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Discussions Torah

Why promises to Heaven are a big deal (Numbers 30–36)

Why promises to Heaven are a big deal (Numbers 30-36)

When we make a vow to God, we must be willing to keep it even if it’s hard. Yet God also extends grace and forgiveness when we make vows rashly without informed consent.

We also learn that although God’s law protects women who make rash vows through the agency of their fathers or husband’s but when they act with evil intent, their deeds will not go unpunished.

We also learn from the prophet Jeremiah that when a nation is evil and rotten at the top, at the people follow their leaders on the path of evil, not only does the nation suffer the consequences, but even nature suffers.

This is the lesson of the Torah passage מטות Matot / מסעי Massei (“tribes” and “journeys of,” Numbers 30-36).

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

How to know if there’s a leader worth following (Numbers 25–29)

How to know if there's a leader worth following (Numbers 25-29)

A peaceful transfer of power is worthless if the former leaders and the new leaders ignore God’s commandments. The only leaders who are worth following are those who inquire of God and lead the way He wants. That’s a key lesson of the Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10-30:1).

When we look for leaders, we need to see if they have the humility of Moses and Jeremiah or if they have the arrogance of the rebellious leaders who Moses and Jeremiah confronted.

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Discussions Torah

Marginal prophet: Balaam reveals Heaven’s future for Israel and the cause of his fall (Numbers 22–24)

Marginal prophet: Balaam reveals Heaven's future for Israel - and the cause of his fall (Numbers 22-24)

The account of the talking donkey is one of the best known parts of Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9), but it’s only part of the critically important warning for the people of God looking for the coming of the messianic era.

Pagan king Balak and proto-televangelist Bilam (Balaam) tried to marshal higher powers to push back on Israel. Their offering of seven rams and seven bulls did not help them win points with the Holy One of Israel. Bilam had some favor with God — until his intentions and actions turned to evil.

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Discussions Torah

Snakes on the brain: Poison of the critical spirit (Numbers 20–21)

Snakes on the brain: Poison of the critical spirit (Numbers 20-21)

What kingdom do you prefer to inhabit? The Kingdom of Death (that which doesn’t persist long term) or the Kingdom of Life (that which persists eternally)? Some believe that out of the ashes of chaos comes revolution that will result in a new golden age of peace, comfort and stability. But is this true?

The Torah section חֻקַּת‎ Chukat/Khuqat (“statute of,” Numbers 19:1–22:1) reveals the deadly viper poised to strike in the propaganda of our age.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

How to pray for the enemies of Heaven (Leviticus 16–18)

How to pray for Heaven's enemies (Leviticus 16-18)

Korach and his merry band of insurrectionists used populist propaganda, revisionist history, blame shifting and faux humility to instigate a popular uprising against Moses and Aaron to return to Egypt to die there so they could avoid suffering God’s judgement that they would die in the wilderness over the course of 40 years.

The people followed along because they would rather blame Moses and Aaron for their lack of faith and their eventual death sentence than themselves for their failure to take what was promised to them.

Fast-forward about 1,500 years: Israel’s leaders who confronted Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) about His ministry repeated some of the same arguments and found themselves on the wrong side of history, just as Korach, Dathan and Abiram did.

But the real lesson of the Torah reading קֹרַח Korakh (Numbers 16–18) is how Moses, Aaron and Yeshua responded to the attacks on their authority. They didn’t ask God to take out their enemies, but interceded in prayer for them. God asks us to do the same.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Get a grip on God: Finding the why of the tassels (Numbers 15)

Get a grip on God: Finding the why of the tassels (Numbers 15)

The Holy One of Israel associated the צִיצִתות tzitzitot (tassles, fringes) with locks of hair or flower blooms: sources of identification, things that draw our attention and harbingers of messianic hope. The tzitzitot that Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) wore as the quintessential Son of David brought hope and encouragement to those who followed Him, to hear His words and seek His healing through faith. In the Day of the LORD (i.e., the “latter days”), the tzitzit will continue to be a sign of faith, hope and healing for those who are looking for God.

Let’s explore from the Bible why these strings of fabric attached to the corners of the garments of the people of God can be anchors of faith — if they are worn with Heaven’s Torah written on our hearts.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

When God’s people need a ‘timeout’ — and a heart-to-heart restoration (Hosea 1–3)

When God's people need a 'timeout' then a heart-to-heart restoration (Hosea 1-3)

One of the last warnings Heaven has for Earth is that it has serious commitment and infidelity issues. The people don’t know the Maker because of cultural drift over decades or eons, or the people have had a relationship with the God revealed through Israel but want something else.

As the annual Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, aka Pentecost) approaches quickly (May 17 this year), we are focusing in this study on the opening chapters of the Bible book of Hosea. One of the themes of Shavuot is the “marriage” of Israel and Heaven at Sinai with the giving of the Ten Words (aka Ten Commandments, Exodus 19-20) and the joining of the nations to the Holy One (Acts 2). And Hosea begins with an extended living parable for Israel through the prophets dysfunctional family.