These studies cover the writings by the closest shelakhim (apostles) of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Commonly called the “New Testament,” this standard canon includes the four Gospels, the letters and the Apocalypse (Revelation).
Passion to safeguard the ways of the LORD for future generation links the Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (Numbers 25:10–30:1) with its parallel passages about the final days of the First Temple (Jeremiah 1:1–2:3) and the anger from Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) about the turning of the Second Temple into a “den of robbers” (John 2:13–22). Those accounts underscore that God has a passionate love for His people and doesn’t want them to succumb to the disastrous ends of their passions.
The Torah reading חֻקַּת Chukat (Numbers 19-21) is the prerequisite to understanding Hebrews 9, and the latter’s explanation of how Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Messiah) cleanses our consciences from rebellion against the Creator is essential to understanding the Torah’s life-affirming yet mysterious lessons of the red heifer and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
How did Moses, Aaron, Samuel and Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) responded to those who rejected their leadership and betrayed them in the most heartbreaking and cruel ways? They responded to insult and betrayal with dignity and humility, asking God to judge those who slandered and betrayed them, not seeking their own vengeance.
The Torah reading קֹרַח Korakh, covering the infamous Korah rebellion in Numbers 16-18, and companion passages from 1Samuel and the Gospels show us how the Golden Rule is a key to transforming leaders and individuals to look out for the needs of others to ensure the survival of us all.
We find in the Torah reading בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ Beha’alotcha an interesting juxtaposition of the elders who were picked to be the LORD’s hands and mouth helping Moshe (Moses) in Israel vs. those who wanted to stuff their mouths with the flesh of Mitzraim (Egypt). The latter were “greedy” for “meat” and not the manna bread that came down from Heaven. Yet God provided those ungrateful complainers both.
his account helps reveal the important point behind the controversially cryptic words of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) in John 6: “eat My flesh” and “drink My blood.”
While sponsoring four who were finishing their Nazarite vow (Num. 6:1–21, Messiah Yeshua’s shaliach (apostle) Paul connected the importance of the Torah as the guidebook for believers with his mission to take the good news of the focus of that guidebook (Messiah) to the nations who would hear it (Acts 21:15–22:24). The lessons of the Nazarite vow are key to Paul’s lesson.
Two key lessons from the Torah reading נָשֹׂא Nasso (“take up” or “carry,” Num. 4:21–7:89) are that the Holy One of Israel has always been concerned about lifting up the powerless (emphasized in the supernatural burden of proof for a jealous husband) and preparing the people of the world to enter Heaven’s “big tent” plan to accommodate many in the people of God.
Genealogy is a very popular hobby in our time. Many want to learn their origins. Some use insights history to understand where they are going. A springboard for such insights is the seemingly dull genealogical census in Torah reading בְּמִדְבַּר Bemidbar (“in the wilderness,” Num. 1:1–4:20).
The stories of our ancestors — whether recent such as those who served in World War 2 or ancient Spiritual ancestors in the Bible — can teach us to stand for what is right, even if we have to stand alone, instead of staying silent when the world is careening into evil.
The Book of Leviticus may seem like a lot of dos and don’ts for a Tabernacle service that hasn’t existed for two millennia. But what’s revealed at the end, in Torah reading בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai/Bekhuqotai (“in My statutes,” Leviticus 26–27), is that it is the gospel of hope, promises from Heaven of the new covenant, that our past can be removed, setting us up for a bright future ahead of us.