This week, Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship embarks on a study of the single parsha in the Torah containing perhaps the premier collection of the ‘most fundamental texts’ in Scripture. And they are NOT limited to just the ‘Ten Debarim [‘Sayings’, ‘Commandments,’ ‘Words…’] and the Most Important single command in the Book, aka ‘the Shema’, but others that are now even more overlooked.
The Erev Shabbat overview of the portion (Deuteronomy3:23 – 7:11)
Mark begins the Sabbath Day “deeper examination” of the parsha from the ‘inside out’, because the most well-known elements are in the middle of the portion, and also becauase they have largely been discounted now by a world not only gone “insane”, but downright demonic, once the parts that lead up to them were totally “done away with,” by those who failed to “hear and obey” as commanded.
Moses warns those who would turn from obedience to the instruction of Yahuah of the consequences, which included the exile we are STILL enduring. He warned as well about being coerced to serve other, false, ‘gods’. There is a vitally important promise in there, too, about the eventual time, during the ‘end times’, when we not just can, but WILL, “return to Him.”
But what might just resonate most with us, today, while we ‘wait on YHVH’ is the idea of just exactly what we are seeing built around us, and the consequences of that rebellion. A “World Without Trust”.
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of the first parsha in the last Book of the Torah, “Devarim”, aka Deuteronomy, and — at least once — the most-quoted reference when it comes to “Law” in the united States.
The parsa, and thus the Book, begins with a recap by Moses of a forty year journey through ‘the wilderness’ that could have been made in only 11 days, but wasn’t…and he reminds the ‘second generation’ of the sons of Israel in that mixed multitude why.
The Erev Shabbat overview of the portion (Deuteronomy 1:1 through 3:22)
Mark begins the Sabbath Day “deeper examination” of the parsha and a number of very-much-related Scriptures with a bit of characteristic “nerdiness” to set the stage: since both Scripture and history, and not to mention His physical universe and human nature, end up being cycles of repeating cycles, it’s important to ask not only where THIS story is, in context, but where WE are in a repeating cycle that at least ‘rhymes’.
Moses was addressing a group of people soon to enter, and hopefully conquer, the [promised] Land. Much later, as the haftorah reading from Isaiah 1 makes clear, they were ‘kicked out’, or sent into an exile that still persists. So, “where are we?” in that continuing cycle of fallen men repeating the same mistakes, but sometimes even more catastrophically?
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of the last portions in the Book of Numbers (Bemidbar in the Hebrew), but especially of the “vows,” and what that tells means in a world where they no longer matter.
This lesson is not only ‘timely’ – again, arguably more now than ever before in our lifetimes or even in modern history – but literally encapsulates so much of why if this ISN’T ‘the tribulation’, we ought to at least be able to smell it from here.
The Erev Shabbat overview of “Matot” (Numbers chapters 30 through 32) also includes a recap of news that helps to make the point about just how relevant the instruction is:
Mark has said he often focuses on Numbers chapter 30 as one of THE most important to understand when it comes to what has happened to marriage in a world which only pretends any more to read Scripture-as-Written. But this time in the Sabbath Day teaching he takes a different approach, right out of verse 3. If there is a single failure which describes why AmeriKa-with-a-K deserves what it has now earned, that may well be the Primary Descriptor:
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of perhaps one of the most “problematic” portions in the Torah, “Pinchas” (Bemidbar/Numbers 25:10 through 3:1), because it describes the outright ‘killing-by-spear’ of two pagans, engaged in a pretty brazen act, not only right before Moshe, but the ‘whole congregation’ of Israel. And for that act, Pinchas is not tried for ‘murder,’ but given an ‘eternal covenant of peace’ by the Most High Himself.
This lesson is not only ‘timely’ – perhaps more now than ever before in our lifetimes – but incorporates one of those “jots and tiddles” that speaks literally VOLUMES to those with “eyes to see”, but doesn’t even get translated in the English renderings of the Bible. Truly, an example of what is worth “studying for ourselves” from His Word, as Written.
(Internet outages Friday evening – sure looked like a beta test! — so this is a single combined teaching this week)
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of the unusual, but ultimately famous, parsha “Balak” (Bemidbar/Numbers 22:2 through 25:9), for a couple of reasons. Not only is it one of the few with no mention of Moses, but it does feature the Balaam’s famous ‘talking ass,’ and, of couse, more parallels to current events than are even at first obvious.
And the Erev Shabbat overview outlines another major point as well: this parsha is proof positive that Yahuwah not only has a great sense of humor, but of irony, too.
The Sabbath day message is about those parts of the story that are much LESS famous, and less likely to be quoted as punchlines, than the donkey who saved Bilaam’s you-know-what, but no less vital to understanding the message, and the striking modern parallels.
From the context of the story – then and now – to the prophecies themselves, this story cannot be overlooked. There’s an ‘adversary’ working to block our path, too!
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of parsha “Chukat” (Bemidbar/Numbers chapters 19 through 21), certainly one of the more ‘enigmatic’ portions in the Torah, and, of couse, some parallels throughout both history and current events to show that the understanding is at least as important now as ever.
The Erev Shabbat review, begins with a look at the title, “chukat,” and just what a ‘chuk’ is in the first place. Perhaps it helps that the ‘red heiffer’ described in chapter 19 is the ‘quintessential example’ of the type.
But it’s the related story of why Moshe is not allowed to enter the Promised Land that he suggests underlines the Rest of the Story:
The Sabbath day message attempts to explore what the concept of a ‘chuk,’ which basically boils down to “because I said so,” from Yahuah, has to do with power, corruption, and a world which seems hell-bent on trying to prove that ‘the Law’ really HAS been “done away with.”
This week sex slavery and child sex trafficking are in the news, but much of not most of what underlies that far bigger story is not.
Instead, traitors who seek to destroy what’s left of the “Rule of Law” prattle about “reparations for slavery” — while they seek to EXPAND a form of slavery that will eventually exceed anything the worst antebellum slavemasters even dreamed of.
“Let those who FALSELY believe they are free — RATTLE their CHAINS!”
Join host Mark Call for a discussion of why understanding what the Bible really said about “slavery” (and “bondservice”) and the anti-Scriptural utter slavery that is is being erected now.
Host of the “Come out of her, My people” Show Mark Call prepared a new special show for a very special day, 4 July, 2019, which includes a look at where we are, where the 13 colonies once were, and why what has been so long ignored and in some cases now, even despised, matter more than ever.
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of parsha “Korach” (Bemidbar/Numbers chapters 16 through 18), as well as some ‘compare and contrast’ from other parts of Scripture, and, yes, the ever more undeniable parallels with a world which is arguably in greater outright rebellion to Him than Korach even was.
But that is part of the ‘enigmatic’ nature of this story, too!
In the Erev Shabbat review, the story says a fellow named “Korach” (or Korah, in most English variants) took men and then began one of the prototypical rebellions in both the Bible, and history. And it ended dramatically, too. There is, of course, more to the story. Some of it you really don’t even see without a look back at some of the very revealing Hebrew words, which may not even show up in most translations.
The Sabbath day message, as promised, takes a deeper look at that “rebellion”, and why it was punished so quickly, dramatically, and UNUSUALLY. And, perhaps, why other rebellions against YHVH seem to go unpunished as well. At least for a while.
Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a study of parsha “Shalach Lekha” (Bemidbar/Numbers chapters 13 through 15), some of the related references from elsewhere in Scripture, and the undeniable parallels with a world which still literally “despises” Yahuah and His Word.
In the Erev Shabbat review, the story begins with the decision to “shalach” or send out men to ‘spy out’ the promised Land. When they return, we have recorded what Mark refers to as the “first recorded VOTE in history,” which two fellows named Joshua and Caleb are said to have lost. But the truth is that all who thought the ‘vote’ mattered were the real losers, and ultimately their “carcasses fell in the wilderness.”
The Sabbath day message picks up the theme of those who Yah said “despised” Him, and includes a deeper look as well into the latter part of the parsha, including chapter 15, which Mark suggests might be titled, “Requiem for the Whore Church,” because it encapsulates in brief SO much of what the “Israel” that was later exiled (again, sent out or “shalach”-ed) for cause says is “done away with,” while He clearly says otherwise.
And notably today, we have our own version of evil men who not only bring a “bad report” of the Creator, but destroy literally every element of the things He said to keep, remember, and DO, “throughout your generations.”
The people of Berea were once praised for their willingness to “search out” a matter, and “see if these things are true.” Today, people “google” them instead, and one of the many lessons of this portion might be that the word has become a verb whose real meaning amounts now to “deliberately rebel” against them.