If you’ve never been to Israel, let me encourage you to do so. It’s an amazing experience!
Not surprisingly, when people plan to go for the first time, they have many questions. Is it safe over there? How long is the flight? How much does it cost? Is the food good? All their questions eventually get answered.
Once they get settled into the hotels and see the buffet, they know the food is wonderful. However, it doesn’t take long for some to notice the morning breakfast has a wide assortment of eggs, bread, fruit, and cheeses; and the dinner has a wide variety of meat, vegetables, and desserts, but there is no dairy. I’ll often get asked why can I butter my bread in the morning but not have any butter for my bread at dinner?
Is it Kosher?
I explain the standard answer is it’s not kosher. Where did this practice come from? Is that in the Bible? Well, yes and no.
I bring this scenario up because it is essential to keep the interpretation of Scripture in its proper context rather than allowing human reasoning to decipher what the Word is saying. When I speak about using human reasoning, I mean be careful not to say, “I think the Bible means this…” and have that be your final understanding of the meaning of God’s Word. Parts of Scripture may seem to make sense from a human mind’s point of view, but as Isaiah 55:8 warns, God’s thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not God’s ways. In the breakfast/dinner scenario, man’s thoughts and ways are disallowing the serving of meat and dairy together.
Not having meat and cheese together comes from Exodus 23. Those of the Jewish faith believe the Bible says serving meat and dairy together is not kosher. Exodus 23:19 does say one shall not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. However, this command does not say whether dairy and meat can be consumed in the same meal. Jewish tradition turned the interpretation of the “young goat” into “all meat,” and “its mother’s milk” became “any dairy product.” In reality, if a young goat was cooked, it could be cooked in milk just as long as it did not come from its mother. This understanding would mean consuming any meat with any dairy product in the same meal is not dishonoring Kosher laws.
What is missing here and where the heart of the issue lies is found in Deuteronomy 4:2 which warns, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” Placing a manufactured prohibition on what God had said and taking the original purpose out of context directly violates God’s law.
Remember when I said if the hotel is kosher the dinner they serve will have meat but no cheese or butter or any dairy will be served? Remember I also said at dinner there is an amazing display of desserts such as rugelach, cakes, and even ice cream. I’ve always wondered how desserts are made. Are they baked free of milk, eggs, and butter?
Two in One
Two passages in the Mosaic Law forbid the wearing of different fabric types, making it against the law to wear blended fabrics, meaning an item woven from two different materials. Leviticus 19:19 says, “You shall not crossbreed two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment of two kinds of material mixed together.” Deuteronomy 22:9-11 goes into specifics — you shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mix. In the ancient world, wool and linen would have been the primary options for clothing, wool coming from the hair of sheep or goats, and linen made from plant fibers.
So, is it wrong for a modern-day Christian who sincerely wants to honor God’s Word to wear clothing made of two different types of material? No, it is not.
My goal here is not to address whether the ceremonial laws of ancient Israel still apply to us today. They do not, but again, that’s not my point. What I am trying to emphasize is the importance of interpreting Scripture in the proper context and not yielding to the temptation of understanding God’s Word through the eyes of human reasoning.
To say it bluntly, do not add to what the Bible says, and do not subtract from what Scripture says. The proper interpretation of God’s warning against the mixing of two different types is to warn against allowing false religion to seep into one’s relationship with the Lord. We are to worship and serve God alone.
The Sermon on the Mount
Those who listened to Jesus teach were amazed at His teaching (Mark 1:22). Why were they amazed? Because He taught with authority, meaning His teaching was in proper context. Having the correct interpretation is key to understanding Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. What He taught on the side of that mountain and in the various synagogues around the Sea of Galilee routinely went directly against what the religious leaders taught. Why did Jesus do this? Because he wanted people to understand the true purpose and meaning of what God had said and not how man interpreted God’s heart.
Torn Jeans
Leviticus 10:6 reads, “Do not tear your clothes, or you will die, and the Lord will be angry with the whole community.” Does this mean that all the teenage girls who wear torn jeans will die for wearing them? Of course not. The proper interpretation is a warning not to question God’s righteous judgment. The setting in Leviticus is the death of Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, who disobeyed God’s direct command and took something sacred and defiled it with something of their own. In response, tearing one’s clothes would imply a belief that God was wrong in bringing His judgment against Nadab and Abihu. It has nothing to do with teenage girls shopping at the Gap.
Exodus 23 does not say whether dairy and meat can be consumed in the same meal. If your clothes are a mixture of wool and linen, you are not dishonoring God. Likewise, Leviticus 10:6 does not forbid the wearing of torn jeans. What is important is that you take the time to study the purpose and meaning of God’s Word so that you can live in a way that honors and worships your Lord and Savior.
Maranatha, Lord Jesus!
When Yeshua said, “No man knows the day or the hour,” He was using an ancient Jewish idiom to reference Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. The Sanhedrin had the God-given authority to declare the new moon and the first day of a month based upon the testimony of two witnesses, thus determining the date of their festivals. Tishri 1 or Rosh Hashanah was particularly dependent upon the Sanhedrin declaration because it was the only festival to fall on the first day of a new month. No one knew the exact day or hour of the Feast of Trumpets until the Sanhedrin declared it “sanctified.” Therefore, we DO know the season of His return. Rosh Hashanah is a yearly mikrah (rehearsal) and a two-day festival with 100 trumpet blasts and a grand finale, the last trump, prophetic of when our Bridegroom will come with His 4 angels carrying the wedding litter for His Bride (resurrected or raptured) to His heavenly chupah and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Jewish tradition is that the bride and groom remain in their prepared bridal chamber together for 7 days (7 years) before emerging. This is the time period (called the Days of Awe) between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement on Tishri 10 when the final reward and punishment will be measured out (Judgment Day). The 40 days leading up to Atonement are called the Days of Repentance.
So we know the season, but do we know the year? Many books have been written on what year it is and when will be the year 6000 AM (anno mundo), the sixth day of the earth’s existence. The final 7th day or Millennium must begin on Tishri 1, 6000 AM. Surely our calculation of time has become garbled and uncertain, especially during eras of the Persian Empire and the time of Israel’s kings.
So consider these “signs” (see the ancient historical Book of Jasher which is referenced 3x in the Bible): Abraham’s life was entirely prophetic, from his birth in 1948 AM when the stars proclaimed he was a king who would conquer 4 other kings. Jealous King Nimrod demanded the babe’s death, so Terah, his father, hid Abram and gave Nimrod another baby to kill. This is obviously prophetic of Yeshua’s birth and the birth of the nation of Israel in 1948 AD. As an adult, Abram returned to find 12 constellation idols in his father’s house, which he thus destroyed, all but one. This is prophetic of Mohammad in 600s AD, another of Abraham’s descendants. In anger over this deed, Nimrod threw Abram and his brother Haran into the fiery furnace. Haran died instantly, but Abram survived 3 days and 3 nights – another prophecy. Genesis 12:1-4 – Abram received God’s promise of the Land and a Nation when he was 70yo, in 2018 AM (Jerusalem was recognized by the world in 2018 AD on its 70th birthday). Abram preached for 5 years to both the residents of Haran and to his family the message of God’s salvation and His Promised Land. He finally left for Cana’an when he was 75yo. Seventy gentile families followed Abram, but the only other Hebrew to follow him was his nephew Lot. All those families were grafted into the Hebrew nation – they “crossed over” and gave up their pagan idolatry. The Jews recognize the 70 nations of the world , which is another prophetic picture of the Feast of Tabernacles – a feast which follows Atonement 5 days later – where the 70 nations of the world congregate to celebrate this jubilant event in Israel every year and will be commanded to do so in the Millennium (Zech 14:16-19). Feast of Tabernacles prophesies both Yeshua’s first coming and His future millennial kingdom when God will once again tabernacle in our midst. Abram returned to Cana’an when he was 75 years old in the year 2023 AM. I highly suggest you keep your ears open for the trumpet blast THIS Rosh Hashanah. No man knows the day or hour of this holy day. Which calendar does God go by – Hillel, sliver moon sighting, conjunction, molad moon?
Seventy-five also figures well into these two prophecies as well: “This generation [who sees the blooming of the fig tree] will not pass away until all these things happen” – Matt 24:34. So how long is a generation? “The span of our years is 70 – or with strength 80… so teach us to number our days.” Psalm 90:10,12.
I hope your writers begin to teach your readers to recognize, follow, and celebrate these ETERNAL appointed times, holy rehearsals, of the LORD (Lev.23). Eternal things don’t go away in the New Covenant. Christians need to cross over, become grafted-in Hebrews, and leave their inherited pagan traditions.