Good Bread

There’s an ancient story that the Romans required bridge builders to stand underneath their completed bridges when the supporting scaffolding was removed. The reason is obvious—it was an incentive for them to show that they had done the job correctly, that they had “skin in the game.” Otherwise…

This week’s portion opens with a legal code regarding the treatment of prisoners of war that can seem remote from life today, until we set it against the catalogue of wartime horrors compiled over the past century. Read against that record, the distance collapses.

Our hope is not based on Israel’s ability to hold onto God, but on God’s faithfulness to hold onto Israel. And because he remains faithful, he continues to call us to teshuvah. He calls us to choose life, love Adonai, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

Scripture reminds us that before we ever inherit anything from God, God chose us as his inheritance. He delights in his people. We are our beloved’s inheritance, and he is ours. The One who gives rest. The One who dwells among his people.