This is a tough question
to ask, especially for a secular or non-practicing Jewish individual in today’s
modernized world. Forgotten traditions
and ethnic and cultural taboos have become so intertwined with a that many Jews
no longer even know why they may be performing or acting upon a particular
tradition. Other times it is fear or
hatred of what the Jewish people see as anti-Semitism that clouds our judgment
on any subject pertaining to religion.
But to stay on the road to ADONAI, the LORD, we must keep our
eyes and minds focused upon the Jewish Bible, the TANAKH.
Moshe (Moses) at the Red Sea. |
It is through the Jewish
Bible that we can see seven steps that will keep Jews, all Jews, on the proper
road to ADONAI.
1.
We must each come to understand that there
is a barrier between man and God, sin.
This barrier originated with the fall of Adam and Even from the garden
of Eden.
“So
the LORD God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil which he
was taken. He drove the man out, and
stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning
sword to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:23-24).
1.
We must each understand that there is
nothing we can do to remove that barrier between man and God.
“No, the LORD’S arm is not too short to
save, or his ear too dull to hear; But your iniquities have been a barrier
Between you and your God, Your sins have made Him turn His face away And refuse
to hear you” (Is 59:1-2).
2.
We must each come to understand that it is
only through the shedding of blood that sin can truly be atoned for in the eyes
of God.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood,
and I have assigned it to you for make expiation [atonement] for your lives
upon the altar; it is the blood, as life, that effects expiation” (Lev17:11).
3.
We must each come to understand that God
did provide the Jewish people the means and opportunities to atone for their
sins when He gave Moses TORAH (the Law).
“You
speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey.” (Ex 20:16)
1.
We much each come to understand that the
actions of the Jewish nation during the Exodus proved beyond a doubt that it
was impossible for the Jewish people to perfectly keep TORAH.
Symbol of the First Jerusalem |
“The
LORD spoke to Moses, “Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the
land of Egypt, have acted basely. They
have been quick to turn aside from the way that I have enjoined upon them” (Ex
32:7-8).
“But the people grew restive on the
journey, and the people spoke against God and against Moses” (Num 21:4b-5a).
2. We
must each come to understand that God promised to send to the Jewish people Has
Messiah who would make
the blood atonement for the Jewish people.
“He shall come as redeemer to Zion, To
those in Jacob who turn back from sin – declares the LORD” (Is 59:20.
And the LORD visited upon him The guilt of
us all” (Is53:5-6)
1.
We must each come to understand that only
one figure throughout history has fulfilled the multitude of Jewish Biblical
prophesies of the true identity of Messiah.
·
Messiah will come before the 2nd
Temple is destroyed. (Daniel 9:26)
·
Messiah will be divine. (Isaiah 9:5-6)
·
Messiah will die by crucifixion. (Psalm
22:14-17)
·
Messiah will be resurrected. (Isaiah 53:10)
·
Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah
5:1-2)
·
Messiah will be born of a virgin. (Isaiah
7:14)
And these are just seven
prophecies of many that exist throughout the Jewish Bible….
In
the end, logic tells us there can only be one simple answer… Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth must be the Jewish
Messiah! That means as the Jewish
Messiah it is through Yeshua’s blood sacrifice, which he made being crucified
on the first day of Passover in 33 A.D. we have each been cleansed or atoned of
our sins. Yet, Yeshua did so much more
for us! For on the third day of
Passover, on the Feast of Firstfruits, he was resurrected from the dead, and by
doing so he gave each of us who believe in him the promise of eternal life and
redemption.
Accepting this precious gift is simple, more then
simple; all that we must do is ask for it.
We need to let go and give the LORD His due. Say this prayer:
ADONAI ELOHIM, I bless
you and I thank you. I confess my sins
pray for pardon as I take Messiah Yeshua in my life as I now live to serve his
will. I pray in the name of Yeshua
ha Mashiach. Amen.
If
you prayed that prayer with faith, you have now had your sins atoned and are on
the road to God.
MAZEL
TOV!