Month: August 2022

A Farmer, A Remnant & Nothing New Under The Sun.

Solomon made a statement in

Ecclesiates 1:4-11

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

There is nothing in the world that has not already happened, been seen, or been created; things exist now as they always have..

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be among those who come after.

The Scriptures are filled with our Heavenly Fathers patterns and the more we read, the more they will become apparent to us. There are His patterns and Ways and those of humans too. We are all familiar with the quote attributed to George Santayana 1863-1952.

Many say that the Old Testament is not relevant today or even necessary for New Testament believers however there is so much we miss, ignore and dismiss as irrelevant. Sadly then these statements become a reality in our own generation when we ignore, deny and dismiss the signs and signals from the Lord.

We are reminded through Amos 3:7 surely the Lord will tell His prophets..

In both Amos 2:12 and Isaiah 5:1-7; He warns His children His people, Israel, yelling them that He does not act without speaking beforehand of His plans. This is our Fathers’ pattern,

the warning always precedes His actions.

As His plans unfold and when the warning to repent/turn around, falls on deaf ears and stubborn hearts and those committing spiritual adultery with foreign gods and idols then; events unfold according to His warning.

The people silenced the prophets and in Amos 2:12 rejected his message because they did not want to hear it or change their lifestyle. Yeshua/Jesus told those in His day that the sign of the prophet Jonah was all that wicked and adulterous generation would get! Jonahs sign was primarily to warn the people of Nineveh to repent which they did, however the same choice was given through both John the Baptist and Yeshua/Jesus and is still the same message and choice today… Is history repeating itself again in these days in which we are living?

Amos was a farmer, a shepherd and also looked after sycamore fig trees in Tekoa, which was situated a little south of Bethlehem in Judea. Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah, Micah and Hosea in 750B.C. approx.. 3 years before the Assyrians first invasion of Northern Israel.

The warning in Amos 3:7 was of the coming captivity which took the invading Assyrians 28 years to conquer the whole of Israel.

Before 740 Israel was at the height of its prosperity and had successfully reclaimed all the land previously lost going back to the days of David and Solomon. However the divide between rich and poor was wider than ever the landowners were rich and the workers poor. Many were producing crops for export rather than to feed their own families because much of what was grown was sold as export goods. Amos was well aware of the peoples sufferings and when God gave him a vision, he took the message to the rich and powerful landowners, warning them of the coming natural disasters and subsequent foreign invasion and conquest by other nations.

God gave Amos a vision of an earthquake and because it happened 2 years after his warning, it gave his words some credibility; this resulted in some people becoming his disciples who also spread his message. This sadly had little effect on the nation, as at that time, the Assyrians had retreated for a season and everything appeared fine because financial prosperity and the economy were booming. Only a few had ‘ears to hear’ and believed the message of the prophets; these people became ‘the remnant’, the ones to whom God gave a song which was recorded in Isaiah 5:1-7.

The message the prophets faithfully preached was a 3 fold one.

The 1st part was against the religious leaders of the day, who became richer at the expense of the poor who just became poorer.

The 2nd was concerning the lack of justice towards those who were doing the right thing by trying to help the innocent and poor, and those who were unable to help themselves. These people who were trying to help, were beaten, tortured and imprisoned because they were a threat to the rich and powerful.

The third part of the message pointed at the religious rituals and traditions that were only trying to win favor with God, trying to get something from Him for personal gain; instead of seeking the Fathers’ heart for Who He is.

The text in

2:13 is a reference to farming and agriculture.

13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

He was saying that the rejection of His message to both His obedient and dedicated servants and to Himself, was like a cart pressed down because it was full of sheaves.

A word for

sheaves

in hebrew is

‘amar

which has a double meaning.

It refers to:

the grain stalks tied together

and it is also used to describe:

those who are selfseeking or manipulative!

Strong’s Hebrew: 6014

עמר (amar) – merchandise, sheaves

to bind sheaves a. (Piel) to gather

2. to manipulate, deal tyrannically with a.

(Hithpael) to treat as a slave

amar: sheaves

Original Word: עָמַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: amar
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-mar’)
Definition: to bind sheaves

Strong’s Hebrew: 6014. עָמַר (amar) — sheaves 

A primitive root; properly, apparently to heap;

figuratively, to chastise (as if piling blows);

specifically (as denominative from omer) to gather grain — bind sheaves, make merchandise of

In the Hebrew language one of the words for:

pressed

is ma’aq

מָעַךְ

4600 maak: to press, squeeze

Original Word: מָעַךְ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: maak
Phonetic Spelling: maw-ak’
Definition: to press, squeeze, bruised, stuck, be pressed 

A primitive root; to press, i.e.

To pierce, – bruised, stuck, be pressed.

Seems the word is spelled: maak, maaq and maac..

but all infer an action that hurts and is painful.

Ma’ac Meaning in Bible – Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon 

Definition: to reject, despise, refuse 

(Qal) to reject, refuse ; to despise

(Niphal) to be rejected (Niphal) to flow, run 

this could suggest the idea of being burdened with pain. It would seem that God was saying that: having His prophets message rejected by those who were self seeking had burdened His heart down with pain. This may sound too human a trait and yet we read of Yeshua/Jesus weeping over Jerusalem/Yerushalayim. He wept because they were missing their day of visitation and rejecting His message; and in turn, rejecting both Him and His Father and He knew the suffering which was coming in their future.

Later we read of Messiah telling the women to weep for themselves and not for Him.

36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

Matthew 23:36,37 Luke 13:34

Aramaic Bible in Plain English Luke 23:28
And Yeshua turned to them, and he said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Is not history repeating itself yet again???

There are many bringing the word of the Lord today with a message similar to Amos and the Old and New Testament prophets, calling  us to return to the Lord/teshuvah; and forsake all the idols and things that we have put first place in our lives, other than our Heavenly Father. It is a serious message with eternal consequences and yet sometimes it lacks the one thing revealed in the word ma’aq.

Amos 2:13 reveals that he knew the heart of God and he was in fact preaching a message, that of our heavenly Father whose heart was broken by His childrens’ behavior; rather than the anger and wrath and inevitable doom. He was a little different from the other prophets as he spoke of behalf of those that were suffering, but also he knew of the true heart of his God, the heart of a loving Father towards His children.

We should ask ourselves the question: why are we speaking out against the sin and iniquities we see in our respective nations? Is it from fear of a losing a comfortable personal lifestyle? Are we silent through cowardice, not wanting to ‘rock the boat’ by drawing attention to ourselves?

Or are we vocal because we have a deeper understanding of the Heart of our loving Heavenly Father; revealing that His heart is breaking and burdened in grief? …Is this not what Yeshua/Jesus experienced too in His flesh, and should it not send us to our knees in intercession? Maybe we too need to experience some of the same ma’aq that Amos did?

Yes we are to

Fear, (reverently respect), God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, Eccl. 12:13.

and we are also to remember that no matter how exciting life may seem to be “under the sun in the world,” ultimately, it has no value without a personal relationship with Our Heavenly Father through His Messiah Jesus/Yeshua HaMashiach.

And as we have seen in previous posts, eternal life is:

to know Him and the power of His resurrection in our personal lives.

Let’s heed the words of

a farmer

as we are more and more becoming

a remnant

and there really is

nothing new under the sun.

It’s time to know our Fathers’ heart.

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

A Fishy Tale But Not The One That Got Away!

When reading this passage we have all no doubt always understood Jesus/Yeshua was talking about paying taxes…..but which taxes? …And then, was there something more to the connection with the fish?

It’s a well known story in Matthew where Yeshua/Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish; telling him that there would be money in the fish’s mouth and that they would then use that money to pay the tribute tax for them both.

Matthew 17:24-27
And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

This may sound strange to western ears and other than a miracle…how could there be money in a fish’s mouth?  Consequently many answer that question by saying just that… God, by way of a miracle, placed some money in that particular fish’s mouth.

Once again, understanding the eastern culture in which the Bible was written helps us to understand the story a little better. Again these are things to think on and further research for those inclined to do so, we should all be good Bereans; and here, research showed there are fish in the middle east called the Musht.  Describing them as small fish about six inches long with a large head.  Apparently they also have what we would call a bag, or a pouch under the mouth.

Pertinent articles tell us that after new Musht hatch, the parents keep them in the pouch for a short while to protect them.  Then when it is time, the parent fish will begin to pick up pebbles from the bottom of the sea and put them into the pouch.  This is done so the new fish will not be so comfortable because it’s time for them to leave!

These Musht fish basically eat plankton, so at certain times of the year you can find them in very shallow water.  At times they do pick up shiny objects, coins, gold etc… Whether this is the fish Peter caught is not certain/proven but it is interesting nevertheless.

Another custom:

We must remember that in Bible times, offerings to God were taken very seriously.  Sometimes there were those individuals who wanted to give an offering however they didn’t want to receive any recognition; because, many believed that if you received praise from men then you had already received your reward now in this world and they preferred to receive their reward in the one to come. People would throw their offerings into the waters in order to keep it private and threw their offerings into what was considered ‘holy waters’ would be best, but, depending on where one would be, any water would do.

Many traditions have grown over the years of throwing coins into a fountain or well for good luck.  The Trevi Fountain in Rome is a famous location as well as the Ganges River which is considered a holy river. 

In the scriptures Yeshua/Jesus told Peter to go to the sea, Galilee, cast in a hook, and take the first fish that came up.  He further told him that when he opened the fish’s mouth he would find a piece of money.

Peter was a fisherman and possibly was well aware that this type of fish could have a coin in its mouth but that it was a rare thing to catch one.

Think of the sequence of events that would have been needed: First, someone had to lose or throw a coin in the water. Then, a fish had to take that coin in its mouth and keep it there. That same fish then had to bite Peter’s hook even with a coin in its mouth and be caught. This cannot be explained away so easily.

Consequently, it may not have been such an amazing miracle that the fish had a coin in its mouth; but rather the more amazing miracle being that it was the very first and only fish that Peter caught!

Just as Peter did, we can have confidence in the promises of our Heavenly Father, by accepting that what He has promised is true and believing that He can and will supply all our needs. Furthermore we should not limit the manner in which He meets those needs.

The scripture tells us that the reason Peter had to find the fish was to pay the taxes but which tax?

While they were in Capernaum, those who collected tribute money approached Peter and asked, “Doth not your master pay tribute?” (v. 24).

This tribute was not a civil tax but a religious tax, also known as the temple tax. The amount due was a coin known as a didrachma, for a day laborer this was the wages equivalent of about two days work. This was based on Exodus 30:11­-16, which required every adult male to pay half a shekel as ransom money towards the building of the tabernacle. It is not clear from the original text whether this was to be an annual tax or, more likely, just a one-time tax towards the making of the tabernacle Ex. 26:20-25; 38:25-31. Later in Nehemiah, a similar tax was levied for the rebuilding of the temple Neh. 10:32-33.

Peter, answered the question in v. 25. However in reading the verse carefully..

He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying,

when Peter went to tell Yeshua/Jesus, Who it says was in the house,

He prevented him,

or anticipated him, 

revealing His omniscience.

This is a gentle reminder that wherever we are, Messiah is the silent witness of our conversations and even what we think are our private thoughts. He asks Peter a question saying in other words:

Kings do not normally charge tax to members of their own family, but they do charge taxes from their subjects. Which am I?

An interesting question which, when we recall when Peter had declared just before in the previous chapter,

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:16.

Was this highlighting a change from His earlier confession? Again possibly a gentle reminder that as disciples we often live so differently from our con­fession without thinking twice about it.

Is this also the reason that Yeshua/Jesus called him Simon in verse 25, that being Peter’s former name and a reference to the fact he had acted so eas­ily and quickly according to his old nature?

We all need to be continually doing what Rom.12:2 encourages us to do….. renewing of our minds.

He says to Peter, What thinkest thou? 

or as we might say,

What are you thinking?

We need our minds to be on the things of God and not be distracted from what He has asked us to be doing.

It is recorded that every Jewish male over the age of 20 was required to pay the temple tax each year and the money was used for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple. In Exodus 30:13–16,

In Yeshua/Jesus day, the Temple tax 

literally. מחצית השקל  – the half shekel,

was a tax paid by Israelites and Levites which went towards the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem/Yerushalayim.

Yeshua/Jesus pointed out that a king does not order his own son/family to pay taxes.

Since Yeshua/Jesus was and is the Son of God, Lord and Owner of the Temple, He and His family/children should have been free from paying  taxes because for Him to pay the tax would be like paying taxes to Himself. When He says, The children are exempt. v. 26, meaning that because of our relationship/connection with Him, that which applies to Him applies to us also; and in this instance meaning, neither Messiah nor His disciples should have to pay the temple tax?

The reason why Yeshua/Jesus had Peter locate a hook and line and go fishing could also be that fish have always played an important role in Jewish tradition and mysticism. Fish called gefilte fish are still popular today.  Interestingly the word gefilte means fullness.  Fish have always been symbolic of God’s provision.  Fish lay many eggs and symbolize both prosperity and multiplication. We have looked previously at the pictograph for the letter N – nun or noon which is the word fish in the Hebrew and has the idea of flowing, going with the stream.

There is another possible reason why Messiah may have asked Peter to go fishing for the coin/money. There is a tradition that says before the Day of Atonement, all observant Jews go to a river to fish. Why? This is because the Talmud (Talmud-the written oral Law); teaches that men are like fish who are often as prey when the hooks and nets are set before them by the Yeitzer Hara /evil desires/temptations.  This tradition is a reminder that freedom from sin comes only through repentance and repentance for forgiveness of sins was also a common teaching during Yeshua/Jesus’s day. Was He offering Peter a chance to reflect on how easily it is to get hooked by the enemy and the coin in the fish’s mouth represented how the enemy can use money to get you hooked? 

The money collected for the temple tax was a fund also used to help the poor, which Messiah would not have objected to.  Peter would have thought that Yeshua/Jesus as his rabbi was teaching him something in this situation. 

The coin would have had to have been a Jewish or temple coin and not a Roman coin. Yeshua/Jesus told Peter he would find a piece of money in the fish’s mouth. The Greek word used for money is sater which means a silver coin. In Aramaic, the word used is ‘astra which is a coin worth about one shekel. Scholars believe this would have been one shekel in Jewish money and the tax was one half shekel per person, so one shekel would cover both Peter and Yeshua/Jesus.  The Roman coin usually had the image of a Roman emperor on it who considered himself a god and this would have violated the 2nd commandment particularly if it were brought onto temple grounds.  This is possibly why the temple had money changers in the court in order to change the pagan coins into one the priesthood approved as clean? It could also have been a reason why Messiah turned over the money changers tables; if they were piling up pagan coins and thereby violating the 2nd commandment right on the temple grounds by using paganism and idolatry to conduct their commerce? As a rabbi, Yeshua/Jesus was not going to allow it and by overturning the tables He was performing a task well within His authority as a master teacher, which is probably why the temple guard did not try to stop him?

Which coin was it?

Quoting the section from Mark, “Whose is this image and superscription?” From the answer, we understand that the coin must have had a portrait of a ruler and also have a superscription, or in other words the word Caesar was in the title and it would be a coin of the denarius or possibly drachm denomination. Apparently denarius coins of Julius Caesar s portrait did exist but were quite rare, and would not have been minted after 44 B.C., although certainly a candidate, it would not have been a common type of coin in circulation at the time.

There were coins of Augustus, which featured the word Caesar; he issued a lot of the denarius coins in his reign with his portrait on. This would have been from before Yeshua/Jesus’ birth into His young adulthood from around 27 B.C. – 14 A.D. and would probably be a more likely coin that was shown to Him.

Traditionally the most likely coin that was referred to as being the Tribute Penny, is the silver denarius which was the coin of emperor Tiberius, he reigned 14-37 A.D. and these coins also featured the title of Caesar on them. In the context of the time period described, these would have been the most recently-minted coins and therefore the most widely-accepted form of the Tribute Penny. 

Further information gleaned says that the shekel of Tyre was minted between 125 BC and 66 AD when the first Jewish war broke out. It was the standard coin and only coin accepted in the Jewish temple at the time of Messiah. One reference to the story of Yeshua/Jesus telling Peter to pay the temple tax for the two of them says it was a Tyrian shekel which was retrieved from the mouth of a fish.

How many times we read a passage and still miss some deeper meaning Matthew 22:20-21 for example

And He said unto them, whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Caesars.  Then saith he unto them Render unto Caesars the things which are Caesars and unto God the things that are God’s.

The drachma was given for the roman tax.

Looking at the whole scenario a little more carefully, the Pharisees and Herodians were on a quest to trap Jesus/Yeshua in any way they could and this time they really thought they had Him trapped when they asked Him about paying taxes.

With the Roman guards no doubt standing nearby and the Pharisees also within hearing distance, a Pharisee asked Yeshua/Jesus if it was right to pay a tithe or 10% to the Roman government in taxes.

Why?

Because If He said yes, the Jewish leaders/Pharisees, would condemn Him for giving support to a pagan government and they would probably have brought Him before the Sanhedrin accusing Him of being a law breaker.

It was taught by oral law, not the written Torah Law, but the law as man wrote it, that to pay a tax was to pay a tithe and you could only tithe to God, not man.

Paying tax to a foreign government was considered as the same thing as paying a tithe to the government which was not forbidden by Mosaic law but it was by the Traditions of the Fathers.

Torah Law taught you were to give 10% of your earnings in a tithe. Tithe means ten and strangely coincidental, the Roman government demanded that you pay 10% of your income in taxes! So to pay the government 10% was like paying a tithe and the oral law forbade paying taxes that equaled 10%.

Time after time Yeshua/Jesus was condemning much of oral law as not being authoritative. For example the Torah teaching/instruction/Law, taught that no one could work on the Sabbath. Oral teaching/law or man’s interpretation of that teaching/law was that to heal on the Sabbath was considered work; therefore if a person healed someone on the Sabbath they were breaking Torah Law by ‘working’. Messiah healed on the Sabbath in direct violation of their oral law, which is why they called Him a sinner.

These traditions were later part of the forming of what is known as the Talmud. The Talmud was not considered to be inspired, but it was nonetheless authoritative instruction; and to violate the teachings of the tradition of the Fathers was a chargeable offense and that had to be heard before the Sanhedrin which was the religious court.

If Messiah answered no it implied He agreed with the teachings of the Tradition of the Fathers…then the Roman government could arrest Him for treason and for being disloyal to the Roman government and inciting others to also rebel!

Why did His response cause the reaction it did from the Pharisees and Herodians? When Yeshua/Jesus said: Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar and to God that which is Gods.  Matthew 22:20-21

Wasn’t He saying that it was alright to pay the taxes? Meaning in so many words.. just pay taxes with Roman money and not the coins issued by the temple.

Didn’t His enemies have Him right where they wanted Him?

Why did Yeshua/Jesus call them hypocrites in verse 18?

Reading around this subject in Jewish literature there is an interesting note about the 2nd commandment. Exodus 20:4: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image in the likeness that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the sea.”

Thou shalt not make…

The word make in Hebrew is ashah which is followed by the word leka which means to you.

Ashah leka has the idea of taking something unto yourself.

So You are not

to take for yourselves any graven images.

The word for graven image is pesel

Pesel  letters: Pei Sade Lamed

which means:

to carve out and fashion something that is seen.

This carving or engraving could be done with wood or metal.

This is telling us that we are not to take upon ourselves anything that is fashioned to take on the representation which is a likeness or physical manifestation of anything in the heavens above or the earth below or in the sea.

This commandment is instructing the Jews to have no other gods before God Jehovah. They are not even to make that is the Hebrew word pasal which is an engraving or carving and it is not to be made for your own personal possession.

Obviously people recognized that a coin made of metal had an image engraved upon it however if that image was in the likeness of someone who was considered a god, then for a Jewish person to have or even carry with them such a coin meant they were violating the 2nd commandment.

What did Messiah say? He asked the Pharisee if he had a coin.

Yeshua/Jesus asked the Pharisee to show Him a coin, he took out and showed Him a coin with Caesar’s image or likeness on it.

When asked whose picture was on the coin. He said Caesars. Then Yeshua/Jesus said: Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars and to God that which is God’s.

As noted the first century, coins are called the Tribute coin and it has engraved on it the picture or image of Caesar Augustus Tiberius and the inscription

“Caesar Augustus Tiberius, Son of the Divine Augustus.”

This was blasphemous to a Jew as it was claiming that Caesar Augustus Tiberius was a god and also by carrying this coin with him the Pharisee was in violation of the 2nd commandment.

Messiah cleverly used their own Oral Tradition and their own twist on the Torah to trap them instead; and in his enthusiasm to trap Yeshua/Jesus, by having such a coin, he was admitting to a form of idolatry.

Apparently, their teaching pointed out that to ‘carry such a coin’ meant he worshipped that specific god. The Jews interpret this to mean that you cannot even possess an image of anything that declares himself or herself to be a god.

It is possible that this Pharisee could not read the Latin words, because it says on the coin:

Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus?!

So, by having and carrying that coin he was declaring in other words, that he worshipped a Roman god which was Roman money.

At the same time Yeshua/Jesus put the correct understanding onto the 2nd commandment when He said, Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars, it was not a simple reference to paying taxes with Roman currency, it was speaking of worship.

Even if this Pharisee had Roman coins, it may have been because he had business deals with the Romans. The more likely point was that Messiah knew what was in his heart and that his god was money. He broke the second commandment, meaning his god was money not our Heavenly Father.

Was Yeshua/Jesus showing them that while they were accusing Him of breaking the Tradition of the Fathers, which was the Oral law, they were breaking the 2nd commandment by having such a coin. Messiah came to fulfill the law by pointing out the things added by men which were not from His Father and to teach people how to live correctly by the given Torah.

In the next verse of Matthew 22:21-22: They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. (22) When they had heard [these words], they marveled, and left him, and went their way.

Matthew 22:22 tells us that everyone marveled and then left Him alone. What made them marvel about that statement?

Wasn’t He falling into the Pharisee trap, saying it was right to pay taxes?

In the Greek text the word marvel is ethaumasan. This is where we get the English word enthusiasm. It means to be astonished, amazed, surprised or stunned.

The word is damar in Aramaic which means to admire. It is in a form that means: so they were filled with admiration. So, it was the Pharisee who fell into Messiah’s trap.

The word render is yahav

which means: 

to allow which would be.. 

Allow Caesar to have that which is his

and God to have that which is his.

Allow  Yahav

יהב

Yod Hei Beth

Exodus 20:3-4: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt not make (for your possession) unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:

Not all Roman coins bore such a subscription Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus. declaring the person pictured to be divine or a god.

What may have caused them to marvel was not just how Jesus/Yeshua knew the Pharisee would pull out that specific coin and not a temple coin, that is amazing enough. But was it the fact that He caught the Pharisee breaking the first commandment that really astounded the people?

In the Aramaic Yeshua/Jesus was telling the Pharisee something in the meaning of: Allow Caesar to be Caesar thinking he is a god. But allow God to be God and bear all the glory as the God of the Universe. You are carrying Caesar’s image thereby giving him the glory of considering himself a god? Then you turn around and accuse me of breaking man’s law when you are in direct violation of the very first commandment?

Yeshua/Jesus never answered the question and He didn’t have to because He took away the Pharisees right to even ask.

Simply put, by asking such a question when he was in personal violation of Torah teaching and the 1st commandment meant he was being a hypocrite…which is precisely what Messiah had called them.

We are to give to our Heavenly Father that which He has asked of us, and to do so willingly and to love Him first with ALL our heart, mind and strength…. He gave everything for us and the price was far beyond any coins with graven images on …. We can never repay the debt He paid for us in His own Blood

but….

we can give Him ALL that we are, and ALL that we have; and allow Him to make us into the person we are called to be and to serve Him while we still can…Our Father’s promise is to provide our needs and we should not limit His way of provision… a fish may swim to us or a bird may fly over with just what we need and just at the right time…

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

What Does A Pruning Hook Have To Do With Worship?

O come, let us

WORSHIP

and

BOW DOWN:

let us

KNEEL

before the Lord our maker.

Psalm 95:6.

All of us have heard the word

WORSHIP,

but do we really know what it means? 

Have we ever wondered what our Heavenly Father considers to be true worship?

This is where a look at the Hebrew word will give us some beautiful insights and illuminate our understanding of something we thought we knew.

There are only

3 words in Hebrew

for the concept of

worship.

One is atsab

which is used one time for

worship

and conveys the meaning of:

sorrow

Strongs# 6087 עָצַב   aw-tsab’. Verb.

Definition. to hurt, pain, grieve, displease, vex, wrest. 

In the grammar tense called Qal it means: to hurt, pain. 

In the Niphal Tense: to be in pain, be pained, be grieved.

Another word is noted in Strongs #5647

abad  עָבַד 

which means: service, to work, serve, performs acts of worship and is sometimes used for worshipper.

The main Hebrew word for

worship

is

shachah

which simply means:

to bow down

Strong’s Hebrew: 7812. שָׁחָה  shachah

Transliteration: shachah

Phonetic Spelling: shaw-khaw’

Definition: to bow down

a primitive root; to depress,

i.e. prostrate

(especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God)

:–bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat),

humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence,

make to stoop, worship. depress,

bow down or to fall down flat or prostrate.

It is a picture of humility before the Lord

and it’s the word used in Ex. 34:14

For thou shalt worship no other god for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.

and in

Genesis 24:52: heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, 

bowing himself to the earth.

שָׁחָה

Transliteration: saha

Pronunciation: shaw-khaw’

to bow down

(Qal) to bow down

(Hiphil) to depress (fig)

(Hithpael) to bow down,

prostrate oneself before,

superior in homage,

before God in worship,

before false gods,

before angel.

It can infer:

paying homage either to God, to someone,

or to something else.

This action is that of giving of ourself and our devotion to; as well as depending upon the one to whom we bow.

It’s interesting that in most times of what we term the praise and worship portions of our services and meetings, we stand with arms raised and outstretched which is the opposite of the meaning we just read of shachah.

Worship is a very important word for believers and yet our understanding of what it truly is may have passed us by. We seem to be doing what seems to be ok and what tradition has taught us. In different church settings it means different things. In high church its recitation of liturgy (often in Latin); and in an order of service which is exactly the same every week. Some lift hands and sing hymns or choruses and all denominations have their own format of service.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hymns and choruses, standing sitting, and raising hands; all are outward response of inner expressions of love and thankfulness towards our Heavenly Father.

However how many of us truly understand the intimate nature of worship as revealed in the Hebrew word shachah?

Which as we just read, means:

to bow down or to prostrate ourself before God.

In essence it has nothing to do with music or with uplifted hands; in fact it has really nothing to do with praise and thanksgiving as these are just physical actions of worship. It does however have everything to do with the inner person of the heart and of our deep attitude of love, submission and realization of the holiness of the One we are giving our worship to.

Some people tend to think that worship only takes place with music. To be honest, shouldn’t everything that takes place during a ‘church service’ be in a heart attitude of worship? We have come a long way because music was never really a part of the ‘church’ until about 200 years ago as it was considered sinful, as being the devil’s playground. Sadly, sometimes the ‘churches’ music program is more akin to entertainment than it is to worship, being mainly used to heighten emotions and feelings. This music can sometimes take the place of true humility in the total giving of self in reverent respect before our Holy Creator Father.

When music was finally accepted in the church it had to be the singing of Scripture and nothing else. Songs that had the words invented by man were believed to not be honoring to God. This is not meaning any negative thoughts or condemning worship music.

David was a musician and said:

“It is good to sing praises unto our God.”

There are numerous scriptures referring to musical instruments; however, we must be wise and carefully guard against bringing the things of the world into the church and labelling it worship or calling it holy.

In Psalms 147:1  the word shacah /worship is not in this verse, it only speaks of praising God.  Many of our church services have praise and worship, because we realize that they are different.

The word used for praise in Psalms 147:1 is halal which is to make one shine, or to celebrate.   When you celebrate, everyone is supposed to get happy.  

The Ancient Hebrew Word Picture for Praise

Praise (הָלַל Halal) יְהוָֹה YHVH, All you nations!  Extol Him, All you peoples!  For great is His Loving devotion toward us, and the Faithfulness of יְהוָֹה *YHVH endures forever.  HalleluYah!

Psalm 117:1, 2

The 3-letter Hebrew verb root הָלַל Halal is translated into English as, to Praise and to Shine. 

It is comprised from the sub-root הָלַ Hal,

a word picture of

Hey – a man with his arms up,

and Lamad – a Shepherd’s Staff.

When a word, or letter, is doubled in Hebrew it accentuates its’ meaning. 

הָלַ-ל Hal-lal doubles the ל Lamad,

making it a picture of the:

Ultimate Staff, of Staffs, Authority of Authorities,

King of kings, or the Lord of lords.

הָלַל Halal reveals the Word Picture of Praise:

Hey הָ = Arms Raised, to Behold, Reveal, Look, Window, Breath

Lamed לַ = Staff, Authority, Control, Rule, Prod, Direct Toward, Tongue…

Lamed לַ = Staff, Authority, Control, Rule, Prod, Direct Toward, Tongue…

Behold – the Authority – of Authority?

It could be interpreted as:

To Praise is to Behold the Ultimate, Spiritual Authority of all Authorities; יְהוָֹה YHVH; He is, He Was, He Shall Be.

Applying it to this verse:

“It is good to sing praises unto our God.”

The word good is the Hebrew word tov 

which means: to be in harmony.  

The word 

sing is zamar 

which means:

to cut, or prune, or divide, as with rhythmical numbers.

This is not just singing, but includes dancing as well. 

David says: 

to celebrate, honor God, or make Him shine, with rhythms that are in harmony with God both in singing and dancing. 

 to sing praises
זַמְּרָ֣ה (zam·mə·rāh)
Strong’s 2167: Play, to make music, celebrate in song and music

HalleluYah! How good it is to sing praises (זָמַר zamar) to our God, for Praise (תְּהִלָּה Tehillah) is pleasant and lovely …Exalt (שָׁבַח Shabach) יְהוָֹה YHVH, O Jerusalem; Praise (הָלַל Halal) your God, (Elohim) O Tzion! …He has done this for no other nation; they do not know His Judgments. HalleluYah! Psalm 147:1, 12

Worship as we have noted in Hebrew is

shachah which the lexicon says is:

to fall prostrate.

“Then Ezra Blessed יְהוָֹה YHVH the Great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they Bowed Low (קָדַד qadad) and Worshipped (שָׁחָה Shachach) to יְהוָֹה YHVH with their Faces to the Ground.“ Nehemiah 8:6

Bow down is Kara’

and

kneel is Barack.

Most worship services do the opposite, stand and wave your hands. Are the three Hebrew words the Psalmist uses giving us the characteristics of worship and not a physical manifestation?

Shachah is a Phoenician word for being surrounded by water, like swimming, by allowing the presence of God to surround us.

Swimming in the presence of God.

Kara’ is a word used for:

bending ones’ head to sip water.

When we sip water our attention is momentarily directed away from everything but the cup of water that our head is bowed to.

Barack rendered here as kneel really is the word for bless or to make someone happy.

Thus worship is surrounding yourself, or swimming in the presence of God focusing your attention totally on Him to make Him happy or bring pleasure to Him.

Kara’ for bowing is spelled

Kap/Kaf which is a vessel, like your heart, waiting to be filled with the next letter Resh which represents His Holy Spirit, Who will reveal the final letter Ayin to us, which is: insight into the heart of God and what brings Him pleasure.

The combination of the letters in shachah expresses:

the most intimate aspect of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The word shahcah is spelled with the letters:

shin chet hei

The Masorite text spells it with a shin as pronounced sh.

In the original text there were no vowel points to define the pronunciation so, the shin w could have been an s not a sh sound. If the word was spelled as sachah the word would mean:

to swim or to have an overflow.

Regardless, the sine and shin both represent:

wholeness, completeness and nearness to God.

The next letter is chet and usually means:

an intimate joining of man to God.

Reading the first letter as a sine rather than shin we can see how worship is a picture of swimming. When we swim we are surrounded by water, we can therefore also worship, sachah, while we are alone and reading scripture or while studying His Word with other believers, while we are singing, playing an instrument, or just sitting quietly before the Father.

This is because any time we give Him our full and undivided attention, He can surround us with His presence and love; just as water surrounds us when we are swimming or even taking a long soak in a bath of water.

If we place the 2 letters together shin and chet

they express worship –

i.e. the swimming/nearness to God and

intimate joining of man to God.

Then add the final letter of the word shachah which is a letter hei. The letter hei speaks of:

the breath of God, His Spirit of Holiness,

of His presence and of His feminine nature;

This points to the understanding that: worship is any act which joins man with God, into a completeness, surrounded by the presence of His Spirit of Holiness. It can also infer that worship and holiness go hand in hand, it’s a place of sanctity of heart as we give of ourselves completely to Him; a true, sincere heart-touching-heart moment.

When we give our heart it makes us vulnerable and we give away the power for someone to break our heart. He gives His heart to us and so the responsibility then falls on us, to not abuse or be careless with heart God has entrusted to us in this relationship. Exodus 34:14, tells us that He is a jealous God and we must not give our heart to another once we have given it and committed ourselves to Him.

What does a pruning hook have to do with worship ???

Psalms 118:14: “The Lord is my strength and song and is become my salvation.”

Some readers may remember the chorus..

You are the words and the music, you are the song that I sing. You are the melody, you are the harmony, praising you makes my heart sing. You are the mighty God, you are the Lord of Lords, you are the King of all Kings; now I return to you, the song that You gave to me, You are the song that I sing.

He is our song of victory and there are just some songs that stir our hearts in a special way however old they are! He is our song what a picture!

Here again we discover a hidden gem in the language..

there are many words for song in Hebrew but the word used for song in Ps 118:14 is zamar.

There is a fascinating history to this word, because

zamar means: a pruning hook. 

Its seems the meaning of this word gradually evolved to mean a song because the pruning hook is shaped like a scythe. 

A curved blade was mounted on a pole and used to cut away the dead wood and branches of a tree. Pruning tools for the garden and agriculture have changed little over the generations they still have a curved blade attached to a pole.

This pruning hook became a weapon called a maul Persian soldiers used to unseat enemy soldiers from their horses. Knights in the middle ages used a similar weapon called a maul for the same purpose. If a person unseated a knight from his horse it was said that you had mauled him. Hence our modern use of the same word when someone or something is mauled often by being attacked and meaning being wounded in the process e.g. mauled by a bear or lion.

How is this connected to a song?

These days not many farmers use a scythe to cut their harvest however back when this was the manner used, a farmer who was skilled in using a pruning hook, would swing it back and forth in a very smooth continuous action, and it would make a rhythmic whistling, noise.

There is an audio track at the links below for the sound described above:

https://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/item/8881502-scythe

https://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/item/8628845-scythe-used

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing.

 The scythe is more than a simple curved blade. It is a tool perfect for maintaining land, body and mind. When you mow, you exercise almost every muscle of your body The action distributes muscle activity from the legs through the torso and finally into the arms and shoulders to guide the blade along the intended path

As the object of pruning is to

cut away the bad and leave the good,

this word was used to express:

a song of triumph, victory and salvation from one’s foes.

The lord is my strength and SONG and is become my salvation a SONG of victory

a song of victory. זמר

It is a song declaring that:

the Lord has mauled us and has removed all the bad things from our lives and left only that which is good and brings us to victory!

So to our initial question…

what does a pruning hook have to do with worship?

If true worship comes from within – from the heart, it will

purify our motives.

Psalms 86:11

Teach me thy way Unite my heart — יחד לבבי yached lebabi, join all the purposes, resolutions, and affections of my heart together, to fear and to glorify thy name.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, Hebrews 12:14

When we enter into worship

and draw closer and closer to the

heart of our Heavenly Father, He purifies us…

He prunes away all those

personal agendas and selfish motives.

Worship begins internally

it can’t be forced..

we can live in a state of worship,

which by definition is:

the constant action of voluntarily observance

of a person, place, or thing.

Worship is not something instantaneous, it’s more of a process and according to scripture, it involves the whole body.. bowing the knee and falling prostrate before Him in complete surrender.

The Hebrew writings of the sages teach that it is like a king going to war and for the battle, he dresses just like every other soldier. The object of war in those days was similar to the board game of chess and the object was to strategically capture the other army’s king and this ended the battle. The king was surrounded by his best warriors protecting him and the enemy had to break through the protective barrier in order to reach and capture the king. So too, our sins, afflictions and cares of this world surround us and come between us and our Heavenly Father; and we must take the time to identify and repent of the things that are causing that barrier and then the break through comes and we can reach out to Him. When we begin to worship we usually do not ‘feel anything’ and yet something is happening and the more we worship and praise our Father, the more we begin to break through that barrier separating us from God.

Maybe we should begin our times of praise and worship by preparing ourselves to worship

beginning with an inward action

rather than an outward one?

A time of preparation meaning: a time of personal reflection, confession and repentance of our sins and shortcomings and then calling upon our Heavenly Father to make us pure… so we can enter into His presence in true worship/shachah.

The word zamar is spelled: Zayin, Mem, Resh.   

The letter Zayin looks like a sword and means: a sword or weapon. 

The Hebrew teachers used to say that:

the Zayin cuts away all that is really unimportant to us and leaves only that which is important. 

If we follow that thought then this

song is a song of

what is most important to us. 

David says his song is God,

it is God that is the most important thing in his life and the Zayin cuts away or prunes away all that is unimportant so that he can see what is important which is God.

He understands that his love for God will grow and as we know from scripture, it’s the fruit of the spirit that will grow and like a fruit tree that has been pruned of the worthless branches that steal the nourishment away from the growing fruit,

zamar,

that song of pruning

will prune away all that is worthless,

that which robs the fruit of the spirit of its nourishment.

The more we

sing the song of the pruning

the stronger our love for God and the more developed the fruits of the spirit will be.

So what is this song?

A song that sings of that which is of the most importance to us?  

This song is sung with the next letter in the word which is the letter  Mem.

The Mem represents water

and also the revealed knowledge of God. 

When we swim in the sea or a lake, the water completely surrounds us.  When we sing this song, it is a

song that surrounds us with the revealed knowledge of God.  

Like water it will surround us with His presence and then we are truly in worship the meaning is: to be swimming in His presence. It’s not the usual battle or victory song; it’s a song that speaks of Our Heavenly Father and His love and when we sing this song we become surrounded by His presence as He reveals Himself to us. We begin to shachah –  to worship or swim in His presence.

The last letter in this word for song is the letter Resh.  The letter Resh is the convicting power of His Holy Spirit, and speaks of the One who reveals to us those things in our lives that need to be cut away or pruned so that we can see what is important. The Resh speaks to us of repentance, the turning away from our sins or those thing that keep us from seeing what it really important to us which is our Heavenly Father.

When we prepare ourselves for worship we sing this song or this zamar and when we are, it surrounds us with His knowledge.  When He is all we see, we throw off all that keeps us from Him through repentance and the Zayin cuts it out of us, prunes us and leaves only our love for God.

As all Hebrew letters are also numbers, the numerical value of the word zamar, the song of pruning reveals a little more.

The letter Zayin has a value of 7, the Mem of 40 and the Resh is 200.  Add up the total value of the word zamar is 247. There is another word in the Hebrew language that has the same value of 247 and it is the Hebrew word mazaqaq.  The sages teach that if 2 Hebrew words have the same numerical value, the Spirit of God may show you a relationship between these two words that will be of significant spiritual value.

Mazaqaq means: to refine.

When we enter praise and worship by singing and/or listening to a zamar or song of pruning, first our Heavenly Father begins a refining process in us; cutting away all those things that separate us from Him and as we come closer into His presence, we are left only with Him.

And suddenly looking round about,

they saw no one any more,

save Jesus only

with themselves. 

Mark 9:8

This is what a pruning hook has to do with

worship/shachah

so let’s be willing to have

all the pruning necessary

then we can humbly

SHACHAH/worship Him

in spirit and truth. 

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.

… and…

it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Are We Ready To shakak ‘ad?

Are we ready to inhabit eternity?

And to be in His presence Who in

Isaiah 57:15 is called

“The One who inhabits eternity.”

Shochen Ad.  

   שֹׁכֵ֥ן עַד֙          

sheen/shin- kaph/kaf – nun – ayin – dalet

15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

The other Hebrew words are:

shakak ‘ad

The letters (recall no letters for vowels, a,e,i,o,u)

just consonants that make up the words are:

shin – kaf – kaf – ayin – dalet

Inhabit eternity

שׁככ עד

The Hebrew letters of the alef bet our Alphabet:

Another Hebrew word for eternity is: 

olam  עוֹלָם

INHABIT ETERNITY שׁככ עד

(reading from right to left)

Another Hebrew word for inhabit.

verb לָגוּר. live, dwell, reside, sojourn, lodge.

So what do these words mean

and where is eternity?

In the Hebrew mind it is simply:

what is at or beyond the horizon, a very distant time.

 

A common phrase in the Hebrew is:

l’olam va’ed

and is usually translated as:

forever and ever,

Another interpretation of the phrase

inhabiteth eternity is

abides forever.

שכן  can be translated:

to reside,

which implies: a stationary condition.

This could also be said of Ecclesiates 3:11

that eternity is in our hearts.

A place where it,

eternity,

stays continually.

In Hebrew the words used for

space are also used for time.

The Hebrew word qedem means east

but is also the same word for the past.

Gives us a little more insight into the scripture:

as far as the east is from the west so far are our transgressions removed from us… to the east = they are in the past! gone!

The Hebrew word

olam

literally means:

beyond the horizon.

olam: long duration, antiquity, futurity

Original Word: עוֹלָם
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: olam
Phonetic Spelling: o-lawm’

When we look off into the distance it is very hard to make out any details and obviously what is beyond any horizon is impossible to see.

In Hebrew thought, this concept is the olam;

because the word olam is also used for time.

It is used for:

the distant past

or the distant future

with the understanding that:

this is a time that is difficult to either perceive or know.

Eternity is the most common translation of this word and has the meaning of:

an ongoing span of time that never ends.

Again, in the Hebrew mind/way of thinking, it is

that which is at or beyond the horizon,

a very distant time.

In Hebrew forever and ever,

is usually translated from the words

l’olam va’ed

is a common phrase but in the Hebrew it means:

to the distant horizon and again,

meaning: a very distant time and even further beyond that.

The one Hebrew word for

eternity – עד  –

spelled in Hebrew with the letters

ayin and dalet

or

AD

we often see these 2 letters after the numbers of a date.

They mean Anno Domini (AD) and before Christ (BC) and are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means ‘in the year of the Lord’, but is often presented using “our Lord” instead of “the Lord”, taken from the full original phrase “Anno Domini nostri Jesu Christi”, which translates to ‘in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

עד  ayin dalet

is a Hebrew word with the same letters

ad meaning eternity

however, in the scripture verse in Isaiah 57:15

it’s not the usual word used.

For thus saith the High and lofty one that inhabited eternity ….

The word usually used is OLAM

(we looked at it in a previous post Olam hazeh olam haba.)

https://www.minimannamoments.com/olam-hazeh-and-olam-haba/

Eternity means forever.

AD comes from the word

ADAH which means: to advance, past by or come.

It means: past time, present time and future time.

This no doubt reminds the reader of

yesterday, today and forever…

He is forever the same – He is ADAH! 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 

Hebrews 13:8

Hebrew scholars teach that it is related to the word

HADAH

which means to

STRETCH or MANIPULATE.

So we could understand from this that:

our Heavenly Father, Creator of His universes is

stretching or manipulating time.

It also reminds us of a day being as a 1000 years

and a 1000 years as a day….

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

Meaning our time is not the same as His time and it cannot be calculated in the same manner.

Malachi 3:6. For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Isaiah 44:6

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

2 Peter 3:9 and He is not slack concerning His promise, waiting for the precious fruit of the earth. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

Revelation 1:8 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Is He stretching time for more souls to be saved as His children pray and ask for extended grace and mercy; or is it for His children TIME to get their lives right before He returns?

He is after all omni present, omniscient and omnipotent, everywhere all at once. Time does not affect Him for He lives/exists outside of what we experience as time.

This verse in Is 57:15 is actually telling us that He exists in the past, present and future simultaneously, which confirms the above descriptions of Him and His Word.

Human scientists are always trying to prove what believers already know to be true that…

God inhabits the past, present and future.

They try to go back in time and to go forward also; and try to prove that it is possible for something to exist in the past, present and future at the same moment. Their experiments are only supporting reality, not discovering or proving it! God’s Word has already told us.

He is ‘ADAH: to advance, past by or come.

We need to understand that existing outside of time as we know it, this is how He is able to spend every moment with each of us and can move through time to always be with every one of His children! Our concepts are so limited … This is why men ought always to pray…

Luke 18:1-8. And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint/lose heart

why?  

Because it’s a sign of spiritual life.

Just as the physical body needs oxygen, the spiritual life begins with prayer. Because He wills it and it is a statement of His eternal wisdom and truth. It is the command of absolute righteousness and justice, showing us the direction of His infinite goodness and love. It is impossible for us to fulfill His will, or employ the abilities and gifts He has imparted to us, unless we pray, communicating with Him.

Prayer is as timeless as the concept of eternity itself because the throne of prayer is always accessible,

Hebrews 4:16

and the Hearer of prayer is always willing; and because the power and privilege of prayer has a direct connection with the whole sphere of our daily life, and the whole circle of our daily needs.

As our petitions and intercession ascend before His Throne/presence they are reaching into His dimension and the realms of existence where God oversees everything and He and His angels/messengers, can move in and out of time to assist in the fulfillment of His will.

It is described as

the throne of Grace

Our Heavenly Fathers’ pictograph letters for this word, CHEN/channah, paint a picture of pitching a tent with Him, God/Adonai. Just like He pitched a tent/the Mishkan Tabernacle in the wilderness with His children of Israel. More at link below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/ancient-pictographic-hebrew-language/

This is also where the Blood of our Messiah has been applied

His Blood cries Mercy 

and Mercy and Grace flow continually as His Blood speaks…

and He intercedes for us.

Hebrews 12:13 says the blood of Jesus speaks better things than that of Abel. The blood of Abel cries for vengeance, the blood of Jesus cries for mercy.

So Are We Ready To Inhabit Eternity?

this means an Eternal Life …so what is that?

  This is eternal life…

John 17:1-5

verse 3… To KNOW God..

to know Him the one true God and Him whom you sent Jesus/Yeshua the Messiah.

Eternal life is not merely survival after death of these physical bodies …it is having intimate knowledge of the Father and His Son; His Spirit of Holiness is His agent by which this is achieved.

Relationship is accomplished and developed by

spending time with Him,

allowing His presence

to cover us and infuse us

with all that He is..

then we are changed from glory to glory.

If we do not know Him and Him Who was sent Jesus/Yeshua,

how can we be ready for eternal life…

The Hebrew word for

knowledge is DA’AT

using the letters dalet and tav.

The dalet is a picture of a door and the

tav is a picture of the cross…

more at 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/ancient-pictographic-hebrew-language/

Jesus/Yeshua said I am the door/dalet (4th letter) and His sacrifice on the cross/tav (last letter), opened the WAY back to our Heavenly Father. This is the WAY to KNOW/gain knowledge of Him. Jesus/Yeshua said …I am the WAY!

It tells us that it is not only gaining understanding and comprehending the acts and circumstances of the world that is important, but also, we are to gain the most intimate experience of the author and creator of all knowledge. In James He tells us to ask for wisdom which is:

the ability to apply the knowledge we gain.

James 1:5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

If we pray the will or heart of our Heavenly Father

then it is important that we have to first KNOW what that is;

and then it follows that we will be

praying concerning and in harmony with,

a heart that exists/lives/abides in the past, present and future.

Science has proven that it is indeed possible for something to exist in the past, present and future all at the same time.

Not that we needed proof!

There was an article published by Vanderbilt University about the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland; which is the world’s largest facility to smash atoms. This article said that it could be the first machine capable of causing matter to travel backwards in time.  This collider has succeeded in producing the Higgs bosom and some scientists predicted that it would create a second particle at the same time, called the Higgs singlet. (the god particle).

The Higgs boson is the fundamental force-carrying particle of the Higgs field, a field that gives mass to other fundamental particles such as electrons and quarks.

The Higgs boson is a wave in that field. Its discovery confirms the existence of the Higgs field.

How do particles get mass?

Particles get their mass by interacting with the Higgs field.

According to these scientists these singlets have the ability to jump into an extra, fifth dimension where they can move either forward or backward in time and reappear in the future or past.  In other words these particles can travel back in time to appear before the collisions that produced them.

It sounds completely crazy and yet our Heavenly Father does even more than this!

Here the word KNOW is used exactly as it is in Jeremiah 31:33 the passage promising Israel a new /renewed covenant.

This of course was fulfilled with Messiah Yeshua/Jesus coming in the flesh.

 The apostles explained, He is the image of God in 2 Corinthians 4:4, He is the image of the invisible God, the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. Also Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3.

His physical appearance was and is not so important. Yeshua/Jesus revealed our Heavenly Father’s character and truth. As the sent one of the Father, Jesus/Yeshua perfectly represented the Father. 

He has gone to prepare a place for us…in eternity and is often quoted but many times misunderstood Bible verse. Jesus/Yeshua said that He would go to prepare a mansion for those who believe in Him. Many believe that these mansions are literal buildings in heaven where they will dwell. 

John 14:2 KJV “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”  In the NASB it says, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” 

In the Vulgate, the Bible translation into Latin, they used the word mansiones in that verse, and the King James Version followed by using mansions.

The word for “mansion” is μονή, monay.  

It means a dwelling, an abode.

In my Father’s house οικος (oikia) are many mansions μονη (mone): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. – John 14:2 (KJV)

The noun οικια (oikia), meaning house.

The verb μενω (meno)’s only pure derivation is the noun μονη (mone), which describes a

“place of remaining”, a home

We have a “place of remaining“

being prepared for us by the

Messiah Jesus Christ/Yeshua haMashiach

This place of remaining

is into/to the oikia – house of the Father.

Messiah is not telling us that heaven has compartments, or that we will have little places in which to live. He was likening it to their understanding in ancient culture, where a father’s house was where the extended family lived.  Rooms were often added on as the family grew through birth and marriage.  What He was doing was using the present-day illustration of a loving, tight, family community.

We are not to be so earthly and materially minded to interpret the scripture to our own liking and benefit, thinking people get promised mansions and riches. Why? because the values of the seen world are different from the unseen world, where God is, and they can distract us from the reality of His Kingdom in eternity..

So, Messiah is saying that in Hebrew/Aramaic,

a Beit-Av which literally means house of a father, 

and using the term,

My Father’s house is an idiom for my family.

He is preparing a place for us …

Prepare in Hebrew is – KUN –  כון –  Kap Vav Nun

Prepare can be understood in the life of Ezra

Ezra 7:10: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”

 Ezra devoted himself to the Word of God. Jewish tradition teaches that his knowledge of the Torah was equal to that of Moses.  Not only was he determined to make sure he himself obeyed every letter of the law but he was zealous to make sure others followed the directions for life in the Torah teaching/law as well.  Ezra was responsible for restoring the Jewish identity which had been lost during the captivity when Hebrew men married non-Hebrew women and it was Ezra who helped initiate one of the greatest revivals in their history.  Specifically what made him so notable is written in chapter 7:10, he prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and teach it.

He prepared his heart to seek the word of God. Ezra was very motivated to prepare his heart. The word in Hebrew for

prepare is kun.

Spelled with the letters

Kap, Vav and Nun.

There are very many meanings for the word kun = prepared, ready, steadfast, firm, fixed, fashioned, establish, secure are just a few. Ezra prepared to seek the Word of God, by being steadfast in his goal and firmly fixed in his desire to KNOW God’s heart through the study of His Word. Jesus/Yeshua has gone to prepare, fix, fashion, establish, order, secure a place for us…

He is preparing a place for us in heaven/eternity

where we will dwell with our Heavenly Father

in close communion with Him – a place of remaining –

and there is room in eternity/heaven

for ALL whom He calls to salvation.

Further to this we are reminded that Jesus/Yeshua spoke in the Old Galilean dialect of Aramaic. The Aramaic Bible, Peshitta, uses the word bt which we render as beyt/beit house,

however, like the Hebrew, the letters b and t

could also be used to express the idea of

the place of the heart, 

which is identical to the Hebrew word bayith /house, which is the word used in Psalms 127.*

House – Place of the Heart – BAYITH – בית – Beth Yod Taw

When Jesus/Yeshua said: 

In my Father’s heart/house are many rooms.

 We must remember that only He can build that

place in His heart for us.

If we try to build that place with all our ministries and monuments to ourselves, our labors are all wasted.

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.*

 The Apostle Paul tells us …

Do you not know that your body is the temple/sanctuary of The Spirit of Holiness who dwells within you, whom you have received from God, and you are not your own? 1 Cor. 6:19.

The heart of God is meant to reside in us and to abide – make His home in us.

Isaiah 57:15 contains an interesting phrase that is used nowhere else in the Bible. Here, our Heavenly Father is referred to as

One who inhabiteth eternity.

looking at the sentence construction and the context of the verse,  Isaiah’s description reflects symbols in which the Israelites found deeper meaning, that of:

the tabernacle and temple/sanctuary of God.

The entire verse says:

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (KJV).

The phrase in Hebrew is עד שכן.

The first word, שכן means: to reside or inhabit.

This verb is in what is called the active participle form, which in the KJV was translated as: inhabiteth,

it indicates the action is ongoing,

both now and continuing in the future

or in modern English,

inhabiting.

The second word, עד, can mean either:

perpetual continuation; enduring future,

or time without end.

In the KJV the word in this verse was translated as: eternity.

Interestingly, this is the only time the word eternity appears in this translation of the Bible. The uniqueness of this combination of words allows for many different translations and interpretations.

One way of interpreting this verse is from the context of

a kingship, so some read the phrase

the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity

instead, as..

in the height as Holy One I sit enthroned,

or who sits enthroned forever.

This imagery is seen in Isaiah:

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up …Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory…Mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Isa. 6:1, 3, 5.

God’s kingship be seen as a royal representation for the great sovereign who from the exalted throne room extends the royal presence and the royal concern to His subjects.

Another interpretation of the phrase

inhabiteth eternity

is

abides forever.

שכן can be translated to reside,

which implies a stationary condition.

The following word, עד was cited before as:

implying perpetual continuation.

This second word could be seen as describing and adding to the first verb; then the whole phrase shows the eternal and unchanging nature of God.

This principle is repeated in the scriptures:

in Psalms, the author wrote,

even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Ps. 90:2

and 

thou [God] art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Ps. 102:27.

and

For I am the LORD, I change not. Mal. 3:6.

Because our Heavenly Father is an eternal Being, He is not subject to mortality, to death or any other type of change. 

This interpretation changes the meaning of the verse and instead of the image of a royal setting, it now focuses on God’s unchangeable nature.  A king can be seen in relation to his subjects, but how can a supreme and unchangeable being possibly relate to those who are always changing?

Isaiah helps us answer this when he wrote this in chapter 55:8-9:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The high and holy place where our Heavenly Father’s residence is located is mentioned in Isaiah 57:15, as not being anywhere on earth, but in heaven/shamayim. 

We know that our Father has supernatural and eternal characteristics, and the words used in this verse do not necessarily describe one who is totally unreachable.

The verb שכן can mean to dwell and this word does not necessarily infer one that never moves at all, it can also mean: a move into a temporary place, in an as yet unspecified condition.

It can also be translated as: to rest; which implies some sort of transition/move/change. The word used for the Israelite tabernacle was משכן/mishkan, which is made using the same root letters as שכן/dwell. The tabernacle was a temporary structure that was moved many times during the Israelites journey in the wilderness. When they were finally settled in the promised land, they built a permanent place for their God: the temple/sanctuary.

The temple was not referred to as a משכן, mishkan

but as a הכל, a בית, or a מקדש. Temple/House.

The visible difference between the letters the Hebrew words used to describe the moveable tabernacle and the stationary temple, helps to further show the inferences of the word dwell – שכן. 

An interesting parallel is found in the New Testament where the Greek word σκηνη means tabernacle. John states: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” John 1:1, 14. The word translated as dwelt is εσκηνωσεν which literally means to tent or tabernacle.

Another connection can be made with the words Isaiah used because some scholars suggest that the translators may have favored this specific Greek word for tabernacle because in the spelling of the word, the consonants σ-κ-ν equal the Hebrew consonants for the word Shekinah – ש-כ-נ, which is God’s presence/Glory.

In this scripture, a divine and eternal being is seen as transitioning/moving from an eternal realm into a temporal realm!

The words used in these verses seems to refer to Israelites Egyptian exodus. God was not stationary during their time in the wilderness; He was seen as a powerful being/God who regularly made contact with them.

He temporarily left His heavenly dwelling place, to abide/be with the Israelites by means of the tabernacle.

Exodus 29:45-46

I will dwell [w-shakahn’ti] among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am YHWH their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell [l-shak’ni] among them; I am YHWH their God.

For us a dwelling is where we put down roots, where we intend to stay/abide; but how do you meet or speak with God when He is in the shape of a cloud by day and fire by night? The children of Israel needed a physical place to connect with Him, so the tabernacle/mishkan was built, providing that place for God’s shekinah/presence to be dwelling with them.

Connected with the word dwelling, is the concept of purpose.

If you dwell somewhere, you have a purpose to be there!

There for them, and now for us, our Heavenly Fathers’ purpose is our refuge and security, echoed in both in Ps.91. and in the letters of the Hebrew word for GRACE.

Deuteronomy 33:27-28

The eternal God IS a dwelling place [refuge: m’ohnah], and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’ So Israel dwells [wa-yish’kohn] in security, the fountain of Jacob secluded, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew.

John likened this image to Messiah, Who transitioned from heaven to earth, just as the God of the Israelites had done in the wilderness.

When the different translations are viewed in connection with the temple, it reveals a harmonious picture of our Heavenly Father, Who is an eternal King, whose rule over His people is with faithfulness, fairness and justice.

Even though He is superior and divine, He could be approached by His people in the Temple/His Holy palace. The temple was a place where sacred space meets sacred time. The verb שכן, as mentioned earlier, refers to dwelling in a certain place. The place where God dwells is considered sacred, referred to in Genesis 26:24-25, 28:12-18, 35:1; that, at the places where God appeared, altars and memorials were set up.

Connected to the concept of holy/sacred space,

is the element of

time

understood and contained in the word:

עד – ad – eternity

Our Heavenly Father sets apart

sacred time,

as shown in the Ten Commandments:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy … wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Ex. 20:8-11. 

The Holy of Holies brought together both the elements of sacred space and sacred time. It was the most Holy Place within the tabernacle and the temple Ex. 26:34, and was to be entered only once a year on the Holiest day, known as the Day of Atonement. Ex. 30:10.

 

It was in this Holy of Holies that the

God of Eternity would appear on

His throne/the temporary dwelling place of His presence/shekinah/glory

above the mercy seat/kapporet/atonement

 to speak with His children. 

There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

Ex. 25:22

Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell [w-shakahn’ti] among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it…

Exodus 25:8-9

And so God’s presence hovered/fluttered above the mercy seat/kapporet of the Ark of the Covenant, which rested in the Tabernacle. It was the specific location for God to dwell among the people as they traveled through the desert. Recalling the first dwellers, (the cherubim guarding the Tree of Life), the mercy seat would include the representation of two cherubim facing each other with wings outstretched. From that location, the Life force of God/shekinah, would dwell and meet with the High Priest: this Jesus/Yeshua fulfilled and now we can dwell in His presence and He can dwell with/in us.

The children of Israel were without doubt changed by the miracles surrounding their release from Egyptian bondage and the evidence of their God among His people. It is evident that through the symbolism of the tabernacle, its presence and influence became integral in their lives and language. 

Isaiah used words in Hebrew that reflected his understanding of a supernatural deity as his description of our Heavenly Father is as One who inhabiteth eternity,

The words used by Isaiah describe God in terms of the tabernacle and show that even though He was the Supernatural, Divine King of His people the Israelites, whose rule was consistent. He was not unreachable mystical and totally superior but made the connection to dwell/tabernacle with them. After their journey through the wilderness, He continued to visit them in the temple specifically built for Him. Both the tabernacle/mishkan and the temple/sanctuary became the symbol for the place where the King of Heaven and all eternity manifested Himself as the God of Israel.

Jesus/Yeshua was the tabernacle/mishkan of God among us, bringing salvation and conquering death. Salvation, to the Israelites, wasn’t just personal redemption, it was returning the glory of God to the land of Israel. Jesus/Yeshua bought and brought personal redemption so that all prophetic scripture was fulfilled. The Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness/Ruach HaKodesh now abides/dwells with the believer and would be IN the believer.

Jesus/Yeshua dwelt with the Father, and His disciples would dwell in Him and He in them. The Father and Jesus/Yeshua will make Their ABODE within each and every disciple who loves Him. In essence eternity dwells within us!

It is worth repeating because, before He left He made this promise to His disciples/talmidim; and if we are one it is true for each of us:

John 14:1-3

Do NOT let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;

if it were not so, I would have told you; for 

I go to prepare a place for you – (a place of remaining

where we will

inhabit eternity – shakak ‘ad.)

 If I go and prepare a place

(a place of remaining)

for you,

(where we will

inhabit eternity – shakak ‘ad)

I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (forever in that place of remaining).

We are a dwelling place for Our Heavenly Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness until that day when we are called home to

the dwelling place/the place of remaining

prepared for us by the very One who abides/lives within us.

Are we ready to inhabit eternity?… and are we truly ready for eternity to dwell within us? Eternal life starts now for today is the day of salvation!

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.

… and…

it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.