Tag: forgiveness

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

Cancel debts, free slaves: Radical teachings of Jubilee and Sabbatical Year for modern life (Leviticus 25; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6 and 18)

"Cancel debts, free slaves: Radical teachings of Jubilee and Sabbatical Year for modern life (Leviticus 25; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6 and 18). Adobe Firefly AI artwork of a hand reaching up toward a sunset-toned cloudy sky while a chain extends from each side of the scene and wraps around the wrist.

The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount [Sinai],” Leviticus 25:1–26:2) teaches that debts are released after seven-year cycles (Shemitah, sabbatical year) and 49-year cycles (Yobel/Jubilee) to memorialize God’s forgiveness. This pattern is seen in Messiah Yeshua’s (Christ Jesus) teachings on forgiveness in Matthew 18 and manifest in his role as suffering servant who takes our debts (Isaiah 53). By forgiving others as we’ve been forgiven (Matthew 6:12), we reflect the Heavenly economy of releasing debts, underscored via receiving God’s mercy on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; Leviticus 16; Isaiah 58:1–12).

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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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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Joseph and Jesus teach how to heal relationships for a better family and planet (Genesis 45; Luke 24)

We may be jealous of a favored family member or co-worker and carry that bitterness into how we act around that person. We may regret what those feelings drove us to and the damage caused in the relationship.

In this Bible study, we explore the dramatic reconciliation of the biblical leader Joseph with his brothers, recorded in the Torah passage Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27), is an emotional journey from jealousy and abandonment to repentance and reconciliation.

Another rejected, favored son of Israel, Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), also reunited with those close to Him after His resurrection, and in the case of Paul turned hate into passion to serve.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

Luke 22:39-53: Yeshua sings the Hallel about God’s mercy

Do we really trust in God and the direction He is taking us? God was taking Yeshua to the Cross, yet Yeshua trusted God. We may face terrestrial enemies ― oppressive governments, scoffing friends, oppositional family members ― but the toughest enemy is sin and death. Yeshua faced all these enemies and over came. God is the steadfast one, He has no whims of fancy. As we look into Yeshua’s trials, crucifixion and resurrection, think about God’s mercy and what endures forever. Yeshua repeatedly taught His disciples about God’s khesed — mercy — and encouraged them to extend it to others.

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Discussions Torah

Embalming, Mourning, and Forgiving: The Story of Yosef’s Final Act of Grace

"An ancient Egyptian scene depicting the mummification of Jacob, overseen by his son Joseph. The room is adorned with Egyptian artwork and hieroglyphs on the walls. Joseph stands nearby in Egyptian attire, watching solemnly as Egyptian priests prepare Jacob’s body, lying respectfully on a stone table. The priests hold jars of oils, spices, and linens, used for embalming. The lighting is warm, creating a reverent atmosphere that honors both Egyptian customs and the Hebrew tradition."

After the death of Yisra’el, fka Ya’akob (Jacob), 10 of his dozen sons approached Yosef (Joseph) with a message from their father: Don’t seek revenge for selling him as a slave. Yosef lived out the “second greatest commandment” in his response, showing he trusted God’s plan that had violently separated him from his family and landed him in prison for a few years.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

Luke 17:1-19: The Scandalous Verses, part 1: Forgivers and the grateful leper

Jeff

Continuing the themes of hope for the “lost” from God (Luke 15) and hope in God being more wealth-creating than material goods (Luke 16), the parables of Luke 17 give us positive role models of hope and trust in God.

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Discussions Torah

Deuteronomy 15-16: God teaches complete freedom via cycles of seven

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.