In Jeremiah chapter 9, the Most High is speaking towards the waywardness of His People. They had abandoned His ways, followed after other gods and judgment was coming. They had become “uncircumcised of heart.” (vs. 26)
So, as a good, fair and just Father does, He allows the unfaithfulness of His People to bring about correction, in hopes that they will return to Him. In this portion of text, He states “but let the one who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am Yahweh who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,” declares Yahweh.”
I’m a firm believer that nothing has changed. The Most High changes not and His Ways are still the way for a set apart People to live. People who profess “belief” still line up to abandon His Torah, just like we read of today. Like me, most are taught that It is not what the Word tells us, but rather a burdensome and legalistic way to live.
Today, straying from His commandments and following other messiah’s, gods and kings still incites His righteous judgments – and rightly so. As is generally the case, it’s come to us in the same way as it came to these people, and even to those in Messiah’s day – the handing down of traditions. (Hence, the statement “as their fathers taught them.”)
So let us learn from the past and not cast off Father’s mercy, justice and righteousness, that is revealed in His wonderful Law – perfectly walked out in the Son. Yeshua became our one true Example and gave us the wonderful template of a well-pleasing One.
If what we have inherited leads us away from Father’s commandments, may we heed today’s ancient warning, May we not be stubborn of heart – uncircumcised in our inward parts – but instead yield our wills, listening for the voice of our Father above all others. Selah.
Many times the most simple advice is quoting biblical counsel.
How can a young man walk in a clean and pure way? The Word. And what was the Word when David penned these wonderful lines? The Torah and the Prophets. This is not complicated.
But it's all a heart matter *now* though, right? Yes. And it always has been.
Let us seek the Father with our "whole heart." Let us not wander from His commandments. The Word is treasured within the heart as something of great value. Why? So that a man might not sin.
And as we recently studied and discussed on the channel - what is sin in both the New and Old Testament? Missing the mark. Walking away from and thereby transgressing Father's Law. These words are no mere coincidence.
And the last line of the day? "Blessed are you oh Yahweh - Teach me Your decrees, laws, statutes, ordinances - 'commandments.'" This is why we just did a video discussing Psalm chapter 1 which states, "Blessed/happy is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked... but his delight is in the Torah of Yahweh and on His Torah he meditates day and night."
Sounds like wonderful counsel to me. How about you?
Oh the power of traditions.
To be clear, not all traditions are bad. In fact, many can be harmless and innocent. Others would have been – and are still today – wonderful gifts from the Creator. In fact, one could rightly say that things such as Sabbath Day observance and the celebrating of Father’s Feasts are His traditions. Ones that originated in His heart and were then given as a wonderful gift to His Family.
In Messiah’s words however, we see traditions that override and/or replace the Most High’s Ways. This is clearly where the trouble comes in. The beginning of verse 8 is the key as it begins with “neglecting the commandment of Elohim…” and then moves into the replacements that became instituted by men in their stead.
Although so many years removed, today is no different. So what about us? Have we repeated the same error, in any way? Have we too neglected and set aside Father’s Ways and erected our own? Are we simply repeating the cycle ourselves, as we are openly criticizing those who we read about today?
Many churches will condemn and pass sentence upon the non-believing Pharisees today yet miss that, in many ways, they’re repeating the exact same transgression. Let us all humble ourselves and peer deep inside all that we do and why. Is it remotely possible that Messiah could say the same words to any of us too?
Like me, surely you would never desire to nullify/void of all authority/invalidate the Word of the Most High today, right? This is bigger than us, friend. This is about Yahweh’s great Name! Let us humbly examine our ways as we go about our traditions today – and every day. And then? Let's willingly lay aside our own vain traditions and return to His. Selah.
A small excerpt from my latest studies about how to be a biblically-defined “light to the nations.”
I want to propose that all the way back to Creation, we see this pattern of separation. Genesis 1:16-18 Yahweh made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. Yahweh placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and Yahweh saw that it was good.
We see this pattern move into Father’s set apart People as the nation of Israel was established. As they were in Egyptian slavery we read…
Exodus 10:23 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22 So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.
Psalm 27:1 David wrote that Yahweh is my light and my salvation; Whom should I fear?
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and rebukes for discipline are the way of life. Psalm 119:105 Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. What was “the Word” when this was penned by David. The Torah and the Prophets.
A wonderful prophecy found in Isaiah chapter 2: Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.3 And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob; so that He may teach us about His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.” For the Torah will go out from Zion and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. To our point, what place can the Torah have in a future New Jerusalem age for those who have deemed it “nailed to the cross” and obsolete “in Jesus?”
Several verses later - "Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh." To be clear, the Torah goes forth out of this dwelling (city) and all people from all nations will go there to be taught the Most High’s wonderful Ways! Incredible!
In yet another example of “no one ever taught me this in my 40+ years in Christianity”, the biblical record is clear - Yahweh repeatedly spelled out who His Law applied to. It was never a “for the Jews alone” issue and when we have eyes to see this fact, all of our dispensational theology foundations begin to reveal their abundant cracks.
As the writer of Ecclesiastes resolved, “The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear Elohim and keep His commandments, because this applies to every human being.” Do we really believe this? Are “Gentile Christians” somehow mysteriously exempt from “every human being?” That's what I was always told.
The Most High, in His endless compassion and mercy, extended a way for all men to come to Him and be enveloped into His set apart People. We see this with the Ethiopian Eunuch, Cornelius and others. People who join themselves with Father’s covenantal ways are welcomed into His Family. He is a surely a good Father!
I don’t know what could be more clear. Let those of us who set our agreement with Abraham, Noah, David, John, Titus, Paul, (must I list all of them?) and yield our wills to Father’s wonderful Way to live rejoice that we're invited too!
Invited to what? Walk within the wonderful confines of the perfect Law that our Messiah willingly obeyed, from His heart of submission and servanthood. Here, freedom and liberty are found! I simply want to be like Him. He said to walk as He walked… and this is how. Have you humbled yourself as an outsider/stranger and received Father's invitation? As I always say, biblically, there’s only two types of people: Those in covenant and those not in covenant. Selah.
