Blog Scripture Readings for 4-6 through 4-12-14

Aside

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Achrei Mot — Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Haftarah — Malachi 3:4–24**
Prophets —Isaiah 48:1 – 54:17
Writings — Proverbs 30:1 – 31:31; Job 1:1 – 5:27
Testimony — Acts 10:1 – 14:28

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.

**A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This Shabbat is traditionally known as Shabbat HaGadol and Malachi 3:4–24 is read in place of Ezekiel 22:1 – 22:19.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 4/6 through 4/12/14.

 

On Family Purity

Leviticus 15 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?

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Leviticus 15:1–33, Regarding bodily emissions, what lessons can we learn from these verses on how YHVH views us as being the temples of his Set-Apart Spirit? How are we to treat our bodies with respect and to care for them in a way that glorifies YHVH?

Leviticus 15:19–24, The laws of niddah apply to a women in her menstrual cycle. This is an area that many take for granted, but not YHVH in his Torah. A woman’s body produces life or death depending on whether an egg has been fertilized or not during her monthly cycle. There are many spiritual ramifications to this, and YHVH does not treat this matter lightly. While her egg is passing from her body she is in a state of impurity since, in a sense, death is occurring (an unfertilized egg is passing out). It is a time of grieving and emotional turmoil for the woman. This is NOT the time for a man to approach his wife sexually. To do so, as already noted, is strictly forbidden (Lev 18:19).

Consider the benefits to the marriage of the husband and wife separating themselves sexually and emotionally at this time each month, and how it can benefit and enrich a marriage. The man learns self control and selflessness in that he is given the opportunity to be extra solicitous of his wife’s needs without expecting anything in return. What’s more, how much sweeter their time of intimacy will be when the do come back together intimately. The old adage, absence makes the heart grow fonder, could apply here.

The Torah considers a woman to be unclean for at least seven days, even if her flow lasted only one day. So at the minimum a man is to be separated from his wife (giving her an emotional break) for at least seven days, if not longer. On the eighth day (at the minimum) or the next day after her flow has stopped, she is no longer considered unclean (The ArtScroll Tanach Series Vayikra, p. 247). Eight is the biblical number signifying new beginnings. In this case, eight relates to the new cycle of life that begins as the woman’s body begins to produce a new egg with the potential for new life to occur.

 

The Holy Spirit: Male, Female, or It?

Acts 8:16, For as yet He had. In most of our modern English Bibles, this verse supports the notion that the Holy Spirit is masculine by using the third person singular of the verb in reference to the antecedent Holy Spirit, which is found in the preceding verse. Is this a correct translation? First, the Greek word spirit pneuma/pneuma is a neuter noun. To be grammatically correct, therefore, our verse should read, “For as yet, It….”

However, the Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit is a Person, so it has to be either masculine or feminine. In our text, the English words “he had” are the one Greek word ehn which is the active, indicative, imperative, third person singular of the verb eimi meaning, in its infinitive state, “to be,” or in its imperfect tense, “was.” In this verse, the verb eimi in this form can mean either, “he was, she was, or it was” (Basics of Biblical Greek, p. 59, by William Mounce).

So how do we determine what the gender should be of the Holy Spirit?

In the Tanakh, the Hebrew word for spirit (as in Holy Spirit) is ruach, which is in the feminine gender. Since the concept of the Holy Spirit originates in the Hebrew language of the Tanakh, and since Elohim (the plural Hebrew noun indicating the plurality of the Godhead) reveals himself as both male and female (Gen 1:26–27), it is, therefore, illogical to refer to the Holy Spirit in the masculine gender in Acts 8:16.

Therefore, in Acts 8:16, referring to the Holy Spirit as he is a blatant example of scribal gloss, and is an example of the translators bowing to the Catholic doctrine of the third person in the Godhead being male in gender even though the linguistics of this verse don’t support it, and something the Bible as a whole doesn’t support.

This now begs the following question: If the Holy Spirit isn’t male, but is part of the Godhead, then what other gender is there for the Holy Spirit to be?

 

New Video: Are We on the Brink of World War 3?

In this video, I discuss the Gog-Magog war (Ezek 38–39) in light of current world events and show where Obama’s name is mentioned in this biblical prophecy, and show where America is referred to in Bible prophecy. I also talk about biblical end time prophecies relating to the destruction of Damascus, the Palestinian conflict, Matthew 24, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the seven seals, the blood red moons, and I show where we’re currently at on the biblical prophetic timeline.

 

New Video: Keys to Understanding Bible Prophecy

One third of the Bible is prophecy. In this video, Natan explains some basic keys that will help the Bible student to understand Bible prophecy, and thus to understand end time events.

 

New Video: A Tree Expert on “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

In John 15, Yeshua likens abiding in him to branches being attached to a tree. A branch is attached to the trunk and the life of the tree just flows into it automatically, so it an produce good fruit. The same is true with us if we know how to abide in Yeshua. This video explains this wonderful process. Yeshua is the tree of life!

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 3/30 through 4/5/14

Aside

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Metzora — Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33
Haftarah — 2 Kings 7:3–20
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.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 3/30 through 4/5/14.