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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 This notion that the Torah is obsolete not only takes away the understanding of right and wrong, but also the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.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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John 14:8
"Adoni, show us the Father,” The Children of Israel blew it. Impatient for the return of Moses they make themselves a god of gold. They did not transfer their loyalty to an idol of gold. Unfamiliar with the idea of an unseen god with no image or temple, they concretized the unseen One who had qualified Himself by taking them out of Egypt into the similitude of a calf. Hashem seems to have an issue with identity theft. Israel played the harlot during her betrothal so God calls off the wedding. The first covenant made at Sinai is already broken. Israel, the bride is technically allegeable to the death penalty. Justice is an invariable concept. When justice is not paid, we give way to injustice and God cannot be found to be unjust. Justice has to be given its due but here where Moses found a legal loophole: it doesn’t matter by whom it is paid. In this case, Moses negotiates with Hashem. Moses drives a hard bargain. Knowing that the Father wants to destroy Israel but that he also himself found favor in the sight of God, Moses places himself on the side of Israel. He stops talking in 'I', ‘You’, and ‘them’ terms, but uses ‘we’, and ‘You”. Therefore if God kills Israel, He has to also kill Moses. Moses saves the day by identifying himself with Israel, by putting his own life on the line alongside Israel. As a result, by the righteousness of one, the whole nation is saved. This is a very important concept foreshadowing Messiah’s mission. Having heard Moses’ pleas, Hashem rewards his sacrificial stand and shows His True compassionate nature by renewing the broken covenant. It will be the same covenant but renewed, not a new covenants such, this 'renewed covenant' (brit Chadasha) carries the same terms as the first one. Hashem does so because of His own character and desire. In the third chapter of the Book of Exodus, as the Almighty Creator of the Universe reveals His identity to Moses,. He uses the words “HEHIYEH ASHER HEHIYEH”, or “I Will Be That I Will Be” (Exodus 3), which means something to the essence of “I Am the Eternal Existential Being and I keep Covenant Forever’. In Exodus thirty-four, Hashem continues revealing His identity. He does so using a list of thirteen attributes. These attributes represent the Father’s compassionate nature and are a central motif in Jewish liturgies. Because Hashem is forgiving and compassionate, there will be a wedding in Horeb after all. It is so funny that so many people think that divine grace and forgiveness is something our Master Yeshua brought, and that it didn’t exist before. Yeshua’s grace was only a reflection of the Father’s never-changing willingness to atone and forgive. Yeshua came to show and represent the Father's eternal comapssion to us. Do we forget that it is actually God who so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)? 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). John 11:49
"It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." From the blood of Abel, an innocent man assassinated by his own brother, humanity has been plagued with murders. According to Moses' instruction, a murder has to be atoned, and the only thing that atones it, is the blood of the person who shed it. It is not because of virtue awarded to vengeance, but because shed blood defiles the Land of Israel. The Torah even commands that the city living closest to a slain body takes vicarious responsibity for an unsolved murder (Deuteronomy 21:1-9; Numbers 35:33-34). When arriving in Canaan, the Children of Israel were to cleanse the land by ridding it of all the people who practiced idolatrous murders. Israel failed to obey that command which later became a snare to them. God then cleansed the Land by sending Judah to temporary exile not once but twice. We are now coming to the end of the second exile and an inhabited Israel probably has again unsolved murders on its hands. I do not know if religious authorities in Israel regularly clean the Land from unsolved murder, but we know that at Yom Kippur atonement is made on a national level. The Torah tells us that in the case of an unsolved murder, someone needs to take the responsibility. The Torahs suggest the ciy closest to the found corpse. We are taught an absolution ceremony which involves the decapitation of an heifer, its blood poured in a river, and city official washing their hands off the responsibility of the murder in the presence of priests. The Levites were to attend the ceremony because God had chosen them not only as religious, but also as judicial authorities (Deuteronomy 21:5). Justice is a religious matter, not civil, so in the Torah system, the priests are the religious and judicial authority. The role of the king is actually to enforce the rulings of the priests and of the Torah so you might say that in 'God's world' the administrative, judicial, and legislative branches of government come under the dictates of the Torah: a religious document. What I find amazing is that in a world where both innocent and guilty always try to claim their innocence, God teaches us the virtue of endorsing the guilt of a non-committed crime for the benefit of all. When Yeshua came, He taught that anger and character assassination were the seed of murder (Matthew 5:21-22), but He also Himself assumed responsibility for every unsolved murder in the world which makes us, humanity, responsible for His death, which He Himself atones for as Caiaphas made allusion to (John 11:49-50), and .the Talmud declares in, "The death of a righteous man atones for the sinner". May we always remember Yeshua who, though He did not sin, took responsibility for all our heinous murders to cleanse the Land with His own innocent shed blood that we may drink of the River of Life. Hebrews 9:24
For Messiah has entered … into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Each year in the Fall Leviticus teaches about a day of fasting and repentance called: ‘Yom HaKippurim’ or, ‘The Day of Atonements’ (Leviticus 23:26-32).. This day is usually observed by the Jewish people but not by the Christians. On that day in Israel, the whole country stands still. It’s a day of fasting, rest and prayers. All shops are closed and the only traffic allowed is emergency vehicles. Fall in Israel has the most comfortable weather and it is common on the evening of Yom Kippur for people to stroll down for a walk with their children in the middle of the empty highways and streets. The first ordinances of Yom Kippur are given us in chapter sixteen, within the context of ritual purity and on the heels of the incident with Nadab and Abihu. This tells us that Yom Kippur is about purity and atonement in order to approach the Almighty in the Tabernacle or later on, the Temple. Since neither the Tabernacle nor the Temple is present today, one may legitimately ask, ‘What does this have to do with me today?’ Also, the fact that Yeshua is presented as our once for all atonement offering, we may feel that like this ceremony in at this time obsolete. These are legitimate questions, but they may deserve a little more studying. First, the festivals of Leviticus twenty-three were never identified as the ‘Feasts of the Jews’ as is often done in the Gospels, but rather as the ‘Feasts of the Lord’ (Leviticus 23:2, 44). A Jew is technically a descendant of Judah the son of Jacob, so the term ‘Feast of the Jews’ only relates to the fact that these were celebrated in Jerusalem of Judea. All the inhabitants of Israel had to go or send representatives to Jerusalem for these Feasts, and they have been ordained as a perpetual ordinance for those who follow the God of Israel. Ritual purity relates to the fact that we are human, so as long as we are in this physical biological state, we are still impure. The fact that Yeshua died to redeem us from that impurity and even to take our sins upon Him does not negate the fact that we are still today in this dimension of sin and impurity. While we are declared sinless and pure before God through the atonement/covering of Yeshua, our actual experience of reality is one marred with imperfection. To say otherwise is to be oblivious to reality. Also to question the remembrance of the facts that brought us back into relationship with the Father is like a husband asking, ‘If I married her, it seems obvious that I love her; why does she need to hear it again … and again?” Or “Why do we have to bother with anniversaries?” Paul himself mentions about this Yom Kippur fast (Acts 27:9), and he was known for observing the Festivals (Acts 24:14). Again people may have to reconsider what they we have been taught about the relationship of Yeshua’s believers with the Hebrew Scriptures. 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 not only because of translations, but because of our failure to acknowledge the Semitic linguistic dynamics of their origins. Again we have an issue, this time with the word ‘atonement’. The word ‘atonement’ is very important in the Scriptures. It’s what they are all about, so we surely must make an effort to understand it 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’. Even the word ‘kapporeth’ for the golden lid of the Ark covered by the wings of the cherubs called in English ‘the mercy seat’ (Exodus 25:17), and ‘Kippur; for the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27) are derivatives of ‘kaphar’. A way to explain the use of this word is to use the analogy of 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. 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). We indeed because of sin have lost credit in the sight of the Father. He is ready the yank the rug from under us but He allows someone to cover the balance of our sins: Mashiach. It is not like we never sinned, but all He 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 LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; 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 was by kinsman redeemer Boaz, may you be ‘covered’ (atoned) under the ‘wings’ of Yeshua the Messiah (Ruth 3:9). |
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