By Joseph Shulam.
Every week, we read the Torah portion and the text from the prophets, which usually corresponds thematically with the Torah portion and a section from the New Testament that has some connection or reference to the Torah reading of the same Shabbat. This next Shabbat is the last Shabbat of August 2024. The Torah portion in Hebrew is Re’eh (in English, a command “SEE!” “Watch” – or “look”).
We will be reading like all of Israel from the following texts:
We will read from Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17.
From the prophets (The Haftarah) is read from Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5.
We will be reading from the New Testament, John 6:35-51.
I can’t say enough about the importance for every disciple of Yeshua to read from the Torah and the Prophets and the New Testament, at least on Shabbat – as it is commanded and recommended by the apostles for all Jews in the synagogues and non Jewish disciples in the churches on Sunday morning (or at home).
It was essential and recommended in the book of Acts 15:20-21 for all Christian people to go to synagogue and hear the Torah reading. Some Christians argue if the text from Acts 15 20-21 is really a command that the apostles in Jerusalem gave to the non-Jewish disciples, but merely a recommendation. Here it is – judge for yourselves.
“Known to God from eternity are all His works. I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had those who preach him in every city throughout many generations, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:18-21 NKJV)
The first question that should be asked from this text is this: why was it necessary for the apostles in Jerusalem to send the Gentile believers to the synagogues to hear Moses = the Torah read in public? The answer to this question is simple, but most Christians don’t get it. The simple reason is that people and whole communities didn’t physically possess scrolls of the entire Torah in Biblical times. How else would they have been able to hear and learn the Word of God? God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation is the only divine charter and constitution. The only basis and map that, as disciples of Yeshua, must guide us into a life of righteousness and holiness!
The central theme from our Torah reading this Shabbat is emphasizing the next generations. Fifty such texts in the Bible emphasize God’s care and interest in children and the next generations. In the last few months, I have heard from families of leaders in the body of Christ that their children are not very interested in the faith of their forefathers. A considerable percentage of the children of leaders are no longer interested in the faith of their fathers and mothers. We have two such cases in our congregation, and these children of leaders are lost to the Kingdom of God. Here are a few texts that are repeated in our Torah reading on this Shabbat and to the end of Deuteronomy:
Deut. 12:25 You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
Deut. 12:28 Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.
Deut. 29:22. So that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it:
Deut. 30:2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deut. 32:46, and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.
In just a few chapters of Deuteronomy, we find the phrase in God’s word, “your children,” showing God’s concern and care for the next generations of the body of Yeshua on this earth. We read in the book of Revelation of the great multitudes that will be gathered around the great white throne to celebrate God’s judgment of the goats and the sheep. If you want your children to be at that grand concert with you, Yeshua, and the band of angels, you and your church must refocus and restore the biblical emphasis on the next generations and your children. Get your church leadership to stop being so concerned about the financial side of the church. God will take care of your business if you take care of His business – the future generations.
I learned the value of children from my grandmother Rosa, raised with a silver spoon by her family, one of the richest in Bulgaria. Because they were a very orthodox Jewish family, they didn’t teach their girls to read and write. I learned from my grandmother about the children of the family: The children are the most valuable and precious wealth a family can ever have. The children are the future that will be with you for eternity if you and the children live a faithful and sanctified life. You can be poor, work very hard, and have no vacations! But, you must also work hard now to enjoy eternity with your family forever and have a picnic in the beautiful gardens of Eden. We all must invest in eternity now and ensure that our children are with us forever.
A few words from our Haftarah – the reading from Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5. I have chosen to bring for you, dear brothers and sisters, the following text from our reading from the prophets:
“O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established, you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.” (Isaiah 54:11-14 NKJV).
My question for you is this: Is there another nation that has such promises from the very creator and master of our universe? If you read this carefully, go to the last chapters of the Book of Revelation, and compare these words of the prophet Isaiah in the 8th Century BCE with the words of Apostle John describing the New Jerusalem, you might be surprised.
From the reading in the New Testament, from the Gospel of John 6:35 – 40:
“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40 NKJV)
The simple truth that is expressed here by Yeshua is constitutional and important. Notice what Yeshua is saying here to his disciples. Yeshua first and foremost spoke to his disciples in Israel in the first century CE.
These words of Yeshua apply to us today because we, too, are and must be His disciples. We have only one mandate for salvation: to be a disciple of Yeshua. The word disciple means student, faithful follower, partner, and co-conspirator.
So, what does this mean for us today? Stated and consequently applicable to all of us in the 21st century today are these points:
1. The church is not the source of our salvation. There is not one text in the Bible that says that if you attend this or that church or any church, you will be spending eternity with Yeshua and all the saints of all the generations.
2. The modus operandi is “Believe in Me!” Believe in Yeshua. Our problem is that the Christian standard to believe in Yeshua is applied to believe in what your church denomination teaches or requires from you. Your faith and dedication are seldom directed toward Yeshua, his person, his example, his sacrifice, his teaching! The churches don’t care and don’t teach so much obedience and following Yeshua. In fact, from my observation, there is almost nothing of what Yeshua commanded that is being either encouraged or taught for those who fill the church buildings in our days. I always point to Yeshua’s command of contributing money for the poor or needy or the community’s needs.
3. Yeshua himself is not an independent agent who can do whatever he wants, as the text in John states so clearly, but we, as his 21st-century disciples, don’t pay too much attention:
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
The implications of these words of Yeshua are so significant that I feel a compulsion to share a little more on this issue. In churches, most of the time, God the Father is forgotten and not mentioned. Here, we find out that Yeshua, as the Son of God, Messiah, Savior, and King of the Jews, is subordinate to the Father even after the cross and resurrection from His death. As disciples of Christ – let us not forget that Yeshua is subordinate to the Father even in the letters of the Apostle Paul:
“But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV)
I just can’t say enough about the importance of every disciple of Yeshua to read the from the Torah and from the Prophets and from the New Testament at least on Shabbat – as it is commanded and recommended by the apostles for all, Jews in the synagogues and none Jewish disciples in the churches on Sunday morning and or at home.