One Torah for All
One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Exodus 12:49
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Show Yourself to be a Man
Malakim Aleph (1st Kings) 2:2
“I am going the way of all the earth; therefore, you be strong, and show yourself to be a man.”
In the world today, Hollywood has had a major impact on the definition of what people see as being a man. Generally speaking, according to society today, a man is one who has a great physique and who does well in battle. He is one who is not afraid of anything at all and rushes headlong into certain death without so much as a thought. And finally, it is one who becomes a whimpering noodle when his woman enters the picture; and whatever she says, that’s what goes.
However, is this what truly constitutes being a man according to Scripture and according to YHWH Elohim? Please consider the following passages of Scripture.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:2
“That you might fear YHWH your Elohim, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you; you, and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged.”
The very first requirement of being a man in any age and at any time is to fear YHWH. If one does not fear YHWH first and foremost, then it is impossible for him to be a man in His eyes. It is this fear that enables one to keep and obey all of His commandments. Without this fear, one will only give lip service to His commandments. His commandments will be done out of duty and obligation, by rote, but they will not be done out of great love for Him, which requires fear.
Mishle (Proverbs) 1:7
The fear of YHWH is the beginning of knowledge;
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
One of the first things one needs to be instructed in, in one’s return to YHWH, is to fear YHWH Elohim. This is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. The fear of YHWH is the foundation to a righteous life and a heart that is perfect and complete towards YHWH.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 31:6
“Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for YHWH your Elohim, He it is that goes with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you.”
What a wonderful promise this is. A man of Elohim knows this to be true and can live his life based upon this knowledge. This is how Iyov (Job) lived his life. He knew that regardless of what was happening in his life, regardless of how bad things seemed to be outwardly, he could still choose to be His servant and he could still choose to worship Him, even up to the point of his death. One is not to fear anything in this world; rather, he is to fear YHWH, who is creator of the man.
Philippians 1:20-21
20 According to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also the Mashiach shall be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death.
21 For to me to live is the Mashiach, and to die is gain.
Shaul understood this essential truth that a man is to live for Mashiach in all things; and whether one lives or dies, it is for Mashiach, not for oneself. When one has the right attitude in life, one in which a man serves Mashiach in all things, great and small, then such a person will treat all people with love, dignity, and respect, just at Yeshua did all the days of His life. Even when Yeshua stood condemned before Pilate, He did not disrespect Pilate, who, from a human point of view, was showing himself to be the enemy of Yeshua, condemning Him to death. Yet, Yeshua still loved him and treated him with the respect and dignity due to him as well as to the office he held.
Please note in the following passage dealing with the Torah of a king there are principles that apply to each and every one as well.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 17:18-20
18 “And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Torah in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites;
19 and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear YHWH his Elohim, to keep all the words of this Torah and these statutes, to do them;
20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.”
Those three principles are as follows:
This, in turn, will keep one’s heart from being lifted up above his brethren, and keep him from turning aside to go after things that are not of YHWH and are not pleasing to Him.
One of the greatest problems in Ephrayim today is that the leaders of Ephrayim do not fear YHWH Elohim. Why do we make such a strong indictment? They do not fear YHWH Elohim because their hearts are lifted up and elevated above their brothers. Brothers and sisters, the truth is, that regardless of one’s position in His kingdom, all are brothers and sisters in Mashiach. Every person has the same right and obligation to watch over one another that each and every person might walk the straight and narrow in a righteous manner. However, when a leader’s heart is filled with pride, and he begins to think and act like he is better than his brothers, then he has stopped fearing YHWH our Elohim. What is the cure for such an action and attitude? The cure is repentance and writing the commandments of YHWH down so that one does not forget them in his everyday living.
The truth is, that this passage above applies to every single man in Israel in some way, as every man is at the very least the ruler of his own household. As such, he is under obligation to guard his heart well, that it not be lifted up above those of his own household. Just because a man is a leader, does not make him above another, for each and every man is a brother in Mashiach. One must stand in Him, and Him alone, if he is going to lead in a righteous manner, that is, in a way that is pleasing to Him.
Ephesians 6:10
Finally brethren, be strong in Adonenu, and in the strength of His might.
Yeshua is the only man who has ever completely overcome this world. If one is going to be an overcomer as well, then he is going to have to overcome by His strength. One cannot do it in his own strength. Even to attempt to do so is to fail and fail miserably. A man in YHWH’s eyes is one who walks in His strength because he knows that he cannot do it in his own strength.
1st Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise your youth; but you be an example to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity.
Please prayerfully consider the following questions.
These are some pretty tough questions for each person with which to wrestle. The answer to these questions is that an individual is not a good example and never can be in his own strength and in his own purity or in his own love or in his own faith. One will fail every time to be the example that he should be. However, YHWH does not expect a person to be this good example to others on his own. He actually expects a person to surrender to Him so that His Spirit can work in and through him. It takes a real man to be able to surrender control of his life over to YHWH and walk in His Spirit. A worldly man cannot and will not do this.
One of the main ways in which a man of Elohim differs from a man of the world is the way in which he treats his wife. Please consider the following passage.
Ephesians 5:25-33
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as the Mashiach also loved His assembly, and gave Himself up for it;
26 that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
27 that He might present the assembly to Himself a glorious assembly, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be set-apart and without blemish.
28 Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself;
29 for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Mashiach to the assembly;
30 because we are members of His body.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
32 This mystery is great; but I speak in regard of the Mashiach and of the assembly.
33 Nevertheless do you also individually love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband.
Brothers, this passage is addressed directly to men who follow Mashiach Yeshua. Yeshua Mashiach set a standard of conduct on how a husband is to treat his wife that cannot be attained without His Spirit abiding in him and working through him. I doubt that there are many husbands today who have attained this standard of conduct Mashiach has set. With all the pressures of this world and all the misinformation Hollywood spews forth, what a husband is supposed to do and how he is supposed to act towards his own wife is perverse and all mixed up.
A husband is to walk the same path that Yeshua walked in being a servant/king. One is not called to elevate himself and expect his wife to serve his every whim. A husband is to be nurturing, wooing, with great mercy, compassion, and love towards her at all times. Typically, a man will fall way short of this standard because self gets in the way and wants to have its own way.
You see, a man lives with a constant tension in his life; he must live for YHWH Elohim first and foremost at all times, doing His will. The one person to whom he must demonstrate the love of YHWH Elohim more clearly and most consistently is his wife. If he cannot demonstrate His love towards his wife consistently, then who can he demonstrate His love towards? It is easy to be nice and kind towards those one sees for only a few moments in a day. But when it comes to living day by day with one’s wife, then he often falls way short in this area.
More often than not, a man treats his wife harshly and expects her to understand. Yet look at what the Scripture teaches.
Kepha Aleph (1st Peter) 3:7
You husbands, in like manner, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint-heirs of the grace of life; to the end that your prayers be not hindered.
If a man is going to be the man YHWH needs for him to be, then he needs to recognize that he is stronger in many ways than his wife. As such, he is to protect her as one would protect a very valuable but fragile treasure. Sometimes, this means the husband will need to accept the responsibility of carrying something within himself, instead of lashing out at his wife.
Remember, if a man is going to be the man YHWH desires for him to be, then he must walk in the fear of YHWH Elohim. This should be no more evident than in his relationship with his wife. He must be strong, not as the world counts strength, but in the strength of His might, is he to walk. The battles he fights daily are mainly in the spiritual realm. If he is going to walk in victory, then he needs to be on solid ground in his relationship with his wife. This is true, so that, as Kepha states above, his prayers are not hindered. For if one’s prayers are hindered, then how can he win any spiritual battles? It would be difficult, if not outright impossible!
One final note to the wives, please note what Shaul closes these verses with: and let the wife see that she fear her husband. If the wife attempts to manipulate her husband into getting her own way by saying that the husband is to lay down his life for her as Mashiach did for His assembly, then she is acting in a way that is unbecoming and not in one accord with Scripture. She is to respect her husband and to serve him as his helpmate. As the husband does the will of Mashiach, so too, is the wife to do the will of her husband who is doing the will of Mashiach. In essence, the husband and wife, who complete each other, are to do the will of Mashiach as one. Likewise, neither is to use Scripture to manipulate the other into getting his or her own way. They are to serve one another in all things, doing the will of Mashiach Yeshua, together.
It is the wise man who listens well to his help-meet, to take to heart the counsel of his wife, whom YHWH has given to him, to help him, to keep him on the straight and narrow. Before a man disregards the counsel of his wife, he should make sure through much prayer and seeking the face of YHWH, that it is right and good for him to move in a different direction than the counsel of his wife. Needless to say, this same counsel goes for the wife concerning the words of her husband towards her.
Finally brothers and sisters in Mashiach,
Philippians 2:2-5
2 Make my joy complete, that you be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through faction or through pride, but in lowliness of mind each counting others better than himself;
4 not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Yeshua the Mashiach.
ABBA YHWH, we surrender our will to You, that we might live only for You, doing only Your will in all things, great and small; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach. Amein.
Shabbat shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com
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