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Justice was Taken
Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his posterity? For his life was taken away from the earth.” Acts 8:32-33, NET We need to understand justice through the rough-hewn frame of the Cross. God is the God of Instead, who in His mysterious magnificence practices the beautiful principle of exchange. He takes upon Himself the punishment so that we might receive the reward instead. The justice we long for is beyond our reach. It is too dear, too expensive. Unattainable in human power. Underneath the… Read More
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The Table-Setter
Thou preparest a shulchan before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with shemen (olive oil); my kos (cup) runneth over. Surely tov (goodness) and chesed (lovingkindness) shall follow me kol y’mei chaiyyai (all the days of my life)... --Psalm 23:4-6, Orthodox Jewish Bible Shulchan: (Hebrew) a king’s table, private use, sacred use (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon; keyed to the "Theological Word Book of the Old Testament"). My table-setter was very busy. The most colorful rug, the one woven by her great-grandmother and carefully cherished and preserved, was the one chosen as a “tablecloth” for eating. I watched as Nadia tenderly unrolled it and placed it on her immaculately clean floor in the center of the room. Next, silk embroidered cushions… Read More