The appointments or ‘’moedim’’ reveal the journey of restoration we are
called to embrace to enter His Kingdom and into His Presence.
This week’s Torah portion may well reveal the price we are called to pay
to make this journey possible – for ourselves and for others.
שׁמן זית – 0live oil
The Lamps
Lev 24:1
And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Lev 24:2 "Command the children of Yisra’ěl that they bring to you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.
“shemen zait zach kativ” means crushed pure olive oil.
An olive tree never dies. Neither does it ever cease giving fruit. When some branches become old and stop giving fruit, they are cut off so that new shoots can come up that will give fruit. The olive tree needs approximately 10 years to begin giving fruit, but the most fruitful time does not begin until 40 years have passed. The leaves are always green. It does not need a lot of water and can manage well in a warm and dry climate. The olives have three important ingredients, oil, water, and alpechin. Olive oil is very healthy for the body – heart health, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and other benefits. It is used for anointing and giving light to YHVH’s servants in the Tabernacle.
“Kativ” means pounded or crushed. Typically, the olives were crushed in
three crushings – the first crushing produced the purest oil used for the lamps
that provided light for the menorah.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He
was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was
upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Yahshua was declared to be the light of the world - Joh 8:12 Therefore יהושע spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He
who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness but possess the light of
life.”1 Footnote: 1 See 11:9-10.
Following Yashua faithfully means that our lives will experience crushing
and sorrow. We will also experience deep joy and peace. However, to be a ‘’light’
comes at a cost. Believers are called
upon to be the light of the world – Matt 5:14
Gethsemane- Hebrew: גת שמנים, Gat Shmanim; lit. "oil press"
Gal 2:20 “I have been impaled(crushed) with Messiah, and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me.[b] And that which I now live in the flesh I live by belief in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Lev 24:2 "Command the children of Yisra’ěl that they bring to you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.
Lev 24:3 “Outside the veil of the
Witness, in the Tent of Appointment, Aharon (light bringer) is to arrange it
from evening until morning before יהוה continually – a law
forever throughout your generations.
Lev 24:4 “He is to arrange the lamps on the clean gold lampstand before יהוה continually.
Lev 24:5 “And you shall take fine
flour and bake twelve cakes with it, two-tenths of an ěphah in each
cake. (Heb ‘’challah’’ or pierced bread – Is 53:5 he was wounded (chalal)
for our transgressions…)
Lev 24:6 “And you shall set them
in two rows, six in a row, on the clean table before יהוה.
Lev 24:7 “And you shall put clear
frankincense on each row, and it shall be on the bread as a remembrance
portion, an offering made by fire to יהוה.
Lev 24:8 “On every Sabbath he is
to arrange it before יהוה continually, from the children of Yisra’ěl – an everlasting
covenant.
Lev 24:9 “And it shall be for Aharon (Light bringer)and his sons, and they shall eat it in the set-apart place, because it is most set-apart to him from the offerings of יהוה made by fire – an everlasting law.”
So far, our Torah portion gives us a glimpse into the life of those who are called to follow Messiah. It is in the breaking of the bread- having intimate fellowship with Messiah and with fellow disciples that enables us to walk in His footsteps in paying the price to be a light unto the world. We cannot complete our mission on earth without the continual fellowship with Messiah and his set apart ones with the knowledge that we are intimately connected to him and one another in our journey - Mat 11:28 "Come to Me, all you (pl)who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. Mat 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings.[d] Footnote: d Jer_6:16. Mat 11:30 “For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.”
Rom
8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of the Messiah? Shall pressure,
or distress, or persecution, or scarcity of food, or nakedness, or danger, or
sword?
Rom
8:36 As it has been written, “For Your sake we are killed all day
long, we are reckoned as sheep of slaughter.” Psa_44:22.
Rom
8:37 But in all this we are more than overcomers through Him who loved
us.
Rom
8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers nor
principalities nor powers, neither the present nor the future,
Rom 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of Elohim which is in Messiah יהושע our Master.
2Co
4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outward man is
perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day.
2Co
4:17 For this slight momentary pressure is working for us a far more
exceeding and everlasting weight of esteem.
2Co 4:18 We are not looking on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For what is seen passes away, but what is not seen is everlasting.[c] Footnote: cSee 2Co_5:7, Rom_8:24, Heb_11:1 and Heb_11:13.
The whole goal of the Torah is to reveal the Messiah in us and to the world - Rom 10:4 For Messiah is the goal of the ‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone who believes.
Punishment for Blasphemy
Lev 24:10 And the son of an
Yisra’ěli woman, whose father was a Mitsrian man, went out among the children
of Yisra’ěl. And the Yisra’ěli woman’s son and a man of Yisra’ěl strove in the
camp.
Lev 24:11 And the Yisra’ěli
woman’s son blasphemed (‘’nakav’’ or pierced) the Name, and cursed. (Heb
‘’kalal’’ making light of) So they brought him to Mosheh. Now his mother’s name
was Shelomith (complete) the daughter of Diḇri,(my word)
of the tribe of Dan. (judgment) (My Word will bring completeness or My Word it will bring
judgment)
Lev 24:12 And they put him under
guard, that it might be declared to them at the mouth of יהוה.
Lev 24:13 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Lev 24:14 “Bring the one who has
cursed (Heb ‘’kalal’’) outside the camp, and all those who heard him shall lay
their hands on his head, and all the congregation shall stone him.
Lev 24:15 “And speak to the
children of Yisra’ěl, saying, ‘Anyone who curses (Kalal) his Elohim shall bear
his sin.
Lev 24:16 ‘And he who blasphemes (Heb ‘’nakav’’ or pierce) the Name of יהוה shall certainly be put to death, and all the congregation certainly stone him, the stranger as well as the native. When he blasphemes (nakav) the Name, he is put to death.
The rabbis have difficulty in finding a common theme in this Torah portion. Perhaps there is a clue in the Hebrew use of the word ‘’blasphemy’’ or ‘’piercing’’. (used only once in this context in the Torah)
We ‘’pierced’’ His Son and He is not going to retaliate.
An Eye for an Eye
Lev 24:17 ‘And a man who strikes
the being of any man shall certainly be put to death.
Lev 24:18 ‘And he who strikes a
beast repays it, body for body.
Lev 24:19 ‘And when a man inflicts
a blemish upon his neighbour, as he has done so it is done to him:
Lev 24:20 ‘Fracture for fracture,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he inflicts a blemish upon him, so it is done
to him.
Lev 24:21 ‘And he who strikes a
beast repays it, and he who strikes a man to death is put to
death.
Lev 24:22 ‘You are to have one
right-ruling, for the stranger and for the native, for I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
Lev 24:23 And Mosheh spoke to the children of Yisra’ěl, and they brought the one who cursed (kalal) outside the camp, and stoned him with stones. And the children of Yisra’ěl did as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
Retaliation
Mat
5:38 “You heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth,’[j] Exo_21:24. Footnote: jThis was the principle for the
judges to follow, while יהושע speaks in the next verse of
our personal conduct.
Mat
5:39 but I say to you, do not resist the wicked. But whoever slaps you on
your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
Mat
5:40 “And he who wishes to sue you and take away your inner garment, let
him have your outer garment as well.
Mat
5:41 “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
Mat
5:42 “Give to him who asks of you, and from him who wishes to borrow from
you, do not turn away.
Love
Your Enemies
Mat
5:43 “You heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour Lev_19:18
and hate your enemy.’k Footnote: kHate your enemy was “said,” not
“written.”
Mat
5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do
good to those hating you, and pray for those insulting you and persecuting
you,
Mat
5:45 so that you become sons of your Father in the heavens. Because He
makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and on the unrighteous.l Footnote: l Luk_6:35, Act_14:16-17.
Mat
5:46 “For if you love those loving you, what reward have you? Are the tax
collectors not doing the same too?
Mat
5:47 “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than
others? Are the tax collectors not doing so too?
Mat 5:48 “Therefore, be perfect,m as your Father in the heavens is perfect. Footnote: m Gen_17:1, Psa_119:1, 1Jn_2:5, Heb_6:1.
Giving up your right to be right (retaliate)– maybe we have no rights – maybe we are called to lay down our rights- maybe if we are not willing to lay down our rights they will all soon be violently taken away from us anyway. Maybe bondservants don’t have any rights – maybe bondservants will be the only survivors in the end times. (Self defence and protection of our families from violent assaults are exceptions and maybe there is also a time when YHVH expects you to remove yourself from abusive relationships)
The
important lesson we can take from this Torah portion is that YHVH’s nature is
not to exact punishment or revenge for our wrong doing. It is rejection of
YHVH’s kindness and forgiveness that brings judgment. There is however a sin
that YHVH will not forgive – blasphemy against His Spirit - Mat 12:31 “Because of this I say to you,
all sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the
Spirit shall not be forgiven men.
Mat
12:32 “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Aḏam, it shall be forgiven him, but
whoever speaks against the Set-apart Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him,
either in this age or in the age to come.
What does this mean? If we continue to reject His kindness and forgiveness and the kindness and forgiveness extended to us by His servants; there comes a time He and His servants will withdraw from us – making forgiveness impossible for us – it is His kindness and goodness that brings us to repentance - Rom 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, and tolerance, and patience,[a] not knowing that the kindness of Elohim leads you to repentance? Footnote: a 2Pe_3:9.
The Sabbath Year – ‘’shmittah’’ a shadow of the millennium – the rest and reward of those who have received and walked in His kindness- the ‘’shmittah’’ is not just about showing kindness to the earth but it allows YHVH to spend a year with us and have us all to Himself.
Lev 25:1 And יהוה
spoke to Mosheh on Mount Sinai,(‘’Behar’’ on the mount) saying,
Lev 25:2 “Speak to the children of
Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then
the land shall observe a Sabbath to יהוה. (shabbaton)
Lev 25:3 ‘Six years you sow your
field, and six years you prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit,
Lev 25:4 but in the seventh year
the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to יהוה. Do
not sow your field and do not prune your vineyard.
Lev 25:5 ‘Do not reap what grows
of its own of your harvest, and do not gather the grapes of your unpruned vine,
for it is a year of rest for the land.
Lev 25:6 ‘And the Sabbath of the
land shall be to you for food, for you and your servant, and for your female
servant and your hired servant, and for the stranger who sojourns with
you,
Lev 25:7 and for your livestock
and the beasts that are in your land. All its crops are for food.
The Year of Jubilee
Lev 25:8 ‘And you shall count
seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years. And the time of
the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
Lev 25:9 ‘You shall then sound a
shophar-sound on the tenth day of the seventh new moon, on Yom
haKippurima cause a shophar[b] to sound through all your land. Footnotes: aDay
of the Coverings or Day of Atonement. bAnimal horn - traditionally a ram’s
horn.
Lev 25:10 ‘And you shall set the
fiftieth year apart, and proclaim release throughout all the land to all its
inhabitants, it is a Yoḇel[c] for you. And each of you shall return to his possession, and
each of you return to his clan. Footnote: cSee Explanatory Notes: Yoḇel.
Lev 25:11 ‘The fiftieth year is a
Yoḇel to you. Do not sow, nor reap what grows of its own, nor gather
from its unpruned vine.
Lev 25:12 ‘It is a Yoḇel,
it is set-apart to you. Eat from the field its crops.
Lev 25:13 ‘In the Year of this Yoḇel let each one of you return to his possession.
Whatever we have lost through bad decisions will be restored back to us.
Messianic life come from those who have embraced the Hebraic roots of the faith -it has happened before and it is happening again in our day - Act 21:20 And when they heard it, they praised the Master. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Yehuḏim there are who have believed, and all are ardent (zealous) for the Torah….
Praise Yah we are in an end time restoration of the Torah unto righteousness. (many thousands)
The
evidence of a ‘’barley bride’’ is found in Mat 5:11 “Blessed (‘’ashrei’’
contentment awaits) are you when they reproach and persecute you, and falsely
say every wicked word against you, for My sake.
Mat 5:12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because your reward in the heavens is great. For in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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.
