Romans 5
1 Samuel 14
Psalm 59
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| Listen to the Bible |
Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading:
Yet, Christ died for you and for me, while we were still sinners - in other words, He gave His life in the extremity of our unworthiness:
"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."One of the most beautiful presentations of this concept is given in the stars - specifically in the scales and its family of constellations.
The Scales, are today called Libra, which means "the weighing" in Latin. In Hebrew, Libra is called Mozanaim – “the scales, the weighing” In Arabic, it is Al Zubena – “purchase, redemption gain”.
The Hebrew name for this constellation appears 10 times in the Bible. Here are a few examples, which show the fuller meaning and application of the Scales:
1) Scales were used for purchasing things in a trustworthy manner, as it says in Leviticus 19:35-36.
Leviticus 19:35-36 “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances (mozanaim, "the scales"), just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Yahweh your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
2) Scales were used to determine righteous weights in commerce, and became a symbol of demonstrating a righteous cause, as it says in Job 6:2.
3)
Scales were used in judgment as well, as it says in Daniel chapter 5. In the context, Daniel interpretted the message of the bloodless Hand, which had written the following message on the wall of Belshazzar's palace:
All of these aspects of the scale are part of this starry message in the constellation Mozanaim. Our lives are weighed in the Balance of Divine Judgment. Also, there is a "commercial" transaction going on for the Redemption of each soul, as it says in 1 Corinthians 7:23, "ye are bought with a price..."Let's look at the full message of this constellation through the individual star names as well (the original Hebrew star names).
In summary, the Scales (Mozanaim) give us a reminder of the Justice of the Almighty. While one star is named for the verdict: "the price deficient", which means that we are weighed and found "wanting", the star on the other side tells us that there is a "price that covers" our deficiency. And what is that price?
One of the three decans (the decans are like the constellation family) of Libra (Mozanaim) is Crux, anciently called Adom. This constellation is also known as the Southern Cross because it appears in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere. Adom
is Hebrew for “the cutting off” - a reference to the Death of Christ.Not only is this constellation depicting the Cross upon which Christ died, it is also depicting the Hebrew letter Tav. In Paleo-Hebrew (Paleo-Hebrew is the oldest and most original form of Hebrew), the Alef looks like the head of an ox and the Tav looks like a cross (see the letters on the far right below):
The Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew
alphabet. The Tav is the last letter. The Messiah Yahshua said
that He is the Aleph and the Tav, the First and
the Last, and
the Beginning and the Ending: I
am the Aleph and the Tav, (Alpha and Omega in Greek) the
beginning and the end, the first and the last (Revelation 22:13).
When Yahshua said
this, He was making a direct reference to Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12, where Yahweh
Himself
says that He is the First and the Last -- and explicitly declared that there is
no other “god” beside Him.
Yahshua also
said He was the Truth. "I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life;
no man comes to the Father apart from Me" (John 14:6).
Notice that the word for truth (which appears in modern Hebrew as is shown above)
contains the first letter aleph (reading from right to left), the middle letter mem, and the last letter of
the Hebrew alphabet, tav,
which the Jewish sages say means that the truth contains everything from Aleph to Tav:
Indeed, Pilate's question, "What is
truth?" is a category mistake, since truth is not about "what"
but about "Who." That is, truth is not something objective and
static, a thing to be known and studied from a distance. No. Truth is
essentially personal. It is personal disclosure of the character of the
subject. Understood in this way, Truth is a way of living, a mode of existence,
a relational truth.
The letter ‘tav’
means “a mark” especially a “boundary-mark, a limit or a
finish". Consider what Yahshua said, as He was dying:
It is because of what He has done for us - Who was the embodiment of the Tav - that we may face the Righteous Scales of Judgment one day.
"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
What a wonderful God we serve! Sometimes, we need to just stop and let it in, about what Yahshua has done for us. He gave all, not for the worthy, but for sinners - for you and me.
Consider the words to the hymn:
What shall I give Thee, Master?
Thou who didst die for me.
Shall I give less of what I possess,
Or shall I give all to Thee?
Thou who didst die for me.
Shall I give less of what I possess,
Or shall I give all to Thee?
| Yahshua, my Lord and Savior; Thou hast giv’n all for me; Thou didst leave Thy Home above To die on Calvary. What shall I give Thee, Master? Thou hast giv’n all for me; Not just a part or half of my heart, I will give all to Thee. |
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2
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What shall I give Thee, Master? Thou hast redeemed my soul; My gift is small but it is my all— Surrendered to Thy control. |
3
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What shall I give Thee, Master? Giver of gifts divine! I'll not withhold time, talents, or gold— For everything shall be Thine. |
