Category Archives: Holiness and Righteousness

Deuteronomy 4—Torah-light to the Nations, the Fear of Elohim and the Exile and Regathering of Dispersed Israel

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Deuteronomy 4:2, You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract/diminish from it. YHVH warns his people against adding or subtracting from his written word elsewhere as well (Deut 12:32; Rev 22:18–19). Men seem inclined to ignore YHVH’s command in this regard. In fact, whole religions have been founded based on disregarding this prohibition. Some claim to be Bible-based (e.g. Mormonism with their Book of Mormon and rabbinic Judaism with its Talmud), and some have supplanted the entire Bible with their own book (Islam with its Quran). This doesn’t even include the numerous unbiblical traditions and man-made doctrines that many traditional churches and denominations have constructed out of whole cloth and patched into the teachings of the Bible. This cannot be pleasing to Elohim!

Who is the author of and real power behind adding to and subtracting from or twisting YHVH’s Word? It is Satan the serpent. (See Gen 3:1ff and Matt 4:3ff.) Make no mistake, adding or subtracting from the Word of Elohim is to fall for the lie that the devil told the first humans at the tree of knowledge that the Word of Elohim can be molded and formed to fit men’s ways of  thinking instead of Elohim’s.

What did Yeshua warn the religionists of his day against in this regard? He said, “Thus have you made the commandment of Elohim of none effect by your tradition” (Matt 15:6) and, “Howbeit in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). What are some examples of traditions and theologies in the modern-day Christian and Jewish religions where YHVH’s word has been superseded by man’s traditions? What are some traditions and doctrines of men you have turned away from in order to bring yourself into greater alignment with YHVH’s Word? How is your life better for it? What has been the reaction of those around you in response to your aligning your life more closely with the truth of YHVH?

Finally, the Bible ends with a warning to those who would add to the word of Elohim.

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, Elohim will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohim shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18–19)

When this passage says “this book,” which book is it talking about? The Book of Revelation or the entire Bible? To be on the safe side, it is prudent to assume John is referring to the whole Bible. I personally don’t care to experiences any of Elohim’s curses; life is already difficult enough as it is!

Deuteronomy 4:2, Observe the commandments of YHVH. The word observe (RNA/shin-mem-resh)is a common Hebrew verb meaning “to keep, guard, give heed, watch, protect, have charge of.”In its noun-form, shamar means “a watchman.” According to TWOT, the basic meaning of shamar is “to exercise great care over something.” One of the most frequent uses of this verb in Scripture is how it is used in this verse. YHVH commands his people to shamar his Torah-commandments some 30 times in the Torah alone. What does this mean to you? Are you learning to not only “hear,” but “to do” his commands? How has your life changed and what are the resulting blessings? Though YHVH clearly commands his people “to keep” or “to guard,” what is commonly taught in most Christian churches in regard to “the law”?

Deuteronomy 4:6, Keep. Keeping Torah (YHVH’s instructions in righteousness) was the means for YHVH’s chosen people to be salt and light to the surrounding nations. Torah is literally a “witnessing tool.” What kind of righteous witness are you (via your Torah lifestyle) to those around you who are lost in spiritual darkness?

Wisdom [Heb. chokmah] and understanding [Heb. biynah]. What is the biblical definition of wisdom and understanding? Let’s explore this subject to see what we can learn from the word of Elohim.

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Why wear tassels on the corners of your garments?

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Someone reading this post may ask the question, “Natan, do you wear tassels or tzitziot on the corners of your garments?” The answer is yes I do, and I have done so since the late 1990s. I try to practice what I preach. The Torah tells me to do it, so I do it. Period. End of discussion. I have a set of fringes to wear with my work clothes and another set for my more dress-up clothes. For me it is a holiness and an obedience issue. — Natan

Numbers 15:37–41. Tassels on the corners. (See notes at Exod 26:1 for a discussion on tekelet blue.) The command to wear tzitzits on the corners of one’s garment was to act as a reminder to keep one from committing intentional sins, even as a wedding ring worn on the finger serves to remind one of one’s marriage covenant, and help keep one from committing adultery. This is why this command is placed directly after the warning against committing intentional sin (vv. 30–31), and the example of the man who committed intentional sin by gathering sticks on the Sabbath (vv. 32–36).

Corners. The ancient Israelites wore four cornered tunic-like garments. Why did YHVH instruct them to wear tzitzits on the four corners? This was likely to teach them that the Israelites’ Torah-based covenant with Elohim was there to box them in, to surround them, to remind them of their sworn obligations to Elohim,to keep them on the right path spiritually, and to protect them, so that they would receive Elohim’s blessings and be his representatives to the surrounding nations. With this view in mind, the shape of the garment is no longer the issue. That happened to be the style of clothing of that day. We no longer wear four-cornered garments. What matters is to wear four tzitzits on one’s four sides to represent our spiritual commitments to Elohim and our allegiance to his word, the Torah, and our understanding that his word will guide, direct, protect and bless us is we treasure it and adhere to it. Tzitzits are to our relationship with Elohim what a wedding ring is to our spousal relationship.

 

Does Romans 14 give Christians license to ignore the biblical dietary laws?

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This may be what your pastor and church tell you, but it’s not what the Word of Elohim says!

Romans 14:14, Nothing is unclean in itself. In this verse, is the Apostle Paul declaring that there is no longer a distinction between clean and unclean foods, therefore making void the biblical dietary laws? Let’s analyze the contextual and linguistic aspects of this passage to see what Paul is really saying here.

The word unclean (koinos) in this verse can also mean “common,” and in three places in the Apostolic Scriptures the two words “common” and “unclean” are used side by side; q.v. Acts 10: 14, 28 and 11:8, which says, “But I said, Not so, Master: for nothing common [koinos] or unclean [akathartos] has at any time entered into my mouth. “From this example, we see that unclean in Romans 14 can also mean “common” as we find in Acts 11. The word for unclean in Acts 11:8 is an entirely different word; therefore, akathartos is a reference to unclean meat, as proscribed by the Torah. Koinos, on the other hand, cannot mean unclean meat in Romans 14, or else Acts 11:8 would be a superfluous and unexplainably redundant in using two words that mean exactly the same thing. The word koinos is used elsewhere in the Apostolic Scriptures not to mean “unclean,” as in “unclean meat,” but “unclean” as in unwashed hands (Matt. 7:2), or “common,” as in something that is shared commonly among people (Acts 2:44; 4:32; Tit 1:4; Jude 3). Of the seven places this word is used in the Apostolic Scriptures it never means unclean meat.

In David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary, on Romans 14 he states that Paul is not abrogating the biblical dietary laws. On verse 14, Stern says that Paul is referring to ritual purity, not whether something is unclean (nonkosher) meat or not. What is ritual purity? It is a reference to either how something was slaughtered, and whether it was bled properly, or whether the meat had previously been sacrificed to idols before being sold in the public meat markets—a common practice in that day in pagan cities.

Furthermore, Paul could not have been advocating eating swine, and other unclean meats, without making himself into a total hypocrite and liar, since in several places in the book of Acts he strongly states (toward the end of his life) that he was a Torah-observant Jew and walked orderly and kept the Torah (Acts 21:20), and that he had not broken any of the Torah laws (Acts 25:16), which would have included the dietary laws contained in the Torah. 

Let’s also keep an important point in mind when speaking of YHVH’s biblical dietary commands: When some­one gets born again or regenerated spiritually neither does their digestive system change nor Elohim’s standards of holiness and righteous living. Eating unclean or biblically unkosher meat is, from a purely medical standpoint, deleterious to one’s health regardless whether one is a believer in Yeshua or not, and Scripture still refers to eating unclean meat as an unholy, sinful act and an abomination, and the Word of Elohim does not change yesterday, today or forever!

 

The Abrahamic Covenant Vs. the Mosaic Covenant: Once we are saved, how are we to walk?

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Romans 5:9, Being justified by his blood. Through Yeshua the Seed of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, believers are saved from their sins and blessed. Through Yeshua, the imputation of righteousness by faith and the justification (or right standing before Elohim) that it brings—a spiritual principle revealed in the life Abraham—is combined with the concept of being justified by his blood that is revealed in the Levitical sacrificial system. 

Prophetic inferences to the sinner being atoned by the blood of an innocent and blemish-free lamb are to be found in Genesis 3:21 where YHVH covered the fallen Adam and Eve in garments of animal skins (very possibly, the skins of a lamb or some other kosher animal), and at the akeidah (the binding of Isaac) event on Mount Moriah in the substitutionary sacrifice of the lamb. This concept is further developed with YHVH’s command to the Israelites in Egypt to smear lamb’s blood on their door posts to protect them from the judgment of the death angel, and is more fully developed in the subsequent elaborate Levitical sacrificial system. 

Broadly speaking, the Abrahamic Covenant and events in the life of Abraham surrounding its implementation reveal to man how to receive right-standing before Elohim, while the Mosaic Covenant and events surrounding its implementation reveal in more detail just how a man’s sins are atoned for, and then howman is to walk in righteousness once he attains right-standing with Elohim. This idea might be also stated in this way: Abraham’s being justified by his faith was a precondition to YHVH’s formulating the Abrahamic Covenant with him; Israel’s coming under the blood of the lamb, leaving Egypt and being “baptized” in the Red Sea were preconditions for YHVH formulating the Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant with them. For the Renewed Covenant believer, Paul shows us that we must have faith in the Word (Logos) and promises of Elohim as Abraham did, and then come under the blood of the lamb, leave Egypt, be baptized and then follow Torah as the Children of Israel did to obtain and to maintain right-standing with Elohim, to be saved from the wrath to come and to have an eternal inheritance in YHVH’s kingdom.

It might be said, in a certain sense, that aspects of both the Abrahamic and Mosaic or Sinaitic covenants synergize together to construct the whole redemption or salvation “package.” In Romans, Paul weaves elements of both covenants together to form a systematic theology or a complete “package” showing the Renewed or New Covenant believer how to “get saved” and once “saved” how to stay “saved.”

 

Godly Vs. Earthly Wisdom: Knowing the Difference

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James 3:13–18, Who is wise. There is no mention here of academic degrees and titles as the basis for determining who is a wise and understanding person. This is how the world and the biblically and spiritually uninformed determine these things. Even the devil can quote scripture and appear to be spiritually astute (Luke 4:9–11). This passage states that a wise and understanding person is known by his good conduct and by the works that he does in meekness and wisdom.

To the carnally minded individual, outward appearance and notable achievements (as determined by human standards) are what matters. The character of the individual matters little. On the contrary, this is not how YHVH judges a person, nor is it how his servants are to judge a person. Judgment is to based on righteousness and not on outward appearance (1 Sam 16:7; John 7:24).

James 3:13–18, The wisdom that is from above versus the wisdom from below. In this passage, James discusses heavenly versus demonic wisdom. Did you ever wonder how to tell the difference between the voice of Elohim speaking to you, and the voice the world, the flesh and the devil? This passage gives us some guidelines on how to differentiate between the four voices that are trying to influence our minds and hearts.

Let’s first establish the fact that Yeshua wants to talk to his spiritual sheep. In John chapter four, Yeshua declares that he is the Good Shepherd, and that his sheep hear and know his voice, that he calls them by name, and that he leads them spiritually and they follow him (John 10:3–4). At the same time, someone else is vying for his sheep’s attention—the thief. Yes, the thief wants to lead Yeshua’s sheep astray, for his intention is to kill, steal and to destroy (John 10:1, 8, 10), while the Good Shepherd wants to save and protect the sheep (John 10:9, 11, 14).

Throughout the pages of the Bible we read the record of YHVH Elohim speaking to his servants and leading them. Yeshua makes it clear that he is still speaking to and leading his sheep, and the book of Acts and the Epistles confirm this.

So how does this passage in James help us to hear and to follow the voice of YHVH-Yeshua, the Good Shepherd? When we get thoughts and impressions that we think are the leading of Elohim’s Set-Apart Spirit, we must first determine their origin by putting them to the spiritual test. Is what we are hearing wisdom or knowledge that is from above, or is it wisdom or knowledge is from below—that is earthly (of this world), sensual (from the carnal mind of man) or devilish (from the demonic realm, Jas 3:13–15)? How do we know its origin? James tells us. The wisdom that is from below is envious, selfish or self-seeking, engenders confusion, and produces evil, while that which is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle,willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and hypocrisy, and it produces righteousness (Jas 3:16–18).

 

The Works of the Law Vs. the Works of Faith Explained

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James 2:20–24, Faith without works is dead. James is referring here to the works of faith, not the works of the law. No man can live a good enough life to be saved by his Torah-obedience or the works of the law (Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 2:16; 3:11). 

At the same time, faith in Elohim is more than just mental ascent—“a knowing in your heart.” It has to be backed up by action (and we’re not talking about the works of the law). For example, when Elohim told Abraham to leave Babylon or to sacrifice Isaac, he obeyed by leaving that country and moving to Canaan. 

Moreover, many were healed in Yeshua’s ministry because they had faith in the Master and backed that faith up with corresponding action, which was the evidence of their faith. This faith-action continuum had nothing to do with Torah-obedience per se, but had everything to do with “putting your money where your mouth is” by backing up your faith or belief with action. 

It is this kind of faith that James is talking about here, and this in no wise contradicts the teachings of Paul who said that no man is justified by the works of the law. When Paul declares in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of Elohim, not of works…,” he was correct and not opposed to James. What’s more, Paul goes on to say in verse 10, “For we are [Elohim’s] workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works…that we should walk in them.” These good works (i.e. obedience to the Torah) are the fruits, evidence or proof of our salvation and are the works that back up our faith. 

So, in summary, the Bible teaches that we need the faith (a heart that believes and wants to obey Elohim) to lead us to salvation, as well as the works of faith after we have received Elohim’

 

Holiness or Purity: A Mindset and Lifestyle

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Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22:1–31, Profane Vs. Holy. In this section of the Torah, YHVH makes some strong delineations between that which is profane, polluted or contaminated and that which is kadosh or literally to be clean, consecrated, set-apart in service to YHVH. To come into his presence demands that men follow high and exacting standards. Why? It is to teach sinful man that although YHVH is high and lifted up above the mortal and mundane plane in his set-apartness and righteousness, he is not unapproachable by men if they will prepare themselves properly to come into his presence (see Eccl 5:1–2). He wanted to impress this upon the Israelites as they began the service of the tabernacle.

Therefore, YHVH specifies that certain offerings brought to his altar that are contaminated will be rejected if (a) the offerer is in a state of physical contamination, (b) he is contaminated through improper marriage, or (c) he is offering a blemished animal. What can we learn from this? What offerings do we bring to YHVH’s altar now? Our time, our money, our energy, our talents and spiritual gifts, our devotion? Do we give him the best? Do you pray to him and study his Word in the morning when you are the freshest, or do you give him the crumbs of your day after a hard day’s work just before bed when you offer up “sleepy time” prayers and read the Scriptures as your drifting off to sleep? Are your tithes the crumbs and leftovers after all the bills are paid, the government has taken out its portion and your play money has been set aside?

If you are a young person, are you serving YHVH while you have the health and vigor of youthfulness, or are you planning on playing now and serving YHVH after you have sated the lusts of the flesh, if at all? (Read Eccl 11:9–10; 12:1–14 and Matt 6:24.) Examine your life. Are you giving YHVH the best in all areas? If not, repent and change your priorities, and then see what happens in your spiritual walk and relationship with him!

The Bible reveals that there are many aspects relating to the concept of holiness or purity. One thing is for certain: without holiness, no one will ever see YHVH (Heb 12:14). Holiness or purity is not only a mindset, but a lifestyle—a way of living, acting and speaking. Holiness is much more than just acting religious!

Leviticus 22:2 and 32, Profane not my set-apart [kodesh] name. Chapter 22 opens and closes with YHVH commanding his people to not desecrate his kodesh name, but to sanctify or to keep it set-apart. In Hebrew thought, a name is not only what we verbally call a person, but it is also a reflection of one’s character and identity. Why does YHVH stress the importance of revering and sanctifying his name? How does having a proper understanding of his name help humans to not offer profane, polluted or contaminated offerings to YHVH? In Exodus 20, we find the Ten Commandments. The Jews teach that the first word or command is not “You shall have no other gods before me …” but rather “I am YHVH your Elohim …” Why is knowing his identity and his name so vital to a righteous walk? Do you use his name carelessly or utter it with great fear and reverence?