Richard Agee explores the Biblical tests in Deuteronomy 13 for knowing when someone is speaking for God, i.e., is a prophet.
Category: Torah
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Why Was Eve Deceived?
Richard Agee explains that every woman is the representation of the Bride of Messiah Yeshua. In the Garden of Eden the Adversary attacked Eve with intellect to kill the “image of God,” her ability to give birth to the One (Messiah) who would fulfill God’s plan to bring life.
The number 40 plays heavily in this chapter. Both Moses and Yeshua had to spend 40 days and 40 nights alone in prayer with God to prepare themselves to teach and lead His people through difficult times ahead. It’s no coincidence that a woman carries a child in her womb for 40 weeks either and the correlation is purposeful as Moses’ 40 days and nights with God brought forth the 10 commandments into the world. Yeshua’s 40 days and 40 nights gave Him the strength to resist temptation and defeat Satan.
Deut. 9 starts with the refrain “Hear O Israel.” This time God is not declaring His own unity, or telling the children of Israel what they need to do. This time, God is telling the children of Israel what He will do for them: “Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.” (Deuteronomy 9:3 NASB)
God chose the people of Israel as His primary representatives and He wanted them to remain pure and distinct from the Gentiles but He did not call the children of Israel to isolate themselves from the Gentiles.
The Gentile nations, for the most part, are have always been obsessed with anger, depression and death. God reveals His will even to the Gentiles where there’s rampant rebellion against it.
Studying the statutes, judgments and commands of the Lord is not limited to the “four questions” during the Passover seder (program). We are to listen and obey God on a daily basis. We also learn more when we are called to teach others.
“Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.” (Deuteronomy 5:1 NASB)
On Mt. Sinai, on the day of Shavuot, God wrote His law on stone tablets and spoke them to the people. Two thousand years later, on Shavout, God put His law on His disciples hearts and they spoke to the people and 3000 were saved.