A note about the “Messenger” mentioned in Exodus 23

Exodus 23:20 "I am sending a messenger ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him.

Did you notice that? Yahweh's NAME resides in the Messenger! 

Hmmm... wonder who that could be?

The verse goes on to say:

22 But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my messenger goes ahead of you and brings you to the Emori, Hitti, P'rizi, Kena'ani, Hivi and Y'vusi, I will make an end of them.

24 You are not to worship their gods, serve them or follow their practices; rather, you are to demolish them completely and smash their standing-stones to pieces. 25 "You are to serve ADONAI your God; and he will bless your food and water. I will take sickness away from among you. (CJB)

SO, WHAT WE SEE IS THAT THIS "messenger" cannot be just any messenger; it has to be Yeshua!

Why? Because of all the heavenly beings in ADONAI ELOHIM's Realm, ONLY Yeshua has the power to "forgive"; and ONLY Yeshua has the Name of Yahweh residing within His own Name!
"Yeshua" means "Yahweh is Salvation" in Hebrew! All other heavenly beings (angels or messengers) simply contain the shortened TITLE of "ELOHIM" (God) within their own names.

TAKE A LOOK:

MichaEL ((which means "who is like Elohim?") performs acts of justice and power.

GabriEL (which means "the strength of Elohim") performs Yahweh's kindness.

RaphaEL ((which means "Elohim heals") Yahweh's healing force.

None of them have the actual Name that Yahweh gave to Abraham in Exodus 6:2: “I am (הוה). 3 I appeared to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name. (CJB)

The tetragrammaton you see in the parentheses above are the Hebrew letters "Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey," which consist basically of these letters in English: "YHWH" (written as "Yahweh" and mostly likely pronounced "Yah-way"). The reason we see a "W" instead of a "V" sound in place of the "Vav" is because in this case the Vav takes on an "oo" sound in the Name; thus making it sound like a W.

The true meaning of the word “repent”

I found this jewel on a Facebook post, and don’t know who the author is, but kudos to that person, because this is a great little explanation:

The Hebrew word for Repent: Shuv

Pronunciation: shoov

Meaning: to turn back, to return, to change direction and move toward what you left

Shuv is the primary Hebrew word behind what English Bibles often translate as “repent.” And unfortunately, English absolutely fumbles the ball on this one.

The Hebrew word for Repent is Shuv. Repent has come to mean feeling bad, being sorry, having an emotional moment. Maybe crying. Maybe making a promise to do better.That is not shuv.

Shuv is not about remorse, it’s about movement.

This Word Assumes You’re Facing the Wrong Way.

When Scripture calls someone to shuv, it is not asking them to generate guilt. It is stating a directional problem.

You are going the wrong way. Turn back.

This is why shuv shows up constantly in the prophets, especially when God is addressing covenant breach. “Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.” (Malachi 3:7 (TLV)

That “return” is shuv on both sides. The issue is not that the people feel nothing. The issue is that their lives are pointed elsewhere.

Repentance here is not an internal regret… it is reorientation.

God is not saying, “Convince Me you are worthy.”

He is saying, “You know where home is. Turn around.”

Shuv Is Measurable.

One of the reasons shuv matters so much is because it produces visible change. You can tell when someone has turned around.

If you are walking east and God tells you to go west, shuv is the act of turning your body around and actually heading west. No speech required, no mood lighting. Just obedience.

Western Christianity often treats repentance like a feeling state.

Ancient Hebrew treats repentance like a GPS correction.

That’s why the prophets are far less interested in apologies than they are in behavior. Shuv shows up in actions, not speeches.

You stop going the way you were going, you stop reinforcing the same patterns. You move back toward covenant alignment. Emotion may accompany that but emotion is not the engine.

This is why Scripture can talk about returning to the Lord even when the people are emotionally numb, stubborn, or exhausted. The focus isn’t their inner turmoil, it’s their trajectory.

God Uses This Word About Himself.

Now this is where shuv gets even more interesting.

Scripture sometimes uses this word to describe God’s response. For instance, we see in Jonah:

“God relented from the calamity that He said He would do to them, and did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10 (TLV)

The word translated “relented” is built on shuv. God “turns” from the announced outcome when the people turn from their ways.

God is not fickle here. It means relationship is real. Covenant includes responsiveness an direction matters.

Shuv and Teshuvah.

You cannot talk about shuv without mentioning teshuvah, the noun form that grows out of it. Teshuvah is often translated as repentance, but it literally means returning.

It doesn’t require a public meltdown.

It doesn’t require wallowing in shame for a socially acceptable amount of time.

Which honestly tells you everything you need to know about how God views repentance.

Why This Word Still Matters

A lot of modern faith language treats repentance like a feeling check. Do you feel sorry enough? Did you mean it?

Shuv asks a different question. Where are you headed now?

It doesn’t demand perfection, it demands honesty. It is impossible to turn without admitting where you are currently facing. And you cannot return without movement.

My Final Thoughts.

Shuv reminds us that repentance in Scripture is not about self-flagellation. It’s about reorientation.

You don’t repent by staying where you are and feeling worse about it.

You repent by turning and walking back toward what gives life.

This word carries mercy in its bones because if returning is possible, then distance is not final.

And Scripture is very clear about that.

- Author unknown

Misunderstandings and misconceptions about the “the Law” can seriously hamper your relationship with God!

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Misunderstandings and misconceptions about the “the Law” can seriously hamper your relationship with God!

FOLKS, after 27 years of being a Messianic believer,  I’m so weary of having my Torah walk challenged by those who adhere to only the last fourth of the Bible which has erroneously been dubbed as the “New Testament,” as if the “old” (the first three-quarters of the Bible, containing the ORIGINAL words of God in those first five Books called “Torah”) are somehow no longer valid, because “Jesus” supposedly came to bring a “new religion” and abolish everything his Father ever commanded!

It gets old, having the same old hackneyed lines crammed down my throat about how “Jesus Christ is the only way to God!” and “The Law was just for the Jews,” and “it was abolished at the cross because nobody could keep it perfectly.”

SO HERE’S MY RESPONSE: While those worn-out phrases are nerve-wracking, it might surprise you that those particular statements are both true AND false!

Please read the following explanations:

POINT ONE: YES, MESSIAH YESHUA (whom Christians call Jesus) IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER! However, Yeshua (whose given Hebrew name means “Yahweh is Salvation” or “Yahweh saves”) did not come to bring a “new religion” called “Christianity.” He came to earth to represent Yahweh-Elohim (his Father), to teach us how to properly obey and worship the Father, and how to treat each other; and to ultimately offer his life for the purpose of becoming our Redeemer so that we could have eternal life.

POINT TWO: We must remember that the Bible tells us we are all ONE in Messiah (Galatians 3:28), and as such, there are no separate rules for His “natural” or “adopted” children, when it comes to certain “forever” commands. Not to mention, nothing says we have to keep "all 613 commands" (let alone, “perfectly”) as MOST of them were directed at the Levite cohens (priests); some were only for men; some only for women; and some were only for a certain time frame.) However, some were meant to last FOREVER - and those are the ones that believers must pay attention to.  For instance:

(1) Eating only “clean foods” (the “unclean” animals, birds and fish didn’t automatically become “clean” just because Jesus died!).

(2) Keeping the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath – which sets us apart from the rest of the world. It’s our weekly “date” with God!

(3) Keeping the seven commanded Biblical Feasts (all of which foreshadow Yeshua!)  They are our yearly “dates” with God, spread out throughout the year, in part, to continue our ongoing relationship with Him.

(4) Keeping in Ten Commandments (which, by the way, come straight from the “Old Testament” people insist doesn’t pertain to them, because it’s supposedly “only for the Jews”) which outline, in no uncertain terms exactly what is expected of God’s people.  Tithing comes straight out of the “Old Testament” – so why do pastors still ask for tithes?

POINT THREE: Yahweh Himself reiterated several times that ALL who accepted Him as their God were to do as His people did, which was to obey His Torah (Divine Instructions in Righteousness).

Leviticus 24: 22 You are to apply the same standard of judgment to the foreigner as to the citizen, because I am ADONAI your God."

Numbers 9: 14 If a foreigner is staying with you and wants to observe Pesach for ADONAI, he is to do it according to the regulations and rules of Pesach- you are to have the same law for the foreigner as for the citizen of the land.'"

And check out this passage wherein Yahweh says FOUR TIMES in a row that ALL are to obey His Divine Instructions!

Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"

Deuteronomy 31: 11 when all Isra'el have come to appear in the presence of ADONAI at the place he will choose, you are to read this Torah before all Isra'el, so that they can hear it. 12 Assemble the people-the men, the women, the little ones and the foreigners (which includes ANYONE who wishes to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) you have in your towns -so that they can hear, learn, fear ADONAI your God and take care to obey all the words of this Torah…

SO YES - belief in the shed blood of Yeshua is definitely the ONLY door or portal through which we have access to the Father – but as you can see from the few passages above, there’s more to belonging to God than just “believing” in His Messiah. The whole Bible tells us so:

John 14: 6 Yeshua answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

UNFORTUNATELY, MANY FAIL TO BOTHER WITH THE “OLD TESTAMENT”; consequently missing the point that ALL who accept Yahweh as their God and Yeshua as His Divine Messiah, are to OBEY His Divine Instructions, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living! What makes you think Yeshua abolished that, when Yahweh sent him specifically to do everything His Father told him to do? 

Deuteronomy 18: 15 "ADONAI will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves, from your own kinsmen. You are to pay attention to him, 16 just as when you were assembled at Horev and requested ADONAI your God, 'Don't let me hear the voice of ADONAI my God any more, or let me see this great fire ever again; if I do, I will die!' 17 On that occasion ADONAI said to me, 'They are right in what they are saying. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him. (CJB)

Yeshua Himself said He came to do HIS FATHER's will; not His own!

John 6: 35. Y'shua said to them, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will not hunger. And whoever believes in me will not ever thirst. 36. But I have said to you that you have seen me, and you do not believe. 37. All who my Father has given to me will come, and whoever comes not to me I will cast outside! 38. For I came down from heaven,[1] not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. 39. And this is His will, that of Him who sent me, that all that He has given to me I do not lose even one. 40. For this is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in Him, will have life that is eternal. And I will raise him up on the last day. (Aramaic English New Testament)

[1] As in the context of Miltha (the Word) or the "Manifestation" or the "Will of" YHWH coming down from heaven to do the Will of YHWH upon earth; his Spirit is of YHWH but his nephesh (soul) and body are human and temporal. This shows that Yeshua was NOT in charge; HIS FATHER WAS!

Yeshua came to proclaim the Kingdom of YHWH and to do everything His Father commanded. He tore down the fences of man's legalism. Neither He nor His Apostles ever advocated against Torah!

Does this mean we have to convert to Judaism or become Orthodox Jews, dressing in black suits and hats and perform all the traditions?

NO! What this means is that you should READ and STUDY the Torah (first five Books of the Bible that contain ALL of YHWH's original, Divine Instructions); along with the REST of the Bible in order to get the "big picture"; and begin to recognize that

1 John 2: 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. (CJB)

How did he walk? By Torah! Y'shua didn't make up new rules. He kept Torah and expected US to follow suit. You can only know the him through the law and the testimony! Revelation reveals this:

Revelation 12: 17 "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands and bear witness to Yeshua." (CJB)

Revelation 14: 12 "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua's faithfulness." (CJB)

Please note, the above scriptures don't mention the "Ten Commandments". They simply refer to "the Commands" or "the Commandments" depending on which Bible version you use....God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah."

Here's more...

"And by this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and follow his commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome. Because, whoever is born of Elohim overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith" (1 John 5:2-4).

And Paul said:

"Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we ESTABLISH the Law" (Romans 3:31).

In closing: Nobody said we had to "follow the law perfectly." But Torah commandments still stand for ALL who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Remember, in Messiah there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free. We are all equal, and ultimately, there is no difference between is "natural" and "adopted" children...

If the above explanation hasn’t given you enough food for thought, then please read two of my short blog posts designed to explain further: https://blog.therefinersfire.org/2024/10/if-youve-broken-one-commandment-youre.html and https://blog.therefinersfire.org/2022/01/please-read-this-if-you-dont-believe.html

Something to remember whenever people attempt to engage in endless arguments

Titus 3:9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile. 10 Warn a divisive person once, then a second time; and after that, have nothing more to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a person has been perverted and is sinning: he stands self-condemned. (CJB)

Romans 16: 17. And I plead with you, my Brothers, that you beware of them who cause divisions and stumblings apart from the doctrine which you have learned: and that you stand distant from them. 18. For they who are such do not serve our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach, but their own belly: and by bland speeches and good wishes, they deceive the hearts of the simple. (AENT)

2 Timothy 3: 1. But know this: That in the latter days hard times will come: 2. and men will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money, boasters, proud, revilers, unyielding towards their own people, deniers of grace, wicked, 3. unloving, addicted to irreconcilable malicious gossips, ferocious, haters of the good, 4. treacherous, rash, inflated, attached to pleasure more than to the love of Elohim, 5. having a form of respect for Elohim but wide from the power of Elohim. Them who are such, repel from you. (AENT)

2 Tim 2:14 Keep reminding people of this, and charge them solemnly before our Master (Y'shua) not to engage in word-battles. They accomplish nothing useful and are a catastrophe for the hearers! 15 Do all you can to present yourself to Elohim as someone worthy of his approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the Word of the Truth. 16 But keep away from godless babbling, for those who engage in it will only become more ungodly, 17 and their teaching will eat away at people like gangrene. (CJB)

James 4: 1. From where is it, that there are among you arguments and conflicts? Is it not from the lusts which war in your members? 2. You covet but do not possess; and you kill and envy, and effect nothing: and you fight and make attacks; and you do not have, because you do not ask. 3. You ask, and do not receive because you ask wickedly, that you may feed your lusts. 4. You adulterers, don’t you know that the love of the world is hatred towards Elohim? He therefore who chooses to be a lover of this world is the enemy of Elohim. (AENT)

Matthew 24:10 At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, 11 many false prophets will appear and fool many people; 12 and many people's love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. 13 But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered. (CJB)

2 Thessalonians 2:9. For the coming of that (Evil One) is the working of haSatan with all power and signs and lying wonders 10. and with all the deceptiveness of iniquity in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth by which they might have life. 11. Therefore Elohim will send upon them the strength of a deception that they may believe a lie;[1] 12. and that they all may be condemned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in iniquity. (AENT)
FOOTNOTE: The price for not receiving the “love of the truth” is to become overly self-confident in false religion. The “love of the truth” is the spirit of truth which must be sanctified by thought and action. One cannot “love the truth” and, at the same time, break the Commandments. (AENT)

A meme that says it all...

 

 

 

FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT QUESTION WHY THIS MEME IS TRUE:

First, it is helpful to read AND study the Bible to understand the following:

THE CHECKPOINT: John 14:6 "No one comes to the Father except through me." (Here we see Yeshua declaring himself to be the only path, truth, and source of eternal life to reach God.)

THE WALL: The Bible describes a wall around the "New Jerusalem" (often associated with heaven) in Revelation 21:12-18. The text states the city has "a great, high wall" (v. 12) made of jasper (v. 18), featuring twelve foundations and twelve gates, with measurements of 144 cubits high (v. 17)

Revelation 12: 17 "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands AND bear witness to Yeshua." (CJB)

"IMMIGRATION LAWS": God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah." (CJB)

Proverbs 28:9 If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination. (CJB)

1 John 2: 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. (CJB)

God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah." (CJB)

Proverbs 28:9 If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination. (CJB)

Revelation 14: 12 "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands AND exercise Yeshua's faithfulness." (CJB)