechariah:
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.” Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:20-23 ESV)
This is why the Kingdom of Heaven is inseparable from the land of Israel and God’s capital city of Jerusalem. We know the King. Now let’s learn about his Kingdom. It’s not difficult to find; it’s the one place on earth to which all roads lead.
Cover photo by Tim Mossholder, Wagon Mound, New Mexico, December 11, 2023, on Unsplash..
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

A Family for All the Lonely

The Bible has a lot to say about adoption, but do we really know what that means? Maybe a big reason we don't understand the blessing of being adopted into God's family is because we don't understand the hope adoption brings to those who have no hope.
Genesis 47:28-50:26; 1 Kings 2:1-12; Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 68:1-10; Luke 19:1-10; Romans 8:18-25; Galatians 4:1-7
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: A Family for All the Lonely
Cover Photo by DQmountaingirl, May 28. 2008, via Flickr.
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

Reconciliation Priorities

What is it that makes lasting reconciliation possible? This is especially important for the family of faith who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We might start by recognizing that we really do worship the same God. Then we could ask Him who else is in the family - and what to do to make things right with them. 
Genesis 44:18-47:27; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Psalm 22:1-31; Matthew 25:45-47; Luke 15:11-32; Romans 11:13-16; Hebrews 5:7-10
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Reconciliation Priorities
Cover Image: Joseph Converses With Judah, His Brother, by James Tissot, 1896-1902, The Jewish Museum.
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

Ambassadors of Reconciliation

Messiah Meetings 2025 happened a Hebraic Family Fellowship Dallas-Fort Worth (HFF DFW) on December 11-12. The theme this year was the Gifts, Office, and Fruit of the Holy Spirit. I was honored to be among the 11 speakers. This is my presentation, Ambassadors of Reconciliation. The intent of the message is to sketch the framework of the Gospel of the Kingdom to provide context for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Ambassadors of Reconciliation
This recording is used with permission of HFF of DFW. All the presentations are available on the livestream links below:
Day 1, December 11: https://www.youtube.com/live/5t7wVhLcrIY?si=-al1gKfKw2u5hRPQ
Day 2, December 12: https://www.youtube.com/live/0ffEo05V1bc?si=yO5a-8KJpSGF9Rz6
 
To learn more about HFF DFW, visit their website at https://hff.church/hff-dfw

Winning By Not Losing

Messiah Yeshua said, "the one who endures to the end will be saved." We have to ask: Endure to the end of what? How are we saved? For what purpose? And how do we endure to the end when the odd against us are overwhelming? 
Genesis 32:3-36:43; Obadiah 1; Matthew 10:16-23, 24:9-13; Revelation 2:18-29, 3:7-13
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Winning By Not Losing
Cover Image: The faithful endurance of soldiers like Pfc. Vernon Haught of the 82nd Airborne Division ensured Allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge. (Photo taken near Ordimont, Belgium, January 6, 1945, National Archives.)
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.

Fully Leavened

Messiah Yeshua's parables of the Kingdom seem easy to understand until we start looking beneath the surface of the stories. That's when we realize that we might not know exactly what the Kingdom is. 
Genesis 28:10-32:2; Hosea 12:12-14:9; 2 Samuel 7:4-17; Daniel 2:31-45; Matthew 13:33; Luke 1:26-33; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Fully Leavened
Cover Image generated by Grok, created by xAI.
Music: "Song of Glory,” The Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, 2016.