Back to Part One
Lessons
from the Wilderness, Volume 46: Halakah, Part Two of our discussion about Halakah,
ha’Tallit Gadol.
©2021,
David E. Robinson: At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries
Lessons
from the Wilderness, Volume 46
Halakah …ha’Tallit Gadol…
The Great Shawl [i] [ii] [iii] [iv]
Bəmīḏbar (בְּמִדְבַּר, literally "In the desert
[of]") – 15:37-41
[Numbers 15:37-41] Tanakh]
37The Lord
said to Moses as follows:
38Speak to
the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the
corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue
to the fringe at each corner. 39That shall be your fringe; look at
it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do
not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. 40Thus you
shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.
41I the Lord am your God, who brought you
out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the Lord your God.
Erev tov, beloved. We left off before
Chanukah with a plea to those who are either observing the Mitzvot of Torah or
have just discovered the foundation of their faith, to be respectful of the way
they conduct themselves with regards toward our Jewish brethren. By this I
mean, let us not appropriate, but let us imitate, with reverence and humility,
the lessons they have learned over five millennium.
There
are enough rights and wrongs to go around today that to begin to list them
would appear to be a criticism of those who are just now (or have been for a while)
discovering the roots of the “faith given once for all”. Let us be clear on what “halakah” (or”halacha”
if you prefer) is. According to Chabad.org, “Halakhah (also
spelled halachah) refers to Jewish law. Per its literal translation,
“the way,” halachah guides the day-to-day life of a Jew.” [v]
We can enhance this explanation by stating that the central component of the
Jewish faith is the acceptance of Jewish law (halacha). This is to understand
that YHVH’s commandments were given to Abraham, Jacob, and Moshe, and these
were binding upon their descendants and all those who chose to accept
them. Within Judaism today, there are notable differences in what and
how these commandments are observed. One of the most debated differences is
between the Written Torah, the Torah she-bich’tav
in Hebrew and the Oral Torah, the Torah she-ba’al peh. The Torah
she-bich’tav consists of the five books of Moses, the latter books of the Prophets,
and then the remainder of what are called the Writings: this is the Tanakah[vi],
the Hebrew Scriptures.
Just
how fundamental are these laws to the Jewish faithful? Here is a lengthy but
accurate explanation...
“…God thereupon
revealed to Moses all the commandments and all the statutes and judgments,
which Moses communicated to the people (ib. 31) This revelation on Mt.
Sinai is therefore the chief foundation of the Jewish
faith, and
guarantees the divine origin of the Law as contained in the Pentateuch. Before
his death Moses wrote
down the five
books named after him (the Pentateuch) and gave them to the people (ib.
xxxi. 24– 26); and he commanded them to observe everything therein written,
and to transmit it to their children as the teaching of God. However much the
succeeding generations of Israel, after the death of Moses, fell off from God
and became idolaters, there has been in each generation a group of pious men
who have guarded faithfully the holy inheritance and transmitted it to their
children. And through this careful transmission the teachings of Moses have been
preserved unchanged through all ages. It is therefore set up as one of the
fundamental dogmas of the Jewish religion that the Torah contained in the
Pentateuch is identical with that which was revealed by God to Moses on Mt.
Sinai (Maimonides’ commentary on Sanh. xi. 1). No changes have been made
therein except with regard to the characters in which it was written (Sanh.
21b).
The
Torah contains rules and regulations which should govern the life of man and
lead him to moral and religious perfection. Every rule is expressive of a
fundamental ethical, moral, or religious idea. Those regulations in which human
intelligence is unable to discern the fundamental idea are, through belief in
their divine origin, vouchsafed the same high religious importance; and the ethical
value of submission to the will of God where its purpose is not understood is
even greater. In observing the Law man’s good intention is the chief point (see
NOMISM).
These
written laws are supplemented through oral teachings; and the interpretation of
the written doctrines is entrusted to the sages and scholars, who expound them according
to prescribed rules. They add to or deduct from the individual regulations; and
in many instances, when it is for the good of the Law, they may annul an entire
clause. In such cases, however, the whole body of scholars, or at least a
majority, must agree as to the necessity and correctness of the measure (see
AUTHORITY; ORAL LAW). Aside from such minor changes and occasional
annulments, which are made in the spirit of the Law, and are intended to
sustain the entire Torah (“Bittulah shel torah zehu yissudah”, Men. 99b),
the Law is to be regarded, in whole or in parts, as unchangeable and
irrevocable. It is a firm article of faith in the Jewish religion that this Law
will never be changed, and that no other doctrines will be given by God to man
(Maimonides, l.c.).
Of
many clauses of the Law, it is expressly stated that they are meant to be
eternal rules (“hukkot ‘olam”), or that they are obligatory on all generations
(“le-dorot ‘olam”); and there is not a single indication in the Holy Scriptures
that the Law is ever to be replaced by other revealed doctrines. The new
covenant of which Jeremiah speaks (xxxi. 31–33) is not to be made on the basis
of a new revealed law, but on the basis of the old law, which shall take firmer
root in the hearts of the believers. It was even promised to the Israelites that
new prophets should arise, and they were commanded to harken to the words of
these prophets (Deut. xviii. 15–18). But the new prophets can reveal no
new law, and a prophet who sets up a law which conflicts with the old doctrines
is a false prophet (ìb. xiii. 1–4). And also, a prophet who declares the
old law to be valid for a certain period only, is a false prophet, for his statement
conflicts with the teachings of Moses, the greatest of all prophets, who
plainly says in many passages (Ex. xii. 14, 17 et seq.) that the
regulations shall be obligatory forever (Maimonides, “Yad,” Yesode ha-Torah,
ix.; idem, “Moreh,” ii. 39; Saadia, “Emunot we-De’ot,” iii. 7–10). The
words “It [the commandment] is not in heaven” (Deut. xxx. 12) are
explained in the Talmud (B. M. 59b) as meaning that there is
nothing left in heaven that has yet to be revealed in order to elucidate the
Law. A decision or a legal question based only on such a heavenly revelation is
not recognized (Maimonides, “Yad,” l.c.).
The
doctrine of the unchangeableness of the Law is further emphasized by another
fundamental dogma of Judaism, which declares the prophecy of Moses to surpass
that of any of his predecessors or successors (Maimonides, l.c.). That
the prophecy of Moses is different from and superior to that of any other
prophet is explicitly stated in Num. xii. 8. Whether this difference was one of
quality, as Maimonides thinks (“Yad,” l.c. vii. 6; “Moreh,” ii.35), or
one of degree only, as Albo (l.c. iii. 17) supposes, is immaterial. The
fact is sufficient that the prophecy of Moses was superior to that of any other
prophet. The Torah was given through Moses, of whose superior gift God Himself
convinced the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. Should another prophet arise and declare
the Law given by God through Moses to be invalid, then he would have to be a
greater prophet than Moses; this, however, is inconceivable according to the
fundamental doctrine which declares Moses to be the greatest prophet of all time.
Those prophets are not to be believed who declared the old covenant to be
dissolved, and that they were sent by God to make a new one; for one cannot be
as firmly convinced of their divine authority as of that of the old covenant,
which they themselves do not deny (Abraham ibn Daud, in “Emunah Ramah,” ii.;
comp. also Albo, l.c. iii. 19).
The
fact that the Law was given to man, and that he was requested to observe its
precepts, implies that it depends on man alone whether or not he will do so.
The freedom of the human will is explicitly announced in the Bible also:
“I
call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before
you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both them
and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou
mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy
life, and the length of thy days” (Deut. xxx. 19–20).
The
Mishnah teaches: “Everything has been foreseen by God, and yet He has given to
man freedom of will” (Ab. iii. 15). Also, the Talmud plainly teaches of
the freedom of will: “Everything is in the hand of God, with the exception of
the fear of God, and piety: these alone are dependent upon the will of man” (Ber.
33b). “When anyone would keep his life clean and virtuous, he is aided; but
if he chooses to keep it unclean and wicked, he is not hindered,” says Simeon
ben Lakish (Shab. 104a). The teachers of post-Talmudic times all
regarded the liberty of the human will as a fundamental doctrine of Judaism.
Although it is difficult to reconcile this doctrine with the knowledge or
prescience of God, various attempts have been made to effect such a
reconciliation, in order that it might not become necessary to deny either of
them (comp. Saadia, “Emunot we-De‘ot,” ii. 9; “Cuzari,” v. 20; Maimonides,
“Moreh,” iii. 20; Crescas, “Or Adonai,” II. i. 4; Albo, l.c. iv. 5). The
liberty and responsibility of man justify some retribution for his acts:
rewards for the observance of divine precepts
and.
commandments, and punishment for their transgression. A just retribution
presupposes God’s providence and His omniscience. The belief in God’s
omniscience—that is, the belief that He sees and knows everything, even the
secret thoughts of man, and that nothing can take place in the world otherwise
than by His will—is one of the fundamental dogmas of Judaism.”[vii]
So, what does
this all mean, considering that the Jewish faith has splintered itself into may
different movements? Let us look at
these briefly, with a short description of each:
Classical Reform
Classical Reform affirms that Judaism is a religious faith with broad,
inclusive values that can embrace all people, including interfaith families.
Its worship traditions, including an authentically Jewish liturgy that is
primarily in English, offer a particularly accessible experience that
intermarried couples can fully share together.
Conservative
In 2018, a reported 14% of American Jews were affiliated with the Conservative
movement, a broad movement which works to change within the framework of
evolving Jewish Law. Conservative synagogues may have a traditional Hebrew or
less traditional liturgy, may or may not be egalitarian, and have members with
a range of beliefs and practices.
Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism is adhered to by around 10% of American Jews and consists of
sects with various levels of engagement with modernity. The movement includes
Modern Orthodox Jews, who engage fully with the modern world, and also includes
groups that may shun or minimize their exposure to secular ways of life.
Reconstructionist
Reconstructionist Judaism sees Judaism as an evolving Jewish civilization, with
religion as the centerpiece of that civilization. They reject the idea of Jews
being the chosen people and have created blessings and prayers that reflect
their ideology.
Reform
Reform Judaism is the most popular Jewish denomination in the United States
today. The movement runs camps, youth groups, many synagogues, and
several Jewish day schools.
Renewal
Jewish Renewal does not consider itself a formal denomination like Reform,
Conservative, or Orthodoxy. Rather, it calls itself trans-denominational, a
movement that embraces Jews from all of the denominations as well as
unaffiliated Jews, Jews that were finding spiritual homes in Eastern religions,
and those who are not Jewish.
Secular Humanist
Secular Humanist Jews define Judaism as the history, culture, books, music, art,
food, rituals, and practices of the Jewish people. [viii]
Now add to this mix the
following:
The Karaites
The Karaites represent
Karaite Judaism or Karaism (also spelt Qaraite Judaism or Qaraism), which is a
Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone
as its supreme authority in Halakha (Jewish religious law) and theology.
The Satmar Hasidim
The Satmar Hasidm are an
Ultra-Orthodox sect of Judaism. It is characterized by extremely strict
religious adherence, complete rejection of modern culture, and fierce
anti-Zionism.
Jewish
Witches, Wiccans and Neopagans
Jewish
Witches, Wiccans and Neopagans are growing movements of secular
Jews—mainly, but not exclusively, women—that say they are reclaiming the divine
feminine and goddess worship. With strong ties to eco-feminism, practitioners
are using new liturgies and rituals to create diverse and radically inclusive
Jewish communities.[ix]
With so
many sects, how do we avoid offense? Truth is, you cannot. Truth is even the
true Word of God offends. It is supposed to. It will offend some who do not or
will not yield to the control of the Spirit of God over themselves; the reason is
it does not fit their lifestyles. It will offend groups who are bound by a
religious spirit. Then there are those who it will offend, straight into the embrace
of a loving God and Father, who will then lead them to His Son.
There are
realities I have to mention though. Those of us who follow the tenets of
Messianic Judaism as laid out by Yeshua and the apostles are ostracized, and
condemned as being “Christians playing as Jews”, sort of like LARPs: “Live
Action Role Playing”. It is bad enough if you are Gentile, following the
Hebraic Perspective of our Master; but if you are Jewish and a follower of
Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, then you are considered to no longer be a Jew, blood line
or not. And how do the Christians [and
Jews] feel about Messianic believers? At the least, we are seen as oddballs, pretending
to be something we are not – Jews (not true, for Gentiles we are, Gentiles we
stay – we are just grafted into the root of Israel by acceptance of the Messiah
and just want to follow His ways). At the worst, we are accused of either
trying to hi-jack a culture, or we are putting ourselves under the “yoke” of
legalism. Let me be a bit more specific here. What about
the Messianic Gentile? Well, that one is
easy. They are denounced by just about everyone, Jew and Christian alike. Christians
call us “Judaizers”, and the Jews call us frauds. For a Messianic Jew, by Jewish
law itself, they are seen as having turned their back on over 5000 years of
tradition and identity and are denied citizenship and declared “dead” to their
families and friends; this is because they are considered to no longer be Jews
as they are now declared apostate. To Christians, they (Messianic Jews) are
badgered about keeping the Law of Moses, about keeping Sabbath, about bringing
themselves under the “burden of the Law”, despite the fact that Scripture says
otherwise. They should, some say, just give up their “Jewish” ways and
heritage.
Deuteronomy
30:9-20
9 rThe Lord your God will make you
abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb
and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground.
sFor the Lord will again
take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,
10 when you obey the
voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are
written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul.
11 “For this commandment that I command you today
tis not too hard for you,
neither is it far off. 12 uIt
is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and
bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is
it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and
bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word
is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, vI
have set before you today life and good, death and evil.
16 If you
obey the commandments of the Lord your God1
that I command you today, wby
loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his
commandments and his statutes and his rules,2
then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the
land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if xyour
heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other
gods and serve them, 18 yI declare to you today,
that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are
going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you
today, that I have set before you life and death, zblessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that
you and your offspring may live, 20 loving
the Lord your God, obeying his voice aand
holding fast to him, for bhe
is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in cthe land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” [x]
In our walk, what should we do? Who
won’t we offend if we walk uprightly? We will offend many, Jew, Secularists, or
Christian, because we dare to walk in the fullness of His word. Please, allow
me to repeat myself here, for in truth, what was written still fits [see
endnote]:
“…I am a
teacher of the Hebraic Perspective and have had “peace-loving, God Fearing”
Christians spitting in my face, waving their bible six inches from my nose, while
balling up their fists, all to “correct” me of my misguided ways. All of this
because we read the Bible differently: we see it as what it is, an ancient near
east document, a Jewish document, penned by men under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and delivered to a nation
whose duty was to inform the rest of the world about the one true God. When
they failed, God had to correct them; in their fear of continued failure, they
withdrew into themselves and locked up the knowledge of God in their (man-made)
“religion”[xi];
to save them and the rest of mankind God sent His only begotten Son to remove
the manufactured wall that separated Jew and Gentile and to correct the
man-made traditions of the elders of Israel and to bring back the ancient paths
so that all men could walk in love toward one another and with a Holy God – by
the Torah through faith, as defined by the Son of God. We who observe Torah do
so not because of any salvational issue – for salvation is of Messiah alone –
but because we understand that the Father gave us a way to walk and because we
love Him, we want to do what he says.
I have lost no
"freedom" in my walk, I, in fact, was set free and delivered from 40
years of addiction and the cycle of vice that accompanied it by my faith and
obedience to the Word of God. So, you see, I have issues when people call God's
word bondage, or equate the commandments of God with the doctrines of devils (I
will expound on this momentarily). This also becomes an issue with me because
when any come against the Torah, they are in fact calling my Savior a liar for
did He not say in Matthew 5:17-20:
Matthew
5:17–20 (NET)
5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I
have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.17 5:18 I18
tell you the truth,19 until heaven and earth pass away
not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter20 will pass from the
law until everything takes place. 5:19 So anyone who
breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others21
to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them
and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 5:20 For
I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the
law22
and the Pharisees,23 you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. [xii]
Last
time I checked heaven and earth were still here, and all things have not yet
been fulfilled and will not be until this has happened:
1 Cor
15:21-28 DRB
21 For by a man
came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead. 22 And as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But everyone
in his own order: the first fruits, Christ: then they that are of Christ, who
have believed in his coming. 24 Afterwards the end: when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father: when he shall have
brought to naught all principality and power and virtue. 25 For
he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 And
the enemy, death, shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his
feet. And whereas he saith:
27 All things are put
under him; undoubtedly, he is excepted, who put all things under him. 28 And
when all things shall be subdued unto him, then the Son also himself shall be
subject unto him that put all things under him,
that God may
be all in all. [xiii]
So,
either our Messiah lied or maybe those who claim Torah observance is “legalism”
just do not have as firm a grasp on the word as they believe they do.
As a disclaimer,
I add this: I commend and respect those who stand their ground and defend what
they believe though; my intention is never to try to convince anyone of
anything different, for that is not my place: that belongs to the Holy Spirit
alone to bring all into the truth. Therefore,
one is free to accept or reject any part of God's word that they please. From
there, that issue is between them and God. Yet, to be fair, there are
problems within the Messianic movement. We ourselves make mention of it as a “Messy – antic”
problem. There are many in the movement who have swung the pendulum too far to
the other side, but then, there is nothing new about that, is there?
These diverse elements of the Messianic movement need loving correction just as
some elements of Christianity do (or do you think the Westboro Baptist Church[xiv] is mainstream?).
For those I fellowship with, we know we are saved only by the blood of the Lamb,
and we serve God and prove our love for Him by keeping His word out of love,
not duty or obligation. What child does not want to please their father by
obeying the instructions a loving father has set before them?
That is what we do
for the word also says this:
1 John 2:1-6
LEB
2 My little children, I am writing
these things to you in order that you
may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous one, 2 and hea
is the propitiationb for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole
world. 3 And by this
we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. 4 The one who says, “I
have come to know him,” and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in this person. 5 But
whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has been
perfected. By this we know that we are in him. 6 The one who says that he resides in him ought also to walkc just as that
one walked. [xv]
To walk as Yeshua did
means we have to be what He was –Torah observant. If He was not, He cannot be
the Messiah for the word says:
Deuteronomy
17:15 (HCSB)
15 “...you
are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. k Appoint
a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who
is not of your people...” [xvi]
To be King of the
Jews, and to be King of Israel, He had to be a Torah observant Jew. We see the
requirement here:
Deuteronomy
17:18-19 (HCSB)
18 When he is seated on
his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a
scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to
remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he
may learn to •fear v the Lord his God, to observe all the
words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. 20 Then
his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this
command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue ruling many
years w
over Israel. [xvii]
Our walk, our halakha
with God, is our sanctification, our becoming holy unto Him. God calls us
to be holy as He is Holy, for Heb 12:14 says:
"...Pursue
peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord..."
Now if one picks and chooses their way through the word of God, and
casts off this here and disregards that over there in favor of that which fits
their comfort zone, lifestyle or in other words, a "theology" that
limits the amount of change they should be bringing into their lives, how can
they then tell the sacred from the profane if they do not allow God to define
it for them in His holy word?
1 John 3:1-10 LEB
3 See what sort of
love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and
we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know
him. 2 Dear friends,
now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been revealed. We
know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him
just as he is. 3 And
everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as that one is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is
lawlessness.
5 And you know that
that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin.
Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: the one
who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin
is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For
this reason, the Son of God was
revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil.
9 Everyone who is
fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has
been fathered by God. 10 By
this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone
who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not
love his brother. [xviii]
Figure 1 From TORAHPHOBIA by Lew White, 2014
Sin
is lawlessness.
Those who live
strictly on "grace" live in lawlessness and thus they are under
mercy, not true grace. As Messianic believers, we understand that grace is
from Genesis to Revelation, and we also understand what true grace is; true
grace is what gives us the ability to obey God the Father’s and Jesus'
words (commandments, statutes, ordinances). We can then walk upright, righteous
before God for we walk in obedience. And what have we lost by doing so? Jesus
came to destroy the works of the devil, not the Torah of God or God's words…”[xix]
In answer to a remark made above, I must ask all of you a
question.
Are the Laws of Moses, given by God, or are they the works of the devil?
I will elaborate on this next post. This has
been a lot to chew on, so let us stop here. Next time we meet, I will explain
how important it is that we stop worrying about offending man but concern
ourselves with not offending our Creator. The Tallit Gadol has an
enormous role to play in all of this; and we shall see this in Part Three. All that we learn here takes preparation. For
ones’ best understanding of the topics we discuss here, groundwork must be
done. I believe we have set the stage.
Till we meet
again, shalom.
May the love
of our Creator YHVH and His Machiach Yeshua watch over you all
And may He
dearly bless you, my beloved,
Amein.
Endnotes:
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subjects discussed.
[iv] Author’s note:
Throughout this study I may be using the NET Bible® and the NET Notes®: within
the notes you will see symbols like this: (א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are
abbreviations used by the NET Bible® for identifying the principal manuscript
evidence that they (authors and translators of the NET Bible®) used in
translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see
their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete
explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible
uses them.
[vi] Tanakah (or Tanakh) is an acronym derived
from the names of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible: Torah
(Instruction, or Law, also called the Pentateuch), Neviʾim (Prophets),
and Ketuvim (Writings).
[vii] The Jewish Encyclopedia, A
DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE
JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY; Isidore Singer,
Ph.D., Volume 12, Article “Theology-The Torah”, pgs. 133,134 ©2002, Varda
Books, ©,1905, 1909 by Funk and Wagnalls Company, all rights of translation
reserved.
s
Zeph. 3:19, 20; See ch. 28:63
1
Septuagint; Hebrew lacks If you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God
b
Ps. 27:1; 66:9; John 11:25
[xi] The Father never has wanted a
religion, but a relationship. Therefore, all “religion” is man-made, not by God’s
design.
·
[The
following
notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes. Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations
designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright © 2005 by Biblical Studies
Press, L.L.C. www.netbible.com
All rights reserved. Numbering system is unique to
NET® Notes...]
17 tn Grk “not
come to abolish but to fulfill.” Direct objects (“these things,” “them”) were
frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context but have been supplied
here to conform to contemporary English style.
18 tn Grk
“For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has
not been translated.
19 tn Grk
“Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
20 tn Grk
“Not one iota or one serif.”sn The smallest letter refers
to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to
a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).
21 tn Grk
“teaches men” (in a generic sense, people).
22 tn Or “that of
the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
23 sn See the note
on Pharisees in 3:7.
·
End “NET®” notes
[xiv] Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka,
Kansas, is an American hyper-Calvinist “primitive Baptist” assembly. It is
known for engaging in inflammatory homophobic and anti-American pickets, speech
against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian
denominations.
a
Or “he himself” (emphatic)
b
Or “expiation”; or “atoning sacrifice”
c
Some manuscripts have “to walk in this way”
•
No single English word conveys every aspect of the word fear in this
phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and
obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.
w
17:20 Lit will lengthen days on his kingdom
[xix] This has been adapted from my
original blog post at: https://www.asearchformessiah.net/2014/02/in-defense-of-god-loving-rebuke-of.html
.
I have edited some of the language and added proper references. I also have
changed the phrase from the original post “Hebrew Roots movement” to the way I
look at the word now, as the “Hebraic Perspective”. Sadly, the term “Hebrew Roots” has
been coopted by elements that have done damage to the brand by their actions
and practices.
