47Parshah
Shoftim – Judges
D’varim 16:18 – 21:9
Haftorah
Yesha’Yahu 51 :12-52:12, 1st Corint.5:9-13
Daniel ben Ya’acov IsraelPortion Summary (intro FFZO)
The commandment for the king to write a copy of the Torah demonstrates the work of Messiah. He Himself is the Word made flesh. He is the copy of the Torah in human form. Furthermore, He writes a copy of the Torah as He writes the Torah upon our hearts. The Torah of King Messiah is written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Portion Outline
- TORAH
- Deuteronomy 16:18 | Municipal Judges and Officers
- Deuteronomy 16:21 | Forbidden Forms of Worship
- Deuteronomy 17:8 | Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges
- Deuteronomy 17:14 | Limitations of Royal Authority
- Deuteronomy 18:1 | Privileges of Priests and Levites
- Deuteronomy 18:9 | Child-Sacrifice, Divination, and Magic Prohibited
- Deuteronomy 18:15 | A New Prophet Like Moses
- Deuteronomy 19:1 | Laws concerning the Cities of Refuge
- Deuteronomy 19:14 | Property Boundaries
- Deuteronomy 19:15 | Law concerning Witnesses
- Deuteronomy 20:1 | Rules of Warfare
- Deuteronomy 21:1 | Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown
- PROPHETS
- Isaiah 51:1 | Blessings in Store for God's People
- Isaiah 52:1 | Let Zion Rejoice
Once again
in this Parahsa, Moshe is talking to the children of Israel (carnal man), what to do
when they enter the promise land, in order to have a godly life, according to
the Torah and not the standard of man. Every country in this world has its own
laws to rule the citizens and foreigners living in this country. The laws of a
country are the “mortar” which keeps the people together and insure them of
their rights, these laws are known under “constitutional
laws” they are the foundation of right ruling in almost all countries of
the world today. Without laws, people would do whatever they want and chaos
would be the result. It is amazing that
no singles person today will oppose the laws from their country and even accept
foreign laws when travelling to foreign countries; but Christians vehemently reject and oppose the Torah of יהוה!
Torah equals instruction for righteous life! Is this too heavy and to hard?
Christians will tell you that “no man
can keep the Torah”. יהושע kept the Torah and he was a man like you and
me! יהוה knew that the children of Israel
will encounter people who are idolaters and immoral in their behaviours, when
they enter the promise land.
Deu 16:18 “Appoint judges and officers within all your
gates, which יהוה
your Elohim is giving you,
according to your tribes. And they shall judge the people with righteous
right-ruling. ……
We read: Deu 1:15 “And I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and known,
and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, and leaders
of hundreds, and leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens, and officers for your
tribes. ..... Deu 1:16 “And I
commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘When hearing between your
brothers, judge righteously between a man and his brother or the
stranger who is with him......
At this time Moshe was recalling
what happened at Mount Horeb when יהוה spoke to the children of Israel. This was now for
the new generations.
Judges: Strong’s #
8199 שׁפט shin (300) Pe(80) tet (9) (389)shâphaṭ shaw-fat'.......
A primitive root; to judge,
that is, pronounce sentence (for or against); by
implication to vindicate or punish; by extension to govern;
passively to litigate
(literally or figuratively): - + avenge,
X that condemn, contend, defend, execute (judgment), (be a) judge (-ment), X
needs, plead, reason, rule.
The judges will take an important position in the midst of the children of Israel. Since
they came out from Mitzrayim it was Moshe who brought sentences when
disputes happen between the people. After Moshe
departure, Yehushua the son of Nun will keep the same position but right
after his departure, the Judges will carry the ruling position for many
centuries.
1Ch 23:3 And the Lĕwites were
numbered from the age of thirty years
and above. And their number, head by head, was thirty-eight thousand males. ...... 1Ch
23:4 of these, twenty-four
thousand of were to oversee the work
of the House יהוה,
and six thousand were officers
and judges,
2Ch 19:4 So Yehoshaphat dwelt in Yerushalayim, and he went out again among the
people from Be’ĕrsheḇa to the hill country of Ephrayim, and brought them back
to יהוה Elohim of their fathers. 2Ch
19:5 and he appointed judges in the land in all the walled cities of
Yehuḏah, city by city, 2Ch 19:6 and said to
the judges, “Watch what you are doing, for you do not judge for man, but for יהוה who is with you in the matter of right-ruling….
It is good to note that the Levites
who were in service at the Tabernacle and later Temple were twenty four
thousand (24.000), this help us to
understand why the tithe was so important and that יהוה
was
watching about the good fulfilment of this “mitzvoth”
(commands), the Levites having no
inheritance in the land.
Believers forget to see if this authority existed when יהושע
came. We know that at יהושע’s
time the Sanhedrin were ruling in
Israel, a pharisaic structures build of seventy one chosen people who gave the “Halacha” (the way to walk the Torah)
organized by Ezra at the time of
returning from Babylonian exile. Tradition among the “Jews” says that it was established by Moshe (we see it in the book of Galatians and many times in
the rebuking of the Pharisee by Yeshua, this Pharisaic body of laws were called
Oral Torah). The head of the
Sanhedrin was the High Priest. יהושע transferred
this authority to his Talmidin
(disciples):
Mat 23:1 Then יהושע
spoke to the crowds and to
His taught ones, Mat 23:2 saying, “The scribes
and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.
Mat 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Kĕpha, and on this rock I shall
build My assembly, and the gates of the grave shall not overcome it. Mat 16:19 “And I shall give you the
keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever you bind1 on earth shall be having been bound1 in the heavens, and whatever you loosen1 on earth shall be having been loosened1 in the heavens.” Footnote: 1Binding
and loosening is Heḇrew idiom for exercising authority (to prohibit
and permit called in Hebrew hallaka)
Comment from the writer from e-sword bible.
Unfortunately
among Christians, this “binding and
loosing” has become a “magic formula”
to exercise power over demons! Thinking that by screaming at demons they
can “bind” them and so “loose”
believers from demon’s possession. This is one example of many of
misinterpretation of scripture among Christianity, because of the lack of
knowledge. We see Sha’ul going to Yerushalayim to speak with those who had
the authority.
Gal 2:1 then after fourteen years I again went up to Yerushalayim, with Barnaḇah,
taking Titus along too.......... Gal 2:9
and when Ya’acov, Kefa, and Yochanan,
who seemed to be pillars (the one who having the ruler ship), perceived the
grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that
we should go unto
the heathen (Goyim, nations), and1 they unto the circumcision.
We see another action in the book of Acts where it is clear that Ya’acov
the brother of יהושע was the one with Kefa and Yochanan who had authority to take decision. He was called Ya’acov the Tzadek (the just) in
the literature.
Act 15:2 So when Sha’ul and Barnaḇah had no small dissension and dispute with
them, they arranged for Sha’ul and Barnaḇah and certain others of them to go up to Yerushalayim, to the emissaries
and elders, about this question............ Act
15:6 and the emissaries and elders came together to look into this
matter. Act 15:7 And when there had
been much dispute, Kĕpha rose up and
said to them, “Men, brothers, you know that a good while ago Elohim chose
among us, that by my mouth the gentiles (Goyim,
nations) should hear the word of the Good News and believe. Act 15:13 and after they were silent, Yaʽaqoḇ answered, saying, “Men,
brothers, listen to me..... Act 15:19
“Therefore I (Ya’acov) judge (give sentence) that we should not trouble those from among the (Goyim,
nations) who are turning to Elohim,
We see that the followers of יהושע
were
under the right ruling of the apostles and the head was Ya’acov the one giving the final decision and not Kefa as the Roman Catholic Church proclaim. Ya’acov
was the “join” between the community of those following the Torah of Moshes and those following also the
Torah under יהושע’s authority. How it is today?
Well this is a good question. If we go to Yerushalyim,
we will see that the Orthodox “Jews” have their own “halacha” (right ruling) and even have set up a new “Sanhedrin”. This is not legal before Elohim. They don’t even know if these
men chosen among Rabies are from among the Levites further they do not accept יהושע’s authority. For those who follow Messiah today we have to keep ourselves
in the Torah has it was with the apostles until Messiah comes back. He will set up the Kingdom and put some into
the judge (shoftim) position....Since
the time of the Diaspora the House of Israel, Ephraim has been scattered in the
four corners of the earth and didn’t even knew about her identity for more than
20 centuries. It is only in this last 20-30 years that Elohim began to draw back people to himself, making them aware of
their origins.
Remember scriptures are a progressive revelation. At the
right time יהוה reveal his plan to his
people (Daniel 12:4).
Deu
16:19 “Do not distort
right-ruling (make change). Do not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a
bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Deu 16:20 “Follow righteousness, righteousness alone, so that you live and inherit
the land which יהוה
your Elohim is giving you.
…………..
Compare with:
Pro 11:1 a false scale is an abomination to יהוה, But
a perfect weight is His delight.
Pro 20:10 differing weights and differing measures, both of them are an
abomination to יהוה.
Here we find the meaning of “righteousness”:
Isa 51:7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, a people in whose heart is My Torah……….
Again
and again we see the pattern for a righteous life. How can we say to love “G-d”
and arrogantly reject the Torah, as
it is in the world today; remember the sign between יהוה and His children is the Shabbat
(Sh’mot 31:17)? The mark of the beast, the anti-messiah (anti = opposite to) is
the Sunday worship enforced by the
Roman Catholic under Constantine
in the council of Nicea in 325
C.E.
1Jn 5:3 For this is
the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands,1 and His commands are not heavy, Footnote: 1See
5:2, 2 John v. 6, John 14:15......
If we compare the saying
from Yochanan with the Torah we will see that he doesn’t give a
new commandment but expound it to the
believers:
Exo 20:5 Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I YHVH thy Elohim am a
jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that
love me, and keep my commandments. (Love and keep work together).
Deu
16:21 “Do not plant for
yourself any tree as an Ashĕrah (idol)
near the altar of יהוה your Elohim
that you make for yourself. Deu 16:22 “And do
not set up a pillar, which יהוה your Elohim
hates. Deu
16:21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of YHWH thy Elohim, which thou
shalt make thee.
The King
James and other bibles give the word “Asherah”
as “groves” , which hide the full meaning. The scripture 1998 give the right
translation with “asherath”……. Asherah is Stong’s # H842 'ăshêrâh
' ash-ay-raw'......From H833; happy;
asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician
goddess; also an image of the same: - grove. Compare H6253…….H 6253 ‛ashtôreth ash-to'-reth….Probably for H6251; Ashtoreth, the Phoenician goddess of love (and increase): - Ashtoreth........
Ashtoreth is also known under the name “Simeramis” the goddess of the
Babylonians the wife of Nimrod and
mother of Tammuz in the Babylonian
tradition. We can find the pictures of Simeramis
with the little baby Tammuz engraved
on old coins. Today we see the same picture in many documents from the Roman Catholic Church called “Marie and Jesus”. They are the same,
both, been the symbol of virgin birth and the worship of the sun as we can read
in the book of YrmeYahu the prophet:
Jer 44:15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other
mighty ones, and all the women who
stood by, a great assembly, and all the people who dwelt in the land of
Mitsrayim, in Pathros, answered Yirmeyahu, saying, Jer 44:16 “We are not going to listen to you in the matter about which you spoke
to us in the Name of יהוה! Jer 44:17 ButH3588 we will certainly
doH6213 H6213 (H853) whatsoeverH3605 H834 thingH1697
goeth forthH3318 out of our own
mouth,H4480 H6310 to burn incenseH6999 unto
the queenH4446 of heaven*,H8064 and
to pour outH5258 drink offeringsH5262 unto her, asH834 we have done,H6213
we,H587 and our fathers,H1 our kings,H4428
and our princes,H8269 in the citiesH5892 of Judah,H3063
and in the streetsH2351 of
Jerusalem:H3389 for then had we plentyH7646 of victuals,H3899 and wereH1961
well,H2896 and sawH7200 noH3808
evil.H7451
* Today the Roman Catholic Church has
declared Maria to be the “Queen of Heaven”
C.J. Koster in his book The
Final Restoration (reprinted as Come Out of Her My People) cites
historical evidence for relating these pillars to the Egyptian and Babylonian
obelisk, which was connected to sun worship and the phallic symbol. He states
that these pillars were commonly erected
at the entrances to pagan temples as fertility symbols in honour of the sun deity (ibid. p. 79). Even as an
Egyptian obelisk of this sort sits in the very centre of the Catholic Church’s
St. Peter’s Square in Rome,
so, according to Koster, it is
traditional for obelisk-shaped steeples to be found on Christian churches to
this day (ibid., p. 81). Rives in his book Too Long In the Sun makes
the same connection between the Egyptian obelisk, Canaanite standing pillars
and Christian steeple (p. 136). What is the point here?
יהוה commanded Israel to destroy these
pagan symbols and to have nothing to do with them. They were abominations that
would defile יהוה’s
set-apart people. Have his people heed, consider his command? Many of these
remnants of ancient pagan cultic practices remain in both the Protestant and
Catholic Churches to this day (Easter/Ishtar, Christmas/Saturnalia/ the Christmas
tree/Tammuz tree/, Christmas a fertility symbol, Lent, Easter eggs and rabbits,
and the list goes on and on).
Does יהוה’s command to his
people of the end times generation to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4) take on a
new meaning to you?
Deu 17:1 “Do not slaughter to יהוה your Elohim a bull or sheep which has any blemish, any
evil matter, for that is an abomination to יהוה your Elohim. ……
Here we have a verse which
reveal its full meaning in the “sod”
but let us read:
Keil and delitzsch give following commentary: Not only did the inclination to nature-worship, such as the setting up
of the idols of Ashera and Baal, belong to the crimes which
merited punishment, but also a manifest transgression of the laws concerning
the worship of Yehovah, such as the offering of an ox or sheep that had some
fault, which was an abomination in the sight of Yehovah (see at Lev_22:20.). “Any evil thing,” i.e., any of the faults enumerated in Lev_22:22-24......
Matthew Henry add the connection to יהושע’
sacrifice : No creature which had any blemish
was to be offered in sacrifice to God (Elohim). We are thus called to remember
the perfect, pure, and spotless sacrifice of Messiah, and reminded to serve God(Elohim)
with the best of our abilities, time, and possession, or our pretended
obedience will be hateful to him. So great a punishment as death, so remarkable
a death as stoning, must be inflicted on the Jewish idolater. Let all who in
our day set up idols in their hearts, remember how God(Elohim) punished this
crime in Israel..........
Matthew Henry warns people who make
idols in their heart! We should diligently seek our heart and pray Abba יהוה to remove
everything which can become an idol unto us. Do you know that even our own child
can become an idol unto us? Haven’t you heard people saying when speaking of a
singer: “this is my idol”? ......... Idolatry in its simple form is everything
that takes place in our heart between Elohim
and us. If you come to Europe, there are many modern idols: cars, houses, but
also in sport, soccer, rugby, Olympic Games, (traditional honour to the g-d of
this world, HaSatan) cinema’s
actors……..
All these are idols turning
people from worshiping the only True Elohim, יהוה!
First let us look at the
meaning of the words “blameless, blemish,
fault”.......
Blameless: Strong’s #H3971 מוּם mûm moom,
....... As if passive participle from an unused root probably meaning to stain; a blemish (physical or
moral): - blemish, blot, spot.....
Fault or evil favouredness: Strong’s
#H7451 רעה
רע ra‛ râ‛âh rah, raw-aw'.....From
H7489; bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally). This
includes the second (feminine) form; as adjective or noun: - adversity,
affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness],
man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful),
ill (favoured), + mark, mischief,
(-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, + not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow,
trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness,
one), worse (-st) wretchedness,
wrong. [Including
feminine ra’ah; as adjective or
noun.]….. Let us look to some few verses speaking of blameless sacrifices in the Brit Chadashah (falsely called “New
Testament” instead of “Renewed Covenant”):
Luk 23:4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to
the people, I find no fault in this man(יהושע)...Luk 23:14 Said
unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people:
and, behold, I, having examined him
before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things
whereof ye accuse him:...
Joh 19:4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith
unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
Rev 14:5 and in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of YHWH.....
We can see the direct link between the animals’ condition
and Messiah and later with the
followers of יהושע...... I have explain the “mystery” of the animal sacrifices
during the time before Messiah. Why
did יהוה required such kind of
sacrifice from his people? Was יהוה in need of
blood and meat? Was the ritual so perfectly ordained with its rituals and rules
pointing to something?
Many have seen the relationship between animals and Messiah, of course יהושע
is
called the Lamb of Elohim (Yoch.1:29, 36,
1 Kefa 1:19, Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 6:1…..)
The question
remain, namely why יהוה required
animals sacrifices, especially “clean” animals
without blemish (physical defect)? The reason is that all this animals were innocent, guiltless in their behaviours, chosen to pay the price for the sin,
the transgression of the children of Israel (carnal man). All this animals were
grazing and chewing grass every day, a picture of believers who meditate “chew” on the Torah. The fact of chewing grass is a
euphemism of mediation, taking the word again and again in his mind and dig to
find the deepest meaning. We have many examples in the “brit chadashah” from Sha’ul,
Yochanan, Kefa who through mediation and revelation of the Ruach HaQodesh understood what was
embedded in the Torah......
Deu 17:2 “When there is found in your midst, in any of your
cities which יהוה your
Elohim is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the eyes of יהוה your Elohim, in
transgressing His covenant, …..
Evil is directly
connected with transgressing the
covenant! We should think about that!
Deu 17:3 and has gone and served other mighty ones (Elohim) and bowed down to them, or to the sun or to the moon or to any of the
host of the heavens, which I have not commanded, Deu
17:4 and it has been made known to you and you have heard, and has
searched diligently. Then see, if true: the matter is confirmed that such an
abomination has been done in Yisra’ĕl, Deu 17:5
then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil
matter, and you shall stone to death
that man or woman with stones. Deu 17:6 “At the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall he that is to die be put to death. He is not put to death by the mouth of
one witness. ……..
Idolatry is
great evil in the sight of Elohim,
because it is the first step to depart from the truth and provoque יהוה jealousy!
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other elohim before me...Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I YHWH thy Elohim am a
jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Two or three witnesses:
Matthew 18:16, “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee
one or two more, that in the mouth of two
or three witnesses every word may be established.”......
2 Corinthians 13:1, “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall every word be established.”.......
1 Timothy 5:19, “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but
before two or three witnesses.”..........
Hebrews 10:28, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy
under two or three witnesses.”..........
Today the Roman Catholic Church is the religion of “Sun worship” called “Mithra”, with “Sun_day worship” honouring and worshiping “Marie the Queen of Heaven” and Christmas
a pagan tradition on the 25th of December, the “rebirth of the sun”.
Not only the Roman Catholic Church, but many pagan religions
in the world worship the sun, the Incas in the past century, but also today we
find sun worship in South America, in India under different form, in China, and
many other places.
יהוה command his
people, you and me to keep ourselves from such worship, to be “Qadosh”, “Set Apart”, “Saints”. Again
and again, the prophets have called the Children of Israel to turn back to the
Torah, in vain:
Jer 6:16 Thus saith YHWH, Stand ye in the ways, and
see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls. But they said, We will not walk
therein....
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery,
and swear falsely, and burn incense unto
Baal, and walk after other elohim whom ye know not;.....
Eze 8:16 And
he brought me into the inner court of YHWH's house, and, behold, at the door of
the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty
men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the
east; and they worshipped the sun
toward the east....
Eze 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate
of YHWH's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz...........
Who is Tammuz? According
to the International Standard Bible
Encylopedia we have following information:
Tammuz: tam´uz, tam´mōōz (תּמּוּז, tammūz; Θαμμούζ, Thammoúz):----- (1) The name of a Phoenician deity, the Adonis of the Greeks. He was originally a Sumerian or Babylonian sun-god, called
Dumuzu, the husband of Ishtar, who corresponds to Aphrodite of the Greeks. The worship of these deities was introduced
into Syria in very early times under the designation of Tammuz and Astarte, and appears among the Greeks in the myth of Adonis and Aphrodite, who are
identified with Osiris and Isis of the
Egyptian pantheon, showing how widespread the cult became. The Babylonian
myth represents Dumuzu, or Tammuz,
as a beautiful shepherd slain by a wild boar, the symbol of winter. Ishtar long mourned for him and descended into the underworld to deliver
him from the embrace of death (Frazer, Adonis, Attis and Osiris). This mourning for Tammuz was celebrated in Babylonia by women on the 2nd
day of the 4th month, which thus acquired the name of Tammuz (see
CALENDAR). This custom of weeping for Tammuz is referred to in the Bible in the
only passage where the name occurs (Eze_8:14).
The chief seat of the cult in Syria was Gebal (modern Gebail, Greek Bublos)
in Phoenicia, to the South of which the river Adonis (Nahr Ibrahı̂m)
has its mouth, and its source is the magnificent fountain of Apheca (modern ‛Afḳa), where was the celebrated
temple of Venus or Aphrodite, the ruins of which still exist. The women of
Gebal used to repair to this temple in midsummer to celebrate the death of
Adonis or Tammuz, and there arose in connection with this celebration those
licentious rites which rendered the cult so infamous that it was suppressed by
Constantine the Great.......
The name Adonis,
by which this deity was known to the Greeks, is none other than the Phoenician אדון,
'Ādhōn, which is the same in
Hebrew. His death is supposed to
typify the long, dry summer of Syria and Palestine, when vegetation perishes,
and his return to life the rainy season when the parched earth is revivified
and is covered with luxuriant vegetation, or his death symbolizes the cold, rough winter, the boar of the myth,
and his return the verdant spring........ Considering the disgraceful and
licentious rites with which the cult was celebrated, it is no wonder that
Ezekiel should have taken the vision of the women weeping for Tammuz in the
temple as one of the greatest abominations that could defile the Holy House.
See ADONIS........ (2) The fourth month of the Jewish year, corresponding to
July. The name is derived from that of a Syrian god, identified with Adonis (Eze_8:14). See above, and CALENDAR.........
We have many
symbols of sun worship in the Catholic Church
THE Mother and
the Child from the book of Alexander
Hislop “The two Babylon”:
The Mother and Child, and the Original of the Child
While this was the theory, the first perons in the
Godhead was practically overlooked. As the
Great Invisible, taking no immediate concern in
human affairs, he was "to be worshipped
through silence alone," that is, in point of
fact, he was not worshipped by the multitude at all.
** Indrani, the wife of the Indian god Indra, from Asiatic Researches, vol. vi. p.
393.The same thing is strikingly illustrated in India at this day. Though
Brahma, according to the sacred books, is the first person of the Hindoo Triad,
and the religiion of Hindostan is called by his name, yet he is never
worshipped, and there is scarcely a single Temple in all India now in existence
of those that were formerly erected to his honour. So also is it in those
countries of Europe where the Papal system is most completely developed. In
Papal Italy, as travellers universally admit (except where the Gospel has
recently entered), all appearance of worshipping the King Eternal and Invisible
is almost extinct, while the Mother and the Child are the grand objects of
worship.
Exactly so, in this latter respect, also was it in
ancient Babylon. The Babylonians, in their
popular religion, supremely worshipped a Goddess Mother and a Son, who
was represented in pictures and in images as an infant or child in his mother's
arms. (Figs. 5 and 6) From Babylon, this worship of the Mother and the
Child spread to the ends of the earth. In Egypt, the Mother and the Child were
worshipped under the names of Isis and Osiris. * In India, even to this day, as
Isi and Iswara; ** in Asia, as Cybele and Deoius; in Pagan Rome, as Fortuna and
Jupiter-puer, or Jupiter, the boy; in Greece, as Ceres, the Great Mother, with
the babe at her breast, or as Irene, the goddess of Peace, with the boy Plutus
in her arms; and even in Thibet, in China, and Japan, the Jesuit missionaries
were astonished to find the counterpart of Madonna *** and her child as
devoutly worshipped as in Papal Rome itself; Shing Moo, the Holy Mother in
China, being represented with a child in her arms, and a glory around her, exactly as if a
Roman Catholic artist had been employed to set her up. ****
* Osiris, as the child called most frequently Horus.
BUNSEN.......** KENNEDY'S Hindoo
Mythology. Though Iswara is the husband of Isi, he is also represented
as an infant at her breast........*** The very name by which the Italians
commonly designate the Virgin, is just the translation of one of the titles of
the Babylonian goddess. As Baal or Belus was the name of the great male
divinity of Babylon, so the female divinity was called Beltis.
The dove, the chosen symbol of this deified queen, is
commonly represented with an olive
branch in her mouth (Fig. 25), as she
herself in her human form also is seen bearing the olive
branch in her hand; and from this form of representing her,
it is highly probable that she has
derived the name by which she is commonly known, for
"Z'emir-amit" means
"The branchbearer."
The olive
branch is found today in the flag of the UN?????
Fig. 38: shamash tablet
Although the god whom Isis or Ceres brought forth, and who was offered
to her under the
symbol of the wafer or thin round cake, (service of the R.C.C today in
their Sunday service) as "the bread of life," was in reality the
fierce, scorching Sun, or terrible Moloch, yet in that offering all his terror
was veiled, and everything repulsive was cast into the shade. In the appointed
symbol he is offered up to the benignant Mother, who tempers judgment with
mercy, and to whom all spiritual blessings are ultimately referred; and blessed
by that mother, he is given back to be feasted upon, as the staff of life, as
the nourishment of her worshippers' souls. Thus the Mother was held up as the favourite divinity.(is not Marie called
“Queen of heaven?)...... And thus, also, and for an entirely similar reason,
does the Madonna of Rome entirely
eclipse her son as the "Mother of
grace and mercy............
How many
symbols are to be found in the Roman
Catholic Church today, it is amazing that Christians can be so blind and refuse to see the truth, especially
those bound in the worship of “Marie”.
Deu 17:7 “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against
him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last. So you shall purge
the evil from your midst.
We see in these
verses how in the community everybody is concerned. Idolatry again is what turns
people from the truth and this has been a snare to the House of Israel since
the time after Sh’lomo. After the
departure of יהושע, not later than the second
century, people began to turn to another form of following Messiah. Constantine and his followers twisted the truth to build a
new religion called Christendom a mix
of traditional Judaism and pagan worship. Remember יהושע
never
came to build the “church”, nor Christianity. He came to restore the House of Ya’acov and rule over it as the
legitimate King descendant of David:
Luk 1:30 and
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Miriam: for thou hast found favour with
YHWH........ Luk 1:31 and, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
Yehoshua. Luk
1:32 He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest: and YHWH Elohim shall give unto him the
throne of his father David: Luk 1:33 and
he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end...........
No error, “forever” is not a limited time:
No Strong’s # G3756 οὐ ou oo................; A primary word; the absolutely negative (compare G3361)
adverb; no or not: - + long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, [can-] not, + nothing, + special, un
([-worthy]), when, + without, + yet but. See also G3364,
G3372....... End: Strong’s # G5056 Τέλος
telos tel'-os......From a primary
word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively
or indefinitely], result
[immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose);
specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual,
custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare G5411.........
Can we still
doubt that our Master will never rule
the “Church”? His Kingdom is over the
House of Ya’acov (all Israel), Halleluyah!
The price to
serve others mighty ones (gods) is the death penalty by stoning. How it is
today? Do you think it is different? People who worship other “gods” are
already dead in their sins, for the wage of sin is death (Romans 6;23) .
Rom 8:10 And if Messiah (not
Jesus) is in you, the body is truly
dead on account of sin, but the Spirit is life on account of
righteousness.
Eph 2:1 and you were dead
in trespasses and sins,1 Footnote: 1v.5
and 5:14, Mt. 8:22, Rom. 8:6, Col. 2:13, 1 Tim. 5:6, 1 John 3:14, Rev. 3:1......Eph 2:2 in
which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the
ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit that
is now working in the sons of disobedience (people of the world),1 Footnote: 1Eph.
5:6, Col. 3:6.........
We shall understand that to follow
other “gods” is a sentence of death. To follow Messiah יהושע is life. There is no middle path. The day will come very soon and has
already come when יהוה will judge the world for his rebellion and evil way. All those who will
worship the beats and carry the mark will be destroyed. There are no
differences, not the one who served the “G-d” of the “Old testament” and those
following “Jesus the g-d” of the “new testament”. There is no such thing. The Brit Chadasha is the Fulfilment of the
promises from the Tanak (O.T).......
Deu 17:8 “When any matter arises which is too hard for you
to judge, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, or between stroke and
stroke – matters of strife within your gates – then you shall rise and go up to
the place which יהוה your Elohim chooses, Deu
17:9 and shall come to the priests, the Lĕwites, and to the judge who is
in those days, and shall inquire. And they shall declare to you the word of
right-ruling, ……..
As we saw in 1st Chronicle 23:4, the
judges were chosen from among the Levites……
Judgment was
based on the Torah only and those appointed for the task were under יהוה overview. A study of the Psalm 82 shows how the
judges departed from the right rulings from the Torah…………
Deu 17:10 and you shall do according to the word which they
declare to you from that place which יהוה chooses. And
you shall guard to do according to all that they instruct you. Deu 17:11 “Do
according to the Torah in which they teach you, according to the
right-ruling which they say to you. You do not turn to the right or to the left
from the word which they declare to you.
Nehemiah and Ezra at the return of seventy years Babylonian captivity replaced the Torah in the midst of the life of the
people and the Levites taught the Torah.
Neh 8:9 and Neḥemyah, who was the
governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Lĕwites
who taught the people said to all the people, “This day
is set-apart to יהוה
your Elohim…..
Deu 17:12 “And the
man who acts arrogantly, so as not to
listen to the priest who stands to serve there before יהוה your
Elohim, or to the judge, that man shall die. So you shall
purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl. Deu 17:13 “And
let all the people hear and fear, and no longer do arrogantly. Deu 17:14 “When you come to the land which יהוה your
Elohim is giving you, and shall possess it and shall dwell in it, and you shall
say, ‘Let
me set a sovereign over me like all the gentiles that are around me,’ Deu
17:15 you shall certainly set a sovereign over you whom יהוה your Elohim shall choose. Set a sovereign over you
from among your brothers, you are not
allowed to set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. …….
יהוה knew beforehand that the children of Israel would
ask for a King. Don’t forget that the number of man is the number “six” and
this number represents the imperfection of man apart from יהוה.
This came to pass after the judges ruled over the children of Israel at the
time of Samuel, who was a prophet
chosen by Elohim. The first king to come
will be Saul the Benjamite. To have a King was not to eradicate the authority of יהוה, as long as the King followed the Torah.
Prophecies were given to appointed men like Moshe in order to fulfill what יהוה
says
of himself:
Isa 46:9 Remember
the former things of old: for I am El, and there is none else; I am Elohim, and there is none like me,...Isa 46:10 Declaring
the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will
do all my pleasure:
Moshe speak of choosing a King once they will be in the
land. This prophecy is spoken before the Children of Israel will enter the land
and ask for a king. I found the timing in International
Standard Bible Encyclopaedia:
The period of the Judges extends from the death of Joshua to the establishment
of the monarchy. How long a time elapsed between these limits is a matter of
wide difference of opinion. The chronological data in the Book of Jgs, i.e.
omitting Eli and Samuel, make a total of 410 years. But this is inconsistent
with 1Ki_6:1, where the whole period from the Exodus to the 4th year of Solomon is
reckoned at 480 years. Various attempts have been made to harmonize these
divergent figures, e.g. by eliminating the 70 years attributed to the Minor
Judges (Jdg_10:1-5; Jdg_12:7-15), by not counting the 71 years of
foreign domination, and by theory that some of the judges were contemporaneous.
It is probable that the 480 years of 1Ki_6:1
was a round number and did not rest on exact records. Indeed, it is doubtful if
there was any fixed calendar in Israel before the time of the monarchy. The
only way then to determine the length of the period of the Judges is from the
date of the Exodus. The common view is that the Exodus took place during or
just after the reign of Merenptah in the latter half of the 13th century BC.
This, however, leaves hardly more than 150 years to the period of the Judges,
for Saul's reign fell in the 2nd half of the 11th century BC. Hence, some, to
whom this seems too short, assign the Exodus to the reign of Amenophis II,
about 1450 BC. This harmonizes with the 480 years of 1Ki_6:1, and is supported by other considerations (POT, 422-24). Still others have
connected the Exodus with the expulsion of the Hyksos about 1580 BC (G.A.
Reisner); and this would fit in very well with the chronological data in the
Book of Jgs. The objection to the last two views is that they require a rather
long period of subjection of the Israelites in Canaan to Egypt, of which there
is no trace in the Book of Judges. See, further, JUDGES, BOOK OF, IV............
Chronology: ------- The period covered by the history of the Book of Jdg extends from the
death of Joshua to the death of Samson, and adds perhaps a later reference in Jdg_18:31, “all the time that the house of God
was in Shiloh” (compare 1Sa_1:3). It
is, however, difficult, perhaps impossible, to compute in years the length of
time that the writer had in mind. That he proceeded upon a fixed chronological
basis, supplied probably by tradition but modified or arranged on a systematic
principle, seems evident. The difficulty may be due in part to the corruption
which the figures have suffered in the course of the transmission of the text.
In 1Ki_6:1 an inclusive total of 480
years is given as the period from the Exodus to the building of the Temple in
the 4th year of the reign of Solomon. This total, however, includes the 40
years' wandering in the desert, the time occupied in the conquest and
settlement of the Promised Land, and an uncertain period after the death of
Joshua, referred to in the Book of Jdg itself (Jdg_2:10),
until the older generation that had taken part in the invasion had passed away.
There is also to be reckoned the 40 years' judgeship of Eli (1Sa_4:18), the unknown length of the judgeship
of Samuel (Jdg_7:15), the years of the
reign of Saul (compare 1Sa_13:1, where,
however, no statement is made as to the length of his reign), the 40 years
during which David was king (1Ki_2:11),
and the 4 years of Solomon before the building of the Temple. The recurrence of
the number 40 is already noticeable; but if for the unknown periods under and
after Joshua, of Samuel and of Saul, 50 or 60 years be allowed - a moderate
estimate - there would remain from the total of 480 years a period of 300 years
in round numbers for the duration of the times of the Judges. It may be doubted
whether the writer conceived of the period of unsettlement and distress, of
alternate oppression and peace, as lasting for so long a time......The
chronological data contained in the Book of Judges itself are as follows:.......
A total of 410 years, or, if the years of foreign oppression and of the
usurpation of Abimelech are omitted, of 296......It has been supposed that in
some instances the rule of the several judges was contemporaneous, not
successive, and that therefore the total period during which the judges ruled
should be reduced accordingly. In itself this is sufficiently probable. It is
evident, however, that this thought was not in the mind of the writer, for in
each case he describes the rule of the judge as over “Israel” with no
indication that “Israel” is to be understood in a partial and limited
signification. His words must therefore be interpreted in their natural sense,
that in his own belief the rulers whose deeds he related exercised control in the
order named over the entire nation. Almost certainly, however, he did not
intend to include in his scheme the years of oppression or the 3 years of
Abimelech's rule. If these be deducted, the resultant number (296) is very near
the total which the statement in 1Ki_6:1
suggests....... No stress, however, must be laid upon this fact. The repeated
occurrence of the number 40, with its double and half, can hardly be
accidental. The same fact was noted above in connection with earlier and later
rulers in Israel. It suggests that there is present an element of artificiality
and conscious arrangement in the scheme of chronology, which makes it
impossible to rely upon it as it stands for any definite or reliable historical
conclusion........
Even with the
difficulties encounter in the chronology we see that Moshe had divine
revelation and spoke according to what יהוה told him.....Can you see the similarity with Yehoshua?
Joh 8:28 Then
said יהושע unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know
that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me,
I speak these things.
Deu 17:16 “Only, he is
not to increase horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Mitsrayim
to increase horses, for יהוה has said to
you, ‘Do not return that way again.’
First of all, horses are not clean animals according to
the Torah. Horses were used by pagan nation to carry people. It demonstrates
the power of pagan armies when they came to attack with their horses’ armies.
You may think that today it is “old fashion” to speak
from attack with horses? This is a difficult for many people to understand
prophecy because the prophets used often the terms “horse” in their description of attack. People imagine today that no
army will come attacking with horses. I
will pretend that modern armies have
more horses as before! Consider this; since the creation of motors for cars
and tractors, and all what use motor power to move; we measure the power in “p.h”. This two letters are for “Power Horse” a motor as many power
horses. The mighty boast themselves:” my car has 250 p.h., and my, 350 p.h. The
army use Tanks with 1000 p.h! Do you think there are no more Horses, is it a
coincidence?
Deu
17:17 “And he is not to increase wives for himself, lest his heart turn away,
nor is he to greatly increase silver and gold for himself. ……
1Ki 11:1 and Sovereign Shelomoh loved many foreign women in addition to the
daughter of Pharaoh: Mo’aḇite, Ammonite, Eḏomite, Tsiḏonian, and Ḥittite
women....... 1Ki
11:3 and he had seven hundred
wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 1Ki 11:4 and it came to be, when
Shelomoh was old, that his wives turned
away his heart after other mighty ones. And his heart was not perfect with יהוה
his Elohim, as was the
heart of his father Dawiḏ. …….
One of the purposes of many wives was to assure the
multiplication of the Children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Itzak and Ya’acov….
Shelomoh was a King who
had the greatest wisdom among men this is amazing when we saw that he follows
pagan wives who enticed him after other elohim…..
Today we meet again and again among believers,
unfortunately among messianic young men who run after pagan girls, thinking
that they will join them in their belief! May be, but there is also the
possibility that this pagan girls turn their heart from the truth, and they
don’t see the danger.
Deu
17:18 “And it shall be, when he
sits on the throne of his reign, that he shall write for himself a copy of this
Torah in a book, from the one before the priests, the Lĕwites. Deu 17:19 “And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that
he learns to fear יהוה his Elohim and guard all the Words of this Torah
and these laws, to do them, ……
Here we read that the King had to write a copy of the Torah in a book and had to read it all the days of his life.
The reason was to learn to fear Elohim
and guard or keep all the commandments.
It is very interesting to have this mentioned in the Torah. You may say, “yes it was for the
kings, today we have no kings “, wait a moment and read:
Rev 5:9 and they sang a renewed song, saying, “You are worthy to take the
scroll, and to open its seals, because You were slain, and have redeemed us to
Elohim by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,....Rev 5:10 and made us kings and priests to our Elohim, and we shall reign upon the earth.”1 Footnote: 1Dan.
7:18-27...........
Are we not made King today under Messiah יהושע? Are you not called to learn
the Torah and apply it all the days of your life? The following word gives us
the reason for a King of learning Torah ......
Deu
17:20 so that his heart is not
lifted up above his brothers, and so as not to turn aside from
the command, right or left, so that he prolongs his
days in his reign, he and his
children, in the midst of Yisra’ĕl.
17:14-20 I will add the notes from Nathanael
Lawrence concerning the King and
his position: ---- A king in Israel. It is YHVH’s will for Israel to be ruled by a king.
In the Messianic Era (Millennium), King Messiah,
Son of David, will rule not only
Israel but also the entire world from Jerusalem. YHVH ordained righteous
leadership to help guide his people in the ways of truth and righteousness.
When there is no leadership everyone does what is right in his own eyes as
occurred during the time of the judges. As the ArtScroll Stone Edition
Chumash points out, “Two of the saddest episodes after Israel arrived in
its Land—the graven image of Micah
(Jud. 17-18) and the atrocity involving the concubine at Gibeah (Jud. 19-21)—are described by Scripture as having been possible
only because there was no king in Israel (Jud. 18:1; 19:1); had there
been the leadership and discipline of a righteous king, he would never have
permitted such outrages to take place” (pp. 1028-1029). Do you resist יהוה -ordained leadership (Yehoshua)?
Because you have been “burned” by unscrupulous and self-serving leaders in the
past? Do you refuse to recognize YHVH-ordained leadership and receive the
blessings that such leadership can bestow on your life? .....
Today the leadership is in every household kept by
the father , he is the king (the ruler) and
the priest (spiritual leader) before
YHWH over the wife and his children. Some want the leaders of their Assembly to have the “authority”, but this is NOT
what the scriptures says, but gives the leader
a shepherd function to guard the
sheep in a safe pasture (Torah):
Act 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you
all the counsel of YHVH.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Spirit hath made you overseers (shepherd), to feed the assembly of YHVH,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Deu 18:1 “The priests, the Lĕwites, all the
tribe of Lĕwi, have no part nor inheritance with Yisra’ĕl. They are to eat the
offerings of יהוה made by fire, and His inheritance. Deu 18:2 “But among his brothers Lĕwi has no inheritance. יהוה
is his inheritance, as He
has spoken to him. Deu
18:3 “And this is the priest’s
right from the people, from those who bring an offering, whether it is bull or
sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the
stomach; ……
Again Keil and Delitzsch give us more inside in this
verse, some taken from Josephus the
Jews historian who lived in יהושע’s
time.
The Rights of the Priests and
Levites. - With reference to these, Moses repeats verbatim from Num_18:20, Num_18:23-24,
the essential part of the rule laid down in Num 18: “The priests the Levites, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no part
nor inheritance with Israel.” “All the tribe of Levi” includes the priests and Levites. They
were to eat the “firings of Yehovah and His inheritance,” as described in
detail in Num 18. The inheritance of Yehovah consisted of the holy gifts as
well as the sacrifices, i.e., the tithes, firstlings, and first-fruits. Moses
felt it to be superfluous to enumerate these gifts one by one from the previous
laws, and also to describe the mode of their application, or define how much
belonged to the priests and how much to the Levites. However true it may be
that the author assigns all these gifts to the Levites generally, the
conclusion drawn from this, viz., that he was not acquainted with any
distinction between priests and Levites, but placed the Levites entirely on a
par with the priests, is quite a false one. For, apart from the evident
distinction between the priests and Levites in Deu_18:1,
where there would be no meaning in the clause, “all the tribe of Levi,” if the
Levites were identical with the priests, the distinction is recognised and
asserted as clearly as possible in what follows, when a portion of the
slain-offerings is allotted to the priests in Deu_18:3-5,
whilst in Deu_18:6-8 the Levite is
allowed to join in eating the altar gifts, if he come to the place of the
sanctuary and perform service there. The repetition in Deu_18:2 is an emphatic confirmation: “As He hath said unto them:” as in Deu_10:9.
Deu
18:4 the first-fruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first
of the fleece of your sheep, you give to him. ………………
Fleece: Comment
from John Gill:……………It may be observed in this account,
that as much wool was to be given as would make a small garment; enough, says
one of the commentators (s), to make a little
garment to minister in; and the least garment fit for a priest to minister in
is a girdle.
The
fleece was the wool sheared from the lamb..........;
Deu 18:5 “For יהוה
your Elohim has chosen him
(the Levite) out of all your tribes to stand to serve in the Name of יהוה, him and his sons forever. Deu 18:6 “And when the Lĕwite comes from one of your gates,
from where he has sojourned among all Yisra’ĕl, and shall come with all the
desire of his being to the place which יהוה
chooses, Deu 18:7 then he shall serve in the Name of יהוה his
Elohim, like all his brothers the Lĕwites, who are standing there before יהוה. Deu 18:8 “They are to have portion for portion to eat,
besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance. Deu 18:9 “When you come into the land which יהוה your
Elohim is giving you, do not learn to do according to the abominations of those
gentiles. Deu 18:10 “Let no one be found among
you who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices divination,
or a user
of magic, or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer,
…………..
Child sacrifice (the
ancient form of modern abortion/infanticide), though a pagan practice that יהוה abhorred, was practiced by both
houses or kingdoms of Israel as they drifted into syncretism with the heathen
cultures around them (see 1 Kgs. 11:7; 2 Kgs. 23:10,13; 16:3; 21:6; Jer. 7:31;
11:5; Ezek. 16:20; 23:37). Baal appears to be a synonym of Molach (see
Jer. 19:5 and the Ency. Britan. eleventh edit., vol. 18, p. 676). The
dead bodies of sacrificed children were thrown into the garbage dump of the
Valley of Hinnom (Gehinnom) or
Tophet just below the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem (Jer. 7:31; 19:5-6). Apparently, the children were not burned
alive, but were slain (by knife) like any other sacrifice before being thrown
into the fire and then into the garbage dump (ibid.). The ancients
sacrificed their children to appease their bloodthirsty gods of prosperity,
sensuality and fertility (The Story of Civilization, vol. 1, by Will
Durant, pp. 66-67, 297).
Deu 18:11 or one who conjures spells,
or a
medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. Deu 18:12 “For whoever does these are an abomination to יהוה, and because
of
these abominations יהוה your Elohim drives them
out from before you. …………
יהוה do not require
all this practices He is the one who speak to His people. It is amazing to look
into the church today, especially those from among the charismatic movement who
boast themselves to have different gifts, prophecy, healing, and discernment of
spirits ….. And all these “gifted” people are all Torah’s breaker! Where does
this gift come from? Deu 18:13 “Be perfect* before יהוה
your Elohim, ……
Compare what Yehoshua says:
Mat 5:48 “Therefore,
be perfect*,1 as your Father in the heavens is perfect. Footnote: 1Ex.
17:1, Ps. 119:1, 1 John 2:5, Heb. 6:1. .....
1Jn 2:5 but
whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected1
in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
- The word “perfect” here means “mature”
We can clearly see that the perfection is directly
connected with the keeping of the Torah…. Deu 18:14
for these nations whom you are possessing do listen to those using
magic and to
diviners. But as for you, יהוה your Elohim has not appointed such for you. ………. Moshe explain this is not the
way יהוה has chosen for you, let
all the other nations do that but not you. Deu 18:15 “יהוה your
Elohim shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from
your brothers. Listen to
Him, Deu 18:16 according to all you asked of יהוה your
Elohim in Ḥorĕḇ in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again
the voice of יהוה my Elohim, nor let me see this great fire any more,
lest I die.’ Deu
18:17 “And יהוה said
to me, ‘What they have spoken is good. Deu 18:18 ‘I (Yehovah) shall raise up for them a Prophet like
you out of the midst of their brothers. And I shall put My Words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all
that I command Him. Deu
18:19 ‘And it shall be, the man
who does not listen to My Words which He
speaks in My Name, I require it of him. Deu 18:20 ‘But the prophet who
presumes to speak a word in My Name, which I have not commanded him to speak,
or who speaks in the name of other mighty ones, even that prophet shall die.’ Deu 18:21 “And when you say in your heart, ‘How do we know
the word which יהוה has not spoken?’ – Deu 18:22 when the prophet speaks
in the Name of יהוה and the word is not, or comes not, that is the word
which יהוה has
not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
15 – 22: A prophet,
not prophets plural but “a prophet”
like Moshe verse 15? Now this is what
we read in the book of Yochanan. The
way to recognize the true prophet was by his Word. Miracles were done by Elohim through the man who was a vessel
of honor. We are going to read some few
words to see what people at יהושע’s
time thought concerning him…..
Joh 1:45 Philip found
Nethanĕ’l and said to him, “We have
found Him whom Mosheh wrote of in the Torah, and the prophets: יהושע of Natsareth –
the son of Yosĕph.” Joh 6:14 Then the men, having seen the sign that יהושע did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is coming to the
world.”
Joh 7:40 Many from the crowd, when they heard the word, then said, “This truly is the Prophet.”
Joh 4:48 יהושע then said to him, “If you people do not see signs and wonders, you do not believe at all.”………….
The
first three quotations are direct connected to the words from Moshe. Yehudin knew that “a prophet like Moshe” will come. They were mislead by the ruling Pharisee (Today’s rabbies) who like
privilege and position. The last verse confirms that the people were looking
for miracle; they were under the influence of the Pharisaic teaching called by Sha’ul
“works of the law” The ma’asim, takanot and Getzerim were rules
instituted by the Pharisee The oral tradition of man which put men in bondage.
Mattityahu 15:3, 9 But He answering, said
to them, “Why do you also transgress the command of
Elohim1 because
of your tradition, 9 Mat
15:9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, teaching
as teachings
the commands of men.’ ”1 Footnote: 1Isa.
29:13, Mk. 7:7, 2 Ki. 17:19. .........
Isa 29:13 And יהוה says, “Because this people has drawn near with its
mouth, and with its lips they have esteemed Me, and it has kept its heart far
from Me, and their fear of Me has become a command of men that is taught……………
For those still believing
that “Jesus is G-d” they should read these
verses and understand. That “a
prophet from among their brothers”
was to be a descendant of the Children of Israel later we find that יהושע will come from the lineage of King David from the
tribe of Yehudah (b’reshit/Gen. 49:10).
Unfortunately we see and read again and again that among messianic and from
those keeping the Torah, many believe “Yeshua”
to be “Elohim
the Father”, which is in no case, Elohim been a title “Mighty
One” who was also give to judges and leaders among the Children of Israel.
I will write a separate “midrash” concerning this topic to demonstrate that יהושע must be the descendant of King David according to
the “seed” in order to pretend the
position of “King of Israel”. Another
point is make clear verse 16: “according
to all you asked of יהוה your Elohim in Ḥorĕḇ in the day of the assembly,
saying, Let ‘me not hear again
the voice of יהוה
my Elohim, nor let me see
this great fire any more, lest I die”. From this point
on, יהוה will not speak directly to man but through the
prophet, and this will last until the day of Pentecost when the Ruach HaQodesh came upon the disciples
of יהושע.
Deu 19:1 “When יהוה your Elohim cuts off the nations whose land יהוה your
Elohim is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in
their houses, Deu
19:2 separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land
which יהוה your
Elohim is giving you to possess. Deu 19:3 “Prepare a way for yourself, and divide
into three parts the border of your land which יהוה
your Elohim is giving you
to inherit, that anyone who killed someone shall flee there. Deu 19:4
“And this is the matter of the one who killed someone who flees there and live:
He who smites his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in
time past, Deu 19:5 even he who goes to the
forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the
axe to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor
so that he dies – let him flee to one of these cities and live, Deu 19:6
lest the
revenger of blood, while his
displeasure is hot, pursue the one who killed someone and overtake him, because
the way is long, and shall smite him, though he
was not worthy of death, since he had not hated him before. Deu 19:7 “Therefore I am commanding you, saying,
‘Separate three cities for yourself.’
Deu 19:8 “And if יהוה
your Elohim enlarges your
border, as He swore to your fathers, and has given you the land which He
promised to give to your fathers – Deu 19:9 when you guard all this command to do
it, which I am commanding you today, to love יהוה
your Elohim and to walk in
His ways all the days – then you shall add three more cities for yourself
besides these three, Deu 19:10 so that innocent blood is not shed in
the midst of your land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, or
blood-guilt shall be upon you. Deu 19:11 “But when anyone hates his neighbor, and shall lie in wait for him and rise against
him and smite the life from him so that he dies, then he shall flee to one of
these cities, Deu
19:12 and the elders of his city shall send and bring him from
there, and give him into the hand of the revenger of blood, and he shall die.
Deu 19:13 “Your eye shall not pardon him, but you shall purge
the blood of innocent blood from Yisra’ĕl, so that it might be well with you. …..
Verses 2-9 I will insert a comment from Matthew Henry
which make the connection with Messiah:
---- Here is the
law settled between the blood of the murdered, and; provision is made, that the
cities of refuge should be a protection, so that a man should not die for that
as a crime, which was not his willing act. In Messiah, the Master, our
Righteousness, refuge is provided for those who by faith flee unto him. But
there is no refuge in יהושע Messiah for presumptuous sinners,
who go on still in their trespasses. Those who flee to Messiah from their sins shall be safe in him, but not those who expect to be sheltered by
him in their sins.
Better
understanding concerning these cities is given us by Keil and Delitzsch as
concerning numbers and place of those cities: ---- The laws concerning
the Cities of Refuge for Unintentional Manslayers are not a mere repetition of
the laws given in Num 35:9-34, but rather an admonition to carry out those laws,
with special reference to the future extension of the boundaries of the land...As
Moses had already set apart the cities
of refuge for the land on the east of the Jordan (Deu_4:41.), he is speaking
here simply of the land on the west, which Israel was to take possession of
before long; and supplements the instructions in Num_35:14,
with directions to maintain the roads to the cities of refuge which were to be
set apart in Canaan itself, and to divide the land into three parts, viz., for
the purpose of setting apart these cities, so that one city might be chosen for
the purpose in every third of the land. For further remarks on this point, as
well as with regard to the use of these cities (Deu_19:4-7),
see at Num_35:11. - In Deu_19:8-10 there follow the fresh instructions,
that if יהוה
should extend the borders of Israel, according to His promise given to the
patriarchs, and should give them the whole land from the Nile to the Euphrates, according to Gen_15:18, they were to add three other cities
of refuge to these three, for the purpose of preventing the shedding of
innocent blood. The three new cities of refuge cannot be the three appointed in
Num_35:14 for the land on this side of
the Jordan, nor the three mentioned in Num_35:7
on the other side of Jordan, as Knobel
and others suppose. Nor can we adopt Hengstenberg's view, that the three new
ones are the same as the three mentioned in Deu_19:2
and Deu_19:7, since they are expressly
distinguished from “these three.” The meaning is altogether a different one. The circumstances supposed by Moses never
existed, since the Israelites did not fulfil the conditions laid down in Deu_19:9, viz., that they should keep the law
faithfully, and love יהוה their God (cf. Deu_4:6; Deu_6:5, etc.). The extension of the power of
Israel to the Euphrates under David and Solomon, did not bring the land as far as this river into their actual
possession, since the conquered kingdoms of Aram were still inhabited by
the Aramaeans, who, though conquered, were only rendered tributary. And the
Tyrians and Phoenicians, who belonged to the Canaanitish population, were not
even attacked by David.
Deu
19:14 “Do not remove your neighbor’s
boundary, which those in the past have set, in your inheritance which you
inherit in the land that יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess. ……………
Josephus the Jewish historian
write in book 4:8 18. Let it not be esteemed lawful to remove
boundaries, neither our own, nor of those with whom we are at peace. Have a
care you do not take those landmarks away which are, as it were, a divine and
unshaken limitation of rights made by God himself, to last forever;
since this going beyond limits, and gaining ground upon others, is the occasion
of wars and seditions; for
those that remove boundaries are not far off an attempt to subvert the laws.
If you come to
the Philippines, the boundaries
stones are still present today to mark the landmark between different owners
and they are many times the reason for quarrels.
Deu 19:15 “One witness does not rise up against a man
concerning any crookedness or any sin that he commits. At the mouth of two
witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses a matter is established.
What did happen
at יהושע’s trial:
Mat
26:59 and the chief priests, and the elders, and all
the council were seeking false
witness against יהושע
to put Him to death,
Mat 26:60 but found none. Although many false witnesses came
forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward,
Deu 19:16
“When a malicious witness rises up against any man
to accuse him of turning aside,
Deu 19:17
then both men who have the dispute shall stand before יהוה,
before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. Deu 19:18 “And the judges shall diligently search and see if the witness is a false
witness, who has falsely accused his brother,
Deu 19:19
then you shall do to him as he thought to have
done to his brother. Thus you
shall purge the evil from your midst. Deu 19:20 “And let the rest hear and fear, and
never again do this evil matter in your midst.
It seems that in Yehoshua’s day, this particular law was forgotten!
It seems that in Yehoshua’s day, this particular law was forgotten!
Deu 19:21 “And let your eye not pardon, life for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
To this יהושע says: -----
Mat 5:38 “You heard that it
was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’
Mat 5:39 but I say to you, do
not resist the wicked. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the
other to him also.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
explain יהושע teaching as following: Ye have heard that it hath been said — (Exo_21:23-25; Lev_24:19,
Lev_24:20; Deu_19:21)......An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth — that is, whatever penalty was regarded as a proper equivalent for
these. This law of retribution -
designed to take vengeance out of the hands of private persons, and commit it
to the magistrate - was abused in the opposite way to the commandments of the
Decalogue. While they were reduced to the level of civil enactments, this
judicial regulation was held to be a warrant for taking redress into their own
hands, contrary to the injunctions of the Old Testament itself (Pro_20:22; Pro_24:29)......
Pro 20:22 Do not say, “I repay evil.” Wait for יהוה, and He saves you.
Pro 24:29 Do not say, “Let me do to him as he did to me; I repay each according to his work.”
Rom 12:19 Beloved, do not
revenge yourselves, but give place to the wrath, for
it has been written, “Vengeance
is Mine, I shall repay,” says יהוה.
We can
dig further and read the explanation from John Gill, too many people think that
this law was a barbarian and brutal behavior, after reading we will find out
that there were clear rules and most of time the matter was set with a fine to
be paid:
Then thou shalt give
life for life; if death to the woman, so Jarchi
and Aben Ezra interpret it; to which agrees the Targum of Jonathan,"but if
there is death in her (in the womb), then ye shall judge or condemn the life of
the murderer for the life of the woman; ''about which, Jarchi says, there is a
difference among their doctors (of the law); some say life properly, absolutely
the person himself; others say money,
but not life properly; for he that intends to kill one and kills another is
acquitted from death, but must pay to
the heirs the price (of the person killed) as that person might be sold for
in the market: and indeed it seems hard that a person that kills another at
unawares should die for it; it is more reasonable that the punishment should in
such a case be commuted for something less than life; and that though no
satisfaction was to be taken for a wilful murderer, Num_35:31,
yet it seems to imply that it might be taken for one that was so without
design; as by another law cities of refuge are appointed for the manslayer at
unawares: the canons of the Jews, according to Maimonides (b), run thus;"he that strikes a woman, and
she miscarries and dies, although it is done ignorantly; lo, such an one is free from payment, and he
does not pay anything, as it is said, "if there is no mischief,
&c." the Scripture does not distinguish between what is done
ignorantly and presumptuously, in a thing in which there is not death by the
sanhedrim, to free him from payment; in what things? when he intends the woman;
but if he intends his neighbor and strikes the woman, though she dies, since
her death is, without intention, lo, this is a thing in which there is not
death by the sanhedrim, and he pays the price of the birth:''the Septuagint
version interprets this, not of the woman that miscarries and dies, but of the
child that becomes an abortive; if that was not formed and shaped, then only a
fine was to be laid, but if it was come to its proper form and shape, and so
was animated or quickened, then life was to go for life: and so, according to
the Salic laws, he that killed an infant
in its mother's womb was to pay 8000 pence, which made two hundred
shillings; but if he was the cause of a woman's miscarriage, by blows or
otherwise, if the birth was animated, according to the civil law, he was to be
punished with death (c): but one would think,
where this is only accidental and not intended, such a punishment is too rigid
and severe: however, neither this nor what follows were left to the will of a
private person to inflict at his pleasure, but to the civil magistrate; and
therefore no ways encourages private revenge, in favour of which it was applied
by the Pharisees in Messiah's time, whose gloss he refutes, Mat_5:38 nor are the words directed to the offender
in this and the following cases, but to Moses, and so to all judges under him
and in succession, who were to see these laws put in execution.
(b) Chobel Umazzik, c. 4. sect. 5.
6. (c) Vid L'Empereur in Misn. Bava Kama, c. 3. sect. 2.....Here comments concerning Mattityahu 5:38:
John Gill: ---- Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath
been said,.... That is, to, or by them of old time, as is expressed in some
of the foregoing instances, ---- an
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, Exo_21:24.
This is "lex talionis", the "law of retaliation"; which,
whether it is to be understood literally, or not, is a matter of question. The
Baithuseans, or Sadducees, among the Jews, took it in a literal sense, and so
does Josephus, who says (b), he that shall
blind, i.e. put out a man's eyes, shall suffer the like. But the Jewish doctors of the law generally
understood it of paying a price equivalent to the damage done, except in
case of life. R. Sol. Jarchi (c)
explains the law thus: --- "He that puts out his neighbor's eye, must give
him דמי עינו, "the price of his eye", according to the price of a servant
sold in the market; and so the same of them all; for, not taking away of the member is strictly meant.'' …………. And,
says Maimonides (d), ….."if a man cuts
off his neighbor's hand, or foot, he is to be considered as if he was a servant
sold in a market; what he was worth then, and what he is worth now; and he must pay the diminution which is
made of his price; as it is said, "eye for eye". From tradition
it is learned, that this for, spoken of, is to be understood of paying money;
this is what is said in the law, "as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so
shall it be done to him again". Not that he is to be hurt, as he has hurt
his neighbor; but inasmuch as he deserves to want a member, or to be hurt as he
has done; therefore he ought to pay the
damage.'' And Josephus himself (e) says,
that he must be deprived of that, which he has deprived another of, except he that has his eye put out is
willing to receive money; and which, he observes, the law allows of. Now
our Master here, does not find fault with the law of retaliation, as delivered
by Moses, but with the false gloss
(comment) of the Scribes and Pharisees; who, as they interpreted it of
pecuniary mulcts, as a compensation for the loss of a member, which sometimes
exceeded all just and due bounds; so they applied it to private revenge, and in
favor of it: whereas this law did not
allow of a retaliation to be made, by private persons, at their pleasure, but
by the civil magistrate only. (b) Antiq.
Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 35. (c) In Exod. xxi.
24. (d) Hilchot Chebel. c. 1. sect. 2, 3. (e) In loc. supra citat. Chapter 20.
Deu 20:1 “When you go out to
battle against your enemies, and shall see horses and chariots and people more
numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, for יהוה your Elohim, who brought you up from the land of
Mitsrayim, is with you.
Deu 20:2 “And it shall be, when you draw near to the
battle, that the priest shall come and speak to the people, Deu 20:3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Yisra’ĕl:
You are drawing near today to battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart
faint, do not fear, or tremble, or be afraid before them, Deu 20:4 for יהוה your Elohim is He who goes with you, to fight for
you against your enemies, to save you.’ ……..
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain again these verses
Deu 20:2-4
........ when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall
approach and speak unto the people — Jewish
writers say that there was a war priest appointed by a special ceremonial to
attend the army. It was natural that the solemn objects and motives of religion
should have been applied to animate patriotism, and so give additional impulse
to valour; other people have done this. But in the case of Israel, the regular attendance of a priest on the
battlefield was in accordance with their theocratic government, in which
everything was done directly by God through His delegated ministers.
It was the province of this priest to sound the trumpets (Num_10:9; Num_31:6),
and he had others under him who repeated at the head of each battalion the
exhortations which he addressed to the warriors in general. The speech (Deu_20:3, Deu_20:4)
is marked by a brevity and expressiveness admirably suited to the occasion,
namely, when the men were drawn up in line.
through His delegated ministers:
Who
are they today,:
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know
that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the
smallest matters?
Num 10:9 “And when you go into
battle in your land against the enemy that distresses you, then you shall shout with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before יהוה
your Elohim, and you shall
be saved from your enemies. Num 31:6 and Mosheh sent them
on the campaign, one thousand from each tribe, them and Pineḥas son of Elʽazar
the priest on the campaign, with the set-apart utensils and the trumpets for
sounding in his hand. Deu 20:5 “And the officers shall speak to the people,
saying, ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let
him go and return to his house, lest he dies in the battle and another man
dedicates it. Deu
20:6 ‘And who is the man who has planted a vineyard and has not
begun to use it? Let him also go and return to his house, lest he dies in the
battle and another man should begin to use it.
Deu 20:7 ‘And who is the man who is engaged to a woman and
has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he dies in the
battle and another man takes her.’ Deu 20:8 “And the officers shall speak further to
the people, and say, ‘Who is the man who is afraid and tender of heart? Let him
go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brothers faint like his
heart.’ …….
Read what יהושע says:
Luk 9:62 But יהושע said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit
for the reign of Elohim.”1 Footnote: 1Lk.
14:26, John 12:24-26.
Luk 14:26 “If anyone comes to
Me and does not hate his
father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his
own life too, he is unable to be My taught one (disciple, talmidid). Luk 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his stake and come
after Me is unable to be My taught one. Luk 14:28 “For who of you, wishing to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to
complete it?
Joh 12:25 “He who loves his life shall lose it, and he who hates
his life in this world shall preserve it for everlasting life. Joh 12:26
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me. And where I am, there My servant also
shall be. If anyone serves Me, the
Father shall value him. ......
The Children of
Israel (carnal man) had many things which hold them back from serving Elohim, sometime it was recognized by יהוה himself and he gave them
the opportunity no to take part at the battle knowing that the carnal nature
has its own weakness. In Messiah יהושע there is no
way back, we follow our Master from the day on we recognize him as our Master.
Deu 20:9 “And it shall be, when the officers have finished
speaking to the people, that they shall appoint commanders of the divisions to
lead the people. Deu 20:10 “When you draw near to a city to fight against it,
then you shall make a call for peace to it. Deu 20:11 “And it shall be that if
it accepts your call for peace, and shall open to you, then all the people
found in it are to be your compulsory labor, and serve you. Deu 20:12
“But if it does not make peace with you, and shall fight against you, then you
shall besiege it, Deu 20:13 and יהוה your Elohim shall give it into your hands, and you
shall smite every male in it with the edge of the sword.
Deu 20:14 “Only the women, and the little ones, and the
livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you take as plunder for
yourself. And you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which יהוה your Elohim gives you. Deu 20:15 “Do so to all the cities
which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. Deu 20:16
“Only, of the cities of these peoples which יהוה your Elohim gives you as an inheritance, you do not
keep alive any that breathe, Deu 20:17 but you shall certainly put them under the ban: the Ḥittite and the Amorite and the
Kenaʽanite and the Perizzite and
the Ḥiwwite and the Yeḇusite, as יהוה your
Elohim has commanded you, Deu 20:18 lest
they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their mighty ones, and
you sin against יהוה your Elohim.
Deu 20:19 “When you besiege a city for a long time by
fighting against it to take it, you do not destroy its trees by wielding an axe
against them. If you do eat of them, do not cut them down. For is the tree of
the field a man to be besieged by you? Deu 20:20 “Only the trees which you know are not
trees for food you do destroy and cut down, to build siege-works against the
city that is fighting against you, until it falls……..
Let us red again a very good explanation from Jamieson, Fausset and
Brown……..Deu
20:10-20 ----- When thou comes nigh unto a city to
fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it — An important principle is
here introduced into the war law of Israel regarding the people they fought
against and the cities they besieged. With “the cities of those people which
God doth give thee” in Canaan, it was to be a war of utter extermination (Deu_20:17, Deu_20:18).
But when on a just occasion, they went against other nations, they were first
to make a proclamation of peace, which if allowed by a surrender, the people
would become dependent [Deu_20:11], and
in the relation of tributaries the conquered nations would receive the highest
blessings from alliance with the chosen people; they would be brought to the
knowledge of the Elohim of Israel and of Israel’s worship, as well as a
participation of Israel’s privileges. But if the besieged city refused to
capitulate and be taken, a universal massacre was to be made of the males while
the women and children were to be preserved and kindly treated (Deu_20:13, Deu_20:14).
By this means a provision was made for a friendly and useful connection being
established between the captors and the captives; and Israel, even through her
conquests, would prove a blessing to the nations......
Deu 21:1 “When anyone is found slain,
lying in the field in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess, and it is not
known who smote him, Deu 21:2 then your elders and your judges shall
go out, and they shall measure the distance from the slain man to the cities
round about. Deu
21:3 “And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the
slain man shall take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not
pulled with a yoke, Deu 21:4 and the elders of that city shall bring
the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, which is neither ploughed nor
sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the wadi. Deu 21:5
“And the priests, the sons of Lĕwi, shall come near, for יהוה your Elohim has chosen them to serve Him and to
bless in the Name of יהוה, and by their mouth every
strife and every stroke is tried.
Deu 21:6
“And let all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man wash their hands
over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi. Deu 21:7 “And they shall answer and
say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. Deu 21:8
‘O יהוה, forgive Your people
Yisra’ĕl, whom You have redeemed, and do not allow innocent blood in the midst
of Your people Yisra’ĕl.’ And the blood-guilt shall be pardoned to them. Deu 21:9
“Thus you
purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst when you do what is right in the eyes of יהוה.
………………
To
finish this Parasha I will quote from
Matthew Henry: Deu
21:1-9
If a murderer could not be found
out, great solemnity is provided for putting away the guilt from the land, as
an expression of dread and detesting of that sin. The providence of God has
often wonderfully brought to light these hidden works of darkness, and the sin
of the guilty has often strangely found them out. The dread of murder should be
deeply impressed upon every heart, and all should join in detecting and
punishing those who are guilty. The elders were to profess that they had not
been any way aiding or abetting the sin. The priests were to pray to God for
the country and nation, that God would be merciful. We must empty that measure
by our prayers, which others are filling by their sins. All would be taught by
this solemnity, to use the utmost care and diligence to prevent, discover, and
punish murder. We may all learn from hence to take heed of partaking in other
men's sins. And we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, if we
do not reprove them.........
1Ti 5:22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither
be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.......
Keep yourself pure: Sin makes
one impure and to be partaker of other men’s sins make us impure before Elohim! We should think about that and see that some sins
are not even acknowledge among believers today: Gossiping, Tale bearing, false
report, rejection of the commands.......
Don’t be surprise, because many today take the Torah
on the light shoulder and forget for instance that Shabbat is Qadosh and keep
their habits during Shabbat, texting, while a Elder or another read the Torah, travelling by jeepney
during the Shabbat, thus making “money transaction” and breaking the
commandments. I have even seen some going to buy during Shabbat. This
shouldn’t be brethren because we are commanded to be Qadosh (Vayyiqra / Lev.
11:44, 1 kefa:Peter 1:16).
Jamieson Fausset and Brown give following commentary:
Deu_21:1-9. Expiation
of uncertain murder...... If one be found slain ... lying in the field,
and it be not known who hath slain him — The ceremonies here ordained to be
observed on the discovery of a slaughtered corpse show the ideas of sanctity
which the Mosaic law sought to associate with human blood, the horror which
murder inspired, as well as the fears that were felt lest God should avenge it
on the country at large, and the pollution which the land was supposed to
contract from the effusion of innocent, unexpiated blood. According to Jewish
writers, the Sanhedrin, taking charge of such a case, sent a deputation to
examine the neighbourhood. They reported to the nearest town to the spot where
the body was found. An order was then issued by their supreme authority to the
elders or magistrates of that town, to provide the heifer at the civic expense
and go through the appointed ceremonial. The engagement of the public
authorities in the work of expiation, the purchase of the victim heifer, the
conducting it to a “rough valley” which might be at a considerable distance,
and which, as the original implies, was a wady, a perennial stream, in the
waters of which the polluting blood would be wiped away from the land, and a
desert withal, incapable of cultivation; the washing of the hands, which was an
ancient act symbolical of innocence - the whole of the ceremonial was
calculated to make a deep impression on the Jewish, as well as on the Oriental,
mind generally; to stimulate the activity of the magistrates in the discharge
of their official duties; to lead to the discovery of the criminal, and the
repression of crime.
Keil and Delitzsch
give more details: ----- The reason for
grouping together these five laws, which are apparently so different from one
another, as well as for attaching them to the previous regulations, is to be
found in the desire to bring out distinctly the sacredness of life and of
personal rights from every point of view, and impress it upon the covenant
nation. The elders were to take a heifer (young cow), with which no work had ever
been done, and which had not yet drawn in the yoke, i.e., whose vital force had
not been diminished by labour (see at Num_19:2),
and bring it down into a brook-valley with water constantly flowing, and there
break its neck. The expression, “it
shall be that the city,” is more fully defined by “the elders of the city shall take.”
The elders were to perform the act of expiation in the name of the city. As the
murderer was not to be found, an animal was to be put to death in his stead,
and suffer the punishment of the murderer. The slaying of the animal was not an
expiatory sacrifice, and consequently there was no slaughtering and sprinkling
of the blood; but, as the mode of death, viz., breaking the neck (vid., Exo_13:13), clearly shows, it was a symbolical
infliction of the punishment that should have been borne by the murderer, upon
the animal which was substituted for him. To be able to take the guilt upon
itself and bear it, the animal was to be in the full and undiminished
possession of its vital powers. The slaying was to take place in a אֵיתָן
נַחַל, a valley with water
constantly flowing through it, which was not worked (cultivated) and sown. This
regulation as to the locality in which the act of expiation was to be performed
was probably founded upon the idea, that the water of the brook-valley would
suck in the blood and clean it away, and that the blood sucked in by the earth
would not be brought to light again by the ploughing and working of the soil........
Deu_21:6-8……
The elders of the town were to wash their hands
over the slain heifer, i.e., to cleanse themselves by this symbolical act from
the suspicion of any guilt on the part of the inhabitants of the town in the
murder that had been committed (cf. Psa_26:6;
Psa_73:13; Mat_27:24),
and then answer (to the charge involved in what had taken place), and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood
(on the singular שָׁפְכָה, see Ewald, §317, a.),
and our eyes have not seen”
(sc., the shedding of blood), i.e., we have neither any part in the crime nor
any knowledge of it: “grant forgiveness
(lit., 'cover up,' viz., the blood-guiltiness) to Thy people...and give not innocent blood in the midst of Thy people
Israel,” i.e., lay not upon us the innocent blood that has been shed by
imputation and punishment. “And the
blood shall be forgiven them,” i.e., the bloodshed or murder shall not
be imputed to them. On נִכַּפֵּר, a mixed form from the Niphal
and Hithpael, see Ges. §55, and
Ewald, §132, c.....Deu_21:9.......In
this way Israel was to wipe away the innocent blood (the bloodshed) from its
midst (cf. Num_35:33). If the murderer
were discovered afterwards, of course the punishment of death which had been
inflicted vicariously upon the animal, simply because the criminal himself
could not be found, would still fall upon him...........
We can see
that the process of sanctification reach from our own personal life and extend
to whatever happen in our midst. We must be aware of that in order to be “Qadosh”, Set Apart, for יהוה
is watching his people.
Unfortunately many have become lukewarm and neglect many areas in their daily
life. We are called to admonish and encourage one another daily, to pray for
one another. If we want to see our Master in our time, we must put that before
our eyes, rejecting of the commands, or to be lazy in the Torah is against Set
apartness!
In
conclusion we can say that Eretz Ysrael is
the land for the QADOSH AM (people) of Yehovah,
and that in order to keep the Land and by implication the people Qadosh (set apart), this laws were given
to sanctify both Land and people.
Haftorah
YeshaYahu 51:12 – 52:12
יהוה Promise comfort to his people. יהוה
is compassionate and
will bring back his people to the perfect state of relationship through Messiah יהושע. He sent his
prophet to encourage the people and to give them hope in the future through his
word. It takes sometime centuries before anything come to pass has it was with יהושע.
People were aware of the promise, but waited centuries before they could see
him. Unfortunately they were fallen after man’s tradition of the Pharisee and
unable to discern, having found their “comfort zone”, compromising in order to get
their own ways! Today we are called to study the word, the Torah, to search out
the “Tanak” with the help of the “Brit Chadasha” which expound to us by
the writings of the apostles the promises of old. We must keep firm these
promises knowing that the one who has called us is faithful. How can it be if
we neglect the learning and spend our Shabbat just on laying down, making our
own “stories”. HaSatan has the way
open to blindfold those who have not the Torah in their heart, and when the
time of great oppression will come none of us will be able to stand. Let us be
like the Bereans searching the word,
spending time to pray, honouring the Shabbat and trusting Abba יהוה
according to his
promises.
Isa 51:12 “I, I am He
who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of man that dies, and
of the son of man who is made like grass? Isa 51:13
“And you have forgotten יהוה your Maker who stretched out the heavens and laid
the foundations of the earth, and you continually fear, all the day, because of
the rage of the oppressor, as he has prepared to destroy. And where is the rage
of the oppressor? Isa 51:14 “Bowed, he hastens
to be loosened, that he should not die in the pit, and that his bread should
not fail. Isa 51:15 “But I am יהוה your Elohim, stirring up
the sea, and its waves roar. יהוה of hosts is His Name. Isa
51:16 “And I have put My Words in your mouth, and with the shadow of My
hand I have covered you, to plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the
earth, and to say to Tsiyon, ‘You are My people.’ ” Isa
51:17 Awake, awake yourself! Rise up, O Yerushalayim, you who have drunk
at the hand of יהוה
the
cup of His wrath. You have drunk the
dregs of the cup of reeling, and drained it out. Isa
51:18 Of all the sons she bore, she has none to guide her. And of all
the sons she has brought up, none takes her by the hand. Isa 51:19 Both these are coming upon you – who is
sorry for you?: Ruin and destruction, scarcity of food and sword. How shall I comfort you?
Isa 51:20 Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of
all the streets, like a gazelle in a net. They are filled with the wrath of יהוה, the rebuke of your Elohim. Isa 51:21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted and drunk, but not with wine.
Isa 51:22 Thus said your Master, יהוה and your Elohim, who
pleads the cause of His people, “See, I shall take out of your hand the cup of
reeling, the dregs of the cup of My wrath – never again shall you drink it. Isa 51:23
“And I shall put it into the hand of
those who afflict you, who have said to your being, ‘Bow down, and we pass
over you.’ And you made your back like the ground, and as the street, to walk
over.”
Keil and Delitzsch give following
commentary:
Isa
52:1-2 ……. The same call, which was addressed in Isa_51:9
to the arm of Yehovah that was then represented as sleeping, is here addressed
to Jerusalem, which is represented as a sleeping woman. “Awake, awake;
clothe thyself in thy might, O Zion; clothe thyself in thy state dresses, O
Jerusalem, thou holy city: for henceforth there will no more enter into thee
one uncircumcised and unclean! Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O
Jerusalem: loose thyself from the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter of
Zion!” Jerusalem is lying upon the ground stupefied with the wrath of God, and exhausted with grief; but this shameful prostration and degradation
will now come to an end. She is to rise up and put on her might, which has
long been broken down, and apparently has altogether disappeared, but which can
and must be constantly renewed, because it rests upon the foundation of an
inviolable promise. She is to wake up and recover her ancient power, and put on
her state robes, i.e., her priestly and royal ornaments, which belong to her as
a “royal city,” i.e., as the city of Yehovah had His anointed one. For
henceforth she will be what she was always intended to be, and that without any
further desecration. Heathen,
uncircumcised, and those who were unclean in heart and flesh (Eze_44:9), had entered her by force, and
desecrated her: heathen, who had no right to enter the congregation of Yehovah
as they were (Lam_1:10). But she should
no longer be defiled, not to say conquered, by such invaders as these (Joe_3:17; Nah_2:1;
compare Joe_3:7 with Nah_2:1). On the construction non perget
intrabit = intrare, see Ges. §142, 3, c. In Isa_52:2 the idea of the city falls into the
background, and that of the nation takes its place. ירולשׁם
שְׁבִי does not mean “captive people of Jerusalem,” however,
as Hitzig supposes, for this would require שְׁבִיָה
in accordance with the personification, as in Isa_52:2.
The rendering supported by the lxx is the true one, “Sit down, O Jerusalem;”
and this is also the way in which it is accentuated. The exhortation is the
counterpart of Isa_47:1. Jerusalem is
sitting upon the ground as a prisoner, having no seat to sit upon; but this is
only that she may be the more highly exalted; - whereas the daughter of Babylon
is seated as a queen upon a throne, but only to be the more deeply degraded.
The former is now to shake herself free from the dust, and to rise up and sit
down (viz., upon a throne, Targum). the chains of her neck (the chethib התפתחו, they loosen themselves, is opposed to the beautiful
parallelism); for she who was mourning in her humiliation is to be restored to
honour once more, and she who was so shamefully laden with fetters to liberty.......
Barnes give following:
---- Isa 52:2 ---- Shake
thyself from the dust - To sit on the ground, to sit in the dust, is an
expression descriptive of mourning Job_2:13.
Jerusalem is here called on to arise and shake off the dust, as indicating that
the days of her grief were ended, and that she was about to be restored to her
former beauty and splendor...... Arise and sit down - There is an
incongruity in this expression in our translation, which does not occur in the
original. The idea in the Hebrew is not that which seems to be implied in this
expression to arise and sit down in the same place, but it means to arise from
the dust, and sit in a more elevated, or honourable place. She had been
represented as sitting on the earth, where her loose flowing robes would be supposed
to become covered with dust. She is here called on to arise from that humble
condition, and to occupy the divan, or a chair of dignity and honour. Lowth
renders this, ‘Ascend thy lofty seat,’ and supposes it means that she was to
occupy a throne, or an elevated seat of honor, and he quotes oriental customs
to justify this interpretation. Noyes renders it, ‘Arise and sit erect.’ The
Chaldee renders it, ‘Rise, sit upon the throne of thy glory.’..... Europeans
would require a chair, but the natives here prefer the ground. In the heat of
summer and autumn, it is pleasant to them to while away their time in this
manner, under the shade of a tree. Richly adorned females, as well as men, may
often be seen thus amusing themselves. As may naturally be expected, with
whatever care they may, at first sitting down, choose their place, yet the
flowing dress by degrees gathers up the dust; as this occurs, they, from time
to time, arise, adjust themselves, shake off the dust, and then sit down again.
The captive daughter of Zion, therefore, brought down to the dust of suffering
and oppression, is commanded to arise and shake herself from that dust, and
then, with grace, and dignity, and composure, and security, to sit down; to
take, as it were, again her seat and her rank, amid the company of the nations
of the earth, which had before afflicted her, and trampled her to the earth.’......
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck - Jerusalem had been a captive,
and confined as a prisoner. She is now called on to cast off these chains from
her neck, and to be again at liberty. In captivity, chains or bands were
attached to various parts of the body. They were usually affixed to the wrists
or ankles, but it would seem also that sometimes collars were affixed to the neck.
The idea is, that the Jews, who had been so long held captive, were about to be
released, and restored to their own land.
Isa 52:1 awake,
awake! Put on your strength, O Tsiyon, put on your garments of splendour, O
Yerushalayim, the set-apart city! For no
more do the uncircumcised and the unclean come into you.
Compare
with: ---- Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to
the tree of life, and may enter in
through the gates into the city.Rev 22:15 For
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers,
and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Isa 52:2 Shake
yourself from the dust, arise,
and sit down, O Yerushalayim. Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O
captive daughter of Tsiyon! Isa 52:3 For thus said יהוה,
“You have been sold for naught, and you are redeemed not with silver.” Isa 52:4 for thus said the Master יהוה,
“At first My people went down into Mitsrayim to sojourn there, and Ashshur
oppressed them without cause.
Isa
52:5 “And now, what have I here,”
declares יהוה, “that My people are taken
away for naught? Those who rule over them make them wail,” declares יהוה,
“and My Name is despised all day continually. Isa 52:6
“Therefore My people shall know My Name,
in that day, for I am the One who is speaking. See, it is I.” Isa 52:7 How
pleasant upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who
proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims deliverance, who says to
Tsiyon, “Your Elohim reigns!” Isa 52:8 The voice of your watchmen! They shall lift
up their voices, together they shout for joy, because eye to eye they see the
return of יהוה to
Tsiyon. Isa 52:9 Break forth into joy, sing
together, you waste places of Yerushalayim! For יהוה
shall comfort His people,
He shall redeem Yerushalayim. … Isa 52:10 יהוה
shall lay bare His
set-apart arm in the eyes of all the nations. And all the ends of the earth shall see the deliverance of our Elohim. Isa 52:11 Turn aside! Turn aside! Come out from there, touch not the unclean.
Come out of her midst, be clean, you who bear the vessels of יהוה.
… Isa 52:12 for you shall not come out in
haste, nor go in flight. For יהוה is going before you, and the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl is
your rear guard.
Sha’ul is making clear from whom he is speaking “any man
that is called a brother”. He admonish the brothers to be separate from such
one Unfortunately we hear again and again negative reports among the
congregation, wickedness is rampant and many leaders have not the courage to
clean their “house” the result of it is strife, bitterness and split, no more
unity but instead gossip take place and bitterness of heart. How it is when it
is a relative, a brother or father or a mother or the brother in law, should we
take this in account? No the answer is clear “I have written unto you not to keep company, if
any man that is called a brother be
a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer,
or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to
eat”!
Are you
ready to follow the instructions, or will you find excuse which bring trouble
among the Household, the assembly, or among the brothers?
1Co 5:9 I
wrote unto you in an epistle not to
company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not
altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or
extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep
company, if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 1Co 5:12 For
what have I to do to judge them also that are without (outside the faith in
Messiah)? do not you judge them that are
within (those from the Assembly)? 1Co 5:13 But them that are without (not in
Messiah) YHWH judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked
person.
May יהוה bless you and keep you through our master יהושע as you follow the Torah
of life!
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