Author: Daniel

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Deuteronomy 7–11: Having a Messiah-like heart for God’s words

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) gave three answers to HaSatan (the devil) after His 40 days in the wilderness. What was Yeshua trying to say with, “Man should not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4)? In His refutations of HaSatan while being tempted, Yeshua quoted heavily from the Torah reading עקב Ekev/Eikev (“consequence,” Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25.

What did Yeshua want His disciples to learn from this account, recorded in Matthew 4:1–11? Anytime Yeshua cited scripture, He seemed to referred to the entire context of that verse, not merely the verse itself. Yeshua’s apostles taught in the same manner. They cited a reference, expecting their disciples to go to scripture and read it in context.

When Yeshua confronted HaSatan, He pulled from much of Ekev, not just the small snippets He quoted.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Deuteronomy 1–3; Isaiah 1: Why crowdsourcing your morality is a fail

In the Torah reading דברים Devarim (“words,” Deut. 1:1–3:22), Moses started giving a more complete record of what happened during the entire 38 years in the wilderness.

The Israelites didn’t have the same degree of bravery as their cousins (Edom, Ammon and Moab). They didn’t follow God’s direct instructions and suffered as a consequence. Their leaders became rotten; they ignored Torah, and the people suffered as a consequence.

This is why God hits the reset button from time to time (e.g., the Flood, first-born of Egypt, Day of the LORD), and sets aside a remnant to carry His truth into the world. A remnant is more teachable than a mob.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 25:10–30:1: Righteousness apart from the law

What is righteousness apart from the law? graphic with open book and scales

When one is said to be “above the law,” that’s taken to mean the person flouts authority, in the sense second-century Roman jurist Ulpian meant when he wrote that sovereigns aren’t bound by laws.

There are plenty of scofflaws and tyrants recorded in the Bible. But an undercurrent in Heaven’s testimony from beginning to end is that true followers of the Creator are those who have so much trust (i.e., faith) in the instructions they’ve internalized that their actions follow the “spirit of the Law,” rather than the “letter of the Law.”

That’s what we see in the shocking actions recounted in Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10-30:1).

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 19-20: Learning to trust that ‘all things work together for good’

A medieval woman with long red hair contemplates the sunset from a mountain summit

The Creator of Heaven and Earth can make what appears good and bad to exchange places, shuffled like a deck of cards based on the circumstances. This isn’t to say that what’s bad actually becomes good. Rather, that a bad situation or person can be part of a something bigger. In the Torah reading חֻקַּת‎Chukat (“statute of,” Numbers 19:1-22:1), Moses saved the second generation of Israel from dying of thirst, but they entered the Promised Land, while he didn’t. In a parallel account, the bandit Yiftakh (Jephthah) lost his daughter to a rash vow made after gaining something great.

Through these accounts and the strange ritual of the red heifer to “decontaminate” those who touch the dead, we see shadows of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), Who took on death to bring rebirth to all of us who are “dead in our transgressions.”

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 4–6: God will prepare you for the job you’re assigned

God Prepares us for whatever job he has for us

Samson, Elijah and John the Baptizer walk into a prophecy…. It’s no joke. Torah reading נָשֹׂא Nasso (“take up” or “carry,” Numbers 4:21-7:89) helps us see how these three were each witnesses, forerunners who prepared the way for someone greater who came after them. In Yokhanan’s case, he was preparing the hearts of the people to receive Heaven’s greatest gift, Yeshua (Jesus) the Mashiakh (Christ), the Son of God.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 1:1–4:20: Counting the nations in Heaven’s inheritance

https://hallel.info/wp-content/uploads/190608-Parashat-Bamidbar-Numbers-1v1-4v20.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:25 — 31.4MB)Subscribe: RSSWhat are we going to eat? What are we going to wear? What’s going to protect us from the elements? Where do we belong? These four important questions are behind the census of ancient Israel described in Torah reading בְּמִדְבַּר Bamidbar (“in the wilderness,” […]

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Apostolic Writings Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Leviticus 16: Acknowledge the shame, then let Messiah remove it

Life is a terminal condition. The only hope to live forever is to avoid rebellion against the Source of all life, to repent when we do rebel against the God of Israel and to put oneself in the hands of the LORD’s Messiah always. The Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the death,” Leviticus 16–18) centers on Yom haKippurim, (“Day of Coverings,” or Day of Atonement). We learn from Isaiah 53 and Hebrews 10 that we can’t accept the offering of Yeshua (Jesus) for our sins, transgressions and iniquities and for our salvation without acknowledging that we had a hand in the death of the Christ.