8.1.25 ~ Am I a star?
Good morning!
In this week's Torah portion, Moses states that the people of God are compared to stars (Deut. 1:9, 10).
"And I spoke to you at the time saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: the Lord your God has multiplied you and behold you are as this day as the stars of heaven for multitude" (Deut. 1:9,10)
I’ve spent many nights on my rooftop away from the light pollution looking up at the stars and have wondered in my thoughts, When I consider the heavens, the work of His hands, the moon, the stars which he has set in motion, in their brilliance, what are we that he would even think of us (Psa. 8:3,4)?
When I consider your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon, and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you think of him and the son of man that you care for him? (Psa. 8:3,4)
The promise that was given to Abraham is that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5; 22:17).
I’ve asked myself the question, "Am I one of His stars? Am I one that He knows by name (Psa. 147:4)? How would I know? Do I have the qualities of a star? Enquiring minds want to know :-)
The first time that we see a star mentioned in scripture it’s connected to the fourth day of the “creation story“ (Gen. 1:14)
And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs/OT, and for seasons/MOEDIM and for days and years (Gen. 1:14)
The first identifiable marker of a star is that they are associated with God‘s holidays/MOEDIM his appointed times (Lev. 23; Lev. 25; Num. 28). Like the stars, am I keeping His appointed times? His days (Weekly Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened bread, first fruits, Pentecost, trumpets, atonements , Tabernacles)? His years (shemittah, jubilees)?
Am I lighting up the dark darkness of the night? Am I being a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 51:4)?
I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. (Isa. 42:6)
As I read through the psalms, I reflect on how David, the Shepherd, spent many nights under the stars. He didn’t have the electric lights, air pollution, and the man-made distractions. And I can see him asking the question, “God, I’m just one star in the midst of all those galaxies. Why do you care about me? I've asked that question many, many times myself!
When God takes thought/zakar, He is carefully and deliberately thinking about us, meditating about us, paying attention to us, remembering us and recalling us. It’s not that He just thinks about us, He deliberately and carefully considers everything about us; even down to the number of hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30). That’s intimacy!
He cares about every facet of who we are, arranging His thoughts about us in order to completely understand us. Simply put: He pays attention to us! He doesn’t just give us a quick glance, He doesn't just give us a nod. He stops and focuses His attention on us. He looks carefully to see who we are and listens to what we say. He settles down to meet us. He remembers us! His actions towards us are like we’re one of His favorite photos :-)
Personally, when I consider the stars, their beauty, their absolute magnitude, their size,, their colors I get overwhelmed with their grandeur. And like many things in life, the closer you get to it the more brilliant it is! Which leads me to another question to ask myself, "When people get closer to me, as a star, am I like a cheap magician's trick to them or am I more beautiful the closer you get? Am I better viewed from a distance or up close?
You know, the main problem with the multitude of stars is that a cluster of stars can produce two opposite images in our minds: one of power, security, influence, and dominance in the night sky, and on the flipside, complacency; When you become too big you get complacent.
I think that’s why God thinks of us individually. If he thinks about us as just one gigantic cluster of stars in the sky, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.
As you head into this 13th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil, I hope you’ll be able to consider His thoughts towards you and that you will live as stars in the night.
Happy preparation day!
Shalom
Alan
"And I spoke to you at the time saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: the Lord your God has multiplied you and behold you are as this day as the stars of heaven for multitude" (Deut. 1:9,10)
I’ve spent many nights on my rooftop away from the light pollution looking up at the stars and have wondered in my thoughts, When I consider the heavens, the work of His hands, the moon, the stars which he has set in motion, in their brilliance, what are we that he would even think of us (Psa. 8:3,4)?
When I consider your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon, and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you think of him and the son of man that you care for him? (Psa. 8:3,4)
The promise that was given to Abraham is that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5; 22:17).
I’ve asked myself the question, "Am I one of His stars? Am I one that He knows by name (Psa. 147:4)? How would I know? Do I have the qualities of a star? Enquiring minds want to know :-)
The first time that we see a star mentioned in scripture it’s connected to the fourth day of the “creation story“ (Gen. 1:14)
And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs/OT, and for seasons/MOEDIM and for days and years (Gen. 1:14)
The first identifiable marker of a star is that they are associated with God‘s holidays/MOEDIM his appointed times (Lev. 23; Lev. 25; Num. 28). Like the stars, am I keeping His appointed times? His days (Weekly Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened bread, first fruits, Pentecost, trumpets, atonements , Tabernacles)? His years (shemittah, jubilees)?
Am I lighting up the dark darkness of the night? Am I being a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 51:4)?
I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. (Isa. 42:6)
As I read through the psalms, I reflect on how David, the Shepherd, spent many nights under the stars. He didn’t have the electric lights, air pollution, and the man-made distractions. And I can see him asking the question, “God, I’m just one star in the midst of all those galaxies. Why do you care about me? I've asked that question many, many times myself!
When God takes thought/zakar, He is carefully and deliberately thinking about us, meditating about us, paying attention to us, remembering us and recalling us. It’s not that He just thinks about us, He deliberately and carefully considers everything about us; even down to the number of hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30). That’s intimacy!
He cares about every facet of who we are, arranging His thoughts about us in order to completely understand us. Simply put: He pays attention to us! He doesn’t just give us a quick glance, He doesn't just give us a nod. He stops and focuses His attention on us. He looks carefully to see who we are and listens to what we say. He settles down to meet us. He remembers us! His actions towards us are like we’re one of His favorite photos :-)
Personally, when I consider the stars, their beauty, their absolute magnitude, their size,, their colors I get overwhelmed with their grandeur. And like many things in life, the closer you get to it the more brilliant it is! Which leads me to another question to ask myself, "When people get closer to me, as a star, am I like a cheap magician's trick to them or am I more beautiful the closer you get? Am I better viewed from a distance or up close?
You know, the main problem with the multitude of stars is that a cluster of stars can produce two opposite images in our minds: one of power, security, influence, and dominance in the night sky, and on the flipside, complacency; When you become too big you get complacent.
I think that’s why God thinks of us individually. If he thinks about us as just one gigantic cluster of stars in the sky, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.
As you head into this 13th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil, I hope you’ll be able to consider His thoughts towards you and that you will live as stars in the night.
Happy preparation day!
Shalom
Alan
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