Seeing and hearing the reactions of different people in the midst of the recent calamities in the world, I find myself grieving because most of us, even the supposedly veteran believers, do not fully understand and recognize God’s clear message behind the events. We just hear and do what we like to hear/do or are used to hearing/doing, and discard the stuff that we actually need! Though many are quick to dismiss, silence, divert, challenge or sugar-coat the judgment or repentance message of God being connected to the recent chain of disasters, it is clear that these events should compel us to assess ourselves in the full light of the Lord’s word.
Repentance can also be a tricky thing to do.
Backsliding itself is of course horrendous. But it gets doubly shameful and we’ll end up dishonoring God even more when we repent without fully knowing exactly how we have offended God. Admission of sins precedes repentance, and recognizing our sins precedes their admission. It would only add insult to injury if we assume to have accomplished repentance without acknowledging the specific ways we have turned our backs on God. We need knowledge and understanding of the Lord and His whole counsel--His precepts and instructions, how He views things and people, His overarching plan (not just His plans for our life, family, ministry, church or nation), what He sees as holy/unholy, His blessings/rewards and curses/judgments, and how He executes them, His timing, etc., which can all be studied through His Torah (the New and yes, especially the Old Testament, too)--so that we can not only glean from but also comprehend exactly how the Lord dealt with Israel and the Gentiles to the end that we can have a good grasp of how He must be dealing with us today.
The Torah categorically reveals that every time God rebukes a person, He is always gracious enough to tell the person why He had an issue/s against that person to warrant His punishment or judgment against the latter. There is no place in the Bible where God had corrected or disciplined someone without specifying how the person sinned. God does not spank us and leave us guessing why He did so! He even warns people in much detail how they will fall/sin ahead of time and provides for specific ways of repentance or solutions for a specific circumstance. The Bible is replete with how God never fails to be specific in His dealings with man: He is very particular and concrete in nearly everything, even in the things we think should be left for men to decide or figure out how to do. He gave us creativity and resourcefulness, not so that we could invent or presume new ways to obey Him, but so that we could fully obey His already prescribed ways. The Scriptures always tell us to imitate Him, copy Him, or be like Him, because He has already figured out and laid down the details for us to follow.
This opens our eyes to the first big sin of Israel at Mt. Sinai--back in Egypt they got so used to worshipping in SOME way (the Egyptians did it through the making of idols/graven images) that they PRESUMED it was okay to do the same thing to the God of their fathers. They might have been sincere and thrilled at the prospect of worshipping the Lord, but because they didn’t WAIT to see how God Himself wanted to be worshipped (as specified in His commandments after Moses returned from the mountain), they aroused God’s anger and many of them perished! God wasn’t being harsh when He struck dead David’s servant, Uzzah, when the latter touched the ark in an unprescribed manner, or when He killed Aaron’s sons after they used unprescribed fire in the tabernacle; God was making a point--He has defined how things are to be done, so He expects that His instructions are to be followed faithfully! I used to joke with my husband during our first years of marriage that if he really wanted to please me by buying me chocolates, I’d be pleased if he first asked me what specific chocolates I’d like, because then I’d know he’s really interested in knowing me, not just in satisfying his desire to show his affections to me. Could it be that many believers today worship God sincerely and passionately, and yet, because they have been acting on presumptions on how to worship the Lord, they have actually missed giving to God what He longs for the most--for us to KNOW and UNDERSTAND Him? A teacher once asked me a wise question: How many of us determine to look for the architect or engineer of a building and ask about the reliability of its foundations before we make it a place of residence for ourselves, our loved ones and our cherished possessions? Could it be that God is interested in us wholistically (this is one concept that is considered very Hebraic, as opposed to Greek, by the way), so that we do not only draw life from Him by being saved from the penalty of our sins but also by gaining real abundant life through a genuine, specific understanding of Him?
What was God trying to tell us in Jeremiah 9:23,24?
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS me..."
Is knowledge of the Lord relative to every person, organization, time, place or culture? Or does God already have a clear, concrete revelation of Himself that we who call ourselves ’believers’ are obligated to study with all diligence and build the foundations of our life on with all faithfulness? In the near future, Jesus will reign over the new heaven and new earth with His saints, and the Torah will still play an important part in how God will establish His system of governance (1 Corinthians 6). How many of us are really trained in the way of the Torah (ultimately, the way of the Torah-Giver, Yeshua) today, so that we can someday be as good a ruler/judge as the Lord is?
What was the cry of God’s heart when He wrote through Paul, saying, "Strive to determine what pleases me" in Ephesians 5:10?
What would drive Jesus to utterly despise the very people who affectionately claim they belong to Him in the Judgment Seat prophecy in Matthew 7:21-23?
EXACTLY why does the Bible say the road to life is narrow and difficult, but the road to destruction is wide and easy to navigate? Why and exactly how would many of the elite of the Lord fail so badly, as prophesied in the Bible? Who are the "my people" that the Bible refers to when God is calling His people to "come out of Babylon" in Revelation 17 and 18, and who/what is Babylon so that we know what we need to get out of in case we’ve fallen into its web? If we want to make sure we won’t be part of this statistic, we must contend with ourselves with complete honesty. Is it possible that we have been analyzing, interpreting and laboring on God’s word without hitting the bull’s eye of it? Not that all we did may have been useless--but if God has prescribed standards--His plumbline (His Torah/instructions), how well do we know it, and thus how well are we measuring up to it, how close (or far) have we been to the mark that God had set for us? This is not about salvation/justification anymore, because that is settled by the Blood of Jesus. This is about us knowing God the way He intended it.
It is our personal accountability to ascertain the specific reasons for God’s disciplinary/admonishing action toward us. We cannot ignore this! The problem is, not many of us like to find out deep enough to be sure that we don’t have false assumptions about how we erred in the eyes of God.
The Scriptures below, I believe, speak for themselves and can greatly improve our perspective by making things more specific and allowing us to understand God’s attitude and actions toward us (if we are open to study them):
"Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways away from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up." (Jeremiah 18:15)
Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ’We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)
Ancient path: what is it?--It is the way of the Torah, which was taught, lived and fully expressed by Yeshua, and is centered on the greatest commandments: to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and resources, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Eventually, this will be the bottom-line basis of judgment for all people, without exception. How do we know if love the Lord? In the explanation below I have included some excerpts of an excellent article called "Definition of Love" written by Andrew Gabriel Roth.
Although the Scriptures clearly define love, it has been given all manner of modern and usually subjective definition by various institutions and religions. Most souls think of love according to its attributes because love is rather difficult to define. Many Christians assert that "God is love" and one of the popular clichés is to "just love the Lord."
But the manner of how one "loves the Lord" brings up much opinion and debate, especially since mainstream Christianity often teaches a love that fails to capture exactly what Scripture teaches. For example, "And by this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and follow his commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. Because, whoever is born of Elohim overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith" (1 John 5:2-4).
The definition of love is best understood through the Messiah’s life and teachings: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15); and, "He who has my commandments with him and keeps them, he is who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and reveal myself to him" (John 14:21); and, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the commandments of my Father, and I abide in His love." (John 15:10). Abiding in His love is clearly connected to "keeping the commandments." The "commandments of my Father" always refers to Torah; and Y’shua taught that "if you love" him, you will keep the Commandments.
Mashiyach Y’shua clearly kept the commandments of his Father, yet only a tiny minority of Christians would even consider the importance of these same Commandments - even though the name "Christian" comes from the same root haMishchah (the anointing) which means to be "Mashiyach-like." Y’shua is the Word of YHWH, and about this Spirit of Mashiyach Moshe (Moses) wrote: "And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My Commandments" (Sh’mot/Exodus 20:6); and, "Therefore you shall love YHWH your Elohim and keep His charge and His Statutes and His Judgments and His Commandments, always." (D’varim/Deut. 11:1).
There are dozens of places in Scripture where "love" is tied in with keeping the Commandments. Unfortunately, believers who manifest "loving of the Lord" according to Scripture are quickly labeled as Legalists and Judaizers for keeping the Commandments, and often encounter severe persecution from "the Church."
"And owe nothing to anyone; but to love one another. For he that loves his neighbor has fulfilled Torah. For this likewise, which it says: You shall not kill; nor commit adultery; nor steal; nor covet; and if there is any other commandment, it is completed in this sentence: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to one’s neighbor because love is the fulfillment of Torah." (Romans 13:8-10). Rav (Rabbi) Shaul (Paul) is clearly teaching that these four Commandments are examples of how a person demonstrates love to their neighbor; this kind of love is the fulfillment of Torah. "For the entire Torah is properly understood in one Miltha (Word/Manifestation): ’You will love your neighbor as you would yourself.’" (Galatians 5:14). The many other definitions of love that lack the Commandments also lack the connection to justice and righteousness. Man’s interpretation of "love" often reverts to carnal instincts like anarchy, excess, sensuality, emotionalism etc.
The Brit Chadasha (popularly known as the New Testament) literally means Covenant Renewed, a "making new" of the Covenant of Love that YHWH had formerly established between Himself and his people. Although there is a change of priesthood in the Renewed Covenant, YHWH’s Word and Commandments remain eternal, His love has never changed; if anything, love has been magnified (fully interpreted). "You have heard that it has been said that you should not commit adultery. But I say to you that all who that looks at a woman as lustfully at once has committed adultery in his heart." (Matt. 5:27, 28). Y’shua "raised the bar" but he also said, "And because of the growth of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold." (Matt. 24:12). Therefore, as the Commandments grow within the heart, true love will also grow. Love, therefore, is a voluntary and personal choice and commitment to do the right thing and keep the Commandments.
Joshua teaches that loving YHWH means "to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments": "But take diligent heed to do the Commandment and the Torah, which Moshe the servant of YHWH charged you, to love YHWH your Elohim, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Joshua 22:5). He declared "...as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH." (Joshua 25:15).
To love YHWH means to keep His Commandments. There is no other substitute a person can make to demonstrate their love to YHWH or to each other, because true love is righteous; it is set-apart and does good towards YHWH and all of His creation.
We are to become as "little children" who can put trust in Yeshua HaMashiyach (Jesus, the Messiah) and simply do what he asks, rather than be rebellious, presumptuous and find religious loopholes that make us feel better about breaking the Commandments.
"Consider how I love your precepts: quicken me, O YHWH, according to your lovingkindness." (Psalm 119:159). Love is a reciprocal giving and sharing that is based on being true to the Word of YHWH, and "great peace have they which love your Torah: and nothing shall offend them." (Psalm 119:165). Peace is established by love because love is the action of doing what is right, set apart, just and good.
One of the greatest perversions accomplished against the Word of YHWH was to superimpose a false religious definition of love based on popular theology which, in the eyes of millions of Christians, has rendered the Torah null and void. The unpleasant realities of "Christian love" through the centuries have spoken volumes in times when "Christian nations" like Spain, Germany and Poland brought hatred upon Jews and other races or religions that were not "Christian." Today members of the World Council of Churches are launching new crusades against the Jewish "occupation" of their homeland of Israel - the very lands YHWH gave to the Jewish people as an "everlasting possession" (Genesis 15:18); and from which He promised they would never again be removed (Amos 9:15).
Love as it is commonly known even in the Church is fashioned after "tolerance," rather than temperance, self-control, discipline and accountability to one another and to the Word of YHWH. Crime and decadence has escalated in "Christian nations" like the USA that would embarrass Sodom and Gomorrah. Y’shua said that the land of Sodom would fare better than some cities that had the truth presented to them but rejected it (Matthew 11:23, 24). The United States claims to be led by "Christian" Presidents and approximately 65 percent of the nation claims to be Christian. The reality is that America has one of the largest per capita crime rates in the world and twice the homicide and rape statistics of many European countries, under "Christian" leadership and "Christian" government.
Most Christian leaders teach that Torah is taboo because "Jesus nailed it to the cross" and gave them the Commandment to love, so they teach carte blanche Torahlessness ("anti-law" or anomia, as is found in Matthew 7:21-23) for the "forgiven." Sin is hidden under "grace" because the of the erroneous thinking that the New Testament has given a new "definition" of love--one that provides unlimited pardon of willful and repetitive sin. Religious "biblical" love in reality has desensitized people’s hearts to one another and to Mashiyach. In reality, this kind of love is tyranny because it is simply love based on man’s opinions; it is certainly not love according to Jesus and His Torah!
The prophet Daniel wrote, "And I prayed unto YHWH my Elohim, and made my confession, and said, O YHWH, the great and dreadful Elohim, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His Commandments;" (Daniel 9:4). Israel broke the Covenant that YHWH gave, just like Christianity is breaking the Renewed Covenant that is offered in Mashiyach. The Covenant is evidenced by an exchange of love between YHWH and His people, but it is incumbent upon mankind to love YHWH and to demonstrate love to others by keeping the Commandments and teaching them.
James wrote, "And if in this you fulfill the Torah of Elohim, as it is written, ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you will do well:" (James 2:8). The majority of Christian theologians translate the word "fulfill" as "bring to an end" but it clearly means to bring to a reality, perform or do, as in a person’s duty to love their spouse by their actions, where the actions of love is love demonstrated. To fulfill Torah means to have the love of the Father dwelling within the soul, and this means to not only welcome His Commandments but to delight in them as obedient children.
"There is no love that is greater than this that a man lay down his life for the sake of his friends. You are my friends if you do all that I commanded you." (Yochanan 15:13, 14) Y’shua speaks according to the Spirit of YHWH in him rather than his own soul; therefore, "all that I commanded you" is specifically referring to Torah. This was the ancient path, the way followed by the early talmidim (disciples) of Jesus, which brings us to another question worth our time and deep evaluation, as well: "What were the characteristics of the New Testament disciples, and how similar (or dissimilar) is it with the picture of believers today?"
