Jesus Christ
Now I Know You
“For now I know that you revere God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” —Genesis 22:12
Throughout the scriptures there are various ways in which this word “yada” is used, but the overall implication is that it has very intimate connotations both in how we know something or someone, and how we are known.
In Genesis we see this word being used by God to express His knowledge of Abraham’s heart based on Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice that which is most important to him. Through this act of obedience, God came to know the intimate devotion and faith within the heart of Abraham. It was revealed that Abraham not only believed that God’s promise would come to be, but that it would come about even when the command of God seemed to be stripping His very promise away. Abraham had an incredible amount of faith, and this faith he possessed was demonstrated in the act of offering up his son, even when he knew that he needed that son for the promises to be filled. We know that it would have been easy and even appropriate for Abraham to rationalize his way out of this, for him to say, “I don’t really need to do this because God knows my heart and my intention. On the contrary, Abraham’s way of expressing his devotion and trust in God was to do exactly as God told Him… to carry out the command.
Sure, because God knows everything—even the depths of our hearts, and every action we will perform—He could have said to Abraham, “I know that you love Me and believe My promises, so I am not going to ask you to sacrifice your son because I know that you would do this for Me.” He didn’t say this, and I cannot fully explain why God asks us to do these things, despite the fact that He already knows what would happen and what lies within our hearts. The only thing I can think of is that for some reason or another the act itself is important to God; it pleases Him, and it seems to be something He likes to experience with us. It is equally (or ought to be) equally important for us because it is a confirmation that the faith, trust, and devotion we have in our hearts are more than mere feelings, assertions, or intentions. The action confirms what we profess to “feel” or possess in our hearts. According to James, these actions complete our faith:
“You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was completed” (James 2:22).
What is important to note here is that it’s not just any action that confirms this for God, but it’s obediently carrying out the exact command that God asks us to do because this makes evident that we have faith that His exact word is true and right and beneficial for us, whether we understand or agree with it or not. Abraham was not permitted to modify the plans of God to accommodate his desires, preferences, understanding, comfort, or even his fears. Abraham did not say, “I know God told me to offer up my son, but I’m sure He would still appreciate it if I offered a ram instead because He knows my heart.” Nor did Abraham lean on his own understanding because if he had, it would have been easy to say, “I know God told me to sacrifice my son, but God is love and He is against murder, so what He said must not be true, or He must just want me to think about what this spiritually means.” We have to believe that Abraham struggled because what God asked him to do presented a variety of conundrums, but regardless, he did exactly as God commanded knowing that God had the power to work it all out in the end… and God did work it out in the end.
This is where faith and works intersect, as a way for us to demonstrate to God that we wholeheartedly believe that every word that comes from His mouth is not only true, but given to provide and bring life. Throughout the gospels, Jesus demonstrated and modeled this faith and obedience (he showed us its perfection). He came to this earth to teach and obediently live out the word of God (John 7:16; 4:34; 8:55; 12:44-50; 14:24, 31; Matthew 4:4). Jesus demonstrated exactly what it means to listen and to obey because He always did exactly as He was instructed by the Father. He did not deviate to the right or left, but obediently followed the path God laid out for Him. Even more, Jesus lived each command obediently, not only because He understood the physical implications of each command, but He understood the deeper spiritual truths behind each command.
There are many words that God has spoken or commanded us that seem irrelevant, obsolete, or even contrary to His nature, but the measure of our faith lies in our confidence that if He said it, then it is true. The measure of our confidence in this truth, then, is whether we are willing to obey it despite our every inclination not to. Our obedience confirms our confidence and faith in the truth of God’s word, just as Jesus’ obedience confirmed the truth in and His devotion to God’s word and commandments. Thus, the obedience we live is not our own, but that of Christ (1 John 2:6), and Jesus was fully obedient to the word of God (John 15:10) because he knew that His commandment is life (John 12:50). In doing so, not only will we “know” God as Christ knew Him, but God will know us with the intimacy that He knew Abraham. After all, as we read in Matthew 7:21-23, knowing Christ is not the only essential thing, but Him “knowing” us seems to be of greater importance. How then will He know us? Through our doing the will of the Father (vs. 21). What is the will of the Father? The will of the Father is embedded in law, the prophets, and the rest of the scriptures, magnified in the obedience of Jesus Christ.
In the end, the essential question may not be did you know Me, but does He know “yada” us? Or, what does He know of us? If God knows us the way that He “knew” Abraham, then we will not even have to bother with the first question, because it will be made evident through both our faith and obedience in His word. In other words, if God comes to know us the way that He knew Abraham, then it is clear that we know Him.
Hear and Obey: Vayyakhel (Exodus 35:1-38:20)
The word sh’ma in Hebrew is such a beautiful and instructive word, speaking to the very heart and nature that God desires from His children. For the people of Israel are to be characterized not only by their attentiveness to God’s instruction, but also by their steadfast obedience to those very instructions. Sh’ma is a double command to “hear”—with attention, interest, and understanding—and to obey. In living the divine life, both aspects of the command are not only necessary, but without exception. In other words, to have one without the other leaves the follower susceptible to either irreparable negligence or inaction. In this week’s Torah portion, we bear witness to the fullness and reality of this command, carried out by Moses and the people… Continue Reading Vayyakhel PDF
Who is the Bride of Christ?
Here is a little excerpt from an exceptional rabbi, Mordakhai Joseph, on the bride of Christ.
For more in-depth teachings on this topic and additional Torah topics, please visit his site: teachingthelaw.org
On Earth As It Is In Heaven
Aside Posted on Updated on
When we reflect on the instructions that Jesus models for us concerning prayer, one of the key parts is when He asks for the Father’s kingdom to come and the His will to be done on earth JUST as it is in heaven. How can we truly perform His will upon this earth, if we are uninformed of how His kingdom operates in heaven? Because we are incapable of fully understanding or even accessing heavenly realities, God uses the physical world to provide us a glimpse of how His kingdom operates in heaven. Everything upon this earth is at God’s instructive disposal, and He certainly uses all things: our marriages, our parenting, our circumstances, our vocations, the natural world, etc. Through the scriptures, God has also communicated and continues to communicate kingdom matters to us via the life, the culture, the religion, and the history of His people, Israel. This is one of the reasons why the Word is so essential in our spiritual development and understanding of the kingdom, and one of the reasons why Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by EVERY word that precedes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 5:4). The book of Hebrews refers to what He uses upon this earth as a shadow or type of the things in heaven.
Hebrews 8:5
“Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when He was about to erect the tabernacle; for, ‘See,’ He says, ‘That you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.’”
Hebrews 10:1
“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of things can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.”
When the tabernacle was erected and the priesthood established, God instructed Moses to do everything according to the pattern that he saw on the mountain. As a matter of fact, God repeats this over and over, which is a clear indication that He wanted Moses to really pay attention, but that we, too, would take notice that the details matter. The physical details, though made from perishable material, were important to God because they pointed to imperishable, spiritual realities. The manner in which the tabernacle was built and the priestly services carried out, was also to be done with precise attention to detail. Why? As Hebrews states, they are a copy and shadow of what lies ahead. Tweak just one detail of the copy, and our perception of the heavenly becomes distorted. It was imperative that Moses pay attention to the details because the details would become our spiritual blueprint—a blueprint not just of heavenly realities, but of our divine calling. Many have discarded large portions of Moses and the prophets due to their belief that Christ “fulfilled” many of the sacrifices, ceremonies, and duties recorded in these books. In discarding them we are ignoring essential aspects of what God wants to teach us about both present and future realities. The Scriptures shed light on the kingdom and work of God, and though much has been fulfilled in and through the work of Christ, there is is still much to learn and to be accomplished. In Matthew 5, Jesus states,
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (5:17-18).
Jesus clearly states that the Law and the prophets did not and will not not pass away until all is accomplished. Why? Because all of it, fulfilled or not, points to past, present, and future truths and realities. To annul one stroke of it is to “erase” key details of the kingdom and leads to neglect of both the weightier AND less weightier matters of the law, both of which Jesus made clear should not be neglected (Matthew 23:23). Through the work of His Spirit, God will continue to use the law, the writings, the prophets, the works of the apostles and the certainly the life of Christ as a shadow until all is accomplished and we see and know in full. When will this happen? Jesus says when heaven and earth pass away. The book of Revelation also sheds light on when this will be:
Revelation 21:1
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth PASSED AWAY, and there is no longer any sea.”
Heaven and earth will pass away when the kingdom of God descends upon us. It is in this moment that the shadow will pass away because the full reality will be here. Why will it pass? Because it will no longer be necessary because it will be written upon our hearts and will be infused in our nature. We will know in full, we will see clearly, and our understanding will be complete. The apostle Paul speaks of this transition:
1 Corinthians 13:9-12
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak as child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.”
It’s disheartening to see how many people have either neglected the reading of the scriptures or have discarded their truths altogether. In doing so, we are distancing ourselves from the knowledge and reality of the kingdom. Everything that God communicated and recorded in the Law of Moses, in the prophets, in the writings, the gospels, and the apostles is, without question, for our present benefit. Furthermore, all of these scriptures unveil for us to the future kingdom, which the book of Hebrews speaks to. Therefore, to deem all or parts these scriptures irrelevant, or to believe that Christ fulfilling them means that He abolished them or rendered them obsolete is of the gravest errors, one that has causing many to miss the mark. Looking back, Israel’s struggle was/is that they refused to see beyond the physical aspects (the shadow) of the scriptures/Law (2 Corinthians 3), so they missed out on what is called the Spirit of the Law, or the spiritual realities embedded in the scriptures. They thought the shadow was the end all be all. Today, we spurn the shadow altogether—the sabbath, the appointed feasts, the offerings, the prophets, and the divine service portrayed in both the tabernacle and the temple—and have replaced it with our own precepts, doctrines, and theologies. The results have led to mass confusion, delusion, and a severe misunderstanding of God’s kingdom.
Until the heavenly tabernacle descends upon this earth, we are bound to this short-sighted knowledge of the kingdom. Thankfully, God has given His Spirit, His written and Living Word to those who seek after Him with a desire to know and worship Him in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23).
Sabbath
Here is a little excerpt we put together about the importance of sabbath. God has not done away with the sabbath, but it is a day that He has asked us to observe and keep holy.
The Return of God’s People
1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
The world is descending deeper into darkness with injustice abounding, lawlessness increasing, light becoming darkness and darkness light. In the midst of all that is happening, people are left wondering where is the hope? Where is the light of God?
The light will not shine until the people of God collectively rediscover who they are, what their calling is, and to Whom they belong. In the time of the apostles, there was a strong belief that they, too, were near the end. There was a sense of urgency and expectancy, like there seems to be now, for God’s people to step into their calling and be the light that God ordained them to be back when this call was commissioned in Exodus (19:5-6). God redeemed His firstborn, Israel, from Egypt to establish them as His possession, His Holy nation, His priests that would bring forth light to the nations. This was God’s intention for Israel since the beginning. It was for this reason He called Abraham forth from Babylon and promised to bless all the world through his seed. Though Israel has certainly struggled and failed at this call, God has not forgotten them, nor will they ever be forgotten by Him:
Isaiah 44:21
“Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.”
Though Israel and her sister Judah have become blind and deaf towards their identity and their calling, it is certain that God will finish, in and through them, what He ordained from the beginning. For as the apostle so confidently says,
Romans 11:28-29
“From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
And as the prophet Isaiah so eloquently tells us,
Isaiah 55:10-11
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
God’s word, His promises, and His calling for His people will be accomplished at the appointed times. When these times come and the blindness is removed, then their true identity as God’s possession will once again be fully realized. Even more, they will be given power and strength to fulfill their initial calling: being a light upon a hill, and a kingdom of priests who follow the High Priests to minister and heal nations. Before this can come about, though, God must first heal their blindness (Isaiah 42:19), circumcise their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:1-6), and they must turn and be healed by their Messiah. Although this process and calling began when Christ ministered upon the earth, we have yet to see it come full circle… at least not in the way the prophets and apostles spoke/speak of it. Nevertheless, this is what we long for, what we pray for, and what we set our on eyes on as the world eats itself alive.
Romans 8:19-21
“For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
As we eagerly wait, we fully submit ourselves to God through Christ, taking hold of our calling as fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17), fellow citizens in the household of God (Ephesians 6:19), which is of the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12-13). By the grace and mercy of God, we are being grafted into the household of God to share in the work He commissioned His chosen people, Israel, to do. If we are of the chosen, then we surrender ourselves to His purposes, His will, His Word, and His rulership, just as Christ did. Finally, we seek out what it means—to God, not to us—to be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a people of His possession. This is ONLY accomplished through His Word, and His Word alone—from Genesis to Revelation. May God grant us the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the wisdom to understand His perfect will!
Torah Discovery 