“TO GO IN HIS WAYS!”

“Hear the words of HaShem, O Children of Israel! For HaShem has a grievance with the inhabitants of the land, for there is no truth nor kindness nor knowledge of Elohim in the land. Rather, swearing, lying, murdering, robbing, and adultery; they have breached standards, and blood reaches more blood. Therefore, the land WILL BE DESTROYED and all who dwell in it will be enfeebled, along with the beast of the field and the bird of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea WILL BE ANNIHILATED. Indeed you say, ‘Let no one contend; let no one reprimand!’ Yet your people contends with the Kohen! You will stumble by day and the false prophet who is with you will also stumble, as if by night; and I will silence your mother.” Hosea 4:1-5

Yikes! The verses from Hosea above are not warm and fuzzy verses! So, why did I choose these to be the opening verses in this Op? Several reasons and I will explain:

It seems every week now there is some new incident which occurs in the world or to the United States, whether it be natural disasters, economic problems, terrorism, political turmoil and war. This week is no different. As I put this Op together, it is 27 August 2021, the Taliban have overrun Afghanistan, the US government is in turmoil over it. A terrorist attack in Afghanistan has killed hundreds to include 13 US military personnel and wounded countless others. A major destructive hurricane is currently forming and set to slam into Louisiana on 29 August 2021, the 16th anniversary, to the day, of the massive destruction brought about by Hurricane Katrina! Is this a coincidence? Why did we get hit with Katrina? Pres G. W. Bush had directed Israel to surrender Gaza and pull out all Israeli citizens. Israel complied, PM Sharon had a stroke and America was nailed by Katrina as a response from HaShem. Point is, don’t go dictating to Israel what to do with HaShem’s land! And what occurred today, 27 Aug 2021? Pres Biden met with Israeli PM Bennett in the White House and Biden has already been pressuring Israel to give up land in Judea and Samaria! Nothing is a coincidence as far as HaShem goes!

Further, the entire Western parts of the US are on fire with massive wildfires! Droughts, crop failures coupled with tyrannical edicts issued by local, state and federal government officials stripping away our freedoms more and more all in the name of ‘safety!’ And gee, what is the Torah portion this week? Torah Portion ‘Ki Tavo’ found in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 26:1-29:8 and what is the theme? The national and individual blessings for our demonstrating our true faith in HaShem, out of love, devotion and loyalty to Him, by submitting to Him and walking in His Torah, followed by the national and individual curses and repercussions which fall for willful rebellion against HaShem and the refusal to walk in His Torah! Again, is this a coincidence? Not a chance!

The verses above from Hosea states ‘Let no one contend; let no one reprimand!’‘ In my opinion, this perfectly describes the Social Justice, ‘Woke’ culture that is taking hold which seeks to allow for the flourishing of every abominable behavior while shame those who oppose this abysmal, destructive behavior into silence and submission.

This all said, I will be addressing a specific commandment from HaShem which is found in this Torah portion which will address once more the objections from Christendom and its Replacement Theology doctrine the Torah has been nullified and rendered obsolete. Why am I doing this again? Because the figurative shouting, screaming and chest thumping on the countless blogs by those in Christendom against HaShem and His Torah today is at levels I have rarely seen before and thus feel impressed by HaShem to put one more Op out just in case. For the record, and I have stated this many times before, my angst is NOT with the people in Christendom, my angst is with the doctrine of Christendom which is leading so many to their ruin.

Be advised, this is going to be a very long and very in-depth Op so take lots of notes and get ready!

But, before we jump into this, always remember the following eternal characteristics of HaShem and never forget them, especially now in our day and time:

• HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
• His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
• He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
• He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
• He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
• He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
• He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
• He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
• He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
• He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
• He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
• He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
• He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
• He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
• He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
• He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
• He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
• He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
• He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
• He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
• He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
• He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
• He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
• He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
• He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
• He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
• He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
• He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46

This weeks Torah portion specifically discusses commandment #611 ‘The obligation to emulate the good and just ways of HaShem.’ We are commanded to imitate HaShem! Gee where have we heard something similar before? 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says to imitate him as he imitates Yeshua (Not Torah abolishing Jesus). As I have stated many times in previous ops, Yeshua MUST obey and teach the entire Torah as the Agent of HaShem, in order to qualify as the Messiah of HaShem. So, if Paul says to imitate him as he imitated Yeshua and we know Paul, per his own letters, was a Hillel Pharisee and walked in the Torah (Acts 18, 21), then it must mean Yeshua kept the Torah as well! If not, then Yeshua just disqualified Himself as being the Messiah! Remember, what is the biblical definition of sin? Per 1 John 3:4 “Sin is the transgression of the Torah!” So, if Yeshua says not to sin, then that by default means to keep the Torah! I digress.

The commentary from the Book of the Mitzvot discussing #611 says “We are commanded to conduct all of our actions in accordance with the path of righteousness and goodness, to the utmost of our abilities, and to direct all our affairs with others in the way of kindness and compassion. For as we know from our Torah, this mode of conduct is known as ‘THE WAY OF HASHEM’, and it is what He desires from His creations i.e. MANKIND so that they will merit His goodness, which He wants to bestow upon them, since He desires kindness.” Very interesting! So, its HaShem’s desire ALL of mankind walk in His Way i.e. His Torah, so He can then shower mankind with His kindness and blessings. Point is, His Torah is NOT just for Israel! His Torah is for EVERYONE!

I should quickly re-state an important fact, salvation is by faith in HaShem only. But once a person has made that choice to follow HaShem, they then demonstrate that faith by striving and learning to walk as He said to walk in order to be separated to Him as His people i.e. His Torah! James says it so well, “I will show my faith by my works” i.e. Torah!

With this established, consider what Devarim (Deuteronomy) 28:9 says “HaShem will confirm you for Himself as a holy (Set apart) people, as He swore to you, IF you will observe the commandments of HaShem, your Elohim, and you will go in His ways.” See, per this one simple verse, HaShem is once more reiterating if we want to walk in righteousness and be set apart i.e. holy unto Him, walking in His Torah is the ONLY way to do so. It is a choice He leaves up to each of us. If we do so, not perfectly, as sadly that is not possible right now, He says He will confirm us to Himself as His set apart people. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of other verses throughout His Word which reiterates this fact. When we read in the Apostolic Writings about how someone is walking in righteousness or someone is righteous, it is a Hebrew idiom to mean they walk in The Ways of HaShem i.e. His Torah! Keep this in mind!

Now, the most common objection I encounter from most Christians is “The Law is not for the Gentiles, it is only for the Jews, plus Jesus rendered the Law obsolete and replaced it with a new and more holy Law! The days of Moses are long gone and are forever obliterated!”

I won’t go over them again, but to refute this common objection, just reference the above verses I post in each Op describing the ETERNAL characteristics of HaShem!

Further, this objection can be very easily refuted simply by quoting what HaShem says Himself in His Torah. Shemot (Exodus) 12:38 says “The Mixed Multitude went up with the Children of Israel.” Who are the Mixed Multitude? They are all the non-Jews who joined with Israel and came out of Egypt when HaShem delivered all of Israel from Egyptian slavery!

How about Shemot (Exodus) 12:49 which says “One Torah shall there be for the native (Israelite) and the proselyte (Non-Jew who wishes to serve HaShem) who lives among you.” This should pretty much end the argument, but sadly no, it doesn’t. The level of linguistic gymnastics many in Christendom go through to hold onto the Replacement Theology lie is truly astounding! They should all be multi-Gold Medal winners by now. I digress.

Now keep the following section in mind and compare it to what we see in America today and you decide if there are any similarities and thus can explain why the things we see are happening:

With this said thus far, HaShem tells us the blessings for walking in His Torah per Devarim (Deuteronomy) 28:10-14 which says “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you (Israel) are called by the Name of HaShem, and they shall be afraid of you.  And HaShem, your Elohim, will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that HaShem swore to your fathers to give you.  HaShem, your Elohim, will open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And HaShem, your Elohim, will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, IF you obey the commandments of HaShem, your Elohim, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Now, let’s see what He says when we refuse to walk in His Ways i.e. His Torah! Devarim 28:15-69 says “But if you will not obey the voice of HaShem, your Elohim, or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

 “HaShem will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. HaShem will make the pestilence stick to you until He has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  HaShem will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. HaShem will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

“HaShem will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth (The Taliban defeating the US military because of our leaders and now we are a horror to the whole earth?). And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. HaShem will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed.  HaShem  will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind,  and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.  And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you.  Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless.  A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually,  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.  HaShem will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

“HaShem will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.  And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where HaShem will lead you away. You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off.  You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.  The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground.  The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower (Illegals/refugees becoming more and more powerful in this country).  He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of HaShem, your Elohim, to keep His commandments and His statutes that He commanded you.  They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever.  Because you did not serve HaShem, your Elohim, with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom HaShem will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.  HaShem will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young (Gee, sounds like China/Russia/North Korea/Iran/Cuba/Venezuela doesn’t it?).  It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.

“They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the HaShem, your Elohim, has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom HaShem, your Elohim, has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.  The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left,  so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.  The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter,  her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this Torah that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, HaShem, your Elohim, then HaShem will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And He will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this Torah, HaShem, will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.  Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of HaShem, your Elohim. And as HaShem, took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so HaShem, will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

“And HaShem will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but HaShem will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. And HaShem will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

WOW…can you see America in all what HaShem describes will happen to those who refuse to walk in His Torah? No wonder we are witnessing what is falling on the world and America! I don’t concern myself with what other people are doing in their religious systems, but Christendom on the other hand knows better! Christendom has the Torah in their hands and has refused it as a system. Now understand, I am NOT placing all the blame on Christendom, mostly I am just seeking to highlight what HaShem says as opposed to what Replacement Theology teaches and then we can see the effects it has on the world around us, very real, very physical effects! HaShem isn’t playing around, especially now.

At this point you are probably thinking this is a terribly depressing and an Op lacking any hope, however, I know a few people are asking why all of these things are happening now and according to what I currently understand of HaShem’s Word, this Op is hopefully answering some of those questions via His Word. Hang on though. It will get more encouraging!

So, with all this said, what are some of the prophecies concerning the End of Days and the Torah of HaShem? We are going to explore three specific ones!

Isaiah 2:1-4 says “The prophecy that Isaiah son of Amoz saw, concerning Judah and Jerusalem: ‘It will happen in the End of Days: The Mountain of the Temple of HaShem will be firmly established as the head of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills, and ALL THE NATIONS (Non-Jews) will stream to it. Many peoples will go and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the Mountain of HaShem, to the Temple of the Elohim of Jacob, and HE WILL TEACH US OF HIS WAYS AND WE WILL WALK IN HIS PATHS.’ FOR FROM ZION WILL THE TORAH COME FORTH, AND THE WORD OF HASHEM FROM JERUSALEM. He will judge among the nations, and will settle arguments of many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will NOT lift sword against nation and they will no longer study warfare.” This prophecy is discussing the time when Yeshua will have returned and is ruling from the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. What will be the standard the whole world will live by? The Torah of HaShem!

So, if according to Christendom the Torah has been rendered obsolete and irrelevant, then why prey tell is Yeshua ruling from the Temple in Jerusalem, after the seven year era of the Birth Pangs, and all the non-Jews are rushing to come up to the Temple in Jerusalem and are asking to be taught the Torah? Then at the same time HaShem is supposed to be remaining faithful to His Word in that He is unchanging and His Torah is eternal, yet somewhere along the way, He changed His mind and did away with His Torah, only then to re-establish it in the end! Either He is psychotic or Replacement Theology has it all grossly wrong! You decide! Moving on.

An interesting commentary from the Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Melachim 12.5 says concerning the time discussed above in the prophecy of Isaiah 2, “In that era (Messianic Era when Messiah is ruling from Jerusalem as King), there will be neither famine or war, envy or competition for good will flow in abundance and all the delights will be freely available as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know HaShem. Therefore, the Jews will be great sages and know the hidden matters of the Torah of HaShem, grasping the knowledge of their Creator according to the full extent of human potential, as Isaiah 11:9 states ‘The world will be filled with the knowledge of HaShem as the waters cover the ocean bed.'”

Again, we can see, when the Torah of HaShem is studied, learned and applied by society, THEN there is peace and shalom in the world. When there isn’t, then we see have chaos, rebellion, idolatry, violence, murder, war, etc. Its the same pattern from the beginning because as HaShem says time and again, there is nothing new under the sun and He reveals the end from the beginning!

Consider the following commentary from Isaiah 2 which says “According to the Talmud, Israel was exiled in order to gather sparks of holiness and BRING NON-JEWS TO THE TORAH. What would have happened to these sparks and potential converts if Israel had not sinned and been exiled? The answer is that if Israel had not fallen from its pedestal of holiness, they would have been like spiritual magnets, drawing seekers of holiness to Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel to learn the Torah).” So we see, HaShem can take something terrible and work it to the good! In this case, because Israel fell and was exiled out into the world, HaShem uses this to draw non-Jews to Himself and they are grafted into Israel!

Remember what Yeshua Himself said in Matthew 15:24 that He “Came ONLY for the lost sheep of the House of Israel!” By redeeming Israel, He redeems the world because Israel is scattered into all the world! And then according to Replacement Theology, HaShem has TWO standards, one for Israel and one for the non-Jews i.e. Israel is shackled to the crushing, oppressing and sin enhancing Torah while the non-Jews just confess the name ‘Jesus’ and He somehow blesses them for doing everything He told Israel NOT to do? Again this would make HaShem to be psychotic and a liar! I digress.

Now consider the prophecy from Micah 4:1-4 which says “In the End of Days that the mountain of the Temple of HaShem will be firmly established as the most prominent of the mountains, and it will be exalted up above the hills, and peoples (Non-Jews) will stream to it. Many nations will go and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the Mountain of HaShem and to the Temple of the Elohim of Jacob, and HE WILL TEACH US OF HIS WAYS AND WE WILL WALK IN HIS PATHS.’ For from Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the Word of HaShem from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples, and will settle the arguments of mighty nations from far away. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning knives; nation will not lift sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore. They will sit, each man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none will make them afraid, for the mouth of HaShem, Master of Legions, has spoken.” This is describing a time of peace and shalom! Yeshua is ruling from Jerusalem, no one is afraid, no more war and everyone is learning and living out His Torah! On a side note, this now explains the significance of what we read in John 1:48 when Yeshua saw Phillip and told him He saw him ‘sitting under the fig tree’! It is a Hebrew idiom and as such He was telling Phillip he was in the Messianic Era in the future!

The commentary from the Mishnah Torah Hilchot Teshuvah 9.2 says “For these reasons, all Israel, in particular, their prophets and their sages, have yearned for the Messianic age so they can rest from the oppression of gentile kingdoms who do not allow them to occupy themselves with Torah and mitzvot properly. They will find rest and increase their knowledge in order to merit the world to come. In that era, knowledge, wisdom and truth will become abundant. Isaiah 11:9 states ‘The earth will be full of the knowledge of HaShem.’ Jeremiah 31:33 states ‘One man will no longer teach his brother, nor a man his colleague…for all will know Me!’ And Ezekiel 36:26 states ‘I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.’ These changes will come about because the king who will arise from David’s descendants will be a greater Master of Knowledge than Solomon and a great prophet, close to the level of Moshe, our teacher. Therefore, he will teach the entire nation and instruct them in THE PATH OF HASHEM (Way of HaShem). All the gentile nations will come to hear him, as Isaiah 2:2 states ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of HaShem’s House shall be established at the peak of the mountains…and all the nations shall flow to it.'”

For the record, Jeremiah 31 discusses the terms of the ‘New Covenant’ and what is at the heart of the so called ‘New Covenant?’ It is HaShem’s Torah! Nothing changes and He reveals the end from the beginning! I digress.

Now consider the prophecy in Zechariah 8:23 which says “Thus said HaShem, Master of Legions: ‘In those days (The Messianic era), it will happen that ten men, of all the different languages of the nations (Non-Jews), will take hold, they will take hold of the corner of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that HaShem is with you!'” The garment of a Jewish man as spoken of here is the Tallit. These ten, non-Jewish men, see the tallit on a Jewish man, and run to him, realizing their various religious systems they have been involved in, and yes, dare I say to include Christendom and its Replacement Theology, are all lies and per the mercy of HaShem, Who has opened their eyes, realize salvation is of the Jews! Gee, why is that so familiar sounding? Because Yeshua says in John 4:22 when speaking to the woman from Shomeron, “You worship what you do not know (False religious systems). We (Israel) worship what we know, because the deliverance (Salvation) is of the Yehudim.” Point is, the world will finally realize, HaShem gave the true faith to Israel and from Israel the world must go to learn! Remember, HaShem commands Israel to be a light to the nations!

Isaiah 49:6 says “He said: ‘It was insufficient that you be a servant for Me only to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ruins of Israel; I will make you A LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS, SO THAT MY SALVATION MAY EXTEND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.'” What is the Hebrew word for ‘Salvation?’ It is Yeshua! “So that My Yeshua may extend to the ends of the earth!”

I want to finish up this long Op with Proverbs chapter 3! After all we have discussed thus far, consider what HaShem is saying here in this very important and often overlooked chapter!

Proverbs 3:1-4 says “My child, do NOT forget My Torah, and let your heart guard My commandments, for they add to you length of days and years of life and peace. Kindness and truth should not forsake you; bind them on your neck; inscribe them on the tablet of your heart, and you WILL FIND FAVOR and goodly sense in the eyes of Elohim and man.” Does this sound like something HaShem is dissatisfied with and just itching to do away with it as Christendom teaches? Let’s keep going.

Megillah 27a from the Talmud Bavli says “Learning Torah brings one to the performance (Doing) of mitzvot (Commandments).” I connect this with James statement on faith i.e. ‘I will show you my faith BY my works i.e. keeping Torah!’

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in HaShem with all your heart and do not rely upon your own understanding. In all your ways, know Him and He will smooth your paths.” Studying Torah is trusting in HaShem! Do not rely on your own understanding, but seek out HaShem and know Him i.e. have that intimate relationship with Him. This is interesting because if you recall, the Torah is the Marriage Contract between HaShem and Israel, His Bride! So to know HaShem can only be done by studying and living out His Torah i.e. Walking in His Ways!

Proverbs 3:7-8 says “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear HaShem and turn away from evil. It will be health to your navel and marrow to your bones.” Again, serve HaShem out of love, devotion and loyalty!

Proverbs 3:9-10 says “Honor HaShem with your wealth, and with the first of all your produce. Then your storehouses will be filled with plenty, and the wine of your vats will burst forth.” Recognize any success we may have comes from Him and Him alone and just as quickly as we received it, it can be removed if our pride and arrogance get in the way!

Proverbs 3:11-18 says “My, child, do not despise HaShem’s discipline, and do not be disgusted with His reproof. For HaShem admonishes the one He loves, and like a father He mollifies a child. Praiseworthy is a person who has found wisdom, and a person who gives forth understanding. For its commerce is better than the commerce of silver, and its produce is better than fine gold. It is more precious than pearls, and all of your desires cannot compare to it. Length of days is at its right, wealth and honor at its left. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its byways are peace. It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it, and its supporters are praiseworthy.” What is the wisdom being spoken of here? It is HaShem’s Ways i.e. His Torah!

Proverbs 3:19-26 says “HaShem founded the earth with wisdom, He establishes heavens with understanding. Through His knowledge the depths were cleaved, and the heavens drip dew. My child, do not let them stray from your eyes; safeguard THE ETERNAL TORAH and its wise designs. They will be life to your soul and a graceful ornament for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down you will not fear; you will lie down and your sleep will be pleasant. You will not fear sudden terror, nor the holocaust of the wicked when it comes. For HaShem will be your security, and He will guard your feet from entrapment.” HaShem says His Torah is eternal and life to our soul. How again I ask, could Replacement Theology be correct? Again, the only way would be for HaShem to change His Word which would make Him a liar!

Proverbs 3:27-35 says “Do not withhold good from its rightful recipient, when you have the power to do it. Do not tell your fellow, ‘Leave and come back; tomorrow I will give it,’ when it is already with you. Do not devise evil against your fellow, one who dwells securely with you. Do not quarrel with any man without cause, if he has done you no evil. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. For one who deviates is an abomination to HaShem; and His counsel is with the upright. HaShem’s blight is upon the house of the wicked, but He blesses the abode of the righteous. If one is drawn to the scoffers, he will scoff; but if one is drawn to the humble, one will find favor. The wise inherit honor, but fools generate disgrace.”

Can you see the continuous theme here? Proverbs 3 is best summed up with “A servant cannot love his master if he respects his master’s enemies and has a close relationship with those his master has distanced!”

With this all said, can it be possible HaShem would send a Messiah who teaches a message directly opposing the Ways of HaShem? Obviously not! So, the question must be asked, from where does Replacement Theology derive from? You will have to answer that for yourself!

One final thought….what were the first believers in Yeshua called? I can assure you they were NOT called ‘Christians’ as that didn’t come about centuries later. They were called ‘The Way!’ This is recorded for us in Acts 24:14 which says “And this I (Paul) confess to you, that according to The Way, which they call a sect (Of Judaism), so I worship the Elohim of my fathers, believing all that has been written in the Torah and the Prophets.” Paul was referencing Shemot (Exodus) 3:15 which says “Elohim said further to Moshe, ‘So shall you say to the Children of Israel, HaShem, the Elohim of your forefathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Yaakov, has dispatched me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.'” Paul was declaring his loyalty to HaShem and His Torah while acknowledging Yeshua as being the Messiah.

So, to sum this Op up, to go in the Ways of HaShem, is to learn and strive to live out His Torah, out of love, devotion and loyalty and as the expression of our faith in Him BECAUSE our salvation is secured! Nothing was rendered obsolete, nothing was replaced and nothing was displaced. I can attest personally, when you start learning His Torah, and you start asking Him to teach you, I can assure you He will and you will feel like you have just tasted pure, fresh, living water that is so refreshing, clean and life giving. You will want more and more and more. It won’t be easy though but it is absolutely worth it!

Shabbat Shalom!

SOURCE MATERIALS

• The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
• Devarim – The Chumash with the Teachings of the Talmud by Artscroll
• Shemot – The Chumash with the Teachings of the Talmud by Artscroll
• The Twelve Prophets by Artscroll
• Isaiah Milstein Edition by Artscroll
• Proverbs Artscroll Tanach Series
• Pessachim Koren Talmud Bali
• Rambam – Mishnah Torah