Midrash January 13, 2007
©2007 Mark Pitrone & Fulfilling Torah Ministries
Devarim (Dt) 23.21 - 24.18; Yeshayahu (Is) 19.1 - 25; Tehellim (Ps) 139; Mattityahu (Mat) 5.30 - 37)

Devarim 23.21-22 - Usury is from the Hebrew root nun, shin, kahf - nashaq. To us it means exceedingly high interest on a debt. In the Hebrew language it means demanding any interest on a debt.

In the paleo-Hebrew pictographs the nun signifies a seed sprout, which has the idea of continuation. The shin represents the two front teeth biting something. The Kaph represents an open palm. In this case, I believe the word means to continually eat out a man's substance, open hand outstretched to receive more than your due. The bend and curve of the open hand in the Kaph can also be seen as bending one's will to another's purpose - which is the wicked end of usury.

It was forbidden to extract usury from a fellow Hebrew, to make a profit from a brother's need. It was OK to profit from a pagan's need, but not a brother's.

Today's bankers, who are dominated world-wide by the Rothschild family and their intermarried banking partners, don't pay any heed to Torah, exacting interest from everyone, regardless their heritage. It makes no difference if the 'mark' is Hebrew or heathen - all pay the usury. And it has become truly usurious in anyone's estimation. BOA and other banks are charging credit card interest rates of over 32% in some cases. This means they get paid 100% profit in only 3 years of minimum payments, and the principle has barely been touched.

It is very important that we get out of debt as soon as possible, especially usurious credit card debt. Best method to do this is to gather up all your credit card bills and pile them in order of amount owed, with the least on the top. Add up all the minimum payments. What you'll do is at least double the minimum payment on the smallest balance card, while keeping up the minimums on all the others. Buy less candy bars or soda pops, if necessary to make the double payment. Do that until that card is paid off. Then, grab the next highest balance card and add to the minimum payment for that card everything you were paying on the card you just paid off. Do that until the 2nd card is paid off, and grab the 3rd bill. Add everything you were paying on the 2nd card to the minimum for the 3rd card until it's paid off. Keep that up until all your cards have a zero balance. Then use ONE of those cards for emergencies only, and pay for everything with cash.

Prov. 22.7, The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Q&C

Devarim 23.21-23 - When we make a vow to YHWH, we are stupid in the extreme if we fail to honour it. Not only is it sin to us, but he'll see to it that the vow is paid to the uttermost farthing. If a mere man will require a vow of you (Mat.5.23-26), what makes you think YHWH will not? Before you made the vow, you had no obligation and there was not even a chance you could sin. Essentially, if you say you're going to do something, do it. Be known as a man or woman of your word, one who can be trusted.

Devarim 23.24-25 - When you enter a neighbor's field you are allowed to eat as you go, but you are not allowed to harvest to carry away. To harvest and carry away is to steal from your brother, essentially the same as the usurer steals from the borrower. Remember the talmidim picking corn and eating it on the Shabbat (Mat.12.1) and the Pharisees getting huffy about it? There was no Torah command against picking enough food to eat, only against harvesting for profit on Shabbat. Q&C

Devarim 24.1-4 - The main point of these verses is to prohibit the original husband to remarry the divorced wife AFTER she has married another man. What if she commits adultery before she is divorced? Torah commands that she should be stoned along with her 'lover.' What if the husband merely suspects her of adultery? In B'Midbar 5 we see the law of jealousy in which the woman drinks the bitter water. Yeshua took the curse of the adulterous woman from B'Midbar 5 and died her death so that he could remarry the defiled woman upon his resurrection. He'd divorced us in Jer.3.8, drank our bitter water (vinegar, sans gall) died our death in B'Midbar 5 and then rose a new man to marry us in Deut.24 and Romans 7.1-4.

Warning: Totally new concept being proffered. Be Bereans!

In Rev.20 we see the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven adorned as a Bride for her Husband. This is the Bride of Messiah, arrayed in fine linen, white and clean, signifying her virginity, even as an American woman dresses for her wedding (though fewer and fewer can genuinely wear white). But that was not our condition only a short time before. Before the rapture/resurrection, we are anything but virgins, spiritually, even if a few of us may be physically. So, as Eddie told us before, we were an adulterous wife to whom YHWH Yeshua had given a certificate of divorce. We went off and defiled ourselves with another 'god' of our own making, permanently sealing our divorce, according to Torah.

But YHWH, as Yeshua, put on human flesh so that he could live a perfectly righteous life, "Fulfilling Torah" in every aspect applicable to him, so that he could then vicariously suffer for us the punishment we deserved, as seen in B'Midbar 5. According to Devarim 24.1-4, the first husband could not again marry his defiled wife, and he was under this restriction until he died. But, fortunately for us (and perfectly within the plan of YHWH Avinu), he didn't stay dead. He arose after 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth as a completely 'new man'.

Now look at 2Pet.3.9-12:
9 10 But the day of YHWH will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and reverence, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of YHWH, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
And then at Rev.20.11 and 21.1:
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
21.1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

When Yeshua arose, his talmidim, the people he'd lived intimately among for 3½ years did not recognize him in his resurrected body until he chose to reveal himself to them, first to Mary, then the Emmaus road guys, then to Shimon Kefa. The new heaven and earth is not identical to the old, but merely similar (no more sea, etc.). Now, if the creation was so affected by the fall of Adam that it can not be made clean enough for YHWH to permanently dwell here, and it has to be made entirely new, must not the same be true of our physical bodies? In a similar way I think that Yeshua is a completely 'new man' so that he can marry his estranged wife. And she, or rather we, will have entirely new bodies, with no admixture of the old, similar in appearance, but not identical. This is in line with 2Cor.5.17:
17 Therefore if any man be in the Messiah, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
How many things are made NEW? We do not constantly see this in our lives, since we deal with an old 'nature', or rather an evil inclination. But in the resurrection and the new heaven and earth, there will be no evil inclination, or sin nature, to deal with. For now, we get to TASTE the glory that Yeshua will give us in our new, resurrected beings. Now, we partake by our position in Messiah, but then we will know the fullness of our salvation. We will truly be virgins in our new bodies, made righteous by the blood of Messiah, graciously provided with a perfect and sinless body in a perfect and unfallen creation. Q&C

Devarim.24.5-18 - In v.5 we see that a man was not to work for 1 year after his marriage 'to cheer up' his new bride. I think that has to do with staying around to start a family, with the assumption being that she would bear their first child in that time. Nothing would bring more 'cheer' than a new baby.

In v.6, one was not to take anything as collateral that would deprive a man of his ability to provide for himself and his family. Trading in Yisraelite souls was 'verboten'. The slaver was to be stoned to remove such sin from the gates. Remember last week's Midrash, where we were to have a paddle on the non-business end of our swords, so we could keep the camp clean of our waste products? Here is some human waste that was to be removed from YHWH's sight. Remember that if we allow that which defiles in our camp YHWH cannot walk with us.

Vv.8-9 are dealing w/the same thing. We are to guard against leprosy, which typifies sin throughout scripture. It needs to be dealt with immediately. Miriam had rebelled v. Moshe and as punishment she was made totally leprous immediately, as an example. She was also forgiven immediately upon her repentance, but still had to fulfill the law of the leper and live outside the camp for 7 days. The sin could not be in the camp, or YHWH could not walk there among us.

Vv.10-13 are about taking a pledge. You are not to enter the debtor's house to take his pledge, but let him bring it to you. YHWH absolutely respects property rights. He expects both parties to respect each other's rights, as he does ours. We are not to keep a brother's pledge overnight.

Vv.14-15 tell us to pay the wages due and pay them on time. To not do so is sin unto us.

V.16 requires that we punish only those worthy of punishment, not those associated with them or related to them. The guilty bear responsibility for their own crimes.

V.17 tells us to be righteous judges in all matters and not to respect persons in judgment. Then v.18 reminds us why we are to deal equitably with all men, because we were oppressed, cheated, robbed, bullied, etc. while we were in Egypt. We didn't like it, and so we should treat others as we wished (and wish) to be treated. Golden Rule, Torah Style. Q&C

Yeshayahu 19.1-17 - Everything in this lengthy passage deals with the punishment of Egypt in the darkness of the day of YHWH. But I don't think this is the punishment of YHWH, though such punishment is determined against Egypt. I think this punishment is the oppression of the Anti-Messiah (v.4) or those who serve him. When YHWH comes into Egypt, there are those who will follow after him, for in v.2, we see Egyptians fighting amongst themselves. When YHWH comes down on the pagans in Egypt who oppress those who follow after YHWH, he brings the forces of Anti-Messiah down to oppress them all. The Egyptian government is probably seen as too 'moderate' in its treatment of B'nai Zion. When the NWO comes down on molly-coddling Egypt, they come down hard, as related in vv.5-10.

In vv.11-17 we see the counselors of Pharaoh as fools and deceived, thus giving Pharaoh lousy advice. They advise him to do what the NWO decrees, rather than what he is inclined to do. For that reason YHWH is determined to hammer Egypt in v.17. He is shaking his fist over Egypt in v.16, but before he can bring his own wrath down, something happens.

Vv.18-25 show us that for some reason 5 cities of Egypt must repent in humility (the literal meaning of Canaan), for suddenly there is an altar to Yah in the midst of Egypt and a pillar in the border. This could be the purpose of the Great Pyramid, which is in the middle of the nation AND at the border between Upper and Lower Egypt. For some fascinating speculation about its true purpose, see the book, "The Great Pyramid Decoded". The dimensions may prophecy Messiah in BOTH of his appearances.

This passage seems to indicate that Egypt is redeemed in the Great Trib, in the midst of her oppression by the fierce king of v.4. In v.23 YHWH heals her after he's allowed her to be smitten by the fierce king. It also looks as if Assyria turns to YHWH in the Great Trib, for she becomes one end of the King's Highway, Egypt being the other end with Israel smack dab in the middle of it. Look at what YHWH calls these nations, 'my people', 'the work of mine hands', and 'mine inheritance'. These nations are in very enviable positions entering the Millennial Kingdom of Yeshua due to their willing service to him in the Great Trib. Perhaps they become safe havens for B'nai Zion? Q&C

Tehillim 139 - This psalm is a comfort to those of us in the exile, for it tells us that we can't be anywhere but in YHWH's presence and thoughts. He knows us, our ways, our thoughts. He is there when we walk, sit, sleep. He guards us in all our troubles. He rejoices with us when we rejoice, and he comforts us when we mourn. And he will redeem us from our exile in his time, which grows short. He's been right with us since we were conceived; he guided our formation in our mother's wombs. Even those of us who are not what people call 'perfect' are formed exactly as he would have us be, our imperfections and abnormalities bring him glory and honor, and give men a glimpse of his love and compassion for them. His thoughts toward us are awesome in their gracious mercy and in their sheer number. Our enemies stand no chance, though they oppress us and we have no physical means to resist. When we trust him, he takes up our cause. Q&C

Mattityahu 5.30-37 - It seems that the divorced woman who marries is not committing adultery, but the man who marries her is. As we saw in the Torah today, the woman is not precluded from more than one marriage, if her husband ends the marriage with a writ of divorce. It is interesting that Yeshua uses this passage as an illustration of his parable about cutting off your right hand if it offends you. It may be the very thing he needed to say to his talmidim. If they were married, they had no right to divorce their wives or to just leave them without providing for them. If they were not married, it would be better to remain that way IF they were going to follow him. I don't know about the rest of you, but my wife is definitely my right hand. Nothing of any importance gets done without her. Yeshua is telling these men that only if their wives are guilty of fornication are they allowed to 'cut them off', otherwise the husband is CAUSING her adultery. He is guiltier than she. Another application is this; don't pledge yourself to anything that you're not certain you can deliver, but be a man of your word. The marriage ketubah is every bit as serious as a vow to YHWH. Q&C