Torah Portion - January 26, 2018

Weekly Torah Studies

Today's Torah Reading: Genesis 22:1-12

Today's 
Torah
Portion: 

The Hebrew Alphabet:
Tav 

The twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is called “Tav” and has the sound of “t” as in “tall”.

The modern form of Tav has a shape similar to door posts, much like the ones where the blood of the Passover lambs was applied. Messiah, Yahshua, of course, IS our Passover Lamb, Who was sacrificed for us on the Cross. What a perfect portrait of Him we see within this special and last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.

Tav is the 22^nd letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. It is no coincidence that in Psalm 22, we find the prophecy of the crucifixion of our Messiah.

“…My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Why art Thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel… But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on Yahweh that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him… Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death… They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture,” Psalm 22:1-18. 

Spiritual Meaning of the Tav

Tav = T,   and 400 and means “A MARK”, “A SIGN” and “A SEAL”

“Tav symbolizes the making of a Covenant, to seal, to join two things together, and Ownership."

On the Cross, Yahshua purchased us as His Bride, and we became His OWN. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Yahweh’s,” 1 Corinthians 6:20.

Torah, is spelled with the Hebrew letters Tav, vav, reysh, and hey. Adding their meaning we get a picture of the Messiah (John 19:5) “Behold (hey), the Man (reysh), the nail (vav), the Cross (tav)”

Tav was anciently drawn as a Cross, showing the prophetic SIGN that Yah would come and make a NEW COVENANT with us (Jeremiah  31:31-34).

Pilate once asked the ultimate question: “What is Truth?” (John 18:38). The Hebrew word for TRUTH is EMET which is spelled: aleph, mem and tav. Putting the meanings of these letters together, see the ultimate TRUTH: 

“The Creator (aleph) is revealed on (mem) the Cross (tav).”

“Ye shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you FREE,” John 8:32.

22 is Yahweh’s number of “LIGHT, SIGHT”, and “REVELATION”. With Tav, the 22^nd letter of Yah’s Divine Alphabet, we SEE the Love of Yahweh REVEALED through His only Son, as He hung upon the Cross.

Tav: The Final Revelation

The entire Crucifixion Event was pre-recorded thousands of years in advance, encoded beneath the main Text of Isaiah 53 in the Old Testament. Our Yahweh is an all-knowing, all-powerful God, who knows the end from the beginning. Each letter of His Word was divinely placed within His Sacred Book.

Below the main Text of God’s Word lie numerous codes and prophecies which are encoded at various distances between the letters. Just one example of this is Isaiah 53, where we see that Messiah’s Name (Yahshua, which means Salvation) and all of His disciples, and all who had a significant part in the Crucifixion, were all encoded in equi-distant letter sequences within that chapter!

The words and phrases we are talking about are those known by every person familiar with the disciples' accounts of Christ's final days. In code, there are the names of the key players in his arrest, trial and conviction, such as Herod, Annas and Judas, plus all of the disciples. There are also phrases such as the Mary's weep bitterly, let him be crucified, true messiah and son of Mary, and these in turn are intersected by hundreds of other similar ELSs. But these are just the beginning. Research continues to turn up more Yahshua codes and ELSs in these two chapters. 

Details about hundreds of Jesus codes found to date are provided in Ed Sherman's book, Bible Code Bombshell. Below is an illustration of the central portion of the array and some of the key codes displayed around the focal code.

These are only a few of the more than 1,400 ELSs (equidistant letter sequences) that make up the most meaningful known cluster of Bible codes discovered to date… all in or crossing through Isaiah 52-53. They are pictured on a matrix 20 letters wide, which reflects the skip of the focal code. In other words, the text of this small portion of Isaiah begins at the top right and continues in lines of 20 letters down to the last letter at the bottom left.

Chuck Missler, in his book Cosmic Codes, gives another example of how the Spirit of Yah encoded the Story of Messiah into Scripture, from the Beginning. The meaning of the patriarchal names, combined together in a sentence, gives us a beautiful prophecy of Yahweh’s amazing GRACE. In Genesis 5, we find a genealogy of ten men, from Adam to Noah, whose names have the following meanings:

Adam = Man

Seth = Appointed

Enosh = Mortal

Kenan = Sorrow

Mahalalel = The Blessed God

Jared = Shall come down

Enoch = Teaching

Methuselah = His Death shall Bring

                                                                                                Lamech = The Despairing

                                                                                                            Noah = Rest, and comfort

“Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow, (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His Death shall bring the despairing rest and comfort.”

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):

Statutes 61-80 Blank Worksheets (pdf)

Statutes 61-80 Completed Worksheets (pdf)

An Overview of this Week's Torah Studies:
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.

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.” 

Daily Bible Reading - January 26, 2018

Today's Reading:

Luke 19:28-48

Genesis 34

Psalm 26

Listen to the Bible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading:

The story recorded in Luke 19 tells the account of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. For years, I read this story and heard it over and over through "Gentile eyes". I have come to learn that viewing Bible stories through "Gentile eyes" renders the accounts in black and white. But hearing the story through "Hebrew eyes" brings it to living color. 

So, today, I'd like to paint the Triumphal Entry story from Luke into "living color" by adding in the details from the Feast of Passover, and showing how our Saviour fulfilled them. 

As God had commanded, the Passover Lamb was selected on the 10th day of Abib (this is the first month of the Biblical year, which falls in April-May). For this reason, the Triumphal Entry took place precisely on the 10th day of Abib (Passover is the 14th day of Abib, which came 4 days later). In other words, the event Christians call "The Triumphal Entry" was actually a fulfillment of the Exodus 12:3 prophetic requirement to select the Passover Lamb on this day.

Exodus 12:3  "Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house."

The prophets had foretold that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Thus, every yearon the 10th of Abib, the high priest went to Bethlehem, selected the lamb and returned to Jerusalem. 

Micah 5:2  "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from Everlasting."  

On the year Jesus (Yahshua) was to die, when the 10th of Abib came, the high priest went to Bethlehem and selected the Passover lamb for the nation, just as he always did. When the high priest returned to Jerusalem, with the selected lamb in tow, he would enter the city through the North Gate.

  

Now, in the year of the Crucifixion, on the 10th day of Abib, Jesus (Yahshua), the Perfect Lamb, Who had been born in Bethlehem entered Jerusalem through the North Gate (called the Damascus Gate). By the fact that the processional which always took place over the Passover lamb obviously hadn't happened yet in the story, we can safely conclude that Christ must have entered the North Gate before the high priest returned with the selected lamb.

The entrance of the Passover lamb into the city was a big annual event. Every year (on the 10th of Abib) a processional always took place over the Passover lamb. What was this processional? The priests lined the streets from the North Gate up to the top of the temple mount. When the high priest returned with the lamb, the waiting priests would start the shout which heralded THIS LAMB as THE Passover lamb. And what did they shout every year as they heralded the Passover lamb? 

"Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord (Yahweh); Hosanna in the highest," (Matthew 21:9).  

When the people heard the priests shouting, they would grab their palm fronds, which had been leaning up against their houses waiting for this moment. And they would run to the street to see the Passover lamb pass by. As the lamb passed, the people would take up the shout until the whole city was in an uproar of rejoicing over the procession of the lamb.

The roadway leading from the Damascus Gate to the Temple Mount was about 3/4 mile long. So once the shout started at the gate, priests and people along the road would take it all the way up the hill. You couldn’t stop the shout because the people at the top - who were now also shouting - couldn’t see! They were just responding to the sounds they had heard and had joined in!

This shout of praise continued with waving palm fronds until the Passover lamb reached its destination on the Temple Mount. But, things were a bit different on the year that Jesus (Yahshua) died. When the high priest reached the gate with his Bethlehem lamb, the real Lamb had already entered. He and his shadow lamb could hardly get into town.

The disciples had started the shout announcing that Jesus (Yahshua) was indeed THE Passover Lamb! The people, like every year, ran with their palm branches and joined the chorus. But, this time, it was Christ they found as the object of this praise.  Did they know what this meant? Absolutely! And the people joyously joined in the chorus proclaiming Him to be the One this shadow picture had pointed to for all the past centuries. 

What must it have been like when the Passover lamb processional became the Triumphal Entry? What must it have been like when the people say Jesus (Yahshua) ride through the North Gate in the place of the Passover lamb? If we read this story with Gentile eyes, we might be tempted to think that this was just an amazing one-time event. But when we understand how the Feasts were kept, we see the story in an even more amazing light. When the Saviour entered the North Gate (which was called the Damascus Gate) and the disciples started the Passover lamb, processional shout (Matthew 21:9, as shown above) the people joined in the shout and waved their palm fronds over Christ, just as they always had over the Passover lamb. Clearly, they were pronouncing Him as the Messiah - the ultimate Passover Lamb!

 

This is why the priests were so upset when they saw the people shouting this special phrase over Jesus (Yahshua). The people were proclaiming Him to be the One sent from God! 

Matthew 21:15-16  "And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus (Yahshua) saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?"

Helpless to stop the shouts of praise, now that they were catching on and beginning to be chorused by the people all the way up the hill, the priests tried to get Christ to stop it. 

Luke 19:39-40 "And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master, rebuke Thy disciples. And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." 

What did the Saviour mean by saying that if the people stopped shouting "Hosanna", the stones would immediately start shouting it? He meant that God always does things so PERFECTLY that every piece of the prophetic picture from the Feast must be completely fulfilled, down to the tiniest detail. And yes, if the people didn’t proclaim Him the Lamb as the shadow picture of this feast had prophesied, the ROCKS would have cried out!

Once the Passover Lamb reached the Temple Mount, a four day examination period began. Every prior year, during this time, the lamb was staked out and carefully examined for blemishes. At the end of this examination period, if the lamb was found worthy to be the perfect Passover sacrifice, the high priest would shout for all to hear, “I find no fault in him.” This was the ceremonial pronouncement which meant that this selected, Bethlehem lamb would indeed be the Passover lamb for the nation.

How was this examination of the Passover lamb fulfilled in the life of Jesus (Yahshua)? Christ submitted to the lamb's examination process by allowing the Pharisees, Herodians, Saducees and religious leaders to interrogate and try to find fault in Him for the full four days.

When this four-day examination period was ended, Pilate, who was not in control of his own mouth, pronounced the prophesied words: 

“I find no fault in Him!” 

The crowd must have gasped, when at the precise moment when this pronouncement was to be made over the lamb, it was said over Jesus (Yahshua).

On the day of Passover, the wood of the sacrifice was placed upon Christ, just as Isaac carried the wood of the sacrifice to the very same spot so many years before. Mount Moriah, where Abraham was divinely instructed to take Isaac, was later the Calvary escarpment. Abraham's shadow-picture of offering Isaac was a prophetic foretelling of Jesus' (Yahshua's) Death, which would take place on the very spot.

And, on Passover, our Messiah was taken to that precise spot where shadow became substance and God DID provide Himself a Lamb, just as Abraham foretold that He would.

Genesis 22:8  "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering..."   

Now as the Passover festival was kept every year, there were many lambs killed on this day. Each family brought a lamb which was killed for the family’s Passover table. 

When the time for slaying the families’ lambs was ended and it was now time to begin the sacrifice of THE PASSOVER LAMB, the high priest would say two words: 

“I Thirst.” 

This was part of the Passover ceremony because the death of this lamb, meant that the people would be able to drink of the Water of Life, having received this privilege by the payment of the lamb's blood.

No piece of the shadow picture was to be left out. So, our dear Saviour uttered the ceremonial words Himself. And as He said, “I Thirst,” every man, woman and child who heard would know that He was pointing to the promise of the Water of Life being made available to them through His ministry as both Priest AND Passover Lamb.

At the moment when the priest lifted the knife to slit the Passover lamb’s throat, He proclaimed: 

“It is Finished” 

In the year of Jesus' (Yahshua's) Death, our Saviour said these words Himself, and then He died.

And so, actually there is much more to the Triumphal Entry than immediately meets the eye. The event now known as Christ's Triumphal Entry was the fulfillment of the ancient prophetic ceremonies which God had ordained for the selection of the Passover lamb and for keeping the Feast of Passover.