patriarchy – Page 4 – 11:3 Restoration

Shame, Reproach and the Image of Marriage

Honor and shame are concepts almost completely lost on western culture. We watch memes, gifs and video clips of foibles and disasters that befall others and consider it humorous to mock and laugh at their misfortune. We even encourage and rejoice in the sin and shame inducing behavior of others while entirely ignoring our own reproach for things Scripture considers abhorrent. Our culture ignores widows and orphans, glorifies divorce, practices all manner of sexual deviance, encourages abortion and we are generally irresponsible toward all but self.

In fact, like a man with no sense of smell, we have become a people entirely unaware of our own stench or that of those around us. Like pigs, we wallow in our filth and think it okay, maybe even funny. We glorify our stench.

As I have been studying Scripture regarding the two houses of Israel, God’s relationship with each house and His use of the relationship between man and woman to image Himself and His people, I have become increasingly aware of how very wretched we are on so many levels, and, how wrong is our theology.

One of the deep concepts that God refers to over and over is that of shame and reproach, so I had to begin to search out why God uses this concept and what we need to understand in both the spiritual and the physical dimension. Foundationally, there are several basic concepts that must be understood. If these are new to you, I recommend reading and processing the links to gain understanding and insight.

Restoring kol Israel: Democratic Republic or Theocratic Patriarchy?

What will be the form of government in the Millennial Kingdom? Will it be a democratic republic?

Most people who never ponder the form of government in the Millennial Kingdom merrily assume that it will be some sort of democratic republic with Messiah at the head. But, is that a safe assumption?

Most all nations in western culture, particularly ‘christian’ nations, are some form of democratic republic, often with a strong bent toward egalitarian feminism. We generally regard this as the result of ‘Enlightenment’, but do we find any support for the ideals upon which most governmental forms are founded anywhere in Scripture? (Yes, dyed in the wool Presbyterians may think Paul’s eldership is, but that is simply how to behave in the diaspora…)

In fact, while western culture may have drawn a now fading moral code from, primarily, the Torah, any honest student will readily admit that the form of government comes straight out of Greece and Roman systems contemporary to Second Temple Judea. And, if one is to trace it further back, they would be surprised to find that Greco-Roman democratic ideas came from Esau and Genesis 36, but I digress. A good study on that topic is The Esau Effect from The Messianic Message.

Restoring kol Israel: How we ‘disable’ our children

“What’s the use? I’m gonna die anyway?”

His reply to my question was rather listless.

It started after Shabbat when I asked a young man in our fellowship what he wanted to study for and do when he finished school. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “What’s the use? I’m gonna die anyway?”

I probed him with a couple more questions to diagnose the problem and quickly figured out that he was deeply concerned about the state of the world and the coming Great Tribulation. In his mind, there is nothing much to live for.

Why try?

My immediate response was a vigorous reminder that we have at least 1000 years to go! The Tribulation is not the end. It is a beginning!! A beginning to the millennial reign! Others gathered around, wondering what the hubbub was, and it turned into a wonderful impromptu lesson for all who had lingered.

Reblog: That Might Work for You, But Not My Marriage

I do not normally reblog entire articles, but usually provide a link. I am making an exception for this article because it encapsulates so well the reason why we must recapture the proper roles of men and women in marriage as God designed. The Torah pursuant community is so serious about learning and walking in God’s ways, but retain a huge blind spot regarding what the Bible actually says about marriage, men and women.

We will be held accountable for truth in this area because it is foundational to the Restoration of Kol Israel. Calendars, liturgy and minute details about the Torah throughout Scripture are meaningless if we get the roles of men and women and family structure wrong. Simply, Torah cannot be walked rightly if headship and patriarchy are not right at the very foundation.

Here is the complete article from BiblicalGenderRoles.com with a few of my comments at the end. While he supports most points from the Brit, everything is supportable from the Torah.

That Might Work for You, But Not My Marriage

November 13, 2019 / biblicalgenderroles

“BGR, (my wife and I refer to you as Bigger Guy, phonetically pronounced), Just a word of encouragement, we decided over a year ago to switch the dynamic of our marriage to a more Biblical approach. Your blog has inspired a lot of the changes that we have implemented. We were “happily married partners” for many years. Since the change, our marriage has grown and flourished like never before.

Restoring kol Israel: The ‘lost’ first post…

I’m sitting here staring at my screen. Writing feels a bit like blood letting. Yet, my brain is totally full and I have no idea where to begin, which string to pull first so the dam will beak.

For weeks, months even, I have been pondering the many facets of the restoration of kol Israel. One might call it a minor obsession because it is where my thoughts go when nothing else pressing is at the forefront. Among those thoughts, I have been juggling the hot potatoes that few have the courage to touch, subjects that draw extreme ire and irrational unbiblical pushback. Post titles float across my mind, titles like Feminism and the Destruction of Western Culture, or Patriarchy, God’s Solution that Everybody Hates, or Where have all the Men Gone and Why don’t they Care?

Most whom I have conversations with concerning the restoration of Israel, the return of the whole House of Israel and what it will look like, have a lilting dreamy character to their voice until they understand that to be successful, we must divorce ourselves from Western Greek influences. It is one thing for most to erase Christmas or Easter and the many unbiblical elements absorbed from the nations, but it is another matter entirely to realize that future Israel will Continue reading “Restoring kol Israel: The ‘lost’ first post…”

Our focus for the next Torah cycle…

Opportunities abound in each new journey through the Torah and now is the time to prayerfully ask Abba what He may have for you.

Free Torah Portion cards available through FFOZ.

As most readers know, we are just a couple Shabbats away from returning to the beginning and again taking up the annual journey through the Torah portions. Each year I seek what the Father would have me focus on as an overarching theme. In some years I have shared from those studies and in others it has been a more personal matter.

Well, this year, I will be paying special attention to elements of headship, patriarchy, marriage, roles of men and women as well as how this all plays out in community with a goal of understanding more about the restoration of kol Israel at the family and then clan levels. Blog co-author, Jeremy, and I have the ambitious goal of releasing a weekly blog post sharing some of what we are learning from each Torah portion.

We hope you will seek the Father and see what His focus would be for you, and if He leads you to join us on this journey, we ask you to participate in comment and discussion after each weekly post. Pray for us and walk with us in this critical journey.

Restoring Kol Israel: ‘Bene Israel’ and Headship

A week ago, in our post titled Restoring Kol Israel: No more male or female?, we made a huge statement that many may have glossed over. Because it is so monumental, we need to go back and parse it with implications spelled out. Here is the quote:

To be clear, Yah is delivering these commands through Moses to the men of the households and it’s the man’s responsibility to teach them and discern correct application for his women.
Se e post

As demonstrated earlier in the cited post, the Torah commands, over and over, as given by YHVH to Moshe, are specifically addressed to the men. While this understanding is not in conflict with most of Orthodox Judaism, it is a decided cut against the western egalitarianism and feminism that has overrun the church.

To review a couple things very quickly, our heart’s desire is to see kol Israel, all 12 (13) tribes restored. That cannot happen unless the most basic building block is restored. That building block is the man and, if he has one, his family. Call it what you will, manhood, masculinity, patriarchy, etc, the simple fact is that the structure of a nation cannot be assembled from broken or improperly functioning family building blocks. The basis of the entire structure that Yah designed and implemented is focused on the man leading his family. It began in Gan Eden with Adam and Chava.

Restoring Kol Israel: No more male or female?

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. [27] For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Galatians 3:26-29 NASB

As I have pointed out before, Paul upheld and taught the Torah. Many folks in this Torah walk want to minimize Paul. They will find many things in his letters that they have trouble finding in the Torah, therefore they say “Paul wasn’t a legit Apostle” or “Paul was writing based on cultural bias and we don’t need to worry about what he said, it’s not Torah.” One of my first thoughts when I hear someone say this is ‘how arrogant can you be?’ My personal belief is that the Apostle Paul likely understood the Torah better than any other human being who ever walked the earth save Moses and Yeshua. There is a reason why Peter labels Paul’s writings as scripture (2 Peter 3:16). I pray that I have demonstrated to you in recent posts, as I will in this one, that the Apostle Paul upheld and taught the Torah and it is at our own peril if we ignore his writings. If something he wrote appears to contradict the Torah then we are misunderstanding him. If we have trouble finding something he wrote in the Torah then we simply haven’t understood the Torah to the depth necessary. This, I venture to say, is a lifelong task.

So, has anyone ever wondered what Paul was talking about in Galatians 3:28? Where did he get this from? What does it even mean? Is this found in the Torah?

In this study I was specifically looking at direct commandments being delivered within the context of the Torah which is the standard we are called to live by. The remainder of scripture is practical application of Torah. To the degree that commands are given elsewhere they all have their basis in the Torah and they never conflict with the Torah.

What does bên mean in Hebrew? Strongs H1121

Restoring Kol Israel: The Role of the Wife

The immediate assumption many make when discussing Biblical headship and the role of the woman is that she is relegated to barefooted existence in the kitchen. And, that is a lie straight from the enemy. Let’s dig in!

We have been pursuing a Biblical understanding of marriage, headship and the roles of men and women in this series titled Restoring Kol (All) Israel. As explained near the beginning of the series, for Israel to be restored, tribes must be restored. For tribes to be restored, clans must be restored. For clans to be restored, the family must be restored. For the family to be restored the man must be restored and then his woman.

Thus far in our study we have seen the clear teaching and example in Scripture, both of the patriarchs and Messiah as well as the instructions found both in Torah and the New Testament that man is to be the head of the home and that part of his responsibility is his woman. We will not rehash those details but rather use them as a foundation to build on what Scripture actually says about the role of the woman.