Category Archives: Weekly Scripture Readings

Is There a Connection Between Sin and Sickness?

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What if any is the connection between the sins we commit and the sicknesses and diseases that come upon us? Much, as the Bible teaches.

First, let’s establish some basic truths.

Everyone will eventually die, so not all sickness is a result of sin (Heb 9:27).

Some sickness isn’t due to sin, but so that YHVH might be glorified when the person is miraculously healed (John 9:2–3).

The purpose of some sickness is for spiritual refinement to bring us to a higher level spiritually as was the case with Job.

In a general sense, pain, suffering and death came upon all men because of Adam and Eve’s initial rebellion against YHVH Elohim in the Garden of Eden. As a result of the “fall of man,” all men have come under this curse and suffer as a result.

Unto the woman [Elohim] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen 3:16–19)

Some sickness is a direct result of disobeying YHVH’s commandments; it’s YHVH’s judgment against that sin. In Exodus 15:26, YHVH speaks about not putting the diseases of Egypt upon his people if they will follow his commandments.

And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of YHVH thy Elohim, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am YHVH that healeth thee.

The Torah further makes the connection between sin and sickness when it lists the curses for Torah disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:21–22.

YHVH will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. YHVH will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.

In Deuteronomy 7:15, YHVH again mentions not afflicting his people with the sicknesses of Egypt if they will obey his Torah-commandments.

And YHVH will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

The Bible indicates a direct relationship between sin and healing in Psalm 103:3,

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases…

“Leprosy” or the infectious skin disease the Torah refers to as tsaraat (Lev 14:34) was a judgment from YHVH against several specific sins.

When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession…

In several instances in the Scriptures, we read that tsaraat was a direct result of a specific sin. In the case of Miriam, it was the sin of pride and rebellion against spiritual authority and using her tongue in an evil manner against YHVH’s spiritual authority (Num 12:1, 9–10). In the case of Gehazi, he became leprous because of greed and lying (2 Kgs 5:20–27). Uzziah, the king of Judah, became leprous because of his pride and rebellion against YHVH when he dared to violate the Torah by burning incense in the temple (2 Chron 26:16–23).

Envy can bring on bone diseases. Envy can also refer to “jealousy and sexual passion.”

A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. (Prov 14:30)

Sexually transmitted diseases are a direct result of sexual promiscuity and idolatry, and is a judgment from Elohim against those who engage in such ungodly practices.

For this cause Elohim gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. (Rom 1:26–27)

Yeshua, on several occasions, equates sin and healing. That is to say, he viewed forgiveness of sin and healing of disease as synonymous concepts. To him, the sickness was a result of sin.

Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? (John 5:24)

Yeshua shows that illness can be a direct punishment for sin, as well, when he states that a man whom he had just healed was sick because of his sin.

Afterward Yeshua findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (John 5:14)

YHVH’s laws of judgment against sin are still in operation even in the so-called “New Testament era of grace.” YHVH struck down and killed Annaias and Sapphira because they lied to the apostles and the Spirit of Elohim (Acts 5:1–11).

Paul confirms the truth that there is still a correlation between sin and sickness when he states that some within the body of Yeshua get sick and die because of sin. Illness is a direct punishment for sin. Paul teaches that this can occur when a believer doesn’t have the proper fear and respect for YHVH Elohim and those things which are set-apart of kadosh such as blood and body of Yeshua as symbolized in the Passover communion service by the bread and the wine.

For I have received of the Master that which also I delivered unto you, that the Master Yeshua the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Master’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Master, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Master. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Master’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Master, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Cor 11:23–32)

When trials of our faith fall on us including sickness and disease, Scripture instructs us to receive it with joy realizing that this is occurring for our spiritual refinement. We are to then ask YHVH for wisdom presumably to help us to understand why the trial is occurring, so that we can repent of sin and learn from our mistakes.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Elohim, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (Jas 1:2–5)

Let us not forget that whom our Father in heaven loves he chastens. Sickness often is a form of loving chastisement or discipline from YHVH Elohim,

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of YHVH, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the YHVH loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, Elohim dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. (Heb 12:5–13)

 

The Gospel Message in the Red Sea Crossing

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Exodus 14:22, The children of Israel went. According to Jewish tradition (e.g. in The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash commentary on verse eight), the crossing occurred on Nisan 21 (or the Month of the Abib, which is the first month of the biblical calendar occurring in the early spring), which is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, even though the Scriptures don’t explicitly say this. The Jewish sages deduce this from the chronology of events leading up to the crossing. On the fifteenth day of the first month, they reason, Israel left Egypt and traveled from Rameses to Succoth. On the sixteenth day, they traveled from Succoth to Etham, and on the seventeenth from Etham to Pi-hahiroth. Then on the eighteenth it was reported to Pharaoh that Israel had been gone for three days. On the 19th and 20th Pharaoh mustered his army and pursued Israel, and on the twenty-first day of the first month Israel crossed the Red Sea, which was the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Red Sea. The Israelites went through the midst of the Red Sea. Like the killing of the Passover lamb and the painting of his blood on the door posts, the crossing of the Red Sea prophetically pointed forward to the message of the gospel and the steps a disciple of Yeshua must take in his spiritual journey. Paul states in his letter to the believers in Corinth,

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Messiah. (1 Cor 10:1–4)

The Israelites going through the Red Sea is a prophetic picture of baptism for the remission of sin of the new believer. Red reminds us of the blood of Yeshua that cleanses sinners of sin. Moreover, sea water is salty and salt is a biblical symbol representing cleansing, purification, preservation and eternity and all of which point to the efficaciousness of Yeshua’s atoning blood on behalf of the redeemed saint.

Now let’s look at Israel’s Red Sea passage in light of its larger gospel message context. While back in Egypt, YHVH sent Moses the evangelist to the Israelites with the message of redemption from their Egyptian slavemasters. To be spared from Eloim’s judgments against sin, all the Israelites had to do was to believe the evangelist (i.e. the preacher of the gospel message) when he told them to kill a lamb and to put its blood on the doorposts of their houses (i.e. have faith in the shed blood of Yeshua the Messiah who died on the cross to set us free from the penalty of our sins). This they did, and they were spared Elohim’s judgment against sin. Next, they had to put leaven (i.e. a picture of sin) out of their houses (a picture of their lives), eat unleavened bread (i.e. a picture of accepting Yeshua unconditionally) and leave Egypt (i.e. a picture of leaving behind the world’s ways and lifestyles). The next thing they had to do was to go through the Red Sea (i.e. a picture of baptism for the remission of sins). There are more steps to follow (e.g. finding water to drink at Marah, coming to the desert oasis of Elim, receiving manna from heaven and water from the rock) that all point prophetically forward to the message of the gospel at work in the believer’s life, but we’ll discuss these one by one as we proceed.

 

 

An Encouraging Message from the Unjust Judge Parable About Persistent Prayer

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Luke 18:2, A judge. In this parable of the Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge, Yeshua is using a Hebraic form of reasoning or argument called kol v’khomer where a point is made from a lesser weight argument, logically-speaking, to heavier weight one. In other words, if premise A is correct, then how much more so is premise B correct?

In the Jewish religious thinking of the first century, this is one of the seven laws of biblical interpretive laws of Hillel the Great (ca. 32 b.c. to a.d. 7) who was one of the greatest Jewish religious leaders of Yeshua’s day and a main leader of the sect of Pharisees. (Hillel was also the grandfather of Gamaliel the elder, the mentor of Paul, the apostle, Acts 5:34; 22:3.)

In this parable, Yeshua is making the point that if an ungodly, secular judge who cares little about the needs of a widow will grant her wishes because of her persistent pleas for justice against her enemies, how much more will Elohim hear and answer the prayers of his elect saints who have faith in him and cry out to him continually to avenge them of their enemies.

A day of judgment is coming when the scales of justice will be balanced in favor of the saints of the Most High Elohim, the Just Judge of the universe. Certainly Elohim presently attends to the needs of his servants and gives them victory over their enemies in many small ways. But many believers are still suffering greatly at the hands of the wicked who don’t fear Elohim.

The day is coming, however, when YHVH will move with a mighty hand and universally avenge his servants of all their enemies small and great. Until then, the righteous martyrs continue to cry out asking Elohim, “How long, O YHVH, holy and true until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10). His answer to them is to wait just a little longer (verse 11), for the great day of YHVH’s wrath, the wrath of the Lamb, which is coming upon the wicked (verse 17) is coming soon. Until then, YHVH promises to never leave nor forsake his servants (Heb 13:5), so be strong in him!

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 1-21 Through 1-27-18

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Beshalach — Exodus 13:17 – 17:16
Haftarah — Judges 4:4 – 5:31
Prophets — 1 Kings 6:1 – 12:33
Writings — Psalms 108:1 – 116:19
Testimony — Luke 14:1 – 18:17

Our annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2017-2018 is available to download and print.

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 1/21/18 through 1/27/18.

 

Sabbath Walk in the Forest With My Bride—Reflections

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My wife, Sandi, and I took a walk down by the river this Shabbat afternoon. It was a beautiful day—mild for this time of the year, and after spending most of the day indoors  reading the Bible, writing, studying and praying, I needed to get out for some fresh air and to connect with the Creator through his creation. This is part Elohim’s the river of life I need to get into regularly. It’s part of my personal “God bubble” in which I live. Please enjoy.  Natan

I like photography and I love my iPhone because I can snap quality pictures wherever I go. Every day in our haste, we simply walk by beautiful pictures. One has to have an eye and a love for  beauty as one is walking down the path of life. All around us are beautiful scenes waiting to be seen and appreciated. They are opportunities to stop and pray, to reflect and to worship Elohim. Let’s work hard not to miss these opportunities.  We must learn to extract the precious from the mundane, and sometimes even from the vile. May YHVH, give us the eyes and heart to find the beauty and blessing in everything and everyone around us, and use it as a trigger to move into praise and worship of him for it.

Even a rotton log has its own beauty with the peeling bark, moss and vines growing on it and the  dead leaves. This log has value. In its death, it provides life-giving nutrition for the next generation of plants and animals. It will eventually become precious topsoil out of which everything grows. Life comes out of death. Death of loved ones, death of dreams, death of innocence,  death of hopes, death of finances, death of health or death of relationships. When one door closes, another door opens taking us into new vistas, experiences, opportunities and possibilities. May Yah, help us to wrap our brain around this reality and to embrace life-giving death with these things in mind.

There is a river of life out there. We have to find it. When we do, the light of YHVH’s Presence will shine on it encouraging us and guiding us into his perfect will for our lives.

Follow the path of life that leads to the light of truth. Yeshua is the Light of the world and the Sun of righteousness. Yah, help us to follow the Lamb of Elohim wherever he goes.

YHVH has not called the great and mighty people of this world, but the ordinary, foolish ones that he will use  to confound the wise for his glory. May we be such a people that he can use.

Like these trees that are wading out into the river, we too must get into YHVH’s river of life. The psalmist says that a wise man plants himself next to the river like a tree from which it gains nourishment. But sometimes, like Ezekiel, we have to actually get into that river—even get in over our heads. That’s called passion and zeal.

It’s good to feel small. It keeps life in perspective—that we’re not as great or as big as we think we are. Maybe then YHVH can actually use us for big things—for his divine plans and purposes.

 

How well does the guy up front really know his Bible?

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Just because someone plops himself into a church pulpit, takes some ecclesiastical title and puts on a religious costume doesn’t mean they knows the Bible very well!

Just because a person stands in a pulpit, leads a church, has a ministry, is on television, or has a website or a YouTube channel doesn’t mean they know the Bible very well. There are many people who have a deeper and broader knowledge of the word of Elohim who no one has ever heard of. Maybe you’re such a person!

Luke 13:15, Hypocrite. Yeshua was able to defend his actions and contradict the leader of the synagogue because he knew the Torah better that religious leader.

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 the Torah. How many Bible teachers do that in our day? In fact, the New Testament as we know it didn’t even exist in Paul’s day; all they had was the Old Testament from which to teach. Many of today’s Bible teachers know religious tradition and doctrines of men better than the actual word of Elohim. Or if they know the Bible, they know only parts of it (like the New Testament), and know very little or anything about the Old Testament or Tanakh and the Torah.

Second, as a minister of the word of Elohim, one will need to defend it against those who are false teachers and who teach the doctrines of men that make of non-effect the Word of Elohim. To be able to do this, the Bible teacher must study and know YHVH’s word intimately down to the most minute details and better so than one’s opponents. On this score, Yeshua was preeminent, and was able to leave his accusers speechless and without rebuttals. As his disciples, we must endeavor to imitate his example.

 

Heaven’s Curtain Pulled Back

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Luke 13:12, Woman…spirit of infirmity. Sometimes Yeshua healed people who neither asked for it, nor evidenced faith to be healed simply that the glory of YHVH might be manifested.

From time to time, we hear of miraculous healings and divine interventions that saved people’s lives occurring for no apparent reason.

It seems that occasionally YHVH likes to stir the spiritual pot of human affairs just to draw men’s attention to him. He pulls back the curtain between heaven and earth a bit to reveal himself to humans. This not only brings glory to his name, but serves to raise men’s hopes a bit by pointing them to the fact that there is an Elohim who is sovereignly and who is orchestrating things behind the scenes and who cares about humans.