The Torah portion לח לח Lech-Lecha (Genesis 12-17) includes Abraham being called out of Ur of the Chaldeans. But there’s a specific event in Genesis 14 that deserves special focus: Abraham’s encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek. We meet this ancient pre-Israel king of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) again in the books of Psalms and Hebrews. Why is he so important, and what does he have to do with Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ)?
God is not an American. As we study the Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha (“get going!” Genesis 12–17), we should remember that the Bible He divinely inspired should not be interpreted through the lens of American history.
How are we living up to God’s instruction to make His words in the Bible “honorable”?
We’re taking an excursus from our exploration of Yeshua’s “apocalyptic discourse” in Matthew 24-25, Luke 21 and Mark 13 to explore one of the most pervasive sins among God’s people today. It’s not the Sabbath. It’s not sexual deviance. This is a study about kosher — distinguishing between “clean” and “unclean” — and God’s judgment on the Day of the Lord.
There is a deeper meaning of kosher and what God considers “clean.” Many are very concerned about Moses’ commands about eating kosher, but little concern about Yeshua’s command to speak kosher.
Apostle Ya’akov (James) wrote a lot about the essential matter of keeping control of what comes out of one’s mouth.
There are certain Bible passages — Mark 7; Acts 10; Romans 14; Colossians 2 — that without a grasp of the history, language and culture are easy to misinterpret.
A large number of believers in the God of Israel and Yeshua as the Messiah of God seem to have an identity crisis. Many have been taught that believers in Yeshua (Jesus) are part of “the Church” or a “new Israel,” which “died” to the Torah. However, Yeshua, the Prophets and apostle Paul said believers join ancient Israel and take on its heritage in the Torah.
How do we explain to others about being “under grace” and still obey the Torah? Are we “under grace” or “under law”? Paul explains this in his letter to the Romans.