Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
The Names and Titles of God (The Apostle and High Priest of Our Profession)
Hebrews 3:1
3 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
King James Version
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A half century ago, the brief passage in the Torah about a red cow didn't interest anyone other than serious Bible Scholars of either the Christian or the Jewish Faith. This was a ceremony in which a red heifer, three years old and never calved, is sacrificed outside of the Tabernacle. Its ashes were to be mixed with water and used for ceremonial cleansing. Lest one thinks that ashes do not have cleansing properties, remember that old-fashioned lye soap was made with beef tallow and wood ashes. So perhaps, the Red Heifer Ceremony actually produced a kind of disinfectant (just my speculation!). Lots of things show up in the Old Testament, especially during the Exodus, that have to do with Heath and Sanitation, and didn't make sense back then, but do now, if one thinks about it.
Anyway, red heifers weren't in the News for 2000 years, because the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, and the ceremony ceased operations.
Sometime between my visit to Jerusalem in 1984, and the most recent decade, both Christians and Jews have suddenly expressed an interest in the Red Heifer. This could be because there are people who are actively preparing to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and the ceremony is a necessary part of inaugurating that effort.
Muslims are against this, because they have planted a mosque, called Al Aksa, on the very site of the Temple Mount. Many Jews are against it, because they know how much trouble it will cause. Many Christians are against it, because they believe that Jesus Himself is the Final, Once-and-for-All Sacrifice for sin, and that WE are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Still other Christians see the construction of "The Third Temple" as a prerequisite for the Return of Christ and the End of Days.
A devout Christian rancher in Texas has supplied The Temple Institute in Jerusalem with several beautifully bred red cows that were transported to Israel and are awaiting this ceremony. Some say it will be this year.
The general feeling around us Twenty-First-Century people would be: "OK, so they bred some red cows for an ancient ceremony that doesn't mean anything because 1. They will never be able to build on the Temple Mount, 2. Jesus is the Final Sacrifice for Sin and our High Priest, 3. Most Israelis are secular and really don't care, and so on. BUT...there are some people who are taking this all VERY seriously.
Right after the hideous October 7th Terrorist attack against innocent Israeli Civilians that plunged the Middle East into War and American Universities into a cesspool of Antisemitism, there was a video produced by the terrorists ranting about their motivation. The spokesman for the "Al Aksa Flood" (Hamas) Terrorists said that the reason for the horrific attack against Israel was the "Red Cows" that the Jews had brought into Jerusalem. It wasn't about Land, or refugees, or a "Two-State Solution", or even "Palestine". It was because of the Red Heifer.Check Out This Page of Red Heifer Videos.
Today's Mysterious Name is given to Jesus, in the Book of Hebrews. As always, it is important to consider context, and the Book of Hebrews is perhaps the most powerful example of that policy.
While much of the New Testament is written to the Gentile World (for example, nearly all of Paul's letters are written to Churches in Greece, Rome, and modern-day Turkey), the Book of Hebrews is oriented to, obviously, to Hebrews, that is, First Century Jewish People who believed that Jesus was the Promised Messiah. That is why there are so many references to Moses, The Tabernacle, and the Sacrificial System of worship in the Temple. In this Book, the author discusses how the whole Sacrificial System of Atonement was fulfilled on the Cross, with Jesus being both the Sacrifice and the High Priest. While a human priest would have to atone for his own sins on a daily basis before he could do anything for the sins of others, Jesus was without sin. Yet, as a human being, he went through all the stuff we go through and is able to empathize with us.
Today's Name is "Apostle of Our Confession". Our "confession" is our Faith. "Apostle" means "One Who Is Sent".
I don't pretend to be an erudite scholar of the Bible, especially the Book of Hebrews, because, not only is it very deep, but its context is so different from my own culture.
Nevertheless, it gives us some wonderful Names and Titles of God, and in the Twenty-First Century, some insight into the conflicts going on around the world.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS