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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Jul 25, 2004 23:42:38 GMT -8
Here is the  Reading Schedule for this week! Va’etchanan “And I besought” : Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 May the following be our prayer... "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy ." - Psalms 119:18 Also, please share with us what our Heavenly Father has shown you, or ask any questions that you may have. Let us digest the Words of life! Shalom v'ahava chaverim (peace, and love friends), Reuel |
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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Jul 26, 2004 14:30:23 GMT -8
"O L-rd YHVH, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what mighty one is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But YHVH was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and YHVH said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter." Deut. 3:24-26 Could you imagine having the luxury of the leadership of Moshe to only have this leadership removed before going into the promise land? The man that G'd gave , and the man whom taught them how to keep it would not go in with them. That seems like it would be a bummer. Moshe earnestly desired to enter in...but was not allowed. What lessons can we learn from this? G'd did give Israel good leadership in the form of Yehoshua (Joshua) as we can see in the following passage... "Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see." Deu. 3:27-28 Is it by coincidence that the name of the person that G'd chose to lead Israel to the promise land had a name almost identical to that of Messiah (Yehoshua)? I believe that Yehoshua (Joshua) as seen in the above passage is a Messianic forshadowing of Yeshua The Messiah. Shalom, Reuel
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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Jul 26, 2004 15:27:02 GMT -8
We see in the following chapter in this week's reading the importance of Israel protecting our Heavenly Father's ... "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which YHVH G'd of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of YHVH your G'd which I command you." Deu.4:1-2 But, even more importantly is to understand that it protects us.  We also see in the above passage that no one was to "add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it". Unfortunately, this is what of most of Christianity teaches, and consquently why Judaism does not believe in Yeshua The Messiah. But of course, most of us here know, and understand that Yeshua came to do no such thing (Matthew 5:17-19). Some say that since Yeshua was the Messiah He can diminish whatever part of that He wishes. The problem with saying this is that if Yeshua came and broke the commandment found in Deu.4:1-2 (above passage), He would be guilty of sin, and could not be our sinless Messiah. No, Yeshua was very aware of the above passage when He spoke the words in Matthew 5:17-19. He came to bring to it's fullest potential, and by no means diminish it. In fact, what does the scripture say that Messiah will do when He comes?... "YHVH is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify , and make it honourable." - Isaiah 42:21 Is this not what Yeshua The Messiah came to do?? Shalom, Reuel |
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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Aug 1, 2004 16:03:08 GMT -8
"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as YHVH my G'd commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as YHVH our G'd is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?" - Deut. (Devarim 4:5-8) The first underlined portion of the above passage outlines G-d's evangelism program for His chosen people. If G-d's people would simply follow His this would be the greatest witness to the nations. Furthermore, there is no other greater standard for any nation, church, or organization than The . If the Congregations, and Church's of the world realized this, there would be far less denominations, and more unity in the body of Messiah. Shalom, Reuel
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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Aug 1, 2004 16:15:42 GMT -8
We see in the reading the listing of the Ten Commandments... "I am YHVH thy G'd, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
1. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I YHVH thy G'd am a jealous G'd, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of YHVH thy G'd in vain: for YHVH will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as YHVH thy G'd hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of YHVH thy G'd: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that YHVH thy G'd brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore YHVH thy G'd commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother, as YHVH thy G'd hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which YHVH thy G'd giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
8. Neither shalt thou steal.
9. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's."- Deut. (Devarim 5:6-21) It seems that Christianity has the biggest problem with #4 which is one of the signs that one is in covenant with G'd. The following is the heart cry of our Heavenly Father... "O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!" - Deu. (Devarim) 5:29 |
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Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Aug 1, 2004 16:44:00 GMT -8
In chapter 6 of Deuteronomy (Devarim) we see one of the most important passages in The , and the major tenant of Judaism, and of a Biblical faith... "Hear, O Israel: YHVH (The L-RD) our G'd is one YHVH: And thou shalt love YHVH (The L-rd) thy G'd with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."- Deut. (Devarim) 6:4-9 In this above passage is found the greatest command in which we are to love YHVH (The L-rd) our G'd with all of our heart (mind), soul (life), and strength. The passage communicates that we should diligently teach His to our children, and that it should always be on our mind where ever we are. When we are walking, laying down, getting up, where ever we go we should have His on our mind. He has given us His Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to accomplish this (Ezekiel 36:25-27). He has also given us His Moedim (Lev.23), and the tzitzitiot (Numbers 15:38) for constant reminders. With all of the resources He has given us...keeping His is possible (Deut. 10-15)! We should be performing His commandments with our hand, and they should be like frontlets between our eyes as they guide our site as not to stray to the right, or to the left of the path outlined by His . From this passage we see why we fix the mezuzah on our door posts, and on our gates as a constant reminder. The greatest commandment as described in the is performed only when we diligently follow His commandments, and teach our children to do the same. Yeshua's commandments are His father's commandments... "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak."John 12:49 And, if we truly are loving Him, we will keep His commandments... "If you love me, keep my commandments." - John 14:15 His commandments are found in . G'd is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Mal. 3:6, Heb.13:8), and the following passage describes whom is in covenant with Him... "Know therefore that YHVH thy G'd, he is G'd, the faithful G'd, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." - Deu. (Devarim 7:9-10) Notice how those whom keep His commandments are described as loving Him, and is contrasted by those whom hate Him, and do not keep His commandments. Do not be decieved, loving G'd, and our neighbor within a Biblical context means keeping His commandments (His )... "By this we know that we love the children of G'd, when we love G'd, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of G'd, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." - 1John 5:2-3 Within the context of 1st century Judaism (in which this letter was written)...keeping "commandments", or in Hebrew; "Mitzvot" means nothing less than keeping His . How will you love your G'd, and the children of G'd today? B'shem Yeshua HaMashiach (In the Name of Yeshua The Messiah), Reuel |
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Post by Mark on Aug 16, 2008 6:11:22 GMT -8
First, this is a little unique on the forum where I have had two or three items that I would like to share with you and have beaten to the punch on different threads. The child training thread is very appropriate to this portion, in light of Deuteronomy 6:7, our mandate to train our children according to . Also in the Practical Observance area is the Mezuzah thread, which I have promised to get to later. I fear by the time I have this post written, though, I'll be surrounded by half a dozen kiddlings looking for breakfast cereal; so that may have to wait unto this evening or tomorrow (sorry, Nassa) I'm also excited to answer the question of what is God's favorite holiday which is answered in this week's Parashah. Children respond so differently to their environment. You never really know exactly what they are going to do, even from one day to the next as they learn and grow and experience. At the same time, it is uncanny how they manage to get themselves in exactly the same perdicaments year after year. Invariably one of them will decide that he or she wants to go down the slide, not the little kiddy slide; but the big steele one. They get up to the top, look down, waaaaaay down, and realize that this was not quite what they had bargained for. But, that's why Dad is there and so they cry for help and half a dozen moms look over at you like, "Why aren't you taking care of your kid?" The first thing a reasonable Dad will do is try to coax the child to follow through on his or her own. "C'mon, you can do it. I'll catch you at the bottom." Believe it or not, this works for some. Some kids are curious, advernturesome and naturally trusting. Others look at you with the same expressions as the moms. Others continue to scream as though you really weren't there. "I'll keep panicking until someone REALLY comes to help me." The next step is to climb up (I mean around the line of fourteen impatient gradeschoolers quietly wondering why you let your child go op there in the first place. They're used to it, though. It happens all the time.). You sit down with the little one and suggest that they sit in your lap and take you down. Believe it or not, this works for some; though you, as the capable hero, must remember to protect your esophogus so that when they transfer their adreneline laced grip from the cold steele to your neck that you are still getting exygen when you reach the bottom of the slide. Then there's me. When I am where I don't feel comfortable and the risks are greater than I am prepared to take on my own, you'll have to pry my fingers away, one by one and wrestle me me for control of the environment, even though I know you what you are doing is for my good. The logic is actually quite sound (though I doubt rarely articulated). If I am in a situation that is gretaer than I am, you have to prove to me that you are more capable than me before you I can believe that you are able to save me. This is the forty years in the wilderness. This is the process that we each go through, every time we are faced with the decision of obeying Adonai or living in our fear. The book fo Deuteronomy is the last thing that Moses had to say to this people of God, before He must leave them to enter the Promised Land without him. You can read through the book and see the process of Dad, coming to rescue his little one from the top of the slide. First he coaxes, next he shares, finally He carries them down, even against their will. There is so much in this portion that we could take a lot of time to address... and we will, over time, as we walk together and learn together of Him and through Him. But before we can share in the joy of this journey, we must learn to let go. Messiah said, you cannot serve to masters. You will always choose one or the other. Paul asks, how we can balance between righteousness and unrighteousness (2nd Corinthians 6:14-17). The truth is that we try, every day, to manage our existance in this carnal pagan world without being too different, too weird; but not altogether against God, either. The struggle at the top of the slide seems to permeate every avenue of our lives. We have to let go... sometime... somehow. Adonais committed to us that He will bring us through to the end. He loves us and is not going to leave us or forsake us. I've seen some Dads, when the child will not listen to coaxing, walk away to the car as if they are going to leave. Our God is not like that. He will never leave us npor forsake us. He is committed to teaching us to let go, despite ourselves. The text says, "He has brought you out so that He might bring you in." This is the experience that we must face whenever deciding upon obedience. At every step, we have to decide to let go of our way so that we may take upon ourselves that relationship with Him: whether it be at the bottom of the slide, down in His arms or pried away and carried over His shoulder back down the ladder. |
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Reading Schedule for this week!
