by Rod Thomas | Mar 3, 2014 | Blog
If you read my last posting regarding our experiences with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you will have heard discussion about my experiences with three Jehovah’s Witnesses last month. It had been several years since I’d last had any contact with a Jehovah’s Witness and having now met with some of their representatives, I found their doctrines, teachings, and beliefs to be quite disturbing.
Now I’m not coming at this from the perspective that because the JWs belief system doesn’t align with my belief system, I label them a cult as this has for centuries been the common knee-jerk and uncaring practice of popular churchianity. Indeed, as I’ve mentioned in other episodes, we as individual humans are on individual journeys and it falls upon each of us to make the most informed decision we possibly can regarding our eternal destiny. Heck, I’m certain that many in popular churchianity and possibly the JWs even, would consider us to be part of or even leading a cult. And if that is indeed the case, I’m okay with that. You see, history is replete with examples of humans feeling more at ease and secure when they are associated with a majority or well defined and established group. Popular Christianity, or as I like to refer to it, churchianity, is no exception. But then, where did this practice of abhorring and villainizing faiths that differ from orthodoxy come from? Weren’t we all taught at one time that the Christian religion was a religion of love and understanding?
Well, as the Faith once delivered devolved to a composite of Jewish, Greek, and Roman philosophies and traditions, and the 3rd and 4th century leaders saw the opportunity to bring unto themselves wealth and influence over the masses, the religion that became the Holy Roman Catholic Church took expansive actions to insure that all peoples within their sphere of influence would capitulate to their faith. Free will to determine what one believed or followed in their choice of religion was removed as a life option. Failure to affiliate with the Catholic Church in many cases meant death, if not at the very least loss of one’s ability to make a living for themselves and their families. As the Catholic Church split as a result of Martin Luther’s opposition to papal authority, the emerging protestant reform saw a new aspect of judgmental self-righteousness take center stage, although not to the extent that Catholicism’s bloody history portrayed to the world during the period of the 4th to the 15th centuries. Protestantism came on the world scene with seemingly the same Godly sentiments that was common to the Faith once delivered, but continued to carry much of the paganistic baggage of Catholicism–e.g., the observance of Sunday and the designated day of worship; the celebration of Christmas and Easter. As orthodox Christianity devolved over time to its current state of churchianity (i.e., the faith that is taught to the adherents of orthodox Christianity by its modern and happy-go-lucky and hip teachers and preachers–that your eternal destiny rests with your involvement in the church and not in you and Yeshua alone or better yet, the practice of churching its members), belief in God and Jesus Christ became codified in sound-bites and denominational “Statements of Beliefs or Faiths.” Thus, if one does not personally identify with the stated beliefs of the mainstream denominations but you practice a form of religion that possesses elements of Christianity, you and your affiliate organization are generally labeled a heretic or a cult. Of course, the label cult brings with it very negative connotations as memories of David Koresh’s Branch Dividian and Jim Jones’ “Peoples Temple” are brought front and center to the discussion. These two leaders along with their organizations came to a tragic and violent end, generally because their extreme belief-systems clouded their ability to think and behave rationally; not to mention their undying loyalty and faith in their leaders further stoked the flames of their destruction.
Organizations such as the Branch Dividian and the Peoples Temple are inherently dangerous because they tend to isolate their adherents from the rest of the world and essentially indoctrinate them to the level of brainwashing in to the beliefs of the organizations’ leaders. Certainly, living in America, we are blessed to have so-called freedom of religion and speech and I believe with my whole heart in those rights. I do take exception when I see seemingly genuine and well-intentioned souls as those who visited Hilary and me last month being led astray by an organization who should know better and who do not leave their members to learn for themselves the truths contained in the Holy Writ. I do not look down upon the JWs nor do I group them in with sects such as the Branch Dividians or the Peoples’ Temple. Nevertheless, my heart does go out to them and I pray that those members who visited our home last month, and others like them, are able to seek the face of Yehovah for themselves and take personal responsibility for their eternal destiny. I pray that they establish a one-on-one relationship with Yeshua and not rely upon their organization to provide such a nebulous relationship.
This brings me to the issue at hand. One of the things that came out of our rather contentious meeting with the JWs was this understanding that Christianity (including the JWs) is built upon the teachings of Paul with just a sprinkling of Jesus here and there for taste. Devoid altogether was any notion that the elemental faith that our respective belief systems sprung from is built upon Hebraic roots–specifically having a Torah foundation. Bear in mind that I said Hebraic roots and not Judaism. I fully believe that Judaism is a religion in the strictest sense of the word like the religions of Catholicism and Islam. Yet the Catholicism and Islam religions of today have not abandoned their roots nor denied their respective histories. Christianity and the JWs, on the other hand, with embarrassment totally denied their Hebraic roots and Israelite foundations. These groups have sought to teach their adherents a doctrine that villainizes the Torah and the ancient and present day nation of Israel. The leader of the group contended that the Israelites and the Jews had their chance and now they are doomed. We, the Christians of today, have effectively taken the Israelite’s place in the promises of the Father that He once bestowed upon His chosen people. Consequently, the future, according to this JW, holds no redemption or even significance for neither the nation of Israel nor the Israelitish peoples of the earth. Game over for God’s once chosen people.
But is this indeed the case?
I look back to the Prophet Jeremiah who predicted through the guidance and revelation of Yah’s Holy Spirit:
ESV Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. 20 Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!” 21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.” (Jer 16:19-21 ESV)
We know from God’s appointed prophets that Israel will come to their senses and will return to the covenant they once had with Yehovah and thus enjoy the promises that we, the true Believers in Messiah embrace with love and great passion. Indeed, something will provoke the Jewish and Israelitish peoples of the earth to jealousy and come to Yehovah in Spirit and Truth.
CJB Romans 11:11 “In that case, I say, isn’t it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?” Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. (Rom 11:11 CJB) Continuing to verse 14: CJB Romans 11:14 in the hope that somehow I may provoke some of my own people to jealousy and save some of them! (Rom 11:14 CJB)
In the end times, the nation of Israel will come to know Yehovah through Yeshua Hamashiach and thus they will be a light to the nations of the world:
ESV Zechariah 8:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” (Zec 8:23 ESV)
As pompous and puffed us as we may become in our claims of being the present day chosen ones of God, replacing Israel who dropped the proverbial ball, we must be cognizant that Yah calls the shots. He has never nor will he ever abandon His people to oblivion. When Yehovah calls the peoples of the scattered nations of Israel out of the world, there will be move of the Spirit that will be unprecedented in the history of our Faith. Jew and Israelite will come to a full understanding and acceptance of Yeshua as Messiah and live Torah in the power and might of Ruach HaKodesh. Thus, the root and the ingrafted branch will come together and reign with the Master for a 1000-years.
And if we are so sure that Torah has been done away with like the Israelites of old, what says the Prophet Isaiah on this subject?
CJB Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples will go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya’akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim. (Isa 2:3 CJB)
I believe we must resist the lies of hasatan that the Israelites and the Jews and Torah are forever eliminated. Accepting such unbiblical lies will only lead to our ultimate destruction and our inability to be effective witnesses for the Master. Let us pray for our Jewish brothers as well as for those caught in religion–that they will escape the scourge and bondage of religion for the only truth known to the human race and that is the Faith once delivered to the first century saints by Yeshua HaMashiach.
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by Rod Thomas | Mar 2, 2014 | Blog, Podcasts
Greetings Saints. This Torah Living content is being posted on the 28th Day of the 12th Biblical Month of 6014 (according to Rood’s Astronomically & Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar). I trust that you are well and blessed in all areas of your life.
I want us to continue our journey in Numbers 11:4, picking up where we left off in discussing the Matthew Henry generated description of the rabble accompanying Israel as the Hangers On. The latter half of verse 4 reads:
while the people of Isra’el, for their part, also renewed their weeping and said, “If only we had meat to eat! (Num 11:4 CJB)
Over the last several postings I’ve beaten up on the rabble or hangers on and I explored with you the likely reasons why the rabble acted the way they did as recorded in the first half of verse 4. Now the second half of verse 4 it seems pretty evident that the Children of Israel (i.e., those who were not hangers on) began to react to the grumblings of the rabble. The Chosen’s reaction to their situation was slightly different than the reactions of the hangers on group’s reaction to their situation. The Chosen’s reaction was to renew their weeping over the lack of “meat” (or in the KJV and other similar translations–flesh) to consume. If you recall, Numbers 11:1-3 records an event where the people began to complain about something. The Complete Jewish Bible–CJB (which I have grown to love and consult more than any other translation of the Bible) provides us with the object of the people’s complaining and that object is “…about their hardships.” Every other translation that I’ve consulted fails to provide a specific object or reason for the complaining or “murmuring.” I tend to give a goodly amount of credence to the CJB translation such that it seems to take into account the context of what was happening to the wandering nation and instead of attributing the people’s miserableness and murmurings to food, heat, water, inconvenience, CJB elected to group it all into the simple package of “hardship.” At the end of the day, it is all about hardship, whether it is about having a lack of meat or having to endure the challenges of the wilderness.
Yehovah did not appreciate the murmuring of the people and reacted with extreme force, incinerating many individuals in the camp until Moses intervened on the offenders’ behalf.
Before I move beyond this, I see here a shadow picture (reference Hebrews 10:1) that is quite awesome. Moses, in intervening and advocating on behalf of the people in their sin, took on one of the roles of Yeshua, our High Priest. Recall that Yeshua is our advocate to the Father when we sin. Consider:
CJB 1 John 2:1 My children, I am writing you these things so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik, who pleads our cause with the Father. (1Jo 2:1 CJB)
Even in the midst of the nation’s sin and waywardness, she had an advocate and his name was Moses. Over and over again I revel in the beauty of Torah and see the wonderful shadow pictures that are painted upon its pages. Here, laying before me, is the image of the nation of Israel who today is a former image of us–Truth Seeking Messianics. I stumble and falter on a daily basis and I am so honored and happy to know that I have an advocate before the Father who intervenes on my behalf and by doing so staves off certain destruction. Paul aptly addresses this reality in his letters to the Roman Believers and to his young mentee Timothy respectively:
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Yehovah chose His leader well. Moses is certainly a type of savior, not only for physical Israel, but also for spiritual Israel, which is us. If Yehovah’s ire went unabated, the nation could have been utterly destroyed and our futures uncertain. We owe Moses a debt of thanks for stepping in the roll of advocate for the nation, in spite of that less than palatable inherent nature of the Israelites.
Getting back to the situation at hand in verse 4, the hangers on through their lusting after or for an “easier life” according to the CJB, likely prompted the Chosen Ones to renew their murmuring and the start of weeping for their lack or absence of “meat.” I wondered when looking back at the previous 3-verses if the Children of Israel had been cured of their complaining tendency. Well, it appears that it didn’t take much to sucker them back in to their old ways.
Are we any different friends? When I consider that I am in so many ways, like the Children of Israel, constantly looking at the glass being half-empty and having the “woe is me” mentality, it doesn’t take much for me to find myself falling back to this mentality with its associated behavior. Using my job as an example: lately, I have been cognizant of my tendency towards being a complainer and a murmurer. Thus, I have taken firm action to stem this tendency. I have made significant leeway in combating this tendency. However, it takes very little to push me back over to the tendencies that I am fighting to overcome. It could be something that someone says to me; it could be something that someone does to me; it could be something that I read; or even something that I observe. I think Paul stated this dilemma quite well:
CJB Romans 7:15 I don’t understand my own behavior- I don’t do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate!
(Rom 7:15 CJB)
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Indeed, we are always in some form of internal and spiritual struggle that more times than not, the flesh wins over. And it is those that we find living and working alongside us that usually prompts this internal and spiritual conflict to wage. I do not believe it is something that we could ever expect to see go completely away from us. Indeed, these types of situations add to the testing regimen that prepares us for the Kingdom. The positive thing to gain from this, however, appears to be the knowledge that we must always be cognizant of our weaknesses and equally alert to those things, people, and situations that cause us to stumble. It is a process and speaking from experience, it is a constant challenge. Yet, I believe this is something that must be put into perspective as we walk this walk with Messiah. We are being called to walk according to the Spirit. The Spirit always flies contrary to the ways of the flesh as Paul so aptly put it:
CJB Romans 8:7 For the mind controlled by the old nature is hostile to God, because it does not submit itself to God’s Torah- indeed, it cannot.(Rom 8:7 CJB)
We are in a much better place than the wandering nation of Israel. We have been blessed with the Holy Spirit that provides a means to overcome our fleshly tendencies. The Children of Israel lacked this ever-present help. Instead for them, it all came down to them obeying Yehovah’s commandments and laws and we know that mankind can certainly do that if he so desires. Contrary to popular Christian teaching, man can indeed keep Yah’s laws. It seems pretty foolish to think that the Father would provide man a system of ordinances that would make them wholly acceptable to Himself if mankind was physically incapable of keeping them and obeying them to the full. Yet we tell ourselves, through this false teaching, that it is impossible to keep Torah and thus we don’t have to nor should we be made to. Why? Because Yeshua kept Torah perfectly and thus we have been released from all responsibility of keeping Torah. Hogwash! That’s like saying, I own this hot muscle car and thus it is impossible for me to observe the speed laws because my muscle car is inherently so fast. Therefore, I shouldn’t be expected to obey the speed laws. For real!? Come on. Let’s be real about this. We have the capacity to endure and pass any test
CJB 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure. (1Co 10:13 CJB)
The Father placed the Chosen Ones in a multi-faceted situation: a wilderness, lacking many provisions, and with a multi-cultural grouping of individuals. All of these elements made for a crucible that the Father could use to mold and fashion His chosen in to a set apart people, holy unto Himself, Yehovah’s unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. So it is with us today: we find ourselves in an unequally yoked world. Our world is part and parcel of the testing ground to shape us in to the form and image of Yeshua. When we come to terms with this reality, then and only then may we move beyond our fleshly defaults. I’m working on this and I’m hanging so very hard to the Holy Spirit to give me that extra weight to help me overcome my evil tendencies. I hope that you will join me, in whatever capacity you are struggling, and overcome our tendency to adversely react to the people, places and things around us. May we be victorious over the flesh and shine as the sun among the peoples of the earth.
Be most blessed.
by Rod Thomas | Mar 1, 2014 | Blog
Greetings Fellow Saints in Training, I’m Rod Thomas and welcome to another Perception Moment. Perception Moments is an offspring of the “It’s Not As You Perceive” umbrella of podcast series AND blog postings designed to provoke dialogue, inform, and encourage you, the Truth Seeking Believer in Messiah, in righteous living while providing you with useful resources to contend for the True Faith Once Delivered to the Saints of the first century. I don’t pretend or presume to be a Torah expert nor some type of prophet or great teacher with some unique, direct connection to God and Jesus. Indeed, I love Yehovah and Torah more than anything and I seek each day to have that special relationship with the Creator of the Universe as the Saints of Old once did. All I am is one who has taken on the mantle of carrying out the great commission through the medium of the internet and its associated forums. We are seeking to share with anyone who would come to read or listen, the truths, lessons, and information that we are blessed by the Spirit to receive. So please join us as often as you have the opportunity and share with us the awesome wonders of the Creator’s Word and the profound benefits to be had as a Messianic Believer.
Let’s dive in!
About three weeks ago, Hilary and I received in to our home three Jehovah’s Witnesses who had originally approached her a week prior requesting to have a “Bible Study” with us in our home. Not being ignorant that Jehovah’s Witnesses go from door-to-door in their associated neighborhoods for purposes of “evangelizing” unknowing and uneducated people (that is uneducated in the Word of God) and seeing an opportunity to share our Faith with them, she excitedly seized upon the opportunity having them come to our home for a formal discussion. I was somewhat indifferent to this opportunity, sensing that these folks would come armed to tear down whatever belief-system we have and show us salvation from their perspective and from their Bibles– essentially evangelize us into their religion. Additionally, I was quite aware of Hilary’s purpose in inviting them over and that was to expose the paganism and error of their religion and in turn evangelize them in to our Faith. I honestly saw a difficult situation brewing and predicted there would be a tremendous waste of time to be had by both sides. I’ll be the first to admit that I did not possess the faith that we would be able to get them to see the errors of their religion. Nevertheless, I give it to Hilary for being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit in this matter.
Well, the meeting began as planned. As I’d anticipated, the JW’s took immediate control of the discussion. They brought with them their own Bible translation that they carefully and aggressively coddled and touted as the true word of “Jehovah.” (I would insert here that they were quite adamant that God’s name was “Jehovah” and that we must pronounce it “Jehovah” and not Yehovah or Yahweh or the like. In fact: they went so far as to say that we were absolutely in error by our referring to Jesus as Yeshua or Yehoshua and corrected us on this matter several occasions during the discussion.)
They did provide us with the option of referring to our own translations, but read strictly from their personal translation. Initially, I found myself actually appreciating their zeal and apparent love for God. I actually gave them kudos for their “Great Commission” like lifestyle of boldly going from door-to-door to share their faith. The first half-hour or so of the conversation seemed to focus on areas of their religion that was consistent with Messianic understanding of the Truths of Yehovah’s Word. However, as we moved in to the next phase of our discussion, the revelation of their religion to us took on a very ominous and troubling dimension. Each area and topic from then on that was discussed went from Bible-supported doctrine and beliefs to strange and absurd manmade traditions and dogma that they vehemently proclaimed as truth. When I asked them to support from theirs or anyone else’ Bible that which they were spouting as truth, they talked around the topic with verbose and confusing babble and used Bible passages that did not even remotely support their claims. When I attempted to correct them on their statements using the Bible as the standard, they essentially told me that my interpretation of the passages of the Bible in question was grossly in error or in Star Wars parlance: “the droids you’re looking for are not here.”
It was here that my ire began to build and I found myself ready to blow in what I’d like to describe as “righteous indignation.” With raised voice and terse tone, I demanded that they cease the foolishness of trying to convince us that their outright lies and errors was God’s Truth. I even tried to step off my bully pulpit and asked them to simply admit that which they held as truth was their belief and not Bible-supported truth; and by doing so they would garner my acceptance of them as fair and honest souls simply seeking truth like the rest of us. Well, needless to say, Hilary and I received no such conciliation from them. The primary leader of the three also became frustrated and obviously angry over my challenges of their religion and he too dove headlong into a retort and challenge of my understanding of Bible. The discussion spiraled out of control even further when one of the female JW’s launched in to what I would describe as a tirade about Jesus eliminating any concern or requirement for His followers to follow Torah (or in her terminology the law). She even insinuated that by us studying, observing, and obeying Torah, we were putting Jesus’ work on the earth and on the cross to no effect and ignoring altogether His authority over our lives. It got ugly and ultimately led to a sudden conclusion–surprisingly civil I might add–to our session. For the male leader of the group, he seemingly could not get out of here quick enough. For the women, they at least left us with hope that we would meet again and iron out our differences.
In hindsight, I realize the error of my ways and am saddened over the poor behavior I displayed towards the JWs that evening. If there is ever a next time, I will certainly exercise better self-control and submit fully to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I could easily discuss in this and the next several Perception Moment episodes the many areas of the Jehovah’s Witness’ religion that starkly fly in complete opposition to the Truths that are contained in Yehovah’s Word. There are a couple of issues that came out of this meeting with the JWs that caused me to pause and weigh their significance/relevance for the Messianic Believer today. I will briefly cover one here, now, and then in the next episode bring up the other.
The issue of the day has to do with us being capable of keeping Torah well or even perfectly and for that matter is it even necessary to keep Torah knowing that Yeshua kept Torah perfectly. This came up in our discussion with the JW’s. Well, the short answer I would say is: Yes! We are indeed capable of keeping Torah well and even perfectly. How do we know this: well as always, the Holy Writ provides us examples and proofs. In this particular instance, we find in Luke where Zacharias the priest and his wife Elizabeth (ultimately the parents of John the Immerser) kept Yehovah’s Law blamelessly (blameless in the Greek is amemptos meaning free from default or defect). I refer you to Luke 1: 5&6:
CJB Luke 1:5 In the days of Herod, King of Y’hudah, there was a cohen named Z’kharyah who belonged to the Aviyah division. His wife was a descendant of Aharon, and her name was Elisheva.
(Luk 1:5 CJB)CJB Luke 1:6 Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of ADONAI blamelessly. (Luk 1:6 CJB)
There are other examples in Scripture that highly suggests that we can, as is seen in His people’s example, keep Yehovah’s Laws perfectly.
Gen 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
DBY Genesis 17:1 And Abram was ninety-nine years old, when Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty *God: walk before my face, and be perfect. (Gen 17:1 DBY)
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Granted, many would contend that in the case of Noah, Job and even Abram, the Law had not as yet been given to man. On the contrary, I say the Laws of Yehovah had not been codified as we have them today in our Bibles, but knowledge of God’s requirements of man (i.e., His Laws and commandments) was apparently known to those who lived pre-Sinai and the dissemination of the Law by Moses to the Children of Israel. How do we know this? The story of Cain and Abel clearly details a practice followed by Abel and Cain that is part and parcel of the Law that would centuries later be given to Moses and the Children of Israel. Consider if you would the following passage:
ASV Genesis 4:1 And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah. 2 And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. (Gen 4:1-7 ASV)
Two key elements to pick up here as it relates to the Laws or Yehovah being known to the pre-Sinai patriarchs:
1. The practice of offering proper sacrifices to Yehovah was known by both Cain and Abel as evident in their actions and Yehovah’s reaction to their offerings. (Reference verses 3 through 7)
2. As a concept and a reality, sin was known to both Cain and Abel as evident in Yehovah’s scolding of Cain when he became wroth with Abel over Abel’s offering being accepted by Yah and Cain’s offering not being accepted. Yehovah, as denoted in verse 7, tells Cain that failure to do what is right in the sight of Yehovah will invite sin in to one’s life. Sin then, is known only via Yehovah’s expressed Laws and Commandments.
So then the follow-up question must be: how did the pre-Sinai patriarchs know the Law? To be honest, the Scriptures do not expound upon this, but commonsense and reasoning must prevail here. Yehovah’s Laws and Commandments were earnestly taught to Adam who in turn taught them to his offspring and the cycle from there is supposed to continue in like manner in perpetuity. Consider Deuteronomy 4: 8, 9:
CJB Deuteronomy 4:8 What great nation is there that has laws and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today? 9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won’t forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won’t vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren- (Deu 4:8 CJB)
So Yehovah’s expectations and requirements for man as to how we are to live are not up to debate and if followed according to the way the Father had set it up to be followed, no one on earth would have been ignorant of God’s Laws and Commandments.
Yet man reached a point in history where man forgot much of Yehovah’s Laws and Commandments, as they have been forgotten even today. When the Israelites entered in to Egypt and endured years of slavery and oppression, Yehovah’s presence and Word was absent. It wasn’t until Moses led the Children of Israel out of bondage in to the wilderness that Yehovah re-established His Laws with that nation with the promise of making the nation a unique people amongst the nations of the world:
6 For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. 7 Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples: 8 but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations, 1 (Deu 7: 6-9, ASV).
Then there is Exodus 19: 5 & 6:
CJB Exodus 19:5 Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.’ These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra’el.” (Exo 19:5 CJB)
So it is today: are we any different from these our predecessors? Has not our Father transferred this most auspicious mantle (i.e., to be a special people unto Himself) upon those of us among mankind who are True disciples of Yeshua Hamaschiah? Did He not bestow upon us the same expectations that He bestowed upon the Children of Israel in the wilderness. Consider:
DBY Revelation 1:6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father: to him be the glory and the might to the ages of ages. Amen. (Rev 1:6 DBY).
Then there is this:
DBY Revelation 5:8 And when it took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each a harp and golden bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; because thou hast been slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, 10 and made them to our God kings and priests; and they shall reign over the earth. (Rev 5:8-10, DBY)
The standards to achieve the job of being a King and Priest in Yehovah’s Kingdom has not changed whatsoever over the last 3-1/2 millennia. Yehovah requires obedience and perfection of those who would be His chosen. Yehovah told the nation of Israel:
DBY Deuteronomy 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God. (Deu 18:13 DBY).
Likewise, Yeshua taught:
CJB Matthew 5:48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mat 5:48 CJB)
The issue thus comes full circle: what does perfection look like? How is perfection defined? Simple: via Torah!
One of the three JW’s who sat at the table and responded to my acclamation that obedience to Torah is essential for one’s salvation said with absolute certainty: Yeshua gave us ONLY two commandments to follow and those commandments are:
1. Love God
2. Love Your Brother as Yourself
Indeed, Yeshua did give that Law. But I then asked that person (who did not respond to this question), What does that love for God and for our brethren look like?’ I padded that question with, ‘my understanding of how to love God and my brethren is probably different from your understanding of how to love God and your brethren.
The defining source as how to love God and our fellow man is only found in Torah. John in his general epistle stated:
1Jo 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Let us face it: we all have individual and differing opinions, perceptions, and levels of understanding on virtually every topic and issue of life. Love has to be one of those massive concepts that are never devoid of a number of opinions and ideas as to what it actually means and how it is best expressed. Some of those ideas run consistently amongst many individuals throughout society while other ideas and opinions of how love is viewed and expressed are held by others in society. Yet despite such variances, every individual will label their personal understanding, ideas and expressions of love as “love.” Well, we can’t have 6 billion differing opinions of love friends. And quite frankly, regardless how wonderful we believe we are as a people, only one opinion matters on this issue and that is God’s opinion. God has not left us in the dark as to what his standards for love are; how He wants to be loved; how we are to love one another. He gave them to us in His Word; in His Torah. Yet millions around the world, especially those of the JW’s, will tell us that all we need to do is Love God and Love man and the rest is up to Jesus.
Indeed Yeshua paid our sin debt in full. Having done so, are we then supposed to live according to our individual concepts of how a Believer is supposed to live? What does Paul say about this?
ESV Romans 6:15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Rom 6:15 ESV)
And again, what defines sin? Torah!!!!! It always, always, always comes back to Torah! Whether we are defining what it is God expects of us; what love looks like; or even the definition of sin. No matter how hard my JW friends (well maybe not friends in the classic sense–hey, how does Torah define friendship) contend, Yehovah has provided us His idea, His opinion, and His requirements of mankind. When we say that we no longer need Torah, we are effectively saying we no longer need Yehovah to define for us what He expects of us. And these little concepts that are actually big–huge concepts–like love God and love man mean nothing unless they are defined by Yah Himself and Yah has done that through His Torah. Why do we kick against the prick dear Friends when all we’re doing is resisting the rule of Yehovah and His Holy Spirit in our lives.
You know what’s funny? Society defines two classes of people: law abiding and criminals. Criminals are those who break the law in one form or another. Now these individuals who break the law may do so in the open or in secret; they may get caught or they may not have been caught by the poh poh. Ultimately, these individuals either lose their freedoms or will eventually lose their freedoms in society. Law abiding citizens, on the other hand, obey the law (at least for the most part) and thus they reap the benefits of living freely in society. Thus, they enjoy order and relative safety because the laws of the land regulate behavior and correct those situations and individuals who fail to comply with established rules and laws. No society, no organization, and no ideal or concept such as a religion can exist for long if there is no rule of law to govern the lives and behavior of its members.
So then dear believer, what makes us believe that the would-be Christian can determine for him or herself how he or she must or should live; or how we must understand or view things? Without a standard or mold by which to pattern our behavior and understanding, human organizations and societies fall apart quite rapidly. All sports games run via a set of laws and rules, otherwise chaos would ensue quite rapidly and no true winner of those games could ever be faithfully identified. Let’s stop fooling ourselves, we cannot get away from Torah no matter how hard we inappropriately apply the teachings of Paul.
With that, let’s pick this up next time.
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by Rod Thomas | Feb 26, 2014 | Blog
Numbers 11: 4 reads:
CJB Numbers 11:4 Next, the mixed crowd that was with them grew greedy for an easier life; while the people of Isra’el, for their part, also renewed their weeping and said, “If only we had meat to eat! (Num 11:4 CJB)
This rich verse of Torah reveals so much to the heart and soul and mind of the Truth Seeking Torah Observer. There are indeed lessons to be learned here.
It was indeed astonishing to learn that the thousands of souls that left Egypt in the Exodus was a composite of peoples. The Holy Writ is not clear as to what cultures made up the composite parts, but it is clear that the Children of Israel were not the only nation tagging along for the journey. The Hebrew term for mixed multitude is acpecuph, meaning rabble. This people were not the designated people of the promise, but likely heathens who were looking for a better life for themselves at the expense of the chosen of Yehovah. These people expected to be whisked away to the promised land and start a new life, likely to resume worship of their pagan gods and live according to their pagan ways.
Who made up the “rabble?” Well, it appears to me that there is no true answer to the question. Some sources say mercenaries; others say sorcerers; while others contend they were Ethiopians and Cyprians. Bottom line, no one really knows at this juncture of history. Looking at this objectively and given what we know about Egypt during this time, the “rabble” accompanying the Children of Israel through the desert was likely made up of various cultures and peoples of the earth who happened to reside in the land of Egypt at the time of the Exodus. In the end, it really doesn’t matter. The apple of Yehovah’s eye was and to some extent today, remains the Children of Israel. It was these who the Master of the universe anxiously brought to Himself in the desert to be His chosen possession. It was these who, out of all the nations in existence at the time, He chose to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But alas, these fell short. Why? There are many reasons to consider. One of the reasons, according to this verse, seems to be the influence that the accompanying “rabble” had on Yehovah’s chosen. Whether intentional or happenstance, the “rabble” presented the Children of Israel with one more purifying medium to separate and mold them in to the people Yehovah sought to make His possession.
The Effect of Rabbles in Our Life and On our Journey
Sadly, our Faith is filled with rabble. I realize that this is not politically correct nor is it “Christian-like.” Indeed, the traditional Christian Faith is filled with those who seek to make a name for themselves, or carve out a career as an evangelist, or simply find a home in which they can ply their wares upon unsuspecting truth seekers. Indeed, such individuals delude the sanctity of our Faith from the perspective of influences and holy relationships. What do I mean by this? Simply this: We all know individuals in the Faith who instead of exhibiting a changed heart and soul and way of living, bring their dirty laundry with them into the Faith. Indeed, the old Christian hymn “Just as I am…” rings ever so True in the Christian Faith. Granted, we are human and prone to falls. However, I’m many addressing those who have absolutely no intention of changing their lives through the help and agency of the Holy Spirit. In fact, many of these malcontents relish and languish in their disparate lives. Consequently, these individuals cause great harm and challenge to the rest of the body or assembly, as did this “rabble” in the wilderness to the Children of the Promise.
Interestingly, the rabble did not expect to go through testing in the crucible of the wilderness. Yehovah uses the various wildernesses in our lives to test us; to mold us; to purify us; to bring us to a place of uniqueness and separation from commonality. This absolutely had to be a huge shock to the individuals who composed the “rabble”: hey Moses, you promised us a land flowing with milk and honey, and a prosperous and healthy life and you bring us to a most desolate place where it is hot in the day, cold at night; food only composed of manna and water from a rock. I did NOT sign up for this!
On the contrary: if they’d only realized the greatness to be had at the other end of the journey. Everything comes with a price. There are no free lunches. Yehovah sets the rules and we don’t have the authority to change those rules. In this case, the “rabble” along with their Israeli-counterparts agreed to the contract that the Father provided at the base of Mount Sinai on that fateful day:
ASV Exodus 19:1 In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount. 3 And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: 6 and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. (Exo 19:1 ASV)
Oh dear Saint: how many of us have agreed to the terms of the contract that was put before us on the day we accepted this walk with the Creator, only to turn sour on the deal months and years later because life in Yeshua did not pan out the way we expected it to? Or better yet, we decided to restructure the agreement we made with the Creator (as so many millions of self-professing believers have done throughout the centuries) in order that we may have “an easier life?”
Are we not that mixed multitude in some respects? Do we grow greedy for an easier life in Messiah? How do we do such a thing you may ask. Well, frankly my friend, by failing to obey His commands and His precepts and His laws. Failing to be content where we are and always relying upon the grace and providence of the Eternal. Defaulting to stirring the pot in our lives in order to elicit a favorable response from the Father. If only we can trust and obey Him and hang in there for just a little while longer, the glory to be had could never be put in to human words.
Join me for Part 2 of “Hangers On.”
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