Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Natan’s Commentary Notes on Luke 13

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Some Spiritual Treasures from Yeshua

Luke 13:1–9, Repent or perish. Sometimes bad things happen to “good people” who are bearing no spiritual fruit. These “bad things” can be YHVH’s way of rehabilitating one’s spiritual tree for the greater good of bringing forth spiritual fruit even as an orchardist scarifies the soil in a fruit tree’s root zone and mixes in fertilizer (like manure) to stimulate and to help make it productive.

Treasure, examining

Luke 13:12, Woman…spirit of infirmity. Sometimes Yeshua healed people who neither asked for it, nor evidenced faith to be healed just for the glory of YHVH. From time to time, we hear of miraculous healings and divine interventions that saved people’s lives occurring for no apparent reason. Perhaps YHVH likes to stir the pot of human affairs occasionally just to draw men’s attention to him, bring glory to his name and to raise men’s hopes a bit that there is an Elohim who is sovereignly orchestrating things behind the scenes.

Luke 13:14, Ruler of the synagogue. (See also Matt 9:18; Mark 5:35, 36, 38; Luke 8:41, 49; Act 18:8, 17.) Heb. rosh hachenesheth. This was the ruler of the synagogue (Sketches, by Edersheim, p. 257).

Luke 13:15, Hypocrite. Yeshua was able to defend his actions and contradict the leader of the synagogue because he knew the Torah better than they did. This teaches us two things. First, just because one is a church leader doesn’t mean they know the Torah or the rest of the word of Elohim very well. Paul taught the “whole counsel of Elohim,” including Continue reading →

 

An Overview of YHVH’s Marriage to Israel as Fulfilled in the Lives of Redeemed Believers

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Exodus 19–31 and the Marriage of YHVH to Israel—Types and Shadows

YHVH married ancient Israel at Mount Sinai.

Read Ezekiel 16:1–14

Redeemed believers are preparing to be the spiritual bride of Yeshua.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Messiah. (2 Cor 11:2)

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, “Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he saith unto me, “These are the true sayings of Elohim.” (Rev 19:7–9)

What are the prophetic implications of and spiritual parallels between YHVH’s first marriage to ancient Israel and YHVH-Yeshua’s upcoming marriage to his bride—the saints who keep his (Torah) commandments and have faith in him (Rev 12:17; 14:12)?

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In his Parable of the Ten Virgins, Yeshua likens his bride to the five wise virgins who had oil in their lamps. Oil is a Hebraism for the Spirit of Elohim and the Torah. In other words, the prospective bride of Yeshua will walk in the Spirit of Elohim and the truth of Torah, which Yeshua tells us is a mandatory requirement if one is to have a relationship with YHVH (John 4:23–24; 1 John 2:3–6). We learn from the fact that since five foolish virgins who weren’t allowed into the wedding supper that not all redeemed believers will be the bride of Yeshua. Some believers will be the least in YHVH’s kingdom and some will be the greatest (Matt 5:19). According to Yeshua, how obedient one is to the Torah will determine one’s level of rewards in his eternal kingdom (Matt 5:19).

Between Exodus 19 and 24, we find recorded the steps Israel took to enter into a marital Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Reading for 1-24 thru 1-30-16

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Yitro — Exodus 18:1 – 20:23 (26)*
Haftarah — Isaiah 6:1 – 7:6; 9:5-6 (6-7)*
Prophets — 1 Kings 11:1 – 17:24
Writings — Psalms 107:1 – 112:10
Testimony — Luke 12:22 – 15:32

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.

* Verse numbers in parenthesis refer to the verse number in Christian Bibles when it differs from the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 1/24 through 1/30/16.

 

The “Lunar Sabbath” or Saturday Sabbath? Will the Real Sabbath Please Stand Up?

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Has the Weekly Cycle Been Altered Since the Time of Yeshua?

Many have come to realize that if there is one thing in life that is certain it is that nothing is certain. The few things in life that seem to be unchangeable and rock-solid we tend to cling to tenaciously, for they give us a sense of permanency and stability—and we need that as we find ourselves being heaved and pitched to and fro on the oceans of change with ever increasing rapidity and frequency.

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For many people, the weekly Shabbat (Sabbath) has been one of those Rock of Gibraltor foundational aspects of their lives to which they could anchor their spiritual ships—a harbor in which many have found safe refuge each week, week in and week out, month after month and year after year—with total faith and confidence that indeed the Shabbat was one thing that had never changed and would never change. Indeed, the enduring legacy of the Jewish people, nationless and often homeless for nearly two millennia, yet remaining a distinct people-group, can be attributed to the prominent place the weekly Sabbath holds within their community.

But the validity and immutability of the Shabbat is only as viable as the unchangeableness of the weekly cycle upon which the Shabbat is dependant. If the weekly cycle has ever changed then the correct day for observing the seventh-day Shabbat must immediately be called into question.

And while most Sabbatarians never even think to question the seeming inviolate nature of the weekly cycle, but unquestioningly assume that it has never changed, there is, nonetheless, a very small, fringe group of Sabbatarians who believe that the weekly cycle has indeed changed. These individuals are vocal beyond their size and some can be extremely aggressive, divisive and downright mean-spirited in their zeal to convert the Continue reading →

 

The Blood of All the Martyred Saints on the Jewish Leaders?

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Luke 11:49–51, I will send them…the blood of all the prophets. How can Yeshua logically lay at the feet of the spiritual teachers of his day the blood of all the prophets and apostles from the time of Abel to Zechariah?

Blood stains

Simply this. In all that the prophets of old did and preached, they pointed the way to Yeshua the Messiah.

For example, Abel preached Yeshua when he brought a lamb offering to Elohim. By the fact that Yeshua’s generation of religious leaders would reject him and condemn him to be crucified, they represented a false, demonic and murderous antichrist religious system that had been responsible for the deaths of all of YHVH’s servants to that time. Instead of repenting of their sins and accepting Yeshua as the promised Messiah to which all the prophets of old had pointed, they joined their voices and forces with the chorus of antichrist rebels and dissenters including with Satan himself—the arch instigator of that rebellion—in rejecting the Messiah.

By rejecting Yeshua, they tacitly approved of the deaths of all those who had gone before him pointing the way to him, and were therefore just as responsible for the deaths of the ancient prophets as if they themselves had been the ones who had actually killed them.

 

Elohim is serious about the Sabbath!

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Exodus 16:4–30, The Sabbath. This chapter chronicles YHVH’s efforts to literally force an irreverent, unruly and disobedient nation to keep the seventh day Sabbath. He did so in a most poignant way—through food and hunger. It’s as if he were instructing the stiff-necked and rebellious Israelites that if they refused to follow his Sabbath instructions, they would literally go hungry. “If you don’t obey me, you don’t eat.” This shows the gravity the Creator places on the Sabbath command. Yet despite these clear instructions, most in the Babylonian church today, like the rebellious children of Israel of old, refuse to obey YHVH’s clear instructions regarding the Sabbath. Instead, they prefer to believe the doctrines of men proffered to them by their spiritual leaders that purport to invalidate the Sabbath command. Paul’s sage observation in Romans 8:7 describes the situation perfectly: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim: for it is not subject to the [Torah] law of Elohim, neither indeed can be.” In our day, the same question can still be asked of followers of Yeshua that YHVH asked of the Israelites at that time, “How long do you reuse to keep my commandments and my laws?” (Exod 16:28).

This chapter is almost entirely dedicated to instructions pertaining to preparing for the Sabbath. This shows the priority that YHVH places on Sabbath observance for his people. Also note that these instructions are given many weeks before the official giving of the Torah (or law of Moses) at Mount Sinai. This is but one of the many examples of YHVH revealing key aspects of his Torah-law before he gave it the Israelites in one legal codified corpus at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 16:4, On the sixth day…prepare. (Also note verse 23.) The sixth day of the week was to be a day of preparation for the Sabbath, so that the Sabbath rest could be complete allowing for man to fully focus on being spiritually edified in the presence of his Creator without the distractions of food preparation and the other mundane duties of life.

Exodus 16:29, Let every man remain. The essential point of this prohibition is to not go out and gather manna on the Sabbath, but to rest on this day from the routine work of supporting one’s family. This command didn’t prohibit the Israelites from gathering together on the Sabbath for purposes of teaching, worship, prayer, fellowship or spiritual edification or else YHVH’s command for the Israelites to gather together on the Sabbath for a “holy convocation” (Lev 23:2) would be contradictory. Were this command merely an injunction to not leave one’s dwelling place on the Sabbath, then Yeshua and the apostles visiting synagogues on the Sabbath would have been a violation of this Torah command. Isaiah 58:13 could be viewed as the corollary passage to Exodus 16:29. There YHVH instructs his people not to profane the Sabbath by doing their own pleasure, not doing their own ways, and not speaking their own words on this day. Instead, it is a holy day to YHVH and a day to focus on and honor him.

 

Leaving the Bitterness of Egypt and Experiencing Healing in the Wilderness

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Exodus 15:27, From Egypt to Elim to provision in the wilderness. In this portion of Scripture, we see a prophetic picture of what new believers must go through when leaving enslavement to Pharaoh (Satan) and coming out of Egypt (the world).

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After leaving Egypt, Pharaoh pursued the Israelites not wanting to lose any of his subjects. YHVH then led the Israelites through the Red Sea, a picture of baptism for the remission of sins.

The Israelites then murmured against YHVH because of the bitter waters of Marah, which they were unable to drink. Moses, a prophetic picture of Yeshua, healed the waters when he cast a tree (a picture of Yeshua’s death on the cross) into the waters making them sweet and potable. This story shows us that we must put off the bitterness, unforgiveness, anger and fear of the carnal man before we can expect to receive a blessing from YHVH, and healing in our lives.

From there, the children of Israel came to the desert oasis of Elim where YHVH nourished them in a most refreshing way. Elim is a prophetic picture of coming into a bit of heaven on earth and the provisions of YHVH in the midst of our wilderness journey called life after having overcome our bitterness of past sin through the cross of Yeshua.

Immediately after this, YHVH began reigning manna down on the Israelites—a picture of Yeshua, the bread of life. This whole story teaches us that when we finally overcome the sins of bitterness and complaining through the power of Yeshua’s death, we can experience healing, physical nourishment, refreshment along with ongoing supernatural provision for our spiritual journey toward the Promised Land of YHVH’s kingdom.