My Heart
For Parasha Shemini
By LovingNeighbor 4-18-2006

In this weeks parasha we have the eighth day when YHWH will appear to the people. It starts with the sacrifices to prepare the priests, and the people for God. Two of Aharon's sons offer strange fire to YHWH and are consumed, Moshe then asks why things weren't done the way they should have been to Aharon, then we get the food laws, and the haftarah Uzzah grabbed the ark and was smote by God, and David's kingdom is promised to be established.

This weeks parasha has significant events that took place on the eight day. A day YHWH will appear to Israel, but before that the priests must be atoned for and made clean and then the whole congreagation of Israel. It is on this day. The eighth day that also signifies the day after the sabbath, the time after the 1000 years of rest when Messiah returns, where we dwell with God, the time of Circumcision of the flesh, atonement, and God apearing to us to dwell with us. On this day in the text a few things go wrong for some people. Aharon's son's draw near with incense not commanded and get consumed, then Moshe in Lev 10:16 diligently searches for the sin offering for the people.

Lev 10:16 And Moshe diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with El'azar and Itamar, the sons of Aharon which were left alive, saying,

This weeks parasha has a special significance. In this weeks parasha we come to the exact heart or center of the Torah. Most Tanachs will have a masoretic note stating that Leviticus 10:16 where it says "Searched diligently" it is the center of the Torah. These two words are Darash, Darash. or to search, to search. This phrase means diligent search. Let's examine what this has to do with being in the center.

Let's speak for a moment at the significance of this. What things are at the center of a man, his heart.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jer 17:10 I YHWH search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

H3820
??
le^b
labe
A form of H3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything

The heart is the center of the body, through which all the blood flows to the rest of the body. This is why you will know a tree by it's fruit because it flows fromt he heart. Lets look at some other things that are at the center.

Jerusalem is said to be at the center of the world
Eze 5:5 Thus saith YHWH Elohim; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

The temple is the center of Jerusalem
Psa 116:19 In the courts of YHWH'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye YHWH.

The holy of hollies is the heart of the temple, the ark is in the heart of the holy of holies, the commandments are in the heart of the ark. And God's spirit is at the heart of his commandments. His spirit is in Messiah. And Messiah is in God. The same can be used as a map to find Messiah, we start in the world and through going through the holy city, through the temple, through the holy of holies, through the ark, through the commandments to the spirit of the commandments we find our Messiah and we find God. Can one seperate the commandments from God. It would be like taking his spirit. Can one seperate God's commandments from Messiah. It would be murder. It's like the story of Shlomo(Solomon) and the two women fighting over the baby. He said bring me a sharp sword and I will divide him. But the true mother knew that this would mean his death and pleaded for him not to do this. In this Shlomo knew that one who would not allow the child to be divided in two was the one who loved him and was his. People have tried to divide Messiah from his Father's law for hundreds of years. Stating the Jews can take the law(seperating Messiah from it) and the Christians can take Messiah(seperating the Torah from Him). Yet Now there are those (Torah Observant Believers in Yahushua) who will not seperate them because they love him. Others care not for the life in Messiah and the life of Messiah is the blood, and the blood of Messiah is his teachings that flow from his heart which holds the commandments of God. And from this we have eternal life by the love of Yahushua for us and his shed blood. And in our love for him we will not allow him to be divided from his Father's Commandments.

Let's look deeper at how the heart and the commandments relate.

Exo 28:30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before YHWH: and Aharon shall bear the judgment of the children of Yisrael upon his heart before YHWH continually.

The Urim and Tummim are called Lights and Perfection.
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Aharon the high priest had the Urim(Laws) and Tummim(Perfection) upon his heart. These same words are found to speak of only one man's heart and that was David.

1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in perfection of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

Psa 101:1 <A Psalm of David.> I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O YHWH, will I sing.
Psa 101:2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

We are encouraged to do the same by tying his commandments around our neck and placing them over our heart.
Pro 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, tie them about thy neck.
Pro 6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

There seems to be a direct model of this to the Urim and Tummim. God seeks to put his law in our hearts so he may dwell in our midst. Let's see how this relates to the heart. The next word is qereb many times translated as in the midst. Lets relate it to the heart.

H7130
???
qereb
keh'-reb
From H7126; properly the nearest part, that is, the centre, whether literally, figuratively or adverbially

Let's look at some things described as being in the midst. One of the things we see described this way is the Tree of Life.

Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made YHWH Elohim to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of Elohim.

Gen 3:22 And YHWH Elohim said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Interesting it sounds like something else we have heard.

Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

The next thing we see using this word is the messenger of YHWH.
Exo 3:2 And the angel of YHWH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Exo 3:3 And Moshe said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exo 3:4 And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moshe, Moshe. And he said, Here am I.

The next item we see using this term is the Menorah.
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Messiah is in the midst of his brethren which all flow into him and in him they are held fast in the foundation in him, his Father's commandments which are the foundation of the Menorah.

Moshe spoke about a prophet like him being raised up from among his brethren.
Deu 18:15 YHWH thy Elohim will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Who is this that is in the midst or heart of his bretheren. Interesting just like on the menorah many branches are grafted into him who is in the center and none come to the foundation except through joining to him, and he is joined to the foundation. For this I believe Messiah said none come to the Father but through me. How is this seen as Messiah coming in the flesh.

Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Compare to

Deu 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any lawlessness, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

When two or three are gathered together the he says he will be in the Midst of them. This is like his menorah. He is called the light of the world, the law is said to be light, His foundation is the commandments of God, and both Messiah and the word of God is called truth. Also all truth is established by two or more witnesses. and is says if they speak not according to this word there is no light(Law or Messiah) in them.

Psa 74:12 For Elohim is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

Much as a physician must dwell among the sick to heal them so is Messiah called our physician for The Father will not dwell with us when we are unclean yet his son will because he helps us and heals us while we are sick in our sin and rebellion to God's commandments. He is a great heart Surgeon.
Eze 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim; and renew a right spirit within me.

Let's now look at the last word which means center. It derives center by the concept of a bisection which divides between two things. it implies an a straight path not straying from one side to another. The concept of the heart is to be in the center not being on one side or the other.

H8432
????
ta^vek
taw'-vek
From an unused root meaning to sever; a bisection, that is, (by implication) the centre: -

This is the concept of a line. Dividing between two things.There is a great visual for this. If you have been drinking and get pulled over. The cop gives you two tests to test to see if your judgment is altered. One is to walk a straight line not going to left or the right. The second is to stretch out your arms and touch the center of your face, your nose with your eyes closed. He tests your walk and your ability to know where your center is even in darkness. I believe God has such a sobriety test for our lives. He looks at our walk and tests our hearts to see if we know him and will keep his commanments.

Pro 4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Pro 4:27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

The priests are admonished to not drink wine or strong drink before doing their temple service so that their judgment be not impared when the handle the Holy things of God.

Lev 10:9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Lev 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

1Ki 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Deu 5:32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as YHWH your Elohim hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Pro 3:5 Trust in YHWH with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Jos 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

We are told not to turn aside because to turn from the path is to stray from straightness.

Psa 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of YHWH, make straight in the desert a path for our God.

Heb 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see Adonai:

So lets look at the opposite If a man turns to left once he has sinned, but if he then turn back and get on the path he is made straight again. This is our goal and is one of the signs Moshe did before Pharoah and the people. He held in his hand that what was straight, but when it was not in his hand and cast down it was a crooked serpent, but once returned into the hand of Moshe it was made straight again. So to we by returning to the Law of Moshe will be made straight it is the process of repentance to turn back to straight paths. In the hand of Moshe wich forshadows Messiah this is accomplished. Both brought the commandments and taught the Torah (Instruction of God).

Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

This is a very interesting passage, as Isaiah 42 is a Messianic prophecy. And This verse reminds me of what Messiah said to tell John about whether he was Messiah, he said to the messenger to tell him the blind see and the lame walk. I believe he was sending the message to John that Isaiah 42 was about him. Remember they evaluated the Messiah based on the scriptures and prophecies they had at the time.

Phi 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phi 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Now if one does not return to the center, the bisection of right and wrong (Torah) the straight path, then one will go from right to left, right to left and this is the serpents who will not in his heart follow the comandments of God.

Isa 27:1 In that day YHWH with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Psa 125:5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, YHWH shall lead them forth with the workers of lawlessness: but peace shall be upon Israel.

Isa 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of lawlessness; wasting and destruction are in their paths.
Isa 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

So let's summarize this according to this weeks parasha. We see first that Nadav and Avihu tried to approach in a way not commanded, therefore their ways were crooked and they were consumed. They also tried to approach God but not through the straight path like the menorah and were therefore broken off.

It reminds me of the old comercial how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop. If you remember the owl, which is an unclean animal took two bites and and said two. Yet it was supposed to be licks. He didn't follow the rules and thought he could get to the center faster. I believe this is what happened with Nadav and Avihu. They thought they could approach God in a way that didn't follow the rules there fore they being unclean were consumed with fire.

Pro 14:33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

Then we have Aharon who did not eat the sin ofering for the people, I believe this was a foreshadow, that on the eighth day it will be Messiah who will eat the true sin offering and only him who knows what it tastes like to truly take on the sins of all Israel and only he can consume it. Next we have the eating laws, which it says:

Lev 11:47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
Lev 11:45 For I am YHWH that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Deu 23:14 For YHWH thy Elohim walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

It is the line the center, the heart. To take the spirit of God and his straight path and put it in you and make it your center and your heart, and your spirit. The clean animals had two witnesses, they chewed the cud and split the hoof. These are much like us. We are clean when we chew God's word more then once, but bring it up again and again and restudy it, break it down, also we must rightly divide the word of truth. This makes us clean. In doing so we dig deeper and deeper in his word to find the center, to find the straight paths that our lame lages will now walk, that we who were blind could now see the light(Law) and walk in perfection of heart. If messiah is Perfection and he is the law, then he like the Urim and Tummim should be in our hearts then we are one with him as he is one with the father and we will be one with the high priest. Who can know a man's heart!

Deu 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which YHWH thy Elohim led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

We must know two hearts, our own and God's so we may make our heart one with his.

Pro 16:9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but YHWH directeth his steps.

Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
Eze 11:20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Are ways are crooked and in studying his word we find the spirit of God in his word (Messiah) He is the living word because his commandments have a spirit. They are not dead words on a page. But they have the very spirit of God at their heart inside them. As the very center of his word encourages us and gives us a message from Yahushua who is our Messiah, the tree of life, our rabbi as we find him in the heart of Torah he says to us these words, "darash, darash" Search Diligently!" Search both, your heart and the heart of God, and in the very middle they will be one. Let's search our hearts and make straight our paths, let's Put God's commanmdents in our heart so we may not just have life as we do now, but have life more abundantly. Shalom!