True Freedom

(V.16) Chet-Resh-Vav-Tav, the Hebrew word pronounced charut – engraved, can also be pronounced cherut – freedom: the only true path to freedom is the one engraved on the tablets (ancient teaching). Those who live in sin are in bondage to sin. The only real freedom is to be freed by Yeshua, to live as God designed in creation – to produce the fruit of righteousness through faith.

1 John 3:4-5 Everyone, who practices sin, also practices lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. And you know that (Yeshua) appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Romans 7:14 We know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

John 8:34 Yeshua answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

John 8:36 “If the Son shall set you free, then you shall be free indeed”

1 Peter 2:21-24 For you have been called for this purpose, since Messiah also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; . . .  and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

Ephesians 5:6-10 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the Day of Messiah; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Messiah Yeshua, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:9-12 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Hebrews 12:6-11 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

[Salvation is not by our works, but by grace (the unmerited favor of God) through a faith that produces fruit – good works. It might be noted here, that the word “lawlessness” is used (with the practice being condemned) throughout Scripture, but the word “legalism” is never used (except in certain non-literal translations).]

Qualification of Nation of Priests

 (V.19) When Moses saw the people dancing before the golden calf, breaking the entirety of God’s instruction for their freedom, then he threw down the stone tablets, breaking the written instructions that were prepared for their dissemination; atonement would be required before a people could be called “the light of the world,” entrusted with taking God’s written Word to the world.

Judgment

[The following uses the rule of interpreting narration by specific instructions.]

Those who had been warned and yet served the idol were liable to earthly judgment of death, and were killed by the sword (v.27-28). Those who had not been warned, but served the idol intentionally before witnesses, died in the plague (v.35). The suspected unfaithfulness of the others was similar to that of a suspected unfaithful wife (Numbers 5:16-28), so Moses imposed punishment accordingly: the golden calf was ground up and spread on the water, and the people were required to drink of it; only those who had worshipped it died. [Note that Scripture commonly relates adultery to idolatry (Hosea 1:2, Revelation 2:22); and the Second Commandment (against idolatry) of the first tablet – which is the second of five commandments showing us how to love God, parallels the Seventh Commandment (against adultery) – which is the second commandment of the second tablet’s five commandments showing us how to love our neighbor.]

(V.34:1) God then writes, for Moses, a second set of stone tablets.

(V.34:7) At the end of the portion, God instructs us to observe His Sabbaths and three annual Feasts.

2 Samuel 22:10 "He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. . . . 14 "Yahweh thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. God’s instruction is not to be taken lightly, nor to be subjected to our own feelings of what is right.

Psalm 64:9-10 Then all men will fear, and will declare the work of God, and will consider what He has done. The righteous man will be glad in Yahweh, and will take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart will glory.

Romans 9:

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly." 29 And just as Isaiah foretold, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, we would have become as Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah." 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed."

[Commentary not completely transcribed.]

Second Commentary: Biblical Authority

Egypt was a cruel taskmaster for Israel.

Moses was raised in the Pharaoh’s house, and was fluent in Hebrew and Egyptian languages. After a false start in trying to deliver God’s people, he spent forty more years being prepared in the desert. He filled the offices of prophet and priest. He was sent in God’s time to the Pharaoh, and left a Messianic message for us that portrays, through the Passover lamb, Yeshua’s crucifixion.

Ninevah was the cruelest kind of enemy to Israel.

Jonah, like other Israelites, hated Ninevites. After fleeing from God’s direction, he spent time in the stomach of Ninevah’s fish-god until God finished preparing him. He took God’s Word to Ninevah faithfully.

Jonah was especially prepared by God to fill the office of a prophet. He was sent in God’s time to Ninevah, and left a Messianic message for us that portrays Yeshua’s crucifixion and resurrection in great detail.

Gentiles were considered “unclean” to Hebrews; they were idolaters.

Paul (Sha-ul’ in Hebrew {loaned}, Pa-ul’-os in Greek {procounsel}) was of the highest order of the Hebrews¹; he was a judge in the highest court – the Sanhedrin². To be such, he was required to have mastery of Torah, and of Hebrew, Greek and other languages. He was most zealous in his religious cause, and persecuted followers of Yeshua as idolaters. When God finished preparing Paul, he was in a unique position to be able to take God’s Hebrew words to gentiles of Greek and other languages³. Paul was especially prepared by God to fill offices of prophet and apostle. He was sent in God’s time to the gentiles, and left a Messianic message for us that explains, more fully than any other, how the Torah pictures Yeshua, and how the Torah applies to us.

God sent twelve Hebrew apostles⁴ primarily to the twelve tribes of Israel, and one very-prepared Hebrew apostle specifically for the gentiles⁵.

1     Paul was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). He received religious training under Gamaliel, a renowned Torah teacher (Acts 22:3).

2     Paul was apparently a judge at Yeshua’s trial (Acts 8:1), and carried out the Sanhedrin’s orders (Acts 8:3). He had access to the High Priest (Acts 9:1). He was present at the judgment of Stephen (Acts 7:58-59).

3     Paul said, “I thank God, I speak in more foreign languages than you all” (1 Corinthians 14:18). A judge of the Sanhedrin was required to be able to communicate in various languages with those seeking halachic rulings, and witnesses and defendants.

4     A Sheliach Tzibbur was a messenger sent out from the Temple of Holy One to the Qehal – the congregation / synagogue / church (This title is commonly translated “Messenger of the Synagogue” or “Angel of the Church” as in Revelation 2 & 3). He must be a Hebrew (Luke simply had a Hellenistic name). The Temple, “made after the pattern in heaven,” represented Yeshua – the apostles were messengers sent out by Yeshua to the churches.

5     “Gentiles” does not mean Ephraimites (of the tribe of Joseph), as some teach today. It means the world other than the twelve tribes.

There is no one on earth today that can come close to Paul’s understanding of Messiah, of Torah, or of Hebrew or Greek languages. While there is much room for discussion about translations and interpretations, it is at the height of hypocrisy for anyone today to think that he can sit as a judge over Paul’s writings. I would love to have a tenth of his understanding of Messiah and Torah.

When I first came to the faith, I had many questions.

Paul said (Galatians 2:16 KJV) “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” But James said (James 2:24) “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” There appears to be a contradiction here, but that is only due to interpretation. We cannot be justified by becoming good enough through the performance of deeds (“works”) of God’s instruction (“law”). We can only be justified through faith in Messiah Yeshua, Who took upon Himself the penalty for our sins and imputes / accounts His righteousness to us. But if that faith does not produce results – if our actions (“works”) do not reflect what we believe – then it is really not faith at all: it is a “dead” faith. While works that are the fruit of faith are also according to God’s instruction (“law”), we do not perform them in order to be justified, but they are a necessary result of a real faith. Such “works” are properly performed as love for our Savior and our neighbor. Paul and James thus give complementary statements that can greatly enhance our understanding.

Luke said of Paul (Acts 9:7 KJV) “And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” Paul recounted (Acts 22:9), “And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.” There appears to be a contradiction here, but that is only due to translation. A more literal rendering of the end of the latter verse is (NAS) “but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.” Some seemingly hard problems have very simple explanations.

The more answers that I found, the more questions I discovered. Eventually I came to accept that there were answers to all of my questions, and it need not shake my faith that I did not see them all now. We need to look for understanding of the Biblical text, not cast doubt upon it. We need to help one another to increase faith, and not hinder others. Our present problem is that we do not have as much faith even as a grain of “mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20).

Readings:

Reader 1*  Amen. ¹⁵ Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷ Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp." ¹⁸ But he said, "It is not the sound of the cry of triumph, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But the sound of singing I hear." ¹⁹ It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it. ²¹ Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?" ²² Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. ²³ "For they said to me, 'Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' ²⁴ "I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."

Reader 2*  Amen. ²⁵ Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control-- for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies-- ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for Yahweh, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. ²⁷ He said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'" ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ²⁹ Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to Yahweh-- for every man has been against his son and against his brother-- in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today." ³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, "You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to Yahweh, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." ³¹ Then Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. ³² "But now, if You will, forgive their sin – and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!" ³³ Yahweh said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. ³⁴ "But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin." ³⁵ Then Yahweh smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Reader 3*  Amen. ^33:1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' ² "I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. ³ "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way." ⁴ When the people heard this sad word, they went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments. ⁵ For Yahweh had said to Moses, "Say to the sons of Israel, 'You are an obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.'" ⁶ So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. ⁷ Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought Yahweh would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and Yahweh would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. ¹¹ Thus Yahweh used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Reader 4*  Amen. ¹² Then Moses said to Yahweh, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people!' But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, 'I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.' ¹³ "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people." ¹⁴ And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. ¹⁶ "For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?" ¹⁷ Yahweh said to Moses, "I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name." ¹⁸ Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" ¹⁹ And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." ²⁰ But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" ²¹ Then Yahweh said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; ²² and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. ²³ "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

Reader 5*  Amen. ^34:1 Now Yahweh said to Moses, "Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered. ² "So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. ³ "No man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds may not graze in front of that mountain." ⁴ So he cut out two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand. ⁵ Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of Yahweh. ⁶ Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; ⁷ who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." ⁸ Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.

Reader 6*  Amen. ⁹ He said, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let Yahweh go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your own possession." ¹⁰ Then God said, "Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of Yahweh, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you. ¹¹ "Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. ¹² "Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. ¹³ "But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim ¹⁴ -- for you shall not worship any other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God-- ¹⁵ otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, ¹⁶ and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. ¹⁷ "You shall make for yourself no molten gods.

Reader 7*  Amen. ¹⁸ "You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. ¹⁹ "The first offspring from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the first offspring from cattle and sheep. ²⁰ "You shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear before Me empty-handed. ²¹ "You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. ²² "You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. ²³ "Three times a year all your males are to appear before Yahweh GOD, the God of Israel. ²⁴ "For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before Yahweh your God. ²⁵ "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning. ²⁶ "You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of Yahweh your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

2 Samuel 22:10-51

Reader 8*  Amen. ¹⁰ "He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. ¹¹ "And He rode on a cherub and flew; aand He appeared on the wings of the wind. ¹² "And He made darkness canopies around Him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. ¹³ "From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. ¹⁴ "Yahweh thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. ¹⁵ "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. ¹⁶ "Then the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils. ¹⁷ "He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. ¹⁸ "He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. ¹⁹ "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. ²⁰ "He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. ²¹ "Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. ²² "For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not acted wickedly against my God. ²³ "For all His ordinances were before me, and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. ²⁴ "I was also blameless toward Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁵ "Therefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before His eyes.

Reader 9*  Amen. ²⁶ "With the kind You show Yourself kind, with the blameless You show Yourself blameless; ²⁷ with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the perverted You show Yourself astute. ²⁸ "And You save an afflicted people; but Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase. ²⁹ "For You are my lamp, O LORD; and Yahweh illumines my darkness. ³⁰ "For by You I can run upon a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. ³¹ "As for God, His way is blameless; the word of Yahweh is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. ³² "For who is God, besides Yahweh? And who is a rock, besides our God? ³³ "God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. ³⁴ "He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places. ³⁵ "He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. ³⁶ "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great. ³⁷ "You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped.

Reader 10*  Amen. ³⁸ "I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed. ³⁹ "And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; and they fell under my feet. ⁴⁰ "For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. ⁴¹ "You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, and I destroyed those who hated me. ⁴² "They looked, but there was none to save; even to Yahweh, but He did not answer them. ⁴³ "Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets. ⁴⁴ "You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people; You have kept me as head of the nations; a people whom I have not known serve me. ⁴⁵ "Foreigners pretend obedience to me; as soon as they hear, they obey me. ⁴⁶ "Foreigners lose heart, and come trembling out of their fortresses. ⁴⁷ "Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, ⁴⁸ The God who executes vengeance for me, and brings down peoples under me, ⁴⁹ who also brings me out from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. ⁵⁰ "Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praises to Your name. ⁵¹ "He is a tower of deliverance to His king, and shows lovingkindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever."

Psalm 64    (To be sung.)    For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; Preserve my life from dread of the enemy. ² Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, From the tumult of those who do iniquity, ³ Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword. They aimed bitter speech as their arrow, ⁴ To shoot from concealment at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear. ⁵ They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, "Who can see them?" ⁶ They devise injustices, saying, "We are ready with a well-conceived plot"; For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep. ⁷ But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded. ⁸ So they will make him stumble; Their own tongue is against them; All who see them will shake the head. ⁹ Then all men will fear, And they will declare the work of God, And will consider what He has done. ¹⁰ The righteous man will be glad in Yahweh and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright in heart will glory.

Romans 9:1-33

Reader 11*  Amen. ¹ I am telling the truth in Messiah, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Messiah for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, ⁴ who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, ⁵ whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. ⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; ⁷ nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "through Isaac your descendants will be named." ⁸ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. ⁹ For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son." ¹⁰ And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; ¹¹ for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, ¹² it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger." ¹³ Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Reader 12*  Amen. ¹⁴ What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." ¹⁶ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth." ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. ¹⁹ You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? ²² What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

Reader 13*  Amen. ²³ And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. ²⁵ As He says also in Hosea, "I will call those who were not My people, 'My people,' And her who was not beloved, 'beloved.'" ²⁶ And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God." ²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; ²⁸ for Yahweh will execute His word upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly." ²⁹ And just as Isaiah foretold, "Unless Yahweh of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become as Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah." ³⁰ What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; ³¹ but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ just as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed."