Light In Torah

They ate and drank in the presence of God (Ex. 24:10–11): And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink. (Ex. 24:10–11) The blood had already been applied, and the covenant was ratified (Ex. 24:6–8). If you look at what is present in the scene, we have sacrifices: burnt offerings to bring God close, peace offerings for the meal, blood on the altar (God's side), blood on the people (their side), the covenant read and agreed upon, and then the feast. Did you notice what is missing? We have blood, but there is no confession of sin. There is no language of guilt. There is no language of punishment. There is no transfer of penalty. The blood is not paying for anything. But it  is  bonding two parties together. Blood bonding—bringing a covenant inauguration, a marri...

With Passover   Sheni   just a few days away—May 1, 2026—let us refocus on the Passover, which belongs to the well-being offering, the peace offering, sometimes translated as the communion offering and fellowship offering. Did you notice the commonality in all the different names? Every one of these names tells you what the sacrifice is about: relationship, community, celebration, and communion. The Torah tells us that anyone may offer this to God (Num. 15), and within this category there are three different offering types: a vow offering, a free-will offering, and a thanksgiving offering, all eaten as a family. Remember Passover ( Pesach ), the sacrifice, we eat with other like-minded individuals. This makes sense, right? And here is something really important that you may never consider, something that accompanies them: bring grain and wine with these offerings. In other words, we have a complete meal—a protein, a carb, and some fruit of the vine. Metaphorically speaking, Go...

For those who missed Passover on April 1, Scripture makes a special offer for individuals to participate in Passover   Sheni   (Second Passover; Num. 9:7–8), May 1, 2026. We will host a second Passover at Faith Works here in Stanton, Michigan, at 6:30 p.m. (potluck style :-). In this fourth week of counting the Omer—today being the 23rd day—we will take the time to expand our understanding of blood and atonement. Like everything we have done over the past three weeks, there is probably more to the story than tradition has taught us. And like every study at the beginning of the week, I ask for your patience until we get to the very end. And as always, I encourage you to go back and double-check everything because I am susceptible to making mistakes, like anyone else :-). When blood is applied to people in the Torah, it marks a transition from one realm to another, in the direction of greater holiness, greater access, and greater intimacy with God. Blood, associated with the cov...

In the Torah portion,   Kedoshim   ("holiness"), I was reminded of the story of two young fish that were swimming along and happened to meet an older fish swimming upstream in the opposite direction. The older fish nods at them and says, "Morning, boys. How's the water?" The two young fish swim for a bit, and then eventually, one of them looks over at the other and says, "What in the world is water?" The moral of the story is not quite obvious regarding the most important realities of life. The things—including people—that we are surrounded by, all day, every day, are among the realities that are hardest to see, perceive, and understand. As Ricky Ricardo would say on   I Love Lucy , "Let me 'splain." Over the past three weeks of counting the Omer—now day 22—we have reexamined grace and the Passover Lamb (FYI: for those who missed the first Passover, May 1 is Passover  Sheni —Second Passover; Num. 9:6–7 :-). And in last week's Omer cou...

This week's Torah portion,   Acharei Mot   and   Kedoshim , focuses on the commandment to be holy even as He is holy from Leviticus 19:2, as well as 1 Peter 1:15–16: "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy." (Lev. 19:2) "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:15–16) Have you ever asked, "What is the greatest threat to holiness?" Is it a sin? Have you ever considered  permission ? Avoiding what is forbidden is clear. But what about everything you are allowed to do and never stop to question? What if the real test of holiness ( kadosh ) is not just saying no to sin, but knowing when to say no to yourself? The theme of holiness permeates this week's Torah portion, setting the stage for how God's people are to conduct themselves in every aspect of their l...

I have had many father figures tell me, on frequent occasions, "I am proud of you." "That's impressive." "Nice work." "Great job." One of the worst things in the world is when a child does not hear their parent(s) or their spouse say, "I am impressed. I am impressed with you today." I do not know about you, but I am OK with hearing affirming words like this! Noah built an ark against all cultural odds. Abraham built a family against some pretty significant odds (a barren wife). Moses built a nation against even greater odds. David built a kingdom. Nehemiah built a wall. Each person did what God said to do because God wanted them to do it. Our God put Adam in the garden way back in the beginning. He did not actually say, "Pray more." He said, "Work." When God called Abraham, He did not actually hand him a door to walk through. He did not hand him a prayer book. He handed him a mission. He said, "Go build a fa...

During this third week of counting the Omer—day 19—I want to remind you that, during your obedience and overcoming, God is impressed and proud of you! I hope you have sensed that this week. More on this during our 9:00 a.m. Zoom call today (The Pit of Despair). It is all over the Scripture, and this is important when I talk about work that pleases God. I am using the Tabernacle as an example, but I am not talking about religious activity. I am not talking about more prayers and more services and more pious activities. That is one kind of doing, and it is important—no, they are essential. But the Torah has something much bigger in mind. However, there is a problem. The Torah does not divide the sacred and secular life. The Torah may divide holy and common, but the sacred and secular distinction—that is a later invention of religion as a thing you do in this little compartment of your life. In the Torah framework, Adam tending to the garden—that is work for God. Building the Tabernacle—t...

Happy 17th day of counting the Omer! You are one-third of the way through the ascent in preparation for the insightful revelation waiting for you at Pentecost this year, 2026. I know He is proud of you! Most believers know that God is in a relationship with us. In a relationship, both parties are affected by what the other one does, for better or worse. The critics of maintaining good works (Titus 3:8, 14) are strong proponents of the truth that we do not earn our way into the family. We do not purchase salvation. We do not perform our way in. And that is right! That is absolutely right. It has never been considered otherwise. Even Judaism—as much as they get a bad rap about trying to earn their salvation—never considered that. By the way, you cannot earn your way into being a child of God (John 1:11); it is established by covenantal promise, faith, God's initiative, and your response. It is not just a transactional thing. Now, the Protestant tradition has a category for what I am ...

Should we try to impress God with our faithfulness? Should we strive to please Him with our faith (Heb. 11:6; Num. 14:11; Ps. 78:22, 32; Ruth 2:12; Prov. 11:18; Ps. 119:10; Prov. 8:17)? Should we make Him proud where He proclaims, "Well done"? The simpler this topic becomes, the louder the critics become. Over the years I have heard everything from "cult leader" to "putting us under the law" to "undermining the gospel of Jesus Christ with a Torah mindset" to "trying to earn your salvation" or worse, living a life according to God's commands, affe ctionately known as "Torahism" (as though the "-ism" carries extra theological weight). Some will say, "God's not impressed, honey. It's about grace. Don't you forget that, sweetie." I have seen the negative articles. I have read the press clippings filled with warnings. But to be honest with you, I think many of you are absolutely looking to impres...

Welcome to the 15th day of counting the Omer. Over the past two weeks, we have taken a completely different journey than in past years. The first week of counting the Omer, I shared with you expansive thoughts on the topic of grace (*chen*). Hopefully, with hindsight, those thoughts did not diminish what Christ did for us on the cross, but rather enhanced our understanding of how grace actually works in the life of a believer—an area in which we should be growing (2 Pet. 3:18). Last week, with our focus on the Passover Lamb—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)—we talked about salvation. We discussed that salvation is not just about the decision I made so many years ago (Eph. 2:8–9), but it is an ongoing process centered in a life that lives by faith—from faith to faith, the just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4). This morning, and this week, as we continue to ascend toward the 50th day of Pentecost, I want to point out the obvious (since I am Mr. Obvi...

In this week's Torah portion,  Tazria  and  Metzora   (Lev. 12–14), sickness of the soul manifests as lesions on the skin. No, this is not the skin ailment we find in third-world countries today known as Hansen's disease; this is a spiritual condition that shows up in the skin. Hence, the metzora (the leper) would not go to a doctor to diagnose and remedy the disease, but to the high priest. Since the people of God took the Promised Land, mankind's spiritual level has plummeted to great depths, and our skin has lost its sensitivity in manifesting the condition of the soul for everyone to see.  The two primary causes of this malady, known as  tzara'at  (leprosy), are gossip and slander.  Scripture considers this behavior a very serious crime, as it is likened to the three cardinal sins of idolatry, murder, and adultery. Someone who habitually practices this form of speech affects his life in the world to come (Matt. 12:36–37; Eccl. 12:14; Prov. 13...