What is the True State of our Worship?–Parashah 139 Discussion and Study

In today’s installment we will be discussing Parashah 139—which is contained in Deuteronomy 17:1-20.

So grab your bible and maybe a cup of coffee or tea, and let’s get into our study of Yah’s Word.

Three General Areas of Community Responsibility

Our Parashah this week consists of three general areas of community responsibility. These three areas of responsibility all centered around ensuring that evil and corruption would not find safe haven in Yisra’el.

And despite our obligation as Torah observant, covenant walking children of the Most High to keep and honor Yah’s Torah to the best of our ability, we must recognize that these regulations—these mitzvot if you will—cannot be applied to any secular nation of our modern world. In other words, it would be foolish for us to expect the nations of the world today to do anything other than what they are presently doing. For indeed, Yehovah OUR Elohim, is NOT the Elohim (or rather the God) of the nations of this world (including the United States). Sadly, the nations of this world, in fact, serve another god or gods if you will.

The Nations are Ruled by Other Gods 

The Apostle Shaul wrote about the world being under the rule of another god as follows:

 

“To them whose minds and the god of this world has blinded, in order that they might not believe, or else the light of the Flame (that being the Gospel or the Good News) of the glory of the Mashiyach (who is the likeness of Elohim) should dawn upon them” (2 Cor. 4:4; AENT).

 

Ideally, if the nations of the world were to adopt these righteous regulations (many of which the United States, upon her being established), the evil that envelopes the entire world today would be significantly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. However, that elimination of evil from the nation peoples of the world would be entirely contingent upon each nation willingly entering into a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe first and foremost.

Yah’s Torah Apply to His People—At Least for Now 

So, as tempting as it is for us to want to hold our secular nations and peoples accountable for their not adhering to Yehovah’s Torah, we must instead place the focus on ourselves and our communities—we that are of the elect of Yah—in any criticisms we may have regarding who is walking in obedient covenant relationship with Yehovah and who is not. And that focus must be to apply the wise principles of Yah’s Torah to our individual and community’s walk in Mashiyach.

Indeed, we can’t keep many of the Mitzvot as they are written in the pages of our bibles—many of which are contained in our Torah Reading for today. We can, however, keep the fullness of these righteous Torah instructions within the framework of the Spirit and Truth in which it was originally rendered to us by our Elohim.

And as we discussed in detail in TMTO’s series on Paul and the Book of Romans some months ago, the world’s refusal to turn to Yehovah and to follow in His Ways will result in judgment being leveled against it (Rom. 2:1-16). But for now—and until our Master Yahoshua returns and establishes Yah’s Kingdom here on earth (Dan. 2:44)–it remains our responsibility as Yah’s elect to “shamah”–that is hear, listen and obey”–Torah in Spirit and in Truth (cf. Deu. 5:1; Joh. 4:23-24). And in so doing, we image our Heavenly Father, here on earth, before the nation peoples of the world.

Amein? Amein!

An Overview of Parashah 139—Deuteronomy 17:1-20 

So, let’s first conduct a general overview of today’s Torah Reading. Then I would like to circle back and focus on just the first general area of righteous instructions: That of prohibiting our rendering unto Yehovah blemished offerings and sacrifices.

So, in order to save time, we will not read the passage here but go right into our overview. However, I would strongly encourage you to read the 20-verses of this parshah  in conjunction with our general discussion here.

The Prohibition Against and Punishment for Idolatry (Verses 1-7)

 This passage in summary instructs that any member of our community who would, for whatever reason, deviate from covenant, go and serve (the term “serve” as used here in our text in Hebrew is “‘abad,” means to work or serve; to labour; to serve as subjects; to make oneself a servant) and worship (“shachah” in the Hebrew here means to bow down; to prostrate oneself; to pay homage) other gods; or who would engage in worship of the heavenly bodies, to include the sun, moon and stars, were to, after diligent inquiry, be stoned to death.

That diligent inquiry required at least 2 or 3 witnesses to the transgression. And these witnesses to the transgression would, upon the transgressor(s)’ conviction, be the first to cast stones in the transgressor(s)’ execution. This would then be followed by the remainder of the community taking part in stoning the offender(s) to death.

The capital punishment for idolatry would serve to purge/remove evil from the community. Evil that is not addressed Yah’s Way has the inevitable tendency of utterly destroying the righteous community from the inside out. And thus, evils such as common to all forms of idolatry were to be, after diligent inquiry, rooted out of the community with extreme, but righteous prejudice.

Obviously, if such a serious transgression of Torah were to occur in the midst of our fellowships today, we would not physically harm the transgressor(s). Instead, we would be wise to follow the protocols as found in some of Shaul’s writings—an example of which can be seen in 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 where the apostle chastised the Corinthian Assembly leadership for their negligence in failing to purge a sexual offender from their assembly’s midst.

Thus, as it relates to our Faith Communities today, the Spirit of Torah demands that we prayerfully and purposely look into such transgressions, in particular those that have the potential of bringing both physical and spiritual harm to our assemblies. And if it turns out that the allegations of wrongdoing are true, we are to separate ourselves from the transgressor(s). Or put another, more blunt way: We need to send the transgressor(s) packing and out from our groups. It would be further prudent to pray for their eventual repentance and return to an obedient covenant relationship with the Almighty.

Instructions for Adjudicating Difficult and Challenging Cases of the Community (Verses 8-13) 

Difficult and challenging legal cases were to be brought to the ruling cohenim (that being, the Levitical Priests), headquartered at the place where YHVH placed His Name and presence to dwell. And it was our responsibility to do according to the ruling(s) of the cohenim. And the reason we would be obedient to the cohenim’s ruling(s) is because their instructions or rulings would be based in Torah. And so, we were not to deviate from the cohenim’s instructions.

Any who would choose to act “presumptuously” (that being, one who intentionally rebels against) against the cohenim’s ruling in their case would be subject to the death penalty.

This is yet another example where evil is intended to be purged from our community.

The capital punishment that was to be rendered here may seem a bit harsh, even over-the-top, to our 21st century western sensibilities. But no doubt, the perspective that YHVH is conveying to us here is that any who would be presumptuous enough to ignore and deviate from Yah’s Word, which was, in this case, rendered to us through His ordained cohenim; and then to think that he or she could escape accountability for their transgression(s), would only embolden that individual to purpose in their heart and continue functioning in their community as one who is not answerable to Yah and His instructions. And who’s to say that this same individual’s brazen disregard for Yah’s Word and instructions, through Yah’s ordained legal system, would not embolden his/her neighbor to do the exact same thing that they were found guilty of doing? The spread of such unabated evil in a righteous community the Apostle Shaul linked as leaven:

“Your bragging is not praiseworthy. Don’t you know, that a little leaven leavens the whole mass? Purge out from you the old leaven (that is chometz) that you may be a new mass, as you are unleavened. For our Passover is the Mashiyach, who was slain for us. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and bitterness, but with the leaven of purity and sanctity” (1 Cor. 5:6-7; AENT). 

Yeshua as our High Priest 

Yahoshua serves as High Priest over our spiritual community (Heb. 7:11-21). He is, in fact, our High Priest under the Melchizedekian priestly order. We are, therefore, obliged to obey His righteous teachings and imitate Him in every aspect of our lives.

Thus, presumptuousness on our part as it relates to our covenant-based relationship with Yeshua our Mashiyach will ultimately result in our hearing those dreaded words from Him:

“I will profess to them that from everlasting, I have not known you. Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Anyone, therefore, who hears My words, these, and does them, will be likened to a wise man who built His house upon a stone. And anyone who hears My words, these, and does them not, will be likened to a foolish man that built his house upon sand. And descended the rain, and came the rivers, and blew the winds, and they beat on the house and it fell, and its fall was great” (Mat. 7:23-27; AENT). 

The take away here is simply this: It’s going to go Yah’s Way, or it’s going to go Yah’s Way. Yeah, we might get away with doing things our way for now, or even for a period of time; that being presumptuously doing that which is opposed to the righteous rulings and teachings and instructions of Abba and His righteous and holy priesthood. But ultimately, that evil of presumptuousness to Yah’s instructions and directions will be rooted out and expelled from the midst of His set-apart people. 

Instructions for the Selection and Rule of a King Over Yisra’el (Verses 14-20) 

When it came to choosing a king to rule over us in the Land—simply because we ended up wanted to be like the other nations around us who had kings ruling over them—we would not be the ones to choose the king that would rule over us. Yehovah would be the One who would choose the person to rule as king over us.

And that individual could not be a foreigner. Instead, he would have to be a native-born Yisra’elite.

Furthermore, our supposed king was not to accumulate unto himself, a cadre of horses. Or more specifically, he was not to create a great standing army in an attempt to amass unto himself an autonomous military presence and might. In so making such a mitzvah, Yah inserted the issue of “causing the people to return to Egypt…in order to acquire many horses” (vs. 16). The perspective here is that the central place to acquire horses in that region of the world at that time would have been Egypt. And in order to acquire a commodity such as a great standing army, the horses needed for such a great army would have to come through purchases or acquired from Egypt. Therefore, the king that coveted having a powerful army at his disposal would end up having to establish commerce and trade relations with Egypt. And we know that Mitsrayim and her pagan people was the land from which we were delivered and redeemed by Yehovah our Elohim. Abba did not want us having anything to do with Egypt, especially anything involving the establishing of commerce or alliance relationships with her.

Beyond amassing power and might, which would naturally place the king who would rule over us in a “pride of life” situation, Abba instructed that the would-be king not marry many wives. Notice that Abba did not prohibit Yisra’el’s king from engaging in polygamy. His instruction was that he not “multiply wives for himself,” the Hebrew term for multiply being “rabah,” meaning simply “become many” or “become great.” (I did a post on polygamy back in 2020 that I would encourage you to check out regarding biblically polygamy). Bear in mind now: I’m not in any way advocating Yah’s people engage in polygamy. For the scriptural record clearly shows that virtually every polygamous relationship Yah’s people engaged in was fraught with a great many problems. Not to mention, Yah’s original intent for marriage was for a man to leave his parents’ home and enter into a life-long union or relationship with ONE woman. Therefore, polygamy was not Yah’s original intent or purpose for his human creation. Nevertheless, Yehovah worked with what he had at the time. So, when the patriarchs did falter and engaged in polygamous relationships, the infinite wisdom of Yehovah made lemonade out of the lemons he had to work with.

The problem Abba had regarding Yisra’eli kings amassing for themselves a number of wives, apart from the natural relational issues common to polygamous relationships such as jealousy between wives and terrible sibling rivalry, is for the very reasons of what happened to King Solomon. Recall that King Solomon’s wives led him astray and away from Yehovah. And this of course is a reasonable concern whenever you have competing spousal voices from various regions having various backgrounds and various religious beliefs, vying for the king’s attention and favor. And so it was these competing voices vying for Solomon’s attention that ultimately led him astray:

 “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.  ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  ⁶ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.  ⁷ Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  ⁸ And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. ⁹ And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,  ¹⁰ And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.  ¹¹ Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant” (1Ki 11:4-11 KJV)” 

So it is that this same concern that a would-be king amassing unto himself a number of wives also applies to the amassing of riches such as silver and gold. Greed, the love of mammon, presents an often inescapable temptation to depart from Faith and covenant relationship with YHVH. You see, when you have everything you could ever think to have, and then some, you end up telling yourself that you don’t need Yehovah. And this is what Yah did not want to see happen to would be Yisra’eli kings.

And it is along this line of thinking that Yah gave the requirement that all Yisra’eli kings would write for themselves a copy of the Levite’s Torah. You see, when you actually have to sit down and write something out, one is more likely to accurately recall all that they had physically written, as opposed to them having simply heard the teachings.

And this mitzvah was not simply that the would be king write-out for themselves a copy of the Levite’s Torah, but also that that king’s copy of Torah was to be with him personally and read by him all the days of his life. And the purpose in requiring the king to do this is that he would learn to fear YHVH through his careful observing of Torah (vs. 19). Furthermore, it was important that the king’s heart be right and that he not see or exalt himself above his subjects.

Yeshua is our King—Wholly Acceptable Unto Yehovah and Qualified to Rule Righteously Over Us 

Our king today is Yahoshua. And He most definitely meets Yah’s most exacting requirements to be king over Yisra’el—over Yah’s elect. More relevant to us as Yah’s redeemed, He rules over us as our only King—Yah’s anointed One—Yah’s Mashiyach—Yah’s Chosen King. And He being the walking, talking Torah rules us from Yehovah’s holy Torah. His humility and sinlessness ensures that He always has our best interests at heart. He will always rule over us with love, kindness, grace, mercy, righteous justice and peace. He is monogamous as we are His only spouse. His military prowess comes from His Heavenly Father.

Now, I want to back up to the beginning of our Reading and discuss specifically the mitzvots surrounding idolatry and the offering of blemished sacrifices unto Yehovah by Yah’s set-apart people.

 Relationship

Yehovah chose Yisra’el. He redeemed her out of Mitzrayim. Thus Yehovah is highly possessive of the people He chose (or rather that He selected) and redeemed.

In so doing, He described Himself as a jealous Elohim in Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; 6:15. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Abba placed tremendous emphasis on the unacceptability of His elect engaging in any idolatrous activities.

Unfortunately, far too many who enter into covenant relationship with the Eternal find themselves ensnared in some form of idolatry. And when this occurs, Yah’s people end up suffering.

So I ask you: Is it then no wonder that so many of us today who claim to be Yah’s elect are undergoing constant turmoil, trials and tribulations in our lives? We, like our wandering ancient Hebrew cousins, consent to walk in obedient covenant relationship with the Most High at the start. However, many of us end up compromising that walk by engaging in idolatrous activities. Oh, we may not be directly bowing down and serving and worshiping idolatrous elements such as Asherahs (see last week’s post entitled: “Round and Round the Asherah Pole We Go”). But this 21st-century western society we live in offers a great many opportunities to engage in idolatrous activities. Unfortunately, a great many of us are deaf and blind to the evil ensnarements that await those of us who, for whatever reason, stop to dabble in idolatrous activities such as:

• The Entertainment Industry—Music—Movies-Books-Magazines we don’t have any business reading. Pornography—pedophilia. Sex slavery and such.
• Politics—the worship of the state and government. Conservatism. Patriotism. Trumpism. Wokeism. Progressiveness and the likes.
• Religion—giving ourselves over to the religious practices and demands of certain religious organizations and dogma. New Age—Humanism—Worship of self. Technocracy. Pagan Holidays and Practices such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween and the like.
• Drugs—pharmakeia. Junk foods. Fake foods.

Compromising the Faith Walk and Thus Compromising the Relationship with Yehovah 

And so, many of us end up either wittingly or unwittingly compromise our covenant relationship with the Eternal by engaging in these and so many other things that come only from the realm of paganality. And Abba doesn’t like it one bit. Indeed, some of these things are left-overs from our previous lives. And many of us end up bringing these pagan-rich or pagan-based things over into Faith with us as though they were needed baggage (of which I spoke about in a previous post). Unfortunately, far too many of us fail to get rid of that baggage, much of which is idolatrous in nature. And so we purpose to enter into a covenant relationship with YHVH only to syncretize into and compromise that walk with the idolatrous stuff that so many of us brought into Faith with us.

Others in our Faith Community foolishly pick-up idolatrous practices sometime during the course of their walk. And they do so for various and sundry reasons. A lot of the times some of us reason that by our incorporating certain elements into our walk we are in effect enhancing our walk with Mashiyach. But the simple fact of the matter is that we are actually adding to or even taking away from Abba’s instructions for righteous living. Master railed against the Pharisees for doing these very types of things:

“Yesha’yahu the prophet did well prophesy about you hypocrites! As it is written that, ‘This people honor Me with their lips. But their hearts are very distant from Me. And vainly they fear me while they are teaching the doctrines of the commandments of the sons of men. For you have left the Commandment of Elohim, and you have embraced the tradition of the sons of men: the washing of cups and of pots and many others that are like these’” (Mar. 7:6-9; AENT; cf. Isa. 29:13). 

Delving into Paganality Leads to the Curses of Deuteronomy 28 

In fact, Abba warned us that when we deviate from His established ways—we turn away from the elements of His covenant—His Torah—His Word—we put ourselves in harm’s way. In fact, Father lays out for us a sizable list of curses that would come to those who stray from His Way of life and take-up lifestyles that are opposed to the life He laid out for us in Torah–Deuteronomy 28:15-68—the curses passage of Torah. And this is part and parcel of why so many of us find ourselves seemingly kicking against the prick when it comes to having the birthright to the abundant life Master promised we would have if we agreed to become His disciples. Too many of us demand to have things our way—we want to have one foot in Faith and the other foot in the world. We want to syncretize our Faith. So Master let’s us have things our way. And then, when the curses of Deuteronomy 28 hit us, we whine and complain and we claim we don’t know why we can’t have the abundant life Yeshua promised us.

Of course none of this is to say we all won’t have our share of troubles from time-to-time. Troubles come with life in general, and testings and trials come with being one of Yah’s Elect. That’s why Master advised us to petition Father that we may not enter into testing, but that we instead be delivered from the evil one (reference Mar. 6:13; Luk. 11:4). But that’s not what I’m referring to here. I’m talking about carelessly and willfully deviating into paganality and deviating away from a covenant relationship with the Almighty. Why? Because we want to. Or because we’re foolish or ignorant—we won’t study Yah’s Word. Maybe its because we’re weak and cannot resist the wiles and enticements of the devil. So we make mistakes and we find ourselves in spiritual harm’s way.

And that my friends is what we all must avoid. And if by chance we find ourselves entangled in such foolishness, we absolutely must petition Father to help us get out of that mess.

Getting Out of Paganality 

First we must come to Him—that is, come to Father–with circumcised hearts—contrite spirits and broken hearts that are malleable to Him accomplishing the needed work in our lives (Psa. 34:18; 51:17; Isa. 57:15; 66:2). It is the Ruach HaKodesh that will do the work that will help us get out of the miry clay we may find ourselves in.

Of this the psalmist wrote:

” ² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  ³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.  ⁴ Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psa 40:2-4 KJV). 

So, the only way for us getting out of paganality trouble and out of trouble with Yehovah, is for us to go turn to Him and petition Him for His help. However, we must first die to self—that is give everything up to Him and allow the Ruach—His Ruach—to work in our lives. That’s where the contrite spirit and heart comes in.

Figuring Out Where We Stand With Father 

If we aren’t sure what things in our lives are causing us harm or problems, we must petition Abba to show us those areas of our lives that need fixing; those things, those hindrances in our lives and walk that need to go. And frankly, this is not always an easy task. Sometimes the enemy’s stronghold over us can only be broken by engaging the enemy in spiritual warfare. This may, in addition to fervent prayers and petitions to Father on our part, include fastings; diving headlong into His Word; claiming and uttering His promises from His everlasting Word, and turning ourselves over to the inner workings of His Ruach HaKodesh. It may also require us to seek help and guidance from other mature and Spirit-filled brethren who are equipped and ready to intercede for us, lay hands on us and anoint us with oil.

Idolatry: be it overt; passive; witting; unwitting, can and does have devastating effects on our relationship with YHVH. And we must always be on guard for its potentiality in our lives and in our respective walks with Mashiyach. And I would also add that it behooves us, as further insulation against paganality, to not go this Faith walk alone. It is wise to always have one or more brothers and sister who are equally yoked with us, who we can count on to be real and honest with us; to encourage us when we need encouragement; to admonish us when we are faltering; to inform us when we are ignorant; to laugh with us in joyous times and to cry with us in times of mourning; to pray with and for us when we need the prayers of a righteous one on our behalf; to run things by and to teach us to be a blessing unto them in return.

Moving on.

Yah’s Perspective on Idolatry 

Believe it or not, Yah views idolatry of any type as abominable, abhorrent or detestable (vs. 1). And let us remember those things that Yah considers as abominable, abhorrent or detestable: homosexuality; consuming prohibited meats; sacrificing to pagan gods; etc.

And the one thing that Yah detest the most as it relates to His chosen people is when they elect to include paganality into their worship and service of Him. And the short and simple end of this thing is that Abba doesn’t play that at all.

So serious was Abba about His elect involving themselves in idolatrous practices, that He gave this infraction the death penalty (vss. 4-5).

But we’re sort of getting ahead of ourselves in this parashah discussion. For we find in verse 1 that Father views our sacrificing blemished offerings unto Him as abominable. Why? Well, Abba gave very precise instructions as to how He was to be worshiped and what He expected of His people in their service of Him. And any deviation from those precise instructions would carry with it certain consequences. And certainly, the offering of an inappropriate animal sacrifice was strictly prohibited.

Nevertheless, given this mitzvah’s place in this section of our parashah, it would seem that Yah is somehow linking the sacrifice of blemished animals to idolatry or paganality in some way. We should recognize that virtually every sacrifice—every offering commanded of and sanctioned by Yehovah was considered “holy;” “sacred;” “set-apart.”

So it stands to reason that taking something that would detract from the holy and sacred nature of worship is by default pagan or idolatrous in nature.

Simply put: paganality or idolatry is anything that deviates from Yah’s established means or method of worship. Thus, offering blemished sacrifices would be a deviation from Yah’s established method or means of worshiping Him. These are completely unacceptable to Father. Therefore, it is an abomination to offer blemished animals or sacrifices unto Yehovah.

What Can We Learn From This Mitzvah as it Relates to our Sacrifices and Offerings Today? 

So what does all this say about our offerings and sacrifices unto Yehovah today? Are we giving—are we offering unto Him blemished sacrifices that are unacceptable to Him and that He interprets as being idolatrous, and even, abominable in nature? Or do we lovingly and happily render unto Yehovah the very best and most perfect offering and sacrifices we have available to us?

This question goes well beyond just our monetary tithes and freewill offerings today. It certainly must include the time(s) that we render unto Him. How about our talents and abilities: are they unblemished? Do we give the very best of ourselves unto Yah each time we have the opportunity to do so? Are the praises and songs and love we send out to Yehovah each day pure and unblemished (Heb. 13:15)—which are the fruit of our lips?

The instructions Father gave us regarding the giving of perfect sacrifices and offerings unto Him at the place He chose to have His Name dwell, were certainly a foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice He would ultimately provide for our eternal benefit. All of those prescribed offerings and sacrifices that would be rendered unto Yah at the Tabernacle and the Yerushalayim Mishkan (Jerusalem Temple) pointed to the perfect, holy sacrifice of Yah’s beloved Son, Yahoshua. Father fully accepted the sacrifice of His holy and righteous Son to serve as our ultimate atonement.

So it is what it is: Yehovah gave us His best. And in giving us His best, He would of course expect the best from us. And for us to render unto Him less than our best, in whatever form the sacrifice or offering takes, is tantamount to idolatry. Bringing to Abba blemished elements of our worship, “detracts from the glory and perfection—detracts from the very sacrifice of Yeshua that is central to all our worship,” according to Messianic teacher and author Tim Hegg in his commentary on this passage.

Idolatry Often Begins With Corrupted Worship 

What happens when we intentionally short Abba in our worship—in our sacrifices and offerings unto Him?

Well, quite simply this? Yah realizes that when people feel they can get away with doing that which is substandard—that which detracts or is diminished from the standards He set in place for worship of Him, such as the quality of sacrifices and offerings we render unto Yah—well over time, the natural tendency of such an individual is for him/her to cut corners and shirk their spiritual responsibilities and obligations in other areas of their lives. Today, it’s rendering unto Abba a blemished sacrifice or offering in the form of giving Him less than our best worship, praise and service. Tomorrow, it’s working on the Sabbath. The day after that, it’s enjoying a bacon infused meal. And you get my drift I hope.

But if people can get away with circumventing Yah’s instructions in righteousness, it’s a small hop-skip and jump to entirely compromising his/her Faith and enjoining oneself to paganality of some form or another. Before he or she knows it, they’ve left the true Faith once delivered for that which is more appealing and convenient to their personal sensibilities.

And when he/she starts down that road towards paganality and idolatry and unadulterated compromise to their covenant Faith-walk, Yah’s gentle mercies will begin to disappear and ultimately he/she will eventually run the risk of judgment, Yah’s wrath and eternal damnation.

Bottom line friends: Substandard worship-blemished sacrifices and offerings—remembering that Yehovah sets the standards—is the gateway drug to idolatry. And thus, Yehovah considers it an abomination.

An example of this principle in action can easily be seen in the brief two-verse incident involving Nadab and Abihu. Recall that these two priestly sons of Aharon, engaged in worship that was not in keeping with the exacting standards and methods given to the priesthood by Yehovah. It is recorded that the two, during the nation’s inauguration of the Levitical Priesthood, “offered strange fire before Yehovah” (Lev. 10:1-2). What exactly “strange fire before Yehovah” looked like in this incident is not entirely clear. Some have surmised that the brothers infused paganality into their worship. Others have stipulated that the two used the wrong source of coals or fire to charge their censers. Still others surmise the two were simply drunk and worshiped Yehovah improperly. Who knows for sure? But what we do know is that their worship-related actions were egregious enough to cost them their lives, in a horrendous, fiery death. Their horrible summary execution before the eyes of the nation during that inauguration ceremony no doubt left an indelible impression upon Levite Priests and Hebrew layman alike that Yehovah will not accept worship that is not in keeping with His established instructions.

Altering the Eternal’s established format or method of worship, if left unchecked, will inevitably devolve into paganality and idolatry. Yah was clear that His people would worship Him ONLY in accordance with His established protocols and methods; NOT in accordance with the protocols and methods men use to worship their false gods (Deu. 12:5,13).

Syncretism and Idolatry 

A lot of times, blemished worship takes the form of syncretism. Syncretism, as I’ve addressed numerous times on this program, is the melding of paganality—pagan or idolatrous elements—with Yehovah’s instructions in righteousness (Let Your Women Keep Silence in the Church–Part-9 of the Paul and Hebrew Roots Series (themessianictorahobserver.org). We spoke earlier today about how Yahoshua called the religious leaders of His day out for their diminishing of Torah through the implementation of their competing oral traditions. Their syncretizing—their melding of the oral law with the Torah–according to Yeshua, made Yah’s Torah-based Way of Life of no effect—no validity—because the ways of man will ALWAYS usurp the authority and Ways of Yehovah, Creator of the Universe.

And this is essentially what syncretism does: It effectively eats away at the purity and holy authority of Yah’s Word and the Gospel until Yah’s Will and purposes are overshadowed and overrun by the will and purposes of man. Yah does not compete with any entity, person, place or thing for attention and sovereignty in His peoples’ lives. Yah stated as much in Isaiah:

^“8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isa 42:8 KJV). 

The Dangers of Adding of Outside Elements to our Covenant Walk 

When we enter into covenant, we agree that we are going to do things—everything that is—Yah’s Way. In agreeing to this term of the contract agreement, we effectively agree to not permit any outside influences or elements into our worship and in our covenant relationship with Yehovah.

A great many times, we naturally assume that Yah will appreciate our doing certain things over and above the things He instructed us to do as it relates to our worship of Him and obedient covenant walk. We see this brilliantly displayed in the Talmud and Mishnah—these being the composite of the so-called Oral Law or Oral Tradition–where hundreds of rules and instructions have been inextricably attached to Yah’s Torah commands. The excuse given by the rabbis in their constructing and foisting of their Oral Tradition upon their Jewish brethren is that their added traditions, laws and instructions served to place a fence or wall around Torah. That added fence or wall around Torah supposedly was imposed upon the Jews as a means of providing a cushion or protection against any transgression of Torah.

Unfortunately, many within our Faith Community set out to append such added instructions and rules to their covenant walk with Mashiyach. We see it all the time where folks enter into faithful obedient covenant relationship with Yehovah and at some point in their walk, they start implementing various traditions and following certain extra-biblical rules throughout the course of their worship and walk. It’s as though they’ve convinced themselves that they must follow these added Judaistic practices and protocols in order to be in right-standing before Yehovah.

Why Are We Doing Extra-Biblical Things in our Worship and Service of Yehovah? 

Abba made it clear to us that He never commanded us to do such things (vs. 3). And if He never told us to do such things—and He gave us all of the instructions He wanted us to follow in His Torah in terms of service and worship of Him–why then are we doing them? Kippah wearing; prayer shawl wearing; tefillin wearing; turning to the east, etc. Why? Could we be offering blemished sacrifices to Yehovah by doing some of the extra-biblical things we’re doing these days in our worship of Yehovah?

I’m actually not saying one way or the other? I’m simply asking, why are we doing some of the extra-biblical things we’re doing in our service and worship of Yehovah.

I will tell you that such traditions and practices are generally fine; that is, they’re fine until they run afoul of or compete with Torah. When traditions and practices become as authoritative as Torah, then we’ve entered into the realm of blemished offerings and idolatry. And Yah wants none that for His set-apart people. For He sets the rules and the protocols for His worship.

Now, I’m not saying that wearing prayer clothes and tallits and such are necessarily wrong or that Yah is opposed to them. What I’m asking is, why are we doing such things. Why do we feel that we must do such things? What do such things do for us in terms of our worship and our relationship with Yehovah?

If we can’t answer these questions from the pages of our bibles, why then are we doing them?

Also, can we safely confirm that some of the traditions and practices of our worship regimen did not originate from pagan sources? And most importantly, did these extra-biblical worship practices originate with man or with Yehovah? These are serious questions we must be able to answer, especially if we are going to put ourselves out there and engage in these extra-biblical practices.

Beware of False Teachings and Doctrines That Lead to Idolatry 

In this set of mitzvot addressing idolatry, Abba prophetically mentions that His people would dabble in the worship of the heavenly bodies, worshiping the sun, the moon and stars. And certainly we’ve learned from history that this was a common syncretizing element to Judaism and ultimately the Faith that claims Yeshua as their Mishiyach.

Jewish mysticism, which ultimately matured into what we know today as Kabbalah, emerged primarily around the 12th century AD in Europe. Scholars have named Merkabah Mysticism (c. 100 BCE) as one of the earliest forms of Jewish Mysticism. The focus of Merkabah Mysticism was that of visions such as described in Ezekiel chapter 1, and on the “heikhalot,” which relates to the “palaces” literature that centers on ascents to heavenly palaces.

We also know of Ashkenazi Hasidim, which is believed to have started much later, sometime around the early 13th century CE. Again, all these are syncretized elements to certain sects of Judaism.

From the Brit HaDashah record, we know that Shaul and his evangelical team had their share of battles with Jewish Mysticism, otherwise known as Jewish Gnosticism. (I spoke at length on Shaul’s dealings with Jewish Gnosticism on this program, the link to that discussion is found here).

The Devastating Role Syncretized Gnosticism Played in the Faith 

Now, in the first century C.E., Judaism and the Way Movement were viewed by people within and outside the Body of Mashiyach as synonymous—they were one and the same Faith—or better, the Way was simply a Jewish sect. And this is, of course, because the Way Movement began primarily in Yisra’el proper—Yerushalayim to be exact–and the overwhelming members of the Way Movement were initially converted Jews who still held to many of their Jewish traditions and culture, but who accepted Yahoshua, Son of Yehovah, as their Mashiyach.

Well, along with some of these well-meaning Jews entering the Way Movement, came those who practiced Jewish Mysticism, otherwise known as Jewish Gnosticism. And it was these individuals, in addition to the so-called Judaizers demanding incoming Gentiles be physically circumcised in order for them to be included in the Body of Messiah—both these groups proved to be major spiritual pains in Shaul’s neck.

These Jewish Mystics were bringing into the Assemblies of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), their Gnostic doctrines and stories. In many cases, their stories and doctrines challenged the very foundational Truths and understandings of Torah and the Prophets and twisting the teachings of Yeshua Messiah to an extent, that many of the unlearned in the assemblies were led astray. For these gnostic teachings were being infused and melded in with the teachings of the apostles.

Shaul speaks of these syncretizing elements that were threatening the assemblies he oversaw:

“Even so with us, when we were young, we acted as if subject to the elements of this world…Now that you have knowledge of Elohim, and especially have knowledge from Elohim, that you have returned to those weak and poor principles, wishing to come under their bondage” (Gal. 4:3,9; AENT). 

“Beware, or else any man make you naked by philosophy and by vain deception, according to the doctrines of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to the Mashiyach…For if you are dead with the Mashiyach from the rudiments of the world, why are you judged as if you were living in the world” (Col. 2:8,20; AENT). 

The Roman Catholic Church-The Quintessential Vehicle for Offering Blemished Sacrifices 

Ultimately, these gnostic teachings began to overshadow the apostolic teachings. And we all know what ended up happening to the true Faith once delivered—the remnant. Well, it was forced underground and replaced above ground by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic, or the Universal Church as the papacy likes to describe her, syncretized these gnostic doctrines and teachings, as well as other pagan beliefs and teachings, with the Truths contained in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels.

And thus, millions of faithful Catholic adherents over the centuries, have been beguiled by the lies that are part and parcel of the syncretizing of Yah’s Truths with paganality. Christmas; Easter; Saint Worship; Cross Wearing; and so much more, are the end results of the blemished sacrifices that the people of Yehovah have over the centuries allowed to take place in their midst, in negligent violation of Yah’s instructions on dealing with such an abomination.

Gnosticism and Astrology 

Although it may not be readily apparent, mysticism and its spawn Gnosticism, delved heavily in astrology. Gnosticism and astrology are detestable to Yehovah. And because we are supposed to possess our Father’s perspective on all things related to our existence on this planet, as my beloved Brother and Messianic author Robert Bills wrote in his excellent book “The Perspective Factor,” we must also detest these things as well.

Unfortunately, many who come into this Faith of ours, find themselves misled and headed down a path towards kabbalah and various iterations of Jewish Gnosticism. Then some inevitably end up syncretizing these pagan-based religious elements into their Faith walk. And they do this, often, because they feel anything that is Jewish—or seems or looks Jewish–lends credibility to their professed Faith walk and Yehovah’s favoritism. Unfortunately for these individuals, the stark reality is that these added elements to their faith walk do nothing to put them in positions of increased favor with the Eternal.

Yah’s favor comes as a result of one’s faithful obedience to the voice of Yehovah in their covenant walk. Nothing more is to be added to or taken away from this spiritual equation.

Patriotism and Conservatism—Another Form of Blemished Sacrifice and Idolatry? 

Today, it’s expected in many sectors of our Faith Community, in particular those of us who reside in the United States, that we be patriotic; a conservative; and even a Republican. And if by chance you fall out in some other aspect or area of the political landscape of this country; or you by chance don’t take a position on anything political in this nation, you stand the chance of being branded something less than a child of the Most High.

And I say to this foolish: Here we go again. Yet another form of syncretism; of offering blemished sacrifices unto Yehovah. Of syncretizing Yah’s Truths with manmade traditions and ideals.

Abba could care less about where we stand as it relates to our political views and preferences. The only thing He truly cares about is where we stand with Him; are we obediently walking in and keeping covenant with Him. He cares about the state of our hearts. He wants to know whether or not we will allow Him to be the de-facto sovereign of our lives. “Are we willing to die to self, let go and let Yah” is all He is concerned about as it relates to us as an individual and as a potential child of His.

He did the hard work of providing a means by which we can enter into a true and substantive relationship with Him. And He achieved this through the personal ministry of His beloved Son Yahoshua Messiah. And He’s simply watching us—searching our hearts and analyzing our actions–to see if we indeed have the Right Stuff (to borrow from the title of one of my favorite all times movies of the 1980’s) to be true disciples of His Son and one of His beloved children.

Our Unblemished Focus and Worship 

But I’m here to tell you today: Our focus must be entirely on our Master Yeshua and on our relationship with the Eternal. And we must be able to honestly answer the questions: Are we doing what we’re supposed to be doing as a child of the Most High? Are our sacrifices and our offerings unto Yehovah our Elohim unblemished? Furthermore, are we giving the very best we have to give Father as it relates to our service and worship of Him each and everyday?

And if we cannot answer in the affirmative to these questions, we need to find out where the problems lies.

Making Our Worship Right Before Yehovah

But the good news is this: If the answers to these questions are not truly in the realm of the affirmative, we can make it right with Abba. With Father’s help, we can make right those blemished offerings and sacrifices we’ve rendered unto Abba throughout our lives. And we can make things right with Abba by simply taking it to Him and repenting of those things and asking Him to forgive us of our flagrant idolatrous acts. He will forgive us, if indeed we come to Him with the right heart and spirit.

Then all we need to do from there, with Yah’s help, is to make sure we don’t continue offering blemished sacrifices and offerings unto Him. And that we abandon all of our idolatrous ways.

Maybe some of us aren’t sure where we stand in our offerings and sacrifices unto Yehovah. Well, that’s an easy one. It’s best to presume that we’ve fallen short in our worship of Yehovah—that we’ve from time-to-time offered blemished sacrifices and offerings unto Him; that we’ve engaged in some form or another of idolatrous worship. And so, all we have to do in this vein is, with a contrite spirit and broken heart, approach Abba, repent of those things we’ve done to offend Him and transgress His Torah that are unbeknown to us, and ask His forgiveness. Surely He will forgive us. For He has promised us that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (Jas. 4:8). And then ask Him to reveal those areas of our worship where we fall short of His approval and glory, and petition His assistance in ensuring that we worship Him in the manner He requires us to worship Him from that point forward; that our sacrifices and worship are wholly acceptable and pleasing to Him.

The other way to ensure we’re on the right track as it relates to worship of Yehovah is to be steadfast and studious students of Scripture. It is only from Scripture and Yah’s precious and revealing Ruach HaKodesh (that is His Holy Spirit), that we learn what constitutes as a pleasing and acceptable gift unto Yah verses what is not.

Our Worship Consists of Spirit and Truth 

And let us not forget: We do not worship Yehovah the way our ancient Hebrew cousins did back in their day. Under the renewed covenant, and because of the personal ministry of our Master and Mashiyach, Yahoshua, we worship Abba in Spirit and in Truth. So our unblemished offerings and sacrifices take the form of something significantly different than those of Faith under the Levitical Priestly and Rabbinic systems.

That being said, we will endeavor to discuss what worship of Yehovah in Spirit and in Truth looks like an upcoming Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections discussion.

But until that time, and as always, may you be most blessed, fellow saints in training. Shabbat Shalom. Take care.