COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 132 - A WONDERFUL PLACE CALLED ELIM

A LONG WALK THROUGH THE EXODUS
A WONDERFUL PLACE CALLED ELIM
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

In the last COME AS A CHILD lesson, we left the Israelites happily camping at Elim where there were twelve abundant springs of fresh clean water, and seventy flourishing palm trees full of dates providing festive food and providing cool, restful shade for everyone.   (Have you ever noticed how palm trees seem to lift their branches up in worship to God?)  

Elim was quite a contrasting change from the bitter waters of Marah.  Remember the original request of Moses to Pharaoh when he first asked him to let the people go?  He asked that they could be free to go out to the desert to hold a feast before their God.  At Elim, this finally happened.  The people rested, worshipped and were refreshed before God.   

The scriptures that back up what I want to explore in today's lesson can be found in that last short little sentence at the end of Exodus, Chapter 15, verse 27 that states:  "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water."  

The scriptures state this so plain and simple.  As so often we find there are no elaborate details; yet why were the words even stated in the first place?  There is always a good reason when you take your study deeper.  I think this last statement of the chapter is loaded with hidden meaning.  We touched on this a bit before; but I want to be sure to emphasize the importance of this part of the journey.  Elim was so much more than just a stopping off place along the way.  I think Elim can be compared to the place of safety that we read about in Revelation 12:14.  "The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach."  

The people had been through quite a dangerous and treacherous journey so far; and they were just getting started making their way toward the life God wanted them to have.  They were on their way to meet God; and they were tired and worn out already, in the beginning the journey.  I think God wanted them to have a time of refreshment before they moved on to the BIG important events He had planned ahead for them.  So; He led them to Elim, a wonderful, little known, hidden oasis in the desert.

We begin to read about Elim at the end of Exodus, Chapter 15 right after the dramatic song of Moses and Miriam and the hard time they had at Morah where the water had been bitter.  It is interesting that the biblical meaning of the number fifteen (the number of that chapter in Exodus) is "rest."  Rest is certainly what the people found at Elim.  The number fourteen (the number of the previous chapter where they were delivered from Pharaoh) is symbolic of deliverance, which is also truly what happened just before Elim.  I am always amazed at the fascinating meanings of biblical number sequences.  Only God could have made such orders with such clear meanings, and only He could have put them together in this way!  The mind of God is so vast and so high above anything we could ever think!  

These scriptures at the end of Exodus 15 give the exact number of springs and the exact number of palm trees whenever they speak of Elim.   It is detailed in that way; yet all of the other details are left for us to research and come up with on our own.  You can’t help but wonder why the exact amount of each spring and tree was given; is there a good reason for this? 

The old sages of long ago asked this same question.  Many of them have supposed that the twelve springs correspond with the twelve tribes of Israel, and the seventy palm trees correspond with the seventy elders of the Sanhedrin, and/or the seventy elders who were later chosen by Moses to approach the Mountain of God for the giving of Torah.   

Others even go so far as to say that at the time of creation God was anticipating this day that His people would be wondering through the wilderness with the thought that each tribe of Israel would be able to come to Elim and sit beside their own spring of water and each elder of each family would have their own palm tree for their family to sit under.  They would sit down right there in the middle of a hot dry desert and be comfortable and well watered and give thanks to The One and Only God who had thought of them at the very time of their creation and had even made this oasis in the desert especially for them to rest, enjoy and be restored.  It is a nice little story; and quite imaginative; but what is the real reason that God brought Israel to this very spot after Marah?  Is there any truth to the old imaginings of the sages?

At Marah the people got a “glimpse” of Torah.  As they journey further and further toward Sinai' they are about to discover the WHOLE Torah. God is going to refresh their souls with His word; but perhaps He is refreshing their physical bodies for the journey first.  Many times in the bible when we read of spiritual things there is an equal physical thing that foreshadows the event.  At any rate The People of God will soon begin to understand how significant Torah will be to them.  It would seem that the Torah is a very special gift from God; it is comparable to a wedding gift for a much cherished bride!

The giving of Torah worked in a similar way to the giving of a wedding ring.   It was a commitment and a promise.  God was giving His people Torah as a permanent symbol of His love for them.   Torah was a gift that would embellish the life of the people after they took special vows to live before God forever and to serve Him with their lives.   With the giving of Torah God would be making an official, public statement to the people of Israel as well as the whole world that they were to be His very own special Bride. Torah was their wedding covenant.   So, you might say the journey into the wilderness was the beginning of Israel becoming God’s Bride.  Elim came to serve as a safe and special place where they could rest up for the wedding vows that were ahead of them. 

At Mt. Sinai the Bride of God called Israel would receive The Torah, which was equivalent to her wedding ring.  This is true because the Torah is full of God’s commandments, and there with the great leadership of Moses they would take a vow to obey those commandments given by God forever.   There was to be a type of wedding ceremony between God and His chosen people; Israel, God's beloved; and all of the nation of Israel was invited to attend this special event as the guest of honor!  

I honestly think that was the heavenly perspective of the coming events at the time the people journeyed to Elim.  I'm not sure, on the other hand, that all of the Israelites totally understood the extent and significance or importance of God's BIG plans for them; yet.  Like many young brides, Israel was naïve and unaware of many things.  

I DO think Moses understood the full extent of God's intentions though, and I think Moses tried to communicate this same message to everyone involved.  At this point of the journey God was definitely making plans to make Israel His nation and His Bride.  It was something He had planned from the beginning of creation!  Israel was to become the model nation that would bring all other nations into the family of God.   

So how does this relate to Elim?  The grove at Elim, on the way to Sinai, was like unto an expensive resort hotel where you would put up your wedding guests before a very special wedding took place.  There would be parties and little celebrations and times of refreshments and relaxation before the big event.  This set aside time is to prepare the people for the mood of the wedding.  At most resorts of this sort there is a bridal suite; and it is set aside and reserved especially for the Bride.  It is a place where she can receive her special invited guests and spend festive times with them.  There are wonderful well appointed rooms for everyone.  Is is a super special place!  There are gifts and luxurious days to be had in such a place; especially if you were there as a member of God's family in the making.  

I'm sure you are familiar with these types of establishments of which I am speaking; the one's where special guests get baskets full of wonderful goodies delivered to their room because The Host (knowing all of their own special tastes) has taken special care and planning to have very creative people prepare exotic baskets to be delivered which are filled with delicacies that He knows they will love and adore.  No one else knows you like your beloved!  He knows the things that will bring you delight and He has spared no expense to give them to you! There are rooms full of flowers and gifts just for the Bride.  

There are also other special suites for special guests with selected functions to perform at the wedding.  Maybe each one will even receive their hometown newspaper bought and brought in, delivered especially for them from their own home town which is far, far away from this resort, so that they will not miss any local news or events going on in their homeland, and especially so they will be made to feel right at home and comfortable while they are attending the wedding feast.  I guess little glimpses of Torah COULD read like a newspaper from your own hometown.   Every effort has been made to dot the i's and cross the t's and all the little special things are being put into place right here at Elim for the sake of honoring and cherishing the bride just before the wedding.  The Groom has spared nothing to show His unwaivering love for His Bride.

There is lots of special individual attention given to each guest at such a resort as this!  There is a special place prepared for each one who has accepted the invitation to the wedding.  No one is overlooked or forgotten here; everyone is special!  Nothing is held back.  Nothing is too fine for these guests!  No small favor is overlooked in this wedding preparation! 

After all, this is the upcoming wedding of Isreal to the Ruler of the Universe!  It is no small occasion!  Elim is like that luxurious resort hotel filled with special wedding guests, including the most honored Bride.  All of this is happening on the journey to the wedding; in the time leading up to  the date of the wedding of Israel to God.  What a grand celebration!    Everyone is gathering together in one place at the same time for festivities that go on and on.  Not only have they celebrated great freedom and liberation from the bondage of slavery; they have met their lifelong lover.  They are going to be married to an awesome and powerful King!

At Elim, each head of household of God's future family had their own designated individual stream for drinking and bathing and swimming.   No one was crowded; everyone had just what they needed and more.  

This trip the Israelites took to Elim is comparable in nature to the family trip we take each year on our annual celebration of The Feast of Tabernacles.  That festival mirrors this time in Elim, as well as The millennial reign of Christ in the days to come.   The time in Elim was a refreshing break from the madness of life in the wilderness.  The Annual Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is a refreshing break for us from the madness of today's fast-paced and stressful world.   Eight days of celebration of our freedom in Christ away from the rest of the world; like a little oasis with God.  

At Elim each head of household had their own special palm tree to sit under.  These are special palms which are in season and each of the trees are filled with luscious palm-dates for good eating.  It reminds me of the scriptures that speak of how it will be in the last days that we read of from the prophet  Micah in Micah 4:4; "Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for The LORD Almighty has spoken."  This is exactly what the people experienced at Elim.  They were getting a "taste" of what eternity might be like when they are married to God forever.

Everyone in the wedding party at Elim had been given a luxurious place to stay as they awaited the wedding of the Nation of Israel to God.  God has gone out of His way to impress His Bride before she receives her wedding ring (Torah.)  

Elim is yet another gift from God, a place of rest and refreshment before the special wedding day.  Here the bride is to be pampered and treated like a queen!   Here in this spa of twelve springs and the shade of seventy palms the bride may at last come to act like a bride.  She will be safe from the enemy here.  She will be protected and unafraid.  This will get her ready for the wedding at Sinai where she will get her first full glimpse of The Face of God.  Can you imagine how Israel must have felt?   Can you imagine God's anticipation of becoming more and more intimate with His chosen people?

It does seem as you read between the lines of the scriptures that God had waited and planned for this very special time all the way from the first point of creation!  It is so much like a time in the life of a perfect groom.   Perhaps He was thinking of His Bride, Israel as He created these 70 palm trees and these 12 streams that He knew would be a special oasis for His very own Bride as she waited in route to their very special wedding day.  

The seventy elders who would sit under their own individual palm trees would be the ones who would record the awesome events of the wedding.  They would note each little detail and later they would tell the stories of them to all the earth throughout all of history.  Their job was very important; they were very honored dignitaries; the close and special guests who would perform very special tasks for the Bride and Groom.  One of their jobs would be to make sure everything was up to par with The Kingdom they were representing at the coming wedding feast.  Nothing but the best!  The finest wine, the best food, clean white linen, the most beautiful music, and perfect attire for all of the attendees.  It all would be arranged.  

They; (everyone who made the journey past Marah to Elim;) were to be honored at Elim.  Everyone who arrives at Elim is to be treated as royalty!  God has rolled out the red carpet and chosen the best servants to cater this event!  (Angels guarding the way and the camp; headed up by none other than The Angel of The LORD Himself!)  God has provided for every need!

These wells and water and palm trees speak of a joyous times of sheer refreshment.  Here under the trees and next to the fresh streams of waters the people are healed from their long tiring lives as slaves to another king where they were held in bondage against their will.  They have been rescued and they are on their way home.  They are restored.  They are set free.  They are given back their hope. They are healed and refreshed right here at Elim.  Their eyes are opened to a whole new way of life.  For once; they see they DO have a future; an awesome one! 

The healing at Elim comes from the very voice of the groom; their God.  He speaks through the language of love found in Torah.   It is alive and it resounds long and loud, like the sound of a trumpet blast announcing good news.  The voice of God is now coming into their lives in a very official and permanent way and it brings healing to the whole nation; which eventually, over time will bring healing to all of the earth.

The coming wedding of Israel to God sets the pattern for the coming future wedding of the Church to Christ; God's Only Begotten Son.  It is a family tradition!  The Son will follow in the steps of His Father in choosing His Bride and setting up the plans for His wedding celebration.

With God’s wedding to Israel at Mt. Sinai, there were twelve tribes that made up the Bride and seventy elders that were made up of those who would take God’s word forward and teach the people how to live life God’s way from that point on through time.  This would be their healing; this would bring them joy. 

With Christ’s wedding to the church there are twelve original disciples who taught God’s word and seventy other disciples who committed to come with them.  They were commissioned and sent out two-by-two to preach the word of the gospel of Christ to the world.  They were told to deliver the good news, to cast out demons, to raise the dead and to heal the sick.  This was their time of refreshment from the wilderness of life; this was their joy and purpose!  This time of grace and the giving of the gospel is their Elim.

Jesus is coming back soon!  We are now supposed to be living and waiting like the Israelites who were in Elim; waiting on the royal wedding feast.  It is a wonderful place!  

Are you there yet? 

Are you covered in the blood of the Lamb and waiting on your time of rest and restoration and joy? 

Are you looking forward to that trip to Elim right before the Marriage Super of The Lamb? 

Jesus promised us; “I will prepare a place for you so that where I am, you may also be.”  Just as God had on the day of their creation, prepared a place for his Bride named Israel; Christ too has prepared a place for his Bride; the Church.    

Jesus was there at our creation and He has prepared for our future right from that very day that He created us.  We are His and He is ours; we must get ready to go to Elim.  We will receive new bodies, new clothes, new minds and hearts and in that place is rest and delight.  We will find the time of our healing and restoration there.  We will totally understand our future and our purpose there.  We will no longer be looking through a glass darkly; but we will see and know that God will be with us forever, and we will be wed to Christ and rule and reign with Him in His Kingdom.  As The Son of God, Christ has chosen us to be His.  In describing our relationship He has repeated those famous words of Solomon; “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine!”

We must keep moving on past Marah to Elim. 

As I said before; there is no proof of Elim on the map.  Geologists cannot tell us that it ever existed.  We simply have the scripture references for knowledge.  I believe this is true for a reason; it is because Elim is not a “physical” place but a “spiritual” place.  It is a place we arrive at when we have been through the wilderness and tasted the bitter waters at Marah and kept the faith in spite of it all.  It is a place of overcoming the world and holding on to Christ and His promises for our future.  Whenever this world becomes too crazy and unforgiving and evil; we must hold onto Elim in our minds and wait on our Bridegroom.  Stay ready because He is coming soon!

 

We have spoken of the twelve wells of water at Elim, and the 70 palm trees that grew there.  We have seen how the bitter waters were made sweet at Marah by a tree which we have equated to The Tree of Life that heals the nations.  We have discussed the fact that The Tree of Life relates to Torah.  Torah is the direct Words of Christ.  The only way to the Tree of Life is through Christ.  The Torah was given to Moses to bring the people life and redemption and freedom.  They got an early glimpse of part of Torah at Marah.    The sacred words of Torah have been given to us directly from Christ in the time that He walked the earth.  He was like Moses to us.    

As we read about end times; we come to hear of another place similar to Elim; a place of bountiful water and trees that provides rest, restoration and healing.  It is called The River of Life and it flows from The Throne of God through the City of God.  There seems to be 12 kinds of fruit growing here, a different fruit for each month of the year.   We know that it takes water to grow fruit trees, possibly these trees producing the fruit are found beside twelve wells of water similar to the trees that grow in Elim.  The leaves from the two trees that produce fruit in this city (are the trees maybe Israel and the church?) are for healing; just as the tree in Marah was for the healing of the water.  The 70 nations of the earth (another symbolism represented by the 70 Palm Trees) will receive healing from the leaves of these two trees that grow in this city by the river that is so similar to Elim.    

Here are the words we read from Revelation 22:1-3:  "Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, down the middle of the main street of the city.  On either side of the river stood a tree of life, producing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month.  And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him."

Elim was like a replica of this City in Heaven.  It is a special place where God will have us to stay as we await the coming Marriage Supper of The Lamb.  Elim was a special city where God was having Israel to wait on the receiving of the Torah, which would officially wed God to the People of Israel forever.  

Can you see these patterns that develop to show us we have a hope and future?  

God was doing this for Israel back in their wilderness journey; and He is doing the same for us as we await his instructions in the wilderness journey we are now taking through life.  

Enjoy Elim!  Get excited about the wedding day!

SEASONS - THE KING IS IN THE FIELD

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Oh, how I love the writings of King Solomon in The Song of Songs! In Chapter 6, verse 3, I can read my favorite words from his writings; "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine."  

When written in the original Hebrew language the first letters of each word form an acronym that spell the month of Elul.  This is the Hebrew month that will be coming up in 2016 beginning with the civil calendar date of September 2nd.  

Elul's acronym, "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine", illustrates this concept; its first letter, aleph, stands for "I" (in Hebrew, "ani") – and the second letter, lamed, represents, "my Beloved's" (in Hebrew, "ledodi") - God. The meaning of this verse is that of being “face-to-face” in expressing one's love for another. This is the idea that the heart of the giver is entwined with the heart of the receiver and vice versa. There is a reciprocal relationship of this love. Each one has the other's heart.  One cannot help but think of the soon coming return of Christ and wonder how much longer it will be before He returns for His Bride, the Church.

On this last month of the Hebrew calendar, many of us try to focus on the past year of our lives.  

It is a time to bring before our Beloved our misdeeds, mistakes, and wrong actions so that He can show us how we can make changes for the new year to come.  

I have come to look at this act the same way you would look at preparing for a wedding.   How do these shoes work?  What veil should I wear?  Is my dress ready?  What should I keep?  What should I change?  What about all of this is in keeping with my heart for my beloved?  Have I spoken to the groom about everything?  

 If you are engaged to be married, you need to discuss all the skeletons in your closet before the wedding.  You wouldn’t want your loved one to discover these from someone else, or to be surprised and hurt by them after your marriage.  You need to confess everything that your future spouse might not yet have heard about you, so that you will know for certain that all past mistakes are forgiven and forgotten, and you are safe with the one that you have chosen to live your life with.  You MIGHT just be surprised at what they know that you don't know they know!  You would, of course, promise them never to revisit these things.  With the love between the two of you, it is possible to begin a fresh new page of life.

This is how I have learned to speak to my Beloved, Jesus, during the time of Elul.  He knows I am not perfect.  He loves anyway.   

In The Song of Songs Solomon speaks of the conversation that is held between two lovers.  

They are not afraid of one another.  

They are comfortable enough in their love that they can speak of their faults and mistakes.  

They are humble enough and so much a part of each other that one can come to the other and ask forgiveness for things done wrong because this one knows that anything they have done will have an instant effect on the other.  No sin is a sin all alone.  Every sin we commit hurts our Beloved.  

This is a time for the healing of this pain.  Healing begins with honesty and confession.  

Healing always comes before joy.

Elul is definitely a time to say “I want to change for you and never put you through such pain again.”   The honesty, love, truthfulness of this confession only makes the bond of love stronger.  The stronger the bond between lovers, the less likely it will ever be broken.  

It is a time of the weaker seeking strength from the stronger.  There will be encouragement that comes from the stronger lover that will change the spirit of the weaker lover from sadness to joy, from being ashamed to being confident and sure of their love.  

Together they will be capable of things they could never achieve apart from one another.  

All of the conversations in The Song of Songs seem to be very relational.  This is the state we should be in during Elul, a relational state, totally in tune to the desires of the One we love the most, looking to see what He will show us, listening to hear what He will tell us.  

If we are out of step, He will help us pick back up on the beat of the dance through the rhythms of life.   

It is a time of bearing our soul to the only One who truly understands our souls.  He truly loves us as we are, and accepts us with all our flaws; even enough that he would die for us and all our imperfections;  but He has a loving desire to help us change into the person that He created us to be.  

When we seek His face and ask His forgiveness, He loves us, flaws and all.  He reaches out to us to pull us up and help us to change.  

One secret to knowing how to change is that of dwelling on the words of the scriptures that tell us; "I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.”  If you divide this sentence down into two parts you begin to see they each represent a different aspect of our relationship with God. 

The first part:  “I am my Beloved’s” alludes to our main thoughts during Elul, to cry out to God, to communicate our love and loyalty to Him.    This is our speaking.  

The second part; “and my Beloved is mine,’ hints to God’s activity toward us in this time, in which it is possible for a divine revelation to descend upon us from above.  This is our listening.  Good communications involve both speaking and listening.

We speak joyfully to our Beloved during this month, not simply because we are about to begin a new sacred year, but because God is shining forth his attributes of mercy toward us.  

We know that we need to use this time to atone and work on our selves, and God empowers us to do so when we approach Him seeking forgiveness.  

This is the time of us expressing our desire for complete atonement.  At the end of the time, when we reach Yom Kippur, that is the time He expresses His complete desire to atone us, so much that He died to redeem us.  He inspires us and arouses our spirits to awaken to His desires.

There is a beautiful Jewish parable that speaks of this very act.   It is printed below for your reading and meditation:

THE PARABLE OF THE KING IN THE FIELD

A King returns to his city following a long absence. The city's inhabitants stream out to the countryside to greet him. When the king enters the field a new phenomenon occurs. The field equalizes everyone who is found there. Now, for the first time, virtually everyone is empowered and permitted to greet the king. All partitions which usually separate him from the populace are nullified. The king, in turn, graciously receives each and every one. This phenomenon does not take place outside the field. For, within the capital, and surely within the palace, only select dignitaries can access the king.

Is this parable not a beautiful portrait of how Jesus loves us? 

He went up to Heaven to send His Holy Spirit so that we could communicate better with Him and The Father.  So many times when we pray, we are looking up to heaven, seeing him on a royal throne, knowing His kingly power is at work constantly redeeming us, but often it seems we are at a distance, further away than we want to be from Him. We tend to see Him like a King of a city who went away.  We know He is still in control. 

We know He still exists and is coming back, but then one day He does come back!  He walks through the fields of the city.  These are the fields where the common workers toil and labor every day.  This is where they have broken the ground, planted the seeds provided by Him, watered them, weeded them, watched the crop grow to be ripe and ready for harvesting.  The citizens are so proud of the harvest that is just ripe for the picking!  They can’t wait to tell the Master about how beautiful and bountiful it is; then they look up and see Him actually walking through the fields!  They are overcome with joy!  It is Him, The One they have been laboring for all along!  He had returned!  They run to greet him.


As the everyday ordinary people run to great their King who has come down to walk in the field, they all seem somehow the same.  

Their differences are not showing.  

No one is more important.  

No one voice is heard above the other.  

All are equal in the field.  

It is not formal here, like it might be in the royal palace.  No one is announced, or proclaimed.  They all just come toward Him, one at a time, each one special and unique, yet everyone sharing the same honor of greeting the King and having the King recognize them and speak to them of their own particular tasks.

 Here all feel free and comfortable to discuss the physical aspects of the harvest with the King.  Who would know more about harvesting than a King who is also A Creator?  Who could possibly know more about preparing for a good harvest?  

They drink in His advice.  

They sit at His feet to listen to His instructions.  

They freely admit their mistakes and short-comings to Him because they can look into His eyes and see how much He loves them.  It is not hard.  They are not afraid.  They all feel safe. 

The King looks happier here, in the field among the people of His city, maybe even happier than He ever looks on His Royal Throne.  He is glad to be here.  Is it not what He has purposed to do all along?  He is smiling and gracious and generous.  He uses the ordinary existence in the field to explain to all the important principles of His Kingdom and here in the field the lowest realms of existence are transformed into a dwelling place for a King.  

Everyone is excited to know that The King is in the field! 

It is the strangest thing to think about, but even when the King is walking through the field, the primary mundane matters of life must still be carried out!   

It is a time for pausing, but not stopping.  

It is a time of reflecting while still working.  

In our daily lives we concern ourselves with many activities that are not in and of themselves holy, but these things are performed “for the sake of the King.”  Now when we see the King walking through the field, He may stop and talk to us of our activities.   We find out that “little things” are very important to Him.  

He has noted everything, every action, every task that we have done during the times of the seasons before the harvest.  They HAVE mattered to Him.  

He has not overlooked us, or forgotten us when we could not see Him or reach out and touch Him.  He has noticed every little thing!   Suddenly we recognize that in seeking His will in all things, we have made a part of our world His dwelling place, a place where He may come down and walk with us, even in our imperfections, even into the day-to-day activities of “the field.”

Hence, to continue looking after the field of The King in the best possible manner, during Elul we chose to put special emphasis on study of the Holy Scriptures and prayer, because even while The King is walking through His field, we recognize that it IS His field and we honor Him by continuing on with our work for Him. 

SEASONS: LOVING THE COMING MONTH OF ELUL

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

I follow the Jewish calendar every year, not because I was born Jewish, but because I am a follower of Jesus Christ.  

I want to imitate Him and do the same things that He did when He walked the earth.  

I also believe all Christians are called to keep the calendar that God chose to set in motion from the beginning of time, and I know His chosen people have been diligent to keep these days He has faithfully set aside for generations and generations!  A new season is approaching; one of my favorite times.  It is the Hebraic month of Elul.  What a special time it is!

If God created it, I’m all for it.  No more decisions for me to make here.  This decision was not based on MY intelligence, but the Mind of God, which puts my little feeble brain to shame.  I can rest in the fact that His ways are higher than my ways and His decisions for my life and the seasons of my life are so much better than mine.  I accept what I know is from the mind of God and try to be “mindful” of these things in my daily life, not out of a sense of duty or dread, but out of a sense of love and obedience and honor.  I do not observe for the sake of keep rules; but for the sake of loving God.

I do not judge those who do not believe this.  I hope that they do not judge me. The bible tells us that we must all work out our salvation.  Everyone must answer to God for the truth that He has revealed to them.  

As for me and my house, I love all the things that My Father teaches me throughout the year with His special occasions called feasts and festivals.  Since I've loved keeping these days for many years now, I can’t imagine life otherwise!  There is a richness in following the scriptures through these days; a deep richness that cannot be described in words; something that cannot be found anywhere else in life's journey through the years.

Happily, at the end of August, I will be paying attention to the turning of the pages of the calendar.   I actually went for many years without observing Elul, and I never want to miss another time period.

The month of Elul on the Jewish calendar is at the end of the Jewish year.  It usually falls sometime around America’s August and September months.  This year (2016) Elul starts on  September 4th.    Elul lasts for 40 days.  It has jokingly been called "Jewish Lent" in that many of the customs are similar in nature. 

If you pay attention you quickly note that these are very specials days.  I always try to enjoy a special meditation for each day durin Elul.   This season highlights God's grace so beautifully.   I take comfort and peace in hearing the truth of the ancient teachings in relation to His grace.  The truth comes out and paints such a beautiful canvas of amazing theology during this season.  It is a theology of a loving, merciful and forgiving God. 

  

You can trace Elul all the way back to the time of Moses, to the first year that the Jewish people left Egypt.  It was only seven weeks after they had crossed the Red Sea and made a covenant with God to be His people forever that they violated this covenant, and sinned by worshiping a golden calf in the desert.  Moses saw this terrible sin taking place when he returned with the 10 Commandments that God had personally inscribed on stone with His Own finger.  In frustration Moses smashed these first stone tablets when he saw what was going on in the camp.  After he had corrected the ways of the people, Moses went back up on the Mountain to plead with God and to ask for mercy.  It took another 40 days until He received another set of the commandments.  This time God made Moses write them down.   I always wondered if this was God’s way of making Moses memorize them.  Have you ever had your child write down things on paper that they could not seem to remember?  Well, this time God dictated the law to Moses, and Moses inscribed them himself on the stone.  It must have taken a lot of time and a lot of hard work.  What comes easy to us is sometimes easy to forget.  When we have to work hard for something, we are usually more diligent to maintain what we've worked for.    

While Moses was on the mountain with God during these

40 days, he was allowed to glimpse at God’s back.  God also taught Moses the 13 attributes of mercy while he was there.  It occurs to me that mercy and forgiveness take more effort than simply doing things right in the first place.  God only gave 10 summarized commandments, yet he gave 13 summarized ways to forgive and have mercy.  Interesting set of numbers.  

Moses remained on the Mountain learning from God from the 1^st of Elul until the 10^th of Tishri on the Jewish calendar.  Today we are still benefiting from the blessings that God bestowed on Moses on that mountain!  One of those blessings was that we are now taught to love and forgive one another.  We have the 10 ways to show love written down in writing, and when we mess up and forget them, we have 13 ways to show mercy, compassion and forgiveness.  This not only reconciles us to one another, it also reconciles us to God. 

So it is that the time of Elul has become known for beginning the time of the year for remembering to   meditate on obtaining God’s whole-hearted mercy and forgiveness.  Sometimes this also involves obtaining the whole-hearted mercy and forgiveness of those around us.  Of course, it goes without saying that we should be doing these acts all through the year, not just during the season of Elul.  It is just that if we get too busy and forget, Elul was designed to give us a deliberate focus on the subject, least we forget.  It was and still is a time of people being reconciled with God as well as one another.  

I find it interesting to note that this was put on the Jewish calendar right before their year ended.  It was sort of like saying, “I know you’ve made mistakes this year, so let’s work them out before we close the year.”    How wonderful it is to know that God has set aside a special time for showing divine mercy and forgiveness.  I can see some similarities that tie in with the Catholic Feast of Divine Mercy on this day.  The Roman Catholics however, celebrate this day sometime in April, a totally different season, but a very similar subject.  I prefer ending the year with divine mercy and starting the new year with a clean fresh slate, but in a perfect world we would have need of neither because we would all be mindful of what we do EVERY day, and be constantly seeking God’s mercy immediately after we made mistakes or sinned.  At least this is a reminder for those things that we have forgotten to stop and meditate and pray about all year long. 

It is said that this is a time to pause.  When I put my DVD player on pause, I find myself stopping to think about the part of the movie that just played out.  That is how Elul is, we are pausing to think of the part of the year that has just played out in our lives.  When I hit that button again, the movie moves forward.  When we pause for Elul, we are better able to move forward into the new year before us.  We all need to be forced to pause and reflect often.  Life is too important to be just another random accident in time.  We must value the time we have and treasure the gift of life and not treat it lightly.  

To get the full meaning of the period of time called Elul, you must look at both the beginning and the end of this interesting season and see the whole picture.  As mentioned above, the beginning is symbolic of Moses on the mountain for 40 days receiving God’s forgiveness and mercy for the people’s sins and reconciling the nation back to God.  At the end of the period of time called Elul there are 10 very important days.  The first day of those 10 is called Rosh Hashanah, which lasts for 2 days actually (although counted as one long day.)  Among many other things, Rosh Hashanah is known as a time for renewing, for waking up, for paying attention, for getting prepared and ready for new things.  The next 7 days  after take us past Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, the day that is so symbolic of Jesus’ precious blood bringing atonement for our sins.   The Jewish people know and understand the need for and the significance of atonement.  They spend time at the end of each year praying for mercy and forgiveness during these 10 days leading up to Yom Kippur, also called The Day of Atonement.  The purpose is to be reconciled with God, or At-one-ment, or being at-one with God, joining ourselves to Him through His loving kindness of mercy and forgiveness of our sins.  

What could be more beautiful?  I never want to miss these days.  There are so many lessons to grasp here in this wonderful season.

So please join me in being mindful of the fact that the last days of summer and the first days of fall are taking us into the season of Elul, a time of careful examination, and a time to prepare for the High Holy Day of Yom Kippur, which I do as a Christian keeping the commandments from the Christian Bible and The One Holy God.  There are some wonderful meditations ahead.    I hope you enjoy them this year in the season as we leave summer and journey toward fall together.    

AN APPLE A DAY - THE THIRD HEALTHIEST VEGETABLE ON EARTH

Day 110 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

THE THIRD HEALTHIEST VEGETABLE ON EARTH

Are you enjoying the healthy lifestyle tips we have been discussing on this blog?  I hope these simple little discoveries are as much a blessing to you as they have been to me.  Learning about healthier eating has definitely been something that I’ve needed to do for a long time.  I did not understand, until I dove further into the details, how much I had been missing in the quality of life you experience simply from good nutrition. 

Remember though; it is just as important to maintain balance on health issues, as it is in any other part of your life.  You can take ANYTHING to an extreme level, even health.  That is not our desire here.  Diets need to be well balanced, and lifestyles need to be well balanced.  Do not become so rigid with these dietary changes, or so very legalistic that you don’t remember how to have and enjoy a happy feast day at least once a week.  Do not become so prudish with these great facts about eating healthy that you condemn and judge others because of your new found awareness.   Allow yourself a break every now and then; you have earned the ability to be flexible.  It is okay to not be absolutely perfect in your diet all the time; just try to be adequately aware most of the time.  

Just always remember the basics of a balanced and godly life; and you can’t go wrong.  That thought always brings me back to the words Jesus uttered to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faithfulness.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”  There will be times in life when, for one reason or another, you can't be so picky; you will simply need to be grateful for whatever God has placed before you and enjoy your meal.  

These are the words of Jesus!  Pay attention that you do not get off balance and become a food Pharisee always keeping your rigid rules and looking down your nose at others.  Just be careful not to make food your idol so that it causes you to become so wrapped up in it and so consumed that you are totally obsessed with it and nothing else in life!  Don’t let the food thoughts and the constant focus on health bog you down into so many foggy details that you forget your time alone with God, and your quality time with your family members and loved ones.  If they are enjoying this journey with you, by all means use it as a way to love and serve them too.  Prepare special meals and set aside special times to feast with them!  That is a wonderful thing when kept in the proper balance of your days.

If all of the preparation and shopping and studying the ins and outs of nutrition are keeping you from doing what it takes to stay faithful, to be thinking of others, and to carry on your daily work routines; then it might be time to cut down on some of the extremes and only do a little at a time until it slowly becomes as natural a routine as brushing your teeth.  Rome wasn’t built in a day; so don’t overdo the food part of life.  Let it be natural.  Let it all sink in slowly.  Share what you have with others and let the abundance God has brought to your table be of benefit to others living in the kingdom too.  

Always remember justice, mercy and faithfulness above all other things in life.  They are more important than the food you eat; and they are of vital importance to the whole, overall health of our planet!  These three elements as daily life priorities are as much a key to good health as the foods we consume.  

Stay focused on the big things and let the food thoughts, planning and preparation be one of the smaller, more routine things.   Keep Philippians 4:6-7 ever in the front of your mind as you go along through your day.  Use these words to keep any stress in this matter of buying, preparing and serving healthy foods in balance;  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 In other words; do not stress over food!  Approach the matter with calm peace and gentle patience as you learn each new recipe and food task and then put it into common practice in your home.  Share and invite others to help, include the other members of your house in the educational experience, the preparation and the shopping.  Please do not make meal preparation an unbearable dreadful chore.  The family that cooks together; stays together! 

Eat to live; do not live to eat!  Keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible.  Food is a necessity; not an idol.  Remember to serve it with love and to thank God for every bite!

 

Now that we have cleared that matter up; just keep adding a few new thoughts here and there until it all flows together in a more natural way and in complete balance and a peaceful, healthy, harmony.  Reading these articles should help.  It will save time on doing the homework because I’ve done it all for you!  Hopefully these short articles will give you small easy steps to implement those little things which will create big changes in the end, without a lot of extra fuss, effort or work.

Today we will be considering the third most healthy vegetable you can put into your body;  and that vegetable would be …….CHARD!

Are you familiar with chard? 

Maybe you have used it for years at your table, but just like all of the other nutritious things we have discussed so far; I did not even have chard on my grocery list!  I’m also ashamed to say I did not even know what to do with this pretty and interesting looking vegetable! 

I wondered what made chard the third healthiest vegetable I could eat; so I researched and found the following facts:

1)  Chard contains a high amount of phytonutrients which provide antioxidents that fight inflammation and help to regulate blood sugar problems. 

2)  One of chards flavonoids is syringic acid which helps to inhibit an enzyme which breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars.  This helps to stabilize blood sugar levels in the body.

3)  Chard is a great source of fiber.

4)  Chard is a great source of protein.  Protein helps to regulate the speed of digestion.

5)  Chard has been recognized as having the ability to help pancreatic cells to regenerate.  This is helpful to the body in creating insulin and it is also helpful in protecting the liver from damage.

6)  Chard is full of healthy vitamins including C,E,A and K.

7) Chard contains the minerals of manganese, zinc, calcium, iron and magnesium.  These minerals help to fight obesity, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis.  The calcium and magnesium help to support strong healthy bones.  The iron gives your body more energy.

8)  Chard contains potassium which is good for the health of your heart.

If you are very conscious of the fact that everything you put into your body is going into your own private temple where God’s Holy Spirit dwells; you can feel very safe in consuming chard.  It is very healthy and amazing in every way.  It is a good food source for your body.

August is a good month to introduce yourself to chard; because it is freshly harvested from June to August every year.  You may find it displayed in the produce aisles of grocery stores under the labels of “Swiss chard,” “white beet,” “strawberry spinach,” “seakale beet,” "leaf beet," "Sicilian beet," "spinach beet," "Chillian beet, "Roman kale," and "silverbeet."  Don't let the word "Swiss" throw you off; it is actually a vegetable that is native to the Mediterranian regions of the world.  The Greeks and Romans first made chard famous by using it for medicine way before we ever had any big pharmaceutical companies to tell us what medications to use.  

So when you are browsing through the supermarket looking for chard, search for a green leafy vegetable with reddish purple stalks.  A few varieties of chard also have yellow or white stalks.   It should be kept chilled and not be in an unchilled part of the store.  This chilling makes the taste of the chard stay sweeter and crunchier.   Make sure all the leaves are a bright healthy green color with no brown or yellow.  Make sure the stalks of the chard are crisp and unblimished.  

Once purchased, place your unwashed chard in an airtight plastic wraper and keep refrigerated until time for cooking.  Wash the chard just before using; as water tends to add to a wilting effect, and wilting makes the already bitter taste even more bitter.  

Chard can be stored in the refrigerator for about five days.  Unlike a lot of other vegetables, the stems of chard are actually NOT good for eating.  Just tear the stems off the leaves right before washing when you are preparing to cook.  

In preparing chard to eat; it is better to boil the chard in an uncovered pot of water in order to release the acids into the boiling water.  This will help the chard to taste sweeter.  When you have boiled the chard for about three minutes, remove it from the water and press out any extra liquid with a fork.  Discard the water and do not use it as stock.  Place the cooked chard into a bowl and toss with some minced garlic, some lemon juice, some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Chopped Kalamata olives are good to add to this mix along with some crumbled feta cheese and one teaspoon of soy sauce.  Easy, simple, and actually quite delicious!  

I will probably be sharing more chard recipes in this blog as I test and add to my collection.

Chard has a slightly bitter taste on it's own and it also taste slightly salty.  Combined with the simple ingredients listed above and cooked appropriately, it can be a delicious side dish for any meal.   

If you have any good spinach recipes, you can substitute chard instead of spinach and have a refreshing change of pace.  Chard and spinach seem to be very interchangable in most recipes.

You can toss cooked chard with pasta, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for a great pasta salad combination.  Chard also taste good in an omlet, and I've enjoyed it with vegetarian lasagna recipes too.

There is only one precaution with regard to chard.  Do not eat if you are prone to kidney stones.  The acid in the chard seems to aid in producing the calcium that builds up to make kidney stones.   Otherwise; it is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet and it will give you lots of iron and over 300 percent of the normal vitamins you need for a day.