BECHUKKOSAI
Leviticus 26:3 – 27:24
Please Pray this
Prayer
First before reading.
In the name of Yahushua
Our
Messiyah,
I pray for
the Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit
of Knowledge and
The Spirit
of Wisdom
As I read through this Parsha.
This Torah Portion Becchukotai means “In my statutes” and
it appears in the first verse of the reading, which generally promise good
things if the Torah is followed and negativity if Spiritual principle are not
followed, Deut 28: 1 -14, 15 – 68.
Parsha begins with the Heavenly blessings that await the
Yisraelites people if they live up to the covenant which יהוה have given to
them, in order for them to receive the Shekinah.
The only reason we study Torah, is to learn the Ten
luminous or commandments, and within those ten are 612 specifice commandments.
Why do we need to learn them, it is to come to ultimate state of understanding.
The ultimate state of knowledge is to come to the understanding that we really
do not know anything, that no matter what we have learned so far, it is nothing
compared to true understanding.
The only way our spiritual work actually reveals Light is
if we diminish our Ego in everything hat we do, that the purpose of all our
spiritual work is this consciousness of lowering ourselves.
When we look at the way nature works, on the trees and
other vegetation as they grow from a mere seed. The light of growth exists in
all the earth, but there has to be a diminishment of the ligt in a specific
point, a deterioration of the shell around the sed before it can draw all the
Light of growth from the earth and become a plant. The same is true for our
spiritual life, if we are doing our work properly, it feels as if we are in a
endless competition as every tree in the forest fight to beaking through many
difference layers before reaching the light.
The majority of humanity do not know that we are in a
spiritual struggle as the plant in a forest is in a struggle for light.
However, our social structure use that competitive desire within us to focus on
the wrong set of criteria, to advance in this world, instead of in the world to
come.
I often tell people that knowing that we do not know,
does not refers to Torah studies, but to who we are. We are gods with an ego,
and it is the reprogramming of our ego which is of importance to us. It is the
reprogramming of our ego, the diminishing of our ego, why spiritual rules were
made. These rules when apply to the physical sense make no sence to us, but as
we work within them, we must be aware that whatever progress we have made,
there is still along distance to go.
A the core and
purpose of our spiritual growth, what we need to understand is that we may have
accomplish some ground, incomparison to what the CREATOR has in store for us,
we still have along way to go. If we see our spiritual work as nothing, we have
done a lot. Why? Because this is a sign of how much we have grown.
The point I wish to make is this! Sometimes we think of
reducing the influence of our ego, the desire to receive, as a nice addition to
our spiritual development. However, if the purpose of diminishing our ego is
not at the heart of our spiritual life, them we have accomplish nothing.
As believers we need to be very careful to avoid the
traps of religious thing, the thinking that all progress must be outward. This
state of mind is not spiritual accurate, for the level of surrender comes from
the level of sacrifice and bring with it tremendous joy and inspitation.
By minimizing our self importance we make room for the
Holy Spirit to join us, so that this sense that our journey is endless is
accompanied by sheer delight in that journey, and when we feel this way, it is
a sure sign that we are growing.
The Statues we learn in chapter 23, represent a
particular harvest day in the Land of Yisrael, when we celebrate these day, we
might not see the spiritual growth, however, certain spiritual blessing is
ascribe to everyone who by faith in Messiyah Yahushua celebrate these days.
This story evolves into the description the admonition, a
sobering account of punishment, and curses that will be the inevitable outcome
of any attempt to violate the terms of the Covenant.
Although EL YAHVEH mercy is display in El Yahushua Grace
preventing all of these curses to overcome the believer who sins. This Grace is
given to all Hebrew people who believe that El Yahushua is the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the Earth.
A careful examination of the history of the Church, we
will see that those who believe in El Yahushua and keep his Commandments were
regularly persecuted, up until the year 324, when the church became the
religion of choice for the Roman Empire .
The Church was promise, fame, and fortune if they violate
the terms of the Covenant, and security from human persecution. That is why the
Shekinah was never seen in any church since then.
The blessing that EL YAHVEH promise in this Parasha, are
still in store for those who choose to be obedient to the terms of the
Covenant. El Yahushua improved on the original Covenant Moses negociate between
ABBA YAHVEH and the Hebrew people at Mount Sinai ,
when He died on the Cross. The terms and condition of this new covenant are
seen plainly in what we call today the renewed Covenant.
But the essence of the Covenant at Mount
Sinai can still be seen in the application of the Principles of
the Renewed Covenant.
The long list of blessing describe in verse 3 – 13 and
the even longer list of curse verse 14 – 43 which was again repeated in deut
28, could be misunderstood as an indication that there are many more curses
than blessing. Actually, the blessing are given in general terms, and are
therefore brief; the curse, however, are given in greater detail, because they
are intended to awe the people into obedience to יהוה command.
This commentary will explain in spiritual term the
meaning of the physical blessing, such as military victory, and prosperity that
are describe in this Parsha.
The blessing and curses are all result of an inward
spiritual manifestation. Since EL YAHVEH is the King of the Spiritual Kingdom
The physical blessing, is to help us achieve the lofty
spiritual heights require for us to reach maturity. It is easer for a physical
fit person to clime a mountain that a man with a physical deformity, such a one
leg.
Material blessing are hardly the primary reward nor is
material deprivations the primary punishment; only in the World to Come and
Gehinnom can there be adequate reward and punishment.
A person who enjoys good health, prosperity, and security
finds it much easier to perform the commandments that will elevate him
spiritually. Therefore יהוה assures us that the person who
serves Him with sincerity and joy will be granted all the blessings of this
world and the one to come. Conversely, one who rebels will be punished with
deprivation in this world so that it will be difficult for him to perform the
commandments and earn a share in the World to Come.
Lev 26:3 ‘If you walk in My laws and guard My commands, and shall do them, - If we believe in
El Yahushua “Jesus Christ” and walk in יהוה Laws and make
an effort to keep them, there is a reward. El Yahushua is the visa into the
Kingdom; now that we are in that Kingdom we must earn our right to remain in
that Kingdom by following the Constitution of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heavens
This headhunter is El Yahushua, who Himself have past the
test absolutely perfect, that is why He has the Best Position Possible in the
Kingdom, the Second in Command to the King Himself, He sits at the Right Hand
of יהוה.
If we follow the terms of the Covenant by engaging in
intensive Torah study, with the intention that such study will lead believers
to observing the Commandments, and if we actually do perform them, we will
merit the blessings given in the following verse.
Lev 26:4 then I shall give you rain in its season, and the land shall yield its
crops, and the trees of the field yield their fruit. – As rain is
essential at the different stage of the growth of the wheat. Light rain is
needed for the freshly planted seed, medium rain for the plain as it began to
grow, and heavy rain for a plant that have a establish root system.
The promise in this verse is that anyone who believes in
El Yahushua will be granted the appropriate spiritual rain, for their level of
spiritual maturity, as they embark on serious Torah Study. This rain is the
level of the Spirit of Understanding; we will receive during each Torah study.
Rains are needed not only to irrigate crops. They affect
the climate and water supply, and, consequently, human health. The blessing
will be so inclusive that the rains will come at times when they will not
inconvenience people, such as the evening of the Sabbath, when believer are not
traveling.
Lev 26:5 ‘And your threshing shall last till the time of the grape harvest, and
the grape harvest shall last till the time of sowing. And you shall eat your
bread until you have enough, and shall dwell in your land safely. – This prosperity
will be so complete that believer will still be busy threshing your wheat when
the time for comes to harvest the grapes, and we will still be occupied with
your vintage crop, when the time comes to sow next year’s grain.
The verse stress that constant activity is part of the
blessing. When people are busy, they will feel spiritually fulfilled, and their
spiritual health will be better, as the verse says, you will dwells securely in
your land. But when believers are idle, they seek amusement and stimulation
somewhere else, example TV with its spiritual contamination effects.
Those who disobey, will travel from church to church,
losing the discipline of home, routine, and the spiritual community. This
increases the dangers of participating in sinful activity.
Lev 26:6 ‘And I shall give peace in the land, and you shall lie down and no one
make you afraid. And I shall clear the land of evil beasts, and not let the
sword go through your land. – One of the reasons why there is a lack of
peace over a land is deu to the lack of the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits of
the Holy Spirit is peace. The spirit that is over a country will determine the
fruit of the Spirit it will produce.
When we keep the Terms of the Covenant, the Spirit of the
Covenant will be upon us, and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness,
gentleness, and self-control, will be the predominant activity in that land.
Lev 26:7 ‘And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword
before you. – The exploit of our enemies will be foiled in its planning stage, we will
maintain superiority over them at all times.
Lev 26:8 ‘And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you pursue
ten thousand. And your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. – This verse stress
that when the believers are united under in serving EL YAHVEH, the more we
unite the more effective we will be. If 5 can 100, a ratio of 1:20, then if we
have 100 can chase 10,000, a ratio of 1:100. In essence the effectiveness of
the redeem community, would increase exponentially.
Lev 26:9 ‘And I shall turn to you and make you bear fruit, and shall increase
you, and shall establish My covenant with you. – The determining
factor that will cause EL YAHVEH to return to us is when we accept His Son El
Yahushua as our Redeemer. He has sent us the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost after
His accession to Heavens, to help us understand the Spirit of Torah. It is this
continuous relying on the Holy Spirit to help us that will help us to produce
the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
As a natural tree grows according to the different season
of the year, our spiritual lives also grow as we participate in the Feast of EL
YAHVEH. We will notice that the three Feast days also represent the three
harvest in the land
of Yisrael
Lev 26:10 ‘And you shall eat the old supply, and clear out the old because of the
new. – When we have discovered the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Wisdom and
Understanding will be place upon the Spirit of Truth. Our testimony will be one
of continuous spiritual revelation.
Lev 26:11 ‘And I shall set My Dwelling
Place
The Hebrew People is a people who were called out of the
world, to be prepared to be the Bride. These people who are called out are
those who choose to follow the promises that was made to Abraham, as Abraham
himself took the challenge to leave his home or Ur
Lev 26:12 ‘And I shall walk in your midst,
and shall be your Elohim, and you shall be My people. – As EL YAHVEH
walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, He also requires to walk among
us daily. However He cannot walk among a people who are contaminated, with the
temporal things of this world.
EL YAHVEH will deal with the Hebrew people so generously
and openly that His presence will be as obvious as that of a human King walking
among his subjects. This verse make clear that the blessings of this verse have
not been completely fulfilled as yet, but in there entirely they are meant for
the future.
This is why Beyt Lechem Ministry stresses the restoration
of all things. The Jews today are not the chosen people, for they do not
believe in El Yahushua “Jesus Christ.” It is those of us who believe in Him as
the Messiyah, that the Holy Spirit will come and help us in our struggle to
reach perfection.
Lev 26:13 ‘I am יהוה your Elohim, who
brought you out of the land
of Mitsrayim
But notice that the Torah says that it is יהוה who brought us
out, even though it is we that decided to accept the challenge. It is יהוה who determine
the qualification we must meet in order to fulfilled the requirement to receive
the Shekinah the sign of full maturity. In the process, we have one
responsibility, to accept the terms and condition of the proposal and be
obedient to it.
The terms and condition of the Covenant are design by יהוה to help us to
develop a certain Spirit that is very essential for the Kingdom to Come.
Obedience to the terms of the Covenant alone will not produce the Fruit of the
Holy Spirit, it produce condemnation. Condemnation is a result of the lack of
Grace. Grace come only trough belief in El Yahushua “Jesus Christ.” Without His
presence in our lives, we cannot walk in Grace. For Grace help us, when we fail
in keeping a “test” commandment, Grace gives us a second chance to experience
that test again, so we might pass it the next time.
Since life is design for humans to prove our
faithfulness, the manifestation of sin proves our unfaithfulness. We some time
sin unknowingly, this can be dealt with by examining ourselves carefully and
determine, why we sin and fix the reason why.
The admonition to keep the commandment has a chain
reaction of sin, composed of seven steps, each one leading to the next.
(a)
We who do not believe in El Yahushua:
(b)
we will not dedicate yourselves to study Torah, trough
the Spirit of Understanding;
(c)
we will eventually stop performing the Commandments as
Christian does;
(d)
we will become revolted by others who are loyal to Torah;
(e)
they will prevent other from being obedient to Torah;
(f)
They will deny that the Commandment is for them;
(g)
They will even deny that the Elohim who gave the Command,
and replace Him with Yahushua our Messiyah.
This is the only place in this chapter were specific sins
are listed. The later series of seven punishments are based on the Hebrew
people apathetic or negative attitude toward the Divine reaction to sin is
tantamount to a stubborn continuation of those very same sins.
Lev 26:14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not do all these commands, - If we choose to
violate the terms of the Covenant, we disqualify our selves from being someone
who will be chosen as a bride for the Bridegroom. An harlot, is someone who
deliberately choose to go after other Elohim ‘gods.’
Lev 26:15 and if you reject My laws, or if your being loathes My right-rulings,
so that you do not do all My commands, but break My covenant, - If we choose to
reject the commandments, even out of ignorance, and disregard the right rulings
and create our own. We in essence label ourselves as a harlot spiritually. The
King will not let His Son marry a Harlot. He must only take wives from among
the wise virgins.
Lev 26:16 I also do this to you: And I shall appoint sudden alarm over you, wasting
disease and inflammation, destroying the eyes, and consuming the life. And you
shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. – They will sow their seed in vain,
they will ask for the Holy Spirit and it will not come to them. They will panic
very easily, for the Spirit of Authority is not with them. They will have a
religious spirit that will consume their time, giving them false hope.
Lev 26:17 ‘And I shall set My face against you, and you shall be smitten before
your enemies. And those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee
when no one pursues you. - יהוה will set His Faces against them and they will consume by the
enemy who is Lucifer. Those who hate them spiritually, the Devil will rule over
them, by a religious spirit, which He controlled. This is the first set of
punishments, design to bring the believer back to the Straight and Narrow Path.
Lev 26:18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I shall punish you
seven times more for your sins. – The punishment of EL YAHVEH is complete. It
will accomplish what it supposed to accomplish. If after the initial
chastisement, if the believer did not learn his or her lesson. They will be a
further seven chastisement each increasing in severity.
Lev 26:19 ‘And I shall break the pride of your power, and shall make your Heavens
like iron and your earth like bronze. – The purpose of this chastisement is design
to break the yoke of our pride. Heavens will become like iron and earth like
bronze, not like the pure gold that is used to build the Menorah. Iron is
symbolic of those in the Outer
Court Holy Place
Lev 26:20 ‘And your strength shall be spent in vain and your land not yield its
crops, nor the trees of the land yield their fruit. – The believer will
try as hard as they can to be kind and gentle, but it will not be a fruit of
the Spirit. 1Co 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,
I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The believer
will be like driving in a foot of snow, the engine will be revving, the wheal
spinning but the car in not going anywhere fast. This curse is doubly painful.
If one does not try hard, and fail to achieve, it is not nearly as aggravating
as it is if one works very hard, but fail to achieve success.
Lev 26:21 ‘And if you walk contrary to Me, and refuse to obey Me, I shall bring on
you seven times more plagues, according to your sins, - This is the third
series of chastisement. If we knew that something is wrong and we still refuse
to modify our behavior, EL YAHVEH will cause seven more chastisement: Wild
beast; domestic animals; poisonous snakes; death of children; lose of
livestock; diminution of population; and desolations of roads. The people who
refuse to recognize that their misfortunes were Divinely ordained, if they were
to carefully analyzed there would see that the punishment fits the crime.
Lev 26:22 and send wild beasts among you, which shall bereave you of your
children. And I shall cut off your livestock, and make you few in number, and
your highways shall be deserted. – EL YAHVEH would remove the domination man
was given over the wild animal at Creation. The wild beast would become bolder
towards us for that spiritual protection has been removed.
Lev 26:23 ‘And if you are not instructed by Me by these, but walk contrary to Me,
- If
after this chastisement, we still do not change our way. The plagues in the
next verse will apply.
Lev 26:24 then I also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven
times for your sins. – Please remember
that the personnel in these verses are saved people, who refused to modify
their behavior patterns. EL YAHVEH says He will walk contrary to us. Meaning
instead of our Menorah growing inside of us, we will begin to loose the
advancement we have made building our menorah. If we had already acquired the
Spirit of Truth we would loose it.
Lev 26:25 ‘And I shall bring against you a sword executing the vengeance of My
covenant, and you shall gather together in your cities, and I shall send
pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy. – If a King goes to
war against another country and conquers it, he does not punish the
inhabitants, even though they fought against him fiercely and inflicted heavy
casualties in the process. At the time they did not owed him any allegiance and
were entitled to defend themselves, so their struggle did not represent
disloyalty to him. But if a King’s lawful subject rebels against him, he will
punish them, because they broke their covenant of allegiance to him. So, too, EL
YAHVEH warns Yisrael that for their rebellion against the Torah they will
suffer the vengeance of a Covenant.
Lev 26:26 ‘and when I break for you the staff of bread, ten women shall bake your
bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and
you shall eat and not be satisfied. – A staff provides support. When there is a
shortage of food, people feel like a cripple whose staff has been broken. Because
of a shortage of firewood, several women would share an Oven. Because of the
rottenness of the grain the bread will crumble in the oven. Therefore the bread
will be weight to determine who get what.
Lev 26:27 ‘And if in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me,
-
There is an old saying, the straw that breaks the Camel back, what plague is
too much for us, or what are we prepared to lose before we understand.
Lev 26:28 then I shall walk contrary to you in wrath. And I Myself shall punish you
seven times for your sins. – It is a Fathers responsibility to punish his children, in this verse we
see that EL YAHVEH took upon Himself the task of punishment. All of this is
been done to bring us back to were we should have been. These chastisements are
design to teach us a lesson we will not soon forget. It will also prevent us
from making any similar mistake, in the future. That why Torah says don’t spoil
the rod and spare the child. For those who He loves He chastises.
Lev 26:29 ‘And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and eat the flesh of your
daughters. – Hunger will cause even believer to do strange things. If eating one’s
child flesh do not produce a change of heart nothing will.
Lev 26:30 ‘And I shall destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-idols, and
put your carcasses with the carcasses of your idols. And My Spirit shall reject
you. – The spiritual gain they had made in the past will be destroyed, they will
be like idol which we call upon in times of trouble, but there will be no help;
For the Holy Spirit would have departed from them.
Lev 26:31 ‘And I shall turn your cities into ruins and lay your set-apart places
waste, and not smell your sweet fragrances. – King Saul was at this position, at
the end of reign. The seven punishment for this series are: Cannibalism,
destruction of defense structure, death of people, lose of the Holy Spirit,
destruction of cities, desolation of the sanctuaries, and the refusal of our
offerings.
Lev 26:32 ‘And I shall lay the land desolate, and your enemies who dwell in it
shall be desolate at it.
Lev 26:33 ‘And I shall scatter you among the gentiles and draw out a sword after
you. And your land shall be desert and your cities ruins, - The believer will
be scattered and become isolated from one another, and exile is much harder to
bear when one does not have the support of the community.
The previous verse define a land that become so desolate
so that its conquerors will lose hope of returning home, for they will think
that their land has been desolated once and for all.
Lev 26:34 and the land enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies waste and you are in
your enemies’ land. Then the land would rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. – From this verse we derive that the
sin was a failure to observe the Sabbatical year. If the people did not allow
the land to rest in their presence, it will rest in their absence. Because of
the seventy Sabbatical that Yisrael had violated prior to and during the first
temple, the Babylonian exile lasted for seventy years, during which the land
made up for the rest of which it had been deprived.
Lev 26:35 ‘As long as it lies waste it rests, for the time it did not rest on your
Sabbaths when you dwelt in it.
Lev 26:36 ‘And as for those of you who are left, I shall send faintness into
their hearts in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a shaken leaf
shall cause them to flee. And they shall flee as though retreating from a
sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. – Faintness of
heart is a result of the lack of the Holy “Ruach” Spirit; this will cause the
believers to be very fearful even of the blowing wind.
Lev 26:37 ‘And they shall stumble over one another, as from before a sword, when
no one pursues. And you shall be unable to stand before your enemies. – The lack of the
Holy Spirit will make the people so demoralize that they will become so selfish
and think only of their own interests.
Lev 26:38 ‘And you shall perish among the gentiles, and the land of your enemies
shall eat you up, -
Lev 26:39 and those of you who are left rot away in their crookedness in your
enemies’ lands, and also in their fathers’ crookednesses rot away with them.
–
Exile will cause the believer to be exposed to new sins, because they will be
in a land of your enemies. Because they did not understand the true cause of
the exile. Those who are left in the land will continue to waste away
spiritually.
Lev 26:40 ‘But if they confess their crookedness and the crookedness of their
fathers, with their trespass in which they trespassed against Me, and that they
also have walked contrary to Me, - Here is were Grace comes into the picture.
Like the Prodigal Son who was wasting away in a foreign land, when we today
realize that El “Jesus” Yahushua is Lord, that we still have a vise to return
to the land, which we have been evicted from. We can still confess our sin and
wash or hand and feet in the Blood and water that flow from His Side.
Lev 26:41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into
the land of their enemies – if their uncircumcised heart is then humbled, and
they accept the punishment of their crookedness, - This verse speaks
volumes. It describes the reason behind why things happen to us in this life.
It is always because of our walk, the path we choose to walk on that will
determine where we end up.
When we walk away from EL YAHVEH He will walk slowly away
from us, but when we turn towards Him He will run towards. Punishment is never
design to drive us away, it is to get us to correct of walk with Him.
Lev 26:42 then I shall remember My covenant with Yaʽaqoḇ, and also My covenant with Yitsḥaq,
and also remember My covenant with Aḇraham, and remember the land. – When we turn around and walk back to Him, He will
remember the Covenant. Remember the Prodigal Son, he did not loose his son
ship, when the Shekinah was restored he continue from the place were he last
dwell.
The sign of a good confession is to acknowledge that the
sins of our forefathers were indeed wrong, and that the harshness and exiles
imposed by EL YAHVEH were not haphazard. Only then can the repentance be
considered complete.
Lev 26:43 ‘For the land was abandoned by them, and enjoying its Sabbaths while
lying waste without them, and they were paying for their crookedness, because
they rejected My right-rulings and because their being loathed My laws. – The people too
will repent and seek to appease EL YAHVEH so that He will allow them to return
to the land.
Lev 26:44 ‘And yet for all this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I
shall not reject them, nor shall I loathe them so as to destroy them and break
My covenant with them. For I am יהוה their Elohim. - EL YAHVEH leave the door open just incase if
any of them choose to repent, they will not be totally rejected. At this
present moment a door in the form of El Yahushua is still open for the people
to re-enter the Land, but this must only be trough El Yahushua.
Lev 26:45 ‘Then I shall remember for their sake the covenant of the ancestors
whom I brought out of the land of Mitsrayim before the eyes of the nations to
be their Elohim. I am יהוה.’ ” – When we call upon
His Name, EL YAHVEH will remember the Covenant made will Abraham, who EL YAHVEH
also brought out of the Egypt for the same reason we are also brought out, to
become Mature Sons of Elohim.
Lev 26:46 These are the laws and the right-rulings and the Torot1
which יהוה made between Himself and the children of
Yisra’ĕl on Mount Sinai by the hand of Mosheh.
Footnote: 1Torot - plural of Torah, teaching. – The word for
Torah here is Torot, is in the plural sense because it refers to the two
Torahs: The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. This verse emphasizes that both
were given at Sinai.
Chapter 27
This chapter deals with the voluntary contributions to
the temple, which was not part of the commandments that formed the covenant of
the Admonition of chapter 26:46, even though it too would seem to belong in the
earlier chapters of this book, which deal with our offerings.
By excluding them, the Torah implies that such voluntary
gifts, while surely commendable, are not essential as the performance of the
commandments. Believer should never think that voluntary contributions could
atone for laxity in what is commanded.
There are two type of sanctified property: Monetary
sanctification, and physical sanctification. The difference is in the nature of
the sanctity, which is reflected in many laws. An object or animal with
monetary sanctification is sacred because it is property of the Sanctuary, not
because it is intrinsically holy. It is forbidden to use if for any purpose
other than a sacred purpose, just as it is forbidden to use anyone’s private
property.
An object or animal with physical sanctification is used
for an offering on the Altar, and is intrinsically holy.
Verse 1 - 8
describe valuations. Just as believers may vow to contribute specific amounts
of money to the Sanctuary, so one may vow to contribute the value of oneself or
another person or thing. One may do this in two ways. By declaring, for
example, the cash value of an object is required of them, they then become
obligates himself to give whatever that person would be worth as a commodity,
such as a slave.
That, however, is not the subject of our chapter. Here
the Torah speaks of a specific form of vow known as valuation. This vow
involves the holiness inherent in the individual the value of his soul, as it
were.
Since there is no market that can assess such a value,
and no way for human beings to measure it, the Torah assign the amounts to be
paid, based on the health, strength, earning capacity, or commercial value of
the subject, also on the age and sex.
In the fulfillment of this kind of vow, one is require to
pay a value prescribe by the Torah, a payment that goes to the Tabernacle
treasury, to be used for maintenance or any other necessary expenditures, as
specified in this Chapter.
Lev 27:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, -
Lev 27:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say to them, ‘When a man
separates a vow, by your evaluation of lives unto יהוה, - When a person make a vow unto EL
YAHVEH, he ore she must live by it.
Lev 27:3 when your evaluation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years
old, then your evaluation shall be fifty sheqels of silver, according to the
sheqel of the set-apart place. – A shekel is twenty geras of silver. The value of a full-grown healthy
male is fifty Shekels.
There are four age categories of valuation: one month to
5 years, 5 – 20 years, and 20 – 60 years, 60 and over. The 20 – 60 are listed
first because the chapter discusses the law of an adult who vows.
Next the 5 – 20 categories, which include those over bar
mitzvah age, who have not yet reach their potential, and finally the oldest
group, which is past their physical prime.
Lev 27:4 ‘And if it is a female, then your evaluation shall be thirty sheqels;
- Talk
about equality. The feminist movement would have a field day with this.
Lev 27:5 and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your evaluation for
a male shall be twenty sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels; - These verse is going to be a point
of contention when it is read. Why would EL YAHVEH make a 5 – 20 year old male
more valuable that a female of similar age. The answer is, because Torah said
so!
Lev 27:6 and if from a month old up to five years old, then your evaluation for
a male shall be five sheqels of silver, and for a female your evaluation shall
be three sheqels of silver; -
Lev 27:7 and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your
evaluation shall be fifteen sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels. –
Lev 27:8 ‘But if he is too poor to pay your evaluation, then he shall present
himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him. According
to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him. – However, the
Torah also makes provision for every conceivable situation. If the one who
makes the vow is too poor to pay the full price, a Kohen must assess how much
the poor person can afford. For the purposes of this evaluation, such
necessities as living quarters, tools, and clothing’s are not included in the
assessment.
Verse 9 – 13 discusses the Sanctification and redemption
of an animal. If an animal is sanctified for use as an offering, then it may
not be used for any other purpose, even a sacred one, nor may it be redeemed.
If, however, the animal is not suitable for an offering
deu to a blemish, it may be redeemed and its value used for the offering for
which the animal was originally dedicated.
The cost of the redemption is the animal’s actual value,
unlike the previous passage, which deals with a fixed valuation.
Lev 27:9 ‘And if it is a beast of which they bring an offering to יהוה, all such given to יהוה is set-apart. – It is also possible to sanctify only
a part of the animal. For example, if someone sanctified only a leg as an Olah,
that leg becomes holy, not the rest of the animal. Since the limb is sacred, however, the animal
cannot be used far any secular purpose. The rest of the animal be sold to
someone who needs an Olah, and he will then sanctify the rest of it for the
offering.
Lev 27:10 ‘He is not to replace it or exchange it, good for spoilt or spoilt for
good. And if he at all exchanges beast for beast, then both it and the one
exchanged for it is set-apart. – A believer cannot substitute El Yahushua
for another lamb. However if we slaughter an animal for an Olah offering, it
also become holy.
Lev 27:11 ‘And if it is any unclean beast of which they do not bring an offering
to יהוה,
then he shall present the beast before the priest; - If for example the first born animal
was dedicated to be given and it developed a blemish at birth, that animal may
be redeem, it is not healthy or whole.
Lev 27:12 and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or spoilt. According
to your evaluation, O priest, so it shall be.
Lev 27:13 ‘But if he indeed redeems it, then he shall add one-fifth to your evaluation. – In the process
of redeeming the animal, twenty percent must be added to the redemption cost.
Lev 27:14 ‘And when a man sets his house apart, to be set-apart to יהוה, then the priest shall value it,
whether it is good or spoilt. As the priest values it, so it stands. – When any thing is valuated by the
Priest that is the value of the object. Whether it is high or low the Priest
word is final.
Lev 27:15 ‘And if he who sets it apart does redeem his house, then he shall add
one-fifth of the silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his.
Lev 27:16 ‘And if a man sets apart to יהוה a field he owns, then your
evaluation shall be according to the seed for it – a ḥomer of barley seed at fifty
sheqels of silver. – If a field is dedicated to the Tabernacle. It must be
valuated by the seed it produces. Fifty shekel for a homer of wheat.
Lev 27:17 ‘If he sets his field apart from the Year of Jubilee, according to your
evaluation it stands. – If we set the field apart up to 50 years the promise
must stand.
Lev 27:18 ‘But if he sets his field apart after the Jubilee, then the priest
shall reckon to him the silver deu according to the years that remain till the
Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your evaluation. – However if the
field is set apart after the Jubilee, if the owner want to redeem it, it must
be calculated from that time up to the next Jubilee, which could be as high as
49 and a low as 1 year.
Lev 27:19 ‘And if he who sets the field apart ever wishes to redeem it, then he
shall add one-fifth of the silver of your evaluation to it, and it shall be his.
– The
person who wishes to redeem it must then add 20% to the cost of the redemption
money.
Lev 27:20 ‘And if he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to
another man, it is no longer redeemed, - There are two way in which a person
can lose the right to reclaim his land in the Jubilee year. If the owner choose
not to redeem it, and allow someone else to redeem it.
Lev 27:21 but the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, is set-apart to יהוה as a dedicated field, to be the possession
of the priest. – The field will then become the possession of the
Levites. If the owner or his sons fail to redeem the land, the land will no
longer return to them after the Jubilee.
Lev 27:22 ‘And if a man sets apart to יהוה a field which he has bought,
which is not the field of his possession, -
Lev 27:23 then the priest shall reckon to him the amount of your evaluation, up to
the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your evaluation on that day, set-apart
to יהוה. –
Lev 27:24 ‘In the Year of Jubilee the field returns to him from whom he bought
it, to him whose is the possession of the land. –
Lev 27:25 ‘And all your evaluations is to be according to the sheqel of the
set-apart place: twenty gĕrahs to the sheqel. - All the
evaluation must be done according to the currency or the foreign exchange on
the day the agreement was made.
Lev 27:26 ‘However, a first-born of the beasts, which is first-born to יהוה, no man sets it apart – whether bull or
sheep, it belongs to יהוה. – The first born of any animal cannot be used as a set apart animal to EL
YAHVEH since it is already set a part. A first-born male animal from cattle or
the flock is sacred from birth as an offering; it cannot be consecrated as
another sort of offering because it is not the property of its owner.
Alternatively, since the animal is holy from birth, it is not necessary to
sanctify it formally.
Lev 27:27 ‘And if among the unclean beasts,
then he shall ransom it according to your evaluation, and shall add one-fifth
to it. And if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your
evaluation. – If it is a first born of an unclean animal, it must be redeem plus 20%
and given to the Priest.
Verse 28 – 29 speaks of Cherem/Segregated property. The
word cherem is customarily used to denote destruction or something banned from
human enjoyment. In the context of this passage, it refers to a person’s
expressed resolution to consecrate an object and thus make it forbidden for
personal use.
There are two type of cherem in the Hebrew culture: one
that is for the Temple treasury; and the other is a gift for the Kohanim, and
it becomes the personal property.
The cherem of the temple is used to maintenance or other
Temple related needs, or it can be sold, with the proceeds going towards the
Temple treasury.
The cherem of the Kohanim is similar to terumah, in that
the owner loses title to it and cannot redeem it. It must be turned over to the
kohanim, whereupon it becomes their personal property and loses all sanctity.
Lev 27:28 ‘However, whatever a man lays under
ban for יהוה of all that he
has, man and beast, or the field of his possession, is not sold or redeemed.
Whatever is laid under ban is most set-apart to יהוה. – Anything that is
set apart onto EL YAHVEH
Lev 27:29 ‘No one under the ban, under the ban
among men, is ransomed, but shall certainly be put to death. – This verse speaks
of a person who is condemned to death by the court. If someone vows to
contribute his monetary value or his assessed valuation as seen in verse 2 – 7,
the vow is not binding, because, he shall be put to death, he has no monetary
value and he shall not be redeemed in payment of the vow.
This verse states that whereas a cherem for the Temple
treasury can be redeemed, a person condemned to death for disobeying a national
decree is beyond redemption.
Verse 30 – 31 describes a second tithe. During the first,
second, fourth, and fifth years of the seven year Shemittah cycle, a farmer
must sets aside one-tenth of his harvest, which he must protect from
contamination and taken to Yerushalayim to be eaten.
It is known as the second tithes, because it is separated
from the crop only after the first tithe is separated for the Levite. The Torah
permits the owner to redeem the tithe for coin, whereupon the sanctity devolves
from the tithe to the money, which the owner must take to the Holy City and
used to purchase food or offerings that may be eaten.
Lev 27:30 ‘And all the tithe of the land – of the seed of the land or of the fruit
of the tree – belongs to יהוה. It is set-apart to יהוה. – There is a principle here we need to pay
close attention to. I believe that this is a Kingdom Principle. As we pay a
tithe to those over us, the person in charge of those over us also collect a
tithes. Regardless of how deep the layer of authority goes, each layer receives
a tithe from the people under them. I Samuel 22:7 …. make
you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; the principle of tithe is an action that will be
perform in the Kingdom. If we are captains over a hundred cities or a hounded
country or even a hundred planets, we all have to tithe to who so ever is over
us. If we find it difficult to tithe we will also have problem performing this
same actions in Heavens.
Lev 27:31 ‘If a man indeed redeems any of his tithes, he adds one-fifth to it. – The penalty for
using the Tithe for other things is that we must add 20% to the original
tithes.
Lev 27:32 ‘And the entire tithe of the herd and of the flock, all that passes
under the rod, the tenth one is set-apart to יהוה. – What ever we produce we must all
bring 10% to the One who is in authority over us. The Kingdom of Heavens is so
large; there are billion of Stars in Heavens, each with its own solar system.
Each stars is under authority of someone. Some of us because of the level of
our maturity will be given more responsibility than others.
El Yahushua gave a Parable of the talents: Mat 25:14
For the kingdom of Heavens is as a man travelling into a far country,
who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another
two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and
straightway took his journey. 6 Then he
that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them
other five talents. 17 And likewise he
that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged
in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19
After a long time YAHVEH of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five
talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst
unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good
and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came
and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two
other talents beside them. 23 His lord
said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the
joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent
came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou
hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent
in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou
wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give
it unto him which hath ten talents. 29
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance:
but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into
outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 33 ‘He does not inquire whether it is
good or spoilt, nor does he exchange it. And if he exchanges it at all, then
both it and the one exchanged for it are set-apart, it is not redeemed.
Lev 27:34 These are the commands which יהוה commanded Mosheh for the
children of Yisra’ĕl on Mount Sinai. – These commands form the principle of the Kingdom of
Heavens we need to learn, s that when we get there we will know how the
Principles of that Kingdom operates.
Haftarah
Yirmeyahu
“Jeremiah” 16:19 – 17:14
Jer
16:19 O יהוה, my
strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles
shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have
inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”1
Footnote: 1See Ps. 147:19, Isa. 2:3, Isa.
60:2-3, John 4:22, Rom. 2:20, Rom. 3:2, Rom. 9:4. – During the day of
the great tribulation, during the days of Jacob trouble not only will both the
house of Yisrael heed the call to return home, but even the non-Yisraelite will return to YAHVEH and seek
after Torah through HIS SON Yahushua.
They will confess that all their religion and western
culture has not mounted up to a hill of beans, and that they are contrite and
broken over their abominable sun worship offered ny their ancestor, which was
not according to YAHVEH, HIS Son, and HIS Torah.
Surwely this confession will come to pass by millions of
people turning away from Christanity, as they realize thatHebraic worship and
comprehension of YAHVEH remain HIS Will, and is the only way that is not based
on vain pagan philosophy, handed down through church history.
They will realize that there is no value in non-Hebraic
lifestyle.
Jer 16:20 Would a man make mighty ones for himself,
which are not mighty ones? – In this verse they argue thus with themselves
(and it is well argued), Should a man be such a fool, so perfectly void
of the reason of a man, as to make mighty ones to himself, the creatures
of his own fancy, the work of his own hands, when they are really no gods? Can a man be so besotted, so perfectly lost
to human understanding, as to expect any divine blessing or favour from that
which pretends to no divinity but what it first received from him? The answer is Yes! This is why Adam was told not to
eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is a fool who keep doing
the same thing over and over again and expect the same result.
How many people had
Christanity bring to maturity in the last 1650 years, since they institute
Sunday worship. I would say none.
Jer 16:21 “Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to
know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is יהוה!” – The
Christian church have done away with the Five Fold ministry and invent the
office of the Pastor, and have forgotten the Name of the creator.
The Ministry of the Mighty Hand which is the Apostle,
Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher will be restored to Yisrael and the
True Hebraic name of YAHVEH the Father and Yahushua the Son, and the Set Apart
Spirit will be restored to Yisrael.
Father YAHVEH name is unique to HIM alone, God is a
definition! as man is a definition of human, and god is the definition of a
spirit. When we pray to father god, whom are we praying to!
Chapter 17
In this
chapter, I. EL YAHVEH convicts the Jews
of the sin of idolatry by the notorious evidence of the fact, and condemns them
into captivity for it (v. 1-4).
II. He shows them
the folly of all their carnal confidences, which will only establish the curse
of the Law upon them, this was now YAHVEH time to contend with them, and that
this was one of the sins upon which his controversy with them was grounded (v.
5–11).
III. The prophet
makes his appeal and address to YAHVEH upon occasion of the malice of his
enemies against him, committing himself to the divine protection, and begging
of YAHVEH to appear for him (v. 12–14).
Jer 17:1 “The
sin of Yehuḏah is written with a pen of iron, engraved with the point of a
diamond on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars, -
The people had asked in (ch. 16:10), What
is our iniquity, and what is our sin? as if they could not be charged with
any thing worth speaking of, for which YAHVEH should enter into judgment with
them; their challenge was answered there, but here we have a further reply to
it, in which.
I. The indictment is
fully proved upon the prisoners, both the fact and the fault; their sin is too
plain to be denied and too bad to be excused, and they have nothing to plead
either in extenuation of the crime or in arrest and mitigation of the judgment.
1. They cannot
plead, Not guilty, for their sins are upon record in the book of YAH’s Torah
and their own conscience; nay, and they are obvious to the eye and observation
of the world. They are plainly written before YAHVEH in the most legible
and indelible characters, and sealed among his treasures, never to be
forgotten, Deu. 32:34.
They are written
there with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond; what is so
written will not be worn out by time, but is, as Job speaks, graven in the
rock for ever. The sin of believers is never forgotten till it is forgiven.
It is ever before YAHVEH, till by repentance it comes to be ever before us. It
is graven upon the table of their heart; their own consciences witness
against them, and are instead of a thousand witnesses.
What is graven on
the heart, though it may be covered and closed up for a time, yet, being
graven, it cannot be erased, but will be produced in evidence when the books
shall be opened. We need not appeal to the tables of the heart, perhaps they
will not own the convictions of their consciences. We need go no further, for
proof of the charge, than the horns of their altars, on which the blood
of their idolatrous sacrifices was sprinkled, and perhaps the names of the
idols to whose honor they were erected were inscribed. Their neighbours will
witness against them, and all the creatures they have abused by using them in
the service of their lusts.
1.
Today the sins
of Christanity, in the forsaken of the Sabbath for Sunday, under the pretence
that is because they love Jesus. Who is this Jesus? It could not be the Hebrew
Messiyah who was called Yahushua.
2.
They will asked
in ignorance what sins have we commited. They will be told you have tarnish my
Sabbath, and have forgotten My Name.
Jer 17:2
while their children remember their
altars and their Ashĕrim by the spreading trees on the high hills. -
To complete the evidence, their own
children shall be witnesses against them; they will tell truth when their
fathers dissemble and prevaricate; they remember the altars and the groves
to which their parents took them when they were little. The Sunday school
class, the easter Sunday, the good Friday, the Christman day service.
It appears that they
were full of them, and acquainted with them betimes, they talked of them so
frequently, so familiarly, and with so much delight.
They cannot plead
that they repent, or are brought to a better mind. No, as the guilt of their
sin is undeniable, so their inclination to sin is invincible and incurable. In
this sense many understand.
Their sin is deeply engraven
as with a pen of iron in the tables of their hearts. They have a rooted
affection to it; it is woven into their very nature and culture as easter and christmas holiday is.
Their sin is dear to them, as that is dear to
us “Christman, easter” of which we say, It is engraven on our hearts.
The bias of their minds is still as strong as ever towards their idols, and
they are not wrought upon either by the word or rod of YAHVEH to forget them
and abate their affection to them.
It is written upon
the horns of their altars, their churches. How many easter service have you
been to, how many christman gift and cards and part have you been to.
For they have given
up their names to their idols and resolve to abide by what they have done; they
have bound themselves, as with cords, to the horns of their altars “church”.
As they remember their children, so
remember they their altars and their groves; they are as fond of them and
take as much pleasure in them as men do in their own children, and are as loth
to part with them; they will live and die with their idols, and can no more
forget them than a woman can forget her sucking child.
Most Christians
today will die to protect their easter and christmas holiday, but will never
remember Passover, Pentecost and Succoth.
Jer 17:3
“My mountain in the field, I give
as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, your high places of sin, throughout
all your borders. – The indictment
being thus fully proved, the judgment is affirmed and the sentence ratified.
Forasmuch as the
Christian are wedded to their sins, and will not part with them, They shall be
made to part with their treasures, and those shall be given into the hands of
strangers. Yerushalayim is YAHVEH’s mountain in the field; it was built
on a hill in the midst of a plain. All the treasures of that wealthy
city will YAHVEH give to the spoil. Or, My mountains with the fields,
thy wealth and all thy treasures will I expose to spoil; both the products
of the country and the stores of the city shall be seized by the Chaldeans.
Justly are men
stripped of that which they have served their idols with and have made the food
and the fuel of their lusts. My mountain (so the whole land was, Ps.
78:54, Deu. 11:11) you have turned into your high places for sin, have
worshipped your idols upon the high hills, and now they shall be give
for a spoil in all your borders. What we make for a sin YAHVEH will make
for a spoil; for what comfort can we expect in that wherewith YAHVEH is dishonored?
Jer 17:4
“And you, even of yourself, shall let go
of your inheritance which I gave you. And I shall make you serve your enemies
in a land which you have not known, for you have kindled a fire in My
displeasure which burns forever.”
– They shall be made to part with their
inheritance, and shall be carried captives into a strange land: Thou, even thyself
(or thou thyself and those that are in thee, all the inhabitants), shall
discontinue from thy heritage that I gave thee.
YAHVEH owns that it
was their heritage, and that HE gave it to them; they had an unquestionable
title to it, which was an aggravation of their folly in throwing themselves out
of the possession of it. It is through thyself (so some read it),
through thy own default, that thou art disseised.
Thou shalt
discontinue, or intermit,
the occupation of thy land. The law appointed them to let their land rest
(it is the word here used) one year in seven, Ex. 23:11. They did not observe
that law, and now YAHVEH would compel them to let it rest (the land
shall enjoy her sabbaths, Lev. 26:34); and yet it shall be not rest to
them; they shall serve their enemies in a land they know not.
Observe, (1.) Sin
works a discontinuance of our comforts and deprives us of the enjoyment of that
which YAHVEH has given us. Yet,
(2.) A
discontinuance of the possession is not a defeasance of the right, but it is
intimated that upon their repentance they shall recover possession again. For
the present, you have kindled a fire in my anger, which burns so
fiercely that it seems as if it would burn for ever; and so it will
unless you repent, for it is the anger of an everlasting YAHVEH fastening upon
the immortal souls, and who knows the power of that anger?
Jer 17:5 Thus
said יהוה, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and
makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from יהוה. - It is a excellent doctrine that is proclaim in these
verses, and of general concern and use to us all, and it does not appear to
have any particular reference to the present state of Judah and Yerushalayim.
The prophet’s sermons were not all prophetical, but some of them practical; yet
this discourse, which probably we have here only the heads of, would be of
singular use to them by way of caution not to misplace their confidence in the
day of their distress. Let us all learn what we are taught here,
I. Concerning the
disappointment and vexation those will certainly meet with who depend upon
creatures for success and relief when they are in trouble. Cursed be the man
that trusts in man. YAHVEH pronounces him cursed for the affront he thereby
puts upon him. Or, Cursed (that is, miserable) is the man that
does so, for he leans upon a broken reed, which will not only fail him, but
will run into his hand and pierce it.
I often hear people
say my Pastor say this! They are the ones who trust in man and not the Holly
Spirit. It is the Spirit of Understanding that led us into all truth, not the
Pastor.
Observe, 1. The sin
here condemned; it is trusting in man, putting that confidence in the
wisdom and power, the kindness and faithfulness, of men, which should be placed
in those attributes of the Holy Spirit, making our applications to men and
raising our expectations from them as principal agents, whereas they are but
instruments in the hand of Providence.
It is making
flesh the arm we stay upon, the arm we work with and with which we hope to
work our point, the arm under which we shelter ourselves and on which we depend
for protection. The Mighty Hand of YAHVEH
is HIS : Apostle, Prophet, Evangelish, Pastor and Teacher; the Pastor is the
people’s arm, Isa. 32:2.
The Mighty Hand of YAHVEH
does all that the Head Yahushua says it should do.
We must not think to
make any creature to be that to us which YAHVEH has undertaken to be. Man is
called flesh, to show the folly of those that make him their confidence;
he is flesh, weak and feeble as flesh without bones or sinews, that has no
strength at all in it; he is inactive as flesh without spirit, which is a dead
thing; he is mortal and dying as flesh, which soon putrefies and corrupts, and
is continually wasting. Nay, he is false and sinful, and has lost his
integrity; so his being flesh signifies, Gen. 6:3.
Jer 17:6 “For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and not see when good comes, and shall inhabit the parched places in the
wilderness, a salt land that is not inhabited. - The great malignity there is in this sin; it is the departure of the
evil heart of unbelief from the living Elohim. Those that trust in man perhaps
draw nigh to YAHVEH with their mouth and honor him with their lips, they call
him their hope and say that they trust in him, but really their heart
departs from him; they distrust him, despise him, and decline a
correspondence with him.
Cleaving to the
cistern is leaving the fountain, and is resented accordingly. The fatal
consequences of this sin. He that puts a confidence in man puts a cheat upon
himself; for he shall be like the heath in the desert, a sorry shrub,
the product of barren ground, sapless, useless, and worthless; his comforts
shall all fail him and his hopes be blasted; he shall wither, be dejected in
himself and trampled on by all about him.
When good comes he shall not see it, he shall not share in
it; when the times mend they shall not mend with him, but he shall inhabit
the parched places in the wilderness; his expectation shall be continually
frustrated; when others have a harvest he shall have none.
Those that trust in
their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do well enough without
the merit and grace of Messiyah or Torah the Law, thus make flesh their arm,
and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts; they can neither produce
the fruits of acceptable services to YAHVEH nor reap the fruits of the Spirit,
because they dwell in a dry land, void of Torah and the Holy Spirit.
Jer 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in יהוה, and whose trust is יהוה. - Concerning the abundant satisfaction which those
have, and will have, who make EL YAHVEH their confidence, who live by faith in
HIS providence and promise, who refer themselves to HIM and HIS Torah at all
times and repose themselves in HIM and HIS love in the most unquiet times.
Observe, 1. The duty
required of us—to trust in the EL YAHVEH, to do our duty to HIM and then
depend upon HIM to bear us out in doing it—when creatures and second causes
either deceive or threaten us, either are false to us or fierce against us, to
commit ourselves to EL SHADDAI as all-sufficient both to fill up the place of
those who fail us and to protect us from those who set upon us. It is to make
EL YAHVEH our hope, HIS favour the good we hope for and HIS power the
strength we hope in.
2. The comfort that
attends the doing of this duty. He that does so shall be as a tree planted
by the waters, a choice tree, about which great care has been taken to set
it in the best soil, so far from being like the heath in the wilderness;
he shall be like a tree that spreads out its roots, and thereby is
firmly fixed, spreads them out by the rivers, whence it draws abundance
of sap, which denotes both the establishment and the comfort which those have
who make God their hope; they are easy, they are pleasant, and enjoy a
continual security and serenity of mind.
A tree thus planted, thus watered, shall not
see when heat comes, shall not sustain any damage from the most scorching
heats of summer; it is so well moistened from its roots that it shall be
sufficiently guarded against drought. Those that make EL YAHVEH their hope,
(1.) They shall
flourish in credit and comfort, like a tree that is always green, whose
leaf does not wither; they shall be cheerful to themselves and beautiful in the
eyes of others. Those who thus give honor to YAHVEH by giving him credit YAHVEH
will put honor upon, and make them the ornament and delight of the places where
they live, as green trees are.
(2.) They shall be
fixed in an inward peace and satisfaction: They shall not be careful in a
year of drought, when there is want of rain; for, as the tree has seed
in itself, so it has its moisture. Those who make YAHVEH their hope
have enough in him to make up the want of all creature-comforts. We need not be
solicitous about the breaking of a cistern as long as we have the fountain.
Jer 17:8 “For he shall be like a tree planted by the
waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and does not see when heat
comes. And his leaf shall be green, and in the year of drought he is not
anxious, nor does he cease from yielding fruit. – They shall be fruitful in holiness, and in all good
works. Those who trust in YAHVEH, and by faith derive strength and grace from
him, shall not cease from yielding fruit; they shall still be enabled to
do that which will redound to the glory of YAHVEH, the benefit of others, and
their own account.
Jer 17:9 “The heart is crooked1 above all, and
desperately sick – who shall know it? Footnote: 1See 7:24, 16:12, 18:12,
23:17. – Concerning the sinfulness of
man’s heart, and the divine inspection it is always under.
It is folly to trust in
man, for he is not only frail, but false and deceitful. We are apt to think
that if we trust in YAHVEH, and are entitled to the blessings here promised to
those who do so. But this is a thing about which our own hearts deceive us as
much as any thing. We think that if we trust in YAHVEH when really we do not,
as appears by this, that our hopes and fears rise or fall according as second
causes smile or frown.
It is true in
general.
(1.) There is that
wickedness in our hearts which we ourselves are not aware of and do not suspect
to be there; it is a common mistake among the children of men to think
themselves, their own hearts at least, a great deal better than they really
are.
The heart, the conscience of man, in his corrupt and fallen
state, is deceitful above all things. It is subtle and false; it is apt
to supplant (so the word properly signifies); it is that from which
Jacob had his name, a supplanter.
It calls evil good
and good evil, puts false colours upon things, and cries peace to those to whom
peace does not belong. When men say in their hearts (that is, suffer their
hearts to whisper to them) that there is no Mighty One, or he does not see, or
he will not require, or they shall have peace though they go on; in these, and
a thousand similar suggestions the heart is deceitful.
It cheats men into
their own ruin; and this will be the aggravation of it, that they are self-deceivers,
self-destroyers. Herein the heart is desperately wicked; it is deadly,
it is desperate. The case is bad indeed, and in a manner deplorable and past
relief, if the conscience which should rectify the errors of the other
faculties is itself a mother of falsehood and a ring-leader in the delusion.
What will become of
a man if what is in him which should be the candle of YAHVEH give a
false light; if YAH’s ministers to the soul, that is entrusted to support HIS
interests, betrays them? Such is the case for the deceitfulness of the heart
that we may truly say, Who can know it?
Who can describe how
bad the heart is? We cannot know even our own hearts, not what they will do in
an hour of temptation (Hezekiah did not, Peter did not), not what corrupt dispositions
there are in them, nor how many things will it turned aside; who can understand
his errors?
The mind is the only
part of the human composition that will justify itself regardless of what sin
it may be involve in. One just has to look at the numerous sins against
humanity throughout history and ask could any rational thinking men do this.
Much less can we
know the hearts of others, or have any dependence upon them. But, (2.) Whatever
wickedness there is in the heart EL YAHVEH sees it, and knows it, is perfectly
acquainted with it and apprised of it: I YAHVEH search the heart.
This is true of all
that is in the heart, all the thoughts of it, the quickest, and those that are
most carelessly overlooked by ourselves—all the intents of it, the closest, and
those that are most artfully disguised, and industriously concealed from
others.
Men may be imposed
upon, but EL YAHVEH cannot. He not only searches the heart with a piercing eye,
but he tries the reins, to pass a judgment upon what he discovers, to give
every thing its true character and due weight.
He tries it, as the
gold is tried whether it be standard or no, as the prisoner is tried whether he
be guilty or no. And this judgment which HE makes of the heart is in order to
HIS passing judgment upon the man; it is to give to every man according to
his ways (according to the desert and the tendency of them, life to those
that walked in the ways of life, and death to those that persisted in the
paths of the destroyer) and according to the fruit of his doings, the
effect and influence HIS doings have had upon others, or according to what is
settled by the word of YAHVEH to be the fruit of men’s doings, blessings to the
obedient and curses to the disobedient.
Therefore EL YAHVEH is Judge himself, and HE alone,
because HE, and none besides, knows the hearts of the children of men.
Jer 17:10 “I, יהוה, search
the heart, I try the kidneys, and give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds. – It
is true especially of all the deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart, all
its corrupt devices, desires, and designs. EL YAHVEH observes and discerns
them; and (which is more than any man can do) HE judges of the overt act by the
heart. YAHVEH knows more evil of us than we do of ourselves, which is a good
reason why we should not flatter ourselves, but always stand in awe of the judgment
of YAHVEH.
Jer 17:11 “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, so is he who gets
riches, but not by right. It leaves him in the midst of his days, and at his
end he is a fool.” – Concerning
the curse that attends wealth unjustly gotten. Fraud and violence had been
reigning crying sins in Judah and Yerushalayim; now the prophet would have
those who had been guilty of these sins, and were now stripped of all they had,
to read their sin in their punishment.
He that gets
riches and not by right, though he
may make them his hope, shall never have joy of them.
It is possible that
those who use unlawful means to get wealth may succeed therein and prosper for
a time; and it is a temptation to many to defraud and oppress their neighbours
when there is money to be got by it. He who has got treasures by vanity
and a lying tongue may hug himself in his success, and say, I am
rich; nay, and I am innocent too (Hos. 12:8), but he shall leave them in
the midst of his days; they shall be taken from him, or he from them. YAHVEH
shall cut him off with some surprising stroke then when he says, Soul, take
thy ease, thou hast goods laid up for many years, Lu. 12:19, 20.
He shall leave them
to he knows not whom, and shall not be able to take any of his riches away with
him. It intimates what a great vexation it is to a worldly man at death that he
must leave his riches behind him; and justly may it be a terror to those who
got them unjustly, for, though the wealth will not follow them to another
world, the guilt will, and the torment of an everlasting, Son, remember,
Lu. 16:25.
Thus, at his end,
he shall be a fool, a Nabal, whose wealth did him no good, which he had so
sordidly hoarded, when his heart became dead as a stone. He was a
fool all along; sometimes perhaps his own conscience told him so, but at his
end he will appear to be so. Those are fools indeed who are fools in their
latter end; and such multitudes will prove who were applauded as wise
men, that did well for themselves, Ps. 49:13, 18.
Those that get grace
will be wise in the latter end, will have the comfort of it in death and
the benefit of it to eternity (Prov. 19:20); but those that place their
happiness in the wealth of the world, and, right or wrong, will be rich,
will rue the folly of it when it is too late to rectify the fatal mistake.
This is like the
partridge that sits on eggs and hatches them not, but they are broken (as
Job 39:15), or stolen (as Isa. 10:14), or they become addle: some sort of fowl
there was, well known among the Jews, whose case this commonly was. The rich
man takes a great deal of pains to get an estate together, and sits brooding
upon it, but never has any comfort nor satisfaction in it; his projects to
enrich himself by sinful courses miscarry and come to nothing.
Let us therefore be
wise in time—what we get to get it honestly, and what we have to use it
charitably, that we may lay up in store a good foundation and be wise for
eternity.
Jer 17:12 An esteemed throne, exalted from the beginning, is
the place of our set-apart place. - Here,
as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone
with YAHVEH. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be
much so. In his converse here with EL YAHVEH and his own heart he takes the
liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one
thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method
and coherence.
I. He acknowledges
the great favour of EL YAHVEH to HIS people in setting up a revealed religion
among them, and dignifying them with divine institutions: A glorious high
throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. The temple at
Yerushalayim, where EL YAHVEH manifested his special presence, where the lively
oracles were lodged, where the people paid their homage to their Sovereign, and
whither they fled for refuge in distress, was the place of their sanctuary.
That was a glorious
high throne. It was a throne of holiness, which made it truly glorious; it
was YAH’s Throne, which made it truly high. Yerushalayim is called the City
of the great King, not only Yisrael’s King, but the King of the whole
earth, so that it might justly be deemed the metropolis, or royal city, of the
world.
It was from the
beginning, so, from the first projecting of it by David and building of it
by Solomon, 2 Chr. 2:9. It was the honor of Yisrael that YAHVEH set up such a
glorious throne among them. As the glorious and high throne (that is,
heaven) is the place of our sanctuary; so some read it. All good men have
a high value and worship for the ordinances of YAHVEH, and reckon the place of
the sanctuary a glorious high throne.
Jeremiah here
mentions this either as a plea with EL YAHVEH for mercy to their land, in honor
of the throne of his glory (ch. 14:21), or as an aggravation of the sin
of his people in forsaking YAHVEH though his throne was among them, and so
profaning his crown and the place of his sanctuary.
Jer 17:13 O יהוה, the expectation of Yisra’ĕl, all who
forsake You are put to shame. “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the
earth, because they have forsaken יהוה, the fountain of living waters.”1 Footnote: 1See 2:13. - He acknowledges the righteousness of EL YAHVEH in
abandoning those to ruin that forsook him and revolted from their allegiance to
him. He speaks it to EL YAHVEH, as subscribing both to the certainty and to the
equity of it: O Lord! the hope of those in Israel that adhere to thee, all
that forsake thee shall be ashamed.
They must of
necessity be so, for they forsake thee for lying vanities, which will deceive
them and make them ashamed. They will be ashamed, for they shame themselves.
They will justly be put to shame, for they have forsaken him who alone can keep
them in countenance when troubles come. Let them be ashamed (so some
read it); and so it is a pious imprecation of the wrath of YAHVEH upon them, or
a petition for his grace, to make them penitently ashamed.
"Those that
depart from me, from the word of
Torah which I have preached, do in effect depart from YAHVEH;’’ as those that
return to YAHVEH are said to return to the prophet, ch. 15:19. Those that
depart from thee (so some read it) shall be written in the earth.
They shall soon be blotted out, as that is which is written in the dust.
They shall be
trampled upon and exposed to contempt. They belong to the earth, and shall be
numbered among earthly people, who lay up their treasure on earth and whose
names are not written in heaven. And they deserve to be thus written
with the fools in Yisrael, that their folly may be made manifest unto all,
because they have forsaken YAHVEH, the fountain of living waters (that
is, spring waters), and that for broken cisterns.
YAHVEH is to all
that are HIS, a fountain of living waters. There is a fulness of comfort
in HIM, an over-flowing ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is
always fresh, and clear, and clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of
sin are puddle-waters. They are free to it; it is not a fountain sealed.
They deserve therefore to be condemned, as Adam, to red earth, to which
by the corruption of their nature they are allied, because they have forsaken
the garden of YAHVEH, which is so well-watered. Those that depart from YAHVEH
are written in the earth.
Jer 17:14 Heal
me, O יהוה, so that I am healed. Save me, so that I am saved, for You are my praise. – Jeremiah prays to YAHVEH for healing saving mercy
for himself. "If the case of those that depart from YAHVEH be so
miserable, let me always draw nigh to him (Ps. 73:27, 28), and, in order to do
that, Lord, heal me, and save me. Heal my backslidings, my bent
to backslide, and save me from being carried away by the strength of the stream
to forsake thee.’’
He was wounded in
spirit with grief upon many accounts. "Lord, heal me with thy
comforts, and make me easy.’’ He was continually exposed to the malice of
unreasonable men. "Lord, save me from them, and let me not fall
into their wicked hands.
Heal me, that is, sanctify me by thy grace; save me,
that is, bring me to thy glory.’’ All that shall be saved hereafter are
sanctified now; unless the disease of sin be purged out the soul cannot live.
To enforce this petition he pleads,
1. The firm belief
he had of YAH’s power: Heal thou me, and then I shall be healed; the
cure will certainly be wrought if thou undertake it; it will be a thorough cure
and not a palliative one. Those that come to EL YAHVEH to be healed ought to be
abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their physician. Save me,
and then I shall certainly be saved, be my dangers and enemies
ever so threatening. If YAHVEH hold us up, we shall live; if HE protect us, we
shall be safe.
2. The sincere
regard he had to YAH’s glory: "For thou art my praise, and for that
reason I desire to be healed and saved, that I may live and praise thee,
Ps. 119:175. Thou art he whom I praise, and the praise due to thee I never gave
to another. Thou art he whom I glory in, and boast of, for on thee do I depend.
Thou art he that furnishes me with continual matter for praise, and I have
given thee the praise of the favours already bestowed upon me. Thou shalt be
my praise’’ (so some read it); "heal me, and save me, and thou shalt
have the glory of it. My praise shall be continually of thee,’’ Ps.
71:6; 79:13.
Brit Chadasha
Ephsiyah “Ephesians”
2:11 – 19
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember
that you,who were once a gentiles1 in the flesh, who are called ‘the
uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by
hands, Footnote: 11 Cor. 12:2. - In these verses the apostle proceeds in his account
of the miserable condition of these Ephesians by nature. Wherefore remember,
etc. As if he had said, "You should remember what you have been, and
compare it with what you now are, in order to humble yourselves and to excite
your love and thankfulness to God.’’
Converted sinners
ought to frequently to reflect upon the sinfulness and misery of the state they
were in by nature. Gentiles in the flesh, that is, living in the
corruption of their natures, and being destitute of circumcision, the outward
sign of an interest in the covenant of grace.
Who are called
uncircumcision by that, etc., that
is, "You were reproached and upbraided for it by the formal Jews, who made
an external profession, and who looked no further than the outward ordinance.’’
Hypocritical professors are wont to value themselves chiefly on their external
privileges, and to reproach and despise others who are destitute of them.
Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Messiyah,
excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world. – The apostle describes the misery of their case in
several particulars. "At that time, while you were Gentiles, and in
an unconverted state, you were,’’
1.
"In a Messiyahless condition, without the knowledge of the Messiyah, and
without any saving interest in him or relation to him.’’ It is true of all
unconverted sinners, all those who are destitute of faith, that they have no
saving interest in Messiyah; and it must be a sad and deplorable thing for a
soul to be without a Messiyah. Being without Christ, they were,
2.
Aliens from the commonwealth of Yisrael; they did not belong to
Messiyah’s church, and had no communion with it, that being confined to the
Israelitish nation. It is no small privilege to be placed in the Yisrael of
Messiyah, and to share with the members of it in the advantages peculiar to it.
3.
They are strangers from the covenants of promise. The covenant of grace
has ever been the same for substance, though, having undergone various
additions and improvements in the several ages of the Yisrael, it is called
covenants; and the covenants of promise, because it is made up of promises, and
particularly contains the great promise of the Messiyah, and of eternal life
through him. Now the Ephesians, in their gentilism, were strangers to this
covenant, having never had any information nor overture of it; and all
unregenerate sinners are strangers to it, as they have no interest in it. Those
who are without Messiyah, and so have no interest in the Mediator of the
covenant, have none in the promises of the covenant.
4.
They had no hope, that is, beyond this life—no well-grounded hope in YAHVEH, no
hope of spiritual and eternal blessings. Those who are without Messiyah, and
strangers from the covenant, can have no good hope; for Messiyah and the
covenant are the ground and foundation of all the Yisrael’s hopes. They were in
a state of distance and estrangement from YAHVEH: Without YAHVEH in the
world; not without some general knowledge of a deity, for they worshipped
idols, but living without any due regard to him, any acknowledged dependence on
him, and any special interest in him. The words are, atheists in the world;
for, though they worshipped many gods, yet they were without the true YAHVEH.
Eph 2:13 But now in Messiyah יהושע
you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiyah. – The apostle proceeds
further to illustrate the happy change that was made in their state: But
now, in Yahushua Messiyah, you who sometimes were far off, etc. They were
far off from Messiyah, from His Yisrael, from the promises, from the Yisrael
hope, and from YAHVEH himself; and therefore from all good, like the prodigal
son in the far country: this had been represented in the preceding verses.
Unconverted sinners remove themselves at a distance from YAHVEH, and YAHVEH
puts them at a distance: He beholds the proud afar off. "But now in
Yahushua HaMashiach, etc., upon your conversion, by virtue of union with
Messiyah, and interest in him by faith, you are made nigh.’’
They were brought
home to YAHVEH, received into Yisrael, taken into the covenant, and possessed
of all other privileges consequent upon these. The saints are a people near
to YAHVEH. Salvation is far from the wicked; but YAHVEH is a help at hand
to his people; and this is by the blood of Messiyah, by the merit of his
sufferings and death. Every believing sinner owes his nearness to YAHVEH, and
his interest in his favour, to the death and sacrifice of Messiyah.
Eph 2:14 For He is our peace, who has made both one, and having broken down the
partition of the barrier, - We have now come to the last part of the chapter,
which contains an account of the great and mighty privileges that converted
Hebrews and Gentiles both receive from Messiyah. The apostle here shows that
those who were in a state of enmity are reconciled. Between the Jews and the
Gentiles there had been a great enmity; so there is between YAHVEH and every
unregenerate man.
Now Yahushua
Messiyah is our peace. He made peace by the sacrifice of himself; and came to
reconcile,
1. Hebrews and
Gentiles to each other. He made both one, by reconciling these two
divisions of men, who were wont to malign, to hate, and to reproach each other
before. He broke down the middle wall of partition, the ceremonial law,
that made the great feud, and was the badge of the Hebrews’ peculiarity, called
the partition-wall by way of allusion to the partition in the temple,
which separated the court of the Gentiles from that into which the Hebrew only
had liberty to enter.
Eph 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity – the Torah of the commands in
dogma – so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making
peace, - Thus
he abolished in His flesh the enmity. By His sufferings in the flesh, to
took away the binding power of the curse of the law, Deut 28:16 -68 (so
removing that cause of enmity and distance between them), because it enjoined a
multitude of external rites and ceremonies, such as the sacrifice of animals.
Putting into one Sacrifice the
different sacrifice of the Tabernacle: The Blood that flow from the feet of
Yahushua, the blood and water that flow from His side, the Blood that flows
from both His hands, and the Blood that flow from the crown of thorns. The
blood form His feet the Brazen Altar, the Blood and water from His side the
Laver, the Blood from His left hand the Altar of Showbread, the Blood form His
right Hand the Menorah, the Blood from the crown of Thorns the Altar of Burnt
offering.
Each one of those Altars represents the
different stages of our spiritual development.
Eph 2:16 and to completely restore to favour both of them unto Elohim in one body
through the stake, having destroyed the enmity by it. – Therefore Messiyah made in
himself of twain one new man. He framed both these parties into one new
society Yisrael, or body of YAH’s people, uniting them to himself as their
common head, they being renewed by the Holy Ghost, and now concurring in a new
way of gospel worship, so making peace between these two parties, who
were so much at variance before.
There is an enmity
between YAHVEH and sinners, whether Yisraelites and Gentiles; and Messiyah came
to slay that enmity, and to reconcile them both to YAHVEH. Sin breeds a gulf
between YAHVEH and men. Messiyah came to bridge the partition, and to bring it
to an end, by reconciling both Israelite and Gentile, now collected and
gathered into one body Yisrael, to a provoked and an offended YAHVEH: and this by
the cross, or by the sacrifice of himself upon the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby.
Eph 2:17 And having come, He brought as Good News peace to you who were far off,
and peace to those near. - The apostle proceeds to illustrate the great
advantages which both parties gain by the mediation of our Yahushua HaMashiach.
Messiyah, who purchased peace on the stake, came, partly in His own person, as
for the Jews, who are here said to have been nigh, and partly in His apostles,
whom He commissioned to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, who are said to have
been afar off, in the sense that has been given before.
And preached
peace, or published the terms of
reconciliation with YAHVEH and of eternal life. When the messengers of Messiyah
deliver His truths, it is in effect the same as if He did it immediately
himself. He is said to preach to them, insomuch that He who receiveth Torah
receiveth Him, and He who despiseth them (acting by virtue of His commission,
and delivering his message) despiseth and rejecteth Messiyah himself.
Eph 2:18 Because through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. – Now the effect of this
peace is the free access which both Jews and Gentiles have in YAHVEH: For
through Him, in His name and by virtue of His mediation, we both have
access or admission into the presence of YAHVEH, who has become the common
reconciled Father of both: the Blood of grace is shed for us to come through,
and liberty of approach to that throne is allowed us.
Our access is by the
Holy Spirit. Messiyah purchased for us leave to come to YAHVEH, and the Spirit
gives us a new heart to come and strength to come, even grace to serve YAHVEH
perfectly. Observe, We draw nigh to YAHVEH, through the Blood of Yahushua HaMashiach,
by the help of the Spirit.
Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim,1
Footnote: 1Rom. 11:17-24, Isa. 14:1.- The Ephesians, upon their
conversion, having such an access to EL YAHVEH, as well as the Jews, and by the
same Spirit, the apostle tells them, Now therefore you are no more strangers
and foreigners.
This He mentions by
way of opposition to what he had observed of them in their heathenism: they
were now no longer aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and no longer
what the Jews were wont to account all the nations of the earth besides
themselves (namely, strangers to YAHVEH), but fellow-citizens with the
saints, and of the household of YAHVEH, that is, members of the Yisrael of
Messiyah, and having a right to all the privileges of it.
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