Have you ever noticed that "pork" and "circumcision" seem to be real sticking points for some? Bill and I have actually witnessed some people deciding to either ignore those two items, or simply return to Christianity because they weren't about to get circumcised or give up pork!
Some people simply don't understand that if you try to "cherry-pick" Scripture, you will be considered "lukewarm" and be vomited from Yeshua's mouth upon his return (Revelation 3:16). In this week's Torah portion (Parasha 3) we saw YHWH making the covenant of circumcision which Avraham. (As you know, ONLY YHWH Himself can make or break covenants. If you break "your side" of the covenant, His covenant still remains, but you're no longer His. After all, WHOM are you worshiping if you can't follow rules?)
Genesis 17:10-11: This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you."
Circumcision, like the Sabbath is a sign that we are in covenant with Him. We cannot say we are in covenant with Him and not keep the signs! If you wish to ignore the circumcision covenant, then you might as well stop bothering to keep His Shabbats or Mo'edim/Appointed Times as well, because if you pick and choose, then you’ll be considered lukewarm.
Many attempt to use Acts 15 as ammo to prove that circumcision is unnecessary, They don't realize that Paul did NOT suggest that at all. (In all honesty, when the Bible is read through a "Hebrew" instead of "Greek" mindset, it becomes clear that Paul NEVER negated Torah - ever!)
The arguments that raged in Paul's time were about how the rabbis were saying Gentiles MUST be circumcised before they came to faith (and abandoned their old gods). Paul was only saying that gentiles should be given the time to come to faith in their heart first, and not be "forced" into what were rituals in Judaism.
Then, once the gentile has fully accepted YHWH as their God and Yeshua as their redeemer, then they can enter the covenant by the circumcision.
Paul did not say that circumcision would be a burden; rather, he said that forcing circumcision before the gentile truly came to faith would be a burden. Since circumcision is a "forever" covenant, Paul (and none of the apostles) had any authority to change that covenant.
The main problem is that Christians always refer to Paul as the be-all-end-all when it comes Scripture. Nobody seems to realize that Paul - a mere human - had no right to change ANYTHING YHWH commanded, or what Yeshua taught. (In all honesty, when the Bible is read through a "Hebrew" instead of "Greek" mindset, it becomes clear that Paul NEVER negated Torah - ever!)
And as was evident in this week's Torah portion, YHWH COMMANDED circumcision for "generation after generation."
This, by the way, was not just "For the Jews" as Christians are quick to point out. Avraham wasn't a Jew! Neither were the next two Patriarchs, Issac and Jacob. There were no "Jews" until Jacob had a son name Yehudah (Judah) where the name "Jew" was derived.
The bottom line is: Same God, same rules! See Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:13-16, Isaiah 56:6, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 10:12-13.
Amein ...I like that quote Same GOD --- Same rules, Why Oh WHY can't people understand.. AH of course, they do not read from Cover to cover, and listen to soft easy smooth preaching, FREE From the LAW, NOTHING to do , just sing hymns, believe in Saved by Grace once Saved --- always saved .. and ignore GOD'S Torah, and expect to spend Eternal life with HIM , by Just believing JESUS did it all , HE paid the price ... oh we must get the message out ,soon it will be TOO Late .. Want to be on the road to being SAVED for eternal life ? --- then obedience to YAHWEH /YESHUA/ TORAH is the way , the truth , and the Life .. Thank you Sis , for another great teaching.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jemima!!!
DeleteAdam,Abel-even Cain-Enoch,Noach,Job and many others were NOT Jews. Yet they knew and kept Torah. It was not written in stone yet, but it was spoken and passed down from Adam. He walked with Elohim in the garden everyday. They must have spoken about the Torah. Even at Mt. Sinai they were called Israelites. The term Jew only came about when the southern tribes were exiled to Persia. Even Judah himself claims that he is an Ivri-or Hebrew.
ReplyDeleteThese things are very clear when you read Scripture cover to cover. I understand most Christian's don't do this. As Jemima said they sit and listen to the feel good teachings sing a few hymns and off they go to watch the game. What sincerely bothers me is the clergy. Whatever they call themselves. They are the ones who supposedly have read from cover to cover at yet still they do not understand. They perpetuate the ignorance. I have asked many questions of priests, nuns, pastors, preachers, reverend's. Each one gave me the rote answers I had heard already. Never gave me the right answers. That came when the Ruach whispered "why don't you read My book the way you read all your books?" Wow! I was amazed. The answers were all there. Why did the clergy not know?
I can only pray that Elohim will give them eyes to see and ears to hear. His Will be done.
Joan, we can certainly see in the scripture and we can conjecture that there must have been some "rules" or Torah given to Adam, etc. but we don't have any evidence that it was the "Torah" that we know today. (For example, what would the Torah commandment of "Pesach" mean to Adam, Abel, Cain, Enoch as the pass-over event of the exodus had not yet happened and would not happen in their lifetimes?)
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that you "discovered" the edification of reading the scriptures over and over! Only by doing that, can one come to new understanding.
Good going, Jemima and Joan!
DeleteYHWH's initial Divine Instructions were certainly a part of what's known as "Torah" - the Books of Moshe, or "Pentateuch". And He kept adding to those Rules as time passed on, and sinful humans had begun to inhabit places around the world.
Thank God for giving us His Divine Instructions that serve to set us apart for Him! Thank God for choosing and teaching those three Patriarchs who fathered the beginning of HIS people Israel.
What an awesome, amazing ELOHIM we serve. Halleluyah!