“Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with you, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.” [Deut.4: 40 KJV]
“It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.” [Psalm 119: 126, 127 KJV]
We are about to embark on a teaching that will surely teach you how to read your Bible which is the Living Word of God, not with the eyes of a Gentile Jesus, not with the eyes of a Protestant Jesus or a Catholic Jesus, but with the eyes of a Jewish Jesus. You will realize that Jesus and His disciples weren’t converted Jews but rather were practicing Jews - keepers of the Law [or Torah] of God.
As you sincerely read this newsletter and the following issues and begin to learn about the Torah with an unbiased mind that is open to being taught by the Holy Spirit, on God’s Law, you will better begin to appreciate how its customs and celebrations are linked to the fulfillment of many blessings found in the believer whose life is fully immersed in Christ. You will also, learn to love and respect every Jew with the unconditional love of the Lord. I’ll explain how.
The Biblical story of Ruth is more than the beautiful love story of King David’s great grand-parents. Ruth is the symbol of every Gentile who has ever come to faith through Israel’s God. The words of this Moabitess to her Jewish mother-in-law Naomi - “Your people shall be my people and your God my God” - are still ringing in the hearts of every non-Jew who believes in Boaz and Ruth’s promised Son, Messiah, who would come down through their lineage.
Every gentile believer has come from the land of famine to the spiritual realm of abundance in that Name. Even Jesus’ reference to Himself as the Bread of Life hearkens back to this ancient love story - to say nothing of the fact that He was born in the shadow of the very fields where Ruth was gleaning, just outside Beth-Lehem [House of Bread].
But the church has not responded to her Boaz as Ruth responded to hers. The church did not leave her Moabitish ways behind when she came into the house. Although she may have taken the “Bread” of Boaz, which represents Jesus to us, she turned her back on all His relatives, the Jewish people.
As a pastor I am deeply aware of a significant change in the spirit realm. I eagerly await the Coming of the Lord just as any other spirit-filled believer, but at the same time I am increasingly growing passionate by the day about seeing my Jewish brothers and sisters are accepted as Jewish and encouraged to express their faith within a Jewish framework.
I want to see the gentile church appreciating her Jewish foundation stones. I want her to understand why Israel and the Jewish people are center stage in world history again and I want her to be grateful for a returning Jewish leadership in the Body of Messiah.
It occurred to me one day as I was rereading the Ten Commandments in the light of what I just said that there may be more than meets the eye in the fifth commandment [Deut.5: 16] “Honor your father and your mother,” the Lord commanded - “which is the first commandment with a promise,” Paul adds to his letter to the Ephesians [6:2]. Have you ever asked “Why?” “That it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth [vs.3].
Could it be, the long, fulfilling spiritual life is being withheld from the Church until she honors the origins of her faith? Could it be the history of division will cease only after we unite with God’s chosen family - the Jew? Hence this teaching, I believe is going to serve as a timely reminder to bring about a spiritual awareness of our responsibility as Christians to Israel, the Law [The Torah] and the Jew in these last days.
In Hebrew, the word for commandment is Mitzvah. In Judaism, there are 613 mitzvahs. All of these mitzvahs are encompassed by the Ten Commandments. Today, all over the world there seems to be a concerted attempt to remove all representations of the Ten Commandments from the minds of people in many subtle ways.
Let’s take a brief refresher course on the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20:
1. You shall have no other gods before Him.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness - an idol.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. You shall honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or anything that is your neighbor’s.
These Ten Commandments are encompassed in the two commandments [mitzvahs] Jesus gave us in Matthew 22: 37 - 40 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
When you look at the Ten Commandments as a list, it is easy to see where they are divided into the same two categories Jesus referred to. The first four commandments deal with man loving God. The last six deal with man loving his neighbor.
Now, permit me to ask you a question. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If your answer is “Yes” then we will proceed to my next question. If your answer is “No” then I urge you to just stop for a brief moment right now, and ask the Lord Jesus to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior.
I assume you have done so, and therefore let me proceed by asking you that just because you are now saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus you don’t have to follow these Ten Commandments? In other words does it mean that Jesus put an end to those teachings of having to follow the Law of God? Permit me to answer that question with a reply from Jesus Himself – “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” [Matt.5: 17 KJV]
Now we are brought to the question that has created confusion for multitudes of Christians: If the works of the law cannot save a person, is it therefore necessary to keep the law? Apparently this was a burning issue in the early church, because Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” In other words, does grace give us a license to disobey the law of God? His answer is: “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (verse 2).
How interesting it is that Christians in this age of relativism can invent their own definitions that condone lawbreaking. The Bible says sin is violating the Ten Commandments - the law which has been described as irrelevant and old-fashioned by many modern theologians.
The reason that the abortion industry and the homosexual agenda and the humanist movement have flourished in nearly every country in the world is because the church has been a sleeping giant.
Some pastors have reached a stage where their indifference is so clearly seen by the stance they take. They are like dumb dogs - watch dogs who will not bark in the day of danger. If the church does not rise up and speak out and take action on issues like the sacredness of marriage, we will bequeath a moral cancer to our children and grandchildren and we will not be able to differentiate between our children and the children of the world who live in darkness and sin.
Don’t be deceived. Every one of those great moral precepts is just as timely and needful today as they were when God wrote them on the imperishable tables of stone. And nothing has ever happened to make them less binding than they were when God gave them.
In fact, we are going to discover that Jesus came to magnify the law and to open up its spiritual application, making it more comprehensive than the legalistic Pharisees ever imagined. Under the distilling influence of Christ’s perfect life of obedience, we can see the spiritual details of law-keeping which are neither recognized nor made possible apart from Him.
Fortunately for us, all 613 Mitzvahs have been condensed into these two mitzvahs: love God and love others as yourself. How simple! How gracious and wonderful indeed!!
The first 13 days of the month of September 2015 is divided into the Jewish month of Elul and the remaining days fulfill the month of Tishrei. But taken as a whole month by itself, September contains three of the most important Jewish festivals to be celebrated this year which is - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
Sad to say, many good, Bible-believing Christians are still in the dark about these three Jewish feasts and their relationship to Christ. Then there are others whose indifference to spiritual truth is reflected in their calloused remarks, and who mock at them not knowing anything about their prophetic significance. I will teach briefly on these three feasts to help you gain a better appreciation of what they mean to you as a Christian.
Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year,” and it is commonly referred to as the “Jewish New Year.” It begins in the evening of September 13 [Sunday which is called Rishon in Hebrew] and ends in the evening of September 15 [Tuesday which is called Shlishi in Hebrew]. Rosh Hashanah begins a ten-day period of repentance that concludes with Yom Kippur also known as The Day of Atonement.
In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah also means “the opening of the gate.” It is the opening of heaven’s gates. Just as we often reflect and self-evaluate on January 1st, New Year’s Day, it is a day of reflection and self-examination. In Israel, during every day in the thirty days leading to Rosh Hashanah, the rabbi would blow an ancient trumpet made of ram’s horn called the shofar. The shofar was a warning to all Israelites who heard it that Rosh Hashanah was coming.
During those 30 days, God would speak to the people. There would be a chastening by God on those who had broken the law during those thirty days. They knew that “as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” [Deut.8: 5]. Today, we as Christians know that “whom the Lord loves He chastens” [Heb.12: 6]. The Jewish people were aware that if they had not forgiven others, the next year would not be good. If they had spent a whole year bickering and quarreling, the next year would not be good, unless they accepted change.
The blowing of the shofar is to remind us that a new year – a new beginning - is on the way. Old things pass away; all things are becoming new [2 Cor.5: 17]. This why sometimes Rosh Hashanah is called the “Feast of Trumpets,” and is also called Yom Hazikaron or Day of Remembrance when God remembers His people when He hears the sounding of the shofar.
There are three major reasons in the Bible to blow the shofar. The first is to announce a new king. When Jesus returns to earth, He will come not as a Lamb but as a King to set up the new Jerusalem. The blowing of the trumpet announces the coming of the King.
Second the blowing of the shofar is to call the army of the Lord to battle. It alerts the church to be battle ready. Evil is to be destroyed and truth to be established. God’s Word is truth and that alone will last for now and eternity.
Thirdly, the blowing of the shofar is to a call the faithful as well as the lukewarm back to worship. In Eph.5: 16, 17 Paul is quoting from the Book of Isaiah and writes, “Wake up!” in other words, Paul is wanting his readers to let the sound of the shofar awaken them out of their spiritual slumber and alert them about the end that is fast approaching. Worship establishes and gives God His rightful place in the center of the believer’s life and lifestyle.
Today, with an increasing awareness of the Jewish shofar, there is an abuse that arises from the indiscriminate blowing of the shofar in Christian meetings.
Let me explain. Many today feel it is trendy to have someone blow the shofar during a worship service. But in the days of Joshua when the shofar was sounded, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.[Josh.6: 20] Thus, the sounding of the shofar will bring down the walls of depression and oppression when it is done in a divinely instructed way. So the shofar can be used as a mighty weapon in the spirit.
However, abuse has crept in, and these days many people feel that they have the liberty to bring their own personal shofars to a service and keep sounding their shofar as and when they feel it is right to do so or led to do so. It is here that the problem arises.
One of the key elements of blowing the shofar is that when you use something that is sacred over and over again, it loses it sacredness. The Jewish Sabbath is considered sacred because it happens only once a week. No Jew would consider it holy if they celebrated the Sabbath dinner every day of the week. Anniversaries come at a point of time so we can give focus to a relationship or an event. You can’t have anniversaries happen every day. That is why God called these days in the Torah as - appointed times. [Lev.23: 1, 2]
Therefore the shofar should be sounded in a more intentional and purposeful way, because we don’t see in the Bible people simply blowing a shofar at their whim. Even the two silver trumpets in Numb.10: 1, 2 were blown at specific times for a specific purpose. If they were both sounded it was a call for everyone to come together [vs.3]. If one trumpet was sounded only the leaders came. [vs.4] It was a kind of email or message app of that day.
Numb.10: 9 clearly says, “When you go into battle sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.” From reading the Bible carefully we know that during Temple times the shofar was blasted twice each week at the pinnacle of the temple announcing the beginning and ending of the Sabbath.
Also, it was the sons of Aaron the priest who were called to blow the trumpets and not any Tom, Dick or Harry who ran around blowing shofars. Even around Jericho’s walls it was the priests alone who blew the shofars. In the New Covenant these would be akin to the Elders or Pastors in the congregation. They or whom they appoint should blow the shofar. When ten different people are blowing their shofars at their every impulse during a worship service, it breeds confusion and breaks the flow of the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant does not encourage anarchy in worship and emphasizes Holy Spirit flow governed by approved elders. Lastly, it is good to ask ourselves, “If a Jewish unbeliever comes into our meeting, would he be blessed or offended at how we use Jewish symbols?” How sad and tragic would it be that our Christ-like love for Jewish people and Jewish culture could result in offending Jewish people!
It is good to find out therefore, whether in a Jewish synagogue there is an order in worship or does just anyone blow the shofar in any service? Would you see a female sounding the shofar at an orthodox Jewish Synagogue? These are questions we must consider while using sacred Jewish symbols.
As the musician prepares to blow the Shofar before the congregation on Rosh Hashanah, this blessing is recited: "Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, asher kidishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu lishmo'a kol shofar." "Blessed are You LORD, our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to hear the voice of the shofar."
So the blowing of the shofar is an awesome tool and a weapon in the Spirit. But if we do not respect it in the Christian church and have no order or rules on how and when it is used it loses it purpose and power.
Because the Jews want a sweet New Year, they eat apples dipped in honey for this Jewish holiday. In the Bible, Israel is referred to as: "the land of milk and honey".
This signified a land that was bountiful and pleasant. The honey referred to was the honey made from dates. In many parts of the world, it's difficult to find kosher date palm honey. But purists will insist on celebrating Rosh Hashanah with this delicacy.
However, even in Israel today, honey made by bees is the sweet condiment most widely used for dipping apples. The apple trees are laden with fruit for harvesting during this holiday season and the markets are filled with them.
Before they taste the apples they say this blessing. "Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha'olam, borai p'ri haetz."
"Blessed are You LORD, our God, King of the Universe, Who creates fruit of the tree."
After the first slice of apple is dipped in honey and eaten, this blessing is said: "Y'hi ratzon mil'fanekha, Adonai Eloheinu velohei avoteinu, shet'hadesh aleinu shana tova um'tuka."
"May it be Your will, LORD our God and God of our ancestors, that you renew for us a good and sweet year."
It is customary to have a special dish to serve the apples and honey every year.
