Fellowship Church of Winter Springs

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Welcome
    • Our Calling & Vision
    • Leadership
    • Fast Facts
    • Outreach
    • Times & Location
  • MINISTRIES
    • Our Weekly Webcast
    • Teaching Ministry
    • 🔴 Tzemach LIVE
    • Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies
    • Children
    • Students
    • Music Ministry
    • Prayer
    • Discipleship
  • MEDIA
    • 🔴 WATCH LIVE
    • A Voice to the Gentile Church
    • Articles
    • Audio Library
    • Peniel Music
    • Publishing
    • Video
    • Weekly Bible Studies
  • EVENTS
    • Church Calendar
    • Upcoming Events
    • Biblical Festivals
    • Annual Community Seder
  • GIVE
    • Ways to Give
    • Donate Now
  • CONTACT
  • 🔴 WATCH LIVE

By Ken Garrison, B.S., M.S., Th.M.

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”.

Tagged With: commandments, gender ambiguity, illegitimate births, Statutes

By Ken Garrison, B.S., M.S., Th.M.

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.

Tagged With: Biblical Lifestyle, commandments, Moses & God on Mt. Sinai, Nature of Heaven

Search

Latest Posts

  • Monthly Prayer Meeting – April
  • Celebrate Passover 2023
  • Bible Study-06 (Genesis 25-28)
  • Bible Study-05 (Genesis 23-25)
  • Bible Study-03 (Genesis 12-17)
  • Bible Study-04 (Genesis 18-22)
  • Bible Study-02 (Genesis 6-11)

Events By Month

  • April 2023
  • May 2023
  • June 2023
  • July 2023
  • August 2023
  • September 2023
  • October 2023
  • November 2023
  • December 2023

Tags

7th month anti-Semitism Biblical Festivals Capital of Israel Church Cloud by Day commandments Covenant Davidic Worship Elijah Exodus Feast of Tabernacles Firstfruits Hanukkah HaTznirim Park Israel Israel and the Church Jerusalem Jesus the Messiah Kedumim Kingdom of God Lamb of God Moses Mount Moriah Obedience Outreach Passover Pesach Pillar of Fire by Night Prayer Promised Land Prophecy Purim Redemption Salvation Seventh Month Festivals Shabbat Shavuot Shavuot (Pentecost) Sukkah Sukkot The Eighth Day Word of God Yom Kippur Yom Teruah (Trumpets)

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.

Connect with Us

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

Looking for something?

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 Fellowship Church | All Rights Reserved