Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
הנה אנכי שׁלח
Exo 23:20 “See, I am sending a Messenger before you to guard you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
YHVH knew from the beginning, even
before the fall of man in the garden that His people would never be able to
make it into His kingdom on their own without His intervention. So, YHVH always
sends intermediaries or messengers to minister and guide us back into His
presence. Note the Hebrew phrase the scribes chose to introduce this Torah
portion ’’הנה אנכי שׁלח ‘’or
‘’behold I and I alone am sending..’’ ‘’Sending’’ is a present tense verb and
implies that this is an ongoing action that YHVH continually undertakes to get
us to our destiny. This pattern we see throughout scripture- One day we will
look back over our lives and be amazed at the impact on our lives through the
ministry of these messengers or ‘’angels’’ They all prepare us to receive and
join us to the ministry and person of Messiah, who will at the appointed time
present us without blemish with great joy to the Father.
YHVH appoints both heavenly and human messengers to bring His people back to Him.
Eph 2:20 having been built upon the foundation of the emissaries and prophets, יהושע Messiah Himself being chief corner-stone, Eph 2:21 in whom all the building, being joined together, grows into a set-apart Dwelling Place in יהוה, Eph 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit.
Messengers don’t bring us into the kingdom, they lead us to the only One who does – that is ‘’He (Yahshua) who ever lives to make intercession for us - Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save completely those who draw near to Elohim through Him, ever living to make intercession for them.
Sadly, the word ‘’Messenger’’ (or angel) is spelled with a capital ‘’M’’ this is not found in the original manuscripts. Several teachers teach that this is a ‘’pre incarnate appearance of Messiah’’ This too is not true because Messiah is far superior to any ‘’angel’’ or messenger.
The
Supremacy of Elohim's Son
Heb
1:1 Elohim,
having of old spoken in many portions (Gk – ‘’polumeros’’ a possible reference to Torah portions)and many ways to the fathers by
the prophets,
Heb
1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by the Son, whom He has appointed
heir of all, through whom also He made the ages,[a] Footnote: aSee Joh_1:3. Eph 1:4-14
Heb
1:3 who being the brightness of the esteem and the exact representation
of His substance, and sustaining all by the word of His power, having made a
cleansing of our sins through Himself, sat down at the right hand Psa_110:1
of the Greatness on high,
Heb
1:4 having become so much better than the messengers, as He has
inherited a more excellent Name than them.
Heb
1:5 For to which of the messengers did He ever say, “You are My Son,
today I have brought You forth”? Psa_2:7 And again, “I shall be
to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”?[b] 2Sa_7:14 Footnote: bSee also 2Ch_17:13.
Heb
1:6 And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, “Let
all the messengers of Elohim do reverence to Him.” Psa_97:7.
Heb
1:7 And of the messengers indeed He says, “… who is making His
messengers spirits and His servants a flame of fire.” Psa_104:4.
Heb
1:8 But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O Elohim, is forever
and ever, a sceptre of straightness is the sceptre of Your reign.
Heb
1:13 And to which of the messengers did He ever say, “Sit at My right
hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”? Psa_110:1.
Heb 1:14 Are they(messengers) not all serving spirits sent out to attend those who are about to inherit deliverance?
Exo 23:21 “Be on guard before Him and obey His voice. Do not rebel against Him, for He is not going to pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him- (note in this regard ‘’blasphemy against the Spirit – Mat 12:31-32)
Note Yahshua DID secure pardon for our transgression, also note NO capital letters are found in the manuscript. So, why do most Bible teachers misrepresent Messiah in this way? Sadly, this has been the legacy of YHVH’s people. Listen to the Apostle Paul on this issue: 2Co 11:3 But I am afraid, lest, as the serpent deceived Ḥawwah by his trickery, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Messiah. 2Co 11:4 For, indeed, if he who is coming proclaims another יהושע,a whom we have not proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different Good News which you have not accepted, you put up with it well enough! Footnote: a Mat_24:5 and Mat_24:23-24, Joh_5:43.
ONLY Messiah through the Word and Set Apart Spirit will be able to present His Bride perfect without spot or blemish to His and our Father one day.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous for you with a jealousy according to Elohim. For I gave you in marriage to one husband, to present you as an innocent maiden to Messiah.
Exo 23:22 “But if you diligently
obey His voice and shall do all that I speak, then I shall be an enemy to your
enemies and a distresser to those who distress you.
Exo 23:23 “For My Messenger shall
go before you and shall bring you in to the Amorites and the Ḥittites and the
Perizzites and the Kena‛anites and the Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, and I shall
cut them off. (Deut 7:1-6 YHVH’s genocide commandment)
Exo 23:24 “Do not bow down to
their mighty ones, nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but without
fail overthrow them and without fail break down their pillars.
Exo 23:25 “And you shall serve יהוה your Elohim, and He shall bless your bread and your water. And
I shall remove sickness from your midst.
Exo 23:26 “None shall miscarry or
be barren in your land. I shall fill the number of your days.
Exo 23:27 “I shall send My fear
before you, and cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and make
all your enemies turn their backs to you.
Exo 23:28 “And I shall send
hornets before you, which shall drive out the Ḥiwwite, the Kena‛anite, and the Ḥittite
from before you.
Exo 23:29 “I shall not drive them
out from before you in one year, lest the land become a waste and the beast of
the field become too numerous for you.
Exo 23:30 “Little by little I
shall drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit
the land.
Exo 23:31 “And I shall set your
border from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the
wilderness to the River, for I shall give the inhabitants of the land into your
hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
Exo 23:32 “Do not make a covenant
with them nor with their mighty ones.
Exo 23:33 “Let them not dwell in
your land, lest they make you sin against Me when you serve their mighty ones,
when it becomes a snare to you.”
Exo 24:1
And to Mosheh He said, “Come up to יהוה, you and Aharon, Naḏaḇ
and Aḇihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall bow yourselves
from a distance.
Exo 24:2
“But Mosheh shall draw near to יהוה by himself, and let them
not draw near, nor let the people go up with him.”
Exo 24:3
And Mosheh came and related to the people all the Words of יהוה and all the right-rulings. And all the people answered with one
voice and said, “All the Words which יהוה has spoken we shall do.”
Exo 24:4 And Mosheh wrote down all the Words of יהוה, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve standing columns for the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Note the
words are given to Yisrael – the renewed covenant is once again only made with
the 12 tribes of Yisrael and with the ‘’mixed multitude’’ or ‘’grafted in
ones’’ – (Yer 31:31-33 and Rom 11:16-22)
Let us
remind ourselves that YHVH did not make this covenant with the church. He made
them with Yisrael and all those who are called to be grafted into Yisrael. When
Messiah returns this covenant is renewed with the 12 tribes of Israel. The
church never replaced Israel. However, through Messiah those outside of Israel
are grafted into Israel.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once gentiles1 in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands, Footnote: 11 Cor. 12:2.Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world.Eph 2:13 But now in Messiah יהושע you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim,1 Footnote: 1Rom. 11:17-24, Isa. 14:1.
And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the Words which
יהוה has spoken we shall do.”
There is a view that the people who uttered these words did so brashly
not realizing that they would never be able to keep them. There is another view
that they uttered these words of agreement because they knew that MEDIATION
formed one of the key elements of the covenant. They understood from the very
beginning that priestly mediation and intercession would be required for Israel
to come to maturity obedience and eventual perfection.
Exo 24:5
And he sent young men of the children of
Yisra’ĕl, and they offered burnt offerings and slaughtered peace slaughterings
of bulls to יהוה.
Exo
24:6 And Mosheh took half the blood and
put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 24:7 And he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that יהוה has spoken we shall do, and obey.”
The
following is a study of the Ark of the Covenant and the Book of the Covenant.
https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=rel
Exo
24:8 And Mosheh took the blood and
sprinkled it on the people, and said, “See, the blood of the covenant which יהוה has made with you concerning
all these Words.”
The blood
always pointed to mediation and ultimately to the Mediator himself – Yahshua.
Half of the blood was sprinkled on the words of the covenant and the other half
on the people. YHVH reminding us that no covenant can be made without blood and
that the people in being sprinkled with blood acknowledged they themselves had
to receive the blood of the covenant to be able to have atonement of sin.
Heb 9:16 For where a covenant is, it is necessary for the death of the covenanted one to be established. Heb 9:19 For when, according to Torah, every command had been spoken by Mosheh to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,Heb 9:20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which Elohim commanded you.”Heb 9:21 And in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the Tent and all the vessels of the service.Heb 9:22 And, according to the Torah, almost all is cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
So serious was this
instruction that the apostolic scriptures warn of the severe consequences of disregarding
them.
Heb 10:28 Anyone who has disregarded(Greek means unplacing or repudiating – arorist active ie ongoing action of the verb) the Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the witness of two or three witnesses. Heb 10:29 How much worse punishment do you think shall he deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart as common, and insulted the Spirit of favour?
Many people today who
call themselves believers scorn the reintroduction of the temple service and
the offerings. There seems to be an attitude that this was once necessary but
no longer required. This is a grave error and ignores the critical issue that
without mediation we cannot receive the progressive working of His atonement that
will bring us into the presence of YHVH. All sacrifices in the first, second
and third temple point to the ongoing redemptive work of Messiah in the world,
to undermine them is to undermine your own redemption.
What is YHVH saying to
us?
‘’You have yet to
learn how far you have fallen and how long and challenging your journey will be
before you are presented worthy to return into My presence. You will only begin
to understand this when you begin your journey back to Me – a journey that can
only be undertaken with genuine ongoing repentance and a deep humility. Have you ever wondered why My Annointed One
must first spend 1000 years with you before He is able to present you blameless before My presence of
esteem with exceeding joy’’ - Jude /Yahudah24
Only a
rebellious and disobedient people will proclaim an emanant rapture because they
are not willing to submit to YHVH’s ongoing process of preparing us for His
Kingdom.’’ 2Co
5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might
become the righteousness of Elohim. (Note we are BECOMING the righteousness of
Elohim)
The Torah
is the ‘’roadmap’’ back into YHVH’s presence, none of it has been done away
with (Mat 5:17-19) We don’t get to determine the way back. He sends messengers
to instruct us and guide us on this journey.
Believers
have always faced the problem of spiritual projection.
Heb 5:12 For indeed, although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first elements of the Words of Elohim. And you have become such as need milk and not solid food. Heb 5:13 For everyone partaking of milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
Exo 24:9
And Mosheh went up, also Aharon, Naḏaḇ, and Aḇihu, and seventy of the
elders of Yisra’ĕl,
Exo
24:11 Yet He did not stretch out His
hand against the chiefs of the children of Yisra’ĕl! And they saw Elohim, and
they ate and drank.
Exo 24:12 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Come up to
Me on the mountain and be there, while I give you tablets of stone, and the
Torah and the command which I have written, to teach them.”
Exo 24:13 And Mosheh arose with his assistant Yehoshua,
and Mosheh went up to the mountain of Elohim.
Exo 24:14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us
until we come back to you. And see, Aharon and Ḥur are with you. Whoever has
matters, let him go to them.”
Exo 24:15 And Mosheh went up into the mountain, and a
cloud covered the mountain.
Exo 24:16 And the esteem of יהוה
dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh
day He called to Mosheh out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17 And the appearance of the esteem of יהוה was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain, before
the eyes of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Exo 24:18 And Mosheh went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And it came to be that Mosheh was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
The events of our parashah clearly portray these events at Mount Sinai as the model after which the Mishkan and then the Beit Ha Mikdash (tabernacle and temple) would be constructed. There are three distinct zones in our parashah; the foot of the mountain where an altar is built; an intermediate ascent upon the mountain – where the priesthood was stationed and the top of the mountain where the presence of YHVH resided, covered by a thick cloud – a type of ‘’bridal chamber’’- The people remain at the foot of the mountain while representatives of the people ascend to the intermediate area or zone. Moshe alone continues to ascend to the top of the mountain where he alone speaks to YHVH. These three zones compare to the courtyard of the tabernacle where the people entered (the altar); the Set Apart place of the tabernacle where only the priests served and finally the most set apart place where only the High Priest entered once a year. It was now on this most set apart place on top of the mount Sinai where the initial enactment of YHVH’s covenant would become a pattern for His redemptive plan throughout the ages for mankind.
Epiphany – What is
particularly amazing about this parasha is the epiphany (a moment of sudden and
great revelation or realization) found in Exo 24:10
and they saw the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, and under His feet like a paved
work of sapphire stone, and like the heavens for brightness. Exo 24:11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against
the chiefs of the children of Yisra’ĕl! And they saw Elohim, and they ate and
drank without dying in His presence.
Was this a
prophetic glimpse of the esteem of YHVH that would one day come upon a people (or
Person) who were faithful to His covenant? Maybe even a prophetic glimpse into
the marriage supper of the Lamb? Rev 19.
Both
Christianity and Judaism fall far short of showing us a way back into His
presence.
2Co 2:14 But thanks be to Elohim who always leads us on, to overcome in Messiah, and manifests through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 2Co 2:15 Because we are to Elohim the fragrance of Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 2Co 2:16 To the one we are the smell of death to death, and to the other the fragrance of life to life. And who is competent for these? 2Co 2:17 For we are not, as so many,(Gk ‘’majority’’) adulterating(Gk ‘’peddling or retailing’’) the Word of Elohim for gain – but as of sincerity, but as from Elohim, in the sight of Elohim, we speak in Messiah.
2Co 3:6 who also made us competent as servants (Gk‘’messengers’’) of a renewed covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.
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 –