Parashat Akharei Mot

Came too close: literally, "came near", but Targum Onqelos reflects this interpretation. This alludes back to chapter 10. The teachings about clean and unclean in the preceding five chapters were inserted to explain their death. They had taken a liberty they should not have. They may have been feeling particularly special for having just completed the tabernacle and His presence being among them, and became too giddy. He showed them that no matter how glorious, it was not to be done for self. He loved them, but He does not belong to us; we belong to Him, and must approach Him on His own terms. YHWH did not wish to have to do this again, especially to Aharon, so He gives him a special insight into the proper protocol for coming close to Him. Just as the last three chapters showed how others may not enter the Temple or the congregation improperly, even Aharon may not enter improperly:

I appear: Rashi and Rashbam render it, “because I must only be seen in the cloud…” This agrees with verse 13, which tells us the cloud of incense must obscure the ark. We have often been told that YHWH can be approached anywhere and at any time, and that we should “come as we are”. In some ways this is accurate, but He must be approached on His own terms. In Jewish ritual baths, it is expected that one bathe before entering if he is physically dirty. When we approach to worship, there are ways YHWH wants it to be done. (See Psalms 149 and 150, for example.) They may vary; there are particular ways He wants to be approached at certain times, and we are not to come empty-handed. (Deut. 16:16ff) What is in our hands when we come? Musical instruments, of course, but are we always taking and never giving? And is what we are bringing acceptable? He would never accept a pig; He does want the firstfruits of our produce, the firstborn of our livestock, as well as extra offerings. (Deut. 26:10; 27:7) Nadav and Avuhu’s error was in failing to bring the right things, so the Torah teaches us what we should bring in which season. (23:40) And we are to rejoice in His presence. (Deut. 12:6-12), and we are to come with our whole hearts and be completely there with our full attention, not thinking about other times or places. (Deut. 18:13ff) Even if we have responsibilities to carry out in the process of worship, still the motivation behind them all must be connecting to His presence, being disengaged from everything else. If we come with a bad attitude, for selfish reasons, or full of worries about tomorrow, we are bringing “strange fire”, and if what we bring things in our hands that have no Kingdom profit, we are really coming empty-handed. As with Adam, after Aharon was exalted and was allowed for a while to walk with YHWH freely for a time, a restriction was placed on him, but not on Moshe (who is symbolically equated with Torah, which is YHWH’s Word, and thus represents Yahshua, to whom YHWH “gives the Spirit without measure", Yochanan 3:34). Like Adam, we have free will, but the consequence of one choice is death, and we must be aware of that from the outset. At any time: He may not just enter whenever he feels like it. He essentially says that as a general rule, he is not to enter at all. But now He grants one exception each year…

His sons had allowed their emotions to flow freely with no boundaries, so He will give Aharon some very specific parameters within which he must stay. He could come on one day each year—Yom haKippurim. (v. 29) The things YHWH tells Aharon to bring are what we would normally regard as our security, so that when we come into His presence we are clearly viewing only Him as our security. We must be honest about our sins, and the only place we can rid ourselves of them is in His presence—where two or three are gathered (Mat. 18:20), as we confess our sins to one another. And we must not come with the attitude that we have a right to be there on our own merit. One of the terms for re-entering YHWH’s presence was that blood must be brought. We do not have the sacrificial system intact today, since there is no Temple. So how do we—especially those of the Northern Kingdom who left the Covenant altogether—have any right to enter His presence today? Since our earlier membership was revoked, it is only possible to return because of Yahshua’s blood, and we can come in his name, because he does have merit before YHWH. The king of Israel has authorized us to come in his name. This way He will remember Efrayim as the pleasant son rather than the rebellious one. Many who return to Torah today are overcorrecting and leaving Yahshua behind altogether, though he is the only reason we are back in the Covenant at all. What ingratitude to abandon him just because Yehudah will not let us live in the Land now unless we do! As an old Southern saying goes, “Dance with the one who brung you!” It was to take away our sins (1 Yochanan 3:5)—most notably those committed when our ancestors were still under the Covenant (Heb. 9:15)—that He came. Without him, it is illegal for us to claim any connection with YHWH. And the reason we are to come is so we can ascend to a higher level by the time we leave again. There may not be a sudden, miraculous change, but if we do not correct the things He reveals to be in need of changing, it is dangerous to return to His presence. As Moshe told Pharaoh, we have to bring our all with us when we come, so that we can surrender whatever part of it He asks for. We should not just be prepared to give our lives away, but begging to do so. We may think His Kingdom has not come because He is “tarrying”, but it is more likely that we are the ones delaying it.

We, too, should dress in a special way when we come at His appointed times. We should wear something celebratory that we would not wear at ordinary times or in common places. Changing clothes is a picture of resurrection to new life after repentance. Fine white linen robes symbolize the righteous works of the saints (Rev. 19:8): they are given to us (Ephesians 2:10), but we must put them on (Mat. 22:12). On Yom Kippur, the high priest only wore half of his garments; he did not wear the unique ones (the efod and breastplate) that he alone used, but dressed just like the other priests. He was thus identifying with the rest of the congregation. Like Yahshua, he was divesting himself of his glory and humbling himself. Queen Hadassah (a picture of YHWH’s bride) put on royal robes in order to approach the king (Esther 4:11). The context (chapters 4 and 5 tells us much about how to approach the King and why (on behalf of our people, not just ourselves). There is much in Scripture that tells us what it means to be “properly attired” when we come to meet YHWH. It is more than a matter of cloth. Being robed in righteousness is important, but when there is also justice, one has a turban as well (Iyov/Job 29:14); he is dressed like a king and priest. In simplest terms, justice is taking care of others as one wants to be cared for. Righteousness means not only doing the right things, but for the right reason—for the sake of the Kingdom, to please YHWH, of for the love of His community. We are also to put on strength (our fullest resources) and beautiful garments (with no uncleanness in them, per Yeshayahu 52:1). We are to put on light as armor (Rom. 13:12-14), but first we must cast off the works of darkness. Putting on the Messiah enables us to stop making provision for the flesh. (Compare Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:22-29; 6:11-18) Above all else, we are to put on love (commitment to be there for one another when we need each other), which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:14)

Two goat-kids: or he-goats. By rabbinic tradition, they were to be as identical as possible. This is reminiscent of what Yaaqov, a twin, was told to bring to his mother so that he could be as identical to his brother as possible, so that the son she knew to be the right one would actually receive the blessing. It also depicts Yahshua, who came "in the likeness of sinful flesh" and thus bore our sins away from the presence of YHWH. The link with what comes before this is that we have freedom to go only two directions. We can become like Yaaqov or like Esau, as seen in Gen. 33:16ff. Esau returned to Seir (which means "goat", but Yaaqov went on to Sukkoth (the festival that follows Yom Kippur). Paul says the only important freedom is freedom from sin, which inherently means "slavery" to Yahshua. These are the only two ways we can go. We must choose which goat we will be like. An ascending offering: We should not appear before YHWH without an expectation to rise to a higher level. He calls us upward to a perspective that is above the world and full of His shalom, and to ever-increasing holiness. Once we learn to open our eyes on the next level, we will never be back where we were. We must come prepared to leave behind all we knew ourselves as, since being in His presence shows us where we stand and where we need to be. On the Sabbath, there is a completion of the old things in our lives; they are behind us once we meet with Him. Yahshua said He is the staircase (Yochanan 1:51) on which the messengers of YHWH ascend (to learn from YHWH) and descend (to serve the rest of Israel, as the priests did).

"To whom much is given, of him much shall be required." He was held in the highest esteem, so the price was higher for the priest's atonement. It reminds us of Yahshua's telling us to take the long plank out of our own eyes before trying to take the speck of dust out of someone else's. When Hadassah came and sat in the inner court of the king’s house, she rose in favor in the king’s eyes. That was when he invited her in. (Esther 5:1-2) This inner court corresponds to the court where the slaughter-sites and altar stood. When our sin has been dealt with properly, YHWH wants us to draw near; if we reject His prerequisite for drawing near, the scepter is no longer extended, and that is a fearful prospect. (Heb. 10:11-29)

8. "And Aharon shall cast lots over the two goats, one [designated] ‘for YHWH’, and the other ‘for Azazel’.

Cast lots: The actual practice was to have two lots in an urn, and take one out in each hand, placing it on the goat that stood beside each corresponding hand. For Azazel: the phrase is used in modern Hebrew for "to hell". The term is used only here in Scripture, but a mythology grew up around this that Azazel was the name of a chief of the Se’irim (goat-demons) said to dwell alone in the wilderness (see note on v. 21). The idea seems to be supported in Yeshhay. 34:11-15; Yirm. 9:11; 50:39; Rev. 16:13; 18:2, etc., where certain animals are associated with demons. Other Semitic tribes offered sacrifices to it and appointed priests to them, but King Yoshiyahu destroyed the places of their worship. In the book of 1 Enoch, Azazel is seen as the leader of the “watchers”, fallen angels who educated mankind regarding heavenly secrets that led them into sin—weaponry and cosmetics as a form of deception. (Chapter 8) The Apocalypse of Avraham counts Azazel among the unclean birds that tried to disturb the covenant-cutting ceremony in Genesis 15. Others say the name simply denotes a "goat of entire removal" (hence our word "scapegoat"). It may mean “goat that goes its own way”, corresponding with Aharon’s two sons that died. (v. 1) It stems from the term for "female goat", which suggests a connection to haSatan or that the male goat is being sent to its counterpart place, also called Azazel. (v. 10)

Literally, "make it a sin". The sin becomes embodied in that goat so that it can be dealt with. This forms the context for understanding how Yahshua "was made sin for us" though he knew no sin. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Presented: literally, "stood up". The goat sent to Azazel was not a sacrifice, but a symbol that there was no longer unexpiated guilt. (Nachmanides) It embodied the whole concept of sin, much like the woman who “was wickedness” in Z’kharyah 5:6-11 or even the living bird that was let loose in 14:7 above.

12. "And he shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from atop the altar before the face of YHWH, his hands also [being] full of incense finely ground [from] sweet fragrances, and bring it within the veil.

One would think that the last thing YHWH would want Aharon to bring was a firepan, after what his sons had done with one. But “Yom ha Kippurim” can also be read to say “a day that is like Purim”, and because the Book of Esther has no overt mention of YHWH, Purim is said to be a day on which nothing is as it should be. Finely ground: All the incense that was brought to the Temple was already fine (Ex. 30:36), and this was ground even finer, becoming the finest of any incense ever used in the Temple services. Since incense is a picture of prayer, this pulverizing pictures the specific prayer that continues to “pound away” at those who resist YHWH’s will when we know we are not praying amiss.

The smoke had to go through the veil and remain opaque enough to obscure the ark. Ancient incense did not contain flammable components in itself like the modern types. It was placed on top of coals. Aharon brought a whole shovelful of coals into the Holy Place, and two fistfuls of incense, so this would produce a significant amount of smoke very quickly. Incense is a symbol of the prayers of the set-apart ones (Rev. 8:3). Yahshua is the one who makes intercession for us (Heb. 7:25); like the smoke from the incense, He is the fire on which our prayers ascend, and the one in position to keep us from dying from the intense purity of YHWH’s presence. If we do not pray in his name, other spirits will be glad to answer our prayers and lead us into deception. Conceal: or clothe.

East: reminiscent of the kh’ruvim guarding the eastern gate to Eden. The Heb. word also means "ancient", suggesting the restoration of the "ancient Adam". (See note on v. 17)

Goat of the sin offering: that is, the goat designated “for YHWH”.

Rebellions: or "transgressions". "Impurities...transgressions,... sins": Impurity is not yet sin, but it is a picture of selfishness--the beginning of a tendency in this direction toward missing the target. (Prov. 18:1-2) Yaaqov the brother of Yahshua tells how our own desires give birth to sin, which in turn leads to death (James 1:14ff). Rebellions: willful wrongdoings. Quiet rebellion can be hidden from others, but is just as deadly. We might even hit the target outwardly, but this could simply be accidental; we can’t know for sure unless we are actively dealing with our selfishness. He gives us weapons against it every time we open His Word, but if we do not use them—if we hesitate or procrastinate—we will lose them. There is no other sacrifice all year for intentional sins; they have to wait until this time. All other sin offerings are for unwitting sins. This again pictures Yahshua's self-sacrifice, other than which there is no way to be forgiven; rather, we have only the expectation of judgment, which will, however, devour the adversary within us (Hebrews 10:26), which does finally free us from this evil inclination, though in the process it may destroy the mortal part of us. (1 Cor. 5:5) Still remains...through their uncleannesses: i.e., despite their impurity, He nonetheless dwells with us, but the atonement is needed to make up for our frequent lack of worthiness.

Atonement is not a quick process. Even now on Yom Kippur we reiterate a long list of sins of which we have been guilty without thinking about it. But it is a positive thing, since it shows us that we can never reach perfection, and we need Yahshua, no matter how hard we try to be holy. Paul said this was one of the main purposes of the Torah. (Rom. 3:20) No man: This is what Moshe saw when he killed the Egyptian (on one level, the Egyptian that was still within himself) to defend his brother. By tradition, the high priest had been through the right process of removing the “flesh” to such an extent (depicted in all the frequent bathing and changing clothes and application of blood seen here) that by the time he entered behind the veil, he was no longer human. He is so focused on YHWH’s presence that it is as if he had become an angel. He is so intent on YHWH’s purpose that he moves “out of this world” for that time. It literally reads, "all of Adam [or the whole man] shall not be in...until he comes out". Dressed in white, he is a picture of that man of light, and nearly all of his flesh is covered. (Ex. 20:26) The point of Messiah, our Great High Priest's atonement and removal of sin is to be able to restore the "man" who is the image of YHWH. As we put off self in order to come into our assemblies, when we leave we must carry YHWH’s priorities with us, and we will be a little bit less “me” and a little bit more “no man” each time. When we become one people, we will be “no man”. There are many rooms in His house; if there are still stairs to climb, there is no reason to stop. Sha'ul (Paul) writes of how, now that Yahshua has been resurrected as its head, YHWH has "called us all [to come] out" (Jer. 23:7 and the meaning of the term "ekklesia") and has given us all giftings by which to build each other up "into a complete man until the attaining of the full measure of the intended condition of Messiah." Becoming a new man (Eph. 4:20ff) means approaching YHWH as a unified people, not just as individuals—a focus Yaaqov learned after he wrestled with the “man”. Paul speaks in terms of the "measure". This is perfectly timed to fit with the "counting of the measure", the 7 weeks leading up to Shavuoth (Pentecost) which begin the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread—the day that the firstfruits of barley are brought, and the day Yahshua was raised from the dead! That is when the Head ("first part" in Hebrew) of the restored Adam was "born" (firstfruits and firstborn are exactly the same in Hebrew), and the rest of the Body began to come together. He never really desired sacrifice and offering, but prepared a Body for Yahshua (Heb. 10:5)--which all these "shadows" outline for us. They are all about drawing near, and calling out a bride for Himself with which He can become one and to whom He can give His name (Jer. 23:6; 33:16) is His real goal. The unity on that first Pentecost after His resurrection was a sign and seal of the Promise that the fullness will come in the time of the Restoration of all things, when we will be "brought back to the Garden of Eden".

19. "And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times; thus he shall ritually purify it, and render it separate [set apart] from the uncleannesses of the descendants of Israel.

What this ceremony is all about is ridding the community of selfishness.

21. "then Aharon shall lean his two hands on the head of the living goat, and confess over it all the guilty crookednesses of the descendants of Israel, and their mis-steps toward all their goings-off-track, and shall designate [that] they [will rest] upon the head of the goat, and send it off into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.

Lean...hands: symbolically transferring the guilt to it. Normally the sinner himself was to transfer his own guilt to the sacrifice, but since the perpetrator of pesha, a rebellious sin, was barred from the sanctuary, he had to be represented by the high priest. The ritual in itself had no efficacy unless it was accompanied by genuine acts of repentance by the people. "Atoning" just means "covering up", but this was not enough. As a pledge of what was to come, the blood of bulls and goats did cover sin--sweep it out of YHWH's sight so He could dwell among His congregation. But it could NEVER "take away sin" (Hebrews 9 and 10, which is all about Yom haKippurim). That only Yahshua could do, as the "Lamb of Elohim, who bears away the sins of the world"--not an animal, but a man who came to restore "Adam's" rightful place before YHWH "at a time of setting things right". A man who stands in readiness: or, a fit man, a chosen man, or a timely man, probably referring to someone used to leading goats, which do not like to be led, or strong enough to carry one, if that is how it was taken. He is trained and ready top act at the right moment. The Talmud (Yoma 32a) says he was prepared since the previous day. In his first appearance Yahshua was also indeed always "in season", often saying, "My time has not yet come" (Yochanan/John 7:8, etc.), but then one day changing that as the time for Passover and Firstfruits drew near. (Matt. 26:17)

A parallel ceremony was used in the Babylonian new year festival (Pritchard), and temple purgation rituals (by aspersion, smearing, and incense) were found among the Hittites, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians, but never together with the "scapegoat" ceremony as in Israel. Thus YHWH gave it a new meaning. Since impurity is demonic, to exorcise it is not enough; its power has to be removed, either through curse, destruction, or banishment. The evil was sent either to where it could work against the sender's enemies, or to a place where it could do no harm, as in the wilderness, which was uninhabited except by the satyr-demon Azazel. Thus it was "sent back to where it came from". Often, in actual fact, the option of destruction was used, however, in an elaborate ritual by which the goat was escorted some twelve miles east of Yerushalayim, to the Rock of Beth Hadudo on the escarpment of the Yarden gorge at a place called, interestingly enough, Azal. A scarlet cord (recall Rahav in Yehoshua 2 and Zarakh in Gen. 38:28) was tied around its horn, and it was thrown over the cliff to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. (This practice resulted from the connection of another possible etymology of the term Azazel—rugged and strong—to sharp, jagged rocks onto which it was thrown.) On the way down, the scarlet cord turned white, indicating that YHWH had removed the people's sins. ("Though your sins be as scarlet, they can become as white as snow', Yeshay. 1:18) A series of signals was relayed back to the Temple courts, whereupon the people began rejoicing loudly. The rabbis noted, though, that 40 years (the appointed time of testing and transition) before the destruction of the Second Temple, the cord stopped turning white. This was exactly the time when the Messiah, the scapegoat's antitype, was slain. So either way, there is death--either death to self and sin, or just death.

Leave them there: Rashi says he would never use these particular clothes again.

His own garments: The set-apart garments belonged to the position of high priest, not the individual as such.

Fat: i.e., the best part.

What he was doing was not sinful, but he was bearing away what represented sin and death. But it never calls him unclean, so the bathing and washing might be more practical than ritual—to rid him of the smell of the goat before he mingled with the rest of the people again. The evening after Yom Kippur was the one time men and women were permitted to dance together in the Temple, having just spent a day purifying their motives, and it was said that many found their mates at this time.

With Nadav and Avihu, all but their flesh was burned out of them while still inside the camp, and they were then taken outside the camp. (10:1-5)

29. "And this shall constitute a never-ending statute: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you shall humble yourself and do no servile labor--the native as well as the alien who is staying among you,

Humble yourselves: literally, "afflict your souls", or “suppress your appetites”, expressed most vividly through a complete fast (as has been the tradition at least since the days of Yeshayahu, but the term also can mean “pay attention to your souls” to repent wherever necessary. Alien: or proselyte.

31. "It is a high Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall humble yourself. [This is] a statute forever.

High Sabbath: the holiest of the holy days; Heb. Shabbaton. Rest: literally, "ceasing". Though Yahshua has made full atonement and borne away our sins, they still remain in our present lives; one day it will be fulfilled, when he returns and has a final day of judgment on the present age as his kingdom begins. Yet this does not mean the "shadow" or "outline" (Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1) is to cease; rather, after that it will only be the beginning of the truest observance of this practice, as the Prince himself will be the one designated to offer the "sacrifices" during the festival times (Ezekiel 45:17).

What could be a fuller description of Yahshua--the anointed one [Messiah] who acts in the place of his Father, is our priest, makes atonement for us, and who is thereafter seen only in bright white linen garments and who invites us to keep our garments undefiled and "walk with him in white"? (Rev. 3:4) He said, "The Son cannot do anything except what he sees the Father doing." (Yochanan 5:19, 30) "In the place of" in Hebrew is literally "beneath"--reminiscent of Yahshua's reminder that "the Father is greater than I." (Yochanan 14:28) "Put on linen garments": He had to wear the right clothing in order to effect atonement properly. The cohen was constantly changing clothes in the Yom Kippur ceremony--five times--and each time he had to immerse in water, and had to wash his hands and feet both before and after each. It was a repeated awakening to the solemnity of what he was doing and a reminder to be sure he was doing each part just right, because to break a picture YHWH has designated was something serious enough to bar even Moshe from entering the Promised Land.

Wasn't the Holy Place within the Tent of Appointment (the tabernacle)? The fact that both are mentioned here suggests the deeper meaning that he is speaking of both the "shadow" (the physical building which served as a picture, figure, or outline), AND the actual dwelling-place of YHWH--the people He is pulling together into one Temple of living stones.

Never-ending: not “until Messiah comes”; He only changed the order of the priesthood, not the fact of its continued existence, hidden away in the Kingdom. Even now, while still we have no Tent or Temple, we must keep this appointment in some way.

CHAPTER 17

2. "Speak to Aharon and his sons, and to all the descendants of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing that YHWH has commanded:

Aharon is responsible for himself, his sons, and all Israel. His sons are also responsible for all of Israel. And the rest of Israel are all responsible for one another. Whenever we receive the Torah, we are responsible to learn it so we can keep it, uphold it, and teach it to our fellow Israelites.

As Aharon was represented by animals in the last chapter, here all of Israel is represented by these animals, and this reminds us that we are a community but not simply a commune; if we are all about taking care of one another, it is fruitless if we are not doing so for YHWH’s sake—turning one another over to Him in better condition because we have sharpened one another.

In ancient times, meat was mainly eaten on special occasions such as celebrations or when offering hospitality. Almost any time an animal was slaughtered, it was sacrificed "unto" something; it was rarely simply killed. So this command assured that these were only slaughtered unto YHWH. Many interpret this as referring only to animals slaughtered for worship purposes, but this is not stated; it could refer to any animals that could be offered on the altar. Altar animals are to have their blood applied to the altar; it cannot be shed on our own behalf. The only righteous way to kill an animal worthy of YHWH’s altar is to bring it to YHWH. When the sanctuary exists, what their blood is about is “all Israel”; it is not to be kept solely to oneself as an individual. For an Israelite, even seemingly commonplace things like eating and drinking must be done to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31); how much more the “larger” decisions of our lives? We cannot keep this command literally today, without a Temple in place. But we must find a way of practicing this. The closest we can come to it is the “invisible” part, but in a way we could say that this is the more important part, though one day we hope to again not have to separate between the literal act and the meaning behind it. The picture is very close to the surface here. This command tells us that we must not take anything that could be used for the worship of YHWH and offer it somewhere else. He has shed blood: This animal’s slaughter is invalid, and therefore its death is wasted. But this phrase is telling us that it is as if he has murdered a human being! What we put our lives into must be offered to YHWH, or we are guilty of killing the “one man”—that is, unified Israel. We may not know how or when, but relationships with YHWH and with one another will somehow suffer if we keep for ourselves what is meant to be done in the context of the congregation. If all of Israel does not receive from the “bulls and sheep” of our lives (which represent our security and the rest of our lives), we will all share in whatever death comes from it. Cut off from his people: YHWH does not define clearly what this means, so there is room to interpret it as is appropriate for the particular case. We must let the river keep flowing rather than damming it up and limiting what we can learn from it. Life is never the same trip twice, and as long as we end up in the “ocean” of the Kingdom, the only limits to the river should be its banks. The rabbis have listed many possibilities of what this could mean: that one is to be executed, that his children will die before he does (in itself a great curse since it spells the end of one’s lineage), or simply that one will have to leave the community permanently. In any case, it is never a pleasant thing.

The open field is symbolic of the world at large (Mat. 13:38), in which people worship whatever, wherever, and whenever they choose. We are not to offer our best efforts or our greatest strengths—what we pour out our blood for--to the world, either for the benefit of the world or for worldly benefit to come back to ourselves. If we offer them up to YHWH and His people, the rest of the world will ultimately benefit—when the Kingdom comes in its fullness—but the world is not the path to that. Do not invest in it or let it be invested in yourself; invest in the Kingdom, and the death will not return. Because it speaks of offerings having already been offered somewhere (which is better than most people do today), this verse is the basis for Paul's message to the Athenians that YHWH tolerated people's worshipful acts while they were in ignorance, "but now He calls everyone everywhere to repent, because He has APPOINTED a day..." (Acts/Envoys 17:30; compare Deut. 18:18) It is a call also for many in the church who are offering in the wrong context in ignorance to come to the higher step of recognizing they are Israel and then living accordingly—though, realistically, we should not expect many to respond to it. (Mat. 7:14) Yahshua called himself "the door for the sheep"--the entryway to the dwelling-place of YHWH, and the one who opened the way for a "building" to be built in which YHWH could dwell (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:22) and where we could draw near to Him. (Heb.10:22) "Open" here also means "on the face of" in Hebrew, so it could suggest the idea of doing our righteous deeds before men in order to be seen. Thus, YHWH stipulates that it be done behind His fence. And what is slaughtered there must be eaten there, with the exception of certain offerings that the priests could take home for their families. Furthermore, it has to be eaten within two days. (19:6) The only way to eat a bull in two days is to share it. Thus the slaughter of these animals in particular always had a sanctity and were associated with the Temple and peace—the completeness, unity, and safety of all Israel. We still benefit from it, but only in this context.

Fat: the best. At times we may have to give second-best in other contexts, when exhausted or broke or in other ways weakened, but in the context of the Kingdom we must always bring our best. After one has tithed from his flock and given the firstfruits as an additional offering, he must still turn any of his flock animals over to the priest, who then keeps about a quarter of it, before he can partake of it. This seems oppressive, but actually the exact opposite is true. Israel’s war on individualism allows our everyday lives, even our eating, to be taken out of the realm of selfishness and into the realm of holiness. Like chemotherapy that actually kills some of our cells in order to save our lives, death to self removes many chains from us. While the best we can do today is a remembrance of this command, and it is not necessarily a sin in our exile to eat beef or mutton that has not been taken to a Levitical priest, still, we must pay close attention to what it symbolizes: Anything we raise up ourselves, tend, pay for, nurture, and guard is not ours alone, but if it is worthy of YHWH, it belongs to Him and to all of Israel, not just ourselves. Like these flock animals in ancient times, we are raising the things in our own “herds” specifically to be offered to YHWH. Also, the entryway to the tent, as we saw in Exodus 38:8, is where women gathered to do spiritual warfare. Why? Because sin crouches at the door. (Gen. 4:7) By turning over to YHWH the things we’ve invested our whole lives in, we turn them into weapons for spiritual battle. As we put self away, we remove the foundation for most of the principalities and powers that could come against us. As we saw with Noakh after the rain stopped, a dove (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) will not alight on anything unclean, but an unclean thing is all the raven needs as a foothold before it takes up residence. Yahshua established a “tree” by which the “dove” could indwell us. Only He, our high priest, has a right to bring an offering to YHWH for us. We cannot offer anything YHWH will accept as long as we are “in the open field”—doing things on our own. But coming in His Name gives us the right to partake in all that is worthwhile in YHWH’s eyes and in anything that He has given as a gift to Israel, His bride.

Goats: At least since the Aramaic targums were written, this term was also associated with a particular class of demons, of the type which some said the “Azazel” of chapter 16 was the chief. (Compare Yeshayahu/Isa. 13:21.) As such, the rabbis say that just because the goat was sent off to Azazel, this does not give us permission to sacrifice to that demon as well. Goats are symbolic of the demonic because, though they are clean animals, they are individualists who go off on their own rather than staying close together as a flock. But there is another connection which is closer to home for us: This Hebrew word for goat (se’ir) is associated with Esau (whose territory was Mt. Se’ir), and in the context of verse 5, it is noteworthy that Esau is called a man of the field (Gen. 25:27), the man of the world, the man who lived only for his belly. He is also connected by his other name, Edom, to blood, which in Hebrew is dam. The root word behind se’ir is sa’ar, which means “trembling with fear”, because it is fear that makes one’s hair stand on end. People turn heavily to self because they are afraid of something. The things we dread are what we are truly worshipping, even if we hate them, because we see them, not YHWH, as the ultimate reality, and He sees this as infidelity to Him. Demons are glad to take up residence in that fear. But if we fear only YHWH and His removing His presence from us, then we are free to fear nothing else. Esau’s twin—his counterpart and opposite—is Yaaqov, the mature man, the man of tents, and whose name was changed to Israel. If we are offering in the open field, we are putting our energy into Esau rather than into Israel. This chapter teaches us to bring our offering to the tent, not to the field. Our heritage and inheritance are in the tent (v. 4); we should not look for either out in the world. If we are not connected to Yaaqov, looking for our connection to our roots with Kunta Kinte or Sitting Bull will only turn out to be the belly-serving stuff of the field. The only reason we would kill in the open field is to eat. Even if we are only making our killing so we have enough to eat to get by, it will not benefit anyone else. Even feeding our children must be about the Kingdom. We must see our children as YHWH’s and act accordingly. We can offer the “goat” side of ourselves to YHWH, but we must not make our offerings to our left side, for its own sake. Is what we are doing of the field or of the Tent? These are really our only choices. Is it only about your belly or is it about the well-being of all Israel? Our celebrations should be with YHWH’s people; the world’s celebrations are not our own, though we can share the feast of thank-offerings to YHWH with anyone who is clean. Even mundane things can be an offering. Putting on our shoes can be a holy thing if it is so we can go help our neighbor, but if we are asking someone to pass the milk so that we can take the last of it at another’s expense, that is not an offering to the Tent, but to the field. Noice that YHHW regards it as prostitution when we take our best efforts out of the context of Himself and His people. We are cheating on Him if we give our best to anything else!

9. "‘"but does not bring it to the entry to the Tent of Appointment to do it unto YHWH, that man shall be cut off from his kinsmen.

This is not necessarily talking about sacrifices to other deities; it may an offering to YHWH but in the wrong context. This chapter tells us that whether our slaughtering is overtly religious or is just so we have something to eat, we must make sure the priest and the rest of Israel get their share. Israel is called to be holier than others are expected to be, and even those who are merely receiving our hospitality need to live up to certain standards while they are in our context.

Proselytes: strangers or aliens who have settled among Israel to learn about the Elohim of Israel. This prohibition of blood for them as well forms the basis for the Jerusalem council's declaration that those from among the Gentiles who were coming into the faith but who were not to be weighed down with the full force of the Torah at once (Acts 15:20, 21) were to abstain from strangled foods (a cover term for any food from which the blood was not properly drained after being slaughtered in a kosher manner), "and from blood"--as if to drive home the point. Yet even this most basic of requirements for Gentile believers is scarcely obeyed today. Set My face: concentrate His full attention against him. It may be just one of those “looks that can kill”. Just how seriously YHWH takes this is shown by the other situations in which He “sets His face” against someone: sacrificing our children in the fire to Molekh or ignoring someone else who does (Lev. 20:3-5), consulting mediums or familiar spirits (20:6), or hating YHWH’s judgments (26:14-17. In Y’hezq’El 4:3, YHWH likens setting His face against us to making war on us. (Compare Y’hezq’El 14:7-8.)

The soul of the flesh: There is great depth to these words. On the simplest level, blood is life, and it belongs to YHWH, so it is not our right to consume it. Eating blood is telling YHWH, “My life is my own and I will dowhat I want with it.” The soul resides in the blood, so it is holier than the body itself. Taking into ourselves the soul of a wild beast can make us like it. Because of this command, many Satanic rituals include the drinking of blood. But when offered properly, blood exists to cover our souls. Away from the Tabernacle, we cannot properly remove all of the blood. This is a picture of keeping the wrong company. Every person is a soul, and is therefore represented by this blood. We are not to absorb other people’s “blood” into ourselves. This does not mean we should not get a blood transfusion to save life, but even then people’s personalities have been noticeably changed. As doctors and even police use latex gloves, goggles, and masks to avoid contact with contaminated blood, we must have our spiritual guard up to make sure the blood of the world does not mix with ours when we must interact with it. We are not isolationists; the Land of Israel was deliberately placed at the crossroads of three continents so the living out of the Torah could influence other nations toward higher motives. But we cannot become part of them. We must “pour out the blood” of these experiences if we cannot avoid them. It is all right to eat of them, but we must cover the life of the wild things with dust—a picture of the descendants of Avraham. Cover these interactions with the reminder of who we are and with the remembrance that all we do will affect our fellow Israelites. No relationship in which we partake may be allowed to be detrimental to them. “Small talk” that builds connections may be part of the way we trap what we need to live on, but with the world we must keep it small; we must not let the relationships with those outside of Israel run deep in our veins until they wish to become part of Israel. When we take into ourselves the attitudes of the world, we start to serve the wrong ideas, such as the fear pictured by the goat. We have lost the covering, so we feel cold and become afraid, so we look for an alternate covering—the one our companions are wearing. Looking for a covering other than the one YHWH has provided is the essence of idolatry. Reading on another level, “flesh" and "glad news" are the same in Hebrew, "the soul, or life, of the Gospel is in [Yahshua's] blood", which makes atonement for us.

13. "‘"Now any man from the descendants of Israel--or any sojourner who is staying among you --who hunts game (animal or fowl) which may be eaten, must drain its blood and cover it with dust,

These are animals other than those mentioned in verse 3, which are especially clean since they are worthy of the altar, whereas these are simply "fair game" that may be eaten. They do not need to be brought to the Temple, because a wild animal is not acceptable as an atoning sacrifice. Still, what is hunted has to be trapped, then its throat slit, so that the blood, through its premature death, will not coagulate before it could be drained. It cannot be shot from a distance; we must put our hands on it for it to be a kosher kill. An arrow or bullet will render it “torn” (v. 15). Today, what we have trapped represents our commercial dealings. Out of necessity we buy or sell. This only pertains to the world, but even there YHWH has a say in what we do with it. Hunting was the profession of Esau, so we must be very cautious about participating in it. We must remember that when outside the community we are in a foreign land. When we are about commercial life, we participate in the lives of many people, and those with whom we interact will affect us. The rabbis say a bird could be killed by a stone if one is in dire straits and cannot catch it any other way and he would not be cut off for doing so, but still this is a picture of selfishness, the focus being on the mere survival of the flesh. We are not to “eat” the “blood” of our inevitable brushes with the world outside the walls; its goals are not what we are to be about. Cover it with dust: Do not even look at it anymore; let the descendants of Avraham be what you see and focus your energies on instead. What is it about these animals that makes them unfit for the altar? They cannot be selected like those from the herd, from which we can clearly see which are the best; we have to take whatever the field gives. While they may sometimes travel in small herds, they are not led by a shepherd. In the open field, they are easy prey to any animal that wants to access them, so we are competing for them. The picture is also bad; YHWH does not want to have to hunt for us as He did with Adam. (Gen. 3:9) And they are “gamier” because they are lean from foraging for food and from wandering or running; they have very little fat, which is one thing YHWH requires upon the altar.

This is the fourth time He reiterates this point; do you think He is serious about it? As Yahshua said, “He who finds his own life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mat. 10:39)

Compare 11:40 above. Exodus 22:30 says we can throw the meat of "torn" animals to the dogs. But Israelites may not eat of any of these. Here it appears that there is no actual prohibition against eating these meats, but only the fact that they will render us impure for a time. But this is not to be used as a loophole. It is not even permission to eat of them. This is only if one is absolutely starving to death and such an animal drops dead beside you before you have time to kill it properly or if one is served it by someone else and was not aware that it was not properly bled. Deut. 14:21 actually forbids them, saying we may, however, sell it to Gentiles or give it to the strangers among us—though here we see that this still renders them unclean if we do. If priests ate them, they were punished. We must still take responsibility for the wrong we have done, and not make it our custom, or it will cost all of Israel something:

Retain: or "continue to bear the punishment for." On the other hand, if something is acceptable as an offering to YHWH, then by all means offer it! If it can be brought to the Temple, bring it!

CHAPTER 18

2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, and tell them, ‘I am YHWH your Elohim.

When YHWH begins with these words, it signals us that He is going to open up to us some very important aspect of His character so that we can know Him better. Elohim: The majestic plural, which carried over in a very minimal way into English when, for example, a queen would say, “We are not amused” when speaking of herself, for she also represents her whole nation. It thus indicates power and authority. It means He is the ruler of every place, every people—even if they do not yet recognize Him—and every thought of every person in Israel. He is Master not just of His people, but of their words and deeds as well.

YHWH had also said “I am YHWH” before He promised to bring us out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (Ex. 6:6); He does not want us to go back under those burdens, but if we carry on their traditions, it will be inevitable. Act: the term means “accomplish” or “make a transaction”. What is an accomplishment in Egypt or Kanaan is not necessarily one in Israel; many of the goals they aim for would be great hindrances to Israel. (Mat. 6:31-33) So we are not to aim for the same type of accomplishments as non-Israelites, nor make transactions in the same way. One thing these other nations did was assign different deities to different areas of life. But YHWH does not want to just be the Master of the Sabbath, or just of our religious life or family life, but of our priorities, our time, our finances, and every other part of life—even who we marry (see below). Our employer is never to be the elohim of any area of our lives if his will conflicts with YHWH’s Torah. Neither the government nor our families have a right to overrule His orders in any area of life. Walk: Do not be on the path toward the same goals they pursue. Israel was only 70 people when we entered Egypt; there we grew into millions. So as a people, we are “from Egypt”. It was all this generation had ever known; the land of Kanaan was just a memory passed down by great-grandparents. They do not known the lifestyle of shepherds or nomads; the way YHWH defines relationship with Himself is foreign to us because we are used to Egypt—just like today. We need to consider why we think the way we do, where we picked up our habits, even why we speak the way we do. We indirectly come from Israel, but in the interim we all come from somewhere else, and any roots that come between us and our Hebrew ancestors have “doings” that we are not to do. We are not to do things as the world at large sees fit. The greatest accomplishment to them is to put self and security first. But we must leave behind the way the world looks for security. Most of us also came out of Christianity, where security is still served, but with a religious bent. We have a new way. If we hang onto the way the world does it, you will never know what “I am YHWH” means. To which I am bringing you: Indeed, we do not want to live like Kanaanites either. But today the “land” YHWH is bringing us into is the realm of the Torah, and when we get there we find that there are indeed already people living there, but this time they are not people we are called to destroy, because they are our brother Yehudah. Christianity thought they were to uproot Yehudah from the Torah and claim its promises for the church. But Yehudah is nonetheless still keeping Torah. Still, there are aspects of the way they do it—these “customs”—that we should not carry out in the same way. This is not referring to the Torah itself, but the rulings on how to live it out. Among the Jews, these customs define what has come to be known as “Judaism”. Most of it is valid, but there are some aspects of how it has been carried out in exile that oppose the restoration of the way it is meant to be carried out in the Land, where much of Yehudah has already returned. Isn’t it arrogant to say we could understand some aspects of the Torah better than those who have been walking in it uninterruptedly for generations? Yet when we are told not to eat milk and meat at the same meal, Avraham’s own practice glares out of the Torah and calls this interpretation into question. Maybe this ruling is valid for that one tribe, but Torah does not require that it be the norm for every tribe that returns, though there would be no profit in telling Yehudah to change their practice in this regard since it does not oppose any Torah command. But many other customs of Yehudah were instituted as a way to remember what was once fully alive and operative in the Temple so they would not be forgotten. But now much of what was to be remembered can be restored, yet has not been. The flow of Torah has become jammed by the icebergs of more recent traditions (though it is still a better place to swim than in the bitter waters of the modern Egypt from which we came, Christianity, which was originally birthed out of the Torah but because of so many accretions of paganism, it does not resemble its root at all. Judaism is not quite on the mark, but Christian traditions will lead us to miss the mark altogether. The Passover Lamb was changed to the Easter bunny and Easter ham! The Sabbath has been substituted with the day of the unconquered sun. The world is going back into Kanaanite traditions and Babylonian ones through its “political correctness” in which all religions are embraced as equally valid. They say we cannot blame terrorism on Islam, but that does not square with the objective facts. While we may respect their zeal, we cannot honor their beliefs. The Kingdom is not about all nations until the Messiah is on his throne and the Torah goes out from Yerushalayim. And even many who are returning to Torah think their every opinion needs to be recognized, though many of these opinions still stem from a former half-pagan perspective. It is just more baggage that will prevent us from serving YHWH. So how should we walk?

Neither the place from which we are coming nor the place we are being brought sets the rules for how we are to act, but rather the One who is bringing us there does. We are to walk in a system altogether different from the world’s, and even different from Judaism in some cases. Carry out: Actively participate in bringing about His Kingdom; it will not happen magically. It is up to Israel to accomplish this. If we are not willing to die to self to get it done, who else will ever be willing to?

Guard: make sure those under your jurisdiction are getting them done, and bring correction to those who are not. This begins on the personal level, but then moves up to the congregational, and eventually tribal and national level. This goes beyond the Torah to a viable community, for what would a single person need with the “ways of carrying it out”? We need to become a firmly-established rock to build His House on. But this requires understanding (Psalm 119:144), for if we do not see their value, we will not care about guarding them. Yehezq’el (Ezekiel) 20:11-12 reiterates the same, then adds the instruction about the Sabbath, which is given "so that they may know Me". This is why He again tells us here just Who He is. If we want to know Him, these are the things we must do and the things we must avoid, for they preclude His presence. The point of all the commandments is to know His heart. The man: literally, Adam. Live: thrive or be revived (come to life again). If as one unified man we follow these instructions, Adam (the complete, unmarred image of Elohim) can be resurrected. We can then know YHWH the way only someone in His presence (as Adam was) can. But for that to take place, we must first die (to self) with Yahshua, the Head of the second Adam. (Romans 6) YHWH’s testimonies are eternally righteous; if we can understand them, we will be revived (Psalm 119:144) just as an ammonia ampule makes an unconscious person “come to”. We are living proof, as even descendants of Aharon the priest are beginning to look with jealousy on our communities. Righteousness means not just doing the right thing, but doing it for the right reason—because it pleases YHWH.

What a strange way to follow up on this dignified introduction. It seems as if we had changed the subject midstream. But we have not; He has been talking about how to know Him intimately, and the wrong kind of intimacies will keep us from relationship with Him. This passage that seems so awkward will reveal much about the type of interpersonal relationships He intends us to have. Uncover the nakedness: It means more than “do not pull someone’s skirt up”, though that is not a wise idea either; but if taken in the most literal sense, verse 10 would mean we could never even change our grandchildren’s diapers! Rather, it is an idiom for sexual relations. This series of commands delimits those who, due to close genetic kinship, are off limits to a man sexually. It literally says, "Each man shall not draw near to the near one of his own flesh”. Our nearest kin now are other members of the Body of Messiah, the "rebuilt Adam". In this context, remember that Adam only felt naked after he disobeyed. If we follow the instructions underlying this passage, YHWH can return us to the Garden.

B. Sanh. 54a interprets the phrase as "the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of his wife". Targum Pseudo-Yehonathan interprets it instead as a ban on incest between father and daughter, or mother and son. We now know that this practice poses a high risk of major congenital defects. But "expose the nakedness" could just as well read, " lay vulnerable their undefended parts." (Yoseyf used the term this way to refer to the weakened condition of Egypt during the famine; Gen. 42:9) This gives it a much broader application beyond mere sexuality. It means “Do not leave your brother without a covering.” Taking undue advantage of our brothers is tantamount to thievery. Paul's warning not to put a stumblingblock in one another's way is reminiscent of this idea, endangering the weaker brother by tempting him at his weakest point. Yahshua said it is better to be thrown to the depths of the sea than to cause a "little" one to stumble. Paul said the least presentable parts are those on which we confer the greatest dignity.

Father's wife: i.e., it could include a wife other than your mother, if he has several. This was Reuven's sin (Gen. 35:22; 49:3ff), and that of the Corinthians. The nakedness of one person can be another person’s vulnerability—that of the man who has authority over her. It does not mean one is having physical relations with him too; that is also forbidden in this chapter. But one is taking advantage of a relationship, and this is doing wrong to one’s kinsman, which will always cause trouble down the road. To understand intimacy with YHWH, this is how we are to treat one another; that is always where the knowledge of YHWH begins, for how can we say we love One we have not seen if we do not love the brother that we can see? (1 Yochanan 4:20) This is YHWH’s test of how trustworthy we are. He has defined this as an area over which He is Elohim. In Hoshea 2:3ff, He speaks of the House of Israel's mother, who has played the prostitute. He threatens to expose her shame if she does not repent, and we are told to warn her that she is no longer His wife, but He is the One to do the actual exposing of her evil ways. Something may be a sin not because it has direct consequences, but because of the way it affects others around us—those we are connected to. We can only really hurt those who trust us and lower their guard. We feel as uncomfortable around those who have wronged us, taking advantage of our vulnerability, as we do when our bodies are exposed in public. One has never been so naked as when his trust in you has been removed by such a betrayal. It is as if all his work has been for nothing (for in Scripture clothing is a picture of our works). One of the things we “wear” is our brothers’ works. We are responsible for our own outer garments, but our works also form the undergarments of our fellow Israelites, for if someone else does not have enough works of his own yet, ours still provide a covering for him. If he is counting on you to do something, you leave him exposed if you do not fulfill your word. We must fully understand what our brother needs done if we are to do it rightly. So we must both pay attention and be determined to see it through. We are supposed to be reviving one another, not stripping each other of what we need. When we prove trustworthy, those who are trusting in us remain covered. This is a key to reviving Adam—receiving YHWH’s breath again as Adam did the first time. YHWH has been “left naked” in this way many times, as His people have let Him down. If we do not clothe one another, it is as if we were pulling the clothes off Him! We have been “burned” or “ripped off” many times, but once we are in Israelite community, we must trust one another. If we have difficulty trusting others, the remedy is to become trustworthy ourselves, for it is a two-way street. B’tzal’El, Aholiav, Aharon, and Moshe did just what YHWH said to do—they did it right—and we still remember their names well over 3,000 years later.

At home or abroad: literally, "in the house or outside". "Outside" suggests that it may be a daughter of unfaithfulness, but still we are to protect them from outside enemies.

Aramaic Targum Onqelos: "because they are your nakedness", interpreted as "your nakedness is reflected in them". Their vulnerability or weakness is your own, for the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If one member suffers, we all do. We can never act alone or for ourselves alone once we are made part of the Body. What affects one affects all. If we leave the doors unguarded, the wrong influences have access to anyone in the house. We may not do so willfully, but someone is still unprotected, and we are no less responsible to “cover him back up” than if we had deliberately uncovered him.

12. "‘You shall not expose the nakedness of a sister of your father; she is a close [blood] relative of your father.

13. "‘You shall not expose the nakedness of your mother's sister; she is a close [blood] relative of your mother.

14. "‘You shall not expose the nakedness of your father's brother--[that is,] you must not come close to his wife; she is your aunt.

15. "‘You must not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; you must not expose her vulnerability.

16. "‘You shall not expose the nakedness of your brother's wife; this is your brother's vulnerability.

Or, "it is your brother's shame". Because of the levirate laws, we know this only applies while one's brother is alive or has sons, because it is actually one's duty to beget sons for a brother who dies without an heir. YHWH considers the bloodline of every (obedient) Israelite man to be worth preserving in this way.

18. "‘You must not take a woman along with her sister in order to uncover her nakedness in addition to hers during her lifetime, [which would only] cause her distress.

Cause her distress: vex, be a rival to her, harass or cramp her; literally, "put her in straits"; LXX, "in opposition to her". A prime example of this is the rivalry between Leah and Rakhel.

20. "‘nor shall you give your copulation-seed to your neighbor's wife, becoming defiled by her.

Neighbor: Heb., "friend" or "associate". This time it is not someone directly related to us. The person who lives near us might be an Ammonite. His wife would not be defiled by it, because they are already defiled, but you would be. That is why it does not say, “defiling her”, but “being defiled by her.” Proverbs 5:15 tells us to “drink water from your own well” instead of scattering your energy so far from home that you cannot keep up with your real responsibilities.

Your seed: That is, your children. YHWH’s first command was “Be fruitful and multiply.” If a farmer grew excellent crops but then allowed them to rot, what would be the value in cultivating them? Cause your seed: Notice the similarity in wording to v. 20: in one case the seed is given to another family than one's own; in the second case, to another deity, which YHWH also regards as adultery. Molekh was a Kanaanite deity to whom people sacrificed their children. Archaeology has turned up urns filled with infants’ bones on which “to Molekh” is inscribed, and the names of those offering them had names ending in “-yah”; showing that they were Israelites. This was done in the Hinnom Valley outside Yerushalayim, and because this custom was so sickening to YHWH, the righteous king Yoshiyahu changed it to a dumping ground where garbage was burned, since it was no longer fit for any nobler use. (2 Kings 23:10) Few modern people would fail to be horrified by such a practice. So how does this apply to us now? Molekh means “the one who rules”. Since the term “fire” is only implied because of historical knowledge, the actual text actually tells us not to turn our children over to the one that rules, and people today do this in many ways—by letting them learn the ways of the “prince of the power of the air” or making them give up their childhood so their parents can become wealthy by capitalizing on their children’s talents. By simply not paying them attention, or by giving them too much attention! We must not let our children think they are the ones that rule. Either way brings death by making them useless to Israel. The learned and wise are to be the ones that rule. YHWH weighs us by our fruit, and how our children turn out is a very large part of this; our flaws usually become theirs. Profane the Name: treat Him as if He were just one among many equals. If concern for our children stands in the way of obedience to YHWH, we are still offering them to idols, no matter how much we may be sacrificing for them.

Abomination: Something repulsive. The reason this turns YHWH’s stomach is because it is fruitless; no children can result from such a union. Destroying potential children in such a way is hardly any different from passing one’s children through the fire to Molekh. The end result is the same—no continuance. Many psychological excuses are made today for this sin. One of them is that “Elohim is love”, and this is taken to outweigh His commands. But YHWH does not accept this as valid. All of His word is true; we would do better to search out how the two truths fit together than to try to put them in a hierarchy. The term “abomination” here is often used very specifically to mean an idol. That does indeed apply here. In ancient times, this practice was not so much done for pleasure as it is today. “The way they did it in Kanaan” was as part of a religious context: it mainly took place in temples as part of worship to particular elohim rather than with a long-term partner. But is it really not done in a religious context today? It may not really be so different when we see those who bravely “come out of the closet” being treated as heroes. Is it any wonder that Al-Qaeda wants to bomb us? Galatians 6:5 tells us that each one is to bear his own load; homosexuality is often a man’s way of worshipping someone who is just what he wants to be, but whom he cannot be or whom he is not willing to take the hard road to becoming.

Lying-down: probably a shortened version of the compound Hebrew word for "copulation seed", in the context of v. 20. Stand in front: LXX, Aram., "present herself". Copulate with it: Aramaic, "to let it prevail over her"; LXX, "to have connection with it". Perversion: confusion, a violation of nature; a mixing of two things that should remain distinct.

25. "‘and the Land is defiled, and I will punish its crookedness, and the land will disgorge its inhabitants.

The Land is defiled: probably by diseased like AIDS that would result from the practices in verses 22 and 23 especially. There is a limit to what YHWH will take. Yahshua said we should forgive our brother “seventy times seven”. And it was indeed 490 years as well from the time Avraham began to be a light to the Kanaanites until Y’hoshua carried out this sentence and cut them off from the Land because they did not repent when given many occasions to do so, unlike Nin’veh, which repented when Yonah warned it of the consequences of its evil ways. Moshe was preparing Israel for its first possessing of the Land, and the undercurrent here is, “Make sure you do not do the same thing, or you will receive the same consequences. But apparently it fell on deaf ears. 490 years is all He allowed Israel (Yehudah in particular) to neglect the practice of giving the Land a rest every seven y ears, as prescribed in Ex. 23:11 and Lev. 25:2, before He expelled them from the Land for 70 years so it could have the rest they owed it. (26:34-35) Our forefathers were “vomited out” of the Land because they walked in the ways of the peoples around them. We have an even larger task than they, because we not only have to guard the Land, but also to repair what they broke.

27. "‘The men of the Land that is before you have done all of these repulsive things; thus the Land is defiled.

28. "‘That way the Land will not disgorge you for defiling it, as it [has begun] vomiting out the nation that is before you--

29. "‘because anyone who does any of these abominations--indeed, the souls who are carrying them out--must be cut off from the closest part of their people.

30. "‘Rather, guard that which I have entrusted to you, and thus stay away from performing any of the disgusting customs which were done before you, or defiling yourselves with them; I am YHWH your Elohim.”

We usually do not notice that we have something to guard until it is already lost. If we are on our guard, we will not be as likely to “leave YHWH naked” or be vomited out of our Land, which thus far we have not even merited to return to. This time we need to get it right so that we do not experience this yet again.