Welcome to Nazarene Israel my name is Norman Willis, and this is “Parasha Mishpatim” for 2022.

And the term mishpatim is usually translated as judgments or rulings (sometimes laws). These are basically the judgments or the house rulings that Yahweh makes for His family and His kingdom, in His house.

So, if we want to be taken as Yeshua’s bride then we need to make sure that Yeshua’s Father, Yahweh, will accept us. And one way we can do that is by obeying all of His Father’s, Yahweh’s, house rules (even the ones that are not easy or free).

So, if we want to be approved of in the day of judgment then these are His house rules; this is the way He wants things done (period, exclamation point)!

And there are many rules, and judgments, and laws in Parasha Mishpatim. We are going to zero in on one set of laws that shows up again in the Haftara prophetic portion.

But mostly, instead of focusing on the specifics of this or that rule in this Parasha, we want to focus on getting to know the heart of who it was that gave us these house rules. Meaning who was it really who met with our forefathers in the wilderness?

That is to ask: Who was it who really gave our forefathers a Torah? Because Yahweh the Father has never left the throne room in heaven so it could not have been our heavenly Father, Yahweh.

So, then who was it who gave the Torah to both Houses of Israel at Mount Sinai? Who gave the Torah or the wedding covenant, both to Israel (or Ephraim) and also to the House of Judah?

In this Parasha we are going to see that it was the Father’s Son, Yeshua. And we will also see what that means for us if we want to survive the coming Tribulation.

And along the way we are also going to see what Scripture has to say about slavery and why the prophecies tell us that there will be slavery again in the future. So, we need to learn what are the real rules for that so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Now, before we get to our main subject area of talking about who is Yahweh and why we know that it was Yeshua who led our forefathers out of the land of Mitzrayim (or Egypt), first we need to talk about the difficult subject of slavery.

Now, slavery is a theme, both in the Torah portion and in the Haftara portion, and it is a very important theme, and we need to talk about it. However, it does seem difficult to talk on this theme. It is one of those themes that, the moment you mention the topic slavery, everyone’s blood pressure jumps up 30 or 40 points (if not more). And some people get downright hostile, so let us be careful what we are and are not saying here.

What we are saying is that, in general, Yahweh hates slavery; He does not like it at all, especially not for Hebrews. However, there are times when slavery is not only permitted, but it is actually a preferable alternative; such as when you have been attacked by an overwhelming number of enemies, you have taken a bunch of captives and either you need to put them to death because you cannot release them (because they will attack you again), or you can take them captive and give them an opportunity to convert.

We are going to see how Yeshayahu (or Isaiah) chapter 14 tells us that we or our children are going to be placed in precisely just such a situation in the foreseeable future (probably after the Great Tribulation in Armageddon).

So, Yeshayahu (or Isaiah) chapter 14 and verse 1 tells us:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14:1
1 For Yahweh will have mercy on Yaakov [or Judah], and will still choose Israel [or Ephraim], and settle them [meaning both houses] in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the House of Yaakov.

That is just like Yeshua said in Luke chapter 13 in verse 29, He says, “And many will come from east and from west and from the north and from south and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Elohim. Whereas the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness.”

Luqa (Luke) 13:29
29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of Elohim.

Now, let us continue in Yeshayahu 14 in verse 2. It says, “Then people will take them and bring them to their place in the land of Israel and the House of Israel or Ephraim will possess them” meaning their oppressors for servants and maids in the land of Yahweh. It says, “They will take them captive whose captives they were, and they will rule over their oppressors.” That sounds pretty good does it not?

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14:2
2 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the House of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of Yahweh they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

I mean, really, but is it not also talking about slaves here because what else does it mean that we will take captive those whose captives we were and that we rule over those who oppressed us? What else could it mean?

So, now let us look at Revelation (or Hitgalut) chapter 2 and verse 27 when Yeshua says He will hand His rod of iron to His body, meaning His bride, Nazarene Israel (that is us). And we will use His rod of iron to rule and reign over the nations in His stead.

Hitgalut (Revelation) 2:27
27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—

Now, I do not know about for you, but for me that is an amazing promise. Right there, that is a jaw dropper. Basically what He is saying is, if we will submit to His Spirit and stay in connection with Him, stay in connection with the Vine and let His Spirit lead us and guide us and if we will just follow His instructions (how He wants us to conduct a five-fold ministry model), then He will help us to grow His kingdom for Him.

And what is even more amazing, both we and our children whom He will help us to raise up the right way (if we will let Him), we and our children will rule and reign over the nations as His body for one thousand years with His rod of iron.

Now, I wish I could share it with you so briefly as that, but Yahweh has given me a vision for this thing and Yahweh has a whole plan for this and we hope to share it with you as we get time, but the point is that we need to begin thinking again as the nation of Ephraim as Israel had to begin thinking as a nation when they began to leave Mitzrayim (or Egypt).

We need to realize that as we begin to leave spiritual Mitzrayim (spiritual Egypt); as we begin to leave the world spiritually, we are going to be called to face a situation like in Yeshayahu chapter 14 very soon. Either we will have to face it, or our children will have to face it.

So, how are we going to face it and do things the right way? What do we need to know in that day so we can do the right thing?

Well, we need to know what Scripture says about slavery because this prophecy is going to happen to us and to our children one day very soon; it is going to happen to our people. What are we as His people going to do? What does Yahweh want us to do?

Well, okay, again Scripture tells us that Yahweh does not generally like slavery. However, it also says that Yahweh allowed our forefathers to go into slavery so that one day when we would rule, that we would be compassionate masters since we ourselves know what it is like to be slaves in Mitzrayim (or Egypt).

So, it is a difficult subject because slavery generally indicates that you are making someone do something that is against their will; you are forcing someone to do something. So, it is not a pleasant subject to begin with, but again we need to consider that following scenario.

Now, in our study on Revelation and The End Times (or you can check Revelation Simplified on our YouTube channel), what we see is there going to be a lot of war in the Middle East. Again, probably either at the end of the Tribulation or Armageddon (which comes right after the Tribulation), but in that time frame there is going to be a lot of war in the Middle East.

And we also know from our study on Torah Government that what Elohim’s goal is – it is that we will help His Son build a kingdom over which His Son will rule which spans the whole globe.

But that is one of the mysteries of these things; we as His body will be the ones to rule and reign in His stead; that is the meaning of the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands that smote the image on the feet and then it grows into a great mountain (or a great government) that fills the whole earth. That is us; that is Nazarene Israel.

Daniel 2:45
45 “Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great Elohim has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

But obviously there is some doing involved here; we cannot just sit and wait for Elohim to do things and we have not done all that we know how to do. So, what does He want us to do?

Well, in that day, Yeshua’s people (Nazarene Israel) will already be in the land of Israel, but we are also going to be effectively running His global, spiritual government which is based on Yeshua’s five-fold ministry protocol in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:11-13
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah;

So, now here is the thing almost no one thinks about: Right now, while we are still in the dispersion, under the Melchizedekian Order, the weapons of our spiritual warfare are not physical right now. Meaning, right now (under the Melchizedekian Order in the dispersion) we have a nation of people who believe the same way, but we do not have any countries.

However, we do not have our own, effectively, a physical (or a temporal) government. Because of that, we do not have guns, or tanks, or nukes, or anything like that right now. In contrast, all of our weapons are spiritual and that is where our focus needs to be at the moment.

So, we submit to His spirit 24/7; we speak the truth of His Word in love. And this practice of courageously speaking the truth in love to those who have ears to hear is (effectively) mighty in Elohim and it tears down ancient customs and ancient strongholds and false traditions and ideas that keep Yeshua’s people away from hearing the truth.

And courageously speaking the truth in love is a very powerful tool for casting down arguments in every high, pompous, arrogant, exalted thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Yahweh Elohim, and submission to His Son’s Spirit.

Qorintim Bet (2 Corinthians) 10:3-4
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds,

So, these are our weapons right now and again that is where our focus needs to be; speaking the truth in love, but to be as wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves, there are some things we need to know.

Now, as we show in our study on Revelation and The End Times (and elsewhere), in Yeshayahu (or Isaiah) chapter 66 starting in verse 20, it lets us know that when the Tribulation and Armageddon are over, Ephraim and the Melchizedekian Order in the dispersion will be called home and will be brought into what is left of the purified and refined Levitical Order (or the Rabbinical Order).

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:20
20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to Yahweh out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the House of Yahweh.

But in that day, after being purified and refined after the fires of the tribulation Armageddon, there will be nothing left of the corrupted Rabbinical Order.

But, so then what should we as a nation do if we are leaving Mitzrayim, we are leaving spiritual Egypt, we are leaving the world system?

And we know that when the Tribulation and trumpet seven are over, that Yahweh is going to bring us back home to the land of Israel. And some of our Melchizedekian priesthood is going to get taken for Levitical priests and Levitical Levites, and that we are going to revert back to a renewed Levitical Order in which there is also a physical army.

Meaning, in that day, the weapons of our warfare will be both spiritual and physical, just as they were in the days of King David. And that is just like, you have a priesthood which is the spiritual army, and you also have the people (or the assemblies, or the tribes), and they host the physical (or what is called the temporal) armies of Elohim.

We could talk a lot about the circumstances surrounding this verse but let us notice what we need to see here is that Ephraim was originally taken captive by the Assyrians.

Now, that is, our forefathers went into what is called the Assyrian Diaspora (or you could call it the great seeding or the great sowing), and we explain this in the Nazarene Israel study. This refers to how Avraham and Israel’s children would be sown and scattered into the earth like seed, later to be recovered one day. You can read all about that in the Nazarene Israel study.

But this is what Yahweh is talking about when He prophesies to those who are in Assyria. As you read the prophecies, sometimes you will see He is talking to those who are in Assyria, talking to them or saying what they will do. Who He is talking about is the northern House of Ephraim that was taken into the Assyrian Diaspora (the Assyrian Captivity).

Melachim Bet (2 Kings) 17:6
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

And in Nazarene Israel we also explain how it was that, after Ephraim was taken into the Assyrian Diaspora, brother Judah also got taken into a captivity, but this time he was taken to an exile in Babylon.

Melachim Bet (2 Kings) 25:21
21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

Well, while the northern kingdom of Ephraim is only just now getting ready to return to the land of Israel, some 10% of our Jewish brothers and sisters return to the land of Israel in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And we will surely have an opportunity to talk about our Orthodox Jewish brothers at some point, but mostly what we need to see here is that some 90% of brother Judah never returned from the Babylonian Exile.

Well, the prophecies tell us that they will return one day, so then who are they, and where are they now?

Well, Yahweh clearly knows who they are and where they are, and He tells us in certain verses like Yirmeyahu (or Jeremiah) chapter 3 in verse 18, that at least some of the 90% of Judah who went out into the Babylonian Exile and has not yet returned; is currently sojourning either with, or near the House of Ephraim (or Israel).

We will talk a lot more about that, but what we need to see here is that at least some of the 90% of Judah who got taken into the Babylonian exile and never returned are today either with or near the House of Ephraim.

Except there is one wrinkle here, in prophetic terms. You say, well, someone will say, “Wait, I thought that the House of Ephraim was taken into the Assyrian Dispersion.”

Okay, so how do we reconcile the fact that the Assyrian Dispersion is not part of the sequence of king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream statue of five Babylonian empires manifesting?

So how do you get from the Babylonian Exile to the Assyrian Dispersion? Prophetically speaking, what is the connection?

Okay, well, in our study on Revelation and The End Times, in the chapter “A Restored Islamic Caliphate” (you have to log in to view that one), we show that king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of five Babylonian empires is really part of a larger sequence of eight empires that includes Babylon, but also goes all the way back to Egypt (or Mitzrayim).

So really, it seems fair to say that the Babylonian system is effectively an extension of the Egyptian system. Therefore, those of brotherhood Judah who went into the exile to Babylon and never returned, are today, (effectively) sojourning with the House of Ephraim (there are several verses that tell us this).

Now, we could potentially say that they entered the Egyptian-pyramid system at node number three, which is Babylon. And right now, they are sojourning either with, or near, the House of Ephraim, who entered the Egyptian system at node number two (Assyria and Nineveh).

There is a lot more that we hope to say about this graphic as time goes on because it shows us effectively the origins of the New World Order system as being in Egypt.

But as we saw, Yeshayahu chapter 66 tells us that, after the fires of the tribulation Armageddon are all burned out (the leaven is burned out by the fires of the tribulation), then comes the in-gathering.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:20-21
20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to Yahweh out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the House of Yahweh.
21 And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says Yahweh.

What we will see in prophecy is that the tiny remnant of Ephraim in the Melchizedekian Order, who actually love Yahweh enough to obey the Torah (not just the parts they like but the whole of the Torah), they get to return back home to the land of Israel. And they will be merged with the tiny remnant of what is left of the purified and refined Levitical Order.

So, in other words, after the fires the tribulation of Armageddon have burned the leaven (the sin) completely all the way out of the children of Israel, the Rabbis are going to see that, when Yeshua comes in the clouds, that it was Him that they put to death. And then, and only then are they going to convert back to the originally commanded Levitical system.

That is probably what that means; they are going to have to go all the way through the tribulation so they can get all the leaven burned out of them so they can obey Yahweh’s Torah once more and not obey the Talmud.

Okay, so if we are ready to move on beyond milk, there are several great big things that happened during the Tribulation and Armageddon time frame.

Now, we expect some very big wars between Ephraim and Judah, or the United States and Israel teaming up against the combined forces of Esau (or the Catholic church or the red horse) and Cousin Ishmael (or the green horse).

Now, as we show in our studies on Revelation and The End Times, and also in Revelation Simplified on YouTube, prophecy also tells us that Esau (or the Catholic church; the red horse) will effectively be obliterated, and that cousin Ishmael is effectively going to lose the war and then in the end he will convert.

Hitgalut (Revelation) 18:1-2
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

But in talking about slavery in that day, we are going to be back in the land of Israel, or perhaps in transition to the land of Israel. And then, once we are back in the land of Israel, we come again under the Levitical system.

Now, we are just talking hypothetical scenarios here: Now, what if green horse (Cousin Ishmael), should perhaps attack black horse Israel (whether as part of Armageddon or some other event in that time frame)?

Prophecy says that this is going to happen. So, we really, as a people (as a nation), we need to figure out: what is our response going to be in that day so that we can respond appropriately? Right?

Okay, so now we talk about slavery in the Torah portion of Parasha Mishpatim; we also end up talking about it in the Haftarah prophetic portion.

Although, I think the real importance of talking about these things is to help the House of Ephraim get ready to leave Egypt and to get ready for all the many changes that anyone who wants to leave the world system and survive the Tribulation while being in Yahweh’s favor, I believe, needs to begin making and implementing in their lives right now, because today is the day of salvation, but we are talking about a future event.

In that day, either in the end of the Tribulation or in the Armageddon time frame, if Israel gets attacked and the attack is very severe (which Scripture promises to be, but Yahweh does give Israel the ultimate victory), then what if Israel has a whole bunch of enemy soldiers, they have taken captive?

Now, just to be realistic (and this is not something we want particularly, we only want to see Yahweh’s Word fulfilled), but in an Armageddon, or a post-Armageddon time frame with Babylon, the whole Babylonian system having fallen already at trumpet seven, why would you want to release an enemy who has just attacked you? They are just going to attack you again.

So, during the millennium, after trumpet seven, there is going to be no need to let our enemies attack us endlessly, because the Babylonian system will already have fallen at trumpet seven. And at that point, that is when we are given Yeshua’s rod of iron and we will then suddenly have the power and we will be tasked with ruling and reigning for a thousand years with Yeshua’s rod of iron.

Hitgalut (Revelation) 20:6
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Now, we need to ask ourselves would King David put up with this kind of nonsense?

Okay, so we need to remember: Again, moving beyond the milk, if the goal is to build a global kingdom for Yeshua that will literally last for a thousand years, if King David would not have released enemy combatants because they would just attack Israel again, what would he do to them? Would he put them to death? Would he enslave them? Or perhaps, maybe would he do a little of each, like he did in Shemuel Bet (or 2nd Samuel) chapter 8 in verse 2?

That is where it says that King David defeated Moab and then forcing them down to the ground. He measured them off with a line; with two lines he measured off those to be put to death and with one full line he measured off those to be kept alive.

Shemuel Bet (2 Samuel) 8:2
2 Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So, the Moabites became David’s servants and brought tribute.

So, what we see is that two-thirds of the enemy combatants (the forces attacking King David’s armies) were put to death and one-third would be kept alive as slaves (perhaps also as hostages). And that is how the Moabites became David’s servants, and they ended up bringing tribute, that is what their punishment was, for attacking Israel.

It also causes others to think twice before attacking Israel. That is the way kings used to think before the Babylonian system took over.

Now, in our case (and again this is something we hope to say with as much compassion as is possible), in a scenario like this, it is either going to be us or our children who are going to be facing this situation. We are going to be having to take a large number of captor’s captive. We are going to have to rule over those who ruled over us.

That is a different group, that is not Ishmael. We will talk about them some other time.

But how do we hope to do that as a nation unless we are organized as a nation? And how do we hope to please, (possibly) Yahweh of hosts unless we are organized as a host?

It is Yahweh of armies. Unless we organize like His spiritual army and implement His spiritual weaponry together, how can we hope to please Him?

It is sometimes you just wonder. It is like, a lot of the Messianic, they read these prophecies and they have good little sound bite verses and sayings, but is anyone really stopping to connect the dots of what it is that we are being called to do for Yeshua?

And do we truly understand that Yeshua is calling us to organize so we can build Him a kingdom, and then we and our children can rule and reign for Him in His stead?

Yochanan (John)17:21
21 That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

I mean, can we grasp what that is about? Can we grasp what that says?

Now, to get ready for that is not going to be either easy or free, but can we imagine serving as the bride of the King, or the Son of the King of the universe?

Well, now the thing we need to know is that the way it is supposed to work with slaves is that if we have a situation where you capture an enemy; he attacked you – you do not really want to set him loose because he has already shown that he hates you; he has already shown that he is willing to kill you. If you let him go, he is just going to attack you again.

Now, you can put him to death and that is an option, but again, Yahweh does not like slavery. But Yahweh does not like unnecessary killing. It is Yahweh’s will that all should be given an opportunity to come to the knowledge of the truth and repent and receive His Son’s Spirit and be unified with the commonwealth of Israel.

So, if you do not just want to put him to death, then an alternative is that you can take him into captivity, and he will remain in slavery unless or until he converts.

However, once he converts, this is what Parasha Mishpatim says: Yahweh’s mishpatim (or Yahweh’s rulings, or His judgments) regarding slaves is that – it is okay if someone is a hostile, they are not a Hebrew; they have attacked you, tried to kill people, or perhaps they have succeeded in killing people; it is okay, you can treat them with rigor. Meaning you can effectively force their hand; you can make them do things as long as he is a non-Hebrew, all right?

That is the key; that is what got forgotten in the past. Once a non-Hebrew converts and becomes a Hebrew, you no longer treat him with rigor. Now you are supposed to let him serve six more years, and in the meantime, you are starting to train him in something because he is no longer going to be your slave. Now he is your brother.

So, he serves you six more years, and then in the seventh year he goes free, and you send him out with things because now he is your brother.

Shemote (Exodus) 21:2
2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.

So, we start to get into the details: We come to Shemote chapter 24. It starts out talking about how we treat slaves who are hostile; we can treat them with rigor, versus slaves who are Hebrews.

And basically, what we see, male or female, is that you deal in a much nicer manner with Hebrew slaves. Really, Hebrew slaves, you are not supposed to treat them like slaves; you are supposed to treat them more like hired servants.

And remembering that, what Yeshua wants is a Proverbs 31 bride who eagerly wants to do all she can to help her Husband establish His kingdom.

Mishle (Proverbs) 31:10, 17
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
17 She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.

Perhaps we can look at Yeshayahu chapter 14 like a kind of a difficult evangelism opportunity. So, in that case, if anyone converts, then you begin treating him much better. And then, in the seventh year, he goes free, and we send him out with possessions.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 14:2
12 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the House of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of Yahweh; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

Now, the whole thing to modern ears probably sounds very harsh and barbaric, but that is the reality that we have to deal with that Yeshayahu chapter 14 speaks of. And these time frames are coming right up.

So, whatever we do we need to remember that our Husband, Yeshua wants a kingdom and that what we really want if we are His Proverbs 31 bride is to help Him get it, because that equates to saving souls for Him however we can.

So, if you have a security risk, you do not want to put them to death, you give them an opportunity to convert. That is the way slavery is supposed to be done.

Now, we will come back to the Torah portion in a moment, but now let us jump to the Haftara prophetic portion.

And I apologize, if there was some confusion about what the Haftara prophetic portion was (that is a long story), but apparently there is more than one traditional reading for the Haftara prophetic portion, and we listed the other one. But this time we want to focus on the other one which is Yirmeyahu (or Jeremiah) chapter 34, starting in verse 8.

And here in Yirmeyahu 34, we have a great big mess. And this is where King Zedekiah, and all the officials of Jerusalem, and the eunuchs and, everyone, they all took a vow in the House of Yahweh to set all of their Hebrew slaves free in order to win Yahweh’s favor, to remove the armies of king Nebuchadnezzar and to send them away.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:8
8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them:

The thing is, Yahweh does not really mind when you take captives of someone who attacks you, that is just fair punishment, but He does not like the slavery of Hebrew slaves for anything.

The only time He allows you to have a Hebrew slave is if you are going to treat them like a hired servant. The rules are very much different for how you treat an enemy that is taken captive versus how you treat one of your brethren that has fallen poor. Only if you treat your brother well is He going to consent to it.

Well, speaking frankly, I have met people – they like that lifestyle; they just want to show up, do what they are told. There are no worries, no headaches, no bills, no problems. They do not have to know how to manage their own affairs, and if someone likes that or they do not know what else to do with that, then okay. That is good. So long as the treatment is good.

But the point is that, once someone is a Hebrew and he is your slave, the point is he is your brother now. The point is not to control your brother or to gain power over your brother. The point is to help your brother, because we are our brother’s keepers.

So, here in Yirmeyahu, King Zedekiah, and the officials of Judah, and Jerusalem, they do not get it because they went into the House of Yahweh to cut a covenant with Yahweh in His House. That means they cut an animal, separated the parts and then passed between the parts.

Well, and so, after a covenant was cut, they went and released all their male and female slaves and then that is why Yahweh delivered Judah from the hand of king Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) and sent him away.

But, so, of course, now that king Nebuchadnezzar is sent away, what do the officials and officers of Judah do? They went right back out and retook their Hebrew slaves, back into captivity again.

So, they gave their word to Yahweh and then they just went right back on it and do not seem to think anything of it.

And so, verse 13 begins:

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:13-14
13 “Thus says Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Mitzrayim, out of the house of bondage, saying,
14 “At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.

“But your fathers did not listen to Me or even incline their ears to Me; they were not listening. You recently repented and did what was right in My eyes by proclaiming liberty each to his neighbor and you made a covenant before Me in the house that is called by My name, but then you turned around and profaned My name when each of you took back his main male and female slaves whom you had set free according to their desire. And you brought them back into subjection to be your slaves again, even though you cut this covenant with Me.”

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:15-16
15 Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name.
16 Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’

“Therefore, thus says Yahweh, ‘You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming liberty, everyone to his brother and to his neighbor. And you are going to treat Me like that? Really? You are going to treat me like Paro treated Me? He is going to say he is going to do something just to get Me to relieve the plague, but then he is going to go back on his word? You are supposed to be My people, called out of spiritual Egypt. You are supposed to be My people who are setting an example and setting My standard for all the world to see. And you are going to behave no better than Paro?”

“Behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword and to pestilence and to famine’, declares Yahweh. That I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed My covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before Me I will make them like the calf that they cut into and pass between its parts.”

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:17-18
17 “Therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, everyone to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says Yahweh, ‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it.’

“The officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. It will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives.”

“Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.”

“And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. And into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which I have earlier caused to withdraw from you.”

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:19-21
19 The princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf;
20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.
21 And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army which has gone back from you.

“Behold if you are going to shame Me like that, and disrespect Me, and cut covenants in My name, and go back on them. Then I will command, declares Yahweh, that I will bring the army of Babylon back to this city, and they will fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire!”

“That will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant, because you made a covenant when you needed something. And then, when I gave it to you, you went back on your word, and you broke it. That is how you show Me you respect Me?”

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 34:22
22 “Behold, I will command,’ says Yahweh, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

So, then someone will say, “Well that is fine. You are talking about Judah way back when. What about us? The House of Ephraim today. Because we are not cutting any covenants in the temple, and we are not releasing slaves just to get Yahweh to send king Nebuchadnezzar away. Going back on his word like Paro did. We are not taking slaves back after Yahweh gives us what we want. No. We do not do anything like that in the House of Ephraim.”

Really? Oh, no? No.

No one in the House of Ephraim has ever received Yeshua’s free gift of salvation, and been so willing to do everything for Yeshua, and then later decided, “It is a lot of work and we do not really need to do all the things that Scripture says”, right?

No. There is not a single Ephraimite watching this video or listening who knows deep in his heart that Yeshua wants us all to help fulfill his Great Commission and build him a unified global ministry.

But there is not a single Ephraimite who knows that we are supposed to do that, but just does not want to sit down and count the cost or pay the cost, right?

Oh, oh, and, well, so why does he not want to pay it? Is it perhaps because he mistakenly believes that he does not need to do what Yeshua says to do, and Yeshua will still act as an intercessor for him in front of His Father in the day of judgment, right?

Mattityahu (Matthew) 16:24
24 Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

So, why pay the cost for what Yeshua says to do when you do not have to? Why buy the cow when the milk is free (so to speak)? Why wait, why actually serve Yeshua according to His Word when we can fake it, and we still get the same reward, right?

Hey, brother and sister, have you heard there is a syndrome in Christianity called “trampling on the grace” (or “trampling on His favor”)?

And you may have heard of it, that is where we accept Yahweh’s forgiveness for all the things we did wrong in breaking His Torah in the past, but then we do not really want to make all the changes we need to make to live up to His standards right now, right?

Because it is just like King Zedekiah and the officials of Judah in Jerusalem; we have this idea that we can go to Yahweh for what we want and promise that we are going to do things for Him, and we just know that, because His nature is so very compassionate, that He is going to help us out.

So, perhaps some people think they do not really need to come clean, right? As if Yahweh does not see, right?

And there are no Ephraimites anywhere who do not believe that we do not really need to get serious today because we are not standing in front of the judgment seat today, right?

The thing is, Yahweh gives us all the rope in the world to hang ourselves, and He gives us every opportunity in the world to do the right thing and to make right, and to make the effort and energy to do what is right. They will never force us to do what is right.

But you know what? If we believe Him; we believe in Him, then we have got to believe Him when He says He is watching everything that we do, and everything that we fail to do for Him gets recorded in a book.

Hitgalut (Revelation) 20:12
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before Elohim, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

You know, brothers, sisters, I am a sinner like anyone else and I rely on His unmerited favor just like anyone else, but I do not expect to be able to abuse that favor; I do not expect that just because I say I believe on Yeshua that I do not need to obey everything Yeshua says to do like the Israelites coming out of Egypt; like the officials of Judah in Jerusalem in King Zedekiah’s day.

Brother and sister, what I know is, what it says in Maasei (or Acts) chapter 17, in verse 30, which is that Yahweh winks at our times of ignorance past, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent and that we begin to do the things that we know are right because He says they are right.

Maasei (Acts) 17:30
30 Truly, these times of ignorance Elohim overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

And if we do not feel that we need to give Him the loyalty of doing everything that He says to do, with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength, back in the days of kingships that is considered treason; that is considered disobedience, and the penalty for that is death.

So, it is one thing to be doing our absolute best for Him, but still we do not make it; still we fail and it seems reasonable that Yahweh would understand that.

It is like if you have a son or if you have an employee, can you tell when they are doing their very best for you? And if your son is doing the very best, or if your employee is doing the very best that he can, then when he makes a mistake, you forgive him, right? Of course, you do. That is what Yahweh would do.

But what if he is not really trying his best? What if he makes a mistake and figures, it is okay and he doesn’t really need to improve, because he knows you are compassionate, and he believes you are going to forgive him? So, really there is no need to try to do everything to your standards, right?

Because really, he does not respect you, or else he would do everything to your standards, right?

So, if you have a son or an employee who does not do what you ask, how do you feel? So, how do we figure Yahweh feels when we take His Son’s blood for granted and trample on the blood?

Well, brothers, sisters, do we really know how Yahweh feels? Or perhaps do we maybe never really stop to ask ourselves how Yahweh feels? Because we love Him so much, we do not need to ask Him how He feels, right?

And it is okay, He knows that we are not being disrespectful and disobedient. If we do not care about how He feels about our performance, it is okay. We can behave just like the Israelites coming out of Egypt, or we can behave like the officials and officers of King Zedekiah’s court. We just cut a covenant with the King of the universe that cost our Creator, His Son, an unimaginable suffering.

And we entered into that covenant with Him, right? So, we entered into that covenant with Him to get the gift of eternal life and we said that we would obey and do everything with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our strength, to get away from physical death. But now we have to obey Him in His Spirit to achieve that spiritual life.

Marqaus (Mark) 12:30
30 And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

I mean, we all believe Yahweh, right? We all believe in Yeshua, that is why we are all watching, right? We entered into that covenant with Him.

So, are we really doing the things that we all know that we are supposed to do? Are we really helping truly to build His kingdom the way we know we ought to be building it?

Or are we perhaps depending on His unmerited favor even though we know in our hearts that we are secretly in disobedience to His Son’s Spirit; even though we know in our hearts we are not really doing everything we can to build His kingdom?

Well brothers, as we show in the study on Revelation and The End Times, there is going to be, what I see is just almost, unimaginable destruction and unimaginable suffering and death in the years ahead.

And I am talking about in our lifetimes and in the lifetimes of our children. And when I try to wrap my mind around all the destruction I see written in the pages of Scripture; and when I see how that matches up with the weekly news that we analyze. Every week we post (again you have to be logged in to the Nazarene Israel website, but) when I see what Scripture says, that I the news is matching what Scripture says, all I can think of is: “I am sure glad I am trying my very best to serve Yahweh. I am sure glad I am trying my very best to serve Yeshua.”

And you hear some people they have this glib saying: “Well, the safest place to be is in Yahweh’s will.” And that saying is very true, but what that means is: The safest place to be is to be doing exactly what His Son says to do.

Because we know from our studies, that Yahweh promises to protect the assembly of Philadelphia, the assembly of true brotherly love. That is actually loving their neighbor and doing the things it takes. Not just saying they love their neighbor, but actually doing everything that He asks us to do.

And His Word says He is going to save those who are truly doing their best for His Son. But we have to lay down our lives in this world in order to obtain His renewed, spiritual life.

Yochanan (John) 14:15-16
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

I do not know; I do not know why? We talk about this every week; we talk about it again and again. For years now, we have talked about this.

Do we really know Yahweh? Do we really know who He is? Do we really know who Yeshua is?

We know a lot of things about Yahweh; we know a lot of things about Yeshua, but do we really know them? Like we could know lots of things about Yeshua, but is that really the same thing as knowing Him?

The people who come to the Messianic movement are trying to glean knowledge; knowledge, knowledge, knowledge, but they do not want to do the things Yeshua says to do. What are they worshiping?

They worshipping knowledge, or they are worshiping Yeshua? That is why; they know lots of things about Yeshua that they are not doing and not obeying.

Yochanan Aleph (1 John) 2:3-4
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Well, knowing things about Elohim is not the same thing as knowing Elohim. And here is a thing that I hope is going to help at least some people rethink about how important it is to enter Yeshua’s program: Yeshua has a program.

It is like you go join the armed forces; you go down to the induction station, you sign your name on the dotted line, you are taken into their program. Yeshua has a program. He wants us all to be working for Him.

Okay, well, we have already talked about how Yahweh expects any prospective bride to obey His written Torah to the letter, because it serves as the bride’s Ketubah (or the written wedding contract). And right here in the Ketubah it tells us who Elohim sent to lead our forefathers out of the land of Egypt, and to bring them safely to the land of Israel.

And lo-and-behold, surprises, surprises. Guess what? Guess who it is? It is the Good Shepherd, Yeshua.

Okay, so here in Shemote (or Exodus) chapter 23 starting in verse 20, Yahweh tells us that He would send a Messenger (or an Angel) before our forefathers to guard them on the way and to bring them to the place that He had prepared for them.

Shemote (Exodus) 23:20
20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

In other words, Yahweh of hosts is saying He is going to send His Messenger to lead His armies. First to conquer the land of Canaan, and then to begin training Israel into setting up a prophetic prototype of Yeshua’s coming kingdom.

Now, let us look very carefully at what Elohim commands us to do here because it is going to show us a lot and there is a key, what is called a remez (or a hint), here.

Because in verse 21, Yahweh told our forefathers of both houses, both Ephraim and Judah, to pay careful attention to Yahweh’s Messenger and to obey His voice and not to rebel against His Messenger; for His messenger would not pardon our transgressions. Why? Because Yahweh’s name is in Him.

Shemote (Exodus) 23:21
21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

Now, if you want all the details then I highly recommend that you check out our study in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume One, it is entitled “Yeshua Manifestation of Yahweh”. That gives all the details; it explains why Yeshua is a manifestation of His Father, Yahweh.

We do not have time to do the whole study here, but the idea is (basically) that Yahweh the Father is pure Spirit and (as we show in that study) Yahweh the Father has never left the throne room in heaven. So, that means He was not here on earth.

Yochanan (John) 4:24
24 “Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Yochanan (John) 1:18
18 No one has seen Elohim at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

So, if Yahweh the Father has never left the throne room in heaven, then who have we seen here on earth but Yahweh’s manifestation Yeshua?

Yochanan (John) 14:9
9 Yeshua said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Now, consider in B’reisheet (or Genesis) chapter 19 in verse 24, at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (we cover this in the study), Yahweh the Son, (down here on earth) rained down brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from His Father, Yahweh, out of the heavens.

B’reisheet (Genesis) 19:24
24 Then Yahweh rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from Yahweh out of the heavens.

So, can we see the two Yahwehs there? One Yahweh the Son here on earth and Yahweh the Father up in heaven. So, Yahweh the Father had His Son manifest; come down to earth to do a job for Him.

[If you have more questions on that please check our study on “Yeshua: Manifestation of Yahweh” in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume One.]

Well, let us see something important here in verse 20. Here Yahweh tells us that He would send a Messenger (or an Angel), which again is a type of a manifestation of Yahweh.

Shemote (Exodus) 23:20
20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

Then in verse 21, Yahweh the Father warns us all to beware of His Messenger and to obey His Messenger’s voice. He even commands us not to provoke His Messenger, Yeshua because (get this) His Messenger will not pardon our sins. Of course, unless we first repent of our sins and submit ourselves completely to Him and His Spirit. Any of this sound familiar?

Shemote (Exodus) 23:21
21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

But what does it mean that Yeshua has His Father Yahweh’s name in Him? Well, as we also explained in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume One, we talk about Yeshua’s Set-apart name in our study titled simply: “Set-apart Names”.

What we see in that study is that Yeshua’s name is the same as the name of Joshua, the son of Nun. We give all the details in that study, but in Bemidbar (or Numbers) chapter 13 in verse 16, we see that Moshe renamed Hoshea the son of Nun as Yehoshua (or Yahushua, or we would say Joshua).

Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:16
16 These are the names of the men whom Moshe sent to spy out the land. And Moshe called Hoshea the son of Nun, Yehoshua.

Now, the other almost 200 times (and I believe it’s 198 times or something like that – close to that), Joshua’s name is spelled in an abbreviated five-letter form. And again, that is all right, you can do abbreviations in ancient Hebrew because it was really a blessing to conserve on work. Scrolls were expensive; hides were expensive. Everything had to be done by hand. If you could use a contracted short form that is perfectly fine to do in Hebrew.

So, they used the full letter form, the full six letter form twice. They used a contracted five letter form 198 (or something) times: יהשוע‎ (Yod-Hay-Shin-Vay-Ayin). They just use different vowels to indicate the contraction.

Now, if you want to get technical (we covered this in study), technically they took out the second “ו”‎ (vav) and then they put in a vowel point to make the sound of the second “ו”‎ (vav) so they could contract it.

Now, and lots of English-speaking brethren freak out when they see this because, even though they will use contractions daily in their own speech (in English or, German, or Spanish, or whatever other language), they believe you cannot do that in Hebrew. They believe you cannot use contractions in Scripture.

Okay, well, just look, it is not a big deal; it is not a huge thing. We do not need to freak out.

It is like with the English name Richard; we can call him Richard, or we can call him Rich, we can call him Rick, we could even call him Dick, depending. All of those are legitimately Richard’s name because they all refer to him as other names.

Joseph, short form of Joe (that is the same name). It is not a big deal.

So, someone will say, “No. Hold up. The issue is not that there is a six-letter name and there is a contraction from six letters to five in the Tanach; that does not bother us because the pronunciation of Yeshua’s name did not change.”

Okay they are going to say, “Rather, the issue is that the pronunciation did change after Judah went into the exile to Babylon.”

So, the name changed from Yahushua (יהושוע)(or Yehoshua) to Yeshua (ישוע). And they say, “We do not trust it the way that Yeshua’s name is pronounced differently now.”

Okay, let us take a look at that now. In our study on the Set-apart names we show how the third commandment is not to let Yahweh’s name lie in ruins (or to lie desolate).

That does not matter whether we let it lie desolate through misuse, or substitution or we just did not get around to using it, or we prefer to say some other name. The problem is, Yahweh tells us He wants His name known and not some other name.

Shemote (Exodus) 20:7
7 “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Well, okay, for example, in Bemidbar (or Numbers) chapter 6 starting in verse 27, Yahweh tells us to put His name on His people and to speak it in blessings; is to make His name known.

Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:27
27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Okay, so we are supposed to advertise the greatness of Yahweh’s name. Well, we do not know exactly why things changed, but whether it was due to some policy change that took place during the exile to Babylon, or whether it was the fact that the Greeks would put the Jews to death if they pronounced Yahweh’s name aloud. But somehow or other, brother Judah got into the habit of hiding Yahweh’s name, substituting other names for it like HaShem or Adonai.

So, rather than publicizing Yahweh’s name and making His name known, they substituted it; they hid it.

So, for some reason, brother Judah seems to think that the best way to keep people from taking Yahweh’s name in vain is to hide His name, and use other pronunciations, and other made-up names like HaShem, Adonai.

Those are not really names; these are titles that have been taken as names. And this is what brother Judah does even though Yahweh specifically says many times to make His name known.

Okay, well, someone will say, “Well what is the problem? What happened?”

Okay, well, all right. So, first we saw how Moshe changed Hoshea’s name from four letters to a six-letter form Yehoshua (יהושוע) (or Yahushua).

Bemidbar (Numbers) 13:16
16 These are the names of the men whom Moshe sent to spy out the land. And Moshe called Hoshea the son of Nun, Yehoshua [יהושוע].

Okay, then we also saw how the same six-letter name was spelled in a shortened five-letter form that has different vowel points; so, it is still pronounced the same.

So, the Hoshea’s name has gone from four letters to six, not down to five. So, now, finally Hoshea’s name will be shortened to a simple four-letter form in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and that four-letter form is ישוע (Yeshua). And that is the form that is recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah post-Babylonian Exile.

Ezra 2:2
2 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Yeshua [ישוע], Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 12:1
1 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Yeshua [ישוע]: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

And people say, “Well, the issue is that you have to have Yahweh’s name in the messenger’s name.” And they are going to say, “The shortened four-letter form does not begin with a Yod-Hay-Vav combination.” They are going to say, “You must have a ‘יהו’ (Yod-Hay-Vav) combination, or at least a simple ‘יה’ (Yod-Hay) in order to have the Father Yahweh’s name. That is not true; that is false.

Okay, so Yeshua’s name in the four-letter, post-Babylonian exile form only begins with a “י” (Yod). Okay, so, it is not a “יהו” (Yod-Hay-Vav) it is just a “י” (Yod).

Okay, the thing is, though you can do that in Hebrew. For example, Joseph’s name is really not “יוסף”(Yosef) but “יהוסף” (Yehoseph), meaning Yahweh shall add. But we do not say יהוסף (Yehoseph), we just say יוסף (Yosef), and that is because the “י” (Yod) at the start of a name works in place of the “יה” (Yod-Hay) combination.

Okay, so this is just like in English (or some other language). You can call a man named Ezekiel, Zeke; it is okay, it is not a problem. You can call a man named Joseph, Joe; it is okay, it is not a problem.

So, first Hoshea’s name was four letters, then it became six letters Yehoshua. And for whatever reason, maybe just because it is easier, it was shortened to five letters. And then, now after the Babylonian Exile, it is shortened to four letters in keeping with the ethics of the time. They are shortening things up, they are saving time, they are saving effort.

So, this is just a time in history when they started calling Joshua by the name Josh. And it is okay, that is what Yeshua’s mom called Him, is Yeshua. You do not have to call Him Yahushua, we just call Him Josh; that is what He went by in the first century.

Okay, so now with these details let us refresh; let us look again at what it says in Shemote (or Exodus) chapter 23 starting in verse 20. Yahweh tells us here that He would send His Messenger (or His Angel) which we know would be a manifestation of Yahweh the Father but not Yahweh the Father Himself because Yahweh the Father has never left the throne room in heaven.

Shemote (Exodus) 23:20
20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

Nonetheless, Yahweh the Father warns us all to beware of His Messenger and to obey His voice. He warns us not to provoke His Messenger, Yeshua because (get this) Yeshua will not pardon our sins unless we first repent of our sins and change our ways. And the reason why that is, is because His Father, Yahweh’s name is in Him. So, does any of this sound familiar?

We know in a lot of places and a lot of ways we have heard the wrong things from the Babylonian Christian church. The Babylonian Christian church has taught us that it is okay to trample on Yahweh’s unmerited favor or Yahweh’s grace.

Somehow, the church manages somehow to teach the idea that, one way or another, Yeshua came to do away with the requirement to loyally to obey the bride’s marital covenant.

It is just amazing I am always dumbfounded, but for some reason a lot of brothers and sisters in Ephraim, in the Hebrew Roots Movement, they still are affected by this syndrome of greasy grace.

This just seems like there are a lot of people out there (the vast majority maybe) that do not seem to believe that we need to be wary of Yeshua or even obey what Yeshua has commanded us to do for Him. Even in the coming out of the land of Egypt.

And a lot of our forefathers and a lot of Ephraimites today seem to think they have the authority to pick and choose which ones of the Father’s commandments we want to keep.

Well, we have alleged Nazarenes today thinking that they can provoke Yeshua by choosing and picking which parts of the bridal covenant we feel like keeping, and what parts we do not like, we do not have to keep those. “We are under the grace; we are under favor.”

Well, so how do we do brothers? It seems we as a people, as a nation, we really like the resting and reading part and we really like the parts where we get to feed on Yahweh’s spiritual food. We are just going to let ourselves into Yahweh’s house on Sabbath and eat all His spiritual food, but for some reason we never get around to actually growing His kingdom actually working to build His kingdom?

We know Him, right? And we love Him, right? And that is because we love Him so much, we would keep His commandments (especially the free ones that don’t take any money or any time). But we have other priorities than the wedding feast. We have other priorities in being obedient to the bridegroom, right?

So, we can let ourselves into the wedding feast without the bridal garment of obedience to the bride’s wedding contract?

Hey, brother and sister, how far are we going to go for Yeshua? Do we realize what lukewarm looks like? Do we have any commandments in Scripture that we feel are too difficult, or they cost too much of our money, or they take too much of our time, or something like that?

I mean, there is nothing like we are going to make promises to do things to get what we want and then as soon as we get what we want we are going to forget to pay our vows?

I mean, it is Yahweh, right? And the Messenger has Yahweh’s name in Him. So, Yahweh of hosts, He is merciful, right? He is going to pardon whatever transgressions we make because His Father’s, Yahweh’s name is in Him, right?

Shemote (Exodus) 23:21
21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

So, we are just going to blow off everything what Yahweh’s Messenger tells us to do to try to guide us successfully into the land of Canaan to establish a prototype kingdom, but we do not need to do all that stuff, right?

Well, Yahweh the Father warns us to beware of His manifestation and not to provoke His manifestation because He would not pardon our sins unless we first repent and submit ourselves to His Spirit. And the reason we need to do this is precisely because Yahweh’s name is in Yeshua.

Mishle (Proverbs) 28:13
13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

So, really, the picture we get is, Yeshua was the one who was going to lead and accompany His future bride, Israel; bring her out of Mitzrayim and safely into the land of Israel just like a good shepherd leads his flock.

But we can see from Scripture, how most of our forefathers failed in the wilderness because they never learned to serve Yahweh in a transformative way; they never handed over their lives to the Spirit.

Bemidbar (Numbers) 32:13
13 So Yahweh’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of Yahweh was gone.

And to speak the truth in love. We can see how most Ephraimites are going down the same wrong pathway. We can see where most of our nation are really setting themselves up to fail, today because they did not ever learn how to serve Yahweh in a transformative way.

It is so sad to see how many in Ephraim give Yahweh their leftovers. Oh, and then they expect Him to make him, His Son’s chosen queen even though they did not care enough to obey Yeshua’s commandments.

Well, (you know) what do we think? I mean, Yeshua has His choice of everyone who has ever believed on Him; He can choose any one of them for His bride. Who is He going to choose?

He is going to choose the one who is obeying Him and giving the best of his time; giving the best of his energies; doing the best he can to steward his money to help build His Love a kingdom.

Is that what we do?

Well, if you are from the Jewish side of the house, did you know brother or sister that it was Yeshua, the manifestation of Yahweh, who led both houses out of the land of Mitzrayim and into the land of Israel?

It has to be Yeshua because there are not any other messengers in Scripture that have the Father, Yahweh’s name in them; Yeshua is the only one. And it tells us right here that the exact same things Yeshua Himself is going to tell us about His ministry in the Brit Chadasha portion. And namely, He tells us that we have to do everything that the Messenger says to do or He will not be pleased with us. I mean, how much simpler can it get?

Yochanan (John) 5:43
43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

Find out if you want to be in the marriage, right? You want to be taken as the bride of the Son of the King of the universe. Let me tell you how to do it. Find out what your Husband wants and give it to Him.

It could not be simpler; just find out what He wants, hear His voice, do what He says; He will lead us by the right hand and take us up in glory. But how few Ephraimites seem to understand that (today at least); judging by their actions.

Now, in verse 22 there is something very special for all of those of you from the Jewish side who are living under state-sponsored Zionism in the land of Israel. And remembering Zionism, that is the concept that we do not need Yeshua because the people can serve as the messiah.

Let us take a look: In verse 22 Yahweh tells us that if we will indeed obey His voice (in context we are talking about Yeshua’s voice here) and do all that He (meaning Yahweh and also Yeshua) speaks, that is when He is going to be an enemy to our enemies; an adversary to our adversaries.

Shemote (Exodus) 23:22
22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

No other circumstance. If we are not doing the things that we know, Yahweh Himself is going to be as an adversary toward us because we are in disobedience. He has got to correct us, He has got to bring us correction, and punishment.

But if we take a deeper look, we are going to see how this tells us – right here in this passage that the Messenger, Yeshua, would speak all that His Father, Yahweh spoke. What that means is the Messenger would speak the Father’s (Yahweh’s) words.

And if we are willing to receive it, that is exactly what Yeshua said He did in verses such as Yochanan (or John) chapter 5 and verse 30 where Yeshua tells us that He judged (or ruled, or gave mishpat, or mishpatim) based on what He heard from His Father in the Spirit.

Yochanan (John) 5:30
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Now, as we show in other places, that is exactly how the office of the anointed Judge and how the office of the Apostle are supposed to work.

For an anointed Judge, or an Apostle, to do his job, he has to dedicate himself completely to the Spirit and then listen in the Spirit and do only what he hears in the Spirit.

That is the only way the office of an Apostle or an anointed Judge can work is, because they are listening to the Spirit, they are getting their right rulings from the Spirit. And that is the only way to get the rulings of Elohim, rather than the rulings of men who are quenching the Spirit.

Thessaloniqim aleph (1 Thessalonians) 5:19-20
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not despise prophecies.

And that is also how you can know if you trust the Apostle, or the Prophet, or the anointed Judge, is when you hear the Spirit speaking through them. When you hear the Spirit speaking through someone, then you can know that you can trust what you heard said in the Spirit.

And, if we perhaps ourselves do not hear in the Spirit, that is when we are supposed to pay attention to others who hear in the Spirit; the Apostles and the Prophets. Also, the anointed Judges in times of old.

Because their submission to the Spirit (that is a prerequisite of the Prophetic, or the Apostolic, or the Judgeship office), if they are not hearing from Yahweh’s voice, they are not speaking according to Yahweh’s voice, they have no business being in those positions.

So, now notice in Yochanan (John) chapter 8 in verse 38, Yeshua tells us that He speaks that which has already been communicated to Him by His Father, Yahweh the things He has seen when with His Father, Yahweh; that is what He speaks.

Yochanan (John) 8:38
38 “I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”

So, we just have to ask ourselves: If it was not Yeshua, who was the manifestation of Yahweh that the Father sent; that His name was in Him, and He spoke only that which the Father would speak? If that was not Yeshua, then who was it?

It can only be Yeshua because only Yeshua spoke what His Father, Yahweh spoke.

The description does not even really fit anyone else, and there are so many parallels to what Yeshua teaches in the Renewed Covenant.

It is just the same thing in Yochanan chapter 10 in verse 4, we see how Yeshua led Israel out of Egypt; leading us just like a good shepherd leads his flock.

Yochanan (John) 10:4
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Now, there is something else we should see in Shemote chapter 24 that is extremely important (and the flesh does not like this). However, Scripture lets us know that there are what might be called different levels of separation, or different levels of set-apartness, or different levels of holiness within the camp of Israel.

Now, we should all seek the greater gifts, at the exact same time we also need to recognize that Yahweh has established these separations. So, what do we mean by that?

Well, for one example, if you are not a Hebrew, now, you may come into the camp to buy, or sell, or trade, but you may not dwell in the camp, because dwelling in the camp is for those who have dedicated themselves to serving Yahweh. So, just to remain inside the camp requires one degree of separation or one degree of set-apartness; more than the world.

Okay, now we need a second degree of separation or a second degree of set of partners to come inside the tabernacle courtyard. If we are not a Hebrew, we can come into the camp to trade or buy or sell, no problem. However, we do not go into the tabernacle courtyard unless you are a Hebrew and unless you have a reason for being there.

And if you are not paying your tithes, you probably do not get to go in there either, because it requires a heightened degree of separation; heightened degree of set-apartness.

So, now we need a third degree of separation, or a third degree of set-apartness to come inside the tabernacle itself. Normally only priests and Levites were allowed to come inside the tabernacle (and even then, only when they were on duty). So, to come inside the tabernacle you must be both chosen and serving Yahweh actively, just even to come inside of His house.

And finally, there is a fourth degree of separation when going into the most set-apart place or what is called the Kodesh Kodashim or the Holy of Holies. The Kodesh Kodashim was so set-apart that only Yahweh could go in there to dwell all the time.

The High Priest could go in there once a year on Yom Kippur, but even then, only with blood. And even then, the High Priest did not stay because the most set-apart place is too set-apart for us humans to dwell there. It is Yahweh’s room (if we will) and we should stay out of it except for our once a year date with Him on Yom Kippur.

Vayiqra (Leviticus) 16:2
2 …and Yahweh said to Moshe: “Tell Aharon your brother not to come at just any time into the Set-Apart Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

Well, we see the establishment of these kinds of degrees of separation or these degrees of set-apartness; we see them being established all throughout this Parasha.

For example, in Shemote chapter 24 in verse 1, Yahweh told Moshe that he should bring himself, and Aharon, and the Nadab and, the Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; they should worship Yahweh from afar.

Shemote (Exodus) 24:1
1 Now He said to Moshe, “Come up to Yahweh, you and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

So, think about this: Obviously the 70 elders are going to have a greater degree of separation, or greater spiritual status than the rest of the camp, and also, then those who are outside the camp.

And then, in verse 12, Yahweh commands Moshe to come up to Him on the mountain, and to be there. And then Yahweh is going to give him tablets of stone, and the Torah, and the commandments, which He had written so that Moshe could then turn and teach the people.

Shemote (Exodus) 24:12
12 Then Yahweh said to Moshe, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

Well, then in verse 13 Moshe arose with His assistant Yahushua (or Joshua) and they went up to the mountain of Elohim.

Shemote (Exodus) 24:13
13 So Moshe arose with his assistant Yehoshua, and Moshe went up to the mountain of Elohim.

And then in verse 14, though we see that the 70 elders had to stay behind. So, the 70 elders had a greater degree of separation or set-apartness than the world and the camp, but not as great as that of a Joshua or a Moshe.

Shemote (Exodus) 24:14
14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aharon and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”

And many scholars believe that verse 15 tells us that Moshe went up alone to Yahweh without Joshua. So, once again, take a look at Joshua. His degree of separation was greater than the world, greater than the camp, and greater than the 70 elders, but still, obviously less than Moshe.

Shemote (Exodus) 24:15
Then Moshe went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

Moshe had the most separation or set-apartness at all, but he was still obviously less set-apart than Yahweh Himself. The thing is, we are going to see these different levels of separation or different levels of set-apartness as we progress, all through this Parasha series.

But there are some in Israel who do not like this, and they are going to rebel against these degrees of separation, and they are going to lose their lives because of it.

So, there is a lot more we could say, but we are out of time for the week. But we do need to remember about Parasha Mishpatim is that Yahweh is trying to call His people out of spiritual Egypt (out of the world system, out of Mitzrayim) so they can stop building Satan’s kingdom and stop paying taxes to Satan and start building His Son, Yeshua’s kingdom again, now that the great falling away is done.

Well, the only thing is taking the House of Judah and Ephraim out of Mitzrayim – that was the easy part. Now the hard part is taking Mitzrayim out of the hearts of Ephraim and Judah.

Do we want Yahweh to help us purge Mitzrayim from our hearts? Do we want to help Yeshua establish His kingdom here on earth so that He can then in turn submit His kingdom to His Father?

Do we want to help our Husband or are we a selfish bride; we only want things for ourselves, and we promise things to get what we want, but once we get what we want we are not really in it for keeping the promises anymore?

Well, all of this is why Yahweh Elohim is waiting and watching and recording everything we do in a book. He wants to see what is in our hearts.

Hitgalut (Revelation) 20:15
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

He wants to see: do we really want to keep all of His Son Yeshua’s commandments? Or do we not really care so much?

Because if we are busy with Yeshua’s commandments and we are busy helping Him build His kingdom that shows that we truly care. And if we do not help Him with His commandments and we do not help Him build His kingdom, what does that show Him?

A Word to the wise is sufficient.

Shabbat Shalom.