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FROM HOREB TO TODAY

4/15/2013

Matthew 5:19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

People invariably feel uncomfortable when I suggest to them that we ough some due diligence to Hashem's commandments. In order to soften the blow, they usually quickly protect theselves with the statement, “Oh yes, but he forgives me”, or "We are not under the Law!". These people usually understand very little about the Bible but they know how to use that statement like a theological security blanket. They allow themselves to be proud, to lie, to be selfish with their time or finances, while forgetting that these are the real offenses that are an abomination to Hashem (Proverbs 6:16-19),

There is a theology out there claiming that 2,000 years ago Yeshua came and abolished the need to obey the commandments of the Torah. Think about what this means. This means that 2, 000 years ago, Yeshua came and abolished the moral code that helps us discern right from wrong, good from bad, holy from profane, and sanctified from common. That same theology also claims that the Torah has become obsolete to whoever recognizes Yeshua as his Messiah because he is the Torah written in their hearts. If it were all true, the facts on the ground show me a different reality as those who claim to have Hashem's Torah written in their heart certainly don’t act like it. If it were, our Yeshua believing Western world should be a paradise certainly not facing the sort of social issues it presently faces. Actually, the people who adhere to that theology are doubly guilty for their ungodly actions because they live in opposition to the Torah written in their conscience.

This notion that the Torah is obsolete not only takes away the understanding of right and wrong, but also the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. It is therefore the utter foolishness and lawlessness, which is the exact etymological root of the word iniquity. If 2,000 years ago, as people claim, Yeshua abolished to need to live by the Torah commandments, what need is there then today of a Savior to cover our sins?

My friend, the role of Messiah is and has always been to teach us the proper application of obedience to Torah. He came teaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17), which means, “turn your ways towards God for the days of his kingdom are near; start living by his Torah and by his instruction.”

In Yeshua, nothing of the sort becomes obsolete, not even the sentence of death that is written against us because of our sins. What happens is that he takes it all upon himself. We therefore owe him our lives. From the Yom Kippur on Mt Horeb when the Moses brought down the Torah for the second time to today, he is our atonement; he is our covering.

PRAYER:

Abba Father: may we understand that your Kingdom is ruled by the commandments that you have outlined in your word. May we realize that we are responsible to your Torah; that repentance means to turn back and start living by your teachings and principles. Forgive us for following erroneous teachings that negate the importance of obedience while we forget the teachings of the Messiah You sent to tell us that, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19); Amen אמן.

P. Gabriel Lumbroso
www.thelumbrosos.com

For P. Gabriel Lumbroso's devotional UNDER THE FIG TREE in Kindle edition click here.

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THE COVERING SHIELD

2/13/2013

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Matthew 6:12
Forgive us our debts

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life (Leviticus 17:11). What a mystical verse! Much is spoken about blood atonement in Scriptures. We are even told of the voice of the blood of Mashiach speaking a better word than that of the blood of martyred Abel’s crying to God from the ground (Genesis 4:10; Hebrews 12:24).

Much has been lost in our understanding of Scriptures, some due to translations (which can never be perfect), but mostly due to our failure to acknowledge the Semitic culture of their linguistic dynamics. The issue we have here is with the word ‘atonement’. The word ‘atonement’ is very important in the Sacred Texts. It’s what they are all about, so we surely must make an effort to understand this word properly according to its own cultural context, values, and merits.

The origins of the word ‘atonement’ is the Hebrew root word ‘kaphar’ from which we derive the words ‘lid’, ‘cover’, and ‘covering’. The word ‘kapporeth’ for the golden lid of the Ark covered by the wings of the cherubs and called in English ‘mercy seat’ has the same etymological root (Exodus 25:17). ‘Kippur; for 'Yom Kippur' or the 'Day of Atonement' (Leviticus 23:27) is also a derivatives of ‘kaphar’. What does 'kaphar' mean then? A way to explain the use of this word is by of analogy with a credit card . Let’s say that like many of us, you have contracted a very large balance on your credit card and you are unable to pay it. You risk losing your credit, even losing your car, or your house, until a generous soul comes around and say, don’t worry; I’ll ‘cover’ your credit card balance; (wouldn't that be nice!).

It is not that the balance never existed or that it has been deleted from the records, it is only that it has been covered. The credit card company then doesn’t look anymore at your failure to pay your debts (which is a biblical command), but at the covering that expunged it. Even Matthew quotes the Master on the forgiveness of sin using financial terminology, he says, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12).

Indeed, because of sin, we have a bad credit rating; we have even lost all credit in the sight of the Father. He is ready the yank the rug from under us but Someone comes to the rescue and covers the balance of our sins. It is not like we never sinned, but all the Father sees now is the covered balance by Yeshua. King David related to this principle as a shield. Here are a few of his statements, But you, O Adonai, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. For you bless the righteous, O Adonai; you cover him with favor as with a shield. My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart (Psalms 3:3; 5:12; 7:10).

As Ruth by kinsman redeemer Boaz, may you be ‘covered’ (atoned) under the ‘wings’ of Yeshua the Messiah (Ruth 3:9).

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ISRAEL VINDICATED (special Yom Kippur 5773 edition)

9/28/2012

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Matthew 24:31
And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Behold the Great Day has come

We have fasted for it over the centuries and until this day afflict our souls in prayers of repentance. Now has Hashem heard our voices; the blood of His many martyrs reaches to His nostrils and now He inclines His ears to our cries. May He who brings Israel back to Him be blessed for truly, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock (Jeremiah 30:10).'

On this day, see the reward of our work over the centuries. See Him who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come (Isaiah 63:1-4).

The galloping of His white horse echoes Moses' song. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelations 19:11-6; Deuteronomy 32:34-43).

As Moses and all the prophets sang of the deliverance of Israel, of its return to his land and his God, let us foresee and rejoice of His mighty works for truly Adonai has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of Hashem, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow (Jeremiah 31:11-13).

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THE MIRROR

9/17/2012

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TISHREI 1 א בתשרי
Matthew 24:48-51
But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Those of us who acknowledge Yeshua as our Master and Rabbi have been given both assignments and responsibilities over His heritage. We are expected to behave as shepherds and responsible leaders over His flock. He left us in charge while He is gone on a journey, but at the time appointed our Master returns. At that time we will sit down with Him for an audit. He will look at what He left us with and require the increase. If there is no increase He will examine the situation and demand an explanation. This is the time when the priorities that led our lives will be examined and evaluated.

We all mean to do well and I doubt if any person reading this actually beats his fellow servants or drinks with the drunkards. On the other hand, we can all admit to neglecting our responsibilities by just being selfish, self-motivated, negligent, and over-concerned with our personal pleasure, entertainment, comfort, and reputation.

As we prepare for rehearsing the Day of the Lord through the Festival of Yom Kippur, we may need to do a little self-auditing. There are several questions we can ask ourselves that can help put us back in perspective: What does Yeshua expect of me? Have I been fulfilling His will and wishes for my life? If not, why? Where am I in my relationship with His family, my brothers and sisters? Are there any sour relationships that I need to sweeten? Would I want Him to ask me the question: ‘why is your relationship with so and so in such a state of negativity?’ Are there people in ether my social or biological entourage that I am expected to look after? Am I fulfilling my responsibilities with them? If not, why?

James the apostle exhorts us in this way, For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. James’ 'mirror' is the Torah which defines what is expected of us. It is a bit like the evil witch’s mirror in the fairy tale Snow White. We are meant to look in it and compare our lives with the beauty of His Words. The mirror is meant to point out our blemishes so we can fix them through repentance, prayer , and emulation of the Master. Sad to say though, like in the story, some of us use it to retaliate against anything that challenges our innate self-righteous spirit, so the apostle continues and says, ‘But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing (James 1:23-25).

May we look in the 'Mirror', learn, repent, and change, that our names may be written in the Book of Life!

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THE KNOWER OF SECRETS

9/6/2012

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Luke 8:17
For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

There are many commandments in the Torah; some are of outwardly visible obedience, some are of a more internal nature. It is easy to pride ourselves with obedience by mostly concerning ourselves with the outwardly visible commands , the physical manifestations of obedience everybody can see. Everyone can see what we eat, sometimes. Everyone can hear the words we say, sometimes. Everyone can see our tzitzits, if we wear them outwardly. Not everyone can see and hear what goes on in the privacy of our homes, our bedrooms, even much less the things that go on in our hearts, or in our souls. Pride and self-righteousness are also difficult to detect in someone, and the last person to notice them in ourselves is us.

When the Children of Israel arrived near the Land, they were asked to climb up on two mountains and renew their covenant (contract) with Hashem. They were to conduct an elaborate ceremony pronouncing a carefully selected series of curses and blessings. Looking over the curses in this ceremony, it seems that they were concerning hidden sins; the things we do in private. In this ceremony, heaven and earth were called as witnesses as to how the children of Israel will live while in the Land (Deuteronomy 27: 11-26)..

Yeshua often rebuked religious folks for hypocrisy. He rebuked those who made a big outward show of religion at the cost of spiritual pride reflected in self-righteousness, prejudice, and intolerance.

As we search our hearts in this season preceding Yom Kippur, may we make sure to attend to our hidden sins. The wise King teaches us that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), so if we cannot find the things we need to work on in our lives, we may engage the help of close friends, spouses, or teenage children. These people know us best. May we not resist the hard truth the Holy Spirit may inspire them to tell us. This is the only way to grow. God already knows these things about us; we are the ones who need to discover them. As we open our hearts to rebuke and correction, our Father who sees in secret will reward us (Matthew 6:18).

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MEETING THE MASTER ...

10/3/2011

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Luke 24:31-33
And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. … "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" … that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

On the third day after the crucifixion, on the first day of the week, women came to Yeshua’s tomb with spices they had prepared to embalm the body. To their great surprise the Master’s body had ‘disappeared’. Though incredulous, upon hearing the women’s accounts Peter and John ran to the tomb only to be faced with the same conclusions. Yeshua soon comforted the disciple’s worries appearing to them on several occasions. . While all this transpired in Jerusalem, two disciples who had come to Judea for the pilgrimage festival of Passover started on their way back to Galilee, deciding to make a stopover at the village of Emmaus (Luke 24).

As Cleopas and his travelling companion still grieved at the execution of their Master, a ‘stranger’ joined them on their journey. As their new co-journeyer wondered at the disciples’ conversation, they asked, ‘Don’t you know what happened three days ago in Jerusalem? We thought that the famous Galilean prophet, Yeshua of Nazareth, was the Messiah. We thought He would be the one gathering back the Children of Israel from the four corners of the earth and re-establish us as a sovereign country but alas, the religious authorities did not approve of Him; they turned Him in to the Romans to be crucified as traitor and a criminal. To top it all, some our friends went to the tomb this morning and found it empty. We are still shocked at the whole thing, and also confused.”

Upon hearing this account, starting with Moses and the prophets, the ‘stranger’ demonstrated to the disciples that all had happened according to Scripture and that they should not worry. Hearing the Scriptures in their Messianic perspective filled the discouraged disciples with hope again. As they arrived in Emmaus, they invited the ‘stranger to dine with them. As they sat at the table, the ‘stranger’ opened the meal with a blessing and it is at that time that He opened their eyes. They then realized that their travelling companion was the resurrected Master. Right away they decided to return to Jerusalem.

This story is everyone’s story. In confusion and discouragement, we often leave ‘Jerusalem’ to return to the same old ways. As with the other disciples, no empty tomb or amount of convincing preaching could have changed these Jewish disciples mind. They needed to see the resurrected Master and He needed to open their eyes. It will be the way that Israel as a nation will eventually see and recognize it’s Messiah: when He comes in the cloud in the end of time (Zechariah12:10; Acts 1:11). When they recognized their beloved Master, they repented and returned to Jerusalem.

That’s what meeting the Master should create in us, a spirit of repentance that brings us back to the origins of our faith, to the place where we belong, to Jerusalem. After three days of being absent, the disciples were already straying from the faith, but Yeshua made sure to run after them; He met them at the tomb, in their house where He spoke with Thomas (John 20:27), even all the way on the road to Emmaus, just in order to bring them back to ‘Jerusalem’ where they were to remain until the next pilgrimage festival: Shavuot/Pentecost (Acts 1:4). They would have surely missed something being in the wrong place at the wrong time (Acts 2)!

In these days of preparation for the awesome day of Yom Kippur, may our meditations grant us the presence of the Master in a way that causes us to repent and return, repent from our straying and back to the ‘Jerusalem’ where we belong. May we be found doing His will on the Day of His coming.

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FROM HOREB TO TODAY

THE COVERING SHIELD

ISRAEL VINDICATED (special Yom Kippur 5773 edition)

THE MIRROR

THE KNOWER OF SECRETS

MEETING THE MASTER ...

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