Obeying His Instructions - Or Not

The Rock

Exodus 17 ~ From the wilderness of Sin they traveled and camped at Rephidim. There was no water to drink. The people argued with Moses about this and he pointed out they were trying Yah's patience.  They wouldn't cease and thought Moses led them out of Egypt to die there. Moses cries out to Yah and Yah says: Go before the people and take some elders with you and the rod you used to strike the Nile. I will be standing on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it and the people will drink. (This place was named Massah [trial] and Meribah [quarrel] because the people argued, testing Yahweh asking Is He among us or not?)

About 38 years later....
Numbers 20 ~ The people camped at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.  The community was without water and this generation argued with Moses about the situation. Moses and Aaron went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. The Presence of Yahweh appeared to them and said: You and your brother Aaron will take the rod and assemble the community and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water.  Moses seems to be fed up with the whole crowd, their behavior and lack of faith. After they were assembled he said: "Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?" And then he struck the rock two times with the rod. Out came copious amounts of water but he disobeyed Yah's instruction. Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron: Because you did not trust Me and affirm My sanctity in the sight of the community (by obeying His Instruction) you shall not lead this people into the promised land.

After leaving Kadesh they arrive at Mount Hor, the place where Aaron died and the office of high priest was passed onto Aaron's son, Eleazar.

Deuteronomy 32, the poem of Moses, the last of his words to that stiff-necked people ~ (note: I have lightly paraphrased to keep on the topic of the Rock, so please read it from your own copy when you have time ~ Dusty)

Listen O heavens, let me speak; let the earth hear the words I utter! May my discourse come down as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass. (He wants what he has to say to be received eagerly)

I proclaim the Name Yahweh; give glory to our Elohim! The Rock! His deeds are perfect, all His ways are just; He is faithful and never false, true and upright is He. A crooked and perverse generation has played Him false.  Do you requite Him, you dull and witless people?  Is He not the Father who created you, fashioned you and made you endure? Remember the days of old, consider the years gone by. Ask your parents, your elders, they will tell you that when the Most High gave peoples their homes and set the divisions of man, He fixed the boundaries of peoples in relation to Israel's numbers because Yah's portion is His people, Jacob His own allotment.

Yet, over the years you grew fat and gross and coarse and forsook Yahweh who made you and you spurned the Rock of His support. You neglected the Rock that begot you, forgot the Elohim who brought you forth.

Moses continues with a prophecy about Yah's wrath which will pour out in the end because of all the treachery displayed by that disloyal, pagan-god worshiping breed. These people are void of sense  and lacking discernment. Their rock is not like our Rock, in our enemies own estimation.  It will be like Sodom and Gomorrah for those people and their disaster will come which will vindicate Yah's people. There will be no doubt that Yahweh is Elohim and there is no god beside Him. He deals death and gives life; He wounds and heals; none can deliver from His hand.

Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and Yah showed him the whole land. Yah tells him this is the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and will be assigned to their offspring.  Yah let Moses see it with his own eyes but did not let him cross there.  Moses died there in the land of Moab and was buried in the valley near Beth-peor.

We must stand as one and in faith establish we are His people. He will avenge the blood of His servants, wreak vengeance on His foes, and cleanse the promised land before us.

Click Here to go to my study Who Is Israel

Psalm 18 ~ David says these words after Yah had saved him from all his enemies and the clutches of Saul. He said: I adore you, O Yahweh, my strength, my crag, my fortress, my rescuer, my rock in whom I seek refuge, my shield, my haven. Yah Lives! Blessed is my Rock! Exalted be Elohim, my deliverer, who has vindicated me, rescued me from my enemies, who raised me clear of my adversaries, saved me from lawless men. As Yah lives, blessed is my Rock!

Psalm 61 ~ Hear my cry O Yahweh Elohim, heed my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You;  when my heart is faint, You lead me to a rock that is high above me.

Psalm 62 ~ Truly my soul waits quietly for Yahweh; my deliverance comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and deliverance, my haven, I shall never be shaken.

Isaiah 17 ~ Truly, you have forgotten the Elohim who saves you and have not remembered the Rock who shelters you; that is why even though you plant a delightful sapling, what you sow proves a disappointing slip.
Isaiah 51 ~ Listen to Me, you who pursue justice, you who seek Me; look to the Rock you were hewn from, to the quarry you were dug from.  Look back to Abraham for he was only one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.

In First Corinthians 10:4 ~ And they all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that attended them, and that rock was Yahshua.

John 4:14 ~ Everyone who drinks from the waters that I give to him will not thirst forever. Those waters that I give will become in them a spring of water that will spring up in life that is eternal.


Rephidim:


Kadesh:

Mount Hor:


Mount Nebo and Pisgah:


Beth-peor:

Stumbling Blocks

We are being called - we have been told to come out of 'Babylon' - we have read that our Creator wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth and not get wrapped up in traditions of man.

Since discovering the Hebrew origins of Scriptures -- beginning with Abraham the Hebrew and continuing through the descendants of Jacob in which the Hebrews became known as the House of Israel -- many have be led to align themselves with today's Jews, completely ignoring the other eleven tribes, a serious side-effect of many Hebrew Roots teachers and those they teach.

Jude 1:3 ... while I take all pains to write to you of our common life, it is needful for me to write to you, encouraging you to maintain a conflict for the faith which was once delivered to the Set Apart believers, for some have obtained entrance who, from the beginning, were registered beforehand under this condemnation: wicked men who pervert the grace of Yahweh to impurity and deny him who is the only MarYah Elohim and our Master, Y'shua the Anointed One. And I wish to remind you, though you all know it, that Yahweh, after once rescuing the people from Egypt, again destroyed them who did not believe.

I want to touch on the subject of religion because I know there are still folks coming out of Churchianity as they seek the truth of Yah's Word and have gotten too comfortable with the Hebrew roots of things. I know, I was there once upon a time. It is, however, one of the best stepping stones we have leading us in the right direction. But that is where many people take the rabbit trail leading them into another religion instead of the faith once delivered.

Yahweh's Word has been messed with for a long time:

Mark 7:5 ~ The scribes and the Pharisees ask Y'shua, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the traditions of the elders? His short answer is: "You hypocrites... You have left the Commandment of Elohim and have embraced the tradition of men. ... And you despise the Word of Elohim because of the tradition that you have handed down..."

Matthew 15:3 records the same... the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Y'shua why his disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders. He asks them, "Why do you transgress the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?"

Written Torah was pitted against the oral traditions of the Pharisees who were nullifying the Word of YHWH by those traditions and Yahshua would not instruct his followers to do likewise. What we have ended up with is a term, "Judeo-Christian", which is a mix of Jewish Tradition and Christianity with all of its denominations.

Isaiah 48:17 ~ Yahweh our Redeemer, the Set Apart One of Israel said:
I am MarYah your Elohim, instructing you for your own benefit. Guiding you in the way you should go.  If only you would heed My commands!  Then your prosperity would be like a river, your triumph like the waves of the sea. Your offspring would be as many as the sand, their issue as many as its grains. Their name would never be cut off or obliterated from before Me. Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea! Declare this with loud shouting, announce this, bring out the word to the ends of the earth! Say: "Yah has redeemed His servant Jacob!"  They have known no thirst though He led them through parched places; He made water flow for them from the rock; He cleaved the rock and water gushed forth.  There is no safety, said Yahweh, for the wicked.

In Jeremiah 4 we read that Yahweh told His people:

If you return to Me.... If you remove your abominations from My presence and do not waver, and swear "As Yah lives," in sincerity, justice and righteousness (you shall be a blessing to others).  He tells us we should not plant seeds among thorns and to open our hearts to Him.

This rings true as I realize that there is no getting through to some 'believers' who hold strong to man's opinions about our Creator and His Son. We should be able to discern falsehoods by now and stop trying to 'save' those who adamantly refuse the truth. Salvation is not our job but spreading the Good News of the kingdom to come is one of our requirements. 

These folks who claim to be 'believers' begin to embrace traditions as they adorn themselves with prayer shawls, colorful braided clip-on tzitzits, they collect shofars, menorahs and Israeli flags, wear pins and star of David jewelry, keep the 7th day rest every sat-day and keep Yah's feast days according to Jewish traditions. They follow the herd as they 'stand with Israel' not knowing today's modern day state of Israel is not Biblical Israel and they believe that today's Jews are God's chosen people who were gathered back to their land in 1948.  Some even go as far as to submit their DNA for analysis to see if they are blood relatives of the Jews. Sadly, they don't realize how much has been added to the Word via man's imagination; Christianity and all its divisions; and Judaism which includes the writings in the Talmud and the mystical Kabbalah. It's as if Satan is throwing one last big stumbling block out there for those of us seeking YHWH. We came out of the Babylonian religious systems but many are in danger of being snared by Judaism and all its customs.

Let's come back to the first five books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - long before Judaism or Christianity were invented - folks were either Set Apart believers in Yahweh or they were pagans. Folks either chose to obey His Instructions or follow after all the pagan traditions. Recorded in these writings are YHWH's plans for His people and the precise instructions to follow in order to live in a just and righteous fashion. They are called Torah in the Hebrew language and translate as Instructions in the English language. Christianity likes to call all of them Laws and put them under the heading of Legalism which makes it easier to promote the belief that Jesus 'nailed them to the cross' and did away with them (which is not true). Also, today's religion of Judaism likes to color Yah's Instructions with a paintbrush full of man-made traditions. Neither of these these religions honor our Creator by following His Instructions = choosing the Blessing of Life eternal. Both have mixed and mingled lies and deception with bits and pieces of Scriptures, perverting the Word of Yah.

Faith and not religion is what Y'shua asked about, wondering if any will be found on this earth when he returns (Luke 18:8). He spoke this parable against men who relied upon themselves thinking they were righteous, while despising everyone else.  Time and again while discussing 'religion', when I get to the part about Yahweh never being about 'religion', that His Instructions are the perfect guide for our governance, health and well being, this is the response:

"But - Jesus was a Jew!"

What is meant by this? Was he a Jew by birth? by heritage? or a Jew by religious tradition? Is he a Jew because some rabbi on TV says he is? If you read Scriptures you learn that he certainly did not practice Judaism. In fact he taught against it! As I mentioned above, Judaism is a religion spun off the Word of YHWH, mixed with man's own imagination, just as so many other religious belief systems which 'divide' people instead of bringing us together as One. Being a Jew would mean one is of the tribe of Judah and later referred to one who lives in the territory called Judah.

Quote: In the Bible the word "Jew" means a resident of the land of Judea regardless of their tribe, race or religion, just as an Australian or Englishman may in fact be a Chinese, Negro or an Eskimo, or perhaps a member of the tribe of Judah. (end quote)

I'm an American by location, a Michigander by birth, a Texan by choice and a Set Apart believer in the Creator and His Son. Religion has nothing to do with it other than being one of the biggest rabbit trails ever and I thank Yah for His patience waiting for me to see His Truth. I pray the same for anyone else still teetering on the edge.

Remember, the House of Israel began with Abraham the Hebrew. His offspring were Hebrews. His son, Jacob, carried on the Hebrew line. His name was changed to 'Israel' and his offspring were the House of Israel made up of his twelve sons and their offspring and all were descendants of Abraham the Hebrew.

In the days of Y'shua few of the citizens of Judea were 'Yehudeans'. Some belonged to other tribes of Israel, and many were descendants of Esau (Edomites) who had assimilated and become co-religionists with the Judahites and remnants of the other tribes in the hybrid religion of Pharisaism developed during the captivity in Babylon. This religion of the Talmud is called Judaism today.

In today's world, most people think of Jews as the people of Israel, but that is not correct. An Israelite was one who had descended from Jacob. In Y'shua's time individual Jews may or may not have descended from Jacob, but they did recognize Pharisaism and not the Instructions Yah had given, recorded in Genesis through Deuteronomy.

The point is that one who is called a "Jew" in the Bible is not necessarily a chosen man of God, or a member of the tribe of Judah, an Israelite, or even a Semite, but one who is a resident of Judea. A Judean. In my studies I learned that over time a "secondary meaning" for the new word "Jew" came about, which is not the understanding intended by the Scripture of truth. Those who call themselves Jews today falsely imply they are somehow descendants of the tribes of Israel and chosen of God. Yet few of them are Jews as they are not "Judeans," or residents of Judea. And let me remind you, this is not hate speech or antisemitism... it is fact and you can always research this topic for yourself, keeping Scriptures as your base of operations.

Consider this: 

Y'shua was a "Jew" by location only -a resident- born in Bethehem, Judea. He was not a Jew by birth nor by religious affiliation. He was a Levite by blood (his mother was cousin to Elizabeth who was descended from Aaron - a Levite [Luke 1:5]) and from the House of Judah by adoption. All of this qualifies Y'shua to be King and High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. What a wonderful revelation!

Genesis 14:18- And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of Yahweh Elohim. He blessed Abram.

Isaiah 9:6- In token of abundant authority and of peace without limit upon David's throne and kingdom, that it may be firmly established in justice and in equity now and evermore.

Psalm 110:4- Yahweh has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever, a rightful king by My decree after the order of Melchizedek.' 

Hebrews 6:19- which is to us as an anchor that retains our soul so that it stays fixed; and it enters into that within the veil where Y'shua has previously entered for us and has become a priest forever, after the likeness of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:14- For it is manifest that our Master Y'shua arose from Yehuda, from a tribe of which Moses said noting concerning a priesthood. And this is further manifest from his saying that another priest will stand up after the likeness of Melchizedek, who was not according to the Torah of physical requirements, but according to the power of an indestructible life

To proclaim that 'Jesus is a Jew' is very misleading to many people who haven't read Scriptures for themselves. It is, however, in our obedience to The Creator, having the testimony of His Son, Y'shua the Anointed One, and our sharing the Good News of the kingdom that ensures our being gathered together when that day comes. We are grafted in, adopted just as Y'shua was adopted, into the House of Israel.  We become one people of one faith with one Master whom we worship in spirit and in truth.

There is more I could point out on this subject, but will wrap it up with this:

Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Aramean, nor slave nor free, nor male nor female, but you are all one in Y'shua the Anointed One. And if you are of Y'shua then you are seeds of Abraham and inheritors by the promise.

All praise belongs to Yahweh, our Father in heaven, whose Name is Set Apart. His Kingdom is near - let us desire to do His will, as in heaven so shall it be on earth. Father, give us understanding and forgive us our wrongdoings as we have forgiven those who have done us wrong. We know You test us to reveal what is truly in our hearts, but please protect us from the Evil One; for we know that Yours is the power and the glory forever and ever.

We still are in His learning curve. Let's get rid of those snares and stumbling blocks thrown in our way by the Adversary and keep our focus on Yahweh and the Instructions He provided for us.

Traditions added to the Instructions of YHWH

Definition of "tradition" from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1. An inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
2. A belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
3. The handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
4. Cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
5. Characteristic manner, method, or style

What we shall discover is that the established thoughts and behavior of the elders were handed down to the Pharisees as in Definition #3 and eventually became the religion we know of today as Judaism: a cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs and institutions (as are most religions). As we uncover the Hebrew origins of our faith, there are traditions we should not add to our spiritual awakening thinking we are pleasing Elohim.

Mark 7:5 The scribes and the Pharisees ask Y'shua, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the traditions of the elders? His short answer is: "You hypocrites... You have left the Commandment of Elohim and have embraced the tradition of men.  And you despise the Word of Elohim because of the tradition that you have handed down..."

Matthew 15:3 records the same... the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Y'shua why his disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders. He asks them, "Why do you transgress the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?"

Written Torah was pitted against the oral traditions of the Pharisees who were nullifying the Word of YHWH by their traditions - he would not instruct his followers to do likewise.

YHWH did say this, through Isaiah. It is what had happened back then and has continued to happen throughout time, including today's world:

Beginning with Isaiah 1:11, Yah said: What need have I of all your sacrifices... I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, suet of fatlings, blood of bulls; and I have no delight in lambs and he-goats. Who asked that of you, that you would appear before me? Trample my courts no more; bringing oblations is futile, incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath you proclaim solemnities in assemblies with wickedness, I cannot abide.  Your new moons and fixed seasons fill Me with loathing; they are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them. And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; though you pray at length, I will not listen. You hands are stained with crimes. -- Wash yourselves clean; put your evil doings away from My sight. Cease to do evil; learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wrongly accused. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow. Let us reach an understanding, says YHWH Elohim.

YHWH also lets us know, eventually:

Isaiah 66:23 And new moon after new moon, and sabbath after sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship Me.

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Traditions have been handed down and Satan has made it easy for us to overlook them in our excitement to obey our Creator. So I ask, are we doing something because we think it's right or because we know it's right? Are we pleasing ourselves or are we pleasing YHWH by obeying His Command? His Instructions in Righteous Living are not traditions. If we're not careful to see the difference between His original commands and what man has added, we will inadvertently begin to 'worship' the created thing instead of the Creator. If we do things our own way we are doubting the Word of Elohim and have fallen into the same trap set by Satan in the Garden. 

Romans 1:25 - They exchanged the truth of Elohim for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise...

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Following is part of the discussion that prompted the need for a better understanding of 'tradition' according to Scriptures. The original post was about YHWH no longer being happy with people who were not keeping His Set Apart times according to His Instructions. The hot spot became the keeping the 7th day sabbath. The discussion went the way of many a FB discussion: rapid fire posting and loss of context. The names have been changed and my comments begin with 'Corn'. My added after-the-fact notations are in italics. Spen's comment was in response to the original post referencing what Yah said in Isaiah 1:11.

Spen: But He was talking to the people who were keeping the biblical feast days and they were keeping all the biblical laws. They weren't keeping pagan holidays. They were keeping Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles. They were slaughtering animals. 

This is correct. They had been keeping His 'feast days' according to Torah, but as time went by, they started changing how they were doing things, falling short of Yah's Instructions.

Note: Spen now offers a quote from Isaiah 1: 11 overlooking that I had entered that same quote as my first response. These verses I have provided above.

Gard: "Your" not His.  ie. I hate "your" feast days, "your" new moon....  It makes it clear to me that He is talking to people that are not keeping "His" ways.

Note: He is talking to His people who have changed the way they keep His set times.

Corn: Yah specifies Your new moons (months) and your fixed seasons (man's traditions and substitutes for Yah's moedim) fill Me with loathing - they have become a burden to Me, no longer a joy. ~ Those same people began to mix pagan traditions with His Instructions. The same happened with the church system when Constantine incorporated pagan traditions into Christianity. This really helps me to understand His building anger and the Day of Wrath to come. Now consider how many in this day and age who claim to be coming back to Torah, have taken His plain instructions for His set apart times and changed them to fit their idea of how they should be done. For example: today's months are according to the Gregorian calendar, not His way of keeping track by new moon reckoning. If we aren't starting the month on the right day then how can we keep the 7th day count set apart? Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot were to be kept in Jerusalem which was the last place He chose to attach His Name, so we shouldn't be trying to keep them anywhere we choose, turning His Set Apart times into our Fixed Seasons.

Corn: Over time, for example, Judaism has taken the simple instruction of keeping the seventh day set apart and turned it into 24 chapters. This is included in the Mishnah where Oral Law was finally being recorded. Oral Law is what Y'shua referred to when speaking against what the Pharisees promoted.

Quoted from the Jewish Virtual Library:

The Oral Law is a legal commentary on the Torah, explaining how its commandments are to be carried out.

Question: who can keep Sabbath according to His heart and not our own.

Corn: It can be done, but first we must remember the Sabbath day and keep it set apart. He must have known we were going to get so far off track that He had to tell us to 'remember''. We begin to 'remember' by reading Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the first 5 books of Scripture also known as Torah, Yah's Instructions for His creation.

Point brought up: oh, they didn't do it right then, but we're doing it right now?

Corn: As with most of His Instructions, adaptations need be done in these modern times. His Instructions have not changed, but the times we are living in are nothing like the good old days.  We do not substitute what we think is right. 

Gard: We can only obey to the best of our understanding. As we learn more it becomes easier.

Note: We do not stop learning or else we begin to stagnate on that part of His Path. By our patience we gain understanding as we continue to read His Word and grow in our faith.

Question: The Jews were so afraid of breaking the Sabbath they added extra laws. Didn't the Father know their heart?  I don't see how they did it wrong, now all the sudden we do it right.  I believe the Father was taking about something deeper.

Yahweh tests us to reveal what is in our heart. 

Deuteronomy 8: You shall faithfully observe all the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to posses the land that YHWH Elohim promised on oath to your fathers. Remember the long way that YHWH your Elohim has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that He might test you by hardships to learn what was in your hearts: whether you would keep His commandments or not....Romans 2:5 - But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when Yah's righteous judgment will be revealed.

Corn: They weren't afraid. The 24 chapters I mentioned from the Mishnah are basically what the rabbis think should be done and how it should be done, adding their own ideas to Yah's instructions. They don't think we are smart enough to figure it out for ourselves. The religious leaders wanted to keep their power over the common folk which is one of the reasons Y'shua said to beware the leaven of the Pharisees (a little leaven affects the whole batch). It is about right or wrong - Many are Not doing it 'right' these days, adding the same traditions the Pharisees included. Many have mixed those traditions in with His Instructions and it started long ago.

Note: It becomes apparent that we three do not agree on the definition of 'tradition' which became a stumbling block toward a unified understanding.

Mark 7:5 ~ The scribes and the Pharisees ask Y'shua, "Why don't your disciples walk according to the traditions of the elders? His short answer is: "You hypocrites... You have left the Commandment of Elohim and you have embraced the tradition of men. ... And you despise the Word of Elohim because of the tradition that you have handed down..." 

Matthew 15:3 records the same... the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem ask Y'shua why his disciples transgress against the traditions of the elders. He asks them, 
"Why do you transgress the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?"

Note: In those verses we learn Y'shua is pointing out The Traditions of the Pharisees go against the Instructions of YHWH.  These traditions are woven into the religion of Judaism. This is the key I missed in trying to explain myself.

Questions: Which oral laws were so bad as to be sin? Which traditions are we not allowed to do on Sabbath?

Note: This is when I realized I needed to excuse myself from this discussion and proceed with Scriptures to find the answers that explained the difference between keeping Yah's Way His way or doing things the way we think is right and pleasing.  I refer back to Isaiah 1:11. Nadab and Abihu are good examples as well as Jeroboam.

Corn: A tradition we should not partake of is lighting candles, for example. It is not a matter of His allowing us to, it's just not part of His instruction pertaining to the 7th day shabbat.

Gard: At least their traditions are recognizable when you read the Bible. For instance, Christmas seems to not be biblically based whatsoever. I see no harm in lighting candles. I also don't see it as necessary. Is it a harmful tradition? I think it is a good way to get everyone's focus around the table. Is it necessary to drink or harmful to drink a cup of coffee on the Sabbath? A tradition we follow.

Note: Drinking coffee on the sabbath is not a tradition, it is customarily done by many people by habit, any day of the week. Although, if you only drank coffee on the 7th day because it was the sabbath, then you have created a tradition which is not according to Yah's instructions.  The mention of a candle on the table to get everyone focused is similar to how a seance is performed. I am NOT saying that is what you intend, but I AM trying to make you see what is tradition. We should live as close to His Word as possible so our deeds are not misleading to others. Yahweh's Instructions in Righteous Living are not traditions. They are laws, rules, teachings and commandments He has provided for us. His is the perfect governing system for our health and well being, not a burden.

Corn: I should have said, Lighting of Shabbat candles is a Jewish tradition added to the Word of God which is not necessary as part of the 7th day rest, and not to be confused with what we eat or drink. Also, Christmas is a tradition and you're right, it is not biblically based. Most of us have given up celebrating it yet we still hold onto other traditions. 

Here is what our Creator said in regards to keeping the 7th day rest:

Genesis 2:2- By the seventh day YHWH completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had created. (He has set the pattern for us)
Exodus 35:2-For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Set Apart day, a sabbath of Complete Rest to Yahweh Elohim.... (this day is not for ourselves but to honor Him)
Leviticus 23:3- For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of Complete Rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to your Elohim, in all your dwellings.
Deuteronomy 5:12- Observe the sabbath day to keep it set apart as Yahweh your Elohim commanded you. (Keep the day of rest according to His Instructions)

As it is written in the Ten Commandments, we are told to remember:

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

Corn: Do we want to follow His Commandments or not? Are we lighting candles for ambiance, or because we live off grid, or are we trying to copy Jewish tradition?  Are we cooking full fledged meals this day or do we have enough left overs from the 6th day? Are we causing others to work on this day, or using our farm animals to work, or did we get it all done in the prior six days so everyone could rest on this day, just as our Creator has told us to do.

Exodus 16:23- Then he said to them, "This is what Yahweh meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, set apart to Him. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." (get all your meals prepared the day before so you don't have to 'kindle a fire' on the sabbath to do any cooking) 35:2 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Set Apart day, a sabbath of Complete Rest to Yahweh Elohim. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day.

Note: Kindling a fire took a lot of time and was considered work back in the day. Many of us only need flip a switch or turn a knob to light the stove which is fine for reheating yesterday's leftovers. We prepare on the 6th day enough for two days.

Spen: Yahshua condemned the jews for lighting candles, or a fire? I don't understand. What is the definition of tradition. Maybe the traditions were something really awful and we haven't recognized it. What are the traditions that are so heinous in the eyes of the Father.

Everything has been written for our benefit so we would not make the same mistakes as they did. There is nothing new under the sun. Nothing is hidden that won't be revealed.  We have no excuse, only the choice: obey or don't obey our Creator.

Question - What is the harm of copying a tradition unless it is anti-biblical? It is an American tradition to salute the flag. Where does it forbid lighting candles.

Where does it tells us to light two candles on the sabbath? It doesn't. It is an added tradition. Anti-biblical? That means anti-Elohim, doesn't it? Do we want to go there?  Celebrating the 4th of July is tradition, celebrating Chanukkah is tradition, celebrating birthdays year after year is tradition. All of these are man made holidays, not required by our Maker to keep or observe. They are distractions from His Truth. Most of us have been brainwashed from birth with all this 'american' fanfare and thanks be to Elohim we are seeing the truth in all things.

Spen: I don't know. I don't think it is a sin. But we keep saying they kept the Sabbath wrong with their traditions, so what we're they?

Corn: Traditions of man that have been added to His Instructions is what I'm trying to point out.... (which is why I am doing this study)

Gard: Misunderstanding tradition - Okay, stay isolated from everyone! You just might copy one of their traditions? I am sorry but I am I am aggravated. Are you saying that if anything is a tradition it is wrong?

Never said nor intended that and never meant to aggravate anyone .... once again another reason I left the discussion to regroup with Scriptures.

Question - which ones where added? He said don't add or take away from the word, so clearly the scribes did.  So what was added? And what was taken away? I'm not saying any of those traditions are a sin. I'm asking is there some great sin we are missing?

Corn: OK.... I am seriously being misunderstood here so give me a moment to see if I can regroup and make sense. (I left the discussion last night and have been working on this study.)

Admission of how chaotic this discussion had become:

Gard: I am just not grasping this sorry. I do see that we need to question traditions or maybe I am think habits or culture? Are we to isolate on the Sabbath so that we don't fall into traditions? Are we just to read scripture, argue if the earth is flat and go home? A gathering without any kind of traditions would just suck!

Whew!

"A gathering without traditions would suck."

Best go back and read some of our Creator's advice about copying other peoples traditions and why He instructed them to tear down the altars, posts, idols and destroy other areas of pagan worship, removing them from the land He was giving them. There you will find that even then they disobeyed Him and kept some of the people, the animals, the traditions, etc... look where it has gotten us today: Folks still want to embrace 'tradition'. No wonder He has stored up His anger for that coming Day of Wrath.  I don't want to be part of His anger and hope my prayers are received as a pleasing aroma to Him. Let's all stay on the straight path that leads to the narrow gate.

Now let me present what is written about tradition in Scriptures so that we may understand why we need not incorporated Jewish Tradition into the clear Instructions given us by our Creator. Yahweh once asked how long we would spurn Him.  How many times does Yahshua have to point out that the traditions of the elders which have been passed on to the Pharisees is transgression against the Father's Instructions?

Matthew 15:3 Y'shua is speaking to the Pharisees:

Y'shua answered them and said, Why do you transgress against the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions?

Mark 7:1
The Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem and gathered around Y'shua. They saw some of his disciples who were eating without washing their hands first. All Yehudeans and the Pharisees, if they do not carefully wash their hands they would not eat because they hold to the traditions of the elders. And there are many other traditions that they have been taught in washing of cups and pots and brass vessels and of beds. (Jewish traditional kosher laws which have been added to YHWH's instructions concerning dietary laws)

Colossians 2:8

Beware, or else any man make you naked by philosophy and by vain deception, according to the doctrines of men, according to the rudiments of the world and not according to Y'shua Messiah.

Matthew 15:6 ~ Y'shua is speaking to the Pharisees:

Thus you nullify the word of Elohim for the sake of your tradition.

Mark 7:6 ~ Y'shua was saying this to the Pharisees and scribes:
And he said to them: Isaiah the prophet did well prophesy about you hypocrites! As it is written, This people honor me with their lips. But their hearts are very distant from Me. And vainly they fear Me while they are teaching the doctrines of the commandments of men. For you have left the Commandment of Elohim and embraced the tradition of the sons of men: the washing of cups and pots and many others that are like these. You have rejected the Commandment of Elohim that you might establish your tradition. (Jewish Tradition still practiced to this day)

1 Peter 1:15 ~ But you be Set Apart in all your conduct, as he is Set Apart who called you. Because it is written: "Be you Kadosh even as I am Kadosh."  And you are thus, you call on the Father .... who judges everyone according to his deeds, since you know that neither with perishable silver nor with gold were you redeemed from your vain doings which you had by tradition handed down from your fathers.

Esther 9:20 - Mordecai recorded these events and sent dispatches to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus charging them to observe the 14th and 15th days of Adar every year... to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking and sending gifts to one another and giving presents to the poor. The Jews made a tradition out of what they had begun to do which Mordecai prescribed for them. 

Esther 9:27 - ... the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and all who might join them, to observe these two days in the manner prescribed at the proper time each year.* 

*This Jewish Tradition is known as Purim. It is not one of Yah's moedim as it was instigated by Mordecai and supported by Esther who made the people obligated to them, just as they had assumed for themselves the obligation of the fasts with their lamentations (fast days in commemoration of national calamities).

↢↣↢↣

What are the traditions of the elders passed down to the Pharisees that found there way into the religion of Judaism and copied by the Messianic Hebrew Roots people?  Many of them were picked up during the Babylonian exile and brought back to Jerusalem after those seventy years.  The names of the months and names of the days, for example, were learned in Babylon.  Our Creator did not name them, but had numbered them.  If you really want the answer about 'traditions of men' and will use Scriptures as your foundation, then take a look at the Jewish Virtual Library and do a key word search.  Most every doctrine of Judaism has been heavily tainted with traditions handed down by the elders to the Pharisees to the rabbis. They do not simply rely on the written Word found in Torah, but have added the Mishnah, Talmud and Kabbalah. Rabbis believed without an oral tradition, some of the Torah's laws would be incomprehensible. This simply is not true.  Mysticism is an integral part of Chasidic Judaism, for example, and passages from kabbalistic sources are routinely included in traditional prayer books. The mystical school of thought came to be known as Kabbalah, meaning "to receive, to accept." The word is usually translated as "tradition." 

It is not just the Jews that Yah is angry with; His wrath is against all teachers who lead others astray regardless of nationality or heritage.  Read Scriptures and let His Spirit open your eyes to the Truth.

Here is another example: Making fringes on the corners of a garment and adding a blue cord is the command. The knotting and wrapping of strings is tradition.

Tradition has turned "fringes" into ornamental tzitzits complete with mystic overtones by wrapping and knotting them, denoting numbers and applying the system of gematria, which is numerology, which is from pagan traditions. That is one of the 'traditions' I am pointing out. I do not deny the command or that Set Apart believers, including Y'shua, wore garments with fringed corners, but they were not knotted, beaded, braided or color coordinated clip-ons.

We are most capable of understanding the instructions left for us by our Creator and without the temptation of discovering deeper meanings. He does expect us to make an effort, such as reading Scriptures and studying in fellowship with other Set Apart believers. When we show Him our intent and abide by His Instructions, best we can in this day and age, He gives us understanding as we are comforted with the truth revealed to us by His Spirit. Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, rabbis, preachers and all the church fathers lose their perceived power, importance, money and control over the common folk when the common folk start reading Torah, and all of Scriptures, for themselves.

We have successfully peeled back the layers of Christian deceptions and religious traditions and found our place in Torah. Now lets peel back the next few layers of tradition and leave Babylon behind us.

Click Here to go to my study Traditions of Man

Click Here to go to my study Sneaky Little Traditions

Choose Between the Blessing and the Curse

Deuteronomy 11:26- See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:15- See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity. For I command you this day to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that He may bless you... But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish... I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Chose life by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure...

Deuteronomy 30:19-  I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life if you and your offspring would live by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and long endure.

​Exodus 15:26 -  If you will diligently listen to the voice of ​YHWH your Elohim, and do that which is right in ​H​is eyes, and give ear to ​H​is commandments and keep all ​H​is statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am ​Yahweh​, your healer.

Today means today for anyone in any day who reads this and chooses Life, and begins to obey the Instructions given by our Creator. The blessing or the curse is the result of our choice in this lifetime.  People ask why there is so much pain and suffering in the world and why bad things seem to happen to good people. Read those above quoted Scripture verses again. 

Hebrews 13:13- Look deeply into yourselves all the days, during the day which is called today; and let none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Our decision to follow the Instructions of YHWH begin today! If we think we're waiting for a future fulfillment, we will become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, by the various subtleties artfully dealt by Satan. Just as the apostles dropped what they were doing when Y'shua called to them, so too should we act without hesitation.

Most of us are suffering for one reason or another because, although we may Love YHWH with our entire being, and love our neighbor as our self, we are not keeping all His Commandments or properly applying His rules to our lives in today's world. His promise depends on our obedience.

Here's a couple of examples of how we are 'not following His Instructions':

We call the months and days by names of which some are the names of pagan gods. Not only are we "not to make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them," we aren't even suppose to utter the names of these no-gods: Exodus 23:13 "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth."

We may have chosen the Blessing but we forgot the conditions of that choice. Then Satan who is so subtle slips in the names of those gods and they end up on the modern day Gregorian calendar, on tennis shoes and automobiles, constellations named after Roman gods, etc....  

Another way we have not obeyed His commands is by scheduling the Seventh Day Rest on every sat-day on the Gregorian calendar. This practice does not line up with Yahweh's method of counting. According to what is written in Exodus 12, for example, Yah tells Moshe that the month they are to be set free from Pharaoh is the first month of the year, and on the 15th day is when they were set free. 

A little later we read in Exodus 16 that the Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin on the 15th day of the 2nd month after they left Egypt (when did the new count of days begin?) This is where I made the connection of the moon with the month => Exodus 19: On the 3rd new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt... 19:16 On the 3rd day as morning dawned.

This reads as a count of days from the new moon, the 3rd new moon since Yah told Moshe when the first month was. Three Moons = 3 months. (He says the third new moon and then counts the 3rd day from that new moon....) If I have this right then there are many of us keeping the Sabbath on the wrong day. If we've got the beginning of the month wrong, then we have the Sabbath day of rest wrong.

If you were to look on a calendar today, you would see one of the days marked as the "new moon". Scientists today regard the new moon as "conjunction", which is the moment the moon is in between the sun and the earth, not yet visible. If we use that 'conjunction' symbol to relate to the beginning of the month and then count off seven days (sunset to sunset) we discover that the weekly Sabbath does not always fall on sat-day, the traditional day of rest. In fact the days vary, month to month.

Click Here for more info about calendar days

It is no wonder there are good people struggling with rough times and many folks suffering much worse. We can change.  It's not always easy to come out of Mystery Babylon but if we truly love YHWH our Elohim, and we do not wish to partake of her plagues, we will make every effort to obey our Father in heaven, now and in this lifetime.

Example for Us

1 Corinthians 10

I would have you know, my Brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were immersed by Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that attended them, and that Rock was the Mashiyach. Nevertheless, with most of them Elohim was not pleased, for they fell in the wilderness.

Now these things were an example for us, that we might not desire evil things as they did. Neither should we serve idols as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”  We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. Neither let us tempt the Mashiyach, as some of them tempted and were destroyed by serpents. Neither should you complain, as some of them did and they perished by the Destroyer. 

All 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. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. Elohim is faithful, and he will not let you be tried beyond your ability, but will make an issue of your trial, that you may be able to sustain it.

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to the wise; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of thanksgiving that we bless, is it not fellowship of the blood of Yahshua? The bread that we break, is it not fellowship of the body of Yahshua? Because there is one bread, so we are all one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what the Gentiles sacrifice they offer to demons and not to Yahweh Elohim. I do not want you to be associates of demons. You cannot drink the cup of Yahweh and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke Yah to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

Everything is in my power; but everything is not profitable. Everything is in my power, but everything does not build up. Let no one seek his own things but also the things of his fellow man.

Eat (according to Instructions about clean foods found in Leviticus) what is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is Yahweh's, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the pagans invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if they tell you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of Elohim. Give no offense to Jew or Gentile nor to the assembly of Elohim; even as I also, in everything, please everyone, I do not seek my own advantage, but what is profitable to many, that they may live.

The 2 The 10 and The Rest Follow Naturally

Matthew 22 tells us that Yah's Instructions (Torah) and the (writings of the) prophets hold onto these two commandments: 

• Love Master Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, soul, might and mind 
• Love your neighbor as yourself 

Earlier, we read in Deuteronomy 6:5

• You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and all your soul and with all your might.

and in Leviticus 19:18

• Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself.

You see, those "two great commands" do not replace anything else - they come straight from the Old Testament, the part referred to as Torah. If you love Yah with your entire being then it should be no problem for you to understand and follow His Instructions.

I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me. You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. I YHWH am your Elohim, impassioned, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not swear falsely by My Name for I will not clear one who does.

If you love your fellowman as yourself, you will treat him with the same respect as you would like to be treated. You should have no problem following the Instructions of Yahweh.

Honor your mother and father that you may long endure in the Promised Land that I am giving you. You shall not murder, or commit adultery or steal or bare false witness against one another. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or wife or anything that belongs to him.

Those who do the commandments are those who love Yahweh. 

Without love, observing His Instructions is vanity and 

without His Instructions one's love is vanity.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the sabbath day and set it apart.

All of His Instructions are recorded in the the first five books of Scriptures: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is His Instruction Manual provided for His Creation.  Sure, it takes some study time to even begin to understand what was going on back in those days and to learn that it still applies to us today; just as any owner's manual needs to be read a few times before the instructions make sense, become clear.

Nothing was done away with when Yahshua came on the scene, in fact, he clarifies and even raises the standard a few times, but he did not put an end to what the Father started.

Exodus 20:

I am YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me.

You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

I YHWH am your Elohim, impassioned, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children upon the third and the fourth generations of those who reject Me, but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those w ho love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not swear falsely by My Name for I will not clear one who does.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it set apart. Six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a sabbath of Mine. You, your family, your hired hands or your work animals or the stranger who is visiting your town shall do no work. I made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them in six days and on the seventh I rested, therefore I blessed the sabbath day and set it apart.

Honor your mother and father that you may long endure in the Promised Land that I am giving you.

You shall not murder, or commit adultery or steal or bare false witness against one another. You shall not covet your neighbor's house or wife or anything that belongs to him.

Short Definition

A short definition of what is commonly called The Law:

Torah is the Hebrew word for Instructions pertaining to the rules, laws and teachings YHWH Elohim put in place for His People to set them apart from the pagan traditions which permeated the world around them.

As Creator, He included the Instruction Manual. (Most people don't read the instructions until all other attempts fail). Then He let us choose to obey or disobey, giving examples, throughout Scriptures, of what happens as results of those choices. He painted a clear picture of His expectations for living a righteous life. He did not lay a burden on us.

In order to be Set Apart believers in YHWH Elohim we must choose to follow His Instructions which set us apart from the traditions of man in this world. We then realize what Y'shua meant when he said we would be hated because of his name (by following him who was sent by the Creator/Father/Elohim as the example of Perfection). 

It's not about the Jews or the modern day state of Israel... it's not about all the diverse religions of the day... It is about Yah's perfect governing system for His Chosen. His Chosen People are the Set Apart believers, anyone of any background, who turn from their sinful nature and those pesky pagan ways (man made traditions handed down through the generations) and have Faith in the one true living Elohim, YHWH, and His Son, Y'shua haMashiyach, those who keep His Commands and have the testimony of Y'shua.