Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies

Understanding the Scriptures for Times Such as These

Bible Study: Genesis 6-11

Torah

In this section of the Bible dealing with the period between the “fall of man” and the initiation of the first “redemptive covenant” (with Abraham), God acted to limit the manifestation of evil in mankind due to the influence of Satan.   He reduced the “gene pool” of mankind by causing all future generations to be descended from one righteous family.  He reduced the lifespan of man by an order of magnitude (from 900-plus years to a theoretical limit of 120 years).  Finally, He confused the language at Babel making human cooperation very difficult.

The account of Noah presents us with some insight into way that God views “human progress”.  It appears that God has predetermined limits on such development.  During the days of Noah, mankind (daughters of Adam) was evidently interactive with spiritual beings (sons of god) resulting in offspring referred to as “niphilim” or “fallen ones”.  These are the “men of renown” from ancient times, literally, from eternity.  Since God acted to destroy these “mighty men” we must consider them as evil relative to God’s purpose.  Only Noah and his immediate family were survived the flood. 

[Read more…] about Bible Study: Genesis 6-11

Bible Study: Genesis 1-6

Torah

The second creation account is recorded in Genesis 2. This account focuses on the creation of man and the unique position in which he stands. Man was created in God’s own image.

“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

 This probably means that man shares some important characteristics of God. We suspect that this includes the capacity to have manifestation and communication in both the spiritual and physical universes. In this account we learn of the “Garden of Eden” and the fruit-bearing trees placed there to supply food for man and the animal kingdom. We find two additional trees in the “garden” which are spiritual in nature. These are the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. 

And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)

These trees are symbolic of communion or communication in the spiritual realm (heaven). Man was commanded to eat from all the trees (including the “Tree of Life”) and was warned not to eat from the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. 

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die”. (Genesis 2:16-17)

The consequences of eating of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” would be death. Death in a Biblical context always means “separation” and never means “cessation of being”.  So when man ate of this tree, he was driven out of the garden and “separated” from the “Tree of Life”. Man, with the capacity of eating of the “Tree of Life”, would have been sustained indefinitely. 

Eating of the spiritual trees of the garden deals with communion or communicating in the spiritual realm. Before he rebelled against God’s command concerning the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”, man enjoyed unlimited communion and communication with God. He was sustained by the presence of God. He understood every event as good or evil in reference to God and not to himself. (Note. The condition of being good or evil must always be considered relative to someone or some entity. In our study of the Bible, we consider two possibilities, reference to God or to man. When speaking of “fallen man” we simply mean that man sees every event or situation “good or evil” relative to himself.) The spiritual character, revealed in the Bible as the Satan, was prevented from communicating with man, thus man did not experience condemnation. Every event and situation was seen as good or evil relative to God and His purpose.

Man must have rationalized that surely he could eat of both trees even though God had declared that he could not. He ate of the forbidden tree. The consequences of eating of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” were: (a) He was separated from God and, hence, was no longer sustained by God’s presence. This would have started the man’s biological clock leading ultimately to his physical death. (b) He was prevented from establishing communion or communication with God by his own initiative. God could approach man but man was prevented from approaching God. (c) He was subjected to communion and communication with Satan who the Bible refers to as the “accuser of the brethren”. This led man to evaluate every situation and every event relative to himself rather than to God. Man became “self-oriented” and as a result has subsequently existed under the tyranny of the illusion of “self-determination” resulting from a continual flow of Satanic condemnation. This is the condition of “fallen man”.

Bible Study: Deuteronomy 33-34

Torah

This week ends the study through the books of Moses.  Next week we will begin in Genesis.  I pray to continue this comment each week until a whole year is completed.

This week I want to focus an amazing statement in Deuteronomy 34.  It is recorded in verse 7.

“Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.”

The normal process of aging evidently had not impacted Moses according to this statement.  It is appropriate to ask the question, why was this so?  What had happened in Moses’ years that had such an effect?  Had he secretly found the “fountain of youth” and drank of its water”?

I believe that the answer to these questions lies in his experience at Mt. Sinai.  Moses ascended the mountain into the cloud of the Lord which had descended upon the mountain:

“And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens; darkness, cloud and thick gloom.” (Deuteronomy 4:11)

This account describes the boldest coupling of heaven to earth in history with the exception of the period in “the garden” before the fall of man.  As Moses climbed the mountain he nearly ascended into heaven.  If he had gone any further he would have done like Elijah did some 600 years later and would have exited completely from the physical world.  God must have prevented him from doing so.

Moses ascended into and remained directly in the presence of God for 40 days and nights.  When he descended he “glowed”.  Later, Jeremiah described the God of Israel as:

“But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.”  (Jeremiah 10:10)  

We may think of the expression “living God” as the entity (God) that is the very source of life and from whom all life emanates.  Moses was immersed directly in the presence of this life-emanating source for an extended period of time.  Somehow he absorbed some aspects of the life.  Even after descending the mountain, Moses continued to “glow”.  We believe that Moses had indeed discovered the “fountain of youth”.   One other account is given in the Bible of a similar situation.  On the so-called “Mount of Transfiguration” it is recorded that Jesus’ face and garments glowed.

“And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” (Matthew 17:2)

This happened because He stood, evidently for only a brief period, in the direct presence of “the living God” being manifested in the cloud.  Because Jesus was crucified shortly thereafter, we cannot test our theory that the aging process was reversed as a result of this encounter.

Can we discover this “fountain of life” today?  This is one important aspect of worship.  As local bodies of believers we can, under Jesus’ headship, approach and stand in the presence of the “Living God”.  Our experience may not be quite as dramatic as that of Moses or of Jesus but we can partake of the same thing.  The Bible declares:

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”.  (Hebrews 9:27)

Even though the aging process can not be completely reversed, the restoration impact of the presence of the “Living God” will bring healing and restoration to our bodies as well as to our souls.

The time of Moses’ leadership ended with a transfer of authority to Joshua the son of Nun.  This final section of Deuteronomy was obviously written after that transition.  God had previously declared that He would raise up another prophet like Moses.

“I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”  (Deuteronomy 18:18)

Most believe that God was speaking of the Messiah.  Some argue that this “prophet like Moses” was Joshua the son of Nun.  Obviously, this can not be the case since this final paragraph of Deuteronomy was written at least during and most likely after the time of Joshua’s period of leadership.  The writer comments,

“Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”  (Deuteronomy 34:10)

Bible Study: Deuteronomy 32

Torah

This week section of the Bible includes what is called the “Song of Moses”.  In this “song”, Moses recounts the past and predicts Israel’s future.  In last week’s section we discussed how God spoke directly about Israel’s unfaithfulness and coming dispersion into the nations.  Moses repeated the same prediction.  It would be almost 800 years before this prophecy concerning dispersion was fulfilled.  Today we have the advantage of the insight provided by history and realize that the entire prophecy has been, for the most part, fulfilled.  

In the “Song of Moses” he again foresees the future fate of his people.

  1. God chose Israel and blessed her.
  2. In God’s blessing, Israel became “fat” and forgot God who blessed her.
  3. Israel chased after “other gods”.
  4. God used a “foolish nation” to discipline His people.
  5. Ultimately, God will judge the “foolish nation” and vindicate His people.

Again, I will make the point that the judgment of Israel resulting in their dispersion did not signify that God had “cut off” His people.  The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17) which was expanded at Mt. Sinai is eternal.  The addendum to the covenant (Deuteronomy 29) spelled out the requirements for Israel to possess their land.  Their unfaithfulness would lead to dispersion but this would not mean that the original covenant had been abrogated.

Also, included in this section is the account of the end of the ministry of Moses (at least in this age).  God commanded Moses to go up on Mt. Nebo and die there.

“Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession.  Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.”  (Deuteronomy 32:49-50)

Moses was not permitted to enter the land because of the incident at Meribah where Moses failed to treat God as holy, i.e., he did not carry out God’s command as directed and became negative toward God’s people.  Joshua ben Nun would be the one who would lead Israel into the land of their inheritance.

One final note concerning this week.  We just celebrated the beginning of the seventh month on the Biblical calendar.  In the Bible, the number seven denotes “completion”.  If we say that the redemption process began in the first month with Passover, then the seventh month should be understood as signifying the completion of that redemption process.  The Lord declared that this event should be heralded by the “Teruah”, the sounding of the Shofar.  The Bible speaks of the “Great Trumpet” and the “Last Trumpet”.  We believe that this is what that has been foreshadowed over the years as the “Shofar” has been sounded on the first day of the seventh month.

Bible Study: Deuteronomy 29-31

Current Events, Torah

The final words of Moses to Israel reveal that he understood what would happen in their future.  Obviously, God revealed to Moses these things.  God knew that Israel would act unfaithfully after they had entered the land that He was giving them (Deuteronomy 31:16-18).  We know now, due to hindsight, that this would lead to Israel being dispersed from the land.  This happened about 800 years after the days of Moses.  Jeremiah was the prophet who functioned at the time when Israel was being judged leading to their dispersion.  He declared the reason for the judgment:

“The Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it” (Jeremiah 9:13).

As a result, God’s people were driven from the land.

Long before the dispersion, God gave the promise of the ingathering of the people of Israel to the land of Israel.  If and when Israel repented, God declared,

“Then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.  If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.  And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.”  (Deuteronomy 30:3-5)

Even if Israel didn’t repent in the manner prescribed above, God declared that He would bring them back to possess the land for God’s own name sake.  (See Ezekiel 36:22-28).

We have previously summarized our position concerning the addendum to the Sinai covenant announced by God at Mt. Nebo.  This is sometimes referred to as the “Covenant in Moab” or “the Palestinian Covenant”.  This latter label is absurd but is commonly used.  The Covenant made at Mt. Sinai dealt with the relationship between God and His people.  This was an extension of the previous covenant made with Abraham and is eternal (Genesis 17:19).  The covenant addendum made at Mt. Nebo established what would be required of Israel to occupy and continuously possess the land of Israel.  This was Israel’s work of ministry and was conditional upon their faithfulness.  If they were unfaithful, they would be judged.  The ultimate judgment if they continued in unfaithfulness would be their exile from the land.   When Israel failed with regard to this addendum, God did not want anyone to conclude that He had cut off His people.  Jeremiah understood this.  He declared at the time of the dispersion:

“Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name; “If this fixed order departs from before Me, declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever,  Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below; Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 31:35-37)

Note that Jeremiah is referring to the relationship aspect of the covenant.

Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, declared the same message.  He wrote, 

“I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?  May it never be!  (Romans 11:1a), and “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?  May it never be! (Romans 11:11a).

Clearly, Paul understood the distinction between the relationship aspects of Israel’s covenant and the ministry aspects of it.  It is unfortunate that the Church Fathers of subsequent centuries did not grasp what Paul understood.  They concluded that God revoked His relationship with Israel and replaced them with the Church.  This is the unscriptural doctrine of “Replacement Theology” common in Christian thought today.

God is calling real, committed believers to recognize the simple truth of Israel’s election and to identify with Israel rather than with the “universal church” and to function alongside of Israel in the quest for the Kingdom of God coming to planet earth.  A famous rabbi once prayed:

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven….” Matthew 6:10)

Another common misconception in Christian teaching is exposed in this section.  You have heard it said that Christians aren’t responsible for the “Law” (Jesus fulfilled it) and that the “Law” was only for the Jewish people (Christians relate to God through grace).  Furthermore it is said that no one can keep the law.  Moses disputed this position.

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.”  (Deuteronomy 30:11)

Actually the “Law” is simply Biblical lifestyle to which most serious Christians adhere to with notable exceptions (festivals and kosher food).  Contrary to popular thought, the “Law” was never given as a means of justification before God.  Justification has always been by grace never by adherence to the “Law”.  Serious Christians need to rethink their position relative to the “Law”.

Just a few days ago, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a university in Utah. Obviously, Mr. Kirk was awakening to the false doctrine of “replacement theology”.  His death is incredibly unfortunate on many levels. He exerted much influence over the youth of the nation. Hopefully, the new generation of believers will follow him in properly relating to Israel.

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