The lessons of rest and release in the biblical sabbatical year (shemitah) and Yobel (Jubilee) teach us how we are to be good masters and how good of a Master our Messiah Yeshua is. Embedded in the lessons of the Torah reading Behar (“on the mountain,” Leviticus 25) is we are to treat each other with the kindness Yeshua gives us — the Golden Rule.
Life starts with contamination. It starts out dirty. Childbirth is messy. It’s not sinful; it’s just a fact of life.
The general Bible term for infections of skin and surfaces is “leprosy,” but it covers a host of conditions. It’s also a good parable for “rot” in our character — if the lesson isn’t taken too far.
The Torah reading תזריע Tazria (“she will conceive,” Leviticus 12–13) is concerned about what is physically dirty vs. clean, but the LORD’s lesson for us is more than skin-deep.
During the course of Israel’s settlements in the wilderness and later in the Promised Land, God’s name rested on several places, including Shiloh and later Jerusalem. The Tabernacle was never desecrated by outside forces but it’s worship was compromised from the outside in.
The Temple, in Jerusalem, on the other hand, was sacked several times by corrupt kings as well as foreign invaders. Sometimes, God blessed the dedications of His temples with a visible sign of His Divine Presence, sometimes he did not. In the Torah reading פקודי Pekudei (“countings,” Exodus 38:21–40:38), we will look at how and why God did or did not visibly show His presence when the various Tabernacles and Temples were dedicated or rededicated through Israel’s history.
Many ask how we can know God. A great picture of the heart of Heaven and the work of Messiah Yeshua is the centerpiece of the Torah reading Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Exodus 30:11-34:35). The reason men count a population is for their own reasons: taxation, war, social engineering, redistribution of wealth, etc. The reason God calls for a count of the people is to build up His tabernacle. Man’s census and man’s laws created bondage and slavery while God’s census and God’s laws give us an outlet for holy service and freedom. This is also why Messiah Yeshua went out of His way to heal people on Shabbat. When Messiah healed people on Shabbat, he gave people freedom. They were now free to fully follow God.
At Mt. Sinai, the Creator testified what “love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength” really means. In the Torah reading יתרו Yitro (Genesis 18:1-20:23), we explore how Heaven gives us different tasks and different means to fulfill those duties.Heaven gives us different tasks and different means to fulfill those duties. These are not only money but also talents.
When we observe the commandments of God, we are like the flatbread: nothing added, nothing taken out. In this discussion on the Torah reading Bo (“come,” Exodus 10:1-13:16), we learn are not to add to God’s commandments and we are not to treat any traditions we keep on the same level as God’s commandments. Matzot gives you life but it also give you some affliction and difficulty. God’s mitzvot are the same, they give us life but they also bring some difficulty to life.
We don’t know for sure which pharaoh helped raise Moshe or which pharaoh Moses confronted to free the ancient Israelis from slavery. What we can see from Torah reading Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) is Heaven’s pattern for the Mashiakh Who delivers all from the bondage of living apart from the Creator.