Many in the mainstream church have been led to believe that the Torah or law of Moses is the ministry of death and the letter that kills, and now that we’re under grace, we are free from haveing to obey the letter of the law as 2 Corinthians 3:7–17 would seem to suggest. Is this a correct understanding of these verses? What is the truth? This video explains this difficult Bible passage.
Hebrews 7:12, Priesthood being changed…a change also of the law [Torah]. The Greek words for being changed and a change are respectively metatithemi (a verb) and metathesis (a noun). The root of the noun is the verb, which means “to transpose, to transfer, to go or pass over, to fall away or desert from one person or thing to another.” Many people interpret this verse to mean that YHVH’s Torah-law was changed (i.e., invalidated or annulled) by the new covenant, but is this what the author is saying here?
Before going further in our discussion, let’s lay out some basic truths of the Scriptures.
YHVH doesn’t change (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8; Jas 1:17). The word torah [in English, translated as law] means “instructions, principles, teachings” and came directly from YHVH to his people. The Torah teaches men how to love YHVH and love one’s fellow man. It is YHVH’s instructions in righteousness and reflects his very character and nature. Who YHVH is doesn’t change.
It is a sin (a violation of the Torah) to change the Torah (Deut 4:2; 12:32).
So in this light, what is this verse really saying? It declares that the priesthood was changed. The Levitical priesthood that was temporarily and parenthetically inserted into the Melchizedek priesthood (both priesthoods are revealed in the Torah, see Exod 19:2, 4 cp. 28:1; 32:29). In the former priesthood, a father acted as the priest over his family interceding for them before Elohim via sacrifices and offerings (Gen 8:20; 12:7,8; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 33:20; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15; Job 1:5). In the latter priesthood, YHVH Continue reading
Deuteronomy 29:16–19, Emboldened to sin. As we pass through the spiritual wilderness of the world around us (verse 16) on our way to the Promised Land, how easy is it to justify our personal rebellion, our sinful habits, our lustful and materialistic thoughts on the basis of such rationalizations as, “Everyone around me is doing it,” or, “It feels like it’s okay to do,” or, “If it feels good, do it,” or “YHVH’s laws don’t apply to me … that was for the people back then, not for us today,” or, “That’s not what the church I belong to teaches,” or, “Surely YHVH doesn’t expect us to keep his commandments … they’re too hard to do … we can’t really do all that stuff today,” or, “We’re under grace today … that stuff has been done away … Jesus fulfilled it … nailed it to the cross,” etc. Do these statements square with YHVH’s words of truth? Do what you believe and practice square with his Word? Is YHVH looking for our excuses or our obedience? What did Yeshua say would be an identifying mark of those who would love him? (Read John 14:15.)
Sulfur balls Natan picked up in his trip to Israel near the area of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.
When one is emboldened to sin, the judgments of YHVH will fall if not immediately, then in the future. One way or another, it will happen. Eventually all unrepentant rebels will burn in the lake of fire. It’s the law of cause and effect, and our eternal fate all depends on the choices we make in this life here and now vis-a-vis Elohim and his commandments.
The modern-day area around the Dead Sea where Sodom and Gomorrah is once believed to have been located is stark testimony to YHVH’s warnings to those who continue in their sins, refuse to repent and fail to submit to YHVH’s Torah laws.
Deuteronomy 29:23, Whole land is brimstone. The area just west of the Dead Sea where ancient Sodom and Gomorrah likely were is to this day a barren wasteland of gypsum containing little or no vegetation, and, in places, is covered in sulfur balls (brimstone) that one can still pick up. This region is an enduring testimony to the severity of YHVH’s judgments against men’s sin, which speaking loudly to us even now in harsh and warning tones.
The area around what many believe to the location of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.
Parashat Nitzavim — Deuteronomy 29:9 (10)* – 30:20
Haftarah — Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9
Prophets — Micah 3:1 – 7:20; Nahum 1:1 – 2:13
Writings — 2 Chronicles 9:1 – 15:19
Testimony — Hebrews 10:1 – 13:25; Revelation 1:1-20
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 9/6 through 9/12/15.
Hebrews 3:3, He who built the house. Yeshua is the builder of his spiritual house — the church. Interestingly, his earthly father trained him to be a carpenter. Often the physical or natural and spiritual dimensions parallel each other. The idea of Yeshua being the Creator of all things including humanity (Heb 1:10; John 1:3, 10) and being the builder of his spiritual house provides us with an important truth.
How is it that the death of Yeshua — one human — could pay for the sins of the whole earth — many humans? Simply this. Yeshua in his pre-incarnate state as the Word of Elohim created all humans. His life is more valuable than the lives of all those he created, since he is the Creator, even as life of the builder of a house has more value than all the houses he builds.
This is why Yeshua could pay for the sins of the whole world, and why his life was more valuable than those of all the humans that have ever lived in the history of the world.
Deuteronomy 28:1–68, Blessings and curses for Torah obedience.
Are the curses for Torah disobedience and the blessings for obedience still applicable in the life of the redeemed believer today, or because “we’re now under grace” are these blessings and curses irrelevant to us? Or, as some preachers teach, Christians now only receive the blessings, and not the curses regardless of whether they violate the Torah or not, since Yeshua took away the curse of the law. What is the answer to this question? The short answer is this: Is the law of gravity still in effect if you jump off a cliff? For a further explanation, see my notes at 2 Cor 3:7.
2 Corinthians 3:7, Ministry of death. Is this a reference to the Torah? If so, which aspects? Just previously in verse six, Paul is speaking about the new covenant and the letter bringing death and the spirit bringing life. What is he referring to here? Is the spirit of the Torah-law all that is applicable to the believer today, and not the letter? If so then why did Yeshua in his Sermon on the Mount excoriate the Jews for keeping the letter and not the spirit of the Torah? In fact, he strongly affirmed that his disciples must keep both the letter and the spirit. To keep only the spirit would be tantamount to saying it’s all right to murder as long as you don’t hate the person, commit adultery as you don’t lust in the process, and so on. It is plain to see that his notion is absurd. Yet this is what many Christians believe. We must keep the spirit, but don’t have to keep the letter of the law, and they will use this passage of Scripture to justify their belief. If this is not what Paul Continue reading
I had to write this article a few years ago because a notable Hebrew roots teacher suddenly began promoting the idea that the Book of Hebrews was an invention of the Catholic Church and didn’t belong in the NT canon of Scripture. So far as I know, this teacher hasn’t recanted of his errant and heretical position to this day. Since then, other Hebrew roots teachers have come out advocating the additions of books to the canon of Scripture (the books of Enoch and Jahser).
This ministry dogmatically holds to the view that the books contained in the Bible as we currently have it is the inspired word of Elohim with no additions or subtractions.
I hope this article helps someone and will strengthen their faith in the Word of Elohim.
[The following is excerpted from a larger work by the same author entitled, “Can You Trust the New Testament Canon as YHVH’s Divine Word?” at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/nt_canon_full.pdf.]
The Uniqueness of the Bible
The Bible. There has never been any book like it. Its authors included kings and peasants and it was written over a span of 1500 years and 40 generations by 40 authors writing from palaces to jail cells. It was first translated into a foreign language circa 250 B.C. and has since, in whole or in part, been translated into several thousand languages or dialects. It has survived time. Though printed on perishable materials and recopied countless times over the past 2000 years by hand and by press, the main style and message of this book has never changed. The Bible has withstood vicious attacks of its enemies as no other book. Since Roman times, governmental and religious authorities have tried to ban it, burn it and outlaw it, but to no avail. It is still the most widely published and read book of all time (McDowell, pp. 13–24). Why?
Many have willingly given their lives to translate it, smuggle it, distribute it, preach its message or even simply possess a copy of it. Why? More than two billion people on earth today, about one-third of earth’s population claim to be followers of the Bible. Why? Nearly 50,000 people are currently martyred each year for refusing to budge from their faith in the Bible’s message. Why?
The answer is simple. Regardless of the language into which the Bible has been translated, regardless of the liberal or conservative biases of the translators, one thing is certain: The redemptive and salvation message of the Bible always comes through. It is a life-changing message of hope. Why? Because its pages contain words that have the power to change lives dramatically for good, for eternity. Why? Because these words are not the words of men, but of the Creator of men—of YHVH Elohim, the God of the Bible. As such, they carry the full force, power and anointing of divine origination. If not, how else can one explain the biblical phenomena? There is no human explanation for it other than the divine hand of YHVH Elohim has been on the Bible from its beginning until this very moment!
Can We Trust the Bible?
In spite of the impact the Bible has had on the lives of billions of souls over the past 2000 years, a question remains: Can you put your trust in every word contained therein? This is an important question, for if the Bible is correct, then whether you live again or not after your physical death will depend on how you orient your life with respect to the biblical message. So can we trust our lives with the words of Scripture—specifically, the message of Yeshua the Messiah as recorded in the Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament)? Are the 27 books which comprise the Apostolic Scriptures in our Bible the true and accurate accounts of the words of Yeshua and his directly commissioned apostles?
In this work we shall see that the 27 books of the Apostolic Scriptures would not have a been acknowledged as being “Canon” if they had not first been recognized by the apostles of Yeshua and the Body of Believers in the first and second centuries A.D. as having the same authority as the earlier Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). And the latter Christian church would not have accepted these books as canon, and subsequently affirmed their canonicity if they had not felt that these books carried the weight of apostolic authority. Period! Yet despite this profound and simple truth, many are beginning to question the authority of the New Testament Canon of Scripture.
A Problem: Some Are Questioning the Bible
The Apostolic Scriptures (New Testament) are under fire. Some Messianic/Hebrew roots teachers are currently questioning if the 27 books of the New Testament are all divinely inspired or not. Some are even taking it upon themselves to begin tossing out certain books, such as the Epistle to the Hebrews, from the New Testament canon claiming that it was not divinely inspired and was added later to the canon of Scripture by the proto-Catholic Church. Others claim that the early church fathers “messed” with the original Continue reading