Fulfilling Torah Ministries

July 26. 2014 Shabbat Bible Study
©2011 Mark Pitrone and Fulfilling Torah Ministries
Shemoth 30:11-38 – 2 Melechim 12:4-8 – Tehillim 62 – Romyah 5:1-21
Links for this week

Shemoth 30.11-16 – The procedure for a census and reason for doing one is the 1st
subject addressed this week. It was to be done so that a collection could be taken. Each
male aged 20 years or more would give a ½ shekel ‘ransom’ for his soul. If there were a
census without a collection or without a command from Y’hovah, there would be an
accompanying plague. The census was not to be done just to do one or to satisfy the
curiosity of the king, but only when Y’hovah commanded it to be done. David found out
about this when he ordered a census without the command from Y’hovah in 2Sam.24.1-4,
8-16:

1 And again the anger of Y’hovah was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to
say, Go, number Israel and Judah. 2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which with
him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the
people, that I may know the number of the people. 3 And Joab said unto the king, Now Y’hovah thy
God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my Lord
the king may see: but why doth my Lord the king delight in this thing? 4 Notwithstanding the king’
word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the
host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel … 8 So when they had
gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9
And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight
hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred
thousand men. 10 And David’ heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David
said unto Y’hovah, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Y’hovah,
take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 11 For when David was up in
the morning, the word of Y’hovah came unto the prophet Gad, David’ seer, saying, 12 Go and say
unto David, Thus saith Y’hovah, I offer thee three; choose thee one of them, that I may do unto
thee. 13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come
unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee?
or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return
to him that sent me. 14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand
of Y’hovah; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. 15 So Y’hovah sent a
pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people
from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. 16 And when the angel stretched out his
hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, Y’hovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that
destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of Y’hovah was by the
threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. (2Sam.24.1-4, 8-16)

Joab AND the captains of the hosts of Israel brought warning before the king, who is
elsewhere described as ‘a man after mine heart’ by Y’hovah himself. They knew this was
in direct contradiction of the Word of Y’hovah, and SO DID DAVID, but his word
prevailed over the objections of Yoav and David’s mighty men of valor. They did their
job and brought warning.

17 Ben-adam, I have made you a watchman to Beit Yisrael: therefore listen to the words from My
mouth, and give them warning from Me. [Yechezkel 3.17 Restoration Scriptures]

I do not think that the angel that smote Israel was Y’hovah himself, but that he used the
Adversary for this plague. The angel of this pestilence was about to wipe out the entire
population of Jerusalem before Y’hovah restrained him. THE Angel of Y’hovah stood at
the threshingfloor of Arauna to stop the angel of the pestilence. HaSatan destroyed until
he came face to face with Moshiach, and he dared not go further.

This threshingfloor, that was the site of the future Temple’s Kodesh Kadashim, was the
geographical center of the earth’s landmasses, indeed, in my opinion, of the universe and,
for that reason, has become the most desired and most conquered piece of real estate on
earth. HaSatan wants it for his own throne. A few weeks ago I postulated that a line
drawn north and south through the cornerstone of the Temple and extended through the
poles would cross more land mass than any N/S line drawn anywhere else in the world;
and that the same was true of an East/West line drawn latitudinally around the earth
crossing the same cornerstone. It is indeed the center of the landmass of the earth. That is
because this is the place Y’hovah would place his throne, for the ark that Israel was going
to build for Him was to rest there. The Holy of Holies is ‘spiritual space’ in which there
is no time. Believe it or not, Sir Isaac Newton (in his treatise on Optics in 1704) derived
this theory from scripture and the Zohar, which is the Book of Lights*. In his quest to
discover the deep things of Elohim, Newton had developed the scientific method of
investigation. [*from David Flynn’s Temple at the Center of Time]

As an interesting note, exactly 25.20 statute miles due east of the Temple’s cornerstone
(which is exposed through the pavement on the NW corner of the Temple Mount under
the ‘Dome of the Spirits’, NOT the Dome of the Rock) lies the north peak of Mt. Nebo,
from whence Moshe looked on the Promised land before he died. If you had a strong
enough telescope, you could look through the East Gate and into the Temple from that
point on Mt. Nebo, 25.20 miles away. The royal cubit of the Temple and its furnishings is
25.20 inches. 2520 = 360 (as in degrees of a circle and days of a prophetic year) x 7, ½ of
which is 1260 (as in 3½ prophetic years). Make what you will of that tidbit.

The ransom (v.12) was to be a head tax, not an income tax. Every male aged 20 years or
more, regardless his wealth, gave the ½ shekel tax for the maintenance of the Mishkan.
The ½ shekel was to ransom them from the ‘appearance of evil’

Abstain from all appearance of evil. (I Thessalonians 5:22)

as they were NOT to trust to power in numbers, but to the Spirit and Power of Yeshua as
the right arm of Y’hovah. Q&C
Vv.17- 21 – The laver was to be made of brass. It was a large basin within a basin, both
filled with water, in which the priests were to wash their hands and feet “that they die
not”. Y’hovah repeats himself about the priests washing their hands and feet “that they
die not”, so this was very important. The laver lay between the altar and the
Mishkan/Temple so I assume they were to wash off the blood from their hands and the
dust off their feet before entering the Kodesh place with the basin of blood for atonement.
The Chumash says that the washing was not for cleanliness, but for sanctification, and I
agree with that (so it MUST be true, right?). The hands symbolize our work and the feet
symbolize our walk, and for the priest to enter Y’hovah’s presence in any other condition
than sanctity in work and walk would put them in danger of his wrath, thus “that they die
not.” Therefore, I think this describes that the priest actually walked into the lower basin
of the laver to wash his feet and dipped his hands into the upper basin to wash his hands.

Vv.22-33 – Here is the recipe for the anointing oil to be offered on the Golden Altar. Just
because we know the recipe does not give us license to mix it. THIS oil is only to be used
to sanctify the Mishkan, the priests and the furnishings and utensils of the Mishkan. To
use it for any other purpose is to invite Elohim’s wrath. To make another oil similar to it
was to be cut off from the people – outside the camp. This oil was mentioned in ch. 25,
27 and 29, but this is our first glimpse at what it was talking about, other than the base of
olive oil. All the weights given are in shekel’s weights. Stone’s Chumash says that the
shekel = about ½ oz. troy. The pound = 14 ounces troy or 16 ounces avoirdupois. So, 28
shekels = roughly 1 pound. 500 shekels = 250 ounces or almost 18 pounds of spice.
There was 1500 – 1750 shekel’s weight of spices (around 53½ – 72 pounds) that were
applied to an hin of olive oil. An hin = 1-2 gallons, so this was truly an ointment. That is
a LOT of spice carried by a relatively small quantity of oil. It might pour, but it will
resemble honey or molasses. The anointed Mishkan, furnishings and utensils transmitted
their holiness to whatever touched them (v.29). When Pinchas killed the Israelite man
and the heathen woman in the tent of meeting, he kept those rascals from touching
anything in the tent and thereby (I infer) becoming sanctified in their idolatry by contact
with such set-apart things. Treating the anointing oil in any way other than that which
Y’hovah prescribed brought excommunication.

Vv.34-38 – The incense [KJV – perfume] was to be of 4 spices of equal weight; spacte
(Heb. Nataph, a gum or sap from a tree or bush, perhaps acacia gum), onycha (Heb.
Shecheleth, which is remarkably like the color turquoise blue techeleth, perhaps the
aromatic mussel [?]), galbanum (Heb. chelbna – another odorous gum) and frankincense.
These were placed in a mortar in equal weights and ground together with a pestle, the art
of the apothecary. This incense was to be kept in the Holy place before the ark of the
testimony on THIS side of the veil and so in close proximity to the Golden Altar of
Incense. As with the oil, this incense was very holy and to make this incense for any
other purpose was to be excommunicated, cut-off from the people of Israel. The 3 gums
(including frankincense) and the shell of the mussel (an unclean animal to eat), when
mixed in the proper [equal] proportions, must have made a sweet smelling aroma when
burnt. We know that the incense represents the prayers of the saints (Rev.8). Q&C
2Melechim 12.4-8 – The priests got lazy by Jehoash’s reign. When Yehoash ordered
them to take the ½ shekel from the people and apply it to the repair of the breeches in the
Temple, the priests pretty much ignored him – for 23 years. Why it took Yehoash 23
years to notice that the priests had ignored him I don’t know, but I do know this: from
that time on, he did not trust the ½ shekel head tax to the priests. From that time on, the
people put their ½ shekel into a chest specifically for the repair of the Temple, and the
money was given directly to the contractors to do the repairs and the priests were taken
out of the loop. The contractors, I infer, were more righteous and trustworthy than the
priests. I think Yehoash was ticked, and that Yehoyada (whose name means ‘Y’hovah
knows’) was a part of the problem, but got it right with the king when confronted by him.
This is one instance where Yehoash, who did what was right in Y’hovah’s sight as long
as Yehoyada was alive, was even more righteous than the High Priest who kept him on
the strait and narrow.
Tehellim 62 – Our Elohim is the source of my salvation, not any mere man, including
me. I shall not be greatly moved means that I may sin, but my Rock and my salvation is
my advocate before Elohim, the Supreme judge of the Universe, and I SHALL not be
greatly moved from him. When we begin to go to the right or the left, our Rock will lead
us back to the path of the tzadik. V.3 should be a comfort to us, as it is addressed to the
wicked men who work against us, who want to draw us away from the Way of Elohim.
They shall be slain in the end that act duplicitously to bring us to ruin because they are
jealous of the tzadik’s promotion before Elohim. Stop and consider that! This reminds me
of 2 BIG hit songs by “The O’Jays” back in the 70’s; “Smiling Faces, SOMEtimes” and
“The Backstabbers”.

“They smile in your face,
All the time the want to take your place.
The back-stabbers!”

“Smiling faces, Sometimes
Pretend to be your friend.
Smiling Faces show no traces
Of the evil that lurks within.
Smiling faces, Smiling faces Sometimes –
Hey! They don’t tell the truth.
Smiling Faces, Smiling Faces, tell LIES –
Well, I’ve got proof.”

It is ours to trust Elohim Yeshua to carry us through the tough times the enemy throws at
us, and the men he uses to try and discourage us will see great judgment against them.
In vv.5-8 we see that our trust is only in him – men may fail me; I may fail me; but
Elohim is a bedrock foundation and sure fortress who will never fail me. I will not trust to
myself or to any other man, for Elohim is my Rock and my salvation. Elohim is Yeshuati.
He is not only MY refuge and strength; he is OUR refuge and strength. Stop and consider
that! He has us ALL in his covert. He can protect and strengthen us ALL at once. Elohim
is the Severity of the Almighty, but he is severe only to those who will not walk in his
way.

In vv.9-12 we see the vanity and worthlessness of those who would make us fall. They
will know what Belshazzar found out in Dan.5 – they have been weighed in the balances
and have been found wanting. The tzadik is not to trust to his riches, nor is he to oppress
the poor or the widow or the orphan. He is to provide all the compassionate help he can
provide. Don’t let a rising personal economy lead you from the truth. Watch your soul,
not your wallet, and always remember that Elohim is the only real source of strength you
have. Power only belongs to Elohim, and he is also merciful (though that is not his
primary attribute as Elohim) in that he judges those who come against his own and
rewards each man according to his obedience to his Commandments. Had Adonai
Elohenu NOT tempered his righteous judgment with his mercy, we’d have all been toast
before we were born, and he’d have been righteous in his judgment.

Did you notice that Y’hovah never appeared in this Psalm? But there was compassionate
mercy shown to his tzadikim throughout. The idea that elohim has no mercy is not
correct, nor is it true that Y’hovah is ALL mercy and compassion. Y’hovah will show his
wrath before very long, assuming that we’re not experiencing it on this earth right now.
Soon we will see the Day of Y’hovah’s Wrath, and believe me when I tell you, it will not
be pretty to behold. Q&C
Romans 5 – Vv.1-11 are transitional between the first 4 chapters, where Paul explained
how we are saved by grace through faith, and the NEXT 4 chapters, where he explains
how we should react to that salvation by grace through faith, i.e.; righteous behaviour.

Vv.1-2 – Remember the context leading up to this ‘therefore’ is 4.19-25

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an
hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded
that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him
for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But
for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Avraham, being (along with Sarah) well past the time of life and being a realist as well,
believed Elohim when He said that Avi would have seed as the stars of the heavens and
the sand of the sea. In the natural, this was impossible, but with Y’hovah all things are
possible. Avi glorified Y’hovah for his promise and took steps to see it happen. Avraham
had something to do in order for Y’hovah to work the miracle – he had to go in to his
wife. If Avi had NOT gone in, Y’hovah COULD not have worked the miracle as he’d
planned it. He COULD have done the asexual conception thing, though the virgin birth
had to be performed on a woman who was actually a virgin, and I think it is safe to
assume that Sarah was NOT a virgin anymore. So Avraham worked out his faith
(Phil.2.13) by lying with Sarah. His faith was accounted to him for righteousness; he was
justified by his faith. And we are told this in Torah; not for Avraham’s sake; for he had
lived it, was buried with his fathers by the time it was written down and the writing
would, therefore, do him no good. It was written for OUR admonition (1Cor.10.11), to
remind us that Y’hovah is a miracle working Elohim, and that He will work miracles for
us, IF we’ll trust him enough to put ourselves in the way of those miracles, as Avraham
did.

So what is the benefit of our justification by faith? We have Shalom with Elohim. I truly
believe that that is the gospel in a nutshell – “You can have Peace with Elohim, and that
peace can permeate your life.” All the theology in the world can’t destroy that simple
truth. Theologians have tried, but they have not succeeded for those who are faithful to
his Word. Lots of false theology has been perpetrated on the churches and synagogues,
which have acceded to the whims and traditions of men in opposition to the Word. Those
who are willing to discard theology that doesn’t pass the scripture test are rewarded with
this Shalom.

Hope is a confident expectation of something that has been promised, but cannot be seen,
“the highest degree of well founded expectation of good”.i We are in hope of the glory of
Elohim. Are we then going to have Elohim’s glory in our resurrected bodies? Seems so!
In 1Jn.3 we see this:

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of Elohim: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are
we the sons of Elohim, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

This is the hope of his glory, of which we all SHALL partake. Q&C
But that hope isn’t the only thing in which we glory. Vv. 3-5 – says we also glory in
tribulation, because without trouble we are nothing, our character can’t develop without
struggles. A people that has all its daily needs provided at no cost becomes slave to the
provider, no matter the perception of the people. In America we think we are free, but we
are slaves to the extent that we take the largesse dished out by the government.
Tribulation in our lives helps to develop each of us into the image of Messiah, who is the
express image of Y’hovah Avinu (Heb.1.3).

It is often noted that the wicked seem to live sumptuously, while the righteous live in
squalor. I am of the opinion that no mere human is either entirely wicked, or entirely
good. I think that the wicked who live sumptuously are receiving their rewards for their
good deeds in this life, as they will suffer only destruction in the afterlife. The righteous,
likewise, suffer the retributive consequences for their sins in this life, for they have all
eternity to enjoy their rewards for good done in Messiah. READ Ps.73

Our promise from Y’hovah is not to be rich and live high, as prosperity preachers say to
those with itching ears [and deep pockets for the preachers who tickle them]. There is no
promise to change our circumstances when we come to Messiah. Our promise is that we
will have a change of heart, and a willingness to obey Y’hovah from our hearts. We
change how we view and respond to our circumstances. And that is not of ourselves any
more than our faith is. The Spirit that indwells us is the one who brings the change of
attitude and response in his ministry of transforming us into the image of Abba’s dear
son. He guides our study of and teaches us to apply Torah to our lives. He engrains his
Word into our brains and hearts so that we can live it out in our daily walk with him.
The trouble we have in this life develops our patience to endure and enhances our ability
to wait on His timing. When we have the patience to wait for his timing, we experience
the truth that “all things work together for [our] good who love him and are the called
according to His purpose.” [8.28] And that experience feeds the hope we spoke of before
– the patient endurance and expectant knowledge that what he has promised he is also
willing and able to perform and that he SHALL DO in us. Q&C

Vv.6-11 – In vv. 6, 8, and 10 we see 3 different references to our human condition
without Messiah, each one prefaced by a time reference; 6) when we were yet w/o
strength, 8) while we were yet sinners, and 10) when we were enemies. Y’hovah
provided our redemption even though we were his enemies, sinners who had not the
Ruach of Y’hovah to strengthen and guide us. Y’hovah Yeshua is the strong right arm of
Elohim, and he takes me by my right hand (Ps.73.23, “thou hast holden me by my right
hand”) walking with me, not allowing me to exercise my own strength (right arm), but
leaving HIS right arm [Yeshua] ready for battle.

V.11 says that we have received the atonement. This was never the case [in time] until
Yeshua made his offering on the tree. The blood of bulls and goats, IOW, never atoned
for anything.

Heb.9.11-14 – 11 But Moshiach being come an [Melchizedek] 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. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes
of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall
the blood of Moshiach, who through the eternal Ruach offered himself without spot to Elohim,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?

We have established from Paul’s writing in the first 4 chapters that all are sinners and all
fail to meet Elohim’s righteous requirements to have Shalom with him. We have also
established that Elohim never wanted sacrifice from us, but a CCd heart, and that
everyone who was ever justified was such by grace through faith. I, therefore, conclude
(and I could be wrong, though I SERIOUSLY DOUBT it) that the sacrifice of the bulls
and goats NEVER covered anyone’s sins or actually purified anything. Israel’s rabbis
may have THOUGHT that the blood of the animals was efficacious (notice the word ‘if’
in Heb.9.13), but they were justified by the grace of Y’hovah through the faith of Yeshua,
and the sacrifice was something that was a reminder of what the cost both would be, is
and was to Elohim (depending on your vantage point in time), and of what we deserved
because of our sins against Y’hovah Elohenu. The sacrifices were ‘object lessons’
pointing to our ‘just desserts’, which Y’hovah Elohenu took on himself [Gen.22.8] in the
flesh of Yeshua.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And
Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of
them together. Q&C

 

Rom.5.12-21 – V.12 begins with the word ‘wherefore’, so what is it there for? It tells us
that Sha’ul is about to explain what we need to understand in light of what’s just been
said. There is a parenthetical there from v.13-17. A parenthetical expounds on a concept
discussed, but can be left out of the sentence and the sentence will still make sense. A
Mark paraphrase of v.12 juxtaposed with v.18 (removing the parenthetical) is this: “As
Adam sinned and introduced death to all his descendants thereby, so by the sinless life
and atonement of Yeshua all may be justified and received unto life eternal.”

The parenthetical is addressed in vv.20-21. Paul is NOT saying that there was no sin
before Moshe received Torah. There was PLENTY of sin before Sinai. He says that the
Torah made us aware of the sin we’d been guilty of. It made us aware of our need for a
deliverer from our bondage to death by sin. And Yeshua provided that deliverance.
In v.13 the word ‘imputed’ needs to be understood. The Greek word is ellogeo, a
compound of en, which means in, and logos, which in this context means reckon. It is
saying that we do not reckon ourselves to have broken a law if there is no law to break.

Now, the Torah of liberty was known before it was given at Sinai, but men did not know
that it applied generally to them all [and still don’t, especially in the ‘church’]. It is the
only objective standard for righteousness, for it is the Word of Y’hovah. The imputation
in v.13 deals with OUR perception of the Torah’s application to us and is not the same as
the imputation in 4.6, for that is Y’hovah’s imputation, not ours. In ch.4 Y’hovah imputes
righteousness to us, but here WE are imputing guilt to ourselves based on our knowledge
of Torah.

In v.14 we see the truth of what’s just been stated since, whether we imputed the guilt to
ourselves or not and whether we sinned the same sin as Adam or not, the wages of our sin
still reigned from Adam to Moshe.

The KJV’s wording of vv.15 and 16 is a little foreign to us. He’s saying that Yeshua’s
atonement is not like Adam’s sin, because Yeshua obeyed Elohim and can therefore offer
redemption to all men. His obedience covers his entire Torah-submissive life, and not just
his wilderness temptation and his death on the tree (Phil.2.8). Vv.17-19 explain things
that were already touched on above.

Vv.20-21 – ‘that the offence might abound’ is talking about our awareness and
recognition of the offence we have brought against Y’hovah. But his grace is superabundantly
above our ability to offend him. Because that grace is MUCH more weighty
than our sin, we have eternal life through the atonement of Yeshua.

One of the difficulties with (mainstream) Xianity is that it does not present a definition of sin.
References are made to “disobeying Elohim,” or “going against the will of Elohim,” but what that
means is very much left up to people to decide. Xianity’s various denominations pick and choose
what commandments from the “Old Testament” they believe are “applicable” (to their particular
doctrines), while they all maintain the teaching that believers are “not under the law.”ii
Q&C

i W1828, 2nd def., 2nd clause.
ii Yashanet.com Romans study on Rom.5.20