“Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on EAGLES’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Ex 19:4).
The PARALLEL of that promise to Israel, to “bring us OUT from thence in order to bring us IN, to give us the Land which He swore to our fathers,” to be “all righteous…that He may be glorified” (Deut 6:23-25; Is 61:21) and which will be fulfilled only on COMPLETION of their current reversal of 2nd and final Exile (Deut 30; Is 11:10-12), is the SPIRITUAL promise ratified in their New Covenant, of salvation-deliverance from bondage to the darkness of Torahlessness, for “TRANSLATION into the Kingdom (that comes “without observation” – Lk 17:20) through justifying-faith in the redemption which is in “the Messiah their Passover,” for preparation of a wholeheartedly faithful remnant, for acceptance with Y’shua for entrance into the “Everlasting Kingdom” (Acts 10:36; 1 Cor 5:7,8; 2 Cor 5:9-11; 2 Peter 1:1-11; Heb 5:9) represented by the millennial restoration of the Davidic Monarchy to Jerusalem (Ps 122:5-9; Is 9:6,7; Mk 11:10; Lk 1:32,33; Acts 1:6,7).
The single most important meeting of the church in all its history (forever “the congregation/s of the Fountain of Israel” as the dynasty of Abraham reckoned through Isaac and Jacob the CONSECRATED firstborns – Gen 18:18,19; 28:14; Ps 68:26; Lk 1:33; Jn 10:16; Acts 7:38; Rom 11; Gal 3:29; Eph 2:11,12,15,19; 3:6; Heb 12:23) was its phenomenal encounter with their Deliverer the God of Hebrews, as Lawgiver on the first Shavuo’t, when in awe, Israel acknowledged Him as sole ultimate Sovereign of the Universe (Deut 4:39; 6:4,5; Mk 12:28-34), and in a unique covenant with their God ON BEHALF of the church in perpetuity (Deut 29:12-15), UNANIMOUSLY ACCEPTED the yoke of the marriage covenant, to receive His gracious promise to tenderly guide their destiny to fulfil their holy vocation as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” bound by YHVH’s righteous commandmentS given “in commandmenT” (Ex 19:5-8; 24:7,8; 34:27,28,32), thereby binding all (including believers from the nations) who would eventually accept the Messiah, to these identical terms, as part of “the people of inheritance” called to KNOW the Messiah by growing in grace and in the knowledge of God by learning “the Way” which He as the Holy and Just Son demonstrated to perfection, to be unashamed of our conduct and thought life, on His return (Deut 4:10-24; Matt 12:50; Lk 6:40; Jn 14:15; Acts 24:14; Rom 3:31; 15:16-18; Heb 12:25-29; 1 Jn 2:3-6,28,29).
In committing itself to full obedience at Sinai (an unequivocal pledge they would infamously, repeatedly dishonour), Israel momentarily at least listened, heard, noted and unconditionally agreed to heed the “if” and “then” in Ex 19:5,6 and the three “ifs” in Deut 28:1,2,9,10, which is a prudent grammatical precision the church today needs to recognize and take to heart, TO FIND THE NARROW PATH, since the New Covenant is no less conditional than preceding covenants which comprise its sub-stack (Matt 12:50; Heb 2:1-3; 10:26-39; Rev 2:5; 3:2-6,16)
The greatest juncture between mankind and eternity is the CRUCIFIXION; whereas the greatest juncture between the eternal God and His FOREVER all-Hebrew CHURCH (Lk 1:33; Acts 7:38; Rom 11; Gal 3:29; Rev 21:12) is SINAI (called the ‘Myrrh Mnt’ in Hebrew poetry), where He commissioned “Israel, My son, even My firstborn” (Ex 4:22,23) as the holy, eternal adopting nation constituted as a “kingdom of priests” (Ex 19:5-8; 24:7,8; Is 45:4; 54:3; 55:5; 60-62; Lk 1:33; Eph 1:5; 2:11-19; Rev 1:5,6) and gave them their Charter as His foremost witnesses of His Singular existence, Majesty, mercy, loving-kindness, compassion, Holiness and power (Deut 4:39; Is 43:1-11; 44:1-8,24) and of His Instruction in “the Way of the LORD” on how one “OUGHT TO BEHAVE” in the household of God as “jewels” of uprightness (Mal 3:16-18), to BE accounted worthy to be “established” as His “peculiar treasure” to be a “glorious church” in latter-house pre-eminence, with full assurance of hope to the end (Deut 26:16-19; Is 46:13; Jer 31:7; Haggai 2:7,9; Eph 5:26,27; Lk 20:35; Phil 1:10; 2:12-16; 1 Tim 3:15; Heb 9:19,20; 10:16; 2 Peter 3:11).
We’ve made a self-righteously modified, anti-Christ gospel a golden calf by perverting the cause of justice by shutting Sinai out of Pentecost by considering its stature as the inaugural Shavuo’t unrelated to the New Covenant’s greatest- ever demand for purification of a bride, by obedience.
Instead, the New Covenant is neither a blanket substitute for previous covenants nor a codicil, but the confluence of all covenants, honouring precedent, to fulfil all the everlasting commitments either unique to or in common with each.
No ACKNOWLEDGMENT and observance of Sinai’s legacy of truth, little or no DEPOSIT of wisdom for final redemption, because no FUEL for the furnace of sanctification (refinement being by the commandments – 1 Thess 4:1-3a; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13-15).
It’s the church’s holy VOCATION to make disciples of a covenant-KEEPING Messiah by doing likewise (1 Jn 2:3-6,29), or soul-winning is HALF BAKED, eternal life being subject to HOLINESS (Rom 6:22; 1 Tim 6:11-14; Heb 12:14).
So prophetically, we can draw a straight line from GEN 12:2,3 (the promise of a great holy nation as the vehicle for redemption of mankind “in Abraham,” “in Isaac” and “in Jacob” “in Messiah” – Gen 12:3; 28:14; Ps 72:17; Rom 9:7; Gal 3:8,9,27,29, just as Noah’s eight souls were delivered in the Ark) through SINAI (the holding of that fundamental nation FOREVER accountable to absolute Divine moral criteria for holiness by their undertaking ON OUR BEHALF “we will do all and be obedient” – Ex 19:5-8; 24:7,8; Deut 4:5-8,10-24; 29:12-15) to REV 21:9,12; 22:14,18,19 (the consummation of the destiny of that Hebrew nation and its commonwealth – Eph 2:11,12, to prove that the ratification of THEIR New Covenant is the confirmation of the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Rom 15:8 AND confirmation of the Sinai covenant of commandments as the basis for Judgment of humanity, to decide who shall have the right to immortality and to the tree of Life and therefore the right to enter through the Twelve Hebrew Tribal Gates into the New Jerusalem (1 Cor 7:19; Rev 12:17; 14:12; 22:14,18,19).
All SEVEN themes in this Portion, from the wisdom of patriarchal authority (Nu 30), to the sanctity of heritage and family lineage, national borders, inherited property and life itself (Nu 32; 35:29-34; 36), reflect the knowledge of Divinely drawn DISTINCTIONS between right and wrong, good and evil, and therefore, between the sacred and the profane, which makes Sinai forever HUMANITY’s MASTERCLASS in moral and ethical wisdom, the core of the “Shema” (Mk 12:28-34).
So much so, that Pentecost two thousand years ago (the Gift of the Spirit, above all as our ‘medium of instruction’ as TEACHER of the Way) is stripped of ITS greatest significance when Sinai’s legitimacy under the New Covenant is dumbly repudiated by violation of the subtle teachings of “grace for grace” (Jn 1:16) which INCLUDES grace to make those made clean by their salvation BY GRACE (Jn 15:3), able to MAINTAIN that imputed innocence by keeping faith with the covenant terms of separation in reverence and Godly Fear, because professing love without awe of God that produces sanctification line by line, precept by precept, is a FAILING RECIPE (Is 8:13,14,16,20; 28:9-13; Rom 15:16-18; 2 Cor 6; Heb 12:14,16,28; James 4:4,5; Rev 14:6,7,12; 18:4,5).
If the church lacks power, and the credibility of its witness is weakened, it’s because we’ve overlooked the fact that the Gospel PROJECTS THE POWER OF GOD only if it is OBEYED, and that that obedience it demands of the RIGHTEOUS, is respect for the covenant given “in commandment” on Sinai (Ex 34:27,28,32) and its accompanying precepts (Ps 119:1,45), which together comprise the love command “against which there is no law” (Lk 10:27,28).
The allegory of Agar the bondwoman in Gal 4:22-24 has nothing to do with the holy covenant obligations required of those ONCE SAVED BY GRACE, to “walk before God and be perfect” in the conscientious manner of Abraham’s and our LORD Y’shua’s obedience to the Father’s will, on “the paths of righteousness” which define the narrow way that LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE (Gen 17:1; Ps 23:3; Is 51:1-7; Matt 5:48; 19:16-26; Lk 10:25-28; 17:10; Rom 6:12-22; Col 1:22,28; 4:12).
Sinai is not a dinosaur, not an anachronism in this dispensation, not an adversary of freedom, not irreconcilable to grace, not a contradiction of justification apart from works, not a misinterpretation of love; nor the church of Jacob in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), a spent idea.
BOTH are our legacy.
We are reborn, BECAUSE as we know from Jesus’ “sayings,” BOTH are eternal (Matt 5:19,24; 7:21-24), or there’d be no way to “partake of the HOLINESS of YHVH” to truly be His disciples, both free and worthy of escape through the resurrection to life (Deut 30:10,11; Lk 1:33; 20:35; 21:36; Jn 5:28,29; 8:31-36,51; 14:15; 15:10; Rom 3:31; Heb 5:9; 12; 2 Jn vs 5&6).
If we’re not ACCEPTING of the fact of our surnaming and adoption into the eternal House of Jacob (Is 54:3; Lk 1:33; Eph 1:5; 2:11,12,15,19), as one new man “bound in the bundle of life” with Immanu El amongst THEM (the natural olive tree) to display the moral high ground of the Sinai covenant to the world in thought, word and deed, we are not hidden in the Presence of YHVH under the covering of His Spirit.
Those who salivate over their doctrinal bias and denominational prejudice in misreading and misusing Galatians to recriminate and deem as heretical and reprobate, SAVED Torah zealots whom the Apostles COMMENDED to YHVH (Acts 21:20), should be sent down to a class of detention, to write out 1 Cor 7:19; 11:1,2; 2 Thess 2:15 repeatedly TILL THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE THEM.
Sinai is “bondage” (to sin/Torahlessness) only for those who reject the Spirit and the principle of the leavening effect of law on the righteousness of children of the promise (Gal 4:28) called to be the LIGHT of the world as salt of the earth, not by sitting on their hands boasting in imputed righteousness, but by “walking AFTER righteousness” (constantly exercising it – Heb 5:11-14) by “walking (lawfully) after the Spirit,” to REMAIN in Messiah, the eternal champion of Torah sent to restore the earth to a Godfearing remnant of faithful stewards of the Way (Is 24:3-6; 42:21; Matt 5:19; Rom 8:1-14,18-23; 2 Tim 2:5; 1 Jn 2:3-6,17).
Let’s not be deluded by misjudging and misinterpreting Galatians which focuses rightly on NOT trying to ENTER the kingdom by saving ourselves by establishing our own righteousness by works of the law.
Sarah, saved by grace along with Abraham (Rom 4:3-5), followed- on to know the LORD by embracing Torah as the standard for righteousness, by the rule of obedience to faith, as the hallmark of their household of faith, the household of God (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5; Lk 1:33; Rom 3:31; 16:26; Eph 2:11,12,19)
“Jerusalem above,” the place of the excellency of the glory, is FREE for one reason – it is LAWABIDING, as the origin of “the righteousness of the law” which is pursued by faith for “the righteousness of YHVH” to be imputed to us, for it not to remain PASSIVE, but to be “fulfilled (by and) in US” in PRACTICE, by imitating God Himself (Matt 6:9,10; 12:50; Lk 6:40; Rom 2:13,26; Eph 5:1,10,15-17,26,27; 1 Jn 2:3-6) through the Presence and power of the Spirit of the risen LORD Jesus obtained through the salvation which is freely given for that purpose, to PURIFY and EQUIP us for eternal life (Rom 8:4,14,23; 1 Jn 3:3).
The vast canvas of the TOPIC ‘Sinai, Shabbat and “the everlasting covenant”‘ (linked to this week’s Portion) traces an entirely HEBREW TIMELINE (ingathering of the Gentiles is a ‘parenthetical’ work of the Spirit) from the call of “Abram the HEBREW” (Gen 14:13) to a HEBREW ETERNITY (Rom 4:13; Rev 21:12), by tracing the pathway of the Abrahamic covenantS (Gen 12:1-7; 15; 17; 22) and Davidic salt covenant (2 Chr 13:5) into the Gospel through the New Covenant and shows how disdainfully giving Torah a wide berth, profanes rather than sanctifies the Name (chilul rather than kiddush HaShem) (Hosea 8:1-12; Mal 2:8,10,11) and misses the love command (on which the Torah and the Prophets are “hanging” for good purpose – Matt 22:36-40) by a mile.
The Koren Siddur has a prayer in which we read the rather wonderful statement “He created Glory for His Name,” from which we can infer that HIS “sanctification in righteousness” by OUR sanctification by the righteousness of HIS commandments is CONJOINED with the Glory He made for His Name.
So we hobble the Gospel by whitewashing Sinai, at the peril of destroying good understanding of “EVERLASTING salvation” (“salvation TO THE UTTERMOST” (Is 45:17-25; Heb 7:25) which requires sanctification by all truth (Jn 17:17,19) by offering proof of repentance from a history of voiding Torah (Rom 3:31), by choosing to delight in God’s ways to avoid “returning to our vomit” because sin “will find us out” (Acts 26:18,20; Rom 7:22,25; Gal 2:17,18).
Ignoring the educational rôle of the law through the Holy Spirit framing our responses to life through its wisdom, to match Messiah’s perfect conduct (Ps 50:23; 119:96-105; Rom 3:20; 1 Tim 1:8-11), destroys any hope of accurately defining and honouring the letter and spirit of the Gospel which is THE CALL TO THE RIGHTEOUS, TO KEEP COVENANT from our hearts, by our transformation by the renewal of the spirit of our minds, to be conformed to Messiah’s perfection by doing His Father’s will on earth, to harmonize the ordinances of heaven and earth (Jer 33:25; Matt 6:9,10; Lk 6:40; Rom 12:1,2).
Satan despises what was covenanted at Sinai, which was the beginning of widely orchestrated Torah teaching to purify souls to serve
YHVH in all truth.
Which is why he has smothered the need for what we could call ‘Torah-evangelism’ TO THE RIGHTEOUS, to BE righteous under conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment by the Spirit of Holiness, to be holy, to lay hold on eternal life, which is impossible while we’re voiding Godly Instruction through wilful ignorance (Rom 3:31; 1 Tim 6:11-14; 2 Tim 2:5).
Did Abraham know Torah?
To answer that, we might as well ask rhetorically, “Did Y’shua make Abraham?” (Jn 8:58; Col 1:16).
No less than righteous Noah “the teacher of righteousness” and only hope in God, of continuity of civilization, Abram was called out of Ur of the Chaldees to initiate the great second and final cycle of redemption of mankind, by being an example of an “heir of the righteousness which is of faith” (Heb 11:7-10) AND of a true son schooled in the Way of the LORD in order to BE righteous, order his IMPUTED righteousness would have been INVALIDATED (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5; James 2:14-26).
SUPPRESSED therefore, is the fundamental knowledge of the truth that as the father of our ’emunah’ (faith and faithfulness), Abraham is the father of obedience to Torah (“obedience to righteousness” – Rom 2:13,25; 6:12-22; 7:7,12-16,22,25; 8:4) in order to “walk before YHVH and be PERFECT” (Gen 17:1; 18:18,19; 26:5; Is 51:1-7).
Being “made wise for salvation” by Torah study and practice (2 Tim 3:14-17), Abraham made himself ready (as we’re exhorted to do in Rev 19:7-9), to be accepted as part of the Bride, as did Isaac and Jacob whose heritage from their father and grandfather respectively, was Torah (Gen 26:5; Matt 8:11,12).
So the enemy in the camp is disruptive, disunifying, anarchic Luciferian ‘anti-Nomianism’ (irrational denial of YHVH’s Holiness by denial of the holiness of His ways embodied in His commandments upon which His Character is founded).
Y’shua, Abraham’s Seed (Gal 3:16; Heb 2:16,17), obeyed YHVH’s instruction to Abraham to command his HOUSEHOLD after him (the church of the House of Jacob to which we’re joined, to cleave to Israel – Is 14:1; Jn 10:16; Rom 11; Heb 12:23), to follow his fine example of magnifying Torah to “make it honourable,” “for the sake of YHVH’s righteousness,” because it became the Messiah’s teaching mandate and summons to us all to imitate Him by proving the value of Torah by “establishing” it through its Spirit-led application to our lives, by faith (Is 42:21; Matt 5:17-20,48; Rom 3:31).
Sinai, our mighty legacy of “the law of truth” (Deut 33:2,4; Ps 119:142; Mal 2:6), was the CODIFICATION of the Torah which Abraham, Job (Job 22:21,22; 29) and others knew, with augmented provisions, for it to formally become the church’s plumbline of truth and righteousness (2 Tim 3:14-17).
Being “dead to the law” (2 Tim 2:11 – no longer convicted and under judgment by the law as transgressors) by striving for masteries of the Way, to “walk at liberty” by searching out and doing YHVH’s precepts to remain undefiled and guiltless (Ps 119:1,45) is a soul’s highest achievement because thereby, we “partake of YHVH’s holiness” and Divine Nature (Heb 12; 2 Peter 1).
Ultimately, this is Sinai’s legacy to those who, by YHVH’s Spirit, “seek FIRST My Kingdom and My RIGHTEOUSNESS” to BE righteous as He is righteous (1 Jn 3:4,7).
Torah Instruction, which is good (Rom 7:7,12-16) was “received by the dispensation of Angels” (Acts 7:53), for Y’shua to become Sole Mediator between YHVH and man, of an everlasting covenant that would be ministered to righteousness-prone CIRCUMCISED HEARTS (Rom 6:6,18; 2 Cor 3:8,9) by the indwelling-Spirit of the Messiah internally convicting and mentoring the disciple in all the ways of the LORD, to wholeheartedly do them by the power of the Presence of the Spirit (Phil 2:12,13; Heb 13:20,21), so that Torah, quickened by the Spirit, is no longer “a ministry of condemnation and death” (2 Cor 3:7,9), which was because the stubborn defiance of Israel’s rebellious flesh “weakened the law” (hardheartedness rendered obedience a low probability).
Far from being IRRELEVANT to purification of our souls, which is the goal of faith (1 Peter 1:9,22; 1 Jn 3:3-7), Sinai should therefore be a CONSTANT REMINDER that the superb wisdom of Torah (as fully expounded from its first principles by Y’shua, as anticipated by Moses in Deut 18:18,19/Acts 3:22,23), is a tree of life to those who “lay hold on it and retain it” (Prov 3:18; 4:5-13), to write it on their hearts to make it the apple of their eye (Prov 7:1-4; Matt 5:19; 2 Cor 3:2,3; Heb 8:10-12; 10:16)
