The Purpose of Redemption

Audio Teaching

Notes

Moshe and The Messiah

Deuteronomy 18:15 CJB “Adonai will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves, from your own kinsmen. You are to pay attention to him,”

“[T]he first and major virtue of the Messiah will be Torah (according to Rambam, he will be steeped in it); from this, his redemptive strength will be drawn; and the Torah is called “The Torah of Moses.”

– Torah Studies, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, pg. 84, Kehot Publications Society

Yeshua, the Jewish Rabbi

A central aspect of my teaching ministry is to restore the Jewishness of Jesus, Yeshua, in the Church. It is not enough to acknowledge that Yeshua lived in Israel; we must acknowledge Him for the Torah-observant, nationalistic Jew and rabbi that He is.

• Yeshua responds to temptation with Scripture (Matt. 4:1-11) [References: Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13-14]
• The Torah of Moshe and The Torah of Adonai (Luke 2:22-24)
• Yeshua came to interpret the law rightly and show people how to live it (Matt. 5:17-20 [5:21-7:29])

If we are to understand Yeshua as one like unto Moshe, we must see redemption and the law in the New Testament in the way it was originally given to the Jewish people.

Why is Redemption Necessary?

“While in Egypt, Israel was lured by the attractions of Egyptian society. They began to assimilate into the larger culture. Assimilation poses a greater danger to the people of God than persecution. When we are persecuted, we ban closely together and firm up our convictions. We remember that we are not part of the greater culture. When we are received into the culture, however, we lose those distinctions, and we begin to lose our identity. We fall sway under the powerful spell of social allure. The rabbis speculated that something like this was happening in Egypt. One Jewish collection of commentary on the book of Exodus suggests that the Israelites went so far as to quit circumcising their sons so that their children would fit in better with Egyptians:

When Joseph died, the Children of Israel abrogated the ritual of circumcision. they said, “Let’s be like the Egyptians.” Because they quit circumcising themselves, the Holy One, Blessed be He, reversed the Egyptians’ friendly attitude toward them. (Exodus Rabbah 1:8)

Instead of settling down and trying to fit into Egyptian culture, the children of Israel ought to have been looking toward the return of Canaan. By remaining in Egypt, they made themselves (and especially their children) vulnerable to Egyptian culture. They were already entering spiritual enslavement long before their physical enslavement began.”   

– Unrolling the Scroll, Book 2, pgs. 215-216, First Fruits of Zion

We can quickly be drawn into the culture and away from the pathway of God.

The Obedience of Moshe

Exodus 3:1-5

• Moshe didn’t need to see with a passing glance; he needed to go over and see.
• “Here I am” (Heb. hinnê): I am going to do what is asked of me. Paying attention with the intent to obey.

The Character of God

Exodus 3:7-8 CJB “Adonai said, “I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters, because I know their pain. 8I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena’ani, Hitti, Emori, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. “

• God sees
• God listens
• God cares
• God keeps His promise (Gen. 12:7).

The Purpose of Redemption

Exodus 3:11-12 CJB “Moshe said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” 12 He replied, “I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

The purpose of redemption is to worship God (3:12; 4:22; 5:1; 7:26(8:1); 9:1, 13; 10;3, 26).

The Name of God

Exodus 3:13-15 CJB “Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” 14 God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.'” 15 God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya’akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.”

• Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh is the personal name of God, yet God is known by many names throughout Scripture.
• The Personal name of God is connected to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Yeshua said, “Pray, Our Father…” He respected the tradition of not saying the personal name of God.
• God will be whatever we need Him to be:
  • God gave Israel a good land (3:8, 17; 6:2-5, 8 [Gen. 12:7; 26:3; 35:12]).
  • God blessed them with prosperity (3:21-22; 11:2-3, 35-36 [Gen. 45:20]).
  • God is Healer (15:26; 17:15) – notice the name, “Moshe built an altar, called it Adonai Nissi [Adonai is my banner/miracle],” 
• God being what we need Him to be is conditioned on our obedience:
  • Deut. 28:1-2, 15

Will we choose redemption?

God called Avraham out of his home – but he had to go.

Will we leave Egypt only to build a golden calf? – Repentance brings restoration.