Our new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2019-2020 with daily readings is available to download and print. If you are still working through 2018-2019’s Scripture Reading Schedule, the link will still be available on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links”. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.
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 or the “share your thoughts” box 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 5/10 through 5/16/2020.
Leviticus 24 is one complete thought. The next thought begins with “And YHVH spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai saying…” in chapter 25. Caring for the tabernacle’s menorah, the 12 loaves of show bread and dealing with a blasphemer upon closer analysis aren’t three disparate and unrelated subjects, but indicate a continuum of thought that eventually relates to the modern mainstream church. Let’s see how.
Leviticus 24 is divided into three subsections: caring for the menorah, baking and placing the show bread, and punishment for the blasphemer. Each new section begins with the Hebrew word vav meaning “and,” which expresses a new thought, but is also a continuation of the previous thought. What do these three sections have to do with each other?
The menorah is a spiritual picture of Yeshua and the redeemed believer. It is also a prophetic picture of Yeshua who is the tree of life to which each redeemed Israelite is attached and draws his spiritual sustenance through the Spirit of Elohim. (Yeshua is the vine and the saints are his branches, John 15:1.) The gold in the menorah represents pure, godly character of righteousness. A menorah produces heat and light through its flame. Light represents the fruit of the Spirit of Elohim, and heat represents the power of the gifts of the Spirit. This is how a saint reaches the world: he is a light in the darkness around him and lets his light shine through the fruit of the spirit, and then reaches the world through the supernatural power gifts of the Spirit. The menorah also represents the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot when YHVH gave his people his Torah instructions in righteousness, and then latter wrote his Torah on their hearts by his Spirit in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost.
The show bread is a picture of redeemed Israel (the twelve tribes) bringing the bread of life, the Word of Elohim, to the world. The bread was covered in frankincense representing the prayers of the saints not only praising YHVH, but interceding for those who are spiritually lost.
The death of the young blasphemer is what happens when parents don’t raise their children correctly by reaching out to them with the truth of Torah—they blaspheme Elohim and are killed in judgment. Perhaps the Israelite woman had married an Egyptian who was not a believer in Elohim and the Torah and thus she was unequally yoked with a heathen unbeliever. Perhaps they were both followers of Elohim, but they raised their child incorrectly by not teaching him the lover and fear of Elohim—giving him the spiritual bread of life (represented by the table of showbread). Either way, the Israelite woman (a picture of the church) was not discipling her child in the word of Elohim and not being a spiritual light to him (represented by the menorah) and she lost her child because of it. How many redeemed believers (and church leaders) spiritually abort their children because they didn’t properly disciple or raise them in the Torah-Word of Elohim?
Leviticus 23:2, Feasts. These feast (moedim) days are set-apart times for YHVH’s consecrated people. They are divine appointments between the Creator of the Universe and his called-out ones. Furthermore, they are love feasts (Jude 12) between YHVH-Yeshua and his bride, the saints of the Most High Elohim. The seven feasts of YHVH are also the perfect seven-step divine plan showing how YHVH-Yeshua will redeem his backslid people Israel, his adulterous bride, back to himself. These days are the embodiment of the gospel (the good news) message of the coming marriage between Yeshua and his bride and the establishment of his kingdom upon this earth in a full and universal sense! We show our belief, faith, love, anticipation and obedience to him by walking them out.
To not set aside time for YHVH feasts from one’s secular schedule is to ignore the call of the Bridegroom, Yeshua, for us to go out to meet him. It is to deprive oneself of the joys of communing with the Set-Apart (Kadosh) One of Israel in this special and set-apart way. It is to disregard and treat as common and profane the consecrated times that YHVH established for him and his people to come together. It is to disregard the covenants, the national constitution and marriage agreement between YHVH and his people—redeemed Israelite believers who have been grafted in to the olive tree of Israel through a relationship with Yeshua, the Messiah, the Anointed Sent One of Israel (Rom 11:13–24; Eph 2:11–19). To disregard YHVH’s feast days is to show disregard for his Torah-commands—his precepts, teachings and instructions in righteousness. To do this is to violate his commandments, which is sin (1 John 3:4)!
So what’s keeping you from celebrating YHVH’s feasts?
Leviticus 23:2,My feasts [Heb. moedim]. YHVH calls these feasts his feasts. They’re not men’s feasts or the Jewish feasts! They came from YHVH and belong to him. When men pervert YHVH’s feasts by mixing in pagan traditions, they’re no longer YHVH’s feasts, but men’s feasts (e.g. Isa 1:13–15; Amos 5:21; Hos 2:11). When men pollute his feasts and appointed times, YHVH says that he hates them because they’re no longer his feasts (Isa 1:14–15).
In Ezekiel 20, we see that YHVH’s feasts (or sabbaths) are a covenantal sign between YHVH and his people (Ezek 20:12) that they were to live by (Ezek 20:11), yet which Israel, in rebellion, refused to do while in the wilderness. Instead they defiled his sabbaths by, presumably, not doing them and doing other things on those holy days (Ezek 20:13). Israel’s rebellion against YHVH with regard to their refusal to keep his sabbaths brought upon them YHVH’s judgments (Ezek 20:13). In other words, it was YHVH’s will for the Israelites to keep his sabbaths in the wilderness, but because of their idolatrous rebellion, they refused to do so.
In fact, YHVH calls refusing to observe his sabbaths idolatry and for this sin (along with other sins), the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for forty years (Ezek 20:15–16). In profaning his sabbaths, YHVH accuses the Israelites of despising his Torah (Ezek 20:16).
YHVH then goes on to urge his people to not follow the example of their rebellious forefathers, but rather to walk in all of his Torah commands (including his sabbaths, Ezek 20:18–20). Because of their profaning his sabbaths, he punished them by scattering them in exile among the heathens. Those modern saints who refuse to keep YHVH’s Sabbath and feasts are walking in the same sin as the ancient Israelites.
Often people who refuse to keep YHVH’s feast days holy do so because the feasts conflict with their secular activities (such as their jobs). YHVH calls this idolatry and being like the heathen (Ezek 20:30, 32).
In the end times, YHVH is going to separate his people out from the heathen and bring them back into covenantal agreement with him including obedience to his sabbaths (Ezek 20:33–38). He will purge from his people those rebels who refuse to obey him including keeping his sabbaths (Ezek 20:38), which are a sign of his covenantal relationship with them.
In Genesis chapter one when Elohim created the sun and moon, he called the former “the greater light” and the latter “the lesser light” (Gen 1:16). The former rules the day and the lesser rules the night (ibib.). This is prophetic of the role of Yeshua and the saints in the world.
Yeshua the Messiah is the Light of the world (John 1:6–9; 8:12; 9:5) or the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2) or the Greater Light to show man the path of spiritual light in the darkness of this world. The saints are like the moon or the lesser light that reflects the light of the sun or the greater light into the darkness of this world. Yeshua shines his spiritual light onto his disciples who then take that light and evangelize those lost in spiritual darkness with the message of the gospel. This is the great commission!
The biblical feasts are calculated based on the lunations of the moon. The seven biblical holidays speak of YHVH’s plan of salvation to show man the way to Yeshua who is the Greater Spiritual Light as represented by the sun. The feasts are like a tract or sermon by which the saints preach the gospel message of salvation to the world. The saints as the lesser light reflecting the message of salvation through Yeshua the Greater Light into the darkness of this world through their adherence to the biblical feasts. This is one reason why the moon—the lesser light—is so pivotal to YHVH’s calendar and feasts.
The traditional calendar currently used by the non-believing, rabbinic Jews is off; it’s not in accordance with the moon though the Jews erroneously purport it to be. At the same time, they’re not bringing the gospel message of Yeshua to the world—only the doctrines of men and men’s traditions. Their whole message is askew and fails to reflect the Greater Light of Yeshua.
Similarly, the mainstream church tries to preach the gospel, but without understanding the moon, feasts and biblical calendar their message of the gospel is only a partial one and is also off spiritually.
A time may come in the future when the calendar and feasts will go strictly off the sun and not the moon. This may occur when there is a new heaven and a new earth when Yeshua is ruling on this earth and he will be the only Light of the world. That time isn’t yet, though, for it’s still the saints’ job as the lesser light to be like the moon to reflect the truth of Yeshua, the Greater Light, to this world through a lunar-based calendar upon which the biblical feasts are based.
Over the years, I have published probably hundreds of written and video resources on the biblical feasts, which are all available to you free of charge. There are too many to list here, so I will provide links to where you can find them.
Isaiah 61:10,He has clothed me with garments of salvation … robes of righteousness.The Hebrew word for salvation is Yesha (Strong’s H3468), which forms the root for the word yeshua meaning “salvation,” which, of course is the derivation of the Messiah’s personal name, Yeshua. How does Scripture define the word righteousness? (For the brief answer, reference Ps 119:172.) We see in this verse an interplay between the concepts of being clothed in Messiah’s salvation and works of righteousness, which is Torah obedience. Now relate these two concepts to Ephesians 2:8–9, which describes how we are saved spiritually, and then to Ephesians 2:10, which describes the proof of our salvation.
Now let’s take the next step in our line of logic by turning to Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 to discover what are the identifying marks of the end-time saints. Now relate this to the robes of righteousness the bride of Yeshua will be wearing in Revelation 19:7–9 with special emphasis on verse 8. The KJV reads, “for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints,” while both the NIV and NAS read “righteous acts” for “righteousness.” What are the righteous acts of the saints? (Again read Ps 119:172 along with John 14:15 and 1 John 2:3–6. Now read 2 Pet 3:14; Eph 5:27; Heb 12:14; Matt 5:48 and John 12:48.) As a famous radio personality of our time likes to say, “Now go and do the right thing!”
Isaiah 62:2,The Gentiles shall see your righteousness. Compare this verse with Isaiah 60:1–3. How will the heathens see your righteousness if you dress, act, speak, live like a heathen and follow the heathen religious customs and doctrines that have made their way into the church system? Remember (from the comments on Isaiah 61:10 above) how Scripture defines righteousness?
Isaiah 62:6,I have set watchmen upon your wall.Who are these watchmen? (Read Isa 21:6, 11, 12; Ezek 3:17; 33:2, 6, 7; Hos 9:8.) What is the current state of many of the spiritual watchmen? (Read Isaiah 56:9–12 compared to John 10:7–13.) Other than guarding the sheep, what are the watchmen to be doing? Read Jeremiah 6:16–19 where we learn that they are to be turning YHVH’s people back to the ancient paths of YHVH’s instructions and precepts in righteousness—the Torah.
Isaiah 62:10,Lift up a standard.The Hebrew word for standard is nec, pronounced nace (Strong’s H5251/TWOT 1379a) meaning “signal pole, banner, ensign, sign or sail.” According to The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, nec generally refers to “a rallying point or standard, which drew people together for some common action or for the communication of important information.” A standard, banner or flag is usually placed at a high or conspicuous place within the camp or community. There, a signal pole, sometimes with a flag attached, would be raised as a point of focus or object of hope. In Exodus 17:15, we discover that one of YHVH’s covenant names is YHVH-Nissi or YHVH My Banner. Isaiah prophetically declares that Yeshua, the Root of Jesse, would be “an ensign to the nations” (Isa 11:10) signifying the lifting up of Israel’s messianic king around whom all men would gather (TWOT, vol. 2, p. 583). In Isaiah 62:10–12, the prophet declares that a standard will be lifted up over the nations for the daughter of Zion (the land of Israel) signalling their return to Israel from the nations among which they have been scattered. What makes this end-time remnant of Israel holy (set-apart) and redeemed? What is this standard or rallying point that YHVH will lift up over the nations causing them to return to their land and spiritual roots? How is this being fulfilled today among YHVH’s people? Who is that banner? The answer to this question can be found in some of the neighboring verses:
Verse 8, Who is “the arm of his strength” (see Isa 53:1).
Verse 10, Who is the One who is likened to a gate that people are to go through? (See Ps 24:9; John 10:7, 9.)
Verse 10, Who is “the way for the people? (See John 14:6.)
Verse 10, Who is like a banner that literally gets lifted up causing eyes to look at him? (See John 3:14.)
Verse 11, Who is the salvation that Isaiah prophesied was coming? To answer this question, what is the Hebrew word for “he will save” and “salvation”? To find the answer, if you have a Strong’s Concordance, look up H3442 and H3444. (Hint: it’s the Hebrew word for Jesus.)
Verse 11, Who is the One coming who is bringing rewards with him? Rewards for both the righteous and the wicked?
Isaiah 63:1–6,Comes from Edom. Who is Edom? Both Christian and Jewish Bible commentators see this passage referring to YHVH avenging Israel for Edom’s perpetual hatred and persecution of Israel. The Jews relate Edom not only to the literal descendants of Esau, but see Edom as a metaphor for all those who have persecuted the Israelites down through the ages including the Babylonians, Greeks, Assyrians, Romans, and even the Germans. (Relate this passage to the parallel passages in Rev 14:14–20.) Even as Esau and his small army stood blocking the way of Jacob’s return to the Promised Land in Genesis 32, so Edom will attempt to prevent Jacob’s descendants from doing the same in the end days. How is this being fulfilled in the land of Israel today? Who is attempting to thwart Israel’s every attempt to re-establish itself in its homeland today? Isaiah 63 shows us how YHVH will eventually deal with Edom for their antagonism against YHVH’s people. Other Scriptures that deal with Edom’s demise and punishment at YHVH’s hands because of their perpetual hatred for Israel include Jeremiah 49:7–22; Ezekiel 25:12–14; 35 (entire chapter); 36:5 (where Idumea is another reference to Edom) Joel 3:19; Amos 1:6, 9, 11; 2:1; the entire Book of Obadiah, and Malachi 1:4.
Isaiah 63:9,The angel of his presence saved them. This is another one of those short prophetic passages that could be easily passed over, but which is significant. The word angel is malak (Strong’s H4397) meaning “messenger” or “representative” and can refer to both an earthly or human messenger, as well and a heavenly or divine/supernatural messenger. With regard to the latter, Scripture reveals that some are angelic messengers (e.g., Gen 19:1; Pss 91:11; 103:20), as well as a singular divine messenger who comes in the name of Elohim, from the Presence of Elohim acting as Elohim, and revealing himself to be Eohim, while presenting himself in humanesque form (e.g., Gen 22:11; 31:11; 48:16; Exod 3:2; 23:20, 23; etc.) The word presence in Isaiah 63:9 is panyim (Strong’s H6440) meaning “face.” To whom is this a reference? Compare Genesis 32:30 (Peniel means face of El/God) with Hosea 12:3–4. Most Christian Bible commentators see this messenger as a preincarnate appearance of Yeshua, which in theological terms is referred to as a theophany, or more specifically, a Christophany. In Isaiah 63:9, what does this Messenger from YHVH’s Presence or face of Elohim do for Israel? Discuss the concepts of salvation and redemption relating this to the work of Yeshua the Messiah as revealed in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament).
