Shabbat Bible Study for 19 November 2022
©2022 Mark Pitrone & Fulfilling Torah Ministries
Year 1 Shabbat 34
Genesis 37:1-36 – Jeremiah 38:7-10 – Psalm 30 – John 19:1-20:10
B’reishith 37.1-4 – Ya’akov dwelt (yashav ישב, to settle down/dwell in peace) where Yitzhak was a stranger (magur from HR1481 gur גור, to live fearfully). The bible defines its own terms, and usually within a verse or two of those terms. Avraham and Yitzhak had sojourned (were gerim) in Kiryath Arba, but Ya’akov dwelt, which biblically means that he either lived there away from everyone else (ch.20 – yashav) or that he became one (ch.30 – zaval זול – root of Zevulun, to prepare for settling an appropriate place) with the community. Remember that he had pitched his tent outside of Shechem and that Khamor had sold the people there on allowing Ya’akov to stay because his condition for dwelling (yashav)and becoming one with the people was that they be circumcised. The deal was kinda, “If you become like me, I’ll live as one of you.” Khamor and the men of Shechem accepted the condition and fulfilled it because their larcenous heart was planning to take all Ya’akov had (ch.34). Now, Ya’akov dwells, puts down some roots while not assimilating with the culture, in Kiryath Arba [Hevron] in the field of Mamre, where Avi and Yitzy had sojourned. Yashav = in, not of, maintaining separateness while living among the gentiles. This pretty much describes how Israelites live in exile today.
As we follow the Messianic line, the seed line, of Ya’akov the main focus changes to Yoseph [v.2]. He was 17 years old [not an adult], so his older brothers were anywhere from 18 to 26 at this time. Yoseph brought an unfavorable report of his older sib’s activities to Ya’akov. The word xlated ‘evil’ is ra’ah רעע, meaning ׳to break into pieces;׳ detailed. When he did this, the sons of Leah lost any trust they’d had in him. Remember this when we get to Yoseph and his bros in 45.3 – ‘Ani Yoseph’. Between here and there we get some glimpses of Ya’akov and the 11, but the focus changes to Yoseph. He is the favored son, the one his father honors as the firstborn, and Reuven knows it and resents it already by this time. Ya’akov, at this time was probably planning to give Yoseph the birthright and blessing. I think he knew that Yoseph was a tzadik. It says in v.4 that Yoseph brought ‘their evil report’, the antecedent of ‘their’ being the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, so the evil report was against the 6 sons of Leah.
Follows a long parenthetical thought:
{I think that Noach was the eighth Melech-Tzadik High Priest;
4 For if Elohim spared not the angels that sinned, but cast down to hell, and delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2Pe.2.4, 5).
Noach was actually 9 generations removed from Adam, not 7, so he was the 8th preacher of righteousness, and that he passed that office on to Shem (who was probably Melchizedek, the 9th), who passed it on to Avraham (10th – ch.14) who passed it to Ya’akov (11th). [As with the Aharonic High Priesthood, the youngest man who COULD fulfill the office (IOW, had successfully completed the training) was anointed High Priest.] I think Ya’akov split the MelechTzadik office in two, passing to Yehuda the royal office of King and to Ephraim the righteous office of Tzadik. The office was reunited in Mashiyach Yeshua, who came 2000 years ago as ben Yoseph (Ephraim), the tzadik, and who will return as ben David (Yehuda), the king.
In Hebraic thought, a tzadik can intercede and suffer vicariously for his people. From Wikipedia [it’s GOTTA be true!] on characteristics of a Tzadik [HR6663 צדק, to satisfy objective justice]:
In classic Jewish thought, there are various definitions of a tzadik. According to Maimonides (based on Tractate Yevamot of the Babylonian Talmud, 49b-50a): “One whose merit surpasses his iniquity is a tzadik.”[1] According to the Tanya (based on passages in Tanach and the Talmud), the true title of tzadik can only be applied to one who not only never sins, but also has eradicated any inclination to do so.
That describes [only] Yeshua, Yah Tsidkenu. Also from Wiki, on ‘Becoming a tzadik:
According to the definition of the Tanya (Ba’al Shem Tov’s ‘magnum opus’) that a Tzadik has no evil inclination, only a select few [actually, only one – Mark] predestined to attain this level can attain it.
That describes noone except Yeshua, as Yah in the flesh. Schneerson’s reference to predestiny reminds me of
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:29, 30)
Also from Wiki, quoting Menachem Schneerson, from Likutei Sichot, Vol.2, pp 510-511:
In 1951 the seventh Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson said a similar statement [11] regarding the practice by Hasidim to have a Rebbe act as an intermediary with Elohim on their behalf. He explained, “The Rebbe is completely connected with his Hasidim, not like two separate things that connect, rather they become completely one. And the Rebbe is not an intermediary which separates, rather he is one that connects. Therefore by a Hassid, he with the Rebbe with Elohim are all one … Therefore one cannot ask a question about an intermediary, since this is the Essence of Elohim Himself clothed in a body.”
Understand that, according to the Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe if one is a rebbe, he is an intermediary between Yah and his people, and essentially Elohim in the flesh. If someone asks you to be his rebbe and you accept the position, or if you consider yourself a rebbe, you are not in good standing with Yah Yeshua, OUR REBBE
For there is one Elohim, and one mediator between Elohim and men, the man Mashiyach Yeshua; (I Timothy 2:5)
Yeshua was and is THE Rebbe, THE Tzadik, and THE Sanhedrin knew it – it was evident in his life and lifestyle.
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yeshua should die for that nation; 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of Elohim that were scattered abroad. 53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. 54 Yeshua therefore walked no more openly among the Ioudaioi; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
55 And the Jews’ passover [MP note – NOT Yah’s, but the Jews’] was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then sought they for Yeshua, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him. (Jn.11.47-57)
Eli Lizorkin Eytzenberg’s “The Jewish Gospel of John” on vv.45-50,
The text at hand is very interesting because it shows a distinction existed between Pharisees and the Ioudaioi . Some Ioudaioi who placed their faith in Jesus went to the Pharisees upon witnessing the resurrection. That made a lot of sense because, among various theological movements among the Judeans (Ioudaioi), it was the Pharisees who championed the idea of the resurrection from the dead. Yet most of them, at least at the top level, were not accepting of Jesus’ claims. How can this be? Now that Lazarus is alive again, the Ioudaioi who believed had a point to raise.
Did Caiaphas know Yeshua was the Tzadik Rebbe when he said it was expedient for ONE to die for his people than for the whole people to perish, or was his speech a Ruach inspired slip of the tongue? Maybe yes [both]. IF he knew, he was even more wicked than I previously thought. But, maybe not, for if he knew, why would he allow all the fulfillment of prophecies that were foreshadowed in the offerings to occur? Perhaps he was blind to them – after all he was himself no tzadik and wouldn’t be privy to the mysteries of Yah, the sod of Torah.
Had Caiaphas known, haSatan would also have known and may not have worked to crucify him.}THIS ends the long parenthetical thought. Q&C
Vv.5-11 – Yoseph starts dreaming, and REALLY ticks the sons of Leah off. I realize that this 1st dream was an easy one to interpret, because none of his brothers had any problem knowing what it meant – “You will all bow the knee to me.” Now, Yoseph was what you might call an ‘impetuous youth’ at this time, he may not have understood how the others would take his words, but this was a particularly dumb thing to convey to his older brethren, any of whom could probably beat his butt. Even a 17-year-old should have known the kind of reaction he would get. Why didn’t he run this by his abba first? I think he was rubbing their faces in his ‘favorite son’ status; that he didn’t know when to shut his yap. The root for ‘envy’ is qana קנא, to envy/protect ownership. His brethren were going to act to conserve their position/authority over their younger brother.
To illustrate (I originally wrote this down 15 years ago, when my youngest was in his teens, and about Yoseph’s age), “I am a kidder, I am! But I’m not kidding now”. I love to kid people and to be kidded back. My son attempts to be like me, but it takes some time to acquire the wisdom of when to quit, so he could sometimes just be annoying. That’s Yoseph with these dreams. Here we see the ability of the younger brother to annoy the elder brothers working. He was given a clear sign from his eldest brother that he’d gone too far, and had he the wisdom to know when to quit, he’d have been further ahead. But he pressed his advantage at the wrong time and just annoyed the elder brothers to the point that they wanted to be rid of him by almost any means. In fact, when he told his 2nd dream to his brothers, the dream’s imagery included his parents bending the knee before him and when Ya’akov heard it, HE rebuked him. After the reprimand, Yoseph shut his yap, but the damage had already been done.
His mother, meanwhile, was already dead about 7-8 years. So how could she bow to him? And where were the other wives of Ya’akov, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah? Why is Rachel seen as the mother of all 12, or does the star representing his ima actually represent ALL of Ya’akov’s wives? Ya’akov’s reaction to Yoseph is reminiscent of Miryam’s reaction to Yeshua’s activity and question in Lk.2:45-51:
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Yerushalayim, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
There’s some good stuff in the Chumash for today’s reading [on vv.5-11, underlined]. Let me share some.
Dreams in scripture are generally understood to be vehicles of prophecy. All these dreams came true according to their interpretations.
Yoseph’s dreams, which were understood as predicting that his brothers would be subservient to him, were taken as Divine revelations that he was to be the leader of the family… he was to be a spiritual bridge between the exalted level of the Patriarchs and the lesser ones of the tribal ancestors.
Each scene refers to a different period in Yoseph’s life. The 1st scene, describing their collaborative work in the field, ends when the elder brothers overpowered him in the field. The 2nd scene starts with Yoseph rising up on his own – representing as having been in the pit – and reaching a position of authority. The 3rd scene describes the brothers coming to him for their sustenance. Q&C
Vv.12-28 – Shechem is a couple of days journey by foot from KiryathArva/Hevron. V.14 – the ‘vale of Hebron’ doesn’t make any sense since Hebron is on a mountain! The root is ‘amaq’ עמק, which means to deepen – Stone’s Chumash xlates it “depth of Hebron”, which still makes no logical sense. Since the pashat level makes no sense, it must be a ‘deep’ sod meaning – a mystery of Yah. Yoseph was sent to enquire of his brothers’ welfare and progress for Yah’s purposes, which were unknown to Ya’acov (hence the ‘mystery’). What this verse begins to reveal is the deliverance of Israel, both 1) physically from the coming famine and death by starvation and also 2) from the physical and spiritual bondage in Egypt in the Exodus and return to haAretz and spiritual liberty.
Along the way a ‘certain man’ meets Yoseph at Shechem where he’s blundering around looking for his achim. The rabbis think this was the angel Gavriel, who led him to his brothers. I don’t know about that, except that this ‘certain man’ knew Yoseph and to whom he referred. Of course, this IS Shechem, where, 8 years before, 2 Israelites had wiped out a whole town and at least 10 had pillaged it in a day. I don’t think these Israelite men would be easily forgotten in those parts. Also, the passage tells us that Yisrael fed his flocks in Shechem, and probably on the land he’d lawfully purchased there for 100 pieces of silver money. They probably used this land and were there frequently. So this COULD have been Gavriel, but it could as easily have been the servant who watched over this flock on a regular basis for Yisrael. That they moved on to Dothan (2 letter root – dath, law or decree, not to be confused with the 3 letter root da’ath – knowledge), gives the rabbis the idea that the sons of Leah were looking for lawful means to kill him.
I would guess it was a few weeks or more since the dreams, and that Ya’akov thought the incident was over. But you see the elder brother’s reaction when they see Yoseph coming ‘to spy on them.’ The first thing out of one of their mouths is, “Here comes the dreamer.” I don’t think they’d forgotten. So they conspired to kill him, but Reuven – the one most injured by Yoseph’s favorite son status – saved his life by suggesting they just throw him into a pit, which foreshadows our haftarah and psalm for today. The haftarah is specifically chosen to match the Torah, but the psalm is just read in sequence, and it amazes me that it almost always deals with the Torah for the day, as it does today.
That they put Yoseph in a pit shows us that the pit in scripture represents exile. When the psalmist rejoices that he is being drawn out of the pit, he is being redeemed from his exile. That it is Yehuda that draws Yoseph from the pit foreshadows Yeshua drawing Ephraim from his exile through his finished work as our atonement on the tree and his offering of his own blood as MelchiTzadik High Priest in the tabernacle in the heavens – the one after which Yah told Moshe to pattern the tabernacle on earth. Yeshua IS our High Priest forever, after the order of MelchiZedek. He’s drawn us out of the pit of exile from Avinu, and will draw us from our physical pit of exile from HIS Land. Q&C
VV.29-36 – The sale price of 20 pieces of silver = 2/3 the price of a slave (Ex.21.32). Why 20 pieces? Well, there were 10 brothers taking the money, so 2 pieces each, which may have shown the 2 houses to each of them. I think it foreshadows the 1/2 shekel (2 farthings – KJV) Temple tax and the widow’s 2 mites. The Midyanites may have wanted to show a profit on the other end and haggled with them. The sale of the innocent into slavery does foreshadow Mashiyach being sold to his death, though that was for the full slave price. There is the possibility that the Ismaelites were from the area of Midyan. Midyan had been defeated in the fields of Moav by a son of Esav and Bashemath/Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael in ch.36. I think the Kings of Edom listed in ch.36 may all have been descendants of Ishmael through her. One of the kings, Husham of the land of Temani (one of Esav’s grandsons) reigned in the place of Zerah, a son of Esav through Bashemath, daughter of Ishmael. So the ‘sons of Midyan/Medan/Ishmael’ in ch.37 may have all been the same people. It’s a stretch, but it is also possible.
Reuven returns to find Yoseph gone. He’d offered the pit as alternative to killing Yoseph outright as a delaying tactic to save Yoseph’s life and gain his father’s approval and perhaps regain his father’s bachor blessing. When the boy was no longer available to carry out his plan, he was distraught – I don’t think so much at Yoseph’s loss as at his inability to regain his father’s approval. And, being the eldest, he was sure to be held responsible. So his question, “Where can I go?” is a valid one. Why go home to face more music than he was prepared to face, to face his father’s grief and the blame for his loss? He was in a no-win game.
Yoseph’s ‘coat of many colors’ was a woolen coat of different colored strips of wool woven together. It represented not only the birthright, but also the many nations that would be represented by him in the Olam Haba, the world to come, as Ephraim’s seed spread throughout the earth due to his long exile. The intended length of the exile is given in Ezekiel 4.3c-6
3c This a sign to the house of Israel. 4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Refer to the illustration below:
Refer to the illustration above.
[I find it interesting that Zeke was told to lie on his left side for Ephraim and on his right side for Yehudah – the left side of the Tree of Sephiroth and the Tzadik Rebbe who makes up the middle pillar corresponding to the ‘severity/Gevurah of the Almighty and the right side corresponding to the gracious goodness/Chesed of the Almighty.] But Ephraim didn’t hearken to Yah, so he had to remind us of what the consequences are for failure to heed. Lev.26:
13 I am Yah Elohechem, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. 14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
390 years after the Assyrian exile, Ephraim did not return to Yah’s commands, and we have been in exile now since about 721BCE. 390 years X 7 = 2730 years. 2730 – 721 = 2009 + 1 for the non-existant year 0 = 2010. Folks, we are in the right timeframe for the end of Ephraim’s exile. The year of the beginning of this reckoning could be off by a few years. But the question is, “Has Ephraim returned to Yah’s paths?”, yet? A very small remnant has, but will that be enough? If not, how much longer do we need to wait? Lev.26, again:
19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Boy, do I hope I’m wrong. MAN! Do I hope and pray that Yah works a miracle in the world and brings a bunch of people out of the Constantinian religion and back to Torah. We need to always be open to Yah’s leading to call people out of their Constantinian dispensationalism. They may be in the book of life, but when will we see the deliverance of the Land and its people? We will certainly see soon.
The brothers SENT the coat to Yisrael and then followed it, if I read this correctly. When they arrived and saw their abba’s reaction, it could not have been good. And I think he’d already grieved for a day or two before they got home. He said, “I will go down to my grave mourning my son.” In other words, he would never stop grieving over Yoseph’s supposed death. And they got to watch their father mourn for 22 years, until they went down to Egypt and discovered Yoseph in ch.45. Do you realize how hard it would be to keep that secret from him for that long? Every time you looked on your father you would be reminded of your crime and the cover-up, and haSatan would accuse you with it while Ruach goaded you toward teshuvah. How hard would you have to become to carry out this deception for 22 years?
Yoseph, meanwhile, is sold to Potiphar, the Captain of the Paraoh’s personal guard unit, and, I think, the Lord High Executioner of Egypt. Q&C
YirmeYahu 38.7-10 – Isn’t it wonderful when you see at least 1 non-politician in a place of influence in government. Eved-Melech, the servant of the King, spoke up for YirmeYahu when he was thrown into the miry pit. This was literally a dungeon, for it seems the mire was dung. I wonder if this was a one or a two-holer. YirmeYahu definitely got the dirt end of the stick this time. But Eved-Melech got permission from the king to bring Jerry up out of the dungpit. Eved-Melech was serving the King of kings that day when he drew him out of the pit. It pictures the time of Ya’akov’s trouble and exiled Yisrael in general. Q&C
Tehellim 30 – Yoseph and YirmeYahu both experienced the physical pit, while David dealt with the spiritual pit. Yo and Yir were fetched out by the hand of men, while David was brought out by Yah himself. Look at all the allusions to exile; the pit, sickness, the grave, night, Yah hiding his face, mourning, sackcloth – 7. David rejoices in the redemption Yah has provided him after all the affliction he received at the hands of haSatan. All he needed to do was call on Yah’s salvation and Yah delivered. That’s all anyone has to do – call on Yehoshua, Yah’s Salvation, and he shall be saved. Ps.102:
16 When Yah shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. 17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
V.5 speaks of the Great Tribulation that’s soon to come on the earth. It will be very bad for those who are not his, but he will not despise the prayer of those who know they have nothing (destitute) without him and trust in him. The night will be fleeting, but joy will come in the morning. Great Trib will be very dark for us, but if we maintain our integrity and trust in him, if we fear Yah more than what man can do to us, we will see ‘the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings’.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)
V.6-12 shows that David had moments where he trusted to his own abilities, but when Yah allowed him to reap the rewards of such a misguided trust, Dave awoke to find himself on his own and Yah’s face hidden. When he realized his error and turned from his own ways and back to Yah’s path, he found that Yah had been faithful to him through it all. David had been the prodigal whose Abba waited for him to repent and come home. And as the prodigal, who had regretted and mourned what he’d done with his life, he was given dancing and gladness in place of his mourning and sackcloth so that all his glory and abilities would give hallel and thanksgiving to Yah, forever.
The time of trouble is on the horizon, folks. Put all your trust in Yah and don’t trust to yourself. Keep your accounts short with Yah.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Psalms 91:11)
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6)
Shall is a MUCH stronger word than will. You can take ‘shall’ to the bank. We can go against his will, and he shall turn his face from us. But if we return to his will, he shall deliver us. You can even collect interest on that shall. He ‘shall’ prosper you in His way. Q&C
Yochanan 19.1-20.10 – The Brit Chadasha passage today is about the death and resurrection of Yeshua and is what has been illustrated in every passage we’ve had today. The reason that we trust in his death, burial and resurrection as atonement for us is that IT is what guarantees our future deliverance from bondage to both men and death. We have been delivered from under the curse of Torah, which curse is death, to the liberty of life in Mashiyach Yeshua.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)
Sha’ul is in a Midrash in Galatians, pulling verses from different books and sections of Tanakh and putting them together to make the point. Yeshua is our deliverance, not works of Torah. If you trust your works, as David had begun to do in Ps.30, you are under the curse of Torah, which is death. For Dt.28.58:
If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, Yah Elohecha; (Deuteronomy 28:58)
He also quotes Habakkuk 2.4 almost verbatim in Gal.3.11,
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.(Habakkuk 2:4)
But then he seems to do an about face in Gal.3.12, quoting Lev.18.5b
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Gal.3.10-12 makes the same argument as Eph.2.8-10. If we juxtapose them, we’ll see his point
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: the gift of Elohim: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Mashiyach Yeshua unto good works, which Elohim hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
As David got caught up in his own abilities and then saw the loss of blessing and the curses of Torah begin to follow, so will we if we begin to trust to our own abilities. But it isn’t our works that save us or sanctify us – it is the gift and work of Elohim in the person and work of Yeshua that delivers and sanctifies us. The purpose of our being delivered from the curse of the Torah is so that we are ABLE, by HIS faith, to walk in Torah, as Yah has ordained for us to do. Works of Torah don’t save or keep us. Yeshua’s faith and faithfulness save and keep us. It is all HIS work, not ours. We just follow him the best we can. And when we fail, our Tzadik is our Advocate before Avinu.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yeshua haMashiyach haTzadik: (I John 2:1)
Q&C
In one day Yeshua went through every bit of cursing that we all deserved for all the times that we transgressed his Torah because we were observing it in our own strength or because we were just not observing it at all. He took our punishment on himself; the lashings, the hunger, the thirst, His Abba’s turning away his face, the mocking, the diseases and the death. ALL the curses of Dt.28.15ff were laid on him because WE got full of our own selves and stopped trusting Yah.
In Yeshua’s Pesach and atonement (he did both at once & will not die again),
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto Elohim. Rom.6.10
11 But Mashiyach being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption… 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Mashiyach was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Heb.9.11-12, 26-28
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua haMashiyach once Heb.10.10
18 For Mashiyach also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to Elohim, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 1Pe.3.18),
the priests didn’t do their duty, so the secular empire’s government did it for them. Pilate examined the Lamb for blemishes and 4 times pronounced him without fault [18.38, 19.5, Lk.23.4, 14]. The Lamb had been on the Temple mount for 4 days for examination, but the priests had found him blemished because he would not knuckle under to their man-made traditions (does THAT sound familiar in the early 2020’s? COVID, Climate change, transgenderism, etc.; all hyped beyond sanity to forcibly degenerate society into HaSatan’s DREAM of voluntary world hegemony/conquest). Pilate washed his hands of innocent blood
1 If one be found slain in the land which the Yah Elohecha giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: 2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’ neck there in the valley: 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Yah Elohecha hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Yah; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried : 6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto [closest to] the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: 7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen. 8 Be merciful, O Yah, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do right in the sight of Yah. (Dt.21.1-9, esp. v.6).
Pilate offered the choice of the goat for Azazel or Yah. Those come to mind off-hand. The only thing the priests did that was their duty in either offering was to actually kill the offering.
14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he [Pilate] saith unto the Ioudaioi, Behold your King! 15 But they cried out, Away with, away with, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. 16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Yeshua, and led away.
The chief priests used their own Temple guard, the same guard that had arrested Him the night before, to execute this innocent man, who was the Son of Elohim and their king, IMO.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the American government has gotten to be an imperial government and has become both priest and king in this nation where WE are supposed to fill those billets. Why? Because we wouldn’t perform our duties. How? By telling us how much easier it would be on us if we’d just let them do it and we sit back and enjoy the ‘benefits’. And that is why America is headed toward abject tyranny – because we have failed to do what we are supposed to do and are allowing the government to do it for us. We have forgotten the tithes that we are to lay up in our storehouse to fulfill Yah’s commands that we help the poor (widows, orphans and Levites) and to help us keep Shabbat and the rest of the Mo’edim. Since we don’t, the government has taken over the tithe by taxation so IT can provide the needs of the poor and sick. And, in payment, we get to keep the secular holidays of Xmas and Ishtar and etc. IT provides for the secular priests (judges and scientists, so-called) at the government temples (courts and universities/foundations) because we fail to provide for our Levi’im and we let them do it by the 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
Don’t get me started.
From my study in the Life of Yeshua haMashiyach – a Messianic Perspective [where I used Thompson Chain-Reference Bible’s “Tree of Jesus Life” as template]:
226). Pilate pronounces death sentence, (Mat.27.26-30, Mk.15.15, Lk.23.24, Jn.19.1-16) – Pilate never actually pronounced a death sentence. He found Yeshua innocent and without fault on 4 separate occasions [Yochanan 18.38, 19.5, Matt.27.23, Lk.23.14, 22] and he washed his hands of guilt in what the priests all but forced him to allow, very much as the priest mikvahed after offering the red heifer [Num.19]. IMO, Pilate actually fulfilled the office of High Priest in Israel that day, offering Yeshua as the ultimate Pesach lamb and the goat of Atonement to Yah. (And Pilate MAY have KNOWN it.)
227). Yeshua mocked by soldiers, (Mat.27.30, Mk.15.16-20, Jn.19.1-3) – These soldiers MAY have been Roman soldiers, but they also may have been Temple guards, since this incident follows Pilate’s first attempt to pass righteous judgment on Yeshua. All the gospels share very similar information on the soldiers and none are unambiguous as to whether they were Praetorian guards or Temple guards. Since Pilate had already washed his hands of the whole affair, I lean heavily toward them being the Temple guard, though they used the palace’ torture facilities probably because they were handy to Golgotha, the place of crucifixion. Q&C
End of Shabbat Bible Study
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