12 February 2023 - Finding Wisdom, Finding JESUS

 

 

Reading:

Exodus 21
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 18: Mishpatim (Rulings) 21:1–24:18

1 “These are the rulings you are to present to them:

2 “If you purchase a Hebrew slave, he is to work six years; but in the seventh, he is to be given his freedom without having to pay anything. 3 If he came single, he is to leave single; if he was married when he came, his wife is to go with him when he leaves. 4 But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he will leave by himself. 5 Nevertheless, if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, so I don’t want to go free,’ 6 then his master is to bring him before God; and there at the door or doorpost, his master is to pierce his ear with an awl; and the man will be his slave for life.

7 “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free like the men-slaves. 8 If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly. 9 If he has her marry his son, then he is to treat her like a daughter. 10 If he marries another wife, he is not to reduce her food, clothing or marital rights. 11 If he fails to provide her with these three things, she is to be given her freedom without having to pay anything.

12 “Whoever attacks a person and causes his death must be put to death. 13 If it was not premeditated but an act of God, then I will designate for you a place to which he can flee. 14 But if someone willfully kills another after deliberate planning, you are to take him even from my altar and put him to death.

15 “Whoever attacks his father or mother must be put to death.

16 “Whoever kidnaps someone must be put to death, regardless of whether he has already sold him or the person is found still in his possession.

17 “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.

18 “If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and the injured party doesn’t die but is confined to his bed; 19 then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his recovery is complete.



Exodus 34
Tree of Life Version
1 Adonai said to Moses, “Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write upon them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, come up to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout the entire mountain. Even the flocks and herds must not graze in front of that mountain.”

4 So he carved two tablets of stone like the first. Then Moses rose up early in the morning, went up onto Mount Sinai as Adonai had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Then Adonai descended in the cloud, stood with him there, as he called on the Name of Adonai. 

Thirteen Attributes of God
6 Then Adonai passed before him, and proclaimed, “Adonai, Adonai, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, 7 showing mercy to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

8 Then Moses quickly bowed his head down to the earth and worshipped. 9 He said, “If now I have found grace in Your eyes, my Lord, let my Lord please go within our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own inheritance.” 

Exclusive Covenant
10 Then He said, “I am cutting a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders, such as have not been done in all the earth, or in any nation. All the people you are among will see the work of Adonai—for what I am going to do with you will be awesome! 11 Obey what I am commanding you today. Behold, I am going to drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites before you. 12 Watch yourself, and make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a snare among you. 13 Instead you must break down their altars, smash their pillars and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you are to bow down to no other god, because Adonai is jealous for His Name—He is a jealous God.

15 “See that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. Otherwise when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifice. 16 Do not take their daughters for your sons, for their daughters will prostitute themselves with their own gods, and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

17 “You are not to make for yourselves metal gods.

18 “You are to keep the Feast of Matzot. For seven days you are eat matzot, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for in the month Aviv you came out from Egypt.

19 “Every firstborn of the womb is Mine, and from all your cattle you are to sanctify the males, the firstborn of the ox and sheep. 20 A firstborn donkey you are to redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you are to break its neck. You must redeem all your firstborn sons. No one should appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “For six days you will work, but on the seventh day you will rest. During plowing time and harvest you must rest.

22 “You are to observe the Feast of Shavuot, which is the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times during the year all your males are to appear before Adonai Elohim, God of Israel. 24 For I am going to cast out nations before you, then enlarge your territory. So no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before Adonai your God three times in the year.

25 “You are not to offer the blood of My sacrifice with hametz, nor should the sacrifice of the Passover Festival remain until morning.

26 “You are to bring the choicest firstfruits of your land to the House of Adonai your God.

“You must not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Write these words, for based on these words I have cut a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he stayed there with Adonai for 40 days and 40 nights, and he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant: the Ten Words.[a]

29 Now it happened, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face was radiant, because God had spoken with him. 30 When Aaron and all Bnei-Yisrael saw Moses, the skin of his face shone in rays, so they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all Bnei-Yisrael came near, and he gave them all the mitzvot that Adonai had spoken to him in Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But when Moses went before Adonai, so that He could speak with him, he took the veil off until he came out. When he came out and spoke to Bnei-Yisrael what he was commanded, 35 Bnei-Yisrael saw the face of Moses and that the skin of his face glistened. So Moses put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

 

Matthew 27
Tree of Life Version
Judah’s Remorse
1 When daybreak came, the ruling kohanim and elders of the people conspired against Yeshua to put Him to death. 2 And they tied Him up, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor. 3 Then Judah, His betrayer, saw that Yeshua had been condemned. Feeling remorse, he brought the thirty silver pieces back to the ruling kohanim and elders, 4 saying, “I’ve sinned, betraying innocent blood!”

But they said, “What’s that to us? You see to it yourself!” 5 After tossing the silver into the Temple sanctuary, he left. Then he went off and hanged himself. 6 But the ruling kohanim took the silver pieces and said, “It is not permitted to put these in the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So after they conferred, they bought with them the potter’s field, as a cemetery for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty silver pieces, the price of Him on whom a price had been set by Bnei-Yisrael; 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as Adonai arranged for me.”[a]
“Kill the King!”

11 Now Yeshua stood before the governor. The governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“You say so,” Yeshua said. 12 And while He was accused by the ruling kohanim and elders, He did not answer.

13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Don’t You hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 Yeshua did not answer, not even one word, so the governor was greatly amazed.

15 Now during the feast, the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner, anyone they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Yeshua Bar-Abba. 17 So when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release for you? Yeshua who is Bar-Abba, or Yeshua who is called Messiah?” [b] 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over out of envy.

19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Don’t have anything to do with that righteous Man, for today I’ve suffered many things in a dream because of Him.”

20 Now the ruling kohanim and elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Bar-Abba and destroy Yeshua. 21 But the governor responded, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”

And they said, “Bar-Abba!”

22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Yeshua, who is called Messiah?”

“Execute Him!” all of them say.

23 But Pilate said, “Why? What evil has He done?”

But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Let Him be executed!”

24 When Pilate saw he was accomplishing nothing, but instead a riot was starting, he took some water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this blood,”[c] he said. “You see to it yourselves!”

25 All the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children!”[d]

26 Then he released to them Bar-Abba. And after he had Yeshua scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Nailed to a Stake
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Yeshua into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around Him. 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe around Him. 29 And after braiding a crown of thorns, they placed it on His head and put a staff in His right hand. And falling on their knees before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Him, and they took the staff and beat Him over and over on the head. 31 When they finished mocking Him, they stripped the robe off Him and put His own clothes back on Him. And they led Him away to crucify Him.



Psalm 33
TLV
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai, the people He chose for His own inheritance.
13 Adonai looks down from heaven. He observes all humanity.
14 From His dwelling place He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 He who fashions the hearts of all, who discerns all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by his great army, no warrior is delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory, nor can its great strength save.
18 Behold, the eyes of Adonai are on those who fear Him, waiting for His love,
19 to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for Adonai— He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in Him, because we trusted in His holy Name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, Adonai, be upon us, as we have waited for You.



Proverbs 9:1-6
Tree of Life Version
Wisdom and Folly Invite
1 Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls. She calls from the city’s heights:
4 “Whoever is naïve, turn in here!” To those who lack understanding, she says:
5 “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Abandon your foolish ways and live! Walk in the way of understanding.”

NIGHT Devotions:

Genesis 36

1 Chronicles 1:35-37