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Torah

Reflecting on Passover and Unleavened Bread

Seven shows up repeatedly in Scripture. It appears first with the seventh day of creation, threads through God’s cycles of appointments with mankind, and foreshadows the timing of Messiah Yeshua’s arrival as the Word become flesh and culminates with many of the symbols of the Day of the Lord.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 14–15: Yeshua, the Healer of our leprous lifestyle

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, so the saying goes. There are things that bring us closer to God and things that move us away from God. There are things that happen to us that are beyond our control that can make us unclean before God, but there are also things that we do to ourselves that make us unclean. That’s the underlying message of the Torah reading מצורע Metzora (“leper,” Leviticus 14–15).

Without Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ), we are basically “the walking dead.” Does God want us to “come as we are” and “stay as we are”? No, God wants to bring us up and if we claim to be the sons and daughters of Israel, we should be willing to follow God’s instructions to elevate us from our base selves to His higher self.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 12-13: Profanity makes one a leper

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.

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 30:11–34:35: Learning the Creator’s heart at the golden calf

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.

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Discussions Reflections on Scripture

Genesis 12–17: Abram’s ‘slaves’ aren’t like American slavery

God is not an American. As we study the Torah reading לֶךְ-לְךָ‎ Lech Lecha (“get going!” Genesis 12–17), we should remember that the Bible He divinely inspired should not be interpreted through the lens of American history.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

John 16:12-15: The Helper guides into ‘all truth,’ speaking directly from God

Yeshua said three times that He would “take what is Mine” referring to His Spirit and give it to the Eleven and their spiritual heirs, which is us. One of the Spirit’s main duties is to help us recall what we have studied so we can recall it when it is time to give a testimony of what we know to be true. But this learning is not just for our comfort. It’s so we can bring truth and comfort to the world.

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Appointments With God Pentecost/Shavuot

Shavuot/Pentecost: God is gathering the ‘strangers’

There are four lessons from Shavuot, aka Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks: 1. We are to have the same mind as is in Messiah Yeshua. 2. There are two different types of Firstfruits, and yet they are both “first.” 3. There was a delay between Yeshua’s call to the Jews vs. the Gentiles, and that is a good thing. 4. If you ask God for understanding, He will answer. Details are important, but they aren’t the only thing.