Mystery of the Vav: Connecting Heaven and Earth

hey shabbat shalom it is great to be with you i'm excited to talk with you tonight about the mystery of the vav connecting heaven and earth and fusing the ordinary with extraordinary spirituality and meaning parashat nasso this week's torah portion shabbat shalom to you all it is so good to be here with you listen i just want to take a moment before we jump into the actual study here this evening a lot has been going on in israel in the middle east as all of you know if you've been watching the news you know it's been a crazy last couple of weeks actually last 11 12 days of what's been going on as you know there's been rockets fired from gaza into israel over 3 000 rockets fired from gaza into israel israel responded by a military operation that was meant to destroy the capabilities of hamas to be able to fire rockets into israel and i've been posting about this and one of the things that was really sad is that you know you is that people think that if your you're pro-israel you are anti-palestinian and you can be pro-israel and care about the future the destiny uh the things that the palestinians are going through especially in gaza it's a very terrible difficult situation but one of the things i said i suppose i shouldn't have found it shocking but i it does take me back is some of the comments saying that you can't love or care about israel and the palestinians that if you are pro-israel that if you're a supporter of israel then that automatically means that you are supporting the occupiers the oppressors the horrible things that people are saying out there there's a lot of propaganda about israel in the media and i just find it really so sad really disturbing and people just say it's foolishness but the reality is that the gospel is foolishness to many people right the gospel seems like it's craziness and the truth of the matter is this right that god calls us to love and he calls us not to hate anyone and the reality is is that the issue is not with god the issue is with us the issues is with individuals and what's so sad about it is that there's a lot of hurt and a lot of pain on both sides i'm not going to get into the politics and who's more right who's more wrong all that will leave that for another time but the reality is that if if you really believe that the other side is evil or nazis or murderers there is no hope for moving forward listen it takes no courage it takes it takes a zero amount of courage to just label the other side to throw accusations about the other side when i say through accusations i mean like making statements that are that that brand the entire people right to say all israelis are murderers uh or evil or israel's is an apartheid state and you know they're they're they're murders of the that's just as wrong as saying all palestinians are terrorists they're both extreme statements they're both crazy they're craziness and you know i love this week's torah portion is the aaronic benediction god says to bless you with peace and we need to be peacemakers you can't say you love yeshua jesus and hate god's chosen people the jewish people right i mean you can't say you love the king of israel yeshua jesus and hate his family right they hate the biological people it's it's demonic it's a curse right nothing good and but at the same time you can't say you love the god of abraham isaac and jacob that you love the lord and then harbor ill will or want to see harm come to the palestinians what takes courage is to not focus on the wrongs that are have been done what takes courage is to forgive what takes courage is to try and understand the hurts and pains of other people even when those other people like from your perspective are your enemies right because you feel you're at war with them okay and both sides feel that way it takes courage to be able to listen to the other side and try to empathize with them and understand what it is that they've gone through because listen even though i believe in the gaza strip hamas is being called a militant organization in the news they're not a militant organization they are a terrorist organization the us labels them a terrorist organization but the reality is even though the even though gaza is controlled primarily by a group of terrorists the majority of people there are suffering and they're going through very difficult situation and it's difficult on the israeli side i mean imagine you have a family of children and and all throughout the night all throughout the day you hear sirens of missiles coming in and you have to run to your shelter not knowing if you're gonna live not knowing you're gonna die this is this is really this is a really hard thing when you say we need scriptures that endorse what you're saying i'm not sure exactly what you're asking for what i'm saying is that we're called to be peacemakers what i'm saying is we're called to follow in the footsteps of yeshua and even he says what is it if you love the people who love you love your enemies and pray for those who curse you doesn't mean you don't have the right to defend yourself doesn't mean you don't have the right to stand up and advocate if you feel like your rights are being violated but there's a way to do that right and we have to come in the opposite as followers of yeshua we can stand with israel and still be concerned about the palestinians and you can even be pro-palestinian and you can although although it's not my position there are many that are pro-palestinian christians that criticize israel but there's and and and but but it crosses the line and becomes anti-semitic when you make these universally evil statements about israel like israel is an apartheid state they're murderers they're nazis and i and i don't want to get into this but i i just want to say that the new anti-semitism is anti-zionism okay just because you're anti-zionist doesn't make you anti-semitic anticipated anti-israel but it is it's the in vogue way to be anti-semitic and you see this because here in los angeles places that i eat and spend time new york dallas around europe jews are being attacked just because they're jews over this issue they have nothing to do with the situation listen we have to contend we have to condemn no it's not that i'm speaking it's not time liberal but it's not what i'm saying what i'm saying is that what i'm saying i'm sorry you're not understanding what i'm saying what i'm saying is that it's not that i'm not getting into which side is more right more wrong the history all i'm saying is i'm coming in the spirit of yeshua which calls us to be peacemakers which calls us to identify with the sufferings of our enemies and we have to agree but we do have to care for we do have to pray for we have to we do have to be concerned for the suffering of the palestinians right listen i understand that in gaza they are led by terrorists and that is not not all of them but hamas is a terrorist organization they want to see the destruction of israel i recognize that fact and you can't make it's very hard to make peace with with individuals that hold hold that view and i'm not even saying whether israel did the right thing or wrong thing israel is in a very difficult situation they have to defend themselves they have to uh you know they can't live under rockets being thrown at them israel was not the aggressor that's the other lie israel was not the aggressor in the situation and circumstance okay this battle was for political purposes and there's spiritual ramifications of this okay that is absolutely true there's all of that right i mean i don't want to get too much into it we can explain another time but listen the reality is that a lot of people don't know and i'll just give you just a little piece of like what people don't know before we get into the door portion is that listen part of the reason why i'm not saying the only reason uh part of the part of the issue is is that the reality is is that part of the issue is that well let's let's not even let's let's not even go there mercedes i'm not sure exactly what you're saying but if you want to send me a message i i would be happy to try and dialogue with you there's a lot of different factors the situation is complicated although i am certainly uh pro-israel unashamedly pro-israel okay i've actually done a lot with muslim background believers and who i love dearly and listen in in as followers of yeshua bottom line is we have to be peacemakers we have to seek the pursuit of peace as much it is as possible on our behalf on our behalf and the reality is is that there's not a political solution to this problem the issue is primarily spiritual in nature and until people are honest about the spiritual issues until the spiritual issues that underlie the situation are addressed uh there's not there's not going to be peace in this situ in this in this situation but what i am saying is that we have to we have to stand and not allow the propaganda there's a lot of propaganda coming from the liberal media right now that are ant as anti-israel and that's really a lot of christians are believing it and so uh i just want to say that and i just think it's important to understand and most importantly i think we hey nick shalom shalom my friend i think we need to make sure that in this season we are really praying for interceding for israel as well as the palestinians and especially i believe that god would raise up leadership on both the israeli side and the palestinian side uh that that truly want to pursue peace and truly want a dialogue and although in the natural it's impossible we serve a supernatural god and so in him anything's possible there is no um there is no solution in the natural right we just have to believe god but the reality is is that as much as i want peace in israel and between israelis and the palestinians my first desire is that they come to know messiah because coming to know messiah is the only hope messiah is the ultimate only hope for the situation because that's the only thing that's going to change the hearts of individuals to bring the level of forgiveness that's necessary to bring the level of reconciliation that is necessary right and so what we need is we need an outpouring of god's spirit and we need a revival we need a revival i mean that's really what we need we need revival among these rallies and we need revival among the palestinians and in the arab world thank god the lord is opening up the eyes of many uh but it's still small in comparison so we're just going to believe for that but all that to say is uh we will get into the issue more i actually think we need to do a series on exploring the issues but uh so let's get into this hey sheridan good to see you good to see you um let's get into tonight's torah portion that being said okay so this week's torah portion is nasso okay which is always read either on the shabbat preceding shavuot shavuot is the hebrew name for pentecost or on the shabbat right after pentecost so as many as many of you know this shavuot on the jewish calendar biblical calendar was last sunday night to monday night christians celebrated this this sunday because christians separated the biblical calendar and the western calendar so since they celebrated since they intentionally at the council of nicaea separated easter which is really passover they separated the two therefore the count is off and it's different but that's a whole nother this is a whole nother discussion right so but the question is why is nasso this week's reading read either right before right after what's the connection between nassau and and shockwaves so we have to understand we've talked a little bit about this before that according to a jewish understanding adam and eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil on the sixth day okay they read it on the sixth day okay so this in the sixth day of the hebrew calendar is friday right seventh day shabbat so in hebrew the number six is represented by the letter vav because the letter vav is the sixth letter of the hebrew alphabet and the first place the letter of occurs is bereshit genesis chapter 1 in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth okay and the letter vav which begins the sixth so in genesis one when there's seven hebrew words the sixth word of genesis one in hebrew begins with the sixth letter the levitt letter vav god creates the heavens and earth okay so vav is the letter that connects heaven and earth so when humanity sinned okay we broke the connection between heaven and earth we broke the vav and that connection needs to be restored and the number six represented by the letter vav alludes to how this was going to occur and what's interesting is that grammatically in genesis chapter 1 of the hebrew text it says this and there was evening and there was morning the sixth day and in hebrew and it says the sixth day it says in hebrew yom hashishi yom hashishi it says the sixth day this very grammatically unusual because none of the other days is the definite article occurs is yom yom yom shlishi day three yom revie day four yom khame day five and then we come to yom cheney day two and we come to the sixth day it says yom hashishi the sixth day so if there is a definite article being used in the hebrew text and none of the other days of creation the first six days don't have the definite article being sensitive to the hebrew reading of the text there is something that the writers of the scriptures are trying to communicate because a definite article always points to something specific it always points to something definite that's why it's called a definite article right a per a cow is an any cow the cow is talking about a very specific cow right so in the case of in the case of jewish tradition the sixth day is actually pointing to the sixth day of the month of sivan and the sixth day of the month of sivan is the day that god comes down on mount sinai and gives the ten commandments it's shavuot pentecost it's the day jewish people celebrate the giving of the torah and rashi the famous jewish have been a commentator says this there was evening and morning only because of the sixth day of sivan the date the torah was given on sinai so what's he saying when he says that you'll see why this is all so important so just hang in there with me okay so the rabbis teach osha de rim the world stands on three things what are those three things first is the torah the world stands on god's word some actually believe that you don't you right you don't in the natural create without a blueprint so god actually uses his word as the blueprint of creation the new testament says he holds all things together by his word so his word is interwoven into the very fabric of creation his word is the spiritual dna the spiritual foundation of everything that exists okay so that's just so important to understand and messiah yeshua underscores the importance of torah in the sermon of the mountain he says do not think that i've come to abolish the torah or the prophets i did not come to abolish but to fulfill amen i tell you until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or seraph shall ever pass away from the torah until all things come to pass breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven so yeshua talks about the importance of torah see what we have look i just want to clarify something usually torah is interpreted as law but technically torah does not mean law torah comes from the hebrew word which means instruction torah is instruction more importantly is wisdom torah has commandments in it or laws in it but the torah is not the law in and of itself it is the wisdom of god okay it is instruction from heaven that's still relevant and important to us when when paul writes all scripture is god breathe there's no written new there is no written new testament of the time he's talking about the hebrew cat and the hebrew scriptures the hebrew bible what christians call the old testament so this has to be important to us today yeshua makes it clear it's important to us right but why is the torah and god's word in general so foundational to correcting the sin of adam and eve and it's because the torah is meant to connect the upper spiritual world of heaven with the lower physical world of earth so genesis chapter 1 it's the valve the number six that connect heaven and earth we broke that connection so just like man sinned on the sixth day god gives the torah on the sixth day of the month of sivan because the torah it was meant to help reconnect the spiritual world of heaven above with the lower world of earth below the torah is meant to reconnect heaven and earth and restore the connection between the spiritual world and the physical world because we lost that direct spiritual connection as a result of the fall that's why literally on mount sinai on the sixth day god comes from heaven to earth heaven comes down to earth on mount sinai heaven in a sense invades earth because it's trying to show that the connection is being restored so i want you to take that in for a minute the lord comes down on mount sinai out of his a desire to restore the union between humanity and himself the union between man and woman the union between the physical and spiritual that was broken and damaged at mount sinai he has aaron but there's more i love it all right so you got to understand this is really important hey shalom kathleen in north carolina and karina and carol and charlotte so listen gail good to see you yes ultimately that's why yeshua emmanuel right so we have to understand is that biblical spirituality is meant to be an embodied spirituality that's just a fancy way of saying that embodied spirituality seeks to infuse physical physicality with spiritual reality listen embodied spirituality seeks to infuse physicality with spiritual reality and meaning so we're meant to add the spiritual to the physical because when we sin we broke the connection between physical and spiritual right so most people don't even think of eating as a spiritual act but think about it the spiritual fall came through eating so that's the reason why god in the torah gives commandments concerning food they're known as the laws of kashruth that jewish people keep okay why does god give those commandments because eating came through the fall came through eating so in the same way that man in the garden of eden sinned on the sixth day and decided what was good or bad apart from god god wants to infuse the act of eating with spirituality make a repair for that he cares about what we eat he care he talks about the clothing he talks about intimate relationships between a husband and wife holy days times seasons it's not because it's legalistic right that's what some christians think right has nothing to do with being legalistic right god wants us to find spiritual purpose in physical actions god wants us to find spiritual god what listen god wants us to find spiritual purpose in physical actions if a physical act of eating from the tree led to the fall and the breaking of the connection on the earth then we have to believe our physical actions either elevate us in the world around us or they bring us down and lower us right intimate relations between a husband and wife when it's done in the context of marriage and the lord is the bond that act is elevated and it's a deeper spiritual connection it's intimate relations is a spiritual act when it's done in the context of marriage that's why in jewish thought the bedroom is considered the holy of holies the house our home is meant to be a miniature temple and the bedroom is the holy of holies the place of intimacy right just like in the holy of holies in the temple you have the cherubim facing each other and god in the presence god's presence dwelling between the two faces of the cherubim god dwells in the space between the two faces right it's that intimate relation that happens face to face right the husband and wife face to face so to understand that ordinary secular actions become sanctified with spiritual purpose when they are performed unto the lord in fulfillment of his word that's so important because listen god we're going to talk more about this in a moment but god put man in the garden of eden to be priests it doesn't say in hebrew to to work it in the tenet the hebrew says to worship and keep it to worship god and to keep his word right so adam and eve were not gardeners they were priests they were priests they were functioning as priests right and so the job of the priest is to connect the physical and the spiritual we're part of that that's part of our calling so we don't just study god's word for the sake of knowledge and information it's not about being learned or smart we study and practice and obey god's commandments to infuse the physical world with spiritual reality our physical reality including our bodies can become infused with life and godliness and then we become chariots for the shaykh vehicles for the manifest presence of god when we understand we live this way it's what paul says whatever you do whether eating a drinking do it all for the glory of god and when we come from at it from that perspective when it transforms everything we do and as a result we become transformed and conformed to the image and likeliness of yeshua and why do i say all of this how does it connect to this week's tour portion it connects to this week's tour portion because of the fact that this week's torah portion is not so can you say not so not so the word not so comes from the word nasa it's kind of like nasa think of liftoff outer space lifting up we have liftoff right it's like it's spelled like nasa but it's not and this is a form of that word which is not so but it literally means to elevate or lift up the lord wants to elevate you and lift you up say lord elevate me say lord lift me up the lord wants to lift you up okay yes mads exactly so this week's torah portion means to elevate or lift up why is that important because that is the essence of why god gave his his word why he gave the torah why he gave commandments god's commandments in his word are meant to strengthen us in our inner man so that we are actually raised to a higher spiritual level and reality god's word god's commandments are meant to elevate you and elevate everything you do to a higher spiritual level and reality next level say i'm i'm next level right i'm going to the next level right this is next level spirituality okay so let me give you an example when you celebrate shabbat six days to work god says the seventh day to rest shabbat sanctifies time this idea that the part sanctifies there's a biblical concept the part sanctifies the whole so when you celebrate the shabbat one day a week when you honor god and worship and rest one day a week that one day sanctifies all the other days right the first thing god called holy the first thing god sanctified is the shabbat okay read the creation account so the sanctification of the shabbat by honoring the shabbat you actually bring spirituality and sanctity into all of the days of the week so shabbat sanctifies okay shabbat sanctifies time six days of the week we're looking to master space right six days of the week we're working we're earning our living that is about the material world that is about space the shabbat is about time it's about time with god time with family it's about soul time but it's about sanctifying time the shabbat in the holidays is about sanctifying time infusing time with spirituality okay for example we've been reading about the tabernacle known as the mishkan god commands israel to build the temple david and song the temple in jerusalem the temple in jerusalem was meant to sanctify space so shabbat sanctifies time the temple and the tabernacle will meant to sanctify space tithing sanctifies our work so your work actually becomes holy and spiritual when you tithe because all that you're doing on the sixth day then you give part of that to god the part sanctifies the whole because you're working of the sixth day and you're giving to the work of the kingdom elevates all of your work so no matter how boring or whatever you feel your work is it's spiritual on many levels but one level and which is a spirit is spiritual is if you take some of the income that you earned from your vocation and you give it to the kingdom then all of your work all of your finances become elevated as a result of it and your work takes on a priestly calling i mean of course there's also you're using you know building relationships of your work and you know talking about yeshua and bringing kingdom principles and biblical torah principles into but just so you understand right so saying a blessing before we eat sanctifies food part of the reason yes it's for thankfulness but part of the reason we say a blessing before food is because we're sanctifying that food we're investing holiness in it we're saying we're not just eating to meet our physical needs but we understand this eating as a spiritual act to strengthen us in the service of god and out of gratitude for it and it elevates the act of eating that's why when the lord wants us to remember what he did for us by his death on a tree on the cross we do the lord's supper actually remember his work by physically eating well it connects back to the fall where we're eating in faith we're undoing the fall by eating of the lord's supper but it also it looks back to the fall but it looks forward to the messianic kingdom we're going to eat the marriage supper of the land yeah godly speech right you know you know sanctifies our mouth yes ordinary ass can be elevated to a spiritual dimension exactly right that's the the the commandments concerning food that jewish people keep right is to sanctify the act of eating so torah is meant to infuse and god's word in the torah god's commandments is meant to infuse meaning into the mundane and elevate that i want you that it's meant to infuse meaning into the mundane ordinary every day and elevate it so the first thing observant jews do in the morning is we wash our hands there's a special washer we washed three times over each hand it's called netilac you dying which means the raising of the hands okay why because just like you razor you wash your hands it's like you're washing away the impurities god give me clean hands and a pure heart make me holy okay we want to start our day with the raising of the hands signifying lord everything that we use our hands to do this day because hands are symbolic of work hands are symbolic of actions in the physical world word we're saying make our actions everything we do may they be elevated may they be pure may they be spiritual maybe maybe maybe they may be done in the spirit of purity in the spirit of the lord right so turning the torah and god's commandments both in the old and new is about turning ordinary actions and routines it's about turning ordinary actions and routines into extraordinary acts of holiness your ordinary actions and everyday things you can do be can be turned into extraordinary acts of holiness when they're done with the lord in mind for the purpose of serving the lord is kind of like that verse uh it talks about him it talks about i've set the lord always before me okay so but of course there's more the hebrew word for god's commandment is meets votes meets vote commandments okay meets vote comes from the hebrew word to bind okay mitzvah comes from the hebrew word to bind is one of the one of the one of its cognates because the biblical commandments are meant to bind us and our will to god and his holiness it's meant to bind our will to god and to his holiness that's why every jewish blessing begins with blessed are you o lord our god king of the universe who sanctifies us makes us holy by his commandments god by by keeping god's word his commandments it infuses holiness into us and into our actions right so that's important to understand and i want you this this is a pro this really struck me this has really impacted me this this idea it's important to understand that anything that is bound to the lord is elevated within anything that is bound to the lord is elevated with him okay so if god's commandments meets means to bind and when we when we do his commandments we bind our will to god's will we're saying your will be done not our will be done when we choose to do what god commands us to do as opposed to what we want to do it binds us to him and it binds our will to his will okay when we have faith in yeshua we believe in our mouth and confess when we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth that yeshua is lord the holy spirit comes in us and we are bound to the lord and when we are bound to the lord we are elevated with him so say i say i'm being elevated i am being elevated you are being elevated and even the new testament speaks about the importance of god's misvote god's commandments but the reality is that the word one of the new four-letter words is o-b-e-y obey has become a four-letter word people don't like obey or obedience or command or commandments right but here's what yeshua said he who he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me yeshua says the one who has my commandments and keeps them he is the one who loves me and will be loved by my father and i will love him and reveal myself to him when we obey the commandments of yeshua and the biblical commandments that apply to us right it demonstrates our love for him the father loves us and he reveals himself to us out of that love and listen i want us to understand this two couple things are important right i want us to understand that this is so important because so many believers have what i'd say don't don't have an embodied faith meaning it's it's not a tangible faith meaning that oh we believe in yeshua we we believe that he's the messiah which is foundational to salvation but the reason why we don't go to heaven when we believe in yeshua is because we are called to transform the world we're called to elevate the world god creates the heaven and earth the physical is meant to be the vehicle for the spiritual right the two it's heavens and earth that's why when yeshua comes we're gonna have a a fit a spiritual body but that's a resurrection body but that resurrection body is going to be both physical and spiritual the perfect merging of heaven and earth and therefore we can't have some we can't have some lucy goosey spirituality our spirituality has to be conveyed through physical means and terms and that's what god's commandments in action what i'm saying is god's actions and god's commandments help us to manifest god's will in action so that's why they're so important that's what gail alluded to earlier emmanuel messiah doesn't come just in spiritual form he comes in a physical body god in physical form is yeshua he's merging heaven and earth and we need to find the physic we need to find the spirituality in the physical things we do yes to alum mercedes repairing the world it's really important there's a lot that can be said there it's a very deep thought okay but i feel like many christians don't have a tangible tangible spirituality right and so but i want to say this although christians are not obligated to keep all of the torah commandments i don't believe that they're like if like for example if a christian doesn't keep all the commandments god gives israel i don't believe you're in sin i don't believe you're less than okay but there is wisdom and revelation in the torah for you and for understanding and implementing it in your life okay certainly the spirit of it but there's tangible principles and actions and the torah is part of your full inheritance the full inheritance of all believers and although there is no divine obligation there is an invitation for participation in these things like shabbat like the holidays like understanding the spirituality of food and eating clean and unclean these sorts of things and so i pray that the lord would give you understanding of how to imply apply the old and the new in a way that you become a vessel for godliness and holiness that draws people to yeshua say i am a vessel for godliness and holiness i'm a vessel for godliness and holiness and i will draw people to yeshua yes korean repairing the breach and i love in this week's torah portion how it contains the aaronic benediction the lord bless you and this bless you this is the blessing aaron was commanded the high priestly blessing of the people thus you are to bless the children of israel saying to them i deny bless you and keep you under thy make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you i don't make his face towards you and grant you shalom in this way you were to place my name over israel and so i will bless them actually let me say one other thing so this week's torah portion not so is about elevating it's read either before after shavuot because the torah is the key to elevating right god's word is the key to elevating it's the key to that reconnection okay and it's the key to bringing peace which is a central theme in this week's torah portion but i just want to say that the torah and it was foundational but it wasn't enough in and of itself the people commit the sin of the golden calf after god speaks from mount sinai and i won't go fully into it but the full connection the word of god the torah the hebrew bible is part of it but the other key component of it is messiah yeshua and that's why when messiah yeshua dies he dies on a friday friday is the sixth day of the week he dies on the sixth day of the week because man fell on the sixth day of the week the torah is given on the sixth day the and so in the same way that the torah is meant as torah is given on the sixth day represents connection man was created on the sixth day because we're meant to have a connection between between god between heaven and earth we are man is meant to be the valve man is meant to be the connecting connector between the physical and the spiritual okay god's word is the connector between heaven and earth when we broke that connection how is it restored god has to give his word again in the words of the torah foundational on the six day connection but that's not enough we need messiah and that's why messiah dies on the sixth day and that's why on the same day that the torah was given the sixth of savannah in acts chapter two the holy spirit was given there's something really deep here with the vav and the hebrew and the torah mystery but we're not gonna get all into that tonight but to say this full connection is established full connection and full elevation okay is established through the torah and god's word in general old anew through the messiah yeshua and through the holy spirit it's the threefold chord that is not broken those are the three keys the torah and the besora the tor the old and the new god's word okay messiah yeshua and the ruach kodish and the holy spirit that's the threefold chord yes yeshua is the greater connection i just want to be clear about that okay and yes and we are in a season of connection hey tom and julie miss you guys we need to connect so the ironic benediction thus you will bless the children of israel saying real quick by the numbers okay this this passage begins with the word ko the word the word the english word translated thus you are to bless is the hebrew word ko and the word ko in hebrew hey has a numerical value of 25 and 25 is an important biblical number and it underscores and gives some amazing insights into the concept of blessing there are 25 letters in the hebrew words of the shema shamaya israel israel the lord our god the lord is one by the way there are six shama yes there are six hebrew words in the shema six the number of connection the declaration of connecting heaven and earth we won't get all into that tonight but again i want you to see the connection there's six words in the shema but 25 letters okay okay yeah five times five that connects in two but we won't get into that okay the word bracha is found which means blessing is found 25 times in the torah okay so it makes sense that if 25 times is connected to the word bracha blessing and god wants to bless the people it begins with the word thus you shall bless us because thus equals 25 underscoring the fullness of blessing god wants to bring but it also demonstrates that all blessing comes from the lord alone so the 25 letters in the shema connected to the the 25 uses of blessing in the torah connected to the beginning of the aaronic benediction by which arabs to bless the people shows one of the things that shows is that all the blessing comes from the lord alone as yaakov jacob christians call him james but he's actually jacob or yakov the brother of yeshua states the book of james every good gift and every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of lights in whom there is no variation or shifting shadow so the following words have the numerical value of 25 as well trust in hebrew is 25 and in goodness uh 25 the hazard 25 faithfully trusting so trusting is 25 so faithfully trusting 25 in the lord alone the 25 letters of the shema were to worship and serve from alone leads one to experience his blessing which is mentioned 25 times in the torah and his goodness 25 both spiritually and materially as symbolized by gold which has a numerical value of 25 but of course there is more right but of course there is more the first word in the bible that adds up to 25 is in the phrase genesis 1 3 let there be light via or the word let there be via he has a numerical value of 25 let there be which is amazing because let there be light the first use of the first word that is 25 the light is the light of god's presence because the sun and the moon weren't created to the fourth day of creation so this aaronic benediction culminates in god's the light of his countenance shining upon us the source of all blessing is the light of god's countenance it's the light of god's faith right but what's also true is that israel's calling was to be a light to the nations and this connects to the aaronic benediction we can't be a light unless the light of god's countenance shines upon us unless we're filled with the light of god's blessing as as we shared above the words in this blessing begins with the word code so the cohen was to bless the children of israel i'm sorry the word hebrew word for priests is cohen okay it's the first two letters of the word for priests begins with the same two-letter word two letters as the word thus which equals 25. so the hebrew prophets when they admonish the children of israel through their prophetic utterance always said thus says the lord so when the prophets say ko amar adonai thus says the lord it begins with the same letters of the aaronic benediction which has the numerical value of 25 which is which connects to blessing in the shema because the prophets are called saying israel listen you need to live up to the word to 25 letters of the shema not to worship and serve other gods you need to live up to the 25 times the word blessing is used in the torah because israel you're called to be a blessing you need to live up to the first word that has the numerical value of 25 in the torah let there be light by he let there be equals 25 israel let there be light that light is to shine through you but you're not being the light thus says the lord return to him and fulfill your calling and destiny he says he calls israel says you're to be a royal priesthood in a holy nation imam lecker and this is what he says on mount sinai on pentecost ancient vote connecting back to the sixth of of of uh savann the number six but this is underscored further right god says you're to be a royal priest and a holy nation okay the numerical value of and a nation in exodus 19 6 where he says this is 25. so and a holy nation and a nation part of and be a holy nation okay equals 25. but what's amazing is this is calling us to be a holy nation the greek word hoggios for holy also equals 25. so god called israel to be a holy priesthood in a royal nation why as we said before adam and eve were called to be priests in the garden when we sinned we began to we broke that connection and eventually mankind failed to be the priests that worship god they turn and worship idols is what romans opening chapters of the book of romans is talking about this is our propensity to idols sin of the golden calf so when god calls israel to be a holy nation a royal priesthood in a holy nation he's restoring the original calling to adam and eve which is why the torah is given on the sixth day the day man was created the day god inve creates us and calls us to be priests that priestly calling is being restored on the sixth day at mount sinai what he says to adam and eve in the garden worship me and obey my commandments is what the hebrews says god is saying the same thing israel be a holy nation a royal be a royal priesthood worship me serve me make my name known be a holy nation by keeping my commandments doing my will but then this calling gets extended not just to israel but it gets extended to all gentile followers of yeshua to the nations this is what second timothy 3 19 says and he shall and he and he has saved us and called us with the holy calling you have a holy calling peter says to the to to all believers you are part of the royal priesthood in the holy nation okay so you are part of the priest holy priesthood in the royal nation now the the gods priesthood is made up of jewish and gentile followers of messiah worship him you're part of the holy priesthood the word for praise equals 25 in hebrew one of the words for praise yo day the word for joy the equals 25. why is this important to fully receive the fullness of the lord's joy 25 his blessing 25 his goodness 25 one must fulfill their role as a royal holy 25 priest who praises 25 the lord alone as part of his nation 25 the body of messiah so joy comes through the spirit joy comes through fulfilling our spiritual calling as priests being part of that royal priesthood it comes through as we talked about in the beginning joy comes through binding ourselves to god and in that binding there's an elevation that leads to transformation that leads to a greater joy so i just want to close i love it as i enter his gates in prayer yes amen fruit of the spirit connected to 25 love your comments i hope this is a blessing to you but listen i'm going to close in a minute in a blessing i'm going to bless you with the aaronic benediction in hebrew in a moment but i just want to encourage you guys if you are blessed by what we're doing would you share this if would you share as you guys know this stuff what we wrote what we talked about here today was also talked about in our tpg our torah portion guide where we connect old and new and teach on the scriptures hey would you share this with your friends would you listen we want if you believe if you're blessed let's help more people know about this right share it on instagram share it on facebook share the youtube live encourage people to sign up share the link get involved like and share it all of that you know share the book mysteries of the messiah or a holiday book aligning with god's appointed times go deeper with us continue the journey and uh pray about sowing into what we're doing listen you know we have another t pray for us right we've got another tv series on tbn that we're working on filming this summer and lots of exciting stuff but we can't do without you right we can't do it without you but uh i'm gonna say a blessing become a partner with us listen i'm gonna say a blessing over you the aaronic benediction it's a blessing for you it's a blessing for your family but i especially want to have thank you laverne i especially want to uh say this blessing hey rick i especially as i say this blessing thank you rose i especially want to say this blessing tonight with israel and the palestinians in mind here we go [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is shalom lord bless you and keep you the lord cause his face to shine upon you the lord lift up his connections and give you shalom nothing missing nothing broken we pray for shalom in the middle east we pray through we pray for shalom for israelis we pray for shalom for the palestinians we pray for shalom nothing missing nothing broken god we pray god for protection of innocent people on both sides god we pray for a spiritual revival among the jewish people among israelis we pray for a spiritual revival god among the palestinians and among the arab nations god we ask for a blessings on the on the children of israel we're blessing god we ask for our blessings on the children of ishmael god we are cousins we're descendant of abraham reunite the family we declare it's time for this for the brothers to come back together for ishmael and isaac for israel and ishmael lord we pray god for your blessing god we ask lord for your will to be done for your kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven and i speak blessing over each and every one of my brothers and sisters that are listening now shine your face upon them pour your blessing upon them help them to become vessels for the shrine for the manifest presence god may they carry you in tangible ways wherever they go god and may lord and may they become vessels of holiness and sanctify and elevate lord everything with kedushah with holiness in the name of yeshua hamashiach in the name of yeshua the messiah or ha olam ah man and shabbat shalom eric lee my hebrew homie shabbat shalom to you and your fam karina amen i'm glad we can agree together in prayer god shine your light in the midst of the darkness and bring shalom to the hearts of all hey thank you all man i i hope it was a blessing in a little longer tonight than usual if if you enjoyed this let us know it's an encouragement we're going to go get ready for shabbat here little shabbos time anyway love you all blessings upon you and hope you have an amazing and amazingly blessed week and thank you janna blessings on you and all the ministry that you guys do i know you're doing great things gail miss you bless you bobby bless you out clarence clarence bless you bless you bless you thank you jim shabbat shalom anya paula jennifer thank you paul for your encouragement beth b bless beth man you're awesome linda carol all right i receive it i receive it diana wood blessings on you in texas blessings on you in texas greg and sue and martha anyway bless you all appreciate you all thank you thank you thank you thank you man i love the uh i love the aramaic that i see popping up there thank you sister mercedes well mercedes that's a whole nother question i believe he was argued on friday friday uh actually that is a whole nother discussion yeshua had to be crucified on a friday because every major event in his life happened on a biblical holiday he rose from the dead on first fruits first fruits had to fall on a sunday that year so he had to be crucified on a sunday on a friday because first fruits is the second day of passover so it had to be on a sunday and i'm not going to get into why but it just it had to be so anyway shalom to you in india i love it i love it so anyway gonna go shabbat shalom shalom shalom made the shalom the peace of shabbat fill your home in the day and this day in the name of yeshua are amen you

Channel: Rabbi Jason Sobel

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Keywords: Messiah, Rabbi Jason Sobel, Yeshua, Jesus, Messianic, Torah, Bible Study, Christian, Parshat, Israel conflict, Torah Study, Jewish

Id: WA6tCB3M6kI

Length: 68min 44sec (4124 seconds)

Published: Fri May 21 2021