Exodus 19:6, “And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.” The first time in the Bible the Hebrew word for holy appears is this verse. Strong’s #h6918 is defined as; holy, Holy One, holy ones, saints, consecrated. The mixed multitude who received the commandments were being told how to be faithful to our Creator.
"Behold, the judge standeth before the door."
Ja 5
Celebrate Erev Shabbath with
Sabbath Keepers Fellowship!
Every Sabbath Eve at 8:30pm Central Time we will host an informal get-together on our YouTube channel to bring-in and honor the seventh-day rest. We will have:
- A short Sabbath eve prayer service
- Greetings to all present
- Highlights of the weekly Torah parasha with some commentary
- Followed by live music and discussion with whomever wishes to bring it.
His yoke is easy and the burden light! Join us for some simple celebration and fellowship to end your week. The entirety of the service should be about 1.5 hours long. If you play an instrument or sing, contact the service admin to join in. If you don’t, just listen as others do their best to honor our Creator on His holy day.
Discover the latest meeting at:
Thought for Today: Wednesday July 23
Have you ever known anyone who has a lot of questions about YHVH and the Bible? No matter how many you answer, they always have more. Our faith can stand up to any questions, but sometimes people ask questions -- and keep asking questions -- just to avoid facing their own spiritual needs and acknowledging Who Yeshua really is. Their questions may only be an excuse to keep from turning their lives over to the Moshiach. Make sure your family and friends know what the Gospel is because many may not really understand it. Never give up hope that someday they will give their lives to Yeshua. And of course, never cease praying for them.
Shalom, friends,
We invite you to join us live on YouTube at 3:30pm Central Time on this Sabbath afternoon, 07/26/2025, for scripture study and prayers.
The lesson for the day is titled:
"Chapter 4 - Ivrym (A Concise Commentary on the Book of Hebrews)"
Join us on YouTube at:
https://youtu.be/H4WSmS5ehR8
Many of our articles can be found in the library page of our website at:
https://sabbathkeepersfellowship.org/library
Get our latest updates on our YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/@sabbathkeepersfellowship
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – MASEY:
The words, “in the midst of,” which are found in a verse of this week’s Torah portion, is actually a single Hebrew word in scripture – b’tok (בְּת֖וֹךְ). It can also accurately be translated “inside of” or “within.”
Another word, “dwell,” which directly adjoins it in the same verse, is the Hebrew word – Shekan (שֹׁכֵ֕ן). This word can also be accurately translated as “tabernacle.” In fact, it is a variant of the word Mishkan, which is the scriptural name for the Tabernacle of YHWH in the wilderness, the Dwelling-Place of the Most-High on earth. The same word is the root from which comes the term Shekanyah, which is the physical manifestation of the presence of YHWH, otherwise known as the “Shekaniah Glory.”
If these alternate translations were used, and they surely could be, then this verse from our Torah portion would say,
“And do not defile the land which you inhabit, within which I tabernacle, for I, YHWH, tabernacle within the children of Yisra’el.”
Think about it…
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – MASEY:
YHWH commands that when the people of Yisrael come into the land of promise, into His kingdom, they are to drive out all the former inhabitants and destroy every remaining vestige of their false religions. Spiritually, we are also to do the same thing when we come to faith in Yehoshua and join with Him and His people Yisrael. We are to follow Him, and live our lives in purity, and fellowship with those of His community. We are not to remain entangled in the ways of the world around us or its people. YHWH says,
“Speak to the children of Yisra’el, and say to them, ‘When you have passed over the Yarden into the land of Kena’an, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and shall destroy all their engraved stones, and shall destroy all their molded images, and lay waste all their high places, and you shall possess the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess. And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your clans. To the larger you give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that is his. You inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. And if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And it shall be that I do to you as I thought to do to them.’”
With an unimpaired vision, this should not be so hard to see – that the people of YHWH cannot hold onto the ways of the world or any other form of religion but His. I guess it is hard to see clearly with thorns in your eyes.
And the people of Israel heard it said, "Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel."
Joshua 22:11
Building an altar on a piece of land could be interpreted as a declaration of ownership. The western tribes' first concern seems to have been that the eastern tribes were attempting to colonize them. They already considered the eastern tribes to be a separate people.
The author divided the people into "Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh" on one side and the "people of Israel" on the other. This wasn't because they were actually separate peoples, but to to emphasize the division that was taking shape in the minds of the ten tribes on the west. Although the complaint began as a territorial dispute, purity of worship became the paramount issue.
The altar had a dual purpose: To keep the west from treating the east as foreigners and to keep the east focused on YHVH.
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