“Therefore, every Torah scholar 

 (Scribe) discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a

house who brings out of its storeroom new treasures as well as old” (Matthew 13:52 -TLV)
 
Parsha Behar –Behukotai (“On Mount – In My statutes”)
Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34
                                                                                                                     Behar
Jeremiah 32:6-27
Luke 4:16-21; I Corinthians 7:21-24; Galatians 6:7-10
Bechukoshi
Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
John 14:15-21; 15:10-12; I John
                                                                          By Ron Warren
 
(NOTE: This is a double Parsha and it is long. You might want to print it out - Ron)
 
The Parshas Outlines
This is the Outline of the Parshas
Behar
Leviticus 25:1-7      - Sabbath of the Seventh Year [Year of Rest]
Leviticus 25:8-12    - Year of the Jubilee
Leviticus 25:12-34  - The Land-Owning & Economic Mitzvot w/year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:35-55  - Work and what is permitted on Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 26:1-2      - No Idolatry, keep Sabbath
Bechukoshi
Leviticus 26:3-13    - Blessings by Following the Torah
Leviticus 26:14-46  - Hardships for Disobeying the Torah
Leviticus 27:1-34      - “NEDER VOW” - Vow concerning Property, Land, & Animals

God's Sabbath Rest

It is written in Leviticus 25:1-2, “ADONAI spoke to Moshe  on Mount Sinai; he said, "Tell the people of
Israel, 'When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to observe a Shabbat rest for ADONAI.”
 
The text begins with the interesting phrase “And Adonai spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai.” This scripture is
evidence that more was communicated to Moses on Sinai than the words given in the book of Exodus.
 
The idea that the Sages own teachings were given to Moses at Sinai is stretching the concept too far, but
this opening line shows that the five books of Moses reveal, to one extent or another, what God related
to him on the mountain.
 
Ownership or Lease?
While it is true that God gave the Land of Canaan to Abraham, it was not an outright transfer of
ownership. God retained ownership of Canaan, and instead gave Abraham’s seed (Israel) a long-term
lease; a “forever” lease, although it has a temporary eviction for breaking the lease terms is also part of
the deal.
 
In verse 2 it says, “When you enter this land I am giving [nathan] you…”, The Hebrew word used for
giving is nathan…. and the sense of the word is bestowed, given, added to you, apportioned to you, a
gift, something assigned to you or set apart for you.  Nathan does not indicate a transfer of ownership as
something given to you to use as THOUGH it were yours.
 
It is like being President of the United States: you don’t own the presidency; that belongs to the people.
Each president is only holding the office for a time. This example is the same as the land being given to
Abraham as a lease, not as a sale. Adonai retained ownership but Israel got the use of it.
 
Why is this critical Bible principle of land tenure, possessing something that is not yours to own,
important?
What Israel held in Joshua’s day and holds today, is NOT perpetual ownership of the Land of Israel;
rather they have a perpetual lease.
 
When the HaMotzi  (the blessing before we eat) is said, we affirm each time that the food we are about to
eat belongs to God and He has graciously given it to us for our sustenance. To eat as though the food is
actually ours by not saying the berachah (blessing) and acknowledge that it has come from God is to
rob God of it.
Why?
We neglect to affirm His ownership of what we are about to eat.
 
Shemittah
It is written in Leviticus 25:3-7, “For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards
and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the
Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the
grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the
sabbath year will be food for you--for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker
and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your
land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.”
 
This process of the seventh year of the rest for the land is known as “Shemittah.”
 
Moses wants all who read this passage in the writing of Leviticus to know that while the information was
not communicated to the people when instruction was given regarding the Shemittah, it nonetheless was
given on Sinai and carries equal authority with the instructions previously given.
 
Another key term of the leasehold agreement, expressed in the covenants of Abraham and Moses,
concerning the land is that Israel is only to make the land itself work and produce six out of every seven
years.
 
Just as Adonai “worked” for six days when He created our Universe, and then ceased on the seventh
day, so the Israelites must ask the land to work for six years and then allow it to cease working on the
seventh.
 
This Shabbat was not for the Israelites, but for the rest of the land itself. The Shabbat year was for the
benefit of the land, not the Hebrews.
 
Jubilee
It is written in Leviticus 25:8-10, "'Count off seven sabbaths of years--seven times seven years--so that
the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet
(shofar) of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye
make the trumpet (shofar) sound throughout the Land. And ye shall hallow  the fiftieth year  and proclaim
liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof;  it shall be a Jubilee unto you; and ye shall
return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."
 
After the Sabbath Shemittah year principle is established, the so-called Jubilee is ordered. A standard
Bible term is used to explain the time frame for the Jubilee: God commanded the children of Israel to
count off seven full sabbatical Shemittah cycles.
 
Seven cycles of seven years multiplies out to forty-nine years. The fiftieth year was called
the Yovel year. Yovel is transliterated into English Bibles as "Jubilee."
 
The meaning of the word "Yovel" has been debated. Because of the connection to the Arabic word
"yuvla," which means ram, some commentators teach that Yovel means "ram's horn."
 
However, other commentators disagree with this interpretation. Others say it means "sent out" or
"freedom of movement." There is also support for this interpretation, since some of the main activity of
this very unique year is the release and freedom of slaves
 
The focal points of Jubilee, in a divine demonstration of God’s grace towards His people, are restoration
and mercy. This involves parallel acts of restoration and mercy BY His people.
 
In the Jubilee instructions, God has made an ordinance that demonstrates His attributes of perfect and
ideal justice, fairness, equality, mercy, and redemption BUT this law of Jubilee is not to float around in
space AS an ideal for us to consider and feel all warm and fuzzy about.
 
The declaration of the Jubilee year process is recorded in scripture.
 
The sabbatical Jubilee year is to be declared ten days after it began on Rosh Hashanah by a sounding of
a shofar blast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
 
Why would the Jubilee year be proclaimed on the Day of Atonement ?
More than any other festival on the biblical calendar, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) teaches about
the Messiah's atoning sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins. What a great day to declare the forgiveness
of debt and freedom from bondage!
 
This law is to be physically observed. It is to show something clearly, lived out and carried out by His
people for the benefit of His people.  The law of Jubilee is one of the best examples of the foundation
that under girds each of God’s 613 instructions: you shall love Adonai your God with all your mind, soul,
and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The Messiah and Jubilee Freedom

There are two common Hebrew words for "Freedom" - "Deror" and "Hofesh."
What is the difference?
 
"Hofesh" refers to a temporary release with the possibility of going back into servanthood. It is used to
indicate the kind of freedom when it is connected to the Shemittah  year.
 
"Deror" is used when it is applied to permanent freedom and independent liberty and is used when
freedom is applied to the year of Jubilee.
 
It is written in Leviticus 25:10, "And proclaim liberty (deror) throughout the land to its inhabitants."  It is
at this time that the forgiveness of debts and return of slaves on Yovel is called the "Jubilee Release."
 
The word "Deror" is used several times in the Tanakh, but the most significant can be found in Isaiah
61:1. It is written, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring
good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty [deror] to
captives and to proclaim freedom to prisoners."
 
The word "Liberty - [Deror]" is the same word used to characterize the Jubilee year. It provides a
connection between the Jubilee year and the freedom promised in Isaiah 61:1.
 
Both Jewish and Christian commentators have stated that this passage is a Messianic passage, proven
by the fact that the person speaking is "anointed" [a Messiah] by God's Spirit, and describes solely the
goal and work of the Messiah. 
 
Suppose you were a slave because you owed a large sum of money. When the Shofar of the Jubilee year
sounded, your debts were forgiven. and you were set free. That is what it is like to be saved. Yeshua is
your Jubilee year.
 
In the Brit Hadashah (Luke 4:18-19), Yeshua read these words during an aliyah He made at the
synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim  the year of the Lord's favor."
 
The prophecy spoken of by Isaiah is being heard and witnessed by Yeshua’s listeners that very day.
They knew that this was a Messianic prophecy and Yeshua proclaims in that one statement that He,
reading for, standing and sitting before them, the carpenter’s Son of Joseph is The Anointed One, the
long awaited Messiah.
 
For two thousand years, generations had come and gone waiting and anticipating salvation. Now, before
them, Yeshua presents Himself revealing that He is the promised Messiah.
 
The "year of the LORD's favor" is the Jubilee year. Yeshua was telling everyone that He was the Messiah
to come. This was what the nation of Israel was wanting for a long time - "to proclaim liberty to the
captives"  and "to set at liberty those who are oppressed"  by Rome!
 
After proclaiming "the year of the Lord's favor,"  Yeshua stopped reading, and then stated that “Today
this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Using these words adds to the force Yeshua was
giving to the passage He quoted.
 
Why do you suppose Yeshua stopped where He did?
Yeshua’s first coming was as the “Suffering Servant.” Yeshua did not come to earth from heaven to
suffer and die on the cross. He came to radically obey the will of the Father. It was His Father's will that
He was to suffer, die, and provide the Passover / Yom Kippur Sacrifice for you. Yeshua's death provided
a means of reconciliation to God.
 
The part of the sentence that He left out, “And the day of vengeance of our God,” will be fulfilled by Him,
but not until His second coming. He will come as a mighty, powerful King and rule with a rod of iron from
Jerusalem. 
 
At his first coming, He healed and brought the Good News of the Kingdom and salvation. At His second
coming, it will be His time to take vengeance or judge as the Son of David.
 
The Messiah and Jubilee Land
Another characteristic of the sabbatical Shemittah,  and the Jubilee years, is freedom for a piece of real
estate called "The Land of Israel." This land, according to scripture, was given a sabbatical rest from
working every seven years and the Jubilee year.
 
This forces answers to some questions:
WHY?
If you were the person farming the land, who has the right to determine that your field was not allowed to
be plowed on a certain year?
Who has the right to decide who could live on the land?
Who has the right to choose your lifestyle while on the land?
 
The answers to these questions are found in scripture. It is written in Leviticus 25:23, "The Land shall
not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; for you are sojourners and residents with Me."
God, as the owner, has the SOLE right to determine the usage, and placed His chosen people, Israel, as
caretakers for His land. 
 
There is a connection between the Jubilee year and the prophet Isaiah regarding the ownership of the
land. Isaiah chapters 7-12 are sometimes known as "The Book of Immanuel."
 
Why?
It is because the main subject is a person called "Immanuel."
Consider this:

 Chapter 7 predicts Immanuel's   coming

 Chapter 9 predicts Immanuel's birth
 Chapter 10 predicts Immanuel's judgments
 Chapter 11 predicts Immanuel's kingdom, and
 Chapter 12 gives praise to Immanuel

In the very middle of this revelation of Immanuel is Chapter 8. It is written in Isaiah 8:8, "And he [the King
of Assyria] shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck;
and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth  of thy land, O Immanuel." 
 
This verse declares the land of Israel as "Immanuel's Land." God was concerned with the children of
Israel's treatment of the land because it was not their land, but Immanuel's. When this verse is compared
to Matthew 1, it states that Immanuel, meaning "God with us", is Yeshua, the Messiah.
 
Matthew 1:23, quoting Isaiah the prophet, reads, "Behold a virgin shall be with child, and they shall call
His name Immanuel, which being interpreted God with us."  The land was really Yeshua's land. That is
why He came to it, never left it, wept over it, and will come back and rule over it.
 
At that time, the fulfillment of the concepts taught by Yovel would be realized. People will be connected
by trust and faith with the One who will fulfill it all -Yeshua, the Messiah. Peace and Liberty will be
proclaimed throughout Yeshua's land.
 
Jubilee and the People
There are three benefits the Jubilee year has for its people.

Social Justice
Debts are debts and must be repaid. Sometimes a person may serve another in order to retire a debt, but
this servitude cannot last forever. The year of Jubilee says that they must go free. It becomes
a brake against a society being divided into a rich class, which abuses a poor class.
 
No matter how much land and slaves a person can accumulate within forty-nine years, everyone knew he
would lose it in the fiftieth year. The property went back to its original owners. When the Jubilee year
comes, debts are forgiven, loans cancelled, slaves released, and property holdings return to their
original tribal/family owners.
 
Social Worship
The year of Jubilee is presented as an extension of the Sabbath day and the
sabbatical Shemittah year. If the children of Israel were to worship on the Sabbath day, how much more
worship would take place on the sabbatical Shemittah year of rest.
 
If that is true, how much more would they be able to honor and praise God in the year of Jubilee.  Israel
would gain a great deal of insight on God's concept of rest and be a great reason for strong community
worship.
 
Personal Virtues
It is not easy for a nation to practice letting the fields go and not plant for one year out of seven - but two
years in a row?
 
This occurs because the Jubilee year follows the forty-ninth sabbatical Shemittah year. To do this
requires trust and faith in God. God made promises that there would be plenty of food if they would trust
Him.
 
It is written in Leviticus 25:20-22, "And if you shall say, 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold we
do not sow, nor gather in our increase.' Then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and
it shall bring forth fruit for  three years. And you shall sow the eighth year and eat yet of the old fruit until
the ninth year, until her fruits come in you shall eat of the old store."    
 
Israel belongs to God
The year of Jubilee, if kept, is a perpetual reminder that Israel - both people and land - belongs to God.
There are three ways that the year of Jubilee and the giving of the Torah are connected:
 
The counting of the Times
First, there is the counting of the seven times seven. God told Israel in Leviticus 23 to count seven full
weeks from the day after Passover (first fruits) to the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost).
 
Shavuot was not only the presenting of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, but it was also the time of the
giving of the Torah. Israel was also to count seven times seven years until the year of Jubilee.
 
Blowing of the Shofar
Second, it is the blowing of the Shofar. It is written in Exodus 19:13, "A hand shall not touch it, for he
shall surely be stoned or thrown down; whether animal or person he shall not live; upon an extended
blast of  the Shofar  ("Ha Yovel"), they may ascend the mountain."
 
God told Moses that He would come to them with an "extended blast of the  Shofar." The Hebrew word
for Shofar in this verse is "Yovel," connecting it to the year of Jubilee. Later, in Exodus 19:19, the word
Shofar is used. On Yom Kippur, the Shofar is blown for the year of Jubilee.
 
Similarity of Concepts
When God gave the Torah, He emphasized their freedom from slavery. He was making them an
independent and free nation. This is the same process with the Jubilee year. The year of Jubilee places
the same emphasis on freedom from slavery.  Leviticus 25:42 states that the reason for the freedom of
the Israelite slaves was because "They are My servants, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt."
 
It is written in Leviticus 25:1, "And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai." It is no accident that
the Shemittah  and the Jubilee years were given to Moses on "Mount Sinai."
 
The year of Jubilee was to remind Israel of the giving of their national covenant and constitution - the
Torah.
 
If this statement is true, Israel was to experience a national covenant renewal time on every fiftieth year.
They would be reminded of the legal agreement they made with God on Mount Sinai.
 
The Prerequisite
It is written in Leviticus 26:1-3  “Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image,
or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am the LORD
your God.  Ye shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.  If ye walk in My
statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;”
 
These three verses create a “short list” of the most important principles God has set down for His
priests. They are:
1) No idol worship,
2) Adonai is Israel’s Lord,
3) The Shabbats are to be observed, and
4) God’s dwelling place, the Tabernacle, is to be maintained precisely according to His regulations.
 
There are two reasons that these 4 principles are stated over and over in the Torah for God’s priests:

 First, the Israelites had a pagan mindset. They DID worship idols, they DID worship a number of
gods, they WEREN’T observing the 7th day Sabbath rest (which Adonai set up from the
beginning of the world).
 Because of these iniquities the barriers to uncleanness and commonness that God set up
between mankind and His earthly dwelling place, the Wilderness Tabernacle, had to be
maintained without compromise.

 Second, these principles represent a foundational core explaining the “bottom-line” basis of

Israel’s relationship with their God.

It is written in Leviticus 26:40-42, “If  they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in
their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me--
I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-- or if their
uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will
remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant
with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.”
 
There is a prerequisite to redemption. The word “IF” says it is conditional. The people of God must
confess their sin, repent, and return to God before He would restore them. This is true on a personal and
national level.
 
The Blessings and Curses of this chapter are set on a national level. The confession of sin will lead to a
national restoration because God will honor the Abrahamic covenant with His people.
 
What will bring about this spirit of repentance required for restoration?
The Messiah Himself is the agent of redemption. His message throughout the Gospels is a call to
repentance.
 
Remember His words: “Repent, the Kingdom is now!”?
His death is the payment for their sin.
 
Throughout the ages, two constants remain true: “The People of Israel lives”, and “The Messiah of Israel
lives.”  When these two living forces intersect, the world will experience the final redemption of God and
the salvation of mankind.

The Covenant
It is written in Leviticus 26:9, "So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will
confirm  My covenant  with you.”
 
How would you answer this question: Why do the rewards to the righteous, which follow the Torah,
always, consist of material things, while the spiritual objectives of the perfection of your soul and its
rewards in the world to come are never mentioned?
 
Many commentators do not understand what is going on in Leviticus 26 because they do not understand
the nature of its content. You must interpret the blessings and curses in light of the covenant concept.
The LORD Himself brings up this covenant concept
 
What covenant is Adonai talking about – the Abrahamic Covenant or the Mosaic Covenant?
 
Answer this question correctly, and you will be able to understand the meanings behind the blessings
and the curses.
 
At this point in the Torah, there are two covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their
descendants. The first covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant.
 
It is written in Leviticus 26:42 “then I will remember  My covenant  with Jacob, and I will remember
also  My covenant  with Isaac, and  My covenant  with Abraham as well, and I will  remember the land.”
 
This is the only place in the forty places of the entire bible where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are
mentioned, and where Jacob is mentioned first. The fact that the land is mentioned last means God had
the land in mind before the Patriarchs. This is called: “The Principle of Inversion.”
 
The Abrahamic Covenant was a covenant of promise. In it, God made several promises to the children of
Israel. One of the promises was for a specific piece of real estate - the land of Israel. These promises
were grace promises in that the children of Israel did not deserve nor earn them. They were to be
received by faith.
 
The second covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, which God made with the children of Israel, was a
completely different covenant. However, it was closely tied in, and connected to, the covenant of
Promise.
 
This was the covenant established at Mt Sinai in Exodus 19, which the words of Leviticus 26 are a part.
This covenant was not a covenant of promise. It was / is a covenant of obedience.
 
This obedience was designed to enable Israel to enjoy the blessings promised to them by faith in the
covenant with Abraham. The content that was/is to be obeyed was/is the Torah.
 
This is the point that Leviticus 26 connects. The reason why there are so few spiritual blessings in this
chapter is because of the nature of the covenant in which they are placed. The covenant of Sinai calls for
obedience to enjoy the life in the land of promise. It does not talk about how to attain life in the world to
come.
 
Even the presence of the Shekinah (God’s physical presence) had nothing to do with the world to come.
 
The Shekinah was intended as a blessing enhancing the appreciation and enjoyment of the privilege of
living in the land of promise. 
 
Jewish commentators were trying to find some mention of spiritual blessings in Leviticus 26. They knew
that spiritual blessings are the only ones that meet man’s deepest needs. They were looking in the
wrong place.
 
They were trying to turn the material into the spiritual in their interpretation. They could have looked in
Psalm 23, Isaiah 53, and Jeremiah 31, but the more complete instructions are found in the Brit Hadashah.
 
God’s Coin
There are two sides to God’s coin.
The one side says, “You cannot interpret the Brit Hadashah properly without the Tanakh.”
The other side of that coin says, “You cannot fully understand the Tanakh without the Brit Hadashah.” 
Both are indispensable for a proper interpretation of the whole bible.
 
One of the best illustrations of this concept can be found in this Parsha. If you leave out the description
of man’s spiritual needs and the blessings found in the Brit Hadashah, you will fall into a trap.
 
The ancient sages, who rejected the revelation in the Brit Hadashah, fell into it by misinterpreting the
material blessings and curses, and attempted to make them into something that they were not intended
to be in the first place.
 
The Coat of Curses
Have you heard of the story of the ‘coat of many curses?’
In the “YAD VA SHEM” – the Holocaust Museum in Israel - there is a jacket exhibited in the Chamber
Home. This is the story of that jacket.
 
During World War II, a Nazi Officer, in order to infuriate the Jews, forced a Jewish tailor to make a jacket
for him to wear to a ball.  The Jewish tailor was forced to use the Torah Scrolls as the material for this
jacket.  But the Jewish tailor had his revenge. 
 
The Nazi officer could not read Hebrew – the Jewish tailor could.  He chose Leviticus 26 – this week’s
Parsha – as his ‘cloth’, a chapter listing all of the curses possible of being brought into the world. 
 
How would you like to have these words around your neck?
“Then I will act with hostility; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins” “I will also bring
upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant…”  [Leviticus 26:24-25]
 
The Big Word: “IF”
It is written in Leviticus 26:23, “And if  by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility
against Me...”
 
What is the difference between punishment and discipline?

 The word punishment means, “To inflict pain upon someone for what they have done wrong.” 
 The word discipline means, “Strictly for the purpose of helping to accomplish growth in the
person.”

Both can hurt, but only discipline has an educational purpose, attempting to help bring about change in
the person
 
In this chapter, the Hebrew word “yawsar” is translated as “punish” but is not the most accurate
meaning. “Yawsar” is used throughout the Tanakh to carry the sense of chastise or discipline, as used
in the parent-child relationship.
 
This understanding is critical to the interpretation of these scriptures. When you think of punishment or
curse, you can end up thinking of something that is permanent and eternal, equivalent with the eternal
wrath of God. This is not the understanding of this scripture.
 
What Adonai inflicts on Israel, His children, is a spanking. The child is disciplined with the aim of
restoring the child and hoping that through the child’s suffering he will learn and grow from it. This gives
the child the sense of acceptance and unconditional love instead of insecurity.
 
The Curses
The biggest portion of Leviticus 26 (Leviticus 26:14-39) is called “The Curses.” These words have
created a bad misunderstanding among many believers in Yeshua. It has been taught in some circles
that Israel has experienced these curses, as well as the ones written in Deuteronomy, because they
rejected Yeshua as the Messiah.
 
Is this true?
NO. Several items must be understood.
 
The first item is that these curses and blessings were given around 1,300 – 1,400 years before Yeshua
came on the scene. During this time, Israel experienced many of the curses outlined in this chapter.
 
For example, one of the curses was a promise of dispersion of the Jewish people from the Promised
Land to live among the many nations of the world. This dispersion took place by the Assyrian kings
Shalmaneser V and Sargon II around 722BCE. This is when the northern ten tribes living in Samaria were
taken captive and dispersed throughout the Assyrian empire.
 
The Babylonians were next in 586 BCE. Then the Persians came in 516 BCE, the Greeks around 332 BCE,
and finally the Romans in 63 BCE. By the time of the late Second Temple period, before Yeshua was
born, there were major Jewish populations in most of the cities of the Roman Empire and other centers
in the ancient Near East.
 
Here is a second item, which is just as important. The text in Leviticus states that the condition for both
blessing and curse is how Israel responded to the Torah, not whether they accepted or rejected the
Messiah.
 
The Torah was the Covenant. By rejecting the Torah given in writing to Moses, the children of Israel
would receive all that the Torah said would happen to them in breaking the covenant. The issue here is
the Torah, not Israel’s reaction to the acceptance of Yeshua. 
 
Also consider this: There were huge numbers of Jewish people who did accept Yeshua as the Messiah.
The Greek of Acts 21:20 indicates that when Paul came back to Jerusalem around 60 C.E., there were in
Jerusalem alone, “tens of thousands” of Jewish believers who believed in Yeshua. These Jews were, by
the way, Torah observant –including Paul.
 
That is no small number. There were even more Jewish believers living in Galilee and scattered
throughout the Roman Empire.
 
It was Israel that was responsible for bring the good news of Yeshua to the ends of the ancient known
world. Yeshua sent out His representatives – disciples – bearing the testimony of His saving grace. They
were faithful even to the point of martyrdom in bring the good news to the Gentiles.
 
Consider this:

 Andrew, the brother of Peter, was crucified in Edessa.

 Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was beaten to death and then crucified upside down in
India.
 James the Great, the older brother of John, was beheaded in 44 C.E. in Judea.
 James the Less, also known as James the Just, was beaten, stoned, and then clubbed to death
at age 94 in Jerusalem.
 Jude, the brother of James, was crucified in 65 C.E. in Beirut, Lebanon.
 Luke was hanged on an olive tree in Greece.
 Mark was dragged to death in Alexandria.
 Matthew was killed with a weapon that had a blade and spike in 60 C.E. in Nadabah.
 Matthias, the man who took the place of Judas, was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem.
 Paul was beheaded with a sword in Rome.
 Peter was crucified head down by request, in Rome.
 Philip was scourged, imprisoned, and then crucified in 54 C.E. in Heliopolis, Phrygia.
 Simon, the Zealot was crucified in 65 C.E. in Beirut, Lebanon.
 Stephen was stoned to death in 34 C.E. in Jerusalem.
 Thomas, who put his finger in the side of Yeshua, was thrust through with a spear in India.
 Judas (also known as Thaddeus), was stoned to death
 Jude, the brother of Yeshua, was killed with arrows
 Barnabas was one of the group of seventy disciples, was stoned to death
 John was boiled in oil yet lived. He was exiled for his faith; died of old age

Israel did not blow it. They did what God called them to do. It was the religious, and political leadership
of the nation of Israel that was unfaithful to the Messiah’s first appearance. Also, there has always been
– even before Yeshua came – a remnant chosen by grace.
 
Misunderstood Scriptures
It is a common teaching in the body of Messiah that all of the curses of the law have been removed in the
Messiah.
But is this true?
 
There are two scriptures that have been misunderstood as it is related to the curses of the Torah.
It is written in Galatians 3:13, “Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law [Torah].”
 
This verse seems to indicate that the curses in the Torah have been removed in Messiah, but the
blessings remain; but if you examine it closer, you can see that the “curse of the Law” in Galatians 3:13
is not the curses for disobedience listed in Leviticus or Deuteronomy 28.
 
The curse of the law is death – not mortal death – but eternal separation from God. According to Paul,
the “curse of the Torah” is condemnation in the eternal court of judgment (Romans 4:15, 5:18-20, 7:25-
8:1, I Corinthians 3:9).
 
It was this curse of condemnation, and death that was given to Yeshua and has been nailed to His
cross. 
 
In another one of his misunderstood passages, Paul speaks of a written document of condemnation,
which was nailed to the cross. It is written in Colossians 2:14, “having canceled out the  certificate of
debt  consisting of decrees against us, and which was hostile to us, and He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross.”
 
Too often this “document” is misinterpreted as the Torah. Believing brothers and sisters have used this
verse to triumphantly declare that the Messiah nailed the Torah to the cross. This would be hard to do if
read in its context.
Why?
The discussion of the Torah or Law is not mentioned in the entire book of Colossians.
 
Translations like the NIV encourage this kind of interpretation by translating the thing nailed as “the
written code,” a term that implies a law code, specifically the Torah.
 
The Torah has not been nailed to the cross. It is a written verdict of condemnation, like the type delivered
by a Roman court of law.
 
The “certificate of debt” that has been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross is condemnation.
Condemnation (death) is the ultimate curse of the Torah. It is this curse that the Messiah took upon
Himself when He became a “curse for us.”
 
What does this mean?
It is wrong to believe there are no longer any consequences for sin. The ultimate consequence of
condemnation has been removed – nailed to the cross. But the laws of cause and effect are still very
much at work.
 
Sin still reaps discipline if you are a believer, punishment if you are an unbeliever. 
Obedience to God stills results in blessing. Disobedience to God still results in consequences.
 
How often have you heard this statement: “My God would never punish me. He loves me and it would
violate His love. That is not the God of the Bible?”
 
Remember David?
He sinned with Bathsheba and killed Uriah.
 
Did he get away with it by making those statements?
He was called “a man after God’s own heart” but suffered the consequences of his actions. The sword
never left his house.
 
Consider this: Our response to God’s commands always bring consequences with them. There is no
neutral position. That’s the system of God’s justice and we cannot change it.
 
Obedience brings positive consequences and disobedience brings negative consequences. Scriptures
call the positive consequences of obedience “blessings” and the negative consequences of
disobedience “curses”. The blessings of being obedient to God’s Torah (instructions) bring us life with
God. The curse of being disobedient to the Torah brings separation from God.
 
It is written in Leviticus 26:29 “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters
shall ye eat.”
 
This happened during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Lamentations records that Hebrew
women killed, cooked, and ate their children while starving inside the walls of Jerusalem.
 
It is written in Lamentations 4:10: “The hands of women full of compassion have sodden their own
children; they were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
 
There is a parallel between these verses of Leviticus 26 where God is saying that He will not accept their
sacrifices in His Temple, even done in the way Adonai TOLD them to do it because their hearts are not
right, and what Yeshua said about those who will offer their own form of sacrifices to God in the
Messiah’s name, yet THEY also will not be acceptable. 
 
It is written in Matthew 7:22-23: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I
will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'
 
The words of Leviticus 26 ARE the context for Yeshua’s words of Matthew 7.
This forces the question: What words did Yeshua use to identify this group of people whom He would
not accept?
He said, “you who practice lawlessness”.
 
Some Bibles read, “you who practice iniquities.” This is a wrong translation. The Greek word is anomia
(#458), which means: 
1)    The condition of without law
  1a) because ignorant of law
  1b) because of violating law
2) Contempt and violation of law
 
For any Jew at that time, there was only one Law. When Yeshua referred to the law it ALWAYS meant
only ONE thing: the Laws of Moses, also called the Torah. If the Torah is translated as the “Law”, than
the ones who “practice lawlessness” are practicing “Anti-Torah.”
 
What was it that these people were doing that Yeshua said amounted to lawlessness?
They were prophesying and casting out demons in His name! That was their crime. These people who
were “moving in the spirit” and casting out demons and prophesying in His name were doing it without
faith or without the Torah (the Law) written on their hearts! This is Lawlessness.
 
The saddest verse in the Bible is found in the story of Samson. It is written in Judges 16:20, “She called
out, “Samson, the Philistines are on you!”  He woke up from his sleep and thought, I’ll escape just like
the other times and shake myself free. But he didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.”
 
Matthew 7:22-23 is the second saddest verse. These people “moved in the spirit” and God honored the
Spirit’s movement, yet they did not know that the Lord was not in it – for them. As God’s priest, do not
get caught in the trap!
 
Consider this: Just as the sacrificial system was NOT for the whole world but only for the Israelites, so
the sacrifice of the Messiah was NOT for the whole world but only for that part of the world that would
trust Him. 
 
It is wrong when Bible teachers teach the politically correct, “The Messiah died for the whole world!”  NO
- HE DIDN’T. He died for those who preferred the Messiah OVER the world.
 
This wrong political, correct teaching has produced Gay spiritual leaders, bodies of Messiah who don’t
believe one Biblical thing about the Messiah, and a doctrine that a merciful God wouldn’t ever send
ANYBODY to Hell.
 
It is written in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
 
Be Strong!
It is written in Leviticus 27:34, “These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for
the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.”
 
The Targum Jonathan adds to this verse these words: “…without the possibility of anything being added
to them.”
 
What more could be said?
Leviticus is a book, which told you how the Most Holy God chose to call us, and make us holy, both as
individuals and as a nation. To be separate from the rest of the world and totally to serve this most Holy
God is the greatest privilege a person can know.
 
This call to Holiness involves more than just correct ritual. It involves the complete dedication of
yourself, your family, and your possessions to Him who bought you with the price of His blood, who
made you holy by redeeming you from sin – Your Messiah Yeshua, the Holy One of Israel.
 
It is in Him and Him alone that the fulfillment of all concluding blessing be realized.
 
The exact words, “Chazak v’nitchazek” are found in 2 Samuel 10:12 when King David and Israel’s army
are surrounded in front and to the rear. David’s commander, Joab, tells his partner in command:
“Be strong and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God; and may
the Lord do what seems good to Him.
 
For us It is a reminder that the value of studying the Bible is not merely for personal spiritual
development but to strengthen one another morally, spiritually, and intellectually so that we can step
into courageous acts of obedience to God’s Word.
 
Therefore, as is an ancient tradition when we finish a book of the Torah, we say, “CHAZAK! CHAZAK! 
VENISCHAZEIK! Be Strong! Be Strong! And may we be strengthened!”
 
Shalom

Ron Warren, 4008 Castell Drive, Orlando, Florida 32810, United States

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