1 samuel 12:2'0-25

RE-READ 1^ST SAMUEL CHAPTER 12: 20 – end
 
Here’s the thing: God, through Samuel, is concerned that since what Israel has done is so terrible and apparently permanent, and the depth of their evil deed will have such widespread and long term effect (and the people are coming to realize it), that they’ll simply throw up their hands in despair and give up. This concern is one that many of us in this room, or who are listening, may be confronted with right this very minute thinking: I have done such evil in my life, even doing great evil as a redeemed person who knows Jesus as my Savior, how can God still love me? Why would the Lord still put up with me? How can it possibly be that in this seemingly bottomless pit of diminished circumstances in which I now find myself (circumstances caused by my own destructive behavior and attitude), that I have any reason for hope? Hope for a better future or even hope for a restored relationship with God?

And here is Samuel’s (God’s) answer to this humanly insolvable dilemma:  “just don’t turn away from following Yehoveh; serve Him with all of your heart.”

Let me paraphrase this: You indeed have done great evil, now don’t turn yourself over to it. You have done a wicked thing, but the Lord has not abandoned you, so don’t abandon Him.

Humans are the oddest creatures. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve known or counseled who either have decided, or were on the verge of deciding, that what they had done now destined them for Hell so they may as well live like it. They were doomed, and God had disposed of them (and they knew they richly deserved it), so they may as well eat, drink and be merry because what else was there to live for?

Little upsets and angers me more than to hear a Believer (or worse a Christian leader) say that grace didn’t exist until the New Testament era. That statement is either one of utter ignorance of the Scriptures or is itself an act of purposeful blindness or rebellion meant only to fulfill a manmade denominational doctrine.

If what we are reading right now isn’t about divine grace, then grace doesn’t exist at all. And by the way, grace goes back to Creation, and we can read about the Lord bestowing His grace when human merit was nowhere present, over and over in the Torah. By God’s grace Israel is forgiven for this amazing affront to God. And all He requires is for them to reestablish their trust and faith in Him and to demonstrate their sincerity by means of obedience to Him. And how is this obedience demonstrated? By scrupulously following His ways, as defined and already established in His Torah. It’s there for us to read and examine to this very day. Their circumstances would not change, but they could set their hearts on God and be faithful even within these circumstances.

The second part of God’s (and Samuel’s) concern is expressed beginning in verse 21. The concern is that on the one hand, if Israel is convinced they are doomed and with no hope, they will seek to replace Yehoveh with the false gods of the region, which amounts to placing their hopes in nothing. And on the other hand if they want to stick to God Almighty, in their great desire to show repentance and sincerity they might be tempted to do all sorts of whacky, hollow, and meaningless things that accomplish absolutely nothing. Things that do not add to their righteousness, do not atone, and are not at all demanded by God. And the effect of either of those two bad choices is to wind up even FURTHER from the Lord, offending Him even more. And yet, these two choices are probably the most common ones that Believers choose when we have greatly sinned and our guilt has overwhelmed us.

God merely says, “Come home”. Grace. Come home, the door’s open. But you must come home on God’s terms, not yours’. God’s terms seem too easy so they don’t satisfy our human desire to DO something BIG! God’s terms are the terms that have always been, but we want to do something new and spectacular. Sell our house and drop $100,000 in the collection plate. Shave our heads, put on an itchy brown burlap robe and check in to a Monastery. Pray 12 hours a day. I’ve known of people who have quit their job, leave their family behind and penniless, and go on a mission all the while thinking they are doing a righteous thing that will show the Lord just how serious they are about wanting to please Him.

Folks, it’s this same kind of misguided mentality that has kept millions (maybe billions) of men and women from coming to Messiah; the New Testament calls it The Stumbling Block. It is that faith, trust, and love of God (through Yeshua) are the only requirements for redemption. Anything we try to add to it but demeans it. However for the bulk of mankind faith is just too easy and it doesn’t satisfy our want to do something that makes us feel as though we’ve merited our salvation through deeds and expressions of worthiness. Samuel knew His people well and that they would immediately begin to think of countless actions to work their way back into God’s good graces, none of which had any value to Yehoveh whatsoever. And you know what? Those ways were bound to look suspiciously like the ways their pagan neighbors would attempt to get back into the good graces of one their gods that they thought they had offended.

So there’s the good news: God is going to conditionally forgive Israel for rejecting Him and choosing a human king to rule over them. But there’s also another piece of information supplied that although not new is humbling all over again. Verse 22 says, “For the sake of His great reputation He will not abandon His people”. Sometimes it is implied by theologians that all that God does is for our benefit; not true. The protection of His Holiness and Holy Name easily outweigh our needs and well being. His concern is less for the people of Israel (who have knowingly and purposefully violated the covenant and if not for His decision to offer grace are done for); but rather it is to uphold His Holy Name.  In fact, Samuel will continue to intercede on Israel’s behalf not so much for Israel’s sake as for the sake of God’s reputation.

So in verse 23 Samuel reiterates that he will continue to be an intercessor for Israel because to do otherwise would be a sin added to his account. This is just another way of saying, “I’m not going to intercede for you because you deserve it. I’m going to intercede for you because that’s the assignment God gave to me and for me to NOT do it would, therefore, be my sin”.

Leaders (especially of congregations) I am speaking specifically to you now so please hear this: when your people speak against you, show you disrespect or ingratitude, gripe and are never satisfied you are NOT given permission by God to abandon your post. When the people you have taught, cried with, loved, cared for, and served for years hurt you or demand more than you can possibly give, you must not stop striving to lead them in the ways of righteousness. Rather, you must persevere all the more because obviously your people need it all the more.

Easy? Hardly. But perhaps you can look at things another way. If you don’t see the people reciprocating in an appropriate way to your dedication to them, maybe you can see that for God’s unfathomable reasons it remains your holy job to teach them the ways of the Lord and to care for them on behalf of our Savior. And it would be sinful to do otherwise.

1samuel 10:1-27life-pattern of Saul, think about and picture the similar pattern that played out in Jesus’ life.

READ ACTS 2:1 - 13

The Holy Spirit acting upon men with such profound effect as to make them speak in ways that didn’t seem possible, or to see things they couldn’t possibly see, certainly happened in the New Testament, but it also happened centuries earlier in the Old Testament era.

I’d like to end today’s lesson with some food for thought. We have spent this time together exploring how we ought to consider Saul and his life in a much broader context and how (as our study of the books of Samuel continues) Saul will compare and contrast with the ideal king of Israel and the divine savior (both of which most of the Hebrews rejected). So let’s take an abbreviated look at just how eerily similar Saul’s life pattern compares to Yeshua’s, with the glaring difference being that the former is but a natural flawed man, while the latter is the incomparable, the perfect, the divine God/man.

As I list this life-pattern of Saul, think about and picture the similar pattern that played out in Jesus’ life.

1. He was born into a small family in a small village...
2. He was humble, agreeable, and very conscious of his family duties.
3. As an adult, he is given the mission to search for his father’s lost possessions and bring them home.
4. He runs into a strange seer/prophet out in a remote location; one who had been expecting him.
5. The seer/prophet recognizes the man as the one God has chosen to be king over His people
6. The seer/prophet anoints the chosen one, in a private and simple ceremony.
7. The Holy Spirit of God then descends upon him.
8. Now empowered by the Holy Spirit the chosen one begins to prophecy and profess God’s Word and do mighty deeds.
9. He is taken to a high place and there finds his arch enemy (in Saul’s case, the Philistines).
10. Some mysterious Men of God minister to him at this high place called the Hill of God.
11. Until the right moment the chosen king hides his new identity from the public at large and refuses to openly acknowledge that God has anointed him as king
12. Few of the Hebrews have any faith in him and don’t believe that this man can possibly save them.

Add to this the several references we looked at today of Saul being given the Priests’ portion and being anointed as a priest is anointed for holy consecration and we see that just as Yeshua is king and priest, so is Saul honored as king and priest.

The ultimate contrast between the failed Messiah (King Sha’ul) and the successful Messiah (King Yeshua) is that Saul is the first physical king of Israel and Yeshua will be Israel’s last physical king. But in an even larger picture we see a historical circle completed: the divine God of Israel is their original king and deliverer, then because of the people’s rebellion they demand that one of their own race become their king and deliverer, and then after an inevitable series of failures (finally as history comes to a close) the divine God of Israel appears, wrests back control from the corrupt and failed earthly ruler, and once again the Lord becomes the perfect king and deliverer for Israel.

We’ll continue in 1st Samuel chapter 10 next time.

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Mathew 5:17

NAS Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

Our Savior says two critical things in this single verse that are central to our study today (and also especially to New Testament study). First He says that He did NOT come to abolish the Law (meaning the legal section of the Torah that Jews often call the Law of Moses), nor did He come to abolish the Prophets (meaning He did not come to discard or change what Yehoveh proclaimed would eventually occur regarding Israel’s future and mankind’s redemptive history). Second He repeats (for emphasis, apparently) that while His purpose and mission is not to abolish, His purpose IS to FULFILL the biblical legal code as well as the numerous ancient prophecies of Holy Scripture (especially as pertains to Him).

I have spoken scores of times about this passage (and the next 3 verses that further cement what I’m about to tell you). I’ve explained to you that the sense of the word “fulfill” is not to “end” something (not to eradicate or stop something), which is the typical and erroneous explanation that most denominations offer. Let me quote for you Webster’s New World College Dictionary as to the meaning of the word “fulfill”. 1) To carry out something that has been promised. 2) To obey. 3) To fill all the requirements. 4) To satisfy all the conditions. All of these 4 variations of meaning of “fulfill” are generally in line with what the Greek word that is being translated (pleroo) intended. A 5th definition is offered and it is to “complete or end” in the sense of to finish writing a term paper, or deciding that your family is large enough so you’ll have no more children. If you complete a term paper and turn it in, you haven’t also abolished your term paper or the requirement to have one. The arrival of the last child you intend on having (thus “completing your family”) certainly doesn’t mean that you have abolished your older children or discarded them in favor of something or someone else.

Thus just as He so plainly said, Christ didn’t end the biblical legal code; to the contrary He obeyed it. Yeshua didn’t erase and discard the Laws of Moses; rather He carried them out to their ultimate purpose and accomplished all their requirements. So was Jesus a legalist? Should we accuse Messiah Yeshua, His disciples, Paul the Apostle and others of legalism because they continued to obey the Law of Moses? Were they not “under grace”? Did the grace offered to them collide with their obedience to the Law? If one is under grace does this, of necessity, separate a person from the obligation of obedience to God’s laws?

Let me ask you another question: are you committing “legalism” because you obey your community’s posted speed limits? Are you committing legalism because you pay your taxes? Are you a slave to the law because you don’t murder people or steal from them?

Here’s the point: the relationship that all disciples of Yeshua have with God is absolutely the result of Yehoveh’s laws that are written down in His covenants. At Mt. Sinai the God of Israel established the basis of any relationship we might hope to have with Him, and it includes laws and a justice system that enforces those laws. God established and maintains a legal relationship with the people He redeemed, Israel. And that legal relationship continues with those who are spiritually grafted-in to Israel: the Church.

Of course what entitles us and obligates us to that legal relationship between God and all members of His Kingdom is our faith and trust in His Son, the Messiah Yeshua. And ironically the legal relationship is formed from a mutual love between God and we, His worshippers. I did NOT say that Salvation comes to us by following God’s Laws; but the legitimacy of Our Savior, Yeshua, indeed WAS established by His faithfulness to God’s Laws and to bringing about what the Prophets foretold.

 

 Let me illustrate another aspect of how it is that as Believers we have agreed to subject ourselves to a way of righteous living that is defined by and expressed in God’s laws and ordinances.

 

 As an Austarlian  citizen living in Brisbane do you have a legal relationship with England? No you don’t, but if you go there you will be subject to some of their laws. If you voluntarily become an English citizen (even a dual citizen of the Australia and England) THEN you have established a legal relationship with England and are now subject to ALL of their laws. You will receive the benefits of that legal system as well as the consequences of violating its laws.

 

Yeshua is Our Messiah because He met all the biblical legal requirements. That is, He did not sin. What is sin? The breaking of God’s legal code. Does obeying all of our American laws make you or keep you a citizen? No. Neither does obeying all of God’s laws make you or keep you a citizen of Heaven. But there are varying degrees of consequences when you don’t obey God’s laws. Generally speaking God’s grace offered through trust in Jesus mitigates those penalties so that we are not eternally destroyed.

 

 

rut

Deuteronomy 6;4...SHEMA...

I would also like to point out a tiny word or phrase in the first verse; and depending on your translation it will say, “hear”, or “hearken”, or “observe”. The Hebrew word that is being translated is Shema. Those of you who have been around the Hebrew Roots type of teaching for a while should recognize that word as it has even become a Traditional name for a commandment in Deuteronomy 6. It is also known as the “hear O Israel”.

Here’s the point: in our modern English we make little distinction between the words “hear” and “hearken”. We think that hearken is just a very formal old English way of saying hear. Not true. Shema is an instruction to DO something. It is a call to action. So in our modern vocabulary  “listen and obey” or “observe” better captures the sense of the word shema or its English counterpart hearken. In Medieval times hearken specifically meant to act on what you’re being told.

Just as I have explained in earlier lessons that when our Bibles say “believe in God”, we should mentally cross out the word “believe” and insert instead “trust” in order to align the Biblical sense of it with 21^st century vocabulary, so it is when we run across the words “hear” or “hearken” we should mentally cross out those words and replace them with “listen and obey” or “observe”. That is because just as “believe” has become a rather weak word that indicates a passive intellectual acceptance of something, so has “hear and hearken” become words that just mean our ears perceived some sounds and we intellectually comprehended them. That is not at all, or ever was, the sense of the word Shema. It means that we hear and DO. We are to ACT upon what we hear.

Therefore let me recite the Shema for you in the sense it was always meant (and the sense in which the Hebrews understood it) and just see if the changing of that one little word from hear to obey doesn’t suddenly put a whole new light on it:

^NAS Deuteronomy 6:4 "OBEY, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! ⁵ "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.


Further let me remind you of two things: where the word LORD is, in Hebrew it is actually YHWH. And where the word heart is used, heart was NOT thought of (in that era) as the place where our emotions reside. Rather the heart was the equivalent of brain. The heart was the where our intellect resided. In our modern vocabulary we should cross our heart whenever we see it in the Bible (OT or NT) and insert the word mind.

Let me read this basic God-principle called the Shema for you once again, and then we’ll close. And remember, Yeshua says that the Shema is the MOST foundational God-principle of them all; the 10 Words (10 Commandments) are based on the Shema, as are all the 613 laws. So it’s important that we get the truest possible sense of what God is communicating to us.

^NAS Deuteronomy 6:4 "OBEY, O Israel! YEHOVEH is our God, YEHOVEH is one! ⁵ "And you shall love YEHOVEH your God with all your MIND and with all your soul and with all your might.

That puts it in a little different perspective doesn’t it? Do you see the strength and passion of this statement and do-ability of that statement? This is a kingly decree that is not to be ignored. The requirement is that we understand who God is intellectually and THEN let it envelope our souls as well, and then we ACT upon this understanding with every fiber of our physical and spiritual being. HEAR or HEARKEN are powerful, not passive, Biblical words. And we will find those same words, with the same meaning and intent, in the New Testament as well.

We’ll continue with Moses’ eloquent and impassioned sermon next week.

studies from
 Tom-Bradford

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EVERY CRISTIAN MUST BE KNOW

Biblical Reasons For Every Christian To Evangelize

By Alan Furst

    How important is evangelism?  Is it meant to be a concern for only certain Christians?  Is it just the job of missionaries and pastors and evangelists? Why bother at all to convert people who are content with their lifestyles and beliefs?  After having been a Christian for more than a decade and after having served overseas as a missionary, I sat down one day to discover biblical reasons to be motivated in evangelism.  This is the list I discovered.

The Lostness of the Lost

    In Luke 15, we read three parables about things lost:  a lost coin, a lost sheep and a lost son.  It is obvious that Jesus is talking about sinners repenting and returning to their rightful owner.  But it is not until the third parable about the lost son that we get an insight into the meaning of the word “lost.”  Twice we read that this son “was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  Deadness and lostness are equated.

    Other New Testament references use this exact same word.  Luke 19:10 says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  John 3:16 speaks of Christ coming “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

    In Greek two thoughts are combined to produce this word which we translate “lost.”  The first indicates separation and departure.  A relationship has ceased to be what it once was.  The second clearly means ruin, death and destruction.  That is what it means to be lost.

    • The people I know that do not love Christ are lost souls.

The Certainty of Eternity

    Jesus says in Matthew 24:35 that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”  God is an eternal being and this makes His words of eternal significance.

    A few of these eternal words found in Daniel 12:1-3 give us an eternal insight.  “…Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt….”  From these words we can conclude three things that ought to concern us:  (1) all men will exist forever, (2) all men will experience a resurrection, and (3) all men everywhere, since the beginning of time, will experience either everlasting life or everlasting contempt.

    • The question is not whether there is life after death, but whether a man will have God’s gift of life after death.

The Horror of Hell

    This is not Hollywood’s version, but rather the Holy Spirit’s version.  “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power” (2 Thes. 1:8-9).

    The Book of Revelation adds to this warning, “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:11).  “The devil...was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.  They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever....  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:10, 14-15).  

    These verses are clear warnings to those who do not repent.  Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:5).  These are the words of Christ, and describe the fate of the unbelieving.

    The Prophet Isaiah, at the end of his book, tells us of those who rebel against the Lord – “their worm will not die, nor their fire be quenched” (Isa. 66:24).

    • Do you know of anyone that you would like to see spend eternity in this way?

The Exclusiveness of Christ

    Many voices are saying these days that basically sincerity and simple goodness are enough to get you into heaven.  God, who does not lie nor deceive, has something different to say about this matter.  “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior” (Isa. 43:11).

    Without making any excuses or defenses Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  The apostles boldly agreed when they said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  And again the Apostle Paul says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...” (1 Tim. 2:5).

    If we believe these words then we have no questions about the destiny of all men who practice sin even if they have never heard the Gospel.  Nor does there remain any doubt about our sincere neighbors who adhere to a different savior than the one revealed in the Bible.  Because there is only one Savior, there is only one entrance into the Holy City.

    • That way is really a narrow way!

The Compelling Love of Christ

    Paul defines love for us in terms we can understand in First Corinthians chapter 13.  Among the many things he says, we find that love “is not self-­seeking.”  As I understand divine love, it always has in mind how it can accomplish the highest good in another person.  As soon as it fails to seek the highest good, it fails to be God’s love.  God certainly does not desire that any should perish nor does He deliberately set out to harm someone just for the sake of harming him.

    Paul was compelled by this kind of love.  “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all...and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15).  If we claim to have the love of God then we must also have a concern for the lost.

    The Apostle John agrees when he refers to the love of God in First John.  The highest good for any man anywhere is to be right with God.  John writes, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).  It would require theological gymnastics to escape the relationship between the demonstration of God’s love for us in Christ and the love of God born in us who believe in Him and are witnesses of His wonderful love.

    • If I love God, I must make Him known.

   

The Promise of His Return

    “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).  “...The Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels” (2 Thes. 1:7).  Surely Jesus is coming soon.  We do not know how long we have left and once men are ­ushered before His throne there will be no further opportunities for the Gospel to be preached.

    “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Pet. 3:9-10).  Such knowledge should spur us on and see to it that God’s heaven is filled with a greater multitude than at the present moment.

    • Lord, teach us to number our days!

The Accountability of Each Man

    In Second Corinthians 5:10 the Holy Spirit lets us know ahead of time that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  In the context of chapters four and five we are very much aware of the fact that Paul is talking about preaching Christ (4:5), eternal values vs. temporal values (4:18), and the suffering that accompanies the preaching of the Gospel.  Christians alone are the ambassadors of Christ with the responsibility of persuading men to follow Christ.

    The questions Paul asks in Romans 10:14-15 are for the church.  “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”  The obvious ­answers to the questions are, they can’t, they can’t, and they can’t.  The responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the church.  Being a member of the church, that means you and me, too.

    • Are you ready to give account?

The Greatness of the Commission

    In Matthew 28:18-20, the words we read are not just good words to end a great book.  According to the first chapter of Ephesians they were spoken by the Head of the church and the Sovereign Governor of the entire created universe.  That’s quite a commission!

    Furthermore, this fabulous commission was given exclusively to the church.  “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).  “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known...” (Eph. 3:10).  Without a doubt, that mani­fold wisdom includes how a man can get right with God through faith in Christ Jesus.

    • Are you doing your job?

    Before you finish this article, I would like to encourage you to write a list of people you know who have not given their lives to Jesus in repentance and faith.  Then reread the reasons to be motivated in evangelism.  The question we should ask ourselves is not, “Should I be involved in evangelism?” but rather, “Lord, how can I present Christ to these people so that they will be saved?”  Is there a biblical reason not to do this?

    – Reprinted from an earlier Herald.  Used by permission.

hebraic undertanding Gospel of JESUS

 Hebraic understanding of the Gospel of Yeshua

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“Judge not, that you be not judged.”

 

What an opening to this week’s reading. Yeshua did plenty of judging. Paul did plenty of judging. We are told elsewhere in the Scriptures to judge the prophets, and to be careful of the company we keep (which is a form of judgement). So what does this mean? In the context of this discourse, which we call ‘the sermon on the mount’, it means to take your eye off what others are doing and concentrate on your own position. Time here does not allow for a complete reflection on that sermon, but sufficient to say, read it ALL in one reading, and you will discover that the general thrust is about repentance from past allegiances (to the traditions of men) and to turn (repent) to the correct observances of the Torah which God gave to Moses, on another mountain, centuries earlier.

Yeshua then states that the gate is narrow, and difficult is the way that leads to life. What a challenge that should be to the ‘greek mindset’ of those who preach a prosperity gospel in our day if they took heed to the words of Yeshua. “Come to Jesus and all your problems will be solved” is the disingenuous message of those who should know better. “Make a verbal proclamation of faith and you are in” is the equally deceptive call. Where in our churches today do we hear the call to repentance? To turning around. To right living.

Look carefully at chapter 7 verses 22,23. Probably the most judgemental words in the whole of the Scriptures. Do you think, as I do, that there may be many very disappointed people when ‘the roll is called up yonder’?  Even though the consistent message throughout the Scriptures is that God requires obedience to His instructions for righteous living (Torah) from ALL who are His. Many of our churches today persist in teaching that the Torah of God is obsolete. Well, let us look just one more time at Matthew 7:23. “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice Torahlessness (‘anomia’ in greek). How plain is that? It is more than plain, it is frighteningly plain.

Now, the first century audience of Yeshua would not have had the slightest difficulty in understanding the message. Torah observance was the way of life for them, from which they had become diverted. Most of us (gentile believers) were taught from childhood that Torah was obsolete. It is only when one reads the Scriptures through Hebraic eyes that the truth becomes crystal clear.

And what does Yeshua tell us is our reward? We will be likened to a wise man, who built on rock and not on sand. So when trials and tribulation appears, we will be established on solid foundations. What a privilege. Following this discourse, there are two examples of divine healing recounted. The first, a leper, was Jewish. When he was healed Yeshua told him to go and show himself to the local priest. This was pure, simple Torah observance.  (Torah reflection “Tazaria” on Leviticus 13 for my comment).

The second was a Roman Centurion, a man of authority in Capernaum. His great faith was used to intercede on behalf of his faithful servant. Yeshua used this occasion to prophecy that many non-Jews would be included in the Kingdom of heaven. The basis of that inclusion is by faith alone. However, it is reasonable to conclude that such faith would manifest itself in more than mere words. On the basis of the earlier statement in Matthew 7:23 above, such faith should lead us to live, to actually practice, the life prescribed by God Almighty for those who are His. The Apostle Paul referred to this (Romans 11) inclusion as a ‘grafting in’ to the natural Olive Tree, which is Israel.The text continues with even more people healed, drawing Matthew to remember the prophecy in Isaiah 53 about Messiah bearing our sickness in His own body.

But there is one more observation to be made from the very last verse of our passage. It seems unthinkable that a whole town would band together to implore Yeshua to leave them. To go away and not come back. The reason would appear to be that they had been persuaded by the swine herders, into whose pigs the demons had entered before they were drowned, that Yeshua was bad for business! It is true today isn’t it.