Baby talk. I'll bet we all have memories of mispronounced words that endeared children or grandchildren to us. As human beings acquire language, the ear doesn't always make an accurate copy of the word, and therefore the mouth speaks mysteries.
When I was around five, we would sing a song in Sunday School: "Lift Jesus higher; lift Jesus higher. For he said 'If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." It made sense. If Jesus was as into fish as the Sunday School teacher claimed, then it was no surprise that we would lift Jesus higher so he could draw all minnows to him. I supposed he loved even the poor little fish that my Mom and Dad bought as bait for the big ones...the ones I surreptitiously set free in the pond at every opportunity (they finally put the minnow pail out of reach). I don't remember the exact moment someone explained that Jesus was collecting men, not minnows, but I'm sure I was crushed. I really wanted to save the minnows of the world from their fate. You can imagine my horror when my dad took me on my first trip to Sea Arama and they were feeding little fish to the orcas.
I also had trouble with oil wells. On our many trips across Texas from California to Arkansas and back, we passed hundreds of miles of pumping oil wells. In that part of Texas, there is little else to see but oil wells. When you're three, you tend to point out everything in sight on a road trip, and unfortunately for my parents, I felt compelled to point out every single oil well, but I couldn't pronounce oil well; instead, it came out "wee-woe." The bowing dance of the active pumps evoked the onomatopoeia of their rhythm: wee-woe, wee-woe, wee-woe...
Those were the days before toddler car seats and seatbelts were the law, so I stood between my parents in the front seat enthusiastically pointing out, "See da wee-woe, Mama? See da wee-woe? See da wee-woe, Daddy? See da wee-woe?" I could chant it in rhythm with the wells, which I'm sure made the trip seem like an eternity to my parents. On our last few trips, my parents managed to cross West Texas at night while I was asleep. Oh, the disappointment.
When he was a toddler, my husband had a similar fascination with cars stopped on the side of the highway with flat tires. Every forlorn traveler who struggled with changing a tire was identified as another "Bokey weel." "Him bokey weel, Mama, bokey weel." I'm sure my mother and father-in-law were as thrilled with their pint-sized broken wheel spotter as my parents were with their oil pump pointer.
In the Torah portion, there was a toddler's bonanza of bokey weels and qwite warge woes. Pharaoh's chariot wheels broke off, and the great army became food for both the big fish and the minnows. Maybe we could call them Pha-woes. Go ahead. Try it. Imagine the chariots' bokey weels sinking lower into the sandy sea bottom with every rock of the waves...Pha-woe, Pha-woe...
Baby Talk
There is no baby talk in the Torah portion; instead there is a very clear account of how Israel shook loose from the bonds of Egypt. Two events in the portion have a common theme, which is that the worst of the wild beasts will stalk the herd and attempt to cut down the stragglers from behind. Pharaoh chased the Hebrews and hemmed them in, mistakenly believing he would overtake and destroy them. Likewise, the Amalekites attacked from behind, cutting down the weak and hungry.
Keeping Passover and Sukkot both are remembrances of the deliverance from Egypt, and likewise, it is not suggested, but commanded, to remember what Amalek did in the wilderness:
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt, how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when the Lord your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. DO NOT FORGET![1]
The Israelites had lost the faith of their salvation when they saw the pursuing Egyptians. They began speaking baby talk; that is, they were not accurately speaking the Word of their God because they were immature in their walk. This is the danger of circumcising adults. Although they have made an initial commitment, their knowledge in the Word has not been seasoned by experience in the walk. How can they accurately reproduce the Word of the Holy One in a desperate situation when they've not walked with Him long enough to have experiential knowledge of it?
The lesson has applications at the level of the heart. While the Ruach HaKodesh has circumcised many hearts to walk in His Torah in this generation, writing the Word on a heart of flesh, there is a lack of seasoning in the Torah. Even Paul separated himself for three years to reexamine his walk in the Torah when he encountered Yeshua in the journey. Although he had the greatest Torah education available in his generation, Paul needed seasoning in his new love relationship with the Word.
It is very possible that those who had an extensive background in Christian church leadership believe themselves equipped to lead others when they are still very new to the foundations of the Torah. Because they were qualified in Christian ministry, they think that no other qualification is required to initiate ministries within a Torah-keeping congregation or fellowship. A community walking in the Torah, however, is not simply a Sabbath-keeping church. The needs and expectations are much different.
Caution and a multitude of wise, balanced counsel should accompany the one who has no choice but to lead. The minister new to the Torah should consider submitting himself or herself to a successful Torah-based ministry or leader for at least three years if the Scriptural pattern is followed, for three years is a Scriptural number connoting the age of weaning. A circumcised heart is a learning heart, not a completed heart.
Sometimes a group of people come to a deeper walk in the Torah, but they do not have the benefit of an experienced Torah teacher, pastor, or rabbi to help them take those preliminary steps in their circumcision of the heart. While this does not catch the Spirit unaware, it is a challenge for those who have been respected church leaders to humble themselves to those more experienced in the Torah walk. If this was a problem for the apostles to solve in the Brit Chadasha, then certainly it is a problem today, and inexperience may result in a weaker or meandering walk through the latest doctrinal or conspiracy theory of the day.
There are some linguistic facets to Amalek, which are iniquity and perverseness. The letters of iniquity (Heb. amal), trouble, mischief, and suffering labor are present in Amalek, and of Wicked Haman (may his name be blotted out), who descended from Amalek it says, "His mischief (Heb. amal) shall return upon his own head" (Psalm 7:17). All the chiefs of Esau came from Amalek. Added to amal (trouble) of Amalek is the Hebrew letter KUF, which has the exact same spelling and pronunciation as the Hebrew word for monkey. As much as a monkey might resemble a human and learn to do tricks to imitate a human, a monkey will never be a human, and in many cultures, monkeys are associated with demons. Monkeys are poor mirrors.
An inexperienced walker with Moses may fall victim to the many Mischief Monkeys out there. These monkeys cut down those who lag a bit, something that could be improved with a multitude of wise counsel. Experienced ministers of the circumcised Word can alert the distracted disciples to the many doctrinal monkeys that will attack via the internet, books, videos, and flamboyant personalities. Because the monkeys are great imitators, many will pass themselves off as the stable, sincere truth-seeker, yet a little investigation by a seasoned disciple uncovers their errors and mischief, or maybe just their immaturity in balancing the information in the Torah with the transformation of the Ruach HaKodesh.
A child circumcised on the eighth day is likely to grow up in the faith like Timothy, and even in his youth, the Word flows accurately from his ruach (spirit). This boy (or a girl reared in such a family) will have been taught the Exodus narrative and instructions year after year, which nurtures him in the Word. The sages acknowledge that had Israel stayed in Egypt just one more day, they would have sunk to the lowest level of sin. As with the shared frogs in the kneading bowls, Israel suffered from the same lies as the Egyptians. Learning truth would be a forty-year process. Learning to imitate the Holy One with more than baby talk takes time.
Lemalah Children's Centre
The first occupants of the Kenyan Children's Centre have begun the school year. Two staff members need to be hired in order to free Pastor Ndungu to continue traveling to proclaim the Torah in Kenya and surrounding countries. We would like to be able to set a minimum amount of monthly support from The Creation Gospel so that the orphanage can set a budget. There is also a young man who needs to start university, and it will cost around $800 per semester.
If you'd like to commit to a monthly amount of support for the Centre's payroll, school uniforms, shoes, food, and health care, we welcome your assistance. If you'd like to sponsor all or part of the young man's college tuition, please notify us and we can put you in touch with Pastor Ndungu. Education is important to the Torah community there so that they can strengthen their economic position by giving back to that community when they graduate and obtain decent jobs. I can't tell you how strong the mutual commitment is within that group of believers.
To donate via PayPal, CLICK HERE and specify "Kenya" or send a personal check to:
The Creation Gospel
PO Box 846
East Bernstadt, KY 40729
From our home to yours,
Shabbat shalom!
[1] Deuteronomy 25:17-19
Monday Night Online Creation Gospel Class
The WebEx invitations went out to those who indicated an interest in the Monday night live class AND supplied an email and/or address. If you plan to participate and did not receive that invitation with Monday night's agenda, you need to contact us soon. We have around nine spots left.
Interested in Reading More from Hey, Hey, They're the Monkeys?
This Creation Gospel workbook series in five volumes is the Torah lessons over the weekly parashot. The Creation Gospel paradigm of the Seven Spirits of Adonai, the Seven Days of Creation, the Seven Feasts, and the Seven Assemblies of Revelation appears in each of the portions, yet the Scriptural narratives release the human struggles of the matriarchs and patriarchs, which encourages all who follow in their footsteps of faith. As with all Creation Gospel teaching, an effort is made to tie together the whole Scripture thematically from Genesis to Revelation.
Although the lessons draw from the traditional Jewish sources, the work is not designed to be a typical scholarly Torah commentary. This work delves into the human aspects of each portion or elicit points not typically addressed. For instance, is the seven-branched menorah concealed within the four Rivers of Eden? What do donkeys and camels symbolize in Scripture, and what do they have to do with prophecy? What can each portion teach that will transform lives? The Ruach HaKodesh is invited to move over the words so that disciples of Yeshua can mature in their relationships with the Body of Messiah, with the Father, and even with enemies. Recommended for both individual and group weekly Torah study. Includes study/review questions on each portion.
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