Second Touch (42 page)

“Peniel, Peniel! The Son of David was sent to this world for this single purpose! Chesed. Mercy.” “Lord, I was too proud. I ¬didn’t know my heart needed mending.” “Yes—” Yeshua put His hand over Peniel’s eyes—“even something small . . . small as a hand . . . can block the eyes from seeing an object as big as a mountain.” Yeshua took away His hand. “So it is with the eyes of the inner man. Do you ¬understand what I mean?” “Yes. Yes. I need you to cleanse my heart even of small wrongs. Lord!” “Gladly! With joy! Such a request is always answered! The cry for mercy is always heard and never refused! Your sins are forgiven.” If this was true for Peniel, could it also be true for others? For ¬everyone, as Yeshua said? Could it be that the inside of ¬every person was as much in need of healing and forgiveness as the infirmity of blindness or leprosy? Peniel asked, “The rabbis teach that in the Valley of Mak’ob there are always 612 lepers. The same number as the Hebrew word for covenant. Six hundred and twelve stands for the covenant: Beriyt. No more, no less. Add one more and that completes the number of laws in Torah.” “This is true.” “The rabbis teach also that Messiah will be a leper. According to Isaias, the rabbis call Messiah ‘the Great Leper, our Redeemer.’ ” “And so they are also correct in this. Six hundred and twelve is the number that stands for the Lord’s covenant with Avraham. Six hundred thirteen is the number of laws in Torah. Yes. And look. Look down there, Peniel! Look deeply into the Valley of Sorrow! Here is what remains of the covenant between Avraham and the Lord. That is what results from mankind attempting to gain eternal life by keeping laws yet forgetting to love. A shambles. Decaying flesh. Defeat! Death and sorrow because no man has ¬ever fulfilled all 613 laws of Torah! No man can earn his own salvation . . . and so the Law has brought death. Who can give mankind eternal life? Who can break the curse of death?” “No man . . . Lord.” “So, Peniel, salvation is all about God’s mercy. How can broken lives be healed? You ¬understand the words written by the prophet Isaias about the Great Leper? “He was despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities And carried our sorrows, Yet we considered Him stricken by God, Smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

And by His wounds we are healed.”83 Peniel nodded, swallowing hard as he realized that the sign of leprosy Mosheh had shown him in the dream was the sign of the Messiah. The words Isaias used to speak of the Messiah were the same used to describe a leper. “Where is the Great Leper, Yeshua? When will he show himself? Where is the one who is the final fulfillment of ¬everything written in the Law and the Prophets?” At this, Yeshua placed His right hand inside His cloak, just as Mosheh had done in the dream. And then, slowly, Yeshua drew it out again. It was a hideous claw covered with leprosy! Rotten! Decaying! Infused with death! Peniel did not draw back. He knew what it meant. Perhaps he had always known! So terrible was the price God paid for men’s redemption! “You are the Great Leper, Lord! Surely you’ve come to take our infirmities upon yourself! I see the truth of it now, fully! You are the perfect of heart, righteous . . . who knew no sin . . . was sent to become sin for our sake! You who embody life eternal have become death so that we may live!” Yeshua said nothing for a long time. His brown eyes brimmed with emotion. “Yes. That’s it. ¬I’m glad you ¬understand. Someday many others will come to ¬understand the true meaning of Chesed, God’s Mercy for his children.” Yeshua glanced at His leprous hand, then held it out for Peniel to see. Carved into the flesh of His palm was the name Peniel. Peniel grasped it, laid his cheek upon it, and cried. “For me! For me you’ve done this, Lord! You’ve taken my infirmities as your own! You become what I am . . . so I can become what you are! You take my inner leprosy upon yourself and make my heart pure! To save me from dying you give your own life. You do this for all who call upon you!” They stood together for a long time on the verge of the precipice. At last, filled with gratitude and peace, Peniel let go of Yeshua’s disfigured hand. “Down there in the Valley so many suffer and ¬don’t know why. They’re all waiting for you, Lord. Hoping. I reckon they’ve been waiting for you to come to them a long time.” “Yes.” Yeshua nodded and pulled out the petition written by His mother. He read it over again, pressed it against His heart, then turned His face heavenward and began to pray silently. At last He received some answer. He whispered, “Yes. Yes. Yes. Not my will, but yours, Father! Now and for all time and eternity the wait is over.” Peniel stepped back, bowed slightly, and sank down on a stone to wait. “¬I’m all right now. Go to them. I’ll still be here when you come back.” “Thanks, my friend. Shalom, then.” Yeshua sighed deeply and set off down the trail.

A lone hawk circled high above Mak’ob, as if trying to catch a final glimmer of sunset. Wind held the creature aloft, floating almost

motionless. Sunlight glinted on dappled wings. Golden. For a moment the Hawk seemed to study the lone sentinel perched on the outcropping a thousand feet above the Valley floor. Peniel raised his hand in a kind of salute to beauty and skill at riding the updraft. Satisfied with the compliment, the raptor cried shrilly three times. Banking, it glided down and down, vanishing into the spectral twilight of the leper colony. Peniel strained to see the Great Leper as He descended into the Valley of Sorrow. Yes. There. Just there. At the switchback, midway between sky and earth. Yeshua! A slender man in a tan-and-green-striped cloak, gazing ahead, impatient to reach His destination. His footsteps swallowed the distance eagerly in giant bites, without bothering to chew. And then the darkness of Mak’ob swallowed Him whole. Here and there, flickering campfires seemed to hang suspended in the blackness, like stars against the night sky. The universe turned upside down. Immanuel! Peniel clutched his knees and inhaled the aroma of woodsmoke, reminding himself that this was indeed earth. He watched and waited for some sign. An hour passed, then two. Near the center of the Valley a new light grew, blazing up into a beacon, glowing red and yellow and white-hot, like a new galaxy. Peniel could see Yeshua sitting on a stone beside the fire. At His feet was an old man. Waiting. Waiting for what was to come. The old one stood and raised a shofar to his lips. The first blast of the ram’s horn resounded, echoing into the hills above the Valley and beyond. The second call! Strong! The third! Joyful! Certain of the message it proclaimed. Then, oh wondrous sight! Beautiful! Beautiful! From each cave, crevasse, hut, and hovel, light appeared. It was as if ¬everywhere on the Valley floor stars awakened, danced, and bobbed to some unheard melody. Those dwelling in darkness and despair, like the molten ore of first creation, flowed in thin rivulets toward the Great Light! This pit of anguish was, for the Son of God, a wondrous mine of human souls. The cauldron glowed golden, promising new life. From his high place on the rock Peniel watched it all with his new eyes. They drew near to Yeshua. Not stars, but broken men, women, and children. One at a time they approached. Hobbling on crutches. The strong ones helping the weakest. Carrying those who could not walk. Guiding those who could not see. Half hands. Faceless faces. Legless stumps. Yes. And Yeshua reached out, embraced each one. Every one. One at a time. Stroked the head of a child. Caressed the face of a woman. Grasped the hands of a man. Time? What was time to Him? The stars stood still for Him. Time obeyed Him. Time enough to hear the cry of ¬every heart. Yes. Time enough. The brightness of the fire grew as, one by one, crutches, no longer needed,

were tossed onto it. How it blazed! On and on! As Yeshua, First Light of ¬every soul, reached out a second time and touched each one and healed them all. One at a time? Yes. Each one? Yes. Every one? Yes. Deborah? Jekuthiel? Baruch? Rabbi Ahava? All the others? All. Read for yourself. It says . . . He healed them all. Lily? Yes. All. But . . .

First Light pushed back the darkness of Mak’ob. Hawk soared high on the winds as, single file, the people of the Valley ascended the long path to freedom. Everything foretold by the prophets of old had been accomplished. Lily remained behind. Well and whole and beautiful, she took the hand of Yeshua and led the Great Leper to the graveside of her beloved. They stood together for a long time in silence. “Cantor’s grave,” Lily said. “Yes.” “Even Cantor?” “Yes.” “But . . . do you mean Cantor?” “Yes.” “Can it be? Is it possible?” Yeshua smiled, nodded once, and from inside His cloak, removed the parchment written by His mother. He closed Lily’s fingers around it. Then He opened His hand and held it out for her to see. Two names were inscribed together on His palm. “Yes. Lily. Cantor. Yes.”

And ¬everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. JOEL 2:32

Digging Deeper into Second Touch

Dear Reader,

It is a dark, tumultuous time in first-century Israel. Secrets and deceit abound; it seems no one can be trusted. When the lepers in the Valley of Mak’ob hear rumors about a miracle healer, they wonder, Could this be the One God has promised to send to those who are suffering? To bring healing to those who, day by day, have lost hope? Yet the journey to investigate will be fraught with danger and risks. Dare they send someone out of the Valley to see if Yeshua is indeed the Messiah? if He is the healer they have waited so long for? “But what if Yeshua’s claims are false?” the lepers argue. Then they might as well just wait out life—and death—in the Valley, where at least they are known and ¬under¬stood. What about you? When have you experienced “valleys” in your life? Maybe you’re experiencing one right now. Perhaps you feel like Lily, who remembers even the joyous moments of her past with bittersweet sadness, knowing she will never be able to rejoin her family. Because of her leprosy and its social stigma, she has been forever cast away from them. She knows reconciliation is impossible, and yet she constantly dreams of it. Or Peniel, who owes so much to Yeshua . . . but still agonizes because when the going got tough, he made a wrong decision. Will his betrayal separate him forever from the One he loves the most? Or Simon, the wealthy, influential Pharisee who looks good on the outside, but is playing a dangerous game. If his secret is revealed, he will be embarassed, discredited in business, and cut off from his colleagues and friends. Or the lepers—including Cantor, Rabbi Ahava, and Jekuthiel—who see themselves dying slowly, one piece at a time. All in the Valley appears hopeless. And yet their trust in God shines forth as bright beacons as they comfort others. What about you? How will you choose to handle your own valleys? Following are six short studies designed to take you deeper into the answers to your questions. You may wish to delve into them on your own or share them with a friend or a discussion group. As we have walked through the valleys in our lives, we’ve discovered two humbling truths that help us keep life’s happenings in perspective: • Each of us, like Peniel, is a beggar. We can never be or have “enough” (money, material possessions, talents, etc.) to be accepted by God into heaven. Without a personal relationship with God we can never be whole and complete in body or soul. • Each of us is also like Simon: a leper on the inside. We are unclean and unholy before God, the ¬only One who can cleanse us and give us a life purpose that will satisfy on this earth and for all eternity.

We all need the bright hope of Yeshua’s touch. And some of us need His

second touch—to know, once again, that God ¬doesn’t hold the past against us. That His love, mercy, and grace are unmerited. Unconditional. Unlimited. And free for the asking.

1 Who Needs God?! Had they all come because of a hunger in their souls? Or had they ¬only come for bread? —p. 294 Think of someone you know who believes in God. What reasons does that person give for believing? Now think of someone who says he/she does not believe in God. What reasons does that person give for not believing? There are many reasons to believe—or not believe—in God. You may believe in God because you were taught about God and His Son in Sunday school. But that head knowledge ¬hasn’t reached your heart or your day-to-day life. You may be convinced of Scripture’s truth and that Yeshua is the Son of God. You are aware, ¬every¬ waking minute, that God is in control not ¬only of the universe but of your life. You have experienced His breathtaking grace and limitless mercy. You may not yet be convinced that the Bible’s words are true. You’re investigating . . . but cautious. Perhaps you’ve seen the “misuse” of religion, and you’re suspicious. Maybe you’ve experienced enough of life’s hardship to believe that there ¬couldn’t possibly be a God. Or if there is a God, He is certainly incompetent since He’s allowing this world to spin out of control. No matter your reasons for believing or not believing in God, it all ¬comes down to one simple question: Do you think you need God? Or is God simply a useful tool for when times get rough and you need somebody or something to lean on? Is He merely a topic for sarcastic and lively discussion? Is He someone you’ve decided to ignore . . . for now? Or have you chosen to acknowledge that He has played an active role in your life from the very beginning of time and continues to do so minute to minute? Read It was the same in my time as now. Humans seldom listen. Not ¬really. The truth is inconvenient. The rulers have their own agenda. The common folk ¬don’t want to be bothered. —Mosheh (p. 92) These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. —Mark 7:6-7 “If you want the people to believe in you, show us a sign. What’ll you do for us?” —A sturdy farmer (p. 211) “In their pride they demand a made-to-order miraculous sign. They refuse the evidence of the powerful things Yeshua has already done. . . . They plant doubts. They stir people up.” —Zadok (p. 293) “Some folk want him to feed them every day. Back to the wilderness, ha! Never work again, they mean! Paradise on earth.” —Zadok (p. 211) Ask In what ways are believing in God and the truths of the Bible “inconvenient”?