Vayakhel 2023: What Is Our Second Most Important Service To YHVH?

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NOTE: THE TRANSCRIPT IS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE RECORDING.

What Is Our Second Most Important Service To YHVH? That’s a strange title, eh? Shouldn’t the question be “what is our first most important service to YHVH”? Ok. Let’s answer that one first so we will know why the second most important thing is so important. So, what is it that is our first service to YHVH and His Kingdom?

Mat 22:37  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 

There is another commandment that has equal weight.

Mat 22:39  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 
Mat 22:40  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” 

These, together, are our first duty to YHVH’s Kingdom. So now, what is the second most important thing we must do for YHVH’s Kingdom?

Before I tell you about the second most important thing, it is necessary for you to understand who Yeshua is. Understanding starts with knowing that Yeshua is God. He is the Creator and the one who died on the cross. What a miracle that is! How great are His mercies toward us that our Creator would stoop so low as to come to this earth and be willing to die for Israel! That is a concept that some people find difficult to understand but understand it we must. He is God from before His time walking on the earth, He is our God now and will be our God forevermore.

As God, He is the savior of Israel and the world as the scriptures say repeatedly. He is the Messiah who already healed the breach between the southern and northern Kingdoms of Israel to restore them back to their original state. He is our King. And what else is Yeshua? He is the Law Creator and Law giver!

Isaiah 33:22  For YHVH is our judge, YHVH is our lawgiver, YHVH is our king; he will save us.

And Yeshua is YHVH!

James 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy…

The one who Created the world by His Law gave that same Law to Israel at Mount Sinai, Israel whom He had predestined to be the earth’s receptacle of His great Law that keeps all things manifested. This One was none other than Yeshua Himself on that mountain!

At that time, in the hearing of all the Israelites, and before they backed away from Him, He gave us a commandment that the enemy has worked very hard to keep us from doing. It is a commandment that is mentioned more than the others. Sixteen times from Exodus to Deuteronomy alone, YHVH mentions this commandment. It is mentioned 142 times in the Old Testament, 62 times in the New Testament for a total of 204 times in the scripture. Which commandment is it? The Sabbath.

What did Yeshua say about Himself in light of the Sabbath? Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28 and Luke 6:5 record Yeshua saying of Himself that He is the LORD (kurios, G1962 in Greek) of the Sabbath.

Before we move on to what all this has to do with this week’s Torah Portion, let me tell you what the word ‘kurios’ really means that almost no one understands. Kurios refers back to the most important titles of YHVH Elohim.

H113 adon – 335 times.
H136 adonai – 438 times.
H410 el – 242 times
H430 elohim – 2601 times
H433 eloah – 57 times
H3068 yehovah/YHVH – 6,521 times
H7706 shaddai – Almighty 48 times
H7980 shelat aph. – dominate, govern, rule 8 times
H7989 shallit – Mighty, 4 times

Yeshua is all of these things. He declared it and said it of Himself right there in the New Testament. YHVH is the Creator and Yeshua said of Himself that He is YHVH, therefore, He also declared Himself to be the Creator. As such, He is Creator of the Sabbath.

Furthermore, this statement of Yeshua’s is not Him usurping authority from His Father in Heaven or making a false claim. Oh my! If it wasn’t Yeshua who had created the Sabbath, Him saying He was the Creator would have been treason against His Father! But we know Yeshua was perfectly aligned with His Father’s will so this claim was a true one. It was Yeshua that created the 7^th day.

Gen 2:1  The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 

“Finished” is the Hebrew word ‘kalah; (Strong’s H3615). It means to “end” and it also means to “cease”. All of the previous 6 days were finished. Now He will create the 7^th day.

Gen 2:2  On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 

By finishing, ending, His creation work and then resting on the Sabbath, the Sabbath then became part of His Creation. Thus, resting on the 7^th day was also an act of creation by example. God did not work on the 7^th day.

It isn’t only God who can create something without working. We also create something when we keep the Sabbath. But it something eternal. Just as the Sabbath is a little bit of eternity at regular intervals in our lives, we also create something having to do with eternity when we rest on Shabbat. What is it that we create? Our eternal place in YHVH’s Kingdom. It was His rest, His not working, that set apart the Sabbath from all other days and it is our rest on the Sabbath that sets us apart for His Kingdom.

Gen 2:3  God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done. 

And God, Yeshua, blessed the 7^th day. He did not bless any of His previous creation except for mankind in Genesis 1:22 and 28. The next blessing He gave was for the 7^th day. Make the connection: Bless the humans, bless their day of rest. This makes the connection between mankind and the 7^th day which is why YHVH uses it to mark His people.

The Sabbath was blessed – declared to be special, and sanctified – set aside for ritual purposes. It was made for all mankind but it was given to Israel as gift.

Exo 16:29  Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you, on the sixth day, the bread of two days.

The blessing of the Sabbath, what makes that particular day more special is that our sustenance is provided. We don’t have to provide it. That is the blessing of the Sabbath.

Why was Israel given the Sabbath? So we would promote the 7^th day and show the world that humans can cease from labors and still live. This is a picture of eternal life in YHVH’s Kingdom. Animals must labor to eat on the 7^th day. They labor every day. But the 7^th day shows that mankind can without being like the animals! It shows that mankind is elevated above the animals and is a sign of Israel’s elevation above all other nations. Israelites are not to live like animals, laboring every day of the week for survival.

Yeshua declared Himself to be the Creator of the Sabbath, and as the Creator, He gets to require it of His people and to make the rules regarding it. Biblical Israel, 12-Tribed Israel, is called to be the evidence of and witness on the earth to shine the light of His Kingdom through the darkness of Satan’s Kingdom. Keeping the Sabbaths, plural, all of them – the weekly day and the annual Feast Sabbaths – are the second most important thing we do for YHVH’s Kingdom. It is what literally witnesses that we love YHVH with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. It is commanded for everyone who says he believes in Yeshua.

The Sabbath is the bright beacon of the Kingdom’s light in the world. Its light brings attention to YHVH’s Torah, His Law, because the Law has many more commandments but it is the Sabbath that brings attention to the Law.

How does the Sabbath bring attention to YHVH”s Law? How is the Sabbath that beacon of light? It is on the Sabbath that we spend time delighting in YHVH’s law. We are so busy on the other days that, even though we might talk about the Law all day every day, as commanded, it is on the Sabbath that we can give studying and delighting in it our full attention. As the Sabbath shines His light on the Law, the Law shines its light on the world. It is as if the Sabbath is the moon gathering the sun’s light so it can shine in the darkness.

Did you know that the Law of Yeshua is His light?

Proverbs 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

And Yeshua said:

Matthew 5:14  You… are the light of the world.

Who is this “you”? Those who keep the Law. These are the light of the world. 

This was His Sermon on the Mount where He was commenting on the meaning and “how to’s” of the Law!

Yeshua is the Law incarnate, according to John 1:1. Therefore we should not only do the Law to be like Him but we should want to do it and it should be a joy to us!

Psalms 1:2, 40:8, 119:70, 77, 92 and 174 say we are to delight in Yahweh’s law and meditate on it day and night.

Paul even said he delights in the Law. His words are used to argue away the Law in Christianity.

What does this voluminous Sabbath instruction have to do with the Vayakhel Torah Portion? There is now to be human work done to build the Tabernacle and Moses is about to warn the congregation, yet again, about the importance of the Sabbath especially in light of their new work.

What will be Israel’s work now? What will the people be working on? What will they be creating? Like Yeshua created a place for man to live, now man will create a place for God to live. But not on the Sabbath! All the work will cease on the Sabbath.

Exodus 35:1  Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them, “These are the words which Yahweh has commanded, that you should do them.
Exodus 35:2  ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.

One might think that building YHVH’s dwelling place should be a 7-day-a-week activity but YHVH wants His people to follow His creation pattern so His dwelling place on earth will follow exactly the pattern as His created week. Work 6 days, rest in eternity on the 7^th.

It may seem harsh that Sabbath breakers must die but there is a reason for this. Working on the Sabbath is treason against YHVH. We know it is treason in His eyes because it incurs the death penalty. All treason everywhere and in all times requires death as the penalty. Keeping the Sabbath is our witness that we know YHVH is the Creator of all things, He is the Creator of Israel and that this means we are in covenant with Him. And keeping the Sabbath, doing it His way (not man’s religious way) is directly related to building YHVH’s Kingdom.

Those who keep the Sabbath are blessed because we GET TO keep it and participate in building the Kingdom. Not everyone knows TO keep it. In our generation has come this knowledge that we are supposed to keep it, be elevated by it and be part of YHVH’s Kingdom because of it. And then, still, there are those who say ‘no’ to it.

Exodus 31:13  “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.

The Sabbath is the sign of the covenant between YHVH and Israel. It is for us to know to whom we belong. In other words, the Sabbath provides our Kingdom identity!

Disobedience to the 7^th day Sabbath is the opposite sign that says you are not His and that you are not set apart for His Kingdom. Your disobedience says that He is not God and the Creator of all things. How can those who reject the Sabbath claim to be in covenant with and set apart by the LORD of the Sabbath?

Jews, of course, worship on Shabbat, Saturday in the rest of the world. I hate that word – Saturday. Muslims worship on the 6^th day, Friday. Christians worship on the 1^st day Sunday. The Jews, at least, have gotten the day correct even if they have gotten its Law wrong by adding to it.

Worshiping on Sunday is to worship on the day of the sun deity named Sol. Christians worship on another god’s day and they work on the Sabbath, the 7^th day. Christians say they don’t have to keep YHVH’s Sabbath because it was 1) changed and 2) there is no commandment in the New Testament to keep it.

Let’s see who can come up with a commandment in the New Testament that changes the most fundamental identity of Israel! There isn’t one. There is, though, the trap that YHVH set for His people in the southern Kingdom AKA now known as Jews.

Furthermore, the idea that Yeshua or any of the Apostles needed to call for people to do what they were already doing is ludicrous. What am I talking about? The Jews and believers in Yeshua – the Christians – were already keeping the Sabbath. It’s all over the New Testament. Just look for what was going on in the synagogues where both Jews and Christians met to worship YHVH. On what day do people go to the synagogue? On Shabbat, the Sabbath!

If someone is already doing what they’re supposed to, there is no reason for God or any of His teachers to call for people to do what they are already doing!

Disobeying the Sabbath will not happen among YHVH’s people in Yeshua’s Kingdom. Those who reject the Sabbath won’t enter Yeshua’s Kingdom. Remember, people who break the Sabbath die. Can they repent and be forgiven? Yes! But if they die unrepentant, they do not enter the Kingdom.

Well, that’s harsh, Kimberly! Let me explain it this way. One of the reasons, and it was a big reason, that ancient Israel was cast out of YHVH’s Kingdom, was because they did not keep His Sabbaths, plural. What makes you think anyone can get into the Kingdom not keeping the Sabbath when God tosses people out of the Kingdom for not keeping it?

Paul gave a list of sins that keep people out of the Kingdom but Sabbath-breaking was not on the list. Why? It goes back to what I said earlier. Christians had joined the Jews in the synagogues on Shabbat. In other words, all the people who claimed to belong to YHVH were keeping the Sabbath. Paul had no need to list the Sabbath as one of the sins which would keep them out of YHVH’s Kingdom.

Furthermore, YHVH gave us Leviticus 4 about unintentional sins which says when you learn that you have been sinning – because you did not know it before, bring your required offering to YHVH. Well, we have an offering made for us already. His name is Yeshua. There is mercy for those who do not know. But what about those who DO know but they reject keeping the Sabbath.

Let me tell you about my unintentional sin. I did not know about the 7^th day Sabbath all of my Christian life growing up in the church. If I had died during that time having full faith in Jesus, He would have saved me. Not keeping the 7^th day was my unintentional sin.

Now let me tell you about my intentional sin, my rejection of the Sabbath. Blessedly, and because He is good and His mercies endure forever, He showed me His Sabbath twice. The first time, I rejected it. That was my intentional sin.

The second time He showed it to me, I began keeping it. I repented of rejecting it. But if I had died during the period in which I knew about the Sabbath but rejected keeping it, I would have not entered the Kingdom. That is the difference between what happens to those who sin unintentionally and those who sin intentionally.

Now, Moses will give a new commandment for the Sabbath which has not yet been given.

Exodus 35:3  You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’”

Why? Only YHVH can start a fire on the 7th day. AH! A weekly prophecy about the burning at the of days. When will the cleansing fire start on this earth? During the Tribulation which begins at the start of the 7^th Millennium. All days begin in darkness and there is no greater darkness period than the coming Tribulation. YHVH alone will kindle this fire on His 7^th day. By not kindling a new fire on the 7^th day, we are witnessing that we agree that YHVH’s Tribulation punishment is for Him alone to do.

I am not saying we are not to keep a fire burning in our dwelling or have heat or a way to warm our food. We simply just don’t start a new fire. New fires on the Sabbath, on the 7^th Millennium, are for YHVH alone.

This also has to do with His altar. His altar starts with new fire on the first day of the week (in the rituals listed in Leviticus) and then the fire burns perpetually day after day, night after night. The fire is to never go out. In the future, YHVH’s altar will grace the earth forevermore and its fire will continue burning on every Shabbat. So can our fires continue burning on Shabbat. Just don’t start a new fire.

The coming 7^th Millennium will show to mankind what eternity is like. Yet we know that there will be those who rise up against the eternal Kingdom at the end of this period. I can’t explain why people will do that. But I do know that their uprising against Yeshua will have to do with their flesh and they won’t have the devil to blame for it. They will have been scheming against Yeshua before the devil is let out of his chains. He only comes to organize their fleshly efforts to join his wicked kingdom and reject Yeshua’s righteous one. Those people will have no one to blame but themselves for their eternal demise!

Let’s look at another kind of fire we should be careful not to kindle on the Sabbath.

Isaiah 58:13  If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, so as not to do your pleasure on the holy days, and shall call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; if you shall not lift up your foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of your mouth,
Isaiah 58:14  then shall you trust on YHVH; and He shall bring you up to the good places of the land, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of YHVH has spoken this. -Septuagint.

Don’t speak angry words on the Sabbath. Keep the day in peace even with those to whom you may be angry. Actually,Paul said don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Thus, there should be no reason to be angry on the Sabbath.

Eph 4:26  “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, 
Eph 4:27  and don’t give place to the devil. 

Anger starts fires. Don’t let the emotion of anger cause you to commit a sin against anyone, even the one with whom you are angry. Additionally, don’t let the day end without trying to get the problem between you and someone else repaired. You won’t give an entry point into your life to the devil if you take care of angering situations right away, the same day, and not tomorrow.

If we do it, if we turn our foot away from what we were doing in the 6 days or what we will do in the next 6 days, He will bless us. It is the doing of the Sabbath that will cause us to trust YHVH, so says YHVH. He will give us the good places and feed us with the heritage of Jacob, both in food and understanding of His Word, the spiritual food.

Now, let me change the focus a bit.

Exodus 35:4  Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which Yahweh commanded, saying,
Exodus 35:5  ‘Take from among you an offering to Yahweh. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, Yahweh’s offering: gold, silver, brass,
Exodus 35:6  blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair,
Exodus 35:7  rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,
Exodus 35:8  oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,
Exodus 35:9  onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.

Where did YHVH give Moses the instruction to take this offering? From Exodus 25:1-7.

Some say that Moses wrote the Torah. Not true! Moses was not the author of the Torah, the Law or any of the history in the first 5 books of our Bible. Moses was a scribe for YHVH! He was not the author! But for his great service to our King, YHVH Himself ascribes Moses’ scribe and teaching service by allowing Moses name to be associated with the Torah. It is an honor that Yeshua has bestowed on Moses for his scribal service.

Moses instructed the people exactly the way He was instructed. What this means – what it SHOULD mean to all who call themselves by YHVH’s name – is that 1) the Law given by Moses is actually YHVH’s Law, 2) Moses never told anyone to do anything that YHVH didn’t tell Moses to instruct us with, and 3) YHVH gave Moses the Law to teach to us (Exodus 4:12, 15, 18:20 and 24:12) and we need to obey it, and 4) since YHVH never changes nor can YHVH never die, neither can His Law change or die. The Jews, Christians and everyone else who changes His law die.

YHVH’s Law regarding our service to His dwelling place, the Tabernacle and the Temple, begins with acknowledging His authority in our lives and keeping it at top of mind the great importance of the Sabbath in YHVH’s Kingdom.

This teaching was not directed at those in this online room today. And I know its content was dense. You are here because you keep the Sabbath. However, I hope you learned something, gained a perspective that you didn’t have before or were inspired in some way by this teaching.

Thank you for being here and thank YHVH for giving me this message.