Watch Here: Parasha Behar 2022
In the parable of the wedding feast, Yeshua tells us that many are called and yet only a few of us will be chosen. Why the discrepancy?
Well perhaps it is the same as when all of our forefathers were called to become His faithful Bridal Nation. There were many of us! And yet sadly, only a few of us chose to respond to that calling. So there were many called but few who chose to respond.
And it is those few who chose to respond that were themselves chosen. Because that is how we become chosen. Is to choose to respond to His calling. We do not just think, “Hey! I’m called! That is it!” Check! And then we are done! We are good!”
No, that is not it. So, we need to realize that what Yeshua said in Luqa (or Luke) chapter 21 and verse 36 is true! We need to watch and pray always that we might be among the few who are going to be counted worthy to escape all the things that have come to pass on the Earth. So that we can stand before the Son of Man. And those few of us who do pray always and who do give Yahweh their first and their finest, they will be the few that are chosen.
Luqa (Luke) 21:36
36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
So, do we want to be among them? And if so, are we also willing to respond and do all that Yahweh says He wants? These are the questions we ask in Parasha Behar 2022, and for those of you who are new, let me bring everyone up to speed quickly.
Using the true first fruits of barley (and not just some random sheaf taken from the middle of the main harvest but using the true first fruits of barley) we just celebrated Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) for 2022. And according to the Ancient Hebrew Wedding Model, that is when Mashiach Yeshua is expected to return for His bride. On Yom Kippur. And as we explain in our studies on the Book of Revelation, that probably corresponds to Armageddon. So in the flesh, we are talking about a day of great affliction and great refinement in the flesh. But in the spirit, it is the day that our Bridegroom comes to take the few of us who are choosing to refine ourselves and to build His kingdom as His bride forever!
Do not we want to be ready? Do not we want to be among the few that He chooses on that day?
Now we also just celebrated Sukkot (or the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) for 2022. As we show in our studies on the Ancient Hebrew Wedding Model, the Apostle Paul (Shaul) tells us that the feasts serve as prophetic shadow pictures of things and events still to come.
Well, what things are still to come? Okay. So, Sukkot symbolizes the wedding week for those few who chose to respond to His call and who worked for Him. Those who used their time wisely. Sukkot symbolizes the honeymoon for those hard-working Proverbs 31 Brides who prepared, who used their mina wisely to help Yeshua build His kingdom. That is who Yeshua is coming for. Those who have already proven they want to be His helper. If you want a helper, why not choose someone who is already wanting to help? And the rest… hmm.
What we need to understand and what we need to realize, brothers and sisters, is that our forefathers went into captivity. The first time in Egypt, they just went. Then Yahweh redeemed our forefathers from captivity and gave them His calling as His Bridal Nation.
Well, they received the calling, but they did not respond to that calling. Therefore, they failed in their mission of bridehood.
Now we went into the Assyrian diaspora. And the Assyrian Empire was later subsumed by the Babylonian Empire. So the Assyrian dispersion eventually turned into what we might call the Babylonian exile. Ephraim’s version of it. We just call it the Assyrian dispersion for Ephraim. But not only do we need Redemption freedom from the Assyrian captivity and the Babylonian captivity (same thing). But after Redemption we also need to choose to be restored to bridehood.
What do we mean by that? Well, again, this all plays into the Ancient Hebrew Wedding Model. Because it all speaks to our role to be His called Bridal Nation. That is who He called our ancestors to be. His ‘called and responding Bridal Nation’.
Now, in our study on The Torah Calendar, in the chapter on “The Jubilees and the Shemittah”, we show how we believe this year 2022 is probably what is called a Shemittah (or a land rest) year. The Shemittah happens once every seven years. And it technically only applies when we live in the land. But we like to obey all the principles and precepts.
Now there is also a special land rest every 50 years called the yovel (or the Jubilee). And we know that Yeshua will return in the Year of Jubilee.
We talk about the Shemittah and the yovel in the chapter on, you guessed it, “The Jubilee and the Shemittah” in The Torah Calendar study. That is a very important chapter. If we are willing to receive it, the Shemittah and the yovel serve as years of release, years of redemption. And they have a lot to say about how we also can be redeemed and released from the dispersion. And then how we can choose to respond and become restored to our original status as His Bridal Nation and people.
But it is an active Choice. It is not something that comes easily, not something that comes automatically or naturally.
If you are not sure what we are talking about here, I would encourage you to read and understand the Nazarene Israel study. That study will show you why, unbeknownst to most of them, the Christians are the spiritual (if not also the literal) descendants of the Lost ten tribes of Israel.
Now, we are presently scattered in the Assyrian dispersion. Many of us are lost in the land of Babylon. And as we explain in the Revelation study, that is the United States of America. We all need to be redeemed from our captivity in the dispersion. And then after we are redeemed (or released or set free) then we need to choose to be restored to our original role. And again, it is not automatic! If we are not going to make a living sacrifice and if we are not choosing Him, He is not going to choose us! It is just that simple!
And brothers and sisters, we need to be serious about this! How long I have been in, what should we call today, the Hebrew Roots Movement? Since 1999! I have not met a whole lot of people that I would call serious! I met some. But not the majority. It looks a lot like the first century. We have a dozen brothers and however many sisters who respond. And the rest of the four thousand and the five thousand, they sure think of themselves as His faithful disciples. But not according to their fruit! Not judging according to their actions!
Brothers and sisters! When are we going to get to the point where we are going to take a look at our fruits and decide? Are these fit for a King? Are these fit for our Husband?
Okay. Now to begin. Sometimes the rabbis present Parasha Behar together with Parasha Bechukotai. We separated them this year because there is so much good stuff in Parasha Behar. And we could not combine them because these things pertain to our Redemption and also to our choice to become restored as His bride.
Again, I encourage you to read the chapter on the Shemittah and the jubilees in The Torah Calendar study. And understand what it has to do with our own redemption and our own restoration to bridehood.
So, we begin in Vayiqra (or Leviticus) chapter 25 starting in verse 2. And Yahweh is telling us some rules that apply when we live in the land. They do not technically apply to us right now. But when we live in His special land, when we come into the land which He will give us, then we need to make sure that the land also receives its Sabbath of rest.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:2
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to Yahweh.
Six years we can plant and sow and seed our fields. Six years we can work the ground. We can work the land, we can plant, we can prune, we can harvest, we can use a sickle, we can lay up with a bucket, whatever we want to do. But in the seventh year there is supposed to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land. And it is called a Sabbath to Yahweh.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:3-4
3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit;
4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to Yahweh. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
In this seventh Sabbath year we are not supposed to plant, or cut, or prune anything. We are just supposed to let the land rest. And as we show in the chapter on the Shemittah and the jubilees, Yahweh promises to bless and increase our harvests if we will do that.
Now just as an anecdote, there is an Azure Standard Farms (or an organic farm) in Oregon. And the grandfather told me at one point that when they made the decision to do this, the blessings were actually more than that which was promised in Scripture! They began experiencing a 50 percent (maybe 51 or 54, I cannot remember) but more than a 50 increase every year apart from the land rest year! So, Yahweh’s promises are for real!
Now, both on the Shabbat and in a land rest year we cannot harvest. Normally, that means we cannot go out and harvest with the sickle or in a bucket. There is no laying up until later. We cover those rules in the chapter on “The Sabbath” in The Torah Calendar study.
But here verse 5 tells us that during the land rest years we can eat what grows of its own accord. This is very similar to on the Sabbath. Yeshua and His disciples are walking through the field, and they are able to pluck and eat. They are just not out there harvesting. They are eating. They are not working the land; they are just eating what grows of its own.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:5-7
5 What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land.
6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you,
7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.
In other words, what that means is that yes you can eat the volunteer tomatoes and the volunteer apples and anything else that comes up by itself. We just cannot prune or go out with a bucket and a sickle and harvest it normally. So, we can eat in that Sabbath year. But now there are other blessings we explain in the chapter. But there are some very interesting things about the Jubilee (or the yovel).
If we remember from our teachings on Shavuot (or Pentecost), we are going to count seven sevens and then add one. So, the 50th day becomes Shavuot (or Pentecost). Some people try to turn that into a 49-day count. That does not work! We show that in The Torah Calendar study.
Now notice that the omer count also is seven times seven, plus one. Starting in verse 8 we see that the yovel (or the Jubilee) is counted the exact same way! We are to count seven sevens. I mean seven weeks of years. And then we add one more. 7 times 7 is 49, plus 1 is 50. And we know this because we declare the yovel in the 49th year at Yom Kippur. Then the 50th year is the actual yovel. The 50th year is the actual Jubilee.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:8-10
8 And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.
10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
And some teachers are mistakenly teaching a 49-year cycle for the yovelim (Jubilees). They count seven sevens, but they do not add one. Okay, well, they are skipping the second half of the Commandment. So, if you want to see a whole bunch of reasons (and we only picked the best ones and there are more!) but if you want to see a whole bunch of reasons why a 49-year jubilee cycle just does not work, then please read our study on the fatal “Errors in the 49-year Jubilee Cycle” count. And you can find that in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Three.
Now one thing to remain aware of is that in Vayiqra chapter 25 it talks about how to keep the Shemittah and the Jubilee years. Again, this is a Commandment that only technically pertains when we are inside the land. To be clear, technically the land rest is not compulsory outside the land of Israel. However, we are His people, we want to be His people, we want to be restored to our status. So even in the dispersion, should not we do as much of the Torah as we can? Should we do our utmost? I mean, we got removed from the land and kicked out for not obeying the whole of His Torah! So if we want to go back, should not we try obeying the whole of His Torah?
You know, even if there are things we cannot follow because we do not have a temple and there are some certain specifics that we cannot do, should we at least try to obey the principles and the precepts He gives us to follow?
Well, for those who have not read the Revelation studies, we have what we call the Egyptian Sequence of Eight. And Egypt was obviously the first Empire in that sequence. And then Assyria was the second of those Empires. And it is into Assyria that the House of Israel went and that of Judah who is sojourning with the House of Israel. Because Assyria also encroached into Judah’s territory. But then the third in the sequence was Babylon.
Now Babylon eventually took over from the Assyrians. That means the oldest Syrian Empire was gobbled up by the Babylonian Empire. So because of this, when we talk about those of us in Ephraim who went into the Assyrian captivity, we eventually got swallowed up by the Babylonian captivity. That is how we got to be in Babylon. And also that is how we got to be in mystery Babylon. We went into Assyria, got swallowed up by Babylon, and later mystery Babylon.
But if our goal is to leave the mystery Babylonian system and to return to Yahweh, and to begin walking in His ways, and we know that Yahweh’s laws and His statutes and His judgments and His ordinances are all very important to Him (because they provide us with a sense of order in our society), and when we choose to do what He says and we choose to make that kind of a living sacrifice (we choose to respond in order to do all that He says), do not we give Him a much better Witness?
I mean if our children look at us and say, “Well, they are reading this but they are doing that!”, what does that say? And what kind of a witness, what kind of example are we giving for our children? It is like they say, Live as if you wish your children would! Because they are going to see what you do and do not do! And if our ancestors were kicked out of the land for not keeping all of His Commandments as a whole, brothers and sisters! Should not we do as much of His Torah as we can do right now to show Him our sincerity? The Commandments of Yahweh, are not those good for us?
In Verse 18 Yahweh says that if our ancestors would guard (shomar or keep) His statutes and judgments and do them then that is when we would dwell in His land in safety! And He would take care of us! All kinds of good things are going to happen to us if we will take care to be His people!
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 25:18-19
18 ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety.
19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
Well Vayiqra 25 speaks about giving the land its Sabbath of rest so that it can be restored to its fruitfulness. The fullness of fruitfulness. That talks about restoring a poor brother who has lost his possessions. It talks about restoring a poor brother who had to sell his property. It talks about restoring a poor brother who is sold into bondage to a foreigner.
As we explain in the Torah Calendar study, we believe that Jubilee (or the yovel) is coming up around 2050 CE, plus or minus. We do not know exact dates. We just know sequences. We talk about the sequence in the Revelation study. And as long as I have been tracking the Revelation study the sequence is spot on (exact). So we do not know the times, but we do know the seasons. And we know the sequences. And that is about when we expect Yeshua to return is at Armageddon. Again, we show that in our study in Revelation and the End Times or Revelation Simplified on YouTube.
But the thing we all need to remember is that Yeshua is not coming for those of us who do not respond to His call. He is coming to choose those of us who choose to respond to His call. And who love Him, who want to help Him build His kingdom. He is coming for a helper bride, right? So, how do you find a helper bride except to look for those who are already helping Him? He is coming for His helper who is already trying to do everything He said, right? Because He is a Great King!
What does He want with a bride that is giving Him less than her best for? If you were a great king and you could choose anyone you wanted, you could choose any bride out there! Who are you going to choose? Are you going to choose one who chooses to serve you? Are you going to choose one who knows what you want but what they do is something else?
Brothers, sisters, is not it the case that all throughout Scripture Yahweh is always reminding us that we used to be slaves in Egypt? Or even after He redeemed us, because our forefathers continued in Disobedience we went into captivity again! We went into captivity in Syria, remnants of Assyria got swallowed up by the Babylonian Empire. Here we are.
But the thing is, the Babylonian system is going to come to an end at trumpet seven. We explain that in the study on Revelation. That is coming soon! It is coming before we know it! When it does come (and it is coming!) are we going to be not only ready to be redeemed from our captivity in Assyria and Babylon, are we going to be ready to be restored to Bridal status? To be restored to our homeland? Obeying all the rules this time? Because we did not last time! Are we repenting and are we returning to Him with all of our heart? And are we showing Him we want to be His helper? We want to be His helper bride! Are we truly showing Him that kind of a sacrifice He sees fit to let us come back into His land?
Or perhaps doing like our forefathers did, are we doing less than all His Commandments? And yet we think we are keeping all His Commandments when we are not really doing all His Commandments? Just like our ancestors?
The point is Redemption is not automatic restoration. It is not automatic! When Yahweh chooses to redeem us, we still need to choose restoration! We still need to choose to respond to His call and become His helper bride! Just expecting that Yahweh is going to forgive our sins and let us back in after time, that is not going to be, okay? We are not going to make it into land this time that way! So if we want to be one of the few who is chosen, then do not we need to choose to respond by showing Him some sincerity? Have we ever apologized to Him for not keeping all of His Commandments?
Brothers and sisters, we really need to face into this issue! And I get concerned for people because they are not facing into this issue! The issue is, are we showing Yahweh the love of keeping all of his Commandments?
You know, we can imagine a conversation between Father and Son. “Ephraim, son. You know, I paid your court fees. I paid your bail bond. I got you out of prison But this has got to stop! You are not even listening to Me! I keep trying to tell you, I need you to do everything I say. Not just the easy parts! Okay? But you are not even trying to help out around the house! And you rest, you read, you eat My food! If it is resting or reading, you are good! But do you ever lift a finger? Do you ever try to help out around the house? You know, are you going to change your ways? I redeemed you! Are you going to choose to be restored? Or are we headed for the wood shed, son?”
And this is Yahweh! He will do it! If we do not believe Yahweh’s word! We Ephraimites, what do we say?
“Hey Dad! Thanks so much! Thank you for your endless forgiveness and patience! Thank you so much for letting us rest and read and eat your good spiritual food! And never lift a finger to help! That just goes to show what a great, kingly kind of a guy you are! You know, we are back in the bride now, right? We are not helping but we are your helper, right? Because we know we are already pleasing to You! Even though we are not doing everything You said to do, right? You love us so much! You are going to perpetually let us pick and choose what parts of the Torah we want to keep, right?”
Well, it is the same exact thing in our Haftarah prophetic portion. We look at Yirmeyahu (or Jeremiah) chapter 32. What do we see?
We see Yahweh judging our ancestors for not doing everything He said while thinking they are doing so great! Thinking they are doing everything! They are not doing hardly anything!
Well, for some background, Jeremiah (or Yirmeyahu) was a prophet to the southern Kingdom of Judah. And he served during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem over 500 years before Yeshua. And his message was primarily for Judah but also for Israel or Ephraim.
We see where Yahweh brought our people out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great works of terror! And He gave us the land of which He swore to our fathers to give us. A land flowing with milk and honey. We get to be His special Bridal Nation! If we will just choose to obey everything!
In verse 23, we came in and took possession of the land. but our ancestors did not obey His voice and did not walk according to His Torah. Our ancestors did practically nothing of all He commanded us to do! All while thinking they were doing everything! just like today! Just like most of Ephraim! That is why He caused all this calamity to come upon our ancestors! That is why He says He is going to cause calamity to come upon us in our day! Because we are doing just like our ancestors!
We also are not helping build Elohim’s true spiritual Kingdom, thinking we are doing everything! We are resting. We are reading. What more could Yahweh possibly want? What more could Yeshua want from us? Like the Great Commission?
The Great Commission is not optional, brothers and sisters! If we are thinking we are going to please Elohim and we are not going to obey the Great Commission, we have got another thought coming!
And another thing we need to see is how brother Judah also did not realize that it is Yahweh who is ultimately in charge of all things! When King Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion was mounting, the message was clear! Turn back to Yahweh and King Nebuchadnezzar will no longer be a threat! King Nebuchadnezzar will not invade you! If you will obey Me, if you do what I say and take Me seriously, I will make King Nebuchadnezzar turn back!
He is Yahweh’s servant, King Nebuchadnezzar! Yeah! In a certain sense, parallels for today, it is a lot like those Christians who were rallying their call for President Trump. And then they go to this rally and then they go to that rally. And they go to this political meeting, and they want to turn the political climate back to the days of the American Revolution of 1776. And they are all for the Freedom Patriots! “And let us take our country back!” “Let us make America great again!”
They have no idea that they are just completely infected all the way through with the political leaven of Herod. They are focused on the politics of the situation instead of focusing upon repenting and turning back to Yahweh. So that He will make things go well.
He says that “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and take up arms, and cause a revolution…”
No! If we will turn to Him with all our hearts and do what He asks us to do!! He gave us the Torah because we could not hear and obey His voice. We just did not know how to do that! Just could not quite figure it out! So now He gives us a step-by-step program. If you just follow all the steps, you will make it all the way through.
“What happens if we do not follow all the steps? We still make it through, right?”
Maybe those who are focused on President Trump and the resistance and the Rebellion, they should read what is written in verse 28. Because in verse 28 Yahweh says King Nebuchadnezzar is doing His will. What does it mean that King Nebuchadnezzar is doing Yahweh’s will?
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 32:28
28 Therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
And in other verses Yahweh calls him King Nebuchadnezzar My servant. So why are our ancestors focused on combating an enemy that Yahweh Himself has raised up against them?
In various places Yeshua warns us against what He calls the leaven of Herod. What that means is seeking a political solution to a spiritual problem.
In verse 30 Yahweh said the reason He is sending King Nebuchadnezzar against the children of Israel and Judah is that we (the children of Israel or Ephraim) and the children of Judah have done only evil before Him from our youth! He says we provoked Him to anger with the work of our hands! We have done something other than what He told us to do.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 32:30
30 Because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says Yahweh.
The end of the chapter, starting in verse 36, Yahweh promises to take His wayward bride Ephraim back again! But notice this is only after millennia of being in the dispersion and Punishment due to our disobedience. Well, to get redeemed from Babylon, to get redeemed and then restored, that is going to take some obedience.
Why not let us turn back to Him? Why not let us show Him our sincerity by beginning to do the things that He says to do? Especially in this year of release?
So, what does He want us to be doing in this year of release? Well, in the year of release it is time for forgiveness of debts. Are we forgiving our debtors? Are we forgiving those who sin against us? It is the same thing every week. Are we diligently asking, seeking, and knocking so that we can hear His voice and then do everything He says to do?
And it is not just about our individual walk as individuals! It is about Him raising up and restoring the whole nation! Are we praying for that? Are we beginning to think as a nation? Do we understand this is our nation? Do we still have identities as with the nations? Do we still think of ourselves as Americans, or Gringos, or Latinos, or Europeans? Or are we thinking of ourselves as the nation of Ephraim? As the nation of Israel?
And are we taking care of our poor as a nation? Are we paying our third tithes so that we can take care of our poor as a nation?
We are not presently inside the land. But we have an opportunity to witness our faith. Are we taking care of the land and again, are we walking according to all of His commandments, all of His statutes, all of His ordinances, all of His judgments? So that when things go wrong, we look to Yahweh? Or do we march in support of President Trump and the Trumpian Revolution? Do we march to “Make America Great Again!”? Do we protest for a reformation of a Babylonian democratic government system?
What are we demanding allegiance to? Are we demanding allegiance to Yahweh and to His word? Or are we demanding allegiance to the constitution and our second amendment rights? Are we marching in support of Yahweh? Or are we marching in support of a Babylonian U.S constitution that is not found in Scripture?
Whether we realize it or not, these same kinds of issues are going on in Jeremiah 32. We have the leaven of Herod. People are looking for political solutions to what are effectively spiritual based problems. The thing is that we (their descendants) are having the exact same issues today. So what is our goal? Is our goal to become One Nation Under Yahweh following His word? Or is our goal to become One Nation Under Babylon rallying under the U.S Babylonian Constitution?
When the chips are down, who do we refer to? Do we refer to Yahweh? Or would we refer to the constitution? And if we refer to the constitution, then which one is truly our Elohim? The point is that if we want to be restored as His people then not only do we need to be redeemed but restored. We need to make some big changes. We are not going to be found acceptable ‘as is’.
To be found acceptable we need to repent of the entire Egyptian Babylonian system. And rather than referring to the world or to man-made documents, we need to begin referring to Scripture and paying attention to what Yahweh wants. That is what He says. Hear and obey His voice! And then we need to do things the way He says to do them! And not the way we feel free to do them! We need to give Him that honor. We need to give Him that glory.
As we continue to our Brit Chadasha portion, we see this is effectively the same exact message Yeshua is also saying. We come to Luqa (or Luke) Chapter 13. And we have a similar situation going on in the land in the first century. And brother Judah’s ancestors are closely related to our ancestors. We see that there are all kinds of bad things happening in the land. Problem is, they are looking to someone other than Yahweh as the cause. And so they are looking for someone other than Yahweh as the cure. This is a big problem. Because it means our ancestors or Judah’s ancestors did not fear Yahweh as we are all supposed to. They did not honor Yahweh as we are all supposed to. And again, we are closely related.
In Luqa (or Luke) chapter 13 and verse 1 there is talk going on in the first century about how Pontius Pilate had mingled the blood of certain Galilean Israelites in with their sacrifices. That is nasty!
Luqa (Luke) 13:1
1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Well the big question in the chapter is why did this happen? Well, we need to know the context. The whole point of the last two chapters was just how much Yahweh is in charge and just how much we are supposed to fear Yahweh and nothing else. Then in verse 3 Yeshua just comes right out and tells us if we do not do everything Yahweh says to do, we also likewise are going to perish.
Luqa (Luke) 13:3
3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Do we get what He is saying there? Do we believe what Yeshua says there?
Then the parable of the barren fig tree. We need to know that the vine represents Ephraim (or Israel) while the fig tree generally represents the southern Kingdom of Judah. Starting in verse 6, Yeshua makes it clear that those who are not bearing good fruit will be cut down! Yahweh’s been fertilizing us in Ephraim for a very long time now. Time’s up! We are entering into the end times! And do we in Ephraim imagine this can be any different for us and Ephraim than it was for Judah? Because is it equal weights and measures or not equal weights and measures?
Luqa (Luke) 13:6
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
In verse 23, Yeshua’s disciples ask Him a very frightening question! They must be looking around. Must be seeing what is going on. They do not see the witness. They say “Master, are there few who are saved?” And Yeshua’s answer is even more frightening! Yeshua tells us to “strive to enter in through the narrow gate”. He says “For many will seek to enter but will not be able.”
Luqa (Luke) 13:23-24
23 Then one said to Him, “Master, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Well, then Yeshua talks about all the Ephraimites and Jews and that they think they can just say “Oh Master, Master! Adon, Adon!” Then they are automatically restored to bridehood. As if eating and drinking His food in His presence and resting in His house is going to get us into the kingdom. Do we know an Ephraim-body like that? Do we know an Ephraim-body who you thinks he is this wonderful set-apart helper bride, but the only thing is that he not really helping? Do you know an Ephraim-body like that?
You know, the big takeaway in Parasha Behar is that Yahweh is fully and completely in charge. And Yahweh gives us all a mission to do through His Son. There is a job He wants us to do for Him! And if we will do what He says, then we will be His special set-apart treasure in all the Earth!
Yahweh gives us the Shemittah and the Jubilee as a means of taking care of our nation’s poor. Because the poor are a part of Yahweh’s system. So, Yahweh gives us special measures to take care of our poor in a set-apart way. The thing is, if we are not taking care of our nation’s poor, are we doing what Yahweh said? Or are we displeasing to Yahweh because we are not doing what He said?
“The Jubilees and the Shemittah”, I encourage everyone to read this study. These represent years of redemption and freedom from slavery. And then hopefully, hopefully make the choice to be restored as His set-apart helper bride. But to become His helper bride, do not we need to help Him? Maybe just a little bit, kind of sort of?
Because anyone can say they love Yeshua. But how many actually put their money in their hands where their mouth is? How else is Yeshua going to know that we truly have the heart to be a set-apart helper bride if He does not see the fruit? We are told to set up a global spiritual Kingdom for Yeshua whose increase will be without end! And it needs to last forever! And the Shemittah and the Jubilees are part of that global plan. Because a righteous government always needs a way to take care of its poor. And the Shemittah the Jubilee represent Yahweh’s redemption and hopefully restoration. Only if we do what He says!
Brothers and sisters. I do not know how many times we can say it. I do not know how many different ways we can say it. We have to make a living sacrifice. We need to choose to lay down this life in the world and pick up our cross (or our tree or our stake) and follow Him! At the end of the day we are going to have to serve someone. Either we are serving Yahweh Elohim or by default, basically, we are serving the world (or Babylon, or Satan, or Egypt). So are we doing the things our Bridegroom tells us He wants us to do? Or are we not yet doing them? Thinking we are going to receive those rewards?
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Because a word to the wise is sufficient.