Torah Study - Choosing the Right Path
Enter ye in at the straight gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:13-20 (KJV)
In our Torah Study for today, we turn to the Brit Hadashah and the words of our Mashiach, Yeshua (Jesus).
In these verses we see two themes connected together. The first theme deals with the understanding that there are basically two paths in our lives. One path leads to destruction while the other path leads to life, and by implication, eternal life (l'chai olam). The thing is, that most choose the wrong path. It is the broad way and wide is its gate. The path to l'chai olam is the road less traveled by, to paraphase the famous poem by Robert Frost.
Then Jesus warns us in the next verses of one of the dangers along the road of life that can lead us to choosing the wrong path; the danger of the false prophet.
In this modern day of mass communication, on TV and the internet, we see individuals rising up to speak to the world their opinions on a variety of matters. These voices can appear larger than life through the technology of the mass media and its not difficult to find ourselves drawn to those individuals who seem to be saying "the right things" and who seem to have "the right answers". There is a natural inclination in all of us at times to seek someone to lead us in some degree or another. This is part of the normal student-teacher process of learning and there is nothing basically wrong with this.
But Jesus gives us the answer about how we can discern between the true prophet and the false prophet. We look at their fruits, whether they are good or evil.
In a Biblical sense, a prophet is someone inspired by God who speaks the Word of God. But in a secular sense, applying this understanding to our lives, a self-proclaimed prophet can be anyone who professes to have a higher level of knowledge that they wish to impart to others. This is a step above the normal teacher status. A teacher is someone who passes on information to others. But a prophet is the source of that information. We see these self-proclaimed prophets all the time. And many times we ourselves are one of those prophets, aren't we? Don't we all fall into that category sometimes?
But Jesus is warning us to discern for ourselves who we should really be listening to. The fruits of a true prophet will be good fruits. They will align themselves with the principals laid down in God's Word. The fruits of the false prophet will not.
Look at the situation today in Israel with the followers of Islam and their prophet Mohammed. The Palestinians are constantly seeking the destruction of Israel and filled with hatred. They teach their children from the Koran that Jews are like "monkeys and pigs". Are these fruits good or evil?
Compare that with the Israelis who only want to live in peace in that tiny sliver of land that God gave to Israel as part of the covenant He made with the Jewish people forever.
We need to be careful and always remember that there are two paths in life. The Torah, the teachings and instructions of God, is our guideline for choosing the right path. In the commandments we see how to choose the path God wants us to follow in every situation. The basic principal is that we go about our day and when we come to a situation which involves a principal in the Torah or one of the commandments . . we choose the way of Torah, we follow the way set down in the commandments.
Jesus said,
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15
And He says again,
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in His love. John 15:10
All throughout the Tanach, God implored Israel to keep His commandments that He gave to them as part of the covenant He made with them. When today we read the Tanach, we see the consequences for Israel's disobedience over and over. But we also see the rewards for obedience, as well. The question is how do we apply all this in our own lives today? Are we going to make the same mistakes or learn from the past? Those who are born into Israel and those who have been grafted in are together hearing God speak to each of us in His Word. The message is to choose the right path in life, and it will usually be the one less traveled by.
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:13-20 (KJV)
In our Torah Study for today, we turn to the Brit Hadashah and the words of our Mashiach, Yeshua (Jesus).
In these verses we see two themes connected together. The first theme deals with the understanding that there are basically two paths in our lives. One path leads to destruction while the other path leads to life, and by implication, eternal life (l'chai olam). The thing is, that most choose the wrong path. It is the broad way and wide is its gate. The path to l'chai olam is the road less traveled by, to paraphase the famous poem by Robert Frost.
Then Jesus warns us in the next verses of one of the dangers along the road of life that can lead us to choosing the wrong path; the danger of the false prophet.
In this modern day of mass communication, on TV and the internet, we see individuals rising up to speak to the world their opinions on a variety of matters. These voices can appear larger than life through the technology of the mass media and its not difficult to find ourselves drawn to those individuals who seem to be saying "the right things" and who seem to have "the right answers". There is a natural inclination in all of us at times to seek someone to lead us in some degree or another. This is part of the normal student-teacher process of learning and there is nothing basically wrong with this.
But Jesus gives us the answer about how we can discern between the true prophet and the false prophet. We look at their fruits, whether they are good or evil.
In a Biblical sense, a prophet is someone inspired by God who speaks the Word of God. But in a secular sense, applying this understanding to our lives, a self-proclaimed prophet can be anyone who professes to have a higher level of knowledge that they wish to impart to others. This is a step above the normal teacher status. A teacher is someone who passes on information to others. But a prophet is the source of that information. We see these self-proclaimed prophets all the time. And many times we ourselves are one of those prophets, aren't we? Don't we all fall into that category sometimes?
But Jesus is warning us to discern for ourselves who we should really be listening to. The fruits of a true prophet will be good fruits. They will align themselves with the principals laid down in God's Word. The fruits of the false prophet will not.
Look at the situation today in Israel with the followers of Islam and their prophet Mohammed. The Palestinians are constantly seeking the destruction of Israel and filled with hatred. They teach their children from the Koran that Jews are like "monkeys and pigs". Are these fruits good or evil?
Compare that with the Israelis who only want to live in peace in that tiny sliver of land that God gave to Israel as part of the covenant He made with the Jewish people forever.
We need to be careful and always remember that there are two paths in life. The Torah, the teachings and instructions of God, is our guideline for choosing the right path. In the commandments we see how to choose the path God wants us to follow in every situation. The basic principal is that we go about our day and when we come to a situation which involves a principal in the Torah or one of the commandments . . we choose the way of Torah, we follow the way set down in the commandments.
Jesus said,
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15
And He says again,
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in His love. John 15:10
All throughout the Tanach, God implored Israel to keep His commandments that He gave to them as part of the covenant He made with them. When today we read the Tanach, we see the consequences for Israel's disobedience over and over. But we also see the rewards for obedience, as well. The question is how do we apply all this in our own lives today? Are we going to make the same mistakes or learn from the past? Those who are born into Israel and those who have been grafted in are together hearing God speak to each of us in His Word. The message is to choose the right path in life, and it will usually be the one less traveled by.
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