| Shemini |
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| Written by Carl & Julie Parker | |
| Friday, 28 March 2008 | |
ScripturesLeviticus 9:1 to 11:47 Review: We have been following the teaching and instruction in the Torah of the Betrothal Covenant that YHVH gave Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Exodus saw the completion of the shadow of YHVH’s bridal chamber, the Mishkan/Tabernacle, which was prepared in the wilderness. As we are studying in the book of Leviticus, the Israelites then received instruction on how to live with their Bridegroom in the Mishkan/Tabernacle. The last two parshiyot/lessons have primarily taught about the offerings and the priesthood preparations. YHVH now shares how the priests were to begin their ministry and what food to have in the "temple" to keep it clean and operational. The Temple today is our body and these food instructions in Leviticus are for our health and wellbeing. They are part of God’s principles (kingdoms) that govern the earth and are for those who believe and walk in the ways of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These directives are for the royal priesthood, the Bride of Yeshua. They are her preparation instructions to help her get ready for the day of the Bridegroom’s return. Leviticus 9:1-20 Priestly Ministry BeginsOn the eighth day, after the consecration of Aaron as high priest and his four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, as priests, the ministry of the priesthood began. It is commonly understood in the Hebrew language that eight signifies both new beginnings and life beyond. The newly appointed priests first presented the offerings for themselves then made offerings for the whole community of Israel. After, Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and pronounced this blessing over them, "YHVH bless you and keep you; YHVH make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHVH turn his face toward you and give you Shalom/peace." This blessing is still spoken over Israel today (Numbers 6:24-26). Leviticus 10 The Death of Nadab and AbihuIn the midst of the inauguration of the priests, awesome festivities and the appearance of YHVH’s Presence in the form of fire, we see Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu erred in offering strange fire in their censors before YHVH. Nadab and Abihu mixed the profane with the holy and proceeded to present this as an “acceptable” offering to a holy God. They offered what looked good in their own eyes, a mixture that seemed right to them. In doing this they ignored YHVH’s Divine order of the Tabernacle not to mix clean with unclean, and as a result died instantly. Nadab and Abihu where taught by Moses and Aaron very well, so it was not a matter of not knowing or understanding the correct procedure. It was a matter of the heart and choosing what they wanted to offer versus what YHVH asked them to offer. The issue was obedience. The profane does not survive in the Presence of YHVH. Interpreting "The Law" through their own human opinion brought death upon themselves. Hidden in Nadab and Abihu’s hearts were pride and self-righteousness. Rebellious and religious spirits cannot survive in holiness, and priests are to represent the holiness of YHVH. The sinful nature cannot remain in what is to be His kingdom of priests and holy nation. Aaron’s sons had uncircumcised hearts, hearts that had not surrendered to the redemptive work of Yeshua’s blood. Torah without the Spirit (of Messiah) brings death; we need Yeshua in Torah to have chai (life). We cannot separate Yeshua from the Torah, as Yeshua is the Living Torah! (John 1:1, 14) Aaron’s remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, took the positions vacated by their brothers, Nadab and Abihu, becoming heirs in the ministerial roles of the Tabernacle before YHVH. Leviticus 11 Life in Your Tabernacle: Clean and Unclean FoodWe understand the Mishkan/Tabernacle is a "shadow" of what is already in place in Heaven (Hebrews 8:2). The Mishkan is a prophetic, living representation for us today of the Messiah and His kingdom and is a picture of what is in our heart. As we are learning how to build the Tabernacle, we are beginning to understand more fully through progressive revelation how this Tabernacle is all about us and how we may walk in a redeemed sanctified lifestyle through YHVH’s teaching and instruction - Yeshua. This week’s teaching is how to keep our Tabernacles clean and running smoothly. As stated earlier, our bodies represent the Mishkan/Tabernacle. If Yeshua has chosen us, then we have also been invited by His Holy Spirit to come into and be a part of the Tabernacle and dwell with Him. YHVH has given us the correct instruction of how to care for our Tabernacles and keep them healthy.
After the inauguration of the priests, YHVH gave His first commandment. It was about food. A closer examination reveals many interesting facts about food. YHVH is very concerned about the heart attitude of those who serve Him. Those who are called to be priests are called to serve him with their whole body, soul and spirit. If we are a royal priesthood then these instructions from YHVH are very important for us today (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9). The vow we made, "We hear and we will obey," was an act of our obedience to His call in our lives. These are the words we pronounced at Mount Sinai through our ancestors that are for us today who embrace Yeshua (Deuteronomy 29:14-15). Among the instructions we promised to keep were the food laws. Food is very important to YHVH because what we put into our body governs every area of our lives. Our bodies are His Temple today and the food (spiritual and physical) that we put into our bodies will govern the state of our heart and mind and whether we will be obedient to Him (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). YHVH desires that we prepare a place in which He may dwell (Isaiah 66:1). If our body is the Temple today, what does YHVH ask us to offer on His altar? Would we offer meat with blood in it? Blood is for atonement and was not to be sacrificed on the altar, but was instead to be poured out on the ground. Does it matter what we place on the altar and does it really matter what we eat? What does God consider authorized and unauthorized food? These questions have as much a physical application as they do a spiritual application to our body. To keep our temple clean and healthy today, YHVH said these were to be food for us:
YHVH did not consider anything else of the animal kingdom to be food for us (Leviticus 11:2-47). As mentioned earlier, animal life also represent people. Clean foods are about people in Godly order and in good association. Unclean entities represent people out of God’s order and association. The mention of clean food and unclean things were the difference between the realm of life and realm of death. The torah portion mentions people can be contaminated by what they eat, which includes association. We can be contaminated by the lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and pride of life.
God gave his first commandment to mankind; it was about food. The Garden of Eden had clean fruit and unclean/unauthorized fruit. The Tree of Life had edible fruit with seed in it that produced life; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had non-edible fruit, which meant that it had no seed or life-supporting qualities in the fruit. The fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not considered to be food according to YHVH. Adam and Eve were deceived into eating unauthorized fruit: lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and pride of life. This made them unclean and brought death upon them, physically and spiritually (Genesis 3:1-13). Those eating from the Tree of Life magnified its fruit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (of sin and death). And those who are Messiah’s have crucified the flesh (sinful nature) with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 On the other hand, those who eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil also manifest its fruit, that of the sinful nature. “Now the works of the flesh (sinful nature) are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told youin time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:18-21
What caused Adam and Eve to consider going against YHVH by doubting His word to them? The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life had influenced them. This led to spiritual death that eventually brought them to a physical death before their time. They had not guarded over their hearts and let doubt led them into what seemed right in their own eyes. These three areas of lust constitute the primary strategy used by the enemy to draw YHVH’s people away from Him by appealing to their weak areas and presenting temptations that are hard to resist.
YHVH’s laws governing food are still in effect today. Growing up we had watermelon, grapes and other produce with seeds in them. Today they are hard to find. We see more seedless watermelon, grapes and cucumbers than we do the seed varieties. Genetically altered food comes when seeds from different sources are mixed with God’s original design - this is changing God’s order upon the earth. Though man may regard a hybrid seed a better variety, genetically altered food is actually considered a poison by the medical society. Do God’s laws change just because man’s laws have? No. We are not to eat genetically altered foods today; this is called mixed seed and is forbidden (Leviticus19:19).
YHVH put on the earth specific clean food for human consumption and specific unclean varieties not for human consumption. The unclean varieties are in the world to keep it clean. They are YHVH’s cleaning crew of “vacuum cleaners”, “garbage disposals” and “water purifiers” designed to keep our environment clean. The unclean varieties were never considered fit for human consumption and are not called "food" in any scripture, Genesis to Revelation. If we were to eat them, it would be as if we were eating the contents of vacuum cleaners, garbage bags and water filters full of contaminants, chemicals, urine, feces, dead tissue and bacteria and whatever else these things were created to clean up in the zones they were designed for. The scavengers are full of parasites, worms and diseases. If eaten, this is what we put into our bodies. So why put all that into our bodies? Ever wonder why people get sick? First check out the diet (physically and spiritually). When scripture mentions food, it always refers to what YHVH considers food. Any "thing" else was not to be eaten, regardless of what man determines. The reason God taught us His guidelines was to make sure we would always know the way to life and what would sustain that life and keep us healthy. The unclean animals, birds, insects and sea life are living disguised garbage; putting these into our bodies will make us sick physically and spiritually. Leviticus 3:17; 7:22-27 Keeping Your Tabernacle Clean: Eating Fat and Blood ForbiddenAnimal fat is “bad” fat that, when eaten, clogs arteries, which is the number one cause of heart disease and heart failure in the world today. Fat causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes, diabetes, obesity and various cancers. Over time, continual consumption of animal fat we will cause our bodies to fail before we’ve reached a full life span. YHVH told Moses to say to the Israelites:
We repeat what was written in the last study, as this is such an important issue for the priesthood of Yeshua to follow. Fat and blood mentioned together in Leviticus represent not only physical fat but also what produces fat in our body spiritually. Our thoughts can poison our bodies by producing over-secretions of chemicals in us that can harm us and lead to an imbalance in our bodies, which in turn can produce fat. In the same way, fear, stress and anxiety may result in obesity in our bodies. So when Scripture instructs us not to “eat” fat or blood, it is not only speaking of the physical abstinence of fat and blood, but the spiritual - and therefore emotional, psychological and verbal – avoidance of that which produces fat. Improper thoughts and emotions can translate as fat, presenting a potential killer in our bodies. The issue of fat and blood is very important to YHVH and they must not be put into our bodies. Our bodies are living temples of YHVH that we are responsible to keep clean and keep defilement far from. This instruction is to bless us and give us a long life. If we bring contamination into our temples, sickness, disease and even death may result. The choice is ours. Obedience brings the blessings. YHVH’s instruction to abstain from fat also speaks of the physical products that produced fat in us that were listed in this category. Therefore fat in scripture can represent disobedience to YHVH’s Word that can lead to our death if we continue to disregard and neglect God’s ways for our lives. What we put in our bodies is the key to the priesthood of Yeshua. Yeshua’s priesthood will be a holy priesthood that serves Him in His Holy Temple. If the bride of Yeshua disregards the teaching of a fat and blood devoid diet, is this the bride the Groom will return for? To see how important this is to YHVH as we continue through Leviticus, it is significant to note that every time fat and blood are mentioned, the instructions for the priesthood are mentioned directly following. There should be no distinction between what we physically or spiritually put into us that might defile us. As the priesthood of Yeshua, every aspect of us is to be clean, holy and pure before YHVH.
The life of the animal is in the “lifeblood.” Blood is both life-giving and a part of the body’s cleaning system at the same time; it not only takes the life source to the animal, but also works like a vacuum cleaner taking out toxins and garbage from the kidneys, skin, bowels, and lungs, along with the garbage that makes up the waste products. Thus the blood is rendered unclean for human consumption. If we eat meat with the lifeblood in it, we are eating – also called drinking – the very life of that animal along with the animal’s characteristic fears and mindset, including its sexual behavior. If we eat an unauthorized animal we can take on its very nature. When we eat an aggressive type of animal, we may take on its aggressive behavior also. If the animal has been raised in an inhumane environment, as many are, any subsequent characteristics, viruses or diseases the animal may have picked up are also in the meat. Many hormones and chemicals are given to the animals when they are young that stay with them for life, and therefore also in the meat. We literally consume all of this and more when we eat unauthorized meat or meat with blood still in it. Eating unauthorized food can open the door to the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Today pornography is rampant, and with the help of Internet, television, movies, magazines and more, it seems to be gaining acceptable status in a society without Torah, God’s teaching and instruction. In a past report from Focus on the Family, Dr. James Dobson reported that when the popular Christian conference comes to town the hotels report a surge of X-rated movies viewed during that time period. One speaker shared that of the 25,000 men at one conference, approximately half the men came forward to repent for cheating on their wives. Blood in the meat directly affects a person’s sexual drive and appetite. Sexual sin passes on to the third and fourth generations through the sins of iniquities and is considered a community sin in the Bible that affects all Israel. Lust is not love. Check out the diet, this may be one of the entry points for lust of the flesh. Unclean foods were considered to be the food of idols in pagan worship. Pig was especially common as we see in the story of the Maccabees (1 and 2 Maccabees; Numbers 25:1-3). Pagan cults use blood in their feasts to get the desired effect they want.
When blood is consumed it can open the door to the occult realm and unclean practices. Eyes linger a little longer on unclean subjects; aggressive behavior and anger become acceptable; defensive attitudes enter, depressive and unclean thoughts are entertained; along with these, quality of life and associations change. Entering the unclean realm can eventually lead to occult involvement. A weakened spiritual walk can lose its passion and enthusiasm for YHVH. Distractions and loss of interest will eventually separate a person from Yeshua. Touching the unclean realm makes us unclean. Do we desire to have a deeper walk and glean deeper revelations in His Word? Look into the diet; our diet reflects our spiritual condition. We are what we eat.
Leviticus 11:9-12 Clean and Unclean Sea/Water LifeOnly fish with both fins and scales are to be food for us. All other sea and water life YHVH says is to be an abomination to us. Shellfish and fish without scales and fins are the scavengers and cleaners of YHVH’s waterways. They are cesspools of filth and contaminants, containing high levels of cholesterol, mercury, disease, worms, chemicals, and parasites. Their job is to clean all urine, feces and scum from the water. Shrimp, prawns and other mid water swimmers like squid and octopus are vacuum cleaners. Whales are big surface filters. The shark and other aggressive cleaners remove larger debris. Eating these will introduce their aggressive, scavenger natures. Clams, oysters and mussels are immobile filter feeders that contain bacteria, viruses, and can also harbor hepatitis, bringing all the contaminants they hold into our bodies when consumed. God says we are not to do this. It will cause our lives to be shortened. Question: Do these dietary laws apply to us today? Malachi 3:6 says “I, YHVH, do not change.” And according to Hebrews 13:8, “Yeshua is the same yesterday and today and forever.” So YHVH’s Word does not change either. Mark 7:1-23 records a discussion between the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in which Yeshua is correcting them. The men did not understand the difference between the law (legalistic observance) and Torah (Spirit led lifestyle) (see teaching from parsha Mishpatim). Yeshua was not sharing about unclean foods becoming clean; this was an added text to the Scriptures. Yeshua is YHVH in the flesh and would not contradict Himself. These teachers of the law had added the traditions of man to the Word of YHVH. They had set aside YHVH’s teaching and instruction in order to observe their own traditions. Yeshua was correcting their religious spirits and pointing to the real contaminants in their hearts. "What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean." Acts 10:1 to 11:18 details a vision Peter received from YHVH in which a tallit descended from heaven and ascended again three times. In this holy garment were four-footed clean animals with unclean animals, reptiles, as well as birds. YHVH told Peter to kill and eat! Peter said to YHVH that he had never eaten unauthorized food before. YHVH showed him that the animals represented PEOPLE. "But YHVH has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (Acts 10:28). The House of Israel had lived among the pagans and taken up their ways. They were the redeemed, returning to YHVH’s teaching and instruction and were no longer thought of as unclean! These were the people YHVH was speaking of, the same people Peter was sent to minister to. Understanding the realms of the Kingdom of YHVH was to be simple. Man’s laws had cluttered YHVH’s teaching and instruction by adding to them exceedingly. People coming from the nations saw truth and Torah as a strange thing at first as the worldly ways were more familiar to them. But Scripture points out the harm that came from the worldly ways. Learning the difference between clean and unclean, holy and unholy keeps us in the realm of life. In this we receive YHVH’s abundant provision and blessing and keeps curses far from us.
Sinning or missing the mark (Torah) is like a little boy all dressed in his good clothes who goes out (outside of Torah/realm of death) and jumps in a puddle, covering him with mud. Returning to the house (Torah/realm of life), he removes his dirty clothes (his sinful nature), has a bath (Mikvah), and puts on clean clothes (fruit of repentance reflected in the gifts of the Spirit/priestly garments) before he can re-join his family again. In Hebrew this is called the ritual application of the Torah. You want to apply God’s teaching and instruction in your life; this will sanctify us, make us clean and holy, and lead to life, called the walk of redemption.
The teaching of clean and unclean food is called Kashrut in Hebrew. Kashrut is just one of the realms in the Kingdom of YHVH’s teaching and instruction for life. How to move from one realm, unclean, to the other realm, clean, is the ritual application of Torah. For dinner, instead of choosing unclean meat like pork, choose clean meat like lamb. Instead of prawns choose salmon and other clean varieties of fish. A change of status by repenting, turning and going from the realm of death to the realm of life brings blessings! We were innocent to these laws and did not know His ways before, but now we are learning to return to God’s teaching and instruction and learning what is right according to Him. We are always in His Presence, but staying in His provision is what His instruction is all about. Obedience brings the blessings! Food can be an entry point for clean or unclean realms. This is not a salvation issue, but a redemption issue, which can stain or soil us spiritually and physically. Once we understand, we repent and turn. The choice is ours. A short list of clean flesh foods that YHVH considers food to eat:
As you can see, the Biblical dietary laws are not hard to follow and the choices are wide. To perform a kosher kill the animal is placed in a slaughter trough, head down. The main arteries on both sides of the neck and esophagus are severed quickly and cleanly with a knife, allowing the heart to continue to pump as the lifeblood of the animal drains out and the animal dies a painless death. Today in regular slaughterhouses, they stun-slaughter the animals causing the blood to lock into the meat. If a kosher butcher is not available, soaking the meat in salted water, rinsing and repeating until all the blood is out, is acceptable. Meat is made of blood, and some blood will still be in the meat, but what you want out of the meat is the lifeblood of the animal. The following is a quote from Dr. Tessler, a well known doctor who wrote in the book The Genesis Diet: "Pigs are known to carry up to two hundred diseases and eighteen different parasites and worms, including the deadly worm called trichinella spiralis. This worm is commonly called trichinosis and there is no known cure for these spiral worms. The trichinae worms are so small and transparent that only trained inspectors using high-powered microscopes can detect their existence. Trichinosis can cripple or even kill anyone that eats as little as a forkful of contaminated food! Trichinosis can mimic other diseases such as arthritis, rheumatism, or typhoid fever. “Pigs have more incidences of arthritis than any other known animals in the world. Arthritis may be a virus or a parasite that is transmitted from pigs to humans as a direct result of eating the flesh and blood of hogs or pigs. Perhaps many other diseases are misdiagnosed and their real cause is roundworm, gullet worms, hookworms, thorn-headed worms, trichina worms, stomach worms, nodular worms, tapeworms, as well as many other parasites found in the flesh of the unclean swine. A person may be committing slow suicide when they eat bacon, ham, sausage, or pork chops." (End of quote.) The American Cancer Society considers the pig and pork products like bacon, salami and hot dogs to be the number one cancer-producing agent in the world today as noted by their questionnaire. The body tries to fight the trichinosis worm by forming tumors around them. Sadly a whole industry has been built around eating Biblically unauthorized, unclean food. Doctors, pharmaceuticals, medical related support and hospitals testify to the results of not eating clean foods physically and spiritually by what we eat and think. Of interest, one pastor noted that churches have many prayer line-ups and healing crusades for people in need, but synagogues have very few – if any – prayer lines at all. Those who are returning and learning God’s food laws and learning to keep their temples clean and healthy physically and spiritually will not need a prayer line-up. May we be a people who return with joy to YHVH’s way for heath and long life. It starts in the heart first. Life Is In the Blood - What’s in Your Blood?In the Bible, it does not mention "processed" foods because there was no such thing at the time the Ketubah was given to Israel at Mount Sinai. Today we have these so-called "foods" available, that really are not foods our bodies can process. Our bodies can only process natural food, the food God created for us and said was safe to eat. When we put "unauthorized" food like fat or any foods that produce fat into our bodies, this can begin to “gum up” the system. Our arteries and organs may feel the effects in a few years and we may even reap the consequence through disease or early death. God has outlined what we are allowed to eat, both warning us of negative results when wrong choices are made, and promising us a long and healthy life if we stay in His guidelines. The Covenant we agreed to with YHVH stipulates: Only authorized food (physical and spiritual) please! What happens when we innocently cross the protective barrier YHVH set up for our health? As mentioned earlier, this is not limited to the physical level only but also speaks of the spiritual level as well, while in no way detracting from the literal, physical import. We need to maintain a healthy attitude and clean thinking, keeping unclean thoughts far from us. Our minds need to remain on the things YHVH taught us, just as we physically continue to eat solely what YHVH considers food for us. If we have contaminated our bodies, turning back to Him through repentance will keep “His” dwelling place clean. The body is balanced and so is our blood. If our body temperature rises even slightly, we know it, as we feel sick. It is the same case with our blood; when the pH balance of our body is a little off, it becomes too acidic and the whole body suffers. First our bodies gather calcium and other minerals from the organs to buffer the over acidic state of our body. When this is depleted the body begins to store fat to protect the organs. This can cause disease and sickness that in turn can lead to more serious illnesses and even death. Fat is a sign of an over acidic body. Where do acids come from? When there is an imbalance of pH in our blood caused by us eating what God says is not healthy, or by our unclean thoughts and speech, our bodies begin to crave sugars and carbohydrates, making us listless, out of focus, tired and sick. Reaching for a chocolate bar, soda pop or ice cream for a quick energy or “soul” fix will not help the problem. In an over acidic climate, microorganisms are encouraged to grow. It is these microorganisms that are hungry causing us to "crave" sweets. They deplete all our energy and cause us to become sick and tired. Additive personalities have spiritual roots. An over acidic body is a climate where bacteria grows and can become a yeast forming fungus, which, when left unattended, may later develop into mold in us. This is a breeding ground for microorganisms. When they are in the bloodstream they go wherever the blood goes - to the brain, to the heart, to the muscles - causing major diseases like arthritis, heart problems, diabetes and cancers. Just because you don’t feel badly does not mean that the damage has not started. Eating properly from a healthy, biblically based diet (physical and spiritual) can eliminate unhealthy things from our body, bringing life and vitality back, clearing the mind, memory, muscles, bones and organs and ridding us of life-threatening diseases (Deuteronomy 28). To do this we need to keep our hearts and minds healthy and stay away from unauthorized ways.
Shabbat Shalom, References: The Shadow of Heavenly Things: Revealing the Body of Messiah in the Tabernacle by Brad Scott A More Excellent Way by Henry W. Wright God’s Key to Health and Happiness by Elmer A. Josephson The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Dr. Rex Russell The Genesis Diet by Dr.Gordon Tessler HOLY COW! Does God Care about What We Eat? First Fruits of Zion STBM: Leviticus 2002-03 series; Torah 30 More information: Genetically altered foods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNezTsrCY0Q Past Parshot: www.messianicisrael.com/sheepfold-gleanings/ |
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