“You mean the manna from heaven?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, “a miracle with a spiritual revelation: The true bread of our lives comes not from earth but heaven. It is not the earthly but only the heavenly that can fill us. And as bread is to our bodies, so is the Word of God to our souls.”
“An amazing picture,” I said. “Manna from heaven.”
“It is,” he said. “But there’s something even deeper. Do you know the meaning of manna?
“No, what is it?”
“Exactly,” said the teacher.
“Exactly what?” I asked.
“Exactly what,” he answered. “That’s what it is.”
“Exactly what is what it is?”
“Right again. What is it is what it is.”
“At this point, I have no idea what you’re saying or what I’m saying.”
“Manna is really two Hebrew words: mah and nah. It literally means, What is it?”
“So manna is a question that means, What is it?”
“Yes,” he replied. “They called it manna because they had no idea what it was. It didn’t fit into any of their preconceptions. So they named it mahnah, What is it? So the Bread of God, the Word of God, and the blessings of God that come down from heaven are called mahnah, What is it? That means if you are to receive the blessings of God, you cannot receive them as something you’re familiar with, something to be expected, or something you already know. You must receive them as mahnah, as ‘What is it?’—as one receiving it for the first time . . . as a little child, continually surprised by His love, in awe of His wonders, and overwhelmed by His grace. Receive it as something totally new—and it will become totally new, and bread from heaven. Open your heart to the mahnah of His Word, the mahnah of His grace, the mahnah of His love. And never stop living in newness and wonder of so great a love that it must leave you saying, mahnah, What is it?”
The Mission: Today, partake of the bread of heaven. Seek the mahnah of His Word, the mahnah of His love, and the “What is it?” of your salvation.
Exodus 16:14–18, 30–31; John 6:32–35
Mannah
DAY 181
THE MAZMERAH
WE WERE WATCHING one of the gardeners at work trimming the branches of a fruit tree.
“Do you see what he’s using?” asked the teacher. “In the Hebrew Scriptures it’s called the mazmerah, the pruning hook. He’s pruning the branch. Do you know why?”
“Tell me.”
“A tree,” he said, “has a limited amount of resources and energy to distribute to its branches. If a branch becomes unfruitful, it will hinder the tree’s overall health and its ability to bear fruit. It will drain the tree’s resources. So the purpose of pruning is to remove the unfruitful branch or that which is hindering the tree from fruitfulness. Pruning allows the tree to redirect its resources to the healthy and fruitful branches and thus to become even more fruitful.”
“And if one is not a gardener,” I said, “how does this apply?”
“Your life in God is a branch, a branch of His life, a conduit of His blessings. And just as any gardener must prune that which is unfruitful, so it is written that God must also prune His branches to allow them to bear the fruit they were meant to bear.”
“How does that translate into life?”
“To a tree being pruned, the process of pruning takes on the appearance of loss. So every child of God in this life will experience what appears to be loss. Some things will pass from your life; others will be taken. They will appear to you as losses. But they will not be. The purpose of pruning is not to harm the tree, but just the opposite. It is to allow the tree to bear the fruit it was meant to bear. So too in your life with God. When you experience losses, they will not be for your harm. Every loss will be redeemed. Each will be used to cause you to become what you were made to be. So don’t dwell on what was and is no more. Dwell on that which is yet to come, the purposes of God, and the fruit that is yet to be brought forth. For the mazmerah, the pruning hook of God, only touches the branch of His caring, and then only for one purpose, that it might allow, cause you, and enable you to bear the fruit for which your life from the beginning was created to bring forth.”
The Mission: What losses have you known in your life? God has used and will use them to bring good and new life. Do likewise. Use them for good.
Psalm 92:13–14; John 15:1–5
The Secrets of Pruning I–III
DAY 182
THE MYSTERY OF THE KEHILAH
WE WERE OVERLOOKING a barren valley through which one of the nomadic desert communities was moving. With the help of a few camels and donkeys, they were carrying all their worldly goods, black tent curtains, multicolored clothes, and the utensils of daily life.
“What is the name given to Messiah’s people,” asked the teacher, “as a whole?”
I was surprised by the question as it didn’t seem to have anything to do with what we were seeing.
“The church,” I replied.
“That’s a translation. The actual word that appears in Scripture is ekklesia. Ekklesia means the gathering, the congregation, or the convocation. So the church is not a physical organization, location, or building. It is the gathering of God’s people, the congregation of Messiah, no matter where they are in the earth. But there’s more to it. The biblical roots of the word ekklesia go back much further.”
“The church goes back before the New Testament?”
“The word does,” he replied. “The word ekklesia appears in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, over and over again.”
“To speak of what . . . if there was no church then?”
“Overwhelmingly the word refers the nation of Israel.”
“So Israel was called the ekklesia . . . the church?”
“In a sense, yes. The word ekklesia is a translation of the Hebrew kahal or kehilah, words especially used to speak of the congregation of Israel as it journeyed through the wilderness and dwelt in tents on its way to the Promised Land. In fact, the Book of Acts speaks of Israel at Mount Sinai as the ekklesia or church in the wilderness.”
“So Israel is an ekklesia,” I said, “and the church is an Israel?”
“Yes, an Israel journeying through the wilderness. And that’s the mystery. The church is the kehilah, a caravan, an Israel of spirit, not yet home, but journeying, caravanning, tenting, pilgrimming, camping out in the world, always moving, always farther from Egypt, and always closer to the Promised Land. The church is the kehilah, Messiah’s caravan.”
The Mission: Live today as on a spiritual caravan. Your goal is to move continually forward, away from Egypt and closer to the Promised Land.
Exodus 16:10; Acts 7:38; 1 Peter 2:9–10
The Two Kehilahs
DAY 183
THE CHIASMA
WE WERE SITTING on opposite sides of a small wooden table in one of the school’s courtyards. The teacher reached into a cloth bag, pulled out a few pieces from a chess set, and set them on the table in this order: the white king, the white bishop, the white knight, the black knight, the black bishop, and the black king.
“What pattern do you see here?” he asked.
“The white side is the inverse of the black side and the black of the white.”
“It’s called a chiasma. It’s a pattern that appears in Scriptures: ‘Whoever exalts himself with be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ ‘The last will be first, and the first will be last.’”
“So God used the pattern of the chiasma in the Word.”
“Yes, and not only in His Word,” he said, “but in the age.”
“How so?”
“He ordained the end to be as the beginning, and the beginning as the end.”
“I still don’t understand.
“In the beginning of the age, Israel disappeared from the world. But it was prophesied in the Scriptures that at the end of the age, Israel would reappear into the world. In the beginning of the
age, the Jewish people were scattered from Israel to the ends of the earth. But it was prophesied that at the end of the age they would be gathered from the ends of the earth back to Israel. In the beginning of the age, the Jewish people were driven from Jerusalem. But at the end of the age, they must dwell in Jerusalem once again. In the beginning of the age, believers in Messiah were persecuted by an anti-Christian world civilization. So at the end of the age, it is prophesied there will again be an anti-Christian world civilization and persecution against believers in Messiah. At the beginning of the age, Messiah left this world from Jerusalem. So at the end of the age, He will return to this world and to Jerusalem. And, lastly, it was at the beginning of the age that the believers of the Book of Acts walked the earth. So at the end of the age . . . ”
“They are to walk the earth again,” I said. “And we are to be that people.”
“Yes,” he said. “Therefore, live as if you were one of them. Stand as they stood. Go forth as they went forth. And overcome as they overcame. It is our role, our part, and our calling . . . on the other side of the chiasma.”
The Mission: Live today as if you were one of the believer at the very beginning. As they overcame their world, overcome yours.
Matthew 20:16; 23:12; 24:12–13; Acts 2:17
The Nisan-Tishri Revelation
DAY 184
THE IDUMEAN MYSTERY
WE WERE LOOKING at an old volume in the Chamber of Books and, specifically, at an image, a lithograph of the Magi standing before King Herod.
“Most people have heard of King Herod,” said the teacher, “and how he slaughtered the children of Bethlehem in his attempt to kill the Messiah. But there’s more to the story . . . a mystery that begins ages before.”
At that, he turned his gaze away from the image in the book and paused.
“When Isaac blessed his son Jacob, he told him that he would have dominion over his brothers, and men would bow down before him. But when Isaac blessed Esau, he told him that he would live by the sword and under the dominion of his brother Jacob. Esau was so filled with rage that he plotted Jacob’s death. But what happened to Jacob? Who were his descendants?”
“The Jewish people, Israel. And what about Esau?”
“Esau also had descendants. They were called the Edomites and became the nation of Edom. Isaac’s prophecy would come true. Esau’s children, the Edomites, would live under the dominion of Israel, under the children of Jacob. In the days of the Roman Empire, they would be called the Idumeans. But it was then that something strange happened. An Idumean became the king of Israel; a child of Esau ruled over the children of Jacob.”
“And the child of Esau was . . . ?”
“Herod,” said the teacher. “King Herod was the child of Esau. It was the ancient battle, Esau warring over the birthright and the blessing, and seeking to have dominion over Jacob. But then another extraordinary thing happened . . . Messiah was born. Messiah was a child of Jacob, with the true birthright and the true blessing of dominion and lordship. So we have two kings, the true and the false, Esau and Jacob, Herod and Messiah. And just as Esau plotted to kill Jacob, so Herod, the son of Esau, plotted to kill Messiah, the son of Jacob. Behind it all was the ancient mystery. What does the Idumean mystery tell you? It is crucial that we receive the blessing. Without it, we will spend our whole lives reacting to and trying to compensate for its absence. Whatever you didn’t receive in this world no longer matters. Receive now from your heavenly Father your blessing and your birthright. For if Messiah is your King, you are of the kingdom of Jacob . . . the kingdom of those who have received the blessing, the kingdom of the blessed.”
The Mission: Have you lived trying to compensate for the lack of a blessing? Stop striving. Focus today on fully receiving your blessing from God.
Genesis 27:27–14; Matthew 2:1–18; Ephesians 5:1
The Idumean Mystery
DAY 185
THE IMAGE OF THEIR KING
WHAT IS A king?” he asked. “A king is the leader and ruler of his people. He leads his people. And the people, in one way or another, follow him. In one way or another they walk in his path and reflect his image. The two are joined together. Messiah is the Sovereign of Israel, King of the Jews.”
“But that would seem to go against what you’ve said before. A people follow their king. But the Jewish people, for the last two thousand years, have not been following their King.”
“But if He’s their King, then they must, in some way, still follow Him or be joined to Him. That’s the mystery,” he said. “They still follow Him. You just don’t see it. Two thousand years ago Messiah became an outcast, a pariah, a man of suffering. Since that time, what has happened to the Jewish people? They became an outcast nation, a pariah nation, and a people of suffering. Messiah was falsely accused, mocked, vilified, abused, and dehumanized. In the same way, for two thousand years, the Jewish people have been falsely accused, mocked, vilified, abused, and dehumanized. Messiah was forcibly apprehended, robbed of his dignity, wounded, and condemned to death. So too the Jewish people have over and over again been forcibly apprehended, robbed of their dignity, wounded, and condemned to death. Messiah was led as a lamb to His death, stripped naked, and executed. So too His people have, through the ages, been led as lambs to their deaths, stripped naked, and executed. You see, Messiah remains the King of Israel . . . and, in one way or another, a people will follow their king. And so for two thousand years, the Jewish people have followed in the footsteps of their King and, in that time, have borne His image.”
“But after his death,” I said, “He was resurrected.”
“And so the children of Israel were also crucified in the Holocaust. But after it was over, the nation of Israel was resurrected, the only nation on earth to have undergone such a resurrection from life to death. It is no accident that it was resurrected. For so too was its King. And if His nation, without intending to, still follows Him and still bears His image, how much more must we. How much more must you walk in His footsteps and follow in His ways. How much more must you be conformed to and bear His image to this world. They have done so without knowing. How much more must you in your knowing . . . For a nation must follow its king.”
The Mission: Today, make it your first priority and aim to be conformed to the image of your King. Walk, act, think, and become in the likeness of Messiah.
Isaiah 53:3; Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 2:21
The Isaiah 53 Rabbinical Mystery I–II
DAY 186
THE AGENT
WE CAME TO a tent camp I had never seen before and sat down in a nearby stretch of sand. I noticed a man making his way through the camp to one of the tents. He entered it and stayed inside for some time before emerging with two others, a middle-aged man and woman, who I presumed to be husband and wife. There, by the tent, they spoke into the nightfall.
“That,” said the teacher, “is an agent. He represents a man and woman from one of the other camps. His mission is to see if a marriage can be arranged between the son of those who sent him and the daughter of those to whom he was sent. It happened the same way in ancient times. Abraham sent his servant to a foreign land to find a bride for his wife Isaac. So the servant embarked on the journey, bringing with him Abraham’s treasures, gifts for the bride. He ended up meeting a young woman named Rebekah. After saying yes to the proposal of marriage, Rebekah embarked with the man on a journey back to the tents of Abraham where she would, for the first time, see Isaac face-to-face.”
“There’s a mystery there,” I said.
“Yes,” said the teacher. “Let us open it. Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice. Not long after that comes the account of Isaac’s bride. To what would that correspond?”
“The offering of Isaac foreshadows the sacrifice of Messiah. So after Messiah’s sacrifice . . . comes the search for the bride . . . the bride is the church . . . each of us.”
“And whose mission then begins?” he asked. “Who is sent to the bride?”
&nbs
p; “The Spirit of God,” I said. “And the Spirit’s mission is especially to the bride.”
“Yes. The Spirit is the Agent, the Agent of the Father, the Agent of God. And the Spirit comes to the bride and shares with her of the Father and the Son . . . and draws her to them. And it is the Spirit that comes bearing gifts from the Father to the bride, the gifts of the Spirit. And it is the Spirit that leads the bride on a journey to the Son and the Father. And do you know what the name of Abraham’s servant was? It was Eliezer. And do you know what Eliezer means? It means my God is the helper. And what is the Spirit called? The Helper. So as real and as present as the servant was to Rebekah in her journey, just as real and present is the Servant of the Father, the Spirit, in your journey. So you’re never alone, not one moment of your life. You have one beside you, who is . . . the Agent of God . . . God, your Helper.”
The Mission: Live today in the awareness that you are not alone. God Himself dwells with you in the Spirit. Live as one with whom He is present.
Genesis 24:2–4; John 14:14, 26; 15:26; 16:13
The Isaac Rebekah Wedding Mystery I–III
DAY 187
THE NIGHT OF ADAM
YOU SAID THAT Messiah died on the sixth day,” I said, “as the sixth day was the day of man, the day of his creation. And the sixth day began at sunset on Thursday night before the crucifixion. But in Hebrew, the word for man is adam. So could it be said that he had to die on the ‘day of Adam’?”
“Yes,” said the teacher, “it could be said.”
“And were there any signs linked to Adam the night before the crucifixion when the sixth day began?”
“On the day of Adam’s fall, it was said, ‘You shall eat bread until you return to the ground.’ Adam would toil to eat bread and then die. In the curse, bread is linked to death. How did the sixth day begin, the night before Messiah’s death?”
The Book of Mysteries Page 27
