Light In Torah

Good morning! Over the past week we have sketched out some concepts of idolatry, especially with the technology we have today. In my time with the Lord last night,  before I went to bed, I was reading the book of Ezra. In chapter 10 we find the tribe of Judah, who were exiled in Babylon, are now released from their self imposed captivity (Neh. 1:8), and they are given a very bizarre command to separate from their foreign wives (Ezr. 10:10).  Huh? I thought God hated divorce (Mal. 2:16). Why would this suggestion be made with this bond of unequally yoked intimacy (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)? Yet, the Torah gives grounds for divorce/kereethooth (Deut. 24:1-4). And to top it all off, God Himself is divorced (Jer. 3:8). What's going on here in this command to let their pagan wives go? He lets them know, in no uncertain terms, you have been unfaithful in your choice of a wife (Ezr. 10:10), “Now therefore, make confession to the Lord your God and do His will; and separate/bawdal yourselves fr...

Good morning! Did you give some deep reflection on yesterday's study on our modern day idols?  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. (Rev. 22:14,15) The question that enquiring minds are asking amids this list of disqualified individuals is: How do I keep my way pure (Psa. 119:9)? Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse/zawkaw his way? by taking heed according to thy word. (Psa. 119:9) You may recall from Monday night's zoom call that  there are various stages of growth within our spiritual journey to maturity and the high calling of ruling and reigning during the Messianic Kingdom with Messiah Yeshua (1 Jn. 2:13,14). Our emphasis was on the three levels of childhood development (paidion, teknion, and teknon). If you didn't see it or know of these importa...

Good morning! I n last night's zoom call we started our study in Deuteronomy/Devarim/words/logos, but quickly left the text of Deuteronomy 1:39 to devote our time to  1 John's revelation of little children and their three stages of growth (paidion, teknion, teknon). https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/s1wd9wib7FVonbo_l6NviLiWfv48TxRvXBIW1OypfeNJH4XUIA67Y91AaaA5QzFY.7vSxc85YU_Yctdaw Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it (Deut. 1:39) Yeshua said,  Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins (1 Jn. 3:4)  and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matt. 18:3) 1 John 5:21 ends his prophetic letter with a strong exhortation Dear children/teknion, keep away/Phylacate heauta from idols (anything that might take God’s place in your hearts). (1 jn. 5:21) T...

Good morning! We have officially finished the book of Numbers/bamidbar/in the wilderness. I've always enjoyed the game of Jeopardy. Before we start our study in Deuteronomy/devarim/words, let's have some fun. I can't host the game like Alek Trubek, but you can test your Torah knowledge. Give it a try. Print the answers off and have your own game night. CHAZAK CHAZAK V'NIT CHAZEK (Be strong, be strong and be encouraged)! Shabbat morning's zoom call: The buck stops here by providing a safety net for God's prized creation Each time we finish studying a book in the Torah, I secretly wish we could go back and peel another layer off of the proverbial onion. However, the 'show must go on'. We will start Devarim on our Monday night zoom call. "To inherit the Kingdom, you must become like little children..." (Deut. 1; 1 Jn. 1-5). Have a great 1st day of the week and 8th day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil. Sukkot is just a couple months a...

Good morning! This week's Torah portion, Matot, is filled with pertinent information for our spiritual journey in this physical world. The timeless 42 progressive stops in the wilderness journey and the apportioning of the land of the inheritance are paralleled perfectly in our own journeys. In last night's zoom call we connected the term for tribes/matot in Numbers 30:1,2. The term for one individual tribe is mateh. In our study we identified several wonderful qualities of the individual tribe,  mateh, with Moses and Aaron's rod/mateh. Scripture purposefully connects terms like this to help us learn how to live holy, set apart lives, on our journey from deliverance to entrance. Get your Bible and notebook. you'll want to take notes and reflect deeply on your spiritual status within your personal journey. This morning, before our zoom call, I want to run a parallel thought for you to encourage you into a deeper and more dependent walk with the Lord and encourage you to...

Good morning! This week we finish the book of numbers And individually and collectively, we will declare CHAZAK  CHAZAK V’ NIT  CHAZEK (Be strong, be strong and to be encouraged). With the end of the book and the sixth day of counting towards the first fruit of the oil, my mind goes back to the beginning of the year where we made new year resolutions. I know that’s kind of bizarre for the month of July…🤪 Many of us set financial, physical, emotional, relational and spiritual goals. Restoration of relationships, new friendships, and greater intimacy among those we already love are in the works. Ideally, we are longing to live ‘His Image’. And if we can live 'His Image' we will have success in the previously mentioned categories of life. Scripture is filled with examples on how to live our lives in His Image, but it’s also filled with honest examples of how not too. In times past,we dealt with the villainous behavior of Cain towards his brother Abel and we concluded that Cain‘s...

Good morning! A few days ago I asked you a question: "is it Matza or Motza"? Last night, before I went to bed (Psa. 1:2), I was reflecting on that thought, personalizing it as though I was the spouse of the husband (spiritually speaking); the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9). Based on God's creation narrative in Genesis 1, the Apostle Paul reminds us that God uses the natural to teach us the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). In our Matza or Motza comparison, God uses a natural reality to teach us a truth that we find woven throughout the pages of Scripture: Is our heavenly spouse content with what He has found in this 'spiritual woman' or 'is He still looking'?  In our Ecclesiastes 7:26 passage, which I think is the only passage in all of Scripture that makes a painful comment like this... And I discovered/ani motza as more bitter/mar mimavet than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, ...

Good morning! "There is a way/derek that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction" (Prov. 14:12; 16:25) Just as there is a true vine (Jn. 15:1-7) and a true husbandman who takes care of the vine (Isa. 5), there is a false/seqer vine that will one day experience the wrath of God (Deut. 32:32; Isa. 63:1; Rev. 19:13). All of us are on a journey/massei with many stops  from the cradle to the grave, from Egypt to the Land of our inheritance (Num. 33); 42 to be exact. The false/seqer path that leads to destruction is filled with lies, falsehood, and deception with use of words that are false in the sense that they are groundless (Ex. 20:16) and baseless (Psa. 38:19). But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully/seqer are multiplied. (Psa. 38:19) King David requested that God would remove every false way from his life and replace it with God's law/Torah (Psa. 119:29). He doesn't want to walk in a path that is based on false evide...

Good morning! This week we finish the book of Numbers/Bamidbar with the Torah portions Mattot/tribes and Massei/journeys.  We also start our journey towards the first fruit of the oil (day 2). In our zoom call last night we continued our journey towards our inheritance by highlighting the connection with the tribes/matot of Israel and the bride of the Lamb;  the New Jerusalem (Num. 30:1; Rev. 21:1-12) as well as some prerequisites to gaining your inheritance (Num. 32:7; Prov. 20:21)...it's a game changer. Enjoy. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/4CH9w-2OlD9Q1PettnXCBISZXOGLbStZo7c_u_i-lzO5zIE1dF65DIMpSO34Bqsm.HmELeuHoNooUTfMH Our Torah portion begins with the topic of vows. Immediately, with the topic of 'vows' most adult minds go to 'marriage'. It has been said that everyone and anyone can get married if you loosen up whatever standard you want. You can make it about their belief system. You can make it about their looks. You can make it about their personality. Y...

Good morning! Part of this past Torah portion, Pinchas (Num. 25-29:1) is remembered in Deuteronomy 4:1-4. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal Peor: for all the men that followed Baal Peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did clingdabeq unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. (Deut. 4:4) These individuals that clung/dabeq to the Lord were living out Deuteronomy 4:2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deut. 4:2) It's obvious  that hey remembered the terms of the covenant that were vowed at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:6-8; 24:3,7); reemphasized in this week's Torah portion: Matot (Num. 30:2-32:42). Those 24,000 individuals that died at Baal Peor experienced the strict side of God's law/Torah.  Ezekiel 20:25-26 makes a bold statement about the Torah. Wherefore I gave them also statutes...

Good morning! Shabbat morning zoom call: "Humility, the key to leadership" or "Do you have what it takes to be a godly leader?" This past week's Torah portion is filled with zealousness for God's honor through humility,  violence, reward and peace, overcoming public opinion, foundational truths about your future inheritance in the Land, true leadership and the ultimate list of appointed times; with threads of 'never give up' woven throughout the tapestry narrative. During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank. As you would expect the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish. The marine biologist then put a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank Creating two separate partitions. He  put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and the new set of bait fish on the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked this time. How...

Good morning! Last night's zoom call: The fundamental rule to obtaining your inheritance (Num. 26). Welcome to the 49th day of counting towards the first fruit of the wine. With hindsight, how has your intimacy been over the past 49 days, abiding in the True Vine (Jn. 15:1)? Have you seen any noticeable fruit forming in your life that will be enjoyed at the future wedding celebration; when you get the opportunity to sit down at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matt. 8:11,12)? One of the challenges we face in our 21st century journey is visibility with our faith. Huh? Without a physical Temple, a physical altar, a pillar of cloud, daily manna, supernatural water, true leadership that knows the Torah, a physical sea to cross, let alone all the technological distractions...it's tough to monitor progress. In this week's Torah portion, Pinchas (Num. 25-29), we have the defining verses of the Torah that point to the one truth that should be on our minds daily: persistence...

Good morning! Welcome to the 48th day of counting towards the first fruit of the vine! Currently, we are in a 21 day period known as the 'Dire straits'; a spiritual sandwich. On Yahweh's calendar it's the dates between the 17th of Tammuz  (the fourth month) and the 9th of Av (the fifth month), which are both part of the fast days in Zechariah 8:19. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’ (Zech. 8:19) During these 21 days, spiritual intensity is up! Emotional realities are being tested on every intersection of life. And it's manifesting itself in the daily physical realities  (Eccl. 1:9). As always, keep your eyes on the prize. Be encouraged. Look beyond the current circumstances (Heb. 12:1-3). Strive for the prize of the High Calling (Phill 3:14-17). Whatever you do, do ...

Good morning! In this week's Torah portion, Pinchas, we find Paul's words of 1 Corinthians 10:31 modeled in the life of Pinchas and the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. 25 & 27). "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31) We, speaking of me, myself and I, have a difficult time understanding Pinchas zealous act of killing Cozbi and Zimri (Num. 25:6-9) or the boldness of the daughters of Zelophehad to openly pursue their inheritance in the Land (Num. 27:1-4). Consequently, Paul's 'whatever you do' statement, too often, gets left in the realm of the intellect. The context, context, context of Paul's statement focuses on running the race after the pattern of the Israelite journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (1 Cor. 9:22-10:12). As he modeled, he's employing the Corinthians to live in such a way that they are not disqualified from receiving the incorruptible crown; the high calling of our inheri...

Good morning! I am back in Michigan and have access to the internet again. Good morning! Though you haven't received studies over the past week, you have been prayed for and I hope your passion for the Lord is daily rising to new heights. The first generation of the wilderness journey were passive; recipients of God's goodness around every bend. Since their passing, the second generation has been called to action! The final temptation before entering into the Land has come and gone. Some passed the test and 24,000 failed. Prior to Phineas heroic gesture, in stopping the plague, the sexual and idolatrous debacle had already been active through the encounter at Baal-Peor, the Moabite women, and Balaam's suggestion initiated, where God commanded Moses to take the heads of the leaders and hang  the heads of all the participants towards the sun so that God's wrath will be turned away (Num. 25:1-5). The average person would think that adverse response to Israel's rebellio...