Parashat Bo 5764/2004
EJD
The weekly reading for the week of 8 Shevat, 5764 - January 31, 2004 Parashah: Bo Exodus 10:1 to 13:16; Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28; Mei Kituvim: Psalm 135:1-21; Brit Chadashah: Revelation 19:6-21
The Bagel: Bright darkness. Sounds like an oxymoron. It is the intermittent breaks in the darkness that are bright. Specifically in the readings, it is the rightness of the whiteness in the midst of the darkness of judgement that this phrase emphasises. This could be symbolized by the contrast of the darkness of the clouds in a storm with the brightness of a lightning strike. Both elements make up a storm. G-d's judgements hold a dark side, but also a bright, white side. Isaiah 28 describes judgment as a strange work, because it is foreign to G-d's nature of love. Yet, judgment is also necessary that the wicked be put down and the righteous restored. Judgment is the last resort when repentance is not forthcoming.
Torah: Exodus 10:1 to 13:16 In Parashat Bo the last three plagues are recounted: locusts, darkness, and the death of the first born in the Passover night. There is darkness in each. There is judgement in each. There is the rightness of G-d's purpose in each. In the eighth plague the darkness came as a result of the thickness of so many locusts that the sky became black. In the ninth plague, the reverse occurred, when the darkness appeared there came with it a thickness that could be felt. Then there is the darkness of the night during Passover. It was the darkness of death for the Egypt, but the dawn of redemption for Israel. In each case there was darkness associated with the judgment, but there was also the brightness of G-d's presence operating in the background unseen.
It is like the Tifillin where the outside of the box is black as though to symbolize the darkness, but on the inside is the rightness of the Torah parchment. The revelation of the Torah at Mt. Sinai included the darkness of the cloud, the brightness of the lightning, the roar of the thunder, and the terror of G-d's holiness. Holiness was breaking in on Egypt, the Pharaoh's policy could not stand any longer. G-d was saying: "Let my people go!" Israel said at the base of Sinai, "We will do!" but Pharaoh said: "I will not!" The burial in the Red Sea was the final answer to Pharaoh's response. It was the brightness of G-d's holiness in the midst of the darkness of judgment that turned the tide for Israel.
Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28 A different kind of darkness reigned over Egypt in the time of Jeremiah. It was the storm of G-d's judgment that brought the armies of Babylon into Egypt to do such destruction that Egypt would never be the same again:
"The invading army marches in; they come against her with axes like woodsmen. 'They will cut down her people like trees, says the LORD, 'for they are more numerous than grasshoppers. Egypt will be humiliated; she will be handed over to men from the north'" (Jeremiah 46:22-24 NLT). Those Jews who fled into Egypt for safety and security also suffered under that time of judgment. But in the the darkness G-d also held out the brightness of promise: "Fear not, Jacob, my servant,' says the LORD, 'for I am with you. I will destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not destroy you. But I must discipline you; I cannot let you go unpunished'" (Jeremiah 46:28 NLT). This was the promise to the Jews who cooperated with the plan of Adonay to live in exile in Babylon. Their exile would not be permanent, but a promise of return was guaranteed.
Mei Kituvim: Psalm 135:1-21 This Psalm recounts the events in Egypt during the Exodus. The Psalmist tells of G-d's working in nature and relates that to the experience of deliverance in Egypt. The image in nature is that of a storm: "He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses" (Psalm 135:7 NLT). The clouds produce the darkness and the lightning forms the brightness. The purpose of the storm in nature is to renew the earth by rain and wind. The purpose of the plagues and deliverance in Egypt was to renew Israel. Israel would be bonded to her G-d through the Exodus. Thus the result was the brightness of faith in the midst of pagan darkness.
Brit Chadashah: Revelation 19:6-21 The greatest demonstration of bright darkness will be yet in the future. For when Yeshua comes with His army of redeemed holy ones to reclaim the earth from the reign of wickedness. It will appear like an army of locusts to those who have joined in rebellion against G-d's authority over their lives. The coming of the Messiah will be a day of great darkness for the enemies of G-d. The judgment of final reckoning includes the casting of the wicked into the night of hell: "....They are doomed to blackest darkness" (2 Peter 2:17 NLT). But for the remnant of Israel and those of the nations alive during that dark time just prior to the Messiah's return redemption is near. The brightness of His coming will bring deliverance for them. This will also be the commencement of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. Yeshua's return will mean darkness for the wicked, but brightness for the righteous.
The difference is faith in Yeshua the great Messiah of Israel: "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war" (Revelation 19:11 NLT). Those who have made peace with the Prince of Peace will know victory and deliverance in that day. The same promise is true today in the heart of faith and that in spite of a fallen world.
Cream Cheese His sword is dark in judgment against His enemies, but bright in deliverance for His friends.
The weekly reading for the week of 8 Shevat, 5764 - January 31, 2004 Parashah: Bo Exodus 10:1 to 13:16; Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28; Mei Kituvim: Psalm 135:1-21; Brit Chadashah: Revelation 19:6-21
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