Torah-Keeping–When it is Practiced in Sin
When Torah-Keeping is Practiced in Sin
This Week’s Torah Reading–D’varim
This week’s Torah Reading was D’varim. A section of it addressed our eventual abandonment of Father’s Torah after we were established in the land. As a result of our abandonment of Torah, the land would be overrun by Gentiles and we would suffer a panoply of hardships, including death, illnesses and destruction.
The accompanying Haftorah was contained in Isaiah 1:1-27. In this Haftorah Reading, Isaiah highlights our pending judgment that was coming as a result of the very thing we were warned about by Father and Moshe just before our conquering and possessing the Land of Promise.
The Prophet Isaiah
The Prophet Isaiah was sent by God to warn Judah of the dangers associated with sinning while falsely keeping Torah.
Isaiah served as a prophet during the reigns of 4-kings (i.e., Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah) of Judah in the 8th century B.C.E. Biblical experts (whatever that truly means today) suggests that the Book of Isaiah was penned entirely by the Great Prophet, but was also likely penned in in two periods. These two periods seem to have taken place between 740 and 686 B.C.E with roughly 15-year separation period in between.
From what little we know historically of this period in Judah’s history, coupled with what Isaiah and his contemporaries wrote, Isaiah seems to have begun his ministry just a few years before King Uzziah’s death (`740’s B.C.E.). The prophet appears to have lived up to the 14th year o King Hezekiah’s reign (`698 B.C.E.). It is conceivable that Isaiah functioned in his prophetic office for the better part of 60-years.
I found the possibility that Isaiah’s spouse being a “prophetess” absolutely fascinating and exciting. No one can legitimately deny that our forefathers were a bit on the misogynistic side. Little is ever mentioned about women prophets although Scripture gives the identities of some 9-such women of the Most High (i.e., Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, Isaiah’s wife, Elizabeth, Anna, Daughters of Philip, and Jezebel). [There is also evidence emerging in mainstream Christianity that there were even female apostles and evangelists, the subject of which goes outside the realm of this post.] In addition to Isaiah being married to a prophetess, the couple had a son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. One other interesting tradition that has been attributed to Isaiah was that he was a vegetarian (reference: Mark Braunstein, 1980; “Vegetarianism in Art”). Sadly, and what seems to be a common end to most of Father’s anointed prophets, Talmudic tradition [Yevamot 49b] holds that this Isaiah suffered martyrdom at the hands of King Manasseh, who ordered that Isaiah be sawn in two. (Reference: Wikipedia-Isaiah articles.)
So, under what circumstances and time frame did Isaiah pen his prophecies? It appears that this portion of the book of Isaiah was written around 700 B.C.E., about the time of the Assyrian invasion of the House of Israel (which occurred about 722 B.C.E.). We can surmise from Isaiah’s writings that his ministry to the Hebrews began sometime around 740 B.C.E., as he was called by Yehovah “in the year that King Uzziah died” (6:1). Although Assyria was an imminent threat to House of Israel, she also posed an existential threat to Judah. The people leaned toward self-reliance and defense against Assyria as opposed to divine protection and deliverance by Yehovah. Although House of Israel was doomed due to fall before Assyria, House of Judah was secure in the promise of Father’s conditional protections. Yet Judah kings Ahaz and Hezekiah, respectively, sought human alliances to stave off the Assyrian onslaught. And although Hezekiah eventually relented and trusted Yehovah, Judah would eventually fall before the coming Babylonian juggernaut.
Isaiah Delivers the Indictment Against Judah
Isaiah starts off his cepher delivering a crucial message given to him by Yehovah. This message is of a recurring theme as it relates to the Hebrews: “I raised and brought up children, but they rebelled against me” (vs. 2; NET). Interestingly, Father is declaring this message to both the inhabitants of heaven and earth (cf. Mic. 1:2). For the message to be declared before the inhabitants of both realms, it must be important.
The N.E.T. reference Bible places an even more ominous tone to this declaration. Here we see, in a personified sense, the Creator’s courtroom assembled. The heavens and earth are summoned to the “Creator’s courtroom as witnesses against Yehovah’s covenant people.”
So the question is thus begged: why has Father assembled this courtroom against Yehovah’s covenant people? Was this a mere confluence of unfortunate circumstances that led us to this point in the Jew’s history? Not exactly. This was all foretold to us and recorded centuries prior to Isaiah taking up his prophetic office. I refer you to the following:
25 “When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 “The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you. 28 “There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. (Deu 4:25-29 NAU)
17 “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deu 30:17-20 NAU)
28 “Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 “For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.” (Deu 31:28-29 NAU)
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2 “Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb. 3 “For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God! 4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. 5 “They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation. (Deu 32:1-5 NAU)
In other words: centuries before Isaiah assumed his prophetic office, Father warned us in these 4-passages that we would end up in this position if failed to do what He instructed us to do in His Torah. Father was essentially saying to us: “Hey guys, look, I’m telling you today, with heaven and earth as my witnesses, you will be uprooted out of the Land of Promise and destroyed because of your corrupt nature. Your only hope of survival is to stay the course with me and do not follow after your own ways.
The Affects of Sin on the People of Yehovah
Sin has a deleterious effect on individuals as well as upon a nation. Let’s consider from Isaiah’s prophetic perspective what some of those effects are.
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Sin causes a people to become stupid and foolish in terms of their responsibilities and the repercussions of their actions. In verse 3, Father expresses that simple-minded animals understand the natural order of things. However, sin has caused His people to “not understand” (i.e., biyn {bene} that is to discern, understand, consider). The prophet Jeremiah echoed a similar refrain when He wrote: “Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of Yehovah. In other words, initially the people of Yehovah may realize that the wages of sin is death and they may attempt to keep themselves from sin. However, once sin does take hold of the people, over time, they forget that sin leads to death and destruction and no matter how hard the emissaries of the Most High attempt to warn and sway Yah’s people to turn from their wicked ways, the people are too dense to understand the emissaries’ messages.
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Sin causes a people to become corrupt in all their ways. Verse 4 describes the weightiness of sin and how it corrupted His people so that they simply abandoned their Elohim.
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Sin brings with it penalties. In verse 5, Father asks His people, ” Why do you want more beatings?” No healthy-minded human being desires to be hurt or beaten. Yet sin has the pervasive nature of deadening one to pain and hurt, or at the very least, as in item 1 above, being so stupid and foolish that one does not realize that they are reaping the wages of their sin. Indeed, Father is trying, through Isaiah, to reason with His people by asking them: why do you insist on getting beat down? You can stop the continuous beat downs you are experiencing if you simply turn from sin and return back to me. The Prophet Jeremiah described this process as the people refusing to receive their correction. Instead of relenting to the scourging that sin brings them, the people of Yehovah harden their faces and their resolve to continue living as they’ve grown accustomed to living–the sinful, idolatrous, Torahless life.
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Sin ultimately takes over the entire body leaving nothing good; nothing redeemable. Father laments in verse 6 that from the sole of the foot even to the head, no spot is uninjured–wounds, welts, and festering sores not cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil” (CSB). Do we not see such a thing happening in our nation today? Is not the very fabric of this nation’s republic becoming so corrupt and hateful that there’s little hope for healing?
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Sin brings destruction to people’s property. In verse 7 Father points out to the people that their nation, cities and real properties are overtaken by destructive elements. The nation was warned that this would happen if they abandoned Abba’s Torah (Deuteronomy 28). In that warning, Father warned that the fruit of their land and all their labors would be consumed by others who were not of their nation. These marauding nations and people would consume all their produce and oppress and crush them. These oppressors will leave Yehovah’s people nothing behind. They will take everything. How many of us have abandoned Torah and given ourselves over to sin, only to see everything that we have worked so hard for dissolve away before our very eyes? Sin has that destructive effect. Eventually, nothing is left behind and our lives become desolate and barren (verses 8). We become as the people and land of Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 9).
Father Eventually Has His Fill of our Foolishness
If any lesson is to be had by us who are Torah Observant Believers in Yahoshua Messiah is that eventually, Father reaches a point where He has had enough with our foolishness. For us, the stakes are even higher. It’s one thing for the Creator of the Universe to endure the sinful ways of this unbelieving and lawless world in which we live. It is an entirely different thing for us, who go about keeping rote aspects of Torah (whatever that actually looks like), but continue to allow sin to reign in our lives.
Isaiah writes:
“What are your endless sacrifices to me? says Yahweh. I AM SICK of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of calves. I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come and present yourselves before me, who has asked you to trample through my courts [at feast gatherings]. Bring no more futile cereal offerings , the smoke from them fills me with disgust. New Moons, Sabbaths, assemblies–I CANNOT ENDURE SOLEMNITY COMBINED WITH GUILT. Your New Moons and your meetings I utterly detest; to me they are a burden I am tired of bearing” (Isa. 1:11-14; NJP).
Oh dear God: can you hear the glee in the voices of the anti-Torah crowds at the reading of this passage of Isaiah. I personally have come across some teachings from traditionalists and fundamentalists who have hijacked this writing to support their anti-Torah agenda. For these anti-Torah teachers, Isaiah is passing along Yehovah’s sentiments that they claim show that He did away with His own Torah–even as far back as Isaiah’s day. And certainly, if one were to simply read these verses out of its proper context supported by one’s anti-Torah worldview, then of course it would appear that Father was circling back and telling the Hebrews that He really didn’t care too much for His own Law and instructions.
Come on! Context, context, context. Context is always king when delving into the immeasurable riches of Father’s Word. When this passage is read and studied in its truest context, we see quite clearly that He despised Judah’s disingenuous ways. Verse 13 of this chapter puts this whole thing into its proper perspective: “I CANNOT ENDURE SOLEMNITY COMBINED WITH GUILT (i.e., iniquity; evil).”
In other words: some of us may pride ourselves as being of Hebrew Roots or of the Messianic Faith. However, if we are practicing the True Faith once delivered while boldly practicing sin, then “Houston, we have a problem.”
Father’s Response to Solemnity with Guilt
As reported by Isaiah in this passage, when we go about practicing our Hebrew Roots/Messianic Faith that is combined with guilt (i.e., Hebrew=aven which means iniquity or evil), Father refuses to hear our prayers. In fact, Father refuses to even look at us (CSB). Why, because our hands are covered in blood (verse 15). Is there no wonder why so many of us in our Faith Community are weighed down by poverty, sickness and family problems?
Father further warned that if the Judaeans chose to ignore the words of Isaiah, they would be “devoured by the sword” (verse 20). Indeed, Father warned of this in His Torah when He stated through Moshe:
“And I will bring a sword upon you that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant. And when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy…And I will scatter you among the heathen and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste” (Lev. 26:25, 33).
Additionally, Father warned the Judaeans that their money would become worthless and their produce diminished (verse 21).
Father sealed this prophecy by His own Name:
“I Yehovah have spoken it” (verse 20).
Does Father’s Name carry with it any true meaning? Indeed, Moshe wrote of Father:
“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” (Num. 23:19; KJV).
Why do we ever doubt that which the Father states in His Word? What does it take for men to come around and actually recognize that our God is not a liar; He is not some myth; He is not fallible; He is not bipolar; He is not confused; He is NOT human. He means what He says and He always does what He says He is going to do.
The Fix for the Solemnity with Guilt Problem
Fortunate for us, as it would have been fortunate for Judaeans if they would have heeded Isaiah’s words in that day, there is an easy fix to this dilemma:
“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. STOP DOING EVIL. Learn to do what is good. SEEK JUSTICE by correcting the oppressor and defending the rights of the fatherless and by pleading the case of the widows” (verses 16-17).
Could there be no simpler solution to their problem? Could there be no simpler solution to many of our problems. If we simply were to stop sinning and keep Torah in “Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:23) the way Yahoshua our Messiah taught us, then Father will cleanse us from our unrighteousness. Isaiah beautifully writes:
And this is Father actually speaking through Isaiah–“Come now and let us talk this over. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (verse 18). And “if you you have a willing attitude (Heb. “abah;” to willingly consent to something) and obey (Heb. “shamah;” to hear and do that which Father instructs us to do), then you will again eat the good crops of the land” (vs. 19).
Could it be any simpler? If the Judaeans were simply to adopt a change of heart that was fundamentally in-tune to Father’s Way of Life; and if they were to “Shamah,” listen and obey Father’s instructions, then they would flourish in total and uninterrupted safety in their land. (See my post “When Tradition Eclipses Torah.”)
A Shadow Picture Revealed
As He was teaching a handful of his disciples in the Dead Sea Valley in the winger of 27 C.E., a likely female disciple, in joyous and reverent response to what the Master was teaching proclaimed a thankful blessing upon Yahoshua’s mother. In response to that thankful blessing, Master countered with a Truth that remains true today as it was true in the day it was delivered:
“Even more blessed (Gr.=markarios, or happy; fortunate) are those who HEAR THE WORD OF YEHOVAH AND KEEP IT” (Luke 11:27, 28).
This was a recurring refrain in Master’s earthly ministry.
It was during a period of intense activity during Master ministry, this time near His home in Kfar Nahum (i.e., Capernaum). His family, seemingly having not seen Him in some time, desired to see Him in the midst of the crowds that routinely assembled to hear His teachings. In the midst of one of His teaching sessions, someone informed Yeshua that His mother and brothers were standing outside the venue and desired to see Him. Master, in a surprising response to receiving this news, stated:
“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of Yehovah and do it” (Luk. 8:21).
Nevertheless, some will say, well, what does that have to do with the Isaiah Haftorah Reading? Well, I’d say this that Master taught–that being hearing and keeping the Word of Yehovah–has a great deal to do with this Isaiah passage. It’s not the rote keeping of Torah that keeps us from harm’s way and in a right relationship with the Creator of the Universe. It’s the keeping of Torah the way Master Yahoshua modeled for and taught us. It involves a profound and permanent change of heart that seeks to keep Torah because we love Yehovah our Elohim. It involves a profound and permanent change of heart whereby we seek to live sinless lives. For when we hear and obey the Torah of Yehovah our Elohim with a pure heart that is not influenced or tainted by pervasive sin, then we will be blessed–markarios–happy and fortunate.
All is Not Lost–A Bright Future Ahead
We learn that Father will make right all that was wrong in Judea. He declared that He would “take vengeance of His adversaries and avenge Himself on His enemies” (verse 24; QBE). In addition, Jerusalem will get her reputation back as being a righteous and just city (verses 25-27).
Now, this is likely a prophecy set to take place in the End Times. Malachi the prophesied of such:
“But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of sliver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto Yehovah an offering in righteousness (3:2, 3; KJV; adjusted).
Indeed, the gist of this Haftorah, as sobering and ominous as it may appear to us today, is really a message of hope. Isaiah laid before the Judaeans, and for us today, the reality of our seemingly hopeless situation. The Judaeans (and in many circumstances, our negative situations even today) are the result of our disobedience and refusal to shamah the Words of our Father and the teachings of Yahoshua our Master. We can forestall any impending doom upon us that is as a result of our insolence if we but:
“Seek first Yehovah’s Kingdom and His Righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). If we make this our primary focus each and every day, everything in our lives will fall wonderfully and happily in line.
Let us seek His Kingdom with as much zeal and fervor as we can possibly muster and then we can truly enjoy the abundant life that Master Yahoshua promised we’d have. (Reference John 10:10) (If you zealously desire to know about living such a Kingdom-seeking life, check out my post entitle: “Living a Life Beyond the Norm.”)
Faithfully
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