Vineyard August 2013 by Moshe Habaita

Isaiah 5:7 “for the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel”.

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Glimpses of Israel

Upper Galilee New shopping complex, near Makhanayim Junction 2 Misplaced Worship s 5 The Memorials of Jordan s 10 Neomatix Takes The Pressure Off Tire Checks 12 How to Avoid A Crash, In One Easy Step s 14 The Righteous Will Live By Faith Published by David House Fellowship Inc.

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!"#$%&'()*+,-#."$ !"#$%&'()*+,-#."$ MY DEAR FRIENDS, in that Biblical rhapsody of love known as Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs, the maiden expresses her admiration for her absent lover in a very sweet sentiment when she exclaims: “Your name is as ointment poured forth …” (Song of Songs 1:3) The ointments of the ancients were exquisitely fragrant and on festive occasions not only the head but also the garments were anointed with these perfumed aromatics. To portray noble and admirable personal qualities in terms of perfumed fragrance is a most delightful and satisfying simile; moreover, the identification of the person so adumbrated with the name borne by that person is a very ancient and picturesque concept. The ancients attached much importance to names; to them the name of a thing indicated its nature or character. This identification of name and nature throws light upon the overwhelming awe and reverence which Israel still attaches to the Name of Deity, for the Name of Deity is a reflection, an indication, of the nature, the character, of God. Among the number of names for God which appears in the Holy Scriptures, the Tetragrammaton or Four-Lettered Name (ɤɥɤɩ) possesses by far the most frequency, appearing no less than 6,823 times.

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This Four-Lettered Name is popularly pronounced in English as “Jehovah”; a pronunciation which is almost certain to be incorrect due to a misreading appearing from about the sixteenth century of the Common Era and little capable of correction inasmuch as somewhere during the time of the Second Temple the Tetragrammaton was declared too sacred for normal human utterance. Hence, for over two thousand years the title “Adonai” — “Lord” — has been substituted by the Jewish people for the Four-Lettered Name. This practice of substitution was followed by substitutions for the substitute, and led to the introduction of some rather strange appellations for the Deity, among which was the designation ɭɥɷɮɤ, which means literally “the place,” and can be applied either to a specific locality or to space in general. The initial use of the word Makom in Holy Scripture is found in the first chapter of Genesis where we read in the ninth verse:

ɭɩɮɹɤ ɺɧɺɮ ɭɩɮɤ ɥɥɷɩ ɭɩɤɬɠ ɸɮɠɩɥ ɣɧɠ ɭɥɷɮɚɬɠ “And God(s) said: ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place …’ ” Since the Eternal God is conceived as being present in both place and space the rabbis of the Talmudic period employed for Deity

the appellation Hamakom, “the Place,” a title used in the sense of “the Omnipresent.”

Scripture, both the words “Place” and “Name” will surely entice us onwards into further exploration.

Jose ben Halafta (Tanna, Second Century CE) is quoted as saying: God is called Makom (Place), because He contains and is not contained, He is a place for all to flee to, and He is Himself the space which holds Him. (Gen.R., 68.9)

The word “place” occurs 34 times in Deuteronomy and it is equally fascinating to discover that in the twelfth chapter, to which I have already directed your attention, we find that word more frequently than in any of the 34 chapters of the particular book itself.

Of the use of this strange title for the Deity, Maimonides says that it expresses the degree of God’s existence to which nothing is equal or comparable (Moreh Nevuchim).

It is, then, to the place where God chooses to put His Name that Israel is enjoined to bring his worship. Obviously, worship directed elsewhere is misplaced worship.

Since both Name and Place have been associated with the Nature and Person of God, it is quite fascinating to observe both these ideas of Name and Place united in one single verse in the twelfth chapter of Devarim (Deuteronomy).

But there is even more to it, because sincere human adoration, properly placed, has Divine promise of great reward. In support of this principle, let me quote another verse of Scripture in which is embedded both the words “place” and “name.” I refer to Exodus 20:21 (English tr. 20:24). Here it is:

God, in commanding Israel to uproot and destroy all forms and appurtenances of misplaced worship, continues His instructions in the following words: ɭɫɩɤɬɠ ɤɥɤɩ ɸɧɡɩɚɸɹɠ ɭɥɷɤɮɚɬɠɚɭɠ ɩɫ ɭɹ ɥɮɹɚɺɠ ɭɥɹɬ ɭɫɩɨɡɹɚɬɫɮ “But unto the place which the Eternal your God(s) shall choose out of all your tribes to put His Name there …“ (Deuteronomy 12:5) If we care really to think over this verse of

“ … in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come unto you and bless you.” How well the wise King Solomon appreciated the potential of these words is surely indicated by a perusal of the eighth chapter of First Kings. Referring to the magnificent Temple he had erected, Solomon declares he had “built the house for the Name of the Eternal, the God(s) of Israel” (verse 20). Then, in the

August 2013

wonderful prayer he offered on that great day of the Dedication of the Temple, Solomon makes supplication: “That Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place where You have said: My name shall be there; to hearken unto the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. And hearken You to the supplication of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place; yes, hear You in heaven Your dwelling-place; and when You hear, forgive.” (verses 29, 30) But, my friends, the Temple was finally destroyed in the year 70 of the Common Era! Is there, therefore, now no place into which God has put His Name, and to which Israel can turn in supplication and forgiveness?

Here, then, is a Being in Whom, as I understand it, resides the very essence and reality of God Himself. Moreover, the Name of God, the nature, the essence, the reality, the glory of God can only dwell in One Who is originally identical in nature with God.

“I am the Eternal, that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another ...” (Isaiah 42:8a)

THE MEMORIALS OF JORDAN

To Whom, then, do our Jewish Scriptures point us? Surely, to the Messiah-Redeemer of Israel of Whom a Divinely-enlightened Jew dared to declare that:

MY DEAR FRIENDS, history is a mother hungry for more children. She stretches her encircling arms out into the future and

Indeed, it is God Himself Who declares this very principle through the lips of His prophet Isaiah:

“ … in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9 cf. John 5:19, 23; 10:38; 14:10; 17:21)

Happily, I am fully persuaded there is a comforting affirmative answer to this important question, but I must ask you to prepare for a surprise. Moreover, some of us will need both wisdom and courage to embrace this further revelation I am now about to bring you from our Jewish Scriptures.

May Israel not fear to turn towards Him for both forgiveness and blessing, for He is our Anointed One, the Messiah, the Chosen Place where dwells eternally the Name of that God in fragrance as an ointment poured forth.

My friends, God not only placed His Name in a particular place, but also in a particular Person! This is admittedly startling, but it is none other than our great teacher Moses who makes special reference to this particular Person when, in the twenty-third chapter of Exodus, Moses quotes the God of Israel as declaring:

Founding Director of David House Fellowship Inc.

“Behold, I send a Messenger before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Take heed of him, and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My Name is in him.” (Exodus 23:20, 21) Maimonides himself admits that the expression “the Name of God” oftimes means — and here I quote Maimonides — “the essence and reality of God himself.” (Moreh Nevuchim)

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Dr Lawrence Duff-Forbes (1900–1964)

This article is an extract from the very popular radio series, “Treasures From Tenach”, which are also transcribed. Both audio (click MP3 tab, then “137MisplacedWorship.mp3”, and transcriptions are available for free download at www.thevineyard.org.au .

clasps unborn generations to her bosom, pre-feeding them with the milk of her own being so that when born they bear her likeness. Particularly is this so where Israel is concerned, for there is no history comparable to Israel’s history. It bears upon it the very impress of God and for that reason it has changed the course of the world and is destined to stretch its formative fingers yet farther into the unborn generations not only of the Jewish people but also of all peoples of the earth. It began by Divine initiation; it has been sustained by Divine preservation; it will be climaxed by Divine consummation. It is the miracle of history and the history of miracle. The history of Israel as a people began on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan when the sacrificial blood of the paschal lamb was daubed on their domiciles in Egypt three thousand five hundred years ago. The history of Israel as a nation began on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan forty years later, when the new generation under Joshua, by Divine command, commemorated ɧɱɴ, Passover, in the Promised Land. The Red Sea had parted miraculously for their exodus from Egypt. The River Jordan

had parted miraculously for their entry into Canaan. No wonder memorials were commanded upon a people and a nation with such an historical inauguration! In the Hebrew language the word “memorial” is an interesting one and its initial employment in the Hebrew Bible is arresting and instructive. The word is ɯɥɸɫɦ (Zichron), sometimes ɯɥɸɫɦ (Zikkaron). It comes from a primary root meaning “to pierce, to penetrate.” Hence a memorial is something intended to pierce, to penetrate the mind and thus be established in perpetual remembrance. And now, here is a rare treasure from Tenach for you. In our Hebrew Scriptures this word “memorial” makes its first appearance under circumstances incomparably impressive. The word falls from the lips of God Himself and is Divinely associated with His August Name, the Sacred Tetragrammaton. Our great teacher, Moses, had turned aside to behold the wonder of the thorn bush that burned with fire but was not consumed, when Deity addressed him from its midst. In the ensuing audience Moses inquired what designation of reference he should employ of God. This is the thrilling reply he received: ɸɮɠɺɚɤɫ ɤɹɮɚɬɠ ɭɩɤɬɠ ɣɥɲ ɸɮɠɩɥ ɩɤɬɠ ɭɫɩɺɡɠ ɩɤɬɠ ɤɥɤɩ ɬɠɸɹɩ ɩɰɡɚɬɠ ɡɷɲɩ ɩɤɬɠɥ ɷɧɶɩ ɩɤɬɠ ɭɤɸɡɠ ɸɣ ɸɣɬ ɩɸɫɦ ɤɦɥ ɭɬɲɬ ɩɮɹɚɤɦ ɭɫɩɬɠ ɩɰɧɬɹ

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THE MEMORIALS OF JORDAN “And God(s) said moreover unto Moses: ‘Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel: The Eternal, the God(s) of your fathers, the God(s) of Abraham, the God(s) of Isaac, and the God(s) of Jacob, has sent me unto you; this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:15) This verse of Scripture, found at Exodus 3:15 possesses some remarkable features and — frankly — challenges sober thought. In every place where you heard me use the English word “God,” the noun is in the plural form and, when applied in that form to idols, is correctly translated “gods” — the plural. In the same verse when I used the English word “Eternal,” the word was the Sacred Tetragrammaton. Now here are phenomena that simply cry out for explanation to any whose mind is bent on enjoying the fullest depths and delights of Divine revelation. Consider our first phenomenon. Why did I not pronounce the Tetragrammaton — the Four Lettered Name? Why did I substitute the word “Eternal” in the English and the word Adonai in the Hebrew? For the simple reason that I am not sure how it is pronounced, nor is anyone else. Certainly it is not pronounced “Jehovah.” I employ the word “Eternal” because, as Sforno suggests, the Tetragrammaton implies the beginning-less existence and eternity of God. That Israel once knew how to pronounce the Sacred Name is a foregone conclusion, for Moses declared it unto them and it was upon the lips of the priests, prophets and psalmists down the ages until towards the latter period of the Second Temple, when it was uttered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur, and then in such low tones that it could not be heard.

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I humbly suggest that this gradual loss of the sound of the Sacred Name has been most unfortunate and has been due to a misunderstanding or misapplication of the commandment, “You shall not take the Name of the Eternal your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7), the basic meaning of which I believe to be a prohibition against taking or lifting up the name of God in worthlessness, or false report, or false oath. I cannot believe that a name given by God to Israel for a memorial, a remembrance, was ever Divinely intended to be buried in oblivion. Moreover, I regard as mere sophistry the traditional suggestion that in Exodus 3:15 the Hebrew word “leolam” is written defectively, omitting the “vav,” so that it could read “leallem” meaning “to conceal,” and so trying to justify the much later practice of concealing the true pronunciation and substituting another title for it. The second phenomenon is the presence of the plurals to which I have referred. To conceal the one and ignore the other has resulted in a conception and appreciation of the Eternal God of Israel quite other than that afforded by the revelation of the Bible. Maybe the loss of the name was prophetic! Yet a knowledge of the Great Possessor of the Name can be recaptured if we have the courage to abandon mere human tradition where it conflicts with Divine revelation. I cover this important ground more fully in my book OUT OF THE CLOUDS. The Name of God, then, is our first Biblical memorial. The second Biblical memorial is equally suggestive (Exodus 12:14). It is the day the blood of the lamb was applied in Egypt. It is most impressive that, following the revelation of the Name of God, the next memorial for Israel points to the Redemption He provides.

Therefore and henceforth the clasping arms of Israel’s history are encircled with bright bracelets of Divinely-prescribed memorials so that the unborn generations may behold, inquire, and become integrated and participants in a process that has for its goal the redemption of mankind. It is to be expected, therefore, that at the miraculous crossing of the River Jordan under General Yeshua (Joshua) we meet with another memorial. The waters had parted at the presence of the Ark of the Covenant borne by the priests, who stood in the midst of the riverbed until the people of Israel had passed over into the Promised Land. Then twelve previously commissioned men, one man from each tribe, took up twelve large stones from the riverbed where the priests had stood. These twelve stones, one stone for each tribe, were carried over into the Promised Land and set up there as a memorial tribute to the power and faithfulness of the God that had pledged the land to our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Joshua 3:12; 4:1–8)

(Joshua 4:18, 19) Would God that the waters of uninspired human tradition would part asunder to allow Israel to cross over into and inherit the spiritual Promised Land where the basic memorials of God, and God’s redemption from sin through the Blood of the Lamb, still stand in Scripture to recall him back to the God of Israel and the Messiah-Joshua Whom the General Joshua met face to face just across the Jordan. (Joshua 5:13-15) Dr Lawrence Duff-Forbes (1900–1964) Founding Director of David House Fellowship Inc. This article is an extract from the very popular radio series, “Treasures From Tenach”, which are also transcribed. Both audio (click MP3 tab, then “157MemorialOfJordan.mp3”, and transcriptions are available for free download at www.thevineyard.org.au .

In addition, and apparently acting upon his own impulse, as far as I can see, Joshua “also set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bore the Ark of the Covenant stood.” (Joshua 4:9) The memorials having been established, the priests that bore the Ark of the Covenant came up out of the midst of the Jordan and, “as soon as the soles of the priests’ feet were drawn up unto the dry ground … the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all its banks as before. And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho.”

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glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL glimpses of ISRAEL

Background photo:

Fountain courtyard, shopping mall near Junction. Inset top right:

Cafe above shops Inset bottom right:

Shopping mall area.

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August 2013

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The TireCheck app estimates pressure remotely

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Co-founder Kfir Wittmann: “Driving with properly inflated tires is good for the environment, it’s good for your car and it can save your life.”

Trucks will be a lot safer and more environmentally friendly by the end of this year thanks to the Israeli company Neomatix, which has developed a device to check tire pressure remotely. Created by an aerospace engineer, the Neomatix Optimus works when trucks go to park for the night, taking the “pressure” off fleet managers.

him the wherewithal to meet the need of a big problem in the United States and Israel, as well as in developing countries where tire-pressure checking systems are prohibitively expensive. Wittmann’s solution, developed with private funds and the Tel Aviv Angel Group, can provide a fleet manager of 50 trucks a return on investment within a year.

truck, the type and age of the wheels, and the ambient air temperature outside, along with other parameters. “This is a solution we hope will be widespread and used by every driver, because it can save money as well as improve driving safety,” he notes.

Improperly inflated tires waste energy, wear down tire treads and are a safety hazard, says Kfir Wittmann, a co-founder and the CEO of Neomatix. “Driving with properly inflated tires is good for the environment, it’s good for your car and it can save your life,” Wittmann tells ISRAEL21c. Yet people tend to neglect the time-consuming check. “Why are people driving like that? Knowledge is a big part of it and most people just don’t know about the meaning of well-inflated tires. But it really makes a difference on driving performance considering today that the price of oil is more than $100 a barrel.”

Optimus will most likely look like a ticket stand found at the entrance to most parking lots. While the truck driver is passing through the gate to park at night, the Optimus system will scan the truck’s wheels using computer vision, and report findings in real time to the fleet manager. “We take the driver out of the equation,” says Wittmann. While scanning the tires from the outside, rather than the inside, might be less accurate, Wittmann says precise accuracy is not really necessary.

Neomatix currently employs four people and is based out of Tel Aviv. Marketing in Israel is expected to begin by December this year, followed by the United States and developing countries.

Years of experience in the Israeli Air Force gave

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“A fleet manager wouldn’t need to know if the tires are 34 or 35 PSI. But if it’s at 30, you want to know about it,” he explains. The smart system will figure in the weight of each

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“China and Brazil first, because there are no [tire pressure] regulations there and they can save a lot of money and improve safety.” Neomatix also released an app for iPhones that can test pressure in car tires. After sorting out some bugs in the first release of the TireCheck app released last October, Neomatix will put out a second version by the end of May. The TireCheck app is designed

so that people can check their tire pressure anywhere. It’s easy and fun enough for children to use, says Wittmann. The app uses the phone’s camera, which “scans” the tire, looking at the shape of it to estimate the tire pressure. “You just point the device, scan your tires and you get an answer if you’re under-inflated or not, where the nearest location to inflate your tires is, and how much pressure you need to inflate them,” says Wittmann, noting that the app will be available in Android and in the Apple store. “Education about tire pressure also promotes good driving behavior,” he adds. Karin Kloosterman (13 May 2013) Courtesy Israel 21C (www.israel21c.org)

August 2013

How to Avoid a Crash,

in One Easy Step

Israel’s Mobileye is the global leader in the vehicle safety market with its advanced driver assistance system that helps you avoid a collision. So you’re a safe driver. Thirty years on the road and never had a scratch. You don’t need some computer to look out for you on the road. Think again.

an impending accident … it warns the driver in time. It can even stop the car if the driver doesn’t react quickly enough — and all this at high speeds.”

“Why do you need airbags in your car? Because they can save your life in the case of an accident,” says Isaac Litman, CEO of Mobileye Products, the global leader in advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. “This system can warn you of an impending accident so that you can take action in time and avert a collision. You may only use it once in your driving career – but that’s enough.”

Minimizing driver error

The statistics speak for themselves, Litman tells ISRAEL21c. “Now that vehicles fitted with our systems have traveled over a billion miles in the US, we’ve seen a 40-50 percent drop in accidents.”

Litman points out that according to studies carried out by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 93% of accidents are caused by driver error. Of those, 80% are caused by a lack of attention by the driver within three seconds of the accident.

ADAS is becoming a standard feature of the modern vehicle, and Jerusalem-based Mobileye is leading the field. “This new technology helps drivers drive better,” says Litman. “It knows how to recognize cars, bikes, motorbikes, pedestrians,

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“There are three main causes of accidents: poor road infrastructure, unsafe vehicles and bad driving,” he explains. “Both roads and vehicle design have improved significantly in the past three decades. But the human factor has not. The only aspect that hasn’t improved is the driver.”

“Often it’s because of distractions such as talking on the telephone, eating or smoking while driving,” he notes.

Left: Mobileye’s forward collision monitor feature at work. Top: Mobileye shows when a pedestrian is near the vehicle. Above: Safe distance display.

Mobileye inside Mobileye was founded in 1999 by Ziv Aviram together with Prof. Amnon Shashua, former head of the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The company’s challenge: to produce a vision system that can detect all nearby vehicles using only one camera. “Several large companies had tried to produce peripheral warning systems based on two cameras or more. Mobileye’s advantage is that it’s all done with one camera. This is why we managed to outskirt larger companies to become the market leader,” says Litman. The company began by developing algorithms and a processor chip called the EyeQ chip at its Jerusalem R&D center, and after years of testing began to sell the chip and software to leading automotive manufacturers such as BMW, General Motors and Volvo. “It’s been a long development process,” says Litman. “It takes two to five years to adapt the system to a particular vehicle. Now we can

retrofit 65% of cars on the road, which helps our penetration into the market.” Mobileye’s ADAS is comprehensive, powered by algorithms that detect all types of vehicles in day and night-time, with collision warnings coming from all sides, as well as stationary and moving pedestrians up to 30 meters away. The lane guidance feature notifies a driver if the vehicle is deviating from its lane; the traffic sign recognition feature helps a driver maintain a legal speed and obey local traffic laws; and intelligent headlight control automatically raises and lowers the high beams so as not to inconvenience oncoming or preceding traffic with glare. “The most developed technological companies were the ones that started to install Mobileye in their vehicles,” says Litman. “Over the years, the other manufacturers saw how successful it is, and companies like Hyundai, Ford, and Citroen have since adopted us. Many other manufacturers are interested, but due to secrecy agreements I cannot reveal who. Those who sat on the fence then are now realizing that they might miss the bus.”

August 2013

The Righteous Will Live By Faith Unintended advantage

Thought:

Commentary:

Transportation ministries worldwide support technologies that reduce accident rates.

Amos came and reduced all the commandments to one principle, as it is written [in Amos 5:4], “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, ‘Seek Me that you may live.”’ To this Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak objected, saying, “[This can be understood as if it were saying,] ‘Seek Me by observing the whole Torah and live!’ [And that makes salvation dependent upon obeying all 613 commandments.] Instead, it is Habakkuk who came and reduced all the commandments to one principle, as it is written [in Habakkuk 2:4], ‘But the righteous will live by his faith.’” (b.Makkot 23b)

The public curses of Deuteronomy 27 conclude with a final, all inclusive curse upon every sinner. “‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this Torah by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

“Coca Cola will next year start installing the systems in its European vehicle fleet. They saw the drop in accidents and the drop in fuel use. We don’t claim to do that, but experience shows that with the system installed, drivers behave more carefully, and accelerate and decelerate less,” says Litman. “Fleet Europe unites all the vehicle fleets in the continent. They want to adopt the system to improve their safety records,” he adds. “The US regulators have adopted three ADAS technologies — two of them are ours.” In October, in the latest of a series of business milestones, Mobileye won the prestigious International Fleet Industry Award for 2011 for its innovative ADAS. The company has grown steadily and now employs more than 300 people worldwide, with headquarters in the Netherlands, offices in the United States, Cyprus and Japan, and the Jerusalem R&D center. “In 10 years, every car in the world will include Mobileye,” Litman confidently predicts. “Can we reach zero accidents? The answer is yes, but it will take another 20 years.” Daniel Ben Tal (1 February 2012) Courtesy Israel 21C (www.israel21c.org)

A simple reading might suggest that a man who breaks a single commandment fails to confirm the Torah, and therefore is guilty of abrogating the whole of the commandments. Likewise, James the brother of the Master wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole Torah and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10) Paul understands this one curse as the comprehensive “curse of the Torah.” It is the idea that a person who does not keep “all things written in the book of the Torah” is under a curse. For as many as are of the works of the Torah are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Torah, to perform them…” (Galatians 3:10 quoting Deuteronomy 27:26) Sadly, this passage of Galatians is commonly misinterpreted to mean that if a person begins to observe commandments of Torah (which are not currently practiced in the Church at large) that he falls from grace and places himself back under ‘the curse of the law.’ That is not at all what the Apostle was trying to communicate to us. Paul’s actual point is simple. Violation of the Torah is a sin and the wages of sin are death. The death which the apostle speaks of is not death in this life, but eternal condemnation. Paul interprets Leviticus 18:5 the same way in Galatians 3. He points out that according

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to his theological opponents, the hope of eternal life is not based upon faith, rather it is based upon an assumption of reward earned by keeping the commandments. He writes, “The Torah is not of faith; on the contrary, ‘He who practices them shall live [eternally] by them.’” (Galatians 3:12 quoting Leviticus 18:5) Paul argues that eternal life is attainable only through faith, and he quotes a text from Habakkuk to prove it. Again, he reads the word ‘live’ to mean eternal life. He writes, “Now that no one is justified by the Torah before God is evident; for, “The Righteous Man shall live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11 quoting Habakkuk 2:4) The faith to which Paul points is faith in Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice. Paul’s point is clear: if only those who have never transgressed the Torah’s commandments are received as covenant members, then surely no one would be received. Everyone has acted in willful rebellion against God, and thus everyone deserves the covenant curses of being cut off. But the Scriptures teach that rightstanding before God is not obtained through obedience to the Torah, but through faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Thus, the Torah does not produce faith; on the contrary, the one who practices Torah demonstrates that he already has faith (Leviticus 18:5). It is not obedience to Torah that can overcome the penalty of the curses, but rather the curses of the Torah were taken from us and placed on Yeshua as our substitute. Courtesy First Fruits of Zion www.ffoz.org FFOZ e-Drash Archives. The Hebrew word “drash” means “searched out.” FFOZ’s e-Drash is based on the popular Torah Study Program, Torah Club. For an introduction to Torah Club visit www.torahclub.org

August 2013

The Vineyard Vol 55, No 7 August 2013

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