Author: Steven R. Bruck
Parashah V’yikra 2022 (And he called) Leviticus 1 – 5
Moses is instructed by God to teach the people the rules for the different sacrifices to be made. These include the burnt, meal, peace, sin, and guilt offerings.
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The types of animals and foodstuffs that are acceptable are outlined, as well as the procedures and requirements which the High Priest and the people must follow.
This book is the central book of the Torah, and was called Torah Cohanim (The Book of the Priests). It covers two essential aspects of righteous living: Sacrifice and Holiness.
The sacrifice chapters teach us how we can re-commune with God after sinning: sin separates us from God, but we can find forgiveness through repentance and sacrifice, which cleanses us, making it possible to again come into the presence of the Lord.
The chapters regarding holiness deal with what we should eat and the types of intimate personal relationships that are proper, culminating with the Day of Atonement. It also deals with certain physiological conditions that can render a person unclean (tzara’at, bodily emissions, childbirth, etc.).
There are 29 chapters in this book, so somewhere in Chapter 14 we come to the center of the book that is the center of the Torah. And what does that chapter cover?
It talks about the cleansing from tzara’at, otherwise known as leprosy.
Leprosy was a very nasty thing, not just for the physical deterioration it caused, but that it also required separating the individual from the community. That person had to indicate they were unclean and were not allowed to enter the sanctuary. Their disease kept them separated from society, and even from worshiping where God placed his name.
That means that they could not bring a sacrifice to the Tent of Meeting (later to the temple), therefor they could not be forgiven of their sins.
Like I said, it was a nasty thing.
Yet, there was always a chance they might become clean, again. When they first see the tzara’at, they go to the Cohen (priest) who, by following the instructions in these chapters, determines if it is leprosy or just some rash. Once it is determined to be leprosy, the individual is exiled from the camp and stays outside the camp until the tzara’at is gone. If it does clear up, the person goes to the Cohen who examines them; if the tzara’at is gone, the individual can again join the community (after confirmation the disease doesn’t return for a week, and after they perform a sacrifice which, being cleansed, they can now do). Now that they are again a member of the community they can worship in the sanctuary, which means they can obtain forgiveness.
So, what I find interesting is that sin is like a spiritual tzara’at: it separates us from God’s presence, and it also separates us from the community of Believers. When we sin we must repent and show our tzara’at (sin) to the Cohen, which is a formal confession. Unlike within Roman Catholicism, where you go into a booth, ask a priest to hear your confession, then ask him for forgiveness, we confess our sins to the one and only High Priest, Yeshua, who will take our request to God.
God is the only one who can forgive sins, and when we ask for his forgiveness through Yeshua, we will be forgiven.
I like this idea of the central book of the Torah being centered on cleanliness. I see the entire message of God’s word to be one of holiness (Be thou holy, as I am holy), and the means of being holy, which is to be clean both physically and spiritually, is covered in Leviticus.
If you haven’t read the Torah, or maybe just gone through it, sort of scanning the parts you find interesting, this is one book I suggest you do not skip through.
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That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!
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Believing Doesn’t Save Anyone
Do you believe in God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Do you believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah?
Do you think that is enough for you to be saved?
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Well, let me tell you something- just believing God exists and that Yeshua is the Messiah won’t get you anywhere, except maybe started on the proper path to salvation.
Do you know who else believes in God and Yeshua? Satan. And not just Satan, but every demon in Hell. Do you think that is going to save them?
It takes a LOT more than just saying “I believe in Jesus!” to be saved.
In truth, I don’t think most of the people who use the term “Believe in Jesus” have the slightest idea what that actually means, and not an inkling of what it entails.
If you want to be saved from your sins, you need to do more than accept that God exists and that Yeshua is the Messiah. And Unitarian vs. Trinitarian has no effect at all on your salvation.
And, for the record, pronunciation of whichever name (or names) you use for God and his Messiah have no effect on your salvation.
Now, that being said, of course you DO need to believe that God exists- even more than that, you need to believe he is the only God.
And you DO need to accept that Yeshua is the Messiah God promised to send and that he did die, was resurrected, and as such has proven to be accepted by God as the substitutionary sacrifice through whom we can be forgiven of sin.
But, people, that’s just the start.
What really saves us is being forgiven of sin, and that requires more than asking- first and foremost, you need to repent. Honestly, sincerely, contritely, and humbly repent of the sins you commit.
And that means first acknowledging that you do sin.
We all sin- I sin, you sin, everyone sins because we are all, well… sinners. Born with iniquity, living in a world that is full of sin all around us, tempting us every single moment of every single day we are alive. It’s really impossible for anyone to live a sinless life.
And that’s good news, because if anyone could live a sinless life, then it is possible for us to do and we wouldn’t need a Messiah. So, in the end, there would be three people in Heaven: God, Yeshua, and that one idiot who ruined it for the rest of us.
Joel 2:32 tells us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (where do you think Shaul got it from when he repeated it in Romans 10:13?), and that is true, of course, but it takes more than just calling on God’s name.
It takes more than just accepting Yeshua is your Messiah and asking forgiveness in his name.
It takes dedication and obedience to God’s commandments. Not the instructions Shaul gave to Gentile Believers who were first learning about obedience to God’s commandments.
Not to celebrate the holidays Constantine created.
Not to obey the Pope, the Pastor, Minister, or even the Rabbi instructing you in Halacha.
It takes obedience to GOD!
And where does God tell us what he wants us to do? Where does God tells us how to worship him? What days does God say we are to celebrate as a festival to him? What ways does God want us to treat each other? How does God say we should conduct business? What does God tell us with regards to punishing people for crimes they commit?
Where is all this?
I’ll bet you know…yes! It’s in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, that “Jewish” Bible most Christians are told they don’t need to know or follow.
There’s no place anywhere in the New Covenant where God tells anyone how to worship or act, or what days to celebrate. Why? Because he already told us everything we need to know in the Torah.
Yeshua didn’t change any of that (Matthew 5:17), except for one part- instead of bringing an animal to the temple in Jerusalem as a sacrifice for sin, Yeshua’s sacrifice replaced that step in the process of forgiveness.
And good thing, too, because after 73 BCE there was no temple to go to!
That is why Jews were so devastated by the destruction of the temple- according to the Torah, the only place you can present your sin sacrifice is where God places his name (Deuteronomy 16:16), which was the temple Solomon built. When the temple was destroyed, so was any hope of being forgiven.
The Wailing Wall (also known as the Western Wall) is not part of the temple- it was part of a wall surrounding the temple area that Herod built.
That is why I am so glad I have found my Messiah, Yeshua, and pray constantly that my Jewish brothers and sisters will eventually come on board the salvation train to take this ride to eternal joy in God’s presence, with me.
I know that you hear us Messianics’ always talking about how the Torah is still necessary, but this isn’t legalism (when people say that it’s really nothing more than a cop-out), it is faithful obedience that comes from loving God and wanting to do what pleases him.
Faith is necessary but faith without works is dead (James 2:14), meaning simply enough that if you have real faith, and really love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:5) you will want to do as he tells you to do, if for no other reason than to please him.
Remember that he tell us in Ezekiel 18:23 he doesn’t get any pleasure from seeing sinners die, so to not sin we must obey the rules and instructions in the Torah: both Shaul and James confirm this in their writings!
So, if you really love the Lord, and really accept Yeshua as your Messiah, then your faith will demand that you learn what God wants from you and do it, to the best of your ability. Not to be saved, and not to earn anything, but simply out of love for God and the faithful desire to please him.
One last thing: selfless and humble obedience to God is the result of true faithfulness, which is an emotionally fulfilling thing, but there is another nice perk to obedience: read Deuteronomy, Chapter 28 to see all the wonderful blessings you receive here on earth when you obey God.
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That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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We Can’t Understand Why There is Evil in the World
There is just so much evil in the world, isn’t there? Murders, sexual assaults, invasions, drunk drivers killing innocent children, drug abuse, bullying…there’s seemingly no end to the ways people can do harm to other people.
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Yet, what is evil to some is not evil to others.
There are those who love to watch two people beat each other to death in a boxing ring, but deplore bullfighting in Spain.
There are some who find certain cultural activities horrible and sinful, but the culture that performs those activities finds them not just acceptable, but comforting!
When Satan, that old devil, was thrown out of heaven he didn’t go to hell, he went to the earth: there are biblical reference to this in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18, and also Yeshua, himself, told us he saw Satan fall to earth in Luke 10:18.
Maybe that is why there is so much evil in the world- the originator of evil lives here! He has dominion over this world, and it shows, doesn’t it?
But what about God? Isn’t God in charge? Doesn’t God control everything and isn’t he more powerful than Satan?
Well, DUH! Of course he is! But, if so, then why does he allow this to happen? It’s the old question: “If God is a loving and compassionate God, who loves his children, how can he allow all of the suffering that we see in the world to continue?”
Right now Russia is attacking the Ukraine, people are leaving the homes and dying in battle, so why does God allow this?
I don’t know.
But I do know this- we cannot understand why God does what he does. In Ecclesiastes, the writer, Kohelet, states that everything is useless. He found everything he did under the sun to be a total waste of time, but why was that? It was because he did it to understand why God does what God does! That is why he found everything to be useless- we cannot understand God. If you remember, he said (no less than three times) that the best we can do is eat, drink, and enjoy the things that God has provided for us, concluding that fear of the LORD (i.e., proper worship) is the beginning of wisdom.
And what about Job? Here was a totally innocent, righteous, God-fearing man who was considered by God to be the most righteous man on earth, yet God allowed so much tsouris to befall him. God allowed Satan to first take away all his children and property, then to take away his health. How could God, who knew how righteous and obedient Job was, cause him to suffer the way he did?
I don’t know.
And I am not even going to go through the suffering God’s own chosen people had to endure during the Holocaust!
Why? Why this evil? Why this suffering? Why does God allow it?
(You know what I am going to say.)
I suppose we should try to come up with an answer, and when I think about it, I realize it may actually be as simple as this: without suffering, there can be no joy.
In Romans 5:13, Shaul tells us that, “Sin was indeed present in the world before Torah was given, but sin is not counted as such when there is no Torah.” In other words, without the Torah to identify exactly what was sinful and what was righteous, we couldn’t really be certain of either.
So, in the same way, without suffering and evil, we can’t really appreciate what is joyful and good.
Here’s a personal example: my wife tells me that growing up, her mother wasn’t the best cook in the world, and Donna said she never realized how good food could taste until she was working in the city and going to restaurants that served delicious food.
Another example is when you have been driving your car for years, and you are so comfortable in it. You love that car! Then, one day you have to leave it with a garage and they give you a year model loaner. WOW! All of a sudden you say to yourself, “My car stinks!”
Until we do something different, we can never know how good or bad we have it, now.
As a species, we become inured to the way we live. Even growing up in poverty or a war-torn country, we don’t know anything else. It’s not until we experience something better that we realize how terrible out lives were. Yet- remarkable as this may seem- many times even after living a better life, we miss the old life because it is what we feel comfortable with.
I read a book once called “The Dance of Anger” and it said how in bad relationships, because we become used to the interactions, when one of the members tries to better the situation, the other one will go out of their way to return things to the bad relationship. Why? Because that person became used to it, they were inured to the evil and felt uncomfortable when things started to change.
I guess that God allows evil in the world because without the evil, we can’t appreciate all the good that God can do, and does for us.
You know, when I think about it a little more, the evil can be useful to us because it is so terrible, that to avoid it we must stay obedient to God. In Deuteronomy 28, God promises blessings for those who are obedient to his instructions; so, even with the in-born iniquity (desire to sin) that we all have, the prevalence of evil all around us throughout our lives may actually provide incentive for us to be more righteous.
As silly as it may sound, the evil in this world might just scare us into being more obedient to God if, for other reason, self-protection.
So, nu? I don’t have an exact answer to why God allows evil in the world, but I think we can conclude that there are two things we can be sure of:
1– We will never know why God does the things he does, or allows the things he allows, but we must trust that he knows what he is doing; and
2– Although evil is all around us, God will protect us when we are obedient to his instructions and act in accordance with his will.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe to this ministry, on both the website and my YouTube channel (they are different lists but I never sell any names). Also, while on the website consider buying my books- if you like what you get here, you will like my books, as well.
Share these messages with everyone you know, join my Facebook group called “just God’s Word” (please read and agree to the rule), and remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem.
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Parashah Pekudey 2022 (Accounts) Exodus 38:21 – 40
These final chapters of the Book of Exodus relate the details of the Tabernacle, how everything was done exactly as Moses had directed, which God had shown him, and when it was all done, Moses blessed the people.
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God tells Moses to erect the Tabernacle (also known as the Tent of Meeting) on the first day of the first month, which was in the second year after leaving Egypt and 9 months after coming to Mount Sinai. The work on the tent took 4 months.
The High Priest, Aaron, is anointed and so are his sons, and after the work was all done and the Ark of the Covenant placed in the Holy of Holies, the shekinah glory of the LORD filled the tent, so much so that Moses was not able to enter it.
As we always say at the end of a book of the Torah:
Chazak, Chazak, v’nit Chazek!!
(Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened).
There is much in this book to wonder about.
Did the Jews really see the glory of God on Sinai, or was it just a meteorological event?
Did Moses’ face really shine?
Did the Red Sea really split open or did the tide just go out?
Were the Jewish people really ever enslaved in Egypt?
Many people can look to the events in Exodus- in fact, throughout the Bible- and doubt that they occurred as stated. It is very easy to view the Torah miracles with modern “eyes”, now that we are all knowledgeable in science. So, using science to explain events, people may be able to say, in a scholarly manner, that the Nile turned to blood because of a silt deposit issue that happened upstream. That then caused the fish to die, causing the frogs to leave the water, causing the flies and other insects to gather, and those insects would bite the people and cattle causing the boils and sores, etc.
It is easy to discard the miracles that God performed by explaining them away with scientific reasoning.
But does explaining how a miracle could have happened make it any less of a miracle? After all, even if we know why the Nile turned red, didn’t something, somewhere have to happen first?
If the Nile turned red because of something that happened upstream, such as an abundance of silt being dislodged and travelling downstream changing the color of the water, or some fungus or algae growth turning the waters red, didn’t something have to send the silt or put the algae there?
Where did the algae come from, in the first place?
This is the problem with science- it explains how things happen, but it doesn’t explain how the thing happening started.
The Big Bang Theory about the universe was proven by the discovery of radio waves coming from space, which represented an extreme release of radioactivity (as from a gigantic explosion) after billions of years of half-life decomposition. So, does that mean God didn’t create the universe? I mean, someone had to light that fuse for the explosion, right?
Look at life on earth. We have fossil proof that there have been lower forms of life that have gradually, over millions of years become more advanced. Science calls it evolution, which in plain English means accidental mutations that have increased the survivability of the species.
But why not Intelligent Design? My belief is that God created different life forms, at different times, and has allowed some to die out and others to remain. In order to make the remaining species capable of living in a changing environment, he “tweaked” their DNA a bit.
Doesn’t that better explain how so many different life-forms have succeeded in surviving? How many times have you heard of a mutation, other than the X-Men, that actually made the mutated animal stronger? How many mutations that we have seen in modern times have been beneficial?
None that I know of.
Anyone can argue against the Bible, and make it sound reasonable. The issue really isn’t about whether or not everything stated in the Bible is absolutely accurate, although the Bible has been proven to be an accurate historical document, with much of its narrative being verified by archaeological evidence.
No. The issue is not biblical accuracy or definitive proof of the events that are related in the Bible. The issue always comes down to one of faith.
James says that faith is believing in things that are unseen and unproven (Hebrews 11:1), and I have often stated that faith is a choice.
I was unsure for most of my life- the first 40 years or so, and when I finally decided I was going to make up my mind about God, his messiah, and all that stuff, after listening to people and reading a Messianic New Covenant, I chose to believe that what I read is true. I chose to believe in God; I chose to believe that Yeshua is my Messiah; and I have since chosen to remain faithful to my Jewish upbringing by remaining obedient to God’s instructions in the Torah, rejecting much of what traditional Christianity has taught about the Torah being only for Jews and not for those who are Born Again. .
And I choose to be this way, despite the fact that my fellow Jews say I can’t be Jewish if I believe in Jesus and Christians tell me I can’t be saved if I still do all that “Jewish” stuff.
So read Exodus and revel in the miraculous ways that God saved his people, giving them the way to live and worship in order to walk the path of righteousness.
Or, read it with a skeptical and cynical mindset, explaining the miracles away with scientific hoo-hah and denying the divine interventions.
As for me, I choose to believe in God, to believe what I read in this book of the Bible to be accurate and true, and to faithfully maintain this position no matter how “sensible” arguments against it may sound.
And I unwaveringly choose to be a Torah observant Jew while proclaiming and accepting that Yeshua is my Messiah.
To me, with Jews on one side denying me my Jewish heritage and Christians on the other side denying me my salvation through Messiah, I must be on a very narrow path leading to a very skinny gate.
And if so, then I am on the right path.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe to my YouTube channel and my ministry website. While on the website, please buy my books. Also, on Facebook like my page and join my discussion group called “Just God’s Word” (please read and accept the rules).
Oh, yes, of course please share these messages with everyone to help this ministry continue to grow.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!
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Could Yeshua Have Sinned?
In the book of Leviticus, the first 7 chapters are the regulations for the sacrificial system, through which we can have our sins forgiven.
And the instructions are quite clear that before the Cohen Hagadol (High Priest) can perform his duties for the people, he must first be cleansed, himself.
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More than that, in Chapter 4 it states that if the anointed Cohen sins, he not only brings guilt on himself, but on the people, too! And the same holds true for when any of the leaders sin.
Whoa!! Hold your horses! Wait a minute! Take a breath! Why should I be guilty if the person in charge sins?
Frankly, I don’t know, and it seems really unfair, doesn’t it? But that’s the way God says it has to happen, so if our leader is in sin, then the people (even the entire country) are also in sin.
That explains why when the kings of Israel (the Northern Kingdom in Shomron) continually sinned, the people were eventually scattered all over the Diaspora.
And when the Judean kings followed suit, the remaining children of Israel were expelled from the land God promised them.
So, before Yeshua was able to submit himself as a sacrifice, being that he is our Cohen HaGadol, he first had to make sure that he was cleansed of sin.
The fact that Yeshua was resurrected, we know his sacrifice was accepted, which proved he was sinless when he died.
I have an interesting question for you, but first we have to review some things:
1. The temple and the sacrificial system existed at the time of Yeshua’s ministry.
2. The Torah guarantees when we repent, bring a sacrifice to the temple and ask for forgiveness, we will be forgiven of our sins.
3. The Bible confirms that when God forgives our sins, it is as if they never existed (read Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Psalm 103:11, just to name a few places).
So, considering the above, here’s my hypothetical question…could Yeshua have sinned at some point during his lifetime?
If he had committed a sin, but then went to the temple and offered his sacrifice, after that wouldn’t he be sinless? And if he didn’t sin between that time and his crucifixion, then he would still be the sinless Lamb of God, right?
Interesting thought, isn’t it?
The idea that Yeshua did commit a sin or two during his life but, after being cleansed through the sacrificial system, became acceptable as a sacrifice for your life goes against all the rhetoric we have always been told about how Yeshua lived a sinless life.
I’m sorry, but to me, the idea that he never once sinned comes under question when we consider he was just like us (Isaiah 53 says he wasn’t anything special, and well acquainted with pain and illness), so he could have succumbed to temptation at one or more times in his life, yet through the sacrificial system still have presented himself as the sinless Lamb of God prior to his arrest and death.
I believe that Yeshua did offer some sacrifices during his life because he was a human man and well acquainted with illness, so he must have had, at one point or another, at least some sort of emission that he needed to be cleansed of, which required a sacrifice. I can’t see any human being not having done something, at least once in his life, whether on purpose or accidentally, that required a sacrifice in order to be clean, let alone forgiven of a sin.
Yes, even one who is totally filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).
I can only speak for myself, but even with the Ruach indwelling, which I often hear guide me, I still screw up way too often because I am human. And if Isaiah was correct, and the Messiah is well acquainted with illness and pain, I can see him making mistakes, too.
In any event, whether he lived a totally sinless life, or did sin but had been cleansed of his sin through the same sacrificial system that made it possible for him to be our sacrifice for sin, all that really matters is that his resurrection proved his sacrifice was accepted, and through that sacrifice we can have our sins forgiven and receive salvation.
One last thing: if you are in a position of leadership, either in government, corporately, religiously, or just within your family, you need to remember that those who trust you for guidance will suffer the consequences of whatever sins you commit. James 3:1 warns us that those who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
In the first Spiderman movie, Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker (Spiderman) that with great strength comes great responsibility. This warning was to teach Peter the future of others depend on his usage of that gift.
Uncle Ben knew his Bible!
Thank you for being here and please share these messages to help this ministry grow. Subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, join my Facebook discussion group called “Just God’s Word” (please read and accept the rules), buy my books, and remember that I always welcome your comments.
I’m done for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!