Articles by Ashley Saville Watson

“What is man, that Thou art mindful of Him and shouldest MAGNIFY Him (“ye are gods”) and set Thou heart upon him…Be ye therefore PERFECT, even as your Father Who is in Heaven is perfect…observe ALL things WHATSOEVER I have COMMANDED YOU…” (Job 7:7; 22:21-23; Ps 8:4; Matt 5:48; 28:20)

There’s a veiled truth of startling significance to Israel and to the rest of humanity in Jn 10:34 which, quoted from Ps 82:6, Y’shua-Jesus recited in His defence: “I have said: ‘Ye are gods and ALL of you are children of the Most High (sons of God),” stopping short of verse seven (“but ye shall die like men (i.e. “in Adam”)…” which in that moment would have unnecessarily discouraged those accusing Him of blasphemy for claiming identity with God (Jn 10:30,31,36-39). He was using the carrot in preference to the stick

He was graciously offering them the choice which faith in Him represented, between “the death of the righteous” (Nu 23:9) and the dreadful finality of eternal death “in Adam,” by conveying to them the unbreakable, eternal Mystery of the Gospel (“the Scripture cannot be BROKEN” – Jn 10:35), which is that God with us (Is 7:13,14) as the Messiah-Christ in us as “the brightness of the glory and express image of the Person” of the uniplurality of the Godhead (Heb 1:3; Jn 10:30) is our hope of glory (restated plainly by Paul in Col 1:26-29), as we shake off the image of mere man and by aspiring to manifest the promise that “ye are gods” in our own lives, reclaim the image and likeness of God, through imitation of Y’shua’s virtuous example as Son of God to have life and life more abundantly (Jn 10:10), for He Who IS God, to BE God of a sanctified remnant of “gods” (Gen 1:26; Rom 8:29; Eph 4:22,23; Col 3:10).

That is the ideal of humanity raised to perfection in the Messiah (by overcoming all residual sin to delegitimize any grounds for satan to reserve a claim upon us), which formerly, even the angels couldn’t comprehend.

Imagine being able to say the same thing as our Master: satan “has nothing in me” (nothing in us in common with darkness in terms of persistent sin – 1 Jn 1)

For that, satan wanted the LORD’s Blood and is pursuing us to the death, if that were possible, because the proclamation, “ye are gods,” is way too much for his overweening pride to bear.

Wasn’t unborn Adam, created and formed perfect in the image and likeness of YHVH as a glorified immortal god-man-son of God, as a foretaste of the new birth, forerunner of the calling to stand perfect and complete in all the will of YHVH, the vocation WE inherit through the Last Adam? (Eph 4:1; Col 4:12).

Isn’t it the rôle of the glorified “Last Adam,” the Quickening Spirit Who “took on the seed of Abraham” to be the Seed of David (both “earthy” AND “from Heaven” – Rom 1:3,4; Heb 2:16), to be fully representative of what unborn Adam was originally as primordial Adam, as well as fully representative of what he PARENTED as the fallen human species (from which “Abram the Hebrew” was called out), to raise all who pursue the perfection of holiness in the love and power of God (2 Cor 7:1) to the “high degree” Adam enjoyed as “the first man” and prototype of the Son of David (1 Chr 17:17; 1 Cor 15:45-47) before the calamity of sin?

Isn’t this the principle cause of the ‘tikkun ha olam’ (the need for regeneration and repair of the world) which demanded expiation of sin by the Blood of the Creator Himself (Col 1:16-21), for His universal Jn 3:16 love for the world to produce the miracle of purification of the soul which can be accomplished only by the Spirit through obedience to the faith by obedience to the will of YHVH through refinement by fire to attain the unity of the faith which is defined by sound doctrine (Rom 1:5; Mk 9:49; Eph 4), so that schisms cease and men no longer profane God and reflect poorly on the efficacy of YHVH’s design by bringing reproach on themselves.

We should love and marvel at the way YHVH the Almighty “so loved the world…”, offering TO HIMSELF the redemption-price necessary to APPEASE (to propitiate) HIMSELF, AS the ransom necessary to restore the innocence of Eden to all creation which man’s breach of His image and likeness set at nought, and gifting us with His holy Instruction (Torah) to show us exactly, by the Spirit, HOW to keep the original innocence restored by salvation by grace, IN PERFECT TRIM, so that the regeneration will not be subject to defilement by a repeat of man’s former folly.

The LORD, the MESSIAH, is washing His Ekklesia (‘church’) from all trace of the fall of man by offering His congregations everywhere, instruction in sound doctrine for us to come to the Cross in repentance from prejudice, error, contention, dissension and complacency, to turn from disobedience to the wisdom of the righteous (Lk 1:17; Rom 3:31; 15:16-18; Eph 4:11-17,22-24; 5:10,15-17,25-27), for Him to be “fully formed” in us as He conforms us wholly to His image by His Spirit (Rom 8:29; Gal 4:19; Col 3:9,10; 1 Thess 2:13,14; 2 Thess 2:13), to present to Himself a spotless, blameless bride to be “blessed and holy,” for the second death to have no power over a faithful, glorious remnant (Heb 5:9; 02 Peter 3:9-18; Rev 17:14; 20:6).

If anyone needs STRONG MOTIVATION to find out how to be perfect in the sight of the Living God our Saviour WHO AS THE MESSIAH OBEYS HIMSELF, AS OUR EXAMPLE (Is 45:21-23; Jn 10:30; 14:31; 15:10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,17), let him soberly consider the fact that not every Christian will be a child of the First Resurrection.

That distinction is only for those who through resolute, dedicated and timeous preparation will have mastered their souls (by allowing the Holy Spirit to rewrite their worldly behavioural code with Godly “precept upon precept, line upon line…”) to be holy, to be “accounted worthy” of the victory designation of overcomers (“the blessed and HOLY”) WHO WILL NOT BE MANY (Is 28:9-13; Matt 7:13,14; Lk 20:35,36; 2 Tim 2:5; Rev 19:7-9; 20:6)

As this revelation of the UTMOST PURITY of the bride makes a deeper impression, as INIQUITY and IMPURITY overtake the world (Rev 22:11), many more sincere believers will come to regard the Gospel as the Finished Work (of Atonement for Torahlessness) which PAVES THE WAY for the ‘Finishing School of the Holy Spirit’ (the Master’s master-classes in the Way of YHVH – Is 28:9-13; 50:4,5; Matt 11:29,30; Eph 4:20) to produce harvests of cum laude graduating classes (Lk 6:40) in the discipline of the “doctrine according to Godliness” (Rom 6:17; 1 Tim 6:3), which develops “true Holiness” in conscientious, true and faithful seed of Torah-wise Abraham, to be without spot, harmless, faultless and blameless (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5; 2 Cor 11:1,2; Gal 3:29; Eph 4:11-16; 22-24; Phil 2:15,16; Col 1:22,23,28,29; 4:12; Heb 12; 1 Jn 3:4; Jude vs 24-26).

Nowhere in any of the God of Jacob’s covenants, is eternal life guaranteed by CONFESSION of truth ALONE (Matt 12:50; Rom 2:6-13; Heb 5:9; James 1:22-25; 2:8-26), because justification by faith in the Blood must produce abundant corresponding fruit of righteousness through obedience to the commandments as proof of repentance, for our sanctification (Acts 10:35; 26:18,20), for God to “justify the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness” (1 Kings 8:23,32; Ps 103:17,18; 1 Cor 7:19; 11:1,2; James 2:14-26; Jn 5:28,29; 1 Jn 2:29; 3:7; Rev 14:12).

Our salvation by grace is TESTED by our acceptance of and our willingness to enter into the marriage covenant of commandments “given in commandment” to “enter into YHVH’s oath” to consider us as His people and establish us as His people (Ex 19:5-8; 24:8; 34:27,28,32; Deut 28:9; 29:9,12-15), just as it was by Israel AFTER their Passover salvation-rescue, for us to walk LAWFULLY after the Spirit as Moses and Y’shua-Jesus did (Is 63:11-14; Rom 7:25; 8:1-4,14; 2 Tim 2:5), to “remain forever” in Christ (1 Jn 2:3-6,17).

The text is explicit: He will be to THEM a God, and THEY (those who co-operate with His Spirit to write His laws on their hearts to keep them as the apple of their eye) shall be to Him a people (Prov 7:1-3; Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:10,11; 10:16)

So in any discussion of genuine “EVERLASTING salvation” (Is 45:17-25) and the wholehearted commitment to the spiritual growth to perfection needed that assure it, the following commandment should be taken very seriously

God would be an arbitrary and unjust Ruler had He created us as His offspring (Acts 17:28-32) without a conscience to recognize the iniquity of unrighteousness (our departure from the Way – Rom 3:12) and without free-will with capacity to receive a measure of faith as a deposit to acknowledge the need for repentance to receive salvation, to receive the Anointing and HIS own discernment, to examine and judge our own lives thereafter by the Spirit, to examine whether we’re actually in the genuine Gospel and therefore in the faith as described in the full counsel of God’s Word, to make our being called and chosen a certainty (1 Cor 11:28-32; 2 Cor 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10,11).

So too would He be unjust if He had not provided a baseline as plumbline to know whether and when we’ve been “perfectly trained” (Jn 6:40; Col 1:28), with a failsafe method (the vital ‘Berean test’ of two or more corroborating witnesses to truth from the Torah and the Prophets, in Acts 17:11; 24:14; 2 Cor 13:1) for us to mark and measure our own progress towards our perfection in holiness (2 Cor 7:1; Phil 2:12,13; Heb 12:14,28), as proof of our separation from the world (2 Cor 6; Rev 18:4,5), as proof of our professed love for God and fellow man (Mk 12:29-32).

God studies behaviour every minute (Job 7:17,18).

We are being minutely evaluated moment by moment, to give an account when the Books are opened (Lk 20:35; 2 Cor 5:9-11; Rev 20:12)

Behaviour reveals the heart, which God reads like a book.

The heart (the spirit of man which ought to be “the candle of the LORD”) is the rudder of the soul which determines our fate.

There’s no place to hide from Divine scrutiny.

Every behaviour EXCEPT reflex reactions (like involuntary adrenalin-charged responses to real or perceived danger) will be judged by the eternal moral law.

Our thought, perceptions and attitudes (how we garden our minds) determine our inclinations and actions, which is why temptation (often a test of our morality and free will) leads to death if not resisted by renewal (rewiring) of the mind (James 1:12-15).

Paul uses unnatural affection as a prime example, in Romans (Rom 1:18-32).

James generalizes, referring to failure to sanctify the soul as “friendship OF the world” (James 4:4,5).

God’s emphasis on our responsibility for what we do with our minds, in Romans 12:1,2, is a HUGE test of our commitment to “be perfect” (Matt 5:48; 2 Cor 13:8-11), to “do nothing against the truth,” to be “as our Master” (Lk 6:40).

Pastors who are not administering this revelation to their congregations, and urging that it be made a priority, are falling far short of their “charge” to help the Holy Spirit prepare a sanctified remnant (1 Tim 6:11-14).

Secrecy cannot veil unrighteousness (Job 34:21,22; Ps 139:7,8,12; Prov 15:3; Jer 23:24; Lk 8:17; Heb 4:13).

To be perfect (love being made perfect in us for us to be in the world AS HE IS, being the goal of faith) requires a heart and therefore a life to be regulated by Kingdom norms, in the form of the principles of righteousness which inundate the text of the Bible, for us to discover (Ps 119:45; Prov 25:2; 1Jn 4:17).

Evangelism is the ground floor of the spiritual house God is building, in that salvation (restoration of original innocence) is the first rung of the ladder of redemption of error and unbelief through conversion to the Way, that leads to redemption of our bodies (Rom 8:23) for those who “seek for immortality (eternal life)” through “continuance” in the ways of God, to “lay hold on eternal life” by guarding their hearts from repeat-contamination by sin, through growth in spiritual maturity in the use of the meat of the Word to REMAIN CLEAN, to be PURE, even as Y’shua is pure (Is 64:5; Jn 15:3,4; Rom 2:6-13; 8:4,23; 1🍖Tim 6:11-14; Heb 4&5; 1 Jn 3:3-10).

On the rare occasions when Israel walked in full repentance, their God described them as “Yeshurun,” ideal Israel observing mercy and justice/judgment by the rule of faith (Matt 23:23).

There is no merit in “dwelling carelessly,” instead of circumspectly (accurately) in all the ways of God (Zeph 2:3,15; Eph 5:10,15-17; Rev 3:10; 14:12)

He does not change. The bride (of which Israel has always been the firstfruits as the firstfruits of YHVH’s harvests – Jer 2:1-3; Rom 1:16; 2:9,10), will be endtime ‘Yeshurun,’ as perfected “gods” – the “jewels” who make up His OBEDIENT “peculiar treasure” (Ex 19:5-8; Deut 32:15-21; 33:26-29; Mal 3:16-18; Jn 10:35; Heb 5:9; 10:26,36; 12:28; 1 Jn 2:17).

If “we believe the deed was done, which shook the Earth and veiled the sun” (Anglican Hymn) for the Resurrection to justify us for newness of life, then proof that WE too delight in the law of the LORD, is the commitment which the Almighty expects of us, to demonstrate that impeccable life of the Son of God to the world (Ps 1; Rom 3:31; 7:22,25; 8:4).

I Jn 1:5-10 shows us that once we’re acquitted of sins past and reconciled to the Father through the remission of our sins (Rom 3:25), the Blood covers those who ALLOW the purging, cleansing and purifying work of the Spirit to help them uphold the call to holiness (Phil 2:12,13; 2 Cor 7:1), by learning to maintain unbroken fellowship by walking in the light; and that the Blood was shed to preserve THEM through their inevitable trial and error application of the knowledge of the ways of YHVH as they CONSCIENTIOUSLY close-in on perfection (narrowing their walk to match the narrow path) by faithfully working out their own salvation, to win the prize of life.

Those who defy the Gospel by expressing no interest in being led by the Spirit on the narrow path of sanctification (Rom 8:4,6,7,14), will at some point discover that that grace (the Blood covering) is no longer available to them because of having irrevocably grieved the Spirit by entertaining falsehoods which compromise the required integrity of holy sonship (Acts 5:32; Eph 4:22,23,30; 2 Thess 2:10-15; Heb 10; Rev 22:14,15,18,19).

Many more of us should pay attention to 1 Jn 1:6&7 to avoid complacency, because the Gospel is a stringent call to STUDY righteousness, to DO it as the work of love (Is 51:1-7; 64:5; Heb 4:11-14; 5:1-12; Titus 3:14).

No-one can fulfil that call, to “FULLY know doctrine” to “make FULL proof of their ministry,” unless their LOYALTY to the Word of God as a SEAMLESS REVELATION from Genesis to Revelation, is TESTED by STUDY of THE Torah (the first five Books) and Torah (Instruction throughout the Bible) in general, as their staple nourishment (Rom 15:4; 2 Tim 3:10,12-17; 4:5), to be the seal of Paul’s apostleship (1 Cor 9:2; 2 Cor 3:2,3).

Anyone who has an issue with the Torah had best read Rom 15:4. It’s not just background reading.

“LEARN of Me” said our Master, the Word (Deut 31:13; Matt 11:29,30; Rom 3:20). His easy yoke (the yoke of the Kingdom) which is not burdensome (as we can see from the glowing tributes to the wisdom of God’s ways in Ps 119), is Torah amplified and more perfectly explained in the light of the New Covenant, without uprooting the foundation of truth in the Hebrew Scriptures (Matt 5-7; Rom 3:31; 1 Jn 5:2,3).

“Learn of Me” is code for learning the Fear of God by learning the marvellous ways of the Way of the LORD, from a-z, to be COMPREHENSIVELY OBEDIENT (Deut 4:10; 5:29; 7:12; Col 4:12; Rev 14:6,7,12).

To those who obviously weren’t diligent in this matter, either in learning or application, Paul said “But ye have not so learned Christ” (Eph 4:20).

How to serve the LORD our God is life’s greatest quest (Ex 23:25,26, also 7:9-15; 15:26). That quest MUST begin deep in the first Books of the Bible, or the threads of truth running onward to Revelation in a brilliantly predetermined architecture, will inevitably be muddled.

This may not seem obvious to those who are unfamiliar with the PATTERNS of doctrines rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, but The Most High began the work of presenting to Himself a glorious EKKLESIA, in the church in the WILDERNESS which drank from Y’shua the Messiah their spiritual Rock Who followed them and Whose Spirit taught and led Moses (Is 63; Acts 7:38; 1 Cor 10; Eph 5:27).

He was no less interested in Israel being holy and without blemish THEN, than in our lives and in our adopting nation’s FUTURE as chief of nations (Deut 4:5-8; Jer 31:31-34), because Eph 5:27 refers to the one and only church of the House of Jacob the firstborn amongst whose sanctified remnant, we are grafted in (Jer 31:31-36; Lk 1:33; Rom 11; Heb 12:23).

The profound finished work of THEIR Gospel (of which they had a foretaste in the desert – Heb 4:2) describes a purchased reality (this “newness of life” – Rom 6:4) which must be patiently  IMPLEMENTED by sacrifice of self-will, for it to manifest to its fullness.

This is because OBEDIENCE and SPRINKLING (1 Peter 1:2b) run like a gilded twisted cord from Genesis to Revelation, holding the covenant together in perfect proportions.

The notion that the PRINCIPLE of there being no REMISSION of sins without the shedding of blood (without which there would have been no need for the Crucifixion) is NOT accompanied by a demand upon our loving OBEDIENCE, is an absurdity.

Hebrews confirms the opposite in Heb 9:19,20 where we read “This is the blood of the Testament (should read “Covenant”) which God hath ENJOINED unto you.”

This is implied in 1 Cor 11:25 and Lk 22:20.

Sprinkling of Blood is worthless without a baptismal faith commitment to be holy by being baptized into Y’shua’s death. This is Paul’s and Peter’s main point in Rom 6 and 1 Peter 1.

“Enjoined” means PRESCRIBED. The blood ENTAILS submission to the Messiah as MASTER. This is obvious in our confession in Rom 10:9 and in Heb 10:26-36.

The Hebrew Gospel is no less than a PRESCRIPTION for perfection through “obedience to righteousness,” made possible by the Sacrifice of “Christ our Passover” and the Gift of the Spirit (Lk 16:17; Rom 6; 1 Cor 5:7,8).

Luke 6:40 is therefore one of the greatest affirmations in Scripture, as the distillation of the promise of the feasibility of attaining perfection. We should all know it by heart: “…Everyone who is perfect, shall be as his Master” (KJV).

The very idea that a human being can be “like (or as) God,” as in “Ye ARE gods” (Jn 10:34), is revolutionary. This is the promise of the Crucifixion. This should motivate us daily to rise to the challenge of perfection by learning to love His ways.

Many more believers are coming to regard the Gospel as the Finished Work (of Atonement for sin which is Torahlessness – 1 Jn 3:4) which paves the way for the Finishing School of the Holy Spirit (the Master’s master-classes in “the Way of YHVH” – Gen 18:18,19; Is 28:9-13; 50:4,5; Matt 11:29,30; Eph 4:20) to produce harvests of cum laude graduating classes (Lk 6:40) in the discipline of the “doctrine according to Godliness” (Rom 6:17; 1 Tim 6:3) which develops “righteousness and TRUE Holiness,” from conscientious, true and faithful seed of Torah-wise Abraham, to be impeccable: without spot or wrinkle, harmless, faultless and blameless (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5; 2 Cor 11:1,2; Gal 3:29; Eph 4:11-16; 22-24; Phil 2:15,16; Col 1:22,23,28,29; 4:12; Heb 12; 1 Jn 3:4; Jude vs 24-26).

If the church weren’t so distracted from truth by tradition, 1 Cor 1:10 (the basis for perfection) wouldn’t seem an unrealistic goal

Israel went directly to Sinai to receive the bridal contract after the sacrifice of that first Passover (Ex 12:27); we were meant to go directly to Torah class to learn doctrine from Torah in order not to pull up the foundations of the Gospel (Acts 24:14; 2 Tim 3:14-17), to agree with that same contract, to learn YHVH’s ways be a faithful wife to the Lamb, after our translation out of our Egypt by reconciliation with the Father.

The first Passover foreshadowed our salvation. That sacrifice saved Israel through sprinkling, but their eligibility as individuals to enter the inheritance (crossing the Jordan represents entry into the everlasting Kingdom – 2 Peter 1:1-11) was repeatedly tested during their wilderness discipleship (instruction) in obedience. So too, our worthiness to inherit the age and world to come will hinge on our history as disciples (instructed ones) – on our willingness and obedience to be trained to perfection on the ladder of sanctification to be true sons in Messiah’s House (Lk 1:33; 17:10; 20:35; Heb 3:6-18; 12:14; 1 Peter 1:2).

It is the PRACTICE of righteousness, to produce abundant, “peaceable fruit of righteousness,” to be holy (Rom 6:22; Heb 12), that MAKES PERFECT.

The “crown of righteousness” (2 Tim 4:3-8) which awaits the DOCTRINALLY PURE who despite inevitable tribulations (suffering for righteousness) (Acts 14:22; Eph 4:13,14; 2 Tim 3:12; 2 Tim 3:10) keep the holy requirements of the faith as proof of ‘winning Christ’ (Phil 3:10-16), SEPARATES those committed to making the fallen image of Adam EXTINCT (by replicating and thereby exalting the image of the Last Adam, the man from Heaven, our God and Saviour), from also-ran’s (1 Cor 9:24-27).

A silversmith stops refining only when his image is perfectly visible in the metal he needs to repeatedly heat to obtain that result. Seven times is the norm.

YHVH as Master Gold and Silversmith is no less patient and painstaking, masterfully devising circumstances to throw necessary revelation knowledge of His WAYS into sharp relief, in the expectation that we’ll “turn from disobedience to the wisdom of the just,” for Him to conform us to the perfect image of His Son Who after all, is “the brightness of His Father’s Glory and the express image of His Person” (Rom 8:29; Heb 1:1-3).

Let’s see whether the Torah Portion (Ex 20:24-24:18) which was scheduled for this past Shabbat (29th January) and which begins in Ex 20 immediately after the Proclamation of the Ten Words (that distinguish between VIRTUE and BARBARIANISM/PHILISTINISM), can help us understand how to get to the ideal of perfect sonship portrayed in Matt 5:48 and Colossians 4:12, from what is written in Heb 10:10,12-14 and 13:12,20,21.

In other words, WHY and HOW, since the LORD “HATH (already) forever perfected” us by sanctifying us once-and-for-all by the Offering of His Body and the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, are we now commanded to be perfect (“wholly sanctified spirit, soul and body) “in every good WORK,” to be “as our Master,” by doing His will (Matt 5:48; 12:50; Lk 6:40; Jn 17:17,19; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Thess 4:1-3; 5:23; Rev 2:5,26; 3:1-6; 14:6,7,12).

The simplest and most obvious reason is that just because INIQUITY is no longer imputed to us (Rom 4:3-8), does not give us permission to continue persisting in defiling behaviours (1 Cor 3:17; Gal 2:17-19; 2 Tim 2:19-26; Titus 2:14), any more than just because RIGHTEOUSNESS is imputed to us, we can claim to BE righteous without DOING works of righteousness necessary to remain sanctified by the Blood, as proof of repentance from sin, which is breach of Torah (Acts 10:35; 20:25-32; 26:18,20; Rom 2:13; 3:31; 8:4; Eph 2:10; 4:23,24; 2 Thess 2:13,14; Heb 10:26-36; James 1:22-25; 2:6-26;;1 Jn 2:3-6,17,28,29; 3:3-10).

Perfection IS attainable, because it was imputed to us along with original innocence when we were made whole, to go and sin no more (Jn 15:3), when by grace we BECAME “the righteousness of YHVH in Y’shua” (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21) and received power and grace (the enabling power and anointing of the abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit) to “become” those spotless, faultless, unblameable sons as “partakers of His glory” by “serving Him acceptably (mixing faith with the Word because faith without corresponding works is dead) with reverence and Godly Fear” in “the obedience of faith” to be obedient to the vocation of “the one faith” (Mal 1:6; Jn 1:12; Rom 1:5; 15:16-18; 16:26; Eph 4:1-5; Col 1:28; Heb 12; Jude vs 3,21,24,25).

The answer to the question: HOW are we commanded to “be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48; 2 Tim 3:14-17) is given in the beautiful and practical analogy of a perfect shadow.

We are to cut the identical spiritual SILHOUETTE as our God-Saviour-Master (to render Him the Honour and FEAR due to His Name – Mal 1:6; Rev 14:6,7) by “walking IN Him” (Col 2:6) by “putting OFF the old man” (i.e. renewing the spirit of one’s mind to PURGE and RESET our hearts to show we’ve achieved 1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4:13,14; Heb 8:10,11, by replacing detrimental behaviours which trigger the curse of the law of sin and death, with the blessing of the spiritual laws of YHVH described in the tussle in Rom 7:7,12-16,22-25) to “put on the Master Y’shua the Messiah” in thought, word and deed by following after righteousness for the Way of the LORD (originally known in part by Abraham) “to be fulfilled in us” just as it was in Y’shua by walking after the Spirit in obedience to the covenant (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5; Rom 2:13,26; 3:31; 6:6,10-13; 8:4,6,7,14; 13:9-14; Eph 4:22-24; Col 2:6; 3:5-10; 1 Tim 6:11-14; Jn 14:21-24; 15:1-15; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 5:3).

By learning and faithfully ENACTING our righteousness, is how we consummate the perfection freely attributed to us when first receiving salvation, as an act of good faith on YHVH’s part that He is well able (provided we co-operate) to purify us to perfection, to be worthy vessels of honour (Lk 20:35; Rom 9:21-23; Phil 1:6; Jude vs 24,26).

He promises that HIS Son’s character and perfected walk can likewise be OUR experience as the result of CLEAVING to Him in constant willing obedience to righteousness (Ps 15:1,2; 50:5,23; 106:3; Rom 6:12-22), which is when we become “dead to the law” by being “dead to sin” (a lawabiding walk puts us beyond righteous judgment of transgressors by the law) as PROOF OF LOVE (Deut 30:10-20; Rom 6:2; Gal 2:19; 2 Tim 2:5; 1 Jn 5:3; 2 Jn vs 5&6).

He will settle for nothing less than a heart that mirrors His own (2 Tim 2:19-21).

Sinai ITSELF was sanctified, to be fit to be the set apart place for Israel, the proto-bride, to be receptors of the foundations of the moral law upon which the Sermon on the Mnt expands.

If our sanctification by the commandments transferred onto our hearts by the Spirit (the Finger of YHVH) (Jn 17:17,19; Heb 8:10,11) is treated with any less gravity than Israel’s UNANIMOUS response to the will of God in Ex 19:3-8; 24:3-8 (saved by the Passover lambs FOR inheritance of Instruction/Torah, to fully consecrate themselves with “We will do and be obedient”), we have a different heart from that of God Himself and therefore a different heart from that of a would-be “chaste virgin,” and very likely follow “a different spirit” (2 Cor 10:1-4).

Sifting the detail in the lists of precepts in Ex 20-24 by the Spirit Who is given to lead us into ALL truth (Jn 12-16; 2 Tim 4:13-17), does wonders to build respect for the Holiness of our One and Only God and His calling (Mk 12:29-32; 1 Peter 1:15; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Peter 1:3) by tweaking our discernment of what SEPARATION from worldliness actually requires of us (2 Cor 6:14-18; Rev 18:4,5; James 4:4,5).

In Acts 7:38, the Holy Spirit Himself intentionally calls Israel in the desert His church of called-out ones, to leave US no excuse for treating God’s holy laws with disdain, as if the Gospel were at enmity towards God (Rom 7 & 8).

Faith AND faithfulness (together = emunah in Hebrew) comprise the signature or ‘calling card’ of called-out ones who don’t make the mistake of magnifying the Holy Spirit ABOVE His Word (Ps 138:2), but who yield to the sanctifying work of the Spirit THROUGH acceptance and practice of “all truth” (Jn 17:17,19; 2 Thess 2:13,14).

There is none more wilfully ignorant than the soul who believes history is NOT a wise teacher in the hands of the Living God, and that our Master Y’shua, Head of the Household of God His Father, does NOT “bring forth out of His treasure, things OLD and new,” to refine our behaviour to perfection (Lk 1:33; Eph 2:19; 1 Cor 10:1-14; Col 2:2,3).

Note: “…old AND new.”

There’s more in the ‘Old’ Testament REFRESHED in the ‘New’ as our “heritage” as joint heirs in the eternal House of Jacob (Deut 33:4; Matt 5-7; Lk 1:33; Jn 10:16; Rom 3:31), than has entered the hearts of generations of professing believers, who would have done well to “awaken to the righteousness” of the precepts hidden in Torah for them to escape the defilement of the broad path that cunningly pretends to be the highway of liberty, including its deliberate obsfucation of the perpetuity of the ordinances of YHVH’s Sabbath and Seven Holy Convocations  (Ps 119:1,45; Matt 7:13-27; 1 Cor 11:1,2; 15:34).

HalleluYaH for His eagerness to help any of us who profess union with the House of Jacob in the Messiah, as “one new man” (Lk 1:33; Eph 2:15; 3:6), to know what sonship of THAT one-and-only sheepfold (Is 56:6-8; Jn 10:16) entails as our fundamental duties, to be “profitable servants” and NOT be accounted unworthy of escape by being amongst those who, “opposing themselves” through pride and prejudice against the full counsel (Acts 20:25-32) have jeopardized their sanctification by having “gone out of the Way” by not seeking after God ON HIS TERMS (Lk 17:10; 20:35; 21:36;;Rom 3:12; 2 Tim 2:25,26).

The man who lays his head on his pillow  without the Torah’s fine measurements of holiness in mind, to help procure him unbroken favour, will not long have peaceful nights as clouds of judgment gather over those who labour for acceptance stubbornly using the rule of faith of a quite different gospel (2 Cor 5:9-11; 10:1-4).

To SUM UP:

We prioritize study of the Torah (YHVH’s gift to greatly facilitate the Spirit’s calling to conform us to the image of His Son, the Living Torah) in conjunction with the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, to strike the ideal balance because Matthew-Revelation is a SUMMARY of the New Covenant.

We do this to make sure that we’re omitting nothing that God has included in the Gospel of the New Covenant (which is hidden in the Hebrew Scriptures) for our TOTAL sanctification, without which no-one will see the LORD (1 Thess 5:23; Heb 12:14,28).

What then is perfection? (Ps 119:96-105; 2 Cor 13:9; Phil 3:12).

Perfection is attained through diligent covenant-keeping as proof of the purification of our souls, the deciding factor in the choice of the bride (Lk 21:19; 1 Peter 1:9).

Therefore, perfection is really the EXPECTANT WAITING which is necessary (letting the virtue of patience have her perfect work so that we can be “perfect and entire, lacking nothing” – James 1:4) for the seed of the Word to mature to harvest in the good soil of teachable hearts by the law of seed, time and harvest (Gen 8:22; Mk 4; Lk 8:15; 21:19) by allowing God the room to move in our lives to prove HOW IT IS, that not one of His precepts has been disqualified and disposed of by the New Covenant (Matt 5:17-19) – that none has a red line drawn through it to abrogate it by breaking, dissolving and cancelling it.

This is the Mystery of the “Everlasting Gospel” of “grace for grace” “from faith to faith” (Matt 13:11; Heb 4:2; Rev 14:6).

The purpose of this Mystery is to bind us to the Godhead by the Spirit in absolute trust in the wisdom of His perpetual regulation of our relationship with Him and others by commandment, ordinance and statute; in His interpretation of His regulations; and in the flawlessness of His directions

Anyone who takes a jaundiced (prejudiced) view of Torah Instruction (Rom 3:20b; 3:31; 7:25; 8:4,6,7) has rejected the spiritual law of seed time and harvest for themselves (by which perfection must be worked into them by working out their own salvation with fear and trembling), and by their choice of a limited diet of the Word,  dictates an outcome for themselves which will inevitably fall short of the full measure of the blessing of the Gospel and which may, under certain circumstances, cost them salvation as foolish virgins overtaken by the Day of Reckoning “as a thief,” BECAUSE OF DISAVOWING GOD’S STANDARD OF HOLINESS and disqualifying themselves from being “children of light and of the day” (Matt 7:21-27; 10:38,39; 25:10-12; 1 Thess 5:4-7).

If the essence of love is obedience, which it is (1 Jn 5:3), through Heaven’s Ultimatum to mankind to repent and obey or be forever lost (Acts 5:32; 17:30,31), the Gospel is simply eternity’s greatest standard and measure of purity, as PROOF of a loving God, because in Him is no darkness AT ALL, because He is LIGHT (1 Jn 1:5-7).

Interestingly, if one goes further into the Scriptural meaning of the common noun ‘church’ in the original Greek of Acts 7:38, namely, “called-out ones” as ‘klesia’ comes from ‘kaleo,’ meaning ‘called out,’ we find that we are being reminded that just as ” .. they are not all Israel who are OF Israel” (Rom 9:6), NOR are all who are called by the Name of the LORD to be OF the New Covenant remnant church, necessarily going to be accounted worthy of the resurrection of life, because while many are called, few are chosen, because few surrender all to meet the test of full consecration as their “reasonable service” (Ps 50:5,23; 64:4; Lk 20:35; Jn 5:28,29; Rom 2:6-13; 12:1,2).

Therefore there’s considerable strength in the theme of “calling out” from which Ekklesia, and therefore ‘church,’ is derived. The existence of Acts 7:38 (showing the church having originated as Jacob/Israel in the Exodus) proves that in every generation of the dynasty of Abraham, the redeemed remnant of the House of Jacob to which a remnant from the nations is being joined, as was the original “mixed multitude” (Ex 12:38; Is 14:1; Lk 1:33; Rom 11; Eph 2:11,12,15,19; Gal 3:29), is the GENUINE one, holy apostolic, ‘catholic’ (universal) General Assembly and Church of Jacob, YHVH’s firstborn son (Gen 25:22,23; 28:14; Ex 4:22,23; Heb 12:23).

Sadly, not only the Gentiles, but most Jews have also deviated from the authentic Gospel of faith, which is SYNONOMOUS with obedience.

Caleb and Joshua epitomized that reality in their day. Only two out of an entire generation, met the litmus test of faithfulness.

It takes “awakening to righteousness,” faith, courage and settled knowledge of God, to respond to being called out from the crowd to serve God acceptably (Ex 23:2; Rom 15:16-18; 1 Cor 15:34)

This Portion (introduced by Ex 12 through 13:16) begins by highlighting the power in Hebrew prophecy to move the plan of redemption forwards by creating benchmarks for the faith, in the instructions “REMEMBER THIS day…” “KEEP THIS service” (Ex 13:3,5-10), in order to “stand fast” and “hold to” the Appointments given to prepare a bride doctrinally through the “meat” (mature wisdom) of Instruction associated with Shabbat and the Feasts (2 Thess 2:13-15; 2 Tim 3:14-17), to be in a perfect state of readiness to receive their sudden ingathering, accounted faithful and worthy to escape as wise virgins at the Last Shofar blast (Matt 25:10-12; Lk 20:35; 21:36; Col 1:28; 4:12; Rev 14:6,7,12; 17:14; 19:7-9).

Examples of dependence of the unfolding plan of redemption upon the authentic Set Times, is Prophecy to Abraham which came to pass on Passover exactly 430 years later (“even the SELFSAME day it came to pass”; “THIS is THAT night of YHVH”) (Gen 15:13-16; Ex 12:40-43) to establish the pattern for understanding “the Messiah (as) our Passover”; and Y’shua-Jesus would go to the Cross as the Lamb of YHVH on the exact day prophesied in Daniel and Zechariah and moreover, would give up His Spirit at the precise moment the priests completed the Passover sacrifices with the words: “It is finished” (“It” being sacrifice for sin, NOT TORAH).

In fact, the last three verses of this Portion (Ex 17:14-16) are a subtle reminder that Y’shua the Passover Lamb of YHVH returns as triumphant Lion of Judah to finish off AMALEK (universal type of the spirit of Gentile hatred for Zion, about to reach an all-time high), to complete the great cycle of prophecy that began with the prediction in Gen 15 that Israel would be delivered and released from their bondage to Mitzrayim’s enslavement on the first Passover, when the iniquity of the AMORITES had reached its fullness (Gen 15:16; Ex 12:40-42).

The fame which YHVH garnered for Himself in Gen 15 through His interventions against the gods and idolators in Egypt, will be ECLIPSED by His mercy to Israel and His church in the nations through His “terrible deeds of righteousness” to be waged against iniquity and Israel’s enemies in the Tribulation, concluding in the ‘Armageddon’ (Har/Mt Megiddo) Battle for global acceptance of Jerusalem’s final status as Hebrew world capital and Israel as chief of nations, the crowning accomplishment of New Covenant faith (Ps 66:3; 105:8-11; 137:5,6; Is 60-66; Jer 31:7,10,17 31-36).

It’s because the finer points of Torah study may seem incidental and marginal, but are often potent revelations given to escalate our faith and buttress our encouragement, that we ought never leave a Portion without scouting for hidden treasure.

An EXAMPLE: Ex 13:15,16 is a LAW that because of YHVH’s FAITHFULNESS, He has COMMANDED deliverances for Jacob (Ps 44:4) His purchased possession which is His chief righteous cause (Ex 15:13-16; Ps 7:6,7; 9:20; 68:34,35; 71:3; 74:2,19,22-24).

Ex 13:16 is saying YHVH will keep faith with us, and deliver us for Jacob’s sake according to Ps 44:4 & 71:3 provided we keep the precepts of His Way (Ex 13:9; Deut 7:12; Ps 103:17,18; 2 Chr 15:2; Is 29:22-24).

This is Glad Tidings to us too because we are surnamed by the God of Jacob and adopted by the House of Jacob to be amongst their “one new (Hebrew) man” remnant (Gen 28:14; Ps 59:13; Lk 1:32,33; Rom 11; Eph 2:11,12,15,19; 3:6; Gal 3:29).

With that in mind, the Portion this week quietly develops the CENTRAL PROPOSITION that Passover and Shabbat (which Rome illegitimately replaced with Easter and Sun day) are together FOREVER the ‘dual core’ (the allied “this is that’s” of the Creator-Redeemer-Deliverer-Sanctifier-God of the Hebrews’ Set Times) of the ordinances of “the everlasting covenant” (Ex 12:14,17,24,42; 16:23-30; Matt 12:8; Lk 22:1,16-18; Rom 3:31; 1 Cor 5:7,8; 11:1,2; Heb 13:20,21).

As core perpetual traditions integral to the Gospel because ordained by both ordinance and commandment (Ex 12:17,24; 20:8-11; 31:13,16; Matt 5:19; 1 Cor 7:19; 11:1,2; 15:1,2), they are the backbone of the plan of sanctification (1 Thess 5:23; 2 Thess 2:15) because they are the FOCAL POINT of the faith through their JOINT TESTIMONY that the Living God, the God of Jacob, the Saviour, Who alone made Heaven and Earth in six days (Ex 20:8-11; Is 44:24; 45:17-25), gave His UNLEAVENED Life Incarnate as the Messiah (“in Whom was no sin/chametz”) as “the TRUE BREAD from Heaven” for the life of the world (Jn 6:31-33; 1 Jn 3:3-5; 2 Cor 5:21), for our “obedience (to the faith) and sprinkling” by His Blood as “Christ our PASSOVER (Deliverer/Preserver)” to make a way for us to dwell in HIM and He in US, for preservation in the Messiah by being made the righteousness of God (Who reconciled us to Himself) in Y’shua the Messiah (Deut 5:15; Jn 6:51-53; 1 Cor 1:30; 5:7,8; 2 Cor 5:19,21; 1 Peter 1:2b; Jude vs 1).

When we tamper with either Shabbat or Passover or both, we “change the ordinance” and impair the Universe, not just the Earth (Is 24:3-6), because interference with the time-related ordinances has cosmic repercussions whenever Matt 6:10 is profaned, since these Appointments are kept in Heaven.

Heavenly bodies will not be falling to Earth by accident in the Tribulation. The effect of our iniquity reaches the furthest galaxies and constellations.

In the Deuteronomy re-statement of the Ten Commandments, we are commanded to keep Shabbat BECAUSE of the Passover and the Exodus (Deut 5:15). There’s no denying their symbiosis at the heart of Torah, in the grand scheme of things.

Moses WAS adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex 2:10), but in his heart remained a Levite, an Israelite, and as a seed of Abraham, perceived that he had a great destiny (Heb 11:24-26).

He was “drawn out of water” to be named the ‘one drawn from water’ (Ex 2:10) to water his people with the wisdom from above that would make them pre-eminently sought-after (Deut 4:5-8; Is 2:2-4; 60-63; Micah 4:1-8; 7:8-20), to prepare a people worthy to be called the “peculiar treasure” of the Most High (Ex 19:5-8; Mal 3:16-18), by being led from behind by the Shepherd of Israel (1 Cor 10:4; Is 30:21 ) “as seeing Him Who is invisible” (Heb 11:27).

The Holy Spirit of YHVH Who was put “within him” (Moses) to accomplish His forty years of ministry, thereby ordered his steps under instruction by His Shepherd, YHVH’s “Glorious Arm,” as a precursor to New Covenant baptism in the Spirit (Is 63:1-14).

As the humble servant of the LORD on which the Messiah is modelled (Deut 18:18; Acts 3:22 – “like unto thee”), Moses ‘bore his own cross’ with more than his fair share of suffering for the Messiah, even being willing to die to atone for Israel’s pervasive insolence, insubordination, rebellion and contempt for YHVH’s counsel, to save the Exodus project, to bring His difficult people to their Jordan, to cross over from death to life (Ex 2:11-15; Is 63:10  Heb 11:24-29).

Even though Aaron became Moses’ mouthpiece, Moses as RECEIVER and CONDUIT of God’s Voice and Torah of truth could just as easily have said what His Messiah said before Pilot: “To THIS end was I born, and for THIS cause came I into the world, that I should bear WITNESS to the TRUTH. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (Ex 4:12,15,16; 7:1; Deut 32:1-4; Jn 5:46; 18:37).

The Torah has a remarkable way of connecting NARRATIVE threads as well as threads of DOCTRINE (to maintain hermeneutical/interpretive continuity) and PROPHECY, to BE the plumb line, for detection of sly error and for sharpening our discernment to recognize and wisely apply vital covenant truths.

Another example of narrative threads thrown into sharp relief by treating the entire Bible as indivisible:

“And YHVH said to Moses in MIDIAN: ‘Go, return into EGYPT: for ALL THE MEN ARE DEAD WHO SOUGHT THY (Moses as type of Messiah) LIFE…” (Ex 4:19,20)

“But when Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream in EGYPT, saying, ‘Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the Land of ISRAEL: for THEY ARE DEAD WHO SOUGHT THE YOUNG CHILD’S (Y’shua the Messiah’s) LIFE” (Matt 2:19,20)

It also has a way of ‘piloting’ us to aspects of the New Testament that could do with closer examination in both narrower and broader contexts, in order to extract all that has been hidden for us, in them.

To illustrate, this Portion rather unexpectedly leads us to consideration of Governor Pontius Pilot’s traumatic deliberations over the Jews’ allegations of Messiah’s guilt as a supposedly blasphemous imposter (Matt 26:59-66) not by going off at a tangent from Ex 1:1 – 6:1, but by sensitively following the detail in themes which these chapters highlight within the context of the unfolding plot of the plan of eternal redemption in which MOSES plays a surprisingly important rôle.

Details like Y’shua at first refusing to dignify their incredulity, by withholding comment on the report of two witnesses who had heard Him say it was within His power to destroy and rebuild the Temple of YHVH (physical and/or spiritual) in three days, which takes on fresh meaning in light of his description then and there, of His Resurrection, to be found “sitting at the Right Hand of the Power and coming in the clouds of Heaven” as proof that He is the Son of God; and seeing as Moses, who would ACCUSE THEM of denying Him, would himself be born again (Matt 26:60-66; Jn 5:40-47).

After holding His peace, Y’shua was forthcoming, and was magnified by His Father when the chief priests invoked YHVH to “adjure thee by the Living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Messiah, the Son of God” (Matt 26:63).

The Jews sudden appeal to Caesar to rid themselves of ‘competition’ for their egos (Matt 27:18; Jn 19:15), was not only disingenuous, but Pilot rightly regarded Roman law as NOT COMPETENT to test and judge matters of Torah (Jn 18:31) and besides, he was not trained in subtleties of Divine Jurisprudence to distinguish between the Biblical precepts and edicts of God associated with the “SEAT of MOSES,” and the contrived rules of doctrines of men which had led to rabbinical presumption such as their earlier conclusion that Y’shua had broken Shabbat (Jn 5:18) – so he unhesitatingly responded to their allegation that Y’shua was a “malefactor,” with, “Take him (Y’shua) and judge him according to YOUR law” (Jn 18:31).

Amazingly, the mystery of Y’shua’s Sacrifice (Jn 10:18) is that He was neither sentenced under Roman law nor Jewish law (Jn 18:31).

Neither HUMAN system made His Atonement INEVITABLE.

God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS demanded the shedding of Blood for the remission of sins.

Mankind bears no guilt for His death, even though sin, for which we were absolved of guilt, precipitated it.

God’s LOVE sent Him to the Cross to show mercy to sinners, the Just dying for the unjust, by free will (Jn 3:16).

Clearly, He VOLUNTEERED Himself (Matt 26:52-54)

That’s what’s so wonderful.

Pilot’s verdict was seemingly off the record, not EX OFFICIO.

His line of questioning of Y’shua was more like an interview or seminar Q&A than an interrogation under due process of law.

It was almost conversational.

Pilot was extraordinarily ENGAGED in the sparse dialogue.

The impression we are left with is that He was asking questions more for HIMSELF than to conduct a formal hearing

Pilot: “What is truth?” (Jn 19:38).

He genuinely wanted to know who “that just man” really was (Matt 27:19).

We can almost feel the intensity of the encounter.

Perhaps he had a sense, from Y’shua’s profound statements (Jn 19:36,37), that the meaning of life was standing before him.

The fact is, neither Rome nor Jerusalem was Y’shua’s executioner.

Neither was Herod any more inclined to judge and condemn Y’shua, the Nazarene Galilean under his jurisdiction, than Pilot, who had considered the accusations false and now reported back to the chief priests – “No, nor yet Herod: for I sent (Y’shua) to him and lo (consider his finding that), nothing (worthy) of death has been done by Him” (Lk 23:4-11,14-16).

Our Saviour did what was necessary, OFFERING Himself without compulsion.

He CHOSE His own death (Jn 3:14; 8:28; 12:32).

The Jews’ violating Torah to invoke the curse of innocent Blood upon themselves and their children by demanding (under threat of tumult) the death of a JUST man, Y’shua-Jesus, to fulfil a HUMAN tradition at Passover (hence no Fear of God) (Is 29:13; Matt 27:15-17,25), hardly made it easier for Pilot to literally wash his hands of the matter to declare HIS verdict of Y’shua’s innocence (which flew in the face of theirs), because he knew “that for ENVY they had delivered Him” and that he was facing incitement to revolt, by hypocrites (Matt 27:18,19,24).

Of course, by what reasoning, despite his personal conviction of Y’shua’s innocence, Pilot finally yielded, to grant the noisy throng the Crucifixion which THEIR law would not allow (“It is not lawful for US to put ANY man to death” – Jn 18:31), is one of history’s greatest brain-teasers.

Whichever way one looks at it, though, it’s hard to believe that on the Last Day, with rôles reversed and Pilot standing before “the King of the Jews’ ” Judgment Seat (2 Cor 5:9-11), that he would warrant eternal damnation amongst those who as part of Y’shua’s pre-Passover ‘inspection’ and judgment, were of necessity at least partly veiled, to be part of doing what was NECESSARY for the will of YHVH to be done, which on that exact Passover, was to sacrifice “the Messiah their Passover,” Whom MOSES endorsed but which most of Israel has “disallowed,” as builders rejecting the precious Cornerstone (Ps 118:22; Is 28:16-19; Matt 21:33-46).

After all, the record is clear, that “had the PRINCES of this world known” and believed the truth, which had long been “hidden wisdom,” “they would NOT have crucified the LORD of Glory,” and where would that have left the prophecy? (Deut 18:18,19; Lk 23:33,34; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 2:8).

How does this tie back to Ex 1-6?

On a long view, the events that sent Y’shua to His APPOINTED death, are an EXTRAPOLATION of the seed concept that Israel is YHVH’s son, His FIRSTBORN (Ex 4:22,23), to be redeemed by His own death AS the only Begotten Son, as Firstborn from amongst those who sleep, to fulfil the promise and purpose of the Exodus which is to “take you to Me for a people…” FOREVER (Ex 6:7).

The longing of the Jewish people for what they call the ‘resuscitation’ of the dead, simply cannot be realized without the Holy Spirit being allowed to knit the full counsel of Scripture together in their hearts, line by line and precept by precept (Is 28:9-13; Matt 5:19; Heb 10:16), to see how the Song of Moses corresponds to the Song of the Lamb (Rev 15:3,4), to see how their icon, Moses, and HIS Messiah, sing ‘the same tune’ ! (Jn 5:45-47).

To give a sense of the scale of its importance, the TORAH (which includes the seven pillars of wisdom and contains the roots of “the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” referred to in Matt 13) is to ALL Scripture, what JERUSALEM (the ‘navel of the Earth,’ the resting place of the Name) is to the UNIVERSE.

This is what 2 Tim 3:14-17 is alluding to and impressing upon us. We are not to focus on the New Testament IF, by doing so, we leave the Hebrew Scriptures (and the Torah in particular) behind, any more than we are given permission to withhold the tithe while learning to practise the “weightier matters” of “judgment, mercy and faith” (Matt 5:19; 23:23).

Going back to righteous Abraham, Torah (which means Instruction) which was codified later, forever remains the matrix of the foundation principles of “the Way of YHVH” (Gen 18:18,19; 26:5) because neither the first Five Books (the ‘Pentateuch’) nor the Prophets can be abolished without undoing the very act of  Creation and nullifying the “restitution of all things” necessary to perfect the restoration of Creation in “the regeneration,” when the Apostles will rule the Twelve Tribes under the Messiah as King of the Jews on David’s Throne (Matt 5:17-19; 19:28; Lk 1:32,33; Acts 3:21; 24:14).

In this Portion, which foreshadows the NATIVITY (discovery of the Deliverer) and the New Covenant’s PREPARATION of a HOLY REMNANT of Israel to reign as chief of nations with their Messiah with unchallenged dominion over all the territory blood-covenanted to Abraham (Gen 15:7-23; Jer 31:7,10,17,31-36; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:1-8; 7:8-20; Zech 9-14; Acts 15:14-17), we have an example, in these opening chapters of the profound biography of Moses which we could call “from CRADLE (Ex 2:2-5) to INHERITANCE (Ex 6:1-8),” of Torah’s priceless help in understanding the mind of the Messiah.

This is so because Moses actually SAW, MET and HELPED prepare Y’shua (his Master, “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father,” “the Saviour” – Is 9:6,7; 45:21,22) on the Mt of Transfiguration, to BE the TESTATOR Who needed to die as a “corn of wheat” (Jn 12:23,24), Incarnate as the “Seed (singular) of Abraham,” to “confirm” the inheritance to Abraham, for posterity (Gen 17:8; Ex 6:8; Is 9:6,7; Lk.9:28-3; Rom 15:8; Gal 3:16; Heb 9:16,17).

John 1:17, one of the great pillars of truth given to aid our understanding of the HOLY SYNERGY between grace and law in the process of our SANCTIFICATION by faith (Jn 17:17,19; Acts 20:32; 1 Thess 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13-15), describes the PARALLEL between the two great SPANS of Scripture which run from EXODUS to DEUTERONOMY (i.e. from Moses found in a slime and pitch-sealed ark (basket) of bullrushes in the Nile, to his citation as “king in Yeshurun” in Deut 33:5 in recognition of his exemplary servant-leadership as ruler (king) of Israel, YHVH’s firstborn nation); and then from MATTHEW – REVELATION (from Immanu El as the God-infant found in the manger, born King of the Jews, to restoration of the Monarchy to Jerusalem for Theocracy to be the ultimate form of world government under Y’shua’s succession to David’s Throne after Armageddon – Is 9:6,7; Zech 14; Mk 11:10; Rev 19, the penultimate battle for ownership of Jerusalem; Gog and Magog being the last, in Rev 21).

Ex 1:1 – 6:8 is Exodus-Deuteronomy in a nutshell.

WITHIN those two great cycles we receive our HERITAGE of Divine Instruction (Torah) through Moses – Deut 33:4; while through Y’shua, we receive the “grace and truth” to learn how to be freely cleansed, justified and acquitted of Torahlessness (unrighteousness) and absolved from the guilt of that sin (1 Jn 3:4); and how to overcome the power of sin to become true sons of God, by following after the righteousness of Torah “filled to the full” (as amplified by Y’shua in Matt 5), by walking after the Spirit in the footsteps of the obedience of the Messiah (Matt 5:17-19,48; 28:20; Jn 1:12/Heb 12; Rom 3:20,31; 7:22,25-8:4,14; 1 Tim 6:11-14; 1 Jn 2:3-6), to be made perfect in the PRACTICE of righteousness, to be “AS our Master” (Matt 5:19,48; 12:59; 28:50; Lk 6:40; 16:17; Acts 10:35; Col 1:28; 4:12; 2 Thess 2:17).

Those two great sequential cycles are

1) the pre-Messianic phase through Moses as primary type of Messiah,

2) the other triumphantly Messianic under Y’shua-Jesus as Ruler (King) of the House of Jacob forever

TOGETHER they build on the embryonic origins of the church in GENESIS through the earliest God-seekers such as Seth and Enos and Enoch after the debacle in the Garden (Gen 4:25,26; 5:24) then through heirs of the righteousness which is by faith, such as Noah and Shem, after the rescue of a tiny remnant of humanity from the Inundation (Gen 6:8-10; 9:26,27); and finally, through the call of Abram to be a Hebrew, to BE the eternal household of YHVH (Gen 14:13; 18:18,19; Is 51:1-7; Lk 1:33; Rom 11; Eph 2:11,12; Gal 3:29), and the Holy Spirit directing Israel throughout its Exodus AS “the church (kahal/ekklesia)” (Is 51:1-7; 63:9-14; Acts 7:38; Lk 1:33) with the Messiah their “spiritual Rock from Whom they drank,” “following” them (1 Cor 10:4).

Ex 1:1-6:8 is a preliminary synopsis of the life of Moses the Levite, who was hidden for three months from the savage judgment of Pharoah on newborn Hebrew males (Ex 1:16,17; 2:2,3 – just as Y’shua was later hidden in Egypt after fleeing insecure Herod’s executioners – Matt 2:12-23), then consecrated through his mother’s Instruction as basic foundation to his later commissioning at a burning bush below Sinai to bring Israel out of bondage as a great nation (Ex 2:7-10; 3:1-10; Deut 6:23; 26:5), to teach them YHVH’s ways and manners, to groom them for possession of their inheritance through his commissioning of Joshua (also a type of Y’shua – Deut 34:9).

We aren’t told at what age Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (“And the child GREW, and she – Moses’ mother who was paid to rear him – BROUGHT him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he BECAME her son” – Ex 2:7-10), but it is not unreasonable to assume that his identity as a HEBREW was at least partly settled in his very young mind before leaving his Levitical parents’ household (which he must surely have later visited), to be fanned into action at the time appointed to become his people’s deliverer after he’d been raised as a prince in Egypt (Ex 2:11-15; Heb 11:23-29)

The very life of Y’shua about Whom Moses WROTE and Who endorsed Moses (Deut 18:18,19; Jn 5:45-47; Acts 3:22-26), from its richly prophetic beginnings in Beit Lechem (“little” Bethlehem, the House of Bread) in the stone manger prepared for Y’shua as “the Star of Jacob” and “Shepherd and STONE of Israel” (Gen 49:24; Nu 24:17; Micah 5:2), to His Atonement to “save His People from their sins” and His Resurrection for their justification as “the sure mercies of David” (Acts 13:32-39); and His forthcoming Return in glory to fight for Zion, to receive His Messianic Kingdom and be Enthroned as Son of David as embodiment of the New Covenant, “a Covenant of the people” (Is 49:5-8), is the seal of Israel’s inheritance and of their marriage to their Land, forever (Ps 105:8-11; Deut 33:26-29; Is 62:4; Rom 15:8).

Pilate’s evidently remorseful, reluctant surrender of Y’shua to the brazen insolence of Jewish demands for His Crucifixion (Jn 18:29-31; 19:12) WAS the grace described by Isaiah as “the SURE MERCIES of David” (Is 55:5; Acts 13:32-39) which has proved to be the greatest act of mercy by YHVH to humanity.

Pilate became Y’shua’s defence and paradoxically, his permitting the Crucifixion to go ahead did not change that.

His repetition THREE times (Jn 18:38,39; 19:4; 19:6), that in his judgment, he found “no fault at all” with “the King of the Jews,” a title he repeated SIX TIMES apparently without scepticism or sarcasm, coupled, in the Fear of God (Jn 19:7,8), and probably as a result of intense frustration, with his extraordinary gesture of empathy by testifying to the truth which the Jews could not rebut (Jn 19:33-38) by nailing the reality of Y’shua’s DEITY (“Y’shua Ha Notzri v’Melech Ha Yehudim” – Y’shua-Jesus of Nazareth/the Nazarene and King of the Jews) to the tree (above where our sins were nailed), left no-one under the illusion that the Jews had an open and shut case.

This was compounded by the maddened Jewish chief priests immediately discerning the 4 syllable Holy Acronym/Tetragrammaton YHVH [ Y (Y’shua) – H (Ha Notzri) – V (v’Melech) – H (Ha Yehudim) ] from Y’shua’s earlier declaration that “I and the Father are One” (Jn 5:18; 10:30,31), in the wording of what Pilate had written (or which he had had written) to immortalize the fact that neither he nor his court were UNCONVINCED by Y’shua’s description of Himself as the Son of God and King of a Kingdom not of this world (Jn 18:33-38; 19:7,8).

Pilot’s belief in Y’shua’s innocence was vindicated by the testimony of his centurion, witnessing His death accompanied by what were undeniably acts of God: “Truly, this was the Son of God” (Matt 27:50-54; Jn 19:7)

The chief priests must have howled in indignation as they demanded that the sign be rephrased SUBJECTIVELY, to the effect that Y’SHUA had said about Himself that He was King of the Jews; NOT that what was written was an objective statement of fact which validated the ACRONYM which declares to this day that Jesus IS God, the King and Master of the Universe.

Pilate flatly refused to budge, saying, “What I have written, I have written” (Jn 19:19-22).

YHVH used him as a scribe in that historic instant, to add weight to 1 Tim 3:16.

And so the truth prevails.

The Deity of Messiah is denied only by those who refuse the witness of John the Baptist; and Y’shua’s Father’s testimony (Jn 1:1; 5:31,32; 1 Jn 5:91 Tim 3:16).

All of this is anticipated in passages like Is 41:4,21,27 in the description of the Almighty, “the First and the Last,” as “King of Jacob” (and therefore King of the Jews), BEING the One given to Jerusalem for the Consolation of Israel and Redemption of Jerusalem and the world, by bringing “Glad Tidings of great joy which shall be to all people,” as “God with us,” Immanu El, as “a SIGN that shall be SPOKEN AGAINST” (Lk 1:68,78,79; 2:25,34; Rev 1:7,8,17,18).

The Lk 2:34b prophecy could apply equally to Is 7:13,14 (“a sign” to the House of David) and to the physical sign that Pilot erected over the Crucified Messiah which in different words, identified Him as no less than “the God of Israel, (AS) the Saviour” (Is 45:17-25).

HalleluYaH

Try as he may, knowing he was being  cornered, Pilate had valiantly probed the Accused for decisive exculpatory evidence (Jn 18:27,28; 19:9,10), to give Y’shua’s prosecutors AMPLE opportunity to heed it and backtrack, but even so, couldn’t obstruct justice (that is, the Judgment of the sins of the WORLD by Jesus our propitiation for sin) to change destiny, because Hebrew prophecy is pre-written history.

Jesus had to die.

And not just for the nation (Jn 11:47-53).

And it had to be by crucifixion not only because that form of death was prophesied, but because “It isn’t lawful for US to put ANY man to death” (Jn 18:31,32).

Despite his wife’s ongoing personal Christian testimony and her sufferings by the Spirit for “that JUST man”; and her warnings to Pilot to “have nothing to do with” convicting Him (Matt 27:19,24), knowing full well that He and His Kingdom were indeed not of this world (Matt 27:19; Jn 19:36), Pilot gave Y’shua’s marvellous but disturbing RETICENCE, as a Lamb silent before slaughter (Is 53:7; Matt 27:12-14), the benefit of the doubt, while in his (Pilot’s) heart, in a twist of irony, he did not consider it UNACCEPTABLE that by force of circumstance, he would not be executing a CRIMINAL.

Hindsight shows us Pilot faced a vexing problem of unprecedented complexity, an almighty enigma, which only a PROPHETIC decision could solve.

If ever there were a case that illustrates the mystery of the power of God to have its way, it is Pharoah’s recalcitrance (which made the Exodus possible) (Rom 9:15-21), and Pilot’s willingness to release Barabbas instead of Jesus, for “Christ our Passover” to be our Hope of glory (1 Cor 5:7,8; Col ).

The righteousness of the law of life UPON WHICH THE UNIVERSE’s existence depends, required a death that human jurisprudence lacked the tools to comprehend and justify.

Jesus’ trial before Pilot, was mankind’s trial before God, Jesus standing proxy for mankind’s trespasses, for God in the Messiah to reconcile the world to Himself through His Sacrifice of Himself as the cause for which He was made flesh and dwelt amongst us (2 Cor 5:19).

Guilty as charged, ALL having fallen short of the glory of YHVH, MANKIND’s continued existence demanded Jesus be “Ransom for all,” so that “one dying for all” would cancel the fact that “all were dead” (2 Cor 5:14).

Without realizing it, Pilot was wrestling with 2 Cor 5:21 in his Judgment Hall. “He Who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of YHVH in Him.”

A Roman found Him innocent, and Jewish law which found him guilty of breach of rabbinical doctrine couldn’t sentence Him to death (Jn 18:31; 19:6), so to quell tumult and looming riot (let alone fulfil prophecy), we could say that Pilate had to turn a blind eye to the truth, for original innocence and with it, “life and immortality to be brought to light” and restored to humanity “through the Gospel.”

Pilot was not flattering rabbinical law by executing their wishes and pandering to their jealousies.

In the moment, he was enacting Divine law.

His court was momentarily transmuted into the bar of Heaven. 

At its core, Pilot’s decision was an evangelical necessity. “Behold the MAN!” (which rhymes with LAMB Who takes away the sins of the world), could be the opening line of the Gospel (Jn 19:5).

The characters of Judas and Pilot aren’t remotely comparable.

Judas’ ENTICEMENT and INDUCEMENT of the Jewish hierarchy to bribe him to identify and deliver Y’shua into confinement through a martial arrest (Matt 26:14-16), with no subsequent attempt on Judas’ part to truly repent and appeal for mercy (all he did was return the bribe then hang himself – Matt 27:1-10), has nothing in common with the dignity and equity of Roman law which under normal circumstances would never be thrown to the wind, to give an unsustainable verdict.

Pilot’s actions were in no way as incriminating as Judas’, who was consumed for his venality, as Herod was consumed by worms for his overweening pride and iniquity in failing to deflect credit to YHVH for his gift of oratory.

Pilot knew he was being blackmailed by the Jews’ hypocrisy (“THOU art not Caesar’s friend” and “WE have no king but Caesar” – Jn 19:12,15) but did not reach his final decision out of intimidation and cowardice through fear of Caesar, but because he emphatically believed that his deductions about the validity of the High Priest’s legal suit were more righteous than Jewish’s orthodoxy’s opportunistic arguments and allegations (“he MADE HIMSELF the Son of God,” which ironically has a double meaning which includes the description of the DEITY of Messiah as “a FORM of God” as described in Phil 2:6 and therefore as the One God of their ‘Shema’ – the last thing they would have wanted to vouchsafe).

So in reading this fascinating account of thoughtful Pilot over and over, we sense in his sincere solicitation of answers from both Jesus and His accusers, that he must surely have felt the power of YHVH as LawGiver and Judge operating on his soul, giving him the green light to commit Y’shua to his false accusers for Roman execution, DESPITE the merits of his own spirited defense of Y’shua’s innocence and integrity (Jn 18:38; 19:6,11), and therefore without his conscience condemning him.

It would be surprising therefore, if Pilot’s name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Given that those who die “the death of the righteous” (Nu 23:9) as the fathers and Moses and the Prophets did, and whose spirits live, “know as they are known,” one wonders how much of this background information, if any, “the two witnesses” Moses and Elijah, as prophets, were privy to ahead of time before being translated to the Mt of Transfiguration in glory to “speak of His (Jesus’) decease (death) which He should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31); and whether they knew that their dramatic 1260 days of evangelism of Jerusalem in sackcloth (this time Moses in full stature in Christ not needing Aaron as a crutch to speak truth to power – Ex 4:10-16,27-31) before dying for three and a half days and precipitating a costly earthquake (1/10th of the City devastated with 7 000 fatalities), would be decisive in helping bring Israel to their “fullness,” to trigger the Second Coming to fulfil Ex 6:7,8 in rememberance of His covenant with Abraham, by fervently recalling Y’shua to His City by blessing the One Who has come and will again come in the Name of YHVH  (Matt 5:35; 23:34-39; Rom 11:11-15,25-29; Rev 11:2-13).

So the first five chapters of Exodus with verse one of chapter 6 bridging this Portion and the next, establishes for the record what the historical conditions were, under which the grace which is YHVH’s prophecy to Abraham in Gen 15:13-16 regarding the great nation he would sire, would turn 400 years of affliction and “strangers in a land that is not theirs” (verse 13) into a wave of miraculous migration to REPATRIATE a set-apart household (the House of Jacob) forged in a crucible of hardship, to recover legal succession to the portion of the Earth’s surface which would become the most contested real estate in history.

And which only the irresistible force of awesome acts of God will resolve, by the return of the Messiah Whom MOSES (by prophesying “Hearken unto My Words which He shall speak in My Name” – Deut 18:19) expects to be the definitive Interpreter of the Torah which HE (Messiah) gave to Moses in the first place, in preparation for His coming, to teach us how to be conformed to His Image to fulfil the rôle of Torah which is to perfect a bride (Rom 8:4,29; 2 Tim 4:13-17).

This commentary is full of interest, to better appreciate our inheritance of eternal redemption, and its cost paid by others

Shabbat 24th/25th December 2021 Parashah Shemot (“names”) | Weekly Portion of Instruction in “the Way of YHVH” : Exodus 1:1 – 6:1.

Topic: From cradle to inheritance