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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
This is a very familiar scripture to us as it is part of what we call the Lords Prayer in Matthew 6.;13
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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
What does the Greek and Hebrew say for the word temptation?
peirasmos: an experiment,
a trial, temptation.
πειρασμὸς (peirasmos)
Noun – Nominative Masculine Singular
From peirazo; a putting to proof (of good), experience (of evil), solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication, adversity.
Original Word: πειρασμός, οῦ, ὁ.
Transliteration: peirasmos.
Phonetic Spelling: pi-ras-mos’
Peirazo: to try or prove
peirasmos: a trial, proof
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w’al-t’bi’enu lidey nisayon ki ‘im-t’chal’tsenu min-hara`
(ki l’ak hamam’lakah w’hag’burah w’hatiph’ereth l’`ol’mey `olamim ‘Amen).
Matt 6:13 “And do not bring us into the hands of temptation,
but rescue us from what is evil.
{For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the majesty, forever and ever. Amen.}”
In Aramaic as well as Hebrew there are several words for temptation:
Nasah, nisa or nesa נסא
with the Hebrew letters: Nun Samek Aleph
and bacan.
All the above mean:
to test
however,
bacan means: to test for qualification
and
nasah means: to test one’s limits or abilities.
Nacah: to prove, try, tempt.
Another word for temptation is
Strong’s Hebrew: 4531.
מַסָּה (maccah) — temptation
Transliteration: maccah.
Phonetic Spelling: mas-saw’
Definition: despair. a trial, temptation;
Temptation is pronounced: tem-ta’-shun and in the Biblical sense is: a situation in which an individual experiences a challenge; and has to choose between fidelity/faithfulness and infidelity/unfaithfulness, in our obligations and obedience toward our Heavenly Father.
When the King James Version of the Bible was translated in 1611, the word temptation meant all of the above, however today the word has narrowed in meaning and modern translations use words such as testing, proving, trying.
What exactly is temptation?
What does the Word of God tell us?
Here are some scripture references.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matt 26:41
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[ a] by the devil. Matt 4:1-11
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1-13
When Jesus/Yeshua was tempted, tested and tried, He was led by the Fathers Holy Spirit and it was to prove Him worthy and able. Applying the meanings above it was, to test for qualification; to test one’s limits or abilities, and for Him to understand what it means to be under that type of pressure in a flesh body so that He can help us to overcome.
Heb. 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Looking at nesa the Aramaic word for temptation it is the same in terms of language to the Hebrew word nasah, which does not mean temptation, it means to test; and in the English language, we have just one word test. In Hebrew, it’s used as:
a word of determination,
as a way to see if something or someone can qualify
or attain a certain standard for usefulness.
The word is also used to:
determine the limits of something or someone.
In Aramaic as well as the Hebrew language there are two words
nasah and bacan.
Both mean to test, but bacan is: to test for qualification and nasah is used to test one’s limits or abilities.
In this sense, the enemy was not tempting Messiah but he was testing Him.
He was giving Messiah the same chance that he gives to all of us. The opportunity to exercise our free will in choosing between the flesh or the spirit.
Jesus/Yeshuas temptations were indeed offered to Him as a short cut to His goal and He fasted for 40 days to keep His flesh life under the control of His Spirit; and He overcame them with the Word of God., with Scripture from the Bible.
His goal was to die as the perfect sacrifice for all sin and to reveal to the world Who He was, and to save humanity from eternal separation from our Heavenly Father.
The first opportunity was to try out, to test the physical desires.
He was tempted to turn stones into bread when he was hungry to satisfy flesh needs, but He did not.
Our Heavenly Father God is a life giving Spirit (John4:24); and does not have a human body, so before this event, He could not know exactly what it was like to go hungry and be faced with the test/temptation, choice of eating bread to fulfill His fleshly desires. Jesus/Yeshua chose to satisfy His hunger on the Words of God, and to feed His Spirit and not His fleshly body. He fully understands our struggle between feeding the body over the spirit.
Then the enemy launched a temptation against Yeshua/Jesus’ free will, this appeal was to Messiah’s soul, which wanted to be recognized and accepted. People could not believe that Yeshua/Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, yet the enemy had a plan and it would be easy to prove it to everyone. The devil challenged Him by tempting Him to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple right in front of the High Priest, the Pharisees and religious leaders of the people, which would prove to them He was Messiah. A miracle in front of them and all the other witnesses and when the angels came to His rescue there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to His Deity. But Yeshua/Jesus said You shall not nesa – test the limits of God.
Finally, the enemy appealed to both the soul and the body of Messiah by offering to bypass the crucifixion, rejection, torture and all the other things he had to endure for our salvation. Messiah was tested by being tempted to yield to a shortcut, and to receive all the kingdoms of the world and every person in them and become king of all without having to die; but He would have had to give in to the adversary and bow in worship to him.
As with any compromise there is always a consequence to our choices, decisions and actions.
Messiah came to die, it was His purpose and goal and there was no quick fix, no alternate way to fulfill the will of His Father. All tests, trials, griefs and disciplines are outweighed by the blessings that follow in the wake of our victory.
He came to destroy the works of the devil which began in Gan Eden. He was the last Adam and like the temptations recorded in Genesis the same 3 areas were leveled at Messiah just as they were in the beginning; only this time, Messiah, the last Adam overcame them and was victorious.
The enemy was willing to let us all go if Messiah would just worship him.
The word worship in Aramaic here is seged which literally means:
to give recognition, honor, and attention to something or someone.
Lucifer was once the light bearer of God in the heavenlies and then he fell and this task of being a light in the darkness and carrying the light of the Gospel of His Kingdom, was passed on to us. All Messiah had to do was give in to the enemy and His body and soul could have avoided the cross. Is it possible that as the adversary ‘spoke’ to Him, His body and soul pressed Him to’ just do it.,’ or it would not have been a real temptation? However, the Spirit of God in Messiah knew that man would still be doomed and again the Spirit overcame the desires of the body.
The result is that Yeshua/Jesus knows what our battle between the flesh and spirit is like. He knows how hard it is for us sometimes to follow our spirit, because He himself had His body and soul nesa, tested to the limits.
It is the same for us, each day the desires of the body and soul are being tried to the limits. Each day the enemy offers our body and soul with opportunities, the lust of the flesh, that are opposed to our spirit which is joined with the spirit of our Heavenly Father God. Do we feed the desires of our souls with movies, internet sites, activities that are opposed to the holiness of God; or do we choose the desires of our spirit over the desires of the flesh?
What we choose to feed will grow stronger.
The spirit has no objection to eating, but it does to some things we eat that are harmful to us. It has no objection to an occasional movie but it does object to movies that arouse the desires of lust, fornication, violence, jealousy, hate and murder. Every day the enemy nesa’s us to choose the flesh over the spirit.
Because Yeshua/Jesus experienced our humanity, our suffering, and our temptation, tests and trials, He overcame them and is worthy to be our High Priest and the perfect sacrifice for our sins John 4:6-8
James 1:13-18. 13
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
We are taught not to think of the temptation in which, lust meets opportunity, as that into which we are led by God. James 1:13-14.
Lusts or desires of the flesh, are the carnal, physical, bodily wants, which go above and beyond the basic needs to sustain life. Our Heavenly Father provides for and meets our needs, not our ungodly wants. Unbridled lust/desires could be summed up as the appetites of unclean and addictive spirits manifesting in and through peoples physical bodies, where the natural flesh life not submitted to the indwelling Holy spirit and controlled by the life of Messiah in us.
James 1:12-16. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Luke 22:40. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
Matthew 6:13. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Tim. 2:22.
Prov. 28:13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
1 Cor. 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Paul comforts the saints with the fact that no temptation or affliction has befallen them, but what is common to human nature, and that God is faithful to provide a way of escape and God is faithful He had called them; 1 Corinthians 1:9, and since he knew “how to deliver the godly out of temptations” 2 Peter 2:9, he would surely keep His side of the covenant, and, if they did their parts, He would establish and keep them from evil, 2 Thessalonians 3:3. He also promised that the way of deliverance will be ready, simultaneously with the temptation. A way to escape; rather, the way to escape. The way to escape is different in different temptations, but for each temptation God would provide the special means of escaping it, meaning we would not give in to it and therefore avoid sinning. However it is still our choice, to take the way out that is offered or not.
1 Cor. 10:15
An individuals innermost nature, what a person possesses in the inner spiritual part of his/her being, usually determines what they are tempted by externally.
As we are all different, he temptation fits the nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities and weaknesses of that inner nature. In truth, each person actually determines or sets the level of his/her own temptation because temptation will come in agreement with the level of their controlling inner nature. What is a temptation to one person may not be a temptation to another.
Temptation comes as a thought, a suggestion, often as a quick option, a possible shortcut to reaching a personal goal; it does not usually point us towards what is obviously evil, but to what we initially believe and understand to be good.
This temptation is something that can confuse us at first and we aren’t sure whether it’s right or wrong, and we sway between telling ourselves ‘its ok’ and ‘I shouldn’t give in’ finally convincing ourselves and by justifying and defending our actions. At this point we yield to it and make lust a god, an idol, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that our own fear was the only thing that stopped us from giving in and falling into sin earlier.
We struggle and suffer from temptation of the fleshly desires and lusts, simply because we have resisted and refused to allow our Heavenly Fathers Holy Spirit to lead us to a higher level, where we will face temptations of another kind.
Hebrews 2:18 Hebrews 4:15 – 16. Each man is tempted when he is going or led away by his own lust, it comes from within us, its’ sources are in us from mind sets, culture, learned behavior and developed habits, both internally as well as externally.
Uncontrollable lust is the expression of unclean spirits manifesting in human flesh through our souls, a combination of our minds thoughts, our will and our feelings or emotions, which pervert by excess, the natural inclinations in our physical bodies.
Until we are born from above, until the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God causes our spirit to become alive from being dead in sin; the only kind of temptation we know or comprehend is mentioned in James 1:14 where each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires lusts.
Through the regenerating power of His Spirit of Holiness into our spirit, we can overcome those fleshly lusts, be set free from any unclean spirits and as Messiah did in Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. After He had the victory over His flesh, He began His public ministry full of the Holy Spirit. This is the pattern for us also, then we too will face temptations of another kind because we have been lifted and exposed to another realm. In the realm of the spirit we will face similar temptations to that which Messiah experienced during His life, however He has equipped us and is with us, to deal with whatever we face.
The things that Jesus/Yeshua went through have little to do with unbelievers, they are not of the natural realm; nor were they overcome by natural means.
Until we all become family, united together with Messiah, as children of the Most High; they mean nothing to us other than lifes’ challenges which are dealt with the same way as people in the world deal with them. Those that Messiah experienced were far more, because they were temptations of God as man.
The Son of God, Messiah, is formed in us through regeneration and in our physical life, Galatians 4:19, we have the same situation that He had while here, which is the life of the Son of God in us. It is no longer I that live but Messiah Who lives in and through me.
Satan doesn’t test and tempt us just to make us sin and do wrong things, but in order to make us, and cause us, to lose what our Heavenly Father has imparted to us through the regenerating, born from above by His Spirit experience.
He wants to destroy the possibility of us being of value to our Heavenly Father and His Kingdom.
He doesn’t come on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view that its not really sin; and only our Heavenly Fathers Spirit can identify this as the enemies lies and deception.
Temptation is a test by a power outside of ourselves which is not natural to humans and It is focused on that which is held in the inner spiritual part of our being.
This is what happened to Jesus/Yeshua, when after His immersion in John 1:29 and by accepting His mission of being the One Who takes away the sin of the world, He was led by the Fathers Holy Spirit into the wilderness Matthew 4:1, and into the testing devices of the enemy, which we looked at earlier in the post.
He didn’t become weary or exhausted to the point of giving in to the pressure, He went through the temptation without sin and He retained all the elements of His spiritual nature intact.
So being tempted is not sin
Luke 22:28,
a fact which gives all of us much relief.
Temptation always begins with a thought and is followed by a decision, a choice; which is where we must stop and take every thought captive bringing it into obedience to Messiah.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor.10:5.
Jesus/Yeshua is with us through our temptations but are we going on with Him through His temptations? What does that mean? Many of us turn back from going on with Messiah from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. When our Father changes our circumstances, pay attention and see whether we are choosing to go on with Messiah or will we align with the world, the flesh and the devil? We wear His identity, CHRISTians, but are we going forward with Him?
When tough and challenging times come, who or where do we run to first; and who do we go to for help? What alternate solutions and other sources of help do we seek for the answers to our problems? Are we looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, or a quick fix from a worldly source? In John 6:66 even some of the disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
Jesus/Yeshua was tempted continually throughout His life here on earth and the temptations will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Messiah in the life we are living right now or are we going back?
It’s all about endurance and not giving into the flesh life or to what we see in this natural realm of earth and the world around us. We have the idea that we ought to protect and shield ourselves from some of the things that our Heavenly Father is allowing and brings around us. Do we think we know better than Him? If we truly believe that He knows and is in control of everything and that it’s He who allows and determines our circumstances and whatever they may be; we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in and through His temptations.
We need to begin to see that they are His temptations, not as temptations to us, but rather temptations to the Life of the Son of God in us; Messiah/Christ in us, His life, His mind, His thinking, His power, His honor, is at stake in our physical lives, our bodies.
Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in every thing that attacks His life in us? Are we applying His word to our life and situation? Are we acting in faith that His promises are true, and are we waiting on Him to fulfill His promises? Are we being still and know He is God, or are we spending time looking for a quick fix and an alternate solution so that we can make things happen in our timing?
Are we going on with Messiah or are we turning back to the worlds ways?
The prince of this world has many ways to offer us and there’s only one Way for the true, faithful disciple. It’s the narrow way, it’s uphill, there’s only room for 1 to walk beside us, one to be yadiyad/ hand in hand with Messiah. This Way goes through the valley of the shadow of death and through Gethsemane, then through the city gate and on outside the camp. Hebrews 13:13.
The Way is lonely and goes on until sometimes there is no longer only the voice of the shepherd calling us to Follow Me but just an echo. Matthew 4:19. Where is our faith? Is it placed in Him, His word or elsewhere? When the answer doesn’t come according to our timeline and our preferred way, do we wait and allow our patience to work with our faith and trust by the Spirit, or do we look for a solution solely with the arm of the flesh?
Does the end justify the means, the compromise; and if we yield to alternatives now, how will we stand in faith if the only option to alternatives means taking the mark and denying the Lord we say we love and serve? And how can we counsel others to stand in faith if we do not?
Be encouraged and remember:
Temptation is NOT sin for Messiah was tempted yet He did not sin.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15
However, we must be on guard that we do not succumb to the desires of the flesh. We must do our part.
How? Jesus/Yeshua told His disciples to
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matt 26:41 This answer is true for each one of us and we must watch and be on guard because that how the enemy sneaks in. The Greek word for temptation that has one meaning of experiment, we could say that as the enemy of our souls experiments on them, maybe our reaction by the power of our Heavenly Fathers Holy Spirit, will simply blow up his experiment in his face and our victory is complete in Messiah.
Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted he is able to help those who are being tempted. And these tests and trials will not overtake us when we place our lives in His hands and trust Him to bring us through every time.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he must flee.
Use the same solution that Messiah did to counteract the ememy’s schemes; speak the Word od God, find relevant verses in the scriptures..and declare boldly it is written …..I am an overcomer seated in heavenly places with Messiah and His sacrificial blood has been applied to my life, I am redeemed, sanctified and set apart for His will plan and purposes, I am His child, who has been made righteousness and my life is hid with God in Christ.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT 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.
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This Season of Joy
שִׂמְחָה – simchah: joy, gladness, mirth
is the Eighth Day Assembly.
7th month 22nd day – Torah portion Vayikra 23:36 39.
Vayikra means “And [He] called” and it is found in Leviticus 1:1
The culmination of Sukkot /Tabernacles/Booths –
Immediately following the 7 day feast of sukkot is the closing moed/appointed time of the year, called:
yom haSh’miyniy Atzaret or
Shemini Atzeret
שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת —”Eighth [day of] Assembly”
This year it is on 7th October.
The commands for this day are very simple
do no regular work, rest and assemble.
In short the 8th day is a time to say good bye to sukot and the past year’s mo’adiym.
It’s a time to rest and reflect but also a time to look forward to the future because in just 6 short months it all starts over again.
Though this moed is often dismissed as being insignificant it can be an extremely meaningful time if we allow it to be. We are encouraged to look back at the journey we will have completed but also to look forward to the times that lie ahead.
The following day is known as Simchat Torah where this extra biblical jewish holiday celebrates the word of God.
Rejoicing in the Torah.
This year it is the 8th October.
Click links below for more details:
The Mo’adiym are so much more than times to practice any Hebrew /Jewish traditions, or days to ponder what they indicate prophetically without actually participating in them. The Mo’adiym/Appointed times of the Lord, offer us a special opportunity to allow His Spirit to disciple us; as we walk in the ways of the Son towards maturity and our full potential in Messiah. These are times to learn and develop our usefulness for the Fathers Kingdom.
As we devote ourselves to living out the fullness in the meanings of the Mo’adiym, those who are of Israelite descent will more fully understand their calling as the people chosen by our Father. Chosen that is, to tell the world about Him and His redemptive plan for all who choose to believe in His Messiah. For those who are already believers in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, they will draw closer to Him becoming more effective and victorious disciples for Him.
As we walk through the Mo’adiym/Appointed Times each year, it is an opportunity allow His Spirit to plant into us the deep truths that each moed/Appointed Time is designed to help us remember. This is so that the Father may bring in a bountiful harvest through us, for His glory and for the name of His Son, our Savior master Lord and soon returning King…the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus.
in Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
These Mo’adiym/Appointed Times were set in place for the children of Israel to follow as an annual life cycle of preparation for the unfolding plan of the ages. Prophetic in nature and so full of meaning, they are an essential aid to more fully understanding and appreciating all that was completed and fulfilled in Messiah’s time on the earth. His statement that He did not come to abolish or do away with the (law) teaching and instructions of his Father but to complete and to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17. And furthermore, it was to show us how to live a life according to His Fathers and His words; and not all the added restrictive laws and doctrines inspired by demonic, unclean spirits and added by men. Matthew 23:4. All the extra laws and rules that were given to the people not only overburdened them but caused them to be controlled by corrupt leadership.
The season of our rejoicing this weekend is that of
rejoicing in His Word and the freedom it has brought to our lives;
and on the 8th day reminds us of the hope of our salvation being completed.
Yeshua Messiah, His Word made flesh, dwelt /tabernacled among us and then sent His Spirit to be with us, to abide within us always, even to the end of this age; when He will return in all His Glory and forever tabernacle with us in fullness. Revelation 21:3-8
The 8th day rejoicing is coming as the reign of Messiah for 1000 years. Until then we have His Spirit of Holiness dwelling, abiding, tabernacle-ing within. We rejoice in His Word living in us, making us alive.
The promise for us all is looking unto Jesus, Messiah, the Word; Who is the author and finisher of our faith. Heb. 12:2
This years feasts, fasts, His Appointed Times, the Mo’adiym are completed. These are more than prophetic pictures of Yeshua/Jesus, they are set in the calendar as a reminder to His chosen ones; and are calling us to un-compromised devotion to only Him and by our obedience, our lives are changed. Not only are they an annual reminder of the Father’s miraculous history with the children of Israel, but also the story of our lives in Christ/Messiah are embedded within them.
They teach us about who we are supposed to be in Him; and we are led into a deeper walk with Him as we take the time to learn of them and their meanings. By our obedience and faithfulness to be a doer and as He told us to ‘learn of Me’; Matthew 11:29. He, through His Word, makes us into His disciples so that in turn we might share His truth that will make others free.
For every believer in Yeshua/Jesus Messiah, this Season of Joy שִׂמְחָה – simchah: joy, gladness, mirth is ongoing and we can rejoice continually and not just on one day of the year: for we are the sheep of His pasture and
He is the shepherd. John 10:14
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Ps.100:3 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation. Ps.79:13
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT 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.
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For those new to mmm and to the
Mo’diym/Moedim,
the Appointed Times of our Heavenly Father –
below is a brief overview of Sukkot.
Earlier posts on this Moed explain what is revealed for us as Messianic believers.
What do the symbols of lulav – etrog, palm branch, myrtle and willow connected to Sukkot mean? Links at end.
Sukkot/ סֻכּוֹת is one of the
3 shelosh regalim
שלוש רגלים
which are the 3 pilgrim festivals:
Passover/Pesach,
Pentecost/Shavuot and
Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkot
All Israel was to observe these annually.
Tabernacles is also called Booths and in Hebrew:
Sukkot or Sukot
סוכות
Pronounced: sue-KOTE, or sue COAT or
SOOH-kuss (oo as in book).
It is the last great feast of Israel’s annual calendar:
Chag haSukot – feast of the tabernacles.
It is also called
Chag haAsif – feast of the ingathering
because it occurs at the outgoing of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labor from the field.
Shmot/Exodus 23:16
It is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei; which is five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This year 5784 it begins on the evening of Friday 29th September.
Sukkot is considered a joyous occasion and is referred to in Hebrew as Z’man Simchateinu (the time of our rejoicing), and the sukkah itself symbolizes the fragility and transience of life and one’s dependence on God.
Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and the primary feature is of course the sukkah or booth or tabernacle which is to be constructed from the various trees and nature surrounding Jerusalem. The purpose of the sukkah is to remind us that Adonai caused the people of Israel to live in sukkot when He brought them out of Egypt.
This week long feast commemorates the miraculous protection the Lord provided for them and the temporary shelters used during their wandering in the wilderness.
From this we can draw out the spiritual themes of
divine protection, deliverance and provision.
The temporary and flimsy nature of the sukkah itself should serve to remind us of our own weakness, fragility and temporary existence, and our dependance on our Heavenly Father as long as we dwell in our earthly tents/bodies.
These are the times of rejoicing and fellowship before the Lord as His treasured people – am segulah.
In Revelation 21:3 we are told that after Messiah returns
‘God shall tabernacle with them’; that is the truth for the highest condition of humanity, when the Tabernacle of God shall be with redeemed men in the new earth. ‘
God’s plan for mankind involves restoration. The Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the restoration process, which will start with the return of Jesus Christ/Yeshua haMashiach.
New King James Version
And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
All Nations will Worship the King
16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 17And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.…
This appointed time is important because of the meaning contained within the observances as part of celebration. it is the final time of year as the new civil year begins at Yom Kippur. The last of the seven spiritual appointed times which the life cycle begins again at Pesach/Passover in the spring. All sins have been forgiven and atoned for the previous year. So the celebration is filled with relief and thanksgiving. It has followed the 40 days of repentance, introspective preparation, teshuvah; now forgiveness and the covering of sin has concluded their response to God’s call to come close to Him.
For us John’s Gospel reminds us of Yeshua’s appeal to Israel to come to and freely receive the long promised living waters. John 7:37 – 38. This occurred during the water libation ceremony on the last day of the festival of Sukkot. Tabernacles/ Booths.
Tabernacles/Sukkot/Booths is a type and a shadow, a reminder of the temporary dwelling in the wilderness and of God’s presence with the Israelites.
A sukkah or succah Hebrew: סוכה [suˈka]; plural, סוכות [suˈkot] sukkot or sukkos or sukkoth, often translated as “booth”) is a temporary hut constructed for use during the weeks celbration.
This promise of future physical fulfillment and of the prophetic fulfillment is clear in Revelation 21:1 – 3.
He will live/ abide/dwell with them. They will be His people He Himself will be their God – Emmanuel – God with them.
Sukkot is our Heavenly Father’s provision completed –
prophecy fulfilled, and the theme of sukkot is joy.
As already noted, there are many distinct lessons we can learn from sukkot:
Our Heavenly Father’s provision.
His dwelling with His people; and
The joy of His spirit of holiness..
are all themes that draw attention to the plan in scripture.
However there is still a future element remaining to be fulfilled by the feast of Tabernacles/ sukkot. John states in his vision of final things that the reality of sukkot will be obvious to all. Again Jesus/Yeshua reminded us that He came to complete the teaching of Torah/ our Heavenly Father’s instructions for life; which is what we term as the law.
Sukkot was always known as the appointed set apart holy day that commemorates God dwelling with His people. This is very fitting because the Kingdom of God as it is now, is within us, and is therefore partially fulfilled. When it fully comes upon His return to the redeemed earth, it will be considered the ultimate fulfillment of this Holy day. God Himself will finally dwell with His people in all His fullness. The booth/ sukkot/ tabernacle is said to be the first and foremost celebration of this age yet to come.
Zachariah prophesied in 14:16 “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
Everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem Yerushalayim will go out every year to worship the king -Adonai Tzva’ot and to keep the festival of Sukkot. If any of the families does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King no rain will fall on them.
John 1:14 uses the words
dwelt among His people,
to describe the visible manifestation of the invisible God of creation. John was describing Messiahs incarnation, His first coming to His people and the most obvious picture was sukkot, the holy day that celebrates the dwelling of God with man.
There was a custom that developed during the 2nd Temple period; on this day a priest would take a water pitcher down to the pool of Siloam, dip it in the water and carry it back to the Temple.
People formed a procession behind the priest and as they entered the Temple mount they were dancing and singing the Hallel which is Psalm 113 – 118.
For each of the first six days of sukkot they would circle the Temple altar one time and on the 7th day there would be 7 processions around the Temple to increase the joy and celebration.
The high point of the ceremony was when
the priest poured out the water on the altar of the temple,
to which all the people responded with overwhelming joy. It became known as rejoicing of the house of drawing water. Hoshana rabbah.
What was the significance of such rejoicing at this water pouring ceremony?
It was more than just rejoicing in the hope of future winter rains for Israel, even though that was very important. That was a deeper truth in Isaiah 12:3 concerning this ceremony:
then you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.
Salvation in Hebrew is yeshua, the name of the Messiah and He is also our High Priest and His life was poured out along with His Blood which resulted in our salvation.
More than the outpouring of the water in Israel,
the rejoicing of the house of drawing water – Hoshana rabbah;
was to prophetically picture the days of Messianic redemption, where the waters of His Holy Spirit would be poured out on all Israel.
Our Heavenly Father will finally build His habitation with His people when the Kingdom is established under Messiahs rule.
In John 7:37 – 39 he explains the next connection to Sukkot.
37Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out [in a loud voice], “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! 38He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’” 39But He was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him [as Savior] were to receive afterward. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).
It may help us to try and imagine the scene: Sukkot was already six day in and great joy filled the crowds. Then, on the great and final day – Hoshana Rabbah – the people were filled with expectation for the Messiah and the Spirit of Holiness He would bring. To everyones amazement, at the exact moment of the water drawing ceremony, Yeshua/Jesus made this bold and unashamed statement.
If anyone desires what this Bet Ha-sho-evah symbolizes, let him believe in Me and come to Me.
He was saying:
Do you really want the living waters of Holy Spirit?
Do any of you understand the true significance of the ceremony?
I am the Messiah Who will pour out My Holy Spirit on Israel.
2Peter 1:10 – 14
Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by [f]doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin]; 11for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you.
12Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and are established in the truth which is [g]held firmly in your grasp. 13I think it right, as long as I am in this earthly tent, to inspire you by reminding you, 14knowing that the laying aside of this earthly tent of mine is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
Time is short and soon we will all be laying aside these earthly tabernacles- dwellings. Knowing the truth is not enough, we have to remember it and use it while we still can.
The feast of ingathering/sukkot/booths/tabernacles will soon come to an and this Sukkah/body in which we now live will not stand forever. So while we live in our earthly dwellings let us diligently secure our calling and selection but also be acting on the things we know, this is the truth that will bring in a harvest.
Let us stop looking anywhere else for salvation that in Messiah, is already ours; let’s rejoice in the fact that whether we are in times of abundance or drought, those who believe in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus will never thirst again.
Click links below for previous posts covering so many more aspects of this wonderful celebration.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT 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.
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