strong's index of hebrew roots

Strong's H1, father, ab
Strong's H157, love, ahab
Strong's H226, mark, oth
Strong's H259, one, united, unity, echad
Strong's H977, chosen, bachar
Strong's H1166, husband, ba'al
Strong's H1692, cleave, dabaq
Strong's H1980, walk, halak
Strong's H2403, sin, chattath
Strong's H2580, grace, chen
Strong's H2836, desire, chashaq
Strong's H3045, teach, yadah
Strong's H3372, fear, yare
Strong's H4687, commandment, mitsvah
Strong's H5254, tempt, nasah
Strong's H5303, giants, nephilim
Strong's H5414, give, nathan
Strong's H5459, special treasure, segullah
Strong's H5826, help meet, helper, azar
Strong's H6213, do, asah
Strong's H7307, Spirit, ruach
Strong's H7725, turn, shuv
Strong's H8104, beware, shamar
Strong's H8104, keep diligently, shamar

hebrew index of hebrew roots

ab, father, Strong's H1
ahab, love, Strong's H157
asah, do, Strong's H6213
azar, help meet, helper, Strong's H5826
ba'al, husband, Strong's H1166
bachar, chosen, Strong's H977
chashaq, desire, Strong's H2836
chattath, sin, Strong's H2403
chen, grace, Strong's H2580
dabaq, cleave, Strong's H1692
echad, one, united, unity, Strong's H259
halak, walk, Strong's H1980
mitsvah, commandment, Strong's H4687
nasah, tempt, Strong's H5254
nathan, give, Strong's H5414
nephilim, giants, Strong's H5303
oth, mark, Strong's H226
ruach, Spirit, Strong's H7307
segullah, special treasure, Strong's H5459
shamar, beware, Strong's H8104
shamar, keep diligently, Strong's H8104
shuv, turn, Strong's H7725
yadah, teach, Strong's H3045
yare, fear, Strong's H3372

1 corinthians 11, the Lord's supper

Read 1 Corinthians 11 at Bible Gateway.

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” 1 Cor 11:23-26

This section on the Lord's Supper forms a chiastic structure:

1A 1 Cor 11:17 - Corinthians not praise worthy;
  1B 1 Cor 11:18-22a - eating and drinking out of order in the assembly;
    1 C 1 Cor 11:22b - Corinthians not praise worthy;
      --> X 1 Cor 11:23-26 - the Lord's supper;
    2C 1 Cor 11:27-32 - eating and drinking in an unworthy manner brings judgment;
  2B 1 Cor 11:33-34a - eating and drinking in order in the assembly;
2A 1 Cor 11:34b - judgment.

The remembrance of and proclaiming (witnessing to) the Lord's death by communion until He comes is the central axis and message surrounded by neon flashing lights of this structure. Communion, like every other new testament sacrament, is not new, but is based in Torah:

“These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day—” Lev 23:37

The grain offering was a loaf or cake of bread. The drink offering was wine. The sacrifice was the sacrifice made for sin, to atone for sin, on its day. When we proclaim the Lord's death, we are proclaiming that He sacrificed Himself, and that His blood was shed for the atonement of our sins. We are proclaiming that He is our sin sacrifice, and that our sin sacrifice has been sacrificed. We remember His death when we partake of the bread and the wine, which were to accompany the sin sacrifice on all feast days and Sabbaths!

The burnt offering, in its application for us today, is to become a living olah - a living sacrifice offered to God entire, consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit (Rom 12:1).

How do we become sick, and eat and drink judgment upon ourselves, by eating and drinking the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner? Simply because, the broken body and shed blood of Adonai Messiah Yeshua was meant to provide for our healing:

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Isa 53:5

If we do not discern that the body and blood of our Lord, which the bread and the wine represents, has been broken and shed so that our transgressions are covered, our iniquities taken away, peace restored between us and YHVH our Father, and healing of the spirit, soul, and body provided for, then we will be sick, or weak, even to death, and instead of deeming ourselves as FREE from sin, we will deem ourselves judged as sinners - a lie from the enemy, which nevertheless, allows him to steal from us, kill and destroy us (Joh 10:10)! And there is simply no need for it!

english index of hebrew roots

beware, shamar, Strong's H8104
chosen, bachar, Strong's H977
cleave, dabaq, Strong's H1692
commandment, mitsvah, Strong's H4687
desire, chashaq, Strong's H2836
do, asah, Strong's H6213
father, ab, Strong's H1
fear, yare, Strong's H3372
giants, nephilim, Strong's H5303
give, nathan, Strong's H5414
grace, chen, Strong's H2580
help meet, helper, azar, Strong's H5826
husband, ba'al, Strong's H1166
keep diligently, shamar, Strong's H8104
love, ahab, Strong's H157
mark, oth, Strong's H226
one, echad, Strong's H259
sin, chattath, Strong's H2403
special treasure, segullah, Strong's H5459
Spirit, ruach, Strong's H7307
teach, yadah, Strong's H3045
tempt, nasah, Strong's H5254
turn, shuv, Strong's H7725
unity, echad, Strong's H259
walk, halak, Strong's H1980

parashah kiyarchiv (he widens), deuteronomy 12:20 - 13:18

We study the Torah according to the triennial cycle every Sabbath. (Why?)

We must understand the paragraph divisions in Torah, which are inspired by the Spirit and preserved by Moses and the Jewish scribes (but discarded by the English translators), are key to help us understand what God is trying to tell us. He wants to be understood, and has provided these helps to aid us! We must also understand how the Spirit teaches through Torah by common theme.

Today is the 140th Sabbath of the triennial cycle: parashah (Torah portion) Kiyarchiv /He Widens, Deu 12:20 - 13:18. Read Deu 12:20 - 13:18 at Bible Gateway, or Deu 12 and 13 from the Hebrew Bible in English.

Deu 7:12-16 ends with a parsha stumah, a weak paragraph division.

deuteronomy 6:16-19; do

Read Deuteronomy 6:16-19 at the Bible Gateway.

“You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.” Deu 6:16-19

In parsha bazneikhem, the parsha before this one, we saw the introduction of four verbs that YHVH reminds us of over and over and over again. They are, hear, pay heed, teach, and do. We saw that the first paragraph stumah in this parsha emphasized the hearing. The second paragraph in this parsha emphasized the paying careful heed. This parsha emphasizes the doing.

The first verb in this parsha is do not tempt. The incident at Massah is recorded in Exo 17:1-7:

“Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?” And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

The Hebrew word translated “tempt” is Strong's H5254, hsn, nasah. It is from the root, sn, nun samech. The ancient pictographs are of the seed and the thorn. The seed is the continuation of life; the thorn grabs hold of clothing or fur. The meaning, then, is continuing to grab hold, or to lift up as a standard. The hey adds the man with his arms upraised as in wonder or worship; commonly a revelation. The lexicons say nasah means a test or a trial. A test reveals (hey) whether one ought to continue (nun) to be grabbed hold of (samech) to be lifted up.

I did not understand before why crying out for water was such a bad thing among the children of Israel. But looking at the Hebrew, I can see that what was going on was more than just asking for water. The children were saying, in essence, that because they were thirsty and there was no water, then YHVH has revealed (hey) or proved that He ought not to continue to be lifted up (nun samech) as God among them.

Therefore, do not tempt YHVH your God as you tempted Him at Massah. Do not have the attitude that He needs to continually prove to you whether He is worthy to be worshipped as God or not. That is part and parcel with receiving YHVH as the one God, the only God, who alone is God who no other is beside.

The next verb in this parsha is diligently keep His commandments, testimonies, and statutes. The Hebrew for diligently keep is Strong's H8104, shamar. We have seen this word before, in the parsha before this one!

“... then beware (shamar), lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Deu 6:12

We saw that shamar had the mountain top meaning of closely guarding for the next generation that which was of first importance. The words “beware” and “diligently keep”, as well as “closely guard”, give us the sense that the way we preserve the worship of YHVH for the next generation, is to do the things He has commanded us to do. To observe His commandments, judgments, testimonies, and statutes.

The final verb in the parsha is do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord - which is revealed by His commandments, statutes, and testimonies. “Do” in Hebrew is Strong's H6213, h?u, asah, ayin shin hey. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon shows that this word is from the root, su, ayin sin (or samech; the sin was transposed to shin over time because of their similar sounds). In the ancient pictographs, the ayin is the eye, so to look, watch, or know. The sin or samech is the thorn, so to grab hold, guard, or even hate. The verb form of this root is to do, the concrete form (noun) is work. The ancient pictographs came to mean “do, work” since man's first work was to watch (ayin) for the thorns and thistles (samech) which would take over his crops:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground ...” Gen 3:17-19

The addition of the hey, the man with his arms upraised as if in wonder, revelation, or worship, adds the element that a man is to do with all his might, whatever his hand finds (hey) to do (Ecc 9:10).

The theme of the parsha stumah from Deu 6:16-19 is to Do and Observe YHVH's commandments that we have now heard and paid heed to.

women

head coverings, 1 corinthians 11
help meet: mountain top meaning
relinquishing rights in marriage

On Biblical Womanhood by Dr. Voddie Baucham

galatians

galatians 3, the curse of the law, part one
galatians 3, the curse of the law, part two


expert studies on galatians at bible.org*

*There is a lot of valuable material at bible.org, so enjoy digging around! However, I do not agree with every premise made or conclusion drawn in every study. Many have a traditional, learned bias against the Torah which God is stripping away in His Church in these last days.

1 corinthians 11, head coverings

Read 1 Corinthians 11 at Bible Gateway.

“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God. Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.” 1 Cor 11:2-16

The section about head coverings forms a chiastic structure:

1A 1 Cor 11: 2 traditions delivered to the Corinthians;
  1B 1 Cor 11:3 headship;
    1C 1 Cor 11:4-7 praying or prophesying and covering;
      1D 1 Cor 11:8-9 woman from and for man;
        --> X 1 Cor 11:10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels;
      2D 1 Cor 11:11-12 man through woman;
    2C 1 Cor 11:13 praying or prophesying and covering;
  2B 1Cor 11:14-15 covering;
2A 1 Cor 11:16 custom among the churches.

The central axis, the main point that the structure itself points to like an arrow, is vs. 10. The word “symbol” in vs. 10 is added to the text for clarification by the King James translators. Paul is saying that the woman ought to have authority on or over her head, i.e., she ought to be under authority. Her head is the man which is in authority over her (vs. 3). When she is married, her head is her husband. Before she is married, her head is her father. If she is widowed or single, and her father has passed on, I believe the Old Testament shows us that the eldest brother of the family takes care of the single women of his family. In the biblical worldview, women are covered by a head, they are not off on their own operating independently (Gen 3:16).

I know this teaching is anathema to modern society, but let us consider that in the Garden of Eden, the woman was not under any authority. She was co- ruler with Adam, in having dominion over the creation. But she was the one who was tempted and was deceived by the enemy's lie, while Adam was not deceived (1 Tim 2:14). He sinned, not because he was fooled, but because, some speculate, he did not want to be separated from his wife. It was the Lord who then placed her under the authority of her husband, and I submit to you, that He did this for her protection! He desired to be a blessing and a help to her!

For every authority is given, we learned from Rom 13, so that the strength of that authority can be a blessing and a protection to the weaker under their authority.

It is true that not all men know this about their responsibility toward women. Some men abuse their greater strength, which God gave them to protect those weaker than they are, in order to hurt those weaker than they are. Wrath is stored up for any who do wrong and do not repent, but those who are in authority, who abuse that authority and use it to wound those who cannot resist them, this fires the Lord's anger, I believe. They are fools who have stored up great wrath for themselves, unless they repent (Isa 3:14-15, Mar 9:42).

The chaistic structure itself further shows us that Paul is talking about headship being the woman's covering, and not merely a symbol of authority, such as a hat or a scarf, on her head: because 1B, which discusses headship as authority, is paired with 2B, which discusses that which covers a woman's head. If a woman desires to wear a hat or a scarf on her head, she is not doing anything wrong! The issue is, is she under authority. A woman can dutifully wear a scarf or lace over her hair, and be haughty in her heart toward her husband - the head covering will not negate the state of her heart!

Then the whole structure is wrapped with the revelation that this instruction in head coverings is from tradition and custom. Certainly we can see that the tradition has its base in spiritual truth, and so the reason for the custom ought to be honored. But tradition and custom are not commandments!

the curse of the law, part two

Originally posted at a little perspective in October 2007.

Previously: the curse of the law

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gal 3:10-14

The heading in my Bible, at the beginning of this passage says, “The Law Brings a Curse.” (The headings, paragraph divisions, chapter divisions, footnotes, and references are not divinely inspired, by the way!) Yes, how does the law bring a curse, and what is the curse of the law?

The assumption is generally made, that the curse of the Law is upon all those who obey the Law. But we saw yesterday that the curse of the Law is not brought upon us by obedience to the Law. But the curse of the Law is brought upon us by disobedience to the Law, which condemns us as sinners in God's sight (Deu 28:15, Rom 2:12-13, Gal 3:10).

Jesus has redeemed us from the indictment of the Law, which decreed us a transgressor of the Law (Col 2:13-14) and therefore worthy of death, the wage for sin (Rom 6:23). He has redeemed us by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13)! He has taken the sin, which is charged to our account because we broke the Law (which is the definition of righteousness and sin), upon Himself. Our sin was imputed to Him, and His righteousness (for He lived a sinless life and did not break the Law in any particular) was imputed to us (2 Cor 5:21). We receive the gift of righteousness through faith, not by obedience to the Law (Rom 3:19-24). For, as Paul points out, if we receive righteousness because of our work, then it is our wage, and not a free gift (Rom 4:4-5).

Paul is saying that we have been into the courtroom of the Heavenly Judge, the blood of the Lamb was found brushed over our guilty verdict, and therefore we have been redeemed from the indictment -- the curse -- of the Law which required death as a result of our sin.

Yes, Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law! But it is not obedience to the Law which is the curse, but our having to be justified by our obedience to the Law that is the curse! We know that the curse cannot be obedience to the Law itself, because the prophets tell us that the Law will be written on our hearts (Jer 31:31-34) and we will be careful to obey its statutes (Eze 36:25-27); Jesus tells us that He does not know those who practice Law-lessness (Mat 7:21-23); John tells us that sin is Law-lessness, and the one who practices sin (Law-lessness) does not know Jesus (1 Joh 3:4-8); and Paul tells us that no one who makes a practice of those things which the Law condemns as sin, will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10). Paul himself was obedient to the Law throughout his ministry (Act 21:18-24).

Now that we have been redeemed from the curse of having to be justified by our obedience to the Law, we are free! Free to love God from a heart washed clean, and to show Him that we love Him, by clinging to His Word which includes His Commandments in love with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deu 6:4-9, Joh 14:21-24)! He is our loving Abba, and we are His loving children, who walk in His straight way (which is Torah, the father's teaching for his son) that He has marked out for us!

1 corinthians 10

Read 1 Corinthians 10 at Bible Gateway.

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” 1 Cor 10:1-5

“Moreover” is a connection word, a conjunction, a word that indicates Paul's thought is continuing. What he had just finished talking about, in 1 Cor 9, was to run the race in such a way so that we will win the prize (1 Cor 9:24-27). Now he is saying, that the fathers, those who came out of Egypt with Moses, are our examples (1 Cor 10:6).

The fathers, he is saying, were delivered from slavery in Egypt. The unspoken implication is that we too were delivered from bondage in the kingdom of darkness. The fathers had a deliverer, Moses, who was a type of Messiah, who accomplished their deliverance (Deu 18:15). The unspoken implication is that we have the Deliverer who is Messiah. The fathers were baptized in the Red Sea. The unspoken implication is that we were baptized when we were delivered by Messiah also. The fathers, once they were free, received spiritual food and drink for their growth and instruction and edification. The unspoken implication is that we too are receiving spiritual food and drink for our growth and instruction and edification, from the hand of Yeshua the Messiah.

But then Paul says, that with most of the fathers, God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. And why were they scattered? They lusted, they worshiped idols, they committed adultery, they refused to be thankful, they tested God. Paul is making the connection, especially since this section comes after his admonition to run the race to receive the prize, that we too who think we are standing, need to take heed to ourselves lest we also fall as they did (1 Cor 10:12).

Wow, this sounds a lot like works! But what Paul is saying, is that look: the fathers are an example for us. They applied the blood of the Passover lamb to their doorposts, they were delivered from the angel of death. They were set free from the kingdom of Egypt, which is a type of the kingdom of darkness. They were baptized by type, they were given living bread (Word) and living water (Spirit) by type. They were not delivered and set free by merit, but by grace, by the promise God had made to the patriarchs!

And their example is, that those who despised their salvation, by breaking God's commandments (do not bow down to idols, do not commit adultery, do not covet) that God was not well pleased with them. They died in the wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land because of unbelief (Heb 3:16-19).

Let's face it, it takes faith to obey God. We have to believe that God is smarter than we are, and that He is higher than we are, and that He deserves our obedience and worship and service because He is YHVH! We have to believe that God's Word is true and is forever settled in heaven (Psa 119:89). We have to believe that His ways are best, and walking according to His ways, even if it goes against the mainstream of the culture or the mainstream of whatever religious organization we belong to, will produce the best fruit of blessing in our lives (Psa 1)!

What Paul is saying, is that by grace we are saved through faith, so now that we are saved, let us not despise our salvation and somehow fail to obtain the prize at the end of the race, because we showed by our works of disobedience, that our heart never belonged to God in the first place! Let us not show by our works of disobedience, that the true force motivating our heart was unbelief and not faith!

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Mat 7:21-23

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” Phi 2:12

“For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Heb 3:16-19

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Jam 2:14-17

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 Joh 2:3-6

What gets us into trouble is this crazy notion that faith and works of obedience are enemies of each other. Listen, Paul has thoroughly established that no one is ever saved by works of obedience, but by faith! But, he has also thoroughly established that salvation by faith is not a license to sin. The one who is saved by faith, will produce the fruit of faith in his life, which is obedience leading to sanctification. Faith and works of obedience are not enemies but are two sides of the same coin! The obedience of Joshua and Caleb, in strongly urging the people to enter the Promised Land, was not conjured up out of nowhere, but was the fruit of their faith in YHVH, that He was certainly able to perform His word toward them (Num 14:6-9)!

Now if the church could only understand that the Torah provides the definition of righteousness and sin for the believer, and will stop ignoring it as obsolete and passed away, but begin to use it as the plumb line, the aid, to gauge the straightness of its walk, then they will enter into the renewal of their mind, by the washing of water by the Word (Eph 5:24-27), so as to prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom 12:2)!

the curse of the law

Originally posted at a little perspective in October 2007.

Previously: law or torah

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gal 3:10-14

Now many people read, “as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse,” and automatically assume it means that anyone who is obedient to the Law is under a curse. However, Paul himself was obedient to the Law at least until he was taken prisoner to Rome (Act 21:17-24)! So let us look into this passage to see what it is really saying.

In the book of Galatians, Paul is contrasting two kinds of people: those who want to be declared righteous in God's sight by obedience to the commands of the Law (the Torah), and those who receive right standing before God by grace through faith as a free gift. The occasion of this letter was the rise in influence of a zealous sect of Pharisees who had believed in Jesus as the Messiah -- the circumcision party (Act 15:1-2) -- who were going around to all the churches teaching that no man could be saved or justified in God's sight unless he converted to Judaism first and received the sign of circumcision (the sign of the Abrahamic covenant) and then kept the whole Law (the Sabbath is the sign of the Mosaic covenant) before he could be accepted in God's sight, in order to receive salvation. That the point of contention was about justification can be shown by seeing how many times Paul refers to it as his topic (emphasis mine):

“And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Gal 2:4-5

(What is the truth of the gospel? That righteousness is of faith!)

“We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Gal 2:15-16

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Gal 3:10-11

“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” Gal 5:4

Now Paul is not saying that those who obey the Law are under a curse or have been severed from Christ, but those who seek to be justified by obedience to the Law are under a curse and have been severed from Christ; for we saw that the truth of the gospel which Paul is preserving, is that righteousness (justification) is of faith - to which the patriarchs, Moses, the prophets, and Jesus all attest.

So we can see that Paul, in the above passage and throughout the book of Galatians, is speaking about what it is that justifies a man. With this understanding, we can clarify Paul's meaning in Gal 3:10-14 so as to make it crystal clear (my clarification in brackets):

“For as many as are of [justification by] the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet [justification by] the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse [brought by having to be justified] of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

So what is the curse of the Law from which Jesus Christ has redeemed us? Is it obedience to the Law that is the curse, or something else? To be continued ...

Continued in the curse of the law, part two

1 corinthians 9

Read 1 Corinthians 9 at Bible Gateway.

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under the law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.” 1 Cor 9:19-23

What does Paul mean when he says, “under the law,” “without law,” and “under the law toward Christ”? Paul uses the phrase “under the law” in a few other places in his letters:

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Rom 3:19

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” Rom 6:14-15

In Rom 3 and 6, and in all the beginning chapters of Romans, Paul is establishing that every man, because he has been born of the seed of Adam, is under the dominion of sin. Because this is so, no man, by obeying the law, can be counted as righteous before God. Those who seek to establish their own righteousness by obeying the law, are under the law - they are under the requirement of the law for justification - which is perfect obedience in every point! To be under the requirement of the law for justification is to be under the dominion of sin and death! But those who have been born of the Seed of the woman, who is Jesus Christ, receive the righteousness which is imparted to us by God, by faith, and are under grace - they have been justified before God by faith. To be under grace is to be under the dominion of righteousness and life!

“But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.” Gal 3:23

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Gal 4:4-5

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?” Gal 4:21

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Gal 5:18

We see if we read Galatians in its entirety, that Paul's topic is the same as in Romans - what justifies a man? From whence does he get his righteousness so that he is saved? Is it by obeying the law, so that righteousness is earned? Or is it by faith in Jesus Christ, so that righteousness is a free gift by grace? Those who are under the law in Galatians, are the same as those who are under the law in Romans - those who seek to be justified by their obedience to the law, rather than by faith in Jesus Christ!

So back to 1 Cor 9: when Paul says that he became as one under the law, so that he might win those who are under the law, he is saying that he became as one who sought righteousness by obedience to the law. He became as a Pharisee, so that he might win Pharisees.

When he says that he became as one without law, so that he might win those who are without law, he is talking about the Gentiles, who are without the Torah - they do not even know what the definition of righteousness and sin is according to God! So he did not act as a Pharisee around them, but as a Gentile. But then, lest we misunderstand him, he clarifies his meaning:

“... not being without law toward God, but under the law toward Christ ...” 1 Cor 9:21

He did not abandon his obedience to God, since God has, by the law, defined for us what obedience to Him looks like, what righteous behavior and unrighteous behavior is. In order to win Gentiles, he did not begin worshiping at temples, or working on Sabbath, or lying, or cheating, or any of those things that are lawless. He was not without law toward God. But he continued under the law toward Christ. He continued obeying the law of God.

He added the phrase, toward God, and toward Christ, so that we would distinguish his meaning, for he has used the phrase “under the law” before, and it means something specific, we saw, when he uses it. It is shorthand for being under the righteous requirement of the law for justification. It is shorthand for earning right standing by works of obedience to the law. But so that we know that he did not mean that he stopped obeying the law just because he has come among the Gentiles and has become as a Gentile in order to win Gentiles, he says he was under the law toward Christ. Jesus said, the one who loves Him, keeps His commandments (Joh 14:15)! Paul was obedient to the law toward Christ, not to gain right standing!

law or torah

Previously: written on hearts instead of stone

The Hebrew word found in the Old Testament, which was translated into the English word “law,” means something slightly different than the Hebrew word from which it is translated. Our English word is closer in meaning to the Greek word for “law”(since English civilization, Western civilization, stems from the Greeks) and means what we think of when we think of “law”: rules and regulations. Obligations. Courtrooms. Punishment. In Hebrew, however, the word is Strong's H8451, hrwt, torah. It means “instruction” or “teaching.”

“Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law (torah). When I was my father’s son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.” Pro 4:1-5

The word translated “instruction” in the above passage is Strong's H4148, and actually means, the correction of children by their parents; chastisement. The word translated “doctrine” is Strong's H3948, and means any art which is received, i.e., learning, or doctrine. Think school. When a child learns the laws of physics, he has learned the doctrine which governs the natural universe. But neither of these words are torah.

The word translated “law” is torah. But in Proverbs, the writer is using the word as if it means the instruction, teaching, and wisdom of a father to his son! Fathers teaching their sons brings to mind (in my mind, anyway) gentle guidance, loving but firm authority, that which is appropriate for the age and capacity of the child, delight in passing on the knowledge or skill of previous generations. The instruction, or torah, of a father.

Torah is, in fact, used over and over again in Proverbs in the context of parents guiding their children. Now I am not thinking of courtrooms anymore.

“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the torah, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Isa 2:3

Torah, in Hebrew thought, is equivalent to the teaching of the Lord which illuminates His ways and His paths, which is synonymous with His Word! If we desire to know the paths of the Lord so that we may walk in them, then we desire His torah!

The word torah comes from the primitive Hebrew root yarah, Strong's H3384, an agricultural word meaning “to cast forth rain or fruit.” The idea behind torah, then, is that just as the rain is cast forth and the ground produces fruit because of it, so the torah -- the instruction and teaching of the Heavenly Father to His children -- is cast forth into our hearts, which then produces the fruit of life and blessing.

In fact, it is the Promised Seed, the Messiah, who is the Word, the Living Torah, who is implanted within the human heart, and so produces fruit after His kind: fruit of blessing from the tree of life!

According to Strong's, yarah can also mean, “to throw, shoot, cast, or pour,” especially “to shoot arrows.” But sin also means, “to miss the mark.” Torah, therefore, directs us to hit the mark, while sin causes us to miss the mark.

Continued in the curse of the law

clean and unclean food, 1 corinthians 8

Read 1 Corinthians 8 at Bible Gateway.

“However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.” 1 Cor 8:7-8

The food that Paul is speaking of in this chapter, is meat (from animal sacrifices) offered to idols:

“Now concerning things offered to idols:” 1 Cor 8:1

“Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” 1 Cor 8:13

We have to remember that in the 1st century of the Roman Empire, where Corinth was, every butcher shop in the Empire procured its meat from the temples of the idols and the false pagan gods. There was no meat that had not been first offered to an idol as an animal sacrifice. So this created a dilemma among the formerly pagan believers in Jesus outside of Judea: if we eat meat which has been offered to an idol, are we breaking the commandment, Do not commit idolatry?

The discussion is not at all about whether God's instructions concerning clean and unclean food in Torah have been discarded. It never entered into the church's head to discard commandments in Torah, especially in light of Jesus admonition in Mat 5:17-20, and Paul's clarification of the position the Torah holds in the life of the believer who has been saved by faith, in Rom 3:31.

The knowledge that Paul is talking about here, that not every believer has, is that idols are nothing - there are no false gods because they don't exist - and the only God is YHVH Creator of heaven and earth (1 Cor 8:4-6). So therefore, Paul is saying, meat offered to idols is meat offered to nothing, so the believer has perfect liberty to eat meat. But for the believer for whom an idol is something, then if they eat meat which has been offered to it, their conscience has been defiled.

This is the real heart of the matter. Some of us know one thing about God or the Scriptures or the will of God or spiritual matters, and some of us know another thing. Knowledge puffs up. But love edifies, it builds others up. And love is the fulfillment of the Law (Gal 5:14). So if because of superior knowledge, a strong brother eats meat in front of a weak brother, the strong brother by virtue of his strength has encouraged the weak brother to follow his example. The weak are followers, we learned. That is why we do not put children in the care of the ungodly.

When the weak brother follows his example, he defiles his conscience, because he does not have the knowledge that the strong brother has. For him, he has just eaten meat that has been offered to an idol, so he has committed idolatry in his heart.

So even though the strong brother has not sinned in regard to the law of idolatry by eating meat, he has committed another sin almost as grievous, which is wounding the weak conscience of another. The righteousness of the former, of not committing idolatry, is then set next to the unrighteousness of the latter, which is to put a stumbling block in the way of the weak, which is forbidden in Torah because it hurts them, stemming from a lack of love for them (Lev 19:14).

If the weak brother is not eating meat because he loves God fervently and would not transgress the command concerning idolatry in any case, then his righteous deed has proved the greater, because he would not transgress love for the sake of knowledge. The strong brother, on the other hand, who eats meat in front of the weak, has transgressed love for the sake of knowledge. So even though the strong brother might have perfect knowledge of spiritual matters, and of the application of the Law in the life of the believer, he has fallen short of Torah, because he has not shown love.

When Paul says that food does not commend us to God, of course it does not. We have been cleansed and washed by the blood of Messiah Yeshua, whose righteousness does commend us to God! We are no better off if we do eat, or no worse off if we don't, in regard to being accepted before God. No work of the Law makes us righteous or grants us entrance into the presence of God. This is not different that anything we have already seen Paul say: by the work of the Law no one will be justified in His sight (Rom 3:20)!

However, this is not Paul saying that the dietary law has been abolished! The topic of this discussion has had nothing to do with the dietary law, or clean and unclean food. For we are better off if we do eat according to the dietary law, but not because following the Law commends us to God! It is because blessings follow obedience, and our physical health is protected when we obey God's instructions concerning what to eat and not eat.

1 corinthians 7

Read 1 Corinthians 7 at Bible Gateway.

“Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?” 1 Cor 7:10-16

The command of the Lord is clear, and this passage agrees with other passages of Scripture in which it is reiterated that a wife is not to depart from her husband, and a husband is not to divorce his wife. Jesus affirms this when He says that what God has joined together into one flesh, let not man - either the husband or the wife - separate (Mat 19:4-6). And just to make a sure thing more certain, God declares that He hates divorce, and that to Him it is like covering your garment with violence (Mal 2:16). I am not sure what covering your garment with violence means; probably it is a Hebrew idiom, but that it is a bad thing comes through the translation.

The very first information YHVH gives us about marriage, is in Gen 2:24: the man leaves his parents, and he cleaves to his wife. “Cleave” is the Hebrew word Strong's H1692, qbd, dabaq. The lexicons say it means to adhere firmly as if glued. The ancient pictographs are of the door, the house, and the sun on the horizon. So the mountain top meaning of the word from the ancient Hebrew is to enter the house at sunset. In other words, when the husband's day of working in the fields is done, he goes home to his wife. He doesn't make himself unavailable to his wife by working till midnight every night as a workaholic, or going out with the guys, or finding other things to occupy his time (which equals his heart) in other places. He enters the door of his house (where his wife is) at sunset, at the end of every day. For fifty or more years, day in and day out!

The next information YHVH gives us about marriage, is that the man and his wife become one flesh. The Hebrew word for “one” is Strong's H259, dja, echad. The ancient pictographs are of the ox, the fence, and the door; the mountain top meaning from the ancient Hebrew is to strongly fence the door. When a man and his wife are one, when they are united; the door is strongly fenced so that exiting (either the house or the relationship) is not an option!

Being flawed humans, the first thing we do when faced with this scenario of unity with one person for life, no outs; is look for loopholes. :) The first loophole is that the husband takes a wife, and once they become one flesh, he discovers that there is uncleanness in her (Deu 24:1). What does that mean? Jesus tells us in His response to the Pharisees when they ask about this question. If she has been immoral, and has not kept herself for her husband alone, but gives herself to another, then it is permitted the husband to divorce his wife (Mat 19:3-9). But, Jesus tells us, this is because of the hardness of the husband's heart, for from the beginning the man and his wife were united - there was no exiting the strongly fenced door!

The next loophole that comes up, stems from the command in Torah that God's people not intermarry with the people which are living around them, who are unbelievers, not partakers of the worship of YHVH and the covenant of promise (Deu 7:3). God makes no decree that His people cannot marry those who were Gentiles, but who have since joined themselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Look at the example of Rahab, a Canaanite woman (Jos 6, Mat 1:5), and Ruth, a Moabite woman (Ruth, Mat 1:5), both who joined themselves to YHVH and married Hebrew men, and became foremothers of Jesus the Messiah! But we are not to yoke ourselves to unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14), precisely because marriage is a permanent institution!

Now Israel fell into idolatry and paganism, and forgot God's word, and intermarried with the people around them. For forsaking their covenant, Israel was taken away captive by Assyria, and Judah by Babylon. But Judah repented, and experienced a spiritual renewal and return to YHVH and to their covenant, and God returned all those who would go, to the Promised Land. That is the situation we find in Ezra. In Ezra, when the children of Judah had returned to Israel, and had kept the Feast of Tabernacles, and Ezra read from the book of the Law, it was discovered that marrying with pagan women was prohibited. And so the men repented of taking pagan wives, and divorced them (Ezr 9-10).

The church at Corinth, reading this precedent, asked a question of Paul concerning mixed marriages. For when two people who are pagans marry, they are not transgressing the command to be not unequally yoked, for they are both unbelievers. But if one of them, the husband or the wife, afterward meets Yeshua and experiences a spiritual renewal, now the marriage becomes mixed. It did not begin that way, but one partner changed. So should the Corinthians, after the example of Ezra, divorce their unbelieving spouses?

Paul's answer to them, is no. The Lord's command is to be one flesh, and to not put asunder what YHVH has joined together. If the unbeliever is content to live with the believer, then live together. Remember that upon marriage, the two become one, echad? So now they are no longer two, but one, Jesus said (Mat 19:6). In other words, the family as a unit (echad) becomes the lowest denomination that God saves (Exo 12:1-7, Act 16:31). This is why even though one spouse is unbelieving, the believing spouse sanctifies the unbelieving, and their home and children. And the implication is, that given enough time, the witness of the believing spouse will open the door for repentance and salvation in the unbelieving spouse (1 Cor 7:16, 1 Pet 3:1-2).

In the case of abuse, addictions, or adultery, Paul's advice is that if the woman leaves her husband, she is to remain unmarried or to reconcile with her husband. Dr. Phil this is not, but the unerring and enduring Word of God!

Beloved, this is the Lord's heart concerning marriage: to extend grace to our partners, and forgiveness, and love, and when we are tempted to focus on the speck in their eye, focus on the plank in our own instead (Mat 7:3-5), and with patience do good, and pray for them, and wait for them to come to salvation. Serve their needs instead of our own. It is not written in the Scriptures that we are on this earth in order to be served, and that we are entitled to a comfortable life without hardship (Mat 20:28, Heb 11:32-40), but rather we are on this earth to witness of Him to the lost and unbelieving (Act 1:8)!

So many divorces take place within the body of Messiah because people are unwilling to be patient, endure self- sacrifice, and wait for the promise of the Lord's salvation to come to pass! Let it not be so among us!

parashah rieh (look), deuteronomy 11:26 - 12:19

We study the Torah according to the triennial cycle every Sabbath. (Why?)

We must understand the paragraph divisions in Torah, which are inspired by the Spirit and preserved by Moses and the Jewish scribes (but discarded by the English translators), are key to help us understand what God is trying to tell us. He wants to be understood, and has provided these helps to aid us! We must also understand how the Spirit teaches through Torah by common theme.

Today is the 139th Sabbath of the triennial cycle: parashah (Torah portion) Rieh /Look, Deu 11:26 - 12:19. Read Deu 11:26 - 12:19 at Bible Gateway, or Deu 11 and 12 from the Hebrew Bible in English.

Deu 7:12-16 ends with a parsha stumah, a weak paragraph division.

relinquishing rights in marriage

Relinquishing rights in a marriage is one of the hardest things to do, but one that will achieve the greatest fruit of peace and contentment if applied scripturally!

All of us have heard the received wisdom: your mate needs to respect you and give you what is due you, and if he/ she doesn't, then time to find a new mate! That is not what the Scriptures teach.

First of all, it is part of God's nature to relinquish rights. When He created Adam, He gave His authority over the earth and all its creatures that He had made, to him (Gen 1:26-28). He relinquished it, even though He knew what Adam would do! No one required Him to do this. He is the God who forgives iniquity and sin, although no one requires Him to do so. It is in His nature to do so, because great is the mercy of the Lord (Exo 34:6-7). And the greatest example of God relinquishing His rights is in Yeshua, God clothed with flesh:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phi 2:5-8

When Paul says that Christ Jesus did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, he is saying that even though He was equal with God, He did not feel Himself robbed to be divested of His rights as God. No one made Him of no reputation; He made Himself of no reputation, even though He was the Creator and Ruler of the universe!

Abraham and the patriarchs saw this facet of the nature of God, and modeled themselves after it. Perhaps the reason that Abraham was called by God in the first place, was that God found in Abraham a man who relinquished rights, as being a man after His own heart.

After Abraham was promised the Holy Land by God, his herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen quarreled over pasture. So Abraham, the elder, the family patriarch to whom honor should have been due, told Lot to choose his portion of land first. He did not grasp for his own rights, land, privilege, honor, or anything else. Lot chose the best portion of land to the human eye, the Jordan valley that was green and well watered everywhere like the Garden of Eden (Gen 13:5-11).

When Abraham won great spoil by defeating the four kings, he refused to take even a sandal strap that was his spoil by right, but returned it all to the king of Sodom (Gen 14:21-23). When the Lord asked Isaac of Abraham, Abraham relinquished (Gen 22). When Isaac was digging wells in the land of the Philistines, every time he hit water, the Philistines took the wells from him. Rather than fight for his own rights, he moved and kept digging wells until he had some that they left him in peace over (Gen 26:18-22).

The New Testament teaches that as children of God, we ought to relinquish rights in the same way. Just in general as Christians, this characteristic ought to be a hallmark of our behavior:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” Mat 5:38-42

“Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!” 1 Cor 6:7-8

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” Phi 2:3-5

(I.e., the mind of relinquishing rights and making Himself of no reputation that we mentioned earlier, is also to be in us.)

Now maybe it's easy to relinquish rights in a marriage when your partner is godly and seeking to obey God's Word in his or her own life and conduct, and is also relinquishing rights. In that case your needs and not their own become their highest priority! But if your partner is not there and is not doing that, that does not absolve us - we still need to practice being content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves (Phi 4:11), and in giving our figurative shirt when our figurative cloak is taken!

Normally, it is human nature that being constantly taken from and trampled upon produces resentment and rejection in us. But with the Lord, by forgiving transgressions, we short circuit the resentment, rejection, and other fruits of death, and free ourselves to act instead of react! Our actions, then, according to the Divine nature, are actions which result in blessing for our spouse, regardless of whether he has earned the right to be blessed.

We can be the proactive partner in the marriage, being a blessing regardless of whether we are being blessed in return, because God has already blessed us! That is why Abraham could give Lot, the younger, first choice of the Land which had been promised to him by God - he had the blessing of God on his head, which no man could nullify! Like Abraham, we have already received, and are full (Joh 1:16, 1 Cor 4:8, Phi 4:18)!

“Freely you have received, freely give.” Mat 10:8

Relinquishing rights is a concept of spiritual wisdom, and only the spiritual man can receive it, the natural man can not receive it (1 Cor 2:13-14). This is why so many people think this counsel is utter foolishness and makes no sense at all. But it is the way of God, the path of life, and he who finds it, finds good things (Pro 12:28)!

So, someone might ask, how does relinquishing rights change my spouse? The child of God with a heart after God does not focus on changing the other person - they focus on the change which needs to occur within themselves:

“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Mat 7:3-5

The point is, there is always a plank which needs to be removed from our own eye. The deception is that we have achieved something and the other person needs all the work! Another interesting thing about this passage: notice that in the way Yeshua framed this instruction, so that our brother always has the speck, and we always have the plank? God knows the tendency of our human nature, to magnify the other's faults while downplaying our own. Considering that we have a plank in our eye and our brother a speck, evens things out in our own perception so that they are closer to reality.

Changing another person is something which can only be entrusted into the hands of Almighty God; it is way above our pay grade, and something that we should not concern ourselves with. We have enough to last a lifetime to be concerned with changing our own selves!

written on hearts instead of stone

Originally posted at a little perspective in September 2007.

Previously: God's word gives life to those who find it

We had asked, So now that we have spiritual life, do we need to obey the Law any longer?

Well, remember the purpose of the Law: to give physical life to those who adhere to it. So I guess the answer to that question would be:

Only if you want physical life! And all that pertains to it: health, needs met, happiness, marriage and children blessed, etc.

But actually, it is because we have such a disconnected and disjointed view of Scripture that we ask that question. We are so used to reading the New Testament without the Old, without the insight of the Old, which was not the way it was for Jesus, the disciples, or Paul. When they mention Scripture in the New Testament, they are talking about the Old Testament exclusively, since there was no New Testament yet. They interpreted and saw everything through the lens of the Old Testament. So they were very familiar with several passages of Scripture which are less familiar to us:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer 31:31-34

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Eze 36:24-28

We ask, Must we obey the Law? as if it is a dreaded chore. Many people tell me the Law is bondage, but you will not find that idea in Scripture! Read Psa 119 sometime, and see the delight which David takes in the Law, and the blessing obeying it returns to his life! In the New Testament as well as the Old, God requires obedience from His people - this principle did not pass away when Jesus rose from the dead. The New Testament writers equated obedience with a renewed heart and being led by the Spirit! The heart that is reluctant to do the will of the Lord is the heart that does not love Jesus. Jesus said that (Joh 14:21). Paul testifies that those who practice Law- lessness, which is unrighteousness, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor 6:9-10). And John says that those who say they know Jesus, but break the Law, are liars (1 Joh 2:4).

Our English understanding of the word “Law” is actually to blame for some of this; it is misleading for the word which is used in Hebrew, which is torah. I began to do some research into this word, and what I discovered amazed and delighted me! To be continued ...

Continued in law or torah.