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Torah readings

Parashot Acharei Mot (אחרי מות) & Kedoshim (קדושים): Leviticus 16–20

Studies in Torah

Should we feel shame for going against the Creator’s instructions? What do we do about that guilt?

Discussed at length in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews, Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement) is one of the most important lessons in the parables connected to the Moedim (appointed times) of the LORD and the Tabernacle. It teaches the grace and mercy the Creator offers by covering all offenses, pointing to the work of the Mashiakh (Christ).

Also part of the dual readings of אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths,” Leviticus 16–18) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holies/holy,” Leviticus 19–20) are instructions on eating blood, nakedness and sexual perversion, discernment of things that shouldn’t go together, the “golden rule” and banishment from the people of Israel.

Yom haKippurim is about freedom from the old life and getting closer to the Giver of Life.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

‘He has carried our sicknesses’: Heaven’s prescription for a world that doesn’t know it’s ill (Leviticus 13–15)

'He has carried our sicknesses': Heaven's prescription for a world that doesn't know it's ill (Leviticus 13-15)

The human condition is often ugly and gross. Yet the Creator still wants to live among us. He wants to deliver us out of the grossness and corruption of our culture. Yeshua (Jesus) sat with sinners, but He didn’t sin with them. That’s the lesson behind all the icky instructions in the dual Torah reading Torah readings תַזְרִיעַ Tazria (“she will conceive”) and מְּצֹרָע Metzora (“leper”) covering Leviticus 12–15.

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Torah readings

Parashot Tazria/Metzora (Leviticus 12–15)

Studies in Torah

Why would God want newborns and their mothers to be purified shortly after birth? Why is God so concerned about leprosy amid instructions for living life differently from the rest of the world? If we stick with appearances, our understanding the heart of God will be only skin deep. That’s what’s between the lines of this week’s dual Torah reading, תזריע Tazria (“she will conceive”) and מְּצֹרָע Metzora (“leper”), covering Leviticus 12–15.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

6 lessons from when fire comes from God

The closer we desire to be to God, the more He expects of us — more repentance, more humility, more love and compassion for those He created. We know who God and what He expects of us because of His words, the instructions He has given us to follow.

This is a key lesson from the deaths of two key priests in the Tabernacle from the Torah reading שמיני Shemini (“eighth,” Leviticus 9–11). God has given us counsel and instructions on how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, in our families, in our communities. He also tells us how we are to interact with Him.

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Appointments With God Discussions Passover Torah Unleavened Bread

Why you can trust that Heaven has your back (Lessons from the 7th day of matzah)

Why you can trust that Heaven has your back: Lessons from the 7th day of matzah

The last of the seven days of the Festival of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) commemorates ancient Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea, when Heaven delivered not just from slavery but also from certain death at the hands of the slave masters who pursued them.

Apostle Paul connected Israel’s passing from death to life through the sea to the passage of everyone who does likewise by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) and commemorating the freedom through baptism.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Passover Prophets and Writings Torah Unleavened Bread

Messiah is ‘faithful and righteous to forgive’ our leavened ‘malice and wickedness’

There’s ample reasons to stand in awe of Heaven’s love and mercy as we recall what when Heaven showed the Jail-keeper of humanity Who is boss that “Good Friday” and resurrection day two millennia ago. But we shouldn’t forget the enduring lessons about our salvation from the seven days of Unleavened Bread that surrounded ancient Israel’s deliverance in the Exodus and ours today.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Passover Prophets and Writings Unleavened Bread

Mad about matzah: Enlist Heaven in our eschewing leaven in our ‘new self’

"Mad about matzah: Enlist Heaven in our eschewing leaven in our 'new self.'" A plate is stacked with squares of matzah bread. A knife rests on one piece with chocolate sauce spread partially on it. A small piece of chocolate with nuts sits on top of the piece of matzah.

The seven-day Chag Matzot (Festival of Unleavened bread) is an annual memorial of and spiritual reflection on our redemption, reformation and restoration into the Kingdom of God. Part of the lesson of purging out leaven during the festival is mastering the malice and wickedness that is beckoning us to open our heart’s door to them. Rather, we should let in Yeshua (Jesus) to our hearts and, thus, lives as He knocks.