Gary Webster: Cheshvan - What the World Needs Now [2024/5785]
Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Gary Webster.
Shalom from Jerusalem. Tonight begins the month of Cheshvan. Last week, the Torah scroll was rolled back to Genesis. Barasheet, we will continue reading the book of Genesis for the next several months. As you look back over the last year, do you consider yourself to have made wise choices or foolish ones?
As you look back over the last year, do you consider yourself to have made wise choices or foolish ones? Would you consider yourself a wise person? Now notice, I did not ask if you were intelligent or smart because a high IQ does not equate to wisdom. The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom and folly. The Book of Proverbs, for example, is replete with contrast between the wise and foolish. Here are a few examples: Proverbs 3:35 declares,
"The wise inherit honor, but fools yet only shame."
Proverbs 12:15 states,
"The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice."
And Proverbs 14:16 says,
"The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure."
These verses reveal the actions of both the wise and the foolish. We are still left to guess, though, what makes one wise. Yeshua (Jesus) shows us clearly in Matthew 7:24-27:
"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
What distinguishes a wise man or woman from a foolish one? The wise person hears Yeshua's words and lives them out; the foolish person hears Yeshua's words but does not act on it. In order to drive home the importance of obeying his words, Yeshua gives us a vivid word picture: two individuals build separate houses. One builds on the rock, and the other builds on the sand. So far, so good; alas, both houses experience the forces of nature. Severe wind and rain pound both homes. One withstands the storm, and the other is destroyed. The one who built on the rock comes through unscathed; that would be the wise man or wise woman. The one who built on the sand is wiped out—the foolish man. Unfortunately, we've seen this scene play out in recent weeks: multiple homes destroyed due to the extreme wind and rain from hurricanes Helen and Milton. Our hearts go out to those who have lost every worldly possession. These homes were built on sand. Could they have avoided such severe loss if they had built their homes on the rock? I believe they would have.
The wise man or woman is not immune to the storms of life, whether they be literal storms or figurative. We cannot control the weather, neither can we control the storms that come into our lives: the death of a loved one, chronic or acute illness, divorce, loss of a job, etc. We can choose how to build and where to build. Spiritually, we have a choice also. We can obey the words of Yeshua or ignore them. What were some of his words and sayings? In chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew, it's revealed to us: He says, "Deal with your anger because it can turn to murder. Do not lust after a woman; it can lead to adultery. Do not divorce your wife or husband. Practice charity anonymously. Pray with the proper intention. Fast for the right reasons. Forgive each other freely. Love your enemy." The list goes on. Tonight, you have a choice to make: Do I continue to live foolishly, or do I live wisely? John 3:16 declares,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."
Yeshua is God's only begotten Son. Believe in him, obey him, leave folly behind, and embrace wisdom. Rosh chodesh samech
Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Gary Webster.
SShalom. My name is Moshe Da Costa and I'm part of Netivyah staff here at Roah Israel congregation in Jerusalem, Israel. I'm a husband, a father, a member of our congregation, and I serve here basically as responsible for liturgy, Torah reading, for example, in the Shabbatot in the services. I also do Bar Mitzvah training and other things connected to Jewish tradition. I work mostly behind the cameras, so I'm not used to it, so bear with me today, okay?
Today I'm here to talk about rash chodesh, about rash chodesh, and we can start thinking about Cheshvan. Cheshvan is not a Jewish word; Cheshvan is an Akkadian word. So, only for that, you already know how the exile in Babylon influenced Jewish history, Jewish culture. Cheshvan is the second month of the Jewish civil calendar and also the eighth month of the Jewish religious calendar. It typically falls in the months of October and November.
The Bible refers to the month of Cheshvan not by this name, but it's called the month of Bul, like we see it in First Kings 6:38, where we read:
"In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it."
Which house are we talking about? We are talking about the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem. Cheshvan is the moment of the year where Solomon finished building the Temple.
Cheshvan is also the time of the year where we rest from the High Holidays. We just finished a few weeks ago Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur; we finished Sukkot more recently, and then we have a moment to rest from the High Holidays and prepare ourselves for the next upcoming holiday, which is Hanukkah. But today I don't want to talk about these details. I want to talk about another issue about the month of Cheshvan.
Cheshvan is also called Mar Cheshvan. Why do Jewish people call the month of Cheshvan Mar Cheshvan? Mar means bitter in Hebrew, and there are a few different explanations for why it's called Mar Cheshvan. The first one is because Cheshvan is the month of the Jewish calendar that does not have any major holidays or festivals. It doesn't have anything happening basically in the month. This can be seen as a kind of a downfall or a disappointment in the Jewish tradition, so that's why the bitterness, especially when you consider that the month of Cheshvan comes right after the month of Tishrei, which is very joyous, very festive. So perhaps that's the reason why Cheshvan is called Mar Cheshvan.
Another explanation about the name of this month is associated with the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. Mar, besides bitterness, is also connected to the meaning of a drop of rain, and it's connected to the first rains in Israel, which fall usually in the month of Cheshvan. So this can be a moment of uncertainty and anxiety, especially if we consider the agriculture in Israel, because the farmers and others, we rely on the rains for our livelihood. The rains are a sign of blessing, and if it doesn’t fall at the right moment, it could be a sign of a drought to come. So perhaps that's why Cheshvan is called Mar; it's connected to the rains.
Another explanation for this name, Mar, connected to bitterness, is that Cheshvan is usually associated with a number of tragic events in Jewish history. For example, the matriarch Rachel died in this month. We heard about assassinations happening in this month, Kristallnacht in Germany, and some pogroms and some very sad events for the Jewish people happened in this month. So that's the reason for considering it a sad moment of the year, a bitter moment of the year historically. For example, during the month of Cheshvan, the flood, the big flood, Noah's flood, started and ended. God brought down the flood and drowned the whole world, saving only the people that were protected in the ark. So you can imagine the feelings surrounding this month.
Again, here we are entering the month of Cheshvan here in Israel, in suffering and distress. Until not long ago, we talked about the big wars in Israel. We talked about the Six-Day War, the Intifada, the Yom Kippur War, and now we are seeing with our own eyes and feeling in our own bodies the result of the Simchat Torah war. This war that started a few days ago, there’s nothing I can say to express the concern that we have for our loved ones. My brother, Yehuda Bachana, senior pastor of our congregation here in Netivyah, is fighting for us right now and is protecting us, protecting our borders right now during this time I’m recording this video. You can’t imagine how we are feeling, knowing that we are talking again about sad events, horrific things happening during this month.
We have other Messianic believers there in danger, protecting Israel, protecting our way of life, and too many already have fallen to this vicious enemy, Hamas. These terrorists are horrible, horrible, horrible people and a real judgement from God over us. In First Kings 6:38, the text we read at the beginning of this video, we see King Solomon finishing the building of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple of Jerusalem. Once again, the God of Israel had a place to meet His people. Once again, His presence can be felt in the heart of Jerusalem, in the middle of the tribes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But you see, although having a temple for some time, for centuries, became the center of the Jewish religion, the God of Israel did not want us to feel dependent on a physical place, on a physical space, to worship Him. He had other plans. He had better plans. God does not have to limit His holy presence to a physical place. He can be present wherever people worship Him according to John 4:23-24. He can be present wherever people worship Him in
"spirit and in truth."
When God sent His Son to be our Messiah, to be our Redeemer, He provided for His believers through His Spirit a spiritual place to always be in His presence. Today, we no longer need to make the long trip to Jerusalem, to a specific place, to meet our Holy Creator. We don’t need that. We can enjoy Him by the Spirit wherever we gather with other believers in Yeshua's name. That’s what’s promised in Matthew 18:20. Let’s see what’s written there:
"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
He promised that. He promised to be with us wherever we are gathered in His name. Brothers, this is the fulfillment of the prophetic hope that all nations would come to God’s Temple to pray. Isaiah 66:18-20 says the following:
"For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them, and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles."
That’s what we are supposed to be and to do. As a people, Israel is supposed to be responsible to show the glory of God among the Gentiles. One day, we will all be together in the new Temple to worship and praise the one true Creator, the God of Israel.
But meanwhile, my friends, that’s the reason we see these wars surrounding Israel. That’s because here in Jerusalem is God’s throne, and from here He is eternally ruling the world. Mar Cheshvan indeed—a bitter month. Let’s pray for this war to be over. Let’s pray that this war against the Lord, the God of Israel, and against His people comes to an end soon. But understand this: In His sovereignty, the God of Israel already knows exactly which buttons He needs to push in order to make His stiff-necked people return to Him. Don’t think that this war is happening against His will, or against His wishes, or out of His control. No. This war is a tool. Unfortunately, it’s a tool to bring Israel closer to God, to bring Israel back again, to make Israel repent, to make teshuva, and to find a way to our hardened hearts. That’s the truth.
We, as a people, need to repent. We need to come closer to the truth that we only see in the Bible. We are wasting too much time and too many efforts doing other things other than what we are told to do. So I believe that this month of Cheshvan is bitter because our life is bitter. Our life as a people is bitter, and we need to find a way back. We need to find a way back to the Lord Almighty, to the God of Israel.
May God bless us and keep us. May He shine His face upon us and be gracious to us. May He turn His face toward us and give us peace. We really need peace right now.