The Teleios Trail by Bob Santos

 

One often hears “The Old Testament is for the Jews, while the New Testament is for Christians”.  I think this misses the mark, these are not two separate books, but one, complete, Book of God.  The old means nothing without Christ fulfilling it, and the new means nothing without being the fulfillment of the old.  One complete book, in two parts. 

However, most Bible studies that I’ve experienced focus on one or the other, seldom both.  Santos, does the unthinkable and has filled this work with scripture from both the Old and New Testaments. 

The Teleios Trail is designed in a format of 30 bite sized, hard hitting topics, aimed at Spiritual Maturity.  Starting with Why Spiritual Maturity Matters, and continuing through Finding Wisdom in the Word, Discerning Law and Grace. Then on to tougher topics like:  Pulling Down Idols, Severing the Evil Root, Caring for Ourselves, while Glorifying God.  Topics like Living with Purpose  and Persevering through Adversity are just a handful of the items that you will experience in this work. 

While The Teleios Trail is not an all-encompassing ticket to Spiritual Maturity, it is designed to get you started on the right path.  If you’re tired of the fluff that leaves you confused as to why you read it, this book is for you.  Sprinkled with just enough personal experience, and lots of scripture to justify the words you need to hear. 

While it’s designed to help those that help others, it’s pointed enough for anyone that desires to grow in Spiritual Maturity. 

A selection of the “telling it like it is” passages from The Teleios Trail:

From the introduction: “We often find it easier, however, to use the Christian Bible as a tool for behavior modification than as a source of spiritual transformation.  Telling people how to live can be easy; helping them renew their minds presents a far greater challenge.  Human nature is tricky, and the breadth of knowledge found within the many pages of Scripture can leave us wondering where to begin.  Even seasoned pastors will struggle deciding what topics to address.  In this, The Teleios Trail should prove quite useful.”

“… a resource for pastors, small group leaders, campus ministers, and any others involved with the painstaking work of growing people.”

“The quip “Don’t ask questions; just believe it!” does nothing to help people grow. Such statements do more damage than good.  Inquisitive minds will always bring questions to the table, which helps foster growth.”

“If naturalism is true, we are insignificant, alone, and without meaning in this vast cosmos.”

“We either choose to embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior, or we labor against Him by default (Matthew 12:30).  No in-between exists.”  From The Reality of Judgment From on High Chapter.

From Chapter 21, Dealing with Counterfeit Leaders: “Counterfeit leaders are an unfortunate and dangerous reality in our world.  A necessary part of helping people grow to maturity involves training them to understand truth and to recognize the warning signs of a spiritual fraud.

Caring For Ourselves, Chapter 21, starts out with “As much as we hate to admit it, human nature is prone to deception and error.”

Santos pulls no punches, and his words ring true to me.  A much-needed breath of clean air in a trouble time.  Don’t pass on this one, I recommend this work highly.  

Vayeshev, Gen 37:1-40:23, Torah portion for 17 Dec 2022

 Vayeshev, Gen 37:1-40:23, Torah portion for 17 Dec 2022

Gen 38:  The story of Tamar.  Judah had lost two of his sons to Tamar, and was reluctant to give her the third, as he should have.  She pretends to be a harlot, to get Judah to take her to bed, and conceive.  She has twins, Pharez and Zarah.  A story of birthright, as Judah (the fourth son of Jacob) will eventually inherit his father's estate and become the line of kings.  Pharez breaks through to get the birthright, though Zarah started to come out first.  

I'm a little perplexed as to this brief story, and then nothing more, though I did find this article that I want to share. 

The Twins We've Forgotten

The story of Joseph starts in this portion, with his coat of many colors.  Loved by Jacob the most of his 11 brothers, they conspire to sell him into slavery and send him to Egypt.  Letting Jacob think that Joseph is dead.  This portion ends with Joseph in prison, falsely accused of trying to bed Potiphar's wife, and being forgotten by the butler of the Pharoah.  

Vayishlach, Torah Portion, 10 Dec 2022

 

Torah Portion, 10 Dec 2022, Vayishlach

Gen 32:24 "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day."

In the pictures I found, it's always an angel, but a later passage:

Gen 32:30 "... for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

He was alone, he was worried, and found himself wrestling with God. And I know I have wrestled with God over direction, purpose, choices. I wonder if this is why some people are afraid to be alone? Afraid of the silence?

Gen 33:4 "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept."

Jacob had seperated his wealth and family in two, he sent I think it said four advanced parties ahead of him to send gifts to his brother, and his brother didn't want the gifts but quite clearly was happy to see his brother again. So, all that time in worried preparation, for nothing. I see so many, spend so much time worrying about what might happen, and not take the time to enjoy today.

Folks, planning is okay, preparation for the future is not a bad thing, but fret, worry and fear, that's not what He wants of us. Enjoy today.

Vayetze (Gen 28:10-32:3) Torah portion, December 3, 2022.

Vayetze (Gen 28:10-32:3) Torah portion, December 3, 2022.

I knew I was behind, but it appears I'm farther behind than I thought. Finals took up a lot of my time.

Gen 28:12 "And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold a ladder [stairway] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it."

I didn't find any cross references for this ladder/stairway, but it does my heart good knowing that it's there. And though I'm not ready to see it for myself, I rest in the knowledge that I will some day.

Gen 30:14 "..and found mandrakes..."

Mandrakes were believed to be a stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women.

It was used as a soporific (sleep inducing) and pain-killing plant for many hundreds of years. Mandrake is a powerful narcotic, emetic, sedative, and hallucinogen; its poisons can easily lead to death.

People take European mandrake root for treating stomach ulcers, colic, constipation, asthma, hay fever, convulsions, arthritis-like pain (rheumatism), and whooping cough. It is also used to trigger vomiting, cause sleepiness (sedation), reduce pain, and increase interest in sexual activity.

It has a large, brown root, somewhat like a parsnip, running 3 or 4 feet deep into the ground, sometimes single and sometimes divided into two or three branches. Immediately from the crown of the root arise several large, dark-green leaves, which at first stand erect, but when grown to full size a foot or more in length and 4 or 5 inches in width - spread open and lie upon the ground. They are sharp pointed at the apex and of a foetid odour. From among these leaves spring the flowers, each on a separate foot-stalk, 3 or 4 inches high. They are somewhat of the shape and size of a primrose, the corolla bell-shaped, cut into five spreading segments, of a whitish colour, somewhat tinged with purple. They are succeeded by a smooth, round fruit, about as large as a small apple, of a deep yellow colour when ripe, full of pulp and with a strong, apple-like scent.

Gen 32:1 "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him."

 

Toldot, Torah Portion for 26 Nov 2022

 

Toldot, Torah Portion for 26 Nov 2022

Gen 25:23 "And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."

Gen 25:33 "and he [Esau] sold his birthright unto Jacob."

Gen 26:2 "Go not down into Egypt."

Gen 26:4 "...and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

Gen 27:29 "Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee [Jacob]"

Gen 27:36 [Esau speaking] "...he [Jacob] took way my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing." 41 "And Esau hated Jacob..."

Chayei Sarah, Torah portion for 19 Nov 22

Genesis 24:2-3 NIV

2 He said to the senior servant(A) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

So, I have to ask, why did oaths involve putting a hand under someone’s thigh? And I found this:

In our culture, taking an oath usually involves raising the right hand or placing a hand over the heart or on a Bible. In ancient Hebrew culture, we find something a little different. Genesis 24:9 describes an odd practice that involved Abraham’s servant swearing to obey his master’s command to find a wife for Isaac: “So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.” In Genesis 47:29, Jacob makes his son Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan, not Egypt. The same ritual is observed: Joseph is required to put his hand under Jacob’s thigh as he makes the promise. It seems strange to us, but placing one’s hand under someone else’s thigh had a symbolic purpose.

In both cases, the request is made by a patriarch nearing death. Also, both oaths deal with family matters. In the case of Abraham and Jacob, the family was blessed by God Himself (Genesis 15:5; 28:14).

The thigh was considered the source of posterity in the ancient world. Or, more properly, the “loins” or the testicles. The phrase “under the thigh” could be a euphemism for “on the loins.” There are two reasons why someone would take an oath in this manner: 1) Abraham had been promised a “seed” by God, and this covenantal blessing was passed on to his son and grandson. Abraham made his trusted servant swear “on the seed of Abraham” that he would find a wife for Isaac. 2) Abraham had received circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:10). Our custom is to swear on a Bible; the Hebrew custom was to swear on circumcision, the mark of God’s covenant. The idea of swearing on one’s loins is found in other cultures, as well. The English word testify is directly related to the word testicles.

Jewish tradition also offers a different interpretation. According to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, the phrase “under the thigh” means literally that. For someone to allow his hand to be sat on was a sign of submission to authority. If this is the symbolism, then Joseph was showing his obedience to his father by placing his hand under Jacob’s thigh.

Abraham’s servant kept his oath. He not only obeyed Abraham’s instructions, but he also prayed to Abraham’s God for help. In the end, God miraculously provided Rebekah as the choice for Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24).

In the New Testament, believers are taught not to make oaths, but rather to let their “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no” (James 5:12). That is, we should consider all our words to have the weight of an oath. Others should be able to trust our words without requiring an oath.

At this website: https://www.gotquestions.org/hand-under-thigh.html

And since that was a lot, I'll end this one here.

Shalom, and God Bless!

Vayera, Torah portion for 12 November 2022

 Vayera, Torah portion for 12 November 2022

Gen 18:12 "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself..."

Not out loud, but to herself, and He knew. When doubting the LORD He asked "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (14) And no, nothing is too hard.

Gen 18:21-22 "I will go down now [to Sodom} and see wheterh they have done altogether according to the cry of it... and the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom".

The LORD told them He would destroy the city, and they went anyway. Were they wicked to the core? Or filled with unbelief? Did they doubt the LORD would do as He said He would?

Gen 19:8 "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing: for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."

Were his daughters not under the shadow of his roof?

Gen 19:12 "...bring them out of this place:" 13 "...we will destroy this place..." 15 "... arise take thy wife, and thy two daugters... lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city." 16 "and they brought him forth, and set him without the city." 17 "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain..."

After being told numerous times, they picked up Lot and his family and set them outside the city. And Lot still didn't want to go.

Gen 21:5 "And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him."

I'm 54, and don't want to fathom the possibility of having a child now, much less at 100.

Gen 21:18 "Arise, lift up the lad [Ishmael], and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation."

Again, Ishmael is important to the whole story, and we've not seen the end as of yet.

Gen 20:12 "And yet indeed she is my sister."

Fearing for his life, Abraham, yet again, let someone take his wife as their own. I pray that when I am 100, I've learned not to fear.