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MARK 7 !

It’s that time of year when ‘everyone’ decorates their homes with lights, wreaths, Satans (I’m sorry, I meant to type Satans . . . maybe my auto-correct is broken) Santas, and numerous other pieces of secularism and paganism.

There is the odd Nativity scene every other block, but 95 percent of the homes in any given neighborhood will have a decorated tree and something in a ‘Santa’ hat (e.g. Santa, the Grinch, a Minion, a polar bear, penguins, etc . . . my neighbor has an inflatable unicorn in a Santa hat in their front yard).

There are neighborhood contests for the ‘best’ display, which is horrendous because most people cannot distinguish between tasteful and tacky.  More stuff is seldom better.

My last two blogs (Party Like a Pagan and Really, Awful Worship) delve into the pagan roots of the rituals we use to celebrate Christmas.  The Word is very specific concerning Yahweh’s displeasure at those who chose to follow man’s traditions rather than His Word.

A good friend of mine (Jon McPheron – he writes a wonderful blog entitled Berean Breadcrumbs.  You should read his studiously-researched articles before wasting time reading mine) tells me he wants to put a marque sign in his front yard that proclaims, in six-foot letters, “Mark 7” to counter the tacky displays in his neighborhood. 

Before you conclude that he is advertising for someone to buy him a fancy Iron Man suit (two generations better than the ‘Mark 5’ suit), maybe we should check out chapter 7 from the Gospel of Mark:

1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

Mark 7:1-3

Chabad.org explains one version of Meal Hand-Washing that includes the specific sequence for the washing of hands (step 1 is to make sure your hands are clean before you wash them); prayers for hand washing; and a lovely, little ditty from Rabbi Chisda, who says, “Don’t skimp. Fill your hands with water and G‑d will fill them with His goodness.”  Other versions have the person washing one hand completely and then the other.

The tradition supposedly comes from King Solomon’s directive to the Levites to wash their hands before eating the sacrifice.  I would hope that the priests were already smart enough to clean the blood off their hands before eating the sacrifice.  Since they were already instructed to wash their hands before approaching the altar (Exodus 30:17-21), they should not have needed one of the smartest guys who ever lived to remind them.

After the Romans destroyed the second Temple in 70AD, the Jews began to consider their dinner table to be a temple-substitute in order to maintain the disciplines (including hand-washing) that had been taught to them, until the day that a new temple would be erected (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hand-washing).  This sounds good, but the Pharisees were heaped in traditions while the Temple still stood . . . as we will see.

4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Mark 7:4-5

Jealousy at the adulation Christ was receiving forced them to find fault somewhere because they could not dispute Yeshua’s doctrine (which was, and is, Torah) nor with his miracles.  It’s like when today’s media ignored the miraculous economy and the many Mideast peace treaties and focused on President Trump’s brusque manner of speaking and tweeting.

No, I am not comparing the President to Yeshua . . . only the way that the ruling elites held them in contempt and constantly sought to discredit them rather than admit they might be right on occasion.

 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me [Isaiah 29:13]. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Mark 7:6-9

Every time we ignore the expressed commandments of God and cling to our traditions that we have put our own “God” or “Jesus” stamp on, we ‘worship Him in vain’ and ‘our hearts are far from him’.  It would be like picking up your socks and telling your parents, “I have conducted a quintessential clean of my room” – yet, your underwear, your muddy shoes, and several scrabble tiles lay strewn about your room.

You know their standards but you decided to only do your substandard habit. . . and, to add insult to injury, you labelled it as something better than what your parents instructed (“torah”) you to do. 

Hand washing was far from the Pharisees’ only tradition that Yeshua (and, of course, Yahweh) objected to.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Mark 7:10-13

Doing right by our parents is not a ‘gift’ . . . it is an obligation.  The Pharisees wanted people to give more to the Temple (i.e., the Pharisees) and spend less of their money to care for their parents.

Your parents gave you life and raised you to an adult – you are required to respect them and help care for them when they become infirmed.  I know there are some wicked parents out there and this blog is not about how honour your parents in every situation.  The Word says to do it, not how to do it.  Your safety and that of your family is always paramount.

The Pharisees used their traditions to impress upon ‘ordinary’ people that the Pharisees were more pious and, therefore, closer to Yahweh’s heart.  Matthew 23 contains Yeshua’s list of the many vices that the Pharisees committed to give the appearance of religious purity, but ignored the expressed Will of Yahweh.

  • They made sure their tzitzits (tassels) were large and conspicuous (verse 5);
  • They used exalted titles (verses 7-11);
  • They gave prominence to the styling of oaths (verses 16-22);
  • They made a show of tithing everything down to the spices in their cupboard (verse 23); etc.

The bottom line is that the most significant issues in the Law were lost in the trivial details of Pharisaic tradition. A system that is governed by rules and ignores the moral underpinning of those rules will ultimately fail.  We are witnessing that today in the United States.

14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

Mark 7:14-17

Even Yeshua’s disciples could not understand the errors of the Pharisees because they had been raised their entire life to believe that the oral traditions were as holy as the Torah (first five books of the Bible or ‘the books of Moses’) and that the Pharisees ruled them because they were more pious than themselves.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Mark 7:18-23

Yeshua compares physical defilement with spiritual defilement.  When we take the traditions of man to heart, we spew those traditions upon others . . . for there is nothing else there for us to share. 

We are raised with the traditions and instructions of our parents – we are programmed to believe one thing and not another.  It is not a question of truth or error, it is the way of child-raising.

When we are old enough, we must examine whether those traditions and instructions are in line with the Word of Yahweh or not.  When we find error in our traditions, we must root it out and replace it with the pure instruction of Yahweh.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

2Samuel 22:31ff

Maintaining error makes the next error easier to swallow.  How many times did your parents chide you by saying, “Two wrongs do not make a right”?  Ironically, they were teaching you that:

  • pork is wonderful (“And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase” – Deuteronomy 14:8; Leviticus 11:7-8);
  • Sunday is the Lord’s sabbath (“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” – Exodus 20:8-11); and
  • you should celebrate the birth of the Messiah during the winter solstice when many pagan gods are worshipped (despite the evidence that he was born in the Fall) by adorning evergreens with decorations (“3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.” – Jeremiah 10:3-4) and numerous other pagan rituals (see my blog Party Like a Pagan – Christmas)

Don’t hate your parents for teaching error – they were probably programmed that way.  I love my parents, but I have had to cast off many of their traditions.  Thank the Lord that I have a solid group of believers (Eric, Jon, Matt, Mike, Wayne, et al.) that make me return to the Word in everything.

If your church is telling you that following the Instructions of Yahweh is a burden (“44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” – Psalm 119:44-45; also 1John 5:3) and/or that the ‘Law’ was done away with after the sacrifice of Yeshua (“3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” – 1 John 2:3-6) they are probably a victim of the traditions that they were taught their whole life.

A quick and easy guide that can start you on the path of aligning yourself with Torah is my book, Grafted: Embracing Torah.  This sounds like a shameless plug (probably because it is), but I looked for a simple guide that used the Word to break down what I should eat, how I should dress, how I should worship, etc.  I couldn’t find one so I wrote one. The Kindle version is free for a short time.

If you find something different, then great.  Any guide like this is not an end unto itself, but only a starting point.  You will have to do the hard work of proving all things to the Word.

Don’t be a Pharisee – do like the Apostle Paul and learn to root out all the traditions of men so you can focus on what Yahweh would have you do.

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Really, Awful Worship

Have you ever watched the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston (I actually met him once, but that’s another story)? 

That movie is a serious commitment of time (3 hours & 40 minutes!).  My favorite part is listening to Edward G. Robinson say, “where’s your God, now, Moses” (as only EGR could say).  I look for excuses to utilize that line, employing a really awful EGR impression.

One part that struck me as odd (lots of it struck me as odd, especially today) is the scene where Moses is atop the mountain getting the tablets and the Israelites are at the bottom of the mountain making a golden calf and gearing up for an orgy.

The written Word has the same dichotomy (without the allusion to the wild party atmosphere).  Israel had just witnessed the great plagues; came through a major miracle at the Red Sea; and seen Pharaoh’s Army destroyed by the God they now dismissed in favor of a man-made idol. 

It is true that many other peoples left Egypt in the company of Israel, but their pagan influence could not have been so great as to lead the people astray so soon after witnessing the great plagues and the Red Sea phenomenon . . . could it?

I survived combat in Desert Storm and it changed me in significant ways.  The effects are not so great 30 years after the event, but you can bet I was still greatly impacted two months after the fact.  What I witnessed was not near as significant as what Israel went through, and yet, we have the image of idolatry less than two months after the Red Sea!

Let me suggest that we (and director, Cecil B. DeMille) are looking at it wrong.

Why would they make a bull? 

Yahweh had just humiliated all the gods of Egypt with His plagues (a good exposition of how Yahweh used His plagues to illustrate the powerlessness of the pantheon of Egyptian gods who were thought to protect Egypt is given in Berean Breadcrumbs, Fracturing the Faith – Vol-5 and 6) and He had audibly given all that were at the base of Mount Sinai His ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), and now they craft an idol that was used by the humiliated Egyptians and that Yahweh had expressly prohibited in His second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6)?  Maybe there is something else going on here.

When Moses ascends Mount Sinai for his fifth time (he does this a total of seven times at the age of 80!), the word tells us that he was on the mountain for 40 days and nights (Exodus 24:18).  The other accounts do not give a time frame, but I am assuming they were of a significantly shorter time frame because this ascent is the only one where there is an expressed fear that something has happened to Moses.

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Exodus 32:1

After Yahweh had given His ten commandments audibly to all the people, they freaked out:

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exodus 20:18-19

Now, in chapter 32, the people are fearful that Moses – their intercessor with Yahweh – is dead because he has been gone so long.  They were not permitted to set foot on the mountain (chapter 19:21-24) so they could not send out a rescue party.

Someone or something had to lead them and intercede for them because they feared Yahweh.

So, why would they make a bull? 

The ancient Hebrew alphabet was actually a pictograph – meaning, a record consisting of pictorial symbols (as in a prehistoric cave drawing) representing words, phrases or ideas.

The first letter is “Aleph” with is depicted by an oxhead (strength).  Combined with letter “Lamed” (authority), it was how they depicted Yahweh’s name.

The obvious choice for an idol would be an ox or a bull.  Israel had witnessed a very dangerous Yahweh reek incredible havoc on the Egyptians and now they felt they had no viable way to communicate with Him since Moses was gone. 

They wanted Yahweh to continue to lead and protect them, but they were also extremely frightened of Him so they demanded Aaron make a precious idol to show Yahweh that they still thought he was their God.  Aaron could have told them to ‘go pound sand’, but he was probably nervous about having to fill his brother’s shoes so he obliged them.

And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.

Exodus 32:5

I think the calf was initially a true desire to worship Yahweh the best way they knew how, but once you violate His Instructions (in this case, the second commandment), there is a downward slide from good intentions to corrupt manifestations.

Whether their intentions were pure or not, Yahweh expressly told them not to make idols and He is not going to change His Mind because the people wanted to please Him ‘their’ way. 

Meanwhile, back up on the mountain:

7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

Exodus 32:7-10

They fashioned a calf and gave Satan an opening.  Soon they were worshiping the idol and proclaiming it to be their God.

Yahweh told them,

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

Exodus 20:4-6

Their attempt to worship Yahweh, contrary to His Decrees, almost got them killed.  How often do we do that today?

  • Do you celebrate a loved one’s birthday by fixing them a splendid meal they are allergic to?
  • Do you celebrate your spouse’s birthday on the day your ex was born?
  • Do you celebrate Easter (Ishtar – Babylonian goddess of fertility) when Yahweh expressly tells us to celebrate Passover and First Fruits (Numbers 9:1-5; Deuteronomy 16:1-8)
    • Do you have the traditional ‘Easter ham’ despite Yahweh telling us pork is “unclean” (Leviticus 11:7)
    • Do you make colored eggs despite this tradition comimg from the dipping of eggs in the blood of sacrificed infants?
    • The evil rituals used in “Christian (pagan) holidays” are spelled out in my book, Grafted: Embracing Torah (free on kindle for a limited time).
  • Do you celebrate Christmas on Nimrod’s birthday – complete with an entire array of pagan rituals, even though Christ was born in the Fall?

I wrote about the pagan rituals that the church has brought into the celebration of Christmas in my last blog (Party Like a Pagan – Christmas).  This is not what Yahweh wants any more than He wanted the Israelites to make a golden calf.

Make a commitment to do what Yahweh wants – not what YOU want Him to want . . . despite the hate you are going to get from people close to you.

Shalom

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Good Fruit

This will be the fourth and last installment of this series.  If you missed the earlier ones, I recommend you read them first . . . they are fairly short and their insight will help with the narrative of this one.

So far I have concluded (and I hope you have, too) that:

  1. The “forbidden fruit” was not an apple;
  2. The “forbidden fruit” was probably not even a piece of food;
  3. The ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ was not a literal tree.
  4. The “snake” was not a snake; and
  5. An angelic being (the tree) taught Eve some forbidden knowledge (the forbidden fruit) and her using that knowledge (eating the fruit) caused her heart to change towards Yahweh.

The story appears to suggest that Adam and Eve’s actions were the cause of their fall from grace . . . thereby insinuating a ‘works-based’ salvation.  This has never been the path to a relationship with Yahweh and I want to show the definition and the purpose of “good works” (good fruit) so we can understand how our behavior absolutely identifies the status of our relationship.

If you have a relationship with someone that you say that you ‘love’, but you are having an affair, then your thoughts and your words are belied by your actions.

When our children obey the rules we have instituted for them (to protect and instruct them),  it is their way of telling us they love and honor us.

The serpent found that it could tempt the humans into disobedience giving it a fleeting sense of being more desirable than Yahweh.  It also was able to appropriate the dominion of the Earth from Adam  I have no idea how this transfer took place, but Elohim gave it to Adam and Eve . . .

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (emphasis added)

Genesis 1:26-28

. . . and later, Satan offered it to Yeshua if he would serve him.

5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Luke 4:5-8

If Satan had been lying about having dominion, Yeshua would have called him on it. 

Elohim freely gave Adam the dominion and taking it back would have been a contradiction of His gift.  We know from the Word that Yahweh cannot contradict himself:

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Deuteronomy 23:19; see also, Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18

A lie is a contradiction (this answers George Carlin’s question about whether ‘God could make a rock so big they even He could not lift it’?).  The dominion will need to be taken – as it was when Satan took it.

When Yeshua returns, he will take back the dominion from the one destined to swim in the fiery lake.  Until that time, Satan uses that dominion as a means to tempt mankind into worshipping him.

Turning from Yahweh and His Instructions is idolatry and this is no-no numbers 1 and 2 on His Top-Ten list:

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:3-6

Satan, also, is a jealous god and he, as well as his minions, want the glory and honor rightly belonging to Yahweh.  Whenever they distract you with one of their ‘tricks’, you are choosing them over the Creator.

Two Hundred angels convinced themselves that if they came to Earth, and co-mingled with the humans, they could awe them into worshiping them instead of Yahweh.

This is the incursion that is nearly hidden in Genesis 6.  The Book of Enoch (Chapters 6 – 8) gives more detail into what these angels were teaching men that impressed them so greatly.  The women, also, found the angels to be impressive and appealing.  The unions between the angels and the human women created a race of giants upon the Earth that consumed more than could be produced, so they started to feast upon humans.

Men were so enamored with the new knowledge and/or fearful of the giants, that they completely turned away from Yahweh:

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Genesis 6:4-7

Not only were all men corrupted, but the beasts of the field were, also.  All mankind was destined to perish and the redeemer may never have been born if Yahweh did not take drastic action to preserve Abraham’s lineage.

You know of Noah’s Flood (why was it named after him?  He didn’t make the flood) and how only eight souls survived plus two of every animal (seven pairs of each of the clean animals).  The corruption returned amongst some of Noah’s grandchildren (Doug Hamp explains how this was able to survive – Corrupting the Image)

Mankind quickly descended into corruption, again, but a faithful man (Abraham) looked to Yahweh for guidance in his life and became the symbol for all believers forever more.

Even when the tribes of Israel sinned, they were always able to come back to Yahweh’s favor by recognizing and following Abraham’s example.

Abraham was not chosen because he did good works.  He was chosen because he believed as was evidenced by his works.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Hebrews 11:8-10

After Abraham’s descendants came out of bondage in Egypt, they walked between walls of water to cross the Red Sea – believing that Yahweh would protect them.  They believed and then they crossed.

In the wilderness, Yahweh gave them a written set of rules (the rules existed before this, but now they had something they could refer to).  In effect, He told them (as well as the “strangers” who left Egypt with them), ‘if you love Me, do these things’.

When they did, they were blessed – when they didn’t, calamity often followed:

26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

When did Yahweh’s Torah (“Instructions” – the first five Books of the Bible) become obsolete?  When did what Yahweh declared was “perfect” and “right” . . .

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Psalm 19:7-11 – see also, Psalm 18:30

. . . become less perfect and less “right”?

Christians often claim that, ‘Paul teaches that the Law is done away with in Christ’ and will quote verses in Romans 8.  This is the subject for a wholly different book, but if Paul is teaching other than the Torah, why are the Jews making false complaints “which they could not prove” (Acts 25:7)? 

Shouldn’t the Jews have accused him of what he was actually teaching if he was teaching other than the Law of Moses?  Remember that Peter says that all the letters of Paul are “hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2Peter 3:15-16).

Wasn’t Yeshua the ‘Word made flesh’?

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 1:14-17

When did Yeshua become the ‘less-than-perfect sacrifice’?

Jesus kept the entire Law, as did the Apostles Paul, Peter, James, Stephen, et-al.  We are also instructed to keep the Law:

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

1John 5:1-3

We are not known by what we believe – we are known by how we act because of what we believe.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:16-20

If you are a believer, how do you know what to do in order to produce good fruit?  Christians tell you to do good works, but the definition of what is good is left up to the believer.

Why not use what your Creator said was “perfect” instead of making up your own (flawed) guide?  Even Paul tells us that the Law is vital to know what is right and what is wrong:

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

Romans 7:7

As a Christian you have been told that the Law is a heavy burden, but have you ever investigated what it would mean to keep the Law?  This is why I wrote my book Grafted: Embracing Torah.  I didn’t know what it would mean either and since I could not find a simple guide for new believers . . . I wrote one.

Yahweh poured His Heart into His Word.  I poured my heart into my book to help me (and you, if you are curious) understand Yahweh’s Heart.

Not a shameless plug . . . an earnest desire to have His people (members of our family) return to His Word the way He desired, not the way 33,000 different denominations have interpreted it differently.

I’m not a ‘church’ or the leader of one.  I don’t travel the country and speak in churches for a fee.  I am a voice in the wilderness calling out while there is still some time.

If you are a Christian who was told that ‘the Law is for the Jew’ and that you have something ‘better’, I beg you to go to the Word and re-examine what Yahweh says is “perfect”.  If you need it, I hope Grafted can help.

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Forbidden Fruit

This is part three of a series that discusses what Adam & Eve ‘consumed’ in the Garden of Eden that caused them to be banished from the Garden and introduced death to mankind.

The first two are short and should be read before this one:

1.  Why an Apple?

2.  Fig(urative) Trees

I like to keep my blogs short, because I know I get intimidated by lengthy pieces of work.  I promise to set as time to read them and I seldom do . . . eventually forgetting I was going to.  By keeping these short, I hope to trick you into giving me a little of your time and if what I write interests you, you will bookmark my page.

The word “fruit” can literally mean a piece of food, but most often, fruit is the result of doing or having something.  We have heard the idiom, “the fruits of one’s labor”, meaning the profit derived from producing something by your handiwork.  This concept comes from the Word:

1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. 2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. (Psalms 128:1-2)

18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19)

Having the Spirit of Yahweh “in” us (a concept exclusive to the NT, people had a portion of the Spirit of Yahweh “on” them in the OT) also produces fruit, if we allow it:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Conversely, the works of the flesh also produces fruit:

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

‘Not inheriting the Kingdom of God’ means being cast into the “lake of fire”.  There are only two destinations after judgment, the kingdom or the lake.  One is life and the other is death (it is not eternal punishment – read, The Fire that Consumes by Edward Fudge).

Adam and Eve ‘consumed’ something (‘fruit”) from something (a “tree”) or someone (a “race” of beings) which gave them the ‘knowledge of good and evil’.

Jeremiah “ate” the Word of Yahweh (Jeremiah 15:16).  He did not literally (at least I hope not) cut up a scroll digested the manuscript with a nice white wine and a side of sweet potatoes.

When we eat literal food, it literally become a part of us.  The food is broken down in our stomachs and the nutrients are transported to our cells to nourish them.  We become one with the food. 

Jeremiah ‘eating’ the Word is him becoming one with the Scripture.  Ezekiel did not literally eat a scroll in Ezekiel 3 – context is Ezekiel 1 where he has a vision.

So if “eating” the Word of Yahweh is a good thing, what did the “snake” give them that was a bad thing (you thought I forgot that I promised to talk about who or what the snake was)?  Let us return to Genesis 3:

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

Were all the animals in the Garden capable of speech . . . or just the snakes and presumably the parrots?  Eve is not bewildered by a talking snake?

When Yahweh has his line-up in verses 9-19, the snake is told, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:” 

Yahweh did not take away the snake’s power of speech.  Do they not talk anymore because they always have dust in their mouth?  Despite all the ‘photographic’ evidence from scores of paintings, I think we can agree that the “snake” was not a snake.

Giving animal characteristics to a human or deity is the figure of speech “zoomorphism” – defined as:

1 : the representation of deity in the form or with the attributes of the lower animals,

2 : the use of animal forms in art or symbolism

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Many believe the snake is Lucifer and he is called a snake because of the conniving and dangerous attributes we attribute to a snake.  It would be like someone saying, “Lucifer is like a snake” (which is a simile), only removing the comparative language and calling the thing a snake.

The snake is never identified, so it could or could not be Lucifer.  Many heavenly beings probably occupied the Garden and other parts of the Earth.  If they were not allowed in the Garden, why wasn’t SnakeDude punished for that infraction, also?

The 200 angels that descended to Mount Hermon in Genesis 6 (a much more detailed narrative can be found in the First Book of Enoch – I gave links to download in my last blog) taught humans all forms of knowledge, both good (metal-working, etc) and evil (astrology, magic, etc).

Because of their co-habitating with human women and creating a race of giants, plus their introduction of charms, idols, and abhorrent sexual practices, these angels were cast into “chains of darkness” where they are exiled until Judgment Day (Enoch Chapter 10).

Lucifer has not been banished (he was in the desert tempting Yeshua)  So we can assume he was not the one teaching Eve good and evil.  Or he was the one and Yahweh was furious at him, but when 200 angels subsequently did the same thing, He felt the need to mete out an especially heinous punishment to stop others from doing it again.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how to end this teaching and my brain is beginning to hurt (it’s not a big brain or a big pain . . . so fear not).  No, I don’t have all the answers.

To sum up my thinking:

1.  The tree was a metaphor for one of the angelic beings with ‘special’ knowledge that frequented the Garden.

2.  The fruit was a metaphor for what that being produced with its knowledge (i.e., astrology, magic, etc.)

3.  The snake could have been Lucifer (or not) who acted as a slick and slimy salesman to get Eve to partake of what the “tree” was offering.

4. Disobeying Yahweh is sin and Eve disobeyed knowingly, or was tricked (was she confused by the “snake” because Adam failed to instruct her sufficiently?).  Adam followed Eve into sin knowingly.

I still owe you an examination on why the flood was necessary because of the sin of Adam and Eve.  I also owe you a definition of good fruit and bad fruit and how to tell them apart.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog.

I didn’t do a shameless plug for my book, Grafted: Embracing Torah. 

There, I did it.

It is available at Amazon, but I have made some revisions, so if you don’t see it there, try again in a few days.  This book (or something similar) will be helpful in discerning good works from bad.

Thanks for your time and interest.

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Fig(urative) Trees

or . . . “not seeing the forest for the trees”

In my last Post, I tried to lay the groundwork that the “fruit” of Genesis 3 is not a literal piece of food that Eve consumed and then Adam helped himself, also.

If there was a tree in the Garden, and its fruit provided anyone who consumed it “knowledge of good and evil”, what was to stop the animals in the Garden from eating of it and becoming wise?  The same question can be asked of the “tree of life” in Genesis 3:22.

I believe it is safe to assume that the story is figurative in significant ways.  I want to examine some of the specifics and then retell the story in a way that makes sense and agrees with the context of the Word.

I thought this was going to be a two-part blog, but the volume of information mandated that I break it up into three (possibly four?) blogs so as not to overwhelm the reader.  Failure to understand what is being conveyed in the ‘Fall of Man’ can be a deterrent to understanding what actually happened and how we may be repeating the ‘fall’ of Adam and Eve today.

I defined “fruit” in the last blog (it is a quick read . . . I’ll wait for you to check it out and come back).  I now want to expose the word “tree” so that we can understand that this is probably figurative, also.  But what these two words are conveying is powerful!

Tree is the Hebrew word, ‘ets (meaning tree, wood, plank, staff, stick, etc.).  We’ve all seen trees and we understand the physical nature of them – trees have stages of growth, just like humans (my thanks to arborday.org for the following analogies):

1.  Trees begin as a seed like humans, and like us, if they are watered and fed, they will grow and mature

2.  A tree that sinks good roots in good soil will be able to whether most storms.  Children who are taught well and have a basis in something ‘bigger’ than themselves (hopefully that something bigger is the Word of God – parable of the good seed in four different soils and the seed and tares (Matthew 13)) will be able to face opposition and stand despite it.

3.  A good tree will produce ‘good fruit’ (e.g., apples, pears, bananas, etc.) while a ‘bad tree’ will produce poisonous fruit (e.g., elderberries, apricot pits, ackee fruit, etc.).  Trees have no choice, but man can choose to produce good ‘fruit’ (i.e., works) or bad fruit.  The definition of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fruit is vital, also.  Stay tuned for that.

4.  Once a tree reaches middle age, its branches thicken and they sag more.  Its roots (lower limbs) weaken and it becomes more susceptible to insects and disease.

A person may be compared to a tree:

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

Psalm 92:12-14

  • Nebuchadnezzar was compared to a ‘tall, strong, and fair’ tree (Daniel 4)
  • David compares himself to a cedar tree (Psalm 52)

As well as a nation:

  • The tribe of Judah is spoken of as a cedar tree (Ezekiel 17)
  • The nation of Israel is compared to the fig tree, having both good and bad fruit (Jeremiah 24; Hosea 9:10)
  • Yeshua curses the fig tree that has leaves, but no fruit (Matthew 24).  Israel looked good, but they were not doing unto Yahweh as they should.

The Olive Tree:

Olive trees denote beauty (Jer. 11:16, Hosea 14:6), abundance, and peace.  The dove returns to Noah’s Ark (Genesis 8:11) with an olive branch signifying the promise of the end of the great deluge.  Even today, the expression, “extending the olive branch”, means a promise to end hostilities between people and nations.

The oil of the olive is used in anointing, cooking, and lamps to provide light.

When an olive tree gets very old (often hundreds of years old) and has reached its maximum production, farmers usually cut it down to improve its future growth. Soon, new shoots grow from the old stump, and the tree begins producing olives again.

This aspect of the olive tree provides an image of Isaiah’s prophecy:

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Isa. 11:1-2

As a descendant of David, Yeshua was the shoot from the stump of Jesse (David’s father).

The word “branch”, here, is nёșer (branch, a family line).  Elsewhere, branch is used when translated from twenty-three (23) different Hebrew words.  Branch is almost always literally an outgrowth from a tree, but, also almost always figuratively used to denote a descendant, a tribe of Israel, or even entire classes of people (e.g., the Gentiles). *

Yeshua compares his Father to a gardener who cares for the plants in his garden:

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [prunes] it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:1-6

Being of Israel is not enough.  Those Hebrew branches that do not produce “good fruit” are pruned from the tree and burned up in the fire.

The Apostle Paul refers to the ‘believing’ Gentiles as a branch that can and will be “grafted” into the native, olive branch (i.e., Israel – Romans 11:11-33).  Also:

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: (emphasis added)

Ephesians 3:2-6

This is not a new revelation.  Yahweh tell Moses,

48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.  49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you [believing Gentile]. (Exodus 12:48-49 – see also, Leviticus 18:26; 24:22; Numbers 9:14; 15:14-16; )

Ruth, a Moabite (a race of people who were enemies of the children of Israel), adopts the faith of her mother-in-law Naomi (Ruth 1:16); becomes the wife of Boaz; and has a son named Obed, the grandfather of David.  This Gentile is in the Christ-line.

Similarly, Rahab, a harlot from Jericho who hid the spies that Joshua sent to search out the promised land and proclaimed that Yahweh was the one, true God (Joshua 2). James tells us that:

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

James 2:25

Yeshua commanded the Apostles (before his ascension) to “make disciples of all nations”.  He had to give Peter a vision (Acts 10) to remind him that believing Gentiles were part of the kingdom because  they were not reaching out to anyone who was not Jewish.  Tradition had come to regard all Gentiles as ‘dogs’ and unclean – completely nullifying what Yahweh had told Israel dozens of times.

As a side note – if you think the vision of Acts 10 was telling Peter it is okay to eat pork rinds then you have taken the narrative completely out of the context of the Chapter, which begins by telling us of a devout, Roman centurion named Cornelius (a Gentile ‘dog’) and ends with Cornelius and his Gentile family receiving holy spirit and speaking in tongues.

To summarize what we have learned of the act that precipitated the Fall of Man:

  1. The “fruit” that Adam and Eve ate of was not an actual apple.
  2. The “fruit” of Genesis 3 may not have even been an actual piece of food.
  3. The two trees (“Knowledge of Good and Evil” and “Life”) may not have been actual trees
  4. Trees are often used figuratively to represent people, nations, or races of people.
  5. Yahweh intends to take all the ‘believing’ branches for all the nations and graft them into one tree that bears “good fruit”.
  6. The roots of that tree is anchored in the Word of God.

In the next blog(s), we will examine:

  1. The “snake” that instructed Eve to eat of the ‘forbidden fruit’;
  2. how evil “fruit” from evil “trees” caused Adam and Eve to fall;
  3. how it necessitated the Flood;
  4. how it is destroying believers (and would-be believers) today; and 
  5. The definition of “good fruit”.

  Many before us have atoned for their sins, but recognizing the sin (bad fruit) is an important first step.  A copy of the Book of Enoch will help in the next Installment(s).  Free downloads are available at:

* – an interesting and very informative word study of the word “branch” comes from the Hebrew word, șemaḥ (growth, the Branch – as a messianic title).  It is used only five times in the OT and each one refers to the different perspectives of the four Gospels and Revelation (e.g., Zechariah 3:8 – ‘servant’.  Mark is written from the perspective of Yeshua as a servant).  I expand upon this in my book, Grafted: Embracing Torah (if I didn’t offer a shameless plug for my book in every blog, you might think I was outsourcing my articles).

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Embracing Torah – 3d Edition?

I find I am working on a 3d edition of Embracing Torah.  As I study more, I find I’m not as smart as I thought I was (hopefully we are all this way).  I felt that a major revision was needed to my analysis of the 2d Commandment.  I want to get this right – but is it even possible to think that I can make it error-free?

The trick is to know when I’ve done enough to warrant a 3d edition . . . and then begin work on the 4th edition.

Enjoy.

The 2d Commandment:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

       This one is actually pretty easy to keep. John 4:24 states, “God is Spirit”. That is a pretty hard one to paint or sculpture. Nevertheless, Michelangelo painted a vision of Yahweh on the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican that is considered iconic. How many people have a poster of that in their homes?

       Some argue that the context is the ‘worshipping’ of these images and that would absolutely be idolatry; even if it is an image of Yahweh, because an image is not Yahweh. I believe in angels (because the Word says there are angels), but I do not worship them. I believe that if one doesn’t make the idols, one cannot “bow down nor serve” them.

       Do you own a video of George Burns or Morgan Freeman playing Yahweh? I always thought Orson Welles or James Earl Jones (“Yeshua . . . I am your Father”) would be a better choice, but that still begs the issue – Do you have ‘images’ of Yahweh in your home? Do you revere them? Please tell me you don’t venerate these blokes.

       Yahweh directs Moses to place Cherubims atop the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18-20). This would absolutely qualify as a “likeness of something in heaven above”, but the cherubs were not to be worshipped . . . the God of the Ark was to be.

       You need to decide whether figurines of angels or images of Yahweh cross the line. Angelic youths kissing on your mantle may look cute, but a houseful of cherubs may cross the line.

       I have many paintings and figures of Yeshua (who is alive and well in heaven above) in my home to help me focus on the man who gave his life in atonement for my sins and guaranteed me a place in paradise. I do not worship the images.

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Free Weekend

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Theory #2

If you believe in an afterlife, you have probably pondered on what you would look like.  These are my ponderings and my ‘conclusion’.

This is a rather short series since in my sixty years of existence I have only been able to expound on just two ‘amazing’ and ‘spectacular’ theories about things that can only be implied from scripture.

You might call this lazy scholarship, but I like to think that I was hindered in the fact that several good theories had already been proffered, so I had the bad luck of being born many thousands of years after man started contemplating the deeper meanings of Yahweh’s Word.

I also like to think that these two are really, really good and what I lack in quantity, I make up for in quality.

The Ground Rules

I am not going to repeat the preamble I laid out in the last blog, entitled “Theory #1” (great titles, no?  It kind of sounds like a Dr. Seuss book . . . “Thing 1 and Thing 2”) – but you should read it so you know what I am trying to do here.

These theories are mental exercises in logic to extend what we know from the written Word to answer questions that are not addressed in Scripture.

I’m not advocating new doctrines nor that any of this is God-Breathed.  That is why I don’t quote a lot of scripture in these.  The Word is not a lifeless collection of well-meaning anecdotes.  We are to read it, study it, meditate on it, contemplate it, . . . .  Yahweh Wrote one Book – it is vital you understand what He has Shared with you.

Of course, if you believe anything I have written (or anyone else) without testing it for yourself, then you are in danger of being misled in the most vital aspect of your present existence . . . and your future existence.

Please let me know if you are one of the non-critical believers of anything.  My next blog will be on my ownership of a bridge in Brooklyn and how you can be a part owner . . . for a small fee.

Are you tired of my meanderings, yet?

Theory #2 – Our New Bodies will all be 30 Years Old.

Before you young people start crying, “that is SO old!”, let me lay out some ideas to ponder on.

  • We can’t be the same age as when we die. It would be very unfair for:
    • Children who died in infancy and would not be able to get around paradise on their own or get stuff off of upper shelves without help, or
    • Old, infirmed people, who would not be able to get around paradise on their own or get stuff off of upper shelves without help
  • Personally, I was in my best physical shape at the age of 37, so seeing 30, again, would be a huge blessing. Most everyone I know that is as ‘ancient’ as me feels the same way.
  • After his resurrection, Yeshua is on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) with two of his disciples – neither of which recognized him. The three spoke of current events as they walked and how these things were foretold in the Scriptures.  When they sat down for a meal, they recognized that he was the resurrected Christ.  If Yeshua had received the body of a teenager, the disciples would have probably told him, ‘Great impersonation, kid – You should take your act to Vegas’.

Other, more important things, to ponder is the age of adulthood in the Jewish faith.

  • Thirteen (13) is when a child became / becomes responsible for following Torah (Bar Mitzvah). Still, they were not able to perform certain rituals or be counted towards quorum in Hebrew assemblies.
  • Twenty (20) is when a majority of men were / are considered full adults is every legal way.
  • Thirty (30), however, was considered a sign of physical and mental maturity. It is an age when you are ripe for leadership. It is the age that Yeshua began his ministry.

E.W. Bullinger, a prolific writer of study guides in the late 1800s and early 1900s, wrote a guide entitled, Number in Scripture (it is a free pdf on the internet – Number in Scripture).  This book is a wonderful read and should be in your permanent library.

Amongst the many definitions and usages of numbers in the Scriptures, he shares that:

  • Thirty (30) was the age of Joseph [an example of the Christ] when he became chief magistrate in Egypt – second only to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46)
  • Thirty (30) was the age that David began his reign as king of Israel (2Samuel 5:4)
  • Thirty (30) is the product of three (3) [the Biblical number for completeness] and ten (10) [the number denoting ‘divine order’], which represents “the perfection of Divine order, as marking the right ”

Yeshua was a type of Adam (Romans 5:14), but he was not tainted with the sin of Adam because Yahweh was his Father.  He now has a new body and will bring about the newness of our bodies once he defeats Satan and restores his Father’s Creation.

Philippians 3:20-21

20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

 

Does it matter whether we are thirty or thirty-three hundred?  What matters is that we accept the grace that is freely given by confessing Yeshua as our Lord and Savior and that we believe that Yahweh raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).

It also matters that you read the Word, study it, meditate on it, contemplate it, . . . .  Yahweh Wrote one Book – it is vital you understand what He has Shared with you. He is not likely to give you revelation on things He has already revealed.

Challenge yourself, ask questions, and make the Word of God come alive in your heart and in your life.  What more could a loving Father ask?

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Holy Week – The Same Then and Today

It is interesting that the “Holy Week” this year replicates the week that Christ died.  This is not always the case since Christians insist on holding Resurrection Day on Sunday every year.  Let’s examine this coincidence of the Calendars and see how Yahweh’s proscribed days foretold man’s salvation through the annual celebration of Passover and Yeshua’s merciful act of his sacrifice as the perfect Passover lamb, without blemish.

Much of the following comes from my book Grafted: Embracing Torah, available at Amazon (yes, it’s a shameless plug for my book, but I wrote it to be read . . . who is gonna read it if they don’t know its out there).

Yeshua’s death is celebrated on the wrong day of the week.  He told his disciples:

     39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:   40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  (Matthew 12:39-40)

“Three days and three nights” is 72 hours.  The Talmud insisted that graves be watched for three days to ensure actual death (a person might only be in a temporary coma).  Unless Yeshua was dead for three complete days, the Jews could argue he had not actually been dead when he was laid in the sepulcher.

Good Friday evening to Easter Sunday morning (Mary arrived before dark and the stone was already removed) is less than 40 hours.  Wednesday evening to Saturday evening is, at the least, 72 hours (three days and three nights).

Passover was (as it is this year – 2020) on Thursday in the year Yeshua died.   Remember the Hebrew day starts at sundown, so the lamb is slain on Wednesday before sunset.

     30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.  (John 19:30-31)

“. . . that sabbath day was an high day” meaning that it was not the normal Saturday Sabbath.  Passover is a Sabbath no matter what day of the week it falls on.  Mary comes to the tomb after the normal weekly Sabbath (three days after the crucifixion).

     The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.  (John 20:1)

“Three days and three nights” is 72 hours.  The Talmud insisted that graves be watched for three days to ensure actual death (e.g., a person might only be in a temporary coma).  Unless Yeshua was dead for three complete days, the Jews could argue he had not actually been dead when he was laid in the sepulcher.

Good Friday evening to Easter Sunday morning (Mary arrived before dark and the stone was already removed) is less than 40 hours.  Thursday evening to Saturday evening is, at the least, 72 hours (three days and three nights).

On Sunday, when Christians are eating chocolate bunnies (mmmmm . . . chocolate); hunting eggs and celebrating Resurrection Sunday.  Torah believers are celebrating Yahweh’s proscribed day of First Fruits (Bikkurim) which takes place THREE days (and three nights) after Passover.

     9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.  (Leviticus 23:9-11)

The first fruits of everything are considered the provision of Yahweh (e.g., grain, livestock, children, etc.).  This offering commemorates the blessings and follows the first of the grain harvests.  It appears the grain (in this case, barley) is literally “waved” before the altar and then the Priests would keep the offering (the Levites have to eat, also).

This sacrifice is not burned as the animal sacrifices are and appears to be on the first day of the week after the first Sabbath after Passover.  This is played out the narrative of Yesuha’s death and resurrection.

Criminals that were sentenced to death were generally tossed into Jerusalem’s garbage dump – The Valley of Hinnom (also known as Ge-henna).  The valley was the site of child sacrifice that was sanctioned by earlier Israeli kings, so the land was defiled and had no other purpose.  The fires in Gehenna never went out because people were constantly fueling the flames by throwing their trash into the valley.  This was the image that Yeshua gave his disciples when he spoke of everlasting punishment.

Yeshua’s body may have been tossed into the valley after his crucifixion if not for the intervention of Joseph of Arimathæa (Luke 23:50-53).  Joseph begged Pilate for the body and placed it in his own sepulcher so this ‘wave offering’ of the first fruits would not be burned.  It also provided a perfect evidence for the resurrection: the empty tomb.

We celebrate Yeshua’s sacrifice on Wednesday – which is in conformity with Yeshua’s revelation to his disciples in Matthew 12.  We remember Yahweh saving Israel in Egypt with the Passover lamb AND we remember Yeshua’s sacrifice as the perfect, Passover lamb – without spot or blemish – at a Seder meal Wednesday after sunset.

Finally, on Sunday (“. . . on the morrow after the sabbath . . .”), we celebrate Yeshua’s resurrection as the First Fruit of Yahweh’s redemption of man.

This is why we choose to celebrate Yahweh’s prescribed days.  They foretold of the coming of His son; the sacrifice he willingly accepted for us; and they also foretell of his second coming and the judgment of the world.  Choose Yahweh’s days rather than the ‘Christian’ holidays that have been corrupted over time by Pagan rituals.

This corruption is examined in detail in my book Grafted: Embracing Torah (yes! Another shameless plug).

Notice the photo has five crosses (I had to add two).  There is a very interesting study you can do concerning harmonizing the verses covering the crucifixion.  My book gives more details on how you can easily do this (third and final shameless plug of my book).  Or you can ask about it in the comments.

May your faith be strengthened during this holy season – and continue to grow as long as you live.

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Eating the Passover Meal

       Passover begins on Weds, April 8, 2020, at Sunset.  As a Bible-believing Christian, you have read that, “And this day [Passover] shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever” (Exodus 12:14).  This was a Commandment to the Israelites and the ‘fellow sojourners’ (people who believed that Yahweh was the one, true God . . . especially after Yahweh had proven himself against the idle idols of Egypt) who came out of Egypt with Israel.

       If you did not read my last blog, entitled “Passover vs Good Friday”, then I recommend you read it before you read about the meal.  The reason for celebrating is more important than the actual meal.  Luckily, both blogs are relatively short.

       The Seder (sēdher literally, “order” or “arrangement”) itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: “You shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'” (Exodus 13:8)

       Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah (a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder), an ancient work derived from the Mishnah (“study by repetition” or “to study and review”.  It is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”).  The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.

     Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine (Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The four cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6–7: “I will bring you out,” “I will deliver,” “I will redeem,” and “I will take”), eating bitter herbs and matza (unleavened flatbread), partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.  The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.  (Wikipedia)

       There is nothing wrong with celebrating a traditional Seder, but the traditions and the rituals passed down seem a little excessive compared to what Yahweh commanded at the first Passover.  Yahweh kept it simple and later commanded that it be celebrated every year so that future generations would know what He did to free the Jews from bondage in Egypt.

     3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.  (Exodus 12:3-11)

     24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.  (Exodus 12:24-27)

     The meal, at a minimum is:

1) Roast lamb (not baked – lamb is very fatty and a baked lamb will make you sluggish . . . I know from experience) enough for all participating (no leftovers);

2) Unleavened bread (easy to carry without destroying it while traveling – like the bread we got in our MREs while I was in the Army) – Since Passover ushers in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we can assume that they had enough to travel with initially; and

3) Bitter herbs – it does not specify what those herbs were and every website I visited listed different spices.

  • I am awful with a grill, so I will include a friend’s recipe for smoked lamb at the end of this article. It was very yummy.

       The rest of the meal is conjecture (generally based on the foods available in Egypt at that time), but these three items could have been the actual extent of the meal.  Imagine you are hungry, but your time is limited – you may grab a quick burger on your way to work because you don’t have time for a complete meal.  The sorrow of the Egyptians allowed the Israelites to leave their bondage, but that sorrow would no doubt transform to rage (which it did).  They may not have had time to prep a meal and prep to depart.

  • Circumcision?

     48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.  (Exodus 12:48-49)

       Before you rule out joining a Seder feast because you are not circumcised, remember that it is just a memorial and not an actual Passover.  Circumcision will be required in the future when there is a House that Yahweh has put His Name to (literally US when we have our new bodies).

       Circumcision is a commandment, but the Apostles decreed that new believers must be convinced in their heart (Rom 2:29) before having the mark in their flesh.  The debate in Acts 15 is between believers who want the gentiles to keep the whole Law instantly (a ‘works’ based theology) and those that believed that faith should be taught first.  James came up with a compromise when he commanded that the gentiles should commit to not doing a few ultra-nasty pagan rituals and then learn to do the rest of the Law over time during the weekly synagogue assemblies (Acts 15:19-21).

       Paul’s letter to the Galations discusses this debate in some detail.  It is a good read (as is the whole Bible) since the church still struggles with this debate today.  I have broken down the Letter to the Galatians in a four-part blog if you want to understand more about the debate and why Torah observance is still a must for faith-believing Christians.

       Those teaching that Paul instructs that circumcision was done away with have to explain why Paul later had Timothy (a Greek / Gentile) circumcised (Acts 16:3).  Paul did not do things to please the people around him – his sole motive in everything was to do the Will of God.  If you are uncircumcised, you should be convinced by scripture before going under the knife.

       If the people hosting the Seder object due to your uncircumcision (or other reason), then try to find another Feast or host your own.  It does not have to be as elaborate as the traditions have made it.

       A traditional Jewish Seder does not take into account the sacrifice made by Yeshua, who was the perfect Passover lamb.  Because of the death and resurrection of Yeshua Ha’mashiach (Jesus the Messiah – the ultimate Passover lamb), we have even more reason to want to celebrate Passover.  No matter how you choose to observe this feast, make sure you focus on the reason for it and those that freed you from the bondage of sin.

     18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  (1Peter 1:18-19)

     21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Romans 6:21-23)

       Passover is celebrated for Yahweh’s act of saving Israel in Egypt and for Yeshua (the Passover lamb) saving all mankind, who have faith, through his sacrifice.  Be sure to tell both stories during your feast.

  • Second Passover (Pesach Sheni)

       Passover is the only holy day that allows for a second chance.  You don’t get to choose which day you celebrate it, you have to meet certain conditions.  This leaves less of an excuse for not celebrating Passover each year.

     5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. 6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. 11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. (Numbers 9:5-13)

       This, then, begs the question . . . “When can a practicing Mortician observe Passover?”  Obviously, a partner and creative scheduling come into play.

       Seriously, the carnage inflicted upon the Creation during the Tribulation and the Wrath will be so great, that it will take many months to bury all the dead.  God has made a way for the grisly laborers to celebrate this Feast.

       With all the “social distancing” and lock-downs this year, due to the Covid-19 virus, you may want to take advantage of the Second Passover so you can celebrate with family and friends.  I plan to celebrate twice – with my family on Wednesday and again with my fellowship when it is safe to congregate again.

  • Smoked Lamb

       In a freezer bag put 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil 1 cup warm water 2 tablespoons of organic, no salt seasoning in the meat.  Shake and allow to marinate for at least three hours in the refrigerator

       Soak the smoking chips (hickory and pecan) overnight in water so that they are very moist when it’s time to use the smoker if you do not have that sort of time just after you start the meat marinating then you will want to start the woods soaking.  I prefer the ones that are in chunks about the size of a ping-pong ball versus the ones that look like shaved yard mulch (you can generally get the wood chips wherever smokers are sold).

       The trick to smoking is keeping the heat at about 235° to 250° using the vents on the side of the firebox to control the fire

       About three hours of smoke will get the right amount of smoke on the meat but the meat will not be warm enough to serve – it will still be very rare, so you want to wrap it in aluminum foil if you want to continue to use the smoker to finish the cooking process or you’ll have to move it to a warm oven about 325°

       Horizontal smokers are good because you can direct the smoke flow and you can keep the meat off the direct heat.

 

       Remember the reasons for the season (all of Yahweh’s proscribed days are significant for at least two reasons – one at the time of the proscription and another when Yeshua came to Earth the first time or a future celebration when he returns to subdue and restore the Earth.  Celebrate what the Father and His son have done for you and your Passover will be a success . . . even if you burn the lamb.