Greetings again, after a long recess:

Reviewing the Torah Portions from 2011, Vayera to Vayakhel

This year's first Torah portion began on January 1^st, 2011. That Shabbat, we studied Parashat Vayera. During our time of discussion, we discussed Moses' reluctance to go back to Egypt in Exodus 4:10-17.

Exodus 4:10-17
¹⁰ ¶ But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." ¹¹ Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? ¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." ¹³ But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." ¹⁴ Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. ¹⁶ He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. ¹⁷ And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs."

Moses had to choose whom he would fear. Would he fear God only or would he bow to the fears he had about speaking to Pharaoh? God did not really give Moses a choice. Moses had just handled snakes and had been cured from a leprous hand" God was very persuasive. Moses chose to fear God. Moses knew that if he went to Egypt, he would have to face the leaders of Egypt, with whom he most likely had had personal relationships. Perhaps they would want to have him killed. However, in verse 4:14, when God gets angry, Moses realized he had no choice. Better to die in Egypt than reap the wrath of God.

    On January 8^th, we read Parashat Bo. During this passage, we read about how God plans to save Israel, and at the same time, discipline Egypt. In order for Israel to be saved, they had to prepare for celebration. How ironic that the celebration came BEFORE the deliverance. And this day—Passover—was to be commemorated for all generations. We commemorate it still.

Exodus 12:14 ¶ "'This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to ADONAI; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation."

So, those Israelites who put the blood on their doorframe and remembered the words of God received a supernatural deliverance. Yet, they could not see what was coming. They could not understand what an Angel of Death was. By trusting Moses' words, they obeyed, and that was their choice in the deliverance. In spite of how odd putting blood on one's door must have been, it was the difference between life and death.

Later, in Egypt's history, during the time of Jeremiah and Judah's being sent into captivity by Babylon, Egypt suffered the same fate:

Jeremiah 46:13-17
¹³ ¶ The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: ¹⁴ "Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, 'Stand ready and be prepared, for the sword shall devour around you.' ¹⁵ Why are your mighty ones face down? They do not stand because the LORD thrust them down. ¹⁶ He made many stumble, and they fell, and they said one to another, 'Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our birth, because of the sword of the oppressor.' ¹⁷ Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, 'Noisy one who lets the hour go by.'

The word "the hour" in this verse is the same word as in Leviticus 23. The word is "moedim." So, in this case, it appears that Jeremiah is prophesying that Egypt is going to be destroyed because they had forgotten the Passover. It is interesting to think that through the consistent celebration of the Passover by the Israelites, that this would have served as a reminder to the Egyptians, even generations later. Moreover, it served as a reminder to Judah about trusting in a military alliance with Egypt to save them from the destruction of Babylon. Who would Judah trust? Their military and alliances with foreign powers, or would they trust God alone? This message is still strong for us today. We believe strongly in the US's alliance with Israel, but how long will that last? We must trust God alone.

    On January 15^th, we read Parashat Beshlach. In this portion, we read about a kind of process that God's people go through as they move from an attitude or spirit of fear to an attitude or spirit of praise. In Exodus 13, God brings Israel to a dead end at the Red Sea. Egypt was bearing down on them from the west, and they were pressed up against the sea with nowhere to go. Their fear turned to anger when they cried out complaining that God had brought them there to die. No one had thought that God brought them there so that He could let them walk on dry land through the Red Sea (Ex. 14). Many times, when we are pressed up against problems, we never think about the possible miracle that God had planned all along, we just complain about what we see with our eyes. But, fear and anger give way when they are presented with the miracle. Imagine the Israelites' disbelief as they walked through the sea. "Is this really happening?" Even once they were on the other side, could they believe what had just happened? This disbelief is reinforced by the fact that they complained again about thirst in hunger within the same week of having walked through the sea (Ex. 16-17). God will test even our flesh. They were also tested again when the Amalekites came to attack them. But when the Israelites defeated them—again by God's miracle—their disbelief is reinforced with assurance, and that assurance gives way to belief. Finally, our belief will lead to victory, and our victory will lead to praise (Ex 15). So the process looks like this: FearàangeràMIRACLEàdisbeliefàassuranceàbeliefàvictoryàPRAISE!!!

    On January 22^nd, we read Parashat Yitro (Ex. 18, 19, and 20). In it, we discussed the relevance of the 10 commandments, not only on the culture of Moses' day, but on hundreds of world culture everywhere. We compared on contrasted the ancient Israelite's use of the 10 commandments, the use during Yeshua's day, the use of the Rabbinic tradition, the use by historical Christian theology, the use by Americans and its reflection in the American constitution, and even the use by Muslims. All of these cultures base much of what they do on the concepts in the 10 commandments (or 10 Words). Most cultures are against killing people.

In our discussion, we discussed the use of the 10 commandments in a legalistic way, in a liberal way, and in a way that shows our love for God and our neighbors.

Matthew 22:36-40
³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

As we apply the 10 commandments, we learn that love is what guides what we do, not just keeping laws, fulfilling obligations. However, love does not free us to do whatever we feel leads to love, because we are bound by how the Words define love. Keeping the commandments not only shows us what love is and is not, but it is the love itself.

1 John 4:20-21
²⁰ If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

    On January 29^th, we expanded on this topic of loving God and loving our neighbors through the study of individual commandments (mitzvot) listed in Parashat Mishpatim. One of the examples we discussed was the example of the servant who loved his master. Once the servant has a wife and children whom he loves, knowing that they belong to the master, the servant offers himself to his master for life. The commandment for when one does this is the piercing of the servant's ear upon the doorpost of the master's home.

Exodus 21:5-6
⁵ But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' ⁶ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

Imagine the allusion here, of Yeshua offering up his blood upon a doorpost for the sake of his wife (or children). Yeshua often refers to His Father has His Master.

We also discussed the logic that the Jewish sages have developed over the years in regards to these commandments/mitzvot. We looked at the Shabbat and the 39 actions of work that were prohibited on Shabbat. We discussed the purpose and function of Talmud, and the logic behind how the sages derived their interpretations from the Torah. What we saw was that the parallel structures of Hebrew create a pendulum of interpretations where there are sets of actions that can be derived from a single Torah commandment. For example, the commandment about Shabbat not only says that on the seventh day, they were to refrain from working, but also that 6 days they were to work. What is work? The 39 types of creative work were derived from the 39 types of works that were done in the creation of the Tabernacle. Thus, all work today is filtered through the 39 prohibitions of what is work.

Now, in American culture, American individuals simply take what they read more linearly, so that when they say that they are not to work, they define work by whatever each individual "feels" is work, and thus refrain from doing that. In reality, they violate this whenever it "feels" right to do so. Individualism wins out over tradition. Some overdefine work, it there might be who refrain from doing ANYTHING on the Sabbath, which tends to be more of a legalism than a proper interpretation.

There is no conclusion to this issue regarding Talmud, regarding the pendulum swings of interpretation, or regarding liberalism versus legalism. However, Yeshua established the sieve of love by which to filter the commandments of Torah. In Jewish thought, motivation matters as much as the action itself. Sometimes, believers what to have good motivations, but then they refrain from even doing the commandment at all. "Well, I meant to keep the Sabbath holy, but I had a bad day, and then I yelled at someone, so I gave up." This is not a Biblical way of thinking. Mishpatim offers many examples of what believers must live up to in order to show their neighbor that they are loved.

    On February 6^th, we read and studied Terumah (Ex. 27-30). We read about the fantastic details which God asked for in creating the Tabernacle. The obedience and contributions of the Israelites were an expression of their love for God.

During this study, we also read Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43. In this Scripture, we read about the wheat and the tares.

Matthew 13:24-30
²⁴ ¶ He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' ²⁸ He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' ²⁹ But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Yeshua explained that the weeds amongst the wheat could not be removed without also harming the good wheat. It is clear that there are those who do not believe in God are mixed in with those who do. There are those who live a liberal life with no rules, creating their own laws unto themselves, disobeying God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

And there are those who believe that following all of the rules, but without love or compassion for others will inherit his kingdom.

Matthew 19:16-22 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" ¹⁷ And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." ¹⁸ He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ²⁰ The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" ²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." ²² When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Thus, in the assemblies of believers all across the world, there are those within the walls of our lives that cause great frustration and anger, perhaps. But knowing that the tares must be amongst the family ought to create within us a great sense of mercy. How do we know if someone we may not like might actually turn out in the future to find Messiah? Or, how do we know that if someone we think walks closely with the Lord is in fact faking his or her walk with God so as to stay within a believing culture; but in reality, this person does not really know God. The end result is that we treat each other with great mercy at all times, no matter the circumstance, because Yeshua warned his disciples all along, only HE would remove the tares, and ONLY when it is the RIGHT TIME. So, we treat all people equally, and we show no partiality with ALL who enter.

James 2:1-7 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. ² For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³ and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," ⁴ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

    On February 13^th, we read Parashat Tzetzevah, where we read about the priestly garments and the priestly ordination service (Ex. 27:20, 28, 29). The garments of the priests are sacred, or set apart, because they have a godly function. When the priest puts these garments on, the garments are a reminder of his service to God and the commandments that must be performed before a Holy God. God is a God of order, and not just feel-good worship services. Not only did the priest have special clothes, but there were specific sacrifices that were to be made at the initial ceremony consecrating the priests: sin offerings and free-will offerings (See Lev. 1 and 4.) The priest was not to believe that he was special by some virtue, but rather than he, too, was a sinner in need of God's mercy. The bull sin offering was only for the priest, not for the people. Finally, after the initial sacrifices of the tabernacle, there were to be daily sacrifices that would have begun at that time and lasted until the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE. And then again, the sacrifices resumed until 70 AD. In other words, the daily sacrifices remained from the time of Moses until the beginning of the present era. We still maintain these sacrifices through saying Shema twice daily and praying to God and acknowledging His daily presence in our lives.

    In the same way that priests wore garments and offered sacrifices daily, so too are we to take up the full armor of God daily.

Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Note that the "rulers, authorities, worldly powers and spiritual forces of evil are all references to human agents in the Greek language. Some like to use this passage of Scripture to justify all sorts of pseudo-spiritual demon hunts within churches, casting out of demons, and such, none of which have anything to do with this passage. Without the belt, the pants would fall down. The priest also wore a belt that kept the breastplate which bore the 12 stones of Israel and kept the umim and thurim in place. The truth is the Word. Righteousness is kept in the heart, where decisions are made. (Only in Greek/European thinking has the concept that decisions are made in the brain and that love is in the heart. The Hebraic thought places decisions and thinking in the heart and love in the mind/head. This is a significant difference of concept when applied in real life.) Thus, the righteous actions are determined by what we CHOOSE to do or obey, not by how we feel. In fact, doing the right thing is often in contradiction with how we feel. Our shoes are ready to take us in the direction that our righteousness determines. The gospel (or the Torah) provides completedness (shalom). It does not necessarily mean we will be free of conflict. We take up the shield of faith (or trust) to extinguish the darts (or lies) of the enemy. We believe in God, even though we do not see Him. The enemy doesn't want us to believe and trust that God is there for us, that He loves us. By faith, we reject the enemies' lies. Finally, the helmet of salvation, similar to the headpiece of the priest, consecrates us as holy. It is the helmet of salvation—we accept Yeshua into our mind—the place where we exhibit love. (Again, it's that Greek—Hebraic conceptual difference.) Finally, just like the priests offered twice daily sacrifices, which today we understand is prayer, so too, Paul encourages the believers in taking up their armor for the purpose of prayer. Prayer really does matter, and it must be done daily, twice daily, at all times praying.

One last thought about the priestly garments and the armor. When we believe that Paul chose a Roman soldier's garment to prove that we are to take up arms and fight against evil, I believe that we can overuse this illustration to justify something Paul did not mean. This call to arms is not one of military might, guns, bullets, etc. It is a call to prayer, serious prayer. Are there places in Scripture that allows for people to defend themselves? Certainly, but this is not the point here. To argue about when it is OK to defend oneself is beside the point. We need to be in prayer, both for our families and friends, but similar to the wheat and tares, even for our enemies. God does not wish that any should perish.

    Last week, in Ki Tisa, we read about the sin of the golden calf (Ex. 30-34.) Ki Tisa also offers us an important set of bookends. The first half of this portion concludes the instructions for building the tabernacle. The final stanza before the chapter on the golden calf is an encouragement to keep the Shabbat.

Exodus 31:12-18
¹² ¶ And the LORD said to Moses, ¹³ "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. ¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. ¹⁷ It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'" ¹⁸ ¶ And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

While Moses was up on Mount Sinai, the people had created a god that they could see. Now, some interpret this act of idol making a rejection of God as though He did not exist. However, others recognize that these actions were not really a rejection of God, but rather a lack of trust in a God they could not see. They preferred to establish God in an image that they would be able to understand, thus confining God into a limitation that they could handle. Remember, in Ex. 19, the Israelites had met God. Idolatry does not have to mean worshipping a false god, but rather to worship God falsely. God commanded the people not to make graven images, because graven images confine God in unnatural ways. We choose not to represent God with images because we recognize that He is infinite and cannot be contained by anything. The Israelites were guilty, and perhaps they were going to receive greater judgment than a pagan kingdom because God was ready to wipe them out and start over with Moses.

Exodus 32:9-10
⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you."

But the important lesson here Moses' willingness and desire to intercede on behalf of his people. Some of the Jewish sages actually indicate that this is the crux of the test: not that the people were weak and unsuitable for God, God already knew this; but rather, the test was to see if Moses would respond in love for his people; would he willingly give himself on behalf of the people. The Jewish concept of Messiah has always included the act of self-sacrifice for others due to a great love. Moses showed this great love.

This great love is the great conflict that each of us have in our lives at this moment. Can we love one another enough to form a true community? There are already churches and synagogues in the world that go through motions. Perhaps the greatest tragedy in American religious life is that because of American culture, people are only interested in a surface relationship with God and with others. Meanwhile, there are activities of pleasure by which we can distract ourselves. (Most of you are probably reading this on-line because you spend a good deal of time here, both talking—perhaps gossiping—with others, watching movies or TV, or playing games, or looking up crafts, or reading news, or any manner of other activities that require internet access.) The question is whether or not someone, anyone, will put what they are doing down and intercede with the Almighty God in an act of mercy.

Exodus 32:11-14 But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'" ¹⁴ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

I challenge you to pray these words above again, but personalize it for us, for our communities, for Jews, for Christians alike, even for Muslims and the whole world. Forgive us, God!

    Finally, yesterday we did not meet because of the glazing of ice throughout the city. I didn't want to see anyone hurt, which I understand was possible throughout town. This week, we were to read Vayakhel (Ex. 35:1-38:20.) In this passage, Bazalel and Oholiab are put in motion, and they work to finish the tabernacle, with all of their workers, and begin the process of the tabernacle ceremonies. The haftarah reflected the same theme in I Kings 7:40-50, as Solomon finished the construction of the Temple.

But there is a different direction to consider, as can be read in I Cor. 3, especially 3:11 and 19.

1 Corinthians 3:10-20
¹⁰ ¶ According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- ¹³ each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. ¹⁶ ¶ Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. ¹⁸ ¶ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," ²⁰ and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."

In this passage, we realize that there is a calling not just to "build" a Temple, like God had commanded Moses. Instead, we realize that we "are" the Temple, being fit together. Notice also that we are unable to use any other foundation other than the foundation that Yeshua already laid. What does that mean? Consider many of the past conversations from these last few weeks. We must balance the notions of Torah liberalism and Torah legalism against the Torah commandments motivated by love. If Yeshua died on for His people, then He also died for the whole world. This is the message that must go out through the whole world. Not a theological "you can only have grace through Jesus" message, but rather, a pragmatic, "Jesus is the only way you can fix your life now" message. Our hope isn't that Yeshua will come and destroy the world, but like Moses, that we will intercede on behalf of our world and say "Let's do something NOW!" Now read this next passage:

1 Corinthians 6:1-20 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? ² Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! ⁴ So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? ⁵ I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, ⁶ but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? ⁷ ¶ To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸ But you yourselves wrong and defraud--even your own brothers! ⁹ ¶ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ¹² ¶ "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. ¹³ "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"--and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. ¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two will become one flesh." ¹⁷ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This is quite humbling, really. First, we must realize that we have sinned, and that we used to be under no one's law. Many believers accept Yeshua for salvation, but they do not live under His law, they live liberally, however they feel like it. Others, in response to liberalism, decide to sue everyone, and they bring even their brothers before worldly courts, trying to prove they are the more righteous organization. We must stop this crazy competition!

Second, we must realize that if we live according to Torah, we have authority to rule over the world. I don't think that means we can take up arms, but I think it does mean we do not back down about truth and sharing the truth. There are trivial differences between believers right now, but isn't it better to be slandered and live with that than to destroy the view of God before those who do not believe? If believers would not stand against each other, but rather stood up for what is right in the world, and would be humble and generous and merciful with our fellow believers, then the world would have less to accuse us of. It doesn't matter if this context is Jewish or Christian or Messianic, all need to find that common ground now, or a greater persecution will cause us to find it out of necessity.

Third, we live in an oversexualized and greedy culture. This is not new, this is exactly why Paul wrote Corinthians. The Corinthian congregation lived in an sensual and touchy-feely culture that permitted everything. The world culture is coming to this. I can no longer say this is an American phenomenon, because we are witnessing the birth of liberalism everywhere in the world, mostly fueled by the young. Do we expect this to go well for people of faith? The movement we see developing in the Middle East has been picked up in China, but also in places like Wisconsin. And the fuel to the fire is added by CNN and media outlets pushing for anarchy. What is this freedom that they seek? …freedom to live how they want, free, without rules—but also—without Torah, without Jesus? The US was originally founded to protect people's freedom to worship God. These movements seem aimed at freeing the world from the worship of God. It's not the same, and we need to be aware. This passage is also very clear about the place of the homosexual culture in Corinth. God at no point sanctions this behavior, so much so that in Greek, there are two terms for the homosexual actors, which make this behavior more explicitly rejected by Paul; but to be clear, it is just as much to be rejected as is greed, thieves, drunks and the rest. We must work to help those who are hindered by these sinful lifestyles. We aren't to reject people because we are all sinners, but we need to be careful not to sanction these lifestyles.

Finally, we need to continue to seek to be one people, a unified people, a single Temple. If there is any theme that returns from all of these passages, it is that God has had a plan for this small group of believers here in the KC Torah Community—and that is that we behave as one people, loving each other, loving others, and growing the community. We are in a place against the Sea, not knowing how God will deliver us from the approaching enemy, but we need to prepare ourselves for a miracle. What a wonderful thing that Passover is almost here. We need to be in preparation not just for holding a Seder, but for God's coming deliverance. We need to have our bread ready to go. We need to live out the 10 commandments, not in a liberal or legalistic way, but in love for God and love for our neighbors. We need to understand that we will be able to keep the commandments perfectly when we see Yeshua reigning from Israel, but right now, we need to be patient with ourselves and others. We need to live rightly, but in patience, because we do not know who are tares and who are wheat. We need to enter at all times in prayer, both for our own nourishment with the Father through His Son, but also we need to pray on behalf of our brothers, even if they are falsely worshipping God. (We cannot turn aside the many Christians who are struggling. God is the judge, not us. We need to be available for them.) We are to put on the armor, but also the priestly garments, preparing ourselves for when others are ready to bring their offerings to God, too.

God bless you all this week. I will be praying for you. Pray for Marjie and I, and all of c+hildren, too.