In this study

Stand up against the grooming of the bullies (Exodus 13:17–15:27)Road to compromise and collaboration can be paved with good intentionsHow was Israel washed by a cloud? (1Corinthians 10:1–14)How does a cloud baptize?Flee idolatry: ‘Earth Day’ vs. Creator DayCan we trust Heaven without signs and miracles? (John 19:38–20:29)‘Train up a child’: Children don’t know what they don’t know

Stand up against the grooming of the bullies (Exodus 13:17–15:27)

When I’ve read through the book of Revelation, I often wondered why the unrighteous will attack the New Jerusalem, God’s stronghold on Earth (Rev. 20:7–10). It seems utterly illogical and futile to face such power, right?

But we see this same chutzpah personified with Pharaoh and his army, chasing down the Israelites even after they experienced the 10 supernatural plagues on their nation and even as they confront Israel near the Red Sea. There was a supernatural cloud obstructing their view of their enemy. God gave Pharaoh plenty of opportunities to exercise some humility, but he stubbornly refused.

He was like a school yard bully. When children lose their fear of the bully, the bully loses his power over them.

The Day of the LORD, as foretold in Revelation and elsewhere, is all about dismantling the power of the Adversary1 on the Earth. That’s why there are a number of parallels between, for example, the trumpet prophecies in Revelation and the plagues in Exodus.

The children of the Adversary are always after the children of Heaven. There’s a lot of talk today about “grooming.” What is it? We think of it very narrowly, but what it means in the broadest sense is preparing one for a specific duty, such as when an employee starts a new job. The employer trains the employee for the position within the company.

However, what we are observing is that those who are in power and/or authority, either because of their governmental office or because of their massive wealth, are using their money and their authority to groom children, who are the most vulnerable to persuasion, away from the authority of their parents and toward themselves. They use various tactics and and may pull the children in many directions, but all those directions are to pull the next generation away from the natural, God-given authority of their parents.

God tells us in the 10 Commandments that children are duty bound to honor their mother and father (Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16). The parents are the ones who have been given the authority and responsibility by God to train their children.

God tells us that it’s the duty of parents to prepare their children for adulthood. The Bible describes children as arrows (Psalm 127:14), which are to be to sent towards a target. Those arrows are not to be shot willy-nilly, but with forethought and with a goal in mind. And that goal should be towards teaching them to become righteous, upright adults. 

Road to compromise and collaboration can be paved with good intentions<...

In this study

Yeshua’s triumphant entry (Matthew 21)Balaam shouldn’t have had to hear it from his donkey (Numbers 22:21–33)Meanings of four offerings in the TorahIs the problem that your ‘donkey’ is unbridled? (James 1:13–27)

“But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.” Exodus 13:13 NASB

When God inflicted the final plague on the Egyptians in killing their firstborn, this event persuaded the pharaoh to drive the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in the early morning hours of the 15th of Nisan (first month of biblical Israel’s calendar). The next day, on the 16th of Nisan, God told the Israelites that they will set aside the firstborn that He has now purchased them as His own. God now owns the firstborn. 

The firstborn who are covered here are the firstborn sons, not firstborn daughters. The redemption of the first born of male livestock and male humans make sense. The first born male of livestock must be offered to God and the firstborn of humans must be redeemed, but the outlier is the redemption of the first born of the donkey, or any similar animal, such as horses. 

For a donkey, you can either redeem it with a lamb or goat, or you have to kill it by breaking its neck. It can’t be offered as a sacrifice on God’s altar. You also can’t redeem it with money like you do for a first born son. The donkey must be redeemed with either a lamb or a goat. 

It does seem odd that the donkey is the only unclean animal that must be redeemed or be killed. What did the donkey ever do to anybody? Why kill it? 

The donkey is a symbol of us. Just as the lamb or goat stands in place of the donkey, Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), the Lamb of God,  takes our place. If the donkey is not redeemed, it is killed. If we are not redeemed, we will die. 

Why does God use the donkey in this symbolism. Why is the donkey the only unclean animal that has to be redeemed, and not dogs or cats? There’s a reason why God chose the donkey for this symbolism.  

There are several important stories in the Bible in which a donkey plays a pivotal role. The first one is recorded in Genesis 22, where we read about the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. In this text, and a few others, we will learn what the bible teaches regarding the donkey’s tasks. Hint: Its physical and spiritual duties are similar. 

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (Genesis 22:1–3 NASB)

In this story, we see that the donkey’s role is as a beast of burden. It’s job is to carry stuff too heavy for humans to carry. Abraham’s donkey was carrying the sacrificial implements needed to offer up Isaac. The donkey’s job was to carry the offering to the ...

In this study

Toxic mold of the soulHair of the metzora and the nazirBow to Leper Messiah (Isaiah 52:13–53:123 Jewish views of the ‘Suffering Servant’ prophecyTongue got your tzaraʿat?

The Torah reading מְּצֹרָע Metzora (“leper,” Leviticus 14–15) is not primarily a discourse on public health, although the “in your face” about physical processes both normal and abnormal for men and can be distasteful. As we explored in the previous reading, תזריע Tazria, there is a level of understanding beneath the physical, with spiritual applications we can apply to our lives today. 

Here’s a list of the most important vocabulary words for Vayiqra generally and Tazria–Metzora specifically:

* offering, gift = קָרְבָּן qorban (H7133a) = what approaches (the Presence)* holy = קֹדֶשׁ qodesh (H6944) = set apart for…* clean = טָהוֹר tahor (H2889) = fit to approach the Presence* unclean = טָמֵא tamé/tamei (H2931) = unfit to approach the Presence, not necessarily because of unworthiness* leprosy = צָרַעַת tzaraʿat (H6883)* the leper = הַמְּצֹרָע ha-metzorah (H6879)

Vayiqra (book of Leviticus) was written primarily for the priesthood, so they could understand how to perform their duties. The Levites and priests were called upon not only to maintain the Tabernacle services, but they were also called up on to teach nation as a whole how to R

In this study

Arbitrary ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ foods; Heaven’s ‘arbitrary’ mercyHoly: Set apart to join Heaven’s rescue mission to EarthBeware when diving in to save drowning humanity‘Survival of the fittest’ or ‘fit’ to be at rest?Choose and remain on the path that leads to life

In Leviticus 1–8, the focus primarily on instructions for offerings brought by the people and the priests. Now in the Torah reading שמיני Shemini (“eighth,” Leviticus 9–11) we learn that we need to be on our guard for the things that Heaven says makes one “fit” or “unfit” to enter the Kingdom of God.

The principle that is reinforced here is that just as one prepares physically to come closer to the presence of God as it was in the Tabernacle, so too we should be constantly preparing our spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, which is our lifetime goal. God is delivering us from where we were before (“house of bondage“) and preparing us to be with Him in the Kingdom.

So basically, we’re to focus on the things that are in our control. If a loved one dies in bed next to you and you become “unclean” for a period of time, that is outside your control. But there are things that are within our control, and God calls on His people to be mindful of those things and avoid them. Don’t go out seeking the detestable things.

Heaven is taking all of humanity from bondage to a way of life that leads to the second death to eternal life and rest.

Before the Flood, we are told in the Torah that the people’s thoughts were evil and inclined toward violence continually (Gen. 6:5). Think about the damage that people can do to a culture or a civilization in just a few decades. Well, just imagine a few centuries of damage that people can do if they divert away from the path of God. They have a lot of time to invent new ways of going into evil.

Arbitrary ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ foods; Heaven’s ‘arbitrary’ mercy

When we read through the list (Leviticus 11) of what animals are “clean” (טָהֵר taher, H2891, “fit”) for human consumption and those things that are “unclean” (טָמֵא tameʾ, H2931, “not fit”), some of the carve-outs are arbitrary. For example, locusts and grasshoppers are “fit” for food, but other swarming insects aren’t.

Similarly, “arbitrary” grace of God that lifted the Gentiles from being unclean to clean. However, those of us who are Gentiles do not present ourselves to God in a “foreign” way, with “foreign” fire as Nadab and Abihu did (Lev. 10:1–2).

The reason that God called certain foods “clean” and certain foods unclean is the sovereign decision of God. He made the distinction between the fit and unfit and we are called to obey His instructions regarding what is food and what is not food even if we don’t fully understand the distincti...

In this study

Kosher curricula: What are we supposed to learn from meticulous attention to food?Hosea and Hebrews: Shadows of heart connection with HeavenEating with ‘tax collectors and sinners’Big sins, big repentance, big forgiveness: Lessons and warnings from the lives of Manasseh and AaronForgiveness for the mastermind of the Golden Calf

The Torah reading צו Tzav (“command,” Lev. 6:8–8:36) gives us the “show and tell” of how Israel’s high priest and the other priests were ordained and dedicated to God. Moses was showing Aaron and their sons how to do their work. You can give someone a book to read but we learn better when we can also watch and see how the task is to be performed.

Most of the ceremony was public, at least for the men of the community who were clean. This was the last time Moses conducted any sacrifices to God. 

Kosher curricula: What are we supposed to learn from meticulous attention to food?

“Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water.” Leviticus 6:28 NASB

This verse is where we find the general rules on how to make cooking items in our kitchen kosher. Metal or glass pots and utensils that make contact with unclean meats can be scoured and cleaned with soap and water while earthen vessels, plastic or wooden items that make contact with unclean meat have to be thrown out. 

I actually had a “kosher emergency” in my house not too long ago. Someone came to visit and brought a container with a shrimp dish in it to my home. When they were finished eating, they put the container in my sink, where my other dirty dishes were sitting. I threw away all the plastic and wood items that were in the sink with the shrimp dish. All the metal items had to be scoured throughly and cleaned. I did all of this because unclean food was put into my sink. 

“So whoever breaks one of the least [important] of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19 Amplified Bible

I took this “kosher emergency” with the shrimp in my sink as a learning experience. It was not so much learning how to clean my kitchen than a lesson in diligence in all areas of life, even my spiritual life. How diligent am I in following God’s instructions? What example do I present to those around me? 

I don’t want to be in that category of disobeying even the littlest commandments and teaching others to do so as well. I just want to be in the Kingdom, but I don’t want to be at the bottom. 

It’s important to keep the ritual items of the tabernacle clean but it’s also important to keep our homes clean. It’s also important to keep ourselves spiritually clean. 

With most things in the Torah, where there is a law, there is an example of someone breaking it. These lessons are important so we can understand how God t...

In this study

What would Jesus do? Deal with your interpersonal problems before: ‘Heaven and I have an understanding’God after man’s own heartPattern for the New Covenant‘Who will set me free from the body of this death?’: Isaiah and Paul preach the gospel of the KingdomFall and rise of Israel: From cloud to calf to cloudYou didn’t give the tree ‘living water,’ so why are you worshipping it?

“The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise. Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob; But you have become weary of Me, O Israel. You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, Nor wearied you with incense.” Isaiah 43:21–23 NASB

In this parallel passage to the Torah reading ויקרא Vayikra (“and He called,” Lev. 1:1–6:7), Isaiah was speaking here after the destruction Jerusalem and the holy Mishkan1 by the Babylonians. Isaiah was writing to a people who were far, far away from home. They were not able to bring any sort of offerings to God’s temple. What could they do? They were not able to bring any sort of offerings, but what could they do in this situation?

What the Babylonian exiles experienced is similar to what we read about in the The book of Hebrews, when the author says that “these are things which are fading away and are about to disappear” (Heb. 8:13). The Letter to the Hebrews was written in the mid- to late 60s A.D. What happened a few years after this letter was written? In A.D. 70, an oppressive power — this time, Rome — again came in and destroyed Jerusalem, and again destroyed the Temple.

The Jewish people who survived the Roman reconquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple had to ask themselves the same question the Babylonian exiles asked themselves: How do we worship God, bring offerings without the Temple?

Hebrews talks about the items and rituals of the Temple being “shadows” (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 8:5; 10:1). Shadows of what?

So the people were sitting in exile — no Temple, no Tabernacle. Yet, the LORD asks through the prophet Isaiah, “Where are your offerings?”

At that point, God has basically given them a timeout in exile because of their lack of regard for other people and their Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer — their Rock. They don’t have to bring their offerings to the Temple anymore because they can’t physically go through the ceremonies related to the Mishkan to the temple anymore, but yet, they are still weary of God.

The same thing that happened in the hearts of the people leading up to the Babylonian exile and during the exile is the same thing that happened during the end of the Second Temple period. The hearts of the people were not engaged in what was going on in the Temple.

The “burden” of the Temple is no longer there, yet they were still tired of God. They still did not understand the purpose of the offerings. The sacrifices were not about the forgiveness of sins...

In this study

Moshe prays for internal purity of Israel (Psalm 90)Accounting for mercy: Yeshua’s parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–17)

It took about six to nine months to complete the Mishkan and before the Mishkan was completed, Moses’ personal tent possibly was the Tent of Meeting in which the people would come to inquire of Moses and HaShem about right and wrong. But once the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was completed, the Tent of Meeting slowly transfers from Moses’ personal tent to the courtyard of the Mishkan.

The Torah reveals to us that Moses was an upright and honest man. We all would love to have a reputation as good as that of Moses. No one asked Moses for an accounting of the donation to the tabernacle, but he did so anyway. He made a detailed record what was brought in and how it was used. The fact that Moses did this reinforces his reputation for honesty and forthrightness.

When people have power, it’s a struggle to maintain one’s honesty and uprightness but one way to exercise power responsibly is to humble oneself enough to be willing to make an account of one’s actions in the exercise of authority. Moses was successful in this regard, which is why the Torah tells us that Moses was also a very humble man.

We are the tabernacles of God, but what do we look like on the inside? Are we clothed in silver, gold, scarlet and blue inside full of God’s beauty and honor? Or are we clothed inside with filth and death? Our goal is to be light enough and pleasant enough for God to want to live in us.

Moshe prays for internal purity of Israel (Psalm 90)

When Moses saw the work was completed, Moses wrote Psalm 90 in response to what he saw when the Mishkan was completed.

You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.Psalm 90:8 NASB

Our iniquities and secret sins are not pleasing to God. The question is do we ignore these things and allow our dwellings to become a dungeon, or do we fix it, clean it and make our bodies worthy of God’s inhabitation? We can’t be perfect all the time, but when we fall down, we get up, clean up and do better. This process doesn’t stop until the moment we die and it’s an honor to us that God gives us so many chances to repent.

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.Psalm 90:12 NASB

Cherish the time you have on earth to repent and prepare yourself for the Kingdom of God. Our time on earth is when we have opportunity to improve ourselves and make ourselves ready to meet with God.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.Psalm 90:17 NASB

Accounting for mercy: Yeshua’s parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–17)

Just as Moses calls on us to “confirm the work of our hands” before God and to repent where we fall short, so too Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) does through His many parables. Today, I want to look at the Parable of the Unjust Steward. This was a parable that was addressed to the His closest disciples first.

Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions.”Luke 16:1 NASB

In this study

Enter by the narrow gateHow to become good ambassadors of HeavenDid Paul say we’re not under the Law?Are we followers of Paul or of Messiah?Torah: ‘House rules’ for Heaven on Earth

“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”Exodus 25:8-9 NASB

God first called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans to establish a family who would be His emissaries. From that small family, they became a commonwealth of people who God called to build Him a sanctuary so His presence could be more evident, until the coming of the Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), Who is God dwelling with man.

The “commonwealth of Israel” (Eph. 2:11–13) today is made up of “ambassadors of Messiah” (2Cor. 5:20) who help bring the world closer to Heaven.

An ambassador is expected to faithfully represent the one who sent him or her out and a good ambassador does faithfully represent his or her leader. A bad ambassador represents themselves while pretending to represent their leader and the people end up with an inaccurate understanding of the leader’s message.

When people who claim to represent the Messiah don’t represent Him accurately in their teachings and actions, they blaspheme (make nothing special — or worse) Messiah’s name (reputation) and dismantle His name among the people.

The people had debased themselves with the golden calf. What Moses and HaShem did after that was to drag them back up toward righteousness. The experience caused Moses to want to be a better ambassador of HaShem than he had been before, and he pleaded with HaShem to see His glory so he would even better understand and represent HaShem to the people (Ex. 33:18–34:9).

In the earlier Torah readings (Terumah, Tetzaveh and Ki Tisa) the instructions on how to build the Tabernacle had been presented to Moses alone. Now in Torah reading ויקהל Vayaq’hel (“and he assembled,” Exodus 35:1–38:20), Moses is presenting God’s detailed instructions directly to the children of Israel, then they respond with an abundance of gifts to build the Tabernacle.

Recall that immediately after the 10 Commandments were given, Moses immediately went up to the mountain and the people were impatient to figure out how to respond to and communicate with Him, but instead of exercising patience and waiting for further instruction, they decided to take it upon themselves to build a place for God to dwell with them. They used what they had learned in Egypt to built a golden calf to represent HaShem and tried to commune with Him that way, which was very wrong. God does not want us to worship Him the way the nations worship their false gods, which the children of Israel learned the hard way.

The purpose of the Tabernacle was to enter the presence of HaShem. The orientation of the children of Israel were en...

In the Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Ex. 30:11–34:35), we learn that God expects His people to live to a higher standard than the world.

* God expects His people to be “stiff-necked” by living differently than the nations around them. * God expects His people to treat people equally, not playing favorites with the rich or the poor. * God expects His people to be self-disciplined and self-controlled, not drunken and negligent.* God wants His people to intercede in prayer for others, not by complaining about the actions of others, but by calling on God to extend mercy and kindness to others. * God expects His people to be faithful to Him and not to worship other gods or to worship Him in the ways that others worship false gods. * God comes down hard on the children of Israel when they act like heathens. 

In this study

‘You are a stiff-necked people’All people are created equal (Exodus 30) Do your prayers smell pleasant like perfume or unpleasant like death? Lack of self-control leads to sin: Lessons from the golden calfWhat can the prayers of a righteous man do? Parallel punishments for golden calf worshippers and adulterous wifeRepentance leads to restorationKey lessons from Ki Tisa

‘You are a stiff-necked people’

Although God frequently calls ancient Israel “stiff-necked,” and it didn’t seem like a complement. We should be grateful that they were “stiff-necked” enough to scrupulously copy the text of the TaNaK1 very accurately from generation to generation, over the course of 3,000-plus years, which has been a blessing to all the generations since Moses to now. This mission of spreading the sanctity of Torah has united Jews through all the generations. 

God told Abraham that the reason He chose Abraham is that it was in his character to teach his children all of God’s ways. Abraham was “stiff-necked” in his insistence on teaching his children how to follow God. Abraham was stiff-necked in his refusal to live his life the way the people around him lived. He was also “stiff-necked” when he asked God repeatedly if He would kill the inhabitants of Sodom if there were 10 righteous people living in the city. His descendants inherited this tenacity. 

However, when ancient Israel became “stiff-necked” against God rather than in relation to the nations around them, God rightly called them out and punished them when they backslid away from Him and their calling. 

All people are created equal (Exodus 30) 

The census was set up in such a way that the people themselves were not directly counted. Each Israelite man, who was 20 or older, was called upon to bring a half-shekel to the Tabernacle for counting. By counting the coins rather than the people, it equalizes the population in the census.

The rich and the poor are counted equally. That is why each man had to bring the same value coin. It teaches us that rich and poor are equal in the eyes of God and should be equal ...

The Torah reading תצוה Tetzaveh (“you shall command,” Exodus 27:20-30:10) reads like an article in Architectural Digest or Vogue, but the interior design of the Tabernacle, the architectural details and even the priests’ uniforms reveal God’s character to us. These are not just fashion whims; they’re permanent examples of God’s holiness. The purpose of the Tabernacle was to plant God’s words in our midst.

In this study

What happened at Sinai didn’t stay at SinaiHear about the neglected Temple, and weep (Ezekiel 43:10-27)

We see in the garments of the priests, they are arrayed primarily in white, then the high priest has outer garments in blue and adorned with gold and precious jewels. In our modern times, most priests, pastors, nuns, monks, etc., regardless of whether they are Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, usually wear black robes. It’s a stark contrast to the white and bright colors God instructs His priests to wear in the Tabernacle. 

In Western cultures, black is the color traditional associated with death and mourning but in eastern cultures, people usually wear white when they are mourning the death of a loved one. 

And in modern Judaism, there is still a palpable mourning of the loss of the Temple. This is why Jewish tzitzit do not include the required blue thread because that color was lost after the destruction of the Temple and only rediscovered in modern times. 

“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”Exodus 25:8-9 NASB

The Sanctuary was created as a dwelling place for the LORD among His people. He repeatedly implores Moses to “build it as you saw on the mountain.” This was not a “mere” copy, but a facsimile, a visual representation on earth of what happens in heaven.  

The Book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that Yeshua is the fullness of what all the elements in the Tabernacle represent. Heaven’s goal is to live among His people. This is God’s self-expressed desire. 

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.Revelation 21:22 NASB

At the end of the age, as we read in Revelation 21, in the city of God, there is no need for a temple, no need for the facsimile because God Himself is truly dwelling among His people. When the fullness is revealed, there is no need for a copy. There will be no barrier of protection between God and His people. It won’t be needed. 

I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.Exodus 29:45–46 NASB

All of the furnishings and contents of the Tabernacle point to God’s holiness, and His glory. The tabernacle shows us the character of God and this is something to which we should all aspire. 

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,