The Torah Portion, Ki Tisa (“when you take”), Exodus 30:11–34:35, was conducted by Jeremy Gibson. There were so many good questions and comments that it was continued through the entire time for teaching. Many brethren were impressed by how specific the instructions were to the priests and the Israelite people. As we are training to be priests in Messiah’s kingdom, we can expect similar detailed direction in our lives.

After the section about the Sabbath, one woman asked what she should say to relatives who dismiss her Sabbath-keeping by claiming that God knows their heart and they are freed to observe the Sabbath on whatever day of the week they decide. Numerous good but different answers were given:

2. Our Father gives us many specific commands, as both Today’s Torah reading and the New Testaments show. There is no New Testament scripture reversing the large number of Sabbath commands.

3. It is good to ask people, “If you were in Israel when Yeshua and the apostles were, would you go the Temple and synagogues on the day they kept the Sabbath, or would you be free to keep another day and go when they did not. They same question applies to His return—will you worship with Him on the Sabbath He keeps, or on a day of your choosing?”

4. Leviticus 23 proclaims Yah’s Feasts. They are not the Feasts of Israel or the Jews, but His Feasts. The first Feast in verse 3 is the Sabbath!

5. The apostles speak at many synagogues and other places, but there is never any question as to which day is the Sabbath. There is no proclamation of a new day or keeping “any day”. However if one looks for a change from Sabbath to Sunday in later history, it is clearly there. Constantine and other Roman/Catholic “church leaders” proclaimed Sunday and barred Saturday assemblies.

6. People want to belong and feel like they are doing the right thing. Someone willing to go against tradition to do the right thing makes others who are not doing it uncomfortable.

7. Once one is willing to abandon one false practice, then it is much easier to abandon others. They include stopping Halloween, Christmas and Easter, keeping Sabbath instead of Sunday, attending biblical Feasts, eating clean food, etc.

8. It is difficult to live in society and be different at key times. “Sometimes, I just want to eat pizza! ... without explaining about the pepperoni,” said one older teen. But dealing with these lesser issues gives us courage to deal with the greater issues.

The brethren also brought out lessons from of the golden calf. Israel sinned terribly against the Father, but He loved them and made a plan to save them. He still reaches out to us in our sin and difficulty. We know we must not give up on Him and what he teaches. As Moses could not look the Father in the face but saw his other side as He went away, so we do not see Him plainly today, but we see what He has left behind—his wonderful creation and the people he has redeemed from great difficulties.