1/27/2024

Parashat 29 Portion 95 ‘’Acherei-Mot’’ Vayikra 16:1-34 Hosea 6:1-11 Yesh 60:15-22 Titus 3:4-7


Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.

אחרי מות – ‘’after the death’’ בקרבתם לפני יהוה וימתו׃  - the priests died when they drew near to YHVH.

 

Lev 16:1  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh after the death of the two sons of Aharon, as they drew near before יהוה, and died.

 

One of the most important lessons we can learn in this life and in the life to come – is that you cannot invite yourself into the presence of YHVH and the inappropriate worship of YHVH carries a death sentence. The extreme arrogance and ignorance displayed by believers in this regard will soon come to an end in this present age.

 

Rom 1:21  because, although they knew Elohim, they did not esteem Him as Elohim, nor gave thanks, but became vain in their reasonings, and their undiscerning heart was darkened. Rom 1:25  who changed the truth of Elohim into the falsehood, and worshipped and served what was created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Aměn. Rom 1:28  And even as they did not think it worthwhile to possess the knowledge of Elohim, Elohim gave them over to a worthless mind, to do what is improper, Rom 1:32  who, though they know the righteousness of Elohim, that those who practise such deserve death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practise them.

 

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

 

Everlasting life belongs to those who can tell the difference between ‘’God and Jesus’’ - Joh 17:3  “And this is everlasting life, that they should know You, the only true Elohim, and יהושע Messiah whom You have sent. 

 

Lev 16:2  And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Speak to Aharon your brother not to come in at all times to the Set-apart Place inside the veil, before the lid (הכפרת) of atonement which is on the ark, lest he die, because I appear in the cloud above the lid of atonement.

 

Only perfection can stand in His Presence – Jude 1:24-25 – the ‘’kaporet’’ or lid of the ark was pure gold, there was no acacia wood in the lid -  Ex 25:17-22 – and had a circumference of 8 cubits. The ‘’menorah’’ was also made of pure gold – and speaks of the ministry of the Set Apart Spirit - Joh 3:34  “For He whom Elohim has sent (Yahshua - singular masculine pronoun) speaks the Words of Elohim, for Elohim does not give the Spirit by measure. 

 

The strategic placement of the opening verses in this chapter reveals the serious nature of how an appointed Set Apart man can enter into the physical presence of YHVH at only one appointed time in the year – Yom ha kippurim. This will not change until the ‘’eighth day’’ when New Jerusalem appears.

 

Atonement is just a temporary covering while redemption provides for a complete future removal of all our sin redemption is better than atonement – redemption removes - sin atonement only postpones a coming judgment.

 

Mat 5:18  “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. (‘’Yom kippur’’ is not yet done)

 

The repeated phrase in the Torah portion – “ve lo yamut” “that you not die” serves as a sober reminder of the consequences for those who reject His instruction regarding this matter.

 

Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant (until this day)

Hos 6:1  ‘Come, and let us turn back to יהוה. For He has torn but He does heal us, He has stricken but He binds us up. 

Hos 6:2  After two days He shall revive us, on the third day He shall raise us up, so that we live before Him. 

Hos 6:3  So let us know, let us pursue to know יהוה. His going forth is as certain as the morning. And He comes to us like the rain, like the latter rain watering the earth.’ (predictableness of His Ways)

Hos 6:4  “Ephrayim, what would I do with you? Yehuḏah, what would I do with you? For your loving-commitment is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away. 

Hos 6:5  “Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,(or tried to shape them into a set apart nation) I have killed them by the words of My mouth. And my right-rulings break forth as the light. i.e., the judgment inflicted upon the sinners was so obvious, so conspicuous (clear as the breaking forth of the light), that everyone ought to have observed it and laid it to heart (cf. Zep_3:5). Hos 6:6  “For I delight in loving-commitment and not slaughtering, and in the knowledge of Elohim more than ascending offerings. (mans religious service to YHVH had become worthless) Hos 6:7  “But like Aḏam they transgressed the covenant. There they acted treacherously against Me. Hos 6:9  “And as bands of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder on the way to Sheḵem, for they have done wickedness. (misrepresenting YHVH is equated with murder – (1st  & 6th commandment)Hos 6:10  “I have seen a horrible matter in the house of Yisra’ěl: the . whoring of Ephrayim is there, Yisra’ěl is defiled. Hos 6:11  “Also, a harvest (judgment) is appointed for you, O Yehuḏah, when I turn back the captivity of My people – (As Judah has sinned as well as Israel, it cannot escape the punishment (cf. Hos_5:5, Hos_5:14). שׁוּב שְׁבוּת never means to bring back the captives – we will have to ‘’face the music’’)

 

Lev 16:3  “With this Aharon should come into the Set-apart Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.

 

Lev 16:4  “He should put on the set-apart linen long shirt, with linen trousers on his flesh, and gird himself with a linen girdle, and be dressed with the linen turban – they are set-apart garments. And he shall bathe his body in water, and shall put them on.

Lev 16:5  “And from the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl he takes two male goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

Lev 16:6  “And Aharon shall bring the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.

Lev 16:7  “And he shall take the two goats and let them stand before יהוה at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Lev 16:8  “And Aharon shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for יהוה and the other lot for Azazel.(the goat that carries away evil)

Lev 16:9  “And Aharon shall bring the goat on which the lot for יהוה fell, and shall prepare it as a sin offering.

Lev 16:10  “But the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell is caused to stand alive before יהוה, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness to Azazel.

 

In the Apocrypha, Azazel is a leader of rebellious angels, as seen in the Book of Enoch. He leads the pre-Flood civilizations of men, giants (perhaps Nephilim), in all matters of warfare and witchcraft.

 (Enoch 8:1; 9:6; 10:4-8; 13:1-2; 54:5; 55:4; 69:2). See also Mt 4 – Yahshua’s temptation in the wilderness –

 

Lev 16:11  “And Aharon shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall slaughter the bull as the sin offering which is for himself,

Lev 16:12  and shall take a fire holder filled with burning coals of fire from the altar before יהוה, with his hands filled with sweet incense beaten fine, and shall bring it inside the veil.

Lev 16:13  “And he shall put the incense on the fire before יהוה, and the cloud of incense shall cover the lid of atonement which is on the Witness, lest he die.

 

Incense points to the ministry of intercession – Ps 141:2 and Rev 8:3-4 – one the primary reasons YHVH calls us into His Presence is to seek mercy and pardon for ourselves and others. Is 6

 

Lev 16:14  “And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the lid of atonement on the east side, also in front of the lid of atonement he sprinkles some of the blood with his finger seven times.

Lev 16:15  “And he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and shall bring its blood inside the veil, and shall do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the lid of atonement and in front of the lid of atonement.

Lev 16:16  “And he shall make atonement for the Set-apart Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so he does for the Tent of Meeting which is dwelling with them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Lev 16:17  “And no man should be in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Set-apart Place, until he comes out. And he shall make atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Yisra’ĕl.

Lev 16:18  “And he shall go out to the altar that is before יהוה, and make atonement for it. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.

Lev 16:19  “And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and set it apart from the uncleanness of the children of Yisra’ĕl.

Lev 16:20  “And when he has finished atoning for the Set-apart Place, and the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.

Lev 16:21  “Then Aharon shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and shall confess over it all the crookednesses of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man – Heb “iti” a timely or ready man.

Lev 16:22  “And the goat shall bear on itself all their crookednesses, to a land cut off. Thus he shall send the goat away into the wilderness.

Lev 16:23  “Aharon shall then come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Set-apart Place, and shall leave them there.

Lev 16:24  “And he shall bathe his body in water in the set-apart place, and shall put on his garments, and shall come out and prepare his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people,

Yom Kippur & the Great & Terrible Day of YHVH

Yom Kippur is the day when:

YHVH’s judgment upon the earth will occur prior to the Second Coming of Yeshua the Messiah cul­minating in the battle at Megiddo.

The beast and false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire (after the millennium)

Satan will be judged and cast into the bottomless pit.

It is the time when YHVH will have the last word on man’s 6000 (rebellious and sinful) years on earth.

Rewards and punishments are meted out to humans.

The Babylon the Great system is judged and destroyed.

The earth is cleansed and readied for Messiah to “touch down” upon the Mount of Olives.

The restitution of all things talked about in Acts 3:21 occurs.

All these things must occur before Yeshua the Messiah can bring peace to this earth and establish his world-ruling kingdom. Those who would oppose his sovereign rule will be eliminated. Righteousness will prevail.

Lev 16:25  and burn the fat of the sin offering on the slaughter-place. 

Lev 16:26  “And he who sent away the goat to Azazel washes his garments, and shall bathe his body in water, and afterward he comes into the camp. 

Lev 16:27  “And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Set-apart Place, is brought outside the camp. And they shall burn their skins, and their flesh, and their dung with fire. 

Lev 16:28  “And he who burns them washes his garments, and shall bathe his body in water, and afterward he comes into the camp. 

Lev 16:29  “And this shall be for you a law forever: In the seventh new moon, on the tenth day of the new moon, you afflict your beings, and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 

Lev 16:30  “For on that day he makes atonement for you, to cleanse you, to be clean from all your sins before יהוה

Lev 16:31  “It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your beings – a law forever. 

Lev 16:32  “And the priest, who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, the set-apart garments, 

Lev 16:33  and he shall make atonement for the Most Set-apart Place, and make atonement for the Tent of Appointment and for the slaughter-place, and make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 

Lev 16:34  “And this shall be for you a law forever, to make atonement for the children of Yisra’ěl, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as יהוה commanded Mosheh. 

As the last days approach we will become more aware that the improper worship of YHVH that has carried on for millennia and will carry severe consequences – YHVH has overlooked our times of ignorance but in these days He requires deep and sincere repentance of this grievous condition – Act 17:30  “Truly, then, having overlooked these times of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent, Act 17:31  because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed,b having given proof of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

The key - Joh 4:23  “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also does seek such to worship Him. 

Joh 4:24  “Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.” 

True worship is when you come to YHVH with no ulterior motive except to honour and magnify His Name and character above any other consideration. Your focus is on Him alone and you know that you know only His Set Apart Spirit in you can enable such worship and free you from all deceptions that would want to hinder true worship.

Rev 4:8  And the four living creatures, each having six wings, Isa_6:2 were covered with eyes around and within. And they do not cease, day or night, saying, “Set-apart, set-apart, set-apart, יהוה Ěl Shaddai, Isa_6:3 who was, and who is, and who is coming!”

Joh 17:17  “Set them apart in Your truth – Your Word is truth.

Psa 119:142  Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your Torah is truth. 

Psa 119:151  You are near, O יהוה, And all Your commands are truth. 

Psa 119:160  The sum of Your word is truth, And all Your righteous right-rulings are forever. 

There is a growing concern among a few Christian leaders that there is something fundamentally wrong and dangerous with the praise and worship movement within the church. Very few within the praise and worship would agree. It is also mostly futile to even address the concern.

False worship does not necessarily centre in practice of pagan or idolatrous cults. It is often a problem for those who proclaim worship of the one true God. False worship usually centres around some form of deliberate or unintentional disobedience.

The primary forms of false worship are addressed in the 10 sayings:

Exo 20:2  “I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery. 

Exo 20:3  “You have no other mighty ones against My face. 

Exo 20:4  “You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth, 

Exo 20:5  you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה your Elohim am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 

Exo 20:6  but showing loving-commitment to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands. 

Exo 20:7  “You do not bringa the Name of יהוה your Elohim to naught, for יהוה does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught. Footnote: aOr lift up, or take

Exo 34:14  for you do not bow yourselves to another mighty one, for יהוה, whose Name is jealous, is a jealous Ěl/

Finally the most important and powerful and seperated word in the Hebrew language is ‘’worship’’ or ‘’ נשׁתחוה ‘’ H7812  שָׁחָה shâchâh A primitive root; prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to YHVH): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.

The verb ‘’nishtachaveh’’ is the only word found in the verb pattern called the ‘’hishtafel’’ pattern – from the root ‘’chavah’’ Let us bow down before YHVH in a ‘’living way’’ not in a way that will bring death.

Heb 9:11  But Messiah, having become a High Priest of the coming good matters, through the greater and more perfect Tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, Heb 9:12  entered into the Most Set-apart Place once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, having obtained everlasting redemption.  Heb 9:24  For Messiah has not entered into a Set-apart Place made by hand – figures of the true – but into the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim on our behalf, 

Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”

Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein.