To Tzitzit or not to Tzitzit(Wear tassles on our garments)
Watch this small teaching from our brother Weichu
The Narrow And Wide Gates
Video Teaching
Study Notes and Slides
Introduction:
We have seen through the former teaching on the rebuilding of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) that it was rebuilt through much struggle and that truly is the picture of the life of the believer, so today I hope to reveal how by looking at the Hebrew language within the Scriptural writings whether greater revelation can be gleaned. We previously saw that though YAHWEH always desired that his people live in prosperity in a land that was flowing with milk & honey the reality was that they only returned to him & his Torah when the road became Narrow while they were in captivity stripped of pleasures and deprived of the Temple. Today we will address some rather interesting truths hidden within the Brit Chadashah the Nazarene writings to ascertain how the nature of our faith is revealed within the words of Yahshua our Master and the soon returning King.
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The Wider Gate:
In the Scriptures when YHWH completes the Marriage ceremony on Mount Sinai and gives his people Yisrael the Torah which is his Eternal covenant there is a perceived thought that the way to Salvation & blessing has a wider sense found in obedience to his Covenant. We know that obedience is the standard that YHWH has and will always use. We read in Debarim (Deuteronomy) 28 how exceedingly blessed the people would be if they did not turn to the left or the right but did all according to his Commandments (Mitsvot). To the people this must have seemed like an easy way to blessing and having the Presence, the Shekinah of YHWH in their midst making them a force to be reckoned with, so they said the following and I am sure they said it with all good intention:
Shemoth (Exodus) 19:7- 9 So Mosheh came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which YHWH (the Lord) commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that YHWH has spoken we will do.” So Mosheh brought back the words of the people to YHWH. 9 And YHWH said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”
So Mosheh told the words of the people to YHWH (the Lord).
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Rather than being an easy & wider road to Salvation & Blessing we find that the people of Yisrael were quick to turn from his ways even before the Ketubah the Marriage contract was given them, this being the words of YAHWEH written for them as the Ten Covenant Words the ten Commandments which Mosheh smashed before their eyes because of their disregard for the oath they had made to YAHWEH only 40 days earlier after which they made a golden Calf to worship in total disregard of his commandment. From this incident we find Yisrael living in constant struggle to uphold the Covenant resulting in many attacks of the enemy through the many years of the Judges & the Kings that finally led to the exile for Yahudah (Judah) as we dealt with in the Rebuilding of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) & the dispersion among the Assyrian Empire for the Northern Ten Tribes. The point of all this struggle and failure however was in fact to help the people see that the Gate for their Salvation & Blessing was not as wide as they thought but very narrow and only found in the “Chesed” (Favour or Grace) of YAHWEH according to his promises that go right back to Bereshith (Genesis) 3:15 where the promise is first given that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the Serpent revealing the promise of the Machiach (Messiah) but also to show all mankind that there is a perpetual struggle between the Kingdom of light & the Kingdom of Darkness.
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Romans 10:4 For Messiah is the goal of the ‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone
who believes. 5 For Mosheh writes about the righteousness which is of the Torah,
“The man who does these shall live by them.”
What this scripture suggests is that from the very beginning the Torah had the purpose to show the people that they, in their own strength could not attain to the righteousness of YAHWEH and that this knowledge would bring them to the Machiach (Messiah) a road that by all rights is not easy and wide but difficult and narrow.
Yahshua’s Teaching:
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The particular section we will look at today centres on the beginning of Yahshua’s ministry and is usually referred to as “the Sermon on the Mount.” Yahshua is dealing with many aspects of the life of a faithful believer giving many instructions & directions. The particular verses we will extrapolate are found in the following:
MattithYahu (Matthew) 7:13- 14 “Enter in through the narrow gate! Because the gate is wide – and the way is broad – that leads to destruction and there are many who enter in through it. 14 Because the gate is narrow and the way is hard pressed which leads to life
and there are few who find it.
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To fully appreciate the depth of meaning within these verses we need to investigate various words from the Hebrew meaning & breakdown of individual words something that will bring to light some amazing truths.
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- Narrow:
The first word to analyse is the Word “Narrow”: rye Hatsar with the following meaning:
Strong’s Number H6862 – enemy, distress, narrow, small, tribulation etc.
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In the Blue letter Bible we can see it used in Proverbs 23:27 to demonstrate its usage as “Narrow.”
Mishle (Proverbs) 23:27 For a whore is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.
In the Blue letter Bible from 1 Samuel 2:32 it is used as “Enemy.”
1 Shemu’EL (Samuel) 2:32 And you shall see an enemy in My Dwelling Place, despite all the good which Elohim does for Yisra’ĕl and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
Since Hebrew is such a deep & intricate language we need to understand how the same word can mean Narrow & enemy in a different context or at the same time.
Note: It is also interesting to note that the word Tsar or Tzar was also formerly the Ruler of Russia and gives the sense of a person with “Dictatorial powers” therefore truly an enemy in the sense of the Hebrew Word.
To grasp how the way “the Derek” in Hebrew from which we get direction is linked to an “Enemy” is that the way of Salvation & Blessing is obstructed by an array of Adversaries or Enemies to make the Way extremely difficult & concealed that only a few find it.
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Note: (Hidden Truths Hebraic Scrolls NT) The Earlier manuscripts have the word “door” instead of “Gate” which was used in later manuscripts. The Aramaic word “Tarea” can be translated as “door” or “gate”. Since the tent had a door this could be appropriate as well, since this ties in with the words of Yahshua in:
Yahuchanan (John) 10:9 “I am the door. Whoever enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and find pasture.
Also often Yisrael is used for a title of the Machiach (Messiah) therefore the way to enter is through Yisrael the door since we know the Covenant was made with the House of Ya’acov (Jacob) & the House of Yisrael.
This also takes us back to Ya’acov in Bereshith (Genesis) 28:17 which is hinting at Yahshua being the narrow door:
Bereshith (Genesis) 28:17 And Ya’acov was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of EL, and this is the gate of heaven!”
It also gives us a Remez level (hint) in the following where we see Balaam’s donkey which stood in the narrow path and saw the Malak of YHWH who is Yahshua giving also the Sod level (the hidden) meaning. We walk through the “door” being Yahshua Ha Machiach (the Messiah).
Yahshua’s ways however are the ways of the Mosaic Torah which are hard for many who recoil at keeping the Biblical feasts calling them legalistic. Also Sabbath keeping makes the path even more “Narrow” but according to his Word we read in:
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Chazon (Revelation) 14:12 Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones; here are those who keep the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahshua.
Chazon (Revelation) 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Each Shabbat we read the importance of Shabbat found in:
Shemoth (Exodus) 31 in which we read that the Shabbat will be “the sign between YAHWEH and Yisrael (His people) for the generations to come.”
We see from all this just how “Narrow” the way is with Yahshua being the “Door” or gate and the path being the Torah of truth bringing us to completeness in Yahshua. No-one gains entry without Yahshua but the way is the Torah also and not living a lawless life since Yahshua said:
Yahuchanan (John) 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
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In the time of Yahshua there were the Pharisees some of which believed that by following their weighty commandments which were derived from the Written Torah as well as the Oral Torah that were passed down and eventually written in the Talmud which we read as the traditions of the elders they could be totally righteous. However Yahshua spoke the following to demonstrate just how “Narrow” was the way of Salvation that could only be received by the “Chesed” favour of YAHWEH and not by their works:
MattithYahu (Matthew) 5: 27-28 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Yahshua in revealing the difficulty of being without sin which makes the path of redemption come down to the favour of YAHWEH which we know is in him so as to direct all those who desire righteousness to find it in him without neglecting the Torah which is still the way of righteous living.
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- The Wide or Broad:
This Word is the Word “M’ruachot- thfrm ” with some interesting truths:
H7305 from the Blue letter Bible: Means space, respite, and enlargement.
What is most amazing is that the root word is “Ruach” which means Spirit (H7305- H7308).
With this understanding we can say that Yahshua is saying that the way of Destruction has been widened by these evil Spirits (Ruachot). By the work of Ha Satan the way of Destruction is broader since Scripture says:
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Romans 9:27 Yeshiyahu (Isaiah) also cries out concerning Yisrael: “Though the number of the children of Yisrael be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.
Though in the Natural Yeshiyahu (Isaiah) was speaking in the P’shat or direct about the returning Yisraelites from the exile when only 43,360 people returned from Babylon while many were enticed to remain within the prosperity of Babylon as it is today, on the other hand Sha’ul is writing in the “Darash” or comparison of those that are truly saved since Yisrael is notably a reference to those in Covenant whether in a physical or Spiritual sense. This reminds us of the Words of Yahshua:
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MattithYahu (Matthew) 7:21- 23 “Not everyone who says to Me, Adoni, Adoni(Lord, Lord), shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Adoni, Adoni (Lord, Lord), have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
The practising of Lawlessness is equivalent to being without Torah. To do the will of the Father is to be obedient to his Word the Torah but not to do as these were doing though the works appear honourable as representing him but these people still had no love for him in their heart because they did not know his heart which is his Torah. We must consider carefully to whom Yahshua is referring in these verses. We must ask ourselves who in the World is doing the Works of healing and casting out of Demons but not doing the will of the Father which is clearly revealed in his Torah since Yahshua did not come to abolish Torah.
Sadly the modern Church has tried to broaden the way of Salvation by simply focussing on Yahshua (Jesus) but has neglected the path to him which has always been the Torah as he is its goal. The verses in Chazon (Revelation) 14 & 22 previously Quoted in slide 10 however challenge that thought and should be seriously considered.
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- H’abdun or Abadon
Strong’s Number H12 – meaning Destruction or known in Hebrew as “Abadon” (Nfdba) or in Greek as “Apollyon”.
Referenced in the following:
Esther 9:5Thus the JewsH3064 smoteH5221 allH3605 their enemiesH341 with the strokeH4347 of the sword,H2719 and slaughter,H2027 and destruction,H12 and didH6213 what they wouldH7522 unto those that hatedH8130 them.
Chazon (Revelation) 9:11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
What we see is the hidden teaching in the Hebrew language that is never revealed in the English since Yahshua is teaching that there are Spirits (Ruachot) working to widen and to bring many to destruction and through the above verse we know that this is a Malakim (Angel) who is also known as the Angel of death:
1 Corinthians 15:25-26 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
We are talking about a being that was cast out of Heaven with Heylel or Ha Satan:
Chazon (Revelation) 20:14 Then Death and Hades (Sheol) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
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- Ashar or Asher
This word is the name of one of the Tribes of Yisrael and can mean to walk straight, upright & knowing you are on the right path or Derek (the way). Alternately it can mean to be happy.
We could say that people are happily walking into destruction thinking they are upright like those who think they are righteous as in MattithYahu 7:22. Yahshua also said that these will deliver you up thinking they are doing the right thing therefore the broad road is full of people who think they are doing righteousness and this is not about just unbelievers. Sha’ul (Paul) understood that he was one of these before the favour of YAHWEH found him.
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Yahshua the Messiah came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.
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- M’tsuq or Mutsaq
Strong’s Number H6693 – meaning to oppress or distress.
The reason the way is hard pressed is that the enemy is oppressing & obstructing the way to the gate because Yahshua said that those that endure to the end will be saved.
- Mathy’m or M’atiym
Strong’s Number H4962- The root word is Math and means few as in Mankind therefore a few of Mankind in a limited time frame.
Conclusion
From this one verse by using the understanding of the Hebrew & its root words imbedded within we come to some interesting conclusions:
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- This teaching reveals to us that the Gate to life is Narrow but also that we are hard pressed on every side but we also know that the Favour of YAHWEH is with us through his RUACH (Spirit) and by his strength we will endure.
- Though the path & the Gate is Narrow we have been given the revelation of the path being the Torah that has narrowed the way to the Gate but we have the Key to the Gate being Yahshua the joy of our life for through him & his Torah has the way been cleared of all obstacles since he promises blessing and Salvation in this life and the World to come if we are faithful.
Amein.
Rebuilding Torah in Lives
Segment 1
Segment 2
Slides and Study Notes
Introduction: We have been investigating the significance of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and seeing it as the expression of the presence of YAHWEH and also as a Divine Parable for all time. The last teaching showed how highly esteemed Yerushalayim should be in our thinking and we know that the charm of its natural form represents the visible reach of the sacred radiance that’s dwelt within the City:
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Tehillim (Psalms) 48:2-3 YAHWEH is great and greatly to be praised in the City of our Elohim. In his Holy mountain . The vision of beauty, the joy of all the Earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the North the City of the Great King.
It was to the people of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) that YermeYAHU (Jeremiah) was commanded to address his Prophetic call, reminding them of the Exodus from Mitsrayim (Egypt) as we read:
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YermeYAHU (Jeremiah) 2:2 “go forth and call out to the ears of Yerushalayim saying: So says YAHWEH, I remember the goodness of your youth, the zeal of your Betrothal when you followed Me into the desert.
Before the fall of Yerushalayim the City was one that radiated beauty with great walls, beautiful gates and a Temple that brought honour from all lands yet in all this its heart, the people were corrupted and had turned away from YAHWEH their Elohim though many Prophets had been sent to them, until finally Yerushalayim lay in Ruins.
The Beauty of the great tale of Ezra & NechemYAH (Nehemiah) is that after the Prophesied 70 years of Captivity the people were able to return to their beloved City and we have now seen the Walls rebuilt and the Gates hung making Yerushalayim once again a place of safety.
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As we spiritualize this picture we came to the conclusion that Yerushalayim was representative of the presence & radiance of YAHWEH in the World but also that it was a Metaphor or natural image of all believers representing the person in Covenant with YAHWEH that radiated his presence with the Walls being an image of the thought life of the individual and the Gates of the City representing the believers words and decisions being the result of external forces that enter and those that are rejected or expelled all of which are so essential in making the person or in the Natural Yerushalayim an appearance of the Radiance of YAHWEH.
I fear however that this picture is where the World of Christianity has remained since we are taught by them, that what is required is to love & believe in the King our saviour who has set us free from the Captivity of sin by his great sacrifice followed by a change of thinking therefore having the mind renewed and a change in the Words spoken, neglecting the most vital cause for the exile into captivity which was the breaking of the Covenant which then led to acceptance of foreign Elohim.
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Within this tale however is a message of inner rebuilding and establishment of the Words of YAHWEH that are eternal, revealed through his Torah which is his loving instructions for all time which he never came to abolish in order that his beloved people learn to live according to his righteousness. We have been taught that only through the blood of Yahshua is Salvation available and that nothing we do will avail us and though this is true we have then forgotten that he has redeemed us and empowered us with his RUACH (Spirit) that we may live for him and have his Torah written in our hearts. This means that it is not his Torah that has changed but our heart that he came to change that by our redemption we may desire to fulfil his Torah because we are redeemed & renewed since Sha’ul (Paul) says the following:
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QorintYah Bet (2nd Corinthians) 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Messiah he is a renewed creature: old things are passed away; behold all things have become renewed. (Hidden Truths NT)
Just as the walls of Yerushalayim were rebuilt from the broken & burnt stones so too the believer is rebuilt by using the bricks of our past & renewing them since we are the workmanship of YAHWEH created in Machiach (Messiah):
Ephsi’yah (Ephesians) 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yahshua unto good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
These works are the Works of the Torah that reveal our deep love for YAHWEH our beloved Elohim and that of his precious son Yahshua.
Rebuilding Torah in People’s Lives
We must remember that even before NechemYAH came to Yerushalayim Ezra had already implemented various instructions but we read that when NechemYAH came the City was still living in Anarchy. Cannot we see that the neglecting of Torah is equivalent to living in Anarchy! The inhabitants of Yerushalayim felt that they too could live as they felt was right and the question is why could not Ezra alter this situation greatly. The truth is that he did not carry the authority of the King to enforce the Kings precepts. NechemYAH on the other hand had the power and authority to do the commands of the King.
We could say it was like the Talmidim (Disciples) who thought they could stand in their own strength as seen by the statement of Kepha (Peter) in:
Yahuchanan (John) 13:37 Kepha (Peter) said to him, Master (Adoni) why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake.
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We know that in only a short space of time Kepha denied the Master three times because in his strength he was destined to fail but after all the Talmidim (Disciples) received the RUACH Ha Qodesh (The Holy Spirit) there was a great transformation as all of them were able to stand strong in the faith. So it was in the case of Yerushalayim since it was only when NechemYAH came with the authority of the King that he united the people to rebuild the Walls, hang the Gates and defend against all the tactics of the enemy.
This however was not the end of this story because now the tale of rebuilding turns inward to establish righteousness within the inhabitants of the City just as the intention of the RUACH (Spirit) has been to turn us towards the obedience of Torah as the final step in the progressive rebuilding of our lives that we may radiate the presence of YAHWEH to the World through devoted dedication to his Torah which is his loving instructions for righteous living for all time. Since each step that we have addressed is vital in the rebuilding of lives we will now need to examine how NechemYAH achieved the inner work of rebuilding the lives of the People to understand how we can apply this to our lives.
Strategy 1- Love your Neighbour:
We read in chapter 5 of the book NechemYAH a major problem that needed to be addressed:
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NechemYAH 5: 1Now the outcry of the people concerning their Yahudi (Jewish) brothers was great.
5:5 They said “Our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers and our sons like theirs, yet we must press our sons and daughters into servitude (slavery) and we are powerless and our fields and vineyards are given to others.
The gross problem that NechemYAH had to deal with now was that even though the congregation were all working to save the lives of all the inhabitants within Yerushalayim the Aristocrats who were also the rich were exploiting the poorer people by enslaving their sons and daughters so the poor could buy food to eat.
Just think within the congregation of people desperate to save their lives by rebuilding the City were people exploiting others for profit even to the point of slavery.
What must be noted in the case of the Yahudi problem is that the Torah does not empower a man to sell his sons & mature daughters, but due to the severity of the problem they were willing to offend Torah. As we know breaking Torah is acceptable if it saves lives.
Kiddushin 20a: Says that a man must have sold his house & all his land even his last shirt before he is permitted to take such a step.
NechemYAH dealt with this problem by gathering a large crowd and confronting the Nobles making them feel ashamed but even more importantly he led by example. He specifies that he, his brothers & servants did not eat of the governor’s remuneration but rather used it for the people & especially to ransom back those Yahudim (Jews) who had been sold as slaves to the Goyim (Gentiles).
NechemYAH challenges the Nobles to walk with the fear of Elohim because of the insult of the Nations who were their enemies.
The good news is that the Nobles then said they would make no demands on them and release all debt.
Even Sha’ul speaking to the Corinthian Assembly found a problem that needed his correction:
1 Corinthians 6: 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
6:7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong?
When we look in the Nazarene writings we see that the love for the Brethren is a central truth that is constantly taught and Yahuchanan (John) says it this way:
1 Yahuchanan (John) 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of Elohim abide in him?
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Yahshua makes it quite plain that the love for one another is central to the body of Believers in:
Yahuchanan (John) 13: 34- 35 A renewed commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you.
35 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
This was not a new commandment as in “brand new” but rather a restored commandment. When we begin to show this sort of love for each other it will have a profound effect and be a witness for all to see that we belong to Yahshua.
Strategy 2- NechemYAH Searched the Book of the Lineage:
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NechemYAH 7:5-6 And my Elohim put it into my heart to gather the nobles and the deputy rulers and the people, in order to be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up at the beginning and I found written in it: 6 These are the sons of the province who came back from the captivity of the exiles whom Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar the sovereign of Baḇel (Babylon) had exiled and who returned to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and Yahudah (Judah), each to his city,
Why was it that YAHWEH put in NechemYAH’s heart to investigate the genealogy of the people? The answer is that as with Ezra earlier who compiled the lists he understood that many of the Gentiles had infiltrated the people even the priesthood so this work was essential to purify the Priests and all the people that the inhabits of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) would be those who were in covenant with YAHWEH Elohim of Yisrael and had a deep desire for obedience unto him.
Note: The sum total of the Family members in this chapter falls far short of the amount of 42,360 people that had returned.
Metzudos quoting Seder Olam 29 explains that only Judah (Yahudah) & Benyamin are listed by name while another 13,000 of the other tribes also went up to the Holy Land.
For those that desire to see their lives restored into all that YAHWEH desires, it is necessary therefore to surround ourselves with those in Covenant with YAHWEH lest we be corrupted with false teachings & beliefs which have polluted his people for far too long.
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1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits & character.”
We have already discussed how the great influx of Gentiles or Goyim completely changed the faith removing much that the early assemblies who were called Nazarenes believed and who were finally destroyed leaving the faith under the power of Constantine who moulded it to unify his Empire both Politically & Religiously as we saw in the previous teaching.
Strategy 3- The Reading of the Torah
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Now we see the greatest strategy that NechemYAH (Nehemiah) would bring. It is interesting that this happened on the 1st day of the 7th month:
NechemYAH (Nehemiah) 8:1-2 Then all the people gathered as one man in the open space before the water Gate and told Ezra the Torah scholar to bring the Torah of Mosheh (Moses) which YAHWEH commanded to Yisrael. 2. So Ezra the Kohen (Priest) brought the Torah before the Congregation- on the first day of the Seventh Month.
6-7 Ezra blessed YAHWEH the great Elohim and all the people answered “Amein, Amein” with their hands upraised then they bowed and prostrated themselves before YAHWEH face to the ground.
Amazingly Ezra read the Torah on Yom Teruah or the Feast of trumpets. I am sure when Ezra read the following the people understood why they had been taken into captivity:
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Debarim (Deuteronomy) 28:1-2 “And it shall be, if you diligently obey the voice of YHWH
your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands which I command you today, that YAHWEH your Elohim shall set you high above all nations of the earth. 2“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of YAHWEH your Elohim:
Debarim (Deuteronomy) 28: 58-60 If you do not guard to do all the Words of this Torah that are written in this book, to fear this esteemed and awesome Name, YHWH your Elohim, 59 then YHWH shall bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary
plagues, great and lasting plagues and grievous and lasting sicknesses. 60“And He shall bring back on you all the diseases of Mitsrayim (Egypt), of which you were afraid and they shall cling to you, 61 also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this Torah, YHWH does bring upon you until you are destroyed.
Against the backdrop of the events encountered, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim & Yisrael understood the significance of Yom Teruah or this day of Judgement in which the community would examine itself since the following days are called the “Ten Days of Awe” so we read that all the people wept when they heard the words of the Torah but the leaders encouraged the people that the Favour of Elohim was now with them.
Surely they isplayed true repentance and we would do well to understand the severity of disobeying YAHWEH remembering the pain that it brought to our beloved Saviour Yahshua.
Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) was for the 1st time since its destruction restored and once again the centre of Yahudi (Jewish) life that it could once again radiate the splendour of YAHWEH the Elohim of Yisrael and be the light to the Nations.
There is truly such significance in this picture for the believer. We know that Yahshua came to take the curse since scripture says:
Galutyah’im (Galatians) 3:13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Torah, having become a curse for us – for it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree. ” –
14 in order that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the nations in Messiah
Yahshua, to receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
From this we discover that Messiah took the curse so we could be empowered with the RUACH Ha Qodesh (The Holy Spirit) that by his work in us we might have the power to be obedient to his Torah and fulfil his will.
Strategy 4- The Discipline of Torah Observance:
Slide 14
After all the monumental work that NechemYAH achieved he returned to the King in Shushan (Susa) but on his return to Yerushalayim he found much Sin. With the passion and authority of a Zealot he dealt fervently with the breach of Torah in the following ways:
- Eliashiv the Priest had transgressed by allowing Tobiah the Ammonite & Sanballat to live in a Chamber of the Temple meant to house the Tithe & other Temple items so NechemYAH cast out all their belongings & drove them out of the City. Remember that Sanballat’s son in law was rejected as a Priest for not casting off his gentile wife but later Sanballat with the help of Alexander the Great established a Temple for his son in law on Mount Gerizim in opposition to the Temple in Yerushalayim.
- While NechemYAH was away the people had desecrated the Shabbat as we read:
NechemYAH 13:15- 16 In those days I saw in Yahuḏah (Judah) those treading wine presses on the Shabbat (Sabbath) and bringing in sheaves and loading donkeys with wine, grapes and figs and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food. 16 And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yahuḏah and in Yerushalayim.
NechemYAH consequently locked the gates on Shabbat and called the Levites to guard the smaller doors & threated the Merchants with severe punishment.
- The People were also violating their oath that they would not marry gentile wives:
NechemYAH 13: 23 In those days I also saw Yahuḏim (Jews) who had married women of Ashdoḏ, Ammon, & Mo’aḇ. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdoḏ and could not speak the language of Yahuḏah (Judah).
In fervent anger NechemYAH (Nehemiah) beat these men & even pulled their hair out and made them swear to Elohim their renewed Oath.
Especially today we find believers not respecting the RUACH’s authority and discipline seeing him only as the comforter but we read a powerful story in Acts 5 where Ananias & Sapphira lie to the RUACH Ha Qodesh and are struck dead for their sin. That story should make us tremble to know that YAHWEH is an Elohim of love but he will also judge sin as this story teaches though he has great patience. I pray that we his people begin to fulfil our Oath to love him by our obedience to his Torah which is his loving instructions on Righteous living.
Ibrim (Hebrews) 12:5-6 you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of YAHWEH, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom YAHWEH loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Conclusion:
Slide 15
This entire series we have studied saw Yerushalayim go from rubble to a City rebuilt & restored both from the outside to its inhabitants with the purpose that once again it would radiate the esteem of YAHWEH the Elohim of Yisra’el to the entire World. Understanding that by this success Yahshua was able to be born into a society dedicated to the Most High, which places NechemYAH in the category of a hero of the faith along with the Maccabees, people remembered for re-establishing the faith in YAHWEH and his beloved Torah.
More than this however this tale reveals a Divine Parable of King Yahshua who delivered us from the Captivity of sin but in his great love has sent his Comforter & teacher the RUACH Ha Qodesh (The Holy Spirit) who is able to guide & also discipline us that we may mature to a complete person who will radiate the presence of YAHWEH and be that light to the World that Yerushalayim in the natural was also meant to be.
Within this great tale lye the divine seeds that will enable us his beloved to be rebuilt in the areas of our mind, our speech & our heart by desiring to please him with our whole being by complete trust knowing that everything written from Bereshith (Genesis) to Chazon (Revelation) comes from our Father’s heart and is for our good so should be obeyed and listened to. Amein.