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Good morning bus riders!
I sent out the email to everyone on the list; so, I hope everyone took the time to read all the readings possible for today.
Remember, here I talk about all of the readings, including the Psalms. Since we don’t read everything out loud or hand out selected readings, we can spend more time explaining what things mean and why they are all read together on one Sunday.
So, with that said, let’s get to it!
This week we have a less clear thread that connects everything together. We begin with Job’s response to Eliphaz, who basically told Job his skin problem was evidence of wickedness.
The accompanying Psalm 22 sings out the verse Jesus said while dying on the cross, which is commonly translated as saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
From there we go to a reading from Amos, where the prophet told the leaders of Israel, “Seek Yahweh and live,” otherwise you guys are headed for ruin.
The accompanying Psalm 90 sings happily about serving God and enjoying His help in everything.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Hebrew-speaking (Jews) of Rome about everything being naked and laid bare, while adding that Jesus is the high priest.
All of that leads to a well-remembered Gospel reading, where a rich man came to Jesus and asked about being assured of going to heaven. When Jesus told him what to do, he walked away sad, prompting Jesus to say it was harder to get a camel through the eye of the needle than a rich man in heaven.
When I was studying these readings this past week, as always is the case, the closer I looked the more was exposed; and, it is that which is hidden that that becomes the connecting thread.
This is the meaning of Paul writing, “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” That becomes the central theme for today.
I want you to make a mental note of that, because I’ll come back to it later.
Now, earlier I said the Job reading was his response to Eliphaz. Raise your hand if you knew that.
<Look for people sitting on hands and heads shaking.>
That is one of those hidden things that become exposed when you look closer.
If one goes to the NRSV translation website, one will find a heading that says, “Job Replies: My Complaint Is Bitter.” "Replies to who?" one should ask.
Clicking back to Job 22 then finds the heading, “Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great.” So, "Who is Eliphaz?" should be the next question.
A Wikipedia article says Eliphaz was the first visitor to Job (called a friend), who “appears as the representative of the wisdom of the Edomites.” They add the name “Eliphaz” means “El is pure gold” or “My God is pure gold.”
Here, it is important to realize that name is formed from the Hebrew word “eli” (which means “my god”) and “pazaz” (which means “to be agile,” but specifically describes finely crafted gold).
In the NRSV translation that we read, verse sixteen is shown to say, “God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.” In that, the Hebrew word written by the writer (Moses orated this story, many believe) that has been translated as “God” is “wa-el.” That is a combination of words that says “for god.”
But, the word “el” does not mean capitalization is demanded. Last Sunday, when we began reading from Job, we found “Yahweh elohim” being the specific naming of “Yahweh,” with Satan one of the “elohim” who met with Yahweh. They were all called the "sons of elohim" or the "sons of gods," meaning they were created by Yahweh.
When “elohim” is understood to be plural, as “gods,” this can also be understood as “angels,” because “elohim” are purely spiritual. They are eternal; and, they have divine powers that are assigned to them by Yahweh.
Remember, I told you that the Hebrew word "satan" means "adversary." So, the "adversary angel" was, of sorts, the angel or "el" who tested the things created for perfection.
That means an “el” is one of the many “elohim.” As such, Satan is an “el” of the “bene ha-elohim” – the “sons of gods.”
All of this is written, but it is not translated correctly. That means we have to see what is there, rather than put our faith in someone unknown, who provides translations in English. That demands each of us needs to look closer, in order to find true faith. When looking closer, then that which appears hidden becomes exposed. It is “naked and laid bare.”
Now, I doubt anybody here took the time to read the Hebrew of Job 22, where Eliphaz told Job his wickedness was great. But in that chapter, one finds Eliphaz never once referred to “Yahweh." Instead, five times he referred to a singular “el” (in different forms).
He said “hal-el” – “can the god.” He said “eloah” (twice), which is a glorified way of saying “el,” as both mean “god,” but not “Yahweh.” He used “el” and “la-el.” Those say “god” and “to god,” with “Yahweh” again not stated.
That which becomes exposed in this lack of stating “Yahweh.” When that lack is seen, then we know the focus is not on Yahweh, but the “god” that is Job.
The uses of "el" all point to Job.
Raise your hand if you believe you have a soul.
<Look for raised hands and surprised faces.>
Without a soul your body of flesh would become a corpse. A body of flesh is dead, when not possessed by a living soul. Thus, your soul is the “god” of you.
Can you grasp that?
<Look for nodding heads.>
Good.
In Job we are told he was a “blameless and upright man,” which must be seen as because the soul of Job was married to Yahweh. That was why Yahweh bragged to Satan about Job not being a “man” that was like all the other human beings on earth, which were created on the sixth day. This means we need to realize the reason we read from Job is to see how marriage to Yahweh – becoming one of His “elohim,” as “angels in the flesh,” rather than purely spiritual entities – demands we be tested.
Job is a reflection of us, when our souls have married to Yahweh's Spirit. We see a need to be tested by fire, to be strengthened and purified. Job is a story of a wilderness experience, just like Jesus experienced.
By realizing that, all the complaints of Job in this reading today are responding to Eliphaz saying his unsightly disease is a statement of his wickedness. The complaints are not about Yahweh having caused it. They are not about admitting to having been wicked. Instead, he is complaining about his soul no longer hearing the voice of Yahweh when he prays for answers.
The “el” Job is complaining about is his own soul. He wants to hear from Yahweh, so Yahweh will tell his soul what he did wrong that has made him to be seen as wicked. Job saw his plight as something he did. Not as something caused by Yahweh.
Now, in the accompanying Psalm 22, the very first verse is translated as crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
In the Hebrew written, repeated is “eli,” which is part of the name of Eliphaz. That name says, “my god is agility” or “my god is fine gold.” That is not speaking about Yahweh. That is saying Eliphaz was named for one of the “elohim” who created valuable things from the earth.
In Matthew 27 we read about Jesus crying out this verse from Psalm 22. Matthew did not write those words in Greek. If he had, the use of a capitalized “Theos” (meaning “God”) would have been a statement that Jesus blamed Yahweh. Instead, Matthew wrote the Hebrew that Jesus spoke, which was, “Eli, eli,”
Jesus was about to die and he began singing a Psalm of David.
Now, Matthew also wrote what some of the Jews around the cross also heard Jesus say "Eli, eli." They said, “He calls for Elijah.” They heard Jesus sing that verse and they knew it; so, they had been taught to think Psalm 22 was David singing about Elijah.
The name “Elijah” means “Yahweh Is God,” or more aptly: "My god is Yah[weh]."
Those Jews then held up a sponge soaked in vinegar to Jesus’ mouth, saying, “Let Elijah come save him.”
I believe, especially when one sees Psalm 22 as a companion song to the Job 23 reading, that David was singing divinely about Job’s misery; since Jesus had yet to be born into the world. David also knew the name of Yahweh very well, often using it in his songs. However, for him to begin this song by crying out, “my god, my god,” he knew that “eli” was a cry about one’s soul.
David, in a divine trance that connected his soul to that of Job, could feel the inner suffering that a lost soul would feel. David himself would later know this lost feeling, after he sinned.
In verse two, David switched to “elohay,” which also means “my god.” He wrote, “Oh my god, I cry in the daytime but you do not answer.”
This was the cry of Job. The whole of the lyrics sing as David being divinely in touch with the soul of Job, knowing the pain and agony he suffered.
Still, “eli” is not Job blaming Yahweh. Both Job and David knew the name of Yahweh, and knew Yahweh was the Father of "elohim," not Himself of that name. It it was meant to be that, David would have written the name “Yahweh.”
This, again, it the hidden being there right before our eyes, but unseen because of preconceptions and a lack of determination to see the truth. It is "naked and laid bare" in Hebrew; but one has to let Yahweh open your eyes to see His truth.
Now, in the reading from Amos, it immediately begins by saying, “Seek the Lord and live.”
In reality, the song says, “Seek Yahweh and live.”
This is yet another clear statement that is hidden by a translator’s pen.
After that initial statement, Amos told the rulers of Israel that everything they were doing would be for nothing. Rather than life, they would find their evil deeds being punished.
Repeated in verses fourteen and fifteen, in the Hebrew is: “Yahweh ’ĕ·lō·hê-ṣə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ,” which says, “Yahweh army of gods.” The NRSV says, “the Lord, the God of hosts.”
In those verses, Amos delivered the message of Yahweh that said, “seek good, not evil, that you may live.”
Amos was sent by Yahweh as His prophet, which means Amos was one of “Yahweh army of gods,” as one little “el” in that army or host. The message of Yahweh was to seek Him, because Yahweh is good. That was said by Jesus, to the rich man: "God alone is good."
In the same words spoken, the implication was the rulers of Israel were not souls in that divine collection of Yahweh angels.
Instead, their souls were “’ĕ·lō·hê-ṣə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ” of some demon spirit. They had sought and found evil to be their Lord, as an "army of demonically possessed souls." Remember, an "el" is a soul, which is a "god" over one body of flesh.
In the story of Job, the el who asked Yahweh for permission to tempt Job to the point of cursing his Holy Husband was Satan.
While Satan failed in his test of Job, Satan found lots of willing souls that would be sold into his possession, who were the rulers of Israel.
This is a lesson that is not written, but becomes exposed – naked and laid bare – when one stops being misled by English translations that are weak. It is a test of one’s commitment to Yahweh, to see who “seeks Yahweh and finds eternal life.”
This brings us to the accompanying Psalm 90, which seems to be completely out of place.
In verse thirteen we read, “Return, Yahweh; how long will you tarry? be gracious to your servants.” This (when Yahweh is seen written) says David sang as a “servant.” To be a “servant” or “slave” means to be subjected to Yahweh in marriage, as a soul united with His Spirit.
The song sounds like David's soul knew only a moment not in touch with Yahweh seems like a lifetime; and, that has to be seen as the complaint of Job, not the warning given to Israel.
Then, in verse seventeen of Psalm 90 the NRSV shows, “May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.”
That makes it seem that Yahweh being upon one makes one prosper through ministry to Him. While that is a happy conclusion to end a song with, that is not the truth of what was written.
The Hebrew written by David here is: “hayah noam adonay elohenu.” That actually says, “let become the pleasantness “lords us gods.” This brings up the connection between “adonay” (the plural of “adon,” meaning “lords”) and “elohim” (the plural of “el,” meaning “gods”).
This says the plea of this song was for the “return” of one’s soul to be one with “Yahweh,” so the time spent waiting for that ‘return” will “become the pleasantness” that is ministry on earth for Yahweh.
This means “adonay” speaks of the responsibility given to the servants of Yahweh, as ministers, all of whom are His “elohim.”
As a companion Psalm to the Amos reading, Amos was an “adonay elohenu” – one of the “lords” of prophecy, who all were “us souls” of Yahweh. It also says the rulers of Israel were likewise “adonay,” as “lords,” but their souls were servants to a much lesser god.
Now, I found out in my research that Psalm 90 is read on three occasions (each time a partial reading, as it this one today) in the lectionary cycle. However, at no time is the ‘title’ of this Psalm stated.
Again, titles of Scripture are not part of the text, but they should be gleaned from the words written. Still, Psalm 90 includes verbiage written by David in his first verse, which is seen as instructions to the reader, thus not part of the actual song.
That written by David classifies as that “hidden made naked and laid bare” before our eyes; and, it is important to know what David wrote into the ‘title’ of Psalm 90.
In verse one, David wrote, “tə·p̄il·lāh lə·mō·šeh ’îš-hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm ’ă·ḏō·nāy,” which says, “A prayer of Moses man of elohim adonay.”
That says this song is a prayer; and, just like Psalm 22 was David channeling Job (although that was not written by David), Psalm 90 is David channeling Moses – divinely.
The problem with that title not being known is compounded when the English translators do not know how to handle “elohim adonay,” other than to translate it in the singular, as “God Lord,” all capitalized. But, that makes no sense to them.
So, the word “adonay” is cut off the title written by David and stated as the first word of verse one, so the translators have the first verse begin, saying “Lord ….”
That which is exposed and laid bare is David saying Psalm 90 was “a prayer of Moses man of gods who are lords” of Yahweh. It says Moses was a leader of leaders, all of whom were divinely married to Yahweh. Moses prayed, through David, for all the souls married to Yahweh to be teachers of His Word.
Thus, the concluding verse sings, “let become the pleasantness lords us gods,” where the proof of them being “lords” of divine marriage to Yahweh would be “upon us the work of our hands fixed.”
David was saying, as Moses raised within his soul, that Yahweh does not marry souls because they are pretty and fair. He marries them so they will become “lords” who influence other souls to also marry Yahweh. That is the unseen truth of “adonay.” With God's help, that meaning is laid bare for all to look at and realize.
With that said, we move to the letter Paul wrote to the “Hebrews.” There are those (quite a few I imagine) that doubt Paul wrote this Epistle.
I remember a long time ago hearing an American Jew say, “Hebrew is a language, not a people. There are no “Hebrews.” There are Jews who speak Hebrew."
In the New Testament, this letter follows one entitled “Romans.” As Paul was in prison when those letters were written, one can assume the Romans to whom Paul wrote were Jews and Gentiles; but it also means Paul would know the Jews were Jews, not “Hebrews.”
The people whose heads swell because academia has awarded them some gold star for research are those to whom Paul wrote [NRSV], “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
While that sounds good as translated, the truth is “divides soul from spirit” was not written. If you think about that, you have to ask, “How is that possible?” A soul is spirit. How can that be taken away?
The truth of that written says “dividing of soul,” followed by the word “kai,” which denotes importance to follow. That which follows is then importantly stated to be “spirit.”
Thus, Paul wrote that a soul can be divided AND that division is when a “spirit” is added to a soul.
That is Paul explaining what the “elohim” are, of all kinds, divine of Yahweh and demonic of Satan. A “soul” is the “god” of one’s body of flesh; but it needs to find salvation through Yahweh … like Job. Otherwise, it will be misled to ruin, like the rulers of Israel.
This makes me think Paul might have written a letter that only those who spoke Hebrew could read. Rather than address a letter to “Hebrews,” it was a series of documents written in Hebrew, as the Hebrew letters.
Once a scholar got his or her hands on that, then all of the Greek that sounded like it was written by Paul would be dissolved and washed away. That would explain why there is doubts as to who wrote this Epistle.
Paul then wrote, in essence, that unless one’s soul has been divided by the Word of Yahweh, which cuts like a sword with two edges, opening one’s soul up to receive His Spirit, nothing written can be understood. It is all foreign, doubtful, questionable, and unworthy of committing one’s soul to belief in it. Without God's help, the truth of His Word is right there in front of one's face, but hidden and covered from view.
When the translators then say Paul wrote, “ And before him no creature is hidden,” the word written (in Greek) that has been translated as “creatures” is “ktisis” (pronounced “ktis-is”), which can actually mean: “a creation [of divine work], or an institution, ordinance.” Thus, Paul wrote – of the Word – "before him no ordinance is hidden.”
In that, "him" is both a divided soul and the spirit of Yahweh, which have been married together, as One "him."
That means, when one’s soul has been divided and Yahweh’s Spirit has married it, so one then sees through the eyes of Yahweh, every ordinance of the marriage vows (the Covenant) is crystal clear.
“all things now naked kai laid bare to the eyes of him to whom ourselves this divine utterance.”
When Paul then wrote, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession,” that speaks more about the dividing of soul and the adding of “Spirit.”
That says the soul divides and our body of flesh becomes a temple unto Yahweh. Into that temple comes a high priest. The high priest comes divinely, as a spirit – through the heavens. The name of that high priest is “Jesus” – a name that means “Yah[weh] Will Save.” The presence of that high priest with one’s divided soul says that body of flesh has been reborn as “the Son of God.” The word translated as “confessions” actually means one’s “professions,” relative to an “agreement.”
That says the presence of Jesus within one’s soul makes that soul forever live up to the marriage vows.
When Paul then wrote, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin,” think about that in the terms of Job. It says we will be able to pass every test of our faith, once Jesus has come into our souls, after we agree to marry Yahweh – individually.
With this seen, we then move to the Gospel reading, where a man came and knelt before Jesus.
This story is told by Matthew and Luke, but it is only in Mark that we read “having knelt down before him.” Those words are importantly identified by the word “kai,” which is a signal that the “man who ran up” had previously been recognized as a follower of Jesus, as one “having knelt down before” in the “same” way as had all Jesus’ disciples. It does not mean the man prostrated himself before Jesus at this time.
In the question posed to Jesus, it placed focus on “life eternal” being an inheritance, which must be seen as a question that made “life eternal” be relative to being Jewish, not Gentile. That means the question can be a trick, to see if Jesus would say anyone other than Jews could “inherit life eternal.”
When we learn the man was rich (thus the difficulties the rich have in obtaining life eternal), we can intuit he was a Temple leader; and, Luke’s version calls the man a “ruler.” This would make him be a Pharisee (such as Nicodemus), which means his philosophical beliefs about “life eternal” involved Sheol, where souls would just hang out until the promised Messiah would come.
When the man asked this question, one needs to realize that Jesus was the Son, as a soul divided that had always been married to Yahweh. So, the heart of the man was immediately known to Jesus. So, Jesus knew the question was a trick.
The address, before the question, was “Teacher good,” where the word “Teacher” was capitalized, meaning Jesus was recognized for his Fatherly guidance on spiritual matters. Jesus did not respond to the question, but to the reference to his being “good.”
By saying, “No one is good but God alone,” that said the rich man was recognized by Jesus as not married to Yahweh. Thus, not only was the rich man not welcoming being taught by the one he had knelt down before, calling Jesus “Teacher,” but he had no stake to any claim for rightful inheritance from the Father, which would be a right to expect good things to come.
The failure of the Jews came from thinking Moses called their ancestors out of Egypt as the lucky descendants of Abraham (through Isaac and Jacob), who would rule the world as God's children (heirs). Nobody could see anything beyond a special birthright to privilege having been bestowed to a race of people by Yahweh.
The question posed by the rich man has to be seen as him wanting Jesus to tell him he was experiencing the inheritance of God’s eternal promise of the high life, by being a young, rich ruler of God’s chosen people. What more evidence could Jesus need to answer, “What shall I do?” The rich man totally expected Jesus to say, “Keep doing what you are doing. You are as rich as any Jew I know.”
What the Jews misunderstood was marriage of a soul to Yahweh, which made their souls be joined with a special spirit – one that made them all become the Sons of God. Only that SPIRITUAL relationship [call it being Yahweh elohim adonay] would make them be human beings that were descendants of the Father. Abram had done that. Jacob had done that, when he was renamed SPIRITUALLY as "Israel." Moses had done that when Yahweh told him His name at the burning bush. And David offered a prayer of Moses, as a man of such married souls, who would be the lords going forth and being fruitful and multiplying the number of the Sons of man, who all would have the right to claim an inheritance to life eternal.
The rich man was a Jew; but he certainly was not a soul married to Yahweh, thus he could not know good when he saw it. So, he was a long way from any 'legal' claims to inherit life eternal.
Jesus then reminded the rich man about his knowing “the commandments,” which Jesus then began to list. That made the rich man exclaim how he had kept all of those laws, since childhood.
Then we read that Jesus “loved him.”
That was the “love” of Yahweh for the soul of the rich man. Jesus knew the rich man was like a child at heart, so there was “love” for his inner desire. However, Jesus spoke from that “love,” saying, “You lack one thing.”
That “one thing” (if you can call it a thing) was Yahweh. All the memorization and compliance in the world cannot make one a wife of Yahweh. A child pretending to be a priest of Yahweh [and Nicodemus knew nothing of spiritual matters] is cute, but far from the real deal.
This is where the “one thing” the rich man lacked was stated by Jesus simply as “go.”
Jesus saying, "You lack one thing: go" is one of those cloaked statements that hold a wealth of meaning that is missed.
Raise your hand if you dwelled this past week on Jesus saying "go" to the rich man.
<Look for no hands being raised.>
The Greek word written that translates as “go” is “hypage.” The word’s definition says, “to lead or bring under, to lead on slowly, to depart.” The word’s usage implies, “go away, depart, begone, die.”
The one thing the rich man lacked was dying of self. Because he was so much in love with himself, there was no way he was going to let some spiritual two-edged sword slice his soul open, being forced to share what all he had with some “spirit.”
Jesus told the rich man to kill himself figuratively; and, then that death of self-will and self-ego would lead to him selling everything he possessed, which his soul had previously been sold to gain, making his soul the possession of Satan.
If he died of self-ego, then he could become married to Yahweh and give spiritually to those whose souls were spiritually poor, like his was then.
If he died of self and became the Son of Yahweh, then he would be assured of a heavenly treasure … not material things that would go <poof> upon real death.
If he died of self-will, then he could be reborn as Jesus (a spiritual matter Nicodemus could not ever understand) and follow in the same footsteps, becoming a “Teacher” of “good.”
Alas, the rich man … like so many then, now, and forever … walk away sadly, having too much to let go of by dying of self spiritually.
Jesus then told his disciples how it would be easier to squeeze a camel through the eye of the needle, than get a rich man into the kingdom of God.
That was what the smallest gate to Jerusalem was called. A camel could get through that small gate, but not if it had a load of wares, owned by a merchant. If the shop the wares were to be delivered to was on the other side of the wall where that gate was, then the merchant would have to unload his camel, get the camel through the gate and tie it up. Then, the merchant would have to hand carry all the wares through the gate and reload them on the camel. Once at the shop, all the off-loading and carrying began again.
You have to be able to see how a lot of work was involved doing that.
A rich man, as Jesus had said, would have to do the same. Unloading all his possession would just be the first step. But, we read, the rich man “went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”
Believe me, there are not many people who would do as Jesus said.
I asked a 'man of God' once, "Whatever happened to the "All-in Church"? His reply was, "That didn't work out too well."
That is why we read, “The disciples were perplexed at these words” and “said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”’
Jesus heard them saying these things and then said a most powerful thing to catch hold of and remember always. He said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Raise your hand if you are mortal.
<Look for raised hands.>
Jesus did not say that Yahweh has to give up all His possession. Jesus said (in essence) what Paul wrote: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul.”
A mortal is an undivided soul, without Spirit. That means being without Yahweh. That means not having the power of Job, Amos, David, or most importantly Jesus, because one’s soul has become two merged as one: soul plus Spirit equals Yahweh elohim.
The disciples were not to that point yet, but they were headed that way.
That is why Peter said, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”
Remember how Jesus said to the rich man, “Go,” then “follow me.”
Peter was not saying he and the other disciples had been rich men. He was saying that what little they did have they had given up. It is hard to fish, collect taxes, or be politically active as a zealot, when you have quit your day job to carry tents, packs, and other camping accessories necessary, in order to go where Jesus leads.
Peter heard what Jesus said with the same mindset as had the rich man.
Everyone heard “follow me” and thought that means serve Jesus. So, the rich man was thinking, “No way I’m giving up the easy lawyer life to be some roadie for a traveling Teacher.” All the disciples were thinking, “I was promised lots of heavenly rewards for lugging all this stuff around; so, I’m still waiting to get rich.”
Raise your hand if you think Jesus saying "follow me" means believing Jesus is a religious rock star, so following him means carrying all his stuff around: crosses, car window decals, bumper stickers, bobble-head Jesus on your dashboard, whatever ... being a fan of jesus.
<Look for shocked faces.>
None of the characters in the reading from Mark today had divided their souls and received the Spirit. At that time, none of them had answered David’s prayer of Moses, becoming men of elohim adonay. None of them were at the point of having known Yahweh in divine marriage, only to have Him let Satan play games with his commitment in marriage.
None of them followed Jesus, at that time.
Following Jesus means more than being a groupie or a fan that buys tickets to all his concerts or movies. Making Jesus out to be something akin to idol worship is not what Jesus told the rich man and his disciples to do.
Following Jesus means being Jesus reborn.
Jesus knew that. He assured the disciples that everything they had sacrificed was known by Yahweh. They would all be rewarded as promised; however, Jesus added the caveat (seeing how Judas Iscariot was there) not to count their chickens before they hatched.
Jesus again said, “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
That says it is much easier to be rich in material wealth and physical possessions, because the world is the realm of things. Remember Eliphaz? His name means "One whose soul was sold for valuable things."
The rich man had so much stuff, he felt in his heart that wealth meant God loved him. He was a devoted Jew; so, he was entitled to have “life eternal” at his beck and call. He was a descendant of some son of Jacob, so he thought he was inheritor du jour, deserving to be deemed first, based on how wealthy he was.
That view of religious piety means going to heaven last.
The Greek word written that translates as “last” is “eschatos.” That is the root word for “eschatology,” the study of last things … endearingly called the End Times.
That means “last” is when the world finally comes to an end. When you think about the longevity of a human being’s in one body of flesh, and realize the “last” still has not come, after two thousand years … well that says the rich man was set up for lots of reincarnation appearances. Hopefully, he found out hanging onto material things was not worth having to repeat the third grade … forever; so, he finally did as Jesus said do.
This is why Jesus said, the reward of self-sacrifice will be “in the age to come eternal life.” The “last” time in a human body of flesh will be Salvation of a soul, when it enters the kingdom of heaven.
And, with that, here comes the bus. So, I’ll end here.
Please think about the things I have said. There is more to following Jesus than listening to a sermon or sending a check to a church organization.
The whole concept of tithing … the ten percent model … is well and fine for the organizations that have payments to make: hired hand salaries, insurance benefits for hired hands, insurance premiums for church properties, etc., etc.
Giving what you can afford to give is not the lesson today.
Giving ten percent or what you can afford, even if all the time … that is what devoted mortals do. Anything less than one hundred percent is too selfish, and becomes the works of an undivided soul. Undivided means alone, without Yahweh, not being His elohim adonay.
Again, think about what I have said; and, look closer at the readings for today. Shoot me a question on email if you want to know where to look.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. I look forward to seeing you the next time.
Amen