Tag: vows

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Why God makes such a big deal out of vows and oaths (Numbers 30–36)

Why God makes such a big deal out of vows and oaths (Deuteronomy 30-36). A black bailiff swears in a white woman wearing a white shirt and brown skirt while holding up her right hand and placing her left hand on a Bible. (Image from Adobe Stock Photos)

The Torah double portion מַּטּוֹת מַסְעֵי Matot-Massei (Numbers 30–36) focuses on vows. The theme of this section, echoed by Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) and His apostle Ya’akov (James), is say what you mean and mean what you say.

This is true whether we are engaging with our equals, our leaders or those who are in a more vulnerable and marginalized position in our society. We should also communicate honesty and forthrightly with God, because no idle word will be forgotten by our God. Every comment, every joke, every insult will be noted and accounted in His book.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

How to live a worthwhile life, rather than as a ‘worthless person’ (Judges 11)

How to live a worthwhile life. The sacrificial and Messianic obedience of Jephthah’s daughter. (Judges 11)

Judges 11, a parallel passage to the Torah reading חֻקַּת‎ Chukat (“statute of,” Numbers 19–21), focuses on Yiftakh (Jephthah), a judge/ruler of ancient Israel. The account doesn’t portray him or his friends in a kind light. It underscores a key lesson that Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ) taught that Heaven calls many to serve the good of the world, but those who aren’t transformed on the inside will only serve like did Yehudah Ish Kariot (Judas Iscariot).

https://hallel.info/chukat-2022-judges-11/

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Heaven’s promise of a fresh start: You can count on it (Leviticus 26–27)

Heaven's promise of a fresh start: You can count on it (Leviticus 26-27). Hand reaching down from above to a hand from below, with a sunset behind.

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.

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Discussions Torah

All cultures are not equal (Numbers 30–36)

Are we thankful that Heaven’s faithfulness isn’t like our faithlessness, making promises we can’t keep (out of hopefulness) and won’t keep (out of deception)? In the double-header Torah reading of מטות Matot (“tribes,” Numbers 30–32) and מסעי Massei (or Mase’y, “journeys of,” Numbers 33–36), we learn why Yeshua (Jesus) taught that vows and oaths were no flippant matter, why Heaven’s “new covenant” promise is dependable to remember our iniquities no more (Jeremiah 31:31–34) and how being “grafted in” to the people of God has been the plan (Romans 11).

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 30-36: We want Messiah to give us rest from our dumb oaths and vows

A picture postcard from 1908 with a humorous theme of women capturing prospective husbands during the leap year.

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) emphasized that vows and oaths are not to be taken lightly (Matthew 5:33-37). Why then did the Holy One of Israel give instructions about vows and oaths? Part of it is our distance from the original language and meanings of these words. Another part is we aren’t seeing the lessons from Heaven in these instructions, namely, that just as the LORD promises to give a land of rest to Israel, so too, should those who make promises be as faithful to them.

The dual Torah reading מטות Matot (“tribes,” Numbers 30-32) and מסעי Massei/Mase’y (“journeys of,” Numbers 33-36) take us to the end of the 40 years of wandering judgment against the rebellious first generation post-Mitzraim (Egypt).

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 27: How to do something special for God

Richard Agee

The vows discussed in Leviticus 27 are voluntary and extraordinary, beyond what is required, to be dedicated to service in the Tabernacle. This is how you can do more than what is required, if you feel lead to do so. The type of vow described here is similar to a monastic vow, in which someone promises to serve God in His temple for an extended period, or even for one’s entire life.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 30: Daughter of Zion and the Father’s prerogative

Studies in Torah

Asking for a father’s permission to marry his daughter is viewed as comically anachronistic today. Likewise, these instructions for a father’s ability to annul a daughter’s vow seem a relic of yesteryear. Yet God teaches through object lessons, and what’s being communicated here is far more important than a surface impression.