Torah Commentary Archives
Acharei Mot(After the Death), K'doshim(Holy Ones)
Leviticus 16:1-18:30; 19:1-20:27
Ezekiel 22:1-19
Romans 3:19-28; 9:30-10:13
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
2 Corinthians 2:1-11
Galatians 3:10-14
Hebrews 7:23-10:25
Searching For Life
Life is an interesting word. The dictionary defines it as,”The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.” According to this definition life is just going through motions which will allow someone to know if we are an animal, plant or just a rock. Simply put, if it moves, grows and reproduces, it has life, if not, it's a rock. Another definition for life is, “The period between the birth and death of a living thing.”
As I consider these definitions in light of the words in Leviticus 18:5, which explains we will have life through obedience to Torah, the dictionary definitions appear to pale in comparison of how I feel our Creator desires us to have life. If we throw into the mix the words of Yeshua in John 10:10, “I have come that you may have life, life in its fullest measure,” the definitions really lose value.
What is the difference between the book definitions of life and what most of us desire as the Scriptural definition of life? I believe it comes down to one word, purpose. Consider the word purpose for a moment. Is it possible for us to have life, but never find purpose? We all know the answer is a resounding “yes”!
When we reflect on an example of life without purpose our minds may envision a homeless person on a street corner. He or she wakes up in the morning the same as the rest of us, breathes the same amount of air as we do and in truth goes through many of the same motions to sustain a level of life. Is simply sustaining life all that our Creator intended? Obviously, not! Would you say, when compared to the homeless person on the street corner, we have achieved the Scriptural definition of life in its fullest measure by reading the Torah each week, eating clean and observing the Feasts? I'm not sure I would.
Ask an honest question of yourself. Do you feel you are walking in the Scriptural definition of life? Now I am going to go where only the truly insane go. Comparing your life of Torah today with your life in a church in the past, do you feel you have more life now or just more knowledge? I wish I could get a show of hands here.
If my conversations with people through the years are any indication to the answer of the above question I would say most of us feel we have more knowledge than life. If you are the exception, please do not become offended. Maybe you have found the keys to abundant life and should be the one writing instead of me. For all the rest, please read on.
Leviticus 18 promises we will have life through observing His laws and rulings. Yeshua says we will have abundant life through Him. Is the key to life in joining these two verses together? If so, is there a verse which combines their meaning? Look at Psalm 40:7, “In the scroll of the book it is written about Me.” This verse is our key to the equation. It is all about Him.
Think back to last week's Torah portions on tzara'at and mold in the house. Did you see Messiah in those verses? If you did, you probably found life and excitement. If not, you may have been bored out of your mind. Truth is Messiah was revealed through those verses! If we were not looking for and finding Messiah in them, they were just a duty. Any rock could have listened to them.
The same concept of seeing the revelation of Messiah in each and every Torah portion is something we can be striving for daily and weekly. Allow me to give examples from these two Torah portions.
Chapter 16 - Messiah is prophesied as one goat substituted for our sins and the other which takes our sins into the desert to never return. Messiah is the One who denied Himself of His own will to become our Yom Kippur rest.
Chapter 17 - Messiah is prophesied as the entrance to the Tent of Meeting which will lead us to restored relationship with The Father.
Chapter 18 - Messiah is the One who gives to us the instructions for abundant life.
Chapter 19 - Messiah is the One who expounds on the instructions of life and will later manifest in the flesh to walk them out before us. Just imagine, the One who spoke the heavens and earth into existence physically stood as one of His creation. It is He who tells Israel how to treat the foreigner who desires to join themselves to HaShem.
Chapter 20 - Messiah gives righteous means of judgment so His family is not defiled.
“In the scroll of the book it is written about me.” Are you finding life in the words of Torah? Are you thinking there was more life back in Egypt and considering returning there with your family? If you are not finding abundant life in the scroll of the Book, may you consider changing your focus in what you are looking for when you read the Book!
HaShem's desire is for us to find life with purpose through Him. This is the definition of abundant life. If we desire to find the purpose of an item in life the best thing is to talk to the one who created the item. If possible we ask for a copy of the instructions for the item. Doing this will allow us to use an item at its highest level of purpose. Let's use this same method to find the purpose in our own lives. May we seek to know the One who created us, talk to Him about why He created us, then follow His instructions within that formula to lead us in experiencing abundant life.