Ki Tisa, When You Elevate:
Shemot (Exodus) 30:11 – 34:35
Melekim Alef (I Kings) 18:1–39;
I Corinthians 8:4-13
It’s no conspiracy theory anymore to realize that the rulers of this world want us all dead. There are so many ways that globalists with power are making covenants with death – working on depopulating this planet with bioweapons, food industry sabotage, weather modification, geo-engineering famines, triggering earthquakes, WWIII provocations, releases of deadly toxins into the nation’s air and water, just to name a few. Sinners are being sentenced to death throughout this crazy world. Statistics prove that death rates around the world are on the rise like never before. What can we do about it?
The inescapable, inconvenient truth is that we all deserve to die for our sins. To have the Creator of the Universe, the Mightiest Power, and Authority of all, to decree death to the sinner is more devastating than what all the rulers of this world combined could do.
Haven’t we trusted in the gods of this world, to some degree, rather than going solely by ‘the just shall live by faith?’ I know I have. How much trust do I have in money and what money can buy over what YHWH can provide? Do I trust more in conservative and pro-life politicians to make America great again than Yah to restore the Kingdom of Israel? What does a golden calf in America look like today? I hope you get my point.
We are increasingly seeing how it’s useless and vain to trust in the mighty ones of this world. They are being exposed and many are waking up! We know and believe that the Creator of the universe is sovereign and only allows the powers of darkness to get away with what He permits. Why does He even permit depopulation at all?
Adonai Yeshua is our Defense and our Refuge. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Our faith and our hope for life in the future are only in our great and awesome Elohim.
How is it that they have not succeeded in killing us all off? Why are the people of Yah the hardest to kill? Who stands in the gap between life and death? Who moves the hand of the Almighty, the Savior of our souls, to rescue not just His people, but the lost?
Moses in the Gap
The children of Israel were all in big trouble with a jealous and mighty God. Because they worshipped a golden calf, the revelers of Israel were about to be rightfully destroyed by YHWH Elohim for their sin against a righteous and jealous Elohim.
YHWH was about to blot them out of His Book of Life. Read Deuteronomy 29:20 and Psalms 69:28. Sounds like there’s ‘hell to pay’ for being blotted out of His Book.
But Moses stood in the gap by interceding for a people who deserved to die. As a type of the Messiah, he prayed a model prayer for other leaders to use in standing in the gap. He prayed for the salvation of a sinful people that he did not want to perish:
Then Moshe returned to YHWH and said, “Alas, these people have sinned greatly, and made gods of gold! Yet now, please forgive their sin. But if not, please blot me out of Your book that You have written.” Exodus 32:31-32
Here Moses confesses the specific sin of the people and how great it was. The people had made up false mighty ones before the face of the One True God, Who sees and knows all things. Moses confessed a sin that he wasn’t guilty of, yet interceded.
Moses then asks for YHWH to forgive them. Foreshadowing the Messiah, he offered his life to be taken, so that sinners could be saved. To be removed from the Book of Life meant Moses would not be counted with the living. However, we know that only Yeshua could lay His life down so that sinners would not perish. So YHWH replied to His servant that whoever sins against Him would be blotted out of His Book of Life.
Immediately, our loving God showed His great mercy by commanding Moshe to not destroy them, but to lead His people to the Promised Land There, by His greater grace, they could thrive and live an abundant life. He promised that an Angel, the pre-incarnate Messiah Himself, would go before them and fight for them in the Way. Here He shared with his servant His amazing prophetic plan of redemption and restoration for the people.
Appealing to the Primary Attribute of YHVH Elohim
Standing in the gap, what was it about YHWH that Moshe could appeal to to save his people from annihilation? YHWH Himself had proclaimed His character, His reputation, when He revealed to Moshe His Heart when He proclaimed:
“YHWH! YHWH Elohim! Merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and great in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and not leaving entirely unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on sons, and on sons of sons, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6b-7
We need to know this about YHWH our Elohim. What is the primary character that He ultimately wants us to know Him by, first and foremost? His mercy, His lovingkindness!
Yes, He is just and holy and almighty jealous. He chastises His children whom He loves. But even visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, was only for three to four generations, versus keeping mercy for thousands of generations!
What’s our primary attribute in Hebrew Roots? What is our reputation and how well do we honor our Elohim? What kind of reputation do we represent that the world may know our God? What character do we appeal to when standing in the gap for sinners? May it first and foremost be of the great love, mercy, and forgiving nature of our Father in Heaven.
And Moshe hurried and bowed to the earth and worshiped. Exodus 34:8
We only run to Him after first coming to know His wonderful mercy. No one can handle His wrath. It is ‘His lovingkindness that leads us to repentance’ (Rom 2:4), or we would surely shrink back from Him in paralyzing fear. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:31) When we instruct others to turn from their pagan ways, do we lead them to repentance by His lovingkindness? Or do we paralyze them with the fear of His wrath for breaking His holy commandments?
So Moshe appealed to the mercy of YHWH for Him to show mercy and reveal the best and greatest part of His true nature to the world. It is the mercy of YHWH that Moshe wanted the world to know about more than anything else. If Elohim (God, Powers) would have annihilated all the people of Israel over the golden calf incident, the world would not have seen the primary character of His mercy. If Moshe hadn’t stood in the gap and appealed to the mercies of Elohim with ‘The Sinner’s Prayer,’ sinners would have been utterly destroyed. But thank Yah for the intercessor!
Concluding the Sinner's Prayer
Moses bowed down and worshiped his merciful Elohim as YHWH proclaimed and revealed Himself to him from the cloud (Exo 34:6). The first thing to do standing in the gap is to worship YHWH. Only then could Moshe complete `The Sinner’s Prayer.’
And he said, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, O Adonai, please let my Adonai go in our midst, for it is a stiff-necked people; and You forgive our iniquity and our sin, and take us as a possession.” Exodus 34:9
In response, YHWH granted a rendition of the Renewed Covenant with His people:
And He said, “Behold, I am cutting a covenant; I will do wonderful things before all your people which not have been done in all the earth, and among all nations. And all the people in whose midst you are shall see the work of YHWH, for that which I am about to do is awesome.” Exodus 34:10
Our Father was renewing the covenant that He had already cut with Abraham and his seed. The wonders He promised would be done by His Son in His work of salvation for the world. The Gospel message had already begun with YHWH preaching it Himself!
Men Who Stood in the Gap
YHWH Elohim declared to the prophet Ezekiel just how critical it is for someone to stand in the gap when He said:
“And I sought among them a man to wall up a wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. So I have poured out on them My disgust. With the fire of My wrath I consumed them. I have given their way on their heads,” states Adonai YHWH. Ezekiel 22:30-31, HRB
Thank Yah that men like Moshe, Daniel (chap. 9), Isaiah (chap. 6), Nehemiah (chap. 1), David (Psalm 106), and Paul (Romans 9) in the Spirit of Messiah stood in the gap for their people. Each of these men of God identified with the people of Israel in their day with prayers of intercession standing in the gap for their sins. Lives had hung in the balance. They confessed that they were part of a people that had rebelled against YHWH, had broken His Torah, and desperately needed forgiveness.
These men humbled themselves before the Almighty. They didn’t feel superior in that they were keeping Torah, wanting everyone else to become as righteous as they were. They too had been delivered from the death decree over their sins. Their hearts were joined with their people, yearning for their salvation.
Hearts joined in prayer is how we together stand in the gap, joining in on ‘The Sinners’ Prayer.’ We all need to pray together as a people who all need Yeshua to save us, not singling anyone out from the rest. We are all in this together. All of us are in desperate need for the Savior of the world.
Yeshua modeled this principle as well when He taught His disciples to pray, “forgive us of our trespasses, even as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Notice He didn’t say for an individual to pray, ‘forgive me of my sin,’ although there are Scriptural examples of that. Yeshua taught the best way is for us to repent together as a people.
The Woman who Stood in the Gap
Today we celebrate a woman, the most beautiful lady of her day, who stood before her king for the salvation of her people, the Jews. Her name in Hebrew, Hadassah, means a little star and a rising star she did become! What a beautiful woman standing in the gap!
Her new name in exile was Esther, which also means star, but in its root word satar – means hidden, or concealed. What was concealed in her story was the work of the Messiah, but revealed to those who know the power of ‘The Sinner’s Prayer.’
For she told her king: ‘For we are sold, my people and I, for destruction, for murder and perishing.’ Esther 7:4
In this way, she stood in the gap between life and death.
The fact is, not just the Jews, but everyone deserves destruction and death at the hands of our enemies. We all deserve to be slaughtered for our sins, no matter how well we think we’ve kept the Torah. We’ve all missed the mark. The Scriptures say there is no distinction – we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
But Esther’s actions showed us a picture of what the Messiah would do to save us. After three days of fasting and prayer, Esther stood before her King and entreated him with tears for their lives (Est 8:3-5).
After interceding to the Father at Gethsemane for our lives, sweating great drops of blood, Yeshua died the death upon a cross we all deserve. Our Messiah rose three days later having conquered death and hell, reversing death’s decree against us.
So was Haman’s death decree against the Jews turned against him and his subjects when the Jews fought for their lives. It was such a great victory that they still celebrate it to this day with ‘light and gladness and joy and honor’ (Esther 8:16). I believe that celebrating Purim should be like celebrating the resurrection of the Messiah!
Today, we are like Esther concealed in a world that doesn’t see us as children of the King. But one day we will be revealed as the mysterious Bride who stands in the gap and entreats the King for the day when all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:25-36)
Have you received forgiveness for your sin and mercy from your Elohim? Are there other loved ones in your life that are ‘dead in trespasses and sin’ and need salvation? It’s about time we all prayed ‘The Sinners’ Prayer’ together, hand in hand, heart to heart.
Thank Yah we have an Advocate with the Father – Yeshua the Messiah, the Righteous! In Him w,e can stand in the gap as He stands in the gap for us as our great High Priest. In and by the Messiah, we can stand before the King of the Universe and appeal to His mercy for the deliverance and salvation of those sentenced to death around us.
‘This is the day,’ any day, can be ‘the day of salvation.’ 2 Corinthians 6:2
Let’s all get ready to celebrate the triumph of mercy over judgment this coming Passover (April 8)!
Blessed be the great and glorious Name of our merciful God, the Name of Yeshua!
David Klug