We pray every week for the leaders of the Jewish Ministry,
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A must website. To subscribe to our newsletter. To download some resources (Hebrew Sabbath School, and other documents). To order the book “Comfort, Comfort my people…” and many other things. •
Professional Urban Development: The WJAFC provides: - Professional Urban training for Jewish Ministry - Teaching for theological students - Help to plant new congregations. - Support for AdventistJewish dialogue with scholars and rabbis
Shabbat — Matot/Mas’ei
Shabbat Shalom Newsletter
Resources:
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If you would like to read articles, watch videos, learn things about Judaism and Israel, this website is just for you. • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WJAFC: If you would like to share with people, this forum on facebook is a good place for that. • Photos on Google+: http://picasaweb.google.com/jewishadventist: We have posted a lot of pictures on Internet during the last years. Don’t hesitate to look at them.
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If you would like to listen Jewish or Messianic songs. If you want to be used to ear modern Hebrew of the Apostolic Writings, it is the right radio to listen on the web. • Adventist Mission Website: http://wjafc.adventistmission.org/ This website is the new resource provided by the Office of Adventist Mission of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists. • Russian Website: http://www.boruh.info/ This website is in Russian, many articles and the parasha are posted on it every week.
692
6 August / 2 Ab 2016 / 5776
This issue
week for lead-
Paris
A weekly Journal of information and training published by the World Jewish Adventist Friendship Center Under the umbrella of the General Conference —Office of Adventist Mission
ers of the Jewish Ministry, according to our list of prayer for 2016, I
Journal of Information and Training — Issue 692— 6 August 2 0 1 6 / 2 A b 5 7 7 6
News P.1 Parasha’s comments P.2-4 Haftara P.4-5 Apostolic Writings P.5 Stories P.6 Inspirational Corner P.6,7 Color Sheet for Kids P.7
Weekly Jewish-Adventist Journal of Information
We pray every
WJAFC
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suggest that we continue Jewish Adventist leaders, thus I invite
NEWS
Comments on the World Congress
From Samuel, who is a Division leader in Miami: Greetings! I write to thank you for a well organized, contextualized and educational congress, and advisory. This congress is ordained of the Lord. A new era has begun for the Jewish ministry. It has reached a point of maturity and is emerging to be a missiological discipline and field of study. God has rewarded your dedicated service to all of us. I appreciated amount of visibility you have given to our Division. The scholar from New Zealand has an
reached back home in the UK safely. Thank you for all the effort you made in organizing this event. We all enjoyed ourselves and we were all saying how good it was and how good it was all organized. Please could you give me the website link of were all the videos recorded during the congress are stored so we can watch the recordings again. Thank you again for organizing this event.”
excellent grasp of the Jewish ministry. He is post modern thinking, innovative and is an insider. Thank once again for everything.”
We continue to receive e-mails of comments about the Congress organized in Paris. From Jean-Jack, a Conference leader: “Thanks for the organization of this congress. I think that it has been a blessing for many. I am sure that this congress has been a good occasion to put light on the Adventist Church in this part of the world.” From Esther, who came from London with 15 other members: “We have all
our partners Jael Wells Cuellar English Edition: Richard-Amram Elofer
Richard Amram Elofer
Russian Edition: Alexandra Obrevko French Edition: Sabine Baris Spanish Edition: Jael Wells Cuellar Portuguese Edition: Carlos Muniz Dutch Edition: Hubert Paulleta
Hubert Paulleta 8
to pray from
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August 7 to 13 Alexandra Obrevko
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for Victor and Irena Viatokha, who are working in Ukraine and take care of the congregation in the region of
Sabine Baris
Kiev. Let’s pray for them.
Tisha Be’Av
Jews are commemorating Tisha Be’Av for the destruction of the Temple, on Sunday August 14, let’s remember them in our prayers.
Parasha for this Week
Matot-Mas'ei
Parasha Overview
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Matot
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oshe teaches the rules and restrictions governing oaths and vows especially the role of a husband or father in either upholding or annulling a vow. The people of Israel wage war against Midian. They kill the five Midianite kings, all the males and Bilaam. Moshe is upset that women were taken captive. They were catalysts for the immoral behavior of the Jewish People. He rebukes the officers. The spoils of war are counted and apportioned. The commanding officers report to Moshe that there was not one casualty among the children of Israel. They bring an offering that is taken by Moshe and Eleazar and placed in the Ohel Mo’ed (Tent of Meeting). The Tribes of Gad and Reuven, who own large quantities of livestock, petition Moshe to allow them to remain east of the Jordan and not enter the Land of Israel.
Numbers 30:1 - 36:13
The Heads of the Tribes
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he Torah states: “Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying…” (Numbers 30:1). The title of our parasha is Matot from the root Matah (tribe or staff), its synonym is used in the Bible for tribe is Tevet. in Hebrew The famous dictionary of the Old Testament (Nidotte) says about these words “Both Matah and its synonym Shevet originally referred to parts of a tree from which a staff or a weapon could be made. Both words are most often translated tribe. In contrast to , which when meaning rod or scepter normally involves a symbol of the figure in authority such as a father, a king, or God, normally refers to a shepherd’s staff or the staff of a leader of lower status than God or king, such as a priest, prince, or tribal leader.” (Article , NIDOTTE, 2:917.) Rabbi Hirsch like to use the translation “branch”, each tribe is a “branch” of the whole Israel. Each “branch” working, through its own unique characteristics, to
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carry out the mission shared in common by the entire nation. This section is addressed particularly to the leaders who significantly are called in this text “Heads”. It was their task to attend to the customs arising from the individuality of each “branch,” and to attend also to common activities, aspiration, and purposes. It was their responsibility to properly channel all of these to promote the fulfillment of the national mission in accordance with the unique characteristics of each “branch”. The “Heads of the Tribes” are entrusted with important functions as family counselors and spiritual advisors, coming from among the people themselves. It is for this reason, too that the section on vows is addressed first to the “Heads of the Tribes”. This introductory formula is found primarily in connection with Mitzvot “commandments” immediately applicable.
A Vow To G-d
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he Torah portion Matot continues with the laws of vows: “When a man makes a vow ( Neder) to God, or swears an oath ( Shevuah) to prohibit something
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to his soul, he shall not profane his word; all that his mouth has expressed he must do.” (Numbers 30:3). G-d’s people are bound by the command not to profane their words. Rashi, comments: “He shall not profane his word - ... he should not make his words mundane. (Rashi, Numbers 30:3) The Torah here enjoins us not to misuse this power by speaking nonsense or uttering vows that we will later profane. The power of our speeches is so great that G-d says to his people “This people I have formed for Myself, they shall tell My praise.” (Isaiah 43:21) The purpose of G-d’s people is defined by this verse: God created us so that we should praise Him. As such, the power of speech is accorded special properties. It is, in some ways, the most Godly and spiritual of our properties. Rabbi Shim’on Bar Yochai underlined the importance of our speeches and vows saying, “Had I been at Mount Sinai at the moment when the Torah was given to Yisrael, I would have demanded that man should have been created with two mouths—one for Torah and prayer and the other for mundane matters. But then I
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retracted and exclaimed that if we fail and speak lashon hara (gossip) with only one mouth, how much more so would we fail with two mouths.” (Yerushalmi, Berachos 1:2). There is more about this verse of Numbers 30:2; it teaches the rules and restrictions governing “vows” neder and “oath” shevuah. It is important to understand the difference between these two concepts and words in the Jewish tradition. Rabbi Hirsch says that we have here two categories: 1. a man who vows a vow to the Lord. and 2. a man who swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge. An example if a man says that wine shall be forbidden to him like a sacrifice, then drinking wine is forbidden to him by a neder. If he says that he swears that he will not drink wine, then drinking wine is forbidden to him by a shevuah. The Torah continues: “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge…” (Numbers 30:3–4). The Bible makes
“If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” (Numbers 30:2)
difference here between man and woman, certainly because a man creates his position in life independently, and if he binds himself with a vow that cannot be absolved. He is independent, he is able to take this individuality into account when he shapes the conditions of his life. In that society, three thousand years ago, women needed to be protected, and she did not build for herself her own home. She entered her home provided by the man, and she managed it, bringing happiness to home and nurturing everything inside in the spirit of sanctity and orientation toward G-d. Rabbi Hirsch says that there is a deep psychological basis for the following halachah, which has no parallel anywhere in the Torah: The age of maturity for vows starts earlier than for all the other mitsvot. The man is considered an adult after his thirteenth year (Bar Mitsvah) the female is considered an adult after her twelfth year, for the Torah recognizes that her intelligence matures at an earlier age. Both are considered adults, only if — in addition — they have produced signs of puberty.
In these years, the boy becomes a youth and the girl becomes a maiden, and there is great significance to the resolutions that they vow in this period. These are resolutions uttered secretly, known only to G-d, but they are often decisive for a lifetime. The rich contents of the life of a noble man or noble woman are often only the ripened fruit of a resolution vowed to G-d in the dawn of youth. This would explain the loving seriousness with which G-d receives the vows of young boys and young girls who are maturing into His service.
Israel’s Journey
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arashat Mass’ei gives us the itinerary of the people of Israel when they left Egypt. This itinerary was not by chance, but they were led by G-d, as it is written “Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.” (Numbers 33:2). Reading carefully the itinerary presented in this chapter we don’t see that the people crossed the Red Sea to re-
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Parasha Overview
Mas’ei
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he Torah names all 42 encampments of the children of Israel on their forty-year journey from the Exodus until the crossing of the Jordan River into the Land of Canaan. G-d commands the people of Israel to drive out the Canaanites from the Land of Canaan and to demolish every vestige of their idolatry. The children of Israel are warned that if they fail to rid the land completely of the Canaanites, those who remain will be “pins in their eyes and thorns in their sides.” The boundaries of the Land of Israel are defined, and the tribes are commanded to set aside 48 cities for the levi’im, who do not receive a regular portion in the division of the Land. Cities of refuge are to be established: Someone who murders unintentionally may flee there. The daughters of Tzelofchad marry members of their tribe so that their inheritance will stay in their own tribe. Thus ends the Book of Bamidbar/ Numbers, the fourth of the Books of the Torah.
Haftara Overview Jeremiah 1:1-3:4
When Moses was called by G-d he was extremely reluctant saying that he was nobody. “Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh…” (Exodus 3:11). When Jeremiah was called he too was reluctant to accept. “Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” (Jeremiah 1:6) In our parasha “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (Numbers 30:2) Jeremiah is a member of a special family. In fact when we read carefully the Bible we discover that Jeremiah was a priest, he was living in Anathoth a city of priests. The Bible states: “The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.” (Jer 1:1) However, we never see Jeremiah performing his duty in the Temple as a priest. This because Jeremiah is a descendant of a cursed family, he is a descendant of Abiathar who was sent to Anathoth by the king of Israel “To Abiathar the priest the king said, ‘Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before
“Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that it was indeed a place suitable for livestock,” (Numbers 32:1)
©Unitedwithisrael.org ceive the Ten Commandments anywhere in Saudi Arabia as I have heard from time to time. These journeys and stopovers (42 stops) were associated with a whole series of events and experiences which were worthy of being remembered by the kinsmen. The memory of these events was therefore preserved by oral tradition, and this list includes signposts and signals by which to remember that tradition. The Tsfat Emet says that every “masa” (journey) took us further from Egypt to reach our goal, which is Eretz Israel. That is why this journey from Egypt to Eretz Israel, is more than a physical journey. The liberation of Israel from Egypt is symbolically the journey of each one of us from the bondage of sin, freedom from sin, and reaching our goal with is the heavenly Eretz Israel, the new world and new kingdom of God which will be installed by the Messiah when he will come.
Feel Joy in Every Positive Act
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he Torah states: “And Novach went and captured Kenas and its surrounding villages
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and he called it Novach after his name” (Numbers 32:42). Why did the Almighty include this verse in the Torah? Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch elucidates: Throughout the world, powerful leaders have wanted to leave monuments to themselves through statues and buildings named after them. Kings and conquerors have even named large cities after themselves. However, names can very easily be changed and then nothing is left, as happened to Novach. (Neither Novach nor the city he named after himself are remembered in history.) The good deeds of a person and his spiritual attainments are the only true everlasting monuments. Rabbi Packouz says, “When you view the good that you do as your eternal monument, you will feel greater motivation to accomplish as much as you can. A life of spiritual attainments is everlasting. Feel joy in every positive act you do, for it gives greater splendor to your monument!”
Never Be Satisfy with the Proper Behavior
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abbi Zev Leff from Yeshiva Aish gives us a great lesson about the stories recorded in the Bible, he said; Rav Yitzchak
said that the Torah teaches us derech eretz (proper behavior). When one performs a commandment he should perform it with joy. For had Reuven known that the Torah would record that he attempted to save Joseph from the brothers, he would have carried him on his shoulders and run home. And if Aaron had known that the Torah would record that he greeted Moses with a happy heart after (Moses) was chosen to be the Redeemer, he would have come (to him) with drums and cymbals. Rav Yitzchak’s lesson is that we should perform the commandment in such a way that our own joy in the commandment is obvious, for in that way we inspire and strengthen others in the performances of the commandments. The Midrash of Rav Yitzchak concludes that even today Elijah and Mashiach are still recording accounts of all our deeds to be included in the book of remembrance (Mal 3:16). These works are sealed and affirmed by God Himself. From this we learn that our actions are not something between us and God alone, but must be done in such a way as to bring the respect and admiration of the surrounding society so as to promote obeying G-d.
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Apostolic Writings — Acts 18:18-21
ur parasha states: “When a man makes a vow to the L-RD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (Numbers 30:2) the Torah makes it clear that when we pronounce an oath or vow it is very important to keep it and to do what we have promised to the L-rd. It is important to see what the Brit Hachadasha says about vows and oaths. First Yeshua reinforced this mitzvah from Hashem, He invited us not to swear or to make unnecessary vows, that is why he said “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Mat 5:37). The mitzvah of the vows and oath could be used for a good purpose or a bad purpose. In the Brit Hachadasha We have a good example with Paul taking a vow before going to Yerushalayim. “Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.” (Acts 18:18). This manner of making a vow and cut his hair off is a Jewish custom, to fulfill the law of a Nazirite, as it is written: “And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting” (Numbers 6:18). Rabbi Shaul was faithful to the tradition of his ancestors, he was Torah observant, that is why when he stopped his trip in Ephesus for the Shabbat, he went to the synagogue, the text says: “They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.” (Acts
18:19) Shaul was a great Rabbi, he knew how to preach, how to share the Bible with Jews, how to share Yeshua HaMashiach with the Jewish people. It is almost naturally that the Jews were interested by Shaul’s teaching and the text continues “When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined.” (Acts 18:20). Shaul had a plan, he could not stay with them, but the text continues “But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.” (Acts 18:21). And we have an example of bad use of vows, they were pronounced by some Jews who were against Paul and his divine message: “The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.” (Acts 23:12). I don’t know how people of G-d can imagine that they can make a vow to kill someone and think that they are in agreement with the will of G-d. It is exactly the same behavior we see today among extremists and terrorists who kill in the name of Allah and think that G-d agrees with them. Extremism is not only in one religion, but is a danger in every religion, that is why we have to be careful to have a balanced religion and never go to one of the extreme, both, extreme left and extreme right are not good. And what is strange is that these people go to the priests to unveil their plan “They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.” (Acts 23:21). They are ready to kill, they go to say it to the priest a representative of G-d.
Paul was saved because his nephew reported this plot to the commander of the Roman soldiers who saved him by escaping this place. After his trips and teaching Rabbi Shaul decided to go to Jerusalem in order to fulfill his vows to the Lord, “After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem” (Acts 19:21). In Jerusalem Paul was not alone to go to the temple to fulfill his vows, the brothers living in Jerusalem wanted to help him to witness among the leaders of the Temple that he was a faithful Jew, that is why they said to him: “Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.” (Acts 21:23–24) We don’t know what was their vows and even the vows of Paul, but these vows were important enough to push him to take the risk to go to Jerusalem, even though he knew that this trip would be dangerous, the Ruach Elohim inspired the brothers to say to Paul not to go to Jerusalem, “And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:4), Thus when he arrived in Jerusalem The leaders who knew about Yeshua were not happy to hear Shaul to preach about him. He was arrested, and from there will start his last trip to Rome. The only question about this story and the trip to Jerusalem is to know if Paul made the good choice in taking this vow, maybe not.
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my father David and shared all my father’s hardships’.” (1Kings 2:26). However Jeremiah is called by G-d to be a prophet in Israel. He knows G-d’s law, he knows that we must not make a promise or a vow and not keep them. And even though Jeremiah was member of a cursed family he finally accepted his calling. It was a great risk for him, not to be heard because he was one of the famous priest of Anathoth. Another connection between the parasha and the Aftarah is that The people of God are in the desert living a sort of honeymoon with G-d. Jeremiah reminds Israel of the time of their first love in the desert. “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2) However in the desert Moses reproaches God’s people and their leaders of their unfaithfulness. “Moses was angry…” it is exactly what Jeremiah did in the next chapters of his book.
Stories and Traditions
Never Be Angry
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Inspirational Corner
v Two tribes,
Gad and Reuben, with half the tribe of Manasseh, had received their inheritance before crossing the Jordan. The wide upland plains and rich forests of Gilead and Bashan had attractions not to be found in Canaan itself. The two and a half tribes, desiring to settle here, had pledged to furnish their proportion of armed men to accompany their brethren across the Jordan and share their battles till they also should enter upon their inheritance. (EP 369)
he Torah says “Moses was angry with the officers of the army” (Num 31:14) Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv (the “Alter of Kelm” who died in 1898) developed a strategy to never lose his temper. He had a special jacket that he had set aside to wear when he was angry. He said, “When I feel anger coming on, I know that I have to get my special jacket. But, by the time I do, I am no longer angry.” (Quoted in Ve’karata La’Shabbat Oneg)
Miracles on D-Day
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heir were countless miracles on D-Day. Many of them were just ordinary decisions based on certain lifestyle acclamations. In normal circumstances they may have proved meaningless. In early June of 1944 they proved miraculous. At the time there was tremendous friction between the German high command and Hitler. The distrust bred a fear of the generals acting without Hitler’s approval. This proved disastrous on D-Day when German Panzer Commander ordered two Panzer divisions to Normandy, but first requested a General Jodl’s approval. Rundstedt told, Hitler would have to give the order and the Fuehrer was sleeping. It was not acceptable for a lower officer to wake up the commander in chief. No one had the courage to wake Hitler up for approval and since he slept in 6
that day, the tanks were not moved into position. This gave the allies precious time to land forces on the beaches with thousands of less casualties.
Returning to G-d
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couple of months ago a young lady lost a wallet containing a large sum of money in Jerusalem. She realized that the wallet was gone when she tried to pay the taxi that brought her home. Her mother went back with her and retraced her steps, but to no avail. The wallet was gone. They called around to all the shops she had gone to. Nothing. After a couple of days we thought we’d seen the last of the wallet. About a month later a man telephoned their house and spoke to the mother. He said he had seen the wallet in the street and picked it up. He was a poor person, struggling to keep his head above an everrising tide of bills and debts. The sight of such a large some of money overwhelmed him. His son’s school had told him that unless he paid the previous term’s tuition, his son would not be able to return at the end of the summer. He looked down at that full wallet and the temptation was too much for him; he took half of the money and paid for his son’s tuition. Two days before Tisha b’Av, he called the ladies: “How can I fast on Tisha B’Av with this on my mind?” he asked. He promised to pay us back as soon as possible. In any event, he wanted to return the rest
of the money together with the wallet. The mother said to him, “Don’t worry! Pay us back when you can! Thank you so much for calling!” She suggested he leave the wallet in a nearby store to avoid embarrassment. Where do you find people like true believers in the entire world? “…and you will return to the L-rd, your G-d, and listen to His voice…” This verse is both a command and a prediction: The command to return, to mend what we have marred, is written not in the command form, but in the plain future tense. This means that it’s also a prediction. G-d tells us that, whether we want to or not, eventually we must return to Him.
Kids Parasha Matot-Mas’ei
yEoVsAm-twøÚfA;m
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ack in the early 1950’s a large shoe consortium with stores across the United States and Canada, decided to take their business venture into the emerging continent of Africa. They sent two of their salesman to explore the prospects of business in the remote villages across the Dark Continent. After just one week, they received a cable from the first salesman: “I am returning at once. No hope for business. Nobody here wears shoes!” They did not hear from the second salesman for four weeks. Then one day an urgent cable arrived. “Send 15,000 pairs of shoes at once! I have leased space in five locations. Will open chain of stores. This place is filled with opportunity. Nobody has shoes!”
Often difficulties arise from a simple misunderstanding, and without courtesy and forbearance, serious results may follow. The ten tribes resolved to act promptly and earnestly; but instead of making courteous inquiry to learn the facts in the case, they met their brethren with censure and condemnation. Had the men of Gad and Reuben retorted in the same spirit, war would have been the result. It is important that laxness in dealing with sin be avoided; it is equally important to shun harsh judgment and groundless suspicion. (EP 371). v
Place Full of Opportunity
Numbers 30:2-36:13
“And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.” (Numbers 33:50–53)
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Inspirational Corner