RSEA.D. Notes Week 151

Torah Study Notes for Week 151 of the Torah Reading Cycle

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

  • Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 34:1-12; Genesis 1:1
  • Prophets (P): Isaiah 2:1-4
  • Apostolic (A): Jude 1:1-25
  • Additional (ADD): Sirach 2:1-18; Sirach 16:1-13

Summary
Context and coherence (Nehemiah 8:8)

  1. The death of Moses and the conclusion of the Torah
    1. What a journey – our reading cycle began on Saturday, October 2, 2021.
  2. There is no one quite like Moses.
    1. From our portion:
      1. “Since then, there has not arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom YHWH knew face to face” (Deut. 31:10).
      2. “Josephus – 4.8.49. Now Moses lived in all one hundred and twenty years; a third part of which time, abating one new moon, he was the people’s ruler; and he died on the last new moon of the year, which is called by the Macedonians Dystrus, but by us Adar, on the first day of the new moon. He was one that exceeded all men that ever were in understanding and made the best use of what that understanding suggested to him. He had a very graceful way of speaking and addressing himself to the multitude; and as to his other qualifications, he had such a full command of his passions, as if he hardly had any such in his soul, and only knew them by their names, as rather perceiving them in other men than in himself. He was also such a general of an army as is seldom seen, as well as such a prophet as was never known, and this to such a degree, that whatsoever he pronounced, you would think you heard the voice of Elohim himself. So the people mourned for him thirty days: nor did ever any grief so deeply affect the Hebrews as did this upon the death of Moses: nor were those that had experienced his conduct the only persons that desired him, but those also that perused the laws he left behind him had a strong desire after him, and by them gathered the extraordinary virtue he was master of. And this will suffice for the declaration of the manner of the death of Moses”.
  3. To this day, he is the most highly venerated and honored figure in Judaism.
    1. The position of preeminence has belonged to him for the past 3500 years.
    2. No prophet or king has ever replaced him.
  4. Not just Judaism, but also other two major world religions and the smaller Abrahamic religions:
    1. From Wikipedia:
      1. “Moses was a Hebrew prophet, teacher and leader according to Abrahamic tradition. He is considered the most important prophet in Judaism and Samaritanism, and one of the most important prophets in Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí Faith, and other Abrahamic religions. Including the Druze religion, Rastafarianism, and Mandaeism.
    2. From WhyIslam.org:
      1. “Moses was a prominent prophet and messenger of God and is the most frequently mentioned individual in the Quran, with his name being mentioned 136 times and his life being narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. He is one of the most important prophets and messengers of Islam. Moses is known as both a religious leader and a lawgiver. In Islam, Moses is loved and respected; he is both a Prophet and a Messenger.
  5. The irony of the veneration of Moses by Islam is that while the Quran mentions him 136 times, it is usually just narrating his life or misquoting what he said. 
    1. “Said Moses to his people, “Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.” (Surah Al-A’raf Ayat 128).
    2. “And [recall] when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf [for worship]. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is best for [all of] you in the sight of your Creator.’ Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.” (Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 54).
  6. It wasn’t much different in Yeshua’s day.
    1. “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore, all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them’” (Mat. 23:1-3).
    2. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me” (John 5:45-46)
  7. How different is it in Christianity today?

KEY POINTS:
1. The only way to truly honor Moses is to read and understand his words and the authority of the One behind them that spoke with him face to face.
2. Reading the Torah should naturally lead us to obey Moses’ words, as understood from the teachings of Messiah, the Apostles and the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

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

  1. Rejection of the teachings of Moses has caused most Believers to reject the festivals, and with them a fuller understanding of God’s redemptive plan for humanity.
    1. “The prevailing view among Christians today is that the annual feasts were strictly socio-ceremonial institutions given to Israel. Their function terminated at the Cross with all the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. [However], the feasts were designed by God, not only to meet the socio-religious needs of the Jews, but also to foreshadow the unfolding of salvation history until its consummation. This suggests that while the sacrificial, ceremonial aspects of the feasts terminated at the Cross, their typological function continues in the Christian church, though with a new meaning and relevance” (Bacciocchi, Samuele. God’s Festivals in Scripture and History: Part 2 – The Fall Festivals, p.15).
  2. The Day of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur)
    1. “The Feast of Trumpets reflects God’s desire to summon His people to repentance so He can vindicate them on the day of His Judgment” (Bacciocchi, p.18).
    2. Yom Teruah precedes Yom Kippur by ten days
      1. Inauguration of the judgment process.
    3. Tradition views this time as an opportunity for self-reflection and preparation to meet the Lord on the solemn Day of Atonement, a picture of “the” Day.
  3. Understanding God’s pattern and method of judgment.

KEY POINT:
In scripture, the judgment of God is based on what we do in our bodies – i.e. our deeds, works and/or actions.

(Remember, it’s not “faith versus works” (i.e. “Either/Or”), but “faith(fulness) shown by works” (i.e. “Both/And”)

  1. Remember, it’s not “faith versus works” (i.e. “Either/Or”), but “faith(fulness) shown by works” (i.e. “Both/And”)
    1. “Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; and lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, for You recompense a man according to his work” (Psa. 62:11-12; see also Psa. 28:4).
    2. “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10)
    3. “Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jer. 32:19).
  2. Believers in Messiah are held to the same law of the King when it comes to being judged for our works.
    1. “Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:12-15)
    2. “Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8).
    3. “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12).
  3. Side note: 
    1. I don’t believe that scripture teaches that we are judged for our thoughts. Rather, our thoughts left “unjudged” can lead us to sinful actions.
      1. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Mat. 12:34-36).
  4. Discipleship can be understood as living a life in this body that will result in a favorable judgment of our works and deeds.
    1. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and will then repay every man according to his deeds” (Mat. 16:24-27).
  5. The motivation of a disciple is to please the master – because we love Him and because we fear His judgment.
    1. “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:9-10).
    2. “But if the bondslave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently” (Exo. 21:5-6).

KEY POINT:
God’s judgment of the life we are living is not limited to the final Day of Judgment but is active and ongoing

  1. Judgment is always intended for our restoration.
    1. “But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” (Heb. 12:8-10).
  2. Judgment is progressive (see Deut. 28-30) and intended to produce repentance (Lit., “turning”) from sin and towards obedience.
    1. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11).
    2. Like any disciplinary process, we receive rebuke, correction and discipline for our mistakes and disobedience.
      1. Judicial system – first-time offenses, “three strike” laws, etc.
      2. Employment – Attendance point system, coaching, write-ups, Personal Improvement Plan (PIP), followed by termination.
    3. “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:8-10).
  3. When our focus is on judging others, we cannot see our own need for repentance.
    1. ”Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?” (Jam. 4:11-12).
    2. “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Mat. 7:1-5).
  4. The timing of judgment is determined by God.
    1. “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luk. 12:19-21).
    2. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jam. 4:13-17).

KEY POINT:
There is coming a day when every person who has ever lived, is alive now, or has yet to be born will face the final judgment for life that he or she lived in the body.

  1. The day of judgment is something that we will all experience.
    1. “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall live praise to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:10)
  2. Beloved, we need to consider what the day of judgment will truly be like.
    1. KEY #1: There is nothing we can gain in this life that will be worth the loss of reward on that day.
      1.  “If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15).
      2. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).
    2. KEY #2: There is nothing and no one to fear besides the Lord.
      1. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Mat. 10:28).
    3. KEY #3: The entire purpose of our lives as Believers is to have our spirits saved on that day.
      1. “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5).
      2. “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2).
      3. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.” (Rev. 2.11).
    4. KEY #4: Yeshua is the Author and Perfector of your faith. 
      1. He will be the Judge on that final day and is the only One who can prepare you for it.
        1. ““For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:22-23,26-29)
        2. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:1).
        3. “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).
        4. “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31)
  3. Discussion topic

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)

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?”
Additional Study Notes