Torah portion Emor

Shalom and blessings, may this find you well, and rejoicing in the blessings of our Messiah Yeshua.

Hope for those of us who aren’t perfect

Have you ever felt like you weren’t enough for Elohim? Maybe what you’ve read in the Apostolic Writings makes it seem as though you will never be enough.

Eph 5:26-27  that He (Yeshua) might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of the water in the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious assembly, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such things, but that it be holy and without blemish.

That sets a high bar; without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. The washing of the water in the Word is the vehicle by which the assembly as a whole and each of us individually are sanctified, and if you have been putting His Word into your heart you are headed on the right path. Even when you are in the Word, does it still seem as though you have a spot here and wrinkle there, and maybe a few blemishes?

Can any of us meet the standard?

One reason believers feel inadequate is they don’t know the definition the Torah gives for a blemish. We tend to think of any issue we have as one, regardless of how small it is. Look what Father tells Moses and Aaron about blemishes in the sacrificial animals and the priests.

Lev 21:16-20  And Yehovah spoke to Moses, saying,  (17)  Speak to Aaron, saying, No man of your seed throughout their generations shall draw near to offer the bread of his God if there is a blemish in him.  (18)  For no man in whom there is a blemish shall draw near, a blind man, or one lame, or disfigured, or deformed;  (19)  or a brokenfooted man, or a brokenhanded man,  (20)  or one humpbacked, or one emaciated, or with a spot in his eye, or a scurvy one, or one scabbed, or one with crushed testicles.

Lev 22:20-25  You shall not offer that which has a blemish; for it shall not be acceptable for you.  (21)  And when a man brings near a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yehovah, to complete a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be without blemish to be accepted; no blemish shall be in it;  (22)  blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a flow, or scurvy, or scabbed, you shall not bring these near to Yehovah; and you shall not make of them a fire offering on the altar to Yehovah.  (23)  As to an ox or a sheep deformed, or dwarfed, you shall make it a freewill offering; but it is not acceptable for a vow.  (24)  As to anything bruised, or beaten, or torn, or cut, you shall not bring it near to Yehovah; even you shall not do it in your land.  (25)  And you shall not bring near the bread of your God from the hand of a son of a stranger (nokri), or any of these, for their corruption is in them; they are blemished; they are not acceptable for you.

Those are pretty obvious and serious blemishes. Notice the last part in verse 25, the stranger, nokri. Remember nokri? They are the ones who are in and around Israel, but they are the troublemakers, the rebels, and it says they are corrupt and blemished by their rebellion.

What is Elohim looking for in us?

Father is looking for those who love Him and want to follow Him. He understands that none of us are perfectly without any blemishes. He expects us to walk the path of Torah and improve, to move the right direction and not rebel against Him. He expects us to increase our faith in Him and love for Him, and obey His instructions as we learn them rather than rebel against them.

It’s not too much for the Creator of all things to ask of us, is it?