Return
For the Torah
By Lovingneighbor 2005-6

This Study is on the book of the Torah also called 'Instruction'. In this book we have written the studies:

Seperation - B'reisheet
The Journey - Shemot
Restore - Vayikra
Make Straight - Bamidbar
His Children - Devarim

Here we are at the end of another Torah reading cycle and ready to start it again. As I personally study all the parashas I write a message for each one. Then when finishing the message for each one I write one for the whole book, then at the end of the year I write one for the whole Torah. I started a year ago and here I am writing my first message on the whole Torah. I try and find the common thread or spirit of each parasha , then the spirit of the book based on finding the thread of all my messages, and now the spirit of the whole Torah. After meditating on it I came to one word. Return. Shoov. The primitive root where we get teshuvah or repent from. the word Shoov is used 1339 times in the Tenach and about 74 times in a few forms in the New Testament. The root definitions are: again, return, bring back, restore, and it's used as bring me home again 5 times.

For the 5 books I came to five themes. They are Seperation, The Journey, Restore, Make Straight, and His Children. Lets look at the concept of return and how it relates to each of these themes from the five books of Moshe. The very first use of this word shoov is in :

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.

We start in B'reisheet with Elohim creating. Which in itself is a massive organization of perticles or atoms. He starts by calling things into existence and seperating them from each other. Everything appointed or seperated for it's purpose and place in the universe. Then we get to man and even he is given tasks and instruction and the first Torah which is don'tt eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve and Adam which is the correct order then disobeyed Elohim. The phrase should have been Adam and Eve but Adam chose to be ruled over by Eve and thus they both sinned. It isn't until now that we see the first use of the word return because until then they had not gone away. The first use of the word Shoov is that we will return to the dust we came from. More importantly is we will work for our bread which is symbolic of the Word of Elohim until we return to Him. Bread before then was freely given as Adam knew who his father was, but after sinning and leting satan and then his wife have authority over him, he would have to search for his bread. Bread is siad to strengthen our life. Now if Adam wants the words and ways of His father he will have to work for it and through sweat get what was once freely given to him. Sweat is a way the body removes impurities in the flesh. Face is symbolic of judgment in the scriptures. So one could interpret the phrase:

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread till you return unto the ground

to say by removing impurities from your judgment shall you be strengthed by the Word of Elohim until you return to Him. The next part of the phrase is dust you are and to dust you return. The breath of life was put into the man formed of dust or maybe better stated the breath of life that was with Elohim in the beginning was clothed with the dust of the earth a vessel fashioned to hold it or house it. Fitting for tabernacles the final Holy Days of the year. But the spirit is what returns to Elohim the tabernacle is earthly and remains in the earth from which it was made. As Messiah said give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and give to Elohim what is Elohim's. The Spirit belongs to Elohim and the dust belongs to the Earth.

Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto Elohim who gave it.

So how does this relate to the seperation of Elohim? We dwelt with Elohim in the beginning as part of His spirit or breath. Then he fashioned a tabernacle for it to dwell in temporarily until we return to him. He sent out His breath or ruach in to the tabernacle of dust we call our flesh.

Gen 2:7 And YHWH Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

I think this explains what John said when he said in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with Elohim and the Word was Elohim. This pattern repeats itself when Adam dwelled with Elohim, but then he was sent away for sin which seperated us from Elohim. Having then to work for our bread, and given the work to do until we return to Him. These are the works of repentance John spoke of, works of repentance or returning. We will work on removing the impurities of our judgment until we return to Him. Our wicked works were not taught to us by our heavenly father. We as Messiah said didn't have the works of our heavenly Father, but had the works of our father the devil because a child acts like his father. We were to go learn the works of our heavenly Father so we may return to Him. This is now translated as keeping Torah. You know a tree by it's fruit and you know a father by the child. As the scripture says:

Lev 11:44 For I am YHWH your Elohim: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy

A child acts like their father. So B'reisheet is about the two torahs, The instruction of Elohim, and the instruction of satan, and us choosing our works which reveal who our father is and whose child we will be in the end. Though we chose the instruction of satan doesn't mean we cannot learn the ways of our True Father and return to Him.

Next we have 'The Journey' of Shemot. We have Moshe drawn out, The way shown, their new master giving them rules, the showing of impossible things for man but with Elohim they are possible, We are told to judge the small things and His Torah will be our ruler, we are to prepare a place for him and our Goal is for Him to dwell among us. How does this relate to shoov or returning?

Moshe returned to Elohim from sinful Egypt a model of us and Messiah who was resurrected from the sinful Earth to return to Elohim. And then Moshe was to return and help his brothers return to Elohim and he would be their guide and show them the way. Messiah also will return and he will be our guide and show us the way back to the Father. This way that He will show us and guide us through that had became twisted was the Torah or Elohims instruction. Although they hadn't received the written Torah at Sinai yet they were still part of the exile from the original twisting of Elohim's instruction or Torah given to Adam. Elohim's instruction was twisted by the serpent and then that lie acted upon and lived out by Eve and Adam. They followed the crooked way of the serpent. Twisting Elohim's words. As long as Elohim's words or Torah remain twisted you shall remain in the Wilderness. This is shown by the twisting they did in the wilderness for forty years when they could have easily entered in much less time. This is why I beleive Messiah says if they would say they were blind they would be forgiven but because they say they see their sin remins with them. They were blind like the inhabitants groping for the door in noonday. They had tremendous light in their presence yet they wandered looking for the door (Messiah). Elohim wants us made right and the crooked will not enter His kingdom. The word for night actually means twist. Any twisting of Elohim's Torah is called a lie and anyone who loves a lie is not in the kingdom.

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.

Keeping the commandments and torah are summarized by Messiah as loving Elohim. So therefore if you love a lie or twisting of Torah, a non truth, you have kept it or acted upon it. This is what Adam and Eve did and thus they were cast outside the garden with the rest who love lies. Satan is as it says the father of lies and they are thus his children and dwell with their father in his house the Earth. So The Journey or Shemot is all about making the path or way straight so that we may enter the promised land. It included giving the law and then guiding by the Messenger of Elohim Moshe to test them as it says and humble them to see if they would keep His commandments or not. Thus shall they be made straight or shall they remain crooked.

The next Book is Vayikra which I titled Restore. This book establishes what we do when we sin and walk away from Elohim and what we must do to be in His presence and in His house. It also summarizes every charicteristic of Messiah who embodies the whole process of mediation between man and Elohim. If the Torah is the way and our guide and light in Shemot, them Vayikra is Messiah and is the door to the House of Elohim and restoration.

Joh 10:7 Then said Yahushua unto them again, Truly, truly, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

To return to our Father we must first restore His habitation and our cleanliness, this is modeled with the whole temple service and priesthood. It doesn't mean there is no sin, but it means some must be righteous enough that Elohims work can be done through them to help the sinful people. This is the model of Messiah who came and was clean enough himself to be able to Elohim's work with the sinful people. As a mediator to bring the people back into the presence of Elohim the priest must atone for the people and teach them Torah so they will no how to live and be made clean if they fall. Because no lame and defective animal is worthy to be presented to Elohim. Our High priest teaches all those who would be in the House of YHWH how they must be.

Next we have 'Make Straight' the book of Bamidbar. Here we have the testing of the people once they are guided in the way and in cleanliness. Now they must learn how to interact with Elohim among them as kind of a test to see if Elohim can live among them. We have rebellion, and distrust of Elohim in the face of their enemies and a general second guessing the things Elohim does, like is he going to be there for us when we fight, shouldn't He have given us meat, Was Moshe the best leader to choose. The people figured they knew better than Elohim which was the sin of Eve and of the serpent who explained though Elohim told you not to eat, really your right it would be better for you to eat. This implied that both satan and themselves knew what was good for them better than Elohim This is directly said when they said that they were better taken care of by pharoah in Egypt. I see this as their adolescence. They start to learn some knowledge and yet lack wisdom in how to apply it and they think that they know better. Anyone who has a 15 year old may know what I'm talking about.

Finally, we have 'His Children' in Devarim. This book focuses on reminders to do what they learned, to remember all they have seen, and to claim their place in the promised land as Elohim's children. They must all enter in and disposses the sin within them and take that good land. Returning to the pure breath of life the pure ruach they started with from Elohim. So that though God Exhaled us and we went into the world that Elohim would again inhale His spirit to dwell within Him once again.

We must return to our state before we, like Moshe's staff, were seperated from our master cast down and became crooked, We must then be grasped by a strong right hand and brought up from the dust of Egypt or flesh of sin, Restored in the hand of Him that was chosen by Elohim to save his people Moshe/Messiah, and made straight once again in his hand or Commandments. This will truly cause Pharoah/satan to let His people go so that they may Worship Elohim. This was a great sign and wonder before the children of Yisra'el and before Pharoah and it was not the making of serpents that was the miracle because Pharoah can take a straight thing also and make it crooked also but the miracle was that the Chosen one of Elohim could make it straight again. My brother's and sisters May our Messiah grab us all by the tail and restore us to His hand, make us straight again so that we may all truly return and worship our Elohim. Shalom!