The Will of Yahuah

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” ~Jesus, from Matthew 7:21

According to Jesus, we must do the will of his Father if we are to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Since that is the goal of most people who follow Jesus and Christianity, we should probably understand, in great detail, what Jesus’ Father’s will is for His people. Let’s first establish who Jesus is, and who his Father is:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Joh 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’
Joh 1:31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Joh 1:32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Joh 1:33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
Joh 1:34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

The word “God” here comes from the Greek word “Theos”. It is Strong’s G2316, and also used for the Hebrew word “Eloheem” in the Greek Septuagint. Eloheem is the supreme God, creator of everything in these contexts.

G2316
θεός
theos
Thayer Definition:
1) a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities
2) the Godhead, trinity
2a) God the Father, the first person in the trinity
2b) Christ, the second person of the trinity
2c) Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity
3) spoken of the only and true God
3a) refers to the things of God
3b) his counsels, interests, things due to him

Jesus is the Word made flesh, who was with Eloheem and was Eloheem. Eloheem is Strong’s H430:

H430
אֱלֹהִים
‘ĕlôhı̂ym
el-o-heem’
Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: – angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
Total KJV occurrences: 2601

Also, Jesus declares Himself to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Rev 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

What does this mean, Alpha and Omega? These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Assuming the book of Revelation was first written in Hebrew, Jesus very likely was calling himself the Aleph Tav, which are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, indicating once again, He is everything that comprises the Word of Eloheem, which all things were created through the speaking of the Word. The Word is the only representation anyone ever had, and any form other than the Word is forbidden.

Deu 4:11 And so you came near, and you stood under the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire up to the heart of the heaven, dark with a very thick cloud.
Deu 4:12 And Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard a sound of words, but you did not see a form—only a voice.
Deu 4:13 And he declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he charged you to observe, and he wrote them on the two tablets of stone.
Deu 4:14 And Yahweh charged me at that time to teach you rules and regulations for your observation of them in the land that you are about to cross into to take possession of it.
Deu 4:15 “So you must be very careful for yourselves, because you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,
Deu 4:16 so that you do not ruin yourselves and make for yourselves a divine image in a form of any image, a replica of male or female,
Deu 4:17 a replica of any animal that is upon the earth, a replica of any winged bird that flies in the air,
Deu 4:18 a replica of any creeping thing on the ground, a replica of any fish that is in the water below the earth.
Deu 4:19 And do this so that you do not lift your eyes toward heaven and observe the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all of the peoples under all of the heaven.

Unfortunately, Israel turned to many strange gods such as animals, fish, trees, the sun and the moon. Christians still use the symbols and special days from these strange gods to worship Yahweh in 2020.

To further show Jesus is Eloheem, let’s look at a verse in Isaiah, and then one in the letter to the Philippians:

Isa 45:21 Declare and present your case, also let them consult together! Who made this known from former times, declared it from of old? Was it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God besides me, and no savior besides me.
Isa 45:22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none besides me.
Isa 45:23 I have sworn by myself; a word that shall not return has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness: ‘Every knee shall kneel down to me; every tongue shall swear.’
Isa 45:24 ‘Only in Yahweh,’ one shall say to me, ‘are righteousness and strength.’ He shall come to him, and all those who were angry with him shall be ashamed.
Isa 45:25 In Yahweh all the offspring of Israel shall be in the right, and they shall boast.”

Php 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In this text in the letter to the Philippians, Paul says, “every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord”. This is a big deal because the Greek word for Lord here is Kurios, Strong’s G2962. This is the same word used in the septuagint for Yahweh, Yahuah or YHWH. Paul is essentially saying Yahusha (Jesus) is Yahuah. This is not typically explained very well, but it says what it says. If we compare what is said in Isaiah, we have no choice but to see Yahusha as Yahuah, or Yahuah as Yahusha, or Yahweh (Yahuah, YHWH) would have had to change his mind from His words in Isaiah 45. Jesus says himself in John 8:58, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” “I am” is Yahweh. This is why they wanted to stone Jesus when He said that. The word “Lord” gets tossed about in English translations a lot, without much clarification.

G2962
κύριος
kurios
koo’-ree-os
From κῦρος kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, that is, (as noun) controller; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): – God, Lord, master, Sir.

Hopefully I have provided enough scriptures to show that Jesus is the son of the Father God, creator of everything, and the living Word of Eloheem. Next, here are some other instances Jesus tells us that doing the will of His Father is very important:

Mat 12:46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
Mat 12:48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
Mat 12:49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
Mat 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Joh 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jesus said the will of the Father is to believe in the son, so what does it mean to believe in the son? Perhaps looking at examples of the will of the Father can give us more insight as to what believing in Jesus means. Believing in Jesus means more than acknowledging His existence. James 2:19: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

Psa 147:2 Yahweh is building Jerusalem; he gathers the scattered ones of Israel.
Psa 147:3 He is the one who heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
Psa 147:4 He counts the number of the stars; he gives names to all of them.
Psa 147:5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is unlimited.
Psa 147:6 Yahweh helps the afflicted up; he brings the wicked down to the ground.
Psa 147:7 Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving; sing praises to our God with lyre,
Psa 147:8 who covers the heavens with clouds, who provides rain for the earth, who causes grass to grow on the mountains.
Psa 147:9 He gives to the animal its food, and to the young ravens that cry.
Psa 147:10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; he takes no pleasure in the legs of the man.
Psa 147:11 Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, the ones who hope for his loyal love.
Psa 147:12 Laud Yahweh, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion,
Psa 147:13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates. He blesses your children within you;
Psa 147:14 he makes your border peaceful; he satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
Psa 147:15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
Psa 147:16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes;
Psa 147:17 he throws his hail like crumbs. Who can stand before his cold?
Psa 147:18 He sends out his word and melts them; he blows his breath, the water flows.
Psa 147:19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
Psa 147:20 He has not done so for any nation, and they do not know his ordinances. Praise Yah.

Knowing what Yahweh does not delight in is as important as knowing His will. The word for will, delight and desire in Hebrew is Strong’s H2654

H2654
חָפֵץ
châphêts
khaw-fates’
A primitive root; properly to incline to; by implication (literally but rarely) to bend; figuratively to be pleased with, desire: – X any at all, (have, take) delight, desire, favour, like, move, be (well) pleased, have pleasure, will, would.

Isa 1:10 Hear the word of Yahweh, rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, people of Gomorrah!
Isa 1:11 What is the abundance of your sacrifices to me? says Yahweh. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals and I do not delight in the blood of bulls and ram-lambs and goats.
Isa 1:12 When you come to appear before me, who asked for this from your hand: you trampling my courts?
Isa 1:13 You must not continue to bring offerings of futility, incense—it is an abomination to me; new moon and Sabbath, the calling of a convocation—I cannot endure iniquity with solemn assembly.
Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become to me like a burden, I am not able to bear them.
Isa 1:15 And when you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood.
Isa 1:16 Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil!
Isa 1:17 Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue the oppressed! Defend the orphan! Plead for the widow!
Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us argue,” says Yahweh. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow; even though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isa 1:19 If you are willing and you are obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
Isa 1:20 But if you refuse and you rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

Yahweh does not delight in sacrifice of bulls, rams and goats, and asked of the people, “Who asked for them?”. Wait a minute, I thought Yahweh wanted animal sacrifice; but what does He say through His prophet? Hosea 6:6: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”. Jesus even quotes this same verse:

Mat 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

We are trying to learn what it means to have mercy and not sacrifice. The need for sacrifice comes from sin. Could Jesus be saying the same thing He said to us that He told the woman caught in adultery? John 8:11: She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

If Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more, is He implying that this is possible? One reason He does not desire sacrifice is that it implies there was sin. He has always preferred that His people didn’t sin because then there would be no need for sacrifice. The continual sinning and sacrificing to make atonement was not pleasing to Yahweh. The insincere offerings were hypocritical to Him. It is similar to continue living knowingly in sin, and asking forgiveness for that same sin repeatedly, when the answer is to just stop committing the sin. Otherwise, “even though you make many prayers, I will not be listening”.

Isa 42:18 Deaf people, listen! And blind people, look to see!
Isa 42:19 Who is blind but my servant or deaf like my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind like the one who is repaid or blind like the servant of Yahweh?
Isa 42:20 You see many things, but you do not observe. His ears are open, but he does not hear.
Isa 42:21 Yahweh was willing for the sake of his righteousness; he showed his teaching to be great and proved it to be glorious.
Isa 42:22 But this is a people plundered and looted; all of them are trapped in holes, and they are kept hidden in houses of imprisonment. They have become like plunder, and there is no one who saves; like booty, and there is no one who says, “Restore!”
Isa 42:23 Who among you will heed this, will listen attentively and listen, for the time to come?
Isa 42:24 Who gave Jacob to a plunderer and Israel to those who plunder? Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in his ways, and they would not obey his law.
Isa 42:25 So he poured the wrath of his anger upon him and the strength of war. And it set him afire all around, but he did not understand; and it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Yahweh does not delight in people that do not obey his commandments. Would it not be fair to say the reciprocal is true? His will is that we obey in love and show mercy?

Jer 9:22 Speak, ‘thus declares Yahweh: “The dead body of the human will fall like dung upon the surface of the field, and like cut grain behind the reaper, and there is no one who gathers.”‘”
Jer 9:23 Thus says Yahweh, “The wise man must not boast in his wisdom, and the warrior must not boast in his might, the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
Jer 9:24 But only in this must the one who boasts boast, that he has insight, and that he knows me, that I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” declares Yahweh.
Jer 9:25 “Look, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “and I will call into account all those who are circumcised in the foreskin:
Jer 9:26 Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the Ammonites, and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to the side, those who live in the desert, for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”

Here is the “mercy not sacrifice” verse from Hosea in context:

Hos 6:4 What will I do with you, O Ephraim? What will I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early in the morning.
Hos 6:5 Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like the light.
Hos 6:6 Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hos 6:7 But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.

Proverbs gives us more regarding what is a delight to Yahweh:

Pro 12:22 An abomination of Yahweh are lips of deceit, but they who act faithfully are his delight.

Pro 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination of Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Pro 15:9 An abomination of Yahweh is the way of the wicked, but he who pursues righteousness he will love.

From reading all these scriptures, it is clear that Yahweh’s will is to pursue righteousness, act faithfully, learn His ways and walk in them. He also does not like calling good evil, or evil good.

Mal 2:17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

This word in Malachi is for today. We see examples of calling evil good and good evil every where around us, when defining the word “good” by the words of Yahweh. “Where is the God of Justice?”, is asked by Christians and atheists alike.

We have looked at many scriptures from the Old Testament, but isn’t that all old covenant material? Yet, what is the new covenant other than a renewed old covenant? The best way I have heard this explained is to compare it to leasing an apartment. The landlord has rules to follow, the one leasing agrees to the terms. What if the person leasing the apartment breaks the terms of the lease? The landlord can break the agreement, remove the tenants and make a new lease (or new covenant) with someone else. Did the terms of the lease change, or just the people in the agreement? The beauty of the new covenant with Yahweh is that He is allowing some of the same people back into the new covenant and He is helping us keep the terms through His Spirit. Jesus did not come to start a new religion called Christianity. He came to show us how to do His Father’s will, and gave us the power, through His Spirit to do it. Yahweh said He would write His commandments on our heart, not a new set of commandments.

Jer 31:31 Look, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
Jer 31:32 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day of my grasping them by their hand, bringing them out from the land of Egypt, my covenant that they themselves broke, though I myself was a master over them,” declares Yahweh.
Jer 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people.
Jer 31:34 And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor, or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for all of them will know me, from their smallest and up to their greatest,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember.”

His Father’s will, law and commands have never changed from the beginning, because He says the following:

Mal 3:6 “For I, Yahweh, have not changed, and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.
Mal 3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept them! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Jesus’ sermon on the mount best sums up what the Creator always wanted.

Mat 5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
Mat 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Mat 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Mat 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Mat 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When you do the Father’s will, expect to be an outcast. Even those who claim to be Christian will ridicule you. Jesus said the following:

Mat 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Mat 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
Mat 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Mat 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Mat 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Do the Father’s will, stay on the hard, narrow path that few find, and watch out for the wolves! If you study the truth, you will spot the wolves easier, because they will be speaking falsely. There are many examples in scripture given to understand the will of the Father. In that day when people are saying “Lord, Lord”, you don’t want to be the one who hears, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Feature image taken by Emma Vail.