6 Adar II – Keeping the Commandments of God
For centuries, the people of God have debated whether or not we are obligated to keep the commandments that were written by Moses in the Torah. Obviously there are some that should be kept by all people - “You shall not murder,” for example. But are the other...
Daily Bread — Saturday, March 16, 2024
But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. There you shall take your burnt offerings ... and there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice...
5 Adar II – Making Peace With Esau
It was on this day in 1957 that Israeli forces, bowing to international pressures, withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the Sharm El Sheikh area along the Gulf of Aqaba. This was the first such withdrawal because, as we know, the IDF had to re-enter the Gaza Strip in the...
Daily Bread — Friday, March 15, 2024
But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. (Deuteronomy 12:5) When Moses referred to “the place” it should be understood that it was not just any place....
4 Adar II – Does Your Heart Match Your Mouth?
Not too long ago we mentioned how Israel, assembled at the foot of Mt. Sinai, grew impatient at Moses’ delayed return from the top of the mountain. They eventually coerced Aaron into taking their gold and using it to fashion a Golden Calf. “Now when the people saw...
Daily Bread — Thursday, March 14, 2024
You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods ... and you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and...
3 Adar II – Will You Do It For Me?
As Jacob was preparing to cross into the land of Canaan to face his brother and chief nemesis, Esau, the Bible tells us that he was greatly distressed and afraid. In his defense, there was ample reason to be concerned; Esau was bringing 400, presumably armed,...
Daily Bread — Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29) I find it interesting that the location of these two mountains is described...
2 Adar II – The Covenant Land
It was on this day in the year 1970 that the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that defined a Jew as being someone who was born of a Jewish mother, or someone who had converted to Judaism. This legal definition of who was a Jew led to another position that...
Daily Bread — Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28) In the previous devotion...
1 Adar II – Learn To Adjust
Today is the first day of Adar II. People often ask, “Why is there a second month of Adar?” The reason is quite simple even if the calculations are a bit involved. It boils down to this: this happens to be a leap year on the Hebrew calendar. As opposed to simply...
Daily Bread — Monday, March 11, 2024
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28) The translation here uses...