Shabbat, 26 Nissan 5784 / May 4, 2024
Day 490 Readings
PARASHA ACHAREI MOT (After Death)
Leviticus 16:1–18:30; Ezekiel 22:1–22:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9–20
“The LORD spoke to Moses after the death [acharei mot] of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD.” (Leviticus 16:1)
Torah: Parshat Acharei, 7th Portion Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:22-30
Leviticus 18:22-30
Complete Jewish Bible
(RY: iv, LY: vii) 22 “‘You are not to go to bed with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.
23 “‘You are not to have sexual relations with any kind of animal and thus become unclean with it; nor is any woman to present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; it is perversion.
24 “‘Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, because all the nations which I am expelling ahead of you are defiled with them. 25 The land has become unclean, and this is why I am punishing it — the land itself will vomit out its inhabitants. 26 But you are to keep my laws and rulings and not engage in any of these disgusting practices, neither the citizen nor the foreigner living with you; (LY: Maftir) 27 for the people of the land have committed all these abominations, and the land is now defiled. 28 If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out too, just as it is vomiting out the nation that was there before you. 29 For those who engage in any of these disgusting practices, whoever they may be, will be cut off from their people. 30 So keep my charge not to follow any of these abominable customs that others before you have followed and thus defile yourselves by doing them. I am Adonai your God.’”
Haftarah Acharei Mot: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 22:1–19 (A); 22:1–16 (S)
Ezekiel 22
English Standard Version
Israel's Shedding of Blood
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. 3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! 4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of[a] your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.
6 “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit[b] and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.
13 “Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Acharei Mot: Romans 3:19–28; 9:30 –10:13; 1 Corinthians 5:1–13 with 2 Corinthians 2:1–11; Galatians 3:10–14; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 7:23–10:25
1 Corinthians 6:9-20
English Standard Version
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous[a] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,[b] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Flee Sexual Immorality
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined[c] to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin[d] a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Bible Study Together
Hosea 8-9
English Standard Version
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
8 Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.2 To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.”3 Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not.With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.5 I have[a] spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?6 For it is from Israel;a craftsman made it; it is not God.The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.[b]
7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour;if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.8 Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel.9 For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers.10 Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up.And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute.
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning.12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.
The Lord Will Punish Israel
9 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors. 2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the Lord? 6 For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred. 8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God; yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. 11 Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 12 Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them! 13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm[c] planted in a meadow; but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.[d] 14 Give them, O Lord— what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death.17 My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.
Mark 14:53-65
English Standard Version
Jesus Before the Council
53 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council[a] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”[b] 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalm 123
English Standard Version
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of Ascents.
1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress,so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
Numbers 3
Numbers 4
Isaiah 40
English Standard Version
Comfort for God's People
40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to herthat her warfare[a] is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned,that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries:[b]“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”All flesh is grass, and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news;[e]lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[f] lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has measured[g] the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? 14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood[h] that will not rot;he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Philippians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul and Timothy, servants[a] of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers[b] and deacons:[c]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,[d] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The Advance of the Gospel
12 I want you to know, brothers,[e] that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard[f] and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word[g] without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
To Live Is Christ
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Dear AVI,
YOU are the GREAT I AM! The HOLY ONE of ISRAEL and NO one can be likened to YOU! Forgive me AVI for my heart has been deceiving me causing me to be broken and miserable because of the pain of disappointment, because I already want to see what YOU have told me, I was not willing to wait. I was tired of disappointment and dismay that came along with every revelation YOU tell me about my future mate. Forgive me AVI, if this desire has become an idol in my heart. Help me to let go of it as I have been crying yesterday because of the disappointment that I have not grieved when Stephen had rejected me the first time. Rejection after rejection as if my heart has not been so damaged already by the many men in the past YOU have revealed that has still rejected me. Today I want to feel nothing, as I felt all the pain yesterday and broke down in tears because I was forced to deal with the reality of the rejection when I was sick and had to rest. I was forced to deal with the ungrieved pain and I want this die already so I can move on already. I want it to die because YOU can always raise it back to life if YOU want to. I am not willing to fight anymore, so comfort me, comfort me like YOU did yesterday, keep comforting me today because I have been so damaged and hurt by rejection after rejection. What pain, what more pain do YOU want me to go through as punishment for my sins against YOU? Release, release me, I am struggling and wrestling with YOU, I will bear the pain but I am praying also for release, release me from Stephen and help me to live my life without desire for anything anymore because YOU already have everything I need. Release me I pray, help me to let go like I let go of Jeward, he is nothing to me now but I will never go back to him because I spit him out already of my heart and I am not a dog that will eat again what I have vomitted out. All these issues of my heart YOU are killing, so let it die once again until YOU have completed YOUR work in me. Keep my heart lock in key, let my love be for YOU only because it is safe in YOUR hands, please do not let anyone harm me with my heart. No more GOD halas! That is enough! But I will keep praying and asking YOU to speak to Stephen and call him to be YOUR servant and son, to bring his family into YOUR kingdom because YOU love him O GOD and YOU have caused me so much pain so that I could pray and cry for him, now I wait how YOU will respond to my desperate cries and broken heart. I will wait until I see YOUR hand moving within him just as the Great King used to write in Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress,so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.
GIve me peace and closure O GOD, I pray that YOU will give rest to my wounded heart. I pray that YOU will make me happy soon because YOU said those who sow in tears shall reap in shouts of joy. I want to shout joyfully because I believe YOU will make me glad one day because YOU are the most amazing GOD and loving FATHER who has the best surprise prepared for me ever! I know YOU always do things purposefully and with that I can trust YOU with the pain that YOU are allowing me. O GOD Almighty, bless the man whose heart YOU will touch to love me, bless my husband who will bring joy to me, bless the man who will help my family because of his love for me bless his family, bless his work, and in all that he does let it prosper O GOD indefinitely because a man who loves me is in love with YOU just as YOU have been loving me. Thank YOU O GOD for the hope YOU have put in my heart, thank YOU for this love and this pain and all that YOU are allowing me to go through. Thank YOU. Help me to keep trusting YOU and following YOU even though it pains me, because YOU deserve my all and my best, only YOU O GOD only YOU! All this is because of YOU and for YOU alone!
Ba HaShem YESHUA HaMashiach, Amen!