Allusions to Torah-Obedience in the Book of First Thessalonians

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Torah Scroll 21075453

The following exercise can be applied to all of the New Testament books including all the other books written by Paul.

Connecting the Gospel to Its Pro-Torah Hebrew Roots

When I was taking a college level biblical Greek class a few years back, the Christian professor and I had a few discussions about the Torah. It was his belief that the epistles in the New Testament contained very few references to the Torah. In his mind, therefore, the Torah wasn’t a very prominent idea in the minds of the apostolic writers. I tried to enlighten him otherwise.

While the epistles might not contain very many outright references to the Torah — especially direct commands to be obedient to the Torah’s standards of righteousness, the apostolic writers weave the fundamental concepts of the Torah through their writings and make countless allusions to the Torah as we shall see in the study below. The Torah was just part of their spiritual and social fabric and background. It was their spiritual foundation, and to them Yeshua the Jewish, Torah-obedient Messiah, who was the Living Word of Elohim incarnate, was simply an extensions or expression of this basic idea of Torah truth and righteousness, and whose example they expected the saints to follow as his disciples.

1 Thess 1:2, Labor of love. (Hard work, intense labor or toil of charitable/agape love, benevolence, good will). Biblically speaking, is love merely an emotion, or is it something more? The Bible presents love as an action. Yeshua said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This action involves obedience to YHVH’s Torah-commandments. Elsewhere, Yeshua sums up the Torah when he quotes the biblical shema, which states that the duty of man is to love YHVH with all one’s heart, soul, mind and strength and one’s neighbor as oneself (Mark 12:28–31 cp. Deut 6:4 and Lev 19:18). The shema is a summation of the ten commandments the first four of which show us how to love YHVH, while the last six how to love our neighbor. These ten statements form the foundation or cornerstone of the entire Torah, which expand out of them.

1 Thess 1:9, Turn from idols … serve the living Elohim. The Tanakh (Old Testament) views idolatry as anything that takes one away from worshiping and serving YHVH by obeying his Torah commandments. The biblical prophets were continually warning the Continue reading →

 

Yehovah sometimes chooses the lesser of two evils…Hmm!?!

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La decisin correcta

This morning I was reading the Torah portion for the day and I came across this:

“Do not think in your heart, after Yehovah your Elohim has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness Yehovah has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that Yehovah is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that Yehovah your Elohim drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which Yehovah swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deut 9:4–5)

YHVH chose the lesser of two evils when he chose the Israelites. His choice was between the more sinful pagans and the less sinful Israelites.

Let’s be real here. He made the same choice when he chose you and me!

Yes I get the fact that he chose the Israelites ultimately because he was bound to his covenant with Abraham, but let’s not forget one thing. After the golden calf incident, YHVH threatened to destroy all the Israelites and fulfill his promises through Moses’ seed. So he could have circumvented the majority of the sinful Israelites and still fulfilled his promises to Abraham through Moses’ offspring.

Bottom line. But for the grace of Elohim none of us stand a chance. When he extended a call to you and me to receive salvation, he made a choice between the lesser of two evils!

Now let’s kick this ball into a different arena.

When voting for elected officials, we will never have the perfect candidate. It will always be a vote for the lesser of evils until King Yesahu returns to this earth and sets up his world-ruling government at which time voting won’t even be an option. His government will be forcibly imposed on humanity and enforced with a rod of iron! But you hopefully get my point.

For this reason, I have no choice at this point but to vote for Donald Trump. If YHVH sometimes has to make the choice between the lesser of two evils, who am I to say that I’m better than the Creator by refusing to vote, while waiting for the perfect candidate? I wasn’t the perfect candidate, yet he “voted” for me?

(I can’t wait to see the comments that come about this post. There will probably be some doozies!)

 

 

Take a drink…refresh yourself!

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Here are some pics I took of a mountain stream I camped next to this weekend.

In this crazy, perverted, upside down, Satanic, Elohim-hating world, feast your eyes on the beauty of YHVH’s creation. Take a drink from his streams of salvation, and let your cares and worries be washed in the water of his Word and may your mind and heart be restored in his river of life!

My tent is in the background.

My tent is in the background.

Mountain Stream 6

Mountain Stream 1

Mountain Stream 4

 

The Afflictions of YHVH Are for Our Refinement

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YHVH wants to turn his people into pure gold.

YHVH wants to turn his people into pure gold.

Deuteronomy 8:2–3, 6ff, YHVH afflicted/humbled you. Does the concept of YHVH afflicting his people bother you? Perhaps he will do this to us if and when we need it. The word afflict/anah (Strong’s H6031) literally means “to become low, depressed, put down or stoop.” (Note some other places where anah is used: Pss 55:19; 88:7; 90:15; 119:71, 75.) Scripture says that Israel exited Egypt with “a high hand/upraised arm” (Exod 14:8 and Num 33:3). The word high/upraised can connote haughtiness or arrogance, or it can mean that the children left Egypt triumphantly and in jubilation waving banners (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 369). What do you think? Did they leave Egypt in a spirit of contrition or arrogance? If the latter, then perhaps, in YHVH’s eyes, they need some humbling.

Are we any different? Do we need to be humbled? Down through the ages, YHVH has allowed his servants to suffer, but it was for their spiritual growth and benefit. What did Paul say about his thorn in the flesh? (See 2 Cor 12:7.) Why did Job experience what he did? (Read Job 42.) The process of humbling us so that we might have a higher view of YHVH, and a lower view of ourselves is not a bad thing! When we become contrite and humble before YHVH and more dependent on him, the blessings, power, anointing and provision of YHVH are able to flow into our lives more readily.

How has YHVH been trying to humble your flesh that he might bring you to a deeper level spiritually? The ArtScroll Chumash comments, “It is true that Elohim subjected the people to some hardships in the wilderness, but even that was for their good; just as a father may chastise his child to prepare him for the future” (p. 983). Consider this issue in light of the sufferings of YHVH’s servants while they were faithfully awaiting their spiritual inheritance as recorded in Hebrews 11. (Compare this with Jas 1:12–17 and 1 Cor 3:13.) Also consider the two types of judgments of YHVH as recorded in Scripture: his judgments unto repentance and his judgments unto death. What are some examples of each? If YHVH’s saints stay close to him spiritually, they won’t have to go through the latter type of judgment. (Examples: Noah and the flood; Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah; the Israelites in the plagues on Egypt; the saints and the tribulation, the great tribulation versus the wrath of Elohim periods at the end of the age [these are three separate time periods or events]; see also Heb 12:3–11).

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 8-21 Through 8-27-16

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Eikev — Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
Haftarah — Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3
Prophets — Hosea 5:1 – 11:12
Writings — 1 Chronicles 5:1 – 9:44
Testimony — Colossians 3:1 – 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:1 – 5:28

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 8/21 through 8/27/16.

 

New Video: Galatians Chapters 1 to 3 Explained Hebraically

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Addressing Paul’s Difficult Words in Colossians 2

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Colossians 2:14, Having wiped out. Here Paul mentions that Yeshua blotted out the handwritings of legal decrees that were against us when he died on the cross (Col 2:12–15). What was against us? It was the Torah law that specified that the sin of adultery carried the death penalty (Lev 20:10). For those who are washed in Yeshua’s redeeming blood and have been buried with him by water immersion or baptism (Col 2:12 cp. Rom 6:3–11), the devil, who is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), no longer has any legal basis against which to lay the charges of the sin of unfaithfulness against us before the Almighty (Col 2:15). Likely, there is a heavenly record of each man’s sins written in one of the books (which are in addition to the book of life) mentioned in Revelation 20:12. These books be opened at the last judgement and will be used to determine one’s eternal rewards based on one’s works of righteousness (v. 12). Some will be granted eternal life, while others will be destroyed in the lake of fire (v. 15). As mentioned, those who are under the blood of Yeshua and whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, there is no condemnation.

In this passage, Paul may be alluding to the law of the jealous regarding an unfaithful woman (Num 5:11–31). In this case, the Torah instructs a man to bring his wife whom he suspects of adultery before the priests along with an offering of barley meal. What follows Continue reading →