NOTE: The transcript may not read exactly like the recording.
Exodus 20:22-24:18 | Jeremiah 34:8-22 | Matthew 5:38-42
Sometime in the 3rd month, YHVH asked the Israelites to be His people so He could be their King (Exodus 19:1). The allegory given to us later is “marriage”. He said to them:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Exo 19:8 All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do”.
The problem was and would remain that this Bride did not know what she was agreeing to. Brides hear the terms of their nuptial agreement before consenting. Sometimes she even negotiates part of the agreement. This Bride did neither.
Israel’s acceptance was hasty and a sign of spiritual immaturity which would immediately affect her relationship with YHVH, her King.
This Forerunner Commentary explains it this way:
At this point, the Israelites wanted to make the covenant and to be married to God. But when the reality hit them …of what it was going to cost them in the conduct of their lives—they no longer wanted it except on their terms. Thus, when food became scarce, they wanted to back out. When water was in short supply, they grumbled. Then what did they do? They started accusing Moses and Aaron and God because, after all, they were their leaders.
There are many examples of the Israelites wanting to back out. So God, in a sense, offered them concessions. He gave them meat for their lust. He caused water to gush out of the rock. He gave them manna. He bent over backward to meet their demands. But later on, when their descendants were in the Land of Promise, they too were unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to make the marriage successful.
In other words, the flesh and blood Bride of Yeshua back then was also a spoiled and insatiable Bride, one who could not be satisfied. Is it any wonder, then, that Hebrews 13:5 tells us to “be …content with such things as you have?” It is for this reason that flesh and blood cannot inherit YHVH’s Kingdom. The flesh and blood is selfish, looking out only for its own best interests. The Kingdom, on the other hand, requires each citizen to look out for everyone else’s best interests over his own. This is called “laying down the life for your brethren”.
The second generation is not like the first one. There is more that I will explain about this second generation at the end of this teaching.
We are now studying what the first generation, who would only deal with YHVH at arm’s length, refused to hear except through Moses.
The laws we will now study fall under 2 categories: Those that pertain to our treatment toward YHVH Himself and those that pertain to our treatment toward others.
Luk 10:27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
We find this same instruction in Deuteronomy:
Deu 6:5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
Deu 10:12 Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
And then in Leviticus:
Lev 19:18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
These 2 categories show up as the headings in the Ten Words, AKA Ten Commandments.
The first 4 commandment headings fall under the category that regulates our behavior toward YHVH. The 5th heading shows our character toward Him by exhibiting our attitude and behavior toward our parents. This one is a bridge between the commandments for regulating our behavior toward YHVH and the following 5 which regulate our behavior toward others. We can watch how people treat their parents and know what their attitude and behavior toward YHVH is.
We have, like the first generation, heard the first 10 headings. That happened in last week’s Torah Portion. Now let’s start to learn some of the details of the category heading which deals with how to behave toward YHVH.
Exo 20:24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.
Exo 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.
Exo 20:26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’
Our behavior regulation toward Him begins with knowing who He is. His requirement for His table, His altar which we are to approach with humility and respect, begins by knowing how we are to build it with uncut stones and that we are not to approach Him using steps. Steps require lifting of garments to go up. He does not want to see our nakedness in our approach because baring our genitals is a prelude to and part of how the wicked worship their gods through fornication in their temples. He also tells us that any Israelite caught serving another god, one practicing sorcery (witchcraft) or who has sex with an animal is to be killed (Exodus 22:18-20).
There are also laws about keeping the Sabbath and attending His Feasts (Exodus 23:10-19) and laws about how they can get rid of the squatting, occupying Canaanites by not serving or bowing to their gods and being careful to always obey Him so that He will be obligated, by law, to cast them out as they enter the land (20-33). Furthermore, He wants the Israelites about making sure to offer to Him what he requires: The first fruits and the firstborns (Exodus 29-31).
Next, He will on instruct us on how to treat each other starting with how a master is to treat his servant. Chapter 21 begins with this instruction. YHVH knows that people get into financial difficulties so He made a way to solve that problem by providing for a mutual, symbiotic relationship between a rich person and a poor person needing help.
YHVH’s Kingdom automatically provides for the poor with employment when needed (Exodus 21:1-11), loans of money without interest and not taking a pledge for longer than the hours of daylight left in the day that the loan is given (Exodus 22:25-26), special provision of food (Exodus 23:11) and equal justice (Exodus 23:6). This is because YHVH is very concerned with the poor and downtrodden. Those who “have” help those who “don’t have”. And there are regulations for that so that the “haves” don’t abuse the “don’t haves” at any time starting with the “master-servant” relationship. And both the “haves” and “don’t haves” are governed in the behavior by YHVH’s Law.
YHVH’s concern extends special to the “ger” (the strangers among us), the widows and orphans in Exodus 22:21-22) by telling us not to “anah” (Strong’s H6031), afflict, them. We are not to keep them in a position of being downtrodden where they can never recover or arise from their situation. We are to give the downtrodden, those with less than we have in both societal status and wealth, the chance to get out of their situation. And we are to ensure the safety of others (Exodus 21:33-36).
Chapter 21 is the chapter of the “eye for eye” law, an idiom for punishment by proper payment for a crime.
Exo 21:23 But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,
Exo 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
Nowhere in the Torah is there a punishment specifying putting out someone’s eye, putting out a tooth, or taking a hand or foot from someone with one exception found in Deuteronomy 25:12. This law provides for capital punishment and restitution for damages where capital punishment is not required by this Law. It is either death or restitution, the amounts of which are set by YHVH Himself.
Exo 21:26 “If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
Exo 21:27 If he strikes out his male servant’s tooth, or his female servant’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
See? The man who destroys another’s eye or tooth doesn’t get his eye or tooth knocked out. His restitution is to simply let the servant go free. You injure your servant, you lose your servant. The “eye for eye” law is a deterrent.
The Torah ensures justice for everyone.
Exo 23:1 “You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
This goes under the heading having to do with false witnessing:
Exo 20:16 You shalt not bear false witness against your “rea” (Strong’s H7453) – your brother, sister, companion, friend or anyone.
Theft and proper sexual behavior is regulated in these laws (Exodus . So is lending and the first mention of food laws is found in Exodus 22:31. There are further laws about the Sabbath and the Feasts which will get more details later. The coming wars with Canaan were addressed. At the end of YHVH speaking to Moses, there was a wedding supper with Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel in Exodus 24:1.
This Bride, Israel, failed to keep the covenant made a Mount Sinai, not because YHVH’s law is hard, but because she did not love YHVH.
Joh 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
What is the connection between keeping the law and entering the Kingdom? Those who are not born again cannot enter because the flesh and blood inheritance is not available and those who disobey YHVH’s law also cannot enter even if they profess to know Him. How is it possible that people who profess to know Him will not enter His Kingdom? Are you getting ready to teach salvation by works, Kimberly? No, I am not!
1Co 6:9 Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,
1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
Paul lists the antithesis of the law here. The covenant law that we studied today deals with those sins. So, obeying the law of the world, the laws of Satan, keeps you out of the Kingdom. Obedience to the law allows you to enter.
Exo 20:7 “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
To take YHVH’s name in vain is to profess being of Him and part of His Kingdom then reject part, even one, or all of His commandments and not do as He says, not obey His Law. THIS is the commandment that is tripping up millions of people in all the religions, even in Hebrew Roots!
There are those who will now say I am teaching salvation by works. Not so. I am teaching about what is supposed to happen after you express belief in Yeshua and are born again. There is work involved. There is law-keeping and obedience involved after professing that He is our God and King.
The laws of the covenant we are studying today explain our required service, our required worship, of YHVH. The definition of worship is distorted in religious doctrine. Worship is not singing and clapping, waving hands and crying. Worship is our service, it is what governs our work as Kingdom workers.
Let me tell you a parable that YHVH gave me. Yeshua often taught in parables. This is the first time YHVH has given me insight through a parable, and I want to share it with you.
There was a town which had a company. The company was always hiring workers. All one needed to do was ask to be hired and agree to the terms of the employment contract. In return, the worker received guaranteed wages and a future promise of rewards as long as he remained faithful to the contract. He was also promised curses, difficulties, even being fired, for being unfaithful to the contract.
One more thing: The company offered to all its workers that, in the event of a disaster hitting the town, that the company would rescue the workers and their families.
The company’s product was righteousness. Workers were required to be righteous at all times in their private and public lives among the town’s people and not only when they were “working” for the company. The rules of the company were to govern and regulate their entire lives 24/7.
Three other companies existed in the town. Their product was religion. Each of these companyies’ work contracts was different than the other two and much different than the company whose product was righteousness.
These companies paid higher wages up front but these wages were not guaranteed and, instead of rewards, they were paid in future “points” earned by doing good deeds. Also, the other companies did not require workers to live by the company rules in their private and public lives 24/7. Workers could decide which rules to follow in their public and private lives and when to follow them. The people liked this better.
Disaster struck the town one day. People were dying. There was chaos all around. The company of righteousness gathered up all of its workers and their families and fled to safety. The workers in the other three companies all died.
That is the parable. Now let me tell you what it means.
The company whose product is righteousness is Yeshua’s Kingdom. The owner of the company, the one who hires the workers, is Yeshua. The hired workers are called “the born again”. The terms of the company’s contract are exactly the same as the terms given in the Law of Moses. The wages received by the workers are called “blessings”. Their future rewards come after righteousness has overcome religion, when the Kingdom has come.
As long as the workers continued living in righteousness, their wages, their blessings were guaranteed. A worker who gave up living righteously, according to the stipulations of the work contract, found his blessings to be not guaranteed. Instead, he earned curses. He might get some residual blessings sometimes but these were not consistent in his life because God gives some blessings to all alike, blessings like rain, for instance.
Some workers who became wicked realized their mistake and returned to full righteousness and began carrying out the terms of the work contract again. Others who became wicked thought the company had bad policies, so they left and joined one of the other three companies whose product was religion.
Religion is the product of flesh and blood. The three other companies are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. They produce self-righteousness and wickedness, but parade these as righteousness and justice, and they compete against each other and Yeshua’s Kingdom for preeminence. People in these companies believe in their religious doctrines to save them and they reject Yeshua’s company because its rules go too far. Its rules go against the natural desires of their flesh.
When disaster hit the town, the religious people died but the righteous and obedient were saved. The head of the company returned to the town with His people afterward and when He arrived He brought their rewards with Him. The righteous were saved in the end and received their rewards. No religious points were given.
When disaster hits, Yeshua will gather His workers and that is when all of His workers will be saved. Salvation comes at the end of the age, not at the time of being born again. Everyone who is a worker in Yeshua’s company will experience His salvation at the same time just as happened in the Exodus to the first generation. Only this time, the head of the company will also resurrect the workers who have died while working for Him.
After all the religious entities on earth have been destroyed, Yeshua will come to give us additional blessings called rewards.
I do not teach salvation by works. I teach being born again followed by living a righteous life according to YHVH’s Law AKA the Law of Moses. I teach blessings for obedience, not salvation for obedience. And I teach curses for disobedience, end times salvation for all who have lived righteous lives and the resurrection of the dead. I teach Yeshua coming with His rewards when He comes to save all those who belong to Him and I teach an everlasting Kingdom with Yeshua as King and with people who were obedient while they lived and who will now be rewarded with eternal life.
The three religions have so distorted YHVH’s Word that their adherents have no understanding of Yeshua’s Kingdom at all! Our entry into His Kingdom begins with being born of His and His Father’s Spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom.
It is Judaism and Islam that teach salvation by works except for Christianity. Its doctrine teaches that salvation and being born again are the same and that adherents are saved now. Not true. Salvation comes at the end of the age, not at the time of being born again.
Islam openly teaches doing good works to get “points”. Their point system is called ‘neki’ or ‘gunah’. Judaism has a doctrine of reward and punishment that they say is central to Judaism throughout the ages; that man receives his just reward for his good deeds and just retribution for his transgressions is the very basis of the conception of both human and divine justice”. Judaism then continues that every Jew, no matter what he has done, will be in their “world to come”, their version of YHVH’s Kingdom. The rewards and punishments will have made all sins to be “a wash”, everything will be “equal” in each Jew and, thus, each Jew will be pure after receiving his rewards and punishments.
The Kingdom did not set up the Law to become a reward and punishment system. It the expression of our citizenship and it is what governs our behavior as we work for YHVH’s Kingdom. Born again Kingdom workers who live righteously according to how YHVH defines righteousness in His law are very different than the first generation whose flesh and blood made them hastily agree to that which they had not yet heard and that, upon beginning to hear, they then backed away.
Exo 20:18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance.
They perceived with their flesh and blood which could only hear the thunder and the sound of the shofar and see the lightning and smoke but not understand Who was speaking. Flesh and blood cannot understand. It cannot perceive. Instead of asking Moses how they might be able to perceive, they backed away without receiving YHVH’s Holy Spirit within themselves. YHVH intended for them to accept being born again of His Spirit. They rejected Him. Not being able to understand YHVH’s Word is the danger of religion and the problem with religious people.
Exo 20:19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
They were right! Their flesh had to die in order to even be anywhere near YHVH’s presence! The flesh and blood of our humanness must die so we can live in, through and with the Spirit of YHVH.
Exo 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”
The first generation were tested and found wanting. And they did sin almost immediately by returning to the false comfort of religion within just a few weeks later at the golden calf. Man cannot live without contact with YHVH or contact with other gods. Man was created to seek the supernatural. That first generation chose other gods. The second generation seeks and receives YHVH’s Kingdom.
Scripture says they spoke well.
Deu 5:28 Yahweh heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and Yahweh said to me, “I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They have well said all that they have spoken.
Deu 5:29 Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!
Deu 5:30 “Go tell them, ‘Return to your tents.’
Deu 18:17 Yahweh said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.
Deu 18:19 It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Yeshua came to explain to the flesh and blood what the first generation of people sent Moses to hear because from the beginning they did not get it. The three religions still do not get it and people are trapped there. When the trapped people hear, some come and some reject. They make their choices.
I said earlier that I would make further explanation about the second generation. Well, here it is.
The second generation is the one born of the Spirit. Let me explain this because there is a caveat to it since humans tend to think in linear time. I have heard it preached that everyone who lived before the time of the cross all died and went to hell. Not true! The second generation is comprised of everyone who were born of the Spirit starting with Adam and Eve. The second generation did not have its beginnings after the cross. The second generation was fulfilled after the cross. The second generation is the born again generation, a generation born of YHVH’s Holy Spirit starting at the beginning. The term “second generation” is synonymous with “born again”.
Adam was born in the flesh and received YHVH’s neshama. He did not receive YHVH’s Ruach when he was created. His flesh was the prototype for first generation. Man began calling on the name of YHVH in Genesis 4:26. That is when the second generation, the born again generation, appeared. I can imagine that Adam woke up one day and thought ‘there are people being born and my own son, Cain, has committed murder of his own brother and my son, Abel, because I did not understand something’. And then he probably prayed, “My God, help me understand!”. And then YHVH gave Adam understanding and Adam accepted YHVH’s Ruach and began to teach men to call on YHVH’s name! Thus, the second generation and born again generation appeared shortly after the first flesh and blood generation was created.
After Adam came the next six Melchizedeks whom I believe were also of the second generation, of the “born again”. Then it was Noah who was the born again person, and as promised by YHVH, his family was saved with him. Shem and whoever in his family was born again was part of the second generation, too. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all of Jacob’s sons who eventually were born again (otherwise there would be no tribe with their name on it) were part of the second generation.
Israel, the nation, was born in exactly the same way as Adam – in the flesh and blood. The first generation of Israel is our example of why flesh and blood cannot inherit YHVH’s eternal Kingdom. That first generation was just like Adam. They needed to make a choice. But unlike Adam, they stuck with their flesh and blood refusing to become born again of YHVH’s Spirit.
However, there were some among them like Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb, Hur and those who were given the special task of building the Tabernacle who were of the Spirit, they were of the second generation of the “born again”. Ever since the beginning, YHVH has had those who have been born again and who lived righteous lives according to YHVH’s definition of righteousness found in His Law! In other words, obey Him. And these have always been a remnant in whatever age and time in which they lived. But in the end, when the resurrection happens, we will see that there is a number that cannot be counted which are righteous, are born again and part of the second generation going all the way back to the beginning, to Adam!
I have said the first generation passed away when its final members put Yeshua on the cross. But let me also add that the spirit of the flesh and blood first generation never has not fully died yet. It lives on in the three religions.
Let me summarize what the Kingdom is. It is not religion. It is not run by flesh and blood men and women. The Kingdom is ruled by YHVH only. Enter in by being born again and becoming part of the second generation. Live by YHVH’s definition of righteousness which is found in His Kingdom’s Laws and which have been given to us as an inheritance. Know that the blessings are our wages for obedience and the curses are sin and that the wages of sin against YHVH’s Law is death, both physical and spiritual. Understand that our rewards will come when Yeshua comes to save us at the end of days.
We can only marry Yeshua by having this understanding and following these instructions.
So, obey YHVH’s rules for His Kingdom. Sign up and sign on! Get out of religion. It is deception! Ask Yeshua to let you enter His Kingdom now so that you will have time to show Him that you intend to obey when He saves you later on. Stop believing that you don’t need to obey now and that obeying the Law is for the Millennium! And do it today!
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