6/05/2020

Parashat 20 Portion 65 Shemot/Ex 27:20- 28:43 Hoshea 14:4-9 Heb 4:14-16

Bar’chu et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch ata YHVHEloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”

(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity. 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.)

“Our Torah portion this week deals almost exclusively with the garments and by implication the ministry of the High Priest. About these instructions amongst all the instructions of Torah, Yahshua had the following to say:

Joh 16:12  “I still have many words to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now. 
Joh 16:13  “But when He comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He shall guide you into all the truth. For He shall not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He shall speak, and He shall announce to you what is to come. 
Joh 16:14  “He shall esteem Me, for He shall take of what is Mine and announce it to you. 

These and all other instructions of Torah are eternally established. Yermiyahu - Jer 33:18  And for the priests, the Lěwites, there is not to cease a man to offer ascending offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to slaughter continually.’ ” Jer 33:19  And the word of יהוה came to Yirmeyahu, saying, Jer 33:20  “Thus said יהוה, ‘If you could break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there be not day and night in their season, Jer 33:21  then My covenant could also be broken with Dawiḏ My servant – so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne – and with the Lěwites, the priests, My attendants. Jer 33:22  As the host of the heavens is not counted, nor the sand of the sea measured, so I increase the descendants of Dawiḏ My servant and the Lěwites who attend upon Me.’ ” 
However these instruction are a shadow of a more superior priesthood as stated in the book of Hebrews:
Heb 7:11  Truly, then, if perfection were through the Lěwitical priesthood – for under it the people were given the Torah – why was there still need for another priest to arise according to the order of Malkitseḏeq, and not be called according to the order of Aharon? 
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed,b of necessity there takes place a change of law also. Footnote: b Gk ‘’metathesis’’ Meta (from the Greek meta- μετά- meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning more comprehensive or transcending.[1] and ‘’thesis’’ The word "thesis" comes from the Greek θέσις, meaning "position", and refers to an intellectual proposition. Therefore in regard to the Torah the the priesthood was elevated, not changed as to be done away with.
Heb 7:13  For He of whom this is said belongs to another tribe, from which no one had attended at the slaughter-place.c Footnote: cSee “Altar” in the Explanatory Notes. 
Heb 7:14  For it is perfectly clear that our Master arose from Yehuḏah, a tribe about which Mosheh never spoke of concerning priesthood, 
Heb 7:15  and this is clearer still, if another priest arises in the likeness of Malkitseḏeq, 
Heb 7:16  who has become, not according to the torah of fleshly command, but according to the power of an endless life, 
Heb 7:17  for He does witness, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq.” Psa_110:4
Heb 7:18  For there is indeed a setting aside of the former command because of its weakness and unprofitableness, Footnote: dOr former Lěwitical command. 
Heb 7:19  for the Torah  perfected naught, but the bringing in of a better expectation, through which we draw near to Elohim.
Heb 7:20  And it was not without an oath! 
Heb 7:21  For they indeed became priests without an oath, but He became Priest with an oath by Him who said to Him, “יהוה has sworn and shall not regret, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq.’ ” Psa_110:4
Heb 7:22  By as much as this יהושע has become a guarantor of a better covenant. (Torah in our hearts Gk ‘’krite'-tohn’’ of a derivative of G2904; stronger,  meaning the covenant was made more sure.)

Heb 7:23  And indeed, those that became priests were many, because they were prevented by death from continuing, 
Heb 7:24  but He, because He remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 
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. 
Heb 7:26  For it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest – kind, innocent, undefiled, having been separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens, 
Heb 7:27  who does not need, as those high priests, to offer up slaughter offerings day by day, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 
Heb 7:28  For the Torah appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the Torah, appoints the Son having been perfected forever. 

כ  וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית--לַמָּאוֹר:  לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר, תָּמִיד.
20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten(crushed) for the light, to cause a lamp to bring light continually.
Exo 27:20  “And you, you are to command the children of Yisra’ĕl to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.

Exo 27:21  “In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the Witness, Aharon and his sons are to tend it from evening until morning before יהוה – a law forever to their generations, from the children of Yisra’ĕl.

Why would this be a law forever? Because the ministry of “Ruach Ha Kodesh” – the set apart Spirit, would be with us forever and enable a set apart priesthood to intercede between man and YHVH – forever.

Exo 28:3  “And you, speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to set him apart, for him to serve as priest to Me – (“to me” three times)

The priestly garments remind us of the covering we lost in the garden and the restored covering that YHVH is in the process of restoring to a set apart priesthood again
 The Hebrew word for "Light" is "OR"  spelled "aleph  vav  resh" - The Hebrew word for "Skin" is also "OR"  but is spelled "ayin  vav  resh" –
We know that man lost his esteemed covering (light) when he sinned and became aware of his nakedness – skin.

Exo 28:1  “And you, bring near Aharon your brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Yisra’ĕl, for serving as priest to Me: Aharon, Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu, Elʽazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aharon.
Exo 28:2  “And you shall make set-apart garments for Aharon your brother, for esteem and for comeliness.
Exo 28:3  “And you, speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to set him apart, for him to serve as priest to Me.

Today the ministry of the Ruach is to bring about a perfect interecessory bride- through the gifts, manifestations, fruit and motivation of the Ruach Ha Kodesh.

See 1 Cor 12:1-13; Eph 4:1-25; Gal 5:22-23; Rom 12:1-8

Exo 28:4  “And these are the garments which they make: a breastplate, a shoulder garment, a robe, an embroidered long shirt, a turban, and a girdle. And they shall make set-apart garments for Aharon your brother and his sons, for him to serve as priest to Me. (see Eph 6:10-20 – not Roman armour, but priestly garments)
Exo 28:5  “And they shall take the gold, and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material, and the fine linen,
Exo 28:6  and shall make the shoulder garment of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine woven linen, the work of a skilled workman.
Exo 28:7  “It is to have two shoulder pieces joined at its two edges, and so it is joined together.
Exo 28:8  “And the embroidered band of the shoulder garment, which is on it, is of the same workmanship, made of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine woven linen.
Exo 28:9  “And you shall take two shoham stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl,
Exo 28:10  six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their birth.
Exo 28:11  “With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl. Set them in settings of gold.
Exo 28:12  “And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the shoulder garment as stones of remembrance for the sons of Yisra’ĕl. And Aharon shall bear their names before יהוה on his two shoulders, for a remembrance.
Exo 28:13  “And you shall make settings of gold,
Exo 28:14  and two chains of clean gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings.
Exo 28:15  “And you shall make a breastplate of right-ruling, a work of a skilled workman, like the work of the shoulder garment. Make it of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine woven linen.
Exo 28:16  “It is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its width.
Exo 28:17  “And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row is a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;
Exo 28:18  and the second row is a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;
Exo 28:19  and the third row is a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
Exo 28:20  and the fourth row is a beryl, and a shoham, and a jasper. They are set in gold settings.
Exo 28:21  “And the stones are according to the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name, for the twelve tribes.
Exo 28:22  “And you shall make braided chains of corded work for the breastplate at the end, of clean gold.
Exo 28:23  “And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
Exo 28:24  “And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate,
Exo 28:25  and the other two ends of the two cords you fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the shoulder garment in the front.
Exo 28:26  “And you shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the shoulder garment.
Exo 28:27  “And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder pieces, underneath the shoulder garment, on the front of it, close to the seam above the embroidered band of the shoulder garment,
Exo 28:28  and they bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the shoulder garment, using a blue cord, so that it is above the embroidered band of the shoulder garment, so that the breastplate does not come loose from the shoulder garment.
Exo 28:29  “And Aharon shall bear the names of the sons of Yisra’ĕl on the breastplate of right-ruling over his heart, when he goes into the set-apart place, for a remembrance before יהוה, continually.
Exo 28:30  “And into the breastplate of right-ruling you shall put the Urim and the Tummim, and they shall be on the heart of Aharon when he goes in before יהוה. And Aharon shall bear the right-ruling of the children of Yisra’ĕl on his heart before יהוה, continually.
Exo 28:31  “And you shall make the robe of the shoulder garment all of blue.
Exo 28:32  “And the opening for his head shall be in the middle of it, a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a scaled armour, so that it does not tear.
Exo 28:33  “And on its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:
Exo 28:34  a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all around.
Exo 28:35  “And it shall be upon Aharon to attend in, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the set-apart place before יהוה and when he comes out, so that he does not die.
Exo 28:36  “And you shall make a plate of clean gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: SET-APARTNESS TO יהוה.
Exo 28:37  “And you shall put it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban – it is to be on the front of the turban.
Exo 28:38  “And it shall be on the forehead of Aharon, and Aharon shall bear the guilt of the set-apart gifts which the children of Yisra’ĕl set apart in all their set-apart gifts. And it shall always be on his forehead, for acceptance for them before יהוה.

לח  וְהָיָה, עַל-מֵצַח אַהֲרֹן, וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת-עֲוֹן הַקֳּדָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר יַקְדִּישׁוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְכָל-מַתְּנֹת קָדְשֵׁיהֶם; וְהָיָה עַל-מִצְחוֹ תָּמִיד, לְרָצוֹן לָהֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה.
38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity committed in the Set apart things,(or ones) which sets apart the children of Israel, for  all their set apart gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before YHVH.
Exo 28:39  “And you shall weave the long shirt of fine linen, and shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the girdle of woven work.
Exo 28:40  “And make long shirts for Aharon’s sons. And you shall make girdles for them, and you shall make turbans for them, for esteem and comeliness.
Exo 28:41  “And you shall put them on Aharon your brother and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and shall ordain them, and shall set them apart, and they shall serve as priests to Me.
Exo 28:42  “And make linen trousers for them, to cover their nakedness, reaching from the waist to the thighs.
Exo 28:43  “And they shall be on Aharon and on his sons when they come into the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near the altar to attend in the Set-apart Place, so that they do not bear crookedness and die – a law forever to him, and to his seed after him.

Midrash on Priestly Garments:

A powerful intercessory (priestly) movement will arise in these last days built on the understanding and revelation of this Levitical Priesthood. It may only consist of a small remnant – Luke 12:32.
These High Priestly garments may very well refer to an end time Bride without spot or wrinkle – Eph 5:27; Rev 19:8; 21:2

It may take another outpouring of the Ruach Ha Kodesh to accomplish this.

Joe 2:27  “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Yisra’ĕl1, and that I am יהוה your Elohim and there is no one else. And My people shall never be put to shame. Footnote: 1See Isa. 24:23.
Joe 2:28  “And after this it shall be that I pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream dreams, your young men see visions.
Joe 2:29  “And also on the male servants and on the female servants I shall pour out My Spirit in those days.
Joe 2:30  “And I shall give signs in the heavens and upon the earth: blood and fire and columns of smoke,
Joe 2:31  the sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of יהוה.

Aaron the High Priest points us to the perfection and superiority of Yahshua’s priesthood. It calls a small remnant to yield themselves fully to YHVH’s counsel – His Torah and His Ruach to be conformed into the image of Yahshua, to become a set apart people and priesthood, to be a light to the gentiles.
The Aaronic priesthood embraces the desire to want to be like Yahshua – perfect pleasing and acceptable to YHVH in every way.

Isa 66:19  “And I shall set a sign among them, and shall send some of those who escape to the nations – Tarshish and Pul and Luḏ, who draw the bow, and Tuḇal and Yawan, the coastlands afar off who have not heard My report nor seen My esteem. And they shall declare My esteem among the nations. 
Isa 66:20  “And they shall bring all your brothers as an offering to יהוה out of all the nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters(covered wagons), on mules and on camels, to My set-apart mountain Yerushalayim,” declares יהוה, “as the children of Yisra’ěl bring an offering in a clean vessel into the House of יהוה
Isa 66:21  “And from them too I shall take for priests – for Lěwites,” declares יהוה
Isa 66:22  “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me,” declares יהוה, “so your seed and your name shall stand. 
Isa 66:23  “And it shall be that from New moon to New moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath,b all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares יהוה. Footnote: bPossible meaning: Every week on the Sabbath


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 Yahweh, 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 – Ameyn)


5/23/2020

Parashat 18 Portion 62 Shemot 24:1-18 Yesh 60:17-61:9 Matt 26:27-28


Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity. 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.

The events of our parashah clearly portray 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; an intermediate ascent upon the mountain and the top of the mountain where the presence of YHVH resided, covered by a thick cloud. 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 came; 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 into 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.

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
Was this perhaps the esteem of YHVH that would come upon a people(or Person) who was faithful to His covenant?
What is the meaning of this? There has been much speculation concerning this epiphany.
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.”

These words refer to the words given in the previous two parashiot – the ten words – aseret divrot -  and the right rulings – mishpatim.

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 31:33 and Rom 11:16-22)
Let us remind ourselves that YHVH did not make these covenants with the church. He made them with Yisrael and all those who are called to be grafted into Yisrael.

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.

The church was never meant to be a new innovation separated from its Hebraic roots.

5/15/2020

Parashat 18 Portion 61 Shemot/Ex 22:25 – 23:33 Yesh 49:1-6 Yakov/James 1:26-2:4



Bar’chu et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch ata YHVHEloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”

(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the blessed One for all eternity. 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)
Exo 22:25  “If you do lend silver to any of My people, the poor among you, you are not to be like one that lends on interest to him. Do not lay interest on him.

The Hebrew verb word for “interest” is “nashech” means to strike with a sting like a serpent – to bite.
We see how banks and loan sharks impose overwhelming burdens on so many, especially the poor. Who struggle to repay loans because of the high interest rates.

In Dev/Deut 23:20-21 it is specifically permitted to charge interest (nashach) to a foreigner (nochri). This may include business loans which carry some measure of risk.

What Is Islamic Banking?
Islamic banking, also known as non-interest banking, is a banking system that is based on the principles of Islamic or Sharia law and guided by Islamic economics. Two fundamental principles of Islamic banking are the sharing of profit and loss, and the prohibition of the collection and payment of interest by lenders and investors. Islamic law prohibits collecting interest or "riba."

Exo 22:26  “If you take your neighbour’s garment as a pledge at all, you are to return it to him before the sun goes down.
Exo 22:27  “For that is his only covering,(kesutah) it is his garment for his skin. What does he sleep in? And it shall be that when he cries to Me, I shall hear, for I show favour.

Covering – “Chesutah” covering used for protection. Note the use of the “ketiv” and “Qere” in the Hebrew text – “Kesuto”

כו  כִּי הִוא כְסוּתֹה לְבַדָּהּ, הִוא שִׂמְלָתוֹ לְעֹרוֹ...
26 for that is her only covering, she is his garment for his skin… 
Why femine nouns? There is certainly a deeper Midrash hidden in this verse.

Exo 22:28  “Do not revile an elohim, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Here the sages understand “elohim” to mean judges, who speak on YHVH’s behalf (Ex 21:6; 22:8,9) …”insubordination to YHVH’s appointed leaders is equivalent to insubordination to YHVH Himself.”
Ruler (nasi) – Yahshua was a ruler – an elohim- and yet he was cursed by the people, and in some instances remains a curse word until this day. Have you noticed how people use ‘Jesus Christ’’ as a curse word when they are angry?

Exo 22:29  “Do not delay giving your harvest and your vintage. Give Me the first-born of your sons.

“Honouring YHVH and His appointed leaders is now linked to giving the first fruits of crops, herds and even the first born of one’s sons(who were redeemed Ex 34:20)
In replacement theology of the emerging church the bishops replaced the “Cohanim” (Priests) with their own priestly order. Today many churches teach that the Torah has been done away with, except the part where it comes to tithing to the church leaders. This does not mean that spiritual leaders who proclaim the truth about YHVH’s word and His covenant are not entitled to be supported by those whom they teach – see 1 Cor 9

Exo 22:30  “Likewise you are to do with your oxen, with your sheep. It is to be with its mother seven days. On the eighth day you give it to Me.
Exo 22:31  “And you are set-apart men to Me, and you do not eat any meat which is torn to pieces in the field, you throw it to the dogs.
Exo 23:1  “Do not bring a false report. Do not put your hand with the wrong to be a malicious witness.
Exo 23:2  “Do not follow a crowd to do evil, nor bear witness in a strife so as to turn aside after many, to turn aside what is right.
Exo 23:3  “And do not favour a poor man in his strife.

5 Prohibitions of a witness:

  1. Cannot give unfounded hearsay testimony
  2. Collusion on part of a witness with one of the parties for fraudulent or deceitful purposes is prohibited.
  3. No consideration is to be given to one’s social standing in the judicial process
  4. Not to pervert justice by referring to the majority view, if majority view is wrong.
  5. Cannot favour a poor person just because he is poor.

Exo 23:4  “When you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall certainly return it to him.
Exo 23:5  “When you see the donkey of him who hates you lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall certainly help him.

Yahshua taught much on the issue of how to treat our enemies.

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. 

‘’That seems plain enough, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the problem. We see words we understand, referring to things we can picture (even if we don’t experience them much), so we assume that we can take it at face value. We treat the cultural context of the Scriptures as effectively identical to our own cultural context.
“We,” I am happy to say, it does not include scholars like Walter Wink. Walter Wink was a minister and professor. He wrote several books, and coined (among others) the phrase “the myth of redemptive violence.” Walter Wink did the hard legwork on this passage. He looked at the history and the cultural norms at the time. The time and place in which Yahshua lived was a Jewish nation under Roman occupation, a nation subject to its own laws and norms as well as to an imposed Roman occupying law. Walter Wink also worked through the physical implications of this passage.
Yahshua didn’t say a cheek or your cheek. He said the right cheek. Say someone slaps you on the right cheek. They’re facing you. How do they do that? With their left hand, right? No, wrong. The left hand was unclean. It was not to be used for touching other people. No matter what. (This rule still stands in some cultures.) So they’re backhanding you with the right hand. This was a kind of slap of rebuke given to a social inferior. It wasn’t a fighting blow; it was a reprimand. Master to slave. Father to son. Husband to wife. Roman to Jew. Anyone who struck a social equal that way was subject to a fine. The rule of law was important!
Now, if someone struck you that way, and you invited them to strike the left cheek, you were inviting them to an open-handed blow. That’s an entirely different kind of slap. It was not a rebuke to an inferior. It was a challenge to an equal. You’re inviting them to hit you again, but you’re inviting them to hit you as they would hit an equal. If you are their equal, the first blow was improper. If they are your social superior, the second blow would be. You’re forcing them to be open about the imbalance, the injustice. It’s not violence. It’s peaceful. But it’s resistance. It’s a dare. It’s cheeky.
How about if someone sues you for your shirt? Let’s not forget that they didn’t wear three-piece suits then. They wore an inner garment and an outer garment. These have been translated as shirt and coat, but actually they were khitona, or tunic, and himation, or toga. The coat, the toga, was the outer garment, but it was actually more essential, because it’s what you slept in at night. Deuteronomy 24, verse 13, lays down the law that if someone gives you their coat – himation, toga – as a pledge, you must return it by nightfall so they can sleep in it.
So, now, they’ve demanded from you the shirt off your back. Literally, that’s what they’ve taken you to court for. You push it. You get cheeky. You give them the coat too. They’ll be required by law to return it. Oh, and if they have both your shirt and your coat, what are you wearing? …Nothing. Which exposes you to shame – at their instigation – but also exposes them to shame for viewing it. So you’re really pressing the point. You’re not letting them get away with a halfway villainy, a socially allowable injustice. You’re making them commit to an obvious injustice, to face the full force of their actions: “Stop, why are you doing that? You’re making me feel like a bad person.”
Now. How about that extra mile? We know that “go the extra mile” line too. But this isn’t a running club buddy asking you. It’s not your aunt saying “Can’t we stroll a bit longer.” It’s not your friend saying “Dude, help me move this sofa to my new place.” Judaea was under Roman occupation, and Roman law permitted Roman authorities to require any inhabitant of an occupied territory to carry messages and equipment for the distance of one mile – but prohibited forcing them to go any more than one mile. They could be punished for making you go farther. So. You’re walking along the road in your country , which is occupied by these Romans, and a Roman comes along and says you have to carry something for him. This blows your lunch plans a little bit, maybe, but it’s not terrible; a Roman mile was a bit shorter than a modern mile, and might take a person 20 minutes or less to walk. It’s just an indignity, an injustice. But it’s one permitted by law, so it’s OK, right?
So at the end of the mile you keep going. “No,” says the Roman, “you don’t have to go any farther. You can hand it over now.” “Oh, no problem,” you say, smiling. “I can do two.” Why not? You’re keeping someone else from having to do that mile. And you’re putting this occupier in an uncomfortable situation. “You’re making me look bad!” “But I thought you wanted me to carry this for you!” Cheeky.
So you do not return violence for violence, no. That would compound wrong on wrong. It would also make you lose. They could have you arrested for it. Instead, you turn the other cheek, go the extra mile. But, in its historical origins, that is also not meek acquiescence. It’s pressing the point. It’s making the injustice plainer to see. It’s making it awkward. Politeness lets injustices pass. But pushing politeness can expose them, too, without giving any excuse for further injustice. You just have to turn… cheeky.
The phrase turn the other cheek is well ingrained in the language, of course, as is go the extra mile. It would be far too much to expect people to instantly change the usage to refer to a kind of meekness that presses the point and exposes the injustice. Still, it’s worth knowing, to appreciate historical context and to reconsider the value of the usual intention of the phrase.

Because you are willing to pay whatever price is necessary for the truth to reach people. Truth is most powerful when one realizes how undeserving one is to receive such goodness and favour. This kind of truth most often requires a selfless messenger who is willing to lay down their lives so that others may receive life.

YHVH is seeking an intercessory remnant that will become one with His son in bringing a lost humanity back to Him.

In idiomatic English, “Don’t try to get even with evildoers.”9 Not “competing” with evildoers is very different from not resisting evildoers. Yahshua was not teaching that one should submit to evil, but that one should not seek revenge. Yahshua’ statement has nothing to do with confronting a murderer or facing an enemy on the field of battle.
As Proverbs 24:29 says, “Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me. I will pay the man back for what he has done.’”
See that none of you pays back evil with evil; instead, always try to do good to each other and to all people. (1 Thess 5:15)

2Co 4:7  And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power might be of Elohim, and not of us –
2Co 4:8  being hard pressed on every side,1 but not crushed; being perplexed, but not in despair; Footnote: 1See 1:8.
2Co 4:9  being persecuted, but not forsaken; being thrown down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in our body.
2Co 4:11  For we, the living, are always delivered to death for the sake of יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in our mortal flesh,
2Co 4:12  so that death indeed is working in us, but the life in you.

How does one know where to draw the line? Midrash. Luke 13:6-9 &
Where are the intercessors?
Isa 59:14  And right-ruling1 (mishpatim) is driven back, and righteousness1 stands far off. For truth has fallen in the street, and right (truth and integrity) is unable to enter. Footnote: 1Amos 5:7. Isa 59:15  And the truth is lacking, and whoever turns away from evil makes himself a prey. And יהוה saw, and it displeased Him that there was no right-ruling. Isa 59:16  And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no intercessor. So His own arm saved for Him, and His righteousness upheld him.

Eze 22:30  “And I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the breach before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it – but I did not find one!
Eze 22:31  “Therefore I have poured out My displeasure on them, I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. And I have put their way on their own head,” declares the Master יהוה.

Only as the fullness of Messiah is established in us (Eph 4:13) and as we are conformed to his image (Rom 8:29) can we become the kind of intercessors YHVH seeks to bring redemption to the world. This may happen before Messiah returns.

Exo 23:6  “Do not turn aside the right-ruling of your poor in his strife.
Exo 23:7  “Keep yourself far from a false matter, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I do not declare the wrong right.
Exo 23:8  “And do not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the seeing one and twists the words of the righteous.
Exo 23:9  “And do not oppress a sojourner, as you yourselves know the heart of a sojourner, because you were sojourners in the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 23:10  “And for six years you are to sow your land, and shall gather its increase,
Exo 23:11  but the seventh year you are to let it rest, and shall leave it, and the poor of your people shall eat. And what they leave, the beasts of the field eat. Do the same with your vineyard and your oliveyard.
Exo 23:12  “Six days you are to do your work, and on the seventh day you rest, in order that your ox and your donkey might rest, and the son of your female servant and the sojourner be refreshed.
Exo 23:13  “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.
Exo 23:14  “Three1 times in the year you are to observe a festival to Me: Footnote: 1The Festivals of יהוה are grouped in three, for three different times of the year.
Exo 23:15  “Guard the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Aḇiḇ – for in it you came out of Mitsrayim – and do not appear before Me empty-handed;
Exo 23:16  and the Festival of the Harvest, the first-fruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Festival of the Ingathering at the outgoing of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labours from the field.
Exo 23:17  “Three times in the year all your males are to appear before the Master יהוה.
Exo 23:18  “Do not offer the blood of My slaughtering with leavened bread, and the fat of My offering shall not remain until morning.
Exo 23:19  “Bring the first of the first-fruits of your land into the House of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
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.

There is much speculation and differences of opinion regarding the “pre incarnate” ministry and mission of Yahshua. The book of Hebrews, chapter one plainly states that Yahshua is superior to the Messengers. Note also how the translation uses a capital “M” in “messengers” this distinction does not appear in the Hebrew text.
If Yahshua was this special “Messenger” he would not have failed in his task to bring the children of Yisrael into the land of Yisrael to be established in YHVH’s Torah, forever and ever. We know this will only happen in the future when the Messiah returns.
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”?
Heb 1:14  Are they 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 capital letters are added and do not appear in the original text. Sadly the translators are adding to the original text)
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 Kenaʽanites and the Ḥiwwites and the Yeḇusites, and I shall cut them off.
Exo 23:24  “Do not bow down to their mighty ones (elohim in Hebrew), nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but without fail overthrow them and without fail break down their pillars (their false pillars of worship).
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.

Sickness and disobedience are sometimes related, however in Yahshua’s sinless life he took upon himself our sicknesses.

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 Kenaʽanite, 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 (their elohim).
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.”

See - Babylonian Talmud (Ketubot 110b-111a).


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 Yahweh, 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 – Ameyn.)