Removing the Veil

“Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” – 2 Corinthians 3:16

Seed:

Deuteronomy 30:9-16; Isaiah 25:6-8; John 6:63-69; Romans 8:2-8; 2 Corinthians 3:13-18

Plant:

Have you ever heard the saying, “Once you see something, you can’t unsee it”? I’ve heard and used this expression over the years, and it can be applied two ways. One is when you actually see something, either majestic or gruesome, and it stays with you. You see it replay in your mind over and over again. It elicits either a sense of longing or foreboding whenever its memory comes to mind. Whether by choice or by chance, its image is now etched in your mind, and you can’t unsee it.

Another use is when you either notice or someone else points out the similarity between one thing and another. For example, there is an abstract picture my mother painted hanging in our home. I always thought it looked like mountains with the sun setting behind and a stream wandering across the field below them. One day, I realized how similar the texture in this picture is to the lava fields we explored in Hawai’i. Now I can’t unsee it. Whenever I look at the picture, the peaceful mountainous landscape I once saw now wrestles in my mind with the memory of the harsh, rocky landscape left behind by Mauna Loa’s fierce eruptions.

Years ago, I had a “can’t unsee it” experience with God’s Word. Once God opened my heart to His Torah, I can’t unsee it. It has become the thing through which I not only view scripture, but how I see myself and the world around me. 2 Corinthians 3:14-18 sums this experience up perfectly. If you’re anything like me, sometimes it takes a few different ways of receiving information for your brain to fully wrap around it, so here it is in two different translations just to give us all a more vivid picture:

“But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” – ESV 

“What is more, their minds were made stonelike; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away. Yes, till today, whenever Moshe is read, a veil lies over their heart. “But,” says the Torah, “whenever someone turns to Adonai, the veil is taken away. Now, “Adonai” in this text means the Spirit. And where the Spirit of Adonai is, there is freedom. So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by Adonai the Spirit.” – CJB

During Old Testament times, before Messiah came, people read scripture with a veil over their faces, without the full understanding of who Messiah was to be. Not just in the flesh, but as an emissary of freedom. Our freedom. Freedom from the bondage to sin. Freedom from the penalty of our sin. Freedom from the inability to resist sin and live for righteousness. Freedom from the compulsion to satisfy our fleshly desires. Freedom to overcome all that separates us from our Heavenly Father.

We are told that in Messiah we are given the ability (freedom) to flee from evil and pursue that which is good, but how will we know which is which without something to guides us? Yeshua (Jesus) said that He didn’t come to abolish the Law (Torah), but to fulfill it. He came to show us how to live according to Torah the way God intended so that we might learn to do likewise. Torah is the light that exposes sin and illuminates righteousness. (Rom. 3:20,31) The law is not a heavy burden as many believe, but a joy, a blessing, and life. (Deut. 30:19-20, Psa. 119:92-93; Rom. 7:22; 1 John 5:3… and so many more.)

It is only through Messiah that we see Torah for what it is… our freedom.

Years ago, I gave God permission to rewrite my faith. To take anything that I believed about Him that wasn’t true and get rid of it, and to strengthen what was true so that my faith might be genuine and pure. I began to read the Bible and let Him speak to me Himself instead of listening to what someone else had to say about Him. It was then that He began to open my eyes to the beauty of His Word… all of it. I began to see Torah, His law, through the lens of Messiah. And now, I can’t unsee it.

Everything makes so much more sense. Things that didn’t fit together before have now become seamless threads in a beautiful tapestry. Seeming contradictions now come together into a single truth. In our turning to the LORD through faith in Messiah, the veil truly is lifted, and we begin to see Him as He really is. Yeshua (Jesus) walked according to Torah, and we are called to walk as He walked. To imitate Him. To follow Him. And when we do, that is when we begin the transformation into His likeness, from one degree of glory to another. And the freedom that comes from Torah, from faith, from the power of His Holy Spirit in us, becomes a reality in our lives.

Just as the pharisees presented to Israel a legalistic view of the Law through works and manmade decrees, we have been presented with a false messiah who did away with the Law altogether. Neither of these views are correct. Both of them are veiled displays of the truth, keeping us from seeing and experiencing the freedom Messiah offers to us all. And hindering us from being changed into His image. If we can’t see what He looks like, how can we become like Him?

We are told that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Word made flesh. (John 1:14) We are also told that Torah is the Word. Torah was the written Word; Messiah is the living Word. They are one in the same. Yeshua is the Word of God, the living, incarnate righteousness of the God of all creation. It is in this realization that the veil is lifted from our face, and we can see clearly the glory of God. And once you see His glory, it becomes something you can’t… something you never want to unsee.

Harvest:

• In what ways has my view of Messiah and Torah been distorted?
• Am I willing to let God rewrite my faith into one that is based on the truth of who He is?
• Read the whole of Psalm 119 this week and ask God to help you see His Torah the way David, a man after God’s own heart, did.

Father, thank You for sending Messiah that I might be free. I ask you right now to cause Your freedom to be a reality in my life. Show me anywhere that I am in bondage, anywhere that sin has a hold in my life. Send Your Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth. Father, You are truth, and it is Your truth that will set me free. I thank You and praise You in the name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen

Escorting the Bride

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Husbands, love your wives just as Messiah also loved His community and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, having cleansed her by immersion in the word.

Ephesians 5:25-26

Seed:

Ephesians 5:24-28; Psalm 119:1-7; 2 Peter 3:14-18; Revelation 19:6-8

Plant:

I learned something last week. It was something that connected another piece in the ever-expanding puzzle I call my faith. I was reading a book someone loaned to me called Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to Come, by Joseph Good. If you haven’t read it, you definitely need to put it on your 2024 list of books to read. Here’s what he said that not only got my attention, but also brought tears to my eyes:

“Each Jewish wedding requires two witnesses. These two are often the same as the friends of the bridegroom, one assigned to the bride while the other is assigned to the groom. Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist) who is of the spirit of Elijah, called himself a friend of the bridegroom.”

“You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,’ but rather, ‘I am sent before Him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the best man rejoices when he stands and hears the bridegroom’s voice. So now my joy is complete!” – John 3:28-29

Good went on to say, “According to Jewish tradition, the other friend of the bridegroom is Moses. He is understood to be the one assigned to the bride. A function of this friend of the bridegroom is to escort the bride to her groom. The rabbis saw Moses in this role as he escorted Israel to Mount Sinai to meet with G-d for the betrothal.”

“Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the lowest part of the mountain.” – Genesis 19:17

In scripture, Elijah represents the prophets. They were the friend assigned to the bridegroom. It is through the prophets that God revealed the coming Messiah to His people. John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the LORD. He was the one who would announce the coming of the bridegroom (Messiah) to His bride (the children of Israel, both native born and grafted in). (See Matt. 3:1-3 and 17:12-13)

Moses represents the Law, or Torah. Torah is the friend who escorts the bride to the wedding. What is the job of the one who escorts the bride? Ephesians 5:25-27 explains:

“Husbands, love your wives just as Messiah also loved His community and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, having cleansed her by immersion in the word. Messiah did this so that He might present to Himself His glorious community—not having stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but in order that she might be holy and blameless.” 

I hope you’re starting to feel the glow of a little lightbulb over your head right now, but in case you’re not, let me see if I can connect these puzzle pieces together for us. In Jewish tradition and throughout scripture, Torah (God’s instruction in righteousness found in the first five books of the Bible) is called the Word. We also see in John 1:1-14, that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Word. Yeshua didn’t just embody or live out Torah. He WAS Torah. He was the Word made flesh. He was the living, breathing righteousness of God.

Here’s where the tears came for me. I knew Torah was for our good, to keep us set apart for the LORD that we might be holy as He is holy and useful for His good purpose. They were instructions from a loving Father to His children, and keeping Torah is not a way of salvation, but is a result of our salvation and love for God. A loving father sets boundaries for his children, and loving children honor their father by staying within those boundaries. But I’d never seen Torah as the protective detail assigned to keep watch over His bride. Oh, what love He lavishes upon us! What care He gives to His beloved.

God gave us His Torah so that we could be found without spot or blemish when our Bridegroom (Messiah) comes for us, His bride. Since the beginning of time, God’s Word has been twisted, and our hearts have been hardened, and spots and blemishes have appeared all over His bride. So, God sent our Messiah. He showed us by the example of His Word made flesh what it really means to follow God, to live lives that are holy and set apart for our Heavenly Father, without spot or blemish. Not only did He show us how to live, but He died in our place so that all our spots and blemishes could be washed away. Then, not only did He promise the Holy Spirit as our Helper to walk as He walked (Torah observant), but He commissioned husbands to carry that torch as the head of their households. What an extraordinary responsibility to bear.

In the garden, Adam was given the instruction not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God didn’t give this instruction to Eve, just Adam. And He expected Adam to lead his wife. But Adam didn’t. He was standing silent by Eve’s side watching as she interacted with the serpent. Not only did he not stop Eve, but he indulged in the sin with her. And the silence of Adam continues. The role of men has been diminished and twisted and despised. And so, too, has the role of Torah in the lives of believers.

Men, we need you. We need you to be the protective escorts God has commissioned you to be. We need you to be examples of faithful followers of God’s instruction. I know this is a big job, a high calling. It is a HOLY calling. But we need you to lead like David, who’s heart longed so deeply for God and His Torah that he penned these words:

Turn me away from the deceitful way, and be gracious to me with Your Torah. 
I have chosen the way of faithfulness. I have set my heart on Your judgments. 
I cling to Your testimonies. Adonai, do not put me to shame! 
I run the course of Your mitzvot, for You open wide my heart. 
Teach me the way of Your decrees, Adonai, and I will follow them to the end. 
Give me understanding, that I may keep Your Torah and observe it with all my heart.

– Psalm 119:29-34

And again, he said:

If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 
I will never forget Your precepts. For with them You have kept me alive. 
I am Yours, save me! For I have sought out Your precepts. 
The wicked wait for me to destroy me. But I will study Your testimonies. 
I have seen a limit to all perfection, yet Your commandment is boundless. 
O how I love Your Torah! It is my meditation all day.

– Psalm 119:92-97

Women, we are not exempt if we do not have a godly husband or father in our life. We, too, are called to be holy as He is holy. To be examples of righteousness and faithfulness. As the men in our lives are out slaying the dragons (as my husband would say) we need to be lifting them up in prayer. We need to be managing our households and raising our children and working at our jobs, all the while doing everything as unto the LORD. (Col. 3:17) If we have an unbelieving husband, it may be by our example that they come to faith in the One True God. (1 Cor. 7:16, this same principle applies to husbands, too.) And we, too, need the prayers of our husbands and fathers and brothers, that we might be found faithful in our calling as daughters of the King of kings. It may be our husbands who are to be the example of how to lead like Messiah, but it is us who are called to be the example of how to submit to Messiah. An equally extraordinary responsibility to bear.

Our love of and commitment to Torah, God’s instruction, His protective escort for His bride (that’s all of us, men and women alike), is the key to living a life pleasing to our Bridegroom. It’s not a burden. It’s not just for the Jews. It wasn’t done away with when Yeshua died and rose again. All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for restoration, and for training in righteousness, so that the person belonging to God may be capable, fully equipped for every good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

That’s how much God loves us. That’s how much He want us to be with Him. That’s how fiercely protective He is over His beloved (that’s you and me, by the way).

Do these things because they will keep you safe on your way to Me….

Don’t do these things because they will not only stain your wedding gown, but they may even keep you from our wedding…

Harvest:

• Is this revelation of Torah new to you? If so, how can you begin to embrace the idea of Torah as your escort on your way to the Wedding of the Lamb?
• How can you be praying for the men in your life to be godly leaders of not only their homes, but also in their workplace, church, and community, showing what it means to lay down their life, pick up their cross, and follow God? How can you support and encourage them in this role?
• How can you be praying for the women in your life to be godly examples of what it means to submit to the will of our Heavenly Father, saying, “Not my will, but Yours be done,”? How can you support them in this role?

Life or Death (Part 2)

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Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua. For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:1-2

Seed:

Romans 3:1-31; Romans 8:1-8; Galatians 3:19-25; Ephesians 1:3-12;

Plant:

It has taken more than a week for me to get back to our discussion about what the Bible has to say about God’s Law. But here I am, finally. I started to write this yesterday, but then life happened. It was a (mostly) quiet morning once the chickens and dogs were fed, the big boys were off to school, and the little ones were watching cartoons in the other room. But then the fussing came, I had to leave early to pick my son up from his school, and then when I sat back down to write again, I’d lost everything I’d written so far, which was quite a bit. C’est la vie.

In my last post, we asked the question: is God’s Law (Torah) the same as the “law of sin and death” from which we have been released? Is it indeed a heavy burden we no longer have to carry? In my opinion, I feel we answered that question with a scripturally backed “no.” From the prophets of old to the apostles of new, we found that God’s instruction, or commands, are life-giving and come with great reward for those who follow them. The LORD tells us that if we keep His commands, He will bless us. (Deut. 30:16) King David valued them above any worldly treasure. (Psalm 19:10) Yeshua (Jesus) said that if we love Him, we will obey His commands. (John 14:15) And that whoever does them and teaches others about them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:19) The apostle Paul said that he delighted in God’s law in his inner most being. (Rom. 7:22) And both God said and John affirmed that Torah is indeed not a burden to carry. (Deut. 30:11-14; 1 John 5:3)

So, if Torah is not a burden for us to bear, and it is not the thing from which we have been released, what is? What does it mean to no longer be under the Law but under grace? Let’s see if we can find that thread and run with it. I think the perfect place to start looking is in Romans.

The book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. This community was made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah. Paul had yet to visit this group in Rome, but had heard about them and their faith from other congregations with which he did have a personal relationship. The community of believers throughout the Mediterranean was small but close. Even though they were spread out, they were connected by their faith and their common struggles. Pastoral letters of encouragement (including the ones that make up our New Testament) were carried to the congregations throughout the region, and reports of their well-being (or lack thereof) were spread right along with them. Thus, Paul’s knowledge of the conflict going on in Rome.

It is obvious that Paul intended to encourage the churches in Rome with his letter. He also intended to set some things straight. It appears that some false doctrines, mixed with some pride and jealousy, had found their way into the hearts, minds, and actions of the believers there. Not far into the letter we see two competing doctrines were being addressed. One was that the Law had been abolished, the other was that simply being an observant Jew meant you were saved.

These two viewpoints were addressed in many of the New Testament letters. It was a common struggle between the Jewish and Gentile believers. Some of those from a traditional Jewish background still thought they could rest on their Jewish heritage – ie. descendants of Abraham and circumcision – as their ticket to salvation, while others had to depend on their works of the Law to save them. On the other hand, there were those who believed that this newfound faith and the grace that came with it meant they didn’t have to obey the law at all. Paul sets forth to show them that neither one is right. Both negate the free gift of salvation and the responsibility of the believers once they are saved. Here’s what he says in chapter three:

“For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are set right as a gift of His grace, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua. God set forth Yeshua as an atonement, through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness in passing over sins already committed. Through God’s forbearance, He demonstrates His righteousness at the present time—that He Himself is just and also the justifier of the one who puts his trust in Yeshua.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what principle? Of works? No, but by the principle of faith. For we consider a person to be set right apart from Torah observance. Is God the God of the Jewish people only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Since God is One, He will set right the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then nullify the Torah through faithfulness? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the Torah.”

Romans 3:22b-31

Faith in the death and resurrection of Yeshua as the only sufficient sacrifice for our sins is what saves us. It is in our choosing of Him as our Lord and Savior, turning from our sinfulness to His righteousness. That, and only that, is what brings us into right standing with God. Once we are saved, we then pursue works of righteousness according to the Law.

The reason obedience to God’s Torah is not a burden is because as His children, we have His Holy Spirit within us. In our flesh, we are bound to its sinful desires. Once we are saved, we are released from that bondage and enabled to serve the law of righteousness.

Paul tells us that the Torah is good because it teaches us what sin is. Here’s what he says in Romans seven:

“What shall we say then? Is the Torah sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the Torah. For I would not have known about coveting if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking an opportunity, worked in me through the commandment all kinds of coveting. For apart from the Torah, sin is dead.

Once I was alive apart from the Torah; but when the commandment came, sin came to life and I died. The commandment meant for life was found to cause death. Sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

Romans 7:7-12

Just like Adam and Eve, who had no frame of reference for sin until God said, “You shall not…”, if there were no law, we would not know what sin was either. But once sin entered the world, so did temptation. And being a Gentile, or non-believer, is not an excuse. God has put in all of us a spirit of discernment, or a conscience. Romans 2:14-15 says, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the Torah, do by nature the things of the Torah, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the Torah. They show that the work of the Torah is written in their hearts.”

You see, God doesn’t hold anyone accountable for things they do not know. Which is why He made Himself evident, all of creation bearing witness to His eternal glory, to all mankind. Once we acknowledge that He is, He sends His Holy Spirit to minister to our spirits, leading us into all righteousness. (Rom. 5:12-13; Rom. 8:16; John 16:13) We don’t have to have a bible to know Him, but it sure makes a huge difference. As scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!” (Isa. 52:7)

The law of sin and death says that as unbelievers, we are bound to sin and we will die. The Law of Grace sets us free from that bondage so that we, by the power of His Spirit within us, might live for righteousness. We are no longer under the Law. We are now under grace. No longer being “under” the Law does not mean that the Law no longer applies, it simply means that it is no longer the measure by which we will be judged. Nonbelievers only hope for the day of judgement is in fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law in themselves, which no one can do. Our hope as believers is in the fact that Yeshua fulfilled that righteous requirement on our behalf. Being under grace means that the blood of Yeshua has atoned for our sins for which we have sought repentance and found forgiveness. As Paul said:

“Therefore do not let sin rule in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. And do not keep yielding your body parts to sin as tools of wickedness; but yield yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your body parts as tools of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that to whatever you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to what you obey—whether to sin resulting in death, or to obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.”

Romans 6:12-18

Grace = Forgiveness.

Paul wrote in Hebrews that, “without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6) It is our faith that makes us children of God, and as His children, we are to obey Him as our Heavenly Father. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8) He will not break His covenant nor alter the word that has gone out of His mouth. (Psa. 89:34) All of His rules and commandments and laws were given because He knows what’s best for us, and they will not change. He knows what will benefit us and what will destroy us, even when we don’t understand or agree.

What a blessing and a gift that He has freed us from the sin that entangles us. He has cancelled the debt that we could never pay. And He has given us the ability to live lives of righteousness, goodness, and peace.

Harvest:

Father, thank You for Your loving and wise instruction. You truly have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Messiah Yeshua. (Eph. 1:3) Let our hearts see the beauty in living according to Your righteous decree. Help us see that it is not a burden to honor Your Word. Show me Your ways, oh LORD, and teach me Your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God who saves me, my hope is in you all day long. (Psa. 25:4-5). Amen