The Example to Follow

Did Jesus go out to "meet and greet" people, getting to know them before he started to teach the Word of God?  Did he sidestep issues of the day so as not to be labeled a "Torah Thumper"?

I don't think so.

He came loaded with knowledge, understanding, love and truth and wasted no time with 'ear tickling' in an attempt to win people over.

Y'shua was known by his reputation. From a young age he was very knowledgeable of Scripture. Later he became known as a teacher and a healer, and some speculated he was possibly the son of Elohim - others knew without a doubt.  People were drawn to him, some out of curiosity, some to hear his teachings for themselves, or to be healed of their ailments, or because they recognized the Good Shepherd's Voice and responded to the calling.

His disciples were eventually sent out to people who were ready to hear about the kingdom to come. The disciples were instructed not to waste their time with the unrepentant ones, knock the dust off their feet, take their shalom and move on.  Today they may have been called "Torah Terrorists".

"Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near."

Are we to consider ourselves as 'fishers of men' or does that only apply if we are indeed in the fishing industry to begin with?  It was a snappy saying Y'shua used on Simon and Andrew who were fishing at the time Y'shua called to them. It worked - those brothers dropped their nets and followed after him.  Later he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat fixing their nets and Y'shua called them as well. They dropped what they were doing and went after him.  

They followed Y'shua through Galilee where he taught in their assemblies. They were amazed by his teachings because he taught as an authority, not like the scribes. He preached the Hope of the Kingdom and he healed every disease and sickness among the people.  His fame was heard in all Syria. Quite a crowd of people ended up following him. (Matthew 4:18-25; Mark 1:16-22;) By now he is starting to get on the nerves of the Pharisees and some scribes - he was a threat to their long held position of authority and power.

Later on he sees Levi (Matthew) sitting at the custom house and said, Come, follow me! and he did. Y'shua went up a mountain and called on those whom he desired and they came to him. He called 12 to be with him, to preach and be authorities to heal the sick and cast out demons.

Simon, whom he called Peter;

James and John, brothers he called the 'sons of thunder';

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Tomas,

James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas

They, who had been reading Yah's Instructions and the writings of the Prophets, had been waiting for 'Immanuel' (Yahshua). By their knowledge of Scriptures (ye old testament) they recognized prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes! They recognized the Good Shepherd's voice.

Through our continued study and reading of His Word we, too, shall be prepared to recognize the Good Shepherd when he calls. Then, without hesitation, without question, we drop what we are doing and follow him.

Yahshua the Anointed One taught these things:

Blessed are they who are poor in spirit, who are mourning, and meek because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven where they will be comforted, and they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they will be satisfied. 

Blessed are they who are merciful and pure in their hearts because mercies shall be upon them and they will see Elohim 

Blessed are they who make peace because they will be called the sons of Elohim. 

Blessed are they who are persecuted because of righteousness because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are you whenever they curse you and they persecute you and they say every evil word about you falsely because of me.  Then rejoice and be glad because your reward in heaven is great for likewise they persecuted the prophets of days gone by. 

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt should become bland, with what would it become seasoned? For anything not fit is but to be thrown outside and be trodden by man. You are the light of the world. It is not possible to hide a city that is built on a mountain.  Let your light shine like this in front of the sons of man that they should see your works good and they glorify your Father who is in Heaven. 

Do not think that I have come to loosen (do away with) Torah of the prophets; I have not come to loosen but to fulfill (to perform my duty). For truly I say to you  that until heaven and earth pass away not one Yodh (dot) or one stroke will pass from Torah until everything happens. (He did not replace the Father or His Instructions)  All who loosen therefore from one of these small commandments and teach others to do the same will be called little in the Kingdom of heaven but all who do and teach this will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds more than that of the scribes and the Pharisees you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Substitutes

Another thought to ponder by Dusty Sandals

Why substitute turkey bacon for real bacon?

Why substitute imitation crab for real crab?

If we are instructed by our Creator 

not to eat it

why would we want to fake it?

Why don't we just trust Him?

Is this a test of our Faith?

==v==v==v==

I've been there, done this and ate that until I realized I didn't need to make something up to replace what Yah had already put in place. Oh, sure, now 'science' has proven pork is not good for human consumption, but why didn't we just obey Yah's instructions in the first place?

This may be a stretch, but it's what is playing out in my mind:

The 'golden calf' Incidents

They substituted a gold statue of a calf in place of YHWH. (Exodus 32:3) 

Jeroboam had temples built in Dan and Bethel while the temple in Jerusalem was still standing. In them were placed golden calves to be worshiped and he convinced the people that they didn't need to go to the temple in Jerusalem to worship Elohim. (1 Kings 12:25)

These are just a couple of examples of man taking things into his own hands for his own perceived good - instead of trusting and loving the one true Elohim and faithfully obeying His Instructions. Scriptures are a record of historical events that took place which we are to learn from so as not to make the same mistakes as our ancestors.

“Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10: 11)

Even religions have become substitutes for the Truth of His Word. Oh, it may sound like Scriptures and taste a bit like Scriptures, but its not... don't be offering strange fire thinking you are pleasing Yah.

There is no substitute for YHWH

or His Instructions

Back to the topic of foods He said we could eat and those we should abstain from - trust Him to know what He's talking about - He created us and knows what we need for our health and well being.  He gave us an Owner's Manual and most folks try everything their own way before giving in and reading the Instructions.

If you did not know, here is what Yah says we can eat and should not eat, as written in Leviticus and Deuteronomy:

Animals with true hoofs (hoofs with clefts through the hoofs) AND chew the cud. The examples given for what not to eat are the camel, daman, and hare which chew the cud but do not have true hoofs. The swine has true hoofs but does not chew the cud - these are considered 'unclean'. It is alright to eat: ox, sheep, goat (domestic or wild), deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, mountain sheep and any other animal that has true hoofs which are cleft in two and brings up the cud: buffalo, elk, moose and beef.

Of the things that live in water, we may eat them as long as they have both fins and scales. This excludes from our menu such popular items as clams, lobster, oysters, mussels, squid and shrimp. This also excludes scallops, shark, whale, octopus, eel, swordfish and sturgeon.

I am of the mind that if you cannot see the scales on the fish without the use of a microscope then consider that particular fish unclean. Halibut, for example, have tiny scales naked to the human eye so they appear to us as not having scales... they should not be eaten. YHWH put forth His Instructions to benefit our health and well being. They didn't have microscopes or other testing equipment back then - they trusted Him - as we should in this day and age.

Birds that are not to be eaten: eagle, vulture, kite, falcons, ravens, ostrich, nighthawk, sea gulls, any hawk, owl, cormorant, pelican, bustard, stork, herons, hoopoe and bats.

It's OK to eat winged swarming things that walk on all fours and have jointed legs above their feet (hoppers) as in locust, crickets and grasshoppers.

Any animal that walks on paws, on all fours, are not on the menu. No variety of cat or canine is to be eaten. Also, we are not to eat: moles, mice, lizards of every variety or crocodiles.

We have been given every seed bearing fruit to eat and of grains of the field. Modern day 'seedless' varieties should not be eaten. I gave up one of my favorites: seedless watermelon! All genetically modified foods are off the list of things that can be eaten. They have been tampered with by man.

With all that said, in today's world the majority of our food sources have become corrupt, so sticking to Yahweh's Plan becomes even more challenging. Letting the land rest every 7th year is not being followed so over the years farming has depleted the nutritional value of the land. The food it produces is lacking in vitamins and minerals and what is being added (supplements) isn't nearly enough. I've read that almost all corn is now genetically modified. Seeds have been engineered that produce food that does not 'go to seed'. There are hybrid foods such as beets, carrots and potatoes as well as seedless varieties of apples, bananas, dates, pineapple and grapes. There is an evil plan behind this but that will have to be a study unto itself later on.

It is always easier to go with the flow than to come out of tradition, habits and falsehoods.  When the Hebrews along with the mixed multitude were set free from Pharaoh and their life of slavery in Egypt and began their journey towards the Promised Land, even they began to long for the conveniences they had in Egypt and were ready to give up their freedom to go back to the way they were.

Numbers 11:5 ~ We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna…

(Remember when we use to eat bacon & shrimp & crab? beefalo? seedless grapes & watermelon? pork chops and applesauce? Now that we know these are not of Yah's menu there's nothing tasty to eat. I know! Let's create something that tastes like pork but isn't really pork! Let's pretend!)

Ezekiel 20:21 ~ But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.

And for what purpose?

Deuteronomy 8:2 ~ You shall remember all the way which YHWH your Elohim has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Here is an edited quote from commentary by Matthew Henry:

They were tired of the food provision Yah had made for them. It cost them no money, and it took little work to gather the manna, yet they talked of Egypt, and the fish they ate there freely; as if that cost nothing, when in reality they paid dearly for it with a life of hard labor! They could not be satisfied unless they had meat to eat. It is evidence of the dominion of the carnal mind when we want to have the "delights and satisfaction of sense". We should not desire the things YHWH did not allow for us.  (end quote)

Look at ourselves today seeking the 'king's dainties' as we disregard the provisions made for us by our Creator.  I realize that the day will come when He restores all things, but I would rather be on the right track now in preparation for the times to come in the meantime.  Food is an idol for some and others make a living off it. I am not against collecting recipes but turning food into a form of art is elevating it way beyond its intended use for us. And pretending we're eating bacon is just wrong. There was just one tree off-limits to Adam and Eve and look what happened. Same thing is happening now.

Stop doubting the Word of Elohim. Take His Instructions seriously and live by them. Coming out of Egypt wasn't the end of something, it was the beginning.  For each one of us who heed the call to come out of the world system it is a beginning - the start of something new and wonderful in the Name of our Creator.  Don't hesitate to do what is right in His Eyes.

Click here to go to my study: Clean or Unclean