Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Blog Scripture Readings for 2-21 Through 2-27-16

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Ki Tisa — Exodus 30:11 – 34:35
Haftarah — 1 Kings 18:1-39
Prophets — 2 Kings 17:1 – 23:37
Writings — Psalms 124:1 – 130:8
Testimony — John 1:1 – 4:54

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day. One each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 2/21 through 2/27/16.

 

Is your table an altar?

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Luke 24:30, He sat at the table. (See also vv. 41–43; John 21:12–13). In Bible times, when a covenant of friendship had been broken, as had occurred when the disciples forsook Yeshua prior to his apprehension, the broken relationship would be restored by eating together. After his resurrection, Yeshua had at least three meals with his disciples in order to renew loving covenantal relationship with them (Manners and Customs, pp. 78–79).

Young Hispanic Family Saying Prayers Before Meal At Home

In Hebraic thought, one’s table is a sort of sacred altar where familial and spiritual communion occurs. You don’t just break bread with anyone—only your close friends. Additionally, when a prayer of thanksgiving is made over a meal, YHVH’s Presence is invoked making the meal a sort of spiritual act where heaven and earth commune together.

This is one reason why the Passover seder meal is of such serious significance. Only those of one’s spiritual family are to gather together at the seder where together they meet with Elohim. Furthermore, this is why Paul states in 1 Cor 5:9–11,

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.  (emphasis added)

 

Is your life an altar of incense before YHVH?

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Exodus 30:1–10, Altar to burn incense. The golden incense altar was constructed of acacia wood covered in gold and was situated in front of the veil leading into the holy of holies (the most set-apart place) halfway between the menorah and the table of showbread.

Altar of Incense 25590039

Like the table of showbread, it had a golden crown around the top of it, which points to Yeshua being the head of the body of believers.

The priest burned incense on the altar twice daily, in the morning and the evening.

Scripture reveals that incense represents the prayers of the saints rising up to heaven before the throne of Elohim (Ps 141:2; Rev 5:8), which in the tabernacle is pictured by the mercy seat in the most set-apart place or oracle (d’veer). The altar of incense was a place of deep prayer, praise, worship and intercession and speaks directly to the intimate twice daily prayer life and devotions of the born-again believer before the throne of the Father in heaven.

At the altar of incense, preparation was made to enter the most set-apart place (holy Continue reading →

 

The Twice Daily Sacrifices Are a Picture of Our Daily Devotions

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Exodus 29:38–42, In the morning…at twilight. (See also Lev 1:1–17 and Num 28:1–15.) This twice daily offering was known as the continual burnt offering (Heb. olah tamiyd), and was offered at the door of the tabernacle (verse 42). The word continual (Heb. tamiyd) means “continually.” The Hebrew word for burnt offering is olah meaning “ascent, stairway or steps,” and derives from the basic Hebrew verb, alah, meaning “to go up, climb or ascend.”

Prayer 16958564

In this offering, the fire consumes the entire animal, and the word olah refers to the smoke of this whole burnt offering ascending to heaven, which is a “sweet aroma” to YHVH (verse 41). The olah was an offering or gift (Lev 1:2, Heb. qorban) to YHVH and could be a bull, goat, ram, turtle dove or a pigeon as long as it was a perfect specimen without defect (Lev 1).

If an Israelite sinned, he could bring this gift-offering to the door of the tabernacle where he would place his hands upon the head of the animal, after which the priests would slaughter it, and sprinkle its blood around the altar of sacrifice just inside the door of the tabernacle (Lev 1:2, 4, 5). The meat was then prepared and arranged on the altar and entirely burnt (Lev 1:6–17). When the sinner laid his hands on the animal, it was as if he were transferring his sins onto the innocent, blemish-free animal, where upon YHVH accepted it as an atonement for the person’s sin (Lev 1:4).

The writer of Hebrews clearly teaches that this offering (along with all the other offerings in the sacrificial system) pointed to Yeshua, our Great High Priest, whose atoning death on the cross fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Levitical, sacrificial system (Heb 4:14–5:7; 7:1–10:18).

Besides the obvious antetypes pointing to Yeshua’s death on the cross, what else can we learn from the olah tamiyd offering rituals? What are the spiritual implications and the lessons to be learned for the redeemed believer living in the twenty-first century? Matthew Henry in his commentary on Numbers 28:1–8 sums it up very nicely: Continue reading →

 

What is prophetic significance of the four horns of the altar?

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Exodus 29:12, Horns of the altar. The four horns of the altar of sacrifice was the place where the blood of atonement was sprinkled (also Lev 4:4, 17, 18, 25, 30, 34; 8:15; 9:9; 16:18).

Altar of Sacrifice

Horn in Hebrew is qeren meaning “horn, hill or ray.” This word is used to describe the rays of light rays emanating from the face of Moses after his encounter with YHVH (Exod 34:29) and the horns of an animal (Ps 69:31).

In ancient cultures, the horn was a metaphor for physical strength or spiritual power (Deut 33:17; 2 Sam 22:3; Ps 18:2). Elsewhere, YHVH is referred to as man’s “horn of salvation” meaning he is the strength of our salvation. The Hebrew word for salvation is yesha meaning “deliverance, rescue, safety, welfare, victory, prosperity.” The root of yesha is the verb yasha meaning “to save, to deliver, to give victory.” Not only is YHVH called our “horn of salvation” in the Tanakh, but this designation is applied to Yeshua as well in the Testimony of Yeshua (Luke 1:69).

Interestingly, Yeshua is a derivative of the Hebrew name Yehoshua (or Joshua), which also derives from yasha. It should be evident from this quick study that the horns of the altar are a picture of Yeshua, who is the horn or strength of our salvation and who shed his blood for our sins on the altar of the cross.

This being the case, why then are there four horns on the altar? This is likely symbolic of the four attributes of Yeshua, even as the four colors of cloth used throughout the tabernacle prophetically symbolize the same thing: crimson speaks to Yeshua’s humanity, purple to his kingship, blue to his divinity, and white to his sinlessness or righteousness.

Additionally, the Jewish sages view the four horns as symbolizing the four corners of the earth, for, in Hebraic thought, the earth is nothing more than a large altar dedicated to Elohim.

More importantly, the horns on the four corners of the altar prophetically and symbolically point to the fact that Yeshua’s blood poured out at the cross saves all humans (from the four corners of the earth who would trust in him) from their sins.

 

The Glorious Garments of the High Priest Point to Yeshua

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Genesis 28–29

The Garments of the High Priest

(Some of this information is derived from Martyn Barrow’s tabernacle web site and from the ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash along with several other sources as noted in the text.)

High Priest

The high priest was required to wear eight vestments while performing his duties in the tabernacle or else his service was invalid. The garments that the high priest wore along with those of the regular priests set them apart from the rest of Israel thereby elevating them in the eyes of Israel for the special and sacred work of Elohim they were doing.

The priestly attire was called the Eight Vestment (Sh’moneh G’dim) or the Gold Vestments since some of them contained gold. Actually, only seven of his vestments were specifically made for his duties as high priest. His linen breeches would have been worn anyway as a part of his regular dress, so they were not special as were the other seven garments. On certain parts of the Day of Atonement, the high priest wore only four vestments all made of white linen. The ordinary priests wore these four white vestments all the time.

As with so many things found in the tabernacle, the high priest’s garments comprised of four colors: sky blue, royal purple, blood crimson woven onto a background of pure snow white linen. Additionally, the high priest’s head plate was of gold, along with the 72 bells sown onto the hem of his Ephod, the golden chains holding the Breastplate to his shoulders, the bases to the shoulder stones and the gold thread woven into the Ephod. The color blue signifies godliness or heaven. Some see purple as signifying royalty or kingliness. Others see an additional meaning. Red and blue combine to make purple. Blue represents the divine while red speaks of the human, earthly or animal aspect of man (and of Yeshua). After all, red blood is the symbol of life and the name of the first man was Continue reading →

 

The Gospel of Yeshua in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle of Moses

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In this video, Natan begins to decode the mysteries of the Tabernacle of Moses and shows how YHVH’s plan of salvation and the gospel message of Yeshua are encrypted within the tabernacle’s ceremonies and furnishings. The focus of this teaching is on the tabernacle sanctuary. A free study guide is available at http://hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/tabernacle.pdf. Be sure to check out our other videos on the Tabernacle of Moses.