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Ten Men
The Ten Tribe Nation of Israel Returning to the Kingdom

Luqa [Luke] 17:11-12
11 And it came to pass, as they were on the way to Jerusalem, that he was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were metza’im, who stood afar off;

Yeshua was traveling in the area of the Shomrom.  This area was where the ten northern tribes lived.  It is interesting and informative to take note of this fact.  There were ten men who came out to meet Yeshua.  As one goes through this recorded account, he will see that these ten men knew who Yeshua was, and came to Him specifically to receive healing.  They apparently had heard the reports about Him and the many people He had been healing.  When they heard that Yeshua had come to their town, they went to find Him and appeal to Him personally, that they might be healed of this disease.

From the Peshitta, one learns that these men were of the metzora – הַמְּצֹרָע .  This means that these men had tzara’at.  The Torah portion Tazria teaches that those who contracted this disease were guilty of lashon hara, or evil speaking.  This indicates something important about the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Israel, which was taken away into captivity by Assyria. 

Melakim Aleph [1st Kings] 12:26-28
26 And Yeroboam said in his heart, “Now will the kingdom return to the house of David;
27 if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of YHWH at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again to their adon, even to Rehoboam king of Yehudah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Yehudah.”
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 

YHWH divided the kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms:  the kingdom of Yehudah, which consisted of two tribes and most of the Levites; and the kingdom of Israel, which consisted of the other ten tribes. 

Yeroboam had little faith in what YHWH told him.  YHWH told him that he was giving him the ten tribes; and if Yeroboam would listen to and obey Him, then He would give him and his sons this kingdom forever.  However, Yeroboam was full of fear, and reacted in a sinful way, causing his whole kingdom to sin and depart from YHWH.

Now, here is the thing that one does not want to miss.  Those who commit lashon hara cause discord between brethren, and cause a division to occur between them.  This is exactly what Yeroboam did with the entire nation of Israel; he spoke evil and caused Israel to depart from YHWH.  Not only did Yeroboam do this, but he also taught the entire nation to commit lashon hara against YHWH and His Torah commandments; thus passing on the separation from YHWH from one generation to the next.

Kepha Aleph [1st Peter] 1:18 
knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers;

This incident seems to be focusing attention upon the truth that the ten tribes of the north have departed from YHWH because of lashon hara, and are unclean to the Kingdom of Elohim.  Just as these ten men, if one is going to be brought back into the life of the nation, then he is going to have to come to Yeshua for cleansing.

Who to Call Upon

Luqa [Luke] 17:13
and they lifted up their voices, saying, “Yeshua, Rabbenu, have mercy on us.”

These ten men understood who it was to whom they needed to come for cleansing. 

Matithyah [Matthew] 9:6 
“But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (then He says to the sick of the paralytic), “Arise, and take up your bed, and go up to your house.”

Yeshua has the power to forgive sin.  He demonstrated this again and again.  In order for a person to be cleansed of tzara’at, he needs to be forgiven by YHWH and stop his sinning through evil speaking.  This was generally a time consuming process, as is recorded in the Torah portion Tazria.  However, since the Master was right there at hand, they came to Him and appealed to Him directly.

Each person has the same privilege today, in that he can come directly to Yeshua through the ministry of the Ruach Qodesh (Spirit of the Holy One).

Obey Torah

Luqa [Luke] 17:14
And when He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed.

Once these ten who were metzora had gained the attention of Yeshua, He did not say very much to them.  Yeshua simply instructed them to obey Torah.  When a person developed this disease, he was instructed to be inspected and examined by the kohen (priest).  It was the kohen who was to determine whether a person did or did not have tzara’at.  Furthermore, it was the kohen who was to determine whether the tzara’at had been cured and was no longer present.

Because the text identifies these ten men as being metzora, one can rightly surmise that the kohen had already examined each one of these men at least one time, and had determined that they had tzara’at.  At that point, their lives changed rather dramatically.  They were separated from the rest of society, and lived apart from family and friends as outcasts. 

Yeshua simply told them to go and show themselves to the kohen as if they no longer had tzara’at.  Luqa records that they obeyed the instructions of Yeshua; and as they were on their way to the kohen, the tzara’at was cleansed from their bodies.  One can fairly well imagine, that as these men had heard the instruction from Yeshua to go and show themselves to the kohen, they were examining themselves of their own sores along the way, and discussing what they were going to say when they got to the kohen.  Then it happened.  Suddenly, they realized that they no longer had tzara’at.

Now, the text does not tell how long or how far they had traveled.  However, it must have been far enough that it was inconvenient for them to return to Yeshua, rather than continue on to the place where the kohen was, which was most likely Jerusalem; which also happened to be the same destination of Yeshua and those traveling with Him.  Apparently, Yeshua and His group did not immediately leave the town they had entered into, after they had encountered these ten men.

There are many such instances in the historical accounts of Yeshua’s life in which He instructed people to keep and obey Torah.  Never once did He instruct others to disregard or to throw out the Torah Moshe.  This is one of those cases where Yeshua clearly instructs those He is dealing with to obey the Torah Moshe.

Matithyah [Matthew] 5:17 
“Do not think that I came to set aside the Torah or the prophets; I did not come to set aside, but to verify.”

This Yeshua did throughout His ministry of teaching and healing.  Everything He did and taught verified the Torah Moshe.  Not one time, even in the smallest way, did He even hint at, or suggest that, the Torah Moshe was no longer binding or incumbent upon His people to keep, do, and obey.

Matithyah [Matthew] 5:18 
“Amein, for I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one yod or one tag shall in no wise pass away from the Torah, till all things are accomplished.” 

Yeshua indicated that the Torah Moshe would last at least as long as creation.  Guess what: earth is still here!  Heaven is still here!  The only logical conclusion is that the Torah Moshe is still here, and should be obeyed!

From the Nations

Luqa [Luke] 17:15-16
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice glorifying Elohim;
16 and he fell upon his face at His feet, giving Yeshua thanks; and he was a Shomroni.

While these ten men seem to represent the ten northern tribes of Israel as a whole, this one man also represents those YHWH scattered among the nations.  This one man, who was healed of tzara’at, represents those who are returning to YHWH’s Torah through Yeshua our Mashiach.  Like this man, one who is now returning can fall at the feet of the Master who has also healed him.

I wonder if we also hear His Voice telling us to “go show yourselves to the kohen”?  Since there is not a working Kohenim today, how would one fulfill this?  Perhaps what Yeshua would have a person do today, would be to find someplace in which he can learn Torah, either a group or a person, which can teach him to keep and do the Torah Moshe. 

The one thing that a person does not want to forget, is the One who has healed him.  He needs to fall at His feet in worshipful thanksgiving regularly.  This is the joy of one’s salvation.  He is no longer tzara’at (unclean leper).  He can come back into the life of the nation.  Yehudah has not yet recognized this; but hopefully, it will be soon!

Ma’aseh [Acts] 15:19-21
19 “Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to the Elohim;
20 but that we write to them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moshe from generations of old has in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”

The council at Jerusalem ruled that those returning from the nations abstain from four things in order to enter into the synagogue, and to be able to learn the rest of the Torah Moshe, and to be able to fellowship with the rest of the nation of Israel.

It is important today, as one returns to the faith of his fathers, that he learns the Torah Moshe.  However, it has been the experience of this writer, that within the larger realm of Christianity, these four prohibitions which the council at Jerusalem ruled was the entry point of those returning, are not even obeyed.  The truth is that lawlessness generally rules in the church at large.  Not only does most of the church teach and preach that the Law has been done away with, but they do not even observe this elementary ruling of the early council of believers.  If one has been a part of the church in the past, has one ever heard these four prohibitions taught to the people as things from which they should abstain from?  I grew up in the church and I never once heard these taught or preached upon as something that one must adhere to.  One cannot expect to enter into the life of the kingdom of Elohim unless he at least begins right here.  This is the entry point into the kingdom. 

This is not to say that this is what saves a person.  Nay, what this is dealing with is life within the Kingdom.  If a person has truly been saved, then his life should reflect these things at a minimum.  Then growth should be witnessed as he continues to learn how to live in the Kingdom.

Those who were Not a Nation

Luqa [Luke] 17:17-18
17 And Yeshua answering said, “Were not the ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?
18 Were there none found that returned to give glory to the Elohim, save this stranger?”

Yeshua marveled at the fact that only one returned to acknowledge his healing.  The text does not tell anything about the other nine as to their nationality.  One could surmise that they were Jewish, and most likely they were.  While many Jewish people believed and accepted that Yeshua was the Mashiach, there were others who did not.  The incredible thing here was that these other nine were eyewitnesses against themselves.  They had been living as outcasts from the nation because of the disease of tzara’at.  They recognized that they had an opportunity to seek out this man called “Yeshua,” and possibly be healed of this dreaded disease.  When they did find Yeshua and appealed to Him, He had mercy upon them, and he healed all ten of them.  Each one of these ten men knew what had happened to him; that this man called Yeshua preformed a miracle for each one of them.  But only one returned to give glory and thanks to Elohim; the one who was not from the kingdom of Yehudah, the one who was not a Jew returned, and glorified YHWH.  The one who returned to Yeshua still was under obligation to go show himself to the priest; he just did it later after giving glory to YHWH.

Hoshea 1:10 
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” it shall be said to them, “You are the sons of El Chay.”

YHWH prophesied through the prophet Hoshea to the northern kingdom of Israel that it would come about, that they would no longer be considered the people of YHWH.  By the time of Yeshua, that reality had already come to pass.  This is even truer today.

However, YHWH also prophesied, that after they were no longer known as His people, there would come a day that these same people would be known as the sons of El Chay (the Living El).

Romans 924-25
24 even us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hoshea,
“I will call that My people, which was not My people;
And her beloved, that was not beloved.”
26 And it shall be, that in the place where it was said to them,
“You are not My people, there shall they be called sons of El Chay.”

Shaul even taught this truth, that YHWH’s people would consist of those who had completely lost their identity as being a descendant from the ten northern tribes which He scattered abroad throughout all the nations of the world.

Ephesians 2:12-13
12 that you were at that time separate from Mashiach, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without Elohim in the world.
13 But now in Mashiach Yeshua you that once were far off are made near by the Blood of Mashiach.

While it was true that those who were at one time Gentiles according to the flesh were separated from the commonwealth of Israel due to their uncleanness, those who have returned to YHWH through the Blood of Mashiach, and have received the forgiveness of his sins, are no longer separated from Israel, but have been brought near and are now included in the Kingdom.  One is now a citizen of the Kingdom of Elohim.  He is now a citizen of the nation of Israel by virtue of the finished work of Mashiach. 

One should not cast away his citizenship as the forefathers did, but live in the fullness of what it means to be a part of Israel and the people of Elohim.  One obeys His commandments because he loves Him.

Faith

Luqa [Luke] 17:19
And He said to him, “Arise, and go your way; your faith has made you whole.”

Now this is a rather curious statement from Yeshua.  Yeshua tells this man that it was his own faith that had healed him.  The text tells us that Yeshua healed this man, but Yeshua seems to tell this man that he also played a part in the healing, a very important part.

When one examines the historical records of Yeshua’s life, he finds that there are three types of faith that interplay and interact with one another to bring about miracles, and, in particular, healing miracles.  First, one finds that the most frequent type of faith found in the records of Yeshua’s life, is the faith of the recipient, one’s own faith.  Second, is the faith of friends and family of the one being healed.  Then lastly, there is the perfect faith of Yeshua Himself, who often stated something to the effect that it would be done to the person according to his own faith.

Now briefly examine the word and meaning of “faith.”  In Hebrew this is the word אֵמֻן (emun) or אֱמוּנָה (emunah).  אֵמֻן occurs five times in the Tanak and אֱמוּנָה occurs 49 times, so the more common spelling, by a 10:1 ratio is אֱמוּנָה .  One is masculine and one is feminine.  The root of this word means “to depend upon” or “to rely upon.”  Then by extension, it means “faith” or “faithful.” 

So the question this brings is this:  what is one to depend upon or rely upon? 

Galatians 3:26 
For you are all sons of Elohim, through faith, in Mashiach Yeshua.

It is one’s dependence on Yeshua his Mashiach upon which one’s faith should be based.

Ivrim [Hebrews] 4:10 
For he that is entered into His rest has himself also rested from his works, as the Elohim did from His.

One’s salvation does not depend upon what he does, or does not do, in the sense that one cannot earn it.  One’s salvation depends upon the finished work of Mashiach.  When one understands this central truth of the true faith, then he no longer strives to earn his salvation or right standing before YHWH Elohim.  This has been gained and purchased by Yeshua’s shed Blood.  So the life that he now lives he does not live for himself, but rather he lives by faith in and through Mashiach Yeshua as He moves and guides him by His Spirit in him.

This all seems to indicate, that what Yeshua was saying to those to whom He was ministering through healing, was that, to the degree in which one depends upon YHWH, he will receive that amount of healing.  When understood in this fashion, it makes so much sense when reading how Yeshua on some occasions, remarked about a particular person’s “great” faith.  This would seem to indicate that these people had an unwavering trust and dependence upon YHWH. 

A good working definition of faith that this writer often uses goes like this:

Faith is the capacity to believe that YHWH will do as He has said He will do and to act upon that knowledge.

Yeshua also taught us that it is possible to increase one’s faith.  Each time one acts in accordance with and in dependence upon YHWH, this serves to increase and to grow one’s faith upon YHWH.  The more one makes these faith-growing decisions, the stronger his faith and dependence upon YHWH becomes.  Each one should be working and growing his faith in Yeshua our Mashiach so that he, too, might have great faith. 

Matithyah [Matthew] 17:20 
And he says to them, “Because of your little faith; amein for I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’; and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”

The main thing about a mustard seed is not its size.  Yes, it is very small.  But if that is all one sees, then he has really missed the central truth of what Yeshua is teaching about faith.

Yochanan [John] 12:24 
“Amein, amein, I say to you, except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abides by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

One of the common miracles one gives little thought to in life, is the miracle of a seed.  Our Creator ordered this creation in such a way that, before a plant can grow from a seed, that seed must die.  This is the central truth about the faith of a mustard seed.  YHWH planted within each person a seed of faith.  This faith is dead by itself.  It must be watered, cultivated, and cared for, in order to bear proper and healthy fruit.  If we will take the time to cultivate and nurture this seed of faith YHWH has planted within each of us, then it will grow strong and healthy and yield the fruit of righteousness in our lives.

ABBA YHWH, we ask that you give us wisdom in growing our faith in Yeshua our Mashiach, as we return to You and Your ways, and that we would be spiritually strong and healthy; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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