Ki Zetze

Parashas  Ki Zetze

Deuteronomy 21:10 -  25:19

Please pray this

Prayer before reading

Prayer

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 Parasha

That the Truth of Torah may

Come forth. Amen

Torah portion Ki Tetze is the 49 Portion, in this portion ABBA YAHVEH want to reveals to us how we can aspire to the level of umateh elokim beyadi, where we have the spirit of power to ward off judgment and suffering.

Most of us are not at this level as yet, but as we experience each Portion in its fullness, we will achieve spiritual maturity. Every believer who believe in Messiyah Yahushua, are in one of the sixth day days of Creation.

Whatever day of Creation we are in, this Torah Portion gives us the ability to cast aside judgment with the Spirit of Authority, according to the day of creation we experiencing.

What is the principle behind developing this spirit of Authority; we can reread it in Torah Portion Brashest. If we go back to the third day of Creation, when the Spirit of Counsel and Authority begins to develop. As children of the light, we are either in the Light or some darkness. Yet, there is a mixture of light and darkness called dusk. There are also various level off light starting at 6 am and climax at 12.00 noon.

The name יהוה Yud, Hei, Vav, and Hei is a channel for mercy “Racham”: in Kabbalah, this is understood as Right Column energy. The Name Elohim “gods” indicates judgment, which is left Column energy. Putting it more directly, the desire to Share, the Light of ABBA YAHVEH is Right Column energy. The Desire to receive for the Self Alone is Left Column energy.

As believers, we must remind ourselves that the purpose of Creation was given to us the free will to engage in a spiritual battle between our egos: the desire to share verse the desire to receive.

Whenever we act according to Torah, or should I say righteously, we diminish our natural desire to receive, but increase the desire to share. When it is said that there is a right way to do things, on a spiritual level we are pointing out the potential to elevate the Right Column over the Left Column.

In every situation we always have two choices: we either allow the left to rule over the right or we can say no and allow the right to rule over the left. I am going to deny the natural intent of the ego to receive for its selfish purpose. Every day we are given numerous opportunities to decide whether we are going right or left.

In this chapter as in our daily lives provision is made,

·   For the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land, when he that shed it had fled from justice verse 1-9.

·   For the preserving of the honor of a captive maid verse 10–14.

·     For the securing of the right of a first-born son, though he were not a favorite verse 15–17.

·    For the restraining and punishing of a rebellious son verse 18–21. 

·   For the maintaining of the honor of human bodies, which must not be hanged in chains, but decently buried, even the bodies of the worst malefactor’s verse 22, 23.

In this passage the Torah respond to the often inflamed passion of a soldier in battle. If he sees a woman among the enemy and feels a desire for her, the Torah is providing an avenue the parameter in which it should be done.

Rather than risk sin that would lead to further spiritual contamination, the Torah provide an avenue to acquire a wife from among the gentile nation.

Deu 21:10 “When you go out to fight against your enemies, and יהוה  your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive, - By this law a soldier is allowed to marry his captive if he pleased. Because of the desire of our hearts Moses gave us this permission, lest, if we had not had liberty given us to marry such, they should have taken liberty to defile themselves with them, and by such wickedness the camp would have been troubled.

Deu 21:11 and shall see among the captives a woman fair of form, and shall delight in her and take her for your wife, - That they should not amuse themselves by doing it too hastily, Though the captive was ever so desirable: "If man would desire to have her to his wife, it is true he need not ask her parents’ consent, for she is his captive, and is at his disposal.

 But, he shall not have any intercourse with her until she cleans herself up. This allowance was designed to bring the woman into a holy statue as he was an honorable and generous affection to a comely and amiable person, even in distress; therefore he may make her his wife if he will, but he must not deal with her as with a harlot.

Deu 21:12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails, - After she was brought to his home, she must shave her head, meaning that her old covering was now been replace by a new one.

The new hair growth is signal that she now have a new redeem status, she is no longer under the old covering, of Idol worship.

Deu 21:13 and put aside the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days. And after that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. - "The man shall not marry (have sex with) her off a while, but keep her a full month in his house. This he must do either, for in letting her alone for a while to mourner her father.

This was done in token of her renouncing idolatry, and becoming a proselyte to the Jewish religion. The shaving of her head, the paring of her nails, and the changing of her apparel, signified her putting off her former conversation, which was corrupt in her ignorance, that she might become a new creature.

She must remain in his house to be taught the good knowledge of YAHVEH and the worship of him: and the Jews say that if she refused, and continued obstinate in idolatry, he must not marry her (have sex with her).  The professors of religion must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, 2 Co. 6:14. The Hebrew concept of marriage and the Christian concept are different. In the Hebrew custom once a man penetrates a virgin she becomes his wife; he must now go and pay the bride price to her father.

Deu 21:14 “And it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go at her desire, but you do not sell her at all for silver. Do not treat her harshly, since you have humbled her. – Here is where a lot of women have problem with this verse, if the man is not pleased with her. This have nothing to do with like or dislike, it has to do with the ability to conform to his belief system.

First he already choose her because she is beautiful, now she have to prove that she is will to adopt his faith. It has nothing to do with physical pleasure. He cannot sell her to someone else if he had already had sex with her.

Having sex in the Hebrew community is to take her for a wife, it have nothing to do with going in front of a Pastor and saying “I do.” This is the teaching of Christianity.

Deu 21:15 “When a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and the first-born son is of her who is unloved, -  The Law of Moses did not restrain a man from having more than one wife. Moses himself had two. Observe the supposition here: If a man has two wives, it is a thousand to one, but one of them is loved and the other.

Hated means that is manifestly loved less as Leah was by Jacob. Leah was not loved less; Rachel was Jacobs’s first choice. But Jacob knew that once he had sex with Leah she was his wife.

It is also surprising that there was no mention of a wedding, only a feast then he when in to her, and she became his wife. The two condition for a union was meet, the bride price was paid and the consummation after.

Christian would like to tell you that you must get married first, this concept was invented in the 11th century, see Oxford concise Dictionary of The Christian Church by E. A. Livingstone page 367 – 368 on “Matrimony.”

However, Rachel and Leah both gave their maidservant to Jacob to be his third and fourth wife of Jacob. Where is the jealousy?

          This verse teaches IF, not he should, but IF he does, even Though he might like one more than the other, he cannot give the one he like son the first born privilege, when the son of the not so like woman, is the actually first born. Let us be careful of the commandment of man.

Deu 21:16 then it shall be, on the day he makes his sons to inherit his possessions, he is not allowed to treat the son of the beloved wife as first-born in the face of the son of the unloved, who is truly the first-born. - The law in this case is still binding on parents; they must give their children their right without partiality. In the case supposed, the eldest son, Though the son of the less-beloved wife, must have his birthright privilege, which was a double portion of the father’s estate, because he was the beginning of his strength that is, in him his family began to be strengthened and his quiver began to be filled with the arrows of a mighty man (Ps. 127:4), and therefore the right of the first-born is his.

Deu 21:17 “But he is to acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength – the right of the first-born is his. – In this verse we see EL YAHVEH make a law that applies to the showing of favoritism to our children. It is human nature to have emotions, and sometime it takes the better of us. I have seen even in my own family were favoritism destroy family - Jacob had indeed deprived Reuben of his birthright, and given it to Joseph, but it was because Reuben had forfeited the birthright by his incest, not because he was the son of the Lead; now, what Jacob did was just, he establish a precedent for others to do the same thing.

In this verse another Torah principle is establish that when the father makes his will, or otherwise settled his estate, the child of the least favorite woman shall not fare the worse because of his mother unpopularity in having less of her husband’s love, for that was not the child’s fault.

Parents should not make any distinction in dispensing their affections among their children, when YAHVEH makes HIS dispensation of grace among us he does not play favoritism.

Since it is the providence of YAHVEH that makes heirs, the disposal of providence in that matter must be acquiesced in and not opposed. No son should be abandoned by his father till he manifestly appears to be abandoned of YAHVEH, which is hard to say of any while there is life. Just look at Esau and Jacob.

Deu 21:18 “When a man has a wayward and rebellious son who is not listening to the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have disciplined him, does not listen to them, - A law for the punishing of a rebellious son. Having in the former law provided that parents should not deprive their children of their right, another Torah Principe is being shown how one should deal with rebellious children; withdraw not the honor and duty which are owing to their parents, for there should be no partiality in the divine law.

How the crime is described here, if he is a stubborn and rebellious son. No child was not to be punishing for the flaw in his character, nor slowness or dullness of his understanding, but for his willfulness and his obstinacy.

Deu 21:19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city, - There is a well known statement that we must separate the state from the church. In this verse we see the Elders of the Church running the city. This child after several attempt to rectify an obvious flaw in his character, if the child still insist in fallowing his or her own way, this verse outline the process the parent should follow.

Deu 21:20 and shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is wayward and rebellious. He is not listening to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. - If he carry himself proudly and insolently towards his parents, and Torah by showing contempt against their authority, slight their reproofs and admonitions, disobey the express commands they give him for his own good, hate to be reformed by the correction they give him, shame their family, grieve their hearts, waste their substance, and threaten to ruin their estate by riotous living, this is a stubborn and rebellious son.

He is particularly supposed to be a glutton or a drunkard. This intimates either that these were sins which his parents did in a particular manner warn him against, and therefore that in these instances there was a plain evidence that he did not obey their voice. Lemuel had this charge from his mother, Prov. 31:4.

In the education of children, great care should be taken to suppress all inclinations to drunkenness, and to keep them out of the way of temptations to it; in order that they should be possessed with the dread of detestation of that beastly sin.

That his being a glutton and a drunkard was the cause of his insolence and obstinacy towards his parents. There is nothing that draws men into all manner of wickedness, and hardens them in it, more certainly and fatally than drunkenness does. When men take to drink they forget the law, they forget all law (Prov. 31:5), even that fundamental law of honoring parents.

Deu 21:21 “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. And let all Yisra’ĕl hear, and fear. - What judgment is to be executed upon him: he must be publicly stoned to death by the men of his city. The paternal authority was supported, and YAHVEH, our common Father, showed himself jealous for it, it being one of the first and most ancient streams derived from him that is the fountain of all power.

This law, if duly executed, would early destroy the wickedness of the land. (Ps. 101:8), and prevent the spreading of the gangrene, by cutting off the corrupt part in time.

For those that were bad members of families would never make good members of the commonwealth. It would strike awe upon children, and frighten them into obedience to their parents, if they would not otherwise be brought to their duty and kept in it.

All Yisrael shall hear. The Jews say, "The elders that condemned him were to send notice of it in writing to the entire nation over.

In such a court, such a day, we stoned such a one, because he was a stubborn and rebellious son.’’ And I have sometimes wished that as in all our courts there is an exact record kept of the condemnation of criminals, in that the memorial may never be lost.

So there might be public and authentic notice given in print to the kingdom of such condemnations, and the executions upon them, by the elders themselves, in terrorism, that all may hear and fear. Stoning is not always a physical stoning, it could also mean to verbally and publically chastise the guilty party in public, more like a public scolding of that person, until that particular antisocial behavior is brought to extinction.

Deu 21:22 “And when a man has committed a sin worthy of death, then he shall be put to death and you shall hang him on a tree. - A law for the burying of the bodies of malefactors that were hanged. The hanging of them by the neck till the body was dead was not used at all among the Jews, as with us; but of such as were stoned to death, if it were for blasphemy, or some other very execrable crime, it was usual, by order of the judges, to hang up the dead bodies upon a post for some time, as a spectacle to the world, to express the ignominy of the crime, and to strike the greater terror upon others, that they might not only hear and fear, but see and fear.

In this verse it is provided that, whatever time of the day they hanged a person, even at sun-set they should be taken down and buried, and not left to hang out all night; sufficient (says the law) to such a man is this punishment; let it go no further.

Let the malefactor and his crime be hidden in the grave. YAHVEH would preserve even the honor of human bodies and tenderness towards the worst of criminals.

The time of exposing dead bodies is limited for the same reason that the number of stripes was limited by another law: Lest thy brother seem vile unto thee. Punishing beyond death YAHVEH reserves to himself; as for man, there is no more that he can do. Whether therefore the hanging of malefactors in chains, and setting up their heads and quarters, be decent among Messiyanics that look for the resurrection of the body, may perhaps be worth considering.

Yet it is plain that there was something ceremonial in it; by the Torah of Moses the touch of a dead body was defiling, and therefore dead bodies must not be left hanging up in the country, because, by the same rule, this would defile the land.

There is one reason here given which has reference to Messiyah. He that is hanged is accused of YAHVEH, that is, it is the highest degree of disgrace and reproach that can be done to a man, and proclaims him under the curse of YAHVEH as much as any external punishment can.

Those that see him hanging between Heavens and earth will conclude him abandoned of both and unworthy of either; and therefore let him not hang all night, for that would carry it too far.

Now the apostle, showing how Messiyah has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being himself made a curse for us, illustrates it by comparing the brand here put on him that was hanged on a tree with the death of Messiyah, Gal. 3:13.

Deu 21:23 “Let his body not remain overnight on the tree, for you shall certainly bury him the same day – for he who is hanged is accursed of Elohim – so that you do not defile the land which יהוה  your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance. - Moses, by the Spirit, uses this phrase that anybody that remain on a tree overnight as being accused of YAHVEH, that it might afterwards be applied to the death of Messiyah, and might show that He underwent the curse of the law for us, and not the curse of YAHVEH, which is a great enhancement of His love and a great encouragement to our faith in Him.

This passage also applied to the death of Messiyah, not only because he bore our sins and was exposed to shame, as these malefactors were that were accused of YAHVEH, but because he was in the evening taken down from the cursed tree and buried (and that by the particular care of the Jews, with an eye to this law, Jn. 19:31), in token that now, the guilt being removed, the law was satisfied, as it was when the malefactor had hanged till sun-set; it demanded no more. Then he ceased to be a curse, and those that were his. As the land of Yisrael was to be purified and clean by Messiyah and not curse when the dead body was buried before sundown, so the Assembly is washed and cleansed by the complete satisfaction which that Yahushua made.

Chapter 22

The laws of this chapter provide, 

I.                     For the preservation of charity and good neighbor-ship, in the care of strayed or fallen cattle verse 1 – 4.

II.                   For the preservation of order and distinction, that men and women should not wear one another’s clothes verse 5, and that other needless mixtures should be avoided verse 9–11. 

III.                 For the preservation of birds verse 6, 7. 

IV.          Of life verse 8. 

IV.                 Of the commandments verse 12. 

V.                   Of the reputation of a wife abused, if she were innocent verse 13–19, but for her punishment if guilty verse 20, 21. 

VI.                 For the preservation of the chastity of wives verse 22.

VII.                Virgins betrothed verse 23–27,

VIII.             or not betrothed verse 28, 29.

IX.                  And, lastly, against incest verse 30.

Deu 22:1  “When you see your brother’s ox or his sheep going straying away, you shall not hide yourself from them. Return them to your brother without fail. - The kindness that was commanded to be shown in this verse was in reference to an enemy (Ex. 23:4, etc.) is here required to be much more done for a neighbor, Though he were not an Yisraelite, for the law is consonant to natural equity. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes I am. Who is my brother? A fellow Hebrew, one who believe in the same Elohim as I do. An enemy can be someone who believes in the same god, but sees thing different from you; or he could be an enemy, yet the love for an animal must surpass even the difference for our enemy.

This also have an spiritual meaning, if we see one who is an enemy and he or she later come to us in order to embrace Messiyah, we cannot tell them no. We are obligated to help. By seeing an enemy donkey going astray and we show some love, it might change the relationship between two enemies.

Deu 22:2 “And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it, then you shall return it to him. - That strayed cattle symbolize anything that your neighbor lost, it should be brought back, either to the owner or to the pasture out of which they had gone astray.

This must be done in pity to the very animal or the animal nature, while they wandered, was exposed; and in civility and respect to the owner, and in justice to him, for it was doing as we would be done by, which is one of the fundamental laws of equity.

The Pure Religion teaches us to be neighborly, and to be ready to do all good offices, as we have opportunity, to all men. In doing this, we must not seek trouble, but, if we knew who the owner was, must take it back ourselves. For, if we should only send notice to the owner to come and look after it himself, some mischief might befall it before he returns.

Deu 22:3 “And so you do with his donkey, and so you do with his garment, and so you do with whatever your brother loses, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to hide yourself. - We must not consider the expense, as the Good Samaritan did, but, if they knew not who the owner was, must take it home and feed it till the owner was found. If such care must be taken of a neighbor’s ox or ass going astray, how much more of us going astray from YAHVEH and his duty.

We should do our utmost to convert him (Jam. 5:¹⁹ Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, ²⁰let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.), and restore him, considering ourselves, Gal. 6:¹ Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. ²Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Yahushua. That lost goods should be brought to the owner.

                                      

Deu 22:4 “When you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down on the way, you shall not hide yourself from them. Help him raise them without fail. - The Jews say, "He that found the lost goods was to give public notice of them by the common crier three or four times,’’ according to the usage with us; if the owner could not be found, he that found the goods might convert them to his own use.

He would do very well to give the value of the goods to the poor. Those cattle in distress should be helped. This must be done both in compassion to the brute-creatures (for a merciful man regarded the life of a beast, though it be not his own) and in love and friendship to our neighbor, not knowing how soon we may have occasion for his help. If one member may say to another, "I have at present no need of thee,’’ it cannot say, "I never shall.’’

Deu 22:5 “A woman does not wear that which pertains to a man, nor does a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does this is an abomination to יהוה  your Elohim. - Here are several laws in these verses which seem to stoop very low, and to take cognizance of things mean and minute. Men’s laws commonly do so: The law takes no cognizance of little things; but because YAH’S providence extends itself to the smallest affairs, his precepts do so, that even in them we may be in the fear of YAHVEH, as we are under his eye and care.

Yet the significance and tendency of these statutes, which seem little, are such that, notwithstanding their minuteness, being fond among the things of YAH’S law, which HE has written to us, they are to be accounted great things.

The distinction of sexes by the apparel is to be kept up, for the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity. The covering of a man and a woman are two distinct covering, and they must not be interchange. Today women liberation movement seems to muddy the water where the difference between men and women are virtually none existence. Women are women and men are men.

 Nature itself teaches that a difference be made between them in their hair, 1 Co. 11:¹⁴ Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?  And by the same rule in their clothes, which therefore ought not to be confounded, either in ordinary wear or occasionally.

Some think it refers to the idolatrous custom of the Gentiles: in the worship of Venus, women appeared in amour, and men in women’s clothes; this, as other such superstitious usages, is here said to be an abomination to YAHVEH.

It forbids the confounding of the dispositions and affairs of the sexes: men must not be feminize, nor do the women’s work in the house, nor must women be viragos, pretend to teach, or usurp authority, 1 Tim. 2:11, 12.

Probably this confounding of garments had been used to teach the difference between sexes, opportunity of committing uncleanness, and is therefore forbidden; for those that would be incline to do so, is protected from sin must keep themselves from all occasions of it and approaches to it.

Deu 22:6 “When you come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. – In taking a bird’s-nest, the mother must be let go. The Jews say, "This is the least of all the commandments of the law of Moses,’’ and yet the same promise is here made to the observance of it that is made to the keeping of the fifth commandment, which is one of the greatest, that it may be well with thee, and that You may not prolong your days; for, as disobedience in a small matter shows a very great contempt of the law, so obedience in a small matter shows a very great regard to it.

He that let go a bird out of his hand (which was worth two in the bush) purely because YAHVEH command him, in that made it to appear that he esteemed all YAH’S precepts concerning all things to be right, and that he could deny himself rather than sin against YAHVEH.

But does YAHVEH take care for birds? 1 Co. 9: ⁹ for it is written in the Torah of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen YAHVEH is concerned about? Yes, certainly; and perhaps to this law our Savior alludes. Luke 12: ⁶“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before YAHVEH, Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before YAHVEH?

This verse forbids us to be cruel to the animals, or to take a pleasure in destroying them. Though YAHVEH has made us wiser than the fowls of Heavens, and given us dominion over them, yet we must not abuse them nor rule them with rigor.

Let go the dam to breed again; destroy it not, for a blessing is in it, Isa. 65:8. 2. It teaches us compassion to those of our own kind, and to abhor the Thought of everything that looks barbarous, and cruel, and ill-natured, especially towards those of the weaker and tender sex, which always ought to be treated with the utmost respect, in consideration of the sorrows wherein they bring forth children.

It is spoken of as an instance of the most inhuman cruelty that the mother was dashed to pieces upon her children (Hos. 10:14), and that the women with child were ripped open, Amos 1:13. 3. It further intimates that we must not take advantage against any, from their natural affection and the tenderness of their disposition, to do them an injury.

Deu 22:7 let the mother go without fail, and take the young for yourself, so that it might be well with you, and that you shall prolong your days. - The mother could not have been taken if her concern for her eggs or young (unlike to the ostrich) had not detained her upon the next when otherwise she could easily have secured herself by flight. Now, since it is a Thousand pities that she should fare the worse for that which is her praise, the law takes care that she shall be let go. The remembrance of this may perhaps, some time or other; keep us from doing a hard or unkind thing to those whom we have at our mercy.

As believers nothing should be done to cause the extinction of spices. By taken both the mother and the young, is a step in the extension of the spices.

Deu 22:8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring blood-guilt on your house when one falls from it. - In building a house, care must be taken to make it safe, that no one might receive any injury from a fall. The roofs of their houses were flat in that day for people to walk on, as appears by many scriptures; now lest any, through carelessness, and someone should fall off, them, the owner must compensate them for their injury.

The wall or protected fence must be three feet and a half high; if this were not done, and injury followed, the owner, by his neglect, brought the guilt of blood upon his house.

How precious men’s lives are to YAHVEH, who protects them, not only by his providence, but by his law. How precious, therefore, they ought to be to us, and what care we should take to prevent hurt from coming to any person.

The Jews say that by the equity of this law they were obliged (and so are we too) to fence, or remove, everything by which life may be endangered, as to cover draw-wells, keep bridges in repair, and the like, lest, if any perish through our carelessness, their blood be required at our hand.

Deu 22:9 “Do not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. – In this verse the laws of odd mixtures are here forbidden. Much of this we met with before, Lev. 19:19.

There appears nothing at all of moral evil in these things, and therefore we now make no conscience of sowing wheat and rye together, plowing with horses and oxen together, and of wearing linsey-woolsey garments; but hereby is forbidden either,  A conformity to some idolatrous customs of the heathen. That which is contrary to the holiness and purity of a Yisraelite.

They must not gratify their own vanity and curiosity by putting those things together which the Creator in infinite wisdom had not made: they must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, nor mingle themselves with the unclean, as an ox with an ass. Nor must their profession and appearance in the world be motley, or party-colored, but all of a piece, all of a kind. Cross breading of animals fall under the same law.

Deu 22:10 “Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together. – In ministry we must not have a clean and an unclean person working together. An Ox is a kosher animal while a donkey is not. This could also speak of the dual nature of a human, someone who is schizophrenia, someone who has a dual nature.

Deu 22:11 “Do not put on a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together. – As believers we must not have two or many different standards. We cannot be holy on Sabbath and the other sixth day we operate by the standard of the world. We cannot be holy on Passover and the Feast day and forget about a righteous life the other days off the year. We cannot only attend the Assembly only during the High Holy days, and forget the others days. Our garment must be all linen or all wool.

Linen symbolizes holiness, for it does not produce sweet when it is worn, wool on the other hand causes the body to produce sweat, which is a form of uncleanness.

Deu 22:12 “Make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself. - The law concerning fringes upon their garments, and memorandums of the commandments, which we had before (Num. 15:38, 39), is here repeated again. By these they were distinguished from other people, so that it might be said, upon the first sight there goes an Yisraelite, which taught them not to be ashamed of their country, nor the peculiarities of their religion, how much so ever their neighbors looked upon them and it with contempt: and they were also put in mind of the precepts upon the particular occasions to which they had reference; and perhaps this law is repeated here because the precepts immediately foregoing seemed so minute that they were in danger of being overlooked and forgotten.

The fringes will remind you not to make your garments of linen and woolen. Luke 8:⁴³ Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. We see in this scripture Yahushua wore fringes.

Deu 22:13 “When any man takes a wife, and shall go in to her, and shall hate her, - In the Hebrew culture a woman does not date, she stay home until her father finds her a husband. The young man or man would ask her father permission for her to be his wife, if it is agreed upon by her and her father, the man paid the bride price and take her home and have a wedding feast to celebrate the occasion.

If on the night of the consummation, he fined that she was not a virgin as she said she was, this would become her uncleanness.

If on the other hand if she was a virgin, and he still despises her, then this is the protection for the woman. The man cannot go and bad mouth her as the next verse implies.

Deu 22:14 and shall make abusive charges against her and bring an evil name on her and say, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I did not find her a maiden,’ – Here is the false charge against her, after he had sex with her, and take her virginity and he suddenly accuse her of not been a virgin.

Deu 22:15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the proof of the girl’s maidenhood to the elders of the city at the gate. – In those days a woman who is a virgin had to wear a special cloth the first time she had sex, and she had to return it to her father to say that he provided the man with a virgin.

In those days unlike today, there were no casual sex, it was totally unheard off. Her special bed cloth had to be worn by her, and it was a special honor for a young woman to possess virginity on that special night.

The father or mother would wait outside for the cloth to be present to them before they would return home. It would have been a tremendous insult for the woman parent to have given a woman who was not a virgin up for marriage.

The whole essence of a young woman and her parents was to protect her virginity.

Deu 22:16 “And the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he hates her. - The father shall present the cloth with the proof of his daughter virginity to the elder.

Deu 22:17 ‘And see, he has made abusive charges against her, saying, “I did not find your daughter a maiden,” and yet these are the proofs of my daughter’s maidenhood.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. – This is a form of the Wedding feast of the Bridegroom, when he returns for His five wise Virgins, and yes five. If he does not find us virgins he will not take us to be His wife.

A man cannot label a daughter of Yisrael as unclean after he had sex with her. Ladies this is a very serious thing not to be a virgin on your wedding night. If she is guilty, she will be punish, however if she is not, the man that false accused her will be punish severely.

Deu 22:18 “And the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him,  - slander is a serious punishment. A woman who is not a virgin on her wedding night is a serious charge, the husband better be sure and the woman must take very great care to keep herself a virgin for her husband.

Deu 22:19 and fine him one hundred pieces of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name on a maiden of Yisra’ĕl. And she is to be his wife, he is not allowed to put her away all his days. – Notice the punishment, one hundred silver coins must be paid to the father of the young woman. The added punishment is if she even becomes the biggest nag in the world, he cannot divorce her.

Deu 22:20 “But if the matter is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, - if the accusation is true. A woman can break her hymen by riding a horse; care must be taken by the woman to prevent this.

Deu 22:21 then they shall bring out the girl to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done wickedness in Yisra’ĕl, to whore in her father’s house. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. –  In the redeem community it is unheard off for a young woman not to be a virgin, and the first man that had sex with her she automatically become his wife.

The breaking of her hymen at intercourse is the blood covenant she makes with the man. This blood covenant must not be broken, unless he dies, then she may take another man as a husband.

If she was not a virgin then she must be stoned for she have committed adultery, more than one man have had sex with her.

Deu 22:22 “When a man is found lying with a woman married “Not a virgin” then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl. – Here is the rest of the story. If a man had sex with a woman who is not a virgin and her husband is not dead, then both of them shall die. Or if the second man had consensual sex with each other, then both of them shall die.

If the first husband is providing food, cloth, shelter and sex to the woman and another man had sex with her and she agrees to it, both shall die, unless he was not told.

Deu 22:23 “When a girl who is a maiden is engaged to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, - Even if a young woman is engage and she is still a virgin she is consider a married woman. It is as if she had consummate or establish a blood covenant with the man.

Deu 22:24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and shall stone them to death with stones, the girl because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has humbled his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. – If the man knew that she was his neighbor fiancée, and he still went ahead and had sex with her, death for them both. However, if she cried out during the rape, she is not guilty

Deu 22:25 “But if a man finds the girl who is engaged in the field, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. – When a woman is engage she usually wore a special cloth, signifying that she is under authority. If she is in a place where she is alone and she got raped, then only the male must be put to death.

Deu 22:26 “But you shall do no matter to the girl. The girl has no sin worthy of death – for the matter is like a man who rises against his neighbor and kills him – If she was wearing her dress to show that she was under authority, she is not to be put to death.

Deu 22:27 for he found her in the field, and she cried out, the engaged girl, but without anyone to save her. – The Hebrew system is a fool proof system. When we see a woman by her dress we can ascertain whether she is under authority or not. We can tell who is a widow and who is not.

Deu 22:28 “When a man finds a girl who is a maiden, who is not engaged, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, - This is a woman who do not wear the head covering that say she is under authority.

Deu 22:29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty pieces of silver, and she is to be his wife because he has humbled her. He is not allowed to put her away all his days. – Here we see a very interesting proposal, if the man rapes the virgin who is not engage or Beth rod to a man.

If he had sex with her and break her hymen, he must pay the father fifty shekels. There is also another punishment. If she is the worst wife in the world, he cannot divorce her, for he did not ask her father for her first.

Deu 22:30 “A man does not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt. – This verse speaks of forbidden relationship. Children of these relationships are considered to be an abomination. Just ask David and Batsheba first son, it had to die, because it was a product of adultery.

Having sex with one’s step-mother is forbidden, this is forbidden under penalty of excision, no union, sexual relation should take place. The robe of his father, this euphemism refers to the widow of his father. The word robe symbolizes a requirement to marry in fulfillment of the command of yibum see 25:5. The marriage canopy or robe, it indicates that he is using his garment to shelter his bride and bring her into his household.

                                    

Chapter 23

The laws describe in this chapter provide,

I.                  For the preserving of the purity and honor of the families of Yisrael, by excluding such as would be a disgrace to them verse 1-8.

 

II.                For the preserving of the purity and honor of the camp of Yisrael when it was abroad verse 9–14.

III.               For the encouraging and entertaining of slaves who fled to them verse 15, 16. 

IV.               Against whoredom verse 17, 18.

V.                  Against usury verse 19, 20.

VI.               Against the breach of vows verse 21–23.

VII.             What liberty a man might take in his neighbor’s field and vineyard, and what not verse 23, 25.

Deu 23:1 “No one wounded, crushed or whose member is cut off does enter the assembly of יהוה . – A man whose reproductive organs have been severely damage, so that he is impotent, may not marry. If, however, the disability came about through natural means, such as a birth defect or illness, this prohibition does not apply.

Deu 23:2 “No one of illegitimate birth does enter the assembly of יהוה , even a tenth generation of his does not enter the assembly of יהוה . - Contrary to the popular misconception, a mamzer is not someone born out of wedlock. Rather, it is someone born of a union between a man and a woman whose union could not be supported by Torah, such as a brother and sister.

A Mamzer and all of his or her descendant may never marry into the nation of Yisrael for ten generation. They may however, marry converts from other mamzerim.

The Jewish writers understand, not all that were born of adultery or fornication, but all the issue of those incestuous mixtures which are forbidden, Lev. 18. Although it was not the fault of the woman, yet, to deter people from those unlawful sexual relations and unlawful lusts, it was very convenient that their posterity should thus be made infamous. By this rule Jephthah, Though the son of a harlot, a strange woman (Jdg. 11:1, 2), yet was not a bastard in the sense of this law.

Deu 23:3 “An Ammonite or Mo’aḇite does not enter the assembly of יהוה , even a tenth generation of them does not ever enter the assembly of יהוה , - The Ammonites and Moabites, the posterity of Lot, who, for his outward convenience, had separated himself from Abraham, Gen. 13:11. And we do not find that he or his ever joined themselves again to the children of the covenant.

Even Though Lot was part of the family, his descendant we not part of Abraham descendant, this is what is meant by unequally yoke. It is like those in the Holy Place taking a wife from someone in the Outer Court. Two different spiritual levels.

Deu 23:4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim, and because they hired against you Bilʽam son of Beʽor from Pethor of Aram Naharayim, to curse you. - The charge at the great day is for an omission: I was hungry, and you gave me no meat. The Moabites had done worse; they hired Balaam to curse Yisrael.

Deu 23:5 “But יהוה your Elohim refused to listen to Bilʽam, and יהוה  your Elohim turned the curse into a blessing for you, because יהוה your Elohim loves you. - It is true Elohim turned the curse into a blessing, not only changing the word in Balaam’s mouth, but making that really turn to the honor and advantage of Yisrael which was designed for their ruin. But though the design was defeated, and overruled for good, the Moabites’ wickedness was not the less provoking. YAHVEH will deal with sinners, but according to their endeavors, Ps. 28:4.

Deu 23:6 “Do not seek their peace nor their good, all your days, forever. - The reason of this quarrel which Yisrael must have with them, so as not to seek their peace, is because of the unkindness they had now lately done to the camp of Yisrael, notwithstanding the orders YAHVEH had given not to distress or vex them, ch. 2:9, 19.

Deu 23:7 “Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrite, because you were a stranger in his land. - The Edomites and Egyptians had not so deep a mark of displeasure put upon them as the Moabites and Ammonites had. If an Edomite or Egyptian turned proselyte, his grand-children should be looked upon as members of the congregation of YAHVEH to all intents and purposes.

Deu 23:8 “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה . – These verses teaches that one that cause another to sin is worst than his army someone who kill, because sin causes the sinner to lose his share in the Kingdom to come.

Edom sent against Yisrael Numbers 20:20, and Egypt murder babies, but their offspring are permitted to enter in third generation, while Ammon and Moad, who accused Yisrael to sin, are prohibited after ten generation, Numbers 25: 1 – 8.

Deu 23:9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then you shall guard yourself from every evil matter.  - Yisrael was now encamped, and this vast army was just entering upon action, which was likely to keep them together for a long time, and therefore it was fit to give them particular directions for the good ordering of their camp. The charge to them was to be clean. They must take care to keep their camp pure from moral, ceremonial, and natural pollution.

From moral pollution: When the host goes forth against thy enemy then look upon thyself as in a special manner engaged to keep thyself from every evil thing.

The soldiers themselves must take heed of sin, for sin takes off the edge of velour; guilt makes men cowards. Those that put their lives in their hands are concerned to make and keep their peace with YAHVEH, and preserve a conscience void of offence; then may they look death in the face without terror.

 Soldiers, in executing their commission, must keep themselves from gratifying the lusts of malice, covetousness, or uncleanness, for these are wicked things, and they must keep themselves from the idols, or accursed things, they found in the camps they plundered.

 Even those that tarried at home, the body of the people, and every particular person, must at that time especially keep from every wicked thing, lest by sin they provoke YAHVEH to withdraw his presence from the host, and give victory to the enemy for the correcting of his own people. Times of war should be times of reformation, else how can we expect YAHVEH should hear and answer our prayers for success? Ps. 66:18. See 1 Sa. 7:3.

Deu 23:10 “When there is any man among you who is not clean because of an emission in the night, then he shall go outside the camp. Let him not come into the midst of the camp. - From ceremonial pollution, which might befall a person when unconscious of it, for which he was bound to wash his flesh in water, and look upon himself as unclean until the evening, Lev. 15:16. A soldier, notwithstanding the constant service and duty he had to do in the camp, must be so far from looking upon himself as discharged from the observance of this ceremony that more was required from him than at another time.

Deu 23:11 “And it shall be, when evening comes, that he bathes with water. And when the sun sets let him come into the midst of the camp. - had he been at his own house, he needed only to wash his flesh, but, being in the army, he must go out of the camp, as one concerned to keep it pure and ashamed of his own impurity, and not return till after sunset. By this trouble and reproach, which even involuntary pollutions exposed men to, they were taught to keep up a very great dread of all fleshly lusts. It was well if military men would consider this.

Deu 23:12 “And you shall have a place outside the camp, where you shall go out, - From natural pollution; the camp of YAHVEH must have nothing offensive in it. It is strange that the divine law, or at least the solemn order and direction of Moses, should extend to a thing of this nature; but the design of it was to teach us: Modesty and decorum; nature itself teaches us to distinguish ourselves from beasts that know no shame.

Cleanliness of, though not niceness, yet neatness, even in their camp. Filthiness is offensive to the senses YAHVEH has endured us with, prejudicial to the health, and wrong to the comfort of human life, and an evidence of a careless slothful temper of mind. Purity from the pollutions of sin; if there must be this care taken to preserve the body clean and sweet, much more should we be solicitous to keep the mind so.

Deu 23:13 and you shall have a sharp implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your excrement. -  This is where solders get the idea of carrying a shovel on their gear.

Deu 23:14 “For יהוה  your Elohim walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you. Therefore your camp shall be set-apart, so that He does not see unclean matter among you, and shall turn away from you. - A reverence of the divine majesty. This is the reason given here: Forיהוה  thy El walked by HIS ark, the special token of HIS presence, in the midst of thy camp; with respect to that external symbol this external purity is required, which (Though not insisted on in the letter when that reason ceases) teaches us to preserve inward purity of soul, in consideration of the eye of יהוה , which is always upon us.

By this expression of respect to the presence of יהוה among them, they were taught both to fortify themselves against sin and to encourage themselves against their enemies with the consideration of that presence. A regard one to another. The filthiness of one is noisome to many; this law of cleanliness therefore teaches us not to do that which will be justly offensive to our brethren and grieve them. It is a law against nuisances.

Deu 23:15 “You do not hand over to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. - Orders are here given about five things which have no relation one to another: The land of Yisrael is here made a sanctuary, or city of refuge, for servants that were wronged and abused by their masters, and flee to them for shelter from the neighboring countries.

We cannot suppose that they were obliged to give or entertainment all the unprincipled men that ran from service; Yisrael needed not (as Rome at first did) to be a peopled.

But, they must not deliver up the trembling servant to his enraged master, till upon trial it appeared that the servant has wronged his master and was justly liable for punishment.

It is an honorable thing to shelter and protect the weak, provided they are not wicked. YAHVEH allows HIS people to patronize the oppressed. The angel bid Hagar return to her mistress, and Paul sent Onesimus back to his master Philemon, because they had neither cause to go away, nor was either of them exposed to any danger in returning. But the servant here is supposed to escape, that is, to run for his life, to the people of Yisrael, of whom he had heard (as Benhadad of the kings of Yisrael, 1 Ki. 20:31) that they were a merciful people.

To save himself from the fury of a tyrant; and in that case to deliver him up is to throw a lamb into the mouth of a lion.

If it appeared that the servant was abused, they must not only protect him, but, supposing him by willing embracing their religion, they must give him all the encouragement that might be to settle among them.

Care is taken both that he should not be imposed up on in the place of his settlement, let it be that which he shall choose and where it liketh him best, and that he should not exchange one hard master for many, they shall not oppress him. He would soon discover a comfortable difference between the land of Yisrael and other lands, and would choose it to be his rest for ever. Proselytes and converts to the truth should be treated with particular care, that they may have no reason to return to their former life.

Deu 23:16 “Let him dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it is pleasing to him. Do not oppress him. – The new convert have the luxury of choosing which tribe they want to be in.

Deu 23:17 “None of the daughters of Yisra’ĕl is to be a cult prostitute, nor any of the sons of Yisra’ĕl be a cult prostitute. – In this verse we see another common byproduct of war, is sexual promiscuity, which is anathema to the Hebrew concept of holiness.

This passage forbids practices that undermined the Hebrew sanctity. It should be noted that, however, that this passage like the previous one, applies to all times; it is mention here because it deals with situations that occur very often during wars, when men are together without their wives for a long time.

Deu 23:18 “Do not bring the gift of a whore or the pay of a dog to the House of יהוה  your Elohim for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to יהוה  your Elohim. – In this verse we are instructed not to bring the gifts of a whore or the wages for a dog as tithes. It cannot be used during a Feast Celebration. That also means that we cannot steal money and give it as offering.

Deu 23:19 “Do not lend at interest to your brother, interest of silver, interest of food, or interest of whatever is lent at interest. – Yet he may lend to the stranger. Just as the Torah is not for the gentiles, even though it is for them. The Torah is for those who are saved, but it is also available for everyone who becomes saved.

Deu 23:20 “To a foreigner you lend at interest, but to your brother you do not lend at interest, so that יהוה  your Elohim might bless you in all that you put your hand to in the land which you are entering to possess. - The matter of usury is here settled. We must not lend upon usury to a Hebrew. They had and held their estates immediately from and under YAHVEH, who, while he distinguished them from all other people, might have ordered, had he so pleased, that they should have all things in common among themselves; but instead of that, and in token of their joint interest in the good land he had given them, he only appointed them, as there was occasion, to lend to one another without interest, which among them would be little or no loss to the lender.

Because their land was so divided, their estates were so settled, and there was so little of merchandise among them, that it was seldom or never that they had occasion to borrow any great sums, only what was necessary for the subsistence of their families when the fruits of their ground had met with any disaster, or the like.

In such a case, for a small matter to insist upon usury would have been very barbarous. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender should share in the gain; but to him that borrows for his necessary food pity must be shown, and we must lend, hoping for nothing again, if we have wherewithal to do it, Lu. 6:35.

 They might lend upon usury to a stranger, who was supposed to live by trade, and (as we say) by turning the penny, and therefore got by what he borrowed, and came among them in hopes to do so. By this it appears that usury is not in itself oppressive; for they must not oppress a stranger, and yet might exact usury from him.

Deu 23:21 “When you make a vow toיהוה  your Elohim, do not delay to pay it, for יהוה  your Elohim is certainly requiring it of you, and it shall be sin in you. – The performance of the vows wherewith we have bound our souls is here required; and it is a branch of the law of nature. It is left to our liberty whether we will make vows or no: If we make a vow (some particular sacrifice and offering, more than was commanded by the law), it shall be no sin to us.

YAHVEH had already signified his readiness to accept a free-will offering as a vowed, Though it were but a little fine flour (Lev. 2:4, etc.), which was encouragement enough to those who were so inclined.

But lest the priests, who had the largest share of those vows and voluntary offerings, should sponge upon the people, by pressing it upon them as their duty to make such vows, beyond their ability and inclination, they are here expressly told that it should not be reckoned a sin in them if they did not make any such vows, as it would be if they omitted any of the sacrifices that ABBA YAHVEH had particularly required.

 YAHVEH would have men to be lax in his service, and all their offerings to be free and cheerful.  We are admonishing under the highest obligations, when we have made a vow, to perform it, and to perform it speedily: "You shall not be slack to pay it, lest if it be delayed beyond the first opportunity the zeal abate, the vow be forgotten, or something happen to disable thee for the performance of it.

                                     

That which has gone out of our lips as a solemn pledge and deliberate vow must not be recalled, but we shall keep and perform it, punctually and fully.’’

The rule of the gospel goes somewhat further than this. 2 Co. 9:7, Every one, according as he purposed in his heart, Though it have not gone out of his lips, so let him give. Here is a good reason why we should pay our vows, that if we do not ABBA YAHVEH will require it of us, will surely and severely reckon with us, not only for lying, but for going about to mock him, who cannot be mocked. See Eccl. 5:4.

Deu 23:22 “But when you abstain from vowing, it is not sin in you.  – Sometime if we refrain from vowing, one may well think that it is meritorious to vow as a means of forcing oneself to do good deeds. To this the Torah says that the opposite is true.

Deu 23:23 “That which has gone from your lips you shall guard and do, for you voluntarily vowed to יהוה  your Elohim what you have promised with your mouth. – What this verse is elucidating is that rather than making a vow and take the chance of forgetting, delaying, or violating them, it is better not to vow at all. Even if the likelihood of performing good deeds is therefore lessened, no sin is committed by not doing something one is not obligated to do.

Deu 23:24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you shall eat to the satisfaction of your desire, but do not put any in a receptacle of yours. – Allowance is here given, when they passed through a cornfield or vineyard, to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road-side, whether it was done for the necessity of hunger, only they must carry none away with them.

 Therefore the disciples of Messiyah Yahushua were censured for plucking the ears of corn on the Shabbat even Though it was well enough known that the law allowed it, but for doing it on the Sabbath day, which the tradition of the elders had forbidden.

This law intimated to them, what an abundance of corn and wine they should have in Canaan so much that a little would not be missed out of their fruits: they should have enough for themselves and all their friends.

 It provided for the support of travelers, to relieve the fatigue of their journey, and teaches us to be kind to such. The Jews say, "This law was chiefly intended in favor of laborers, who were employed in gathering in their harvest and vintage; their mouths must not be muzzled any more than that of the ox when he treads out the corn.’’

 It teaches us not to insist upon property in a small matter, of which it is easy to say, what is that between me and thee? The traveler was not allowed to go beyond the boundary to the middle of the field to reap the crop.

Deu 23:25 “When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you shall pluck the heads with your hand, but do not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain. – What this verse is elucidating is that a traveler may stop and pluck an apple or grapes or anything that can be eaten, from a farm by the road, but he is forbidden to harvest it, or put any in his pocked, and leave the area.

It was true the grapes which the passenger eat were none of his own, nor did the proprietor give them to him; but the thing was of so small value that he had no reason to think otherwise, he would not deny them to him, anymore than he himself would grudge the like courtesy, and therefore it was no theft to take them.

This verse is used to teach them hospitality, and teaches us to be ready to distribute, willing to communicate, and not to think everything lost that is given away. Yet, it forbids us to abuse the kindness of our friends, and to take the advantage of fair concessions to make unreasonable encroachments: we must not draw an ell from those that give but an inch. They may eat of their neighbor’s grapes; but it does not therefore follow that they may carry away.

Chapter 24

In this chapter we have, 

I.             The toleration of divorce verse 1-4. 

II.           A discharge of new-married men from the war verse 5.

III.         Laws concerning pledges verse 6, 10–13, 17.

IV.         Against man-stealing verse 7.

V.           Concerning the leprosy verse 8, 9.

VI.         Against the injustice of masters towards their servants verse 14, 15.

VII.       Judges in capital causes verse 16, and civil concerns verse 17, 18.

VIII.     Of charity to the poor verse 19, etc.

The laws of this chapter, of which some are new and some additions to previously stated ones, are directed towards the establishment of some right and ethical practices that would be necessary for the nation to function harmoniously and successfully in the Land.

Among them are laws of marriage, respect for personal freedom, fair treatment of workers, and special consideration for the feeling and welfare of the most dependent member of society.

Deu 24:1 “When a man takes a wife and shall marry her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a matter of uncoveredness in her, and he shall write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, - The flow of this verse implies that the circumstance dictate that he should divorce her, for if a husband knows that his wife is guilty of immoral conduct, even Though he does not have witnesses to prove it to the satisfaction of a court, he should end the relationship.

Divorce can only be affected only through a document that is written by the husband or his agent. This document must the rules and regulation that the wife has broken according to Torah; it must be clearly shown to her. The word for divorce means to cut off, which implies that a divorce must sever all legal bonds between them the husband and wife. This implies that he must stop providing food, housing and sex with her.

Deu 24:2 and if she left his house and went and became another man’s wife, - It is only at that time she is free to become sexual active with who-so-ever the wants. However after she has had another man, she cannot return to the former husband. Women Liberation Movement does not like this law. She cannot take half his possession when she is sent away.

Deu 24:3 and the latter husband shall hate her and write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, or when the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, - If the next husband find the same fault in her, he may also send her away. In the Hebrew culture, for a woman to be sent away is an indicator of her character.

Deu 24:4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be an abomination before יהוה . And do not bring sin on the land which יהוה  your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance. -  A man cannot have sex with a woman, again if another has had her since he last had her. This is an abomination. Today in our so-called modern society, many men have had sex with their wives even after she has had sex with another man. This also means that if I am a Christian, then I become a Muslim, I cannot go back to be a Christian again.

Deu 24:5 “When a man has taken a new wife, let him not go out into the army nor let any matter be imposed upon him. He shall be exempt one year for the sake of his home, to rejoice with his wife whom he has taken. – When a man takes a new wife, whether the first wife or the second one, he should not be allowed to go to war for one year.

Deu 24:6 “No one takes in pledge the lower or the upper millstone, for he would be taking a life in pledge. – As believer we must never take for a pledge anything that a person might used for his or her survival.

 Some necessary orders are given here about pledges for the security of money lent. They are not forbidden to take such securities as would save the lender from loss, and oblige the borrower to be honest. They must not take the millstone for a pledge, for with that they ground the corn that was to be bread for their families, or, if it were a public mill, with it the miller got his livelihood; and so it forbids the taking of anything for a pledge by the want of which a man was in danger of being undone.

Consonant to this is the ancient common law of England, which provides that no man be distained of the utensils or instruments of his trade or profession, as the axe of a carpenter, or the books of a scholar, or beasts belonging to the plough, as long as there are other beasts of which distress may be made (Coke, 1 Inst. fol. 47). This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others as much as our own advantage. That creditor who cares not Though his debtor and his family starve, nor is at all concerned what become of them, so he may but get his money or secure it, goes contrary, not only to the law of Messiyah, but even to the law of Moses too.

Deu 24:7 “When a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and treats him harshly or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst. - A law against man-stealing. It was not death by the law of Moses to steal cattle or goods; but to steal a child, or a weak and simple man, or one that a man had in his power, and to make merchandize of him, this was a capital crime, and could not be expiated, as other thefts, by restitution, so much is a man better than a sheep, Mt. 12:12.

It was a very heinous offence, for. It was robbing the public of one of its members. It was taking away a man’s liberty, the liberty of a free-born Yisraelite, which was next in value to his life.  It was driving a man out from the inheritance of the land, to the privileges of which he was entitled, and bidding him go serve other gods, as David complains against Saul, 1 Sa. 26:19.

The Jewish people need to remember this command; they were the ones who funded the ships that brought the Africans as slaves to America and the Caribbean.

Deu 24:8 “Take heed, in an outbreak of leprosy, to diligently guard and do according to all that the priests, the Lĕwites, teach you. As I have commanded them, so you shall guard to do. - A memorandum concerning leprosy or any outbreak of a plague. The laws concerning it must be carefully observed. The laws concerning it were first given in, Lev. 13:14. We commanded to go to the priests and Levites, but the people are also charged that in that, in case of leprosy, to apply to the priest according to the law, and to abide by his judgment, so far as it agreed with the law and the plain matter of fact.

The plague of leprosy being usually a particular mark of YAH’S displeasure for sin, HE in whom the signs of it did appear ought not to conceal it, nor cut out the signs of it, nor apply to the physician for relief; but he must go to the priest, and follow his directions.

Those that feel their consciences under guilt and wrath must not cover it, nor Endeavour to shake off their convictions, but by repentance, and prayer, and humble confession, takes the appointed way to peace and pardon.

The particular case of Miriam, who was smitten with leprosy for quarrelling with Moses, must not be forgotten. It was an explication of the law concerning the leprosy. Remember that, and, “Take heed of sinning after the similitude of her transgression, by despising dominions and speaking evil of dignities, lest you thereby bring upon yourselves the same judgment.’’

Deu 24:9 “Remember what יהוה  your Elohim did to Miryam on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim. - "If any of you be smitten with a leprosy, expect not that the law should be dispensed with, nor think it hard to be shut out of the camp and so made a spectacle; there is no remedy: Miriam herself, Though a prophetess and the sister of Moses, was not exempted, but was forced to submit to this severe discipline when she was under this divine rebuke.’’ Therefore David, Hezekiah, Peter, and other great men, when they had sinned, humbled themselves, and took to themselves shame and grief; let us not expect to be reconciled upon easier terms.

Deu 24:10 “When you lend your brother a loan, do not go into his house to get his pledge. - Some necessary orders are given in this verse about security of pledges. They are not forbidden to take such securities as would save the lender from loss, and oblige the borrower to be honest.

They must not take the millstone for a pledge verse 6, for with that they ground the corn that was to be bread for their families, or, if it were a public mill, with it the miller got his livelihood; and so it forbids the taking of anything for a pledge by the want of which a man was in danger of being undone. Consonant to this is the ancient common law of England, which provides that no man be distained of the utensils or instruments of his trade or profession, as the axe of a carpenter, or the books of a scholar, or beasts belonging to the plough, as long as there are other beasts of which distress may be made (Coke, 1 Inst. fol. 47).

This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others as much as our own advantage. That creditor who cares not Though his debtor and his family starve, nor is at all concerned what become of them, so he may but get his money or secure it, goes contrary, not only to the law of Messiyah, which is the law of Moses too. In today’s capitalistic society, when the banks foreclose on a person home is a definite no no.

Deu 24:11 “Stand outside, and let the man to whom you lend bring the pledge out to you. - They must not go into the borrower’s house to fetch the pledge, but must stand without, and he must bring it. The borrower (says Solomon) is servant to the lender; therefore lest the lender should abuse the advantage he has against him, and improve it for his own interest, it is provided that he shall take not what he pleases, but what the borrower can best spare. A man’s house is his castle, even the poor man’s house is so, and is here taken under the protection of the law.

Deu 24:12 “And if the man is poor, do not sleep with his pledge. - That a poor man’s bed-clothes should never be taken for a pledge. This we had before, Ex. 22:26, 27. If they were taken in the morning, they must be brought back again at night, which is in effect to say that they must not be taken at all. "Let the poor debtor sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee,’’ that is, "pray for thee, and praise YAHVEH for thy kindness to him.’’

Deu 24:13 “By all means return the pledge to him at sundown, and he shall sleep in his own garment, and shall bless you. And it shall be righteousness to you before יהוה  your Elohim. - Poor debtors ought to be sensible (more sensible than commonly they are) of the goodness of those creditors that do not take all the advantage of the law against them, and to repay their kindnesses by their prayers for them, when they are not in a capacity to repay it in any other way.

"Nay, You shall not only have the prayers and good wishes of thy poor brother, but it shall be righteousness to thee before YAHVEH thy EL,’’ that is, "It shall be accepted and rewarded as an act of mercy to thy brother and obedience to thy EL, and an evidence of thy sincere conformity to the law. Though it may be looked upon by men as an act of weakness to deliver up the securities You hast for thy debt, yet it shall be looked upon by thy EL as an act of goodness, which shall in no wise lose its reward.’’

Deu 24:14 “Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of the strangers who is in your land within your gates. – In this verse, Masters are commanded to be just to their poor servants.

They must not oppress them, by overloading them with work, by giving them undue and unreasonable rebukes, or by withholding from them proper maintenance. A servant, Though a stranger to the commonwealth of Yisrael, must not be abused: "For Yisrael was a bondman in the land of Egypt where You was a stranger verse 18, and You knows what a grievous thing it is to be oppressed by a task-master, and therefore, in tenderness to those that are servants and strangers, and in gratitude to that ABBA YAHVEH who set thee at liberty and settled thee in a country of thy own, You shall not oppress a servant.’’

Let not masters be tyrants to their servants, for their Master is in Heavens. See Job 31:13. 2. They must be faithful and punctual in paying them their wages: "At his day you shall give him his hire, not only pay it in time, without further delay. As soon as he had done his day’s work, if he desire it, let him have his day’s wages,’’ as those laborers (Mt. 20:8) when evening had come.

He that works by day-wages is supposed to live from hand to mouth, and cannot have to-morrow’s bread for his family till be is paid for this day’s labor. If the wages be withheld, it will be grief to the servant, for, poor man, he sets his heart upon it, or, as the word is, he lifts up his soul to it, he is earnestly desirous of it, as the reward of his work (Job 7:2), and depends upon it as the gift of YAH’S providence for the maintenance of his family.

Deu 24:15 “Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and lifts up his being to it, so that he does not cry out against you to יהוה , and it shall be sin in you. - A compassionate master, though it should be somewhat inconvenient to him, would not disappoint the expectation of a poor servant that was so fond to think of receiving his wages. But that is not the worst. It will be guilt to the master. "The injured servant will cry against thee to YAHVEH; since he has no one else to appeal to, he will lodge his appeal in the court of Heavens, and it will be sin to thee.’’

Or, if he do not complain, the cause will speak for itself, the "hire of the laborers which is kept back by fraud will itself cry,’’ Jam. 5:4. It is a greater sin than most people think it is, and will be found so in the great day, to put hardships upon poor servants, laborers, and workmen, that we employ. YAHVEH will do them right if men do not.

Deu 24:16 “Fathers are not put to death for their children, and children are not put to death for their fathers, each is to die for his own sin. – In the plain sense of the word, the Torah commands that parents cannot be killed or punish for the sins of their children, and vice versa. It was common practice for tyrant to wipe out a family of those who opposed them.

Deu 24:17 “Do not twist the right-ruling of a stranger or the fatherless, nor take the garment of a widow. - It was in an extraordinary case, and no doubt by special direction from Heavens, that Saul’s sons were put to death for his offence, and they died rather as sacrifices than as malefactors, 2 Sa. 21:9, 14. 2. In common pleas between party and party, great care must be taken that none whose cause was just should fare the worse for their weakness, nor for their being destitute of friends, as strangers, fatherless, and widows: "You shall not pervert their judgment, nor force them to give their very raiment for a pledge, by defrauding them of their right.’’ Judges must be advocates for those that cannot speak for themselves and have no friends to speak for them.

Deu 24:18 “But you shall remember that you were a slave in Mitsrayim, and that יהוה  your Elohim redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word. – The commandment is not for the unsaved, it is for those who are called out of Egypt. To be prepared to be the Bride. Therefore EL YAHVEH has a right to Command us.

Deu 24:19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that יהוה  your Elohim might bless you in all the work of your hands. - The rich are commanded to be kind and charitable to the poor. Many ways they are ordered to be so by the Law of Moses. The particular instance of charity here prescribed is that they should not be greedy in gathering in their corn, and grapes, and olives, so as to be afraid of leaving any behind them, but be willing to overlook some, and let the poor have the gleanings.

"Say no, ’It is all my own, and why should not I have it?’ But learn a generous contempt of property in small matters. One sheaf or two forgotten will make thee never the poorer at the year’s end, and it will do somebody good, if you have it not.

Deu 24:20 “When you beat your olive trees, do not examine the branch behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. – In this verse we see a provision been made for the poor. That after we harvest our field we must leave a few behind for the poor. In Yisrael people usually beat the tree with a long stick to shake the olive off. We must not over beat our trees.

Deu 24:21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. - Say no, ’what I give I will give, and know whom I give it to, why should I leave it to be gathered by I know not whom, that will never thank me.’ But trust YAH’S providence with the disposal of thy charity, perhaps that will direct it to the most necessitous.’’ Or, "You may reasonably think it will come to the hands of the most industrious, that are forward to seek and gather that which this law provides for them. ‘Say no', what should the poor do with grapes and olives? It is enough for them to have bread and water;’ for, since they have the same senses that the rich have, why should not they have some little share of the delights of sense?’’ Boaz ordered handfuls of corn to be left on purpose for Ruth, and YAHVEH blessed him. All that is left is not lost.

It is also forbidden for the owner to pick a bunch of single grapes, or go over a branch that had ready been harvest.

Deu 24:22 “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word. – We were one a slave to a very brutal slave master, whose object is to destroy us, this new Master promise us an everlasting future, therefore He has the right to command us.

Our redemption walk is not a walk where we can do anything we want. We are requiring following a strict regimen of behavior which will prove our faithfulness. As a person who was once in bondage, we should be careful that we do not place anyone else in bondage also.

Too often we as believers forgot from where we came, and we tend to judge other with a holier than you attitude. This is one of those Torah desires that are despicable to ABBA YAHVEH.

Chapter 25

In this chapter we see a:

 

I.             A law to moderate the scourging of malefactors verse 1-3. 

II.           A law in favor of the ox the treads out the corn verse 4.

III.          For the disgracing of him that refused to marry his brother’s widow verse 5–10.

IV.          For the punishment of an immodest woman verse 11, 12.

 

V.           For just weights and measures verse 13–16.

VI.         For the destroying of Amalek verse 17, etc.

Deu 25:1 “When there is a dispute between men, then they shall come unto judgment, and they shall be judged, and the righteous declared righteous and the wrongdoer declared wrong. - Here is, a direction to the judges in scourging malefactors. It is declared here that, if a man be charged with a crime, the accuser and the accused should be brought face to face before the judges, that the controversy may be determined.

If a man were accused of a crime, and the proof fell short, so that the charge could not be made out against him by the evidence, then he was to be acquitted: "You shall justify the righteous,’’ that is, "him that appears to the court to be so.’’

If the accusation be proved, then the conviction of the accused is a justification of the accuser, as righteous in the prosecution.

If the accused were found guilty, judgment must be given against him: "You shall condemn the wicked;’’ for to justify the wicked is as much an abomination to YAHVEH as it is to condemn the righteous, Prov. 17:15. 4.

If the crime were not made capital by the law, then the criminal must be beaten. A great many precepts we have met with which have not any particular penalty annexed to them, the violation of most of which, according to the constant practice of the Jews, was punished by scourging, from which no person’s rank or quality did exempt him if he were a delinquent, but with this proviso, that he should never be upbraided with it, nor should it be looked upon as leaving any mark of infamy or disgrace upon him.

Deu 25:2 “And it shall be, if the wrongdoer is to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows according to his wrong. – If the guilty person is liable of lashes, the court must be careful to ascertain the sinner’s physical condition, and if he cannot safely tolerate all thirty-nine lashes, he receives only as many as he can endure, even a few as three.

Deu 25:3 “Forty blows he gives him but no more, lest he beat him with many more blows than these, and your brother be degraded before your eyes. – Until he was punished, the Torah calls him a sinner, but as soon as he was degraded by suffering, he is called a brother.

This teaches us that while a fellow Hebrew should not tolerate wrongdoing, he must be forgiving when the evil is purge. Based on Psalms 04:35 we pray for sin not sinners to disappear from the earth.

Deu 25:4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing. – This commandment seems to be totally unrelated from the rest of the passage. The juxtaposition teaches some of the guidelines for the sort of transgression that incurs lashes.

Among them are that, like muzzling, it must be a negative commandment; that it involve a physical act; and it be an act that cannot be undone by a subsequent positive commandment.

An example of the last requirement is the sin of theft, which is attached the positive commandment to return the stolen item.

Deu 25:5 “When brothers dwell together, and one of them has died, and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not become a stranger’s outside. Her husband’s brother does go in to her, and shall take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. – This is one of those unheard of commandments that will not be practice today. Can you ever image telling a woman today that she must become her brother in law wife and rise up offspring for her dead first husband?

Deu 25:6 “And it shall be that the first-born son which she bears does rise up for the name of his dead brother, so that his name is not blotted out of Yisra’ĕl. - Under that command we have reason to think men had no clear or certain a prospect of living, on the other side death as we have now, to whom life and immortality is brought to light by the gospel.

Therefore we could be the more desirous to live in our posterity, whose desire was in some measure gratified by this law we found out that, Though a man had no child by his wife, yet his name should not be put out of Yisrael, that is, out of the pedigree, or, which is equivalent, remain there under the brand of childlessness.

The Sadducees put a case to our Savior about this law, with a design to perplex the doctrine of the resurrection by it (Mt. 22:24, etc.), perhaps insinuating that there was no need of maintaining the immortality of the soul and a future state, since the law had so well provided for the perpetuating of men’s names and families in the world. The Sadducees at that time had no understanding of the Law, for they did not believe in life after death.

This verse implies that we must all have some inheritance in the world to come. What better inheritance we should have than our own sons or daughter.

Deu 25:7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Yisra’ĕl, he does not agree to perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ -  If the brother, or next of kin, declined to do this good office to the memory of him that was gone, what must be done in that case? He shall not be compelled to do it. If he likes her not, he is at liberty to refuse her, which, some think, was not permitted in this case before this Torah of Moses. Affection is all in all to the comfort of the conjugal relation; this is a thing which cannot be forced, and therefore the relation should not be forced without it. Yet he shall be publicly disgraced for not doing it.

Deu 25:8 “The elders of his city shall then call him and speak to him, and he shall stand and if he say, ‘I have no desire to take her,’ – it is up to the court to decide which course of action should be taken. Ordinarily, they will try to persuade him to fulfill the commandment to take her as a wife, but if they feel it is unwise to do so then verse 9 would apply to him.

In this situation the man might have had a wife already. The impedance for a man not to have a second wife is money. Can he afford to purchase a house and support her? In this case it is not about that, for his dead brother already provides that for her.

His main objection is about is supplying a son or daughter for his dead brother, or an inheritance for his brother.

This also means that the woman would have been a young woman, still in her prime, still robust in appearance. Then why should he not help his brother secure an inheritance.

Notice that there is no commandment for a woman who could not produce a child, for it was know that a man could have more than one wife.

If the first husband die, the woman can still live in the house she was given by her husband. She however, cannot take another man, except for his brother into that house.

She could not sell the house and leave the community, that house must stay within the husband family that is why the dead man’s brother is the right choice for her. In these scripture we see an example of how the Kingdom of Heavens operates. This practice would never be allowed to happen today.

Deu 25:9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and remove his sandal from his foot, and shall spit before his face, and answer and say, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ – Had he fulfilled the commandment of Yibum, he would have demonstrated his desire to keep his brother spiritually alive, but now that he spurned the opportunity,  it is as if his brother is now irrevocably dead.

To symbolize that he should now grieve for the loss he has caused, the widow removed his shoes, which is a symbol of mourning and spits on the ground in his presence.

Some version of Scripture says that she spats in his face; this is the difference between the Hebrew and an English translation. At no time would the Torah allow a woman to insult a man as the English version do. This is also why the Torah says that we must not add or take away from scripture, by adding our own interpretation.

Deu 25:10 “And in Yisra’ĕl his name shall be called, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’ -  Those justly suffer in their own reputation that does not do what they ought to preserve the name and honor of others. He that would not build up his brother’s house deserved to have this blemish put upon his own, that it should be called the house of him that had his shoe loosed, in token that he deserved to go barefoot.

In the case of Ruth we find this law executed (Ruth 4:7), but because, upon the refusal of the next kinsman, there was another ready to perform the duty of a husband’s brother, it was that other that plucked off the shoe, and not the widow, Boaz, and not Ruth.

Deu 25:11 “When men fight with one another, and the wife of one shall draw near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and shall put out her hand and seize him by the genitals, -  A law for the punishing of an immodest woman. The woman that by the foregoing law was to complain against her husband’s brother for not marrying her, and to spit on the ground before him and the elders, needed a good measure of assurance; but, lest the confidence which that law supported should grow to an excess unbecoming the sex, here is a very severe but just law to punish impudence and immodesty.

The instance of it is confessedly scandalous to the highest degree. A woman could not do it unless she was perfectly lost to all virtue and honor.

The occasion is such as might in part excuse it; it was to help her husband out of the hands of one that was too hard for him. Now if the doing of it in a passion, and with such a good intention, was to be so severely punished, much more when it was done wantonly and in lust.

Deu 25:12 then you shall cut off her hand – your eye does not pardon. - The punishment was that her hand should be cut off; and the magistrates must not pretend to be more merciful than YAHVEH: Thy eye shall not pity her. Perhaps our Savior alludes to this law when he commands us to cut off the right hand that offends us, or is an occasion of sin to us.

Better put the greatest hardships that can be upon the body than ruin the soul forever. Modesty is the hedge of chastity, and therefore ought to be very carefully preserved and kept up by both sexes.

Deu 25:13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. - A law against deceitful weights and measures: they must not only not use them, but they must not have them, not have them in the bag, not have them in the house; for, if they had them, they would be strongly tempted to use them. They must not have a great weight and measure to buy by and a small one to sell by, for that was to cheat both ways, when either was bad enough.

Deu 25:14 “You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. – Favoritism should never exist in the house of a Hebrew. One cannot love one son more than the next, as we so often see in Torah: Essu and Jacob.

Deu 25:15 “You shall have a perfect and right weight, a perfect and right measure, so that they prolong your days on the soil which יהוה  your Elohim is giving you. - as we read of those that made the ephod small, in which they measured the corn they sold, and the shekel great, by which they weighed the money they received for it, Amos 8:5. But we shall have a perfect and just weight.

 That which is the rule of justice must itself be just; if that be otherwise, it is a constant cheat. This had been taken care of before, Lev. 19:35, 36. This law is enforced with two very good reasons.

 That justice and equity will bring down upon us the blessing of YAHVEH. The way to have our days lengthened, and to prosper, is to be just and fair in all our dealings Honesty is the best policy.

Deu 25:16 “For all who do these, and all who do unrighteous, are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim. - That favoritism and injustice will expose us to the curse of YAHVEH. Not only unrighteousness itself, but that entire do unrighteous, are an abomination to YAHVEH. And miserable is that man who is abhorred by his Maker. How hateful, particularly, all the arts of deceit are to YAHVEH, Solomon several times observes, Prov. 11:1; 20:10, 23; and the apostle tells us that YAHVEH is the avenger of all such as overreach and defraud in any matter, 1 Th. 4:6.

Deu 25:17 “Remember what Amalĕq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim, - The mischief Amalek did to Yisrael must never be forgotten. When it was first done it was ordered to be recorded (Ex. 17:14–16), and here the remembrance of it is ordered to be preserved, not in personal revenge for that generation which suffered by the Amalekites was gone, so that those who now lived, and their posterity, could not have any personal resentment of the injury.

In a zeal for the glory of YAHVEH which was insulted by the Amalekites, that throne of YAHVEH against which the hand of Amalek was stretched out. The carriage of the Amalekites towards Yisrael is represented, as very base and treacherous.

They had no occasion at all to quarrel with Yisrael, nor did they give them any notice, by a manifesto or declaration of war; but took them at an advantage, when they had just come out of the house of bondage, and, for aught that appeared to them, were only going to sacrifice to YAHVEH in the wilderness.

This particular sin has at its foundation a particular character, as most sins does. When a sin is committed, we need to look at the root cause of that sin. The Amalekites were a very underhanded people or they represent a certain mentality that needs to be eradicating from our lives.

Deu 25:18 how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And he did not fear Elohim. – It was very barbarous and cruel; for they smote those that were more feeble, whom they should have succored. The greatest cowards are commonly the cruelest; while those that have the courage of a man will have the compassion of a man.

As very impious and profane: they feared not YAHVEH. If they had had any reverence for the majesty of the EL of Yisrael, which they saw a token of in the cloud, or any dread of his wrath, which they lately heard of the power of over Pharaoh, they would not have made this assault upon Yisrael. Well, here was the ground of the quarrel: and it shows how YAHVEH takes what is done against HIS people as done against HIMSELF, and that HE will particularly reckon with those that discourage and hinder young beginners in religion, that (as Satan’s agents) set upon the weak and feeble, either to divert them or to disquiet them, and offend his little ones.

Deu 25:19 “Therefore it shall be, when יהוה  your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which יהוה  your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amalĕq from under the Heavens. Do not forget! - This mischief must in due time be revenged. When their wars were finished, by which they were to settle their kingdom and enlarge their coast, then they must make war upon Amalek, not merely to chase them, but to consume them, to blot out the remembrance of Amalek.

It was an instance of YAH’S patience that he deferred the vengeance so long, which should have led the Amalekites to repentance; yet an instance of fearful retribution that the posterity of Amalek, so long after, were destroyed for the mischief done by their ancestors to the Yisrael of YAHVEH, that all the world might see, and say, that he who touched them touched the apple of his eye.

It was nearly 400 years after this that Saul was ordered to put this sentence in execution (1 Sa. 15), and was rejected of YAHVEH because he did not do it effectually, but spared some of that devoted nation, in contempt, not only of the particular orders he received from Samuel, but of this general command here given by Moses, which he could not be ignorant of. David afterwards made some destruction of them; and the Simeonites, in Hezekiah’s time, smote the rest that remained (1 Chr. 4:43); for when YAHVEH judges he will overcome.

Haftarah

Isaiah 40:1-11

We have in this chapter the commission and instructions given, not to this prophet only, but, with he, to all the YAHVEH’s prophets, nay, and to all Messiyah’s ministers, to proclaim comfort to YAH’s people.

This did not only warrant, but enjoin, this prophet himself to encourage the good people who lived in his own time, which could not but have very melancholy apprehensions of things when they saw Judah and Yerushalayim by their daring impieties ripening apace for ruin, and YAHVEH in HIS providence hastening ruin upon them. Let them be sure that, notwithstanding all this, YAHVEH had mercy in store for them.

It was especially a direction to the prophets that should live in the time of captivity, when Yerushalayim was in ruins; they must encourage the captives to hope for enlargement in due time.

Gospel ministers, being employed by the blessed Spirit as comforters, and as helpers of the joy of the Messiyanic faith, are here put in mind of their business.

Isa 40:1  “Comfort, comfort My people!” says your Elohim. – Comfortable words directed to YAH’s people in general. The prophets are instructions by their Commander and Chief (for HE is YAHVEH EL of the holy prophets, Rev. 22:6) to comfort the people of YAHVEH; and the charge is doubled, Comfort you, comfort you, not because the prophets are unwilling to do it (no, it is the most pleasant part of their work), but because sometimes the minds of YAH’s people refuse to be comforted, and their comforters must repeat things again and again, ere they can fasten anything upon them.

There are a people in the world that is YAH’s people. It is the will of YAHVEH that HIS people should be a comforted people, even in the worst of times.

It is the work and business of ministers to do what they can for the comfort of YAH’s people. Words of conviction, such as we had in the former part of this book, must be followed with words of comfort, such as we have here; for he that has torn will heal us.

Isa 40:2 “Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim, and cry out to her, that her hard service is completed, that her crookedness is pardoned, that she has received from the hand of יהוה  double for all her sins.” - Comfortable words directed to Yerushalayim in particular: "Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim ; speak that which will revive her heart, and be a cordial to her and to all that belong to her and wish her well.

Do not whisper it, but cry unto her: cry aloud, to show saints their comforts as well as to show sinners their transgressions; make her hear it:’’ "That the days of her trouble are numbered and finished: Her warfare is accomplished, the set time of her servitude; the campaign is now at an end, and she shall retire into quarters of refreshment.’’

Human life is a constant warfare between the forces of light and darkness(Job 7:1); the Messiyanic life is not much more. But the struggle will not last always; the warfare will be accomplished either way, and then the good soldiers shall not only enter into rest, but be sure of their reward. "That the cause of her trouble is removed, and, when that is taken away, the effect will cease.

Tell her that her iniquity is pardoned, YAHVEH is reconciled to her, and she shall no longer be treated as one guilty before him.’’ Nothing can be spoken more comfortably than this, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. Troubles are then removed in love when sin is pardoned.

"That the end of her trouble is answered: She has received of YAHVEH double for the cure of all her sins, sufficient, and more than sufficient, to separate between her and her idols,’’ the worship of which was the great sin for which YAHVEH had a controversy with them, and from which he designed to reclaim them by their captivity in Babylon: and it had that effect upon them; it begat in them a rooted antipathy to idolatry, and was physic doubly strong for the purging out of that iniquity.

Or it may be taken as the language of the divine compassion: His soul was grieved for the misery of Yisrael (Judges 10:16), and, like a tender father, since he spoke against them he earnestly remembered them (Jer. 31:20), and was ready to say that he had given them too much correction.

They, being very penitent, acknowledged that YAHVEH has punished them less than their iniquities deserved; but he, being very pitiful, owned, in a manner, that he had punished them more than they deserved.

True penitents have indeed, in Messiyah and His sufferings, received of  YAHVEH’s hand double for all their sins; for the satisfaction Messiyah made by His death was of such an infinite value that it was more than double to the demerits of sin; for YAHVEH spared not HIS own Son.

Isa 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of יהוה ; make straight in the desert a highway for our Elohim. -  The time to favor Zion, yea, the set time, having come, the people of YAHVEH must be prepared, by repentance and faith, for the favors designed them; and, in order to call them to both these, we have here the voice of one crying in the wilderness, which may be applied to those prophets who were with the captives in their wilderness-state, and who, when they saw the day of their deliverance dawn, called earnestly upon them to prepare for it, and assured them that all the difficulties which stood in the way of their deliverance should be got over.

It is a good sign that mercy is preparing for us if we find YAH’s grace preparing us for it, Ps. 10:17. But it must be applied to John the Baptist; for, Though YAHVEH was the speaker, he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, and his business was to prepare the way of YAHVEH, to dispose men’s minds for the reception and entertainment of the gospel of Messiyah.

The way of YAHVEH is prepared, by repentance for sin; that was what John Baptist preached to all Judah and Yerushalayim (Mt. 3:2, 5), and thereby made ready a people prepared for the Lord, Lu. 1:17.

 The alarm is given; let all take notice of it at their peril; YAHVEH is coming in a way of mercy, and we must prepare for him. If we apply it to their captivity, it may be taken as a promise that, whatever difficulties lie in their way, when they return they shall be removed.

This voice in the wilderness (divine power going along with it) sets pioneers on work to level the roads. But it may be taken as a call to duty, and it is the same duty that we are called to, in preparation for Messiyah’s entrance into our souls. We must get into such a frame of spirit as will dispose us to receive Messiyah and His gospel: "Prepare you the way of the YAHVEH.

Prepare yourselves for Him, and let all that be suppressed which would be an obstruction to his entrance. Make room for Messiyah: Make straight a highway for Him.’’ If he prepares the end for us, we ought surely to prepare the way for him. Prepare for the Savior; lift up your heads, O you gates! Ps. 24:7, 9.

Prepare for the salvation, the great salvation, and other minor deliverances. Let us get to be fit for them, and then YAHVEH will work them out. Let us not stand in our own light, nor put a bar in our own door, but find, or make, a highway for him, even in that which was desert ground.

Isa 40:4 “Let every valley be raised, and every mountain and hill made low. And the steep ground shall become level, and the rough places smooth. - This is that for which he waits to be gracious. We must get our hearts leveled by divine grace. Those that are hindered from comfort in Messiyah by their dejections and despondencies are the valleys that must be exalted. Those that are hindered from comfort in Messiyah by a proud conceit of their own merit and worth are the mountains and hills that must be made low.

Those that have entertained prejudices against the word and ways of YAHVEH, that are untraceable, and disposed to thwart and contradict even that which is plain and easy because it agrees not with their corrupt inclinations and secular interests, are the crooked that must be made straight and the rough places that must be made plain.

Let but the gospel of Messiyah have a fair hearing, and it cannot fail of acceptance. This prepares the way of the Messiyah; and therefore YAHVEH will by HIS grace prepare HIS own way in all the vessels of mercy, whose hearts HE opens as HE did Lydia’s.

Isa 40:5 “And the esteem of יהוה shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see it. For the mouth of יהוה has spoken.” - When this is done the glory of YAHVEH shall be revealed. When the captives are prepared for deliverance Cyrus shall proclaim it, and those shall have the benefit of it, and those only, whose hearts YAHVEH shall stir up with courage and resolution to break through the discouragements that lay in their way, and to make nothing of the hills, and valleys, and all the rough places.

When John Baptist has for some time preached repentance, mortification, and reformation, and so made ready a people prepared for YAHVEH (Lu. 1:17), then the Messiyah Himself shall be revealed in His glory, working miracles, which John did not, and by His grace, which is His glory, binding up and healing with consolations those whom John had wounded with convictions.

This revelation of divine glory shall be a light to lighten the Gentiles. All flesh shall see it together, and not the Jews only; they shall see and admire it, see it and bid it welcome; as the return out of captivity was taken notice of by the neighboring nations, Ps. 126:2. And it shall be the accomplishment of the word of YAHVEH, not one iota or title of which shall fall to the ground: The mouth of YAHVEH has spoken it, and therefore the hand of YAHVEH will affect it.

Isa 40:6 The voice said, “Cry out!” and he said, “What do I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. – By this accomplishment of the prophecies and promises of salvation, and the performance of them to the utmost in due time, it appears that the Word of YAHVEH is sure and what may be safely relied on. Then we are prepared for deliverance when we depend entirely upon the word of YAHVEH, build our hopes on that, with an assurance that it will not make us ashamed: in a dependence upon this word we must be brought to own that all flesh is grass, withering and fading.

The power of man, when it does appear against the deliverance, is not to be feared; for it shall be as grass before the word of YAHVEH: it shall wither and be trodden down. The insulting Babylonians, who promise themselves that the desolations of Yerushalayim shall be perpetual, are but as grass which the spirit of the Lord blows upon, makes nothing of, but blasts all its glory; for the word of YAHVEH, which promises their deliverance, shall stand for ever, and it is not in the power of their enemies to hinder the execution of it.

Isa 40:7 “Grass shall wither; the flower shall fade, when the Spirit of יהוה  has blown on it! Truly the people are grass! – The power of man, when it would appear for the deliverance, is not to be trusted to; for it is but as grass in comparison with the word of YAHVEH, which is the only firm foundation for us to build our hope upon. When YAHVEH is about to work salvation for his people he will take them off from depending upon creatures, and looking for it from hills and mountains. They shall fail them, and their expectations from them shall be frustrated: The Spirit of YAHVEH shall blow upon them; for YAHVEH will have no creature to be a rival with him for the hope and confidence of his people; and, as it is his word only that shall stand for ever, so in that word only our faith must stand. When we are brought to this, then, and not till then, we are fit for mercy.

Isa 40:8 “Grass shall wither, the flower shall fade, but the Word of our Elohim stands forever¹.” Footnote: ¹1 Peter 1:24-25. - The word of our EL that Righteousness of YAHVEH which is now to be revealed, in the gospel, and that grace which is brought with it to us and wrought by it in us, shall stand for ever.

This is the satisfaction of all believers, when they find all their creature-comforts withering and fading like grass. Thus the apostle applies it to the word which by the gospel is preached unto us, and which lives and abides for ever as the incorruptible seed by which we are born again, 1 Pt. 1:23-25.

To prepare the way of ABBA YAHVEH we must be convinced. Of the vanity of the creature, that all flesh is grass, weak and withering. We ourselves are so, and therefore cannot save ourselves; all our friends are so, and therefore are unable to save us. All the beauty of the creature, which might render it amiable, is but as the flower of grass, soon blasted, and therefore cannot recommend us to YAHVEH and to HIS acceptance.

We are dying creatures; all our comforts in this word are dying comforts, and therefore cannot be the felicity of our immortal souls. We must look further for a salvation, look further for a portion.

Of the validity of the promise of YAHVEH. We must be convinced that the Word of YAHVEH can do that for us which all flesh cannot, that, forasmuch as it stands for ever, it will furnish us with a happiness that will run parallel with the duration of our souls, which must live forever; for the things that are not seen, but must be believed, are eternal.

Isa 40:9 You who bring good news to Tsiyon, get up into the high mountain. You who bring good news to Yerushalayim, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, and be not afraid. Say to the cities of Yehuḏah, “See your Elohim!” – It was promised in verse 5 that the glory of YAHVEH shall be revealed; that is it with the hopes of which YAH’s people must be comforted. Now here we are told,

How it shall be revealed. It shall be revealed to Zion and Yerushalayim; notice shall be given of it to the remnant that is left in Zion and Yerushalayim, the poor of the land, who were vine-dressers and husbandmen; it shall be told them that their brethren shall return to them.

This shall be told also to the captives who belonged to Zion and Yerushalayim, and retained their affection for them. Zion is said to dwell with the daughter of Babylon (Zec. 2:7); and there she receives notice of Cyrus’s gracious proclamation; and so the margin reads it, O You that tellest good tidings to Zion, etc., meaning the persons who were employed in publishing that proclamation; let them do it with a good will, let them make the country ring of it, and let them tell it to the sons of Zion in their own language, saying to them, Behold your EL.

It shall be published by Zion and Yerushalayim (so the text reads it); those that remain there, or that have already returned, when they find the deliverance proceeding towards perfection, let them proclaim it in the most public places, whence they may be best heard by all the cities of Judah; let them proclaim it as loudly as they can: let them lift up their voice with strength, and not be afraid of overstraining themselves; let them not be afraid lest the enemy should hear it and quarrel with them, or lest it should not prove true, or not such good tidings as at first it appeared; let them say to the cities of Judah, and all the inhabitants of the country, Behold your EL.

 When YAHVEH is going on with the salvation of his people, let them industriously spread the news among their friends, let them tell them that it is YAHVEH that has done it; whoever were the instruments, YAHVEH was the author; it is their YAHVEH, a YAHVEH in covenant with them, and he does it as theirs, and they will reap the benefit and comfort of it.

"Behold him, take notice of his hand in it, and look above second causes; behold, the YAHVEH you have long looked for has come at last (ch. 25:9): This is our EL, we have waited for Him.’’

This may refer to the invitation which was sent forth from Yerushalayim to the cities of Judah, as soon as they had set up an altar, immediately upon their return out of captivity, to come and join with them in their sacrifices, Ezra 3:2-4.

"When the worship of YAHVEH is set up again, send notice of it to all your brethren, that they may share with you in the comfort of it.’’ But this was to have its full accomplishment in the apostles’ public and undaunted preaching of the gospel to all nations, beginning at Yerushalayim. The voice crying in the wilderness gave notice that he was coming; but now notice is given that he has come. Behold the Lamb of YAHVEH; take a full view of your Redeemer. Behold your King, behold your EL.

Isa 40:10 See, the Master יהוה comes with a strong hand and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. – What that glory is which shall be revealed. "Your EL will come; will show Himself,’’ With the power and greatness of a prince.

He will come with strong hand, too strong to be obstructed, though it may be opposed. His strong hand shall subdue his people to himself, and shall restrain and conquer his and their enemies. He will come who is strong enough to break through all the difficulties that lie in his way.’’

Our Messiyah Yahushua was full of power, a mighty Savior. Some read, it, He will come against the mighty one, and overpower him, overcome him. Satan is the strong man armed; but our Messiyah Yahushua is stronger than he, and he shall make it to appear that he is so, for.

 He shall reign in defiance of all opposition: His arm shall rule, shall overrule for him, for the fulfilling of his counsels, to his own glory; for he is his own end.

He shall recompense to all according to their works, as a righteous Judge: His reward is with him; he brings along with him, as a returning prince, punishments for the rebels and preferment for his loyal subjects.

He shall proceed and accomplish his purpose: His work is before him, that is, he knows perfectly well what he has to do, which way to go about it, and how to compass it. He himself knows what he will do.

Isa 40:11 He feeds His flock like a shepherd, He gathers the lambs with His arm, and carries them in His bosom, gently leading those who are with young. - With the pity and tenderness of a shepherd. YAHVEH is the Shepherd of Yisrael (Ps. 80:1); Messiyah is the good Shepherd, Jn. 10:11.

The same that rules with the strong hand of a prince leads and feeds with the kind hand of a shepherd. He takes care of all his flock, the little flock: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. His word is food for his flock to feed on; his ordinances are fields for them to feed in; his ministers are under-shepherds that are appointed to attend them.

He takes particular care of those that most need his care, the lambs that are weak, and cannot help themselves, and are unaccustomed to hardship, and those that are with young, that are therefore heavy, and, if any harm be done them, are in danger of casting their young. He particularly takes care for a succession that it may not fail or be cut off.

The good Shepherd has tender care for children that are toward and hopeful, for young converts, that is setting out in the way to heaven, for weak believers, and those that are of a sorrowful spirit. These are the lambs of his flock that shall be sure to want nothing that their case requires.

Messiyah will gather them in the arms of his power; his strength shall be made perfect in their weakness, 2 Co. 12:9. He will gather them in when they wander, gather them up when they fall, gather them together when they are dispersed, and gather them home to himself at last; and all this with his own arm, out of which none shall be able to pluck them, Jn. 10:28.

He will carry them in the bosom of His love and cherish them there. When they tire or are weary, are sick and faint, when they meet with foul ways, he will carry them on, and take care they are not left behind. He will gently lead them. By His word H e requires no more service, and by his providence he inflicts no more trouble, than he will fit them for; for he considers their frame.

Brit Chadasha

Mark 1:1-14

Mar 1:1 The beginning of the Good News of יהושע Messiyah, the Son of Elohim. -  The Brit Chadasha is the divine testament of the Messiyah, to which we adhere above all, that is human. It is the good news of Messiyah Yahushua the Son of YAHVEH.

It is the Good New; it is YAH’s word been establish, the Word is still faithful and true; see Rev. 19:9; 21:5; 22:6. It is the good word, and well worthy of all acceptation; it brings us glad tidings.

It is the good news that Yahushua HaMashiach, the anointed Savior, the Messiyah that was promised and expected, had been achieved. The foregoing good new began with the generation of believers that does not need the Blood of a Lamb to atone for their sins.

 It is called the Good News of the Messiyah, not only because He is the Subject of it, and it treats wholly concerning Him. This Yahushua is the Chief Son of YAHVEH; He achieved this by fulfilling the requirement or the standard for one to become a perfect son, by been obedient to the Torah.

That truth, the Torah is the foundation on which the Good News is established, and which it is written to demonstrate; for is  Yahushua had not become a son of YAHVEH  our faith is vain.

What the reference of in the Brit Chadasha is to the Old and its coherence with it. The Good News of Messiyah Yahushua begins with His Glorification, and so we shall find that it goes on, just as it is written by the prophets in verse 2, for it said no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said should come (Acts 26:22), which was most proper and powerful for the conviction of the Jews, who believed the Torah prophets to be sent of YAHVEH and ought to have evidenced that they did so by welcoming the accomplishment of their prophecies in its season.

The same accomplishment is of use to us all, for the confirmation of our faith both before and after Messiyah Glorification, for the exact harmony that there is between both shows that they both have the same divine original.

Quotations is taken from two prophecies, that of Isaiah, which was the longest, and that of Malachi, which was the latest (and there were above three hundred years between them), both of whom spoke to the same purport concerning the beginning of the Good News of Yahushua HaMashiach, in the ministry of John.

Mar 1:2 As it has been written in the Prophets, “See, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your way before You, Mal. 3:1. - Malachi, in whom we had the Torah farewell, spoke very plainly concerning John Baptist, who was to give the Brit Chadasha welcome. Behold, I send my messenger before they face. The Messiyah Himself had taken notice of this, and applied it to John (Mt. 11:10), who was YAH’s messenger, sent to prepare Messiyah’s way.

Mar 1:3 a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of יהוה , make His paths straight.’ ” Isa. 40:3. – Isaiah, the most evangelical of all the prophets, begins the evangelical part of his prophecy with this, which points to the beginning of the of Messiyanic era, (Isa. 40:3). The voice of him that cried in the wilderness, Matthew had taken notice of this, and applied it to John, ch. 3:3.

But from these two put together here, we may observe, that Yahushua, is the Word which dwell among us, bringing with him a treasure of grace, and a scepter of government.

When YAHVEH sent one of HIS Son into the world, which fulfilled all the requirement of Torah. He became the Messiyah, He took care of the entire requirement for our Justification, Deliverance, Sanctification, and Glorification, and when we accept Messiyah into our heart, He takes care, effectual care, to prepare the way before us.

The application of His grace shall not be frustrating for us, nor not everyone may accept the comforts of that grace, but such as are convince of sin and humiliation for it, it is prepared for those comforts, and disposed to receive them.

When the paths that were crooked by sin, are made straight in Messiyah (the mistakes of the judgment rectified, and the crooked ways of the affections), then way is made for Messiyah’s comforts.

Mar 1:4 Yoḥanan came immersing in the wilderness and proclaiming an immersion of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. – It is in the wilderness of our spiritual journey, for such that was in the world, that Messiyah’s way is prepared, and theirs that follow that Path, like that which Yisrael passed through to Canaan. The messengers of conviction for some and terror for others, John was to prepare Messiyah’s way, are YAH’s messengers, whom HE sends and will own, and must be received as such.

They that are sent to prepare the way of Messiyah, in such a vast howling wilderness as this is, have need to cry aloud, and not spare, and to lift up their voice like a trumpet.

Mar 1:5 And all the country of Yehuḏah, and those of Yerushalayim, went out to him and were all immersed by him in the Yardĕn River, confessing their sins. – What the beginning of the Brit Chadasha was. The Besorah began with John Baptist; for the law and the prophets were, until John, the only divine revelation, but when the MESSIYAH era began to be preached, Lu. 16:16. Peter begins from the baptism of John, Acts 1:22. The Good News did not begin so soon as the birth of Yahushua, for he took time to increase in Spiritual wisdom and stature, not so late as His entering upon His public ministry, but half a year before, when John began to preach the same doctrine that Messiyah afterward preached. His baptism was the dawning of the Messiyanic Era.

Mar 1:6 And Yoḥanan was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather girdle around his waist, and eating locusts and wild honey. – In Yohanan’s way of living there was the beginning of the Messiyanic era, for it emphasize great self-denial, mortification of the flesh, a holy contempt of the world, and nonconformity to it, which may truly be called the beginning of the Messiyanic era in any soul. John was clothed with camels’ hair, not with soft raiment; was girt, not with a golden girdle, but with a leathern girdle; and, in contempt of dainties and delicate things, his meat was locusts and wild honey.

The more we live free from the influence of the body, and live above the world, the better we are prepared for Yahushua HaMashiach.

Mar 1:7 And he proclaimed, saying, “After me comes One who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. - In John’s preaching and baptizing was the beginning of the Messiyanic Era doctrines and ordinances, and the first fruits of them.

He preached the remission of sins, which is the great Messiyanic privilege; showed people their need of it, that they were undone without it, and that it might be obtained. He preached repentance, in order to achieve it; he told people that there must be a renovation of their hearts and a reformation of their lives, that they must forsake their sins and turn to YAHVEH, and upon those terms and no other, their sins should be forgiven.

Repentance for the remission of sins was what the apostles were commissioned to preach to all nations, Lu. 24:27. He preached Messiyah and Him Crucified, and directed their hearers to expect Him speedily to appear, and to expect great things from Him.

The preaching of the Messiyanic Gospel is Good News, and that was John Baptist’s preaching. Like a true gospel minister, he preaches. The great pre-eminence Messiyah is advanced to; so high, so great, is Messiyah that John, though one of the greatest that was born of women, thinks himself unworthy to be employed in the meanest office about him, even to stoop down, and untie his shoes. Thus industrious is he to give honor to him, and to bring others to do so too.

Mar 1:8 “I indeed did immerse you in water, but He shall immerse you in the Set-apart Spirit.” -  The great power Yahushua HaMashiach is invested with; He is coming after me, but He is Spiritually mightier than I, mightier than the mighty ones of the earth, for He is able to baptize with the Holy Spirit; He has the power to give the Spirit of YAHVEH, and by Him govern the spirits of men.

The great promise of Messiyah Yahushua fulfilled the Good News of the Word to those who have repented, and have had their sins forgiven them, a new person. They shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, shall be purified by His graces, and refreshed by His comforts.

All those who received the Messiyanic doctrine, and submitted to its institution, should be baptized with water, as the manner of the Jews was to admit proselytes, in token of their cleansing themselves by repentance and reformation (which were the duties required), and of YAH’s cleansing them both by remission and by sanctification, which were the blessings promised. Now this was afterward to be advanced into a gospel ordinance, which John’s using it was a preface to.

In the success of John’s preaching, and the disciples he admitted by baptism, there was the beginning of a Messiyanic Assembly. He baptized in the wilderness, and declined going into the cities; but there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Yerushalayim, inhabitants both of city and country, families of them, and were all baptized of him.

They entered themselves as John disciples, and bound themselves to his discipline; in token of which, they confessed their sins; he admitted them his disciples, in token of which, he baptized them. Here was the start of the Messiyanic Church, the dew of its youth from the womb of the morning, Ps. 110:3. Many of these afterward became followers of Messiyah, and preachers of his gospel, and this grain of mustard-seed became a tree.

Mar 1:9 and it came to be in those days that יהושע came from Natsareth of Galil, and was immersed by Yoḥanan in the Yardĕn. -  We have here a brief account of Yahushua HaMashciach’s baptism and temptation, which were largely related Mt. 3 and 4. His baptism, which was his first public appearance, after he had long lived obscurely in Nazareth. O how much hidden worth is there, which in this world is either lost in the dust of contempt and cannot be known or wrapped up in the veil of humility and will not be known! But sooner or later it shall be known, as Messiyah’s was.

See how humbly he owned YAHVEH, by coming to be baptized of John; and thus it became him to fulfill all righteousness. Thus he took upon him the likeness of sinful flesh, that, Though he was perfectly pure and unspotted, yet he was washed as if he had been polluted; and thus for our sakes he sanctified himself, that we also might be sanctified, and be baptized with him, Jn. 17:19.

See how honorably YAHVEH owned Him, when He submitted to John’s baptism. Those who justify YAHVEH, and they are said to do, who were baptized with the baptism of John, he will glorify, Lu. 7:29, 30.

Mar 1:10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit coming down on Him like of the Menorah. – He saw the heavens opened; Matthew said, the heavens were opened to him. Messiyah lived under an Open Heavens all His life except when He was on the Cross it was closed to Him for three hours, when darkness fell. He then cried out Mat 27:45 from noon until three o'clock in the afternoon, all the Land was covered with darkness. 46 At about three, Yahushua uttered a loud cry, "Eli! Eli! L'mah sh'vaktani? (My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?)". This Open Heavens concept is an unbroken relation with the FATHER. Yahushua was walking on Earth as if He was walking in the Heavens.

It was shut to Him only for three hours of His entire life, when He took the sins of all of humanity. That was why He said if there was any other way, to take this cup from Him. It was not that He was afraid of dying, what Yahushua was afraid of most, was the separation from His Father.

As believers we too should dread this separation that sin causes between us and our Father. He saw the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. Then we may see heaven opened to us, when we perceive the Spirit descending and working upon us. YAH’s good work in us is the surest evidence of his good will towards us, and his preparations for us. Justin Martyr says that when Messiyah Yahushua was baptized, a fire was kindled in Jordan: and it is an ancient tradition that a great light shone round the place; for the Spirit brings both light and heat.

Mar 1:11 and a voice came out of the heavens, “You are My Son, the Beloved, in whom I did delight.” - He heard a voice which was intended for his encouragement to proceed in his undertaking, and therefore it is here expressed as directed to him, you are my beloved Son. YAHVEH lets Him know, That HE loved Yahushua never the less for that low and mean estate to which he had now humbled himself; "Though thus emptied and made of no reputation, yet he is my beloved Son still.’’

The whole purpose of creation is to create many perfect sons. Yahushua achieved this concept absolutely perfect. That is why He is the Messiyah, who sits at the Right Hand of the Father. Notice what Yahushua says in Revelation 3:21 I will let him who wins the victory sit with me on my throne, just as I myself also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne. This means that anyone of us who achieve perfection in this life, we will earn the right to sit with Him on the Throne.

Father YAHVEH loved Yahushua very much so that HE glorified Him and gave Him a seat beside HIMSELF. YAHVEH will be well pleased with us when we too have overcome, by learning to overcome the world.

Mar 1:12 And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. – His temptation. The good Spirit that descended upon Him, led Him into the wilderness. Mark observes this circumstance of his being in the wilderness that Messiyah was with the wild beasts. The frothy days Yahushua spent in the wilderness was a fast-forward version of the 40 years journey of the Children of Yisrael in the Wilderness.

It was an example of Our Father’s care of us, that Yahushua was sent to undergo this final proof of the True Son ship.

 In that wilderness, the evil spirits were busy with him; Yahushua was tempted of Satan; not by any inward injections (the prince of this world had nothing in him to fasten upon), but by outward solicitations. Solicitude often gives advantages to the tempter; therefore two are better than one. Messiyah Himself was tempted, not only to teach us, that it is no sin to be tempted, but to direct us whither to go for succor when we are tempted, even to Him that suffered, being tempted; that He might experimentally sympathize with us when we are tempted.

The good spirits were busy about him; the angels ministered to him, supplied him with what he needed, and dutifully attended him. The ministration of the good angels about us, is matter of great comfort in reference to the malicious designs of the evil angels against us; but much more doth it befriend us, to have the indwelling of the spirit in our hearts, which they that have, are so born of YAHVEH, that, as far as they are so, the evil one touched them not, much less shall be triumph over them.

Temptations are like test it is given to us to see what is on the inside of us. The Spirit that comes upon us after the temptation depends on the resistance we give to the temptation.

Mar 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tried by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the messengers attended Him. -  In this sense the wild beast are indicative of the presence of the fleshly inclination. At the place of our greatest victory is the place of our greatest temptation.

Mar 1:14 And after Yoḥanan was delivered up, יהושע came to Galil, proclaiming the Good News of the reign of Elohim, -   A general account of Messiyah’s preaching in Galilee. John gives an account of his preaching in Judea, before this (ch. 2 and 3), which the other evangelists had omitted, who chiefly relate what occurred in Galilee, because that was least known at Yerusalem.

When Yahushua began to preach in Galilee; After that John was put in prison. When he had finished His testimony, then Yahushua began His. The silencing of Messiyanic ministers shall not be the suppressing of Messiyah’s gospel; if some be laid aside, others shall be raised up, perhaps mightier than they, to carry on the same work.

What He preached; the gospel of the kingdom of YAHVEH. Yahushua HaMashiach came to establish the kingdom of YAHVEH among men, that they might be brought into subjection to it, and might obtain salvation in it; and He set it up by the preaching of His gospel, and the power that goes along with it.

The great truths Yahushua preached; the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of YAHVEH is at hand. This refers what the Torah promises, in which the kingdom of the Messiyah was promised, and the time fixed for the introducing of it.

The Yisralites were well versed in those prophecies, what they did not know is the time of its fulfillment. They did not observe the signs of the times, as to understand it themselves, and therefore Yochanan and Yahushua gives them notice of it; "The time prefixed is now at hand; glorious discoveries of divine light, life, and love, are now to be made.

 A new dispensation far more spiritual and heavenly than that which you have been under is now to commence.’’ YAHVEH keeps time; when the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of YAHVEH is at hand, for the vision is for an appointed time, which will be punctually observed, though it tarries past our time.