The Scriptures tell us that Moses went up to the Mountain of the Lord to meet with God, and that twice God gave him the Ten Commandments. We want to look at the second time, the time after the people fashioned the Golden Calf.  Exodus 34:1-3 tells us this, The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.  Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to Me there on top of the mountain.  No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

But we want to take a step back and quickly look at the verses that come before this, it was here that God told Moses that His Presence would go with the people. It is right after this that Moses said in Exodus 33:18-23,  “Then Moses said, “Now show me Your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But,” He said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see Me and live.”  Then the Lord said, “There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock.  When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”

But God did not show Moses His glory until he came back up to the mountain a second time. Why the second time? Because Moses had to go back down to deal with the people who had just broken faith with God by worshiping the Golden Calf, but was that the only reason?

Exodus 34:4-7 continues,  “So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.  Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord.  And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

We can see from this Scripture that God revealed more than only His glory to Moses, He also revealed to Moses that He was a forgiving God. This chapter goes on to speak about the commandments of  God’s Appointed Times and other topics until Exodus 34:28-35 which is what we want to take a closer look at. “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.  When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.  But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.  Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.  But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,  they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.”

The reason the people fashioned the Golden Calf was because Moses was up on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. They thought he was dead, because no one could go that long without food or water. We want to look again at this episode when Moses was recapping the Israelites journey before he died in Deuteronomy 9:7-18.

“Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord.  At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath so that He was angry enough to destroy you. When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.  The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.  At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.” And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”  So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.  When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.  So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing His anger.”

Chapter 10:1, 10 says this, “At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.” “ Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not His will to destroy you.”

So what is the point of this? This shows that twice Moses was with the Lord forty days and forty nights. This means he went 80 days and 80 nights without eating.  Yes, he came down the mountain, only to go back up in the morning, but you must consider that Moses would not have eaten or drank because he was going back up to God’s presence. No food, no water for 80 days and nights, and Moses saw the glory of the Lord, this can only mean one thing. In God’s presence there is no time, there is no need for food or water. For that moment, Moses was eternal. Moses’ face  shone like the light of God’s glory. This was so with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were created to be eternal beings like God, even though they had a body. They had the pleasure of the garden, not the need of it. They were eternal. They shined greater than the sun, so much so, that they did not know that they were naked.  It was only after they sinned that they became subject to death as Romans 5:12 tells us, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Also, the glory of the Lord left them, and all they could see was their nakedness, and they had a need for food that now Adam had to work the ground to grow it. The following is what life will be once again in the restored Garden of Eden, during the Messianic Age and even unto the hereafter. Revelation 22:1-5 speaks of the restored Eden. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.  They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

Moses had a little taste of eternity on the mountain, and we find him again on a mountain where we see  in Matthew 17:1-3, when he appeared with Elijah and our Messiah in all His glory. “Six days later, Yeshua took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.  And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”

So you have to ask yourself, “Why did Moses hide his face, you would think that he would have wanted all the people to see a little part of eternity?” Moses was a very humble man, and he would not in any way show himself to be above anyone. He knew that it was better to hide his face, then for him to exalt himself, even for a brief moment.

Philippians 2:3-7 tells us,  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.”

2 Corinthians 4:3- 7 says this, “If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who is on the road to eternal death.  Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of  Messiah, who is God. We don’t go around preaching about ourselves but about Messiah Yeshua as Lord. All we say of ourselves is that we are your slaves because of what Yeshua has done for us.  For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that it is the brightness of His glory that is seen in the face of Messiah Yeshua. But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shines within us is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.”

God’s Word is Light, and when we live by that Light, we also are light, and we are suppose to let our light shine before men, Matthew 5:14-16. Moses received God’s Torah and he saw His glory, and for a moment, experienced eternity. Now we can also do the same, for God has put eternity in our hearts, Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Welcome

It’s hard to believe that it is March and March has the right name, because it seems that that  is what we are doing. We are marching our way to Spring. We have our eyes set on those green leaves, flowers and of course, the birds returning and singing. With more and more daylight those winter blues seem to lessen. March is a windy month and it seems that the wind blows our cares away. Here is a sandiegram just for March.

The Wings Of The Wind

Lord, let me ride on the wings of the wind
as I soar to Thee.
Along the way,
let me sit on a cloud
as I look in wonderment
at the beauty of the sky.
Look down upon me
and bless me
as I lift up my praises to Thee.
As I ride on the wings of the wind,
fill my heart with joy
as the excitement swells within my soul
as I reach Thee.

The Robin copyright 2010

You can see all the sandiegrams on our website.

Egypt: Moses like God, Part 9

Last month we read that Moses was sent to Pharoah, but instead of things getting better, things only got worse. Now we will start at Exodus 7:1-5, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.  You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.  But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply My signs and wonders in Egypt,  he will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out My divisions, My people the Israelites.  And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Moses now will show Pharaoh who God is. Yeshua tells Philip this in John 14:9, “The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.” So shall it be with Moses. As God spoke and it was, so shall it be with Moses. After a few signs Pharaoh was not impressed because his magicians could do the same.  Pharaoh was not impressed by the staff turning to a snake, nor the water turning to blood, nor the frogs that were everywhere in the land. Pharaoh was getting bored by it all. Exodus 8:16-19 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.”  They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.  But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere,  the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.”

Well, if the gnats did not get to him, try flies, but this time it will not plague the land of Goshen.

Exodus 8:  20-23 says,  “ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.  If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.  I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’” Now you may think that God was slipping a little. He is so powerful, why should He have had to go through all of this. He could have just spoken, and it would have come about..Israel free!  Well, as usual, God had His reasons. With every plague, Pharaoh was softening, and yet he was not giving in. This was definitely a spiritual battle. This is definitely the same struggle we go through when we must let go of our sins. We, like the Israelites, are in bondage to our sins. Yeshua answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin,” John 8:34. Pharaoh had the choice, and he made the choice to harden his heart. Is this not like us?  Hebrews 3: 12-13 says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Once again the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 9: 1-4, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.  If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,  the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.  But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’” And again in Exodus 9:10-12, He sent boils, and once again, in Exodus 9:13-19,25-26 but God’s judgment only increases and yet in God’s mercy He warns the people to bring in their livestock and for them to take shelter.  “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me,  or this time I will send the full force of My plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.  For by now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.  But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.  You still set yourself against My people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.  Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” “Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.  The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.” Verse 31-32 tells of the result of this plague. “The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.  The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.”

Moses was showing Pharaoh who God was. If we look back at the Joseph story we see that Joseph sold the Egyptians their portion of the grain back to them, and when their money ran out, the people sold their livestock, and then their homes, and finally put themselves into slavery. We spoke about the miracle of multiplication of the grain that went unnoticed by the Egyptians, and now we see once again that the Egyptians are not recognizing the God of Moses. But this time God is not multiplying but subtracting. The Egyptians once again have lost their livestock, and everything that was growing in their fields. Still, no recognition of the one true God, so God brings in the locust and now destroys every tree and plant.

Exodus 10:14-15, “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again.  For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on the tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.” It was famine that brought Israel to Egypt, and now it looks like famine was once again in the land. But the next  plague speaks more about the condition of Egypt because they still would not receive the one true God. Exodus 10: 22-23, “ So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.  They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.”  John 3:20-21 says it all,  “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”  Egypt was in darkness and Israel was in the light. So now God could do nothing less than to show Pharoah that Israel was His people, and not his.  Exodus 11: 4-10 goes on to say,  “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,  and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.  So there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.  But not even a dog will threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’  And all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”  So Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.”  Once again God will multiply His wonders. Next month Israel will be free…join us!

  Safetyzoneforteens.com     The Pain of Depression

Today in schools kids are bullied and laughed at  and excluded from being part of  the group. Rejection and humiliation causes loneliness, isolation and anxiety, and this causes depression. Depression causes pain. When we think of pain, we think of the pain that comes after a surgery, or the pain of breaking one’s arm, but did you know that people who suffer from depression feel pain? “Yes,” real pain. It is not their imagination.  There is a pain that cuts to the heart of a person who has depression. It tears at their soul, it causes fatigue and the stress that brings about illness. When we say things to hurt people, we are doing more than hurting their feelings, those words are bringing illness to that person’s mind, soul and body. Proverbs 12:18 tells us this, “Speak without thinking, and your words can cut like a knife. Be wise, and your words can heal.”     There is a song by Kaitlyn Marie Oliveveira called “Words Can Hurt.” There is a part of the song that says,  “I know how it feels, how it feels to hurt inside. I know how it makes you feel like your nothing and I know what it makes you think and I know what it makes you do, but just know that from the start you are someone special to me, so keep your head up high, you’re strong enough to try to fight and to defeat. Yea, I know it’s hard to not give up because words, words, words can hurt.” There was a saying back when I was a kid, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.” But this saying is not so, because words and names can harm us more than a stone or a stick thrown at us. Yes, we are supposed to forgive one another, but it is very hard to forget, because the pain that is in that person’s  heart, never goes away. Today if you’re not in the right group, then you are a nobody and nobodies are laughed at and mocked and harassed. But the person with depression can only go so far, take so much and then they contemplate things like suicide. Now I ask you, “Do you want this on your conscience, that you caused someone to kill themselves? Could you live with that pain for the rest of your life? Today, reach out to people at school who are bullied or humiliated because the truth is, they are not any different than you are. We, in so many ways, are all different and yet, we are all still the same…human! There is a song by the Newsboys United  called “Love One Another” and it goes like this – “Yeah we don’t always live what we believe. Yeah we don’t always share a common source. Here we are, now shouting ‘til we’re hoarse. Jesus taught us a different kind of discourse. Don’t talk about it, talk about it.  Just do it. Love one another sister and brother. Don’t hurt each other, yeah. Lines drawn in the sand. Complicate our new command. Love one another. Yeah.”       Just do it! Love one another!

Hebrew Corner:        Martyrs, The Emperor  Nero

We want to look at the life and persecutions of Emperor Nero.  In 66, there was a Jewish revolt in Judea stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension. In 67, Nero dispatched Vespasian to restore order. These revolts were eventually put down in 70,  when the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem, but this was  after the death of Nero. By the age of thirty Nero committed suicide but in his short five year reign of Rome he was very destructive. He had a terrible temper and he was very barbaric in nature. Nero killed his own mother because she objected to an affair he was having. It is said that he kicked his wife Poppaea to death and then gave her a magnificent burial. Nero married a young boy named Sporus. It is said that he resembled Poppaea.  Nero had him castrated and married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea. Nero loved music and chariot races. He sang and played the lyre. According to wikipedia, in AD 67 Nero participated in the Olympics. He had bribed organizers to postpone the games for a year so he could participate, and artistic competitions were added to the athletic events. Nero won every contest in which he was a competitor. During the games Nero sang and played his lyre on stage, acted in tragedies and raced chariots. He won a 10-horse chariot race, despite being thrown from the chariot and leaving the race. He was crowned on the basis that he would have won if he had completed the race. After he died a year later, his name was removed from the list of winners. Champlin writes that though Nero’s participation “effectively stifled true competition, [Nero] seems to have been oblivious of reality.” Nero established the Neronian games in AD 60. Modeled on Greek style games, these games included musical, gymnastic, and equestrian contests. According to Suetonius the gymnastic contests were held in the Saepta area of the Campus Martius. We know Nero best as the one who ordered that the city of Rome burn and while it burned, he went up to the tower of Maecenas and played upon his harp, singing the song of the burning of Troy. He declared that ‘he wished the ruins of all things before his death.’ Nero was blamed for the fire, but he denied it all and put the blame upon the Chrisitans. And so the persecutions began in Rome. Nero in his merciless ways in which no one could conceive had Chrisitans sewed up in animal skins and attacked by dogs. Others were fixed to trees and set on fire to illuminate his gardens.  We know that the Apostle Peter and Paul were put to death by Nero and this is what we will look at next.

Click to access purim-crossword-puzzle-from-the-book-of-esther-3.pdf

The blood of Yeshua gives us many things, like power, peace, justification and sanctification, salvation and forgiveness and so much more. We were God’s enemies and without hope as Romans 5:10 tells us, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” And again in Ephesians 2:11-13, “Therefore, keep in mind that once you—Gentiles in the flesh—were called “uncircumcision” by those called “circumcision.” At that time you were separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Yeshua the Messiah you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.” 

Hebrews 9:11-14 also says, “But when Messiah appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption.  For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,  how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Exodus 26:14,  “You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.” We see the outer covering of the tabernacle was dyed red to symbolize the blood as a covering. We too are now the temple of the Holy Spirit as 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 tells us, “ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” In the Tabernacle the priests would sacrifice an animal and take its blood and enter into the Holy of Holies. They not only sprinkled blood on the altar but also they would take the blood and sprinkle it on themselves. Exodus 29:21, “Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, (made holy) as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him.”

       So what does all of this have to do with us being robed in the blood? Well we have to go back to Passover. Exodus 12 6-7,13 says this, “They are to take some of its blood and smear it across the top and down the two sides of the doorframe of the houses where they plan to eat.” “The blood on the doorframes of your houses will be a sign of where you are. When I pass by and see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague will not afflict you when I strike the land of Egypt with death.”

The people were told to cover their doors with the blood of the lamb.  Genesis 3: 21 insinuates  that God slaughtered two animals to cover Adam and Eve. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord  God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” 

Yeshua, the Lamb of God, was slaughtered on the day of Passover, and His blood, like the blood of the first Passover lamb now covers us. Two animals were slaughtered to robe  Adam and Eve. So too, the blood of the Messiah has to robe us.  Romans 3:21-26 makes reference to the passing over, a reference to the Passover, and it speaks to the many things that the blood of Messiah gives us,  “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—  the righteousness of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua for all who believe. For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Yeshua.” The blood of Yeshua is His righteousness toward us. His blood covers us, like a robe and when we put on the blood of the Messiah, we robe ourselves in His righteousness. When we do we are then cleansed and washed clean of our sins. This is as 

John 3:16 says, if we believe, for the word is an action as Yeshua said, that if you eat of My body and drink of My blood, then as John 5:47-51 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever (eternal life). And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” And He continues in verses 53-56 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”

We must be washed in His blood as Revelation 7:14 says, “I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

Isaiah 6:10 says this, “ I am so joyful in the Lord.  My soul rejoices in my God, for He has clothed me in salvation, dressed me with a robe of triumph, like a bridegroom wearing a festive turban, like a bride adorned with her jewels.” We read about being robed in the righteousness of the Messiah. But what does that mean? Isaiah says we have been clothed in salvation.  The very name of Yeshua means God’s salvation. He says that we have been dressed in triumph. 

Colossians 2:13-15, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins.  He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

Our garments are to be white, and our garments that we wear are what covers our spiritual being, the part of us that lives on forever. We are the Bride of Messiah and so we must dress and act like a bride. Our dress is the blood of Messiah, and our actions must be like Him as Colossians 3:12-17 says,  “Put on (cover yourselves) then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on (cover yourselves) love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Messiah rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Welcome

April is best known for Tax Day. We know that even in Yeshua’s day they had to pay taxes and the people felt the same way back then as they do today. But Yeshua paid His in a little different way as Matthew 17: 24-27 tells us,  “When they arrived at Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, ‘Does your teacher pay taxes?’ Peter said, ‘Of course.’ But as soon as they were in the house, Yeshua confronted him. ‘Simon, what do you think? When a king levies taxes, who pays—his children or his subjects?’  He answered, ‘His subjects.’ Yeshua said, ‘Then the children get off free, right? But so we don’t upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us.”’ Peter went from being a fisher of fish to a fisher of men. This April we celebrate the Passover. Peter, after seeing such great miracles, finds himself denying the Messiah, not just once, but three times. Paul tells us that Yeshua is our Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah, our Passover Lamb, also was sacrificed. Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Paul tells us to keep the Passover, and the congregations of believers did so until the Emperor Constantine changed Passover to Easter and the church began determining the day to celebrate. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the Full Moon date, based on mathematical calculations, that falls on or after March 21st. If the Full Moon is on a Sunday, Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday. The date of the Paschal Full Moon, used to determine the date of Easter, is based on mathematical approximations following a 19-year cycle called the Metonic cycle. The Bible has always used the Biblical calendar. Passover is in the month of Nisan, which was the first month.  Yeshua died on the 14th day of Nisan, Passover and He rose on the Feast Day of First Fruits, the 16th day of Nisan. 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Egypt: Freedom, Part 10

The story of freedom is a great story no matter when it happens, and for whom it happens.   Galatians 5:1 tells us, “ It is for freedom that Messiah has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

Israel is going to be set free after being enslaved for many generations. The Passover story is for all of us, because we were all slaves at one time or another, as Galatians 5 tells us. So as we go forward, place yourselves in Israel’s shoes and remember when God set you free from Egypt (the world) and maybe you haven’t let go of Egypt and now is the time to do so. 

Exodus 12:1 says, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.”

Anytime you repent of your sins and let go of the world it is a new beginning.

1 John 2:15-17 tells us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

It was in the first month that Yeshua was crucified.

Exodus 12:3,  “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.”  The people were to inspect their lambs to be sure that they had no defect or blemish of any kind. It had to be a perfect sacrifice. Remember, Yeshua is our Lamb.

John 1:29 says, “The next day John saw Yeshua coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! It was on the tenth of the month that Yeshua rode into Jerusalem for all to see.

Matthew 21: 7-9, “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

This took place on the 10th day of the first month. It was here for all to inspect their lambs. Exodus 12:6 says this about the lamb, “You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.”

 It was on the 14th day of the first month that Yeshua was crucified.  John 19: 14-15 says,  “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”  They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” The day of Preparation for the Passover was on the 14th day of the first month. Like the plague before the death of the first born, which took place before Israel’s Passover,  we saw darkness, and now we see this darkness take place before the death of  Messiah.

Luke 23:44-46, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Yeshua called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.”

It was at the same time that Israel was slaughtering their lambs that Yeshua was crucified on the hill of the Skull,  and from there He could see the lambs being killed. To be a true light in the darkness, to be a true witness to Yeshua’s crucifixion we must always remember on the correct day and that day is on the Jewish day of Passover.

Exodus 12:7 says, “Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.” 

The blood on the doorpost was a harbinger of things to come. What was going on inside the house, was also a harbinger of things to come.

John 6:53 says, “So Yeshua  said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”’

Mark 14:22-24 tells us, “And as they were eating, He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is My body.  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank of it.  And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

1 Corinthians 10:16  says, “Is not the Cup of Blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Messiah?” The Cup of Blessing that Paul speaks of is one of four cups that are lifted up and consumed during the Seder. The cup that Yeshua lifted up and said, “This is My blood,” was the Cup of Redemption. Exodus 12: 12-13 says,  “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.  The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” 

We know that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God, Ephesians 1:7  The blood on the doorpost kept the death angel away from the Israelites, as does the blood that now covers us when we walk according to the Spirit of God.  

Galatians 5: 13-16 says. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” 

We also know Yeshua took upon Himself our sins. He, like the Egyptians who lost their firstborn, also died. Remember, Yeshua was not only Mary’s firstborn, but God’s only firstborn Begotten Son. As God brought the plagues upon Egypt there was a great spiritual battle that was taking place in the heavenlies.  Pharaoh who allegorically represents the devil, did not want the people of Israel to leave because he had them in bondage. So too with us, the devil does not want us to be set free. He, too, wants to keep us in our bondage. Hebrews 2:14-16 says,  “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For clearly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham.”

Finally Exodus 12:43-45 goes on to say, “ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;  but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.  A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it.” This was referring to the covenant of Abraham. Today this would include those who are in covenant with Yeshua as Romans 6;17-18 says,  “But thanks be to God, for you were slaves of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were entrusted,  and having been freed from sin, you became the slaves of righteousness.”

Next month you shall see the salvation of the Lord.

 Kids Corner coloring sheet

Hebrew Corner:          Martyrs,  Simon Peter

Of all the twelve apostles, Peter is the best known. Matthew 16:18 records this famous verse. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” We are taught the church was built upon Peter, but actually if we look at the whole thought we will see it differently. Let’s start at verse 15 ‘He said to them,’ But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Yeshua answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My congregation, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.’” You see, actually the head of the congregation was James and the Rock was Yeshua, for He was the head of His flock. Acts 15 records the Jerusalem Council who gathered to discuss Paul’s request which was that Gentiles did not need to become ceremonially Jews. Peter rose up in Paul’s defense by saying this, “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.  And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;  and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.  Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?  But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Yeshua, in the same way as they also are.”’  Then it goes on to say this, “After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, ‘Brothers, listen to me.  Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles.  The words of the Prophets agree.  Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,  but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.  For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”  Peter, who denied the Messiah three times, became a great man of faith. He spoke on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 people accepted the Messiah. There are so many questions surrounding Peter, was he in Rome, when did he die, and where is he buried?  But according to tradition, he died at the hand of Nero, being crucified upside down, but as to his burial place to this day it still remains a mystery. Nonetheless, Peter remains a vital part of  the Apostolic church, and one day his name will appear on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem,  Revelation 21:14.

Click to access passover-crossword-puzzle-from-exodus-chapters-1-13-3-1.pdf

Welcome

It’s nice to see all the Spring flowers. Winter can be so long.  I guess God created winter to teach us patience, to learn perseverance. Life has so many trials and tribulations that it is easy to forget that God is with us, that He walks with us and cares about us. Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I patiently waited, Lord,  for you to hear my prayer. You listened and pulled me from a lonely pit full of mud and mire. You let me stand on a rock with my feet firm, and You gave me a new song, a song of praise to You. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust You, the Lord God.”

Winter reminds us how we need to patiently wait for the coming Bridegroom. James 5:7-8 says this, “My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the Autumn and Spring rains to make their valuable crops grow.  Be patient like those farmers and don’t give up. The Lord will soon be here!”

But Winter can be long and dark and as we wait for Spring, well, we can grow weary like this parable of the 10 who waited and waited for the Bridegroom to come in Matthew 25:1-10. “The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten young women took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil.  The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps. The groom was late arriving, and the young women became drowsy and fell asleep.  Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, “Here’s the groom! Come to meet him!”  When the women got up and started getting their lamps ready,  the foolish ones said to the others, ‘Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out.’ Those who were wise answered, ‘There’s not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves.’  While the foolish ones were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The five who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed.” So when you see the flowers of May, remember how you patiently waited all Winter, and let it remind you that the coming of the Lord, either in our trials or that glorious return, is worth the wait.

Egypt: Salvation, Part 11

We saw last month that Israel kept the Passover, and at the sight of the blood the death angel passed over their homes. We ended with God telling His people that only those who were part of the covenant could keep the Passover. You may say, “See that is why we do not keep the Passover, because of circumcision.” Yes, except when we accept Yeshua the Messiah as our Savior, we become grafted into Israel. Romans 11:17-18 says this, “ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”

As we continue in Exodus 13, God tells the people that every first born male was to be consecrated to Him because of the death of the firstborn in Egypt. So Israel went out with their livestock and their children and all that they gathered from the Egyptians. But when they left in such a hurry the yeast of their bread had not yet risen. This is why the day is called Unleavened Bread.  Paul tells us believers that we too must keep the Passover, and we must clean out our hearts of the leaven (sin).  1 Corinthians 5:6-8, “ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 

What we read in Exodus 13:20-22 is very significant. “After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.  By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”  This same pillar of fire and cloud will not leave them for the next forty years. The term Sukkot means booths. The people built booths for their cattle and then they too, slept in the booths with their cattle, this was on their first night after leaving their bondage behind. The Feast of Sukkot is celebrated during the fall. It is to remind us of this, because their exodus is our exodus as we saw last month. So too their freedom is our freedom. It is believed that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot and where did Mary and Joseph find themselves? Yes, in a sukkah. We call it today, a manger. They, too, slept with the animals. We read last month that Yeshua’ blood covers us, as did the blood of the lamb, that covered the doorpost. Their exodus from bondage is our exodus from bondage, we were both slaves to our sin. Their unleavened is our unleavened. Their flight from Pharoah(the devil) is our flight and as we continue we will see even more.

Exodus 14: 3-4, 6-9 says. “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this (camped by the sea). And that is just what happened when Pharaoh was told that the people had left.”  “So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.  He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.  The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.  The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.”

Now about 600,000 people are sitting in the desert, remember about 66 came to Egypt in the time of Joseph. But we are now over 400 years later. Israel is now a great nation, and they are moving along slowly with their livestock of great number, plus women and children. So Pharoah thinks he has the advantage. So when Israel saw the Egyptian army, they cried out with fear. You must remember that this was the first time they had experienced freedom. Exodus 14: 13-14 says this not only to Israel, but to all who are experiencing their first freedom from that which  they have been in bondage from.  “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”’

Now you have to think, how was Pharaoh going to capture 600,000 people? He experienced the power of God, and he knows how the judgment of God left Egypt in ruins, and yet, he is still  going after Israel to bring them back. If Pharaoh, and mind you there were many Pharaohs over those 400 years, thought that Israel was conquering Egypt from within, that they had to enslave the people, because of their great numbers, then why did he have all the male babies put to death?  If anything, you would think that he would have had all the female babies put to death, so that the male children would grow up and continue to build their great cities, and  eventually they would have all died out. So as we see Pharaoh pursuing Israel, it appears that he has vengeance on his heart. He wants to annihilate as many as he can, if not all of them.  One month before Passover on the Biblical calendar is the celebration of Purim. In that story the evil Haman, like Pharaoh, wanted to annihilate the Hebrew people. It seems that throughout history people have tried to annihilate God’s people. In Joseph’s day God did a miracle by multiplying the grain, and the people did not recognize the God of Joseph, and yet Pharaoh did by placing Joseph in charge. Over the years this was lost in Egyptian history, but now once again Pharoah will not recognize the One True God, nor His people.  

Exodus 14:21-28 says,  “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,  and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.  During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.  He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward  it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”

Yes, the horse and its rider were cast into the sea, and Israel was now free. God said that He would deliver them with an outstretched arm, and He did. God brought salvation to Israel.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 says, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea;  and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

And when we cross over from our Egypt (the world) into freedom from sin, we too, have salvation. Romans 6:3-4 says, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Messiah Yeshua were baptized into His death?  We were therefore buried with Him through immersion into death in order that, just as Messiah  was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Isaiah 12:2-3 says, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.”

Next month we will continue with our last teaching on Egypt with the kings.

Safetyzoneforteens.com    Are You Sure It’s Love?

 John Lennon wrote a song called, “All You Need is Love.”

But the question is, what is love? What you think is love may not be love at all. Love is more than just a feeling. In fact what we think is love toward someone could very easily be nothing more than lust. You see, in a relationship love has boundaries and it has respect and when you cross over those boundaries, you no longer have respect nor do you have love, but lust. Lust is nothing more than selfishness, which is the opposite of love. There is no freedom in love. Love is a very delicate thing and can easily be broken and shattered and non repairable. You have to handle love with care. You see it does not matter if you give gifts or spend money or even time, what matters is a relationship that respects one another. We think giving to the poor or being on the streets protesting or saying the right words is another form of love, but again our actions may not equal true love for our fellow beings. We may think that if we have justice we have love, this is true if it is real justice, but when we think something is right for someone, it may not be right. If we give people everything they want, this is not love. We can not take away from a person the dignity that comes from working and the result of seeing the fruit of one’s labor. Humans, from the beginning of time, worked and created, and were productive beings, taking part in this world to do good and not evil. Giving someone a helping hand is one thing, but taking away his incentive to be a productive human being is another. Allowing lawlessness is not love, it is stealing. Stealing, which we now say is right, no it is not right at all, because one person has worked hard to get where they are in life, while the other person takes it away. This is not love, and this is not right. Love does not take from one and give to another, because the one that is being taken from, is also a person who you must love. It is up to that person to give out of love, and that is not your decision. Here are a few things that God considers true love.  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud.  Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. In fact, there is no greater love than one who lays down his life for another. Love is not simple. It is not a matter of fact. Love must be something you consider when you encounter any person, what you say or how you act must all be done in love or else you are a hypocrite, a fake, and nothing more than a self-centered, selfish person. Love is the true test for everyone to use to measure who they really are. Today take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Do I love or is it just lust? Do I give or do I simply take? 

Hebrew Corner:  Martyrs, Paul

Saul of Tarus, who was called Paul, was not one of the original Apostles and yet, It was Messiah Himself who chose him as Acts 9:3-6 tells us this, “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.  ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”’

 But in 1 Corinthians 15:9 Paul says this, “For I am the least of the Apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” 13 books of the Apostolic Scriptures are contributed to the writings of Paul. Paul endured great suffering and persecution for the sake of the Salvation Message. In 2 Corinthians 11:22-29 Paul speaks in his own words about his trials. “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.  Are they servants of  Messiah ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.  Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;  I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the congregations.  Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?” Paul is an inspiration to all who endure the trials and tribulations in doing the work for the Kingdom. It is unknown how Paul died, but it is believed that he was beheaded in Rome. It is also believed that he was one of many believers who were executed by the Emperor Nero after the fires of Rome. Paul had been imprisoned in Rome at which time he wrote many of his letters to the congregations. Saul who took his Greek name Paul became one, if not, the most widely known of the Apostles. Serving the Lord with joy and gladness because he was once an enemy to those who believed in Yeshua, and found himself serving those whom he persecuted. What a great story on how God can turn our lives around. Philippians 3:7-11 says, “But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Messiah.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Messiah,  and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;  if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

So what does it mean to live in the Spirit? We find Yeshua speaking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection whereas the Saduccess did not. Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin, we could say it was like our Supreme Court or even like our Congress, only dealing in matters of the Jewish Law. John 3:4-8  “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Yeshua answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” 

So we must first be born of the Spirit to be able to live by the Spirit. To be born again one must die. To live by the Spirit we must follow in the footsteps of the Messiah and His footsteps lead us to the cross.

 Luke 9:23-25 tells us this, “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it.  For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself?”’  Luke 14:27, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” Galatians 2:20 tells us this,  “I have been crucified with the Messiah. It is no longer I who live, but the Messiah who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Romans 8:13-14 says, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” 

Romans 6:5-11, “For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.  We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  For one who has died has been set free from sin.  Now if we have died with the Messiah, we believe that we will also live with Him.  We know that Messiah, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Messiah Yeshua.”

So we see that we must die to ourselves and to our sinful nature so that we can be born anew.

Ephesians 4:17-24 tells us this, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  But that is not the way you learned Messiah, assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Yeshua, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

So we must not only die to ourselves, but we must also die to the world. James 4:4 tells us ,  “You adulterous people!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” 1 John 2:15-17, “ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Colossians 3:1-10, “If then you have been raised with the Messiah, seek the things that are above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.  When the Messiah who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Now you can start living in the Spirit.

How many times when babies are born do we hear the question, “Who do they look like?” Our children grow up and they begin to act like one of the parents. It’s natural, they have their parents genes and they have grown up in their parents’ ways. The Proverbs 22: 6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he grows older he will not abandon it.” 

Training happens by what we do and what we do not do, and by what we say and what we do not say. We must teach by word and example. We must teach what is good and what is bad. We also must teach by discipline which reinforces that which is good and that which is bad, as Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

But what about our heavenly Father? Do we look like Him or even act like Him? 

Genesis 1:26a- 27 tells us this, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” 

If God created us in His image then what does God look like? We know that God is a spirit

as John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

Yet the Bible speaks of God as if He has a body, here are only a few scriptures, Matthew 4:4 tells us, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

We know that God spoke the world into existence as it speaks of this in Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,20,24,26,  “And God said, ‘Let there be light,” and there was light.”’

Isaiah 59:1 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.”

 2 Chronicles 16:9a says, “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

Deuteronomy 33:27 also says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

What else do we know about God? Well, we know that God’s Word became flesh as John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being”

John 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.”

Colossians 1:15-16 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:  for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

In John 10:38, Yeshua, the Word says that He and the Father are one. 

So we see that God and His Word are one, like you and your word are one.

Proverbs 3:19-20 tells us this, “The Lord  founded the earth by wisdom, He established the heavens by understanding. By His knowledge the ocean depths were burst open, and the clouds drip with dew.”

We see here at the time of Creation that God spoke His Word, and His Word was wisdom and knowledge.

It’s hard to understand God, so the Scriptures speak of Him as if He was human, so that we can try to relate to Him as humans.

God speaks of His wisdom in Proverbs 8:21-28, 30-31, as if it were human. “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—  before He did anything else. I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start. I arrived on the scene before Ocean,  yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes. Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,  I was already there, newborn; long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather, and set Sky firmly in place,  I was there. Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was His delight daily, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of mankind.”

We see that the three witnesses of Creation were God, His Word and His  Wisdom. If Yeshua is the Word, then who is Wisdom? Wisdom is the Holy Spirit. We see Him hovering over the water in Genesis 1:2 We also know that Wisdom is the Holy Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12:8a, “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit.”

We know that God and His Word are one, but what about the Holy Spirit?

Romans 8:9 says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.”

Galatians 4:6, “ Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

 1 Corinthians 1: 24,30, “But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Messiah the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “But it is due to Him that you are in Messiah Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” 

So we see that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Messiah. If God and His Word are one, and if the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Messiah who is one with God, then the Holy Spirit is also one with God.  God calls Himself, I AM, in Exodus 3:14. You too can say of yourself, “I am”, in other words, I exist. I am, me, myself and I. I can say that my words and I are one, because I am who I say I am and my words are my words.  We can also say that my thoughts, my wisdom and my knowledge also make up who I am, in other words my intellect, or my mind. So too, with God who also is one like you, because you are made in His image. You are only one yet, there is me, myself and I . There is I, there is me who exists, and I am made up of my words and my intellect, or you could say my  knowledge and my wisdom. I have my body, soul, and spirit, but I am not three people in one, I am only one, despite my  words and my intellect, and myself.  We are made in the image of God. Like God whom we have dwelling inside us, we have the gift of His Holy Spirit and we have the fruit of His Holy Spirit and we also have His Word to teach us how to live in Him.  When God said, “Let us make man in our image,” this is what God meant, that we would look like Him (spirit) and act like Him (in our deeds), and speak like Him (His Word) and we would be eternal like Him, because He made us with an eternal soul, the I am part of us. There are numerous Scriptures that speak about our souls living beyond the grave. So let’s look closer at our soul and our spirit.

The soul is made up of three parts: our mind, our emotions and our will and our spirit is also made up of three parts: our conscience, our spirituality and our intuition. Like God who is made up of three parts, we also are made in His image. Who knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God? So who knows our thoughts except our spirit as 1 Corinthians 2:11 tells us.

Our spirituality gives us the ability to communicate with God and serve Him as Romans 1: 9a says, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son.”

Romans 8:16a says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” 

Our intuition is our sense of feeling, our gut reaction. It’s like the first line of defense and our intuition is usually always right. 

The Heart

We call our soul, our heart. We love with our hearts. It is the emotional part of our soul, but it also is part of our spirit. Our heart thinks, it rejoices, and it is grieved.  Our conscience tells our hearts what is right or wrong. Paul struggled within him as he tells us in  Romans 7:15-20, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

 With our spirituality the of heart man believes in God  and we are to love the Lord with all of our heart. We say that we have God in our hearts, that is in our spirit,  whereas our soul is to reflect God in our lives. 

Romans 10:8-10 tells us this about faith, “But what does faith say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”’

We see here in the proclamation of our faith that we are using our soul and spirit.

We see that we must believe in our hearts, that is our spirit and confess with our mouth, that is our soul. The soul expresses  and the spirit is where we receive and discern what is right and what is wrong.  It says, this is correct and so we believe, and so we have faith, and our soul takes that and puts it in our mouths, for out of the heart man speaks as Matthew 12:34b tells us, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  

Mark 12: 30 says this, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Again we see the use of our soul and spirit. We must contain our love in our spirit and then express that love through our soul.

1 John 3:18 says, “Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Our forefathers brought about the teaching of the trinity, three persons in God, but this was man made.  We are made in God’s image and God is ONE! We are ONE! Tertullian has been called “the father of Latin Christianity”, as well as “the founder of Western theology”. Tertullian originated new theological concepts and advanced the development of early Church doctrine. He is perhaps most famous for being the first writer in Latin known to use the term trinity (Latin: trinitas).

The Council of Nicaea in 325 stated the crucial formula for that doctrine in its confession that the Son is “of the same substance [homoousios] as the Father,” even though it said very little about the Holy Spirit. Over the next half century, St. Athanasius defended and refined the Nicene formula, and, by the end of the 4th Century, under the leadership of St. Basil of Caesarea, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.

Last month we read about how one must die to be born of the Spirit. Now we want to look at how we walk in the Spirit. Well, we know that first, you must be born of the Spirit, and to do that we must die to ourselves and the world. Once we have been born of the Spirit now we can begin to walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit requires a lifestyle of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:1 tells us this, “It was for freedom that Messiah set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” 

Free from what? Sin! When we died to ourselves and the world we died to sin. Now we are free to serve God and not ourselves nor the world. Galatians 5:13-14 says, “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:16-18 goes on to say, “ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

Now people think that this means that we no longer have to keep God’s Commandments. Yet, we saw that verse 13 says that we are not to turn our freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. 

Galatians 5:19-21 says, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior,  idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul is not condoning murder, stealing, blaspheming God, disrespecting parents, coveting people’s goods or spouses. The word Law was translated to mean everything from soup to nuts. Paul is speaking about becoming a Jew through ceremonial rituals. If you remember this is what he fought for in Acts 15, at the Jerusalem Council, that Gentiles did not have to become Jews ceremonially.

God’s Commandments like all of His Words, are eternal. I recommend you read or listen to our podcast on the “Sins of our Forefathers” for they have much to do with the incorrect interpretation of our Bibles today. Paul goes on to say in verses 22-26 this, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.  Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” 

Paul goes back to the fact that we need to begin our walk by crucifying our flesh. You see, if we do not die to ourselves and to this world then we cannot even begin to walk in the Spirit, because walking in the Spirit means that you now live for God and your nature is now dead. That is the hardest thing for man to do is to disregard himself and now live for others. If we truly have died to ourselves then we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There must always be fruit in our walk. 

Matthew 3: 7-11 tells us this, “But when he (John the Baptist) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;  and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.  And the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.’  ‘As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”’

You see, even John knew that a person had to show fruit even for repentance.  When we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, we die to ourselves and rise to newness of life then we are new creations, 2 Corinthians 5:17.  1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

So how do we live holy lives? We must be set -apart from this world and all it has to offer. You see God’s wisdom sets us apart from worldly wisdom. 

Deuteronomy 4:6 tells us this, “ Keep them (commandments, statutes and judgments) and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”’ 

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Let’s end with  2 Peter 1:3-11, “I can pray this because His divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the One who called us by His own glory and excellence.  Through these things He has bestowed on us His precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge;  to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Messiah Yeshua more intimately. But concerning the one who lacks such things—he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Messiah Yeshua, will be richly provided for you.”

Who are you walking with in your life?

Welcome

It’s time for fun in the sun. Everyone has their special season, but which season is best of all? Here is a sandiegram that talks about just that.

What Season is Best of All?

Winter, spring, summer, or fall—
Lord, what season is best of all?
How can I compare the beauty of a silent night
as the flakes of snow fall gently on the ground
to the beauty of spring as the trees become alive
and buds form on the branches?
Lord, how can I compare the beauty of Your blanket of snow
that covers the trees as they sleep to the beauty of spring
as the earth renews itself and gives life to nature?
How can I compare the wonderment of spring
to summer as the flowers bloom and the warmth of the sun returns?
How can I compare the excitement of summer and its time of relaxing
to the beauty of fall when the trees and shrubs
turn from green into lovely fall colors
and reach a new height of beauty?
Lord, just as You created the seasons of nature,
You also created the seasons of our lives.
All seasons have their beauty
just as all seasons in our lives are beautiful
and should be lived to the fullest in Your love, peace, and joy.

Sandiegram/What Season is Best of All/Copyright2010

Enjoy all that June has to offer, and remember, like every day is the day that the Lord has made, so too, with every month.

Egypt: The Kings, Part 12

In the previous months we have gone from Abraham to Moses. We saw that it was mainly famines that brought the Patriarch to Egypt. It was a famine that brought Israel and when they left over 400 years later, Egypt’s crops and livestock were in ruins. Joseph was made second in command and Israel was welcomed, just as Abraham was welcomed. Moses became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and he too, was in line for the throne. Life was good in Egypt, but that all changed with the change in the Pharaohs. God did miracles in Egypt under Joseph, and He did miracles that brought judgment under Moses. It was like a two sided coin. But God delivered Israel as He said He would to Abraham. In Exodus 14:13 Moses told the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today;  for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again.” Maybe that’s true for these particular Egyptians, because they all died, but Israel still wanted their Egypt. Time and time again in the wilderness the people wanted to go back to Egypt. Psalm 106: 7-15 tells us, “Our fathers did not consider    Your wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the greatness of Your mercy,   but rebelled against Him at the sea, by the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,    that He might make His mighty power known. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up,    so He led them through the depths as through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of him who hated them    and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their enemies;    there was not one of them left. Then they believed His words;  they sang His praise. But they soon forgot His works,     they did not wait for His counsel, but they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness    and tested God in the desert.He gave them their request,   but He sent a wasting disease on them.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 says this,   “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Now if Egypt represents the world, then is it not like that still today? People, Christian people, still want to be part of Egypt. We leave Egypt when we see the truth about God’s salvation, but then like Proverbs 26:11 says,  “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.” We fall right back into our old habits, because today we think that we can be in Egypt, and still be with God. Scripture tells us that we can not sit on the fence. We can’t be lukewarm as Revelation 3:15-16 tells us. “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth.”  1 John 1: 6-10 says,  “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Messiah Yeshua His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” In Deuteronomy 17: 14-17 God tells Israel this,  “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’  you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman.  In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’  And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.” God did not want His people to ever go back to Egypt. Why? Because the Israelites were slaves, and Egypt was their master. But God fought for them and He won the battle, and now the people belonged to God. Exodus 19:4-6 says,  “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.  Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;  and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” So let’s look at Solomon, David’s son who sat on the throne, who was considered very wise. 1 Kings 3:1-9 records this prayer of Solomon. “Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.  And now, Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am like a little boy; I do not know how to go out or come in.  And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.  So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this great people of Yours?” God gave Solomon the wisdom to rule and yet we find Solomon doing many things that were against God. 1 Kings 3:1-4, “Now Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of his father David, except that he was sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.  And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the great high place;

Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” 1 Kings 9:16 goes on to say, “For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.”  1 Kings 10: 26-29 goes on to say,  “Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.  And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland.  Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price.  A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.” 1 Kings 11:26-29 tells us this, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,  from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, who were princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away.  For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been.  Solomon became a follower of Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done.  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,  and had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded.  So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant.”

Remember, this was all written as an example to us so that we do not run back to Egypt once we leave it for our Messiah. Isaiah 27:13 says, “It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem..” Yes, Egypt will be saved in the last days for they will finally recognize the One True God.

Kids Corner:                 Pentecost/Shavuot

Did you know that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on the very first Pentecost, Exodus 19-20? In the days of the Apostles, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given to them in the form of flaming fire upon their heads, Acts 2. In Hebrew the word for Pentecost is Shavuot. Shavuot means weeks, and Pentecost means 50. Pentecost comes 50 days after the Resurrection of our Savior, and Shavuot is 7 weeks after the Feast of First Fruits which is the Resurrection. Did you know that Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:20, that our Savior is the First Fruits from the dead? This means that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit work together. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17 that the Armor of God has a sword, and it is called the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This year the Biblical Feast day of Pentecost also known as Shavuot is on June 12.

Hebrew Corner:                      Martyrs, Mark

Mark was born into the tribe of Levi in Cyrene, which is now Libya.  He is also known by the name John Mark. He came to the knowledge of the Messiah through Peter. He is the Mark that bears his name on the gospel of Mark. Mark is known as Mark the Evangelist. He was the cousin of Barnabas. After Yeshua called His original twelve Apostles, He sent out seventy more disciples and  Mark is one of these “Seventy Disciples” sent out in Luke 10:1, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”

Mark later became a traveling companion to Peter and he wrote down all Peter’s sermons, thus allowing him to write the gospel of Mark. Coptic tradition according to John 20, also holds that Mark the Evangelist hosted the disciples in his house after Yeshua’s death, that the resurrected Messiah Yeshua came to Mark’s house  and that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost in the same house. Mark’s mother’s house in Jerusalem also seemed to be the gathering place for the believers like when Peter was set free from jail by the angel, this is where he went first as Acts 12:11-12 tells us, “And when Peter was come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.”’

After the Jerusalem Council Mark traveled with Barnabas. Nineteen years after the Ascension of the Messiah, Mark went to Alexandria and founded the first Messianic Congregation of Alexandria.  The Coptic Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church all trace their roots to this congregation. Mark became the first Bishop and is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. Mark is also accredited to being in Antioch and Cyprus, Venice and Aquileia,  Italy. His symbol is a lion. When Mark returned to Alexandria in 68 Common Era, the pagan people resented him for turning so many of the people of Alexandria to Chrisitanity and away from their pagan gods whom they worshiped. So they put a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets till he was literally in pieces. 

He is just one more person who sets the example of being a disciple as  Yeshua says in 

Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wants to be a follower of Mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

This was an old saying once, but the Bible records such a time. The story in John 9:1-12 starts by telling us that there was a man born blind. Yeshua’s disciples saw this man and asked Him, “Who sinned, the man or his parents?” I guess this has always been the question. We want to know who to blame. You hear children say, “It’s all your fault.” You hear parents say, “This is not how we raised you.” 

I guess beginning with Adam who blamed Eve for his sin, people have always looked for someone to lay the blame on. But Yeshua said to His disciples neither.  And goes on to say, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

 I guess we never think about the fact that our illnesses or our sufferings are not due to our sin. I guess Yeshua nipped in the bud any kind of gossip or judging between His disciples and the crowd. People always like to assume that when people go through trials and hardships, there must be some negative reason behind it.  

James 1:2-4 tells us,  “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Yeshua goes on to say, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Well, everything seems alright on the surface but then Yeshua  does something very odd.  The Scripture tells us that “After saying this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.”

What?  Yeshua spits and makes mud. Yeshua cures Peter’s mother- in-law and casts out demons and heals lepers and even raises the dead just by speaking or laying His hands on the person, but here He spits and makes mud and puts it on the man’s eyes. Couldn’t He have just said, “See or be healed” or something close to that?  “He then tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” Well I could see why, Yeshua just put mud in his eyes. Let’s look at the rest of the story to find out why Yeshua healed the man in this manner.  “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.  Now the day on which Yeshua had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see. Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”  They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents.  “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”  “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind.” 

In Mark 2 and Matthew 12, Yeshua speaks of Himself as being the Lord of the Sabbath. He also said that the Sabbath was made for man. He also said that you should do good on the Sabbath. So we see why He healed the man, but why didn’t He just speak healing to Him? Mark 8 speaks of Yeshua healing a blind man by spitting in his eyes. Now in Scripture, so many times we read the same story but with different details. This most likely is one of those times. 

The story in Mark 8: 22-26 goes like this, “Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

Assuming that these two stories are one I would say that Yeshua was proving to His doubters that He and the Father are one and that He was truly the spoken Word of God at Creation. When God created man, God got down on the ground as Genesis 2:7 says,  “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Yeshua was reenacting the creation of man by creating the mud and putting it over his eyes to see. He was not only the Creator of the Sabbath but also of man himself who He chose to heal on the Sabbath. He told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam which means “Sent” because He was the “Sent One” of the Father and as He said He was the Light of the world, and He gave light to the man’s eyes. Yes, it was to bring about glory to the Father through the Son. It was to prove that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah. Light, trees and mud all on the Sabbath, all a part of Creation, all a part of who Yeshua was and is. Do you have mud in your eyes? Today maybe you need your spiritual eyes opened to the truth of who Yeshua is. You may also need to wash in the pool of the Sent One. Come today and He will wash you and He will open your blinded spiritual eyes to see truth and light.  At first you too, may begin to see the trees from the forest, as they say, but if you continue with Yeshua, your eyes will be made wide open and more light will enter in, and you will be healed and made whole.

Welcome

It’s hard to believe that we are in the second half of  the year. Being in the middle of anything can be a hard place to be. Take a tunnel, when you are in the middle of a long tunnel you can’t see the beginning of it, where you entered, nor can you see the end of it either. It’s like going through a crisis. You may ask yourself, when or where will all this end? It’s a hard place to be in when you can’t see the end of your problem. But there is One who sees the beginning from the end and that is God our Father. You can rest assured that God is in control of all things. When we give Him our lives, we then begin to walk with Him. In Amos 3:3 God asks this question: “Do two walk together without having met?” And from there it all begins with trust, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Psalm 91: 1-12 says, “One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and My fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper and from the deadly plague. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the plague that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that devastates at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the retaliation against the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will happen to you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. On their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.”  No matter what is happening around you or in your tent, always remember, it always seems the darkest before the light, but know this, God’s light will lead you when you trust in Him. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

The Hidden Meanings Behind  the Miracles of Yeshua: Part One

Were Yeshua’s miracles just random miracles or was there a hidden meaning behind them? Have we missed the deeper meaning behind what Yeshua has said and done? Let’s look at what seems to be His first miracle after He had called several of His apostles as we read in John 2:1-11. “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of  Yeshua was there; and both Yeshua and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Yeshua said to Him, “They have no wine.”  And Yeshua said to her, “What business do you have with Me, woman? My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it.”  Now there were six stone waterpots standing there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. Yeshua said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it to him.  Now when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the head waiter called the groom, and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests are drunk, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”  This beginning of His signs Yeshua did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

Now on the surface this seems to be a simple case of water turning into wine, but let’s dig a little deeper. We will start in John 15:1-8  which  tells us that Yeshua is the grapevine. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.  Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” 

Wine was considered a blessing, because wine was a staple and you could say it was considered like drinking water. People drank wine at their meals, grapes grew in abundance in Israel. This blessing in Genesis 27:28 says this, “Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, (rain) and of the fatness of the earth, (good nutrient soil) and an abundance of grain (bread) and new wine.” Isaac could not have blessed Jacob any more than this. Agriculture was the source of life and we

see that wine was just as important for a sweet life.  And so because of this we see that a Nazarite was not to drink wine, because he was to deny himself the pleasure for the sake of his vow. Numbers 6:3 says, “He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.” 

But wine was also for healing as Luke 10:34  tells us, “And he came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” So let’s go back and look at another point in this passage. When Mary, Yeshua’s mother, came to Him and told Him that they were out of wine, Yeshua responded like this “What business do you have with Me, woman? My hour has not yet come.”  First of all, Yeshua was not being disrespectful of His mother. But what He was insinuating was that His calling and His task was for Him only. You see, the name Yeshua means “ God’s Salvation,” Messiah,  “The Anointed One.” Any transliteration of this name, just does not mean the same. Yeshua’s name is just that, His task in life, and that task was to bring salvation to the people who would receive Him. Calling Him anything but His Jewish, God given name, does not give the true and proper witness to who He is. The fact that Yeshua said that it was not His time was because He was referring to His crucifixion. We see in Matthew 26:20-29  that Yeshua and His disciples were celebrating the Passover Seder. But first we want to say that verse 17 is interpreted incorrectly. “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”  Now, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the Sabbath that was beginning at sunset when Yeshua died and they needed to take His body off the cross as Deuteronomy 21:22-23 tells us,  “Now if a person has committed a sin carrying a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body is not to be left overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is cursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord  your God is giving you as an inheritance.” So let’s continue with verse 20-25, “Now when evening came, Yeshua was reclining at the table with the twelve.  And as they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” Being deeply grieved, they began saying to Him, each one: “Surely it is not I, Lord?”  And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.  The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”  And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Yeshua said to him, “You have said it yourself.” As we read the account of what we call the Last Supper, we can clearly see that Yeshua was celebrating the Passover Seder. It was

at this point of the dipping of the parsley, ( or it may have been another green type vegetable back then) which was called karpas, that Yeshua spoke this to His betrayer. In the Seder you  dip the parsley into salt water signifying the tears and suffering of the Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt. Verses 26-29 continues, “Now while they were eating, Yeshua took some bread (Matzah), and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”  And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;  for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom.” The matzah that He took is called the “Afikoman.” On the main plate which was for the person who was conducting the Seder, there was a separate plate of three matzah. The middle piece is pulled out, and given the traditional blessing  (Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth), then it is broken. Half of it is passed around, while the other half is wrapped in a white cloth and hidden. It was here that Yeshua said, “This is My body!” He is the Afikomen whose body was broken for us and then hidden in the grave. Later in the service the hidden part of the Afikomen is found and brought out, signifying the resurrection. Yeshua knew the hidden meaning behind the Passover Seder and He brings forth this revelation now to His disciples. It is at this point that an actual meal is eaten.  It is said in other accounts that it was after the meal that Yeshua took the cup, this cup is called the cup of redemption. It was this cup that Yeshua lifted up and said “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”  (Luke 22:20).  This is what was going through Yeshua’s mind when He finally agreed to change the water into wine. The wine which was symbolic of  His blood that was going to be poured out for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind.  This was His first miracle, but His last greatest task would lead to His final miracle, His resurrection, the victory.  Yes, the best was saved for last. As the blood was placed on the lintel of the door in Egypt, so too His blood covers us. As the Israelites had the victory in crossing over the Red Sea, so too, we who are in the Messiah, have crossed over from death to life. Isaiah 55:1-2 says, “You there! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.” God is truly the God of abundance. Come and feast for He gives us the Bread of Life and let us drink from the Well of Salvation, The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be the time when Yeshua will once again drink from the vine. It is like one who makes a Nazarite vow not to drink from the vine but on that day His vow will be fulfilled.

Safetyzoneforteens.com:  A Diamond in the Ruff

Most people love diamonds. The bigger the better. The more they sparkle, the better they are. Even Marilyn Monroe sang a song entitled, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”  Yes, diamonds are beautiful with all the dazzle and  glitter. So what makes a diamond so beautiful? Well just this, all of the cuts they make to let the light shine through. They are called facets. The more facets, the more glitter, because of the angle in which the light hits it. The real question is how or what makes a diamond a diamond?  A diamond is nothing more than carbon. Yes, today we do not like the word carbon, it’s not a green word. But this is how diamonds are created. You have to take carbon and place it under pressure along with intense heat. Of course this takes many years, but then anything of any value takes years to develop. We are all like those diamonds in many ways. But we first must start at the beginning and in the beginning, we are like the carbon. We wonder why we go through things in life that may be hard or difficult. Well, that is because God is making us into diamonds.  It is through our trials that we begin to shine. Every trial is like a facet, a cut, that will allow the light to shine in us.  The Apostle James writes this, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-3) The Apostle Peter says this, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) The Apostle Paul says, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5) The pressures of our trial and the cuts even to our hearts are so that we may go from carbon to diamonds and from the dullness of heart to light shining deep within us.  Eric Clapton’s song “Diamonds Made From Rain” speaks of this very transformation in our lives. “Every stone that I have turned. Each forgiveness I have earned. Every shame that’s taught me grace, from you I have learned. That everything is shown to me, I let it wash over me, like diamonds made of rain. You can find joy inside the pain. Everything that I’ve endured for the wisdom of a pearl I wouldn’t change a thing. You can make diamonds from the rain.”

What a great song! God wants you to shine and have great value. Won’t you let Him make you into a diamond?

Hebrew Corner :                 The Martyrs: Bartholomew

 Bartholomew is more a family name as we see in Hebrew,  (bar) means son of  and the rest means Tolmai, so he was the son of Tolmai. Bartholomew is listed three times as one of the twelve Apostles, in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:14 and also in the book of Acts 1:13.   He was a doctor in Jewish law and a dear friend of St. Philip the Apostle.  He is believed to be Nathaniel who is mentioned in John 1:43-51 which tells us this,  “The next day Yeshua decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Yeshua said to him, “Follow Me.”  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip  found Nathaniel (Bartholomew) and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Yeshua the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”  Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Yeshua saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”  Nathaniel said to Him, “How do You know me?” Yeshua answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”  Nathaniel answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!”  Yeshua answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”  And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Bartholomew was favored by becoming one of the few Apostles who witnessed the appearance of the risen Savior on the Sea of Galilee (John 21:2)  The Historian Eusebius tells us that after the Ascension Bartholomew went to India where he left a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. But most likely it would have been after the Jewish Feast of Shavuot which we call Pentecost. Tradition has it that he also went to Mesopotamia, Parthia ( in modern Iran), Lycaonia ( in modern Turkey), Ethiopia and Armenia. There are many different ideas on how Bartholomew died.

The most prominent tradition, namely that Bartholomew was executed in Albanopolis in Armenia, has it that he was martyred for having converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Enraged by the monarch’s conversion, and fearing a Roman backlash, King Polymius’s brother, Prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew’s torture and execution. However, there are no records of any Armenian king of the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia with the name “Polymius”. 

Current scholarship indicates that Bartholomew is more likely to have died in Kalyan in India, where there was an official named “Polymius”. Some believed he was crucified, while others believed he was beaten unconscious and thrown into the ocean and yet some believe he was beheaded. Regardless, he was martyred for his faith.

We want to take a closer look into Egypt since it has had a significant role in Israel’s history. 

Genesis 9:18 tells us this,  “Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan.”

It is believed by Scripture that Noah’s son Ham lived in Africa. During those days the land of Canaan was part of Africa. Ham had four  sons. 

Genesis 10:6 gives us their names.  “The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.” Mizraim could be called the father of Egypt, he was the founder of the Egyptian race and from him sprang the 1st Dynasty. The ancient historian Eusebius thought that the first king of the 1st Dynasty, which was Menes, was Mizraim.   Egypt is called Mizraim by the Hebrews. 

Genesis 10: 13-20 tells us about Mizraim’s sons, “Egypt was ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim (the origin of the Philistines), and the Kaphtorim. Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha. These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.”

There is so much that took place in the Prehistoric Age or in Egypt we can call it the Pre-Dynastic Age, which is before the 1st Dynasty. The Bible goes on to tell us about another son of Noah, Shem, who lived in the Middle East and from his line came Abraham.  It is believed that God spoke to Abraham in the year 1894 B.C, when Abraham was 75 years old.  Genesis 12:1-7 tells us this, “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the people which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; so they came to the land of Canaan.  Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.  And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.”’

It is believed that Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan in 1893 BC.It seems as soon as Abraham came to the land of Canaan, and God told him that He was giving him the land, that he was leaving it, as  Verse 10 goes on to say this, “Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land.”

Abraham seemed to feel comfortable in going to Egypt, coming from the land of Ur of Babylon, a great distance away.  According to Donovan Courville in 1893 it is also believed that Osirophus was the first Pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled 23 years (1901-1878BC). He was also known as Khufu. Khufu is credited for building the largest pyramid, also called the “Great Pyramid.” It is believed that when Abraham went to Egypt, and being a great tribal leader himself, Khufu would have taken notice of him. Josephus, the Jewish historian says this about Abraham, “He communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy, for before Abram came into Egypt they were unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the Chaldeans into Egypt.

What Josephus could not have known at the time of his writings what we know now about the ancient UR of the Chaldees. Sir Leonard Wooley excavated that area from 1922-1934 and found it to be virtually the world’s first civilization with a remarkable knowledge of astronomy and arithmetic. The early Sumerians were the first to invent writing. They made dictionaries and could calculate square and cube roots. Wooley wrote, “After grammar came mathematics, and we find tables of multiplication and division, tables for the extraction of square and cube roots and exercises in applied geometry- for instance, how to calculate the area of a plot of ground of irregular shape by squaring it off so that the total of the complete square included in it added to that of the right-angled triangle which fill in its contour gives an answer approximately correct.” One other thing Josephus could not have known was that the earliest pyramids of Egypt were an amazing accomplishment, but that they were not exactly square, but Khufu’s pyramid was exactly square, exactly level, exactly orientated to the points of the compass. All this suggests that Abraham may have indeed visited Egypt during the reign of Khufu and imparted to his pyramid builders the knowledge that they needed to accomplish this great task. One other thing, let’s not forget the Tower of Babel and what a great feat that was, even God took notice of it, for the Tower of Babel was most likely taller and bigger in size than the pyramids. 

 Genesis 11:1-7 tells us this,    “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.  As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

According to the Biblical Archaeology Society they say that Egyptian historical sources that we now know because of extensive excavations that Egypt prospered during the period known as the Old Kingdom (c2600-2200 BCE.) This was the age of pyramid building and the government and economy were strong.

After Abraham returned from Egypt, he and his nephew Lot parted ways. And this is what Genesis 13:10 tells us how Lot compares the Jordan Valley to Egypt. “Lot raised his eyes and saw all the vicinity of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt going toward Zoar.

Genesis 16: 3 says this, “ And so after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.” 

It is interesting to see that Abraham had a slave woman from Egypt. 

Genesis 21: 9-10 says,  “Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking Isaac.  Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son Isaac!” Does this sound familiar in any way? Here we have Abraham the father of the Hebrew nation sending the slave woman and her son free, and later we will see just the opposite, the Egyptians setting the Hebrews free.  God says this to Hagar in Genesis 21:18, “Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him”. Is this not what God said to Abraham in Genesis 12? Here is God saying that Abraham( who embodies his future children Israel) and his son Ishmael (who is part Egyptian) will both be great nations. We continue to find more interesting facts as we go through Scripture: Genesis 24:1-4 tells us, “Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.  Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh,  and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live;  but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” It seems that Abraham in no way wanted Isaac’s wife from the line of the Egyptians. So Rebekah, Isaac’s wife was more or less Abrahams flesh and blood, and so would his grandchildren be. After the death of Abraham a famine once again came to the land of Canaan. 

Next month we will look at Isaac and Joseph.

Last month we read about Abraham and his journey to Egypt. Now we want to move forward with Isaac.

Genesis 26 :1-6 says this, “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.  Live for a time in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.  I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,  because Abraham obeyed Me and fulfilled his duty to Me, and kept My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. So Isaac lived in Gerar”

Why did God not allow Isaac to go into Egypt and yet He allowed  Abraham? Maybe because his children had been born and Jacob was to go into Egypt later in his life.  So this takes us to Isaac’s son Jacob, who will take a journey into Egypt, because of famine in the land. While Abraham was in Egypt during the 4th Dynasty, his grandson Jacob did not migrate there till the 12th Dynasty.

Hyksos Dynasties. 

So who were the Hyksos?  According to the Harper Atlas of the Bible, these were foreign rulers and the name Hyksos, in Egyptian  means Chiefs of foreign countries. They were Semitic people and they had more in common with the Hebrews than the Egyptians, maybe this is why Abraham felt comfortable in going to Egypt at the time of the famine. From the time of Abraham to Jacob, a growing number of Semitic foreigners from Canaan lived in Egyptian society, from the poor to the rich. They attached themselves to large households or served in temples and in their administrations.  During an excavation one large Egyptian household contained the names of 79 domestic servants, over half of them being with Semitic names such as Jacob, Issachar, and Asher.  During the 13 Dynasty the population grew and we find Semitic names, and at least one  had a Semitic name Pharoah Khendjer, ( Semitic: Hanzir meaning boar). During the century 1750-1650 BC one or more West Semitic chiefs became part of the East Delta, the so-called name of the 16th Dynasty. 

From almost the beginning of the Middle Kingdom people from Canaan were infiltrating the eastern Nile Delta and King Amenemhet I built a wall to keep “Asiatic” out of the country. Through excavation the eastern Nile Delta shows that at the end of the Middle Kingdom, in the period known as the Second Intermediate Period, Canaanites who had lived in the region had expanded and taken over much of the eastern Nile Delta, essentially conquering Egypt from within. Egyptian text refer to them as heqau khasut which means “rulers of foreign lands,” a term that the Greek historians such as the Third-Century BCE priest Manetho, corrupted into “Hyksos.” Manetho explains that Dynasties 14, 15, 16 were all Hyksos dynasties. The Hyksos kings adopted Egyptian royal style and retained a basic Egyptian bureaucracy as they welcomed fellow-foreigners  into the administration as they transitioned into the 14th Dynasty worshiping their pagan gods as they ruled from canaan and out of this, the Egyptians were determined to keep such invaders at bay and so was born the Egyptian empire in the Levant. So let’s look at the Joseph story beginning at his sale into slavery. The brothers of Joseph hated him because he was Jacob’s favorite and their father gave them no attention whatsoever. Genesis 37:21-28 tells us this, “So they plotted to kill him. But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands by saying, “Let’s not take his life.”  Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.  So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the multicolored tunic that was on him;  and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. Then they sat down to eat a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying labdanum resin, balsam, and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.  And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?  Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.  Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. So they brought Joseph into Egypt.”

We see here that this Ishmaelite caravan  (remember Ishmael was Abraham’s first son and his mother was Egyptian) was carrying labdanum resin, balsam and myrrh on their way down to Egypt, and what does Jacob tell his sons to take back to this man that they did not realize was Joseph? Genesis 43:11 tells us, “Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a gift, a little balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.” (So we know that Israel prospered with the export of these items, though some have been lost over the years, but are now once again beginning to be produced.)  But as we read carefully Genesis 37:28,  it was some Midianite traders who got to Joseph first, and pulled him out of the pit. Abraham had more sons than just Isaac (by Sarah) and Ishmael (by Hagar). He also had six sons by Keturah, his wife after the death of Sarah: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Genesis 25:2). The Midianites were the descendants of Midian and therefore children of Abraham. They settled in “the land of the east” (Genesis 25:6). We will see how the Midianite play a role once again in the time of Moses. The sum of twenty shekels is correctly written in the Bible for they have found legal tablets from the city of Mari that this was the price for a slave. But the Scriptures make it sound like the Midianite traders were the ones who sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites and not the brothers.  Let’s look again at Genesis 37:28  along with 29-30.  “Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. So they brought Joseph into Egypt. “29-30” Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.  He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”  

Yes, the brothers put him in the well, but they did not sell him, even though most of them wanted to. The story continues in Genesis 39:1-2, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there.  And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.”

We saw earlier in this article that many people found themselves in Egypt as servants to royalty and to the very rich. Now we know that Joseph finds himself in prison over the lie of Potiphar’s wife.  Genesis 39: 21-23 says, “ But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.  And the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it.  The warden of the prison did not supervise anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and, the Lord made whatever he did prosper.” 

Here we get insight into how the Egyptian prison system worked. They have discovered records from ancient prison registers and they had a director, who was the captain of the guards and keepers or wardens. Prisoners were filed under seven listings from name and sex and their time spent right up to discharge , which closed their case. We learn of butlers and cup holders who held prominent roles in the courts of Pharaoh. Nehemiah 1:1 says, “ Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa (Shushan) the capital. Nehemiah 2:1 says this, “And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I picked up the wine and gave it to the king.”  We see Nehemiah was a cup holder for the king. 

Joseph was forgotten by the baker and cupholder till one night Pharaoh had a dream. Genesis 41:14-32 tells us that Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams.

We will continue to look closer into Joseph next month.

We have been looking closely into the relationship between Egypt and Israel. We stopped last month with Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, and so we want to continue looking at this story. I think you will find it very interesting.

 Genesis 41:33-37  tells us what Joseph’s plan would be to bring the people through the famine. “So now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt.  Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance.  Then have them collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and have them guard it.  Let the food be used as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”  Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.”’

We know that the Holy Spirit is the giver of  wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment.  Isaiah 11:2 says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD.”

We find in Acts 6:3, that the apostles also needed to choose wise men. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”

Genesis 41:38-44 continues to say, “Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom there is a divine spirit?”  So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.  You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people shall be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.”  Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you over all the land of Egypt.”  Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck.  And he had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt.  Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”  

It is believed that the Pharaoh who would have made Joseph second over Egypt would have been the Pharaoh Sesostris I. 

So we see here that Joseph was elevated  to second-in-command and all Egypt bowed down before him. We see this in the Esther story with Haman  

Esther 3:1-2 says, “After these events King Ahasuerus honored Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and promoted him and established his authority over all the officials who were with him.  All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded regarding him.”

When reading the Scriptures on Joseph we can only conclude that God had His hand on Joseph’s life. Every event, good or bad, was all directed by God to prepare Joseph for a time like this. We see the same thing  with Queen Esther and you will find that to be true with anyone who walks with God.

Genesis 41:45 continues to say, “Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of  Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

Scholars have tried to determine the meaning of this name. The best they came up with was “revealer of hidden things,” but others say it means, “sustainer of life,” which is more in line with his mission. What is interesting is that Pharoah gives Joseph Asenath for his wife. You see that enath ending of her name is in his. Asenath means “she who belongs to Neith (goddess).” So who was this Asenath and who was her father Potiphera, priest of On? The city of On was  northwest of Cairo. It was a cultic center of the sun-god Re (Jeremiah 43:13).  The city had outstanding architectural features with columns and colonnades. Potiphera’s name means “He whom RE has given.’ The Father, being a priest, would have had the title, “Greatest of seers.” So Joseph would have married into elite Egyptian nobility. We know that it was common to have your name changed when in a foreign land, Daniel was changed to Belteshazzar, Hananiah to Shadrach,  Mishael to Meshach, and Azariah to Abed-nego. Esther was changed from Hadassah. Gen 41:50-52 says, “Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.  Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh; “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all of my father’s household.”  And he named the second Ephraim; “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

We know that Joseph was a godly man and he would have raised his children with the belief that there was only One True God. If this was not true Jacob would not have included these children in his blessing. Genesis 48:5-6a says, “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.  But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours.”

Genesis 41: 53-57 goes on to say,  “When the seven years of plenty which had taken place in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.  So when all the land of Egypt suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.”  When the famine was spread over the entire face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Then the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.”

Wait! Did we just read that Joseph sold them their own grain? Was that what he told Pharaoh in the beginning when he told him the plan? They already gave the gain as a tax and now they have to buy their own grain back? I can see charging the people who came from other places, but not the people who already gave of their own crop. We will continue to look into this as we go.Now let’s continue with the story. In Genesis 42:1-5 we see that Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy some food. Genesis 42: 6-9 says, “Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.  When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”  But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.  And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.” 

Let’s look at these dreams of Joseph. 

Genesis 37:5-8 tells us about Joseph’s 1st dream. “Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.  He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;  for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf stood up and also remained standing; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”  Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” Genesis 37: 9-11 goes on to tell us his 2nd dream, “ Then he had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”  He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Am I and your mother and your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?”  And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”

Next month we are going to bring all this together and unravel the Joseph story

We ended last month with the two dreams that Joseph had when he was younger. It seems that these two dreams showed Joseph was in power and his family were all bowing down to him. Pharaoh has just made Joseph one step away from being Pharaoh of Egypt. So let’s continue on with the story. So the people of Egypt were already buying back their own grain, and here comes Joseph’s brothers, to buy grain for their families. Joseph, after being in Egypt all those years, dressed, and talked, and even looked Egyptian, so the brothers would not have recognized him. But what is interesting here is that they were all bowing down to him just like in his dream. Now, if we get into Joseph’s head we can surmise that this gave Joseph a great feeling of satisfaction. I’m sure that just being second in command gave him an empowering feeling. So Joseph begins to play a little cat and mouse game with his brothers by calling them spies. Genesis 42:15-17 says, “And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.  Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”  And he put them all in custody for three days.”

Joseph felt he had a right to test his brothers to see if they were the same as when they put him into the pit. Genesis 42: 18-21 continues, “On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:  If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.  But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.  They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

It was certainly working because he questions their honesty, and they begin to question the past. Joseph does everything he can to cause them to fear and to question and to be distressed.  I’m sure he felt distressed when in the pit, and then being taken away from his family and being sold. Well, the story goes that they had to come back and they brought their younger brother Benjamin, and seeing Benjamin, Joseph had to express his feelings, and expose his identity. Everyone hugged and kissed each other and all was forgiven. Joseph sends for his father and the whole household of Jacob to come and live in Egypt. So now Jacob finds himself in Egypt during a famine like his grandfather Abraham. Genesis 46:26-27 says this about who came to Egypt. “All those who went to Egypt with Jacob,those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives numbered sixty-six persons.  With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.”

It is important that the Scriptures tell us the number who came to Egypt with Jacob, and we will see why as we go on. Like Abraham, Joseph’s family is welcomed with open arms from Pharaoh. Genesis 47:1-6 tells us this, “Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”  He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.”  They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”  Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you,  and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

Well, now that Joseph and his family are reunited let’s get back to the famine.

Joseph is still 2nd in command of all of Egypt and the famine still had many years before it was going to end. Genesis 47:13-17 goes on to tell us this, “There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.  Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.  When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.” “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.”  So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.”

We see here that Joseph has collected all the people’s money and now their livestock. You have to wonder why? Let’s take a moment to consider a very important thing here. Joseph originally told Pharaoh that he should collect a fifth of everyone’s grain. The people for seven years lived on 4/5th of their crop, now you have to wonder how then can they now live on only 1/5 of their crop? And not only that, but people from all over came to buy grain. This had to be a miracle of multiplication from God. We see this in 2 Kings 4:42-44, “A man from Baal Shalishah came to Elisha. He brought 20 loaves of barley bread from the first harvest to Elisha. He also brought fresh grain in his sack. Then Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” Elisha’s servant said, “How can I feed 100 men with so little?” But Elisha said, “Give the bread to the people to eat. This is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and will have food left over.’”  Then he gave it to them. The people ate and had food left over, as the Lord had said.” We also see Yeshua doing this same thing when feeding the 4,000 and then the 5,000 with just a few fish and loaves. (Matthew 14:13-21, Matthew 15:29-39) We see that God was in control during this whole famine, and in the bringing back of Joseph’s family not in the land of Canaan but in Egypt. With that thought we must look at the end of the story. Genesis 50:5-21 tells us this, “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:  ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” 

No one knows the plans of God, what we may think is a wrong being done to us, or a bad situation, can be used by God for good, so we must learn to trust God in all situations. We will end here at Genesis 47:18-25, “When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.  Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,  and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.  However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had enough food from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.  But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”“ You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

We will continue next month with Moses.

Last month we read the reuniting of Joseph and his family. We want to end with this. Why did Joseph take the Egyptians’ money and land, and he even enslaved them? Could Joseph have had aspirations of one day becoming the Pharaoh himself ? Remember he was second in command. That is one thing we will never know, but it is possible that God directed him. God did a miracle of multiplying the grain, and the people did not recognize it.  You see Egypt had many gods, and as we will see as we go forward that God will show the people who is really God. One thing we do know is that Joseph and his brothers reconciled and that was a good thing. We see that Joseph died; he was buried in Egypt, but only with a promise that one day his bones would be carried back to the land with Israel as Exodus 1:6-10 says this,  “And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.  But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them. Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.  And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.  Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land.” 

The End of the Hyksos Dynasty

 Remember the Hyksos Dynasty were foreign rulers, Pharaohs who were Canaanites.  The Hyksos period ended 1550B.C.E. when a Theban king named Kamose marched northward and waged war against the Hyksos by attacking the capital city of Avaris. His successor, Ahmose continued his policies by chasing the Hyksos into Canaan and also conquering Canaanite cities. So this is the reason why the new king did not know Joseph because the Hyksos Dynasty no longer ruled Egypt. According to the Biblical Archeology Society they tell us this, the Egyptians had good reason to be worried. During excavation in the Eastern Nile Delta Region by the end of the Middle Kingdom during the time called the Second Intermediate Period, the Canaanites who had been living in the region had expanded and taken over much of the eastern Nile Delta, essentially conquering Egypt from within. We know that this was Joseph’s family who lived in Goshen, which is east of the Nile Delta during this time and they did multiply and increased greatly.  We see that there were  wars during this time and so the king of Egypt rightfully so, had fears that these Canaanites (Joseph’s family) would side with their enemy.

Exodus 1: 11-14 continues to say,  “So they appointed taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Rameses.  But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel.  The Egyptians used violence to compel the sons of Israel to labor;  and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labor which they violently had them perform as slaves.”

You have to realize that there were several different Pharaohs during the time Joseph arrived in Egypt to even when the people eventually left. It is believed that Sesostris III was the Pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites, while others believe that it was Rameses II. It’s hard to know because the Bible does not tell us, and there is much debate when considering the timeline of the Bible. 

 Genesis 15:13-14 does tell  us this, “Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.  But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.”

But the Scriptures make it sound like it was just the next day after Josephs’ death that the people went into slavery. According to Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, he says, “Based on the above verses, (about the death of Joseph) it is clear that the slavery did not begin until Joseph’s entire generation died. When was this? Exodus 6:16 states that Levi lived until 137 (unlike Joseph who died at a youthful 110 (Genesis 50:22)). The Sages state that his age was recorded because he lived the longest of all the brothers. Thus, his death marked the beginning of the start of Israel’s enslavement. How many years did Levi live in Egypt? Joseph was 39 when he was reunited with his brothers. (He was 30 when he first became viceroy in Egypt (Gen. 41:46), and his family came down after 7 years of plenty and 2 of famine.) According to the Sages, Levi was about 4 years older. Thus, if he was 43 when he arrived in Egypt, he died 94 years later. Since Israel’s entire stay in Egypt was 210 years (see Talmud Megillah 9a and Rashi to Exodus 12:40), this would mean the maximum the slavery could have lasted was 116 years. Of course, the slavery did not start the day Levi died. The Sages (Talmud Sotah 11 and elsewhere) describe Israel’s descent into bondage as a gradual process – in which the Egyptians first pressured the Israelites to volunteer for public works (naturally to show that they’re good, patriotic Egyptians), and ultimately forced them into full slavery.We do not have a clear tradition how long this process took. Seder Olam Rabbah (Ch. 3), a work on the chronology of Biblical events (2nd century), observes that together with the maximum of 116 years, the minimum the slavery could have lasted is 86 years. This is based on another statement in the Midrash (also found in Pesikta Zutrasa, Shemot 15:20) – that Moses’s older sister Miriam was so named because of the bitterness of the slavery (mar = bitter). The Seder Olam assumes Miriam was 6 years older than Moses. And since we know Moses was 80 at the story of the Exodus (Exodus 7:7), the slavery lasted somewhere between 86 and 116 years.

So the people of Israel kept multiplying, and so Pharaoh had to put a stop to it,  so he commanded that all the baby boys were to be put to death and dumped  into the Nile River. Exodus 2:1-3 goes on to say this, “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.  But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.”

Now we want to stop here and take a closer look. First we see here that a son was born to Amram (mighty nation), and Jochebed (God’s glory). Jochebed  saw that “her son was beautiful.” Why was no other name  given here? The parents must have called him by some name, especially when Jochebed will be allowed to continue carrying for her child for two or three years, Exodus 2:5-10.  We see that she called him beautiful but the Torah, the Hebrew scrolls, uses the word “good” (tov) instead of beautiful. The word tov is used seven times in the Creation story. “God saw that it was good” (tov).  We also see here that this child will see God’s glory and he will lead a mighty nation. So we can surmise that the birth of Moses was going to be a new dawn, or a new beginning, a new era, for the Israelites. The rabbinic comments suggest that this child was given the name Toviyah, because God saw that it was good! But this child will be called Moses, the one drawn out of the water. We see here the connection between Joseph and Moses. Joseph was taken out of the pit, and was sent to Egypt, and eventually became second in command, and the Pharaoh called him his son, and by all of this, Israel and his family ended up sojourning in Egypt. Moses is taken out of the water by Bithiah, Pharaoh’s daughter and she calls him  son, (mys) root means “to be born of” or to be a son, who also, becomes second to Pharaoh. We know that later in the story all of Israel will be drawn out of the water. Now under the heading of Judah’s descendants in

1 Chronicles 4:18  it says,  “His Jewish wife gave birth to Jered, the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithia the daughter of Pharaoh, who Mered married.” It is understood that Bithiah became a Hebrew, and she was at the first Seder of Passover  when the Hebrews left Egypt. 

Next month we will continue with the story of Moses.

Last month we read that Moses, this “good” child, became the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. Exodus 2:11-14 goes on to tell us this, “ Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.  So he looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.  Now he went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”  But he said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known! When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”

 Did we not see this with Abraham’s servant? Genesis 24: 11-14,  “He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water when it was evening, the time when women go out to draw water.  And he said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.  Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;  now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

We also saw that Jacob met Rachel by the well in Genesis 29:1-3,9, “Then Jacob set out on his journey, and went to the land of the people of the east.  He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.  When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.   ‘While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.”

Hebrews 11: 25-27 says, “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of the king, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Messiah  than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.  And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger.”

Moses knew his heritage and he chose his people over the people of Egypt. This did not just happen, No! Moses had a calling from God, just like Joseph. Joseph told his brother this in Genesis 50:19-20, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?  As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.”

This was so for Moses, for he too saved a people, but first Moses had to leave Egypt for a while. 

The writer of Hebrews knew that Moses did not know about the sufferings of Messiah, but he did, and he likened Moses to the Messiah.

Exodus 2:16-22 continues. “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.  Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.  When they came to their father Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”  And Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.  Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

So let’s look at this closer.  Midian was east of the Jordan River. The Midianites were descended from Midian, a son of Abraham through his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6). Remember it was the Midianites who pulled Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt.

In the book of Judges it seems to support the idea that the Midianites merged with Israel, especially the Kenites. The Kenites were the descendants of Jethro, the Midianite priest. According to Judges 1:16, The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms (Jericho) with the men of Judah to live among the people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.

Later, the wife of a man named Heber the Kenite played a major role in the Israelite victory commemorated in the “Song of Deborah.” Heber’s wife Jael lured the Canaanite commander Sisera into her tent and assassinated him in his sleep. The Bible preserves a lengthy poem describing the event, which declares: “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women” (Judges 5:24). Later, when King Saul is commanded by God to destroy the Amalekites, among whom some of the Kenites dwell, the Kenites are spared by being given a warning to move away from the Amalekites before the slaughter begins (1 Samuel 15:6).

 So now that we know about the Midianites let’s consider Moses. Like Joseph, Moses also dressed and looked like an Egyptian, and he also spoke their language, and like Joseph, Moses married a girl whose father was a priest. Reuel’s name means “friend of God” and when he took in Moses, he surely was a friend of God. But there seems to be  a conflict in Scriptures for in one place they call him Reuel (Exodus 2) and in another place they call him Jethro (Exodus 18:1-18) and still in another place they call him Hobab (Judges 4:11). Some believe that Reuel was the grandfather to the girls, and that Hobab was Reuel’s son. 

According to Rabbi Dovid  Rosenfeld, there are also those who suggest that Reuel was not Moses’s father-in-law but his grandfather-in-law, Jethro’s father – as implied by “Hobab son of Reuel” of Numbers 10:29. Although when Moses first arrived and helped water the family flocks the Torah states that the girls returned to “Reuel their father,” that might be because young children will often call their grandfather “abba” which is father (Sifri Numbers 10:29). 

Exodus 2:23-25, “Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.  So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.”

Because this took place in the Prehistoric Era, it is hard to determine the timeline of all of these events. Stephen Gabriel Rosenberg, a Senior Fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, published an article in the Jerusalem Post in 2015 suggesting that the Hebrews were enslaved for a wave of building projects instituted by Akhenaten, an iconoclastic but unpopular ruler. Upon his death, the crown passed to his son-in-law Tutankhaten, later called Tutankhamun. In about 1325 BCE Tutankhamun was forcibly succeeded by his general Horemheb. This also fits in well with the fall of the walls of Jericho, which its British excavator Kathleen Kenyon placed during the fourteenth century BCE. David Rohl‘s 1995 A Test of Time revised Egyptian history by shortening the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt by almost 300 years. As a result, the synchronisms with the Biblical narrative results in the Second Intermediate Period when King Dedumose II, who died in 1690 BCE, as the pharaoh of the Exodus. 

Whomever he was, this Pharaoh died and God is about to send Moses back to Egypt.

Next month we will continue with the story of Moses.

Last month we left off with the king of Egypt dying and God looking upon the suffering of His people. Exodus 3:1-6 says,  “Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not being consumed.  So Moses said, “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burning up!”  When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  And He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

Moses spent forty years in the household of Jethro tending his flocks. 

Numbers 12:3 tells us, “Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.”

You can well imagine how it must have been quite the change for Moses going from the riches of Egypt to the poor and lowly life of being a shepherd. During this time God was preparing Moses, and the biggest change was learning humility. In Egypt Moses would have ruled in power and might, but now he will also rule, but with humility and mercy. From the above Scripture we see that Moses finally meets the God of the Hebrews. This is a foreshadowing of things to come. One day Moses will meet God on this same mountain also in blazing fire.  This is what we call a divine appointment. It was not by chance that Moses brought his sheep to the west side of the wilderness. One, the wilderness was in the direction of going back to Egypt. Two, Horeb is the same mountain range which is referred to as the mountain of God, Mount Sinai is the mountain peak that Moses will one day come to. God calls out  Moses, Moses, just like He called Abraham and Jacob twice  and Moses says, “Here I am,” as if he too, is one of the patriarchs. God tells Him to remove his sandals. We also see this in Joshua 5:15, “And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” Today we are not taught about the holiness of God. Semitic culture regards any place of worship where God is present that they remove their shoes. This is for the Muslims in their Mosques and the Jews also at holy sites. We see that Moses hid his face.  Moses hides his face, but one day he will ask to see the face of God.

Only one who is that intimate with God would have such a request. Moses knew the holiness of God, because he saw God’s glory leave him at the cleft of the rock, in Exodus 33: 22. God reaffirms to Moses that He is his God, and that He is the same God of his forefathers. Exodus 3: 7-12 continues, And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.  So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.  And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”  But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”  And He said, “Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

First, we would like to say that as God saw Joseph when he was sold into slavery, so too, God saw the whole family of Israel while they were in slavery all those years. God took Joseph out of slavery and elevated him and so too, God will take Israel out of slavery and elevate them in the promised land. So Moses finally realizes that he has been called to a great task, and that all that has happened in his life right up to that very moment was for this reason. When he heard God say, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people,” Moses knew that his God was all knowing and all seeing and ever present. Soon he will see that his God is also all powerful. The Hebrews are about to go back to the land of their forefathers. Now, God tells Moses that he will have to go back and face Pharoah. Now this will not be the same Pharoah as when he left, for he had died. Moses knew that he no longer had any influence in Egypt, and especially with the Pharaoh. You have to realize that in Hebrews 11 where it says that Moses refused Egypt, what he was refusing was the throne of Egypt in which he was next in line.  Moses argues with God that the people will not receive him and Pharoah will not receive him, so God demonstrates to Moses different signs to perform. It was like Moses was trying to give God every excuse in the book and then he tells God this, Exodus 4:10-17, “Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (TIME OUT! Acts 7:20-22 tells us this,

“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” Let’s continue in Exodus 4:11-17, “But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say.”  But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.” Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.  So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I Myself will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you in what you are to do.  He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.  And you shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

God knew very well that Moses could talk as one who would have been Pharaoh one day, and that was why He was sending Moses to Pharaoh. God could have easily sent an angel to Pharoah. So Moses took his wife and two sons and left for Egypt. But a strange thing happens on the way back. Exodus 4: 24-26 says this, “But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met Moses, and sought to put him to death.  So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet; and she said, “You are indeed a groom of blood to me!” So He left him alone. At that time she said, “You are a groom of blood”—because of the circumcision.” This obscure Scripture is a foreshadowing of two things, the death of the first born at the time of the Passover Seder when they put the blood on the doorposts and the death angel passed over, and circumcision, which was the requirement for  those who partook of the seder. Exodus 13:11-15 also says this, “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,  you shall devote to the Lord every firstborn of a womb, and every firstborn offspring of an animal that you own; the males belong to the Lord.  But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem.  And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. And it came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord put to death every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborns to animal firstborns. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, every firstborn of a womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 

Next month we will continue with Moses back in Egypt.

Last month we read about how God called Moses and told him to go back to Egypt.

 So now we find Moses back once again in Egypt.

Exodus 4:29-31 starts us off,  “Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,  and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,  and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.”

The people accepted what Moses said,  maybe because they knew Aaron, but now Moses had to face Pharoah. Back in Genesis we read that Pharaoh called Joseph to interpret his dreams, and when he did, Pharaoh accepted him and elevated him to second in command, but now we see Moses who had been second in command and  it will be a whole different story.

Exodus 5:1-5 says this,  “And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Let My people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”  But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”  Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will strike us with plague or with the sword.”  But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you let the people neglect their work? Get back to your labors!” Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!”

First we see here that they tell Pharaoh that they need to go on a three day journey. Remember, Abraham’s three day journey, that resulted in Abraham binding Isaac as the sacrifice?  Genesis 24:3-5 says,  “So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”…

And how about the baker and the cup holder whose dreams Joseph interpreted regarding three days?

Genesis 40:12-13, Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;  within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer.”

Genesis 40:18-19, “Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;  within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

Three days had its good points, and it had its bad. For Pharaoh he will find out that a three day journey would have been ok. But he hardened his heart. Pharaoh had cheap labor, and he was building a mighty empire for himself, and no way was he going to stop even for three days. In fact he did just the opposite as Exodus 5: 10-14, 15 tells us,  “So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not going to give you any straw.  You go, get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it; but none of your labor will be reduced.’”  So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.  And the taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.”  Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not completed your required task of making bricks either yesterday or today, as before?”

Well this did not sit well with the people. Pharaoh was shrewd and he had Israelites as the foremen of the people. This way they could be angry with their own people, instead of him, but they went to Pharaoh, because they were now being beaten.

 “Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants?”

Well, Moses’ worst nightmare had unfolded and his doubt at the burning bush was becoming a reality. This important passage in Exodus 6:1-9 tells us this, 

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”  God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord;  and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them.  I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.  Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.  Then I will take you as My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the labors of the Egyptians.  I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession; I am the Lord.’”  So Moses said this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.”

From this Scripture we get the foundation of the Passover story which is the essence of the Passover Seder, this is also the story of our redemption in Messiah. Moses is the suffering servant.  We read in part 6 this scripture from Hebrews 11: 25-27 which says,  “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of the king, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Messiah  than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.  And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger.”

We want to look at a few ways that Moses was like Messiah: (1) In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses makes a prediction: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers.” (2) An evil king/Pharaoh tried to kill him as a baby: Exodus 1:22 …  King Herod tried to kill baby Yeshua: Matthew 2:16. (3) He was hidden from the evil king/Pharaoh: Exodus 2:2…  An angel said to hide the child from the evil King Herod: Matthew 2:13. (4) Moses became a shepherd: Exodus 3:1 …  Yeshua is the Good Shepherd: John 10:11. (5) Moses’ mission was to redeem Israel from slavery of Egypt…Yeshua’s mission was to redeem Israel from the slavery sin. (6) Moses was often rejected by his own people…Yeshua was often rejected by His own people. (7) Moses spent 40 days fasting on the mountain: Exodus 24:18; 34:28…Yeshua spent 40 days fasting in the desert wilderness: Matthew 4:2. (8) Moses performs signs/ miracles…Yeshua performs signs/miracles. (9) Moses offered his life for the salvation of his people after the sin of the Golden Calf: Exodus 32:32-33….Yeshua offered His life for the salvation of the world: Isaiah 53:12; Romans 5:12; 6:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Colossians 1:19-20; 2:14-15; 1 John 1:7; 2:2.

Yes, Moses suffered like Yeshua, Hebrews 5:8 says,  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 11: 24-25 says,  “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,  choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin.” Moses also felt the pain of the people, as Yeshua, and they both showed mercy for the people.

Next month we will look at the plagues as the people will finally leave Egypt.

Last month we read that Moses was sent to Pharoah, but instead of things getting better, things only got worse. Now we will start at Exodus 7:1-5, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.  You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.  But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply My signs and wonders in Egypt,  he will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out My divisions, My people the Israelites.  And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Moses now will show Pharaoh who God is. Yeshua tells Philip this in John 14:9, “The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.” So shall it be with Moses. As God spoke and it was, so shall it be with Moses. After a few signs Pharaoh was not impressed because his magicians could do the same.  Pharaoh was not impressed by the staff turning to a snake, nor the water turning to blood, nor the frogs that were everywhere in the land. Pharaoh was getting bored by it all. Exodus 8:16-19 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.”  They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.  But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere,  the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.”

Well, if the gnats did not get to him, try flies, but this time it will not plague the land of Goshen. Exodus 8:  20-23 says,  “ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.  If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land.  I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

Now you may think that God was slipping a little. He is so powerful, why should He have had to go through all of this. He could have just spoken, and it would have come about..Israel free!  Well, as usual, God had His reasons. With every plague, Pharaoh was softening, and yet he was not giving in. This was definitely a spiritual battle. This is definitely the same struggle we go through when we must let go of our sins. We, like the Israelites, are in bondage to our sins. Yeshua answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin,” John 8:34. Pharaoh had the choice, and he made the choice to harden his heart. Is this not like us?  Hebrews 3: 12-13 says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Once again the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 9: 1-4, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.  If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,  the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.  But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’” And again in Exodus 9:10-12, He sent boils, and once again, in Exodus 9:13-19,25-26 but God’s judgment only increases and yet in God’s mercy He warns the people to bring in their livestock and for them to take shelter.  “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me,  or this time I will send the full force of My plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.  For by now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.  But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.  You still set yourself against My people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.  Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

“Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.  The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.” 

Verse 31-32 tells of the result of this plague. “The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.  The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.”

Moses was showing Pharaoh who God was. If we look back at the Joseph story we see that Joseph sold the Egyptians their portion of the grain back to them, and when their money ran out, the people sold their livestock, and then their homes, and finally put themselves into slavery. We spoke about the miracle of multiplication of the grain that went unnoticed by the Egyptians, and now we see once again that the Egyptians are not recognizing the God of Moses. But this time God is not multiplying but subtracting. The Egyptians once again have lost their livestock, and everything that was growing in their fields. Still, no recognition of the one true God, so God brings in the locust and now destroys every tree and plant. Exodus 10:14-15, “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again.  For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on the tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.” 

It was famine that brought Israel to Egypt, and now it looks like famine was once again in the land. But the next  plague speaks more about the condition of Egypt because they still would not receive the one true God. Exodus 10: 22-23, “ So Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.  They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.”  John 3:20-21 says it all,  “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” 

Egypt was in darkness and Israel was in the light. So now God could do nothing less than to show Pharoah that Israel was His people, and not his. Exodus 11: 4-10 goes on to say,  “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,  and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well.  So there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.  But not even a dog will threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may learn how the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’  And all these servants of yours will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he left Pharaoh in the heat of anger. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”  So Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 

Once again God will multiply His wonders.

Next month Israel will be free…join us!

The story of freedom is a great story no matter when it happens, and for whom it happens.   Galatians 5:1 tells us, “ It is for freedom that Messiah has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

Israel is going to be set free after being enslaved for many generations. The Passover story is for all of us, because we were all slaves at one time or another, as Galatians 5 tells us. So as we go forward, place yourselves in Israel’s shoes and remember when God set you free from Egypt (the world) and maybe you haven’t let go of Egypt and now is the time to do so. 

Exodus 12:1 says, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.”

Anytime you repent of your sins and let go of the world it is a new beginning.

1 John 2:15-17 tells us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

It was in the first month that Yeshua was crucified.

Exodus 12:3,  “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are, each one, to take a lamb for themselves, according to the fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.”  The people were to inspect their lambs to be sure that they had no defect or blemish of any kind. It had to be a perfect sacrifice. Remember, Yeshua is our Lamb.

John 1:29 says, “The next day John saw Yeshua coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! It was on the tenth of the month that Yeshua rode into Jerusalem for all to see.

Matthew 21: 7-9, “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

This took place on the 10th day of the first month. It was here for all to inspect their lambs. Exodus 12:6 says this about the lamb, “You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.”

 It was on the 14th day of the first month that Yeshua was crucified. 

John 19: 14-15 says,  “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”  They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

The day of Preparation for the Passover was on the 14th day of the first month.

Like the plague before the death of the first born, which took place before Israel’s Passover,  we saw darkness, and now we see this darkness take place before the death of  Messiah.

Luke 23:44-46, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Yeshua called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.”

It was at the same time that Israel was slaughtering their lambs that Yeshua was crucified on the hill of the Skull,  and from there He could see the lambs being killed. To be a true light in the darkness, to be a true witness to Yeshua’s crucifixion we must always remember on the correct day and that day is on the Jewish day of Passover.

Exodus 12:7 says, “Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.” 

The blood on the doorpost was a harbinger of things to come. What was going on inside the house, was also a harbinger of things to come.

John 6:53 says, So Yeshua  said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”

Mark 14:22-24 tells us, “And as they were eating, He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is My body.  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank of it.  And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”

1 Corinthians 10:16  says, “Is not the Cup of Blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Messiah”? The Cup of Blessing that Paul speaks of is one of four cups that are lifted up and consumed during the Seder. The cup that Yeshua lifted up and said, “This is My blood,” was the Cup of Redemption. Exodus 12: 12-13 says,  “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.  The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” 

We know that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God, Ephesians 1:7  The blood on the doorpost kept the death angel away from the Israelites, as does the blood that now covers us when we walk according to the Spirit of God.  

Galatians 5: 13-16 says. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” 

We also know Yeshua took upon Himself our sins. He, like the Egyptians who lost their firstborn, also died. Remember, Yeshua was not only Mary’s firstborn, but God’s only firstborn Begotten Son. As God brought the plagues upon Egypt there was a great spiritual battle that was taking place in the heavenlies.  Pharaoh who allegorically represents the devil, did not want the people of Israel to leave because he had them in bondage. So too with us, the devil does not want us to be set free. He, too, wants to keep us in our bondage. Hebrews 2:14-16 says,  “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For clearly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham.”

Finally Exodus 12:43-45 goes on to say, “ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it;  but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.  A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it.” This was referring to the covenant of Abraham. Today this would include those who are in covenant with Yeshua as Romans 6;17-18 says,  “But thanks be to God, for you were slaves of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were entrusted,  and having been freed from sin, you became the slaves of righteousness.”

Next month you shall see the salvation of the Lord.

We saw last month that Israel kept the Passover, and at the sight of the blood the death angel passed over their homes. We ended with God telling His people that only those who were part of the covenant could keep the Passover. You may say, “See that is why we do not keep the Passover, because of circumcision.” Yes, except when we accept Yeshua the Messiah as our Savior, we become grafted into Israel. Romans 11:17-18 says this, “ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.”

As we continue in Exodus 13, God tells the people that every first born male was to be consecrated to Him because of the death of the firstborn in Egypt. So Israel went out with their livestock and their children and all that they gathered from the Egyptians. But when they left in such a hurry the yeast of their bread had not yet risen. This is why the day is called Unleavened Bread.  Paul tells us believers that we too must keep the Passover, and we must clean out our hearts of the leaven (sin).  1 Corinthians 5:6-8, “ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 

What we read in Exodus 13:20-22 is very significant. “After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.  By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”  This same pillar of fire and cloud will not leave them for the next forty years. The term Sukkot means booths. The people built booths for their cattle and then they too, slept in the booths with their cattle, this was on their first night after leaving their bondage behind. The Feast of Sukkot is celebrated during the fall. It is to remind us of this, because their exodus is our exodus as we saw last month. So too their freedom is our freedom. It is believed that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot and where did Mary and Joseph find themselves? Yes, in a sukkah. We call it today, a manger. They, too, slept with the animals. We read last month that Yeshua’ blood covers us, as did the blood of the lamb, that covered the doorpost. Their exodus from bondage is our exodus from bondage, we were both slaves to our sin. Their unleavened is our unleavened. Their flight from Pharoah(the devil) is our flight and as we continue we will see even more. Exodus 14: 3-4, 6-9 says. “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this (camped by the sea). And that is just what happened when Pharaoh was told that the people had left.”  “So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.  He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.  The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.  The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.”

Now about 600,000 people are sitting in the desert, remember about 66 came to Egypt in the time of Joseph. But we are now over 400 years later. Israel is now a great nation, and they are moving along slowly with their livestock of great number, plus women and children. So Pharoah thinks he has the advantage. So when Israel saw the Egyptian army, they cried out with fear. You must remember that this was the first time they had experienced freedom. Exodus 14: 13-14 says this not only to Israel, but to all who are experiencing their first freedom from that which  they have been in bondage from.  “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”’

Now you have to think, how was Pharaoh going to capture 600,000 people? He experienced the power of God, and he knows how the judgment of God left Egypt in ruins, and yet, he is still  going after Israel to bring them back. If Pharaoh, and mind you there were many Pharaohs over those 400 years, thought that Israel was conquering Egypt from within, that they had to enslave the people, because of their great numbers, then why did he have all the male babies put to death?  If anything, you would think that he would have had all the female babies put to death, so that the male children would grow up and continue to build their great cities, and  eventually they would have all died out. So as we see Pharaoh pursuing Israel, it appears that he has vengeance on his heart. He wants to annihilate as many as he can, if not all of them.  One month before Passover on the Biblical calendar is the celebration of Purim. In that story the evil Haman, like Pharaoh, wanted to annihilate the Hebrew people. It seems that throughout history people have tried to annihilate God’s people. In Joseph’s day God did a miracle by multiplying the grain, and the people did not recognize the God of Joseph, and yet Pharaoh did by placing Joseph in charge. Over the years this was lost in Egyptian history, but now once again Pharoah will not recognize the One True God, nor His people.   Exodus 14:21-28 says,  “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,  and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.  During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.  He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward  it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.  The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”

Yes, the horse and its rider were cast into the sea, and Israel was now free. God said that He would deliver them with an outstretched arm, and He did. God brought salvation to Israel. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 says, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea;  and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

And when we cross over from our Egypt (the world) into freedom from sin, we too, have salvation.  Romans 6:3-4 says, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Messiah Yeshua were baptized into His death?  We were therefore buried with Him through immersion into death in order that, just as Messiah  was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Isaiah 12:2-3 says, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.”

Next month we will continue with our last teaching on Egypt with the kings.

In the previous months we have gone from Abraham to Moses. We saw that it was mainly famines that brought the Patriarch to Egypt. It was a famine that brought Israel and when they left over 400 years later, Egypt’s crops and livestock were in ruins. Joseph was made second in command and Israel was welcomed, just as Abraham was welcomed. Moses became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and he too, was in line for the throne. Life was good in Egypt, but that all changed with the change in the Pharaohs. God did miracles in Egypt under Joseph, and He did miracles that brought judgment under Moses. It was like a two sided coin. But God delivered Israel as He said He would to Abraham. In Exodus 14:13 Moses told the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today;  for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again.” Maybe that’s true for these particular Egyptians, because they all died, but Israel still wanted their Egypt. Time and time again in the wilderness the people wanted to go back to Egypt. Psalm 106: 7-15 tells us, “Our fathers did not consider    Your wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the greatness of Your mercy,   but rebelled against Him at the sea, by the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,    that He might make His mighty power known. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up,    so He led them through the depths as through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of him who hated them    and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their enemies;    there was not one of them left. Then they believed His words;  they sang His praise. But they soon forgot His works,     they did not wait for His counsel, but they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness    and tested God in the desert.He gave them their request,   but He sent a wasting disease on them.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 says this,   “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Now if Egypt represents the world, then is it not like that still today? People, Christian people, still want to be part of Egypt. We leave Egypt when we see the truth about God’s salvation, but then like Proverbs 26:11 says,  “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.” We fall right back into our old habits, because today we think that we can be in Egypt, and still be with God. Scripture tells us that we can not sit on the fence. We can’t be lukewarm as Revelation 3:15-16 tells us. “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth.”  1 John 1: 6-10 says,  “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Messiah Yeshua His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” In Deuteronomy 17: 14-17 God tells Israel this,  “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’  you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman.  In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’  And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.” God did not want His people to ever go back to Egypt. Why? Because the Israelites were slaves, and Egypt was their master.But God fought for them and He won the battle, and now the people belonged to God. Exodus 19:4-6 says,  “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.  Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;  and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” So let’s look at Solomon, David’s son who sat on the throne, who was considered very wise. 1 Kings 3:1-9 records this prayer of Solomon. “Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.  And now, Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am like a little boy; I do not know how to go out or come in.  And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.  So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this great people of Yours?” God gave Solomon the wisdom to rule and yet we find Solomon doing many things that were against God. 1 Kings 3:1-4, “Now Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of his father David, except that he was sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.  And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” 1 Kings 9:16 goes on to say, “For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.”  1 Kings 10: 26-29 goes on to say,  “Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.  And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the lowland.  Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price.  A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.” 1 Kings 11:26-29 tells us this, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,  from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, who were princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away.  For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been.  Solomon became a follower of Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done.  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,  and had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded.  So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant.”

Remember, this was all written as an example to us so that we do not run back to Egypt once we leave it for our Messiah. Isaiah 27:13 says, “It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem..” Yes, Egypt will be saved in the last days for they will finally recognize the One True God.

As believers what sets us apart from the world?  You may say various things like going to church or doing good or even believing in God.

Psalm 4: 3 says, “But know that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for Himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto Him.”

So what does that mean to be set apart?  Matthew 25:31-36 says this, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.”’

So that’s it! All we have to do is do good deeds. Well, if all we had to do is what Matthew says here, then why do we need the whole rest of the Bible? There must be more to it. 1 Peter 1:14-16 tells us, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,  but like the Holy (set apart) One who called you, be holy (set apart) yourselves also in all your behavior;  because it is written: You shall be holy (set apart) as I am Holy (set apart)” 

But Peter was quoting Leviticus 19:2, “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord  your God am holy.”  God’s Word is one. There is no old and new. This is man made to make you think that the old is done away with. God and His Word are One and there is no part of God that is obsolete. His Word is eternal. So what separates us from the world, all of God’s Commandments. We may call them the 10 Commandments, but God’s Word explains those Ten in numerous chapters in Exodus. Moses says this in Deuteronomy 4:5:10 to the people then, and his words still speak to us today. “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it.  So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’  For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord  our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today?

 “Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord  said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may have them hear My words so that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’” 

When we keep God’s Word the nations will rise and see the wisdom of God. Don’t kid yourself, this is exactly what they hate, the holiness of God and His people. But There are more than the Ten Commandments, there is also God’s Biblical Appointed Times. These are the times that God has asked for us to come to Him, and during these times God draws close to us. These times are not for just the Jewish people. You must understand that God entrusted His Word to the Jewish people because there were no other people at that time who believed in the One True God. But this does not mean that God has one word for the Jewish people, and one for the rest of His people. Yes, the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 settled the issue that we Gentiles do not need to ceremonially become Jewish, but this is in circumcision, and at that time the sacrifices that went with this. This has nothing to do with being holy and being set apart from the world. God’s Appointed Times are in some ways even more for the Christian, because they all point to the Messiah. The Spring Feasts are about Yeshua’s first coming, and the Fall Feasts are about His second coming. And the 7th day Sabbath points to Creation, and it tells the world that we are the people of the Creator. These are the things that give us wisdom and separates us from the world. We must have the mind of Yeshua and His Holy Spirit, and unless we die to ourselves and the world, we can not be reborn into newness of life, a holy life, a life that tells the world that I am God’s child. Much deception has crept into the Body of Messiah, and we have seen the fruit of it over the centuries, and it all began right after Yeshua rose from the grave, the devil began his lies. Matthew 28:11-15 tells us this,  “Now while they were on their way, some of the men from the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.  And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,  and said, ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.’  And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and keep you out of trouble.”  And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews and is to this day.”

https://judeochristianclarion.com/podcast-teachings/the-sins-of-our-forefathers/the-sins-of-our-forefathers-part-1

The whole counsel of God’s Word is the Bread of Life, the True Manna from heaven, the finest of wheat. It is the Tree of Life and the Well of Salvation for all who come and partake. It is the Holiness of God and it will make us holy (set apart) also if we live by its council.

Welcome

August is such a time when we are in the middle of summer, and we are enjoying ourselves, and telling ourselves that ‘we never want summer to end.’ We love the flowers and the birds and our vacations. Here is a sandiegram called the Butterfly. Copyright 2010

The Butterfly

Like the butterfly who emerges from the cocoon,
so it is with us when we leave the cocoon
of our old ways and become a new creation in God.

Like the butterfly who soars to new heights,
so shall we soar to new heights in the Lord.

Like the butterfly who is free,
so are we free when we leave our sinful past and abide in God.

Like the butterfly who has new life,
so it is with us when we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives.

This Summer let’s be a butterfly and let’s come out of our cocoon. God wants us to be born again, to leave our old ways behind and become new creations. We must be free so that we can serve the Lord with gladness of heart. Oh, we must soar like an eagle and be new as a butterfly, letting our beauty be seen and yet being as delicate in flight as we soar to new heights. Today let’s take the butterfly as our example and let’s shed our old cocoon and spread our wings and be free to serve the Lord in the newness of life.

The Hidden Meaning Behind the Miracles of Yeshua : Part Two

Before we go to Yeshua’s next great miracle we want to look first at what led up to His first miracle. We see that the first thing Yeshua did was being baptized by John in the Jordan River. Now, in Judaism being baptized is what they call an immersion into a mikvah. A mikvah is a ritual immersion into a natural collection of water, like rain water, or in this case, a river. It is for purification as we see that people came out to immerse, because they had repented of their sins, and in Yeshua’s case, He was about to begin His ministry. A man began either his profession or in Yeshua’s case His ministry at the age of thirty. It is said of John the Baptist this in Isaiah 40:3-8  and in Mark 1: 2-5, “Behold, I am sending My messenger before you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His path straight!’  John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” And they did come, even Yeshua.  Now as we see in Matthew 4,  we see Yeshua being  led by the Spirit into that same wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. He fasted and prayed. This could have been the forty days leading up to Yom Kippur, when one stops to consider his deeds and repents and this is what we see happening in Matthew 3 with John at the Jordan. Now after forty days of fasting  the Devil comes to Him and tempts Him. Yom Kippur is a time of fasting and praying, it is the holiest time of the year. It would only be natural that the Devil would come at this time to tempt Yeshua and God would test Him. But at sundown, Yom Kippur would end, and we see the angel coming to Him and ministering to Him. It is believed that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot, which follows Yom Kippur five days later. So now it would be time for Him to choose His disciples and that is what we see happening in John 2. Next we see Yeshua and His disciples at the wedding in Cana. You can read about the miracle in part one of this series. What we do not know is how long after the wilderness experience did this wedding happen, it could be months. What we do know is that Yeshua began His ministry with the same message as John the Baptist, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 

But Yeshua was rejected when He went back to His hometown of Nazareth. 

Luke 4 tells us that on the day of the Sabbath that Yeshua went to the synagogue and He stood to read the scroll from the Prophet Isaiah 61:1-3. This was once part of the reading portion called Nitzavim that was read right before Rosh Hashanah,  the Feast of Trumpets, which announces the “Coming King.”  It was just what the Nazarenes needed to hear about Yeshua. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord anointed Me to bring good news to the humble; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

So this timing would be right, because now we see Yeshua standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, which is also called the Sea of Galilee and also Lake Tiberias, and this brings us to the next miracle. Luke 5:1-11 tells us, “Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the Word of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret;  and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.  And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat.  Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;  so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Yeshuas’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Yeshua said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”  When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”

This takes place after Yeshua told the crowd in Nazareth that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3. So you may say that Yeshua tells us the hidden meaning, which was to become “fishers of men,” but there is still a deeper meaning. Let’s take a closer look. The Scripture tells us that Peter, his brother Andrew and James and John were fishing by Lake Gennesaret, in the Sea of Galilee,and Yeshua comes along and tells these fishermen how to fish. Well, they see the crowd that is with Yeshua, so they do as He asks. Now this could have been during the time of the Fall Feasts, (which speaks of Yeshua’s second coming) then Yeshua would have wanted the people to see that He was truly the Messiah, the Son of God, the One that was sent to gather the people, which is recorded in Revelations 7, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

So He most likely would have wanted the crowd to understand about the kingdom, like in the parable called a Dragnet in Matthew 13:47-50. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;  and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.  So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous,  and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

He also would have wanted the people to understand that there is man’s way of doing things and then there is God’s way. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Simon and his friends were fishing all night and caught nothing. We must realize that they did not just throw out one little net overnight but a series of nets that would have encompassed a large area of water. So they were tired and being that this was their only source of income, left them discouraged. But Peter did what Yeshua asked, he threw the nets on the other side of the boat, and they had a catch that overwhelmed them. Yes, God is the God of abundance and when Peter did it God’s way, he was blessed abundantly. The world’s way leads us to disappointment, but God’s way leads us to blessings. Both ways took work and determination to see results, but the results of doing things God’s way opened the eyes of not only Peter and his friends, but the whole crowd that was standing along the shoreline. Yeshua said, “Now go out and fish for men.” And Peter did,  on the day of Pentecost Acts 2 records this, “But Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words.  For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;  but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel.’  After quoting Joel, Peter went on to say, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah—Yeshua whom you crucified. Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,  he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.  It is this Yeshua whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses.” After Peter gave the salvation message it says, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.  They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” So maybe you too, need to throw your net on the other side and begin doing things God’s way instead of man’s way, and you too may bring in an abundance of blessings.

Safetyzoneforteens.com   Is Social Media Really Good For Us?

Today we have so many teens and young adults  who are suffering from all kinds of attacks on their lives. No, not physical, but emotional. If someone can get you to feel small and insufficient, then they feel  powerful and significant. We have a real problem in our society in which we must be above another, we must have power over another, we must conquer at all costs. This is what Social Media has created. What we have done is create a monster. We are against bullying, and yet we create a platform for bullying. This country,  more and more, is against freedom of speech and yet Social Media is open to any kind of speech, hate speech, violence speech, speech that  leaves people  insecure and depressed and feeling all alone. Social Media in many ways is good, but not when it is used as a weapon, not when it ruins peoples’ lives or  causes someone to commit suicide. We can not create a hostile society. People fight internet wars for all to read and even take part in. Someone needs to be a peacemaker. When you see bullying online, step up and be a peacemaker, a friend, even if you do not know the person, stand with them, because one day it could be you, and you would want someone to stand with you. Always look for the good in someone. Always stand with the underdog, as they say. Be a champion for those who may be different in the eyes of those who think they are high and mighty. Yes, you may also become a victim, but you will have the satisfaction that you have done a good deed by not allowing someone to stand alone. Today we are not in the business of doing good deeds. It seems to be a lost virtue. What will people say if you help an elderly person, or a handicapped person, or even one who is not like the social elites? We all have faults, we all have a handicap of some sort. No one is perfect, No one! If you have found that Social Media causes you to be depressed or feeling inadequate or sad, then do not go on being part of it. No one should take their life because someone thinks you are one way or another. This is true for those who go to school and are bullied by a certain group of people or you go to work and you do not measure up to the social butterflies there. There is more to life than what someone thinks you ought to be. Just be yourself and know that God loves you. Before He created the world He knew you and loved you, and no one can get higher or mightier than God. So today if you have thoughts of suicide, let go of the thought, and think on this, I am not going to give anyone the satisfaction of me committing suicide or changing who I am, because I am me and I am who I am and there is no other person I need to satisfy except myself. I am loved by no one greater than my Creator and His love surpasses anything in this world. I tell you, you can be strong and you can be determined if you know that God the Almighty stands with you. Today you may not be bullied, and so you may not be able to relate to how that feels, but you can stand with one who is being hurt every day by words that hurt, and defend those who are weak and depressed and need a friend. You will feel better about yourself, and you will make someone feel wanted and needed, and you will give them a purpose for living. One day you may need a friend, and you will have a friend in the one you gave a helping hand to.

Hebrew Corner:                 The Martyrs: Thomas

Thomas was one of the twelve apostles. He  was also called Didymus and also the Twin. He was called Judas Thomas in Syria, but probably known best by his  nickname Doubting Thomas. Thomas appears several times in the gospels. 

John 11: 5-16 tells us, “ So when He heard that Lazarus  was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and yet You are going there again?”…

“So Yeshua then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.”  Therefore Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!” 

John 14:1-7 says this “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. And you know the way where I am going.”  Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 20: 19-29 tells us this story, “Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Yeshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”  And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Yeshua said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’ But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Yeshua came.  So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”’

According to Eusebius’ record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and northwest India. The Didascalia (dating from the end of the 3rd century) states, “India and all countries, even to the farthest seas… received the Apostolic ordinances from Judas Thomas, who was a guide and ruler in the church which he built.” According to Syrian tradition, Thomas was martyred in 72 AD by a thrust of a spear.

Click to access the-farmer-Stories-1.pdf

Click to access fishers-of-menStories-2.pdf

Welcome

No matter what happens in life these two things we know, God is good and God is faithful. This is what Autumn speaks to us. We see the leaves turn beautiful colors and we say, ‘God is Good’. We see the leaves fall and the trees go bare and we say ‘God is faithful,’ because we know that one day Spring will come and the trees will once again bloom. So when trials come our way, why do we question God? Why do we think that He has left us? Why do we think that God is no longer good? If the tree is willing to change knowing that one day it will come alive again and be beautiful, then why do we not trust God that this trial will one day pass, and God will return the beauty in our lives once again. 

Here is a sandiegram to help during those trials. Storms/Trust/copyright2010

Trust

Time is endless when you know the Lord.  Trust the Lord, for He is good and worthy to be trusted.
When all seems lost and you don’t know where to turn,
trust the Lord.
Give Him your anxieties and let Him fill you with peace.
In your weakness, your brokenness,
and your littleness, let the Lord take over for you.
Let Him strengthen you, let Him lift you up,
let Him make you tall as you allow Him to work in your life.
Nothing is impossible for the Lord if you trust Him.
He can make all things new.
He can change your life in every situation if you trust Him.
He is ready to take your hand and lead you.
Trust the Lord for He is worthy to be praised.

The Hidden Meanings Behind the Miracles of Yeshua : Part 3

Last month we looked at the great catch of fish. Yeshua moved on to Capernaum where He healed a man of unclean spirits, and He healed Peter’s mother-in law. Yeshua and His disciples traveled about the Galilee area healing and teaching about the kingdom. We find Yeshua healing a man of leprosy. Yeshua tells the man, “Do not tell anyone of this.” Of course, the man could not keep the secret and told everyone the good news. From that time forward Yeshua could not go about freely for the crowds gathered all around Him wherever He would go. Matthew 9 records this story. “A few days later Yeshua and His disciples again went back to Capernaum. The word traveled fast that He was back and most likely was staying at Peter’s mother-in-law’s house. The crowd gathered as Yeshua was preaching and many people brought those who were ill. Some men carried a paralyzed man to the house, but they could not get anywhere near Yeshua, so they made a hole in the roof and lowered the man who was lying on a mat. When Yeshua saw their faith He said to the man “Son, your sins are forgiven..” Now some of the teachers of the law were sitting there and thinking , “Why does this fellow talk like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? 

Yeshua replied to these men this way. “ Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?  For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.”  And he got up and went home.  But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

So why did Yeshua say, “Your sins are forgiven”?  Was it sin that caused this man to be paralyzed? If it wasn’t sin then why say it? Yes, Yeshua tells us that He wanted everyone to know that He had the authority to forgive sin. But why was this important, so important that He just couldn’t have said “Get up and walk.” Let’s look at another story about a paralytic who was healed. 

John 5:1-14 tells us this story,  “Now in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, there is a pool which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porticoes.  In these porticoes lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or paralyzed. Now a man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Yeshua, upon seeing this man lying there and knowing that he had already been in that condition for a long time, said to him, “Do you want to get well?”  The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Yeshua said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”  Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was a Sabbath on that day.  So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is a Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”  But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?”  But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Yeshua had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.  Afterward, Yeshua found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

So let’s take a closer look at all of this. We see in both of these stories that Yeshua refers to sin. One story Yeshua heals when He sees the faith of these men, the other He heals only after He asks the man if he wants to be healed. Let’s tie these two together. We see that sin is at the core of these stories. Yeshua wants the people to know that He is the forgiver of sins. Let’s start with Yeshua’s name and (only His Hebrew name) which means “God’s Salvation.” Let’s look at similar names which can be used for salvation, like pardon, keeping, liberation, release, redemption, emancipation. I think you get the idea that Yeshua was sent to set us free from sin.  

We see this with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:2-11, “At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and He sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  and said to Yeshua, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Yeshua bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Yeshua straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Yeshua declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Yeshua pardoned her of her sin. 

So we see here three different times Yeshua pardoned people of their sins. But if one is paralyzed and one is sick, what sin have they committed? First of all the Scriptures do not tell us what caused the man to be paralyzed and the other man to become sick, so it could have been the result of sin. But as far as Yeshua saying one thing or another, He did speak of their sins. Remember when Yeshua turned the water into wine in part one of our series? We wrote about the Last Supper(which was the Passover Seder) when Yeshua lifted up the Cup of Redemption as Matthew 26:27-28 records. “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you;  for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” 

No doubt that Yeshua wanted the people to remember what He had said, about forgiving their sins, so that on the day of His crucifixion they would know that He was truly the Messiah who came to forgive sins as Isaiah 53 speaks of the one who would come as the “suffering servant.” Here is verse 4-5,  “We thought that He was receiving punishment for His own sins. We thought that God was causing Him to suffer. But it was our sins that caused His wounds. The bad things that we had done crushed Him. The punishment that He received has brought peace to us. The wounds that He received have made us well.”

And so to the man that He asked if he wanted to be made well, we say, ‘that is an odd question, who wouldn’t want to be healed?’ Yeshua knew he wanted to be healed, but this is the beginning of the process to be forgiven. We are sinners and we must want to be forgiven and made whole. We also must want to repent of our sins, which is nothing more than making a complete turn around and begin living according to God’s Word. John came preaching repentance and Yeshua came preaching the same. Matthew 3:7-10 records John the Baptist confronting the scholars of his day. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;  and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.  And the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

Yeshua tells His disciples the same in John 15:5-6, “ I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” 

This is why Yeshua told these men to go and sin no more. Yeshua’s disciples witnessed these healings and so John 9:1-5 tells us this, “As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Yeshua, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

You see not everyone’s plight in life is a result of sin. But when it is, we must repent and make the change in our lives by repenting and producing the fruit of that repentance, but first we must ask ourselves if we want to be healed.

Yeshua says to us, “Be healed and sin no more!”

Hebrew Corner:                 The Martyrs

                                                    Jude

Jude or Judas was the brother of James. Jude was commonly called Thaddeus. Jude was one of the twelve apostles. Jude is believed to be the writer of the book of Jude.

Matthew 13:55 says this, “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 

 In John 14:22, Jude asks Yeshua this question. “Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

Acts 1:13-14, “When they had entered the city, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.  All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Yeshua, and with His brothers.

Jude 1  says this, “This letter is from me, Jude. I am  a bondservant of Messiah Yeshua and I am James’s brother.”

Translations into English from the original Greek of the New Testament vary in their rendering of Acts 1:13. A literal translation of the references to Jude in these passages gives “Jude of James” as in Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible, but scholars differ on whether this means “Jude, brother of James” or “Jude, son of James”. The King James and the Douay-Rheims versions call him “Judas the brother of James”, making him the same person as the writer of the Epistle of Jude, who identifies himself as “Jude, the servant of Messiah Yeshua, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1). There are many discrepancies about his name being connected to Thaddeus because Thaddeus, one of the twelve apostles, is often indistinguishable from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy disciples. In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, Thaddeus is called Judas the Zealot, a Jewish nationalistic party prior to 70 CE.

Jude suffered martyrdom in the year 72CE by crucifixion in Edessa. It is believed that Jude the Zealot and Simon the Zealot died together. Edessa is now called Sanilurfa in modern day Turkey. Some believe that he was martyred in the year 65CE by being clubbed to death in Beirut.  Because of so many legends, and so little facts that were written back then, no one will ever know what is true except the fact that he was martyred for his faith, which should be an inspiration for us to always stand for the truth of God’s Word.

 After the resurrection of the Messiah, Yeshua tells His disciples this, Matthew 28:18-20,  “And Yeshua came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, (baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, since this is not a Jewish concept most likely Yeshua did not say this), teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We see here that Yeshua did not tell His disciples to go out and convert people to Christianity. He said make disciples. So what is a disciple?  Well, to have a disciple, one needs a teacher. In Yeshua’s day that would have been the Rabbi. Today we do have Rabbis but in Chrisitan churches that would have to be the Pastor except the Rabbi had pupils (disciples) who learned and emanated everything they saw or heard. They lived with the Rabbi back then and walked with him among the people. They learned how he prayed and how he taught and how he even spoke and they, well, you could say, they mimic him completely.

Yeshua was a Disciple of His Father. John 12:49-50 records this, “For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.  And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”  Again in John 5:19-20, “Yeshua gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all he does. Yes, and He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”

In John 10:30, “Yeshua said that He and His Father were one.”

 You could say this about the Rabbi and his disciple. I think you understand that today we are not disciples of our Pastor and yet, we are to go out and make disciples. Well, the answer to that is that Yeshua is our Rabbi. Up to the Second Century the Apostles did make disciples and their disciples made disciples, but many crept in and taught their own ways and thinking and today we do not even come close to praying or thinking like Yeshua or His disciples. We ask that you take a look at our series, The Sins of our Forefathers.  https://judeochristianclarion.com/special-teachings/sins-of-our-forefathers-part-1/

So let’s look at how we as disciples should emanate our Rabbi Yeshua.

Philippians 2: 5-8 tells us,  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”

We too, must empty ourselves as Matthew 16:24-25 says,  “Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” 

God so loved us that He sent Yeshua to die for us and now we too must have this great love for one another. John 3:16,  “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

1 John 3:16,  “By this we know the love of God: that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”  

1 John 4: 10-11 says, “In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also love one another.”

Yes, Yeshua became our sacrifice and now we too must be a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

This takes us to the beginning. God sent His Son and now He sends us. 

If we are disciples then we too will go about doing good. Acts 10:38-43, “You know of Yeshua of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things that He did throughout the countryside and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.  God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed,  not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.  And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.  All the prophets testify of Him, that through His Name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

1 John 3:17-18,  “Whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart of compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him?  My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.”

Are you a true disciple, or are you just a convert? Yeshua’s disciples followed Him, not converts.  We must be like our Master if we are going to follow Him. We too, must go out and make disciples. 1 John 3:9-21 goes on to say,  “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.  On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;  if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”’

Before batteries, people would burn oil lamps. The Bible speaks of a very well known lamp called the Menorah. In Jewish observance, only pure  olive oil was allowed to be used in the seven-branched Menorah in the Mishkan, otherwise known as the Tent of Meeting, and later in the permanent Temple in Jerusalem.

We know this to be true, because in the days of the Maccabees when they went to restore the Temple, and relight the Menorah, they only had one day’s worth of pure olive oil. And as the story goes, God caused that one day’s oil to last eight days, until they could produce more oil. Thus, this is why there is a nine branch menorah that is used for Hanukkah.  So, why only olive oil? Let’s look at what it takes to make olive oil. To make olive oil in Biblical times, you had to grind the olives on a milestone till the oil came out.  To get the pure olive oil or kosher oil, one could only use the first drop from a squeezed olive and then it was consecrated for the use of the Temple by the priests and stored in special containers. 

It’s this crushing that we see in Isaiah 53: 5 where God crushes the Messiah like the olives to produce our healing. “But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Olive oil has been used for healing for all kinds of things, even wounds for  centuries. Moses did not design the Tent of Meeting to his liking and thought that he would need a lamp so he built one. 

Hebrews 8:5b tells us this, Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for,  He says, ‘See that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”’

You see the heavenly sanctuary also has a lamp. 

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” 

There are three things in the inner sanctuary, also called the Holy Place, the Table of Showbread, also called the Table of His Presence, the Menorah, also called the Light of the World, and the Table of Incense, which was placed before the Ark of the Covenant on which the Mercy Seat was place. 

 Revelation 5:8 says this, “When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:16. 

 James 5:16b says, “The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.”

When we read Ephesians 6: 13-18, speaking about spiritual warfare it speaks about the Holy Spirit being part of the armor. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints.”

We see the Holy Spirit and the Word make up the sword, and we are to pray in the Spirit as we fight the good fight using the Word of God, 1 Timothy 6:12a.

The Menorah represents Yeshua who is the Light of the World, John 8:12.

The Table of Showbread represents Yeshua, the Bread of Life, John 6:35.

And when we come before God at the Mercy Seat, we are to pray  in the Name of Yeshua, John 14:13, drawing near to God with the shed blood of His sacrifice, Ephesians 2:13.

Hebrews 9:13-14 says,  “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

We see by this Scripture that it was through the Holy Spirit that Yeshua offered Himself. That is because Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit are one, Isaiah 11:2, Romans 8:9,Galatians 4:6, 1 Peter 1:10-11.

If Yeshua is the Light, then He must be the Menorah and the flame on top has to be the light of the Holy Spirit because they are one. We know that the anointing comes from the Holy Spirit, 1 Samuel 6:13, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” 

1 John 2:27 tells us,  “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

 On the day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-4 tells us this, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.”

It was like the people made a living Menorah and the Holy Spirit was the flame as it rested upon them. 

Yeshua tells us in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

So we must keep our light burning and to do that we need the oil .

We see in Matthew 25:1-13 this well known parable. “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them;  but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.  But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’  However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’  But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.  Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’  But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’  Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.”

When you put together these two Scriptures from Matthew we can plainly see that the lamps of the ten virgins represent their acts done to glorify God.

We are waiting for the return of the Bridegroom Yeshua. We are His people who are to be the light in this world. We are supposed to shine in the darkness by what we say and what we do. The Menorah was a seven branch lamp. Seven is the number of completion. To have the oil of the Holy Spirit and our light  shining in the midst of the darkness, we need to live by the Holy Spirit and walk by the Spirit as Galatians 5:16-25 tells us, “ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior,  idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Messiah Yeshua crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.”

This was the difference between the five virgins with oil and the five who did not.

Let’s look at those branches on the Menorah. There are seven beatitudes dealing with virtues and seven dealing with faith. These are not works, but a lifestyle in the Holy Spirit. But first He must do a work in you.

Romans 12:2 tells us this, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Titus 3:4-6a, “But when that bountifulness and that love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by the works of righteousness, which we had done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of the new birth, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He shed on us abundantly, through Messiah Yeshua our Savior”

Matthew 5:3-9 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”

2 Peter 1:5-7 also speaks of  seven things to add to your faith. “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence (virtues), and in your moral excellence, knowledge,  and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,  and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”

What kind of light are you? Maybe your light is shining bright and you are doing God’s work in God’s fields, harvesting souls as you wait for the Bridegroom. Maybe your light isn’t as bright as it should be. You do some things for the kingdom, but not as much as you should. Maybe your light went out a long time ago and you need to renew your lamp with oil.  No one knows when the Bridegroom will return. No one even knows if they will have tomorrow. So, today why not be filled with the Holy Spirit, let Him do His work in you, so you will shine brighter in this dark world.

Can we have the mind of the Messiah, and if so, how? We must first be a disciple of the Messiah. Mathew 28:19 says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.”  

To be a true disciple of the Messiah we  must be His pupil. Matthew 10:24-25 tells us that we must learn from the Master, for one is not greater than his teacher, but as Luke 6:40 tells us, “when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” We can not just believe His Words, but we must actually put them into practice. A true disciple is not just a hearer of the Word but a doer as James 1:22-24 tells us,  “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” 

It is not good enough just to say that you believe in the Messiah because if we believe in Him then we will act like Him, and we will follow in His footsteps, living out His teachings. 

Luke 14:26-27 tells us this, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” 

We will actually then be like Him, for He will be our example. Paul tells us this in  1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of the Messiah.” This is a true disciple.  The word believe in the Hebrew in which this text was written means the same as amen. We read that Abraham believed in God and it was credited to him as righteousness, Genesis 15:6. The Hebrew word for amen, which is to believe, is the same word used for firm, like one who drives a tent peg  into firm ground to hold his tent. If the ground is not firm the stake will pull out and the tent will collapse. So true of faith, if it is not firm the wind will come and blow it down. This is what Matthew 7:26-27 tells us, “And everyone who hears these Words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

So for Abraham to believe God he had to be firm not only in his faith in God but also his obedience to God. James 2:14-26 tells us this, “Faith without works is dead.” So what does this all have to do with having the mind of the Messiah? Well, if we are a true disciple of Messiah in not only our faith but our obedience, imitating Him in every way as a true disciple would, then in doing these things we will know just what He would say or do in all situations. This is a true disciple as the people of Yeshua’s day would have known. Today there are so many denominations with so many interpretations that we have lost the true meaning of discipleship. We have lost our way and so we can not follow in His footsteps because that seems foreign to us to not to be like the world and yet, live in the world, picking up our cross and following Him, giving one’s life for another.  Even the thought of miracles and signs and wonders are foreign to us, not because God does not do these things, but because we do not have that firm faith and belief in God. To do such things we must be vessels in God’s hand, and if that was so, we would have the mind of Yeshua. 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 says, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Messiah”.

You may think that you do not have to have the mind of Messiah, but if you belong to Him then it is a must. John 10:1-5,7 says this, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”.. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

If you are not a true disciple of the Messiah, then you will not only not hear His voice, but you will not follow Him. Matthew 7:15 tells us this, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” This is why so many believers end up following false teachers, because so many teachers and pastors are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the church is full of them. We must be doers of the Word. We must deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Messiah. If we do not let go of this world, and its ways, then that makes us enemies to God, James 4:4.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Messiah Yeshua is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Corinthians 13:5.

The world is full of deception that is why it is important to have the mind of Messiah.

Welcome

Welcome to October. The year is flying by. This being an election year has added to the season’s colors with its reds and oranges and yellows all blending together to give its beauty. I guess life is better when it’s not only red or blue. Life has to have a variety or else as humans we would become so bored with what we see. God knew and so God surrounded us with color, blue skies, red sunsets, green grass and white clouds and night skies so that the stars could glow with all of their beauty. October has so much to offer us, not only with the color changes, but it also reminds us that we are getting older and, if blessed, will also enter into the fall of our lives. The hair begins to turn white and we begin to lose our swagger and it does not take much wind for us to fall to the ground. The circle of life with its continuing motion keeps us going in circles and moving forward. 

Here is a Sandiegram we hope you will enjoy. 

Sandiegram/What Season is Best of All/copyright 2010

Autumn

Autumn is a time of beauty. It is a time when our Lord touches the earth
and changes it into a wonderland.
The leaves on the trees change into elegant colors as they reach the height of their beauty.
Weeds become beautiful as the Lord’s hand gently touches them.
Many of us have lived lives like weeds— growing wild, not really caring about others.
But once we found our Lord, we have

 become beautiful like the weeds in Autumn.

Enjoy the Autumn Season, especially this October

The Hidden Meanings Behind the Miracles of Yeshua : Part 4

Last month we read how Yeshua not only healed people but forgave them of their sins. So we continue on this journey with Yeshua and His disciples. We find Yeshua and His disciples walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath and His disciples were hungry, so they began picking some of the heads of grain and began eating them. Yeshua was quite popular and it seems like everyone knew what He and His disciples were doing, much like our news media today. Well, it seems that some Pharisees saw the disciples picking the grain and eating it and they said to Yeshua, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Now before we go any further, I want to say that Yeshua, Himself, was a Pharisee in His beliefs. But as He said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” This word fulfill has been wrongly translated. Yeshua came not to abolish the Law, but to teach it correctly. Who else could teach God’s Word correctly, but the Word Himself? Matthew 5-7 goes on to speak of these correct teachings of Messiah. In the Jewish culture, it is a regular activity to debate Scripture. All the Rabbis and their students would debate back and forth about many different subjects. And so too, for Rabbi Yeshua as He continues to tell the Pharisees in Matthew 12:3-8 this,  “Have you not read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry,  how he entered the house of God and ate the ritual bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, but are blameless?  I say to you, in this place there is One who is greater than the temple.  If you had known what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2: 17-18 tells it this way, Yeshua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

We must ask ourselves, if Yeshua is the Lord of the Sabbath, then why are we not keeping the Sabbath? The Ten Commandments are God’s standard of holiness and holiness is for all of God’s people. It was made for man, it was made to bear witness of his Creator. Yeshua went about doing good, even on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:9-13 goes on to say this, “Leaving from there, He went into their synagogue.  A man with a withered hand was there. And so that they might accuse Him, they questioned Yeshua, saying, ‘Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat?’ He said to them, ‘What man among you will not grab his sheep and lift it out, if it falls into a pit on Shabbat? How much more valuable a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is permitted to do good on Shabbat.’ Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other.”

Mark 3:1-4 tells the story this way, “He entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Get up and come forward!’ And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?’ But they kept silent.  After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”’ 

Yeshua knew that one day His disciples would have to continue on without Him, and so knowing this, He knew that they too, would encounter those who would try to get them to fall. It’s the same with us today. There are many people even in our congregations who will test your beliefs and rightfully so, but we must be like Yeshua who went about doing good despite what others may think about it. You see you must be the salt of the earth and you must be the light to the world. Great crowd began to gather around Yeshua and He began to teach them. Matthew 5:1-12 says, “Now when Yeshua saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”’

Yeshua told the people who they had to be if they were going to be His disciple. The Lord of the Sabbath meant that we who are His Sabbath Keepers must be like Him, yes, going about doing good. But also we must be people who are poor in spirit, mourning for the sinfulness of this world, gentile in our spirit and always hungering and thirsting for righteousness, showing mercy from a pure heart and bringing peace to a troubled world. Yes, we will be persecuted and insulted and even lied about, but His disciples knew that one day they would rejoice because of His great reward in heaven. You see the Sabbath is a reflection of our future rest in eternity. It’s like a little heaven here on earth. Hebrews 4:10-13 speaks of that rest. “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience.  For the Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.”

Matthew 8: 5-13 speaks of this healing. “And when Yeshua entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, begging Him, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.’ Yeshua said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’  But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.’  Now when Yeshua heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;  but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  And Yeshua said to the centurion, ‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.”

So what was this all about? Well, first the centurion recognizes that Yeshua is the Messiah, the sent One of God. He recognizes Yeshua’s great authority as God’s representative. By telling Yeshua that He only had to speak the Word, he realized that Yeshua was the Word and, just like in Creation, only had to speak and it would happen. Yeshua found this man to have great faith. This Gentile recognized Yeshua and believed in Him, while His own people did not. When we are in need of a healing or a miracle could we too, have such great faith in our Lord by praying such a prayer as this, “Lord just speak the Word and I will be healed or my need will be met.? Could we pray such a prayer, and then stand in faith waiting upon the Lord to respond? Or are we too quick to take matters in our own hands and try to work out our problem ourselves? God is a rewarder of faith and this is how He rewarded the centurion, by healing his servant, but not before He praised the man for his great faith. Keeping the 7th day Sabbath is kept by faith, because we lay down everything, and trust God to provide for our needs while we rest. This is what Yeshua taught, and this is what His disciples learned, even when they were hungry, even when someone needed healing, God is able to provide even while we rest in Him.

Recipe Corner    Apple and Dried Cherry Crisp

2 1/2 to 3 pounds apples, about 6 to 8, such as Gala, Mutsu, or Honeycrisp, fully or partially peeled, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 1 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned, not instant
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 cup canola oil, or grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, raw
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Oil a deep 8 x 10-inch (or similarly sized) baking dish.
• In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, sugar, and dried cherries. Transfer to the baking dish. 
• In another bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Add the oil and maple syrup, and stir until the oat mixture is moistened. Stir in the pecans. 
• Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples. Bake the crisp in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the fruit filling is bubbly and the crisp topping is golden brown and crunchy. (Check the crisp after about 30 to 35 minutes—if the topping is getting too brown, cover lightly with foil or parchment paper, then remove the cover for the last few minutes of baking.)  Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy! 

Hebrew Corner:          The Martyrs, Barnabas

Barnabas was one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Paul the Apostle and Barnabas  undertook missionary journeys together.  Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the “God-fearing” Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia. Acts 15:1-4,12-14,22 tells us this, “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.  When they finished, James spoke up. ‘Brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me.’  Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for His name from the Gentiles.Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.”

 Paul mentions Barnabas in some of his epistles. Tertullian named him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but this and other attributions are conjecture. The Epistle of Barnabas was ascribed to him by Clement of Alexandria and others in the early church and the epistle is included under his name in Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest  manuscript of the complete New Testament existing at this time. A few modern scholars concur with this traditional attribution but it is presently a minority view. Barnabas is usually identified as the cousin of Mark the Evangelist  in Colossians 4, which carries the connotation of “cousin.” Orthodox tradition holds that Aristobulus of Britannia, one of the Seventy Disciples, was the brother of Barnabas. Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, possibly in 73CE. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church.