The Messianic Torah Observer

Rod Thomas
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  • Spirituality
  • Updated weekly

The Messianic Torah Observer is an online ministry designed and intended for Torah Observant Believers in Y'shua Messiah. Thus we encourage Torah Living --but Torah Living Y'shua-style. Additionally we provide our listeners with the happenings and goings on in and around the Hebrew Roots communities. We accomplish much of this through Rod Thomas' discussions on his personal life journey as a Hebrew Roots--Disciple of Y'shua Messiah. The True Faith--the Hebrew Roots of the Christian Faith--profoundly affected and changed forever Rod's life and in turn he shares his thoughts and perspectives with you so that you too will experience the tremendous and untold spiritual riches available to each of us who answers the call to true discipleship. We disavow and reject denominationalism at any and every level. The Bible forms the basis of his perspectives and thoughts. Shalom.

  1. 3 days ago

    What Torah Can Do for Us, Part 4: How Torah Reveals God, Points to Yeshua, and Strengthens the Redeemed

    In Part 4 of What Torah Can Do for Us, we explore what Torah does for the redeemed believer. Torah does not save or justify us apart from Yeshua Messiah, yet it reveals Yehovah's character, points us to Messiah, makes us wise unto salvation, grounds us in truth, and strengthens us for covenant faithfulness and spiritual warfare.

    54 min

  2. 29 May

    What the Torah Can and Cannot Do for Us, Part 3 Torah Cannot Justify Contempt for Israel

    Greetings saints of the Most High. In this installment of the Messianic Torah Observer, I offer a needed clarification regarding Israel, the Jewish people, and the broader discussion from this teaching series, "What the Torah Can and Cannot Do for Us." In this episode, I examine what Scripture says about Yah's everlasting covenant with Israel, Paul's teaching that God has not rejected His people, and the reality that we as non-Jewish believers are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel rather than replacing it. I also address the misuse of passages such as "neither Jew nor Greek" and explain why Torah can never be used as a justification for contempt, condemnation, or arrogance toward our Jewish cousins.   If you have ever wrestled with the relationship between Torah, covenant, Israel, grace, and the calling of Gentile believers in Messiah, this teaching will help ground that discussion in the plain witness of Scripture. My prayer is that this message leads us all toward covenant humility, truth, prayer, and love rather than pride or hostility. Key themes in this teaching include: Yah's everlasting covenant with Israel God has not rejected His people Grafted into the commonwealth of Israel The meaning of "neither Jew nor Greek" in context The oracles of God entrusted to Israel Why Torah does not sanction contempt

    23 min

  3. 20 May

    Torah as our Constitution and God's Culture What the Torah Can and Cannot Do for Us Part 2

    In this teaching, I unpack why Torah serves as the constitution and culture of Yah's people, while also showing what Torah cannot do for us apart from true, trusting faith in Yeshua. We'll examine Judaism's oral tradition, the Church's man-made culture, and the urgent need to return to Yeshua-focused Torah living.

    49 min

  4. 15 May

    Saved by Faith, Guided by Torah: What the Torah Can and Cannot Do for Us Part 1.

    Come and explore with me what the Scriptures tell us that Torah can and cannot do for us. We will cover the essential concepts of faith, salvation, Paul's stance on Torah-keeping, James' stance on Torah-keeping, Acts 15's relationship to Torah-keeping, and the Torah's role in the Netzer's life.

    56 min

  5. 9 May

    Sabbath, Jubilee, and the Kingdom A Yeshua-Focused Journey Through Behar–Bechukotai

    Join me for a Yeshua-focused journey through the double Torah reading of Behar–Bechukotai as we reflect on Sh'mittah, Jubilee, covenant faithfulness, obedience, blessing, discipline, redemption, and the call to Kingdom living. Together, we will explore how these timeless instructions reveal Yah's heart for His people and point us toward the deeper rest, restoration, and discipleship found in Messiah Yeshua.   n this installment, I invite you to walk with me through Behar–Bechukotai as we examine Sabbath rest, Jubilee, covenant obedience, and the redemptive Kingdom life that Torah points us to in Yeshua.

    1hr 4min

  6. 2 May

    Parashah Emor (Speak!). An Ancient Framework for Walking in Kingdom for 2026 Messianics

    Come and explore Parashah Emor (Leviticus 21:1–24:23) with me, Rod Thomas, through a Messianic lens—holiness standards for priests, honoring Yehovah's Name, and the Moedim (Feasts of Yehovah). Learn how Emor's Torah framework guides Spirit-and-Truth Kingdom living for 2026 believers.

    1hr 5min

  7. 25 Apr

    What Does Walking with God Look Like from a Yeshua-focused Torah-Living Perspective

    What does "walking with God" actually mean—biblically—and what does it look like for a disciple living a Yeshua‑focused, Torah‑faithful life? In this teaching, we explore the Hebrew concept of "walk," why Scripture highlights Enoch and Noah as men who walked with God, and how covenant relationship forms the foundation for moral uprightness (yashar), holiness (set‑apartness), and spiritual fruit. We also connect "walking in the light" (1 John 1) with kingdom living (Matthew 5–7), the enabling work of the Ruach HaKodesh, and Yeshua's warning about the narrow gate and Torahlessness (Matthew 7). Listen through and consider: are we merely professing faith—or truly walking in covenant loyalty with YHVH?

    45 min

  8. 18 Apr

    Clean or Unclean? The Torah's Call to Set-Apart Living. My Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections on Torah Reading Tazria-Metzorah

    In this installment of the Messianic Torah Observer, I reflect on Torah Reading Tazria–Metzorah (Leviticus 12:1–15:33), exploring the Torah's purity standards and how they point beyond the physical to enduring spiritual principles. Using the themes of childbirth, tzaraat ("leprosy"), and bodily flows, this teaching highlights how holiness is protected, how cleansing and restoration work, and how Yeshua refocuses defilement from external ritual concerns to the heart (Matthew 15:10–20). I close this episode with practical encouragement to pursue both physical stewardship and deeper spiritual cleanness as temples of Yehovah's presence. In this episode: Overview of Tazria–Metzorah and its three major sections (childbirth, tzaraat, bodily flows) Why purity standards matter: holiness, community, and access to Yehovah's presence Hygienic and ritual purposes: not mutually exclusive The priesthood's role: examining, diagnosing, declaring clean/unclean, mediating restoration Quarantine, "seventh day" separation, and "eighth day" restoration as a pattern of new beginnings Cleansing, atonement, and water immersion as recurring Torah themes How to apply "out-of-commission" Torah instructions today through spirit-and-truth principles Sin as the deeper parallel to impurity; protecting the set-apart community from "leaven" Yeshua's teaching: defilement proceeds from the heart (Matthew 15:10–20) Practical encouragement: maintain the body as a temple and pursue spiritual, emotional, mental cleanness Scripture references mentioned: Leviticus 12:1–8 (childbirth and purification) Leviticus 13:1–14:32 (tzaraat / "leprosy") Leviticus 15:1–33 (bodily flows) Exodus 19:5–6 (treasured possession; priestly kingdom; holy nation) Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16 (be holy as He is holy) Isaiah 55:8 (His ways/thoughts above ours) Matthew 5:18; Matthew 5:20 (Torah enduring; righteousness) Matthew 6:33 (seek first the Kingdom) John 4:23–24 (worship in spirit and truth) 1 Corinthians 6:19 (body as temple) Hebrews 9 (Messiah's priestly work; atonement themes) 1 Corinthians 15:46 (natural first, then spiritual) 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (all Scripture profitable) Hebrews 12:1 (sin as weight; running the race) 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9 (leaven principle) Matthew 15:10–20 (what defiles a person) John 8:12; 1 John 1:7–9 (walk in the light; confession and cleansing) 2 Corinthians 5:21 (righteousness in Messiah) Reflection questions: Where do you most often treat "cleanness" as merely external rather than a heart issue? What patterns of separation and restoration ("seven" then "eight") do you see in your own walk? How can you pursue set-apartness in practical ways while keeping the focus on spiritual cleanness? Are there "leaven-like" compromises that need to be addressed for the health of your fellowship/community? What does it look like this week to walk in the light and practice confession and repentance?

    45 min
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About

The Messianic Torah Observer is an online ministry designed and intended for Torah Observant Believers in Y'shua Messiah. Thus we encourage Torah Living --but Torah Living Y'shua-style. Additionally we provide our listeners with the happenings and goings on in and around the Hebrew Roots communities. We accomplish much of this through Rod Thomas' discussions on his personal life journey as a Hebrew Roots--Disciple of Y'shua Messiah. The True Faith--the Hebrew Roots of the Christian Faith--profoundly affected and changed forever Rod's life and in turn he shares his thoughts and perspectives with you so that you too will experience the tremendous and untold spiritual riches available to each of us who answers the call to true discipleship. We disavow and reject denominationalism at any and every level. The Bible forms the basis of his perspectives and thoughts. Shalom.

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