The story of Esther depicts one of the many scenarios of an ongoing controversy; a controversy that will eventually be settled in God’s time—not ours. The age-old controversy is based on a challenge over one of the most profound questions of all time— ”Who is God?” A question at the root of a game of thrones contest that has existed since the fall of the cherub who was once perfect in wisdom and beauty until iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:11–19).
Only by filling our cleansed hearts with the abiding presence of our LORD’S Spirit and Word can we avoid the re-contamination that seeks to ruin the redemptive work of God in our lives. The relationship between Torah and Gospel is clearly seen in this week’s study:
This parashah records the personal revelation of God to Abram (later, Abraham) from his call to leave Ur to the destruction of Sodom. As a result, it is the paradigm of intimate relationship between God and his people. It is a template for our lives today.
The time of accountability. What a confusing time in life when one is saying goodbye to childhood and embracing the blessings of becoming an adult.
by Barbara Cohen Hyland My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip visiting our daughter and her husband in Dallas. Not only was it fun visiting our kids,…
Posted on Abidelines.com on January 25, 2019 by Barbara Cohen Hyland Yeshua was always preaching and teaching others. That was His mission. He spoke in the context of 1st century Jewish…
by Barbara Cohen Hyland Seeking happiness, wherever it can be found has always been one of the utmost priorities in life. Of course that means focusing on self, instead of…
by Barbara Cohen Hyland Yeshua knew that the disciples and the generations to come after them would face times of intense persecution. At those times, it might seem as if…
By Barbara Cohen Hyland In the Biblical account of creation, after God creates man and woman, the first thing He tells them is be fruitful and multiply. Really? Aren’t we…
What might surprise Jewish readers of the New Testament are the Israel-affirming bits that show that the Gospels are thoroughly Jewish. Jesus and his rivals argue about food laws because, well, Jews argue about food laws. They argue about how to relate to Rome because that was a contentious issue in first-century Judea. They argue together with tools all Jews recognize and honor — the Torah and the life of worship and festival known as Judaism.
So what do we do with these texts that are still in our Christian Scripture? We don’t dismiss them. We situate them historically as I have done here — as a reflection of one claimant to the legacy of Israel clawing for space against another.