While some people believe Ephedrasil Hardcore is one of the most effective fat-burners, I know the most effective burner of spiritual fat is time spent in prayer.
Here’s more of my Shof’tim commentary. Or listen to it!
I once had a social studies teacher who was of the opinion that the most perfect and efficient form of government was what he called a “benevolent dictatorship.” The “one person decides it all” aspect of the dictatorship, in his mind, delivered efficiency because there would be no time spent on debate; and the benevolence aspect would, in his mind, guarantee that no one was treated poorly or unjustly.
The flaw in his theory, however, is the assumption that any of us could be benevolent and unselfish enough to handle the responsibilities of such a dictatorship. History is full of examples of dictators and, ultimately, none of them proved to be benevolent, certainly not benevolent enough to meet ADONAI’s perfect standard of justice.
Matthew 12:34-35
You snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart. The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil.
We must remember, too, that Yeshua’s definition of what is good and evil is not like the world’s definition of those words. This is why a king is required by ADONAI in this week’s reading to write and constantly study a scroll of the Torah, for the only path to “good,” is through the study of ADONAI and His word. Any other path leads to selfishness, not ADONAI’s brand of justice. Indeed, the Psalmist confirms that the opposite of obedience to God is selfishness.
Psalms 119:36
Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain.
So, I think it’s now clear that there is only one who is unselfish enough that He could be a truly benevolent dictator, and that is Yeshua the Messiah; and it is not in His nature to play the role of a dictator, since in this life we are created with the ability to either follow in obedience or rebel against his perfect will. A dictator allows no rebellion.
Shof’tim commentary, part six
Monday, September 8th, 2008
When my mother came up sick and we knew her time was short, my wife and I were glad we’d set some emergency funds aside in our savings accounts.
Here’s the rest of my Shof’tim commentary. Or listen to it!
When you think about it, why would the L-RD need to declare something as simple and obvious as, “You are not to distort justice or show favoritism, and you are not to accept a bribe?”
Easy! Because it is not in our nature to be selfless and pursue justice at ADONAI’s perfect standard, or even at the Torah’s minimum standard. As any parent knows, you teach your children what they do not already know, not what they already know. You teach what they are supposed to do, not what they are already doing.
So the answer to my question of how we got stuck dealing with all this mess of determining truth and justice may have begun in Genesis, but it is also explained in this week’s parashah.
This passage is one of the key messianic promises ADONAI makes to us, and he makes it precisely because he knows that no matter how many regulations he lays down for priests and judges and kings, none of them can ever live up to it completely, not to a standard that meets not just the compromise of Torah, but the perfect standard of ADONAI.
That could be accomplished only by the promised messiah, Yeshua. He is the one who me must, at last, allow to rule us, as only He is able to do so perfectly and free from selfish interests. We pushed God out of His role as justice-giver in the Garden, and rejected the restoration of ADONAI to that role by asking at Horeb not to hear His voice directly. Therefore, we must struggle to achieve justice and mercy, and to keep our land and our lives and our households and our families free from wickedness, free from injustice, free from the shedding of innocent blood. Yet ultimately we are not the solution to the problem, because ultimately we all fail. There is one solution, and it is found in the person of Yeshua the Messiah.
Tags: commentary, savings accounts, Shof'tim
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