A TAHOR LESSON
"And they (Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel) saw the
God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire,
as clear as the sky itself." Exodus 24:10
Purity is a word rarely mentioned in secular circles today. There is such an
acceptance of worldliness now, that sometimes I wonder if anything is really
sacred anymore.
The Hebrew language is sometimes so strong in its descriptive use,
that I am astounded. The word for pure in Hebrew is tahor. There are a
couple of different forms -
t'har, t'horah - but the root word means splendor, brightness, clearness, purity.
As clear as the sky itself - those 6 words in English - is the
one word in Hebrew - tahor.
In Scripture, there are three uses of this word - pure:
1. Ritually pure - as when Mary and Joseph took baby
Jesus Yeshua, they went to the Temple, to offer a
sacrifice (Luke 2:22-24, refers to Leviticus 12:4,6)
2. Ethically pure - Ps.12:6 - the words of the LORD
are pure - tahor - words
Ps 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean - tahor
3. Metallurgically pure -
Pure tahor gold was used as the overlay of the
Ark of the Covenant (Ex.25:11), the Candlesticks
(Ex.25:36) Altar of Incense (Ex. 30:3)
Pure tahor gold was used for the bells on the hem
of the High Priest (Cohen Gadol) robe (Ex.39:25)
Pure tahor gold was used for the chains on the Ephod
Pure tahor gold was used on the sacred Headplate
that said Holy Unto the LORD (Ex.39:30)
From head to toe, the High Priest was covered in pure
tahor gold. However, we see in Scripture, that external ritual purity
does not assure one of internal moral purity.
Yeshua Jesus said:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you are like white-washed tombs which on the outside
appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's
bones, and all uncleanness." Matt 23:27
None of us can earn our way to God. None of us are perfect,
all fall short. Even if we fulfill 611 of the 613 commandments
if we miss 2, we have failed in keeping all. The Blood of Yeshua,
the Spotless Lamb of God is the ONLY cleansing agent for
past - present and future sins. When we come under
that Blood, its Power is the Cleansing Agent
that cleanses our conscience from sin, and even the guilt of sin, and we are free.
David craved this tahor after his sin with Bathsheba:
Be gracious unto me, O God,
according to Thy lovingkindness.
According to the greatness of YOUR compassion,
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin
is ever before me.
Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned Ps. 51:1-4
I stop here.
If one does not know Yeshua as LORD and Savior, then
they need not read any further.
But we who know Yeshua Jesus, and know the
power of His permanent atoning Blood,
then we are tahor,
and the following verses are for you.
By His blood, we enter in:
Holding to the mystery of the faith with a pure tahor conscience. I Tim 3:9
Keep yourself pure tahor from sin I Tim 5:22
Now flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith,
love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a
pure tahor heart (lave tahor) 2 Tim 2:22
This is pure tahor and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father,
to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27
This tahor life is a pure life, and it is able to be lived, with God's help,
one day at a time. This tahor life is not one that is easy, but it is blessed.
There are choices that we face daily - at work, at home - what we
read - what we listen to - sometimes even recreation - do I forsake the
temporary for the tahor life, and its rewards now, as well as in heaven?
Being a runner, one of the activities that I am really looking forward to
doing in heaven, is running on those streets of pure tahor gold.
It must be pretty good, because Moses in Exodus gave us a glimpse
"And they (Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel)
saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a
pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself (tahor)" Exodus 24:10
and John, in Revelation 21:21 did the same
And the twelve gates were 12 pearls; each one of the
gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city
was pure tahor gold, like transparent glass.
I can only surmise what heaven will be like. We will all be
tahor, running (and some walkers!) on the streets of
tahor gold.
All will have beautiful feet (Isa. 52:7,
Romans 10:15)
I'll see you on the other side.
and you can leave your Nikes