The Torah is mankind’s road-map back to Gan Eden – the garden of Eden
(pleasure or delight). It is not difficult to imagine the enormous demonic
activity that has been going on for millennia to try and confuse people who are
seeking to find their way back to their appointed relationship and destiny with
YHVH.
“Nothing is more contrary to the
sinful nature of mankind than the acceptance of a position of dependency.
Willing dependence is a profound testimony of a change in the natural bent of a
sinner.” Tim Hegg.
Only through complete and utter
surrender to YHVH and His Messiah will we be able to find our way back to His
perfect will and our appointed destinies – Rom 12:1-2
The Tree of
Life – Torah – is supremely the most powerful expression of a life dependent
upon its Maker.
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid, lest, as the serpent
deceived Chawwah (Eve) by his
trickery, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Messiah. (The simplicity of Torah)
Messiah the goal of the Torah – Rom 10:4 (Rom
10:4 For Messiah is the goal[1] of the
‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone who believes. Footnote: [1]Or end
purpose; not termination. ) the most dependent creation of YHVH ever – Yoh/John
5:19,30.
Our Torah portion
begins:
Gen 2:4 These are the births of the heavens and the
earth when they were created, in the day that יהוה Elohim made earth and heavens.
|
ד אֵלֶּה
תוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ, בְּהִבָּרְאָם: בְּיוֹם, עֲשׂוֹת יְהוָה
אֱלֹהִים--אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם.
|
|
H8435
tôledâ; from H3205 – yalad – to bring forth.
This
is how the heavens and earth were brought forth. These did not just happen to
appear they were conceived in the Heart of YHVH and then brought forth by His
Word. YHVH “births” the heavens and the earth so that He can “birth” a set
apart people – see Parashat Noach and Parashat Toltdot.
There is a diminished
“hey” (Hey is one of the Hebrew letters) in the Hebrew word “be hibaram” meaning “He caused them to be created” - the heavens and the earth. Perhaps this is
a hidden reference that YHVH would create another heaven and earth that would
be much more superior –
Rev 21:1 And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed
earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea
is no more.
Rev 21:2 And I, Yoḥanan,
saw the set-apart city, renewed Yerushalayim, coming down out of the heaven
from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Vs 4 is also the first
mention of the name of YHVH (can be
pronounced as Yahveh, Yaweh, Yahuah, Yahovah, Yehovah..no one knows for sure
although some believers believe they KNOW exactly how it was pronounced)
“Even though the name YHVH is etymologically difficult to explain, to a
Hebrew audience it may have looked very much like He Who Causes "That
Which Is" To Be.”
Thus the first time the name “YHVH” is used, it is used in the context of a
“lesser creation.” This causes us to believe that YHVH has even greater and
more grandiose ideas of what is to be created – this all for the sake of His
Son and those who are joined to His Son – Our Messiah – Yahshua. The meaning of
His Name assures us that He will cause to exist whatever is required for us to
reach our intended destiny – from esteem to esteem.
Why do so few then reach their intended destiny here on earth? Perhaps
because we are not content with the fruit of the Tree of Life - The Torah of
YHVH. Perhaps we have not yet been properly joined to His Son as was intended
for us to be. Perhaps too many have found satisfaction with the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil – of Mixture.
Gen 2:5 Now no
shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet
sprung up, for יהוה Elohim had not
sent rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground,
Gen 2:6 but a mist
went up from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.
Gen 2:7 And יהוה Elohim formed the man out of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils breath of life. And the man became a
living being.
For the first time the earth became moist so that
vegetation could start growing and reproducing.
The earth became moist and man was fashioned from the wet
clay by the Hand of the Almighty.
Gen 2:8 And יהוה Elohim planted a garden in Ěḏen,(pleasure
or delight) to the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Gen 2:9 And out of
the ground יהוה Elohim made
every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, with the tree
of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
The Tree of the knowledge
of good and evil can be compared to a belief system that is in opposition to
the Torah. Those who seek life at this tree choose to live life according to their
own idea of what is right and wrong. These choices are based on what people
believe their God says is good and what their God says is evil. This is the
foundation of all manmade religion. You create the kind of God you and others
want you to serve and then manipulate others to serve the God that has been
created – and you warn those who disagree and do not obey your religion with hell
and you promise those who agree that
they will go to heaven.
The word “God” is
deliberately used here by me– because when man rejects to obey the truth
(Torah) of YHVH – they create their own “God.” YHVH and Messiah can only be
properly known through the Torah Yoh/John 17:3.
The Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil is the very embodiment of the MIXTURE of good and
evil.
Christianity is a man-made
religion of mixture – its origins are not Messiah Yahshua but the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil – the same is true of Islam and Judaism.
Yahshua came to establish beyond any doubt the
authenticity of YHVH’s Torah and that there was no other Elohim like YHVH and
that He was the only way to YHVH.
Gen 2:10 And a
river went out of Ěḏen to water the garden, and from there it divided and
became four riverheads.
Gen 2:11 The name
of the first is Pishon, it is the one surrounding the entire land of Ḥawilah,
where there is gold.
Gen 2:12 And the
gold of that land is good. Bdellium is there, and the shoham stone.
Gen 2:13 And the
name of the second river is Giḥon, it is the one surrounding the entire land of Kush.
Gen 2:14 And the
name of the third river is Ḥiddeqel, it is the one which goes toward the east of
Ashshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Gen 2:15 And יהוה Elohim took the man and put him in the
garden of Ěḏen to work it and to guard it.
Where are all these places exactly? No one seems to know.
See:
Gen 2:16 And יהוה Elohim commanded the man, saying, “Eat of
every tree of the garden,
Gen 2:17 but do
not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you
eat of it you shall certainly die.”
Gen 2:18 And יהוה Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I am going to make a helper
for him, as his counterpart.”
|
יח וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, לֹא-טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ; אֶעֱשֶׂה-לּוֹ עֵזֶר, כְּנֶגְדּוֹ.
|
This is also the first time YHVH
says “it is not good”
The Hebrew word “kenegdo” translated
here as “cpunterppart”comes from the root “neged” which can also mean to be
“against or opposite.” According to some commentators this has both a positive
and a negative effect on marriage relationships
We need to look to the Second Writings
for more insight on this and other related issues. Marriage is both a joyful and a painful
experience for most people
1Co 7:27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be
loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
1Co 7:28 But even if you should marry, you have not
sinned. And if a maiden should marry, she has not sinned. But such shall have
pressure in the flesh, but I would spare you.
1Co 7:29 And this I say, brothers, the time is short,
so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had
none,
This was not a commandment from
Paul but a suggestion.
1Co 7:25 And concerning maidens: I have no command
from the Master, but I give judgment as one whom the Master in His compassion
has made trustworthy.
YHVH also said that it is not good
for a man to be alone. However marriage is often very challenging.
Gen 2:19 And from
the ground יהוה Elohim formed
every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the
man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living
creature, that was its name.
Gen 2:20 So the
man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every
beast of the field. But for the man there was not found a helper for him, as
his counterpart.
Gen 2:21 So יהוה Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the
man, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its
place.
Gen 2:22 And the
rib(in Hebr it is called “angular organ”) which יהוה Elohim had
taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
“According to the Bible’s creation account, after making the heavens and the earth, God created humankind. The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 states that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, and then Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs. But was it really his rib?
The Hebrew word that is traditionally translated as “rib” is tsela‘. Ziony Zevit, Distinguished Professor of Biblical Literature and Northwest Semitic Languages at American Jewish University in Bel-Air, California, believes that this translation is wrong, as do many scholars. It was first translated as “rib” in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the mid-third century B.C.E. However, a more careful reading of the Hebrew word for “rib” in the Adam and Eve story suggests that Eve was created from another, very different, part of Adam’s anatomy
Of the 40 appearances of tsela‘ in the Bible, the Adam and Eve story is the only place where it is translated as “rib.” Usually it means the side of something. End quote
Zevit explains the nuance of this word:
This Hebrew word occurs some 40 times in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to the side of a building or of an altar or ark (Exodus 25:12; 26:20, 26; 1 Kings 6:34), a side-chamber (1 Kings 6:8; Ezekiel 41:6), or a branch of a mountain (2 Samuel 16:13). In each of these instances, it refers to something off-center, lateral to a main structure. The only place where tsela‘ might be construed as referring to a rib that branches off from the spinal cord is in Genesis 2:21–22.
According to Zevit, “rib” is the wrong translation for tsela‘ in the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Zevit believes that tsela‘ should be translated as “a non-specific, general term,” such as one of Adam’s lateral limbs, in the Adam and Eve story. Thus, it refers to “limbs lateral to the vertical axis of an erect human body.
For more information on this article go to the following website:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/the-adam-and-eve-story-eve-came-from-where/
Gen 2:23 And the
man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is
called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.”
Gen 2:24 For this
cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they
shall become one flesh.
Gen 2:25 And they
were both naked, the man and his wife, yet they were not ashamed.
Gen 3:1 And the serpent was more crafty than any
beast of the field which יהוה Elohim had
made, and he said to the woman, “Is it true that Elohim has said, ‘Do not eat
of every tree of the garden’?”
Gen 3:2 And the
woman said to the serpent, “We are to eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden,
Gen 3:3 but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Elohim has said, ‘Do not
eat of it, nor touch it, lest you die.’ ”
YHVH did not say that you could not “touch the tree.” So
the sages admit that when you add to the command of YHVH you diminish the command
of YHVH.
Gen 3:4 And the
serpent said to the woman, “You shall certainly not die.
Gen 3:5 “For
Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes shall be opened, and you
shall be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”
Gen 3:6 And the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree desirable to make one wise, and she took of its fruit and ate. And
she also gave to her husband with her,
and he ate.
Where was Adam when all this was taking place? “…her
husband was with her” Heb “immah.” Stones Chumash adds “at one with her.”
1Jn 2:16 Because all that is in the world – the lust
of the flesh,(good for food) the lust of the eyes, (pleasant to the eyes) and
the pride of life (make one wise)– is not of the Father but is of the world.
YHVH wants you to be
completely satisfied with what He gives you in life that you don’t look for
pleasure or wisdom anywhere else than in His provision – Torah.
We need to forsake
everything and everyone who wants to rob us of this life He wants to give us.
Luk 18:29 And He said to them, “Truly, I say to you,
there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children,
for the sake of the reign of Elohim,
Luk 18:30 who shall not receive many times more in this
present time, and in the age to come everlasting life.”
Gen 3:7 Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they
sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings for themselves.
Gen 3:8 And they
heard the sound of יהוה Elohim walking
about in the garden in the cool of the day, and Aḏam and
his wife hid themselves from the presence of יהוה Elohim among
the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And יהוה Elohim called unto Aḏam and
said to him, “Where are you?”
Gen 3:10 And he
said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Gen 3:11 And He
said, “Who made you know that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of
which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Gen 3:12 And the
man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I
ate.”
|
יב וַיֹּאמֶר, הָאָדָם: הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עִמָּדִי, הִוא נָתְנָה-לִּי מִן-הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל.
|
“vaochel” “and I ate” “In an astounding interpretation,
the sages note that the verb is in the future tense, As if Adam was saying, “I
ate and will eat again!” the implication was that if Adam was faced with the
same temptation he would succumb again and again – Stones Chumash.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me, that is in my flesh,
dwells no good. For to wish is present with me, but to work the good I do not
find.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I wish to do, I do not do;
but the evil I do not wish to do, this I practise.
Rom 7:20 And if I do that which I do not wish, it is
no longer I who work it, but the sin dwelling in me.
Rom 7:21 I find therefore this law, that when I wish
to do the good, that the evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the Torah of Elohim1
according to the inward man, Footnote: 1Ps. 119:16.
Rom 7:23 but I see another law in my members, battling
against the Torah of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me
from this body of death?
Rom 7:25 Thanks to Elohim, through יהושע Messiah our
Master! So then, with the mind I myself truly serve the Torah of Elohim, but
with the flesh the law of sin.
Gen 3:13 And יהוה Elohim said to the woman, “What is this
you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Gen 3:14 And יהוה Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you
have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and more than every
beast of the field. On your belly you are to go, and eat dust all the days of
your life.
Gen 3:15 “And I
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed1.
He shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel.” Footnote: 1First
promise of the Messiah.
Gen 3:16 To the
woman He said, “I greatly increase your sorrow and your conception – bring
forth children in pain. And your desire is for your husband, and he does rule
over you.” See ISA.
Gen 3:17 And to
the man He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have
eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘Do not eat of it’: “Cursed
is the ground because of you, in toil you are to eat of it all the days of your
life,
Gen 3:18 and the
ground shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the
plants of the field.
Gen 3:19 “By the
sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out
of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.”
Gen 3:20 And the
man called his wife’s name Ḥawwah (pronounced Chawwah with guttural sound), because
she became the mother of all living.
Gen 3:21 And יהוה Elohim made coats of skin for the man and
his wife and dressed them.
Gen 3:22 And יהוה Elohim said, “See, the man has become like
one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”
Gen 3:23 so יהוה Elohim sent him out of the garden of Ěḏen to
till the ground from which he was taken,
Gen 3:24 and He
drove the man out. And He placed keruḇim at
the east of the garden of Ěḏen, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard
the way to the tree of life.
Midrash (learning/discussing):
This first foundational parasha of the Torah also gives
us a clear pattern of restoration and redemption.
Before something can be repaired we need to understand
why it got damaged in the first place, so that the patterns of destruction
don’t repeat themselves again and again. We see that serious damage entered
between relationships with the fall of man. Until this day these serious problems
persist and have possibly worsened.
When Satan deceived Adam and Eve a spirit of deception
entered into the world and appears to have grown stronger and stronger. Even
though Messiah came to break the power of sin – mankind still gives themselves
over to the deception of sin.
This deceptive spirit continues to put doubt into
people’s minds about YHVH’s Sovereignity to rule. This deceptive spirit is
deeply embedded in all the religions of the world.
(Time Magazine, "Handmaid or
Feminist?", December 30, 1991, p. 62-66).
"Among all the women who have ever lived,
the mother of Jesus Christ is the most celebrated, the most venerated... Among
Roman Catholics, the Madonna is recognized not only as the Mother of God, but
also, according to modern Popes, as the Queen of the Universe, Queen of
Heaven, Seat of Wisdom, and even the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Most
Roman Catholic adherents cheerfully refer to the Virgin Mary as the Queen of
Heaven and understand this term to one of endearment, love, and adoration. Is this
title a Biblical term or a Pagan title? Is God pleased with this title, or is
He mightily displeased? Let us look in Scripture.”
Jer 7:17 “Do you not see what they are doing in the
cities of Yehuḏah and in the streets
of Yerushalayim?
Jer 7:18
“The children are gathering wood, the fathers are lighting the fire, and
the women are kneading their dough, to make cakes for the sovereigness (Queen) of the heavens, and to pour out
drink offerings to other mighty ones (idols), to provoke Me.
Jer 44:16 “We are not going to listen to you in the
matter about which you spoke to us in the Name of יהוה!
Jer 44:17 “But we
shall do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the
sovereigness (queen) of the heavens
and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our
sovereigns (kings) and our heads, in
the cities of Yehuḏah and in the streets of Yerushalayim. And we had plenty
of food, and were well-off, and saw no evil.
Jer 44:18 “But
since we ceased burning incense to the sovereigness of the heavens and pouring
out drink offerings to her, we have lacked all and have been consumed by the
sword and by scarcity of food.
Jer 44:19 “And
when we burned incense to the sovereigness of the heavens and poured out drink
offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to idolize her, and pour out drink
offerings to her, without our husbands?”
The
question, then, is, who is this Queen of Heaven which the Israelites were
worshipping, that provoked YHVH to such anger? Fortunately, Jewish historical
records tell us exactly what this ‘Queen of Heaven’ was that so angered YHVH. First, let us examine the ancient Queen of Heaven. Most of this information is taken from Alexander Hislop's book, "The Two Babylons", 1917. Hislop traces the Babylonian worship of the Queen of Heaven back to the days following the death of Nimrod. The dating of this event is not known exactly, but seems to date 400+ years after the flood. After Nimrod's death, his wife, Semiramis, was determined to retain her power and wealth. She concocted the story that Nimrod's death was for the salvation of mankind. Nimrod was touted as "the woman's promised seed, Zero-ashta, who was destined to bruise the serpent's head, and in so doing, was to have his own heel bruised." (p. 58-59)
And so YHVH gives us insight and assistance how this spirit can be detected and overcome. YHVH gives us a pattern of how the relationship between man and woman should function. YHVH shows us how order and restoration are not only accomplished between men and woman but between Messiah and His Bride.
Women were not meant to take the lead in the family. Men were meant to be priests and protectors of the family. Men were meant to teach the Torah in such a way to their families that peace and provision came upon the entire family. Men and woman were to clearly understand their roles in the family and so pass on a stable legacy to their children and to their children’s children. Men were meant to be respected and revered and women were meant to cherished and honoured. Women were never meant to be inferior to men. As men were called to be the guardians of their families, woman were called to nurture and bring forth life in the family.
1Ti 2:11 Let a woman learn in silence, in all
subjection.
1Ti 2:12 But I do not permit a woman to teach or to
have authority over a man, rather, to be in silence.
1Ti 2:13 Because Aḏam
was formed first, then Ḥawwah.
1Ti 2:14 And
Aḏam was not deceived,
but the woman, having been deceived, fell into transgression.
1Ti 2:15 But
she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in belief, and love, and
set-apartness, with sensibleness.
Please
note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are
in no way a final authority on any subject