Post by Ben Avraham on Jan 30, 2016 16:02:12 GMT -8
PARASHA: "Yitro"
EXODUS 18:1-20:23................ISAIAH 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6..................MATTHEW 5:8-20
This is the portion where we see the "Ten Commandments" we can look at this as the "Ketuba Yisrael" (The marriage contract between Adonai and his people).
First,. Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law gives Moshe some very good advice, to divide the work and get some assistance. That is excellent advice, and we see this practical division of work/ministry ethics in the entire world. Pastor/rabbi, associate pastor/rabbis, teachers, cantors, music ministers, financial planners, maintenance workers, yard keepers, nursery workers, security, and the list can go on. The pastor/rabbi can not do all the work himself
the work is to be shared. That is why we have the spiritual gifts,. so that ALL believers can join in and form a well oiled machine, the pastor/rabbi leading, and above him, Adonai-Elohim. Who is Master and the Corner Stone of ALL.
1. "Anochi Adonai Eloheiha" (I AM the LORD thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me"
Anything that comes before our worship of Adonai, anything that is considered more important than coming together to worship Adonai, is a false god, it can be gold and silver, spouses, sports, TV, jobs, etc.. not that those things are evil, they are not, but when they are considered more important, then, we have problems, let's make ADONAI our priority, and our witness, testimony, worship, first in our lives, least YHVH take away from us those other things that are coming first.
2. "Thou shalt not make unto thee graven images"
It isn't that we can't have pictures of grandma and grandpa on the wall, the bust of Beethoven on the piano, it is talking about "images, sculptures, statutes, that are used to so called "help us" in worship, we see in many religions icons, statues of Jesus and Mary, Joseph, the pope, etc.. but we should not use these, Adonai is SPIRIT, and He should be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth. We can consider an "image" a likeness of a person, a person that represents God, Are you saying we can't have a pic of Yeshua? Well, were you alive when he was alive? how do you know what he looked like? I know it is stepping on some toes, but this is what
says.3. "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain"
We can take the name of God in vain both verbally, or by un holy, un righteous actions,
If we promise to do something and use God's name in that promise, and do not honor the promise, we have taken his name in vain, if we act un godly, or stay in the flesh, behave like the lost, laugh at crude jokes, follow the ungodly crowd, we take his name in vain, by our actions.
4. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy"
Saturday, the Sabbath, has always been the Sabbath, it was NEVER changed, not that it is wrong to worship on Sundays, it is also good, the synagogues were opened seven days a week for fellowship and prayer in Biblical times, and some still are. Scripture says that the disciples met together the first day of the week to break bread. Yes, that is praise and fellowship, sharing food together, but that does not mean that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday, it just shows a custom that was practiced, and it is still practiced today, Worship on Saturday and on Sunday is a "double blessing" Any work that is not necessary should wait for the week, Rest! it is a good thing. (even cars rest, when they are parked)
5. "Honor thy father and thy mother"
This goes without explanation, we all know that honoring them is self-engrained, inwardly, we know how to. but outwardly, sometimes we forget, and many dishonor mom and dad, back talking, yelling at them, physically hurting them, lying to them, cheating them, stealing from them, etc...Remember, when you think no one sees or hears you, think again, "Abba" does! and so do his holy angels, they cry, and the demons laugh, in the long run, you end up getting hurt, vengeance is mine, I will repay sayeth the LORD!
6 - 10. "Thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, nor bear false witness against thy neighbor, nor covet ANYTHING that is your neighbors..."
Did you know that when one commits adultery, that person breaks all those commandments? he or she "kills" a relationship, "steals" what doesn't belong to him or her, is a "false witness" since now, that person is in "negative light" can not be trusted, and that person is "coveting" that which does not belong to him or her. The word "kill" means "murder" take the innocent life of another. it does NOT mean you can't defend
yourself or your family from those who wish to harm you, it does not mean you shouldn't bare arms and go into battle in the armed forces to defend your country against the enemy, Many of God's men and women were warriors; David, Joshua, Gideon, Shamgar, Deborah, etc... Did you know you can "steal" time? late for work? you're "stealing from your employer, time that belongs to him, Finally, we should not want what the other person has, just because we don't have it. That person might have headaches over it, Adonai will supply us with our needs, and sometimes, even our wants. want something the neighbor has? ask God! if He feels you need it, you will get it, if not, don't worry about it , you really don't need it, it would probably be more of a burden than a blessing.
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ISAIAH 9: 6
"Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders, his name will be; Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"
What wonderful words, what a promise fulfilled. for GOD came to us in human form, as a child, as the Son of God, "B'nei Elohim, a perfect Man as perfect God, to pay the price of sin committed by the first human (Adam) so He became the second Adam, He shall rule one thousand years, his government will be perfect and holy, His name is YESHUA, He counsels us through his WORD, he is Wonderful, Awesome, the word "wonder" is "Pelah" in Hebrew, which is "Aleph" spelled backwards. he will bring everlasting SHALOM, and He is for everlasting, from the past, now, and into the future
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MATTHEW 5:8-20
if I comment on all this, I will not get any sleep tonight, so I will look at "Think not that I am come to destroy the
or the Prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfill""destroying" and "fulfilling" were common expressions among the rabbis in Yeshua's time
to "destroy" the
meant to "misinterpret or give a wrong interpretation of the meaning of some part of scripture, to "fulfill" was to give a correct interpretation of the , looking at context, background, audience, purpose, original language, etc.. and this is what Yeshua did, he gave an exact interpretation of the and the Neviim (The Prophets) I mean, he knows the meaning, He guided the hands and minds who wrote down the words.5:19 "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least mitzvoth, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall DO and TEACH them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven"
Many times, we don't pay attention to the small details of the
, we might think that they are minor issues, but in the eyes of Yeshua, they are NOT. Every detail in the is important, every Mitzvah is important, to teach, to obey, to follow, no matter how small. Even the mitzvoth that we can no longer practice today, even the sacrifices, the temple priesthood, etc, one can teach the symbolism of the same, since all point to Yeshua.5:20 "For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven"
One might ask, how is our righteousness different than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? We trust in YESHUA as Messiah, and our faith rests in HIM, and not in what we can DO. The scribes and Pharisees trusted in righteous WORKS, and not in righteous FATIH, they rejected Yeshua as Messiah (perhaps with the exception of Nicodemus) trusting in our WORKS will get us nowhere, Trusting in Yeshua, his complete redemptive act on Calvary's tree, reconcile us to Adonai.
Shabbat Shalom...............rabbi Ben Avraham
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