The Mark of HaShem

January 19th, 2013

"So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt." (Exodus 13:16)

וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל-יָדְכָה, וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ: כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד, הוֹצִיאָנוּ יְהוָה מִמִּצְרָיִם. {ס

This is one of three passages within Torah that tells us that something is a sign upon our hands and as something upon our foreheads. The NASB translation in this passage says "phylacteries", which, is not in the Hebrew; that comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Septuigant. Now, what in the world is a phylactery? Well, it's defined as an amulet or charm, and in this case is being used in reference to tefillin - the black leather boxes containing parchment of Scripture which is then literally tied around the arm and the forehead so that as we say in the Shema, these words are actually bound upon our very person.

In the Hebrew our passage reads "V'haya [and it shall be] le'ot (for a sign] al [upon] yadcha [your hand] ul'totafot [and BANDS] beyn enecha [between your eyes]. The word totafot, although variously translated as frontals or symbol, it literally means a band. So, to wrap something around your head to serve as a sign is indeed a legitimate interpretation of this passage, and it's a practice that we know goes at least to the time of Yeshua because they found Tefillin in the Qumran caves with the Dead Sea Scrolls that is very similar to the tefillin that Orthodox Jews wear today. But what does this all mean?

In Matthew 23:5, Yeshua criticizes the Judean Synangogue leaders for widening their tefillin so that they could look extra righteous to everyone, and we know that's not a kosher attitude. But at the same time, Yeshua doesn't criticize the practice in and of itself, and the Torah says that it shall serve as a sign. Most of us who work in public places realize that people don't often read signs, but a sign nonetheless is meant for people to see and take notice of. So, does this mean we're all supposed to walk around with black boxes on our head? It would certainly be a conversation starter about your faith when you meet basically everyone around you, making an ice breaker for evangelism. But no, that's not what I'm here to tell you today. Every commandment in Torah while it may have a physical or very literal application, there is always more to the commandment than that. Kosher laws for example teach us that we should be careful about what we let enter into us; is that music kosher? Is that TV program kosher? How is this environment going to affect me? If you've been raised kosher you will have the natural tendency to think twice about things. The Tabernacle and the Temple system, those teach us all about the Heavenly Tabernacle and what Messiah did for us, and these are very important elements of our faith. The feast days, not only do they match up with the harvest seasons and remind us of things like the Exodus from Egypt, or the giving of the Torah on Mt.Sinai, but they lay out for us the entire redemptive, prophetic plan of HaShem carried out through Yeshua. And as Paul says in Colossians 2, they are shadows of what has come, and they are shadows of what is still to come, and when we see Messiah we realize the reality of these things. And that's why no one, Jew or Gentile, is allowed to judge us for keeping these feasts, because we're celebrating Messiah!

So now when it comes to the mitsva of tefillin, what is the application here beyond actually wrapping it on ourselves during Morning Prayer and how is that application relevant to us as 21st century Believers in Messiah Yeshua? Well, let's go to the other passages in which this sort of phrase occurs and see what we can glean from the Scripture.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them (bind what? These words, that you shall love the Lord your G-d and serve Him only) as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NASB)

“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart (which words this time? Lets' skip back to verse 13 - It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, [and what is the purpose of the commandments?] to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul," and on your soul; - so these are the words: the commandments which teach how to love the Lord our G-d. So back verse 18) and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them (do you know why we kiss the Torah scroll and the Mezuza? It is not just a sign of respect, but it is because these words are always to be upon our lips so that we talk of them...) when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)

"For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead (a reminder... this is actually a different word this time), that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth (again, the Word of the LORD being upon our lips, right?); for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year." (Exodus 13:6-10)

Now, from these passages it is clear that the sign upon our hands is that we walk out the commandments to love the LORD your G-d with all your heart, soul and strength. And Yeshua says many, many times - "if you love me, keep my commandments" - and we only have one G-d, not two, so He's talking about the same commandments, right? And it is often said that the commandments are not for salvation, they're for sanctification. And interesting enough, this word "sign", ot, also appears in Exodus 31. Let's go there for a moment,

"The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My Sabbaths (plural! talking about ALL the modeim - the feast days); for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you." (Exodus 31:12-13 NASB)

Okay, so these commandments are a sign upon our hand which means we walk them out, which is how we love the LORD our G-d who sanctifies us through these very same commandments... and as we read a moment ago, these commandments are to cognitively remind us. In Exodus 13:9 it doesn't say "totafot" - a frontlet between your eyes, but it says "zikron" - a remembrance between your eyes. In the third paragraph of the Shema, we read Numbers 15 where it talks about the tzitzit and says that you shall look upon them and remember ("zikron") ALL the commandments... AND to do them. You know, people have said to me before - "why do you need tzitzit, doesn't the Holy Spirit convict us of sin?" Ah, yes indeed, but I'll tell you something, I'm really good at being busy and distracting myself, but every morning when I go to put on the tzitzit I have to face the Holy Spirit. And if something is amiss, oh, I'll know it before I even start saying the blessing, and I'll be hesitant to put the tzitzit on afterwords the conviction will be so strong. Numbers 15 says hat we look at the tzitzit not just to remember the commandments and do them, but so that you we don't go atray... in modern Christian terms this means "backslide". So we don't backslide, but rather, as the text says, be holy to your G-d... which means to be set aside especially for Him and His purposes.

Our initial passage comes from Exodus 13:16... "and it shall be a sign upon your hand and for frontlets on your forehead". Now, let's flip to Revelation 13:16... same chapter, same verse,

"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead," (Revelation 13:16 NASB)

Uh oh, mark of the beast! What do we do here? Easy, keep the commandments and get HaShem's mark upon your hand and on your forehead. That's what we've been talking about the whole time. Some people stress about the mark of the beast when really if they would just get mark of HaShem instead then we can be counted among those who "keep the commandments of G-d and have the testimony of Yeshua" in Revelation 12:17. And there won't be anything to worry about as far as I'm concerned - "fear not, for I am with you says the LORD" (Isaiah 41:10).

So, here you are in a Torah Observant congregation, keeping the feasts, wearing tzitzit, wow, you got the mark of HaShem, right? Are you all encouraged? Well... don't be too encouraged, because I'm here to tell you about how we often do it wrong. Torah Observance goes far beyond the mere outward observance of all this stuff. You might think it's cool to learn Hebrew... and wear tzitzit... and keep Shabbat. But it goes way beyond all that. At the end of the third paragraph of the Shema when we recite "that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your G-d"... that holiness as I mentioned earlier is where we are set aside for a special purpose. 1 Peter 2:9 states,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for G-d's own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light". (1 Peter 2:9 TLV)

Did you get that? To proclaim the PRAISES of the One who brought us out of darkness and into His marvelous light... it doesn't say that we are to sit there and criticize others, telling them that they're doing it all wrong. That's actually not part of the sign upon our hand or what we are to remember between our eyes. There is a fundamental problem within the Hebrew Roots movement where some of us have completely missed the boat. Israel is to be a light to the nations as the Scripture says, but that light doesn't shine so bright when we sit there and condemn other people's theology or beliefs with derogatory terms like "churchianity" and "Christo-pagans". Israel according to the flesh - they're not going to be provoked to jealousy when we stereotype, judge and ignorantly make fun of their traditions while often at the same time doing a very poor job ourselves at trying to be Torah Observant. And the outside world... they're not going to be attracted to our G-d when we come off as having a "holier than thou" attitude. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5 that we're not even to judge those outside the faith. That's G-d's place, not ours. Rather, we judge those inside the faith. But in Galatians 6:1 Paul says that we bring correction in a spirit of gentleness; not by calling people "christo-pagans" because they keep Easter and Christmas and worship on Sunday. Or how about jumping on someone who is new to Torah and isn't keeping it quite… right yet? Or at least the way that you think it should be done. Yes we should be accountable to one another, but this spirit of gentleness is to be a fundamental premise in approaching anyone and everyone within the Body of Messiah, whether it be someone who is trying to keep Torah, or someone in a mainstream church who has never even heard the word Torah. And I have to tell you, the Hebrew Roots movement, while claiming to be Torah Observant, fails terribly in this area.

In all of the passages we visited in Torah, it said that keeping Torah shall serve as a "sign". The word here for "sign" is "ot". And the word "ot" denotes that the sign is some sort of distinguishing mark or banner. It also has a secondary meaning of being a standard or proof. Now what is the proof that we belong to Messiah? It is NOT that we are keeping Shabbat and the other Feast Days, because we can keep those things and still miss the mark completely. And then as HaShem spoke through the prophet Isaiah in chapter one verse fourteen, He will also say to us that – “"I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.” So I ask again, what is the proof that we belong to Messiah? What is our distinguishing mark?

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:15 NASB)

This we have to get into the very core of our beings, and I'll tell you why. What moved me to address this issue was actually a passage from James in the original Aramaic. And I'll explain to you guys another day why I feel the Aramaic may have been the original, but for now let's just go James chapter three beginning in verse thirteen. In my Tree of Life Bible there is a subheading above this section that says "Gentle Wisdom from Above". James here I think is really instructing us on that spirit of gentleness that Paul says we are to bring correction by. And he is contrasting this wisdom which comes from above with our own earthly wisdom which is rooted in self; us having to be right! Let's see what James has to say here beginning in verse thirteen,

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, (Aramaic adds in here “without division” - interesting because when we do not approach things in a spirit of gentleness we end up sowing division) unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:13-18 NASB)

Now these two words for peace I want to zero in on. In the Greek the same word occurs twice - irene (iranay) - but in the Aramaic there is actually two separate words used here. The second word is "shlama", the equivalent of saying shalom, but the first one is the word "shayna". The word shayna, while it carries the meaning of peace in the sense of stillness, according to J. Payne Smith's Aramaic lexicon (pg. 575), it carries a secondary meaning of cultivated or fertile land. So translating from Aramaic we could read the passage as "And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in fertile land by those who make peace". This is so significant because the manner in which you carry yourself, share your faith, and bring correction to others is going to determine whether that land is fertile or not. So I'm going to be frank here and say that people do NOT need a ROOD awakening because a ROOD awakening does not work. It does not create fertile land, rather, it more often than not sets up a wall of stone where nothing can be grown. But this pure, peaceable, gentle wisdom that comes from above is what manifests when Torah is correctly worn as a sign upon your hand and as a reminder between your eyes. And that is what allows you to be a light unto all men so that they are so drawn towards you. And then the seeds of righteous fruit may be sown in that fertile land because we have the shalom of Yeshua within us.

So last month, North America's favorite holiday was upon us, right? And every year during this time I am reminded by many in the Hebrew Roots movement, not necessarily in our congregation, but within the greater movement how people in their own insecurities need to be right and tell others they're wrong. How they argue, debate and constantly point fingers rather than simply loving G-d. And I can tell so easily because of where their focus is. I want to use Sarah as an example here though. She was basically raised with a Messianic understanding, so she has no need to prove the Torah observant walk correct because that's just what she's always done. No big deal. And it's funny because, around the Christmas season she acts in a way that's unique for most people in Hebrew Roots. When her Christian friends begin to worship in this season, she's so focused on HaShem that she just jumps up and goes "yeah, praise the L-rd!!" and then she stops and says "wait.. hold on... I don't celebrate Christmas... uhg, I hate how festive this season is!" And it's fantastic because she is so focused on the L-rd and wanting to praise Him that her spirit is ready to jump at it any moment it can. And that is what the Shema is about when it says that you shall love HaShem your G-d with all your innermost strength and being! You love Him so much that there is no room for anything else; there is nothing left to go on about paganism and pagan gods because your focus is on HaShem and HaShem alone.

Now, that doesn't mean there isn't perhaps a time and a place to talk about those things. But here's how it works. When Torah is worn properly as a distinguishing mark that you belong to Messiah, and as a result your light shines and everyone takes notice; then... when they find out that you keep the fullness of Torah and don't celebrate certain other holidays, something very interesting is going to happen. Instead of you pointing out what they're doing wrong (creating a wall of offence), they're now going to come to you and inquire with fertile land about what you're doing right. And that is when you are in a position to share your Torah Observant faith, both with your Christian brothers and sisters as well as the secular people around you. And I speak from experience on this having done it both ways.

BUT… in order to make sure our light is shining, we require constant introspection, and this is really what I want you guys to be thinking about as you read the Torah. So often in the Hebrew Roots movement we get caught up in theological debates, with all the things that come with those debates distracting us from what the Torah is really trying to teach us. So if you have a habit of debating on the internet, I'm here to tell you to stop; take a break! Unless you are there to bring light into that situation, it's not going to be profitable. Again, I speak from experience. And if you are following a bunch of Hebrew Roots teaches who love to point fingers and sow division, I say, stop listening to them. They are nothing but a distraction. Instead, who you need to be under and listening to is the Holy Spirit and His conviction. So take a fast from all these distractions and spend some quiet time reading Torah for once instead. And then when you read in Torah that you shall love the L-RD your G-d with all your heart... that these words which you are being commanded today shall be upon your heart... you really, really need to think deep and hard about that. We say those statements every Shabbat during our liturgy, and if you recite the Shema as part of your daily prayers, then you will also be saying it twice daily. So we say these words often... but they are not light words!! If you want to recite the Shema correctly, then you have to look within yourself and really question yourself as you recite these words. And if you are not living according to His righteousness, then you need to be convicted every time you attempt to recite the Shema until you change and make teshuvah. Because when HaShem is your G-d, that means you accept His Kingship in your life and agree to living according to His ways.

You know, I heard an interesting definition of teshuvah from a Rabbi the other day. He said that teshuvah means you become a new person who no longer does what you used to do. That your very character changes. In AA, they say that if your character remains the same and you’ve simply stopped drinking, you have now become a dry drunk. This is why Paul says in Romans 12 “but be you transformed… by the renewal of your mind.” We need to be transformed folks. And the Shema is not just supposed to be lip service, but it is a declaration that we no longer for ourselves but we live for Him. And we live according to ALL His ways – total surrender – not just being selective here and there, or doing the commandments in a superficial sort of way. For example, when you keep the feast days, and Shabbat, and put on your tzitzit... these are not "cool things" to do and be wrapped up in. These are Heavenly, Divine Commandments from the Creator of the universe designed to change, to transform, the very essence of your being from the carnal man to the spiritual man. They are designed to convict and hammer you for your need for Messiah Yeshua and the door that He has opened for us, and then they are to serve as tools of edification and introspection so that we do not back slide. Tools to keep us in check and maintain a healthy relationship with our Maker who upon humbling us with them can then sanctify us with them and thus make us stand out among a world of darkness. And then, and only then are we carrying the mark of HaShem as a sign upon our hand and as a reminder between our eyes. And this is not a light reminder. In Deuteronomy 30 the Torah says that this is your life and the length of your days!! So we say “yeah, awesome, Torah, this is great, how come the church isn’t keeping it?” Well first of all, depending on the denomination, the church is already keeping something like 69-84% of applicable Torah. But that aside, what you should really be thinking of is “if the Torah says that this is your life and the length of your days… then it stands to reason that if I depart from Torah principles in my own life that I DIE and shorten my days”. Because that’s exactly what will happen! This whole Torah thing is not a joke you guys. It’s not where you play dress up to look like a Jewish Yeshua, only to distract yourself in make-belief land long enough to ignore what really needs to be addressed. No, you let yourself get caught up in lust, gambling, drugs, cheating, lying… then it doesn’t matter how much theology you know or how big your tzitzit are, you are going to catch a disease that will kill your spiritual man… unless, of course, you get on your knees and cry out for help to G-d. And just in case you missed the memo, G-d works through the Body of Messiah. You cannot do this in your own personal prayer closet. James 5:15-16 states,

“the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the L-rd will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:15-16 NASB)

When Yeshua questioned us saying why do we look at the speck in our brothers eye and ignore the plank in your own; in telling us to first remove the plank and then address our brothers speck, He means to tell us that we must constantly by humbled through this process of introspection that I've been speaking of. And only after we have humbled ourselves, confessing our sins to one another, praying for one another, and healing one another… can we then go out and be a light which brings correction to others. And it's because only then are we a vessel suitable for the Holy Spirit to work through, a vessel that will cultivate fertile land for planting seeds of righteousness and thus expand the Kingdom of Heaven. And for me this is something I've really been focusing on lately. And it is so important. So when you go to bring correction to your fellow Believer, no matter who they are, make sure you have done a thorough inspection of yourself first. And as you read and study Torah, don't get caught up on a theological bunny trail that will distract you from looking at yourself. Rather see the Torah as the living words of HaShem that are there to bring correction to your life, and listen with an open heart to His voice and His conviction. Allow the Torah to be the sign it's supposed to be upon your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, and so let the Almighty mature you into who he has called you to be: a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation. Let's just ask the L-rd's blessing on our time this morning.

Also those who are far from G-d's Torah and His service... one must draw them close with strong cords of love -- perhaps one might succeed in bringing them closer to Torah and the service of G-d. And even if one fails, one has still merited the rewards of the fulfillment of the Mitzvah, "Love your fellow"
- Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RETURN TO HOME PAGE