Seeds of Restoration

And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.  “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD (YHVH I was not known to them. “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers.  “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 

In the bible… names have meaning.  The name spoke to the character, the events or the calling in the life of a person. Abraham for instance means “father of many”. While many may refer to our Master as Jesus…His real Hebrew name is actually Yeshua which literally means “salvation”. Knowing His real name brings the text to life when you read “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name “Salvation” for He will save His people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:21), or when you hear Moses say “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today“. (Exodus 14:13) By knowing the true name of Messiah, we understand a great truth concerning His mission among His people.  It is no different with God’s Holy Name.  While Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew what God’s Holy Name was… (Genesis 15:7-8) Moses and the children of Israel were about to gain a better understanding of what His Holy Name means.  God was about to reveal that “The Name” keeps His promises…He fulfills His covenants…He is faithful and trustworthy. The children of Israel were going to see firsthand the fulfillment of something that had been foretold for generations…their redemption from Egypt by great judgments.   “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions”. (Gen 15:13-14) 

In Exodus 6:6-8 Moses is instructed to share the good news with the children of Israel. The time had come…their redemption was finally at hand! Sadly however, this good news was unable to be received.  “So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage”. Exodus 6:9 It would seem the children of Israel were unable to believe the words of Moses after so many years of suffering and heartbreak. After all, they had buried whole generations of those who had spoken of this great redemption…this “exodus” from Egypt… yet the children of Israel remained as slaves under the burdens of Pharaoh. After so many years of affliction, Egypt had taken its toll on the faith of Israel.  

As I write this…there are many of us as God’s children today, the redeemed of Israel, who are struggling to hear and receive God’s promises. Because of our own “anguish of spirit” we are unable to really believe that “Salvation” is coming…that our redemption from this totally messed up “Egypt” is certain and true. Sure, we have read what is written concerning our final deliverance from “Egypt” when God pours out His judgments on this earth. We have heard the prophecies…we know the teachings of Messiah and can quote Peter and Paul as they encourage us to stand strong to the end looking forward to God’s great restoration.  Yet often, the words can seem very distant and elusive to us as we toil and struggle with the realities of “life outside the garden” as my good friend Jim Denman might say.   Once again…Egypt is taking its toll.  The Pharaoh of this world is pulling out all the stops to break our spirit and to crush the hope we have been given by faith in God thru Messiah. Distractions…deception… persecution…wars and natural disasters are becoming and will become the normative for all who live in these last days. It will become increasingly difficult for those who are grounded in the Word of God to stand firm in their faith…to hold onto the promises of God…to actually believe while witnessing the world fall apart around them and their families. But for those who have only heaped up for themselves teachers who tickle their ears once a week…for those who do not learn from the examples God gave us in His Torah, (1Cor 10:11) it will prove almost impossible. 

Our Master tells us in Matthew 24:12 that “because lawlessness or “Torah-less ness” will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved”.   As we walk out these final days in Egypt, may we remember what our forefathers learned concerning the Lord. May we dig into His Word and learn that our God is a faithful God…He always keeps His promises and He always remembers His covenants with His people. We who have trusted in Him will see the dawning of the day when Messiah reigns on earth and all tears are wiped away.  We will enter into the Promised Land and live forever with Him. No matter what happens in the days ahead…no matter how bad things appear…keep looking up.  Yeshua…our Salvation is coming…  “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near”.  Luke 21:28 Tim’s Torah Take—Seeds of Restoration