Tag Archives: Exodus

Exodus 35:1–38:20 Parashah Vayakhel and Exodus 38:21–40:38 Parashat Pekudei

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This is a gospel-oriented Torah study. Our goal is to connect the good news of Yeshua the Messiah (the gospel message) to its Hebraic, pro-Torah roots or foundations. The information given here is more than head knowledge. Understanding and wisdom (the right application of knowledge that is based on truth) is taught thus making biblical truth practical, relevant and applicable to your daily life. The truths of the Bible not only have the power to transform your life here and now for the better, but eventually to take you past the veil of death and into eternity.

This Torah study is subdivided in sections by topic in a magazine format thus making it easy to watch at several sittings.

May you be blessed as you watch this video.

For a free, printable adult and youth Torah study guide on this Torah portion (parashah), please go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/parshiot.html

 

Parashat Ki Tisa Exodus 30:11-34:35 Outline & Study

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Parashat Ki Tisa (when you take) Exodus 30:11-34:35 Outline & Study Sheet

Haftorah Reading

1 Kings 18:1–39

The Testimony of Yeshua

  • On the gifts of the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:1–31
  • On keeping the Sabbath: Hebrews 4:9
  • On the golden calf and idolatry: Acts 7:39–42; 17:29–31; 1 Corinthians 10:1–13
  • Come out wickedness; put on righteousness: 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Hebrews 10:22
  • On the Book of Life: Revelation 3:5; 17:8; 21:27; 22:19; Matthew 11:28
  • On seeing the Father: John 1:18
  • On the grace of Elohim: Titus 3:5
  • On YHVH’s Feasts: Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 16:8
  • On the greater glory of Yeshua, the Second Moses: Hebrews 3:1–6
  • On the letter versus the spirit; first glory versus the second and greater glory: 2 Corinthians 3:1–18; John 17:1–2
  • On the second coming: 2 Peter 3:3–4

Outline of This Week’s Parashah (Torah Portion)

— 30:11 The Census/The Sacred Half-Shekel

— 30:17 The Bronze Laver

— 30:22 The Sacred Anointing Oil: Its Contents and Uses

— 30:34 The Sacred Incense: Its Contents and Uses

— 31:6 Bezaleel and Oholiab Chosen to Be the Chief Artisans Over the Construction of the Tabernacle/Mishkan

— 31:12 The Sabbath: A Sign Between YHVH and His People, An Eternal Covenant

— 31:18 Moses Receives the Tablets

— 32:1 The Golden Calf Incident

— 32:7 YHVH’s Anger Against Israel for Their Idolatry

— 32:11 Moses’ Successful Prayer of Intercession

— 32:15 Moses Descends From Mount Sinai

— 32:19 Moses Smashes the Tablets, Grinds the Idol into Powder and Causes the Israelites to Drink It

— 32:30 Moses Intercedes to YHVH Again on Behalf of the People

— 33:1 Aftermath of the Golden Calf Incident

— 33:7 Moses Pitches the Tabernacle/Tent of Meeting Outside the Camp

— 33:12 Moses Pleads for YHVH’s Presence

— 33:19 Moses Sees the Glory of YHVH Through the Cleft of the Rock

— 34:1 The Second Set of Tablets

— 34:5 YHVH Reveals the Thirteen Attributes of His Mercy

— 34:8 Moses’ Request; YHVH Seals the Covenant With Israel and Forbids Israel to Make Covenants With the Pagans

— 34:17 Israel Is Forbidden from Making Idols and Is Commanded to Observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Shabbat, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles (the Three Pilgrimage Festivals)

— 34:27 Renewal of the Covenant

— 34:33 The Radiance of Moses’ Face

Study Questions for This Week’s Midrash (Torah Discussion)

1— 30:11–16, Everyone was expected to contribute to the building of the mishkan (tabernacle). What can we learn from this passage about the Israelites’ spirit of giving? How are we about giving of our treasure to the work of YHVH?

2— 30:15 and 16, To make atonement for your souls. Some will read these verses and conclude that one can buy their redemption through charitable giving and therefore circumvent the need to place one’s faith in Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross. Does this passage suggest a theology where man can save himself from his sins by acts of charity? Let’s dig a little deeper to see what these verses are really teaching us.

In this passage, YHVH instructed the Israelites to pay an annual half-shekel temple tax. This money went, in part, toward, the service (verse 16) and constructing of the Tabernacle of Moses (e.g., Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the OT, vol. 1, p. 459; Exod. 3— 38:21–31), and later toward the purchase of the animals the priests sacrificed (The Temple and Its Service, by Alfred Edersheim, p. 48). In this way, the people were participating vicariously in the act of sacrificing an innocent animal as an offering or atonement for their sins. Again, the Scriptures reveal that this sacrificial system merely Continue reading →

 

Grace…A New Testament Concept!? Really?

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Exodus 33:12–13, Grace. The mainstream church places a great deal of emphasis on the message of grace. The biblical doctrine of grace finds its roots in this chapter in the Torah and not in the apostolic writings as the mainstream church teaches. The noun grace (Heb. chen) is found six times in chapters 33 and 34. The adjective gracious (Heb. chanan and channuwn)as an attribute YHVH’s character is found three times in chapters 33 and 34. Six is the number of man and three is the number of Elohim. That is to say, the grace of the entire Godhead covers man completely even when his children turn away from him and give into golden calf worship. His grace for his people rejoices or triumphs over his fiery and consuming judgments (Exod 33:4; Jas 2:13; Pss 85:10; 89:14; Mic 7:18; Eph 1:7; Rom 5:8) that they deserve for their stiff-neckness and sinful rebellion against his commands (Exod 33:3).

The Hebrew word for grace is chen/IJ meaning “favor, grace, charm, acceptance.” The Hebrew word chen (found 69 times in the Tanakh), which is translated as grace, in this verse is equivalent to the Greek word charis/cariV, which is found 156 times in the Testimony of Yeshua and is translated as grace 130 times in the KJV. The equivalency of these two words is confirmed by the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek Tanakh) who used charis in place of chen when translating the Hebrew Tanakh into Greek beginning in the third century b.c. According to The TWOT, in the vast majority of occurrences of chen in the Tanakh, the focus of attention is not on the giver, but on the recipient. The emphasis is on the relationship of the superior to an inferior (e.g. a king to his subjects). What this teaches us is that despite sin and rebellion against him, YHVH (the king) is gracious (to humans, his subjects). Contrary to what many in the church have been led to believe, the grace of Elohim is a very prominent theme in the Tanakh. Examples of this include Noah who found grace in YHVH’s eyes (Gen 6:8), or the children of Israel although dead in their sins in Egypt and deserving of YHVH’s wrath, they were saved by the blood of the lamb. There are a number of other references to the grace of Elohim in the Tanakh as well (Gen 18:3; Exod 3:21; 33:16,17; 34:9; Ps 84:11; Zech 12:10).

Exodus 34:6–7 lists various attributes of YHVH’s mercy. He is:

  • compassionate
  • gracious
  • abundant in kindness
  • abundant in truth
  • a preserver of kindness for thousands of generations
  • a forgiver of iniquity, willful sin (transgression) and error (sin)
  • cleanser of our sins

Merciful (verse 6) in Hebrew is the word rachuwm/ OUJR from the root word racham/ OJR meaning “to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion.” The TWOT explains that this word refers to a deep love (usually a superior individual for an inferior) rooted in some deep natural bond. It is used for the deep inward feeling we know as compassion, pity, or mercy. This word is found 47 times in the Tanakh, and frequently refers to the love of Elohim for his people (see Ps 103:13; Mic 7:17). Often Elohim’s mercy and grace are linked together (note Exod 33:19; 34:6; 2 Kgs 13:23; Pss 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8). His mercy and graciousness are at times unconditional upon those he chooses to favor (Exod 33:19), and is upon those who repent of their sins as well (Deut 13:17). The Tanakh elsewhere frequently exults in the attributes of YHVH’s mercy or compassion (see Deut 4:31; 2 Chron 3:9; Neh 9:17,31; Pss 78:38; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2.) Again, can there be any doubt that the “God of Old Testament” is just as loving and merciful as the “God of the New Testament?” It stands to reason that they are, for they are one in the same Divine Personage—and his character is unchangeable (review Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8)!

Numerous parallel passages in the Testimony of Yeshua can be found that are built on these foundational Torah principles of YHVH’s grace and mercy ( Heb 4:16; Rom 3:24; Eph 1:17; 2:4,8; Tit 1:4; 2:11; 3:5; 1 Pet 1:3; Jude 21).

 

Golden Calf Worship Among YHVH’s People Today

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Let’s look at the series of events that occurred as the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, which have major relevance to what is occurring in mainstream Christianity in our day. If we fail to learn the lessons of history, we’ll likely repeat the mistakes of history. It has to do with golden calf worship.

YHVH redeemed the children of Israel out of Egypt and set the slaves free. He blessed them not only by giving them their freedom, but by giving them the wealth (gold and silver) of Egypt as well. We read that the Israelites exited of Egypt with a high hand. They were victorious, free and wealthy.

YHVH led them into the wilderness en route to the Promised Land—normally an eleven day journey. They had some difficulties: Pharaoh tried to kill them at the Red Sea, they lacked clean drinking water, and they had food issues, but YHVH provided them deliverance from Pharaoh, gave them clean water, manna and meat, and they overcame these trials.

Next, YHVH led the Israelites to the foot of Mount Sinai, and on Shavuot he made a covenantal agreement with them and gave them his Torah as their national constitution. They agreed to obey him and to keep his commandments. He promised to bless them if they remained faithful to him.

Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah-covenant on two tablets of stone. While he was gone for 40 days, the people grew worried and anxious and become weary of waiting for Moses to return.  This was a test they had to pass of their faithfulness. Would they be faithful to YHVH and keep his commandments, or would they stray spiritually from the path of righteousness YHVH had given them and they had agreed to follow?

The Israelites got tired of waiting, and took the gold from Egypt and turned it into a golden calf, and then they rose up to play (to party). They even called their revelry a feast to YHVH! They used religious verbiage like “YHVH” and “feast” to add legitimacy to their illegitimate activities, but this didn’t change the sin of their behavior. Sin is still sin regardless of how we attempt to cloak it in spiritual terms and costumes in an attempt to justify our wicked behavior.

Moses then came down from Sinai with the stone tablets, saw the people worshipping the golden calf and the people playing, and he brought judgment against those who were unfaithful to YHVH and rewarded those who had been faithful to him.

Let’s now analyze this story to see what spiritual lessons we can glean from it.

YHVH blessed the children of Israel by setting them free from Egypt, giving them honor as freedmen, taking them to himself to be his own special people, giving them a religion, a legal code and much material wealth. What was the first job assignment YHVH gave his people to do? It was to build a tabernacle so that YHVH might dwell in their midst.

YHVH gave the Israelites wealth from Egypt not only as a remuneration for their years of slavery in that nation (Torah teaches that a workman is worthy of his hire), but he gave them wealth so they could build him a home. Instead, what was the first thing the Israelites did with their wealth? They built a golden calf in honor of their past life in Egypt.

The golden calf represented the spiritual idols or strongholds of sin that were already in their hearts, and which they failed to leave behind in Egypt. Though the Israelites had physically come out of the idolatry of Egypt, they hadn’t gotten Egypt’s idols out of their own hearts. When the way of the wilderness became too tough and their faith was tested (i.e. would they remain faithful to YHVH in the time Continue reading →

 

The Holy Half Shekel—Another Pointer to Yeshua!

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Exodus 30:15 and 16, To make atonement for your souls. Some will read these verses and conclude that one can buy their redemption through charitable giving and therefore circumvent the need to place one’s faith in Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross. Does this passage suggest a theology where man can save himself from his sins by acts of charity? Let’s dig a little deeper to see what these verses are really teaching us.

In this passage, YHVH instructed the Israelites to pay an annual half-shekel temple tax. This money went, in part, toward, the service (verse 16) and constructing of the Tabernacle of Moses (e.g. Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the OT, vol. 1, p. 459; Exod. 38:21–31), and later toward the purchase of the animals the priests sacrificed (The Temple and Its Service, by Alfred Edersheim, p. 48). In this way, the people were participating vicariously in the act of sacrificing an innocent animal as an offering or atonement for their sins. Again, the Scriptures reveal that this sacrificial system merely pointed prophetically toward the Greater Sacrifice that would come later in the Person of Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel. (Read Isa 53.) On the point that the paying the half-shekel was a merely a temporary solution to the problem of man’s sin, Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary on this passage,

As an expiation [atonement] for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel’s nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin (ibid.). 

Keil and Delitzsch’s point is further strengthened in Exodus 30:16, which says,

And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls. (emphasis added; ibid.)

The giving of the half-shekel was a memorial to what? The Hebrew word for memorial is zikrown (Strong’s H2146) meaning “reminder, token, record.” According to The TWOT, a zikrown is an object or act which brings something else to mind or which represents something else. It reminded them of their sinfulness and pointed prophetically to a Redeemer—Yeshua the Messiah— who would come and take away their sins once and for all (Heb 10:10). For a more detailed study of this subject, please see our teaching article entitled, “The Atonement: Bloody or Bloodless? Understanding the Concept of Atonement in the Torah” located on the Hoshana Rabbah website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/atone.pdf.

 

What is the biblical age of accountability?

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Exodus 30:14, From twenty years old and above. This passage gives us the first indication that the Torah viewed the age of accountability to be 20 years old (see also Num 1:3, 18, 20; 26:2). That is to say, those who died prior to age 20 were not held eternally accountable for their sins, and presumably might be given a second chance to live out their lives at some latter date, although there is no clear scriptural reference to confirm this notion.

The idea that YHVH held one accountable for their sins after the age of twenty is supported by the fact that all Israelites over age of 20 (with the notable exceptions of Caleb and Joshua) died in the wilderness prior to entering the Promised Land because of sins they had committed during their wilderness journey, while those under age 20 were allowed into the land, presumably because YHVH considered them to be guilt free (Num 14:29; 32:11).

If 20 is the age of accountability, then this begs the obvious question: what will happen to those who died before age 20? It is generally accepted by many in the church that babies or young children who have died before having had a chance to “accept Yeshua” will be given a second chance to do so. But what about those who died “unsaved” prior to age 20? Some have speculated that they may be resurrected at some time in the future and be allowed to live out their lives during the Millennium (see Isa 65:17–20).

Perhaps the reason Satan will be released at the end of the Millennium from the pit where he was held captive will be to give all those living on the earth at that time (including those who died under the age of accountability) a chance to accept or reject Yeshua. YHVH will use the devil to test the loyalties of this new crop potential saints (Rev 20:7–10). Those who remain faithful will inherit eternal life, while those whom Satan seduces into rebellion will have their part in the second death (Rev 20:11–15).

O, the merciful grace of Elohim!

 

Exodus 30:11–34:35 Parashat KiTisa

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This is a gospel-oriented Torah study. Our goal is to connect the good news of Yeshua the Messiah (the gospel message) to its Hebraic, pro-Torah roots or foundations. The information given here is more than head knowledge. Understanding and wisdom (the right application of knowledge that is based on truth) is taught thus making biblical truth practical, relevant and applicable to your daily life. The truths of the Bible not only have the power to transform your life here and now for the better, but eventually to take you past the veil of death and into eternity.

This Torah study is subdivided in sections by topic in a magazine format thus making it easy to watch at several sittings.

May you be blessed as you watch this video.

For a free, printable adult and youth Torah study guide on this Torah portion (parashah), please go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/parshiot.html