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Yeshua HaMashiach . . . . . . . . Yahweh's Salvation for the World

Readings and Commentaries
Temple Triennial Cycle      Year 2      Month Heshvan

Year 2 Sabbath Thirty-one (October 12, 2002) 

Yayiqra (And He called): Qach et-Aharon (Take Aaron) commonly called Leviticus 8   (*Divided for seven Torah readers)

1 Amen* 1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread; 3 and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting." 4 So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to do."

2 Amen* 6 Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and washed them with water. 7 And he put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him. 8 He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 10 Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

3 Amen* 13 Next Moses had Aaron's sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 14 Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. 15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse, he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

4 Amen* 18 Then he presented the ram of the elevation offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 And Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar. 20 When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. 21 After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a elevation offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

5 Amen* 22 Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 He also had Aaron's sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar. 25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.

6 Amen* 26 And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh. 27 He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and presented them as a wave offering before Yahweh. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the elevation offering. They were an ordination offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh. 29 Moses also took the breast and presented it for a wave offering before Yahweh; it was Moses' portion of the ram of ordination, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

7 Amen* 30 So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. 31 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.' 32 "And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire. 33 "And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days. 34 "Yahweh has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf. 35 "At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of Yahweh, that you may not die, for so I have been commanded." 36 Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh had commanded through Moses.

Ezekiel 43:27

8 Amen* “And when they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your elevation offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,” declares Yahweh God.

Psalm 75    For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

Congregational song* 1 We give thanks to Thee, O God, we give thanks, for Thy Name is near; men declare Thy wondrous works. 2 “When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity. 3 The earth and all who dwell in it melt; it is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah. 4 I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn; 5 do not lift up your horn on high, do not speak with insolent pride.’ ” 6 For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation; 7 but God is the Judge; He puts down one, and exalts another. 8 For a cup is in the hand of Yahweh, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. 9 But as for me, I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

Revelation 20

9 Amen* 1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

10 Amen* 7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Commentary:

On recent Sabbaths, we have studied God’s instructions for building the Tabernacle, considered their spiritual implications for us, and then read of the actual construction according to those instructions. We have studied God’s instructions for the priesthood and offerings, considered their spiritual implications for us, and today we read of the beginnings of the Levitical priestly service.

(V.1) Aaron and his sons must enter a mikvah (baptistery), don the priestly garments, and be anointed with the special oil. They must offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for an elevation offering: the priests’ sins must be laid upon Yeshua, and Yeshua’s righteousness imputed to the priests.

A ram of ordination must then be offered: the priests must be consecrated to God in their hearing (blood applied to the ear), their actions (blood applied to the thumb), and their goings (blood applied to the toe). From the forty loaves that were made (last week’s lesson), the three kinds of unleavened loaves must be waved before Yahweh, then offered up as smoke from being burnt upon the altar.

(Slide 1) The High Priest’s garments containing the Urim and Tummim.

The Urim and Tummim (oo-REEM and toom-MEEM) is a parchment with the name “Yahweh” written upon it: it was placed in the fold of the Breastplate, and used to consult God for answers to major questions. Urim means lights, and Tummim means completeness.

Bayom hashmini - In the Eighth Day..

Ezekiel 43:27 – In the Eighth Day, God will accept us: we will offer elevation offerings and peace offerings – thanksgiving offerings, not sin offerings.

The greatest commandment, Loving Yahweh with all our heart, includes keeping our appointments with God – Yahweh’s appointed times, which He declared to be eternal (observed as prophetic and/or memorial).

Lev 23:2 “Yahweh's appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy assemblies – My appointed times are these:” the Seventh Day Sabbath, Preparation of the Passover , Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks of Firstfruits (Pentecost), (v.24) Day of Trumpeting, Day of the Atonements, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day Assembly. (V.44) “So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of Yahweh.”

God has selected the appointed time for final judgment of sinners. For seven millennial days atonements must be made. Then is the appointed time for judgment: the judgment of the righteous for rewards will be 1000 years prior; this is the judgment of the condemned; there is no “judgment” to determine who is or is not saved.

Moses is the representative of Yeshua. We all (believers) are priests. We have seven millennial days when salvation is available, then the judgment for sin at the beginning of the eternal eighth day.

Hebrews 13:11-12 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Yeshua also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Hebrews 4:14-5:6  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Messiah did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, "Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee"; just as He says also in another passage, "Thou art a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

So, Yeshua had no need to offer sin sacrifices for Himself. But we need to keep this continually in mind: He is sympathetic toward our weaknesses, and stands daily to aid us in overcoming sin. We need continual exercise to growing in love for God and neighbor.

Year 2 Sabbath Thirty-two (October 19, 2002) 

Yayiqra (And He called): Bayom Hashmini (In the eighth day) commonly called Leviticus 9 – 11   (*Divided for seven Torah readers)  

1 Amen* 1 Now it came about in the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; 2 and he said to Aaron, "Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before Yahweh. 3 "Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before Yahweh, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today Yahweh shall appear to you.'" 5 So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before Yahweh. 6 And Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded you to do, that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you." 7 Moses then said to Aaron, "Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your elevation offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as Yahweh has commanded." 8 So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. 9 And Aaron's sons presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10 The fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the sin offering, he then offered up in smoke on the altar just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 11 The flesh and the skin, however, he burned with fire outside the camp.

2 Amen* 12 Then he slaughtered the elevation offering; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 13 And they handed the elevation offering to him in pieces with the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 14 He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the elevation offering on the altar. 15 Then he presented the people's offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first. 16 He also presented the elevation offering, and offered it according to the ordinance. 17 Next he presented the grain offering, and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, besides the elevation offering of the morning. 18 Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 19 As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail, and the fat covering, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, 20 they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 21 But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before Yahweh, just as Moses had commanded. 22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the elevation offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people. 24 Then fire came out from before Yahweh and consumed the elevation offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

3 Amen* 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what Yahweh spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. 4 Moses called also to Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp." 5 So they came forward and carried them still in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you may not die, and that He may not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which Yahweh has brought about. 7 "You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, lest you die; for Yahweh's anointing oil is upon you." So they did according to the word of Moses. 8 Yahweh then spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die-- it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations-- 10 and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which Yahweh has spoken to them through Moses."

4 Amen* 12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering that is left over from Yahweh's offerings by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 "You shall eat it, moreover, in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due out of Yahweh's offerings by fire; for thus I have been commanded. 14 "The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your due and your sons' due out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15 "The thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving, they shall bring along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before Yahweh; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as Yahweh has commanded." 16 But Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron's surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17 "Why did you not eat the sin offering at the holy place? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear away the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh. 18 "Behold, since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded." 19 But Aaron spoke to Moses, "Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their elevation offering before Yahweh. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of Yahweh?" 20 And when Moses heard that, it seemed good in his sight.

5 Amen* 11:1 Yahweh spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. 3 'Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. 4 'Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. 5 'Likewise, the rock badger, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; 6 the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; 7 and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. 8 'You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. 9 'These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 'But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers, that do not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, 11 and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. 12 'Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you. 13 'These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14 and the kite and the falcon in its kind, 15 every raven in its kind, 16 and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind, 17 and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18 and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, 19 and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

6 Amen* 20 'All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21 'Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth. 22 'These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds. 23 'But all other winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you. 24 'By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26 'Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof, but do not make a split hoof, or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 'Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you. 29 'Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds, 30 and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31 'These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 'Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead, becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack-- any article of which use is made-- it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean. 33 'As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel. 34 'Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean; and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean. 35 'Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you.

7 Amen* 36 'Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 'And if a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 'Though if water is put on the seed, and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. 39 'Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 'He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 41 'Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten. 42 'Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. 43 'Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44 'For I am Yahweh your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45 'For I am Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy.'" 46 This is the law regarding the animal, and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters, and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

1 Kings 8:56-58

8 Amen* 56 "Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. 57 "May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, 58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.

2 Samuel 6:1

1 Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

Psalm 76    For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

1 God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. 2 And His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion. 3 There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah. 4 Thou art resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey. 5 The stouthearted were plundered; they sank into sleep; and none of the warriors could use his hands. 6 At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep. 7 Thou, even Thou, art to be feared; and who may stand in Thy presence when once Thou art angry? 8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah. 10 For the wrath of man shall praise Thee; with a remnant of wrath Thou shalt gird Thyself. 11 Make vows to Yahweh your God and fulfill them; let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared. 12 He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.

Mark 7:1-23

9 Amen* 1 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 [For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.] 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" 6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. 7 'But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' 8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." 9 He was also saying to them, "You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. (10 "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death'; 11 but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine you might have been helped by is Karban (that is to say, an offering to God),' 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.")

10 Amen* 14 And after (Yeshua) called the multitude to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." 17 And when leaving the multitude, He had entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purging all foods?" 20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

Commentary:

Leviticus 9-10 is about God’s requirement that His priests respectfully represent Him as holy before the people. We are warned to worship Yahweh in the specific way in which He instructs: consider the end of those who thought their way was just as good (v.10:1-3)!

(V.7) The Talmud, Bava Metzia 107b, says: “One cannot atone for others unless he himself is free from sin”! What a picture of Yeshua!

(V.10) There was no permanent fire on the altar until the fire came down from heaven and consumed the offerings: Aaron placed the parts on the pyre in anticipation. Picture fire coming out from between the cherubim above the ark, where the glory of God rested . . . .

(V.22-24) Aaron raised his hands and gave the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24-27) for the first time.

(V.10:1) Two sons of Aaron presented offerings that did not qualify by God’s instruction. The fire itself may have been from a foreign source – not from the altar as required. This time the fire from between the cherubim struck and killed the two sons. Note that it did not consume their bodies or clothing, for they were carried away.

This should be cause for grave concern with anyone who undertakes to perform God’s required worship services according to one’s own design. God designed His appointed-times solemn-assembly services.

(V.9) Intoxicants are forbidden to those performing God’s service: “A priest who enters the Temple is deficient if he fails to find gladness in his service” – R’Burnam of P’shis’cha. The placement of this command may indicate that Aaron’s sons’ sins were the result of intoxication.
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Leviticus 11 concerns God’s people being holy – not doing as the rest of the world does, being dedicated to His purpose. Tumah refers to spiritual contamination, and usually that which can be transmitted to other people, even through things. Let us consider where this subject fits into the big picture of God’s commandments, which are Biblically divided into three categories.

God’s judgments (mishpatim) are obvious to most people. We recognize that we should not murder, steal, etc., though lying has become “acceptable” in our corrupt society.

God’s ordinances (edot) were given to us to portray spiritual truths. We rehearse the Day of Trumpeting to understand about Yeshua’s return and resurrection of the dead. Religious organizations have mostly abandoned or corrupted the Festivals, such as in changing the Holy Sabbath to a free Sunday, or reducing the Passover seder to “the Lord’s supper” – as commonly interpreted (it is actually a translation of “Yahweh’s Feast”).  Mikvaot (baptisms or washings) are also ordinances: these include the required washings of people and objects Leviticus 9-11, and were rabbinically extended to the washing of hands of Mark 7.

God’s statutes (hukim) are standards for holiness for His people, with a basis not obvious. They are often ridiculed by the world. Kashrut (which defines God-given food) falls in the category of statutes.

(Mark 7)  
(V.3-4) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)  This is not a statement of condemnation, but one of giving social background to non-Jews. “The traditions of the elders” are often directly from the Torah, and the phrase does not imply extra-Biblical man-made rules, though this is sometimes the case.

(V.18-19) And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purging all foods?"  The last clause is often mistranslated “Thus He declared all foods clean”. That would be inconsistent with the subject of the passage. It would also be contradictory to Torah; Yeshua did not come to contradict Torah – Matthew 5:17, and Peter did not know about this ‘change’ after spending years with Yeshua – Acts 10:14.

The problem here was not that some Pharisees were insisting on kashrut laws that Yeshua had abolished. The problem was that some Pharisees sought to publicly find fault with Yeshua, by putting minor stricter-than-Biblical standards ahead of major Biblical judgments. While hand washing is good, making it a requirement above providing necessary food was simply looking for an excuse to condemn Yeshua – which falls under the category of murder.

Peter’s vision (Acts 10) . . . . No food was present here, and Peter ate nothing. Peter, having spent years with Yeshua, still knew of no change in kashrut laws. Jews generally saw gentiles as unclean like pigs. God presented a vision to tell Peter not to avoid gentiles whom He had cleansed.

(Acts 10:28-29)  "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. "That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for.

Paul’s instruction (1 Corinthians 10:25-31)
25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience ' sake; 26 for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go, eat anything that is set before you, without asking questions for conscience ' sake. 28 But if anyone should say to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience ' sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? 31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Paul is not requiring gentile Corinthians to eat only rabbinic certified kosher food: he says to eat what is sold in the markets, but he is referring that which God defined as food. Even having been offered to idols does not change the permissibility of the food (food offered to idols was commonly sold later in the markets), but we must not partake of food in such a way that we would appear to be worshipping idols.

The bottom line is this: do we speak and eat according to our own feelings, or grow in learning and practicing what God says? Do we perform worship services according to our feelings, or learn what God designed?

Year 2 Sabbath Thirty-three (October 26, 2002) 

Yayiqra (And He called): Tazria (Conceives) commonly called Leviticus 12:1 – 13:28    (*Divided for seven Torah readers)

1 Amen* 1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. 3 'And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 'Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed.

2 Amen* 5 'But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days. 6 'And when the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting, a one year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 'Then he shall offer it before Yahweh and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. 8 'But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.'"

3 Amen* 13:1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of tzaraat on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3 "And the priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of tzaraat; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. 4 "But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate him who has the infection for seven days. 5 "And the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed, and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.

4 Amen* 6 "And the priest shall look at him again on the seventh day; and if the infection has faded, and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 "But if the scab spreads farther on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again to the priest. 8 "And the priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is tzaraat. 9 "When the infection of tzaraat is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. 10 "The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic tzaraat on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

5 Amen* 2 "And if the tzaraat breaks out farther on the skin, and the tzaraat covers all the skin of him who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall look, and behold, if the tzaraat has covered all his body, he shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; it has all turned white and he is clean. 14 "But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 "And the priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is tzaraat. 16 "Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest, 17 and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infection has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; he is clean.

6 Amen* 18 "And when the body has a boil on its skin, and it is healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white, bright spot, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 and the priest shall look, and behold, if it appears to be lower than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of tzaraat, it has broken out in the boil. 21 "But if the priest looks at it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it and it is not lower than the skin and is faded, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days; 22 and if it spreads farther on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection. 23 "But if the bright spot remains in its place, and does not spread, it is only the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

7 Amen* 24 "Or if the body sustains in its skin a burn by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white, 25 then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is tzaraat; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of tzaraat. 26 "But if the priest looks at it, and indeed, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it is no deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days; 27 and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of tzaraat. 28 "But if the bright spot remains in its place, and has not spread in the skin, but is dim, it is the swelling from the burn; and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar of the burn.

Isaiah 66:7

7 "Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.

II Kings 4:42 - 5:19

42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat." 43 And his attendant said, "What, shall I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, 'They shall eat and have some left over.'" 44 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of Yahweh.

2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Arameans had gone out in bands, and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3 And she said to her mistress, "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his tzaraat." 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel." 5 Then the king of Aram said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." And he departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his tzaraat." 7 And it came about when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his tzaraat? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me." 8 And it happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper.' 12 "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, "My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean '?" 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now." 16 But he said, "As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 And Naaman said, "If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules' load of earth; for your servant will no more offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. 18 "In this matter may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant in this matter." 19 And he said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him some distance.

Psalm 77    For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; my soul refused to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed; when I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah. 4 Thou hast held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. 6 I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart; and my spirit ponders. 7 Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? 8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah. 10 Then I said, "It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed." 11 I shall remember the deeds of Yahweh; Surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate on all Thy work, and muse on Thy deeds. 13 Thy way, O God, is holy; what god is great like our God? 14 Thou art the God who workest wonders; Thou hast made known Thy strength among the peoples. 15 Thou hast by Thy power redeemed Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw Thee, O God; the waters saw Thee, they were in anguish; the deeps also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth a sound; Thy arrows flashed here and there. 18 The sound of Thy thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 Thy way was in the sea, and Thy paths in the mighty waters, and Thy footprints may not be known. 20 Thou didst lead Thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Matthew 1:18-24

18 Now the birth of Yeshua the Messiah was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife,

Luke 2:21-24

21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Yeshua, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every first-born male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord "), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

Commentary:

Yeshua was Torah-observant Jew (Yahudi), and the apostles were all Hebrews, including Matthew and Luke (whose name is common for a Hellenized Jew). Constantine and King James were anti-Semites. Today, we are considering Torah-observance and some of God’s ancient disciplinary methods.

Tumah (toom-ah, impurity) refers to spiritual contamination, usually that which can be transmitted to other people, even through things. Following the laws of tumah from dead animals (previous chapter 11), we have the laws of tumah from childbirth (chapter 12), and then the laws of tumah from slander (chapter 13). A person who is impure is called a metzorah. A metzorah who is separated/isolated is called a niddah.

(Ezra 6:21-22) And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the (tumah) impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek Yahweh God of Israel, ate the Passover. And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for Yahweh had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

While tumah is a result of the fall, it is not the same as sin: we are often required to become impure, though that would make us unfit to enter the Holy Temple until cleansing. Tumah relates to death – the result of the fall.

In chapter 11, it is from touching dead animals or people – and we are required to bury our dead relatives, though not while on duty performing the Temple service.

In chapter 12, it is from childbirth – and since Adam’s fall, all are born “spiritually dead”. Spiritual contamination is transmitted.

In chapter 13, it is from slander and anger – which fall under the commandment category of murder (slander is destroying another’s name). Isaiah 32:7 describes one who “devises wicked schemes to destroy the afflicted with slander.” Slander and anger can spiritually contaminate – spreading like fire.

Leviticus 12

At the birth of Yeshua, no spiritual contamination was transmitted: Mary’s conception was “pure” (Matt 1:20); Yeshua was sinless because He had no sinful earthly father. So, why did Mary wait the required times and bring the required offerings for childbirth? Similarly, why did Yeshua wash in the mikvah (Jordan baptistery)? John asked that, and Yeshua answered: “It is proper to us to fulfill all of the Torah (all righteousness)” – Matthew 3:15.

Leviticus 13

Tzaraat (tza-ra-at) is commonly translated “leprosy.”

Leprosy is Hansen’s Disease. It is a popular mistaken idea that, with this disease, people’s fingers and toes rot and fall off. Actually, this is a disease of the nervous system, where people lose feeling. As a result of being unable to feel, people unknowingly sustain burns, animal bites, and other injuries. In poor southeast Asian countries and South Pacific islands, where this disease is prevalent, rats may bite off fingers or toes while one sleeps.

The quarantine for tzaraat is not consistent with disease prevention methods. One stricken with tzaraat is not considered unclean when the malady covers the entire body, but is unclean when the body begins to heal (v.13:13). When a house is stricken (v.14:26), the items inside are not quarantined. If a newlywed is stricken during a Festival, he is not quarantined until the Festival is over!

The word tzara (singular form of tzaraat) is a contraction of tozia ra, one who spreads slander (Arachin 15b). Tzaraat was a physical manifestation of a spiritual problem, a disciplinary punishment. Until the slanderer learned to overcome slandering, he was quarantined from society, having to shout “Unclean!” to anyone coming within hearing range. One stricken with tzaraat is called a metzora.

Biblical cases of tzaraat indicate slander and anger preceding the malady.

Numbers 12:1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2 and they said, "Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And Yahweh heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 And suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, "You three come out to the tent of meeting." So the three of them came out. 5 Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, 6 He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. 7 "Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of Yahweh. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?" 9 So the anger of Yahweh burned against them and He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was (metzora) leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was (metzora) leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 "Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother's womb!" 13 And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, "O God, heal her, I pray!" 14 But Yahweh said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again." 15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

2 Chronicles 26:16 But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to Yahweh his God, for he entered the temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, valiant men. 18 And they opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and will have no honor from Yahweh God." 19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the  tzaraat broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of Yahweh, beside the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was (tzara) leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because Yahweh had smitten him. 21 And King Uzziah was a (tzara) leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper (tzara), for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land.

Psalm 15:1 O Yahweh, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? 2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. 3 He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend.

Year 2 Sabbath Thirty-four (November 2, 2002)

12 And it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man full of tzaraat; and when he saw Yeshua, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 13 And He stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the tzaraat left him. 14 And He ordered him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." 15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and great multitudes were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

Commentary:

[See last week’s readings for commentary on Leviticus 13 and 2 Kings 5.]

Luke 5:14

I have long wondered why Yeshua ordered the healed man to “tell no one”. Last week’s lesson seems to explain it. He was being disciplined, by the disease of tzaraat, for slander: if anyone came within hearing range, he was required to shout, “Unclean!” Only after being certified “clean” by the priest could he be free to talk to others. So, again, we see that Yeshua was being Torah observant. And that leads us to today’s message of Psalm 78.

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 “There is nothing new under the sun” – a perspective.
[This was the title of my ‘most memorable’ exposition of Dec 14, 1991 at Beit Hallel. The text was Colossians 2:16-17, the subject being “How the Law applies to the believer” After being challenged on virtually every point, I was asked to repeat it the following week. (ddd). Following is the same perspective from a different text.]

Our perspective determines how we interpret the Bible: therefore, we need a Biblical perspective at the outset.

If we start with the common supposition that there is a portion of the Bible called “The New Testament” that supercedes a portion called “The Old Testament”, then that will control our interpretation. New ecclesiastical bodies of Rome, East Asia, Europe and the US variously claim authority to supercede the “New Testament”; this further controls our interpretation, and even controls the translations from which we interpret.

But, if we understand the Bible to teach that it alone is the unified, Torah-based, eternal, unchangeable Word of God, then we can begin to understand that a salvation by grace, through faith in Yeshua, that produces Torah observance (good works), applies to everyone from Adam to Abraham to Moses to David to Paul and to us.

Psalm 78

Paul told gentile Christians (long after Yeshua’s ascension) to “teach one another with Psalms” (Colossians 3:16 – Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs are the titles of the five divisions of the 150 Psalms). This Psalm is about eternal teachings: it is entitled “enlightenment”. Even since Yeshua’s ascension – even as gentile Christians – we are to learn from the Psalms to be Torah observant.

Maskil = wisdom, enlightenment.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (The wisdom of Solomon) That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still. (In other words: we do not learn from history the results of ignoring Torah, so we ignore it again, and our descendents will not learn from our results.)

(V.1-3) “Listen, O my people, to my Torah (instruction); incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in enlightenment; I will pour-forth intriguing sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.”

The subject is the supremacy of the Torah, enshrined in the Holy Temple. The examples in this Psalm span 400 years – from Egypt to King David. The Tabernacle had been in Shiloh, of Ephraim (head of the 10 seceding tribes), for 369 years. But God chose Mt. Zion, of Judah, as the permanent dwelling place for the Torah. He chose Jerusalem as His base for prophets to instruct the world, as His place of presence toward which we should worship, and as the place from which He would one day rule as King over all the earth.

Concerning Messiah Prophet, Priest, and King:

Moses was a prophet foreshadowing Yeshua: “You shall listen to Him”.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of Yahweh your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ And Yahweh said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.’ ”

Malchi Tzedek represented a priesthood foreshadowing Yeshua: [The Levites were eventually chosen in place of the firstborn (Numbers 3:12); those who followed the wrong priests in worship went alive into sheol (Numbers 16:31-34).]

David was a king foreshadowing Yeshua: “You shall be obedient to Him”.

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh (Messiah) comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

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Concerning eternal Torah ordinances:

Yeshua was apparently born on the Feast of Tabernacles, certainly not at ‘Christ’s mass’ (Dec 25 / Thebeth 25, the date of the mass for the birthday of Tammuz, son of the Babylonian Sun Goddess). The Biblical Feast of Tabernacles is not superceded by Christmas. Gentiles will be required, under penalty of drought, to celebrate this Feast during the millennial reign of Messiah (Zechariah 14:16-18). This Feast was prescribed as an eternal ordinance (Leviticus 23:41). This Festival has not been “fulfilled” (except as we fulfill it every year by feasting and sleeping for seven days in sukkot – booths made of branches): it is prophetic of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. When it is “fulfilled”, it will not be abolished (Matthew 5:17): it will be eternally celebrated as a memorial.

Yeshua was crucified on the Wednesday Preparation of Passover (John 19:31, 42), when the lambs were to be slain, not on ‘Good Friday’. The Preparation-day ordinances were perfectly fulfilled. Jonah’s prophecy of “three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40) was also perfectly fulfilled. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (when the Passover is eaten) has not been “abolished”: Yeshua commanded us to celebrate it as a memorial of Him (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25)! It is neither fulfilled by nor superceded by today’s “Christian communion”.

Yeshua rose at the end of the Sabbaths (Matthew 28:1 follows a three-day Sabbath: Yom Tov - Chol Moed - Shabbat), not on Easter Sunday morning: that is when people went out early in the morning to watch for Queen Easter – the Sun Goddess, to rise. When certain women came to Yeshua’s grave after the Sabbaths – before sunrise, He was already out! The only apparent direct Biblical tie between Yeshua’s resurrection and Sabbath timing, is where Yeshua intimated that God would raise His Lamb from the pit on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11).

And God did not wait for Moses at Sinai to reestablish the blessing of Sabbath observance instituted with Adam. The Sabbath was created on Adam’s first full day on earth (Genesis 1:26 - 2:3); the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27); so, for what man was the Sabbath made – just “Jews” who came on the scene thousands of years later? People of the seventy nations left Egypt for the Promised Land, and observed Sabbath before the Mt. Sinai event (Exodus 16:29). The Fourth Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy”: it is to remember what already existed, and was already proclaimed holy at creation.

Sabbath is a memorial of the culmination of creation’s seven days. Sabbath is a prophetic shadow (Colossians 2:16-17) of the culminating seventh millennium when Messiah will reign on earth. Sabbath is a rehearsal (miqra - Leviticus 23:3) of past and future. The Sabbath was made for man, to teach us God’s eternal plan.

If we want to know what baptism was about 1900 years ago, we need to go back to the Torah of 3300 years ago (and even back to creation) and see what God said, because nothing in the Bible indicates that it changed! John’s preaching of “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3), would have been well understood by the Jews of his day – not something new. 
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Concerning the eternal Qehal / Church of the eternal Torah:

The priesthood functions in relationship to the congregation. The priesthood of the firstborn began with Adam. The qehal / church was so called from wilderness* (Acts 7:38) . Yeshua said that He would build-up His church – which implies that it already existed – and that it would never die out (Matthew 16:18).

* Leviticus 4:14 refers to the sin offering for the church (qehal). Numbers 19:20 says that a man who will not purify himself from uncleanness shall be cut off from the church (qehal).
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The bottom line is verses 21-22: Therefore Yahweh heard and was full of wrath, and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also mounted against Israel; because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation. The Hebrew word here translated “His salvation” is Yeshua. Since none of us fulfill Torah, we can be saved only by trusting Yeshua – the Salvation of Yahweh. And the fact, that Yeshua had to pay for our transgressions of Torah, implies that we should be observing Torah; otherwise, what is sin, from which anyone need be saved? Sin is (present tense) the transgression of the Torah (1 John 3:4).