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Having dealt with the doctrinal errors that had been reported to him, Paul switches to reinforcing the basic principles of life in the Kingdom of God. These include authority and order within the family and the community as well as general principles of human relationships. The letter concludes with personal greetings.

After having described the often unpleasant process of character development, the author returns to the theme that this world is not our permanent home. Rather, there is a better and permanent home for those who are disciples of Y'shua.

The 50 days between Firstfruits and Shavuot is a replay and a rehearsal of the process by which God takes us from slavery to liberty in Him. For the Israelites, it was literal slavery in Egypt. For us it is the slavery to sin and the flesh. Liberty is not learned over night, it is a process that takes time.

Paul warns the church not to be taken captive by vain philosophy and man made religion. He also says that because of Christ, the record of our offenses against God have been nailed to the cross. Many take that to mean that the Torah has been nailed to the cross and voided. This is not correct.

Faith is the spiritual quality that allows us to act in the present. Since the future is unknown, we must have faith that the thing we are about to do will have the results we want. This especially applies to our relationship with God. He has promised certain things and we are to live our lives in the trust that those promises are reliable.

Nations, like people have a life cycle - birth, growth, productivity and death. For Israel, Passover was its birth. Since then it has gone through several life cycles, always being reborn because God has had His hand on them. The United States, like Israel, was also explicitly formed on Biblical principles. We are now undergoing a civilizational crisis. Pray that the current turmoil represents birth pains.

The sin offerings made in the tabernacle were only for unintentional sin and had to be repeated annually, because the people's hearts were not changed. Under the New Covenant God's law will be written on hearts of flesh instead of on tablets of stone. Thus, the offering Messiah made with His own blood needs only to have been done one time, since those cleansed by that offering will have had their hearts circumcised.

The Gospel accounts after the Resurrection are different. Each one gives added instructions for the believer while we await His return. Taken together they form a complete mission statement for the believer - what to do, where to do it, what resources are available, etc.

This parable, where a father has broken relationships with both of his sons, may be a metaphor for Ephraim and Judah. The younger son has been gone for millennia. What will be the attitude of the older brother when he returns?

The Covenant made as Sinai was defective in that one of the parties - Israel - was unable to live according to its terms. That made a New Covenant necessary. Although God's terms are the same for both covenants, the new one is to be written on the heart instead of on tablets of stone. The New Covenant like the one at Sinai must be ratified with the blood of a sacrifice. In this case, the blood was that of the Messiah.

When the Tabernacle in the wilderness was completed Moses had the Levites present an accounting of all the gold, silver and bronze used in its construction - down to the shekel. Moses was perhaps the most powerful and trusted human in the world because he spoke with God face to face. The fact that such a man as Moses felt it necessary to give a public accounting sends a strong message that it is vital for all those in positions of public trust to be honest and transparent in their handling of public funds. This speaks to the corruption being uncovered in our government today.

In this set of Luke parables, Y'shua contrasts the Kingdom of God as it existed in first century Israel with what it should be. Healing on the Sabbath, the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven.

Having established that Christ is not an angel, but is the human son of God, and that He is able to understand our frailties, the writer then goes on to establish His priesthood. In this, since He is not a descendant of Aaron, the writer must use a different priestly order; that of Melchizedek.

Being made in the image of God, people have the ability to be creative. In building the Tabernacle in the wilderness, many things were specified by God because deviation would have compromised His message. Other things, however, were open for interpretation by the artisans who worked on the project. In allowing this, Israel became more than passive recipients of God's provision. They could now be active contributors to God's purposes.

In Luke 13 and 14 the parables of the fig tree and the great banquet. Y'shua, acting as a prophet, tells Israel that she is unfruitful and that she has spurned the invitation of God to His great banquet.

Just as God rested from His work in creation, there is a rest available to the people of God. This rest is from fear and striving to be good enough to merit salvation. Once we trust in Him, we may enter His rest. This is in contrast to the wilderness generation who were not able to muster that trust and so perished without entering the land.

Between smashing the first set of tablets because of the Golden Calf and ascending the mountain again to get the second set, Moses spent 40 days in the tent of meeting outside the camp. What was the purpose of that time and what did Moses accomplish? (The song referred to is "The Family of God.")

In Luke 12 and Luke 16 Y'shua gives a discourse on what He expects of the managers over His kingdom during the time of His absence. In Luke 12 the master is away at a wedding and will return at a time the servants do not expect. In Luke 16 the parable of the dishonest manager turns on the manager's estimation of the character of the master.

The writer first establishes from the Psalms that the Christ is not an angel and is, in fact, the Son of God. He also establishes that He is fully human and has experienced what all men experience - including death. As one of us, He is able to understand what we go through and treat us sympathetically.

The Hebrew word 'beged' means both clothing and betrayal. This duality is important because we use clothing to communicate - status, sexuality, position, power, etc. Realizing that clothing can lie and betray is an important part of navigating in society. The High Priest's vestments are thus a statement that can either be true of the man or false. So too with others who wear the robes of authority.