March – April 2002
Just below Yad Vashem, the memorial in Jerusalem to the Holocaust, is a new memorial of a different kind. It is called “The Valley of the Communities”, a stark and ugly collection of huge rooms, no roofs, the walls made of very large slabs of roughly hewn rock. The visitor is not impressed with …
The Hope of Israel Read More »
Under the present conditions of imperfection forgiveness is something that affects both men and God: it affects man in relation to his fellows and man in relation to God. Although we may think of forgiveness as something inwrought in human behaviour and universally recognized, it is really a Biblica…
The Wonder of Forgiveness Read More »
Hope is a wonderfully motivating force. It was recorded of Abraham that “against hope he believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations” (Rom 4:18). Here are two kinds of hope. The first is human, but the second is derived from clear spiritual discernment and is predicated on …
Our Hope and Expectation Read More »
When Emperor Hadrian was mopping up the remnants of Jewish inhabitants of Judea, his soldiers came across Rabbi Akiba, the 120 year old rabbinical sage who had in fact orchestrated the war against Rome and anointed bar Kokhba to be the Messiah in Judah who would deliver them from their subjugation. …
The Long Dark Night Read More »
Next year in Jerusalem. For centuries this was the plaintive plea at Passover of Jews in dispersion. Although cut off from their homeland and often persecuted in the lands of the diaspora, devout Jews retained a steadfast confidence that their Messiah would come and redeem them. All their hopes—th…
Return to Eretz Israel Read More »
Isaiah 24
24:7–12 The Day of Pleasure Turned Into a Nightmare of Mourning
Verses 7–12 “The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted [NE8 revellers] do sigh.
“The mirth of tabrets ceaseth [RSV timbrel is stilled], the noise of them that rejoice [RSV the jubilant]…
Isaiah’s Visions of Salvation and Judgment (2) Read More »
The role of the watchman in Israel of old was clear. He was to watch for danger. Chosen for his keen eye, he had to remain alert, awake and watchful by day and night. And when he saw the signs of impending attack his task was to clearly and urgently give warning by blowing the trumpet. What if he sh…
“And the Watchman Cried…” Read More »
