Weekly passages: Exodus 10:1-13:16; Jeremiah 46:13-46:28; Luke 22:7-30; 1 Corinthians 11:20-34

Many of us know very well the story of Passover and Jesus' fulfilment of it at the Cross. There is an easy and comfortable certainty to it because we view it through the lens of victory. God rescued his people from Egypt; Jesus' death was not a defeat but the key to eternal life.

We read about our redemption as though from the comfort of a worn, favourite armchair. But it's a story that should have us on the edge of our seats; it should make us tremble with awe and wonder and delight.

Recapturing Passover

To recapture some of that excitement, let's think about the dynamics of these events. If you were to predict the outcome of a poor and stammering slave leader, a loathed keeper of livestock, approaching the mightiest king on earth, the all-powerful leader of the known world, whose word was absolute law, with a request for the slave's people to be set free, you would correctly predict that he would be rebuffed at the very least, likely punished or killed for insurrection.

The idea that Pharaoh would agree to let the Hebrew slaves go seems laughable. Humanly speaking, it was impossible, but this is a story that subverts ideas of strength and weakness: the possible and the impossible are turned on their heads.

The story of Passover is one that subverts ideas of strength and weakness, turning the possible and the impossible on their heads.

The Lord graciously offers Pharaoh a chance to do his bidding and then shows him what real power is. Pharaoh can command men, but the Lord commands the laws of nature, weather systems, the sun and even death itself.

He does it so he can perform miraculous signs and prove himself to his people for all generations, so that they will tell their children and children's children, even till the current generation, what the Lord did for Israel in Egypt: "that you may know that I am the LORD" (Ex 10:2).

Strength of Heart

Pharaoh can issue orders to people but, most miraculously of all, the Lord commands men's hearts and so he hardens Pharaoh's heart. Ironically, the word used for hardening is chazak, whose root meaning is 'strong'.

Pharaoh's strength of heart was an illusion, a desperate weakness that led to destruction.

Curiously, the same word, chazak, is used of the Lord's mighty hand in Psalm 136:12 and also Deuteronomy 26:8 describing the Exodus. So the same word is used to describe both human and divine strength. We bear the hallmark of the divine, but human strength only prospers in the will of its author, our Creator; to try our strength against God's strength is a tragic misjudgement.

Human strength only prospers in the will of its author, our Creator. To try our strength against God's strength is a tragic misjudgement.

Strength Through Weakness

The way to be strong is to acknowledge our weakness, submit to God's strength, and in doing so gain a measure of his extraordinary strength. Paul had the revelation of strength through weakness:

...for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10)

Knowing weakness is a prerequisite for experiencing God's strength. God himself won salvation through apparent weakness, seemingly defeated by death. Shed blood, the ultimate sign of defeat, destruction and death, became for God's people the sign of hope, victory and life.

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)

The root verb for pass over (pesach) also means to leap, hop or skip over, to spare.

The Jewish commentator Rashi notes that the blood was within the house, not on the outside, interpreted from the blood being a sign "for you" in the verse above. It was for the Israelites, but others could not see it. God knows those who belong to him. Rashi suggests that the Israelite houses were among the Egyptian houses, but God knew which house was daubed with blood on the inside.¹

The sign of Messiah's blood covering our weakness, exempting us from death, is a sign we carry on the inside. Only God can see it. We may exhibit evidence of it, but only God knows the heart.

God himself won salvation through apparent weakness. His shed blood, the ultimate sign of defeat, became for God's people the sign of hope, victory and life.

Assertions of Strength

Our accompanying New Testament passages about the Passover and the New Covenant derived from it, taken from Luke 22 and 1 Corinthians 11, remind us of human weakness in light of Messiah's strength. In Luke 22, no sooner has Jesus announced the New Covenant in his blood than a dispute arises among the disciples about who is the greatest. In other words, who is strongest? Jesus has announced a covenant founded in submission and his disciples are asserting their strength.

1 Corinthians 11 warns of eating and drinking from the Lord's table in an unworthy manner because doing so will cause weakness and illness, even death. The cup of the Lord's victory, his power made perfect in the weakness of the Cross, becomes a destructive strength, a cup of judgement, for those who drink from it unworthily. However, believers are judged for discipline and correction "so that we may not be condemned along with the world" (1 Cor 11:32b).

God's Discipline

How many of us are eating and drinking at the Lord's table unworthily, harbouring unconfessed sin, secret strongholds of wrongdoing? "But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined" (1 Cor 11:31-32a).

Jeremiah similarly speaks of God's people being restored but also disciplined. God promises to punish the nations who have come against his people, but his people will also be punished:

I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jer 30:11)

We cannot mock God or presume upon an easy grace. We cannot trust in our own strength, harbouring strongholds of resistance to his will and areas of stubborn, hard-hearted pride because this hardness, the same hardness Pharaoh had, resisting God's will, is destined to be crushed by divine strength: "Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed." (Matt 21:44). Jesus spoke this against the religious leaders of his day: "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them" (Matt 21:45). It's an image taken from the punishment of stoning: a person would usually be thrown on to stones from a height and then stones would be dropped onto him. Either way he would die.

All must face the judgement of the Lord Jesus – his punishment is an unstoppable force that cannot be avoided except through repentance and faith.

Let's come to him afresh, acknowledging our weakness, trusting in his strength, remembering the extraordinary cost: the one who laid the foundation of the earth, whose strength is inexhaustible, becoming weak, overcome to the point of death, for our sake.

Author: Helen Belton

References

1 Zornberg, A G, 2001. The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus, Shocken, New York, 170-171.

As we draw our series on Christianity's relationship with Israel and the Jews to a close, here is a roundup of the sources which have been featured in its articles.

All the books listed here come recommended as resources for study - whether for reference or for reading in full. Sources that have been used more extensively in the series are highlighted in bold.

To help consolidate the series, we have also compiled a select timeline of historic events and trends which, in one way or another, affected relationships between Christians and Jews. Please feel free to use this as a resource for personal or group study.

Bibliography

Bacchiocchi, S, 1977. From Sabbath to Sunday, Pontifical Gregorian University Press Rome.
Berkhof, L, 1984. Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth.
Berman, J, 1985. Popular Halachah: A Guide to Jewish Living, World Conference on Jewish Origins.
Booker, R, 2002. No Longer Strangers, Sound of the Trumpet.
Bullinger, E W, 1968. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, Baker.
Carroll, J, 1993. Humanism: The Wreck of Western Culture, Fontana.
Comfort, P W (Ed), 1992. The Origin of the Bible, Tyndale House.
Danby, H, 1933. Mishnah, Oxford.
Davies, W D, 1980. Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, Fortress.
Davies, W D, 1984. Jewish and Pauline Studies, Augsburg.
Dodd, C H, 1936. Apostolic Preaching, Harper.
Dowley, T, 1999. Life in Bible Times, Candle Books.
Eban, A, 1984. Heritage: Civilisation of the Jews, Wedenfeld & Nicolson.
Edersheim, A, 1994. Sketches of Jewish Social Life, Hendrickson.
Encyclopedia Judaica, (17 volumes plus yearbooks. Also available on DVD), Keter.
Feinberg, M, undated. Daily Life in the Time of Jesus, Palphot.
Flannery, E H, 1985. The Anguish of the Jews, Paulist Press.
Flusser, D, 1988. Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, Magnes Press.
Flusser, D, 1989. Jewish Sources in Early Christianity, MOD Books.
Garr, J D, 1989. Restoring Our Lost Legacy, Golden Key Books.
Gower, R, 1987. New Manners and Customs of Bible Times, Moody.
Holtz, B W, 1984. Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, Simon & Schuster.
Jagersma, H, 1985. History of Israel to Bar Kochba, SCM.
Jocz, J, 1979. The Jewish People and Jesus Christ, Baker.
Kjer-Hansen, K, 1996. Jewish Identity and Faith in Jesus, Caspari Center.
Kopciowski, E, 1988. Praying With the Jewish Tradition, Eeerdmans.
Lull, F (Ed), 1989. Luther's Basic Theological Writings, Fortress.
Mansoor, M, 1984. Biblical Hebrew Volume 1, Baker.
Martin, V, 1995. A House Divided: The Parting of the Ways between Synagogue and Church, Paulist Press.
Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol 1, Eerdmans, 1993.
Origen, Against Celsus, The Anti-Nicene Fathers Vol 4, Eerdmans 1993.
Stern, D, 1988. Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel, Jewish New Testament Publications.
Stern, D, 1991. Messianic Jewish Manifesto, Jewish New Testament Publications.
Suetonias, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Wordsworth Classic, 1997.
Tacitus, Annals of Imperial Rome, Penguin, 1956.
Warfield, B B, 1956. Calvin and Augustine, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.
Whiston, W, undated. Josephus: Wars of the Jews, Nimmo, Haig and Mitchell.
Wilson, M R, 1991. Our Father Abraham, Eerdmans.

See also www.tishrei.org for articles from various authors.

Weekly passages: Exodus 6:2-9:35; Ezekiel 28:25-29:21; Romans 9:14-33

Just a few hours before his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples (Matt 26:17-30; Mark 14:17-26; Luke 22:14-38; John 13). As he shared the bread and wine he gave them a new meaning: "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19); "This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22: 20).

In obedience to Jesus' command, over many years the Christian Church has made the Communion (sometimes called the Eucharist and sometimes the Mass) central to the life of faith. Yet how often do we remember the background of the Exodus and of the Passover? It was in the context of remembering the Exodus from Egypt, the first Passover, that Jesus gave the new command. The types and shadows of the Old Covenant came into sharp focus as Jesus brought in the New Covenant.

Celebrating Passover

Since the time of Moses, Jews have met together once a year at Passover (according to the command of God, Lev 23:4-8) around family meal tables, to remember the deliverance from Egypt and to remember God's promises.

In addition, many Jews, whose eyes of understanding are opened to know Jesus as Messiah, still celebrate Passover in the traditional way but with the emphasis of the New Covenant merged into the Feast. This raises the question as to whether Christians have separated the Communion overmuch from the Passover meal and its original promises.

Four Cups, Four Promises

Exodus 6:6-7 contains the four promises that are remembered with four cups of wine at the traditional Passover meal:

I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

I will free you from being slaves to them.

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.

I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.

As each cup is drunk, each part of the story of the Exodus (beginning in our portion this week) is remembered. Would it bring special emphasis to our Communion celebrations if, to some extent, we incorporated the memory of the Exodus with our remembrance of what Jesus has done in fulfilment of these promises – and also what he will complete on his return?

No Jew foresaw this clearly prior to his coming, but every Jew and every Gentile can now reinterpret the promises with clarity. Remember too that the promises were given first to Israel - our share in them is within this framework.

Luke's Account

Reading Luke's account in the context of the Exodus account clarifies another matter. Luke mentions the sharing of wine twice – verses 17 and 20. These were two of the four cups. If the first of these envisions the third promise - I will redeem you with an outstretched arm – we have a dramatic prophecy in Exodus 6 of our Lord stretched out on the cross in fulfilment of the Father's promise to act on behalf of Israel. This is the cup we share at Communion – the memory of his sacrificial death.

The Fourth Promise

Matthew seems to record only the fourth cup (Matt 26:26-29) since immediately afterwards, the meal being over, they go the Mount of Olives. Jesus told his disciples to drink of this cup but did not do so himself, saying he would not drink like this again until he drinks it anew in the Kingdom of his Father.

This fourth cup is traditionally called 'the cup of consummation' or 'the cup of completeness', finalising the imagery of marriage. This then is what the fourth promise of Exodus 6 foreshadowed - I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. No wonder we understand from the communion service that we are remembering the Lord's death "until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

In the context of Exodus and the Passover, the Communion service has a clearer meaning than when it is become detached - as in much Christian tradition. Indeed, as we look forward to the Lord's return we must also remember that the promises in Exodus were given specifically to Israel. Is it not time to deepen our roots in terms of the vision of the one new man of Ephesians 2 especially relating to the Communion? May our Torah study this week help us in that process.

Author: Clifford Denton

Do you want to dig deeper into the word of God? Would you like some guidance and resources to help you along the way?

In co-operation with Issachar Ministries, Prophecy Today is now offering distance learning Bible study courses with personal mentoring. These courses are designed for individuals but can also be used for small prayer and study groups.

As well as distance learning we plan to offer opportunities for group study and prayer retreats, and we are also looking into organising study tours to Israel.

Please contact us for further details.

'My Rock; My Refuge: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms' by Timothy Keller (with Kathy Keller) (Hodder & Stoughton, hardback, 372 pages, £12.99, available from The Good Book for £8.99 + P&P)

While daily Bible study notes such as 'Every Day with Jesus', 'Word for Today' and 'Daily Bread' have long been immensely popular among believers, full-year devotional books by favourite Christian authors and celebrities have become increasingly in vogue, and there is now an utter abundance from which to choose. If you're into this type of inspirational reading to begin each day of the year, you can take your pick.

A current best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic (though the US title is catchier – 'The Songs of Jesus') comes from American theologian and apologist Timothy Keller, author of the huge-selling, 'The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Scepticism'.

Two decades ago, Keller began reading the entire book of Psalms every month. 'My Rock; My Refuge' – his first-ever devotional - is based on his accumulated years of study, insight and inspiration, as recorded in his prayer journals.

Inspirational Reflections

The book (co-written with his wife, Kathy) works through all 150 psalms, one per day (or part of one, and never more than 12 verses a day), providing short inspirational reflections on each passage followed by a thoughtful prayer. Keller is an insightful thinker and his comments, though kept short, are full of spiritual depth and wisdom, providing plenty of food for thought and allowing space for further contemplation.

Keller is an insightful thinker and his comments are full of spiritual depth and wisdom.

Additional references are sometimes provided, allowing further study should you have the time. But please note, this is not a commentary - so do not expect complex theological expositions, or lengthy explanations of some of the more contentious passages within the Psalter. Indeed, many difficult verses aren't discussed at all.

Grow in Hunger

Personally, I'm not the type of person who likes to read other people's prayers, yet there's plenty of meat in Keller's heart-cries to help engender further prayer on your own part. Do consider using this book if you are seeking clear and insightful reflections that get to the heart of each individual psalm. Keller's hope is that as you spend time meditating on them one by one, your hunger for God will grow and you will be drawn into a closer walk of fellowship with him.

Weekly readings: Exodus 1:1-6:1; Isa 27:6-28:13; 29:22-23; Acts 7:17-35; 1 Cor 14:18-25

Through these six chapters of Exodus we trace the astonishing journey of Moses from Hebrew baby in the bulrushes, discovered by Pharaoh's daughter and raised as her own son, to exile in a foreign land, to anointed leader sent by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery.

Behind the Story

It is easy to read these chapters in view of the next phase of the story: God's miraculous interventions and Israel's grand release from captivity. There is nothing wrong with this perspective, but with it, it is easy to miss the substance of what came before this divine rescue plan – the horrific reality of years of grinding abuse and oppression for God's people. Shifting focus to this for a moment, and re-reading the narrative, it becomes apparent that the slavery which defined both nations during this era was both preceded and pervaded by a spirit of fear.

What led the Egyptians to enslave the Hebrews in the first place? Fear – fear that they would grow too numerous and too strong and eventually rebel against them (Ex 1:8-12). What kept the Israelites in bondage for so many years? Fear of their dreadful masters. What led to Moses running away to Midian? Fear for his own life, after he had murdered an Egyptian (Ex 2:14). What led him to argue against God so many times before eventually accepting the call to go back? Fear - of the reception he would get, or perhaps of his own inadequacies.

Another Kind of Fear

But there is also another kind of fear demonstrated in this passage by two rather obscure, unlikely characters. Shiphrah and Puah were midwives instructed by Pharaoh to kill all the newborn Hebrew sons. But fearing God more than they feared the king, they refused to be the tools of infanticide – and God richly blessed them both for their faithfulness (Ex 1:15-21).

In Shiphrah and Puah we glimpse what God intended fear to be: an attitude of deep reverence and humble submission that leads us to honour and obey his ways above all others, no matter what the cost. We also see this fear at the site of the burning bush, where Moses hides his face in awe of God's presence.

From Fear to Freedom

God designed fear to be a good thing, which – just as the natural fear we all experience warns us of imminent threat – warns and protects us from spiritual danger. But as with every other Godly emotion and attitude, the fallenness of this world and the designs of satan have together twisted and perverted fear into a whole host of new, grotesque forms, which are daily used to steal, kill and destroy human life. And from fear precipitates control – attempts to bind, oppress and enslave, just as the Egyptians did.

For every Christian, of course, a blessing of being saved is liberation from all these kinds of fear through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have been given both the tools and the calling to recognise and deal with all forms of unGodly fear – and to be ministers of a new and better kind, which was intended from the beginning. It is this better kind of fear that leads to life (Pro 22:4), wisdom (Pro 9:10), peace (Ps 112:8), intimacy with God (Ps 25:14) power, love and sound mind (2 Tim 1:7).

It is one of the many paradoxes of our faith that those who fear God rightly will have complete security and no fear at all (Ps 112:7-8). As this new year begins, let us each not shrink back and accept the kinds of fear common to the world, but instead take hold of that which is offered to us in Christ Jesus – the perfect love which casts out all fear (1 Jn 4:18).

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Weekly readings: Genesis 44:18-47:27; Ezekiel 37:15-37:28; Ephesians 2:1-22

This week's Torah portion is called Vayigash, which is the first word of the portion, meaning 'and he came near'. It refers to Judah approaching the Egyptian ruler who, unbeknown to him, is his brother Joseph. He pleads for their mutual sibling Benjamin who, to ramp up the dramatic irony of the scene, is in fact Joseph's closest living relative (they share the same mother, Rachel) and the one whom he is least likely to harm.

Judah was the initiator of the plot to sell Joseph into slavery and appropriately he now offers his own life in place of Benjamin's:

So now let me remain as your slave in place of the lad. Let the lad go back with his brothers! (Gen 42:33)

The sages of Israel and Maimonides identify complete repentance as having the opportunity to commit the same crime again, but refraining from doing so because your heart has changed.¹ Judah and the other brothers could have abandoned Benjamin, but he refuses to repeat history.

Judah's leadership of the brothers in appealing for Benjamin's freedom and offering to take his place reveals that he is worthy to bear the line of kings. From Judah, David is descended and therefore the Messiah.

Judah's self-sacrificial leadership and repentance reveal that he is worthy to bear the line of kings.

The Coming Revelation

Judah's contrition prompts Joseph to reveal his true identity. The late Derek Prince (of blessed memory) would describe with tears the moment that Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers because, prophetically, it foreshadows the beautiful intimacy and delicacy of the moment when Yeshua (Jesus) will reveal his identity to his brothers and sisters, the descendants of the 12 tribes represented by Joseph's brothers - the Jewish people.

It is a private moment, the palace servants are removed because this is close family reconciliation, a time for raw remorse and guilt to be confessed and forgiveness offered. The Gentile stranger disguised in foreign clothes reveals that beneath the Egyptian courtly finery he is the long-lost Hebrew brother Joseph.

Similarly, Jesus has been exiled from his brothers and handed over to the Gentiles, a foreigner and stranger to Jewish people, frequently depicted in Renaissance art as fair and blue-eyed wearing European dress - Christ of the Gentiles. One day will come the family reconciliation, the revelation of his true identity as their brother, the "firstborn from among the dead" (Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), the Messiah of Israel.

Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, foreshadowing the beautiful moment when Messiah Jesus will reveal his true identity to his brothers and sisters - the Jewish people.

First Instance of Forgiveness

The former Chief Rabbi, now Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, describes the story of Joseph's actions as the first instance of forgiveness in recorded history. He quotes a study by David Konstan (Before Forgiveness: the origins of a moral idea, 2010), which posits that there was no concept of forgiveness in ancient Greek literature. There was appeasement of anger to prevent revenge and to limit shame and disgrace, but forgiveness is qualitatively different and proceeds from a sense of personal guilt rather than fear of public shame².

Shame relates to pain caused by public dishonour or disgrace and is centred on injury to oneself, whereas guilt arouses feelings of remorse and regret for injury done to another. It relies on the ability to empathise with another's hurt.^{3 4}

Finding Purpose in Suffering

Forgiveness involves what cognitive behavioural psychiatrists call a 'reframing' of adverse circumstances.⁵ Lord Sacks quotes the example of neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who discovered through treating suicide patients and after incarceration in Auschwitz that hope depends on realising that we have a unique mission to accomplish in life. Finding purpose is essential to psychological well-being.

Forgiveness involves reframing adverse circumstances, choosing to view them with hope and purpose rather than pain and bitterness.

He also realised that everything can be stripped from a person but their ability to choose how to respond to their circumstances, and if you change the way you think about your circumstances, you change how you feel about them. Joseph understood that his brothers' actions were part of God's plan, so rather than dwelling on the bitterness of his experience he reframed it:

I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life...God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. (Gen 45: 4-8) [emphasis added]

He recognises God's salvation purpose in his suffering. As a type of the future Messiah, Joseph suffered to win salvation for his people, enduring years in prison but eventually rescuing Israel from starvation (Israel being his father Jacob's name, but also the name all his descendants have since borne).

It foreshadows the ultimate rescue of all humanity from spiritual starvation, from the certainty of spiritual death resulting from our rejection of the Creator and the source of true life, Jesus (Jacob's descendant).

Family Reunited

Through Joseph, the founding family of God's people are reunited in one land through forgiveness and a new start, ruled by a prince who is one of their own, with the promise of future salvation and eventually a land of their own, as Jacob is shown:

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes." (Gen 46:2-4)

Similar promises are contained in the Ezekiel reading: reunification of a cleansed and renewed Israel, in a land of their own, one Davidic king over them, settled peace, God in their midst forever.

Joseph suffered to save his family from starvation, pointing to the ultimate rescue from spiritual starvation provided for all humanity through the suffering of Jesus.

One New Humanity

Ephesians 2 further echoes both passages. Verses 1-10 promise that those who come to Messiah by his grace will be cleansed and made alive in him. In verses 11-22, the promise is expanded to include the Gentiles. Jew and Gentile in Messiah unite under one ruler who is our "peace", who "has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" and in so doing has created "one new humanity" (Eph 2:14-15). The scope of territory for God's people is now the whole world and the Temple is a building of righteous souls in beautiful unity.

However, this does not fully answer Ezekiel's promise. The unity of those in Messiah is there: "one stick" no longer divided by tribe, but one holy nation under God with even the previously unclean 'goyim' (Gentiles) allowed to join the 'goy kadosh' (holy nation). Yet the majority of Jacob's descendants currently reject the Messianic revelation of Yeshua. They are "branches broken off" (Rom 11:19).

The supremely poignant and joyful moment of reconciliation with the "one they have pierced" (Zech 12:10) was partially fulfilled in Acts 2⁶ when Peter preached the Joseph Messiah, the Suffering Servant (Isa 53), but it will find greater fulfilment when Yeshua returns to his waiting family as the triumphant King Messiah.

The majority of Jacob's descendants currently reject Jesus as Messiah – and so we still await the final fulfilment of the reconciliation provided by Jesus.

Our Salvation Purpose

Now, as we await his return, do we understand that, like Joseph, we have a salvation purpose to fulfil? Joseph's suffering and forgiveness affected multitudes. We may only influence a handful of people, but we all have our part to play as the "remnant on earth" (Gen 45:7).

Every member of the Body is called to be on full alert and in constant readiness, not only to fulfil our gospel purpose and to complete those tasks that only we can do according to our gifts, but also to shine like stars in the dark days ahead until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts (2 Pet 1:19).

Author: Helen Belton

References

1 Rabbi Lord Sacks, The Day Forgiveness Was Born. Aish.com, 26 December 2011.

2 Rabbi Lord Sacks. Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27), The Birth of Forgiveness (Genesis 44:18-47:27), The Birth of Forgiveness. Aish.com, 21 December 2014.

3 Burgo, J. The Difference between Guilt and Shame. Pyschology Today, 30 May 2013.

4 Anthropologist Ruth Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword comparing North American and Japanese societies brought the idea of guilt versus shame cultures to prominence.

5 Rabbi Lord Sacks. Vayigash(Genesis 44:18-47:27), Reframing. Aish.com, 13 December 2015.

6 Acts 2:36-37: "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart..."

Prophecy Today UK sends an open letter to Her Majesty the Queen.

Despite all the problems our nation has faced over the last year, we at Prophecy Today found a little encouragement over the Christmas season to hear the Prime Minister's affirmation of Christian values in our nation and also the Education Secretary's resolve to promote the Christian heritage of Britain in our schools.

Most of all we were greatly encouraged by the Queen's Christmas message - perhaps the most overtly Christian message of her reign. The message can be accessed for three more weeks on the BBC website and is worth listening to several times as an encouragement and as a prompt to our New Year prayers for the nation.

The Board of Prophecy Today UK has sent a short letter to the Queen, copied in full below.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
Buckingham Palace
London
SW1A 1AA

Your Majesty,

We at Prophecy Today UK would like to thank you for your 2015 Christmas Broadcast. In these challenging days it was so refreshing and encouraging to hear such a clear message of hope and love founded firmly on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We would also like to encourage you as you enter another year of service to our nation, and to assure you of our ongoing prayers for you, your family and the Government.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Clifford Denton

Chairman
Prophecy Today UK

On behalf of the Ministry Board and our Supporters

As this is the last issue this year of Prophecy Today and in a somewhat festive spirit, we thought that we would publish a humorous piece in contrast to our usual comment articles. We hope you find it thought-provoking!

In case you don't know what's happening in the Middle East...

President Assad (who is bad) is a nasty guy who got so nasty his people rebelled and the Rebels (who are good) started winning (Hurrah!). But then some of the rebels turned a bit nasty and are now called Islamic State (who are definitely bad!) but some continued to support democracy (who are still good).

So the Americans (who are good) started bombing Islamic State (who are bad) and giving arms to the Syrian Rebels (who are good) so they could fight Assad (who is still bad) which was good.

By the way, there is a breakaway state in the north run by the Kurds who want to fight IS (which is a good thing) but the Turkish authorities think they are bad, so we have to say they are bad whilst secretly thinking they're good and giving them guns to fight IS (which is good) - but that is another matter.

Getting back to Syria...

So President Putin (who is bad, 'cos he invaded Crimea and the Ukraine and killed lots of folks including that nice Russian man in London with polonium poisoned sushi) has decided to back Assad (who is still bad) by attacking IS (who are also bad) which is sort of a good thing?

But Putin (still bad) thinks the Syrian Rebels (who are good) are also bad, and so he bombs them too, much to the annoyance of the Americans (who are good) who are busy backing and arming the rebels (who are also good).

Now Iran (who used to be bad, but now they have agreed not to build any nuclear weapons and bomb Israel are now good) are going to provide ground troops to support Assad (still bad) as are the Russians (bad) who now have ground troops and aircraft in Syria.

So a Coalition of Assad (still bad), Putin (extra bad!) and the Iranians (good, but in a bad sort of way), are going to attack IS (who are bad) which is a good thing, but also the Syrian Rebels (who are good) which is bad.

Enter Britain...

Now the British (obviously good, except that nice Mr Corbyn in the corduroy jacket, who is probably bad) and the Americans (also good) cannot attack Assad (still bad) for fear of upsetting Putin (bad) and Iran (good / bad) and now they have to accept that Assad might not be that bad after all compared to IS (who are super bad).

So Assad (bad) is now probably good, being better than ISIS. And since Putin and Iran are also fighting IS, that may now make them good. America (still good) will find it hard to arm a group of rebels being attacked by the Russians for fear of upsetting Mr Putin (now good) and that nice mad Ayatollah in Iran (also good) and so they may be forced to say that the Rebels are now bad, or at the very least abandon them to their fate. This will lead most of them to flee to Turkey and on to Europe or join IS (still the only constantly bad group).

Sunnis vs Shias

To Sunni Muslims, an attack by Shia Muslims (Assad and Iran) backed by Russians will be seen as something of a Holy War, and the ranks of IS will now be seen by the Sunnis as the only Jihadis fighting in the Holy War. Hence many Muslims will now see IS as good (doh!). Sunni Muslims will also see the lack of action by Britain and America in support of their Sunni rebel brothers as something of a betrayal (mmm-might have a point) and hence we will be seen as bad.

A Helpful Summary

So now we have America (now bad) and Britain (also bad) providing limited support to Sunni Rebels (bad), many of whom are looking to ISIS (good / bad) for support against Assad (now good) who, along with Iran (also good) and Putin (also, now, unbelievably, good) are attempting to retake the country Assad used to run before all this started.

So now you fully understand everything, all your questions are answered!!

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is one of God's great successes. Paul Luckraft reports on what CAP is doing today and how you can get involved.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is one of God's great successes. This week on Prophecy Today we are reviewing the book Nevertheless, which records CAP's origins and early progress. Our Resources Editor Paul Luckraft decided to investigate further and caught up with Helen Norris, CAP's Partnerships Manager for London, to find out what CAP is doing today and how you can get involved. Here is his report.

Transforming Lives

It is always encouraging and stimulating to discover how God is at work in society and how each one of us can take part in the transformation of lives. CAP provides such an opportunity as it always works in partnership with local churches. CAP's aim is not to do it all but to empower Christians to serve Christ within their own communities. There are now four ways in which this can happen. The primary method remains the Debt Centre.

Debt Centres

With 1 in 12 people in the UK now in unmanageable debt, a Debt Centre is a lifeline to many. Every church can become a Debt Centre. CAP will train a Centre Manager to oversee the deliverance of the most comprehensive debt counselling service available anywhere. A Centre Manager doesn't need in-depth financial knowledge. He or she is backed up by over 150 professional Caseworkers and Specialist Advisers at head office.

CAP takes care of all the basic elements of debt counselling centrally, putting together budgets and negotiating with creditors. It assesses the best route for each client to become debt free and equips the volunteer workers and befrienders to take this solution into people's homes, together with the love of Jesus - for it is an essential ingredient of CAP to offer the gospel alongside the financial service. As people find relief from the misery and stress of debt then new hope grows and they become more open to the Christian message.

With 1 in 12 people in the UK now in unmanageable debt, a Debt Centre is a lifeline to many - and every church can become one.

To date CAP has 290 church-based Debt Centres, covering 60% of the UK. The aim is for 500 to cover the whole of the UK. Could your church become a CAP Debt Centre?

Money Courses

More recently CAP has started running Money Courses as a preventative measure. As financial illiteracy is a major cause of debt and poverty this is a vital practical tool to help people avoid getting into debt in the first place. As always this venture is done in partnership with local churches and blended with their passion to share the gospel at the same time as passing on skills that will have a lasting impact on people's finances.

The CAP Money Course has become their greatest weapon against debt. In a society increasingly reliant on credit cards and loans this course provides the simple principles of how to budget, save and spend wisely, giving people a better chance to take control of their finances. CAP is now the largest provider of adult face-to-face money education.

CAP trains volunteers to run these courses in their local churches. Could this be your way of contributing to CAP's work? If you have the confidence and basic skills to present the material, then with extra specialist training you could make a real difference. The course is usually run over three 90 minute sessions, one per week, but this can be flexible. Each session involves a DVD and interactive discussions. By the end of the course those attending will know how to build a good budget and keep it balanced, understand the importance of savings and how to deal with debt. The motto is, prevention is better than cure!

Although primarily designed for adults, there is no reason why these courses cannot be used with youth groups or taken into schools and colleges. Such basic money management is often ignored among young people, at a time of life when it is most needed.

Job Clubs

A CAP Job Club is another tool in the fight against poverty and is designed to equip people to find employment while rebuilding their confidence and self-esteem (often lost when unemployment strikes). These Clubs are, as usual, run through local churches and have become nationally recognised and recommended by the Department of Work and Pensions.

The CAP Money Course has become their greatest weapon against debt, providing people with the simple principles of how to budget, save and spend wisely.

The Club meets once a week and is run by a trained CAP Job Club Manager. A key aspect is the Steps to Employment course, an interactive course that covers practical topics such as CV writing and interviewing techniques, all designed to improve employability. Coaching sessions are then run alongside the course to give members chance to discuss their individual needs in more detail and set goals for themselves. All this is set in a friendly and inclusive environment that combats isolation and also provides members with the taste of a church family.

The first Job Club was opened in 2013 and there are now 140 such clubs, but more are needed. Is this an area where you can help? CAP offers the necessary training so you can provide one-to-one coaching over an 8 week course. The format is flexible enough to run successfully in both small and large churches.

Release Groups

The fourth way to help is the most recent to be developed. A Release Group aims to tackle addiction and dependence in whatever area is needed, not just financial. CAP Release Groups provide a safe, confidential place for people to seek help alongside the support of others who understand what they are going through. The groups teach people practical steps to tackle their dependency head on through interactive sessions and individual coaching.

The eight week course is run by a trained CAP Release Group Coach and offers a place of trust and security for people to take steps to find freedom from their life-controlling habits. Clearly over-spending is one such addiction and one of the main causes of debt and poverty, but the course is flexible enough to cover other addictive behaviours. If your heart is to see people released from addiction then perhaps this is where you could become involved!

Release Groups aim to tackle all kinds of addiction and dependence, providing people with a safe place and practical help to find freedom from life-controlling habits.

Funding

CAP is well respected in the credit industry and in 2015 was the UK Debt Advice Provider of the Year, as awarded by Credit Today.

As their mission statement declares, CAP is passionate about releasing people from a life sentence of poverty, debt, unemployment and addiction. Their vision is to serve the poor and save the lost through 1,000 church based CAP services, so that anyone in the UK can access their life-transforming help.

But how is this funded? There is no Government funding as this would force CAP to give up their Christian emphasis. Sharing the gospel and God's love is key to their mission and all workers do this (90% of the clients accept this as they understand the help is from a Christian organisation and provided via local churches). Funding is provided by 27,000 regular givers (or Life Changers) who give monthly. All donations are welcome, however small. This provides 70% of the annual £10 million budget. The rest comes from legacies and other one-off gifts.

It is important to stress that money is never given out to those in debt. Handouts are not provided. All the money goes towards training and support so that people find their own way out of debt and dependency.

Get Involved Now

Debt is a very pressing social problem. It cripples lives and often leads to other problems. Families and relationships can be destroyed, and medical issues frequently follow as fear and depression set in. The very nature of Christ and his love means that necessarily Christians are against poverty. The only question is what they do about it. Through CAP there is a very real and successful way of putting our faith into action.

How you can help:

• Could you run a CAP Money Course and help give people the basic skills to take control of their own finances?
• Could you start a Job Club and work to equip people to find employment?
• Could you become a CAP Release Group Coach and help free people from addictive behaviours?
• Could your church become a CAP Debt Centre to serve the local community?

To help in any way or to get further details about any aspect of CAP's work, email the Church Partnership Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01274 760580, or visit capuk.org. All enquiries are welcome.