A recognition of the Kingdom of God results in a lifestyle and emotional mindset guided by its principles.
A recognition of the Kingdom of God results in a lifestyle and emotional mindset guided by its principles.
Romans 14:17-18 – For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Messiah is acceptable to God and approved by men.
The apostle Paul uttered this statement in the midst of his instruction on not passing judgment on one another within the collective of believers, specifically in regard to food and drink. This was a divisive issue within that first-century generation due to practices of idol worship in the local marketplace and traditions that had been carried over from their Jewish upbringing of those who came to believe in Messiah.
But in this teaching, Paul is trying to stress how the real issues that should be the focus of their lifestyle was not arguing over traditions of men, but their focus should be on the righteousness, peace, and joy that they share through the Spirit of God in believing in Messiah.
Righteousness is a primary indicator of the kingdom because it means acting according to the principles that God affirms are “right.” These principles were to stem from his revealed will in his Word, not from the traditions of men that were based on appearances, or the influences of the idolatrous culture among which they lived.
Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Peace is an indicator of the kingdom because the gospel of the kingdom is about peace: peace that God provides through faith in Messiah, and peace between men that comes about when we die to ourselves and live for others. As God is a God of peace, peace should be evident in our lives as well.
Romans 14:19 – So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
Romans 15:33 – May the God of peace be with all of you. Amen.
Joy is an indicator of the kingdom because there is a recognition that God has fulfilled his promises to his people. Those who are privileged to participate in the kingdom are relieved from the burden of their sinfulness and are empowered by God’s Spirit to serve him “acceptably, with reverence and awe.” Believers have hope that the world does not share, because their hope is in something larger and more permanent than anything in this world.
Hebrews 12:28 – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe…
Romans 15:13 – Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of God is intended to provide a balanced worldview which results in righteousness, peace, and joy because this is God’s desire for all people. The hope we share as believers in Messiah is that this kingdom will become evident throughout the world as we continue to faithfully and joyfully live by its principles.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Whenever we exercise compassion, it never goes unnoticed by God.
Whenever we exercise compassion, it never goes unnoticed by God.
As Yeshua taught about the principles of righteousness in his Sermon on the Mount, he extolled the virtues of privately demonstrating compassion to those in need.
Matthew 6:1-4 – “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
One of the things we can learn from this passage is that God the Father can see what is done in secret. This realization alone has staggering consequences in the life of the believer. There is no time in our lives that God is not witness to. This is a principle that is present throughout the Bible, and has been an accepted reality among God’s people at all times.
When Samuel was tasked with identifying the king of Israel after the rejection of Saul, he approached the family of Jesse and reviewed his sons one by one.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 – When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly Yahweh’s anointed one is here before him.” But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what Yahweh sees, for humans see what is visible, but Yahweh sees the heart.”
David himself recognized this was the reality of the believer before Yahweh in all of life.
Psalm 139:1-6 – Yahweh, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Yahweh. You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
The writer to the Hebrew congregation likewise describes this familiarity that God has over all.
Hebrews 4:12-13 – For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
While those who don’t know God might be taken aback by this level of transparency before God at all times, this should not be a point of contention or frustration, but one of rejoicing. If we are living before him with integrity and compassion, then we should not be ashamed of our private thoughts and interactions with others. Just as in marriage the husband and wife are familiar with each other’s personalities, habits, and quirks in private, so God understands the even the deepest layers of motivation that lie at the root of all of our thoughts and actions.
While no one enjoys their selfish or petty inclinations to be known, there is some comfort in knowing that the good that we do that may go unrecognized by others is still known to the One who searches our hearts. This is the very deepest core of our faith, as God has always desired for us to act sincerely and genuinely from the heart in all matters, and to do so in accordance with his instruction.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”
But when we are disobedient to him, we tend to want to hide from his presence, just as Adam and Eve did.
Genesis 3:6, 8 – The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. … Then the man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
However, when we begin to live out his Word from the heart, then there should be no need to feel ashamed before him. We should take comfort that God considers even the smallest things we do as having consequence for his kingdom and glory. That the God of the Universe knows each of us by name and cares about our actions and our intentions is a staggering thought. Like David, we cannot begin to comprehend how or why this can even be possible.
Psalm 8:3-4 – When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?
So when we demonstrate compassion to others, this is not something to be taken lightly. The world may not recognize when we expend effort and resources on behalf of others, but God does. Yeshua instructed his hearers that God also takes action on behalf of those who do act compassionately in unseen ways. This is not compassion for the sake of shallow recognition by others, but compassion from the heart, just as God has intended all along.
Matthew 6:4 – “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Believers recognize that the justice of God is real, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to pursue reconciliation at all times.
Believers recognize that the justice of God is real, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to pursue reconciliation at all times.
Psalm 120:5-7: “Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.”
The psalmist is decrying his situation among those who are brutal as the nation of Meshech and idolatrous as the people of Kedar. These were surrounding nations from the nation of Israel known for their barbarous traits, and the psalmist uses their names as epithets for the wickedness of those who would oppose him.
His stance before Yahweh, though, is that he is for peace, and even though that is what he speaks, it is responded to with further aggression. Ani Shalom, the phrase “I am for peace,” illustrates the author’s intent with those who oppose him. To be for peace is to be a reconciler, someone who seeks to find the common ground between themselves and those who would oppose them. Yet, despite his best intentions and efforts, it appears that his enemies continue to battle against him.
To this ongoing aggression, the psalmist can only resort to the justice of God.
Psalm 120:1-4 – In my distress I called to Yahweh, and he answered me. “Yahweh, rescue me from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.” What will he give you, and what will he do to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows with burning charcoal!
This is in line with the biblical principle of allowing room for the vengeance of God, but only after we have made unmitigated advances toward reconciliation and peace. So many times, we are quick to call down the judgment of God on those who are at odds with our purposes and plans, only to find that God expects us to at least make honest attempts at reconciliation prior to releasing the situation to his vengeance.
Romans 12:19-21 – Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says Yahweh. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
The apostle Paul here is encouraging believers to do the hard thing first by going above and beyond for one’s enemies, and never to pursue revenge based on personal grievance. Our role as believers in Yahweh is to seek peace at all costs, and only then will the justice of God be realized amidst those who are adversarial. Ani Shalom, “I am for peace,” should be the phrase on every believer’s lips.
Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Exhibiting true faith in God provides him the means with which to be glorified in ways beyond our imagination.
Exhibiting true faith in God provides him the means with which to be glorified in ways beyond our imagination.
The prophet Samuel was one of the greatest prophets to arise in ancient Israel. His mother, Hannah, was a woman of great faith. Even though she had been childless for many years, she steadfastly trusted in Yahweh through the depth of the emotional trauma she experienced at lacking the ability to conceive.
1 Samuel 1:10-11 – She was deeply distressed and prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
This is the prayer of someone of great faith. Hannah was placing all of her trust in the One whom she knew could provide for her deepest need, even though she could not yet see the results of that faith. In the anguish of her heart, she prayed silently but earnestly in the presence of the Eli, the high priests at that time, who inadvertently thought she was muttering to herself due to drinking.
1 Samuel 1:15-17 – But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before Yahweh. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”
Hannah replied to Eli that she had been “pouring out her soul” before Yahweh. The Hebrew phrase means to spill over, or gush out. This describes the intensity with which she prayed to God, and exhibits the depth of the anguish in her very soul.
I can recall in my own life only a handful of times where I have prayed with a similar level of intensity. Yet it was in those times of my deepest anguish that I also felt closest to the presence of God. God seems to reward our honesty within ourselves with his own presence; when all of our defenses are broken down and we are left alone with only the bare root of some raw emotion. It is as if the intensity of our experience and the diminishment of self somehow thins the veil between the natural and the supernatural, and suddenly we somehow sense his presence, even though he is always there. This type of deep communion with God when we have reached the end of ourselves is the most honest expression of faith. In Hannah’s case, it resulted in the granting of her desire for a son.
1 Samuel 1:20 – And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from Yahweh.”
This event so strongly influenced Hannah that she could only rejoice in the blessing of receiving what she had asked for.
1 Samuel 2:1-2 – And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh; my horn is exalted in Yahweh. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like Yahweh: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
I believe it was this intensity of Hannah’s’ faith that provided the foundation for Samuel to become one of the strongest and most influential prophets Israel had ever known. Her practical experience of God’s providential working in her life set the tone that allowed her to guide and direct the small boy Samuel to God’s service in the tabernacle. Her faith spilled over into the blank canvas of her son’s life which then resulted in the establishment of a kingdom and the oversight of the direction of an entire ancient nation.
We must never underestimate the influence of our sincere faith as it affects the lives around us in ways that God can use for his purpose and glory, and in ways that we may not even be able to fathom. This is how faith in God can move mountains.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
A faithful tribe created the pattern of intercession, reverent peace, and knowledge to turn others from iniquity.
A faithful tribe created the pattern of intercession, reverent peace, and knowledge to turn others from iniquity.
Malachi 2:5-7 – “My covenant with him [Levi] was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.”
Out of all of the tribes of ancient Israel, the tribe of Levi was entrusted with the ministry of the priesthood. Moses and Aaron were Levites, and the high priesthood remained within the specific line of Aaron, while the remaining priestly duties were distributed amongst the rest of the Levites.
Many today who are believers in Messiah consider themselves to be a type of priesthood because of a very famous passage written by the apostle Peter.
1 Peter 2:9-10 – But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
As always, it’s important to maintain the context and audience relevance of a passage to better understand its meaning. In this case, this passage was written to a specific group (or groups) of people almost two thousand years ago. The people that Peter was writing to are listed as “those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Yeshua Messiah.”
According to the Cambridge Bible commentary:
“Literally, taking the words in their Greek order, to the elect sojourners of the dispersion. The last word occurs in the New Testament in John 7:35 and James 1:1, and in the Apocrypha in 2 Ma 1:27. It was used as a collective term for the whole aggregate of Jews who, since the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, had been scattered in Asia and elsewhere.”
These were the descendants of Israelites who had been scattered throughout the known world 750 years earlier, when the Assyrians had taken the northern ten tribes captive and intermixed them among all of the people they ruled over at that time. We know this is the case based on Peter’s reference from the prophecy of Hosea. This prophecy of Hosea spoke about how God would reject his people for their disobedience, scatter them among the nations, but then again he would restore them and call them sons of God.
Hosea 1:9-10 – Then Yahweh said: Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And in the place where they were told: You are not my people, they will be called: Sons of the living God.
In the minds of the disciples, this prophesied restoration and reunification of the tribes was taking place before their eyes.
1 Peter 2:10 – Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
This is why Peter could call those people a priesthood; they were the descendants of the Israelites who had stood at the foot of Mount Sinai 1500 years earlier.
Exodus 19:1, 5-6 – In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai Wilderness. … “Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, “and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.‘ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
All of the Israelites were not Levites, but the Levites were only representatives of the nation before God, just as the nation was representative of God before the rest of the world.
But this is not a condition of race or ancestry, but one of faith. There were non-Israelites also present at Mount Sinai who were included in that holy nation of the kingdom of priests.
Exodus 12:37-38 – The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand able-bodied men on foot, besides their families. A mixed crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds.
God was creating a new thing, a nation out of all nations that would be called to represent him in the world. It was made up of his people chosen out of all the nations. This is why this passage comes to have important meaning to believers in Messiah. Just like those ragged folk standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, God is now calling people from all nations to join the kingdom of God. This is made possible through faith in his Messiah, his representative king. Faith in the Messiah allows believers to participate in a type of priesthood, a representation of God to the rest of the world.
As such, we are commissioned just as Levi was to be a people of integrity. The same qualities that were evident in the ancient tribe of Levi as related by Malachi should be evident in us today.
He revered God and stood in awe of his name.
True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips.
He walked with God in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of Yahweh.
If we are to take our walk with Messiah seriously, we should consider that we represent all that God wants to convey to the world. We can intercede on behalf of others and provide true instruction to all people. Most importantly, we must walk in integrity and peace; this is how others will be turned from iniquity.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Messiah purchased a people and delivered an eternal kingdom to his Father, the God of the universe.
Messiah purchased a people and delivered an eternal kingdom to his Father, the God of the universe.
I believe one of the reasons the gospel of the kingdom is so misunderstood today is because people fail to see that the kingdom is all about authority. If there is a kingdom, there is a king, and if there is a king, then that king has authority. So to admit that there is a kingdom of God is to admit that God has authority to rule and reign over all kingdoms.
I have mentioned before that most people who consider themselves believers in the Bible would likely view this eventuality of God ruling all nations as a future event. However, I am in a minority of those who consider this to be a current fact, a fact that will remain so for all time and eternity.
In the absolute sense, he is God, after all, and therefore has in a primary sense always ruled all of his Creation. However, in a specific sense, God had, through ancient Israel, prepared a people who would become his representatives and light of instruction to the rest of the world. There was a point in time when he began an earthly kingdom through Moses and David up to the time of Messiah. It was then that another aspect of the kingdom, a spiritual one, was to be enacted to fulfill the earthly model, and then to remain into eternity.
Yeshua repeatedly urged the people to be repentant of their own ways because of the nearness of the impending spiritual kingdom of God, and how it was to be earnestly sought after even in those days.
Matthew 4:17 – From then on Yeshua began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 5:10 – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
As the fulfillment of all of Israel’s hopes and prophecies, Yeshua stood as the promised seed of Abraham who was the true King of Israel, faithfully representing God the Father in all his ways.
John 12:50 – “… So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
Galatians 3:16 – Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ.
John 1:49 – “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel! “
John 12:12-13 – The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh – the King of Israel! “
Yeshua ruled and reigned as the true king as God’s Son, inaugurated in his resurrection to the right hand of the Father.
Acts 13:32-34 – “And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Yeshua, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father. As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David.
This was the fulfillment of Psalm 110, one of the most repeated prophetic statements applied to Messiah in all of the New Testament.
Psalm 110:1 – This is the declaration of Yahweh to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Messiah had to reign at God’s right hand until his enemies, the unfaithful Jewish leaders and apostate Jews who had fallen from their own God-given belief system, were dealt with. This occurred at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when Jerusalem and the physical temple system was destroyed, never to be rebuilt. It was then, having achieved the victory over his enemies, that Yeshua handed the kingdom back over to the Father, as had been prophesied.
1 Corinthians 15:24-28 – Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
Since his enemies have been destroyed, the kingdom has reverted to God the Father. As the passage above from Paul relates, the last enemy that was to be abolished was death. This was evidenced through the destruction of his enemies. This is the good news of the kingdom! Death has been abolished! For believers, there is no cessation of existence at physical death! This was the great message of faith in Messiah.
John 11:25-26 – Yeshua said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? “
The authority of God has been firmly established for all eternity by his Messiah accomplishing all that the Father sent him to do. God now rules and reigns over all nations, illustrated by the idealized city of Zion, the New Jerusalem, reigning over all the kings of the earth.
Revelation 21:10, 24, 26 – He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, … The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. … They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
This is the God whom we serve, the authority over all the earth, King of the earthly and spiritual kingdom once for all fused into eternal unity through his Messiah, Yeshua.
Revelation 22:17 – Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come! ” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come! ” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
The Ten Commandments are intended to be the guidance of our actions through the transforming of our hearts.
Core of the Bible podcast #86 – A renewed heart will abide within the Kingdom law
Today we will be looking at the topic of the kingdom, and how the commands of the kingdom charter, the Ten Commandments, are intended to be the guidance of our actions through the transforming of our hearts.
Matthew 5:21-22 – “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”
Within the natural or physical kingdom of God of ancient Israel, it was necessary to establish rules and safeguards for the population. For a private individual to purposely take the life of another for personal reasons was forbidden, and an offense for which the natural judgment of capital punishment was necessitated for the good of the community.
However, Yeshua uses this basic tenet of the kingdom charter, the Ten Commandments, as a way of elevating the principle to include any intended act of unrighteous anger toward another. In one sense, just as some thought is necessary before an action, any act of murder begins with unrighteous anger towards another. By highlighting and restricting the offense of the emotion, the act will not be carried out. Therefore, to prevent murder, one must eliminate the unrighteous anger behind the action.
Stated another way, as Yeshua points out, the judgment that an individual could face by committing murder could equally be leveled by God against the emotion. The action starts there, so the ultimate judgment would apply there, as well.
This would have been a revolutionary way for Yeshua to be confronting the Jewish leaders with their own practices, and he knew it would have a condemning effect; that was the point. They were so focused on practicing the letter of the law that they were violating just about every intent of it.
For example, Yeshua confronted them many times on the hypocrisy of their actions, and how, as the recognized leaders within the wider Jewish community, they should have been setting the proper standards as leaders of integrity and faithfulness. Instead, they had become corrupted by their positions of authority, and mostly used their influence for personal agendas.
Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!”
In a parallel passage in the gospel of Luke, Yeshua continues his rant against the religious establishment.
Luke 11:46, 52 – Then he said: “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers. … Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were trying to go in.”
These are only excerpts from the denunciations that Yeshua levels against the leaders. However, these hypocritical actions highlighted by Yeshua can be summarized within one specific charge that he expresses by using two successive examples for repeated emphasis.
Matthew 23:25-28 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
In the context of all that Yeshua condemned the leaders for, this primary condemnation has to do with the appearance on outside versus the reality on the inside. They had been focused on the outward cleanliness of the cup and dish, but the insides were still dirty. Tombs can look beautiful on the outside, but the reality on the inside is that they are full of corrupted bodies and bones. This is the same principle we have been exploring from his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5: 21-22 – “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…”
According to Yeshua here, the true intent of the command not to murder is to reach to the emotion underlying the act. By condemning the inner emotion, the outward act is eliminated, and the command is enhanced. In essence, Yeshua is saying, “While everyone knows that murder subjects you to judgment, I tell you, in God’s eyes, the same applies to unchecked emotions. Therefore, do not call someone a fool or an idiot or be unrighteously angry with anyone.”
While this teaching may have seemed revolutionary at the time, it would only have been so because of the leaders’ disregard of the full instruction of Torah or God’s Word on this matter. This principle was taught in the Psalms and Proverbs.
Psalm 37:8 – Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
Proverbs 14:16-17 – A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool is easily angered and is careless. A quick-tempered person acts foolishly, and one who schemes is hated.
As the teachings of Yeshua were passed on to his disciples and the message of God’s kingdom spread, the disciples carried with them the teaching of God’s Word as exemplified by the teachings of Messiah. John captured this same principle in his first epistle.
1 John 2:9, 11 – “The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. … But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
1 John 3:15 – “Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”
1 John 4:20 – “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
John speaks to this issue by pointing to the consequences of inner hatred of others: darkness, murder, lying, not demonstrating love of God. These are all the negative aspects of a life that is lived with only an outward appearance of religiosity but not being sincerely lived from the heart motives underneath. This is what Yeshua condemned the Jewish leaders for, and what we stand condemned of if we also are hypocritical in our faith. The final result of these actions and motives is only judgment and death.
So far, we have looked at the judgment not only of actions but of the motives behind those actions. In a moment, we will look at the opposite of judgment and death, the life and blessings that can be the result of the renewed heart in the life of a believer.
If judgment is the result of the combination of the emotion and the action, then conversely, a blessing can be inferred from the inverse emotion and action combination. For example, if the command is to not murder or even be angry with anyone, and if we do the opposite by not being unrighteously angry with anyone at any time and instead safeguard the lives and interests of others, this will result in a blessing both for them and for us. The action flows from the intention and inner emotion, and when the inner intent is good, the actions will be good. This is how Yeshua taught that a tree (its inner goodness or badness) will be known (demonstrated) by its fruit (its actions).
Paul goes a little deeper into this process and provides the reasoning why inner bitterness should not be a part of the believer’s life.
Ephesians 4:31-32 – “Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Messiah.”
If we have truly been forgiven in Messiah, then our hearts should reflect that newness because of the recognition of God’s forgiveness in our lives. Paul refers to this characteristic as the “new man” or the “new self.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, they are a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Ephesians 4:20-24 – “But that is not how you came to know Messiah, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Yeshua, to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”
Colossians 3:8-10 – “But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.”
When the inner desires and motive are captive to God’s will, it is then that the true intent of God’s commands will be fulfilled in our outward actions, resulting in blessing, not judgment. This was the whole goal of the new covenant of the kingdom that was spoken about by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
Jeremiah 31:33 – “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” – Yahweh’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”
This new living heart of flesh has been God’s plan all along, and had only become corrupted into a heart of stone when the letter of the law was put above the spirit of it. The apostle Paul teaches this principle to the Corinthian congregation.
2 Corinthians 3:6 – “He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Paul then goes on to list the supremacy of the law of the spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8 – “Now if the ministry that brought death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to gaze steadily at Moses’s face because of its glory, which faded, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?”
The Ten Commandments were engraved by the finger of God in stone. In Paul’s line of reasoning throughout his epistles, the commands themselves, while holy and good, stir up within us the opposite intent by inciting us to the very thing they are intended to avoid.
Romans 7:10-13 – “The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.”
The violation of any of the commands results in a type of death. We cannot truly serve God through only the letter of the law; this is what the Pharisees and scribes were guilty of. We saw this earlier in the passage in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.”
They were so intent on being obedient to the physical law of tithing that they focused on the physical minutia and were oblivious to the larger intent behind those laws resulting in justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Instead of their obedience to the law resulting in life, their outward conformity without inward spiritual motivation resulted in only death.
Going back to Paul’s analogy with Moses and the Ten Commandments is that if the stone commandments were powerful enough to cause Moses’ face to physically shine with glory, albeit only temporarily, how much more will the application of the inner spiritual motives of those commands cause believers to shine even more gloriously for all eternity? This is the whole point of the law: to lead us to the new covenant of the kingdom in Messiah, in whom the fullness of the law through the Spirit of God, enabling those inner motives to truly conform to his will, is revealed. The law is not done away; as Paul writes, it is “holy and just and good.” But what I believe he is trying to convey is that the letter of the law, empty of the power of the Spirit of God, is what has faded away. In its place, through Messiah, is a renewed heart that is enabled to keep that same law through the empowerment of God’s Spirit. This is the message of Jeremiah and Ezekiel; this is the gospel of the kingdom!
We do well to keep in mind that the physical kingdom of ancient Israel was the template, the basis, for the universal and spiritual kingdom of God. As such, the principles in place then, such as the command not to murder, are still in force in the universal kingdom.
However, through the instruction of Yeshua within the gospel of the kingdom, he highlighted how they are enhanced further. This was the meaning and the promise of the law being placed on the heart of the believer within the universal kingdom. If the heart has been renewed, then no law will be violated. In effect, if all of the actions come from a renewed heart of righteousness, then the law will be kept perfectly.
This is the goal that Yeshua came to express. This was the intent of the gospel of the kingdom, and why it was considered good news! As believers, we have been freed from the condemnation and death of the natural law without the Spirit, because the law placed on our heart and empowered by the Spirit ensures we are acting with true motives and abiding within the instruction of God for all time.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Our gracious actions towards others are a reflection of the graciousness which has been extended to us by God.
Our gracious actions towards others are a reflection of the graciousness which has been extended to us by God.
When Yeshua taught his disciples to be forgiving, it was not some new principle that they had never been aware of before. It was something that he emphasized was important for them to practice, since their Father in heaven practiced it. If they were to be considered his children, they should likewise exhibit his characteristics.
We would be hard pressed to find a more stark example of this forgiving nature of God than to review the life of one of the most notorious kings of Judah: Manasseh.
2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 9 – Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that Yahweh had dispossessed before the Israelites. … So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations Yahweh had destroyed before the Israelites.
Manasseh was so enamored with idolatry that the text says he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit greater abominations than even the original Canaanites whom God had Israel conquer because of the horrific nature of their detestable practices. You may recall that when Moses was preparing the Israelites to take the land, he reminded them at that time why God was doing this.
Deuteronomy 9:4 – “When Yahweh your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘Yahweh brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ Instead, Yahweh will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
God had used Israel as a cleansing, purifying force to clean the land of the impurities of the wicked practices of the Canaanites. Here in the Chronicles, it is recorded that Manasseh was so idolatrous it was worse than the original idolatry that caused God to raise up the army of the Israelites in the first place. So, as it turns out, God had to resort to a similar strategy to once again demonstrate justice against a nation of rebellious idolaters.
2 Chronicles 33:10-13 – Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they didn’t listen. So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he sought the favor of Yahweh his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to him, and Yahweh was receptive to his prayer. He granted his request and brought him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom. So Manasseh came to know that Yahweh is God.
Even though Manasseh had become so depraved, he finally came to his senses, but only after God had raised up the Assyrians to come against them for their rebellious idolatry. But even so, it appears to have been a sincere repentance, and we know this because of the actions that Manasseh demonstrated after coming to truly realize that Yahweh is God when he was restored to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 33:15-16 – He removed the foreign gods and the idol from Yahweh’s temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of Yahweh’s temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. He built the altar of Yahweh and offered fellowship and thank offerings on it. Then he told Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel.
There is great comfort in knowing that even in the depths of some of the most heinous idolatry, God honors those who repent and turn to him. Manasseh’s repentant spirit provided him the opportunity to make amends and to do his best in correcting the wrongs that he had committed. Not everyone gets that opportunity. Sometimes the people we have wronged have moved on or have died, and we have no physical way to reconcile with them. At other times our situation may have changed so dramatically that it we cannot correct the wrongs that have occurred.
But the example of Manasseh should teach us at least one most important principle: God is willing to forgive when we are sincerely repentant of the errors of our ways. It is then that we can learn obedience to do whatever we can to make amends to those who may have been hurt by us, but also to maintain a sense of forgiveness that we have received toward those who would seek the same from us. Experiencing this depth of true forgiveness from God allows us to extend that same type of forgiveness to others.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Peace indeed can be elusive, but when our priorities are in the right place, we find it becomes part of our lives without striving for it.
Peace indeed can be elusive, but when our priorities are in the right place, we find it becomes part of our lives without striving for it.
Matthew 6:34 – “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
I need to consistently learn this lesson over and over. How easy it is to get consumed with thoughts of upcoming events and situations that can create stress and anxiety, even though they haven’t occurred yet.
Isaiah 26:3-4 – You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in Yahweh forever, because in Yahweh, Yahweh himself, is an everlasting rock!
The mind that recognizes it is dependent on God, that is established on and supported by the reality that God is above all, is a mind that can be at peace in any situation. The key is to have ultimate priorities in the right order.
Isaiah 26:8 – Yes, Yahweh, we wait for you in the path of your judgments. Our desire is for your name and renown.
Isaiah states it as ensuing that the name of Yahweh is honored and his glory is magnified in our lives. When we focus on those things, we can be at peace.
Yeshua taught that we should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (earthly needs that we stress out over) will be provided. If this is truly the case, then why should we worry at all about anything?
I think our stresses come in when we not only desire to have our needs met, but to be met in a certain way of our own choosing. We may define our “needs” as a certain income level, or type of work, or place to live. When those things aren’t evident in our lives in the way that we would like them to be, we somehow think that God isn’t able to meet our needs. In reality, we may have unrealistic expectations about those things, and God is not obligated to meet our desires when we trust in him, only our needs.
Yeshua taught that we should seek not only God’s kingdom as a priority, but his righteousness as a part of that kingdom. Righteousness is the ability and practice of doing what’s right in God’s eyes. I believe most of the struggles we face may stem from our own internal recognition of not living lives consistent with the righteousness of God. We see conflict with what we say we believe and what we actually do, and this can cause an underlying tension, slowly and methodically eating away at our peace.
However, when we do seek first his kingdom and righteousness as the appropriate priorities, and when we seek to honor him and magnify his name as his representatives, his children in this world, it is then we can take our focus off of the unknowns of the future or the missteps of the past to spend our attention and energy on today. When we realize that each day is a gift that is given to us (because we have no ability within ourselves to guarantee any type of future at all), then we can be better stewards of the time that we do have each day. This is not to say we should not plan for the future at all, but that we should not spend the majority of our time stressing over what has not even occurred yet (or may not occur at all) at the expense of honoring God with the strength we have today.
Striving for peace is almost the surest way to ensure it ever eludes us. However, striving for God’s kingdom, honor, and glory day by day brings a peace that slips in unnoticed, yet radiates down to our core. It is then that we are whole.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
The ancient practice of Israel regarding the Day of Atonement is rooted in the depths of the Torah.
The ancient practice of Israel regarding the Day of Atonement (Yom haKippurim) is rooted in the depths of the Torah.
Leviticus 16:29-31 – “This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.”
Yom Kippur differs from Passover (Pesach) in that Pesach represents God redeeming his first born people from out of slavery, while Yom Kippur was meant to cleanse and purify sin from the nation. The redemption accomplished at Pesach set the people free from their forced obligation to unwillingly serve the harsh taskmasters of Egypt. God “paid the price” as it were so their indebtedness to slavery was removed and those who sought to drag them back to slavery were wiped out in the Red Sea. But at Yom Kippur, any collective sin that may have been unaccounted for throughout the year was removed from them through the symbolic act of a representative goat that was sacrificed and of a second live goat bearing their sin into the wilderness. As these acts were concluded, the people were to consider themselves cleansed and pure for service to God once again.
Both of these holidays on the biblical calendar balance each other out. One must be delivered from oppression in order to act freely. Yet, with that freedom comes the ability to act rebelliously, wherein a secondary cleansing process is provided to remove that potential sin from the community. In this way, there is no excuse before God as to why an individual might act in defiance to God’s word. He has provided the redemption price from unwilling servitude to sin (represented by Egypt/Pharaoh) and he has also provided the means of ongoing cleansing from inadvertent rebellious acts (due to freedom) through the dual goats at Yom Kippur. Both of these days represent the symbolic work of Messiah Yeshua for the nation of Israel and any who would also place their faith in him. Yeshua became the symbolic ransom of Pesach and also the ongoing cleansing of sin symbolized in the goat ceremony at Yom Kippur.
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 – For there is one God, [and] one mediator also between God and men, [the] man Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony [given] at the proper time.
Hebrews 9:24-26 – For Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us. He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
On the day of atonement, one goat was sacrificed, while another had the sins of the nation pronounced upon it and was sent alive out into the wilderness to remove sin from the community. This duality was fulfilled in the imagery provided by not only the death of Messiah as the King of Israel, but also his resurrection to the right hand of the Father as the first-born son of God.
To the common believer in ancient Israel, it required trust in God to know that they were not only ransomed from involuntary solitude at Pesach, but also that their sins were removed from them at Yom Kippur. The work of God among his people has always been by faith.
Romans 1:16-17 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed–a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Messiah’s sacrificial obedience to the Father not only fulfilled these foreshadowing biblical types, but also demonstrated a life that was yielded 100% by faith to the purpose of God and his kingdom coming to this earth. Our faith in observing these days represents our commitment to God and our faith in him. Setting these days aside to reflect on the marvelous provision of God for his people is representative of our love for him.
Of course, there are no longer any actual animal sacrifices that can be (or should be performed). However, what remains is the potential for our own sacrificial obedience to his word. Observing biblical sabbaths revealed in God’s word is an act of faith, just as it was for the ancient Israelites. It should not be a matter of obligation or duty, but a desire from the heart to recount his faithfulness in these past events and to memorialize these events for our families and future generations within the ever-growing kingdom of God.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
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