Messiah in Shemini Atzeret Chapter 4
- Works (rain/reign) of the Spirit of Chesed (Loving-kindness) and Emet (Truth)
- Preservation now, abundance later
- A little rain now, and a prayer for a lot of rain soon
- Messiah was circumcised on Shemini Atzeret
- Permanent putting away of sin in all of Creation
- Halakha Ha-Ruach and Derekh HaYashar:
- Respecting the great value God places on every life
- Hospitality is how we are going to change the world!
Works (rain/reign) of the Spirit of Chesed (Loving-kindness) and Emet (Truth):
Pray for Rain! The Musaf, the additional service on Shemini Atzeret, begins with a special prayer for rain (geshem). The winter months in Israel are the rainy season. The life of the country depends on rain. When the rains come down from heaven in a generous amount the rich soil produces abundant crops and fruits.
Preservation now, abundance later:
The dry season: Previously during the summer months there is no rain. It is the dry season. During the months without rain the soil of Israel would become completely parched if it were not for the cool dew that settles on the soil during the night. With the cool dew of the night the top soil will not turn to dust and be blown away by the wind to become a barren desert. The summer light moisture of the night preserves the top soil and prepares it for its cultivation in the winter-spring.
A little rain now, and a prayer for a lot of rain soon:
In Hosea 6:3 and Joel 2:23 we are informed that the coming of the Messiah be David will be like the rain. In Israel there are the spring rains that are in the form of dew and showers.
Former and Latter Rains: In ancient times, in the fall-winter there used to be great rains in Israel that were poured out from the heavens. These great rains were sufficient to cause floods. In His great wisdom Adonai Avinu gave the weather seasons in Israel to teach us about the coming of the Messiah. Just as there are spring (former) rains and fall-winter (latter) rains in Israel, the Holy One arranged for two comings of the Messiah.
Messiah’s Return to Israel: During the first coming of the Messiah ben Yosef he fulfilled the role the Suffering Messiah . During his second coming, the Messiah ben David will fulfill the role of the Conquering Messiah. [At the present he is the heavenly Messiah.] Those who have received the Messiah in the season of his first coming are like the spring rains. They are the Jewish remnant who Avinu Shebashamayim poured out His Spirit upon.
Ha-Aryei Mishevet Yehudah: However, the time when the greatest number of Yehudim will become talmidim of the Messiah is yet to come. All Israel and a vast majority (over ninety per cent) of the future world gentile populace will become followers of the Messiah ben David, the “Lion of Judah.” This will happen in the time of the fall rains in Israel. The time of the fall rains prophetically speak of the period of time that will follow the second coming of the heavenly Messiah ben Yosef ben David.
Knowledge of Adonai will Flood the Earth: Therefore, the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit (ever) will begin after the Messiah’s return to earth from heaven when he will establish his kingly reign over all the nations and peoples of the earth. At that time the knowledge of Adonai will reach its greatest heights ever. This future time of poured out blessings will occur during the messianic age and thereafter into the ages of ages (into eternity).
Exceedingly Great Harvest of Souls after Messiah Returns:This is the mystery (the meaning) of the fall rains in Israel. We believe that this future great harvest of Yehudim (and gentile) souls will easily offset the world-wide spiritual barrenness of the past and present age. So that at the end of human history, from Adam’s fall to the end of the glorious reign (rain) of Messiah, when the time of the final sealing of the Books occur, the names of over two-thirds of the human population of all of the people who have ever lived on planet earth, will have been permanently Sealed in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Living Waters of Heaven: This is the spiritual (prophetic) reason why Abba Avinu instructed AmIsrael to pray for rain during the festival season of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Messiah is the Savior-Redeemer who brings to humankind both the Former and the Latter Rains. He is the eternal heavenly Messiah who forever provides us with the living waters of heaven, the waters of life without cost (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Messiah was circumcised on Shemini Atzeret:
Tishri 21: The visible appearance of Adonai in human form occurred at the birth of His Son (the Last Adam, the New Adam) on “Sukkot” (Tishri 15), at Bethlehem, in the city of Joseph and Miryam’s ancestor King David. As announced by the mighty angel Gabriel the Messiah arrived in Mary’s womb “inside the temple” on Chanukkah (Kislev 25) and thereafter was seen for the first time at his birth at the beginning of Sukkot. On the eighth day after the first day of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the Messiah Yeshua was circumcised.
Nisan 21: Preceding the circumcision of the Messiah by six months the prophet of the Grace of Adonai, Yochanan ben Zecharyah (who is a type of the Elijah to come that will precede Messiah at his second coming) was circumcised on Nisan 21, the eighth day of Unleavend Bread (Chag HaMatzot).
The permanent putting away of sin in Redeemed Humanity and in all of Creation:
Circumcision on 8th day, the first Elijah to come: What is the mystery (sod) of these two historic circumcisions that occur on Shemini Atzeret and at the conclusion of Chag HaMatzot? First [Tishri 21], the circumcision of the prophet Yochanan ben Zecharyah ben Aaron on the eighth day (in the spring) speaks of the permanent (eternal) putting away of sin in the household of Adam that occurs after the holy sacrifice of the Messiah, who is our Korban Pesach.
Circumcision on 8th day, the Messiah ben Yosef: Second [Tishri 21], the circumcision of Messiah, the “Salvation of Adonai,” on the eighth day (in the fall) speaks of an eternal age where sin will be put away completely (and permanently). Therefore, Shemini Atzeret prophetically speaks of the chametz of evil and sin permanently (eternally) being removed from “all” creation. Not just the House of Man is destined to be thoroughly cleansed and become a new creation. The entire creation itself, the permanent dwelling place of the Holy One and redeemed humanity, must be completely cleansed. This requires that Adonai Eloheinu create a New Creation. The Creator will make “all things new:”
1. The knowledge of evil must be permanently put away (completely removed).
2. The evil-impulse (yetzer ha-ra) will be removed.
3. Only the good-impulse (yetzer ha-tov) will enter the New Creation.
4. There will be a new perfect humanity re-made out of the old imperfect humanity.
5. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.
6. The taint of the children of Abba Avinu even remembering that sin once existed will be completely removed (wiped away as if IT never existed’).
7. The God of the Beginning and all His Household, all His children and His righteous servants the holy angels, will completely put away all of the memory of sin and evil. Not a speck, a single grain of IT will ever, even for a moment, enter the New Righteous, Perfect, Undefiled House of the Holy One, our Righteous-Eternal Father.
8. We will “Forget” (lit. Manasseh) that sin and evil ever existed. The Eternal One will replace our memory of sin with His perfect Memory of Righteousness. And so it will be that the Eternal House of God’s Righteousness will forever be “Doubly Fruitful” (lit. Ephraim). Blessed be the Name of Adonai (the LORD) our Father who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith and the Beginning and the Completion of our Salvation forever and ever! Amen, Amen.
Halakha Ha-Ruach and Derekh HaYashar:
וְרוּחַ הָאֱמֶת בְּבֹאוֹ הוּא יַדְרִיךְ אֶתְכֶם אֶל־הָאֱמֶת כֻּלָּהּ כִּי לֹא יְדַבֵּר מֵעַצְמוֹ כִּי אִם־אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁמַע יְדַבֵּר וְהָאֹתִיּוֹת יַגִּיד לָכֶם׃
When the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you to the entire truth. For He will not speak from Himself; rather He will speak what He hears and tell you what is to come.
וּבְבוֹא הַפְּרַקְלִיט אֲשֶׁר אֶשְׁלַח לָכֶם מֵאֵת אָבִי רוּחַ הַאֱמֶת הַיּוֹצֵא מֵאֵת אָבִי הוּא יָעִיד עָלָי׃
When the Advocate comes whom I will send to you from my Father, the Spirit of Truth who comes forth from my Father will testify about Me.
Respecting the great value God places on every life:
Always respect the great value that our Father in heaven places on every human being’s life. In the Middle East this practice of respecting the high value that the Holy One places on every human being, especially one who is a Stranger, is called the law of hospitality.
“Hachnasat Orchim”: Hospitality (הכנסת אורחים) is one of Adonai’s core principles for creating the kind of caring, compassionate and loving community that He desires all of His children be a part of. Five examples of hospitality in the Scriptures:
1. Hospitality is what allowed the angels to enter the tent of Abraham to inform Sarah of the promise that she would bear a son in spite of her and Abraham’s advanced years (age 90 and 100 respectively).
2. The prophet Ezekiel (chapter 16) tells us that the sin of in-hospitality (maltreatment of the poor and strangers) is what doomed Sodom to destruction.
3. The righteous response of Lot, in his protection of the two strangers (angels in disguise), when he begged his neighbors for respectful conduct toward these ‘traveling guests’ of the City of Sodom, is what saved righteous Lot and his daughters from the destruction of Sodom.
4. The act of generous hospitality to the prophet Elisha by the woman of Shunam allowed her to bear a child after years of barrenness and it was this child (born out of hospitality) who grew up to become one of the prophets of Israel.
5. The prophet Isaiah in the haftorah which is read on the morning of Yom Kippur speaks of bringing “the downtrodden and bitter poor” into one’s home as guests.
Ministry of Reconciliation: In his just mentioned comments the Messiah is praising those who share food and drink with others for it brings closer to us those who are far distant. This is the ministry of reconciliation that Messiah says will be the benchmark of the kingdom of Adonai:
“Then the King will say…”: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’”
Hospitality is an offering of kindness to Adonai Himself.
All made in the Image of God: Hachnasat Orchim will be a mitzvah for all the world to obey during the reign of Messiah ben David when he returns to earth to fully restore Israel and to establish the kingdom-rule of Adonai over all of the nations and peoples of the earth. Every person is made in the image of Adonai our Creator. How we treat His Image, good or bad, lawful or lawless, is an indication of whether or not we respect and reverence our Father in heaven.
If we abuse just one person it is as if we have abused all humankind.
Worship of the One Who made us: If we harm one (without justification), we harm all of humanity. And if we harm all of humanity, who is the body, the Image of Adonai, then it as if we have assaulted the Holy One Himself. Messiah knew this truth well and he spoke often about it. In this way hospitality is an act of worship of the One who made us.
Hospitality is how we are going to change the world!
The only way we can worship Adonai and show Him that we love Him more than our own selves is by how we treat strangers. This is the manner of life that Adonai our Father and has directed His people to show Him that we love, respect, honor, and reverence Him. Therefore, the Messiah ben Yosef has instructed us:
“Pray in this way”: “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others (from the heart), then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
How can we say we love the Holy One who we cannot see, when we do not love (or worse yet hate) those who He has made in His Image? This is what father Abraham and the Messiah have taught us:
Bringing in the Guests: Hachnasat Orchim literally means “Bringing in the Guests!” The “bringing in” means we cause others to come in. “Come in where?” Through the mitzvah of hospitality we are causing others to come into the kingdom of heaven on earth. We are causing others to come into the generous provision of the heavenly Father’s family here on earth.
Therefore, hospitality is God’s ultimate test of Israel!
Who will help us in this great endeavor? Just as our imperfect earthly parents want to give us good gifts so our Father in heaven wants to give us the gift of the His Spirit. The love of our earthly parents is incapable of delivering us from the power of evil, forgiving us of our sins, regenerating our spirits, raising us from the dead, and giving us the gift of eternal life. However, God’s gift of His Spirit to indwell us forever does all of these things!