Category Archives: Weekly Scripture Readings

A Quick Overview of the Family Purity Laws and How They Relate to YOU

Posted on by
7

Leviticus 15 Family purity laws. This chapter discusses the family purity laws. This is a tough subject that spouses should discuss with each other and ask YHVH for wisdom on how to implement them. Holiness and purity is very important to YHVH in all situations. Men, at the very least, are to refrain from all physical relations with their wives during her monthly flow. Any man who has a problem with this needs to repent of selfishness, uncontrolled passions and failing to give his wife space during a difficult time in her life. Sin has consequences, whether we understand what they are or not, so why risk it? YHVH takes his laws seriously and blessings or curses befall us vis-à-vis our relationship to them. Check your heart attitude here. Are you serious about obeying YHVH? Or at this point, are you content to ignore his Word and, in effect, rip pages out of the Scriptures arrogantly saying, “It doesn’t apply to me”? Didn’t the serpent say something like this to Adam and Eve at the Tree of Knowledge about the Word of Elohim?

Did Yeshua fulfill the family purity laws? Let’s first establish one thing. When we say “fulfill” as per Matthew 5:17, we don’t mean “to do away with” or “destroy” as the mainstream church de facto infers from this passage. The Greek word behind the word fulfill means “to bring to its Continue reading →

 

Leviticus 14—A “Flyover Scripture” That, on Closer Examination, Is Full of Nuggets

Posted on by
4

It’s easy, all too often, to simply “fly over some of the chapters in Leviticus that seem irrelevant to  modern life. In reality, upon closer examination, they’re a spiritual treasure chest full of rich nuggets that not only point us to Yeshua, but teach us how to live more righteously before YHVH. Check it out…

Leviticus 14:3, Plague of leprosy [Heb. tsaraath]. Some of the English translations of this scripture verse use the word leprosy for the skin disease described in these passages. This is a mistranslation. A better translation would be infectious skin disease. The Jewish sages teach that the skin disease described here is a supernaturally caused ailment. They also teach that this is YHVH’s way of identifying the evil sins of gossip and slander (along with haughtiness, selfishness and jealousy) before this sin spreads throughout the land engulfing it like a forest fire from hell. (Read James 3:5–6!) This disease would cause the sinner’s face to change color becoming like a red flag for all to see. An afflicted person would be forced to live outside the camp until repentance along with atonement and purification rituals had occurred, and all this occurred under the watchful eye of a priest. As you read this, you may be wiping your brow with a sigh of relief thankful that you didn’t live in ancient Israel. Suppose you did, or suppose YHVH suddenly imposed these consequences for the sin of the evil tongue (Heb. lashon hara) upon the country where you live. How would it affect you, your family, what politicians and lawyers say, and how the news media reports the “news”? Is it possible for us as YHVH’s ambassadors for the spiritual nation of Israel and his eternal kingdom—as a royal priesthood and a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9)—to begin acting more righteously with our mouths now as if every evil word we spoke would result in our faces lighting up like a neon sign?

Leviticus 14:1–6, The cleansing ritual of tsaraath. The atonement and purification rituals for the sin of gossip and slander are very interesting. The Jewish sages teach that cedar wood was chosen because the cedar tree grows tall, imposing and wide symbolizing haughtiness. The wood used in the ritual was about the size of a baseball bat (The ArtScroll Tanach Series Vayikra, p. 221). Hyssop may actually be thyme or oregano. Since antiquity, thyme has been known for its cleansing and healing properties. It is an antibiotic and antiseptic and is beneficial against infectious diseases and for healing wounds. Oregano, on the other hand, is a strong antiseptic, antitoxic and antiviral herb.

Why do you think YHVH chose these herbs to be part of the cleansing process for the sinner who was guilty of murdering others with his tongue?

The third ingredient in the cleansing process was a crimson thread. The Jewish sages teach that this was wool dyed with a pigment made from a lowly creature (either an insect or a snail, ibid.). Why wool and why red? How does this relate to sin? (See Isa 1:18.) The wood, “hyssop” and Continue reading →

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 4-7 Through 4-13-19

Aside

Reply

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Metzora — Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33
Haftarah — 2 Kings 7:3-20 | Malachi 3:4-24**
Prophets — Isaiah 41:1 – 47:15
Writings — Proverbs 23:1 – 29:27
Testimony — Acts 7:1 – 9:43

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.

** A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week it is Shabbat HaGadol on the traditional calendar. The Haftarah read is Malachi 3:4-24. Otherwise, 2 Kings 7:3-20 would be read with Parashat Metzora.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 4/7/19 through 4/13/19.

 

Divine Judgment Against the Saints in the “Age of Grace”???

Posted on by
3

Acts 5:1–11, The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. Why did Elohim kill them? It is because they committed the unpardonable sin in that they willfully and in a premeditated plot lied to the Elohim. There is no sacrifice or forgiveness for willful sin. YHVH was showing us that even in the age of the New Covenant, the so-called “age of grace,” Elohim’s grace doesn’t cover willful sin. Let us all fear YHVH Elohim and tremble before him all the time!

Some scholars suggest that YHVH killed them because they violated the Torah laws regarding the handling of devoted things, for which there was a death penalty (Lev 27:28–29). Perhaps so. Whatever the case, it’s interesting to note that YHVH struck Ananias and Sapphira dead after the cross in, what many Christians call, the dispensation of grace era when, in their minds, sin doesn’t carry the same severe penalty us under “old covenant,” law of Moses era. What we learn from this is that YHVH still views sin as sin, and the wages of sin is still death (Rom 6:23). This has never changed before or after the cross of Yeshua. Just because one isn’t struck dead immediately upon having sinned doesn’t mean one hasn’t incurred the death penalty. That death penalty is only waived when one repents of their sin and asks for YHVH’s forgiveness through faith in Yeshua whose death paid the death penalty price for our sins.

Likely, such divine judgments still occur in our day more frequently than we realize. It may not involve the death of the individual, but rather sickness, demonic attacks, financial setbacks and other adversities that occur to us. The problem is that because of human pride and spiritual deafness and blindness, most people fail to recognize the cause of their problems. We attribute them instead to random circumstances and time and chance instead of to YHVH’s hand of judgment against us because of our sin, which we fail to recognize and repent of. 

Paul addresses this issue in 1 Cor 11:27–32 with regard to those who eat of the communion elements in a careless or indifferent manner.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

 

How to Stop the Spread of Communicable Physical and Spiritual Diseases

Posted on by
1

Leviticus 13:4, 5, 11, etc., Isolate him. The laws of quarantine are not merely for ritualistic and ceremonial purposes, which are now obsolete having passed away with the Levitical and sacrificial systems. Were people to follow these laws to this day and quarantine themselves when sick, colds, flus viruses and other infectious diseases would not be as rampant as they are. Thousands of years before modern medical science discovered the importance of cleanliness and the communicable nature of many diseases, the YHVH’s Torah prescribed measures to prevent the spread of such diseases.

Leviticus 13:43, 6, 10, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 etc. The priest shall examine. As it was the duty of the priests of old to keep the camp of Israel free of disease, so it is now the duty of the ministry to keep the infectious disease of sin outside church and to determine who is clean and unclean; who should be quarantined or put out of the camp and when to let them back in. (See Rom 16:17–18; Tit 3:10; 2 Thess 3:6; 2 Tim 3:5; 1 Cor 5:5, 9–11.)

Leviticus 13:45, Cry, “Unclean, unclean.” A skin disease was like a red flag, which if a person had it was regarded as a judgment from Elohim for the sin of slander, gossip, murder with the mouth, false oaths and pride as well as sexual immorality, robbery and selfishness. That person was considered to be physically and spiritually contagious and so was put outside the camp of Israel until the disease was gone. According to Samson Hirsch, quarantine was a means of shocking the sinner into recognizing his moral shortcomings and his need to repent (The ArtScroll Chumash, p. 613).

What if each time we sinned with our mouth we were quickly struck with a visible sin disease for all to see resulting in our being quarantined and shunned? Perhaps the incidences of lashon hara (the evil tongue) would greatly diminish. If you received heaven’s judgment each time you misspoke, how would you change Continue reading →

 

What did the early church do while “in church”?

Posted on by
5

Acts 2:42, 46, They continued. (See notes at 1 Tim 4:13.) This passage along with 1 Tim 4:13 is a list of activities the early saints did when they gathered together. This included continuing steadfastly in the apostles’s doctrine, which includes “reading [the “Old Testament” Scriptures], exhortation, [studying or teaching] doctrine” (1 Tim 4:13), fellowshipping, eating meals together, praying and praise [and worshipping] Elohim. Expounding on this further, we read in 1 Cor 14:26, “Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” Spiritual gifts should be exercised when the saints come together as well (1 Cor 14:12). How many modern church gatherings habitually incorporate these elements into their weekly meetings?

The following is a list of activities the first century saints did when they came together on the Shabbat and at other times:

  • Teaching the word of Elohim, teaching doctrine (including the Torah), presenting the gospel (Acts 2:40–42; 1 Cor 14:26; 1 Tim 4:13)
  • Baptizing new converts (Acts 2:41)
  • Fellowshipping (Acts 2:42)
  • Sharing meals together (Acts 2:42
  • Praying for the sick (Jas 5:14)
  • Singing psalms (Gr. psallo meaning “to play on a stringed instrument a praise song to Elohim, Jas 5:13) or to give a psalm (Gr. psalmos meaning “a striking, twanging, of a striking the chords of a musical instrument, of a pious song, a psalm, 1 Cor 14:26), for singing in general (1 Cor 14:15)
  • Confessing one’s sins one to another (Jas 5:16)
  • Praying for one another (Jas 5:16) or prayer in general (1 C or 14:14–15)
  • Turning those who are wandering from the truth back to Elohim (Jas 5:19)
  • Reading the Scriptures (1 Tim 4:13)
  • Exhorting (Gr. paraklesis meaning “calling near, summons, importation, supplication, entreaty, admonition, encouragement,consolation, comfort, solace,” 1 Tim 4:13)
  • Exercising the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12) including speaking in tongues and prophesying (1 Cor 14:12, 26, 29, 39)
  • Giving spiritual revelations (1 Cor 14:26)
 

“Baptisms” (Plural)—Is there more than one type of Baptism?

Posted on by
3

Acts 2:23, Be baptized. (Also see notes at Matt 28:19.) The term baptism in Hebrew is tevilah meaning “immersion,” which occurs at a mikveh meaning “a gathering of waters.” For those coming from a Christian background, baptism is something that occurs at the beginning of a believer’s spiritual walk and involves baptism (immersion) in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom 6:3–6; 1 Cor 15:29; Gal 3:27; Eph 4:5; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 3:21). Yet Paul the apostle talks of baptisms (plural) in Heb 6:2. What are these other baptisms? Evidently, in biblical thought immersion for the remission of sins is but one of many such ritual immersions.

Indeed, in the Testimony of Yeshua we not only read about baptism for the remission of sins, but the baptism of repentance of John the Baptist (Acts 1:5; 10:37; 13:24; 19:4), baptism (immersion) of the Set-Apart Spirit (Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5; 8:16; 11:16), and baptism with fire (Matt 3:11; Luke 3:16). Here we see the four types of immersions spoken of in the Testimony of Yeshua.

The concept of ritual immersion for a variety of reasons stems from commands in the Torah relating to ceremonial washings signifying spiritual and physical cleansing (Lev 14:1–4, 7, 9; Exod 19:10; Lev 8:6; 15:5, 8, 10–13, 16–18, 21; 16:4). 

Moreover, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of YHVH sprinkling his people to cleanse them from their impurities, which is a picture of the new spiritual life of which immersion is e a type (Ezek 36:25).