Tazria/she bears seed
Leviticus 12:1-13:59
IIKings 4:42-5:19
As I read these portions in Leviticus over the last week or so; I have never seen or felt this before, so rather than trying to understand or decipher the various commands, I can tell you it just feels like Holy Spirit walking among the children of Israel and just depositing words of life in their midst…wow! Lord thank You for Your wonderous word and Your presence.
Now onto the haftorah, this might be a bit of a ‘stretch’; in IIKings 5 we are presented the story of Naaman, a Syrian (Gentile) commander with leprosy. I’m not sure how the Gentiles handled lepers, but this guy at least seemed very prominent and successful. (Interesting to note that it says, “the Lord gave him victory, as a Syrian commander”), could this be one of those ‘divine’ setups to display the glory of the Lord for all to see…? They capture a young woman who is one of the children of Israel and she mentions to Naaman’s wife that if her husband presented himself to the prophet Elisha of her people; he would get healed. So being a successful leper wasn’t after all the ultimate goal for a full life, Naaman got the king’s permission to check this Hebrew prophet out. Elisha on the other hand sees it as a great opportunity for the God of Israel to do a great thing through one of His prophets. Naaman shows up at Elisha’s house and he has so much confidence in what the Lord wants to do, that he just sends his servant to speak to him. Elijah tells him to dip in the Jordan seven times, with the promise that he will be totally healed! Naaman however felt belittled or insulted since Elisha didn’t personally come out to pray for him. (A little note here: I think it’s also a sign of humility on Elisha’s part, knowing that even his servant could convey the healing message, since he knew that it’s the Lord Himself that heals.) Naaman leaves in a huff and declares that the waters of Syria are better than the waters of Israel.
Here is my first ‘stretch’; this struck me as an example of replacement theology that is rampant in much present-day theology that declares it’s freedom from God’s delight of His firstborn, the Jews and their land… Naaman’s servants appeal to him to reconsider his decision by addressing his pride and wanting special treatment. “All you need to do is wash and be clean” and now for ‘stretch’ number 2!
I believe this addresses the next ‘step’ after recognizing our inclination to replacement theology by acknowledging the value of the Biblical Feasts: this is the practical response to a theological change… He goes back and ‘dips’ seven times in the Jordan and gets healed! Listen to his response: “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel…” Pretty cool, and in that context I want to invite you this year, to not only grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s intentions for Israel and the Jewish people, but celebrate the Biblical Feasts this year and take a chance for a real theological ‘healing’. I told you it was a stretch, but really, come along with Jesus this year and celebrate the holidays that He does. by john eisner
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