Restoration of all Things

After listing all the horrors that awaited those who departed from His covenant, Moshe told us that Yahweh would nonetheless allow us to return and would make Israel one people again:

"But when all these things… have come upon you, you will bring [Moshe’s

instructions] back to mind among all the nations…and you will return to

YHWH your Elohim and obey His voice.” (D’varim/Deut. 30:1-2)

Today YHWH has indeed opened the door for us to stop spinning our wheels, wasting our lives on “things that do not let us ascend” (Jeremiah 16:19), and to come back to the legacy our ancestors abandoned.

Yet He finds it necessary to remind us:

“If you return, O Israel, return to Me.” (Yirmeyahu 4:1)

In other words, if we are not careful, we could still end up missing the main point and “returning” to things He doesn’t find important at all.

So as we turn back, there couldn’t be a better time to take stock of what it really means—and doesn’t mean—to return to YHWH Himself, so we won’t get it wrong this time. If we are going to restore, we must make sure we are restoring the right things.

Beyond the Temple

The Hebrew word for “ancient” is

qedem. It does speak of antiquities,

but it also means “forward” and

“making progress”.

You’ve heard of “back to the

future”; in Hebrew, we go “forward

to the past”!

That may not sound too exciting; after all, haven’t we made tremendous advances? But how far back are we talking? Not just to the days of our grandparents; that would be “conservative” of the wrong period in history. It’s further back than we usually think.

Among those who are turning back to their Hebraic identity, much is made of the rebuilding of the Temple, and Y’hezq’el (Ezekiel) says this will occur in the Mes-sianic era, so at some point this will be appropriate. The Temple he prophesies about is more like Solomon’s

than Herod’s, but there are few

archaeological remains from

Solomon’s. We also have the most

detailed records about what went

on in the Second Temple. But we

shouldn’t hold it up as our paragon of holiness, because by

that time, Israel had already long since departed from Yahweh’s original intent.

Enter Yeshua. He came on the scene saying he had a “new commandment”. But that doesn’t mean it was different from the ones given well over a millennium before.

A lot of Anti-Semitism has resulted from the perception that the New Testament replaces the “Old” or casts a negative slant on the “Jews”. But in historical context, that term would most often be better rendered “Judeans”—the residents of the region of Judea—named after the Jews, to be sure, but contrasted not with Gentiles this time, but with Galileans, who held to a much simpler, “Torah-only” practice, without the complex added religious requirements by which the Judean sects had redefined the Torah lifestyle.

Yeshua wasn’t trying to break any continuity with the original commandments. He called his commandment “new” because although it was given long beforehand, it was “still in the package”. It had never been “opened”. People had been given the instruction book, and it was much celebrated, but never used! Too many other things were obscuring the simplest reading of the Torah. So he was trying to make it more accessible by removing the clutter. He wanted to get back to the pristine, original intent the Creator had for His people. He was trying to call them back to the basic, unvarnished relationship with YHWH.

Yeshua’s Actual Agenda

Yeshua knew that he was the one in

line to be the rightful king in the

line of David, should Yahweh choose

to restore that throne in his day.

That is why he is often called the

Messiah (mashiakh)—“the anointed one”.

But he also knew that in Israel, the priests have a higher position than the king. (This is why Uzziyahu was given as strong a punishment as leprosy for overstepping his place and trespassing onto priestly turf.) Even the descendant who sits on David’s throne will be called “prince”, not “king”, because in Israel, only Yahweh is meant to be King.

Ideally Israel did not need a human king, but when Israel demanded one, YHWH reserved the prerogative of choosing who that would be, and indicated this through having His recognized prophet and judge anoint him with oil. (1 Shmu’el 10:1) The purpose of anointing with oil was much like Aharon’s rod that budded—to end all argument. So the emphasis in the term mashiakh is YHWH’s choice, not salvation as such.

The term for “savior” is moshia. Its similarity to mashiakh has caused many to confuse the two roles. A king was often the savior, because, like the judges after Y’hoshua, he delivered Israel from her oppressors.

The first time we see a king called “YHWH’s anointed”, it is when David could have killed King Sha’ul but chose not to, because despite his shortcomings he was still the one YHWH had chosen. (1 Shmu’el 26:9) But in the actual Torah, only the priest is ever called “the anointed one”. (Lev. 4:3; 6:22, etc.)

Zerubbavel, after the Babylonian captivity, is celebrated as the right kind of heir to David. He works along with the priests. He does not even have a throne. Yeshua teamed up with Yochanan the Immerser (his own mentor and teacher) in trying to restore this proper order.

Their intent was to restore things

from before the Second Temple: the

autonomy of the Davidic line and

the Tzadoqite priesthood, whom

YHWH had designated as the ones

to hold the highest positions in His

sanctuary because they had proven

faithful when others did not.

(Y’hezq’el 44:15) But the religious

establishment in place at the Temple now was not this line, but priests who had bought their positions when Rome sold them to the highest bidders. The whole reason for the Qumran settlement (as understood through the Dead Sea Scrolls) seems to have been to try to re-establish the correct priestly line in a self-imposed “exile”, and the evidence points to Yochanan himself being raised in that community or a similar one after his faithful parents were killed because they had the same agenda.

While Yochanan (like Yirmeyahu before him, who was also a priest) functioned as a prophet to prepare the way for Yeshua, Yeshua realized that his role as moshia (deliverer) and even king was really to set the stage for the restoration of the proper mashiakh (anointed one). He recognized that after he established his throne, he, like David and the reforming kings after him like Hizqiyahu and Yoshiyahu, would use that political leverage mainly to be able to enforce the return of the mashiakh by its original definition (the priesthood) to its higher position, and to guard it from both outside conquerors and inside usurpers.

So he was expecting to, in this sense, be Yochanan’s forerunner and to again turn some of his authority back over to Yochanan after he had the people’s ear; the throne was not his real goal, but merely a necessary means to an end. While Yochanan would probably not have had the position of high priest, he was the one among those who should at least rightfully be a priest who had the most potential to influence the people to put the correct priesthood back. in place. He had high hopes, based on a prophecy from 400 years before:

"Eliyahu is indeed coming first, and will restore all things [to their former state].” (Matthew 17:10-11)

He was alluding to Mal’akhi 3:22-24, which defines what it means to “restore all things”:

“Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant…the prescribed customs and legal procedures. Look here! I am sending you Eliyahu the prophet before the great and terrifying Day of Yahweh comes, and he will turn the heart of the fathers back to sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, lest I should come back and slap the Land under a ban.”

Yochanan’s father was told that his son would be a forerunner “in the spirit and power [capability] of Eliyahu”. (Luke 1:17) “If you can accept it”, Yeshua said, “this same one is Eliyahu who was to come.” (Mat. 11:14) In other words, if this generation takes up the challenge of being the forerunners to the Kingdom, Yochanan can be the fulfillment of that prophecy.

But they did not accept it; they killed Yochanan. When this occurred, Yeshua felt like the only “Pin’has” of his generation, who had the zeal for YHWH’s jealousy, was now gone, and who else could he trust to accomplish that? Who else could he feel confident about turning the Temple over to? So this threw him into a tailspin. As Dr. James Tabor points out, he had to go into hiding under another potentate’s jurisdiction (Luke 9:7-10) to regroup and find a new strategy. The work ended up not getting done that time around.

But Yeshua’s disciples did not give up hope that his mission of restoration could still be fulfilled:

“Therefore chisel out your [mistakes]

and turn back, in order that what you

got out of line may be wiped clean and

coated back over, and seasons of

refreshment may come upon you from

before YHWH, and that He may send

to you the one He has established:

Yeshua the Messiah, whom it is

necessary that the heavens receive

until the times of the restoration of all

the things that Elohim said through His set-apart prophets that have been since antiquity.” (Acts 3:19-21)

They knew that high on Yeshua’s agenda was to “restore the kingdom to Israel”. (Acts 1:6) The Kingdom could not be complete without the other, scattered part of Israel returning also. Restoring them in particular was one of the Messiah's duties (Isaiah 49:6). He sent his protegés out to finish the job of finding and bringing back the “lost sheep of the House of Israel", so when the King came back he would have the right constituency to rule over—all the tribes. You can't have the Kingdom if you don't have all the players.

They did get busy reuniting the Northern Kingdom and Judah into one house (Rom. 14:19) rather than two, proclaiming that

"In Messiah Yahshua you who were once far off [cf. Daniel 9:7] have been brought near by [His] blood, since He is our peace, who has made both one, having broken down the barrier…so as to create in Himself one new man from the two...and completely restore both of them to favor..." (Eph. 2:13-16)

But again the focus got lost when Rome brought "mystery Babylon"—the legacy of the Tower of Bavel--back into the mix. (Dan. 7:25) And indeed the Land was “slapped under a ban”.

So there needs to be another fulfillment. And as the Land wakes up again, the spirit of Eliyahu is coming back too. What is it? That spirit of the restoration of all things that Yahweh prescribed. If you see yourself as belonging to the Messiah, this has to be your agenda as well.

Beyond Judaism

Many who are returning to Torah from among the nations, and especially those who realize the Land is part of the covenant, feel that their only option is to convert to Judaism. Yehudah may be closer to YHWH’s will than the Northern Kingdom was when we were Christians. They have preserved some things very well, not the least of which is the Hebrew language, which holds the keys to so many things. But Judaism is only one tribe’s angle on Torah. If all the tribes become Jews, who will fill the role that the prophets say Joseph has in the latter days?

And the Judaism of today is based on the system of the Pharisees—the very ones Yeshua tried so hard to correct, and the only ones whose take on the Torah outlasted the Great Revolts as a rival to his. Their viewpoint won out over all the other major forms of Judaism when the Temple was destroyed. Their system may have been the best way to weather a long exile. But they, too, have turned Torah, which was meant to be the way of ordering a whole society, into a religion, and that clouded things.

Not that the additions are always bad. Chawwah (Eve) told the serpent that YHWH had said not to touch the fruit, when all He had actually said was not to eat it. (Gen. 3:3) She (or was it Adam?) had already added a "fence" to what Elohim said—generally a healthy practice which can keep us one step away from sinning, but which can cause problems if taken too far.

For two millennia the leaders of the only recognizable people of Israel have been rabbis. Many positive things have resulted from this arrangement, but something is still wrong with the picture.

At the Tower of Bavel, people began to substitute “bricks for building stones”—symbolic of the fact that they wanted to put their own structures in place. Israel has not been unaffected by that tendency. To hold onto their positions, people make everything, even Torah, more complicated than necessary through religion.

We have to be careful that we do not just transfer from one profitless religious system to another, and be no more fruitful than our parents, who inherited lies.

We need a sustainable structure, one that works all the time. The spinoffs from Torah are luxuries that may work sometimes, but not in every circumstance. They aren’t as steady or sure as the simplicity of the Torah itself. Both houses of Israel need to return all the way to the actual Torah, because that is our only solid reference point and ultimately our only reliable connection with one another.

As well-intentioned as it may be, any structure other than Torah gives con artists a wide open door to “fleece the flock” of monetary tithes, which are at best an analogy of the real agricultural tithes. Torah does designate some people as professionals in the service of Yahweh.

Who did YHWH say were to be the interpreters of His instructions?

"If a matter is too difficult for you to render judgment between blood and blood, between [one] cause and [another], or between [one] blow and [another]--matters of legal controversy between your civil precincts, then proceed to go up to the place that YHWH your Elohim will choose, and come to the Levitical officials or to the judge that there will be in those days, and consult them, and they will make known to you the manner of deciding the case… Be careful to carry out all that they direct you [to do].” (Deut. 17:8-9)

No mention of rabbis there. The present-day restoration of a Sanhedrin may be a step in the right direction, but the 70 elders in the Torah were more Moshe’s cabinet of special advisors. The Levites are the ones who are supposed to be the judges. They are the only ones authorized to rule on the finer points of Torah.

But they don’t beg for money so that they can study all the time, when they are able-bodied enough to work. There is a need for a few who will truly need to focus on becoming experts in the Torah, but a format for how they are to be provided for is already set up so that their honor is preserved. And that position is not open to just anyone. Only the Levites are assigned to receive tithes—of real food that they can eat, as opposed to money so there’s no temptation to be in it for the money). And work they most certainly do.

The bricks need to be changed back to building stones.

YHWH promises that in the latter days,

“‘I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an eternal covenant.” (Y’hezq’el/Ezekiel 16: 60)

In the context of the two houses of Israel being rejoined, YHWH promises a “covenant of peace”. (Y’hezq’el 37:26) The only place this phrase is used in the actual Torah is in reference to the covenant of eternal priesthood for the descendants of Pin’has because of his zeal for YHWH’s reputation. (Num. 25:13) He was the one who ended up being the high priest two generations after Aharon. So his line is the one that is authorized. The mention of the “covenant of peace” in the context of all of Israel being restored is a reminder that YHWH has not forgotten that promise. It gives us hope that the Levitical priests will yet again be the authorized teachers and interpreters of the Torah. So they need to be trained again to be the ones most knowledgeable in the Torah.

We are grateful for those who have worked hard to fill in for them in the meantime, but they need to defer to the order YHWH Himself set up now that it can be restored. It is no coincidence that the line of Aharon is the only one with an unmistakable genetic marker, so there is no longer any excuse that we cannot accurately identify who is qualified.

“From the beginning it was not so”

And it may not require preparations as elaborate as we would imagine. The concept of bringing offerings to YHWH is seen very early in the Torah, but the first time offerings are required daily is in B’Midbar (Numbers) 28.

But why? We have to remember that the Torah was not given in a vacuum, as a monolithic body of law at Mt. Sinai. Moshe kept adding to it as we had certain experiences in the wilderness which highlighted the need for more clarity about certain things.

The context here was that Israel had become enamored with the religion of the Moabites. As when Israel demanded a king like the other nations had, not realizing how burdensome that would become, when we showed too much interest in religion, He gave us the “religion” within certain boundaries that He knew would be most profitable and least problematic. But before that, there was very little of a “religious” nature in His instruction.

In other words, most religion was added to keep us busy so we would stay out of other people’s religions! It was not His original intent. A simpler, more basic version of the sanctuary (the Tent of Appointment) was established by YHWH is an older law, still on the books. The law gravity is still true, though the law of aerodynamics can supersede it. Which will we choose to live by?

The altar that He did prescribe in the Israelite camp, which had almost as many people as the modern state of Israel, measured about 7.5 feet across and 4.5 feet tall. That’s tiny, compared to the one in the second Temple that an 18-wheeler truck could drive up onto and turn around. We were not meant to need so many offerings, because we were expected to not be so careless!

King Shlomoh took the rules for the altar and applied them to the House—no stones hewn on site. (1 Kings 5; 2 Shmuel 7) We are specifically told that the Temple was built 480 years after the Exodus from Egypt. That wasn’t put there without a reason. The scribe seems to be pointing out that this House was more like what they had been building in Egypt than the Tent had been. He enlisted taskmasters too—just as Pharaoh had!

Twice the Temple was destroyed, but was the Tabernacle ever plundered or destroyed? Yahweh preferred a tent. He never asked for a Temple. He allowed one because of David’s zeal. But David was the one who designed it. It was really more of a monument to David’s name and dynasty than a replacement for the Tent. YHWH said, “You can’t build it yourself, but your son can build a house for My name…” He did not even state this in the imperative form (“you must”), but in the open-ended imperfect tense. And even this statement was in the context of YHWH being a father to him and building up his house--in the sense of “household”, not necessarily a building.

The only sanctuary YHWH

directly commanded was a

tent, for Israelites are

designed as a tent-dwelling

people. We are meant to be

able to pull up stakes and

move on when YHWH’s

“cloud” picks up and moves.

So should we not focus on the restoration of this simpler, more pristine

setting in which YHWH met with His people—when they were all gathered around His smaller, more inviting and intimate abode? One where the altar was more the center of family barbecue parties than of an elaborate religion?

The Avrahamic Covenant

Avraham lived in tents, which may be one reason YHWH brought all of Israel into the wilderness to live in tents to give us the right perspective before we went into the Promised land, putting us back in touch with the ancestor who first lived there.

If we seek YHWH only through later covenants added onto the one with Avraham, we will not fully understand His heart.

Interestingly, there is a movement in Islam which parallels what we have been talking about here. It is called “Qur’an-Only Islam”, and it also aims to unite Muslims based on their least common denominator rather than emphasizing what divides their various factions. The Qur’an actually supports Israel’s right to its Land and recognizes that Solomon built a Temple on the site where the Dome of the Rock now sits. The Qur’an never even mentions Jerusalem being a site holy to Muslims as such. And Muhammad’s own uncle was at least strongly influenced by those later called, for lack of a better term, “Jewish Christians”, whose teachings most closely resembled those of Yeshua’s brother Yaaqov (James), where the New Testament's respect for the Torah is most obvious. If this and our common heritage in Avraham can be emphasized, even much of the fuel for the “Middle East conflict” may melt away, for when all things are in order, Yerushalayim is meant to be the source of peace to the whole world. From it, instructions will issue forth (Micha 4:2)—when the right instructions are being followed there.

Avraham “acquired souls” during his journey. As individuals we cannot fully follow YHWH. The covenant is with a nation, and each of us is only part of Israel. Y’hezq’el details how the Land of Israel will be restored to all the tribes, not just Yehudah, in a way that safeguards justice with checks and balances on the rulers so they will not, like Solomon and his son, take advantage of the other tribes.

Psalm 122:4 tells us that not only the tribes,

but all nations, will flow up to Yerushalayim

for judgment, and the very creation will be

put back in order. (Yeshayahu 2:2ff) Everything

that was drawn out from here will return

here. But it goes even further.

Psalm 122:3 calls Yerushalayim a “city joined

together”. Thus it is said that heaven and earth

meet here, and that the Garden of Eden hovered

directly over it, for the Gihon, one of the rivers

of Eden, is still there. Those rivers divided after

they left the Garden (Genesis 2:10)—an as an

earthly “mirror image” of the Garden above,

Y'hezq'El (Ezekiel) 44 tells us that one day a river will indeed again flow from

the throne in Yerushalayim, and divide into eastward and westward flows,

bringing restoration of life even to the Dead Sea.

But the root meaning of “river” in Hebrew (nahar) is to flow together or to assemble. The rivers of Eden flow apart, but by definition they must reconverge.

One New Man

In an Ancient Hebrew conceptualization of creation, the Infinite One wanted to share Himself with someone else, but could not, since He was All there was. So He created something that was not Himself, thus beginning a pattern of expansion of the universe that would allow its potential to come to light more readily. Then

"Elohim created Adam in His own image: in the image of Elohim He created him; male and female He created them." (Gen. 1:27)

The two of them together they were originally called Adam:

"Male and female He created them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam on the day in which they were created." (Gen 5:2)

Then He separated them into two—a continuation of that expansion—with the intent that they voluntarily come back together into one. (2:24)

But, not satisfied to be merely His "image", Adam and Chawwah created more divisions, damaging the only legitimate "image of Elohim".

Though mankind had forfeited the intimacy YHWH intended to have with us, He immediately began restoring order. He called Avraham to a separate place and started a nation charged with the job of repairing the world, for ultimately, what He wants with us is what He had with Adam in the Garden—simple, intimate friendship, with no complications in the way.

Only this time He wants it with not just one person, but a people who function as one.

When all the tribes of Israel were together at Sinai to receive the Torah, that reunited image did flicker into flame for a moment when the whole nation agreed "with one voice" to obey His commands. (Ex. 24:3) But again the nation divided, diverting the progress. But YHWH said this was His idea (1 Kings 12:19-24), so He was not caught off guard. He had a plan beyond our understanding.

On another occasion, all of Israel "assembled as one man before YHWH". (Judges 20:1) When the altar was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity, "the sons of Israel ...gathered together as one man." (Ezra 3:1) Again, when the Torah was read again, they "gathered as one man". (Neh. 8:1) But this was only one of the twelve tribes of Israel. So this was still only a taste.

Let’s fast-forward to the end for a moment: Like a stretched-out rubber band, when it reaches the limit, we are told there will be a rapid "contraction" back to the ancient ways, culminating in Yeshua himself giving the Kingdom back to the Father after He puts everything under Yeshua's feet, so YHWH may again be All in all (1 Cor. 15:24-28).

“In that day, YHWH will be one and His Name one.” (Zkh. 14:9)

That is the vision that gives us our impetus and sustains us through the mundane and the difficult. But where is that garden now?

Just before His arrest, in another garden, Yeshua prayed, "I ask...that they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in me, and I in You—that they also may be in us... The authority which You have given Me I have given them, that they may be one, just as we are one, I in them and You in Me, so that they may be perfected in unity." (Yochanan 17:20ff) That was his dying wish.

But that job is not done yet. How do we actually get there from here?

Making It Practical

The Psalmist asks YHWH to restore the exiles “like the streams in the Negev” (a very dry desert), and Jeremiah says that when He does regather Israel, our souls will feel like a well-watered garden. (Yirmeyahu 31:10ff) . What characterizes those particular streams is that when the few rains do come, they start with a trickle, then converge and become very forceful, moving anything that stands in their way. We can begin to see the return of the river to Eden wherever Israel assembles.

YHWH Elohim took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it and care for it. (Gen. 2:15)

The term here for “care for” (shamar) literally means to guard it. We are likewise told to guard both the Sabbath and the commandments. (Deut. 6:17ff) So they are gates back to the Garden, from which the flaming sword of time has kept us—for if death had not been introduced into the picture, why would the passage of time mean anything to us? The way to overcome time is to get in synch with His cycles, beginning with the Sabbath, then the other festivals:

“I am YHWH, your Elohim since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed [feast].” (Hos. 12:9)

By lining up with His time, we can overcome time, the flaming sword that keeps us from returning to Eden. At Sukkoth we indeed get a taste of that togetherness and the tent-dwelling lifestyle that is closer to YHWH’s heart.

But once a year is not enough. A restoration of order is needed on all levels.

The role of the spirit of Eliyahu is to “turn the heart of the fathers back to sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers”. (Mal. 3:24) This means that we restore an appreciation for authority, and that parents teach their children that the simplest way to get along in this world is to keep the real, actual Torah—not Christianity’s slant on it, or even the Talmud’s, but the plain, simple commands given by YHWH. It is the instruction book by which we can learn to operate harmoniously—as “one man”.

In Torah, the young are in submission to the faithful and experienced, but everyone is taking responsibility to share the burden.

Yithro, the priest of Midyan (which means “officiator of strife”) showed Moshe the type of organizational structure that neutralizes contention: make Israelites responsible for one another, and make everyone accountable to someone close to him. (Exodus 18)

To fully restore returning Israel, we must bring back the hierarchy that YHWH ordained. Moshe divided authority between “rulers of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000.” A “ruler of ten” would be over not ten individuals, but ten households along natural family lines. He would probably be the wisest member of the same clan as those he ruled over. These "small claims judges" would therefore know those he presided over quite intimately, and be able to recognize much more quickly when they were "bluffing" or whether the allegation was out of character for the accused. Petty arguments would also be taken care of quickly—“nipped in the bud”—rather than wasting the time of those who had bigger responsibilities.

But again, how do we get there from here?

Though he died in this battle, Yeshua’s selfless attitude continues to have repercussions today. "[Though] being in the form ["image"] of Elohim, he did not consider equality with Elohim something to be seized" (Phil. 2:6), as Adam had. He said, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” The grain of seed fell into the ground, and he no longer remains alone. If the “body” of this new Man “holds fast to the head” (Col. 2:19), having this same mindset, we can finish rebuilding the lost image of Elohim.

Gen 2 tells us that, when in the ancient place, it is not right to be alone (for who can we then serve?) The best way to learn to be unselfish is to live in community. Not necessarily in tents—but close enough to interact more than just once a week.

Those who responded to Yeshua were known as the "Called-out Ones" (ekklesía). Like Avraham, we were called out from the Gentile lifestyles we'd assimilated to. But we have to be gathered into something, not just out of something.

We are called out in order to be called together. To get back to the ancient place, we need help—and we also have some of the things that others need. To fully live out the Torah in any context, we need to be around other people who also have that goal—other Israelites.

When YHWH was getting ready to bring Israel out of Egypt, He first brought them to a region called Goshen. “Goshen” means "drawing near", and this regathering was an essential prerequisite for their departure from Egypt. Goshen held none of the attractions of mainstream Egypt; all that was there were shepherds and flocks, but that is why it was given to Israel, whose purpose is to feed Yahweh’s sheep.

By looking into the “mirror” of Torah, we can see our "natural face"—and that of our fathers—and remember that we are indeed Israel. It tells us what that is supposed to look like. Then we can act accordingly, rather than forgetting what that "Man under the garment" is shaped like. (James 1:23ff)

With the Egyptians preoccupied with the plagues, Israel had an open door to come back to a separate place where they could regain this perspective on who they really were.

But like the priests, we are not separated unto seclusion, but unto a special task—of being a light to the nations. We have to be together, because for the light to be intense enough, it requires the combining of many small flames into one large one so the “city set on the hill” cannot be hidden. What city is that? The “renewed Jerusalem”, to which all nations will stream—the reversal of that outward streaming of the rivers from Eden.

Whatever it takes, then, we must find ways to gather with other Israelite often enough to be “iron sharpening iron”—studying Torah together and learning together how to stop blaming others like Adam and Chawwah did, and reverse the curse by taking responsibility for one another.

This in itself is a big enough task to focus on for now. After we get this right, we may be able to move on to the next step.

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