RSEA.D. Week 133 | The Cord

Read
Aloud together to hear the Word (Leviticus 23:1-3; Nehemiah 8:1-4; Luke 4:16-17)

Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 9:1-29
Prophets (P): Jeremiah 2:1-13
Apostolic (A): Titus 3:1-11
Additional (ADD): Baruch 2:1-35

Summary
Context and coherence (Nehemiah 8:8)

“For we have become partakers of Messiah if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end, while it is said, ‘Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.’ For who, when they heard God’s Voice, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?” (Hebrews 3:16-17)

Theme of last week – testing and discipline
1. The grace of God — protection to possess His covenant promises
All creation is a courtroom.
1. YHWH is the Judge (Psalm 96) and His Word establishes the standard of justice.
  1. “The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day. (Jn. 10:28)
2. “God will continue to be true even when every person is false [Lit. “Let God be true and every person a liar”]. As the Scriptures say: ‘So you will be shown to be right (i.e. justified) when you speak [Lit. “in your words”], and you will win your case in court [Lit. “prevail when you are judged and when you judge”] (Rom. 3:4 EXB; ref. Psa. 51:4).
Deuteronomy 9 — A Testimony against Israel
1. The Charge: Israel is a rebellious people who provoked YHWH’s wrath (Deut.1:26,34,43; 9:7,8,19,22-24)
  1. “Stiff–necked” – unable and unwilling to take on the yoke (of Divine authority).
2. The Evidence:
  1. Sin of the Golden Calf – verses 8 through 21 (see also, Exo. 32)
  2. Taberah (Lit. “Burning) – verse 22 (see also, Num. 11)
  3. Massah (Lit. “Test”, also, Meribah, lit. “Arguing”) – verse 22 (see also, Exo. 17)
  4. Qibroth Hattaavah (Lit. “Graves of Gluttony”) – verse 22 (see also, Num. 11)
  5. Kadesh-Barnea (episode of the Spies) – verse 23 (see also, Num. 13).
3. The judgment:
  1. “Your [fathers’] dead bodies will fall in this desert wilderness. Every one of [them] who is twenty years old or older will die” (Num. 14:29).
  2. “It will be, if you will forget YHWH your Elohim, and walk after other elohim, and serve them and worship them, I call the heavens and the land to witness against you today, that you will surely perish. As the nations that YHWH makes to perish before you, so you will perish, because you wouldn’t listen to YHWH your Elohim’s voice” (Deut. 8:19-20)
  3. In spite of Israel’s rebellion, His Will is accomplished.
    1. “As I (YHWH) live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord’” (Num. 14:21).
    2. “Don’t say in your heart, after YHWH your Elohim has thrust them out from before you, ‘For my righteousness YHWH has brought me in to possess this land,’ because YHWH drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the word which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Deut. 9:4-5).

KEY POINT:
It is never about us; it’s always about Him.

Exhortation
Counsel, comfort, and encouragement (Acts 13:14-15)

“There are many plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that will prevail” (Prov. 19:21)

Rebellion is the first and most enduring sin in God’s creation.
1. Week 130:
  1. The Law-Word of Elohim is a single, unified whole expressing the revelation of the King of the Universe and His divine authority over His entire kingdom.
2. Both the Angelic Realm and mankind (Heb. Adam) have rebelled – i.e. sinned — against the Word of the Most High.
Rebellion is a violation of the first commandment.
1. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exo. 20:3).
2. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected YHWH’s word, he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Sam. 15:23)
  1. To rebel is to worship other gods.
Rebel (Adj.):
1. Def. – “resisting an established or rightful government or law, insurrectionist; lawless”; from Latin Re– “opposite, against,” + bellare “wage war”.
The other “Book of the Law”
1. Written by Aleister Crowley:
  1. From History.com: “His 1913 poem “A Hymn to Lucifer” celebrated the Devil as the provider of soul and rebellion to the universe. Crowley’s ideas were influential in Satanism”.
2. Wikipedia: “The central sacred text of Thelema. Aleister Crowley said that it was dictated to him by a beyond-human being in 1904 in Cairo, Egypt. Through the reception of the Book, Crowley proclaimed the arrival of a new stage in the spiritual evolution of humanity.
  1. Excerpts from, “The Book of the Law”.
    1. “This Book lays down a simple Code of Conduct. ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt’ (Section II, “The Universe”).
    2. “This present period (beginning in 1904) involves the recognition of the individual as the unit of society. Observe for yourselves the decay of the sense of sin, the growth of innocence and irresponsibility, the strange modifications of the reproductive instinct with a tendency to become bisexual or epicene (i.e. having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex) …Above us today hangs a danger never yet paralleled in history. We suppress the individual in more and more ways” (Section IV, “The New Aeon”).
    3. “The word of the Law is THELEMA (Grk., “Will”). The word of Sin is Restriction” (Chapter I).
Humanism is the religion of our age.
1. The heart of Adamic man (e.g. unredeemed, fallen mankind) is rebellious to any law but his own.
  1. “Do what thou wilt”.
2. Self-assertive, defiant, and lawless against the Supreme Law-Word of YHWH.
3. We are in the midst of a battle between two systems of Authority.
  1. Not Communist vs. Capitalist, Conservative vs. Liberal, Republican vs. Democrat but Humanist vs. Biblical
  2. “All law is warfare, and all law is religious.” – R.J. Rushdooney

KEY POINT:
The enemy does not care who we worship or what law/authority we submit to, as long as it is not the King and His Word.

Does anyone have specific questions or need any clarification from what was said during the Summary or Exhortation?

Application & Discussion
Living the Word and following Yeshua (Acts 2:37; Romans 2:13)
Questions, input, and sharpening (Proverbs 27:17; Luke 2:46)

“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account, but He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can fend off His Hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just; and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”” (Daniel 4:35,37)

Why focus on these things? “It’s such a downer. Can’t we talk about the love of God and less about sin and rebellion?”
1. We serve a Holy God who will not share His Glory with another.
2. “We will all appear before the judgment seat of God” (Rom. 14:10)
3. Those who practice deeds of the flesh will not inherit the reign of Elohim (Gal. 5:20)
  1. Includes, “Idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.” (e.g. rebellion).
Let’s get practical so we can make application for our lives.

KEY POINT:
“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, by which one may avoid the snares of death” (Pro. 14:27)

The fear of the LORD — what is it? How do we gain it and live with it?
Point #1: The fear of the Lord is not an emotion.
1. “We’re supposed to fear the Lord but also love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But doesn’t 1 John 4:18 say they are incompatible: ‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.’
  1. This type of “either/or” thinking is Greco-Roman and creates apparent contradictions and tension in the Word of God and within our souls.
  2. We need to think Hebraically — holistic, “both/and”, and action-oriented (as opposed to strictly mental or cognitive).

KEY POINT:
Fear of the Lord is respect for His Supreme authority.

Point #2: We respect God’s supreme authority by upholding His Law-order in every sphere of life.
1. Individually:
  1. Are there other gods besides Him in our hearts? Is Messiah truly the Lord of our life? Are we keeping His commandments?
    1. “[Y]ou are not your own. For you have been bought for a price” (1 Cor. 6:19b-20)
    2. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
    3. “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:7-8).
2. Home:
  1. Do our households reflect God’s authority structure – i.e. the husband leading his wife and children, the wife submitted to his headship, and the children honoring their parents?
    1. “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:22-23).
    2. “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord” (Col. 3:20).
3. Community:
  1. Are there ordained elders properly exercising the authority of Messiah, the Good Shepherd? Are families submitted and open to their oversight?
    1. “Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not with greed but with eagerness” (1 Pet. 5:2).
    2. “Obey your leaders and submit to them—for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you” (Heb. 13:17).
4. Civil/Secular Society:
  1. “Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men “(Titus 3:1-2)
  2. “Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God” (Col. 3:22)
Point #3: We fear the Lord by always doing what is right and just, no matter the cost or consequences.
1. “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the person who desires life? And loves length of days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it” (Psa. 34:11)
2. “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 16:20)

“Do what HE wills shall be the whole of the law”.

Romans 2:13 For it isn’t the hearers of the Torah who are righteous before Elohim, but the doers of the Torah will be justified.

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

1. What questions or comments came up during your family’s discussion of this week’s study?
2. “What other related Scriptures did you find during your study of this week’s portion?”
3. Have you ever experienced something from this study or something related to it?
4. “What changes do you need to make in your life to align with what you learned during this week’s Torah Study?”