Weekly Torah Studies
Today's Torah
Portion:
The Hebrew Alphabet:
Shin (continued)
Shin (continued)
How Far Should we Go – in Hearing
God? Extreme Love – ultimate Shema
How
much do you love your Heavenly King? Are you thankful to Him for all the love
and blessings He has showered upon you? Just how far are willing to go to
demonstrate your love for Yahweh? Do
you love Him enough to go to the extreme?
A
mighty warrior of valor is much more than a high ranking officer who leads
soldiers into battle. In Spiritual terms, a TRUE mighty warrior of valor is any
true Christian who is in THE KING’S Army and is willing to go yet one step
farther – beyond the comforting safe zone – beyond the limits of what even
seems possible – to see that his KING’S needs and desires are taken care of.
A
true warrior of valor is one who would risk his or her own life, just to see
that their KING gets a cool drink of water.
Throughout
history there have been countless battles, in which innumerable soldiers have
fought. But for those who merely fought, doing only the minimum required or
just what had to be done, their names are buried in the sands of time. They
were present, serving their king, yet they aren’t remembered because they
didn’t love their king enough to go beyond the ordinary.
Yet,
going beyond the ordinary is exactly what it takes to be a mighty of warrior of
valor. And in all those countless battles, the Mighty Warriors of Valor ARE
remembered, to this day – not for WHO they were - so much as for WHAT THEY DID
to demonstrate their EXTREME love and commitment to their King.
Where
soldiers just show up and do what is required, a Mighty Warrior of Valor goes
above and beyond what is merely required, to honor his king.
What does it mean to be a mighty warrior
of valor in the Cause of God? What does it take? In King David’s day, there
were thousands of soldiers who drew the sword in defense of Israel. From out of
all these warriors, thirty-seven of them earned a special place, being
remembered in Yahweh’s Word as special, righteous warriors of special
valor, whose heroic deeds are immortalized in Scripture. Of these 37 warriors
of valor, three earned an even greater special distinction, for a specific act
of selfless service to their king. God honored these three men, above all the
rest, and we remember them as MIGHTY WARRIORS OF VALOR.
King David was in a stronghold, the cave
of Adullam. This photo was taken looking out through entrance of a cave in
Adullum Grove National Park. In the book of 2 Samuel, David, battle-weary and
beleaguered, is recorded as longing for a drink of water from a well by the
gate of Bethlehem. This must have been a very special well, with very delicious
water, so much so that David was longing for a drink of it.
But even in David’s wish for a drink of
this water, there was the sense of how impossible it would be to receive this
desire. For Bethlehem was the hold of the enemy.
2 Samuel 23:14-15
“And David was then in an hold, and the
garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed, and said,
Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is
by the gate!”
King David didn’t order anyone to get him
a drink of water! He was just thinking out loud. All of David’s men would still
be wonderful and obedient soldiers, who had done their duty to David, without
satisfying the king’s impossible wish. But for three of David’s men, just doing
their duty wasn’t enough. They were so loyal to David and so committed to
serving him, that carrying out his slightest wishes was something they
determined to do.
But before we finish this part of the
story, let’s look into the backstory of these three mighty warriors of valor.
“These
be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the
seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lifted up his
spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.”
Next was Eleazar. In the Name of Yahweh, he had defied the Philistines to
their face. And when he was all by himself, he attacked them! He fought with
them for so long that his hand became cramped around his sword and he couldn’t
turn it loose. The Bible says that Yahweh
used him to bring a great victory to Israel that day. It says the other soldiers
only returned in time to strip the armor off the fallen enemy and loot their
bodies. We find this account in 2 Samuel 23:9-10:
“And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the
Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the
Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel
were gone away. He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary,
and his hand clave unto the sword: and Yahweh wrought a great victory that day;
and the people returned after him only to spoil.”
And the third of these Mighty Warriors of
Valor was Shammah. Once, while the rest of the army of Israel retreated
from the advancing Philistine army, Shammah refused to give ground. He
stood alone, in a field of lentils to defend Israel. And Yahweh used him to stop the Philistines in their tracks, without
any human help. It’s found in 2 Samuel 23:11-12.
“And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the
Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a
piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines. But
he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines:
and Yahweh wrought a great
victory.”
These three Mighty Warriors of Valor
overheard David’s musing. Maybe they kind of looked at each other across the
cave. They knew what each other was thinking. They looked around. No one else
seemed to be paying attention to what the king had said. Without a word, they
each quietly got up. They retrieved their weapons from where they lay, close at
hand. Slowly, they made their way through the crowd of other soldiers all
gathered in the cave with David. At last, when they were out of the crowd,
their paths joined. No one noticed their leaving, as they disappeared over the
crest of the rise.
The Bible tells us that these three “broke
through the host (or army) of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well
of Bethlehem that was by the gate.” The
Bible account is so short that it almost makes this feat seem easy, but, in
actuality, it was probably more like this…
Together, Adino, Eleazar and Shammah
approached the walled, fortified city of Bethlehem on foot. The Philistines
would have seen them coming from a mile away. When they were in range, the archers on the walls
would have let fly every arrow in their quivers.
Undaunted
by the arrows that rained down upon them, Adino, Eleazar and Shammah brought it
on. As they neared the wall, the enemy infantry would have swarmed from the
gates and fallen upon them with sword and spear. But these three Mighty Men of
Valor, under the power of God, met their foe and drove back the
incomprehensibly overwhelming hoard!
By
this time, the whole city would have been alerted to the invasion. The three
“Mighties” would have had to fight their way out of the gates and away from the
walls. How far did the Philistine soldiers pursue them? Did they hound them out
into the desert, leaving a trail of dead and dying Philistines to mark the
three warriors’ path? Or were the Philistines stunned by the carnage wreaked
within their walls by so small a fighting force and just happy to see them all
leave? We aren’t told. But the Bible does say that they made it back to cave of
Adullum in victory.
As
quietly as they had left, they returned. The three warriors came before their
beloved king without fanfare and extended the vessel for him to drink. But when
David saw the blood that still oozed from crusted battle wounds, when he
smelled the death and battle that clung to their clothing, his soul was
overwhelmed by the magnitude of the love and devotion these men had
demonstrated for Yahweh, Israel and their king. David’s heart was filled with
gratitude and humility at such devotion.
2 Samuel 23:16-17 “And the
three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out
of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to
David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto Yahweh.
And he said, Be it far from me, O Yahweh, that I should do this: is not this
the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would
not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.”
The
selfless sacrifice and devotion displayed by these wonderful warriors was so
off the charts that David’s response and gratitude in receiving this expensive
gift needed to be of equal magnitude – and it was. The
highest honor any drink can be given is to be used as a drink offering, poured
out in worship of the Almighty. This is the honor David gave to this Bethlehem
water, brought to him at such risk and cost, brought by devoted men, under the
power of the Almighty, who went WAY beyond the call of duty in their desire to
please their king.
Similarly, in Yahweh’s Kingdom there are special Mighty Warriors of Valor, who go
above and beyond the normal call of duty. They aren’t content to do only what
is asked or expected of them. So great is their love of their King, that they
delight in pleasing Him in even the smallest things, doing things which most
would find unnecessary.
Among Yahshua’s
disciples, there were three of this caliber. They were Peter, James and John.
And of these three, John was especially beloved. It wasn’t that Yahshua didn’t love and teach all of His
disciples, its that these ones were not content with normal duty. They went
above and beyond. Consequently, Yahshua took them places and let them behold
glories that none of the other disciples were able to behold – like the Mount
of Transfiguration.
It wasn’t that God was giving these men
special treatment, while leaving the others out of the inner loop. The special
treatment was bestowed because these men loved especially much and sought to be
closer to the King than did all the rest. And their extra devotion was rewarded
by Heaven, just as were David’s three Mighty Men.
So how does one do this today? How does
one leave the masses of Christianity, and pursue a relationship with God that
is deeper still? How does a person today go about becoming a spiritual Mighty
Warrior of Valor willing to risk his own life just to see that their King gets
that desired drink of water?
THIS IS THE MESSAGE OF THE SHIN – IT IS
COMPLETE PERFECTION – TOTALITY AND WHOLEHEARTEDNESS FOR GOD
Being such a mighty warrior of valour all
starts with a heartfelt desire. The Revelation of Yahweh that we are blessed to receive is proportionate to our level
of seeking. So, if we’re content to just go to church once a week, attend the
occasional campmeeting, and have the basic worship times with Yahweh each day, our relationship with
God will be proportionate to this level of investment. But, if we aren’t
content with merely keeping the wonderful mo’eds
(Feasts from Leviticus 23) – the Divinely given appointed times with Yahweh – but rather seek to give Him
those times AND more beyond, we will begin to discover the Revelation of Yahweh on a much deeper level still.
Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye
shall search for Me with all your heart.”
Think about it! DO you admire the
relationship Moses had with Yahweh? Do you desire to have an intimate walk with
God like David’s? Do you really? Do you know that YOU CAN have that walk with
God – if only you will break out of the boundaries of what is merely required and
throw your whole heart and soul into doing that which pleases your KING, going
BEYOND – FAR BEYOND. This is the kind of people Yahweh is looking for.
2 Chronicles16:9 “For the eyes of Yahweh run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose
heart is perfect toward Him…”
If you’re feeling that your own soul is
more like dry and dead bones – and your heart is worlds away from that level of
love for Yahweh – then I want to
remind you of the promise Yahweh made
to us through the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 37:11-14 “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are
the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope
is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them,
Thus saith Yahweh GOD; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And
ye shall know that I Am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, O my people,
and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye
shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I
Yahweh have spoken it, and performed it, saith Yahweh.”
Remember, David’s three Mighty Men of
Valor conquered the Philistines of Bethlehem and brought water to the king, not
in their own strength alone. Yahweh empowered them to do those mighty deeds.
This is why the Bible says “and Yahweh
wrought a great victory” through these men.
How far you go with God is really YOUR choice.
So now the question comes to you, “Just how far DO you want to go with Yahweh?”
Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon Yahweh shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and
not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Shin: The Letter of Flame
The Hebrew letter shin looks a bit like a flame. This is not an accident. Hebrew tradition teaches that the shin is
Gideon attacked the Midianites with only
300 men armed with flaming torches in one hand and swords in the other (Judges
7:16-22). Also, Samson burned the fields of his enemies by releasing 300 foxes
with torches tied to their tails.
Let us read the description of the Holy
Spirit’s Coming, as recorded in Acts:
Acts 2:1-4 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Pentecost is the holy Feast Day which
commemorates the giving of the Torah
to Moses on Mt. Sinai. At that event, God descended upon the mountain in Flame,
Smoke, and Thunder to meet with His people. 1500 years later, to the day, the
Holy Spirit descended upon the faithful with tongues of fire.
The shin,
the letter of flame, appears on the head of every person who sought His
Presence. This is true Perfection, Completion and Peace – This is the ultimate
Message of the letter Shin.
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This Week's Torah Studies: (Statutes 61-80)
The Torah studies are provided in two formats for your convenience. The first option (below) is the blank worksheets for this week, which will allow you to print out the worksheets and hand-write the studies yourself. If you have less time, you may wish to read/print my completed Statute studies. The completed worksheets are the second option (below):
This week we will be studying Statutes 61-80, which are summarized below. Happy studying!
Statute 61-62 Summary:
(61) The priests are to burn incense before Yahweh (which represents prayer–Revelation 8:3-4) every morning and every evening. (62) The lamps (which represents our witness – Matthew 5:14 – being filled with Yahweh’s Spirit and abiding in YAH) are to be dressed every morning and freshly lit every evening.
Exodus 30:7-8 “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations.
Exodus 30:7-8 “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations.
Statute 63-64 Summary:
(63) The fire on the Altar of Burnt Sacrifice (representing the Cross) is always to be kept burning, day and night. (64) Priests are to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon it to Yahweh.
Leviticus 6:12-13 “And the fire upon the altar (of burnt sacrifice) shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”
Statute 65 Summary:
(65) Yahshua was the One Who laid aside the white “linen” of His perfect righteousness, put on my filthy robes and suffered for me outside the “camp.” It is by His humiliation and atonement that I am made clean and accepted by Heaven. This work of the Saviour is to bring about true repentance and sorrow for sin. The priest carried the ashes outside the camp to cause the people to think about the Saviour’s work of redemption. This is statute of remembrance. By beholding, we become changed. We are to cogitate Calvary daily.
Leviticus 6:10-11 “And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.”
(See also Hebrews 13:11-13) (Also note: ashes was a mark or token of grief, humiliation, or penitence - Nehemiah 9:1, Job 42:6)
Statute 66-68 Summary:
(66) We are not to allow anything unclean to come into the heart or home where Yahweh dwells. We are not to allow leprosy into our hearts or homes. Spiritually, leprosy is reprobation (because we lose our ability to perceive guilt when we choose to justify ourselves rather than repent from sin) (John 3:19-20). (67) We are not to allow an issue into our hearts or homes. Spiritually, the issue is pining or wasting away; as in being unthankful, embittered, or complaining (1 Corinthians 10:10). (68)We are not to allow our hearts or homes to be defiled by the dead. Spiritually, death is following lusts and fleshly desires (Hebrews 9:14).
Numbers 5:2-3 “Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.”
Statute 69 Summary:
(69) The priests of Yahweh are first to be sanctified in order to fill this role. Then they are set apart for holy use. (See Revelation 5:10).
Leviticus 21:8 “Thou shalt sanctify him (the priest of Yahweh) therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I Yahweh, which sanctify you, am holy.”
Statute 70 Summary:
(70) The priests of Yahweh are to be spiritually clothed in special garments for glory and beauty (see Ezekiel 16:14 and Ephesians 6:11-18).
Exodus 28:2-4, 40 “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office… And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.”
Statute 71-72 Summary:
(71) Yahweh’s people are to never practice fortunetelling, nor have anything to do with magic. (72) Yahweh’s people are to never eat anything with the blood.
Leviticus 19:26 “Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.”
Statute 73-78 Summary:
(73) Yahweh’s people are to belong to Him wholly and completely, without any divided or competing affections. This is what it means to be perfect with Yahweh. (74) Godly parents are never to alienate their children, transitioning them in crossing over to the devil. (75) Yahweh’s people are to not consult sorcerers, nor practice sorcery. (76) Yahweh’s people are not to practice magic, nor consort with magicians. (77) Yahweh’s people are not to practice witchcraft, nor consult witches. (78) Yahweh’s people are not to consult with demon spirits, nor consort with those who do so.
Deuteronomy 18:10-13 “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto Yahweh: and because of these abominations Yahweh thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with Yahweh thy God.”
Statutes 79-80 Summary:
Yahweh’s people are to dress in a way that clearly reveals their gender. (79) Men are not to dress like women. (80) Women are not to dress like men.
Deuteronomy 22:5 “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto Yahweh thy God.”
