How do we bring glory to Elohim, live in his river of life and help to advance his kingdom initiatives on earth? By receiving his spiritual gifts and then learning to exercise them.
The spiritual gifts Elohim gives to his children are essential in all aspect of our lives from the time we receive the gift of salvation, but beyond that as well. They establish us in him as a fully functioning and important part of his kingdom being advanced on earth. They help us to be his hands, feet and mouth to reach many people for him.
We must know what our spiritual gifts are so that instead of being a side-lined pew warmer, we are a fully functioning member of the body of Yeshua. Knowing our gift and then functioning in most importantly brings glory to Elohim, and as a by-product gives our life meaning, purpose and direction.
The Gifts (Gr. Charismahtohn) of the Spirit
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. (Rom 12:6)
So that ye come behind in no gift (charisma); waiting for the coming of our Lord Yeshua Messiah. (1 Cor 1:7)
For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift (charisma) of Elohim, one after this manner, and another after that. (1 Cor 7:7)
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Cor 12:4)
But covet earnestly the best gifts [charisma]: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. (1 Cor 12:31)
Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts (lit. spirituals), but rather that ye may prophesy. (1 Cor 14:1)
Neglect not the gift (charisma) that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.(1 Tim 4:14)
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift (charisma) of Elohim, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. (2 Tim 1:6)
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of Elohim. (1 Pet 4:10)
Numbers 20:2–3, There was no water … the people chided with Moses. Do you suffer lack in your life? If you’re a man, perhaps it’s because you’re lazy and refuse to follow the biblical commands to get up and go to work to provide for your family (see Gen 2:15; 3:17–19; Exod 20:9; 1 Tim 5:8). Beyond this, the Scriptures say that Yeshua will supply all of our needs (Phil 4:19).
Do you get angry with YHVH and murmur against him because of your lot in life and for the supposedly bad things that happen to you? On the other hand, do you give thanks to him for all that happens to you (1 Thess 5:18), knowing that all things work to good for the benefit of our being conformed into the image of Yeshua (Rom 8:28–29)?
We all must go through the wilderness of life before entering the Promised Land of YHVH’s everlasting kingdom. Those Israelites who murmured did not enter their Promised Land. Likewise, if we keep fighting or resisting our trials in our own wilderness of life instead of learning from them and overcoming them with a heart of thankful gratitude, then how will we be spiritually prepared and refined to enter the Promised Land is preparing for us?
We must learn to have faith in the promises of YHVH. Do we truly believe his Word when he says he will supply all of our needs?
Numbers 20:5,It [the wilderness] is not a place of seed and fig and grape and pomegranates; and there is no water to drink.This was the complaint of the people against YHVH. In Hebraic thought, water, the fig tree, wine from the grape, as well as oil, milk and honey (the two symbols of the Promised Land) are all metaphors for Torah (see Everyman’s Talmud, pp. 133–134). The Israelites were seeking physical food, but were missing the spiritual food (i.e. Torah, faith in his Word and promises) that YHVH was abundantly providing them during their wilderness walk. Additionally, the Hebrew word for wilderness is b’midbar (the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers), which means “in the wilderness, desert, uninhabited land or pasture.” The root word of midbar is the word dabar meaning “to speak, declare, command, promise or commune.” In a number of instances in the Scriptures, the terms word/dabar of God/Elohim or word /dabar of the LORD/YHVH is used to denote words coming directly from the mouth of YHVH. In the tabernacle (Heb. mishkan), the most set-apart place was called the d’veer (a cognate of the word debar) or oracle. It was therethat Moses went to receive the word (d’bar) of YHVH. There he also met the Word of Elohim who later on became Yeshua the Messiah, the incarnated Word of Elohim (John 1:1, 14).
What is the point of this brief word study? While going through the wilderness of life, if we have an attitude of gratitude instead of one of complaining, murmuring, doubt, fear and unbelief in the Word and promises of YHVH, will we not be more likely to understand YHVH’s purposes, instructions, (i.e. his Torah), his heart and his plans for our lives? If we have such an attitude, will our hearts not be more inclined to hear YHVH’s voice more clearly and understand his will for our lives thereby receiving hope for the future and a strengthened faith? One can waste one’s energy on murmuring and never grow up spiritually, or one can determine to hear YHVH and to commune with him in the wilderness of life and seek spiritual enrichment out of that wilderness and view it as our training ground for entering the Promised Land.
Let’s make a conscious effort to redirect our thoughts and attitude positively, while never forgetting the bitter lessons of our Israelite forefathers (1 Cor 10:11)? Murmuring produced nothing except death in the wilderness. If we have a grateful heart attitude, we will not only have a happier time in the wilderness of life, but we will be more likely to hear YHVH’s voice and understand the meaning and purpose of the experiences we have while en route to the Promised Land of our ultimate spiritual inheritance.
Numbers 19:1–11. The red heifer (Heb. parah adumah).
The Jewish sages teach that the commandment (mitzvah) of the red cow is “beyond human understanding.” Like the afikoman (the middle broken matzah that is “buried” and “resurrected,” which is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua) in the Passover (Pesach) Seder, the meaning of which to this day remains unclear to the Jewish scholars, the red cow is a ritual that makes sense only when Yeshua the Messiah is added to the picture.
While the symbolism of the red heifer was, to Jewish Torah scholars, admittedly incomprehensible to human reason, by the second temple era they began to speculate about its spiritual significance in their aggadic literature. Some felt that it was an atonement for the sin of the golden calf (The Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion, Massada – P.E.C. Press, 1965, p. 327; The ArtScroll Chumash, p. 839). Others viewed it as somehow relating to the azazel or scapegoat and the bullock sin offering of Yom Kippur, since all were sacrificed outside the camp of Israel (Lev 16:27).
The sacrifice of the red heifer was for the purpose of purifying someone who had become ritually impure or polluted through contact with the dead, or for purifying metal war booty (Num 31:21ff). This sacrifice was to be made outside of the camp of Israel, and later occurred outside of the walls of the city of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives, not far from the Temple. The concept of the camp signifies outside of or away from the divine presence or shekinah of YHVH meaning outside the tabernacle courtyard (The ArtScroll Chumash, p. 839).
1 Corinthians 15:29, Baptized for the dead. For certain, Paul is not talking about proxy baptism for dead people in hopes of saving them spiritually as the Mormon church incorrectly teaches. If so, this would fly in the face of everything else he taught about the purpose and significance of the baptism ritual. If the dead know nothing, as the Scriptures teach (Eccl 9:5), then how can a dead person consciously identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua, which is the purpose of baptism?
Verse 29 is an awkward verse, to be sure. When we have such an enigmatic verse, it’s illogical to pull it out of context and make a doctrine out of it as the Mormon church does in baptizing living people for dead people. Instead, we must interpret this verse in the light of and against the contextual backdrop of other clear passages that relate to the same subject. In the context of 1 Cor 15, Paul is talking about a believer’s hope through Messiah, and how those who don’t have faith in Yeshua have no hope of eternal life. If we die with a faith in Yeshua, we have the hope of being resurrected from the dead as he was. If we die without that hope, then all we have is this physical life and then we die and that’s it. In verse 19 (in the context of the previous verses), Paul mentions the hope that we have in Messiah because of his bodily resurrection. So now when we come to verse 29 and we read the phrase “baptized for the dead,” it should be a logical conceptual progression to understand what Paul is talking about. He is saying that because baptism is a picture of death and resurrection, and if we go through that ritual and there is no hope of resurrection for the dead, then what’s the point of it all? Why get baptized if there is no hope and “if the dead do not rise at all” as he says in the latter part of the same verse? To clarify this verse, we could succinctly rewrite it as follows: “Otherwise, what will thy do who are baptized for [the hope of] the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the [hope of the] dead?” This verse has nothing whatsoever to do with getting baptized for your dead relatives. Such an interpretation of verse 29 is a sad twisting of this passage and has caused millions of people to waste a lot of time digging into their family genealogy and then getting “baptized” for all their dead relatives.
Let us recall what Peter said of the writings of Paul, “as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (1 Pet 3:16). First Corinthians 15: 29 is another example of the difficult writings of Paul.
A Chronological Analysis of Scriptures on the Resurrection of the Dead
Gen 3:2–3, The question of what happens in the afterlife goes back to the very beginning of man’s tenure on this earth as we can see from Eve’s discussion with the serpent. Out of fear of death, Adam and Eve chose not to eat of the tree of knowle.g. until the serpent tricked them to disobey YHVH and eat of it. The serpent lied to them by telling them that they could have immortal life and still violate Elohim’s commandments. Most men have believed this lie to this day.
Job 14:12–15, Job is likely the oldest book in the Bible, and we see that from early times until now, man has had a perennial interest in the afterlife. Job wonders what his fate will be when he dies. Will he die and that’s all there is, or is there an afterlife?
Job 19:25–27, Job came to a place in his life where he obtained a faith about his fate in the afterlife. He knew that it hinged on his faith in his Redeemer. Biblically speaking, what was the mission of the Redeemer (i.e. Yeshua the Messiah)? It was to redeem man from the sting of death brought on by sin.
Ps 16:9–10, Though this is usually viewed as a messianic prophecy, it isn’t confined to this interpretation. Who are YHVH’s holy, kadosh or set apart ones? The Messiah fits this catergory, of course, but so also do YHVH’s saints. As the apostolic writers teach us, as Yeshua died and rose again, so the saints who are in Yeshua will die and rise again.
Ps 17:15, The term “awake” as in “awake from the sleep of death” is a Hebraism referring to the resurrection. David knew that YHVH created man in his own image for a purpose. If so, then why? It’s deductive reasoning. The creation of man wasn’t a pointless, dead-end endeavor on the Creator’s part. David knew the heart and character of YHVH well enough to know that Elohim had a higher purpose for man than just to live and then to die off. David also knew that man could have his perennial yearning for immortal life satisfied by the fact that man was created in YHVH’s image for a reason and that the reality of this fact would satisfy man’s deepest yearning for immortality.
Ps 49:15, David knew that the answer to the problem of the grave’s power over man involves redemption. The grave has no power over those who have been redeemed. Redemption is what brings us into the Presence of YHVH — to be received of him. In other words, without redemption one can’t be received of YHVH.
Isa 25:8–9, Ultimately, for the righteous life will prevail over death, and YHVH will wipe away man’s tears that are brought on by death. What is the ultimate cause of sorrow in man? It is death and the fear of it. YHVH will deliver his people from death. Those who wait on him in faith will rejoice in YHVH’s salvation through Yeshua the Messiah. Interestingly, the word salvation in verse nine is Yeshua.
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 7/7/19 through 7/13/19.
Here is an email letter I recently received from M—. Perhaps my response will help answer some of your questions some as you’re trying to understand the Bible from a more Hebraic perspective, and separate out the truth from the error that the mainstream church teaches. If you already understand the truths presented below, perhaps this information will help you to answer those who come to you with the same questions.
Hello Natan, I have read with a great interest your article “How the Church Divorced Itself From Its Jewish Roots” on your blog but I am a but puzzled by the following passage:
“Here is a partial list (along with the approximate dates) of several major unbiblical and anti-Torah and non-biblical doctrines crept into the post-apostolic church.
The Human Soul Is Immortal”
Is the immortality of the soul unbiblical and anti-Torah? If it is, do you have any scriptural proof to support that? What is the point of the coming of Yeshua if once the person dies, their souls also vanishes?
Hello M—, Thank you for your inquiry about my thoughts pertaining to what happens to humans after they die. There are a plethora of opinions on this subject. Even though the Bible talks about this subject, understanding exactly what happens to us when we die is not a salvation issue. Having faith in and obeying Yeshua the Messiah and his word is a salvation issue however. Knowing exactly what happens to us after we die will not guarantee anyone eternal life; on the other hand, knowing Yeshua will. It must be said, though, that an improper understanding about what happens to us after we die can affect our understanding of some basic and important biblical truths. But we’ll save this for another discussion. Now to answer your questions. I have not written and published exhaustively on the subject of the state of the dead, since many have gone before me and competently addressed these issues already. Life is short and time is valuable, and so why reinvent the wheel? I have, however, written and published a brief article on this subject, which will answer some of your questions, and which is available on our ministry website at https://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/state_of_dead.pdf. Perhaps you’ll find this helpful. I will now answer your questions below in the briefest manner possible interlinearly and in bold type.
“Here is a partial list (along with the approximate dates) of several major unbiblical and anti-Torah and non-biblical doctrines crept into the post-apostolic church.
The Human Soul Is Immortal”
Is the immortality of the soul unbiblical and anti-Torah? If it is, do you have any scriptural proof to support that? What is the point of the coming of Yeshua if once the person dies, their souls also vanishes?
What about verses like Matt. 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” ???
The Bible teaches that humans have a spirit, soul and body (1 Thes 5:23). There are many other Scriptures that talk about the spirit in man. They are too numerous to mention here. (I have teachings elsewhere on this subject.) Do a word search in your favorite Bible search program and you’ll find them. The Bible also teaches that the soul is mortal and dies with the body (e.g. Ezek 18:3). Briefly, the soul is who you are: your mind, your will and your emotions. It defines you. It’s what makes you unique from every other human. It is housed in your body and cannot exist without a body. It is not immortal. The immortality of the soul is a pagan concept as I document in my referenced article above. It is also promoted by those who don’t know the difference between the soul and spirit of a man. The Bible in a number of places makes this differentiation, even though, admittedly, in the Tanakh (OT) some ancient biblical writers used the terms soul (nephesh) and spirit (ruach) interchangeably. However, a more refined view of the soul and spirit as taught in the Bible by other biblical authors shows us that our spirit was given to us at conception; it comes from Elohim. The Bible also states that it returns to Elohim when we die, as I note in my article. The Bible is silent, however, on whether the spirit is conscious or not after the cessation of physical life. So it’s not wise to speculate on this.
Matt.22:32 “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”???
The Bible defines the word life in a couple of different ways. There is physical life and there is spiritual life. Which life is Yeshua talking about here: physical or spiritual life? If physical life, then he contradicts what Scripture says elsewhere about the soul dying, about no man having ascending to heaven yet, about no man seeing the Father yet , about men’s thoughts ceasing when they die and so on. If however Yeshua meant spiritual life, then this is statement makes perfect sense, since Abraham had salvation because of his faith in Elohim, and even though he is dead and awaits the resurrection, his next waking moment will be in the presence of YHVH Yeshua. Moreover, in the mind of Elohim who inhabits eternity and who exists outside of time and space, Abraham is still alive spiritually (after all his spirit is in heaven), even though his body and soul are dead physically and await the resurrection of his body. Moreover, anyone whose name is written in the Book of Life, though he may be dead physically awaiting the resurrection and glorification of his body, again, in the mind of Elohim and in the scope of eternity, it’s as if he is alive. Death is but a split second in the mind of one who inhabits eternity.
Luke 23:43 “Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.””???
