Torah Portion Bechalotecha Complete

Zec 12:1-14
The burden of the Word of Yahweh against Yisra’el. Thus says Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:
“Behold, I will make Yerushalayim a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Y’hudah and Yerushalayim.
And it shall happen in that day that I will make Yerushalayim a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Y’hudah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
And the governors of Y’hudah shall say in their heart, “The inhabitants of Yerushalayim are my strength in Yahweh of hosts, their Elohim.’
In that day I will make the governors of Y’hudah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Yerushalayim shall be inhabited again in her own place–Yerushalayim.
“Yahweh will save the tents of Y’hudah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim shall not become greater than that of Y’hudah.
In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like Elohim, like the Angel of Yahweh before them.
It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Yerushalayim.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
In that day there shall be a great mourning in Yerushalayim, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;
the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;
all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Brother Judah, as a whole, will not accept Yeshua until they see that it is He who destroys the surrounding nations that attack them, not their own military prowess. Their sacrifices will be (hopefully) for the desire to draw closer to the Father and His Torah, and in doing so, they will inevitably draw closer to the Son. I wouldn’t be too worried about them offering sacrifices that may no longer be necessary (i.e. Pesach and Yom Kippur). At least in doing so they would be following Torah and not Talmud

Shalom Joyce,

I think you misunderstood my statement, I wasn’t assuming that you are currently a Christian, I was assuming that prior to coming into this Messianic/Hebrew Roots/whatever-you-want-to-call-it movement, that you, like many of us, were a Christian. I have observed that many people who come from Christian backgrounds still have some assumptions programmed in that they don’t even realize are assumptions and this is what I was trying to convey.

I know that a lot of people teach that the temple prophecies in the Tanakh are spiritual, but I believe there is a real danger in trying to spiritualize everything that conflicts with our theology (not saying that you are doing that, just thats what denominations tend to do). I have read Ezekiel 40-48 many times and given the level of detail described, I come to the conclusion that these chapters have to be in the literal; the pashat.

One reason I am passionate about this subject is because of the following verses:

Eze 43:10-11
“Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Yisra’el, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them.

I feel that this verse speaks to us in these last days.

Shalom,
Ryan

Shalom Sancheja,
John, a Levitical priest and apostle of Yeshua, did indeed speak to us concerning the New Jerusalem and not the temple. In fact, John really doesn’t mention much of what happens on earth between the time when Yeshua returns and when Satan is released from the bottomless pit, 1000 years later. Since I don’t know you, I am making an assumption that you come from a Christian background and probably one that teaches that the so called “old testament” is completely fulfilled and that all future prophecy is handled in the so called “new testament”. This is simply not true, the Tanakh (old testament) is filled with prophecies concerning the Messiah which will be fulfilled upon His second coming.
Zechariah 14 is the most shining example of such. If you wish to know exactly what happens when Yeshua returns, read this chapter. You will notice in verse 16, that everyone who is left from all the nations which attacked Jerusalem (and thus attacked Yeshua) is required to come to Yerushalayim each year to celebrate the feast of Sukkot, and if they do not, they will be punished with no rain. These are not immortal saints that are being described here; they are mortals, sinners who did not die during the Great Tribulation. They are left in a destroyed world but a world where the influences of Satan are bound away. Man is perfectly capable of sinning without Satan being around.
Now, did you know that the one of the requirements of the Messiah is that he build the temple? Zechariah 6:12-13, “And speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says YHWH of Armies, saying, behold, the Man whose name is THE BRANCH. And He shall spring up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of YHWH. Even He shall build the temple of YHWH; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a priest on His throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between the two of them’”. This obviously has not yet occurred.
Now, where is this temple described? Why Ezekiel chapters 40-48. This is the temple that will be built after Yeshua returns to earth and will stand until the “New Jerusalem” enters the earth after Death and Hades are cast into the Lake of Fire. Ezekiel 40-48 is much too long to quote here, but as I mentioned in my original posting, I have written an article that goes through all 8 chapters individually and shows how the temple being described can only exist during the 1000 year reign of Messiah. One thing that I learned since I wrote that article is that the dimensions of the temple described in Ezekiel would not even fit on the temple mount. It will only fit after the geography of the earth is changed as described in Revelation, Isaiah, and several other books by the great earthquake that occurs during the Great Tribulation. Again, here is the link to the article I wrote, please check it out. If I’m wrong about it, prove me wrong scripturally and I will change it http://rootedintorah.com/?p=60#more-60
Lastly, Yeshua was the perfect lamb. He died to redeem Israel, He died to atone for the altar and the Set-Apart place on which were recorded in blood, the unintentional sins (chattah & avon) of corporate Israel, He resurrected (i.e. escaped from death) to atone for the transgressions, the rebellious sins (pesha) of Israel. There is no longer a need for a Pesach lamb, a goat for YHWH, and a goat for Azazel, which is why these sacrifices are not mentioned in Ezekiel 40-48. There is still a need for personal sacrifice for atonement and for thanksgiving and corporate sacrifice for the same reasons. However, because of our disobedience this privilege has been taken away.
Let me explain that statement: The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘sacrifice’ is korban from the root word Karav which means “to draw near (to YHWH)”. These animals where going to die either way, either as a regular meal, or as a sacrifice, which generally meant a meal as well. Israel knew that the life of the animal was in the blood as this was told to Noah. They also knew that YHWH was the Giver of life. Thus, a sacrifice was not about the death of the animal, as modern theologians suppose, but was about the giving of life to the Creator as a way to draw near to Him, since sin separates us from Him (Isaiah 59:2). YHWH, in His infinite mercy, allowed Israel to bring these gifts of life to within a few hundred feet of where His Shekinah dwelt in order to re-establish the broken connection. If you look at all the times that sacrifices are mentioned, you’ll notice that the Name used is YHWH (attributes of mercy), not Elohim (attributes of judge and ruler). I am putting the finishing touches on a paper that discusses animal sacrifices in depth and really puts them into a Hebraic perspective. When I am finished, I’ll post a link to it here (it will be put up on my website and on the Wisdom in Torah Forums).
One more little verse for you to look at: Hebrews 8:4. Notice that it says that, at the time the letter was written, there were priests who offer gifts (i.e. korbanote/sacrifices) in accordance with the Torah, and that if Yeshua was on earth, He would not be a priest.
Well, I hope this helps. If I’m wrong, please show me through scriptures that I am so that I can change. I will try to check back here for your response, but I normally just monitor the forums, so if I don’t respond again, please either post something on the forums or email me at rootedintorah@gmail.com
Shalom,
Ryan