The Duties of the Priests and the Levites
18: 1-7

The duties of the priests and the Levites DIG: Without the priests, the people couldn’t approach God. Why not? What are the commonalities and differences between the priest/Levite distinction and the elder/deacon distinction in the B’rit Chadashah? How were the priests and Levites cared for? Why was it important that the LORD confirm Aaron and the Levites in their calling?

REFLECT: How easy is it for you to think of God as someone dangerous to approach the wrong way? Explain. What do you think is the believer’s responsibility in the area of giving? Explain. How can and should we care for our Messianic synagogue and church leaders? ADONAI provided for the needs of His servants through His people. Are the needs of your spiritual needs cared for?

Basically, the Levites worked under the supervision of the priesthood.

Numbers 18 begins with the words: ADONAI said to Aaron (18:1). The phrase occurs again twice in 18:8 and 18:20. In every other case in the Torah except in (Leviticus 10:8), God never spoke to Aaron directly, but always through Moses. In this case, YHVH gives Aaron the benefit of personal communication as a further sign of His special relationship to God. This, and the other events of preceding chapters, confirms Aaron’s status as high priest, a status that was under question ever since Miryam and Aaron’s rebellion  (to see link click Bu – The Rebellion of Miryam and Aaron) and the challenges of the people in Chapter 16.³⁴⁷

Duties of the priests (18:1-2): The children of Isra’el had cried out in dismay, “Must everyone who comes near, who comes near to the Tabernacle of ADONAI die?” It is, in essence, the same question we asked at the outset of Leviticus. It was a fearful thing for an unauthorized person to approach Ha’Shem. To act foolishly or carelessly when approaching Him was to invite disaster. How, then, did one draw near to God? The answer to their question came immediately as YHVH spoke directly to Aaron, reaffirming the role and function of the priests and Levites. It is interesting that the Lord spoke directly to Aaron, not to Moshe. It must be that He meant to further confirm His choice of Aaron as high priest.³⁴⁸ He tells him, “You, your sons and your father’s household shall bear the guilt in connection with the Sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt in connection with your priesthood.” Therefore, if, through their negligence, an unauthorized person approached the Sanctuary to perform holy functions (see Cn – Korah’s Rebellion), the priests would bear the sin committed by that person. You will take charge of all the holy furnishings and the bronze altar, so that there will no longer be anger against the people of Isra’el (18:5). Neither the Israelites nor the Levites could draw near to God, only the priests; and only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year on Yom Kippur (see Leviticus Co – Yom Kippur: The Removal of All Sin).

Numbers 18 clearly defines the line between priest and Levite (see Ezra-Nehemiah An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants Who Returned with Zerubbabel). The Levites helped the priests perform their ministry to YHVH. But you are to bring your kinsmen, the tribe of Levi, along with yourselves, to work together with you and help you — you and your sons with you — when you are there before the Tabernacle.

Everything rises or falls with leadership, and Aaron was the leader of the priestly family. He was accountable to God for what happened at the Tabernacle. God doesn’t dwell in Temples made with human hands (Acts 7:48), but our bodies are a temple for the Ruach Ha’Kodesh who lives inside of us, whom we received from God (First Corinthians 6:19).

We must be careful how we treat our bodies and what we do to the Church of Yeshua Messiah. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple (First Corinthians 3:17).³⁴⁹

Duties of the Levites (18:3): They were to be at ADONAI’s disposal to perform all kinds of tasks related to the Tabernacle; only they are not to come near the holy furnishings or the bronze altar, so they would not die (18:3). They could only minister in the courtyard of the Tabernacle (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle), not in the Sanctuary. Even the Levitical Kohathites (see At – The Clan of Kohath), who transported the holy furnishings of the Tabernacle when on the move, could not touch them until they had been properly covered. Violation of that mitzvah was punishable by death, as was the consequence for anyone who was not divinely ordained to serve in the priesthood.³⁵⁰

Basically, then, the Levites worked under the supervision of the priesthood (Aaron’s sons Eleazar and Ithamar), and that the work of the priests and Levites was different. The priests functioned primarily inside the Sanctuary with the holy furnishings and the bronze altar; while the Levites assisted the priests, guarded/protected the outside of the Tabernacle from any encroachment by any Israelite in the camp, carried the holy furnishings on the march, taught the people the Torah, were gatekeepers, singers when the Temple was built, and served as judges in cities of refuge. God knew that the priests would need reliable helpers who could assist them in their duties.

Working together (18:4-7): They will work together with you in your duties related to the Tabernacle, whatever the service in the Tabernacle may be; but an unauthorized person is not to come near you. On their shoulders rested the protection of the nation before God. The weight of that responsibility must have been enormous.³⁵¹ You will take charge of all the holy furnishings and the bronze altar, so that there will no longer be anger against the people of Isra’el (18:4-5). Because unauthorized people in the Tabernacle courtyard or Sanctuary would bring on the wrath of YHVH.

I myself have taken your kinsmen the Levites from among the people of Isra’el; they have been given as a gift to ADONAI for you, so that you can perform the service in the Tabernacle (18:6). The priesthood was God’s gift to Isra’el, for without priests the people couldn’t approach YHVH. The Levites were God’s gift to the priests, relieving them of menial tasks so they would devote themselves fully to serving the LORD and the people. The seven men appointed in Acts 6, usually called deacon, had a similar relationship to the apostles. There’s nothing demeaning about serving tables, but the apostles had more important work to do.³⁵² You and your sons with you will exercise your prerogatives and duties as priests in regard to everything having to do with the bronze altar and within the outer veil (see the commentary on Exodus Fj – The Outer Veil of the Sanctuary). I entrust the service required of the priesthood to you. It was a privileged position, so any unauthorized person who tried to perform as a Levite was to be put to death (18:7).

It’s easy to see how Messiah performs this aspect of the priesthood in the eternal sense (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest). The Aaronic priesthood was only able to bear the guilt of the people as long as the Tabernacle stood, because it was limited to the present world. But the earthly Tabernacle was merely a reflection of the heavenly Tabernacle where Messiah has carried out the same priestly function on our behalf (see Hebrews Bz – The Better Tabernacle Purified with Better Blood). His priesthood is a better priesthood than Aaron’s priesthood (see Hebrews Aw – Messiah is a Better Priest Than Aaron).³⁵³

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great love that willingly suffered shame and great pain to offer the gift of salvation to those who love You as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). Have this attitude in yourselves, which also was in Messiah Yeshua, Who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. But He emptied Himself – taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself – becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).

It is so gracious of You to forgive those who love You! You add a huge blessing by the gift of Messiah’s righteousness! He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). Since You say You will reward those who serve You with loving attitudes, Your promises are always true. I praise and bless You for being so very loving and wonderful! For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid – which is Yeshua the Messiah.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is.  If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward (First Corinthians 3:11-14). I rejoice in serving You, not for the heavenly reward, but to say thank You with my life. In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

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Currid, John. Exodus: Chapters 19-40, Evangelical Press, Auburn, AL, 2001.

Dallas, Joe,The Gay Gospel? Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 2007.

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Fee, Gordon, First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 2014.

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Harris, R. Laird, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Volume 2, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1980.

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End Notes

There are three kinds of end notes. First, when you take an idea or concept that you had never heard of before and cite it. This is done mostly in an academic environment, and this is not a strictly academic commentary, but I included them nonetheless in an effort to be thorough. Secondly, you reword a section written by another author. And thirdly, you quote directly. I have included all three types of end notes to be detailed. Most authors don’t include all three. If Leviticus was bound as a book it would be 646 pages with 260,606 words. That averages out to a very reasonable ratio of a little over one reference per page.

1. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page Xi.

2. Leviticus, Sermon I: Discovering ADONAI, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel Congregation, Montreal, Canada.

3. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 163.

4. Ibid, pages 163-164.

5. The Bible and Homosexual Practice, by Robert J. Gagnon, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 2001, page 31-32 and 37.

6. Ibid, pages 43 and 56-62.

7. Ibid, pages 63-67.

8. Ibid, pages 115-121.

9. Ibid, pages 121-228.

10. The Marketing of Evil, by David Kupelian, WND Books, an imprint of Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee, 2005, page 35.

11. Romans 1-8, by John MacArthur, The Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1991, page 105.

12. 1 Corinthians, by David Garland, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2003, page 215.

13.The First Epistle to the Corinthians, by Gordon Fee, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2014, page 270.

14.The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, by Robert Gagnon, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 2002, pages 229-337.

15. Parsons, John, A Year Through the Torah, A Journey for Christians, Hebrew Heart Publications, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2008, pages 182-184.

16. Leviticus, Sermon I: Discovering ADONAI, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel Congregation, Montreal, Canada.

17. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume One, pages 511-513.

18. Leviticus, Sermon I: Discovering ADONAI, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel Congregation, Montreal, Canada.

19. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 12-13.

20. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, pages 597-598.

21. Ibid, pages 598-601.

22. Christ in the Tabernacle, by Louis Talbot, The Church Press, Glendale, California, 1942, page 147.

23. A Year Through the Torah, page 138.

24. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, pages 602-607.

25. Ibid, page 608.

26. Exodus, Chapters 19-40, by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1991, page 91.

27. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 153.

28. Christ in the Tabernacle, by Louis Talbot, The Church Press, Glendale, California, 1942, page 150.

29. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 98-99.

30. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 67.

31. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume One, page 507.

32. Ibid, page 547.

33. Be Holy, 1 Kings, by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1994, page 30.

34. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 610-611.

35. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 18.

36. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 11.

37. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 611-612.

38. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 99.

39. Ibid, pages 130-131.

40. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 110-111.

41. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, pages 614-615.

42.The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 16.

43. Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume One, page 509.

44.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Wolvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 179.

45. First Corinthians, by John MacArthur, The Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1984, page 239.

46. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 615.

47. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 123.

48. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume One, page 510.

49. Ibid, pages 616-617.

50. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Wolvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 181.

51. Ibid, page 182.

52. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 619.

53. Holiness of the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 146.

54. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume 5, pages 619-621.

55. Christ in the Tabernacle, by Louis Talbot, The Church Press, Glendale, California, 1942, pages 143-144.

56. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Wolvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 181.

57. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 24-25.

58. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 527 and First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Two, page 367.

59. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, pages 629-630.

60. Ibid, page 367.

61. Ibid, page 630-631.

62. Ibid, page 529.

63. Ibid, pages 630-633.

64. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 162-163.

65. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 636.

66. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 130.

67. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pag3 131.

68. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 167.

69. Ibid, pages 169-170.

70. Ibid, pages 170-173.

71. Ibid, page 174.

72. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 637.

73. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, pages 529-531.

74. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, pgs 175-176.

75. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 133.

76. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume 5, page 621.

77. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 178.

78. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 531.

79. Ibid, page 532.

80. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, pages 640-642.

81. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.

82. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 532-533.

83. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 186-187.

84. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 642.

85. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, pgs 187-189.

86. Ibid, page 190.

87. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 46.

88. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, pgs 192-193.

89. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 597.

90. Ibid, pages 643-644.

91. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 534.

92. Moses and the Gods of Egypt, by John Davis, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1983, pages 278-280.

93. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 644.

94. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 646.

95. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 644.

96. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI 2002, page 209.

97. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 138.

98. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, pages 644-645.

99. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 535.

100. Leviticus, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

101. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 646.

102. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, pages 535-536.

103. Leviticus Chapters 1-14, by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1991, page 97.

104. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 212.

105. Exodus, by Ron Youngblood, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, page 131.

106. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 142.

107. Exodus, by Ron Youngblood, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, page 130.

108. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 212.

109. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 53.

110. Exodus, Volume 2, by John Currid, Evangelical Press, Auburn, Mass, 2001, page 223.

111. Exodus, by Ron Youngblood, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, pages 130-131.

112. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 648.

113. Leviticus, Sermon 10, Righteous Fire, Righteous Forgiveness, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

114. Exodus, Volume 2, by John Currid, Evangelical Press, Auburn, Mass, 2001, page 224.

115. A Year Through the Torah, page 140.

116. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume Five, page 648.

117. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 40.

118. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 213-214.

119. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 149.

120. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tzav, Volume One, page 537.

121. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 42-43.

122. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 657.

123. Ibid, page 657.

124. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 148.

125. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, page 549.

126. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 222-223.

127. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, page 550.

128. Ibid, page 550.

129. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 658.

130. Ibid, page 659.

131. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 149.

132. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 659-660.

133. Ibid, page 660.

134. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 149.

135. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 222-223.

136. Ibid, page 223.

137. A Year Through the Torah, by John Parsons, Hebrew Heart Publications, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2008, page 200.

138. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 661.

139. Ibid, pages 661-662.

140. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, pages 551-553.

141. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 230-231.

142. Strange Fire, by John MacArthur, Nelson Books, Nashville, Tennessee, 2013, pages ix-xi.

143. Leviticus, Sermon 10: Righteous Fire, Righteous Forgiveness, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

144. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 156.

145. First Fruits of Zion, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 662-663.

146. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 157.

147. Answers to Tough Questions, by J. Carl Laney, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR, 1997, pg 39-40.

148. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, page 553.

149. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 158.

150. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, pages 157-159.

151. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 162.

152. Rabbi David Fohrman, AlephBeta

153. Leviticus, Sermon 10: Righteous Fire, Righteous Forgiveness, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

154. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 160.

155. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Five, page 688.

156. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 167-169.

157. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume One, pages 575-576.

158. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 665.

159. Ibid, pages 665-667.

160. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, pages 559-560.

161. Leviticus Chapters 1-14, by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1991, page 119.

162. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 667-668.

163. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume One, page 668-669.

164. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 670-671.

165. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 667.

166. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 669.

167. Leviticus Chapters 1-14, by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1991, pages 127-128.

168. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, page 669.

169. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 164.

170. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 669-670.

171. Ibid, page 670.

172. Ibid, pages 671-672.

173. Ibid, page 672.

174. Be Holy, OT Commentary on Leviticus, by Warren Wiersbe, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1994, pages 61-63.

175. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 61.

176. Life of Christ tape series, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

177. Mark in the Greek New Testament, Kenneth Wuest, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1950, pages 141-142.

178. The Jewish New Testament Commentary, by David Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, Maryland, 1992, page 92.

179. Life of Christ tape series, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

180. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 673-674.

181. Life of Christ tape series, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

182. Life of Christ tape series, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

183. Matthew Presents Yeshua, King Messiah, by Barney Kasdan, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2011, page 158.

184. The Gospel of Mark, by Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 2006, page 69.

185. The Message of Acts, by John Stott, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1990, pages 187-188.

186. Verse by Verse Commentary on Acts, by David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary Series, Simi Valley, California, 2000, page 120.

187. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Shemini, Volume Five, pages 674-675.

188. Ibid, pages 676-677.

189. Ibid, pages 677-678.

190. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Two, page 399.

191. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Five, pages 691-692.

192. Be Holy, OT Commentary on Leviticus, by Warren Wiersbe, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1994, pages 63-64.

193.The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 73.

194. None of These Diseases by S. I. McMillen, M.D. Revell, Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1984.

195. Apologetics Press, by Bert Thompson, Ph.D. Montgomery, Alabama.

196. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 271.

197. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 177.

198. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 272.

199. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, by R. Laird Harris, Volume 2, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1980, page 650.

200. Genesis in Space and Time, by Francis A. Schaeffer, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1972, page 98.

201. Ibid, page 99

202. Ibid, page 100

203. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Two, pages 401-404.

204. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 276.

205. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, pages 76-77.

206. A Year Through the Torah, by John Parsons, Hebrew Heart Publications, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2008, page 152.

207. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Five, page 696.

208. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

209. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, page 281.

210. Ibid, page 280.

211. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Five, pages 696-697.

212. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

213. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, pg 281.

214. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 189.

215. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

216. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2002, pg 281.

217. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 694.

218. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

219. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

220. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 186.

221. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 81.

222. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

223. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

224. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 199.

225. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

226. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

227. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 191.

228. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

229. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

230. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 187-188.

231. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 191.

232. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

233. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

234. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 189-190.

235. 1-3 John, by John MacArthur, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, pages 84-92.

236. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 281.

237. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 78-79.

238. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Tazria, Volume Two, pages 400-401.

239. Ibid, pages 404-406.

240. Ibid, pages 400-401.

241. The First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume Five, page 711-715.

242. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 290.

243. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 87.

244. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume Five, pages 715-716.

245. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 88.

246. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 292.

247. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume Two, pages 716-717.

248. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 196.

249. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Vayikra, Volume Five, page 608.

250. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 705.

251. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume Five, pages 717-718.

252. Ibid, pages 598-599.

253. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 91.

254. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume One, pages 599-600.

255. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 199.

256. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 91-92.

257. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 303.

258. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, pages 707-708.

259. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 92.

260. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 708-709.

261. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 217.

262. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Metzora, Volume One, page 602.

263. Ibid, pages 719-721.

264. Ibid, pages 722-723.

265. Ibid, pages 724-725.

266. Ibid, pages 721.

267. Ibid, pages 721.

268. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 96-97.

269. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 313.

270. Netivyah.org 2020.

271. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 735-737.

272. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 208.

273. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 737-738.

274. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Pinchas, Volume One, page 893.

275. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Pinchas, Volume Five, pages 1074-1075.

276. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, page 738.

277. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 720.

278. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, page 739.

279. Ibid, page 739.

280. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 104.

281. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 739-740.

282. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 722.

283. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 722.

284. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 212.

285. Hebrews Through a Hebrew’s Eyes, by Stuart Sacks, Messianic Jewish Publications, Clarksville, Maryland, 1995, pages 65-67.

286. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 742.

287. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 205.

288. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 742-743.

289. Ibid, pages 743-744.

290. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 744-746.

291. Ibid, pages 746-747.

292. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 230-231.

293. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 216.

294. Ibid, page 228.

295. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 233-234.

296. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.

297. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 234-235.

298. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 748-749.

299. Hebrews, by John MacArthur, The Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, page 239.

300. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 339-340.

301. Leviticus, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

302. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, page 749.

303. Leviticus, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.

304. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 749-753.

305. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 258-259.

306. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 752-756.

307. The Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1996.

308. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, pages 756-757.

309. Ibid, page 757.

310. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 112.

311. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, page 758.

312. Leviticus, by Gordon Wenham, NICOT, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1979, page 260.

313. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Acharei Mot, Volume Five, page 758.

314. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 745.

315. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.

316. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 348-349.

317. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 114-115.

318. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume One, page 637.

319. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 201.

320. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 124.

321. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 767 and 770.

322. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume One, pages 637-640.

323. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 770-771.

324. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.

325. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 771-772.

326. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume One, pages 642-643.

327. The Complete Jewish Study Bible, Rabbi Barry Rubin, General Editor, Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, Peabody, MA, 2016, page 155.

328. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 360.

329. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 773-774.

330. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 257.

331. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 774-76.

332. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 129.

333. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 362-363.

334. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 126.

335. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 754.

336. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 261.

337. The Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1996, page 93.

338. The Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1996, page 94.

339. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 250-251.

340. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, page 782.

341. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 755.

342. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 783-785.

343. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 365.

344. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 202.

345. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 760.

346. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, page 785.

347. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 266.

348. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 136.

349. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 267.

350. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 128.

1. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.
2. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, page 785.
3. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 760.
4. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 129.
5. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 761.
6. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 760.
7. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, page 785.
8. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 373-374.
9. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 257.
10. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 374.
11. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 138.
12. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 258.
13. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 269.
14. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 786.
15. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 376.
16. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.
17. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.
18. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 785-786.
19. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Kedoshim, Volume Five, pages 787.
20. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 132-133.
21. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 797.
22. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, page 658.
23. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Two, page 431.
24. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 273.
25. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 143.
26. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 142.
27. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 143.
28. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, page 658.
29. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages800-801.
30. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 266.
31. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 770.
32. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 275.
33. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 143.
34. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, page 658.
35. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 204.
36. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 268 and 276.
37. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 801-802.
38. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 774.
39. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.
40. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 774-775.
41. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 143.
42. Ibid, page 143.
43. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, page 658.
44. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 149.
45. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 802-803.
46. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 271.
47. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 776.
48. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 804.
49. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 776.
50. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 804.
51. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 272.
52. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 804.
53. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 44.
54. Ibid, page 151.
55. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 778.
56. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 805.
57. The Passover, Manuscript Number 114, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Feast of Passover, page 23.
58. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 805.
59. Ibid, pages 805-807.
60. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 779.
61. www.ucg.org
62. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, page 129.
63. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 761.
64. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 807.
65. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 280.
66. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, pages 668-669.
67. Kasdan, Barney, God’s Appointed Times, Clarksville: Lender Books, a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1993, pages vii-x.
68. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 282.
69. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Two, page 432.
70. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Parashat HaShavua: Emor, page 669-670.
71. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Two, pages 433-434.
72. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 156.
73. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
74. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
75. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 811-812.
76. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Two, page 437.
77. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
78. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 26-33.
79. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 156.
80. Ibid, page 241.
81. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
82. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
83. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
84. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 26-33.
85. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 415.
86. Leviticus, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.
87. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 282-283.
88. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Hag ha’Matzot: Manuscript Number 115. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
89. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of First Fruits: Manuscript Number 116. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1985.
90. Leviticus, by Jacques Isaac, Beth Ariel, Montreal, Canada.
91. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 45-47.
92. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 813.
93. chabad.org
94. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 813.
95. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Two, pages 437-438.
96. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 156.
97. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 207.
98. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Weeks: Manuscript Number 117. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1985.
99. Ibid.
100. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 56-58.
101. Life in Isra’el During the Feast of Trumpets, by Joseph Shulam, September 6, 2021.
102. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Pinchas, Volume Five, page 1072.
103. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. Rosh ha’Shanah: Manuscript Number 118. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
104. Rabbi Barey Kasdan, Nu News, Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue, September/October 2022.
105. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. Rosh ha’Shanah: Manuscript Number 118. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
106. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 68-70.
107. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 429-430.
108. Ibid, pages 430-431.
109. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 241.
110. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, pages 79-81.
111. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, pages 79-81.
112. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. Yom Kippur: Manuscript Number 119. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1986.
113. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, pages 85-86.
114. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 156.
115. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, page 816.
116. Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. The Feast of Sukkot: Manuscript Number 120. Ariel Ministries, Tustin, 1987, pages 3-5.
117. Kasdan, Barney, Kehilat Ariel, Messianic Synagogue, San Diego, California.
118. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume Five, pages 816-817.
119. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 101-104.
120. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, pages 208-209.
121. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 294.
122. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 441.
123. Ibid, page 442.
124. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, pages 165-166.
125. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 294.
126. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 442.
127. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 444.
128. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Roy Zuck OT Editor, Cook Communications Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1983, page 209.
129. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, pages 291-293.
130. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Emor, Volume One, page 673.
131. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 449.
132. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 150-151.
133. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, b’Har, Volume One, page 687.
134. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume Five, pages 829.
135. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume One, pages 687-688.
136. Ibid, page 688.
137. Ibid, pages 688-689.
138. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 460.
139. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume One, pages 688-689.
140. Ibid, pages 687-688.
141. Ibid, pages 693-694.
142. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 460.
143. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 304.
144. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 802.
145. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, b’Har, Volume Two, pages 455-456.
146. What is the Jewish Way to God? by Sam Nadler, Word of Messiah Ministries, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2018.
147. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 304.
148. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 802.
149. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume Five, pages 836.
150. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 173.
151. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume Five, page 837.
152. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 460.
153. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 302.
154. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume Five, page 838.
155. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, pages 804-805.
156. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, pages 306-307.
157. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 304.
158. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 304.
159. Ibid, page 304.
160. Ibid, page 304.
161. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 177.
162. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 462.
163. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, b’Har, Volume One, pages 694.
164. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, b’Har Volume Five, page 839.
165. Ibid, page 840.
166. Leviticus, by Mark Rooker, The New American Commentary, Volume 3A, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, page 308.
167. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, B’Har, Volume Five, pages 840.
168. Ibid, pages 841-842.
169. Ibid, pages 842-843.
170. Ibid, page 843.
171. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 464.
172. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 168-169.
173. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 851-852.
174. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, pages 709-710.
175. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pages 470-471.
176. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 853-854.
177. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, pages 712-713.
178. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 728.
179. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume Two, pages 469-470.
180. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, page 715.
181. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 854-856.
182. The Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1996, page 97.
183. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 188.
184. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 817.
185. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, page 856.
186. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, page 718.
187. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 191.
188. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 856-857.
189. Ibid, pages 857-858.
190. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, page 820.
191. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, pages 718-720.
192. The JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page ????????.
193. David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary on Judges.
194. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 859-860.
195. Holiness to the LORD, by Allen Ross, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 493.
196. Leviticus, by Jay Sklar, TOTC, Volume 3, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014, page 328.
197. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis to Leviticus, by Richard Hess, Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2008, pages 824-825.
198. Ibid, page 825.
199. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 863-864.
200. Ibid, page 864.
201. Ibid, page 864.
202. The Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 1996, page 97.
203. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 199.
204. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechokotai, Volume Five, pages 864-865.
205. Leviticus, by Baruch Levine, The JPS Torah Commentary, The Jewish Publication Society, Jerusalem, Isra’el, 1989, page 199.
206. First Fruits of Zion, Torah Club, Bechukotai, Volume One, pages 719-720.
207. Walk Leviticus, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2001, pages 186-187.

 

Mitzvot on Tithes
27: 30-34

Mitzvot on Tithes DIG: Many times today, pastors talk about biblical tithing, and they use the “Old Testament” benchmark of ten percent. But if you were going to tithe like they did in the TaNaKh, what would be the percentage? What is our obligation to tithe today?

REFLECT: Did you grow up in a house where tithing was practiced and taught? Was it a positive or negative experience for you? If positive, do you still tithe today? If not, have you actually tried tithing? God says he will bless you even more if you tithe? Why not try?

One of the irreversible mitzvot of receiving tangible blessings from the LORD is the matizah of tithing. Malachi 3:10-12 says: Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and put me to the test,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. “See if I won’t open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing far beyond your needs. For your sake I will forbid the devourer to destroy the yield from your soil; and your vine will not lose its fruit before harvest-time,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot.  “All nations will call you happy, for you will be a land of delights,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot.

Here, the Torah goes on to discuss the mitzvot of the tithe. Tithes were a ten percent collection taken from agricultural produce as a donation to the Temple. A tenth of the produce of the land, the fields, the orchards and vineyards belonged to ADONAI. It needs to be pointed out that in the Torah there were several tithes. When all were added up, it amounted to approximately twenty-five percent of one’s income or produce given to YHVH.

All the tenth given from the land, whether from planted seed or fruit from trees, belongs to ADONI; it is holy to ADONAI. The Torah allowed for a person to redeem his tithe. If someone wants to redeem any of his tenth, he must add to it one-fifth (27:30-31). This might happen when a person had already set aside a certain amount of produce for the tithe, but was then needed for another purpose, or it might be necessary if the tithe were to be rendered unclean. Because it had already been designated for use as a tithe, it already belonged to God. Therefore, the person needed to pay the full price of the produce plus twenty percent of its value.⁵⁵¹

All the tenth from the herd or the flock, whatever passes under the shepherd’s crook, the tenth one will be holy to ADONAI (27:32). The reference here is to the Jewish mode of tithing sheep. As the sheep passed through a narrow gate, one-by-one, the person counting stood by, holding his shepherd’s crook, colored yellowish-brown at the tip. Every tenth one he touched with his crook, thus putting a mark on it. Jeremiah alludes to this method of counting sheep in (Jeremiah 33:13 and Ezeki’el 20:37).⁵⁵²

This animal could not be exchanged, redeemed or used for any other purpose other than a tithe. The tithe of the animals was sacrificed as a peace offering (to see link click Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God). Typically, the tithes of the animals were brought to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festival of Sukkot where the owner, his family and friends could partake of the meat by sacrificing the animals as a peace offering. In its overall effect, this mitzvah is in agreement with the provisions in Deuteronomy (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Cx – Do Not Neglect the Levite), although the matter is stated differently there. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were required to set aside a tithe from the produce of the fields and bring it each year to the Temple.⁵⁵³

Since an animal was marked for tithe regardless of its condition, it is possible that the tithed animal was not fit for sacrifice on the bronze altar. Nevertheless, it was not to be substituted or exchanged. The owner is not to inquire whether the animal is good or bad, and he cannot exchange it; if he does exchange it, both it and the one he substituted for it will be holy; it cannot be redeemed (27:33). If the owner attempted to exchange it for another animal, both it and the substitute would be regarded as holy and both would go to the priesthood. A tithed animal could not be redeemed.⁵⁵⁴ Today, in the B’rit Chadashah there is no set amount for tithing (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others: The seven principles of scriptural giving).

These are the mitzvot which ADONAI gave to Moshe for the people of Isra’el on Mount Sinai (27:34). This postscript reverts to the opening verse of Chapter 25, “ADONAI spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.” It was customary to state, both at the beginning and end of major sections, or books, of the Torah, where and when the revelation from God had occurred. The same postscript occurs in Leviticus 26:46 and the closing verse of Numbers, 36:13.⁵⁵⁵ What more could be said? We just finished studying a book which told us how the Most Holy God chose to call us and make us holy, both as individuals and as a nation. To be separated from the rest of the world and totally dedicated to serve Him is the greatest privilege a human being can know. This call to holiness involves more than just correct ritual. It involves the complete dedication of ourselves, our family, and our possessions to Him who bought us with the price of His blood, who made us holy by redeeming us from sin – our Messiah Yeshua, the Holy One of Isra’el. In Him and Him alone can the fulfillment of the Torah (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dg – The Completion of the Torah) and all concluding blessings be realized.

Therefore, as is the ancient tradition when we finish a book of the Torah, we say,

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!⁵⁵⁶

Haftarah B’Chukotai reading (Jeremiah 17:14):
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

Intercede for your people! God burdened Jeremiah with a message of judgment and forbids him to marry or attend weddings (Jeremiah 16:1-2 and 8-9). For this, his culture brands him a pariah and an object of social disgrace. Jeremiah sees the day that the Gentile nations will confess idolatry and turn to ADONAI (Jeremiah 16:19). The prophet indicts the southern kingdom of Judah for her hardheartedness. He uses a diamond-point to etch the accusation on the tablets of Judah’s heart (Jeremiah 17:1). Disaster strikes! For unatoned sin, Ha’Shem says, “I will cause you to serve your enemies.” Judah will lose her heritage and her land! Those who forsake YHVH are without help (Matthew 22:11-14). Covenant breakers will be condemned. Yet all is not lost. The prophet turns to God for healing!

B’rit Hadashah reading (Matthew 22:14):

Matthew aims three parables in a row to describe the change of leadership over God’s Kingdom (Matthew 21:28-32, 33-46, and 22:1-14). Of course, leadership has already passed from firstborns to the Levites and the elders. Now, it passes to those who are invited and elected to come, properly dressed, to the wedding banquet given by the king for his son (Matthew 22:2 and 11). In ancient days, formal festivities required an advance invitation, followed by a second notification after the feast was prepared (Matthew 22:3-4 and 8). The insult to the king was especially grave, since the food was ready and this was the second invitation. In his anger, the king destroys those who have persecuted his servants and burns the city. Then he goes outside the city to invite travelers, both Jew and Gentile, to fill the room full (Matthew 22:9). The elect responded – on short notice!⁵⁵⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being such an awesome and wonderful Heavenly Father! How amazing it is that You who are perfectly pure and holy, yet in love, You adopt all who love You and confess Your Son as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 1:5; John 1:12). No amount of works can open salvation’s door, but Your gracious love through our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) offers Messiah’s righteousness. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).

What a joy it is to offer ourselves back to You in grateful appreciation of the great pain and shame that Messiah went thru on our behalf (Hebrews 12:2). Yeshua focused on the joy set before Him and so when trials come our way we will also focus on the joy of an eternal home in heaven with You (Romans 8:18)! Thank You for sending out Your Son’s wedding invitation to all who would have faith/trust/belief in Him and thereby be “in Messiah” (Ephesians Chapter 1). For You are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua. . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:26, 28). It is a joy to serve You! We love You and look forward to praising and worshiping You thru all eternity! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Cherem
27: 28-29

Cherem DIG: What is a cherem vow? What is the difference between a cherem vow and korban? How does the story of Hannah dedicating Samuel illustrate a complete dedication? What motivates parents like Hannah to irrevocably give over their children to the LORD?

REFLECT: What Amalekites are you facing where you live? Do you want them to intermarry with your children and grandchildren for the sake of not offending anyone? What is something you have recently given to the Lord? Are you a Hannah, or a Sha’ul? Explain.

We should love what God loves and hate what God hates.

Until now we have been discussing people, property and possessions which a man might vow to YHVH. The Torah now takes an aside to discuss a different type of vow to God. Just as a person could vow something to the LORD as holy, he could vow it as cherem. Something vowed as cherem was completely unredeemable. It was completely surrendered to the priesthood. It was not a korban or sacrifice of any sort. But nothing that a person owns and devotes to ADONAI – whether a human being or an animal or family land – may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to ADONAI (27:28). A person who verbally declares some property or possession of his as cherem vow to the LORD is obligated to fulfill it according to the stringencies of the cherem status.⁵⁴⁹

No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; they are to be put to death (27:29). When Joshua defeated Jericho, the city and all its inhabitants and possessions were regarded as cherem, or devoted to destruction (Joshua 6:17-19). The word cherem speaks of a total dedication over to God – often for destruction. Achan’s sin was a violation of the cherem status. As a result, everything he touched or owned was devoted to destruction. When found out, all of Isra’el took Achan, the silver, the robe, the gold bar that he had taken from Jericho, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor . . . Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Thus, that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since (Joshua 7:24-26).

Hannah, who was barren, desperately poured out her heart to God in prayer for a son. On one occasion she made a cherem vow that if the LORD would grant her request, she would completely surrender her son Samuel to the priesthood (First Samuel 1:11, 22, 28). Shortly after that, she conceived and in due time bore a son whom she named Samuel (meaning heard of God). After Hannah had weaned her son, she fulfilled her pledge and took him to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle and high priest were dwelling at that time, to offer him to ADONAI as a lifelong Nazirite. When he grew up, Samuel would become a prophet and judge of Isra’el, who played a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom under Sha’ul, and again in the monarchy’s transition from Sha’ul to David.

Ha’Shem demanded that all of the Amalekites be killed, including their sheep and cattle, and women and children, under the cherem judgment of holy war (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Ag – The Problem of Holy War in the TaNaKh). But when Sha’ul saw the fatness of the Amalekite sheep and cattle, he considered his own glory and prestige in bringing them back, along with Agag, king of Amalek, as public exhibits of his leadership, but failed to honor the terms of the cherem. That mistake cost him his crown. Similarly, King Ahab violated the cherem ban when he spared the Syrian king Ben-Hadad. For that transgression, Ahab lost his life.

The merciless demands of the cherem judgment are difficult for us to understand today. It seems incongruous that a God who loves mercy and compassion would also want us, at times, to be ruthless.⁵⁵⁰ But there are things that God hates. There are six things God hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community (Prov 6:16-19). And if He hates them, we should also hate them. We need to be ruthless in defending our Messiah against a wicked society. We need to be ruthless in protecting our children against evil. We need to be ruthless in defending our Lord against the evil one. And we need to be ruthless in the defense of the Gospel.

How are you keeping yourself and your family from being contaminated by the world? John seems very ruthless about this topic when he says: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (First John 2:15-17). How ruthless are you?

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being both completely wise and totally loving! Your love is wise, not like a “sugar daddy” who gives in; but like the prodigal son’s father who forgives when the son is remorseful for his sin and confesses it. You wisely hate evil for You are holy and You know that sin/evil will keep Your children from the good that You have for them.

Wisdom and patience go together in Your character for in Your omniscience (all-knowing- even the future) knew the time when the sin of the Amorites would be full and only then did You punish them for their sin. Then in the fourth generation they [Abram’s seed] will return here – for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete (Genesis 15:16). Without light, there would be no darkness. Without hating evil, love would not be love.

You are always holy and perfect in all You do. Your love is holy and pure and extends to all who love You. Your hate is righteous and is not in any way selfish; but hates all that is evil and would rob men and women of the eternal peace and joy that You have for them. Thank You for being so wonderful! In Your holy name and power of Yeshua’s resurrection. Amen

Forbidden Vows
27: 26-27

Forbidden vows DIG: What do you see as the purpose of these forbidden vows? Why would ADONAI have to remind the Israelites that they were already His? Why did they forget?

REFLECT: What already belongs to God in your life? Have you acknowledged that it is His or are you still holding on to it? What happens when you take for granted His gifts to you?

God’s people could not make vows to give God what already belonged to Him.

The Israelites could not vow to sacrifice an animal that was already designated for sacrifice (Exodus 13:2 and 34:19-20). Because the firstborn males (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Da –Dedicate All the Firstborn Animals) were already sacred and set apart for sacrifice, they could not be vowed. They could not give to God what He already owns. Illustrations of items dedicated completely to YHVH may be found in Joshua 6:17 and Micah 4:13. The Torah says: No one can dedicate the firstborn among animals – neither ox nor sheep – since it already belongs to ADONAI (27:26). The firstborn animals were to be sacrificed as peace offerings (see Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God), the owners had the right to eat the meat of the sacrifice. The sacrifice and offering of the firstborns were brought in conjunction with the tithes brought as a part of the annual celebration of the pilgrimage feast of Sukkot (see Eg – Hag Sukkot). But if it is an unclean animal, he may redeem it at the price at which you value it and add one-fifth; or if he does not redeem it, it is to be sold at the price at which you value it (26:27). If they were not redeemed, they were to be sold with the proceeds from the sale going to the Temple.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for our great and awesome love! Sometimes, having heard for many years of your gracious mercy and grace, people grow callous to the joy of giving back to You. They forget what great shame and incredibly painful cost You paid for the gift of our salvation (John 14:23, Romans 5:17). In no way can anyone ever earn their salvation, no matter how many good deeds are done. It is all about Your grace and the joy of loving You back for Your fantastic gift of life. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

In the days of Isra’el during the time of Moses, every tenth animal belonged to You, because of the Passover (Exodus 13:2). In a similar yet different manner, all who love You belong to You and we ought to rejoice in giving You our life, our time, our talents and tithe. Your blood paid the price that rescued all who love You from suffering in hell for their sins. In grateful response, we should all rejoice at the opportunity to sow seeds of love in giving You their lives and possessions. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.  Let each one give as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion – for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that by always having enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work (Second Corinthians 9:6-8). Thank You for the joy of being able to give back our love to You by offering you our time, money and all we say and do. In Your holy name and power of Messiah’s resurrection. Amen

Vows Concerning a House or Field
27: 14-25

Vows concerning a house or field DIG: Why do you think it was necessary to set a monetary value? What do you see as the purpose of these vows concerning houses and fields?

REFLECT: What is something you have personally given to the Lord? Have you ever wanted it back? At what cost? How is this similar to things dedicated here in this chapter?

This section speaks of three types of dedications:
urban dwellings, acquired agricultural land, and leased land.

When a person dedicates his house. The Hebrew verb yakdish means to dedicate. It enjoys a wide range of connotations, from the devotion of sacrificial offerings as in 22:2 to the dedication of the first-born in response to God’s mitzvah (Numbers 3:13; Deuteronomy 15:19). In Nehemiah 12:47, we read of dedications in support of the priesthood. In Second Kings 12:18-19 we read of donations that kings dedicated to the Temple, frequently from the spoils of war.

Vowing a house to ADONAI (27:14-15): If a man should declare in a vow that his house or personal belongings were dedicated to ADONAI, then the house and the belongings became the property of the priesthood. When a person dedicates his house to be holy for ADONAI, the priest is to set a fair market value on it in relation to its good and bad points; the value set by the priest will be legally binding. They needed to set this price lest the man should later decide that he wanted to redeem his house. If the dedicator wishes to redeem his house, he must add one-fifth to the value you have set on it; and it will revert to him before the Jubilee Year requires its return.

Vowing land to ADONAI (27:16-21): Although priests were individually forbidden to own land (Numbers 18:20), the priesthood as a whole could acquire it. But this process was far less straightforward if the man dedicated a field or other geographically tillable plot of land. A dedication of land transactions was complicated by the Yovel Year (to see link click Em – The Year of Jubilee), because in that year all agricultural properties reverted back to the ancestral owners. Therefore, fields were never permanently sold. Rather, their value was calculated according to the number of crops which could be harvested between the date of sale and the next Jubilee. If a man vowed a field, dedicating it to the LORD the value of the field was to be deduced by a formula which considered the amount of seed required to sow the field. If a person dedicates to ADONAI part of a field belonging to his tribe’s possession, you are to value it according to its production, with five bushels of barley (an omer of barley) being valued at fifty shekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds]. A field twice the size would be valued at one-hundred shekels of silver.

If he dedicated his field during the Yovel Year, this valuation will be legally binding after the priest had set the price. But if he dedicates his field after the Year of Jubilee, then the priest is to calculate the price according to the years remaining till the next Yovel, with a corresponding reduction in the price. If the one dedicating the field wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to the valuation of the priest and the field will be set aside to revert to him. If the seller does not wish to redeem the field, or if [the treasurer for the priesthood] has already sold the field to a third party, it can no longer be redeemed because the original owner dedicated the property to the Temple. But when the field reverted to its original owner at the Jubilee, it would pass into the possession of the priesthood. One can imagine situations in which the owners of small plots of land found themselves in permanent debt to a few rich landowners. Their lands would go to the wealthy owner because the poor farmers couldn’t pay the cost of the land plus twenty-percent. When the Jubilee arrived, only a small part of the debt was paid, so the land returned to the use of the wealthy landowner for another fifty years. The formula suggested here allowed the original family to free themselves of another’s clutches by placing their land and themselves in the service of the priesthood, who did not individually own land and who were held to a higher moral standard, and perhaps be more merciful.⁵⁴⁷

Vowing leased land to ADONAI (27:22-24): One who leased land from an owner could also dedicate the leased land to the Temple until the Jubilee. Then it would revert back to the original family. If he dedicates a field to ADONAI which he has bought, a field which is not part of his tribe’s possession, then the priest is to calculate its value according to the years remaining until the Yovel Year; and the man will on that same day pay this amount; since it is holy to ADONAI. In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, that is, to the person to whose tribal possession it belongs.

Mitzvah on setting assessment values (27:25): All your valuations are to be according to the Sanctuary shekel [the standard weight of two-fifths of an ounce of silver], twenty gerahs to the shekel. This provided the only means of regulating weights of metal and their value throughout the twelve tribes of Isra’el. For the believer, the dedication of the land for God’s use exemplifies the generosity and sacrifice of those whose relationship to YHVH is the most important thing. The gifts of the land for the benefit of the early Messianic community remained a means by which the physical needs of many could be met (see the commentary on Acts As – Ruach-Filled Community Life).⁵⁴⁸

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your great love and generosity to give Your best, Your only son, to redeem mankind (Second Corinthians 5:21). It is a great joy to give our time, talents and money back to You as a gift of our love. In Your great wisdom, You do not look at the outward size of the gift, but you look at the heart of each person. But ADONAI said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have already refused him. For He does not see a man as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks into the heart” (First Samuel 16:7).

Thank You for Your wisdom to look at the motive why someone is giving You a gift. It is sad for You to see a heart full of pride. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’  Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23).”

Others have a heart of gold for You, you will test their heart and greatly reward them for their deeds done from their heart of deep love for You. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is (First Corinthians 3:12-13). Thank You for the joy of giving to You, for You are so wonderful! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Vows Concerning Animal Sacrifices
27: 9-13

Vows concerning animal sacrifices DIG: What is the difference between a ritually clean and unclean animal? What do you see as the purpose of these vows concerning animal sacrifices?

REFLECT: What is something you have personally given to the Lord? Have you ever wanted it back? At what cost? How is this similar to things dedicated here in this chapter?

If the vowed animal was ritually clean (to see link click Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals), the Israelites could not exchange it (give an animal of a different type) or substitute it (give an animal of the same type). It would have been especially tempting to substitute sick or deformed animals of a lesser value (a bad one for a good one), as did the people in Malachi’s day. From farthest east to farthest west my name is great among the nations. Offerings are presented to My Name everywhere, pure gifts; for My Name is great among the nations,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. But you profane it by saying that the table of ADONAI is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt. You also say, ‘It’s all so tiresome!’ and sniff scornfully at it,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. “Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you?” asks ADONAI. “Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to ADONAI anyway. For I am a great king,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot, “and my name is respected among the nations (Mal 1:11-14).

Vowing animal sacrifices (27:9-10): Animals could also become candidates for vows. If a ritually clean animal was vowed, it could not be exchanged for another animal. If what he vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the LORD, such an animal given to God becomes holy (meaning that it was now God’s). If the offeror tried to substitute an inferior animal, the penalty was very high – then both animals were to be given to God. He must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if he should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become the property of the priesthood.

Vowing an unclean animal (27:11-13): Vows concerning animals harmonizes with the rest of Leviticus because the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals affected the ruling. If a ritually unclean animal (for example the one that was disqualified from sacrifices in 22:20-25) was vowed to the LORD, it could be redeemed for the fair market value plus an additional twenty percent. The animal had to be brought to the priest to judge if its quality was good or bad.⁵⁴⁵ If what he vowed is a ritually unclean animal (like a donkey), one that is not acceptable as an offering to ADONAI – the animal must be presented to the priest, who will judge its quality as good or bad. The assessment of the priest was final, even if it exceeded the fair market price for the animal. At that point, the animal became the property of the priesthood, but the original owner had the right to redeem it. If the person wants to redeem it, whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. If the owner wishes to redeem the animal (perhaps because it was well trained), he must add a fifth to its value. The addition of twenty percent was probably to discourage the Israelites from taking such vows lightly.⁵⁴⁶ Therefore, a ritually clean animal could not be redeemed, but since ritually unclean animals are never fit for sacrifice, they were always redeemable.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your great “chesed” steadfast love. Yeshua fell face down and prayed, saying: My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me! Yet not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39). Knowing the terrible suffering He would have to endure to take the punishment for the sins of the world as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), Messiah prayed again for the Father saying: My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, let Your will be done. And He prayed a third time, saying the same words once more (Matthew 26:42, 44c). Father, You knew how exceedingly horrible the crucifixion would be, yet Your matchless mercy and grace allowed Yeshua to go thru with the suffering. Yeshua could have backed out, but I worship You for your selfless love that knew You could not be redeemed . . . for no one else could bear the sin punishment for those who love You. What immense love! I want to thank You with my life of love for what you have suffered in my place on the cross. I desire to live totally for you in all I do, say and think. I look forward to living with You in heaven for all eternity where I will continue to praise You forever! In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Personal Vows
27: 1-8

Personal vows DIG: What do you see as the purpose of these mitzvot concerning vows? Why do you think it was necessary to set a monetary value on people dedicated to God?

REFLECT: What is something you have personally given to the Lord? Have you ever wanted it back? At what cost? How is this similar to things dedicated here in this chapter?

God in His grace made a way for all people, whether rich or poor, to participate fully in worshipping Him. In this case fulfilling their vows.

The custom of pledging one’s valuation in silver to the Sanctuary goes back to the actual dedication of oneself, or one’s child, to Tabernacle/Temple service. In First Samuel we read that Hannah vowed that if YHVH granted her a son she would bring him to Shiloh, where he would remain in service all his days. When Samuel was born, she, indeed, devoted him in this way. Pledging the equivalent of one’s life, according to the scale established in the Torah, served two purposes; first, the spirit of the ancient tradition was satisfied, and second, in practical terms, the Tabernacle received the necessary funds.⁵⁴²

In pagan cultures, a person might vow himself or his children as a human sacrifice or into lifelong service to their god. The Torah does not make allowance for this type of vow. Human sacrifice is completely outside of the parameters of God’s dealings with humanity. However, it was a cultural norm that was very common in neighboring Gentile nations.

The Torah has already spoken of child sacrifices made to Molech. You are not to let any of your children be sacrificed to Molech, thereby profaning the name of your God; I am ADONAI (18:21). If someone from the people of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living in Isra’el sacrifices one of his children to Molech, he must be put to death; the people of the land are to stone him to death (20:2). In Second Kings there is a disturbing story of a battle between Judah and a Moabite/Edomite coalition. The armies of Judah were badly crushing the Moabites, fencing in their army until the king of Mo’ab finally cried out to his despicable god by sacrificing his son as a burnt offering (Second Kings 3:27).

In the book of Judges, Jephthah was at war with the Ammonites when he made a foolish vow to ADONAI. He said: If you will hand the people of ‘Amon over to me, then whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the people of ‘Amon will belong to ADONAI; I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering (Judges 11:30-31). Tragically, his daughter came out the door of his house to meet him. The thought of sacrificing his only beloved daughter never entered Jepthath’s mind. This is indicated by the Hebrew gender, and could be translated “whatever comes out.” Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by the Torah in passages such as Leviticus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 12:31. It is almost certain that Jephthah was familiar with such passages because when he negotiated with the Ammonites he demonstrated that he knew God’s Word. Animals were kept for safety overnight in the lower front of the home (Luke 13:15), below the living area. Jephthah was willing to offer any of his prized animals to God. But while sacrifice to God is good, it is never good to try to manipulate God – even if will be to God’s honor. God is not to be controlled. God’s will is to be sought and when things don’t turn our as we had hoped, we can always trust God.

Jephthah declared: I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it (Judges 11:35c). At the same time, on the sake of principle only, there was something wonderful about the spirit of Jephthah’s willingness to keep his vow, even when it cost him something. In the specific vow, he was foolish and should not have kept it, but the tenacity of character that says: I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it, is glorious and should be the word of every follower of Yeshua Messiah.⁵⁴³

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for always being Almighty and loving. No one should never bargain with You that if they do something – You will give them something. Even if what they want is to Your honor. Thank You for David’s story of his trials and fleeing from Sha’ul when David had been anointed as king. David never bargained with You for victory. His heart was focused on pleasing God, no matter the circumstances. In the wilderness he wrote: O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You . . . Since Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You (Psalms 63:1 and 3).

David loved God even when facing death. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me: Your rod and Your staff comfort me (Psalms 23:3). May we always call out to You Father God for help, trusting in Your Almighty power and Sovereign love. May we remember that trials on earth are only for a short time (Romans 8:18). Your love is eternal and You use trials to polish Your children and bring You glory and honor. These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (1 Peter 1:7). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Though well intentioned, this was a foolish vow. But, first, it could be annulled by one’s father or husband (Numbers 30:5-8). And secondly, if a vow like Jephthah’s was made, the Torah offered a value system for a person’s life whereby that person could be redeemed. In essence, the valuation price needed to be paid to “deconsecrate” the person on whom the vow had been made, whether it was made on oneself or another. Sacrificing a human being was, and is not, a possibility; therefore, the person must be redeemed.

The Torah sets the valuations. They are constant whether the vowed person is strong or weak, sick or healthy, Hebrew or Gentile. Adjustments are made based on gender, age, and the financial status of the person responsible for paying the vow. Give to ADONAI an amount equal to the value of a human being, the value you are to assign to a man between the ages of twenty and sixty years is to be fifty shekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds], with the sanctuary shekel being the standard, if a woman, thirty shekels. If it is a child five to twenty years old, assign a value of twenty shekels for a boy and ten for a girl; if a baby one month to five years of age, five shekels for a boy and three for a girl; if a person past sixty, fifteen shekels for a man and ten for a woman. If the person is too poor to be evaluated, set him before the priest, who will assign him a value in keeping with the means of the person who made the vow (27:2b-8). ADONAI in His grace made a way for all people, whether rich or poor, to participate fully in worshipping Him (5:7-13). In this case fulfilling their vows.

That women were financially valued as less than men should not be interpreted as chauvinistic. After all, a child under five is assigned a lesser redemption price value than a child over five, yet we would not deem our six-year-old intrinsically more valuable than our four-year-old. Rather, the valuation prices are based upon a person’s value as a slave or laborer. A man in his prime, between the ages of 20 and 60 years old, is generally able to produce more in terms of manual labor than an older or younger man. The same principle holds true between genders. If a person was too poor to pay the valuation price, the priesthood was to interview the person responsible for paying it and find out what they could afford. It was not possible to leave it unpaid, therefore the price needed to be set, regardless of how low. Paying the valuation price was not optional. The person making the vow needed to pay the price according to the Torah’s fee schedule.⁵⁴⁴

Holiness of the Vow
27: 1-34

It seems that Leviticus should have ended with Chapter 26. Thus, it is likely that Chapter 27 was an addendum to the book. In order to include in Leviticus a matter of central importance, the funding of the Sanctuary, Chapter 27 was added by Moshe under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Maintaining the physical plant of the Sanctuary was certainly costly, and it was necessary to provide the materials used in public sacrifice and to support the priesthood. Chapter 27 deals first with vows involving people (see Fb – Personal Vows) and animals (see Fc – Vowing Animal Sacrifices). Then it teaches us how to dedicate houses and land (see Fd – Vowing a House of Field) to the LORD. Then there is the prohibition on vowing firstborn (see Fe – Prohibition on Vowing Firstborn). It finishes with how a person can vow something to God as holy (see Ff – Cherem) and mitzvot on tithes (see Fg – Mitzvot on Tithes).⁵⁴¹

The Redemption of Isra’el
26: 40-46

The redemption of Isra’el DIG: What Covenant had ADONAI made with Isra’el’s forefathers? In what sense does God’s reaffirmation of the Covenant seek the same thing as the list of His discipline in 26:14-39? How does Paul pick up on this same theme?

REFLECT: What is most difficult for you about sustaining a right relationship with God? How have you experienced the forgiveness and restoration of YHVH? What was that experience like? What was that experience like? With whom can you share it with this week?

Confession and repentance are the prescription for redemption.

Just as after six days of labor there is a seventh day of Shabbat, and after six years of service, the Hebrew slaves were released, so too after the six stages of discipline (to see link click Ey – Discipline for Disobedience), the seventh stage is one of redemption. If Isra’el will only repent, YHVH will return to her.⁵³⁵ ADONAI is a God of love and mercy, as well as an attentive Father, who knows how to discipline His children. Therefore, here, we learn that despite all the rebellion of the Israelites, YHVH will, in the end, remember that He also made an unconditional Covenant with Isra’el’s forefathers.⁵³⁶

Repentance and forgiveness (26:40-43): ADONAI pleads for Isra’el to confess her wickedness and the wickedness of her forefathers. Then they will confess their offenses and those of their ancestors which they committed against Me in their rebellion; they will admit that they went against me. They were to humble their uncircumcised hearts and make amends for their sins. At that time, I will be going against them, bringing them into the lands of their enemies (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). If Isra’el will repent, YHVH promised that He would remember the Covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob if their uncircumcised hearts would grow humble, and they paid the punishment for their misdeeds. Though she might stray far from the Covenant at Sinai (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant), God would remember the older Covenant, the Covenant with the patriarchs. Then YHVH will remember My Covenant with Jacob, also My Covenant with Isaac and My Covenant with Abraham (Ezeki’el 16:60). And I will remember the Land. This statement is unique in Scripture. The personification of the Land is, in itself, a frequent theme, but nowhere else is it said that ADONAI remembers the Land.⁵³⁷

On the basis of that Covenant, He would return to her, and He would return her to the Land. For the Land will lie abandoned without them, and it will be paid its Shabbats while it lies desolate without them; and they will be paid the punishment for their misdeeds, because they rejected my rulings and despised My regulations (26:43). While the children of Isra’el would be in exile, the desolate land of Isra’el would enjoy its Sabbath years (see El – The Sabbath Year). There is some bitter irony in this warning. The Torah assumes that the Israelites will violate the Shabbat mitzvot. So, the cherem judgment (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ff – Cherem) are both cautionary and prophetic. They are cautionary in as much as they are meant to caution the Israelites from disobeying the Covenant. And they are prophetic in as much as they assume that the events will come to pass, even specifying that the Sabbath Years will be neglected.

The faithfulness of ADONAI (26:44-45): Yet, in spite of all that, I will not reject them when they are in the lands of their enemies, nor will I reject them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my Covenant with them, because I am ADONAI their God. No matter how disloyal the Israelites have been, the LORD remains their God and will restore them. Rather, for their sake, I will remember the Covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt – with the Gentile nations watching – so that I might be their God. I am ADONAI.

Paul measures the Covenant relationship along similar lines. Undergirding the Covenant at Sinai is the Covenant with Abraham (see the commentary on Genesis Ef – Abram Believed the LORD and He Credited It to Him as Righteousness), Isaac (see Genesis Gr – Isaac Went Up to Beersheba and the LORD Appeared to Him), and Jacob (see Genesis Hd – Jacob Saw the Angels of God Ascending and Descending). It was the Covenant of the righteous seed of Abraham through whom all the Gentile nations will be blessed (see the commentary on Galatians Bl – The Promises were Spoken to Abraham and to His Seed). Paul argues for the Gentile inclusion on the basis that Abraham was uncircumcised and the forefathers were not technically Jews or Israelites. The promise of Abraham’s blessing all the Gentile nations predates the revelation at Sinai.

Paul’s appeal to the Covenant with the forefathers is something that the Torah itself teaches us. God Himself declares that when Isra’el has broken the Sinai Covenant, He will remember the Abrahamic Covenant on their behalf (26:42). Neither will He break the Sinai Covenant, but will remember it. Nor will I reject them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my Covenant with them . . . (26:44). All Isra’el had to do was repent. Confession and repentance are the prescription for redemption.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that though You are absolutely holy, You mercifully forgive. In heaven, the beautiful 6-winged Seraphim praises God. One called out to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is ADONAI-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3). You do not put our sins a little way aside to be brought out later, but in Your great and awesome mercy You put the sins of those who fear You, far away where they can never be brought up again. They are completely gone for the east never touches the west and so our sins are completely covered over! Praise God! For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalms 103:11-12).

ADONAI, it is with sadness that I think of family and friends who know about you but they live for themselves. They foolishly claim that Your love forgives all sins. Dear Heavenly Father, Please give them a moment of spiritual clarity, so they can see their sin for what it is and repent. Though you are so very gracious, Your holiness is only given to those who in love turn in repentance from their sins to love and honor You. You desire salvation for all, and You graciously hold out the gift of salvation to all (Romans 5:17) but the gift can only be received when by faith when someone repents and turns to You. We know that God’s judgment on those who practice such things is based on truth . . . Or do you belittle the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience – not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance (Romans 2:2, 4)? Confession and repentance are the prescription for redemption. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). Thank You for being so mercifully gracious to forgive the sins of all who love You and repent of their sins. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

This is the power of repentance. Is it any wonder that the Master came with the essential message of repentance? Yet, Messiah did not find repentance when He came (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lc – The Rejection of King Messiah). Instead, the terrible cycle of curses was set into motion. Yet even in the long and lonely years of exile, Isra’el has never been abandoned. The Lord has been with His people. When they are in the lands of their enemies, nor will I reject them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my Covenant with them, because I am ADONAI their God (26:44). Even though the Jewish people have wandered far from Jerusalem and the fresh fields of Galilee, the Lord has remained loyal to them.⁵³⁸ For the believer today, God’s faithfulness means that the salvation He has begun a good work in our lives will carry it on to completion until the day of Messiah Yeshua (Philippians 1:6).

Though it is sad and difficult to read the curses in light of Jewish history, it is actually good news because the same God who foretold the curses (which all have been fulfilled to a certain degree) has also promised blessings. If the curses are true, the blessings must also be true. We eagerly await the culmination of time when the Messiah will usher in the age of blessing, wiping away every tear. Then the Land and the people both will indeed have their Sabbath. Then will be the great Sabbath rest of the Lord.⁵³⁹

Conclusion (26:46): These are the mitzvot, rulings and teachings that ADONAI Himself gave to the people of Isra’el on Mount Sinai through Moshe. This verse forms a fitting conclusion to Leviticus. Chapter 27 constitutes an addendum. The references to God’s speaking on Mount Sinai through Moses to the Israelites parallel the statement made in 25:1-2 and thus form a bookend construction linking Chapters 25 and 26. But it is as a conclusion to the entire book that these verses serve their purpose. They demonstrate that all the words of Leviticus must be understood as bearing the authority of God’s Word given through Moshe.⁵⁴⁰

Discipline for Disobedience
26: 14-39

Discipline for disobedience DIG: What is the difference between punishment and discipline? Why is the list of discipline much longer than the list of blessings? How is God merciful in this progression of discipline? What control did the Israelites have in the seven stages? Why did Moshe use the word discipline in Leviticus and the word curses in Deuteronomy?

REFLECT: Has human nature changed much since these lists of blessings and discipline were written? In what ways is today’s Church no different than ancient Isra’el? What control do we have in God’s discipline in our lives? How has God shown mercy to you in discipline? When has He been merciful in teaching you in an area of your life where you needed discipline?

The goal of discipline is to bring about change, as any loving parent would do.

It can be observed that the book of Leviticus begins with the teaching about the sacrificial system (to see link click Ag – The Mitzvot of the Offerings) and finishes with evidence of the blatant need for those sacrifices. This literary feature is a masterful touch by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, turning Leviticus into a complete instructional manual for the priests, the spiritual leaders of Isra’el. Not only did they need to know how to administer the sacrifices, they also had to be thoroughly indoctrinated into the reasons for the sacrifices. What better way to teach them this concept than to lay out the stipulations for the covenant and then the consequences for being faithful or unfaithful to them? This, in essence, is the nature of the contents of this final parashah of Leviticus, Parashah B’Chukotai.

If God’s children refuse to obey ADONAI’s mitzvot faithfully, He will discipline them (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children) for their failure to maintain their part of the covenantal agreement. The suzerain-vassal treaties of the ancient world (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ah – The Treaty of the Great King) were normally characterized by an imbalance of blessings and discipline. The more discipline the better; all the more to accent the danger of unfaithfulness.⁵²⁸ There is a big difference between punishment or curses and discipline. In Leviticus 26:23 the text actually uses the word discipline (Hebrew: yasar). However, in Deuteronomy, Moshe used a different word (Hebrew: arar) for curses (see  Deuteronomy Ff – Curses for Disobedience). The goal of punishment is to inflict pain upon someone for what they have done wrong; discipline, on the other hand, is strictly for the purpose of bringing about change in the person for their own good, as any loving parent would do.⁵²⁹

Many commentators have observed a gradual worsening in the severity of the discipline. They are not meant for revenge, but to influence the Israelites to repent. The discipline is delivered in seven stages of increasing severity if Isra’el failed to respond. This would show the kindness and mercy of ADONAI in that although Isra’el would be despising the Torah, He would give gradual warnings instead of inflicting a single blow without warning.⁵³⁰

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You that Your character never changes. You always have lovingkindness, or “chesed”, for me. Even in the midst of painful times and trials, Your love is still wrapped tightly around me as King David wrote in Psalms 63 when he was in the wilderness of Judah, his life in danger from King Sha’ul who was pursuing him with the army to kill him. Since Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You (Psalms 63:3). David says that what helped him to not get all upset, nor to complain. So, I looked for You in the Sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory (Psalms 63:2). When I focus on Your great power and trust in You to bring glory to Yourself thru any hard situation, then I can view discipline in a positive light.  These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (First Peter 1:7).

You discipline in love, knowing when the time is right. When You do discipline it is not meant as revenge nor to hurt me; rather You discipline for my own good – to bring me to repentance so You can forgive me. My son, do not take lightly the discipline of ADONAI or lose heart when you are corrected by Him, because ADONAI disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He accepts (Hebrews 12:5b-6).

It is kind of You to discipline, for You are seeking to bless with forgiveness; but that can only happen when I turn from my sin, repent, and ask for forgiveness. But you, O man -judging those practicing such things yet doing the same – do you suppose that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you belittle the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience – not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance (Romans 2:3-4)? Thank You for being such a wonderful, wise and loving Heavenly Father who cares and watches carefully over me to bring them back when I stray – so you when I repent, You can bless me. In the Name of the One who sits at Your right hand. Amen

The first stage – sickness, crop failure and warfare (26:14-17): But if you will not listen to me and obey all these mitzvot, if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all my mitzvot but cancel my covenant: then I, for My part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you – wasting sickness and chronic fever to dim your sight and sap your strength. You will sow your seed for nothing, because your enemies will eat the crops. I will set My face against you – your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

Sickness and plague are a result of sin. But does this mean that every sickness, mishap, loss and failure is the direct consequence of sin? It is neither safe nor healthy to believe that. God’s ways are infinitely higher than our own, His thoughts are infinitely beyond ours. It is utterly impossible for us to make direct correlations between sin and being disciplined. It is folly to suppose that one who has been stricken with leukemia (God forbid) is more sinful than a person who has not. The Master refuted such simplistic theologies (Matthew 9:1-7 and John 9:1-3). The book of Job refutes such theology. Yet it is probably not entirely unhealthy for us to regard our own sickness and infirmities as opportunities for taking God’s correcting our lifestyle choices which might be a contributing factor. But the sickness, crop failure and warfare here in Leviticus should be understood as discipline on a national level.

The second stage – drought and the destruction of the Temple (26:18-20): The first stage should have been enough to move the Israelites towards repentance. Hopefully, after being disciplined with sickness, crop failure and warfare, they would seek after YHVH. But if not, they would experience drought and the destruction of the Temple. If these things don’t make you listen to me, then I will discipline you seven times over for your sins. I will break the pride you have in your own power. This same exact phrase is used in Ezeki’el 24:21 to refer to the Temple as ADONAI-Elohim prepared to destroy it, saying: I am about to profane My Sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes and your heart’s desire. Your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword. And not only that, I will make your sky like iron, your soil like bronze (a poetic description of drought and agricultural failure) – you will spend your strength in vain, because the land will not yield its produce or the trees in the field their fruit. This reverses the blessing of 26:4. God is in control, and no other deity retains the power to provide rain or withhold it.

The third stage – wild animals (26:21-22): If this were not adequate to convince Isra’el of her need to repent, ADONAI promised to increase the discipline seven times with a plague of wild beasts. Yes, if you go against me and don’t listen to me, I will increase your calamities sevenfold, according to your sins. I will send wild animals among you; they will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock and reduce your numbers, until your roads are deserted. After the Israelite deportation, God sent lions to attack the Samaritans who settled the Land. The attack was so dreadful that the Samaritans requested help from the Israelite priesthood to learn the fear ADONAI (Second Kings 17:24-28). Moreover, through the prophet Ezeki’el, Ha’Shem warned the people of the doomed generation of the fall of Jerusalem, saying: Yes, I will send famine and savage beasts upon you to leave you without children (Ezeki’el 5:17).

The fourth stage – siege (26:23-26): If this was still not enough to bring about repentance, the LORD promised to bring upon the nation His sword of vengeance. This sword was an invading army. The discipline of a massive invasion in which the inhabitants of the rural areas retreat to the safety of walled cities. If, in spite of all this, you refuse my discipline and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. I will bring a sword against you which will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be huddled inside your cities, I will send sickness among you, and you will be handed over to the power of the enemy. Then God’s discipline goes on to speak of an ensuing famine. I will cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women will bake your bread in one oven and dole out your bread by weight, and you will eat but not be satisfied.

The fifth stage – starvation (26:27-32): The discipline escalates as those suffering starvation while trapped in Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonians turned to cannibalism, even eating their own babies. In his lamentation, Jeremiah writes: ADONAI, look and see who it is you have thus tormented! Should women eat the fruit of their wombs, the children they have held in their hands (Lamentations 2:20). And if, for all this, you still will not listen to me, but go against me; then I will go against you furiously, and I also will chastise you yet seven times more for your sins. You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters (26:27-29). Josephus, the famous first-century Jewish-Roman historian, reported similar horrors among the starving population of Jerusalem under the Roman siege (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD).⁵³¹

I will destroy your high places, cut down your pillars for sun-worship, and throw your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols; and I will detest you (26:30). Frequent mention is made in the Scriptures of the high places of the idolaters, where they were accustomed to worship their gods, supposing themselves there to be nearer to them, and more likely to be heard by them. This practice was imitated by the Hebrews, though denounced in the Torah.⁵³² This is a cruelly ironic statement: The Israelite warriors and citizenry will be slain at the very altars and cult centers where they offended YHVH by their worship of foreign gods and idols.⁵³⁴

I will lay waste to your cities and make your sanctuaries desolate, so as not to smell your fragrant aromas. I will desolate the land, so that your enemies living in it will be astounded by it (26:31-32). Also in 26:11 God spoke of His own Sanctuary. Instead of blessing it, He promises to destroy it so that Isra’el will have no access to Him in the midst of the calamities. There will be no way to sacrifice their purification offerings (see Al – The Purification Offering: Purified by Blood) to seek the mercy of ADONAI. To the amazement of Isra’el’s enemies, the fruitful land of God’s blessing (26:2-4) will become desolate.⁵³⁴

The sixth stage – exile (26:33-35): If the Israelites would fail to repent, the natural course of events would follow. The besieged City would fall and the surviving population would be exiled. You I will disperse among the nations, and I will draw out the sword in pursuit after you; your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland. Then, at last, the land will be paid its Shabbats. As long as it lies desolate and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid its Shabbats. Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbats, when you lived there (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule).

And history unfolded just as the Torah described it. When the northern kingdom of Isra’el rebelled against God (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Dd – Golden Calves at Dan and Bethel) Tiglath-Pileser and the Assyrians conquered her in 722 BC. The king took Jews captive to Assyria (Second Kings 17:5-6; First Chronicles 5:26) and also brought his own citizens to live in Samaria (Second Kings 17:24) and intermarry with the Jews. Over a hundred years later, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and destroyed the Temple (see Jeremiah Ga – The Fall of Jerusalem). But amazingly, the prophet Jeremiah declared that faithless Isra’el, who has already been destroyed by the Assyrians, was more righteous than unfaithful Judah (Jeremiah 3:11; also see Ezekiel 16:1-63 and Hosea 2:2-23). More righteous because the northern kingdom of Isra’el did not have the example of punishment before her eyes, as did Y’hudah in Isra’el’s destruction. Faithless Isra’el had actually proven to be more righteous than her treacherous sister Judah. Why? Because Y’hudah had Isra’el as her example. As a result, Judah had greater light as to ADONAI’s dealing with sin. And with greater light comes greater responsibility, and the rejection of greater light means greater judgment. This is a principle throughout Scripture.

Those who would survive the slaughter would live in fear. Ha’Shem said that He would fill their hearts with anxiety in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a leaf blown away will frighten them, so that they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall when no one is pursuing. Yes, with no one pursuing they will stumble over each other as if fleeing the sword – you will have no power to stand before your enemies. That unfaithful generation of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple would perish in the land of their enemies. They would wilt away, like a flower without water, from guilt over their misdeeds and those of their ancestors (26:36-39). The realization that they were suffering for the cumulative sins of generations would be even more distressing to those faithless exiles.

But even such severe punishment as exile was disciplinary. Certainly the unbelievers would be purged from the nation, but the nation as a whole would be brought to her knees. Those judgments were not God’s last word to His people Isra’el. Even at the time of the exile, the prophets were formulating the promises of blessing in the B’rit Chadashah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). But the question remains, why did Moses (under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh) use the word discipline (Hebrew: yasar) in Leviticus and curses (Hebrew: arar) in Deuteronomy? Just as the northern kingdom of Isra’el was more righteous than the southern kingdom of Judah because she did not have the example of punishment before her eyes, as did Y’hudah in Isra’el’s destruction; the Exodus generation was more righteous than their children that witnessed their parents dying in the wilderness because of their national unfaithfulness. Therefore, the Exodus generation was merely disciplined, whereas their children, who had more light and assumed greater judgment, would be cursed if they rejected the Torah.

The seventh stage – redemption (see Ez – The Redemption of Isra’el).

Blessings for Obedience
26: 3-13

Blessings for obedience DIG: Why does this portion begin with a list of rewards for obedience? What does this teach us about human nature? About God’s nature? What rewards listed here appeal to you? What kind of life would this obedience provide?

REFLECT: Are the rewards you receive for your faith in God anything like the rewards promised here? If so, how? If not, why? What do your rewards teach you about the “cause and effects” in this life? What possible misuses of this abundant life can you foresee?

Parashah 31: B’Chukotai (In My Statutes) 26:3 to 27:34
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe and the children of Isra’el.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include God’s promises of blessing for those who walk in His statutes and judgment for those who do not obey Him; warnings of being scattered among the nations, but also of remembering the covenant if iniquity is confessed; valuations placed on people, animals, homes, property to be dedicated to ADONAI; “These are the mitzvot which ADONAI gave to Moshe for the people of Isra’el on Mount Sinai.”

The conditions of the covenant at Mount Sinai called for obedience in order to obey life in the Promised Land (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Fe – Blessings for Obedience). They do not speak of attainment of life in the world to come (in other words the Torah does not bring salvation). They are completely worldly oriented because they are part of the covenant which has to do with life in the Land of Promise, not life in the hereafter. To be sure, there are definite spiritual blessings involved. For example, what a wonderful spiritual blessing it is to have the Sh’khinah glory in the Tabernacle dwelling among the people. But this does not have to do with life in the world to come. The Sh’khinah glory was intended to be a blessing enhancing the appreciation of the enjoyment of the privilege of living in the Promised Land.

There is one more piece to the puzzle. The sages were groping to find some mention of spiritual blessings in Chapter 26 because, quite naturally, they know that spiritual blessings are the only ones which meet mankind’s deepest needs, which are spiritual needs. However, they were looking in the wrong place! They were trying to turn the material into the spiritual in their interpretation of Chapter 26.

The more complete clarification, however, of how man’s spiritual needs can be fulfilled in found in the B’rit Chadashah, although there are many places in the TaNaKh in which they could have looked (such as in Psalm 23, Isaiah Chapter 53, and Jeremiah Chapter 31 just to name a few). Hence, we see the other half of God’s Word being exposed here. It’s like two sides of the same coin. One side says, “We cannot interpret the B’rit Chadashah properly without the TaNaKh.” The other side of the coin says, “We cannot fully understand the TaNaKh without the B’rit Chadashah.” The TaNaKh looks forward, while the B’rit Chadashah looks back. Both are indispensable for a proper interpretation of the whole Bible.

One of the best illustrations of this idea is right here in our present parashah. If we leave out the description of man’s spiritual needs and its subsequent spiritual blessings found in the B’rit Chadashah, we will fall into the trap – as the sages did, who reject the B’rit Chadashah – of misinterpreting the material blessings (and curses) and attempting to make them into something which they were not intended to be in the first place. Following the Torah was the condition for Isra’el to receive blessings. But it was even stronger than that. Isra’el agreed to legally bind themselves by oath to follow the covenant – just as YHVH did. God, naturally, would keep His part of the covenant. Isra’el was just as bound by covenantal oath to be faithful as well.⁵²⁴

The first blessing – rainfall (26:3-5): The first promise of rain was a sign of divine blessing on them because of the abundant crops that resulted from that blessing (Deuteronomy 28:12). If you live by My regulations, observe My mitzvot and obey them; then I will provide the rain you need in its season, the land will yield its produce, and the trees in the field will yield their fruit. Your threshing time will extend until the grape harvest, and your grape harvesting will extend until the time for sowing seed. You will eat as much food as you want and live securely in your land. Rains are important to any nation. However, some nations have rain throughout the year. Isra’el, and a few others, only have rain during the winter months. Hence, the blessing promised that God would provide the rain Isra’el needed “in its season.” The meaning of the promise was that the rains would be regular and the harvest productive – so regular and productive that the farmers would still be bringing in the harvest for one season when the sowing for the next season was supposed to begin.

In pagan religions rain was also a sign of divine blessing, but they attributed it to a storm god like Ba’al. It may be recalled how withholding and sending rain was at the heart of the contest between God and the Canaanite storm god Ba’al (see the commentary on Elijah and Elisha Aq – Elijah and the Prophets of Ba’al). Once ADONAI proved that He was God and the people turned back to Him, Elijah expected a heavy rain. His expectation of rain was in line with this promise of rain for obedience. He knew it was time to pray for rain.

In the B’rit Chadashah, Yeshua emphasized the proper priority in such matters. He reminded the people to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all the temporal provisions of what they should eat and ware would be given to them (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dt – Do Not Worry About Your Life, What Your Will Eat or Drink, or What You Will Wear). This meant that since all blessings came from YHVH, obedience to God should be the primary concern.

 The second blessing – security and protection (26:6-8): The next blessing is summarized in one Hebrew word: shalom, meaning peace, wholeness, or security. I will give shalom in the land – you will lie down to sleep unafraid of anyone. I will rid the land of wild animals. The sword will not go through your land. These blessings were probably more fully enjoyed in Solomon’s days than at any other time. But they were short-lived because the periods of obedience did not last long. If there is obedience and loyalty to Ha’Shem and His Word, there is untold spiritual power. In the case of Isra’el, this spiritual power would be seen in physical power so that outnumbered Israelites would defeat even the greatest of enemies. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before your sword. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand – your enemies will fall before your sword. Hence, it appears that these verses are teaching that if Isra’el would just be consistent in following Torah, she would have peace and security from her enemies. Why, then, does Isra’el not have peace and security today? This can best be explained by Rabbi Sha’ul of Tarsus. His evaluation of the Israelites in his day is just as applicable today. He would say that there are many who appear to be followers of Torah on the outside, but on the inside they are merely following the curse of legalism (see the commentary on Romans Ct – Praying for the Jewish Community).

The promise of peace given here as a blessing for obedience harmonizes with the promises of peace given elsewhere in Scripture and thus forms part of the prophetic element of the Bible. All the prophets envisioned a time when people would enjoy unparalleled peace with no quarrels, no invasions, no wars; in fact, weapons of war would be beaten into rakes and shovels (see the commentary on Isaiah Ap – They Will Beat Their Swords into Plowshares) during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom).

The third blessing – population growth (26:9a): I will turn toward you, make you productive, increase your numbers. This is what YHVH promised to Abraham (see the commentary on Genesis Em – Your Name Will Be Abraham, For I Have Made You a Father of Many Nations) and what He is reaffirming here. That is, by multiplying them as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, God fulfilled the covenant that He made with their fathers (Genesis 12:2, 13:16, 15:5, 22:17 and Exodus 23:26).

The fourth blessing – establishing a promise (26:9b): And uphold My covenant with you. This referred to the covenant made through Moshe at Mount Sinai (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bi – The Stipulations of the Covenant). This was a conditional covenant. Its blessings, which primarily received full meaning in the Land, were dependent on whether or not Isra’el obeyed the stipulations of the Covenant. That is, if Isra’el would follow the Torah consistently and in the manner taught them by the Holy One, the covenant would still stand. However, in the book of Jeremiah, God promised a New unconditional Covenant (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). This would lend credence to the B’rit Chadashah writings which says that because of the disobedience of Isra’el, God would do a new and powerful work among His people and write the Torah on their hearts causing them to follow it by means of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. ADONAI will be faithful to the promises that He makes by covenant; but participation in the fulfillment of those promises requires faith. Such is the case of the New Covenant. The message of the Gospel goes out to all people, promising eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer); but only those who believe in Yeshua Messiah will be numbered among the multitudes called the children of God (John 1:12 and Hebrew 2:13).⁵²⁵

The fifth blessing – God’s Presence with His people (26:10-13): ADONAI wanted the relationship He had with Isra’el to continue to grow. He was spiritually dwelling among the people of Isra’el as His Sh’khinah glory filled the Tabernacle. Here God promised to continue to dwell there as long as Isra’el followed Him by obeying the Torah. Obedience to His commands will result in such agricultural abundance that the granaries will have to be emptied to make room for the new crops being harvested. You will eat all you want from last year’s harvest and throw out what remains of the old to make room for the new. Moreover, ADONAI said, “I will put My Tabernacle among you.” But wasn’t He already dwelling among Isra’el in the Most Holy Place above the cherubim? Surely He was. Yet in the future to come His dwelling Sh’khinah glory would depart from the Temple (Ezeki’el 10:18-19). The promise is that one day He will return His dwelling Presence to His Temple and cause Himself to dwell permanently among His people in the New Jerusalem. See! God’s Sh’khinah glory is with mankind and He will live with them. They will be His people, and He Himself, God-with-them, will be their God (Revelation 21:3). And I will not reject you, but I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. This level of intimacy was lost since Eden. If we will walk in His mitzvot, He will walk among us. In other words, if we will walk with Him, He will walk with us. I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, so that you can walk upright.⁵²⁶

But the reality of history cannot be escaped. The First Temple was destroyed because Isra’el broke the covenant and was unfaithful to the Torah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gb – The Destruction of Solomon’s Temple on Tisha B’Av in 586 BC). When the Second Temple was built, as magnificent as it was, the Sh’khinah glory did not dwell there. Eventually, it too was destroyed (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Remembered on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD). As a result, the Sh’khinah glory does not dwell on planet earth as it once did.

However, when Isra’el comes back to the Torah, it will. How do we know this? For one thing these verses in Parashah B’Chukotai promise this. But for another thing, the B’rit Chadashah teaches that Yeshua the Messiah was . . . the Word made flesh who dwelt among us and we beheld His Sh’khinah glory; the Sh’khinah glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). For a short time during the Second Temple period the Sh’khinah glory was on planet earth – in the person of the Messiah. Eventually, He went back to be with God the Father in heaven (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mr – The Ascension of Jesus). But He assured us that He will return. And when He does, He will take up permanent residence in the Most Holy Place in the Temple in Jerusalem (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). There we will all see the living Sh’khinah as we cast our eyes on the Messiah Himself! This will be the fulfillment of all the conditions laid out for blessing here in Parashah B’Chukotai because at that time all will follow Torah. “No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know ADONAI,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares ADONAI. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).⁵²⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great love that gives every spiritual blessing to those who love You. Messiah Himself is the greatest blessing! Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah (Ephesians 1:3). How wonderful that Your gift of blessings is not something tangible that someone could lose or misplace, but Your gift of blessings is Yeshua Himself!

It is a wonderful gift of relationship to be in Messiah (Ephesians Chapter 1) with eternal love and care, for all who put their love and trust in You as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). You chose us in the Messiah to be holy and blameless before You. You prepared the path for adoption as sons through Messiah Yeshua in keeping with the good pleasure of Your will. Praise Your glorious grace which You have given us in the beloved. Our redemption was purchased through His blood which You planned with all wisdom and insight. Your purpose was set forth in Messiah.

It is so amazing that Your will/ purpose was not to just take those who love You to heaven; but it is a relationship set forth in Christ . . . to unite all things in him. Your plan was to bring all things together in the Messiah. Then we would all be in Him. Paul writes that we were chosen in Messiah to obtain an inheritance so that we who were the first to hope in Messiah might be to the praise of His glory. The Spirit of God is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. What a great joy to be connected to Messiah Yeshua as branches are connected to the vine (John 15:1-5). Praise You that the Lord lives within those who love Him! Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Holiness of the Mosaic Covenant
26: 1-46

Blessing and curse formulas seem to have been a common feature in Ancient Near Eastern covenants (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King). They were a way of guaranteeing that both parties would abide by the terms and conditions. After all, no one would willingly agree to be disciplined for breach of contract unless he intended to honor the contract.

National level of Blessings and Discipline: The Blessings and discipline of the Torah generally speak to the national level. When Isra’el on the whole will observe the mitzvot of the Torah, she will reap the benefit of blessings. However, when she on the whole turns away from the mitzvot of the Torah, she will suffer the consequences. Within the Torah there are two principle passages that speak of this. One is the extended passage in Deuteronomy 28, and the other is here in Leviticus 26. The Leviticus passage was given to the Exodus generation, and the word used here is yasar, meaning discipline. While the Deuteronomy passage was given to their children after all their parents had died in the wilderness for their unbelief. After affirming that ADONAI was their God, that they would walk in His ways, keep His Torah, and listen to his voice (see Deuteronomy Ez – Statutes, Mitzvot, and Ordinances), Ha’Shem warned them the second generation that the curses (Hebrew: arar) of the covenant would fall on them if they rebelled as their parents had done (see Deuteronomy Ff – Curses for Disobedience).

Redeemed from the curse of the Torah: It is tempting to suppose that all of the curses of the Torah have been removed in Messiah. It is common teaching, based on Galatians that Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Torah (Galatians 3:13). This seems to indicate that the Torah has “lost its teeth,” so to speak. The common thought is that in Messiah, the curses are removed, but the blessings remain. But is this really true?

On closer examination, it becomes obvious that the curse of the Torah spoken of in Galatians 3:13 is not the curses for disobedience listed out in Leviticus 26 or Deuteronomy 28. Instead, the curse of the Torah is death – not mortal death – but eternal separation from YHVH. According to Paul, the final curse of the Torah is condemnation in the eternal court of judgment (see the commentary on Galatians Bk – Cursed is Everyone Who Hangs on a Tree). Elsewhere, he points out that the Torah brings about wrath (Romans 4:15). It does so because it defines sin. He said: Now the Torah came in so that transgression (meaning choose to sin, to intentionally and willfully disobey) might increase (Romans 5:20). In other words, one of the functions of the Torah is that we would be made more aware of our sin. In fact, Paul identified the Torah as the ministry of condemnation (Second Corinthians 3:9). When Paul spoke of the curse of the Torah here in Galatians 3:13, he referred to the Torah’s condemnation of sin. It is the condemnation from which we have been redeemed. It is the condition which has been nailed to His cross.

In one of his most often misunderstood passages, the apostle Paul speaks of a written document of condemnation which is nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Too often this document is misinterpreted as the Torah. It is not at all uncommon for well-meaning brothers and sisters to triumphantly declare that Messiah nailed the Torah to the cross. God forbid! Some translations encourage this kind of interpretation by translating the thing nailed to the cross as “the written code,” a term which seems to imply “a law code,” namely the Torah. However, it is not the Torah which has been nailed to the cross. It is the written verdict of condemnation, like the type delivered by a Roman court of law. Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 3:13 NASB).

The certificate of debt which has been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross is condemnation. And condemnation (i.e. death) is the ultimate curse of the Torah. It is the curse which Messiah took upon Himself when He became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Therefore, it is incorrect to suppose that there are no longer any consequences for sin. The Torah is our blueprint for living. The closer we obey Torah the more we will be blessed. But the more we disobey Torah the more will suffer the consequences of our sin.⁵²³

Redeeming Your Brother
25:47-55 and 26:1-2

Redeeming your brother DIG: What was the family’s responsibility? Could the one who had sold himself into slavery redeem himself? How was the price set? How does the work of the kinsman redeemer help us to better understand the work of the Messiah on our behalf?

REFLECT: You have been bought with a price, redeemed by ADONAI to become His “servant” (25:55). How do your actions demonstrate your redemption (Romans 6:15-23)? What can you do to remind yourself of your “servanthood?” Who can you tell this week?

Our Great Redeemer has bought us back; We are free, but our allegiance now belongs to Him.

Should your brother become so impoverished that he must sell himself as a slave to pay his creditor, it is the family’s prerogative to redeem him (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Bz – Redemption). Even if he is sold to a Gentile, the family retains the right to buy him back from slavery. If a foreigner living with you has grown rich, and a member of your people has become poor and sells himself to this foreigner living with you or to a member of the foreigner’s family, he may be redeemed after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him; or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or any near relative of his may redeem him (25:47-49a).

But, if he should come to sufficient means, he could redeem himself. If he becomes rich, he may redeem himself. His term of service should be no longer than six years, but if the Year of Jubilee comes first, he must be released at the Jubilee. He will calculate with the person who bought him the time from the year he sold himself to him to the Yovel Year (see En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee).

The price at which the person would be redeemed was based upon the wages one would pay a hired servant for the same amount of time. Thus, if there were only three years of his seven-year service until the Jubilee, his redemption price would be calculated at three years-worth of labor. The amount to be paid will be according to the number of years and his time at an employee’s wage. If many years remain, according to them, he will refund the amount for his redemption from the amount he was bought for. If there remain only a few years until the Year of Yovel, then he will calculate with him; according to his years will he refund the amount for his redemption. He will be like a worker hired year by year. You will see to it that he is not treated harshly. If he has not been redeemed by any of these procedures, nevertheless he will go free in the Year of Yovel – he and his children with him (25:49b-54).

The great significance of these mitzvot is that they provide us the biblical model for redemption. By studying the mitzvot of the kinsman redeemer (see the commentary on Ruth Ba – Bo’az Obtains the Right of Redemption), we are able to better understand the work of Messiah on our behalf. We are the impoverished ones who could not pay our debt. The accumulation of our sin was too great, and we fell into slavery. The Master warns us: Amen, Amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave to sin (John 8:34). Don’t you know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, then, of the one whom you are obeying, you are slaves – whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to being made righteous (Romans 6:16)?

Nevertheless, our Great Redeemer has redeemed us. He tells us: If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36). We are free, but our allegiance now belongs to Him. As it is written: For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God (25:55). In the same way, having been redeemed by YHVH, we are slaves to His righteousness, servants of Yeshua, “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).⁵¹⁹

Summary mitzvot (26:1-2): Parashah b’Har is a single chapter of the Torah except that it includes the first two verses of Leviticus Ch 26. Herein a few brief mitzvot summarize most of the commandments of Leviticus. We are reminded against making or serving idols. We are reminded to keep the Lord’s Sabbaths and we are told again to revere His Sanctuary. These mitzvot are the fundamentals of Torah life, encompassing most of the 613 commandments in one way or another.⁵²⁰ You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue or a standing-stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I am ADONAI your God. Keep My Shabbats, and revere My Sanctuary; I am ADONAI.

The basic principle to stress in this chapter as the rationale behind the mitzvot is ADONAI’s often repeated expression: The land is Mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with Me (25:23). God is sovereign over the affairs of the world; thus, He has the right to release from slavery whomever He wishes, to remove the rich from the land at the Jubilee and distribute it as He wishes. This truth keeps any Israelite in the physical world, and should keep us in the spiritual world, from personalizing the work given to us, from taking credit for it, or from jealously guarding it as our own. It is a sacred trust to be removed some day when the Lord makes all things new (see the commentary on Revelation Fr – Then I Saw a New Heaven and a New Earth). The truth in this passage ought to humble us in our work before God.⁵²¹

Haftarah B’har reading: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 32:6–27
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

While imprisoned during the siege of Jerusalem, Jeremiah heard from God – to redeem the property of his indebted kinsman (see the commentary on Jeremiah Fs – Jeremiah Buys a Field). Even though exile was prophesied for the next seventy years (see Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule)! The Land needed rest under God’s ownership, since the Sabbath Years (see El – The Sabbath Year) had not been observed. Only then, did Ha’Shem show mercy and return His captive people to the Land (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Ah – Cyrus Decrees: Rebuild the Temple). So, God instructed Jeremiah to pay silver and write a deed of purchase to redeem the ancestral plot. Jeremiah deposited the legal document of redemption into long-term storage as a sign that the children of Isra’el will again return to buy and sell in the Land. God leaves His people with an unfailing hope. His mercy never fails – even when exile.

B’rit Hadashah reading: Luke 4:21

It is one thing to proclaim freedom (see En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee). Any prophet could proclaim freedom. It is quite another thing to authorize release. Only the Deliverer can set the captives free. This is the role reserved exclusively for Messiah. Yeshua preached Good News for the poor, release for the captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18, quoting Isaiah 61:1). He also proclaimed the Year of Jubilee, a year of God’s favor (Luke 4:19a and Isaiah 61:2a). Then, closing the haftarah scroll and with all eyes fixed on Him, Yeshua told those at the synagogue at Nazareth: Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the TaNaKh has been fulfilled (Luke 4:21). Therefore, the Messiah proclaimed the Year of Release from spiritual oppression as the Kingdom of God had come within their midst.⁵²²

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your great Almighty power, for by Yeshua’s sacrificial death as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and his resurrection. You released/set free all who love You from sin’s power and brought them into Yeshua’s glorious Kingdom! He rescued us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son whom He loves.  In Him we have redemption – the release of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).

All who enter your holy Kingdom, must be holy. Praise and thanks to You our Awesome Father for giving me Messiah’s righteousness. I can live with You in your kingdom. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). We look away from our trials and problems and focus on how to please You now, in gratitude for all You have done for us and for our future sure hope that You will bring all who love You to glory! Focus your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in God.  When Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him, in glory! (Colossians 3:2-4). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Jewish and Gentile Slaves
25: 39-46

Jewish and Gentile Slaves DIG: Why do you think God distinguishes among Jews and Gentiles with regard to slavery? If God opposes slavery for Israelites, and if He had just delivered them from slavery in Egypt, then why do you think He allows them to be slaves for 50 years?

REFLECT: Are you serving two masters today? How can you get rid of one? How do Gentiles share in the blessings of the B’rit Chadashah? What is your standing before YHVH based on? In what sense are all believers Messiah’s slaves? In what sense is Yeshua your Lord?

All believers are one in Messiah.

Jewish slaves (25:39-43): Should a person that you lent money become further impoverished and unable to repay the money, it was within your rights in the ancient economy to have them work off the debt. However, if the person was a fellow Jew, several restrictions applied. In addition to the mitzvot of the Hebrew slave (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Dz – If You Buy a Hebrew Servant), we learn here not to give a Hebrew servant degrading tasks like a Gentile heathen slave. If a member of your people has become poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him do the work of a slave. Rather, you are to treat him like an employee or a tenant; he will work for you until the Year of Yovel (see En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee). A Hebrew slave needed to be treated like a hired laborer, not a slave. His owner was not to oppress a Hebrew servant with harsh labor or to perform services below his dignity. His maximum term of labor was seven years (see El – The Sabbath Year) or the Jubilee, whichever came first. Then he will leave you, he and his children with him, and return to his own family and regain possession of his ancestral land. For they are My slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore, they are not to be sold as slaves. Do not treat him harshly, but fear your God.

Gentile slaves (44-46): By contrast a pagan slave bought from the surrounding Gentile nations was kept for life and made a permanent part of the household. Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men- and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you. You may also buy the children of foreigners living with you and members of their families born in your land; you may own these. You may also bequeath them to your children to own; from these groups you may take your slaves forever. After all, they had become part of one’s household. They had been circumcised and brought into the covenant. They were like adopted children. They were not to be treated merely as merchandise. But as far as your brothers the people of Isra’el are concerned, you are not to treat each other harshly. Surprisingly, the Gentile foreigner in Isra’el also fell into this category. He was not released in the Sabbath Year or set free at the Jubilee. He could become a permanent slave and member of the household. The reason the Jews were accorded special protections from slavery is stated explicitly at the end of the chapter: For to Me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are My slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI (25:55).

Those of us who are Gentile believers should not allow ourselves to feel disenchanted with the inequality between the native-born Jew and foreign-born Gentile in this regard. After all, aren’t we grafted into the olive tree (see the commentary on Romans Cz – The Illustration of Isra’el’s Future)? Isn’t it our privilege to be slaves to the Kosher King? Is it not that being a bond-slave allows us to share in the blessings of the Covenant (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el)?

One might argue that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:28). Yet these distinctions do exist. Paul certainly does not mean that Gentiles are also Jews and Jews are Gentiles. Or that men are women and women are men. Rather, he means our standing in Messiah is not contingent upon the status of being a Jew or a Gentile, slave or free, male or female. In Messiah we are all one. In the practical aspects of life, however, we occupy different positions. Paul accepts the institution of slavery in the Roman world matter-of-factly and urges believing slaves to submit to their masters as a testimony of their servitude to Messiah.

Slaves obey your human masters in everything, not serving only when they are watching you, to win their favor, but single-heartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever work you do, put yourself into it, as those who are serving not merely other people, but the Lord. Remember that as your reward, you will receive the inheritance from the Lord. You are slaving for the Lord, for the Messiah (Colossians 3:22-24). And all who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor . . . (First Timothy 6:1).

Yet Paul also encouraged slaves to win their freedom as they were able to do so. We are to be Messiah’s slaves, not the slaves of another man. Yeshua Himself said: No one can serve two masters (Mt 6:24). Thus, a believing slave is to try to achieve freedom. What’s more, one who is free is forbidden to allow himself to become a slave. Were you a slave when you were called? Well, don’t let it bother you; although if you can gain your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. For a person who was a slave when he was called is the Lord’s freedman; likewise, someone who was a free man when he was called is a slave of the Messiah. You were bought at a price, so do not become slaves of other human beings (First Cor 7:21-23). In keeping with Torah’s principles of fairness and kindness towards slaves, Paul exhorts believing slave owners to grant your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1).⁵¹⁸

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for You are the best Master that ever could be! It is so awesome that You adopt those who love you (Ephesians 1:5) making You their Heavenly Father! Praise You for being so patient and loving, kind and gracious, wise and omniscient, and yet so gentle when Your I need help. You have so many great and wonderful qualities!

Praise and worship to You for You are absolutely holy! Seraphim were standing above Him. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  One called out to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is ADONAI-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:2-3). Your love and wisdom enable You to even know the future (Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 19-21). This ability works together with Your holiness so that when you tell me to do something, whatever You say, I know it is the absolute wisest thing to do!

What a comfort it is that You are always with me. I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5c). What a joy for me to rest my problems in Your loving hands, seeking You to guide me and the entire situation to Your glory. Nothing is hidden from You (Luke 12:2) and someday You will reward me, I have trusted in You and served You with a loving heart (First Corinthians 3). All praise, all worship and all honor go to You my wonderful Master, King of kings, Loving Savior and Fantastic Father! In the Name of the One at Your right hand. Amen

The Poor and Interest
25: 35-38

The poor and interest DIG: What kind of a Hebrew word is “poor.” Why was the poor Jew likened to a Gentile foreigner? How were the Israelites supposed to treat the Gentiles? Who could Jews lend money to and gain interest? How were they to treat fellow Jews?

REFLECT: On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) rank the priority of importance you place on work? On earning your own way? On earning the highest rate of interest you can on your money? How does the way you ranked yourself help or hinder your relationship with God?

The Israelites were instead, to show the same merciful love the LORD had shown them.

The Hebrew word for poor (mook, meaning to be low or depressed, or to grow poor) is rare, and you only see it three times in the TaNaKh, and all are contained in Leviticus Chapters 25 and 27. This speaks of Israelites (or anyone for that matter) who, for whatever reason, have become impoverished and unable to support themselves and, perhaps, had to see themselves into servitude in order to either pay back debts or to survive. The mitzvot of the Shemittah (to see link click El – The Sabbath Year) and the Yovel Year (see Em – The Year of Jubilee) are followed by teachings regarding how such relationships are to be conducted. To put it simply, the Torah regulates such relationships so that there is equal fairness to both the one who has become poor and the one who has become his master.⁵¹³

Sustaining the poor (25:35): The community of faith contains both Jews and Gentiles, and both were to be looked after with equal concern. If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can’t support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a Gentile foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you (25:35). On the most literal level, the poor Jew is compared to a Gentile foreigner or a temporary resident because he had become landless. Like the foreigners in Isra’el, he does not own agricultural property and is therefore without livelihood. The Jewish community is commanded to support him, preferably by hiring him or finding some form of employment for him, as it would naturally do so for even the foreigner in their midst. Throughout history, much of the success of the Jewish community has come as a result of this internal concern for one another.⁵¹⁴

Interest (25:36-38): The Torah forbids us to charge interest from any of God’s people. Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you (Leviticus 25:36). A Jew could not lend money to another Jew with interest. They could lend money to Gentiles and gain interest, but not Jews (Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 15:7-11, 23:19; Nehemiah 5:7-12; Job 24:9; Proverbs 28:8; Ezeki’el 18:13 and 22:12). Generosity in such matter was extended even further by Yeshua (Luke 6:34-35). If you lend money to one of My people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender and charge him interest (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Ef – Don’t Gouge Your Brother). If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate (Exodus 22:25-27).

The prophet Ezeki’el lists charging interest as a great evil on the level with idolatry, adultery, and robbery (Ezeki’el 18:11-13). When the Israelites returned from the Babylonian Captivity (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) and needed to borrow money from the wealthy among them to pay the Persian taxes, the wealthy among them lent money at a high interest rate and even began to foreclose on property and families when the debt could not be paid. Nehemiah rebuked the money-lenders soundly (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Cf – The Complaints of the Poor Israelites).

In the Talmud (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), the prohibition on charging is extended to avoid even the “dust of interest.” Gifts and favors offered by the borrower for the lender are forbidden. Anything that might be construed as payment for the use of another’s money is forbidden by the Talmudic extensions. Yet, at the same time, other Talmudic legislators struggled to find creative ways by which the prohibition might be avoided.⁵¹⁵

Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food. In addition, the Israelites were not to take advantage of fellow needy Israelites by selling food to them for a profit. The purpose of these mitzvot was to prevent the complete devastation of those who fell on hard times and consequently went into debt.⁵¹⁶ They were instead, to show the same merciful love the LORD had shown them. I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to give you the land of Canaan and be your God (25:37-38).

In practical terms, the prohibition on charging interest is one that applies on a personal level, but not necessarily on the institutional level. A bank or other money-lending institution is not necessarily in view here. Still, a believer would do well to avoid any financial entanglement whereby he will directly profit from any interest paid on a loan by another believing Gentile or Jew, or for that matter, an unbelieving Jew.⁵¹⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise and thank You for Your mercy and grace to poor sinners.  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Too often when we have food and clothes we do not feel poor, but real wealth is in an eternal loving relationship with You. David wrote Psalm 63 when he was in the wilderness, probably when he was being sought after by King Sha’ul to be killed. David chose to focus not on the poverty of living in a wilderness, but on the joy of God’s steadfast love; which lifted his heart to joy and praise. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands (Psalms 63:3).

Thank you dear Heavenly Father that no matter how poor we may feel due to our circumstances on earth, we can trust with absolute confidence in Your steadfast love for Your children and that Yeshua is preparing an eternal home (John 14:1-3) in heaven for those who love You. No earthly trial can take away our joy when we focus on Your steadfast and eternal love. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Poor and Debt
25: 35-55

The last section deals with the poor. God’s people were supposed to support and encourage poor people and meet their needs. They were certainly not to profit from the needs of the poor or take advantage of them by charging interest or making profit. The righteous of the TaNaKh were supposed to give food and clothing to the poor without any design for profit. The motivation for this charity is the nature of the Covenant itself, for all the people were recipients of God’s grace – both in their freedom and in their possessions. This last section also deals with slavery, or, more accurately, indentured service. The passage deals with the ways that people became poor and indebted to others and how they were supposed to be treated when they worked as servants to get out of debt. Every society has had difficulty in knowing how to deal with poverty and debt; God’s provision was that those in debt serve the one they owed until it was paid in full. However, the Year of Jubilee (to see link click En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee) kept it from being hopeless. They were not doomed to a life of debt and servitude. Without the hope of freedom, the poor become despondent.⁵¹²

Therefore, in this section we will study:

The Poor and Interest – 25:35-38 (Et)

Jewish and Gentile Slaves – 25:39-46 (Eu)

Redeeming Your Brother – 25:47-55 and 26:1-2 (Ev)

Selling Houses
25: 29-34

Selling houses DIG: For someone who was not a Levite, what was the difference between a house in a walled city opposed to selling a house in the fields of the countryside? Why were the Levites exempt from this mitzvah? What were cities of refuge and how did they work?

REFLECT: The Torah is very practical; it is our blueprint for living. And here, ADONAI shows His concern over one of the most common transactions in life, the buying and selling of a home. How comforting is it to you that God takes care of the Levites in a special way?

The lands of the Levites were guaranteed to them and were protected.

Homes sold in a walled city (29-31): Leviticus next considers several categories of property not included under the general category of fields, vineyards, and the like discussed so far. First, houses in walled cities were not returnable at the Yovel Year (to see link click En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee). Israelites sometimes formed tiny villages directly on the fields they inherited from ADONAI. The houses of these villages were so closely tied to the land that the mitzvot of redemption applied (see Eq – Immanuel’s Land). Houses in villages not surrounded by walls are to be dealt with like the fields in the countryside – they may be redeemed [before the Yovel Year], and they revert in the Yovel Year (25:31). A house in a walled city, however, was not tied to land inheritance, so the mitzvot of the Jubilee did not apply. Instead, the seller’s right of redemption lasted only one full year. If someone sells a house in a walled city, he has one year after the date of sale in which to redeem it. For a full year he will have the right of redemption, after which time the house belonged permanently to the buyer. But if he has not redeemed the dwelling in the walled city within the year, then title would permanently pass to the buyer through all his generations; it will not revert in the Year of Jubilee (25:29-30). Thus, this mitzvah graciously provided the seller a chance to get the house back without putting an unfair burden on the buyer.⁵⁰⁹

Homes sold by Levites (25:32-34): The Levites were the non-priestly members of the tribe of Levi (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants). YHVH had set them apart to help the priests in the Tabernacle (see the commentary on Numbers Am – The Levitical Census). Their inheritance from the LORD was not large tracts of land but forty-eight cities and the houses in them (Joshua 21:1-42). Therefore, the mitzvah of houses sold in a walled city did not apply to them, who always had the option to buy back their homes. Concerning the cities of the Levites and the houses in the cities they possess; the Levites are to have a permanent right of redemption. If someone purchases a house from one of the Levites, then the house he sold in the city where he owns property will still revert to him in the Year of Jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their tribe’s possession among the people of Isra’el. The lands of the Levites were guaranteed to them and were protected. They could never be sold or traded away to other tribes or foreigners outside the Land. In addition, the fields in the open land around their cities may not be sold, because that is their permanent possession. The reason for this was that it did not belong to individuals, but to all the people of the city, who needed it for grazing their animals.⁵¹⁰ Held in trust for the Levites, they were effectively removed from the context of indebtedness. Perhaps the reason for this exceptional restriction was related to the food that the Levites obtained from such plots of land, the only ones they possessed.⁵¹¹

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you so much for Yeshua’s preparing a Heavenly home for all who love Him. “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.  In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:1-3). How wonderful to look forward to a home in heaven! There is no better place to live than with You God in Your eternal home of peace. When we keep our focus on You and our eternal home, we realize that earth’s trials will soon be over. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Earthly trials last only a short time compared to the joy of our wonderful and eternal home in heaven where we have the joy of dwelling with You forever! “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away.” And the One seated upon the throne said: Behold, I am making all things new!” Then He said, “Write, for these words are trustworthy and true (Rev 21:3-5). Thank you for being such a wonderful Father and making such a great and glorious home in heaven, for those who love You.

Immanuel’s Land
25: 23-28

Immanuel’s land DIG: What is the most important aspect of the Year of Jubilee? What provisions does God stipulate must happen if an Israelite became poor? Could the poor redeem their land? Was the land leased or bought? What connection is there between the teachings of the Yovel Year and the prophet Isaiah in regard to ownership of the Land?

REFLECT: What most excites you about the Lord returning to set up His Messianic Kingdom and rule and reign from Jerusalem? What problems do you now have that will be done away with at that time? The Bible says that we will rule with Yeshua and receive His authority, just as He received authority from His Father (Rev 2:26-27)? What does that mean to you?

The ultimate fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee will be realized when the entire Church is intimately connected by faith with the One who will fulfill it all – Yeshua Messiah.

Freedom of the land: The most important aspect of the Yovel Year (to see link click En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee) is the land’s return to its original family ownership. The Jubilee commandments are very much concerned with preserving the original family, clan and tribal borders of the land of Isra’el. ADONAI explained that the Israelites were not to think of themselves as owners. Rather it is His land on which they were merely temporary residents.⁵⁰⁴

One of the characteristics of both the Shemitah Year (see El – The Sabbath Year) and the Year of Jubilee is freedom for the land itself. This land was to be given periodic rest from working. Why? Who has the right to determine that so-and-so’s field was not allowed to be plowed in a given year? Let us take it a step further. Who has the right to decide who could live in this Land? Moreover, who has the right to decide what kind of life should be lived on this Land? The answer to these and other similar questions is found here. The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to Me — you are only foreigners and temporary residents with Me (25:23). 

This verse is telling us that the land of Isra’el is the sole property of YHVH of Isra’el. It does not belong to the Canaanites, the Egyptians, nor even to the Israelites. God is the owner! As a result, He alone has the sole right to determine the usage of the Land. It so happens that Ha’Shem has decreed that Isra’el would be its resident caretakers. When they abused the Land by breaking the contract for its usage, the LORD determined that they could not live in it for seventy years (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule).

Redemption of the land (25:24-25): Therefore, when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption. That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold (25:24-25). Here, the principle of redemption (see the commentary on Exodus Bz – Redemption) of land is introduced for the first time. It describes the need of Isra’el to buy back the land that God owns. Isra’el does this as it uses its resources to guarantee that none of the Land becomes owned by anyone other than the people of God. If economic loss or debt caused a man to sell his land, the kinsman, or the nearest relative (Hebrew: go’el) had the obligation to buy or redeem the land of his impoverished relative. The same term is used to describe Boaz’s redemption of the land (see the commentary on Ruth Ba – Bo’az Obtains the Right of Redemption) and through it access to Ruth as his bride.

ADONAI’s ownership of all we have is easier to confess verbally than it is to acknowledge in acts of tithing and giving that truly recognize this reality. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test me in this,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it (Malachi 3:10).⁵⁰⁵

Leased land (25:26-28): If the poor man regained a measure of economic stability, he had the right to buy back his land at its fair market value. The land could not be permanently sold, and therefore, was essentially “leased.” The opportunity for an individual to buy back his land was to be maintained. If the seller has no one to redeem it but becomes rich enough to redeem it himself, he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property (25:26). Presumably he would pay back to the person who had leased his land the money he received minus the amount the person had earned from the land since the sale.

If he hasn’t sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year of yovel; in the yovel the buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property (25:27-28). The value of the land would decrease the closer they were to the next Jubilee. Otherwise the land would return to him during the Year of Jubilee, when God Himself performs the role of the Kinsman Redeemer.⁵⁰⁶ It is a characteristic of ADONAI to redeem people: He had redeemed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to be His people (Exodus 6:6-67), and now, by this mitzvah, He redeemed them from their debts.⁵⁰⁷

Immanuel’s land (Isaiah 8:8d): Just as we did with the concept of freedom, we also see a connection between the teachings of the Year of Jubilee and the prophet Isaiah in regard to the ownership of the Land. Isaiah 7:1 to 12:6 is sometimes called the Book of Immanuel (see the commentary on Isaiah Bu – The Book of Immanuel) because the main subject is the Person called Immanuel. Chapter Seven of Isaiah predicts His coming, Chapter Nine His birth, Chapter Ten His judgments, Chapter Eleven predicts His Kingdom, and Chapter Twelve gives praise to Immanuel (God with us). And imbedded right in the midst of the revelation of Immanuel is a fascinating declaration in Chapter Eight, which tells us that the land of Isra’el is “Immanuel’s Land (Isaiah 8:8d)!” The reason why YHVH is so concerned with what the kings of Isra’el and Judah were doing in this Land is because it was really not their land, but His!

Dear Heavenly Father, You are the best Father that there ever could be! How wonderful it was when I accepted You as my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), You come to live in me (John 14:23, Ephesians 2:22, 3:17), and are always there to guide and to help me (Hebrews 13:5c). When I live in wisdom, trusting You and realizing that all my possessions are from You and really belong to You, then earthly home and possessions take on a different value. Though working to earn a living is important (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12); the goal is not to build up my inheritance on earth, rather it is to earn a living to generously give back to You in joyful appreciation of all You have done.

What a comfort it is that You, God give me an eternal inheritance. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead.  An incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance has been reserved in heaven for you (First Peter 1:3-4). There is peace in knowing that the inheritance you give is totally secure because You seal it with Yourself! After you heard the message of truth – the Good News of your salvation – and when you put your trust in Him, you were sealed with the promised Ruach Ha’Kodesh.  He is the guarantee of our inheritance, until the redemption of His possession – to His glorious praise (Ephesians 1:13-14)! What a great inheritance to be part of God’s eternal Kingdom of light. Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12 NIV).

Thank You God that your plan and purpose is not just to take me to heaven, but You plan to be united with me! Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10). As I focus on pleasing You, the pressure to obtain earthly possessions diminishes. Instead, I am filled with joy as I look forward to receiving my heavenly inheritance to live with You forever! I love to praise, worship and obey You! In Your holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

A closer examination of the contents of Isaiah Chapter Eight (see the commentary on Isaiah Ch – A Stone that Causes Men to Stumble and a Rock that Makes Them Fall) and a comparison of it with Matthew Chapter Two (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Av – The Visit of the Magi) reveal the fact that Immanuel is none other than Yeshua Messiah! Hence, the land of Isra’el is really Yeshua’s Land. That is why He came to it. That is why He never left it when He was here. That is why He wept over it when He saw the sin being done to it. That is why He left it. And that is why He will come back to it and take permanent residence in it sometime very soon! Thus, we can see Messiah in this parashah. The ultimate fulfillment of the concepts taught by the Yovel Year will be realized when the entire Church, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14) are intimately connected by faith with the One who will fulfill it all – Yeshua Messiah.

Moreover, as embattled as the people of the land of Isra’el are with themselves, with their enemies, and within themselves, we can only pray that their eyes will be open to the fact that Immanuel is coming back to reclaim this bloodied Land for Himself. Someday, hopefully soon, peace will reign because the Prince of Peace (see Isaiah Ck – He Will Be Called the Prince of Peace) is ruling and reigning from His throne in Jerusalem (see Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). Someday, hopefully soon real, freedom will once again be proclaimed throughout the Land because Immanuel, its rightful Owner, will be here to rule it and bless those who reside here with Him. Come Lord Yeshua.⁵⁰⁸