Pesach VIII

Pesach VIII

Deuteronomy 15:1–18 (LEB)

At the end of seven years you are to have a sh’mittah

“At the end of seven years you shall grant a remission of debt. ² And this is the manner of the remission of debt: every _⌊creditor_⌋ shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment from his brother because there a remission of debt has been proclaimed unto Yahweh. ³ With respect to the foreigner you may exact payment, but _⌊you must remit_⌋ what shall be owed to you with respect to your brother. ⁴ Nevertheless, there shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it. ⁵ If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God _⌊by observing diligently_⌋ all of these commandments that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋. ⁶ When Yahweh your God has blessed you, just as he _⌊promised_⌋ to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow from them, and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. ⁷ If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your _⌊towns_⌋ that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward _⌊your brother who is poor_⌋. ⁸ But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and _⌊you shall willingly lend_⌋ to him enough to meet his need, _⌊whatever it is_⌋. ⁹ _⌊Take care_⌋ so that there will not be _⌊a thought of wickedness_⌋ in your heart, _⌊saying_⌋, ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ _⌊and you view your needy neighbor with hostility_⌋, and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and _⌊you would incur guilt against yourself_⌋. ¹⁰ By all means you must give to him, and _⌊you must not be discontented_⌋ at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and _⌊in all that you undertake_⌋. ¹¹ For the poor will not cease to be _⌊among you_⌋ in the land; therefore I am commanding you, _⌊saying_⌋, ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’

¹² If your relative who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out _⌊free_⌋. ¹³ And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. ¹⁵ And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus _⌊today_⌋. ¹⁶ And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘_⌊I do not want to go out_⌋ from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; ¹⁷ then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you _⌊a slave forever_⌋; and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. ¹⁸ It shall not be hard in your eyes _⌊when you send him forth free_⌋, because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you _⌊in whatever you will do_⌋.

Deuteronomy 15:19–23 (LEB)

All the firstborn males in your herd are to be set aside for Adonai

¹⁹ “Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock. ²⁰ Rather _⌊before Yahweh_⌋ your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household. ²¹ But if there is a physical defect in it, such as lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. ²² In your _⌊towns_⌋ you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together may eat it, just as they eat the gazelle and as they eat the deer. ²³ But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.”

Deuteronomy 16:1–17 (LEB)

Observe the month of Aviv, and keep Pesach, Shavu’ot and Sukkot

“Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt by night. ² And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God from among your flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there. ³ You shall not eat _⌊with it_⌋ anything leavened; seven days you shall eat _⌊with it_⌋ unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. ⁴ And leaven shall not be seen with you in any of your territory for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning. ⁵ You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your _⌊towns_⌋ that Yahweh your God is giving to you, ⁶ but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice _⌊in the evening at sunset_⌋, at the designated time of your going out from Egypt. ⁷ And you shall cook, and you shall eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents. ⁸ Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.

⁹ “You shall count off seven weeks for you; _⌊from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain_⌋ you shall begin to count seven weeks. ¹⁰ And then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give just as Yahweh your God has blessed you. ¹¹ And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your _⌊towns_⌋ and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there. ¹² And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so _⌊you shall diligently observe_⌋ these rules.

¹³ “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselves seven days _⌊at the gathering in of the produce_⌋ from your threshing floor and from your press; ¹⁴ and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the alien and the orphan and the widow that are in your _⌊towns_⌋. ¹⁵ Seven days you shall celebrate your feast to Yahweh your God at the place Yahweh will choose, for Yahweh your God shall bless you in all of your produce and in all of the work of your hand, and you shall surely be rejoicing. ¹⁶ Three times in the year all of your males shall appear _⌊before _⌋ Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear _⌊before Yahweh_⌋ empty-handed. ¹⁷ Each person _⌊shall give as he is able_⌋, that is, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.

PROPHETS

Isaiah 54:1–17 (LEB)

The Fertile Wife of Yahweh

54 “Sing for joy, barren woman; who has not borne!

Burst forth into rejoicing and rejoice, she who has not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate woman are more than the children of the married woman,” says Yahweh.

² “Enlarge the site of your tent,

and let them stretch out the tent curtains of your dwelling place.

You must not spare; make your tent cords long

and strengthen your pegs,

³ for you will spread out to the right and to the left.

And your descendants will be heir to the nations,

and they will inhabit desolate towns.

⁴ You must not fear, for you will not be ashamed,

and you must not be confounded, for you will not feel abashed,

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

⁵ For your husband is your maker, his name is Yahweh of hosts;

and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel, he is called the God of all of the earth.

⁶ For Yahweh has called you like a wife forsaken and hurt of spirit,

like the wife of childhood when she is rejected, says your God.

⁷ I abandoned you _⌊for a short_⌋ moment,

but I will gather you with great compassion.

⁸ I hid my face from you for a moment, in the flowing of anger,

but I will have compassion on you with everlasting faithfulness” says your redeemer, Yahweh.

⁹ “For this is like the waters of Noah to me,

when I swore _⌊that the waters of Noah would never again pass_⌋ over the earth,

so I swore _⌊that I would not be_⌋ angry at you and rebuke you.

¹⁰ For the mountains may depart,

and the hills may sway,

but my faithfulness shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not sway,”

says Yahweh, who has compassion on you,

¹¹ “O afflicted one, driven away, who is not consoled.

Look! I am about to set your stones in hard mortar,

and I will lay your foundation with sapphires.

¹² And I will _⌊make_⌋ your battlements of ruby,

and your gates of stones of beryl,

and all your wall of precious stones.

¹³ And all your children shall be pupils of Yahweh,

and the peace of your children shall be great.

¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established.

Be far from oppression, for you shall not fear,

and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

¹⁵ If indeed one attacks, it is not from me;

whoever attacks you shall fall because of you.

¹⁶ Look! I myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals,

and who produces a weapon for his work;

also I myself have created the destroyer to destroy.

¹⁷ Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed,

and you shall declare guilty every tongue that rises against you for judgment.

This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh,

and their _⌊legal right_⌋ from me,”

_⌊declares_⌋ Yahweh.

Isaiah 55:1–5 (LEB)

Invitation to True Rewards

55 “Ho! Everyone thirsty, come to the waters!

And whoever has no money, come, buy and eat,

and come, buy without money,

wine and milk without price!

² Why do you weigh out money for what is not food,

and your labor for _⌊what cannot satisfy_⌋?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and let your soul take pleasure in _⌊rich_⌋ food.

³ Extend your ear, and come to me!

Listen so that your soul may live,

and I will _⌊make_⌋ an everlasting covenant with you,

the enduring proofs of _⌊the mercies shown to_⌋ David.

⁴ Look! I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and a commander for the peoples.

⁵ Look! You shall call a nation that you do not know,

and a nation that does not know you shall run to you,

because of Yahweh your God,

and the holy one of Israel, for he has glorified you.”

GOSPELS

John 20:1–9 (LEB)

Jesus Is Raised

20 Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it* was still dark, and saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord from the tomb and we do not know where they have put him!” ³ Then Peter and the other disciple went out and were going to the tomb. ⁴ And the two were running together, and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first. ⁵ And bending over to look, he saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, though he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter also came following him, and he went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, ⁷ and the facecloth that was on his head—not lying with the strips of linen cloth, but folded up separately in one place. ⁸ So then the other disciple who had come to the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed. ⁹ (For they did not yet know the scripture that it was necessary for him to rise from the dead.)

John 20:10–31 (LEB)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁰ Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.* ¹¹ But Mary stood outside at the tomb, weeping. Then, while she was weeping, she bent over to look into the tomb, ¹² and she saw two angels in white, seated one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put him!” ¹⁴ When she* had said these things, she turned _⌊around_⌋ and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She thought that it was the gardener, and* said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned around and* said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came and* announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹ Now when it* was evening on that day—the first day of the week—and the doors had been shut where the disciples were because of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace to you.” ²⁰ And when he* had said this, he showed his* hands and his* side to them. Then the disciples rejoiced when they* saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” ²² And when he* had said this, he breathed on them* and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins* of any, they are retained.”

Thomas Doubts But Later Believes

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe!”

²⁶ And after eight days his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Although* the doors had been shut, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace to you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Place your finger here and see my hands, and place your hand and put it* into my side. And do not be unbelieving, but believing!” ²⁸ Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Why This Book Was Written

³⁰ Now Jesus also performed many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not recorded in this book, ³¹ but these things are recorded in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by* believing you may have life in his name.

THEOLOGY

Theology could be the hametz in our hearts and minds that alter, change, circumvent or replace Yahweh’s word for contemporary audiences.

We must obey Yahweh’s word, only found in the Torah, Prophets, Gospels and Revelation. Other books are testimonials, manifestations, prayer, atonement, thanksgiving and praise.

“The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you” (Numbers 15:16 CJB)

1 Corinthians 5:1–13 (LEB)

Immoral Behavior and Church Discipline

5 It is reported everywhere that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind which does not even exist among the Gentiles, so that someone has the wife of his father. ² And you are inflated with pride, and should you not rather have mourned, so that the one who has done this deed would be removed from your midst? ³ For although I* am absent in body but present in spirit, I have already passed judgment on the one who has done this in this way, as if I* were present. ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus, when* you are assembled, and my spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ I have decided* to hand over such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, in order that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Clean out the old leaven in order that you may be a new batch of dough, just as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. ⁸ So then, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old leaven or with the leaven of wickedness and sinfulness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹ I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. ¹⁰ By no means did I mean the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people and swindlers or idolaters, since then you would have to depart out of the world. ¹¹ But now I have written to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he is a sexually immoral person or a greedy person or an idolater or an abusive person or a drunkard or a swindler—with such a person not even to eat. ¹² For what is it to me to judge those outside? Should you not judge those inside? ¹³ But those outside God will judge. Remove the evil person _⌊from among yourselves_⌋.

1 John 4:1–6 (LEB)

How to Recognize the Spirit of God

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

⁴ You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world; _⌊therefore_⌋ they speak from the world and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.