Exodus 35:1-38:20
(In a regular year, read with Parashah 23; in a leap year read separately.)
“Moshe assembled the whole community of the people of Isra’el and said to them, ‘These are the things which Adonai has ordered you to do’” (Exodus 35:1).
Excerpt:
The instructions given to the Israelites are sometimes referred to as “The Mosaic Law.” That delineation should differentiate the Torah from other laws like manmade traditions or even the “law of sin and death;” unfortunately, it has come to mean ‘the law that came from Moshe that has nothing to do with anyone who isn’t Jewish.’ Moshe was only the intercessor between Adonai and the Israelites and did not create any commands or instructions.
Adonai reminds His people to remember the Sabbath –– again. He places considerable value on this commandment! His people are to work only six days because the seventh is a holy day of complete rest, the Shabbat. Whoever works on the Shabbat must be put to death. This seems like a harsh consequence, but the wages of breaking Adonai’s commands or sin is death –– “the law of sin and death.” If one person begins breaking the Sabbath, others will follow, and eventually His holy day will be forgotten. While the Israelites work to build the Tabernacle, they must only work six days and enter His rest on the seventh.
Hebrew Word Pictures
Sabbath or shabbat – שבת – shin, bet, tav
– the covenant sign consumes the house
Seven or sheva – שבע – shin, bet, ayin
– consume the family, understand
“Then he [Yeshua] said to them, ‘Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat’” (Mark 2:27-28).
Yeshua said that the Sabbath was created for man. Adonai created Adam and Chavah, and then He created the Sabbath so they could fellowship with Him. He did not create the Sabbath and then humanity; He created and then He rested. Nothing should keep anyone from the peace, joy, and fellowship with Adonai on His holy day.
Because Yeshua is Lord of the Shabbat, he determines what is lawful and what is not. He can say that picking grain on the Sabbath is lawful because his disciples were hungry. He can heal on the Sabbath because he came to set people free from carrying a burden. He also implies that his disciples have the authority to decide the proper halacha or way of walking out the Sabbath command, not abolish it or change it. Empowered by the Ruach haKodesh, Shabbat should be written on the hearts of the followers of Messiah.
“A man there had a shriveled hand. Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, they asked him, ‘Is healing permitted on Shabbat?’ But he answered, ‘If you have a sheep that falls in a pit on Shabbat, which of you won’t take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore, what is permitted on Shabbat is to do good’ (Matthew 12:10-2).
“You are not to kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Shabbat” (Exodus 35:3).
Adonai gives the first of six commands for honoring the Shabbat. The Israelites needed fires for cooking, but now they were commanded not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath. Just as they were not to collect manna on the Shabbat, they were not to cook the Sabbath’s portion over a fire.
Over the centuries this simple command turned into a plethora of rules about kindling a fire. Shabbat candles, for example, must not be lit after sundown. Hanukkah candles must be lit before the Shabbat candles, both before sunset. In some of the colder regions of world, gentiles were hired to kindle fires on Shabbat so Jewish families could stay warm; however, kindling a fire is different from maintaining a fire to keep from freezing to death.
I heard a rabbi teach the concept of living, not dying by Torah. He used the example in Matthew 12:1-6 of Yeshua going through the fields and picking grain on the Sabbath, which was considered work according to Jewish tradition. The leaders challenged him for breaking the Shabbat. Yeshua reminds them of David who when his fighting men were hungry took the consecrated bread that was for the priests (1 Samuel 21:1-6, Luke 6:1-5). This was contrary to Torah, but acceptable to the priest because when faced with a life or death situation, Adonai desires that we always choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). Adonai commands us not to kindle a fire on Shabbat; however, if you are going to die from the cold or starvation, His will is to choose life –– kindle that fire and cook some food.
Yeshua and Thyatira
Revelation 2:18-29
Yeshua reveals himself to Thyatira as the “Son of God” with a very detailed description of his glory. His eyes are a fiery flame and his feet are burnished brass. He searches minds and hearts and gives to each person what they deserve. Everyone, including the Messianic followers of Yeshua will be accountable for everything spoken and done in this life and how they build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (1 Corinthians 3:13, Ephesians 2:20).
Thyatira, located south of modern-day Istanbul (Constantiople after Constantine), was named after the Greek goddess Pelopia. A god-fearer named Lydia who sold purple cloth lived in Thyatira. When she heard Sha’ul’s message of salvation, Adonai opened her heart. She was so full of joy that she invited Sha’ul and Silas to her home (Acts 16:14-15)….
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