Archive for the ‘Tim’s Torah Takes’ Category

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Genesis 3:1 …No More Excuses

January 26, 2009

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Lord God had made.  And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”  Genesis 3:1

 

Our enemy loves it when we question the Living God at His Word.  In the Bible, we are given good instructions from The Holy One in everything from the holidays we should observe to the foods we should eat.  He has defined sexual immorality and shown us how to treat one another as we walk out our lives in plain view of the God of creation.  He gives instructions concerning the widow and the orphan along with how we are to worship Him. Everything it takes for us to live a holy and blessed life before Him has been shown to us in His Torah. Yet, it seems that our enemy continues to have success in convincing many Christians that God does not really mean what He says, that His Commandments have been changed, or somehow done away with.  How can this be? Is Ha Satan really that good at smooth talking Christianity into forsaking God’s Word?  Are we that slow to learn the lessons from the garden?  I for one am no longer willing to place all the blame at Ha Satan’s feet.  Neither will I label Christians as slow learners thus somehow justifying our disobedience to God’s Word.  I believe the truth hurts a bit more than that.

 

The truth is, we really have no excuse for sin, which is transgression of God’s Law. (1 John 3:4) Even deception cannot be called upon to justify disobedience to God’s instructions. Now, many might say “wait a minute Tim, Eve was deceived while Adam transgressed”.  And while this is true, I submit to you that it is not the whole truth. In 1 Timothy 2:14 Paul says “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression”.  Notice that yes, Eve was deceived.  But also notice that it led to transgression resulting in death for Eve as well as for Adam.  Both were guilty in the end.  Neither path was a good one. As Believers we are warned, if not commanded repeatedly, not to be deceived.  In Galatians 6:7 Paul admonishes us “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life”. Deuteronomy 11:16 gives further proof that being deceived will not let us off the hook. It says “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you…”  Need some more proof?  Paul says in Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

 

In the end, our success or failure to walk uprightly before the Lord comes down to a simple choice with no excuses for choosing wrongly.  Notice I did not say easy choice…I said simple choice. There is a big difference.  You and I have the simple choice of taking God at His Word or walking according to our own fleshly desires while trying to justify it with differing sorts of ear tickling cop-outs.  As we have seen, even deception fails to excuse us.  Each day we are given the simple choice of choosing the blessing or the curse…life or death.  The Master reminds us that we are not to just read every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, but that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) Again, there is a big difference. Living by God’s Word means actual physical obedience to God’s Word with our very lives, even if it costs us something.  And it will cost you something.  As His Disciples however, we were to have already counted that cost and considered it worth the paying.

 

From this day forward, may each of us purpose in our hearts to walk according to the Spirit, in total obedience to His Word. Let us stop being deceived by articulate words spoken by those who value traditions of men over the Commandments of God and begin to obey God’s instructions, simply embracing them with every ounce of strength we have.  No more excuses.

 

Deuteronomy 30:19 says “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;  

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Numbers 16:21-26…Get Away!

April 11, 2008

So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” Numbers 16:23-24…And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” Numbers 16:26 

As we have learned, the uprising of Korah and his followers was more than just a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. It was in actuality, a rebellion against the Holy One of Israel.  It was He who chose Aaron to be High Priest…it was He who chose Moses to be the prophet to whom which He spoke face to face… and it was He who had chosen Moses as the leader of Israel. Yet, Korah had somehow convinced 250 “leaders of the congregation…”men of renown”… to actually stand against God and His spoken Word.  How foolish you might say.  Couldn’t these “leaders” of the congregation see what was happening and speak out against Korah before it was too late?  Had they not promised to do “all that the Lord our God says” as spoken thru Moses? How could they be so deceived and turned around?

Again, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that these events were written down as a warning for us in these last days, that we might avoid making the mistakes of our forefathers.  Question…Have we learned the lesson?  Could we ever be deceived into taking a stand with our words or our lives that is in complete opposition to God’s Holy Word? Are we able to recognize “Korah” and the need to “get away”? I believe these questions are relevant for today. 

(The following is spoken in love. For many years I myself was caught up in the rebellion of Korah.  I was able to get away in time only because of God’s grace in my life, only because someone had the guts to challenge me with Scripture and I had the guts to check them out.  I would like to do for you what someone once did for me. I encourage you to praise God for his grace poured out thru His Son Jesus, (Yeshua). He is our Salvation.  I also encourage you ask yourself the hard question…Is it possible that I and some of those around me have strayed from God’s Word?  Are we really living as we should be as “sons of Abraham”? It’s an important question)

In the book of Jude we are warned about men who in our time would “turn the grace of our God into lewdness” and “perish in the rebellion of Korah”. Despite this clear warning, very few who call themselves bible believing Christians even know who Korah was. This does not bode well when you consider that the Master Himself, quoting from the Torah said in Matthew 4:4 that “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Take heed, for out here in this final wilderness, Korah is both alive and well in the camp. In the spirit of Korah, many “leaders” of the congregation, “men of renown” are once again standing against God and His Word. Contrary to the words of Jesus (Yeshua) (Matthew 5:17-19) Paul (2 Timothy 3:16) and John (1John 5:3) there are actually some pastors and leaders today, who declare boldly that the Word of God as given thru Moses is no longer valid for instruction in righteousness.  Instead, they teach that Torah has been “done away with” or “nailed to the cross”, and that God’s people are now “free in Christ” to live contrary to some of the very Scriptures our Master lived out and taught from.  Eating the detestable and ignoring God’s Sabbath’s and Appointed Times are now fully permissible according to those taking part in this rebellion.  Using things of pagan origins to worship God is acceptable as well (christmas trees and easter eggs) as long as it’s done in the name of Jesus. Instead of relying on Scripture to define sin, (1John 3:4) they teach people to “follow their hearts” and to repent only upon “feeling convicted”.  Friends, anyone teaching you that sin can be defined by something less than the “transgression of Torah” as given thru Moses, stands contrary to God’s Word just as Korah did.

As you must know, the Lord God has always called His people to be separate and distinct…to be holy as He is holy.  (Leviticus 11:44-47, 1 Peter 1:13-15)  From Genesis to Revelation, He makes it clear that we must line our definition of sin up with His Word and repent if needed.  The rebellion of Korah continues to this day…as does the warning from God to separate ourselves from this sin before it is too late… 

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4

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Genesis 1:1-2:3 — Back to the Future

June 11, 2007

   In a prayer of Moses from Psalms 90:4 we hear “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past…” Some believe that God’s literal six day creation and His seventh day Sabbath foreshadow a literal seven thousand year period of time for mankind on earth.  Could they be wrong?  Sure. But it is interesting to note that when speaking of the end times Peter gave us an intriguing word of advice saying…“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2Peter 3:8)  So…just for fun let’s look at each day and compare it to the corresponding thousand year period of earth history. 

First Day –“And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”  (Genesis 1:4) 

During the first “day” (thousand years) we see sin enter the world thru Adam. Because of this sin, God removes Adam and Eve from the garden along with access to the tree of life. It would seem that during this first “day” God indeed had to separate light from darkness.  It is also interesting to note that Adam was told in Genesis 2:17 that “in the day” he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die, yet we know that Adam lived to be 930 years old. (Gen 5:5)  However if we heed Peter’s words…we find that indeed Adam did die in the “day” in which he ate from the forbidden tree. 

Second Day–“Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”  Genesis 1:6   

The second day is all about waters being separated. Evidently, before God created this “firmament” called heaven, the waters of heaven were mingled together with the waters of earth.  Curiously, the most notable event during the second 1000 year “day” of earth history, involved Noah and the flood.  The Bible teaches that the flood occurred when God broke up the fountains of the great deep and opened the “windows of heaven.” (Genesis 7:11) Once again we find the waters of heaven and the waters of earth all in one place and once again, only God can separate them bringing an end to the flood which He does. “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.” Genesis 8:2 

Third Day—“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth;” Genesis 1:11

 In the third “day” of earth we see Abraham take center stage. God tells Abraham in Genesis 17:6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful…” As well, He says of Abraham in Genesis 22:18 that “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  

Fourth Day—“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens…God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night” Genesis 1:14-17   

The moon and stars shine their light down onto a dark world making it possible for us to see even in the middle of the night.  So too, the prophets were sent to shine the light of truth into a dark world.  They not only exposed the sins of the people…they illuminated the way back to God thru repentance and a return to His Torah.  

 Fifth Day—“Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures”. Genesis 1:20  

How fitting it is that the fifth day of creation is all about water and life. During this same “day” Messiah would come to earth offering life to all who are thirsty.  In John 7::37 we hear Yeshua cry out to all at the Feast of Tabernacles “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”.  Praise Him! 

Sixth Day—“Let Us make man in Our image…Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it…”Genesis 1:26-28  

During this sixth “day” it is obvious that indeed mankind has been fruitful. The last thousand years have seen a population explosion that can easily be described as “filling the earth”. Daniel by the way, was shown that “many” would run to and fro and that knowledge would increase in last days. (Daniel 12:4)  

 Seventh Day—“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Genesis 2:2 

 The day we long for! We read in the book of the Revelation that when Messiah returns He will bind up Satan, establish His Kingdom here on earth for a thousand years  ruling and reigning, bringing a “day” of rest. (Revelation 20:1-6) Are you ready for this Sabbath rest? Have you entered into the rest that can only be found in Messiah Yeshua?   

The Eighth day—What then? What about after the thousand year reign of Messiah? 

In the Bible the number eight is usually thought to point to a “new beginning.” or “cleansing.”  For example we know that there were eight people in the ark when God destroyed the earth with the flood to begin again with Noah. With that in mind listen to John describe our future immediately following the seven “days” or seven thousand years of earth history. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  Also there was no more sea…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” “Behold I make all things new.”  Revelation 21:1, 4, 5    

“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done,” Isaiah 46:9-10

Tim’s Torah Take –Seeds of Restoration            www.seedsofrestoration.wordpress.com     

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Departure from Sinai– Numbers 10:11-13

June 10, 2007

Numbers 10:11-13 Departure from Sinai  For more than a year now the children of Israel have been dwelling with their God in the Wilderness of Sinai.  During this time they have come to know Him more intimately as a God who is faithful to keep His word, a God who is able to both deliver them and sustain them. After having delivered them from their cruel bondage in Egypt with His mighty outstretched arm, He has been providing their every need as they live together in the wilderness.  Does Israel need water? No problem.  What about food? No problem…it’s taken care of.  All that is required to sustain life for Israel is abundantly provided.  They have also come to know Him as a very jealous God. In Exodus 34:14 He declared… “for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  With the golden calf incident fresh in their memory, it had become very clear that God was indeed serious when He had said “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.”  Any wife knows that a good husband is willing to fight to protect his wife and family.  He is willing to work to provide for their needs.  He is both loving and jealous and…just as God delivered the instructions of Torah to His people so too does a loving husband and father give good instructions to his family out of a great love with a desire to see them do well. In the end, when it comes right down to it…a good husband and father loves them enough to lay down his life willingly for theirs.  No questions asked.  God will continue to show Himself to be the perfect husband for His Israel. 

Much has been written detailing the amazing similarities between God’s relationship with us as His people Israel, and the marriage relationship of a husband and wife. Beginning with His words of declaration for us as mentioned above, to the “ketubah” or “marriage contract” He offered us in the form of the Torah.  To which by the way, the children of Israel clearly said “I do” in Exodus 19:8.Even the cloud (Exodus 19:16) which settled over the mountain is likened to a canopy often used in a Jewish wedding ceremony.  “What about the ring as a sign of the never ending love between husband and wife?” you might ask. “Where do we find that in this story?” Look again… “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever…” Exodus 31:13, 17 

A short while back while studying some of these things, I noticed the following Torah instruction given in Deuteronomy 24 verse 5.  It says… “When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business, he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.”  What a great instruction. Doesn’t it make since that a new husband and wife would have some time to get to know one another without being burdened by war and all the other things that will soon enough face them as marriage partners? God actually commands a honeymoon! Now, I had skimmed over this instruction previously…but this time something changed.  I stopped and asked myself the question…”If we are as His bride…surely this is a commandment that God would keep or “fulfill.”  With a little digging, God provided the answer… Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the testimony.  And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran.  So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. Numbers 10:11-13  

Tim’s Torah Take –Seeds of Restoration  

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Exodus 12:1-28

April 5, 2007

These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their “appointed times”. Leviticus 23:4 

He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My appointed time is near.  I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.” Matthew 26:18 

In Exodus 12:1-28 the children of
Israel and the strangers dwelling with
Israel…are given instructions concerning the feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread.  They are told to choose a lamb on the tenth day of the month called Nissan.  They must keep this lamb for four days and make sure that it is without blemish.  Also on the first day, they are to clean all leaven out of their houses…making sure they eat nothing that could contain leaven for the next seven days.   On the fourteenth day of Nissan they are to kill the Passover lamb, taking some of the blood and applying it to their doorposts.  They are instructed how to eat the flesh, with a warning not to break any of the lamb’s bones. And they are told in verse 14 that “this day shall be to you a memorial and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations.”  

In Matthew chapter 21 we read of Yeshua’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  As He makes His way into the city, the multitudes wave palm branches as they cry out “Hosanna” which means “save us”.  In John chapter 1:29 John the baptizer had declared “Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  Our Master’s very name Yeshua means “Salvation” in Hebrew. It would seem that now, four days before Passover, on the very day God had instructed His children to choose a Passover Lamb…the people were making their choice… Yeshua…of
Nazareth would be their Passover Lamb!  

Next in the Scriptures we see Yeshua going into the Temple and driving out all the money changers while declaring “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer but you have made it a den of thieves.”  As according to Torah, the people were busy cleaning their houses of leaven (representing sin) in anticipation of Passover. It turns out the Master was cleansing His Father’s house as well. Then for the next few days, we see Him questioned by the chief priests and elders…the Pharisees and the Sadducees until finally, in Matthew 22:46 we hear “And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.”  In Luke 23:14-15 Pilate declares “having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man…neither did Herod…nothing deserving of death has been done by Him”.  

Yeshua, the chosen Passover Lamb had passed the examination and was found to be without spot or blemish! As we know, Messiah would be crucified as that perfect Passover sacrifice. At the very time the lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple, being skinned and hung on wooden poles…so too our Messiah hung on the wooden cross and breathed His last at the very hour of the Passover sacrifices. While it was common to break the legs of the one being crucified to bring death…Yeshua was far from common. He was the Lamb of God chosen before the foundation of the world… (1Peter 1:18-20) chosen, for this “appointed time.”  No one killed Jesus…He willingly gave Himself up for us. Without a bone broken, He cried out “It is finished”. (John 19:30-36) His Appointed Time” had come. Praise the Lord for His willing sacrifice!

 

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Exodus 12:36

March 9, 2007

“Now the Children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.  And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight o the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested.  Thus they plundered the Egyptians” Exodus 12:35-36 

Here we find that not only does God plague Pharaoh to the point he tells the children of Israel to leave…but God also uses Egypt to bless Israel with much wealth as a going away present!  What an awesome God we serve! With all of this in mind…let’s take time to review what we have seen happen so far in the lives of Jacob’s children…starting from the time they came to be in Egypt…to the time they came out of Egypt. We will do so by highlighting seven key events from the story thus far.  Here we go…  

1) There is a famine in the land.  (Gen 42:5) 2) There is a journey down to Egypt by God’s chosen. (Gen 42:1-5)   3) Time passes and in the book of the Exodus, we find a Pharaoh who does not recognize the God of Abraham, or know that Israel is His chosen bride. (Exodus 5:2)   4) Pharaoh brings Israel into his servitude. (Exodus 1:13)   5) God plagues Pharaoh and Egypt because of His people Israel.  (Exodus 3:19-20).  6)  Finally, Pharaoh tells Israel to go!! Get Out!! (Exodus 12:31)   7) When they go, they plunder Egypt as we just saw, leaving with silver, gold, and other riches. (Exodus 3:22, 12:35-36)   8) Finally, (fast forward) Moses gets to see the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 32:48-49)  

Now…pay special attention as we go back in time a bit and look at seven key events from the lives of Abram and Sarai as found in Genesis chapter 12.  Notice the similarities… 1) Verse 10 There is a famine in the land; and 2) Abram went down to Egypt.  3) Verses 11-13 The Pharaoh of Egypt does not know that Sarai is Abrams wife.  4) Verse 15 Pharaoh takes Sarai into his servitude.  5) Verse 17 God plagues Pharaoh because of Sarai, Abrams wife.  6) Verse 19 Pharaoh tells Abram to take his wife and Go! 7) Verse 16 They leave Egypt with much wealth. 8)Now jump ahead a little to Genesis 13: 14-15 and you will see God showing Abram the Promised Land!!   Coincidence? I believe not.

In Isaiah 46:8-10 God gives an interesting instruction concerning things of the past.  He says…”Recall to mind, O you transgressors.  Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done”.  As I have shared before, Paul twice informs us that these events from the lives of our fathers were written down for the children…those upon whom the ends of the ages fall.  That’s us.  God has been revealing parts of His prophetic plan thru the events of our ancestors. From the very beginning…literally…God had a plan and He has everything under control.  All we have to do is trust, obey and watch, as the past unfolds before our very eyes… “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.  For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem…Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…Judah also will fight at Jerusalem And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together; Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance”.  Zechariah 14:1,14:3 and 14:14 Tim’s Torah Take—Seeds of Restoration    

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Exodus 6:2-9

March 9, 2007

And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.  “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD (YHVH I was not known to them. “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage in which they were strangers.  “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 

In the bible… names have meaning.  The name spoke to the character, the events or the calling in the life of a person. Abraham for instance means “father of many”. While many may refer to our Master as Jesus…His real Hebrew name is actually Yeshua which literally means “salvation”. Knowing His real name brings the text to life when you read “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name “Salvation” for He will save His people from their sins.”(Matthew 1:21), or when you hear Moses say “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today“. (Exodus 14:13) By knowing the true name of Messiah, we understand a great truth concerning His mission among His people.  It is no different with God’s Holy Name.  While Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew what God’s Holy Name was… (Genesis 15:7-8) Moses and the children of Israel were about to gain a better understanding of what His Holy Name means.  God was about to reveal that “The Name” keeps His promises…He fulfills His covenants…He is faithful and trustworthy. The children of Israel were going to see firsthand the fulfillment of something that had been foretold for generations…their redemption from Egypt by great judgments.   “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.  And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions”. (Gen 15:13-14) 

In Exodus 6:6-8 Moses is instructed to share the good news with the children of Israel. The time had come…their redemption was finally at hand! Sadly however, this good news was unable to be received.  “So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage”. Exodus 6:9 It would seem the children of Israel were unable to believe the words of Moses after so many years of suffering and heartbreak. After all, they had buried whole generations of those who had spoken of this great redemption…this “exodus” from Egypt… yet the children of Israel remained as slaves under the burdens of Pharaoh. After so many years of affliction, Egypt had taken its toll on the faith of Israel.  

As I write this…there are many of us as God’s children today, the redeemed of Israel, who are struggling to hear and receive God’s promises. Because of our own “anguish of spirit” we are unable to really believe that “Salvation” is coming…that our redemption from this totally messed up “Egypt” is certain and true. Sure, we have read what is written concerning our final deliverance from “Egypt” when God pours out His judgments on this earth. We have heard the prophecies…we know the teachings of Messiah and can quote Peter and Paul as they encourage us to stand strong to the end looking forward to God’s great restoration.  Yet often, the words can seem very distant and elusive to us as we toil and struggle with the realities of “life outside the garden” as my good friend Jim Denman might say.   Once again…Egypt is taking its toll.  The Pharaoh of this world is pulling out all the stops to break our spirit and to crush the hope we have been given by faith in God thru Messiah. Distractions…deception… persecution…wars and natural disasters are becoming and will become the normative for all who live in these last days. It will become increasingly difficult for those who are grounded in the Word of God to stand firm in their faith…to hold onto the promises of God…to actually believe while witnessing the world fall apart around them and their families. But for those who have only heaped up for themselves teachers who tickle their ears once a week…for those who do not learn from the examples God gave us in His Torah, (1Cor 10:11) it will prove almost impossible. 

Our Master tells us in Matthew 24:12 that “because lawlessness or “Torah-less ness” will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved”.   As we walk out these final days in Egypt, may we remember what our forefathers learned concerning the Lord. May we dig into His Word and learn that our God is a faithful God…He always keeps His promises and He always remembers His covenants with His people. We who have trusted in Him will see the dawning of the day when Messiah reigns on earth and all tears are wiped away.  We will enter into the Promised Land and live forever with Him. No matter what happens in the days ahead…no matter how bad things appear…keep looking up.  Yeshua…our Salvation is coming…  “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near”.  Luke 21:28 Tim’s Torah Take—Seeds of Restoration   

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Exodus 5:1-12

March 9, 2007

Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.” And Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? Exodus 5:1-2Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.” So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.  And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before.  You shall not reduce it.  For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words. Exodus 5:4-9 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. Exodus 5:12

As we continue on in the book of Exodus we now find the children of Israel living a land where the king no longer knows of Joseph or his God…the God of Israel. It is a land of many so called gods…including Pharaoh! It is a land full of trials and great oppression for God’s people. Yet, in the midst of this bondage and affliction, the children of the Living God are given instruction to keep a pilgrimage “feast” in the wilderness.  Didn’t God know the difficulties that would result from this instruction?  Couldn’t He see how Pharaoh would react…how life in
Egypt would become still more difficult for those who seek to follow the God of Abraham?

If you listen, you will hear the lives of our fathers, who lived as strangers in Egypt, echoing thru the years into our lives, as we walk thru this world. There are those today who have been given the responsibility of understanding that as the “seed of Abraham” (Galatians 3:29) as disciples of Messiah…we too have instruction to keep “feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23) including His 7th day Sabbath…no matter the consequences.  Jesus said that if we love Him, we should keep His commandments.(John 14:15) In the midst of a world which for the most part no longer recognizes the God of Israel or His Torah…we are called to walk in ways which seem very foreign to most.  Is it any surprise that we should encounter some difficulties as we seek to worship our Father as He instructed? Is it any wonder that the god of this world, the system which seeks to keep us in servitude, is vehemently opposed to our being obedient to any other?  Is it any wonder that our enemy does not want us to be gathered together in worship of our Father in “spirit and in truth” but instead wants us to be scattered throughout the land…chasing after “stubble”?

The Bible teaches us that His Commandments are not burdensome. (1John 5:3)  Our sufferings come not from His instructions…but from the fallen world in which we live. Let us be encouraged as we remember how our fathers were brought out of Egypt…rescued from their bondage and redeemed with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (Exodus 6:6) “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them”. Exodus 7:5

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Exodus 1:7

March 9, 2007

“But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty;’ and the land was filled with them”. Exodus 1:7“But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. Exodus 1:12

As we begin to move thru this Torah portion from the book of Exodus…we suddenly find five descriptive terms in just one verse bursting forth with the faithfulness of God’s promises. Could it be we are to take special note for some reason? Are we to understand that even in the midst of Israel’s affliction in Egypt, His word is faithful and true?  In just one verse…we are allowed to witness a prophetic preview, to the fulfillment of a promise God made to our father Abraham. Unlike us thankfully, He keeps His promises.

God had told Abraham “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you and kings shall come from you. Genesis 17:6 Because of Abraham’s obedience (Gen 26:5) Isaac, the son of promise was also told “And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 26:4 In Genesis 28:14 Jacob is told by God that his “descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Then in last week’s portion we saw Israel (Jacob) bless Ephraim and Manasseh, adopting these two grandchildren as his own sons, (Gen 48:5) bestowing upon Joseph in effect…a double blessing.  In a continuation of the promise made to Abraham…Jacob’s blessing upon these sons of Joseph once again speaks prophetically to our future…the future of Israel. In Genesis 48:16 he said “And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth”. Of Manasseh and Ephraim he said “He (Manasseh-which means “forgetfulness”) also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother (Ephraim-which means “fruitfulness”) shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a “multitude of nations” or “melo hagoyim” Gen 48:19.

I believe Paul references these very same physical descendants, the “melo hagoyim”who would fill the earth in Romans 11:25-26. Speaking of the future Israel being reunited and saved Paul says “For I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the “fullness of the Gentiles” or (“multitude of nations” or “melo hagoyim”) has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written…”

Today as you and I seek to live according to God’s Commandments in the midst of “Egypt,” life can be very lonely and tiresome. As we journeyed thru the life of Joseph…it was impossible not to notice his weeping…his heartbreaks…the false accusations and the separations. In short…it was a difficult life. Can you relate? If so…be encouraged and remember, Joseph was “sown” into Egypt “to save many people” (Gen 50:2) … what the enemy meant for evil…God means for good! So too have we been sown into “Egypt” that in the end…according to His will… “all Israel will be saved.” May the light of Messiah shine bright in each of us!

Be assured, God’s word is true…a bountiful harvest is approaching. (Hosea 1:10)  He who has been “declaring the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10) has once again been “filling up” the land of “Egypt” right under the very eyes of “Pharaoh,” “multiplying” the “Israel of God”, even in the midst of affliction and trial. I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back. Because I have mercy on them.  They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the Lord their God.  And I will hear them.  Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes their children shall see it and be glad, their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will whistle for them and gather them.  For I will redeem them: And they shall increase as they once increased. Zechariah 10:6-8

Tim’s Torah Take-Seeds of Restoration

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