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Bible Study-46 (Deuteronomy 21-25)

Book of DeuteronomyThis section of the Bible contains many commandments of differing nature. We might call it a section which includes miscellaneous statutes. We will attempt to discuss a few of these statutes.
The first subject that I would like to address has to do with male and female roles. That seems particularly significant today when there is “gender ambiguity” in our society. The Lord said,

“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5)

Obviously the style of clothing changes with each culture so what might be considered male clothing in one culture could be considered female clothing in another. The idea here appears to be that men should be men and women should be women. Their clothing should reflect this. “Gender ambiguity” and “cross-dressing” should be avoided. You are what God designed you to be. To reject this is to reject God who designed you. If cross dressing is an abomination to the Lord, think how He must look on the practice of sex-change operations today.
Another controversial statute included in this section concerns illegitimate birth.

“No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 23:2)

This statute appears to be particularly brutal since it applies to an individual who did nothing on his own to receive such harsh punishment. So we must ask the question, why would the Lord issue such a commandment? In order to understand the basis for this commandment, we must consider the impact of illegitimacy on a society. It seems obvious that the statute is aimed at maintaining the nuclear family consisting of a committed father and a committed mother raising children. For mature, committed parents, nothing could be more devastating than to have your child ostracized by being excluded from the community. Therefore, in order to avoid such ostracism, mature God-fearing individuals would bring forth children only as a family unit.
These Torah commandments apply first and foremost to God’s people Israel. However, the truth inherent in the commandments applies to all. In light of this truth, it is a humbling exercise to consider contemporary American society where in some ethnic groups ¾ of the children are illegitimate. As I understand it, close to half of all the children born in the U.S. are illegitimate.
In the book of Romans, Paul writes that the “wrath” of God is revealed in that He simply turns a rebellious individual or a society over to their own inclinations in order for them to be destroyed (See Romans 1:18-32). This applies specifically to an individual or a society which has received the revelation of God but chooses to ignore it. This is true of the United States of America. How long do you think that the U.S. can avoid ultimate destruction?
The Lord commanded,

“You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 23:18)

“A dog” in this case means a male prostitute. Temple prostitution was a common practice during the Biblical era. We may interpret the meaning of this statute today to apply to wages received from sexually perverted activities. Offering from such activities should not be received by the church. Individuals participating in such activities should not be accepted except in repentance.
Finally, the provisions listed in Deuteronomy 24:1-3 indicate that divorce was permitted in the Torah. Messiah Jesus declared that Moses permitted divorce and He developed the thought further.

“He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:8-9)

Paul developed this theme even further (I Corinthians 7:1-16). Paul maintained that a couple who were real believers committed to the Kingdom of God should not pursue divorce at all. In their case, the importance of their witness in the Kingdom surpasses any momentary “personal happiness”.

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Bible Study-45 (Deuteronomy 17-20)

Book of DeuteronomyOne of the most popular Biblical topics is prophecy. Often overlooked is prophecy which has already been fulfilled. One such prophecy occurs in the week’s section. Moses prophesied that when Israel entered the land that they would demand a “king” in order to be like all the other nations (Deuteronomy 17:14). Almost 400 years later in the days of Samuel, Israel made this demand. God told Samuel that Israel had not rejected him (Samuel) but had rejected God.

It took Israel almost 400 years to begin to see themselves as a nation like others. This, I believe, is a function of the fact that Israel had been slaves for an extended period in Egypt. Slavery destroys self confidence in the individual and in the community at large.

Also in this section, Moses specifically prohibited some activities by a future king.

“Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, “You shall never again return that way.” Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.” (Deuteronomy 17:16-17)

Solomon violated all of these prohibited acts. Solomon is said to have been the wisest man but his wisdom somehow didn’t envelop Moses’ exhortation.

Finally, this future king would be required to personally write the law and read it continually.

“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left; in order that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20)

Do you suppose it would be wisdom for the U.S. to require the president to personally hand write the constitution and to review it continually?

A famous rabbi once declared that “God is spirit” (John 4:24). This means that God must be discerned spiritually not through our natural senses (ancient idolatry) or through intellectual deduction (modern idolatry). With Israel, God began revealing Himself through a record of communications between Himself and specifically chosen vessels within Israel who apparently had the capacity to discern God’s voice. We presume that this capacity was due to a gift given to the individual by God Himself.

At Mt. Sinai, the people of Israel chose to have a “prophet” to function between themselves and God because they were terrified at the awesome manifestation of God (Exodus 20:18-21). This prophet was, of course, Moses. Moses interacted directly with God. He heard God’s voice and communicated His word to Israel. Moses declared that Israel “heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice” (Deuteronomy 4:12). Later, the prophet Elijah described this “voice” as a “small, silent voice” (I Kings 19:12). In addition, the prophet stood in a very special position to intercede (speak to God) on behalf of God’s people. So a two-way communication link was established between God and His people through a specially chosen vessel. The Bible came into existence is this way. Moses declared that another was coming after him who would function in this same capacity. This is, we believe, the Messiah.

Since God’s voice and presence must be discerned spiritually, God prohibited a number of practices which could lead to confusion in the process of discerning His voice. These practices include:

(a) causing sons and daughters to pass through the fire (practiced in the worship of Moleck,
(b) divination,
(c) witchcraft,
(d) interpreting omens,
(e) practice of sorcery,
(f) casting spells,
(g) functioning as a medium,
(h) functioning as a spiritist, and
(i) calling up the dead (Deuteronomy 18:9-13).

Many of these practices seem to overlap but all deal with probing into the unseen spiritual universe attempting to establish communications with some entity there. We believe that the primary reason why these practices were forbidden by God is that they serve as counterfeits of real communication with God.

My experience tells me that any person who has been deeply involved in these practices will have a very difficult time discerning the voice of the Lord. Often we “wait on the Lord” with fasting and praying to enhance our ability to “hear from God” concerning a matter. The person accustomed to occult practices will be doubled minded in such efforts and is easily deceived. Frequently, spiritual pride accompanies occult experience. Therefore, God prohibited these practices because He was separating a people who would “hear and obey” His word without occult interference. God is still looking for people for the same reason.

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Bible Study-44 (Deuteronomy 12-17)

Book of DeuteronomyFrom the time that God made a covenant with Israel, He began to indicate that He would eventually designate a specific place where He would establish His name. This would become the unique place of worship for Israel, His people.  This site would also designate the future seat of God’s Kingdom on earth.  The Bible section that we are considering today repeats that declaration again and again.  We know that spot would ultimately be the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  But at this point in the revelation, the exact location that the Lord had in mind had not been established.  Israel moved about led by the “cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night” which dwelled over the Tent of Meeting in their midst.

We can begin to appreciate the importance of the specific place that God would designate by the number of times that He repeats His command.  Without quoting the specific verses, I will simply list them here.  They include: Deuteronomy 12:5, 12:11, 12:14, 12:18, 12:21, 12:26, 14:23, 14:24, 14:25,15:20, 16:2, 16:6,16:7, 16:11,16:15, and16:16.

By my count, this is sixteen references to “the place which the Lord will choose”.  Someone has said that if the Lord states something once, it is important.  If it is repeated twice than it is sure to be fulfilled.  What should we conclude if a statement is repeated 16 times in four short chapters?  There must be a very special meaning involved.

When Israel entered the land, the Tent of Meeting was located at the base camp near Jericho at Gilgal.  Later, after the conquest, it was relocated in the highlands at Shiloh.  It remained there for something like 300 years.  The location seems to become somewhat obscure after that.  We know that in the time of King David, it was located at Gibeon (I Chronicles 16:39).

God judged David because he acted presumptuously by numbering the people contrary to the commandment of the Lord.  In the interaction that followed, David realized that the “threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” was the “altar of burnt offering for Israel (I Chronicles 22:1)”.  David bought the site which was to become the location of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Later, Solomon built the Temple there and the Lord announced that this was the site that He had been speaking of for hundreds of years.  God declared, “Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.  For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually (II Chronicles 7:15-16)”.  Two points need to be emphasized in this statement.  Firstly, God’s eyes and ears would be uniquely attentive at this place.  Therefore, we conclude that God’s chose to establish His presence at this place in a special way unlike any other.  Secondly, this situation is perpetual or eternal.  It is as true today as it was 3000 years ago.

The Temple Mount - Jerusalem This site, the Temple Mount, is truly the only site for national Israel to worship.  As a Christian, I understand that we may worship anywhere in the world.  When worship is conducted in a Biblical manner, we are often blessed with an awesome sense of God’s presence.  People get saved, delivered, healed and receive Godly direction on such occasions.  But worship at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is unlike anywhere else in the world.  In spite of the false claims of Islam concerning this site, true believers from Israel and the whole world must demand that Israel exercise dominion over this site and consecrate it to the Name of the Lord.  Nothing that I can imagine will sanctify the Name of the God of Israel more than this.

Many of my Israeli friends believe that consecrating the Temple Mount especially by building the Third Temple is the final step in preparing the way for the Messiah and completion of the “Redemption Process”.  Others believe that the Messiah will build the Third Temple.  These are points dealing with Jewish theology of which I do not have expert knowledge.  What I do know is that such consecration of the Temple Mount will have an awesome impact on Christian believers.  Before Israel became a visible nation in 1948, a popular Christian theological position was “God is dead”.   As Israel became a visible nation, there was a great revival in Christianity.  Evangelists like Billy Graham and Oral Roberts appeared with nationwide, if not international, ministries.  Millions either came to faith or renewed their faith.  In 1967, with the awesome victory of Israel in the Six-Day War, the modern “Charismatic Revival” swept across the Church.  Many millions more experienced a deeply spiritual renewal.  Since that time Evangelical Christians have become a strong supporter of Israel.  Now Christianity awaits the next move of God in Israel.  That move will be, I believe, the consecration of the Temple Mount leading ultimately to the building of the Third Temple.

Today I read of more and more calls in Israel to recognize the importance of the Temple Mount to Israel.  Islamic dominance of the site is becoming more and more odious to many Israelis.  Eventually, this voice will be heard and actions will be taken to return this site to its Biblical significance.  I whole-heartedly join my Israeli friends in looking with great expectancy for such an advance in the “Redemption Process”.

At the beginning of the recent war in Gaza, I hoped and prayed that Israel would take the step of establishing their absolute authority over the Temple Mount.  I understand the political reasons why this has not happened, however, I believe this is so near the heart of God that He will bless and protect Israel when they become bold enough to take this step.  It is easy for me to encourage Israel to be bold in this regard since I live 8000 miles away.  Still I am reminded of the action taken by King David 3000 years ago.  Israel had been at war with the Philistines (centered in Gaza) for five generations.  In spite of the long war with the Philistines, David’s first action after being made king of all Israel was to capture and secure Jerusalem.  Jerusalem was Book: Israel: God's Interdimensional Portalthe final site to be taken in the conquest of the land initiated by Joshua ben Nun almost 400 years earlier.  After securing Jerusalem, David defeated the Philistines and brought peace to Israel.  I pray that we will see this same thing in our own day.

Please see my book “Israel – God’s Interdimensional Portal” available at Amazon for a discussion of the importance of the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and modern Israel in general.

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Bible Study-43 (Deuteronomy 7-11)

Book of DeuteronomyThe Bible section for this week contains some interesting revelations about God, His people and His land.  I will start with His land.

If we return to the book of Genesis and with God’s interactions with Abraham, it is evident that God chose the Land before He chose the people, i.e., Abraham.  He commanded Abraham to go where He would show him.  God brought Abraham to the area that we know today as Israel.  Therefore, we conclude that the Land itself has special significance to God and to His plan of redemption.  God described the Land as:

“a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.” (Deuteronomy 11:12)

The word translated as “cares” means: to go to a place, to frequent it, to trample with the feet.  So we might say that God walks about in the land of Israel.  When you have the privilege to visit Israel you will most probably note this if you are a discerning person.

Moses declared that if Israel would keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments that God would “love you and bless you and multiply you”. (Deuteronomy 7:13a).  We might say today that this would define a “biblical” lifestyle.  Our Israeli friends would, I suppose, call it a “Torah” lifestyle.  At any rate it is a lifestyle whose fruit is produced over a lifetime, i.e., not instantaneously.  Such a lifestyle produces fulfillment, contentment, success and the feeling of accomplishment.  In contrast to this is a “worldly” or a “sinful” lifestyle.  The “worldly” lifestyle produces instant fun and is exhilarating but eventually produces death in one form or another.  The lifetime result of such a lifestyle is death.  Hollywood always portrays the exhilaration of sin but seldom portrays the death that follows.

God warned Israel to destroy all of the false gods of the Canaanites as they took possession of the Land.  (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)  The Holy One of Israel was in the midst of Israel revealing His nature not only to Israel but to the whole world.  Idols represent man’s concept of god and therefore are wholly inadequate representations of the true God.  Therefore they are to be destroyed.  In the Biblical era, idols were made of such things as stone, wood, silver and gold.  They were material objects.  Today, idols are philosophical or intellectually devised and are therefore more difficult to discern.  Our challenge today is to discard intellectually devised gods and experience or know the name of the one true God.   The Hebrew verb translated as “know” is Yadah and it means much more than an intellectual knowledge.  It means to experience firsthand.  Everyone who experiences the true God in this manner is transformed.  Frequently, in the Biblical era, a person’s name was changed as a result of such an encounter with God.

Finally, from time to time as we study the Bible, we discover a summarization of God’s commandments.  One such summary is recorded here:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”  (Deuteronomy 10:12-13) And, “Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.” (Deuteronomy 10:16)

This reminds us of Psalms 15, Micah 6:8 and Mark 12:28-31.  In contrast to many exhortations heard today, Moses later emphasized that these things were not too difficult for us to do (please see Deuteronomy 30:11-14).

After the original settlement in the land, the people of Israel remained for about 800 years.  In this period of time, God acted through the Hebrew prophets to reveal His plan of redemption.  As a result of the failure of the people to follow the commandments of the Lord, the people of Israel were separated from the land of Israel.  However, the promise of the ingathering of the people to the land was repeated by virtually every prophet.  That fulfillment has been happening during our lifetime.

From the late 1800’s the Jewish people have returned to the land of Israel and established settlements there.  This is one of the most important fulfillments of Bible prophecy in the modern era.  The land was formerly dominated by Islam and Moslems has struggled to retard Jewish immigration and to eliminate those already living in the land.  Traditionally the U.S. has been supportive of Israel or, at least, neutral in Book: Israel: God's Interdimensional Portalthis struggle.  Today, that policy has changed.  The present nuclear deal with Iran insures that Iran obtains nuclear capability.  They have repeatedly vowed to destroy Israel.   The U.S. has become complicit in an effort to destroy Israel.

In order to understand this struggle, please see my recent book entitled “Israel: God’s Interdimensional Portal” available at Amazon.  Note, in particular, chapter 3 entitled “The Oldest War”.

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Bible Study-42 (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11)

Book of DeuteronomyIn this Torah section, Moses rehearses the encounter between God and Israel at Mt. Sinai.  Here we learn about the intent of God concerning the commandments.  If Israel obeyed His commandments it would make them “wise”.  They would prosper and live long lives in the land that He was giving to them.

God declared,

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that) you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)

It appears to me that both Israel and the Church have ignored this commandment. In Israel, the Oral Tradition evolved as an interpretative body of work of the commandments. This was eventually written in the form of the Mishnah. Commentaries were added to the Mishnah to form the Talmud. For all practical purposes, these added to the commandments by being more restrictive than the original commandments.

In Christianity, it is acceptable to simply ignore any commandment which does not fit into Christian theology. One of the best examples of this is Shabbat. The Shabbat as well as others of the Lord’s festivals (Leviticus 23:37) are ignored and new festivals have been developed in their place.

The commandments define a lifestyle which is pleasing to the Lord. We might call it a “Biblical Lifestyle”. In Israel this would be seen as a “Torah Lifestyle”. Christianity denies the use of the word “Torah”, so it would be called a “Biblical Lifestyle”. God declared that this is wisdom.

“So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” (Deuteronomy 4:6)

In the animal kingdom, the creatures act for their own survival and well-being. This is classified as instinct. I believe what we call instinct is God speaking directly to animals. This process is confused in mankind due to the confusion introduced at the time of the fall. This confusing communication comes from the evil one who challenges every commandment given by God. The Torah becomes our “instinct”. As we live lives in the pattern of Torah, we appear to be wise because we are following the pattern defined by God consistent with His original design for human existence.  There is a multiplication of knowledge today, but wisdom is a rare commodity.

At Mt. Sinai, Israel was fearful due to the awesome presence of the Lord on the mountain.  Each heard God speak what we call the “ten commandments”.  I believe that they each experienced the same phenomena later experienced by Elijah at this same place – the small, silent voice of the Lord.  As a result, they feared for their survival and asked Moses to interact directly with the Lord on their behalf.  Moses assumed the position of Messiah, effectively interacting with God on behalf of the people.  He was a Messiah.

“All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.’”  (Exodus 20:18-19)

God heard their request and declared that they had done well.

“The Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.”  (Deuteronomy 5:28)

Finally, one of my favorite activities is to speculate about the nature of heaven.

“And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens; darkness, cloud and thick gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form – only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:11-12)

“Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.”  (Deuteronomy 4:36)

Book: Israel: God's Interdimensional PortalIf we think of heaven as a multi-dimensional universe distinct from the space-time continuum, then this event reveals a coupling of these two universes at Mt. Sinai. Note the term, “to the very heart of heaven”. This means something like “deep within the region of heaven”. Israel experienced this at Mt. Sinai and recorded it. Please see my book “Israel – God’s Interdimensional Portal” (available at Amazon) for more development of this subject.

Who We Are

Fellowship Church is a non-denominational congregation of believers in Messiah Jesus who love, worship and serve the Holy One of Israel with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. We are located in Winter Springs, Florida.

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Fellowship Church
5340 Red Bug Lake Road
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
407.699.1011