Category: Parashot Teachings

Parashah Lech Lecha (Go Forth) Genesis 12-17

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This parashah starts with these words:

The Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.”

What should we do when we receive a calling from God?  The answer is: do what you are told to do.

Abram (he isn’t Abraham yet: Abram means “Noble Father” but it isn’t until he is to fulfill his side of the covenant through circumcision that God says his name is to be Abraham, meaning Father of Nations) is to leave all that he has known, his family, his friends, everything that is of the Chaldees where he has lived. This is so that he will not be contaminated by their pagan worship, and the household he is to train up to be God fearing is also not to be influenced or contaminated by the unclean pagan worship and lifestyle.

The calling from God was more than just that God will make Abraham a blessing to the world. There was the need for Abraham to obey the calling so that this promise could be fulfilled. If Abraham had remained in Ur, if he had not gone to the land God called him to go to, then he would not have ever become the blessing that God intended to make of him.

But it’s not useful to be a hermit. It may be true that the only way to be completely free of wrongful influences is to hide away on some deserted island or make a home in the North Atlantic woodlands, which is especially hard in today’s technological world where everyone is only an email or a FaceBook post away. In Abraham’s day all he had to do is walk far enough away from everyone else, but that would have prevented him from fulfilling the rest of his calling.

By becoming a hermit we can stay “pure”, but that purity is useless because it brings no glory to God and doesn’t do God’s work in the world. Yeshua tells us in Matthew 5:15 that no one lights a lamp then puts it under a basket; they light the lamp and place it high up where the light can be seen by all. Abraham’s calling was to be a light to the world, and through him, i.e., through his example of worship, his lifestyle and his actions, the world would be able to see how he is blessed by God. Then they would be influenced by his goodness. As they learned to live as Abraham lived, then they would, as a consequence of following Abraham’s example, also be blessed by God.

We must follow the calling we receive. You may not have heard it yet, or you may have heard it but you’re waiting for the right time. Well, if you are waiting for God to tell you it’s time for you to fulfill your calling, you have already missed it. God is not a god of “Let’s think about this”; God is the god of “Get it done!”, and that means now. When you receive a calling from God He is telling you He wants you do to something. If you stall or wait too long, His plan will go forth, without you. If you do not do as God says to do when He says to do it, you will miss out on what He had in store for you.

God’s plan of salvation is like a large ship going from creation to creation. As the ship travels, with God at the helm, people can get on for free, and they also can get off. That’s called Free Will. And there will  be many doing just that- many getting on, many getting off, and most just waving as it goes by. But the ship will continue to sail, and it will reach it’s destination. If you want to get on, it’s free. You have to work, though- it’s a free entry but it’s not a free ride.

Abraham did as God told him to do, without hesitation. We usually think of Genesis 15:6 when we think of Abraham’s righteousness, but I would venture to say that the true demonstration of Abraham’s’ righteousness and faith is the fact that he didn’t just do as God said to do, he did it then and there. He left his home right away, he went without knowing where he was being led, he circumcised everyone (including himself) the very day he was commanded to do so, and even when he was told to sacrifice Yitzchak, his only son, the son of the promise, he left early the next morning to do so. No hesitation, no questioning, no discussion. God said do, and he did.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard too many callings in my life. I believe writing my book was a calling, but even though I wrote it and have tried to push it out (see the links at the bottom right of this web page), I really think I should have done more long ago, and even though I know I should do more now, I hesitate. I have invested a few grand in this, and need to invest more. I know that God will honor what I do, and if this book is giving God the glory I think it does, He will get it out there.

But I still need to do my part. I had a calling to give a testimony (the link to it is at the bottom of my bio) and I hesitated on that, too. I was a new Believer, but it seems I still have a lot to learn about faithful obedience. We all do, don’t we?

Praise God that He is not just patient, but compassionately understanding. I feel ashamed to confess to you that I have these hesitations, but I am not here to tell you about God because I am an expert at following Him- I am here to show you that even someone as useless as I am can still do God’s work in the world and honor Him. Even though I, myself, am weak. Just as Shaul said of himself in 2 Corinthians 12:9, God’s strength is made manifest in our weakness.

But you don’t have to be weak- you can be stronger than me, stronger even that Shaul. You can obey the calling God has for you ASAP. If you don’t know what that calling is, or He hasn’t revealed what He wants you to do for Him yet, then wait for it. It is coming, and you can prepare for it by studying His word, separating yourself from those influences of the world that would contaminate you, and listening. Remember that God was not in the fire or the shaking mountain or the fierce wind, but He was just a still, quiet voice (1 Kings, 9:12.) To hear the majestic voice of God, we need to listen quietly and faithfully.

Faith isn’t just believing, it is also doing. Abraham showed tremendous faith in doing as he was told to do, and doing it as soon as he heard the command. God grant us all that we may demonstrate that same level of faithfulness.

Parashah Noach (Noah) Genesis 6:9 – 11:32

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Who hasn’t heard the story of “The Flood?” It has been told over and over, movies made about it (mostly dreck, stupid Hollywood fodder, fit only to be burned) and most every major civilization has a similar story. They have found evidence of a tremendously wide-spread flood in the Middle East (some 6 feet of clay layered at a level approximate to the time of the flood), and multiple sightings of an “ark” on Mt. Ararat.

Archeologists that search for the Ark are looking for it to prove the bible story to be true. They are like Indiana Jones, seeking the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail.

The world rejects God, and at the same time, it wants proof that He exists and that the bible is true. And what’s even scarier than that conundrum is that I understand why! It’s because we know that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually isn’t true. The truth about God, that He exists, that He is going to judge us all and that Yeshua is the Messiah He sent to allow us to escape the judgement we deserve and all we need to do is call on His name to be saved (of course, you still have to work at it), well…it just sounds all too good to be true.  Where’s the catch?

The catch is that although it is true salvation is yours simply for the asking, it is hard to keep.  It will require you to suffer, to lose friends, family and maybe even your life. You must devote yourself to changing your attitude and your actions, and you will be attacked by the enemy every time you draw closer to God. Your life will be more difficult, but with the help of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and the never-ending love and support of God to bring you through things, your life will be richer, more fulfilling and you will be blessed more than you could ever imagine. And even better, because you will have God’s spirit and a new outlook, you will receive and appreciate the blessings you get, which most people who don’t know the Lord can’t really understand, so they don’t feel the fullness of joy that God’s blessings bring. Oh, yes, there’s one more thing…salvation through Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is the best retirement plan the universe offers.

So what value is there in proving the flood story to be true? As far as I am concerned, regarding salvation, proving the flood to be a real-life event will not matter at all. Oh, there may be a few people who will “convert” to some form of Born Again realization, but they are probably going to be like the good seed on poor soil. The word of God never returns void, but it does rebound off many ears that are clogged with self-importance and (even worse!) wrongful teachings (i.e., religion.)

Salvation comes one way- through faith. If we prove God exists, if He shows Himself in majesty and splendor, that won’t make a big difference.

“Oh my Gawd!! How can you say that, Steve? God’s majestic presence shown to the world won’t make a big difference? What are you- nuts? Of course it will! It will prove He exists! It will be on YouTube and Twitter! Fox News will even show the video at 6 and 10! The world will see it and believe. Halleluyah!!!”

No, it won’t. How can I say that, so assuredly? Because we’ve seen it already. It’s proven every day that God exists; just look around. The entire nation of Israel saw His majesty and power on Mt. Sinai, they saw His cloud by day and His fire at night, they were given manna from heaven, they saw water come from rocks, they saw Elijah call fire from the sky at Mt. Carmel, they saw David defeat Goliath, they saw the Maccabee’s defeat the best army in the world, they saw the Son of God do miracle after miracle, and they have seen miracles since.

And we still don’t believe. So if God came from heaven and landed right on top of Mt. Carmel, the world would reject Him, still. That’s not my opinion, that’s what it says in Revelations. The bowls of wrath will be poured out on the earth, and people will curse God. In a way, cursing God is (at least) some form of recognition that He might exist, isn’t it? But it’s not accepting Him.

The flood is a wonderful story and has great value for those of us who want to know God better, and the history of His intercession in the lives of His creation. We can talk about how this was the first time people saw rain, how before the flood we were all, men and animals, herbivores but after the flood carnivores came into existence. We can recognize that even before God gave us the laws of Kashrut (Kosher) they were known to people, and how even before God told us in Leviticus not to eat the blood because the life is in the blood, He told Noach not to eat blood. We can trace the generations to see how Ham, being cursed to serve his brothers (and Shem assigned as the leader) has fathered those nations that historically have been the sworn enemies of the descendants of Shem, rebelling against the curse of their father, Noah, by attacking and constantly (to this day still) trying to destroy those that they are to serve.

All of this is interesting stuff, and valuable in understanding where we came from, which explains why things are as they are today.  We are (the United States, that is) interfering in a sibling rivalry that dates back to the Flood. It is not going to get better, it is going to get worse, and the longer we stay involved the more we will end up having to either get out, altogether (which we won’t) or take sides (which we will.) And when I read Revelations it says the entire world will come against Israel in the end days, so I think we can guess which side the US will end up on.

If you follow this blog you know I almost never get “political”, and I am not really trying to be so now. I am just saying that even the US, a long-time friend of Israel, will end up doing what God has said will be done. And when everything that the bible says will happen, happens- many will not believe but, in fact, be turned away from God. That’s right- God’s tribulations will not make more Believers but it will turn those who Believe to apostasy. Again, this isn’t my opinion- Yeshua tells us this will happen: read 2 Timothy 3, read Matthew 24:10, read Revelations and the churches that Yeshua says are failing to do as they should, and how in the last days most will turn away from the faith. Not some, not a lot, but most (this word may be different than ‘most’, depending on which bible interpretation you have.)

Faith is what saves us, faith comes from God (that’s in the bible, too) but it is up to us to work at strengthening our faith. And that is easier than you might think- in the same way we can see the proof of God’s existence we can strengthen our faith- just look around, observe what happens in your life and the lives of others, be open to accept that miracles are all around us, that happenstance and random chance could not ever have resulted in the unbelievable diversity of life that we have here on Earth, and that believing in God and being a slave to Messiah is not a crutch or a cop-out, but the smartest and most ‘freeing’ thing that anyone can do.

People want to feel that they are in control of themselves. I think that is one of the main reasons they reject God- they don’t want to cede control. The sad truth is that they are not, never have been, and never will be in control.  No one human being is in total control of his or her life, but God is in control of everything. If you want to be in control of anything, then you need to be working for the one that controls everything.

I’d be happy if I could just control my hunger, and even better, my tongue. I’m making progress, and that is only because I am asking God to help me.

Who’s helping you stay in control? If it isn’t God, it’s the enemy.  Forget about controlling anything, and just give in to faithful obedience to God. When you try to control things, it always gets screwed up, doesn’t it? C’mon, be honest! You know that we mess things up, all the time. Heck- we’re human. Screwing up is almost the definition of humanity. But God? Well, He doesn’t screw anything up. He is always in control, He always will get what He wants done, done. He is totally flexible, and eternally forgiving and merciful.

Follow God, let Him take the reins, and just faithfully believe. Forget archaeological evidence, forget scientific proof, forget needing to show anyone undeniable evidence that God exists. It’s been done, it’s been shown, and it hasn’t changed anything. Been there, seen that, didn’t even buy the T-shirt!

Just let God be the Boss, do as He says to the best of your ability, and dedicate yourself to being more of what God wants you to be. That’s all you need to do, that’s all you need to “control”, that’s all you will ever need to worry about. And if you do, you will be blessed beyond your wildest imagination!

Parashah Bereshith (Genesis 1 – 6:8) In the Beginning

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What can I say about the creation of mankind?

Don’t worry- I’ll find something, I’m sure.

Seriously, I re-read this parashah and saw something that I hadn’t seen before- it was when I was reading the commentary in my Soncino Edition of the Chumash. The Rabbi talks about how the second chapter is not a different creation, but a defining of certain parts of the the general description of creation given in Chapter 1. That made me think how Yeshua did not redefine the Torah but defined it; in other words, as Chapter 2 of the bible gives more specifics so we better understand Chapter 1, Yeshua gave us a more specific, deeper understanding of the Torah. He didn’t re-write it or create a new religion (you can blame that one on Constantine), all He did was more accurately tell us what God meant. He taught us more than the letter of the Torah- He taught us the spirit of it.

I also see in this parashah the entire plan of salvation. We start with nothingness, which becomes formation of the earth, the separation of land and sea, earth and sky, growth of vegetation, creation of animal life and, finally, creation of man and woman and life in perfect communion with God. Then what happens is sin, which comes between people and God, causing the separation from His constant presence. We no longer are able to commune with God in both the physical and spiritual realms simultaneously- the garden is out of reach for us from that point on. Next we see the sin of disobedience to God grow into the sin of covetousness leading to aggression- Cain murders his brother. Then that sin leads to more sin when Cain lies to God.

We went from perfect communion with God in a paradise to expulsion into a cursed world where sin is growing as fast as the population. And the sin continues to grow to such a level that God has to intervene and destroy the sin that abounds in everyone. Well, nearly everyone- in all the earth there is only one who is favored by God, and that one is Noah.

What I see this morning in this parashah that I hadn’t seen before is that Noah is the first representation of Yeshua; through one man sin entered the world and through one man the world will be saved (you can find that in Romans 5, 1 Corinthians and I think it is also in Hebrews.) The difference is that Yeshua will save those who are living from spiritual death. Noah didn’t save anyone from spiritual death, or even physical death, but he was the salvation of mankind, meaning that through him mankind would be revived and continue to survive.

Through Noah mankind received a second chance to live on earth, and through Yeshua mankind received a second chance to live in paradise.

There is another reference to salvation- a new creation. The earth and all that was on it was destroyed, except for the select of animals and men. A human family, 7 pair of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals (there was Kosher even before there was Kosher!) were saved through one man- Noah. His righteousness was their salvation, and through his descendants, the salvation of humankind. Just like Isaiah 53:

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Unfortunately, as we all know, this new start was not much better than the old start, but God had promised no more floods, so He is still standing by and waiting for the right time to finish this and start anew. We are not quite there yet (although I believe we are really, really close), but this time He will do it once and for all.

I think it is amazing that there is so much in God’s word that we read, over and over, and never see until the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) opens our eyes, our spiritual eyes, to see what God has had there for us for millennia.

Maybe this interpretation, this Drash that I present to you, isn’t so new. Maybe it’s been discussed by many others before; in fact, I am sure it has been. I’m not so great that I am going to open up the world to a new truth from the word of God. But I like it- I like how suddenly it seems so clear to me. Perfection is ruined by sin, sin takes over the weak and faithless, the elect (those who remain faithful) are saved from the world’s destruction, and we are given new life in a new world. And in the new world the rules change: before the flood there was no rain but after sin entered the world we need the rains or we have no food; the cultivation of God’s creation has gone from very easy to very hard. Before the flood all life ate of only the herbs and the fruit that was provided in the garden, but now we eat the animals and the animals eat each other (and us.)

Maybe after this world is gone and the final, new creation is here we will go back to a vegetarian way of life, the lion and the lamb will lie together because they also will go back to being vegetarians, and the cultivation of God’s creation will again be simple. We will be constantly in God’s presence, as it was in the beginning. This time, though, we won’t have trees that we can eat from and trees we can’t because those of us who are saved through Messiah will already have the knowledge of good and evil, and having had this knowledge while living in the world but still remaining faithful will entitle us to the eternal life that was refused to Adam and Eve.

There won’t be need for rules in the new creation because the Torah will be written on our hearts, and as has been proven time and time again throughout history, what is on our hearts is what guides our actions. Today the hearts of people are full of sinfullness, so sinfullness is what we do. When the Torah is written on our hearts, then Torah will be what we will do.

The Rabbi’s says that Torah should be a mirror, so when we look in it we see ourselves. That is not true today, but it will be in the new creation. That’s what Shaul (Paul) means when he tells us that now we see dimly through a glass (1 Corinthians 13) but then we will see clearly. Sin clouds our sight (as well as our judgement) but in the new creation we will see clearly.

I love Simchat Torah (Joy of Torah- the eighth day of Sukkot) because we get to start reading God’s word all over again. His word is who He is, so the more I read it the more familiar I am with it, and the more familiar I am with it the closer I am to God.

How close are you to God? If you want to be closer to God, then get more familiar with His word.

Parashah Chol HaMo’ed Sukkot (Exodus 33:12-34:26) Feast of Tabernacles Intermediate Sabbath

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This special reading recounts when Moses asked God to travel with the people. This is right after the sin of the Golden Calf, and God has agreed not to destroy the people but Moses has removed the Tent of Meeting from within the camp, due to the sin of the camp. Moses asks God to allow him to see His Glory and God agrees, but only from the back.

God has Moses make another set of tablets for the 10 Commandments and after Moses begs God to stay with the people, God tells Moses He will travel with them. God also tells Moses He will destroy the enemies of the people and that the Israelites are to totally demolish all forms of idol worship and all the standing poles and idols they find of the conquered peoples. They are not to intermarry or allow them to be part of their lives. This commandment is also a warning that by not doing so the people will become seduced into idol worship. This special reading ends with God reminding Moses about the major festivals when the people are to go to worship where God has determined to place His name.

It seems pretty obvious why this reading is for this special Shabbat- the Feast of Tabernacles is all about the joy God has when He is able to be with His people, and the joy we have when He is with us. Tabernacles is more than just living in a booth for a week- it is symbolic of the love God has for us: so much love, in fact, that the spiritual wants to dwell with the physical. It is an image of what it was like in Eden, when God was able to walk side-by-side with Adam and Eve. Two different planes of existence, ethereal and corporeal, existing together. That is what Tabernacles is really about: a reminder of Eden past, and a vision of the future when we will live in God’s presence again, forever.

I read once that the “Rabbi’s” said it is impossible for God to “come down” to the Earth, as it is said in the Tanakh, because He is already here. God is everywhere, all the time, so He can’t really “go” anywhere because wherever He wants to go, He is already there! So why, then, do we need the Feast of Tabernacles? If God is always with us, why do we need a special time to dwell with Him?

I think it’s because even though God is always here, we don’t recognize His presence because we are too busy paying attention to ourselves. How many times have you been told that you totally missed the turn you knew you had to take while driving because you were paying attention to someone walking, or talking to another person, or just thinking to yourself about something else?  How many times have you thought of something important, then got distracted for a moment and the thought was gone?

God is always right here. Doesn’t Moses tell us that the Law is not far from us? So close we can reach out and touch it? (Deut. 30:11) God is Torah, and the Torah is God. Just as John said that the Word became flesh (Yeshua), the Word is God- it is who He is, what He is about, His thoughts and desires. That’s why this time is so important. We need to refocus our gaze off of us and back onto God.

When you wake up in the morning and it is still dark, you can see much of what is there. Your eyes have adjusted to seeing in the darkness, although we don’t see everything. When you turn on the light, it makes you squint because the brightness is overpowering. As our eyes adjust to the light, we see much more of what was always there but, in the darkness, we couldn’t see.

We live in a very dark place- a cursed world. We grow up in it, we are used to seeing in it (although we can’t see many things all around us, and I am talking figuratively as well as factually) and for those of us who see the Light (have come to know God), we see as if in the brightness of the noon day. God has opened our eyes to what there is all around us that we couldn’t see in the darkness of our godless existence before- and what we see is sin. Being in God’s presence lights up the sin that is hidden to those still seeing only in the dark.

The world sees TV shows about vampires in love; I see the world accepting demonic creatures as being OK- they’re just like us.

The world sees people who live in defiance of God’s commandments as normal and acceptable, and I see the governments of the world accepting the mark of the enemy.

The world sees technology as wonderful and I see people and nations building their houses on sand (Matt. 7:24-27: the silicon chip is what makes today’s technology possible, and silica is sand.)

Those of us who have accepted God, accepted Messiah Yeshua and who have devoted our lives to T’Shuvah (turning from sin) so that we can honor and glorify God in all we do, we are living in the light and we are commanded to be a light to those still in the darkness. That’s why it is so hard talking to people about God- the light hurts your eyes when you first see it.

Tabernacles is a physical reminder of the spiritual truth that God wants to dwell with us. Although we do it once a year, we should be spiritual tabernacles to the world every day of the year.  And just as God comes from His perfectly wonderful environment and suffers to dwell in this physical world, we should also be willing to go into the darkness to seek those who need the light.

Celebrate this time of the year with joy, and honor God all the rest of the year with your service to His desire for you to bring light into the darkness.

Parashah Chaazinu (Hear), Deuteronomy 32

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This chapter of the Torah is known as “The Song of Moses”, which is really the second song of Moses, since he also sang of God’s great triumph after the people crossed the Sea of Suf (Red Sea.)

Moses also gave us Psalm 90.

The Torah is called the Mosaic Law, but it really was given to Moses by God; Moses just wrote it down and taught it to the people. This song, I believe we can safely say, was also given by God to Moses to write down because we read in the previous parashah where God tells Moses to “write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel” (Deut. 31:19.) It seems pretty clear that God gave the song to Moses since He said to write this song: if God had wanted Moses to write a song He would have said, ” write a song”, or “make a song” for them to remember, or something to that effect. However, God said to write this song, implying that the song was already known to God and that Moses was to take dictation.

In any event, the song is supposed to be a conviction of the people- they are to remember it so that when they stray from God and He brings upon them the destruction and Tsouris that they have (really) brought upon themselves, this song will be a testimony for God- a reminder that the people were warned years, even centuries before about the cost of rebellion against their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their Rock, their Redeemer, their Salvation. That was the purpose of the song.

How sad that we have forgotten this song, how sad that today we are no different than the people at that time- we do wrong, and we blame everyone else for it. When troubles come upon us we don’t accept the fault but instead find someone else to blame. “Yes, I did wrong but it’s not my fault- it was because (whatever)”; we are all victims, and if we can throw the stench of our own sin on others, it makes them smell as bad as we do, so by comparison we are less guilty. I killed, I committed adultery, I gossiped, BUT they asked me, he made me mad, s/he seduced me. There’s always an excuse.

The difference between people who are godly, trustworthy and respected is that they take accountability for their mistakes. The rest of the world (maybe I should say the majority of the world) is more interested in spreading the blame than accepting it.

This song is to be a conviction against the children of God. Not just the Jewish children, but all His children- the Catholic ones, the Baptist ones, the Buddhist ones, the Islamic ones, ….ALL God’s children, for we are all His children. And like sheep, we have been led astray (by religion) because it is easy to do so. We seek only our own hedonistic desires, and only when we are devoid of help, of hope, of guidance and all the other things we think we can find on our own or from others, only then do we (finally) turn to God.

Or we curse God.

That’s how we roll, as a people- we either turn to God recognizing that our punishment is just and deserved, and ask forgiveness, or we continue, even at the very gates of Sheol, to reject God and His justice and insist that we are innocent.

If you are a God-fearing person, if you readily accept your own sinfulness and have asked God for forgiveness through Messiah Yeshua, and if you demonstrate daily your true T’shuvah, then this song isn’t for you. This song is for the ones who reject God, who ignore or despise His laws, and who say they are OK. This song is for those who think God should do and accept what they want Him to do and accept, that certain sins are not sins (because that’s how they want to live) and that all foods are OK, and it’s not a sin to have sex out of wedlock, and divorce is normal.

Funny- Mosaic law is almost universally ignored, and many Christian religions say Torah was done away with by Yeshua (a total lie!) Yet when it comes to divorce, they ignore Yeshua’s admonition that divorce is hateful to God (Matthew 19 and Mark 10, for example) and eagerly accept the Mosaic law that a man can give his wife a Get (divorce decree) pretty much for no other reason than she displeases him (Deuteronomy 24:1.)  Isn’t that what happens today? The divorce rate is nearly 40% within the first 15 years. God said that they become one flesh, and Yeshua said the only justification for divorce is adultery. Shaul (Paul) said in an unevenly yoked marriage if the unsaved partner wants to divorce, that is an acceptable reason. But other than adultery or unevenly yoked marriage (only where the unsaved wants a divorce), marriage lasts as long as you both are alive. And, for the record, biblically acceptable marriage is for men to women, and women to men.

This song is for those who need it most, and probably will care the least about it.

That’s the sad truth of salvation: it is readily available for anyone who asks for it, and those that need it most are the least likely to want it.

Parashah Nitzavim (You are Standing) Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30

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Moshe is continuing his Third Discourse and telling the people there, both native born and those who are also members of the community, that they are not the only ones standing before the Lord that day to renew their covenant. He says that this covenant will be to them and to their descendants. He warns them about becoming self-righteous and turning away from God when they have been satisfied and blessed, and turning to other gods. He tells them that apostasy and rebellion will result in they’re being ejected from the land, but (as follows most promises of punishment) he also says that once they return wholeheartedly to the Lord, God will regather them and then punish the nations that had hated them.

When I read 29:28 I was reminded about God’s magnificence and His awesomeness. That verse says, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

What are the “secret things” that Moshe talks about? The Chumash says they are the secret things of the sin and that what is revealed to us is the judgement for that sin.

I wouldn’t argue with that, but I think it can mean something else.

My Aunt is dying; I found out last night she is (essentially) brain dead from an accidental fall and either tonight or tomorrow we will be flying to New Jersey to attend her funeral. She has attended a Conservative Synagogue that has done some things I would say are more designed to be politically correct than keeping to God’s word, and whether or not she knew her Messiah I am not sure. I had talked with her about it often when we were together (she read my book) and her mind was open to hearing about Yeshua, but as far as I know she never confessed her belief in Yeshua. Her feelings and beliefs about Yeshua and God, for that matter, were secrets that only God knew.

I think that is what Moses is talking to us about. God knows the secrets of our hearts, most likely better than we do (in fact, I am sure of that) and He alone will know whether or not someone is saved. We can’t know that, but we can see what is revealed.

The lesson I have learned is that what is revealed is not always the truth. Look at some of the TV Evangelists in the last decade or so- PTL  founder Jim Bakker was a crook; do you remember Jimmy Swaggart crying on television about his affairs with prostitutes? And the Catholic church problems with sexual molestation. And there was a Rabbi in New Jersey years ago that murdered his wife to continue an affair he had been having. Until these secret sins had been revealed, what we saw was righteousness and people to respect and admire. What had been revealed to us were two different truths, so which was really true?

Both were true, in a sense, because what we saw that was good was good, and later what we saw that was bad was bad. While the “good” was being revealed God kept the secret “bad” to Himself, and did so until He felt it was time to reveal it. That means that what may seem “bad” to us might have some secret “good’ still not revealed. Some secrets He has revealed, others He has not. We will never know what is true and what is not with regards to people, whether that be what they say, what they do, whatever (remember what I always say: people don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do.) We have to accept what we see, and trust in God that what we do not see is known to Him and will be revealed, in His perfect time.

This doesn’t mean don’t believe anything you see or hear (but you probably shouldn’t.) I am saying, or trying to say, that we need to trust God for everything, and to also trust ourselves when we call on the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, to give us insight. The secret things are known to God, and His spirit can reveal these things to us; things that our human senses and human eyes cannot see. Always test for yourself what you are told.

Reading God’s word lets us know what is right and what is wrong, and trusting the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us will help us to see what is not revealed to others.

We can never know the inner secrets of someone’s heart; I think most people don’t even know their own heart. God does. And we should trust Him that whatever the truth is, He will know it, and it will be revealed when, and if, it needs to be.

The final lesson I have today is at the end of this parashah, which (I think) fits in with the above: the last verse of Chapter 30 is Moses telling the people that he is presenting to everyone life and death, the blessings and the curses, and for the people to choose life (obedience) so they may live long in the land God swore to the Patriarchs. The choice is ours to make; we can’t always know why some people choose to obey and why others choose to rebel, and we don’t know what is truly in the hearts of anyone. I have seen people who do not consider themselves Christian/Born Again act in ways that are more godly and Torah-observant than professed Christians. Are these people saved? I don’t know, but God does. God knows the secret things, and we should choose to obey God and not concern ourselves with trying to seek out those secrets He has kept to Himself. If they need to be revealed, He will when He is good and ready to do so.

When we lose loved ones, do not fret over their eternal fate, because you cannot be sure what it is and it is too late to do anything about it. Everyone has the right to choose, and they have had plenty of opportunity during their life to do so. Yes, I get sad thinking about all the loved ones I have already lost that I am pretty sure did not choose life, and I worry for the ones that are still alive who haven’t made their commitment to God and accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, the one God promised, and done so of their own accord. So many people I care about that have been raised a Gentile and told about Jesus, and told so many lies about salvation and Torah, and who don’t know the word of God at all, but believe (from what they have been told their whole life) that they are saved when they never really asked for it, themselves. Are they really saved?

I can’t say- it’s one of those secret things. What I choose to believe is that, based on what I read in the Bible, we have until our very last breath, until that final blip before the flat line on the machine, to accept God, Yeshua, and be saved. Do we get that one, last chance? Does God reveal Himself to the comatose, to the ones who have no responses to this world, and give them that one last opportunity to choose life?

I like to think He does, but that is one of those secret things that only God knows, and it won’t be revealed to us until we are with the Lord. So don’t drive yourself crazy thinking about it, trust in God, and concentrate on your walk with Him.

Parashah Ki Tavo (When You Come In) Deuteronomy 26 – 29

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This parashah is one of my favorites, mainly because of Chapter 28, which is the Blessings and the Curses.

Moses starts out by telling everyone that they must bring the first fruits of the land to the place where God will place His name, and the pronouncement they must make which is to re-affirm their history, what God has done for them and that they have not strayed from God’s commandments.

When the people are in the land they are to stand at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim and pronounce the curses upon people who do sinful things, with all the people saying, “Amen!” to each pronounced curse. The blessings are also to be said, although they are not specified here- only the curses are specified.

The blessings are identified in Chapter 28, as well as the punishment (curses) that will fall upon the people for disobedience. When you read the curses, they are more numerous than the blessings and as wonderful as the blessings are, the curses are relatively just as devastating and horrible.

But does God really curse people? Isn’t He the Lord of lords and Kings of kings? Isn’t He compassionate, long-suffering, abounding in grace and love? Does the Lord, God Almighty really sock–it-to-us just because we screw up?

This is what I love about this chapter- the truth of God’s “curses” is that they aren’t curses from God, they are curses we impose on ourselves by walking away from God.

God’s blessings are active- He gives them to us. We can earn them through obedience, and even when we are disobedient God will still bless us (He rains on the righteous and unrighteous, alike) because He is a loving and compassionate God.  The blessings will come, without end while we obey and (as Micah advised) when we walk humbly with our God. In other words, God holds this giant umbrella, a hoopah, a kippur, a covering that protects us from the world and the horrible things in it. When we walk with God, meaning when we are obedient and staying in His will, we are protected. Oh, yeah, just like when we have an umbrella in the storm, our pants and feet get wet, and we may have to suffer some wind damage to our hair, but we are protected. The full force of the storm is kept away from us. That’s what it is like when we stay obedient.

God stays on His own path- ain’t nothing gonna change where God wants to go. So what happens when we disobey? He goes His way and we wander off in another direction. Ever try to walk with someone in the rain when they are holding the umbrella? If you don’t watch your step and make sure you are going where they are going, you get soaked. When we disobey God and wander off His path, we lose the kippur of protection that God provides us (i.e., His blessings) and therefor we suffer the curses of this cursed world.

It’s that easy. God actively blesses us, and His “curses” are not curses at all- it is Him passively allowing us to wander away from His protective kippur;  what it comes down to is when we disobey God’s commandments, we curse ourselves!

If you feel that you are being cursed, under attack, check yourself out in the mirror. Ask yourself, “Am I walking with God or am I wandering off on my own?” God doesn’t really punish us, but He will allow us to punish ourselves when we disobey and wander off on our own. Even with Job, the curses and horrors Job suffered, were allowed by God but not directly performed by God.

We could argue that passively allowing evil is not really different than performing the evil, itself. In fact, we are told in Deuteronomy that we should NOT stand by and allow evil, we should help even our enemy if his donkey is overladen. So why can God get away with allowing evil to happen to others?

I don’t know. Maybe because He is God? Maybe because His plans are way above us, and what we perceive as a plan for evil He knows is really a plan for good. How many times in your life have you felt that you were never going to come out of a situation smelling good, yet when you look back that terrible time is what led to to a real blessing in your life? My first date with Donna was the “Date from Hell” but we got past it and just last week we celebrated our 20th Anniversary of that first date. And even today, each kiss is better than the last one.

It’s alright to question God, He’s big enough He can handle a few questions, but don’t expect to understand the answer. Hello? He’s God, and we aren’t!

God will bless you when you obey, and when you disobey you choose to walk away from His protection from the world so you suffer curses.

Here’s one last interesting thought: if you look closely, you will see that curses are the opposite of the blessings. That proves (to me, at least) that the curses are what exist in this world and the blessings are the absence of the curses. Just like being under an umbrella in the rain- all around us it is raining (curses), but under the umbrella we are safe from it.

How many times throughout the Tanakh is God described as our shield and protector?

God is our umbrella: do you have enough sense to get out from under the rain?

Parashah Ki Thetze (Go Forth) Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25

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In this parashah there are many seemingly miscellaneous laws, dealing with everything from marrying a captured slave woman to how to divorce her, rights of the criminal, OSHA regulations (must have a parapet on the roof), mixing of different things (animals that are yoked, seeds in the field, cloths), what to wear, what not to wear, sparing the mother bird, adultery, tzitzis, holiness of the camp, kindness to animals, excessive punishment, providing for the poor and needy, accountability for sin, kidnapping, pledges, charging of interest, business dealings, and others.

Most of these laws are easy to understand, and some don’t seem to make sense. This parashah seems to have a little of all three types of laws: Miztvot (commandments), Mishpatim (regulations) and Chukkim (laws we don’t understand the reason or meaning of.)

The message I would like to get across today is this: let the Holy Spirit guide your interpretation.  We may not be able to understand all that we read in the Bible; in fact, we can’t understand all that we read in the Bible! That’s one of the things that is so great about reading it every day! No matter how many times I read it, I always find something new in there, something I have seen a hundred times but never understood before that reading.

And that is not of my doing- it comes from the understanding I receive through the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit.

When I want to know what message God has for me, I “un-focus” my brain and leave it open to the Holy Spirit. It’s like when you find yourself staring directly at something but you don’t really see it because you haven’t focused your stare. I do that with my brain (most people who know me will tell you I do that a lot) and sort of open it up to the Holy Spirit to place what it wants in there. I am sure there are people who hear God talking to them, audibly, but I don’t. I get this little, still voice in the back of my head that just sort of “pops” something in there. And when it goes against what I was thinking I should do or say, or against what I thought I wanted, I can be certain that it is God. Especially because when I get that thought, it’s different from what I thought it should be and yet I know in my spirit that it is right, well…that’s gotta be the Big Guy leading me.

Today what I have for you is a short and simple lesson: let God’s spirit lead your interpretation and understanding when you read His word.

After all, who is better to explain what He means than the author, Himself?

Parashah Shofetim (Judges) Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9

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The laws covered in this portion of the Torah refer to the appointment of judges at all the gates of the cities, with admonitions against judging unfairly, for any reason. Warnings, again, against idolatry, rules for a king, should they choose to ask God to appoint one, rulings about the Levites, their lack of inheritance and proper due from the sacrifices, regulations and warnings about prophets, both true and false, criminal laws and rules of engagement for battle. It ends with instructions regarding cleansing the town of blood guilt when there is an unsolved murder committed there.

What I want us to discuss today is about what God tells us a king should be. The king must, first and foremost, be a native, be chosen by God, and be benevolent. He must not gather up riches (for himself), multiply horses (to make war) or have many wives who may turn his heart away from following the Lord.

Most important, I believe, was the regulation that the king had to have a copy of the Torah (arguably, some say just the book of Deuteronomy) that he must read daily and keep with him, literally next to him, always.

David did that, Solomon did that, most of his rule, but he did multiply wives that turned him from the law. The kings of the Northern tribes, Shomron, never really kept to this commandment about the kings keeping the Torah laws, and we know what happened to them. The kings of the Southern tribes, in Judah, usually kept to the Torah but in the end they fell away, especially after Manasseh, and they were destroyed, too.

Today, our king, the President, along with our judges, the Supreme Court, have all fallen away from the law. They have kicked God out of the courts and out of the government. They have multiplied horses with wars in the Middle East, Asia and South America. They are amassing riches by playing with tax laws, screwing up health reforms and the country, itself, is so litigious that we are destroying our ability to afford insurance because the courts appoint ridiculous awards to stupid people for hurting themselves, then blaming the manufacturer for not warning them against being idiots.

We have disobeyed God in the way He said the government should be run. This is what we saw in First Century Judea- the king (Herod) was not a native and most certainly didn’t study or care about Torah (although he did let Yochanan the Immerser set him straight on things, now and then), the judges weren’t always Levites, many being appointees of Herod, and I don’t think anyone can argue that Herod’s wife did not turn his heart to ungodliness.

I love this country, I served in the Marine Corps, and still believe it is one of the most righteous and fair-minded countries in the world. The government we have is still, despite it’s failings, one of the most successful, non-monarchical governments in history.  Yet, I am almost ready to divorce it because it is becoming a godless (even god-hating) rule by sin instead of rule by God. As I said, the Supreme Court has ruled God has no place in our justice system. The Ten Commandments must not even be seen anywhere near a courtroom. Did you know that when you take an oath in a courtroom you do not have to swear on the Bible? You can simply affirm that you will tell the truth. I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? When the government (king and judges) doesn’t respect or honor God, why bother expecting it’s citizens to do so? And throughout history governments that reject God have suffered and been destroyed, haven’t they?

I am an American, and for better or worse, I am still an American. But I am ashamed of my country, and I know from reading God’s Word that this country will fall, as did Shomron, as did Judah, as have Rome, Babylon, and Greece. Just as all the major kingdoms of the Earth that have rejected God have fallen, my country, which I love, will fall, too.

We live in the End Days- the people are being regathered to Israel and the judgement of the Nations is coming. America will be judged for her godlessness and disobedience. It is sad, it is more than sad, it is terrible! It is terrible that we were once a nation formed by those seeking to worship God, and we have ended up as a nation which rejects God in everything we do.

God told Jeremiah when the kingdom of Judah was about to be destroyed for it’s disobedience, do not pray for it. I think that we should follow that advice and not pray for America. It is too late, we are already done for, the judgement is coming and we who know God’s word should know this, yet the country will not listen and they, frankly, do not care. All that is left now for Believers to do is try to turn as many individuals back to God as we can before the ax falls.

It’s sad and I sound pessimistic, but I am really being optimistic. The worse it gets in the world, the closer we come to the return of Messiah Yeshua, His millennial rule, and the new creation where we spend eternity in the glorious presence of the Holy of Holy’s.

Many of us are going to get dirty when this all happens, but God is waiting at the other end with a hot shower, plenty of soap and a brand new body. Just stay on course, friends, just stay on course.

Parashah Re’eh (Behold) Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17

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With this parashah we leave the First Discourse of Moses, the historical discourse,  and come into the Second Discourse of this book, which is the Rehearsal of the Code. Essentially, Moses reviews (as is pretty much what D’varim is- a review of all that has happened since leaving Egypt) the laws that God has given to the Israelites. These laws deal with religious institution and worship (although God doesn’t have any religion), criminal law, domestic life and concludes with tithing, first fruits and accompanying prayers.

The very first thing that God tells the people in this Parashah is that they have a choice, the freedom to choose for themselves, individually and corporately, whether or not they will obey the laws given to them. Obedience will bring blessings, and disobedience will bring curses. Seems easy enough, doesn’t it?

BTW…God doesn’t do bad things to people, but He does allow bad things to happen to those who reject His kippah (covering) of protection. God’s curses are not evil intentions designed to hurt us; those curses are actually self-inflicted. They are the direct result of “walking away” from God, which means leaving the protection He offers us from the world.

The world is a cursed place, full of evil and godlessness. When we obey God, it is like walking under an umbrella during a thunderstorm: we are protected from that which is all around us. Sure, our feet get wet, maybe from the knees down our pants are soaked, but overall we are not drenched by the rains. However, when we reject God’s laws, we are stepping away from the umbrella and showing that (to coin a phrase) we don’t have enough sense to get out of the rain.

The blessings are active actions, things God does on purpose to help and protect us. The curses are passive actions, things that happen to us when God is not protecting us. And it isn’t His choice to not protect us- we are the ones who choose to reject His protection.

Some may say, “Oh, yeah? Well, we aren’t really free, we don’t really have a choice because if we want the protection we have to do as God says.” That’s right- you do have to obey God to be protected. But the world has rules, too. Their rules are ones where you must conform, you must “take the mark” to be able to fit in with everyone else, and the world is not compassionate or understanding. If you screw up in the world, you’re dead meat.

God, however, is not like the world. If we should stumble and fall, He will move to cover us when we reach out to Him. He will bring the umbrella to where we are, lift us up, and let us come back under His protection. He will clean off the mud and the dirt and we will be able to keep walking with Him. Even when we totally walk away, we are always welcomed back when we realize our mistake and ask for His forgiveness and for His protection.

That ain’t happening in the real world.

So, yes- we do have a choice. As Yeshua said, we are all slaves to something, either to God or to sin. We choose, we decide, and we need to remember that to choose God is to choose a way that will  have us walking separately from the rest of the world, but under His kippah. If we choose the world, we will be uncovered in the storm. The problem is that once you get soaking wet, you don’t feel the rain anymore so you think you are OK. That’s how sin stays in our lives, and multiplies, until we get so soaked in disgusting things that the stench is no longer noticeable.

We do have a choice, we do have free will, and we do have the exact same options that the Israelites had some 3,500 years ago: we can choose blessings or curses, we can choose to obey or reject, we can choose life or death. And when we choose God, we choose His laws as He gave them- that means living within the rules of the Torah. The whole Torah, not just the parts we like.

The world will make you live with your choice, and God will always let you change your mind, either for the good or for the bad. His gift of blessings and salvation is irrevocable. That means it will not be taken back, but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw it away.

The choice is yours, so choose well and remember this: whichever choice you make, the longer you stay with it, the easier it becomes to stay with it.

Those that have ears, let them hear.