If challenged, would we listen to scriptural truth or, would we defend our Christian culture and keep our traditions regardless? Messiah pointed out the same issue to the religious leaders of His day. The Pharisees and Scribes declared that their old ways were good enough.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.
Mark 7:7 8
Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
Matthew 15:10
Messiah called the crowd to Him and said,
“Listen and understand.”
Matthew 15:9
Genuine faith is founded on the Scriptures; but Satan uses so many devices to twist the Word of God and introduce error.
If we are to know what they really do teach great care is needed as we study.
One of the great distractions for us is focusing too much on how we are feeling, and claiming our honesty while at the same time ignoring the simple truths of the Word of God because it doesn’t agree with how we are feeling. It is a sad truth that many folks have no solid foundation for their faith, as it is only rooted in feelings and emotions. Their experiences are carnal/feeling/emotional, based in external elements that cause excitement; but when that is gone, so is their faith.
Feelings are like chaff, however the word of God is the wheat. And “what,” says the prophet, “is the chaff to the wheat?”
Thus saith the LORD, “I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy lies in My Name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed’. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yes, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause My people to forget My Name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten My Name for Baal.
The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully/truthfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD…
Behold, I am against the prophets that use their tongues, and say, ‘He saith’. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I have not sent them, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.”
Jeremiah 23:25-32
The deceivers are here – the chaff to the wheat. Chaffis separated from wheat/grain during threshing.
This expression became a metaphor in the Bible to represent separating wickedness or false doctrines from the truth.Chaffis figuratively used to stand for worthless matters. Matthew 3:12
It is not hard to utter words of worship or assume the attitude of worship; but “whatisthechafftothewheat?”The Father’s eye is upon the worshipper’s heart. His ear listens to the language of the soul. Put off, spiritually, the shoes from off your feet. Gird up the loins of your minds.
There are those who love and follow their own tradition rather than the Word of God; and when they do, their worship and service is vain. Vain in both senses of the word… because it is both prideful and presumptuous; and because it is empty when they invent religions that have no substance.
Those who think they should replace God’s Word with their own traditions are in the grip of vanity and pride.
1Corinthians 1:18-31.
Isaiah 29:13. “…these people draw near to me with their mouths, and honour me with their lips, yet have removed their hearts far from me. Moreover, their worship toward me is the doctrines of men.”
Paying lip-service means: saying YES, with our mouth butsaying NO in our heart and by our actions. It’s honoring our Heavenly Father with our lips when our heart is far from Him.
The secret of true worship is that we “worship in spirit and in truth” John 4:24. Not only must the things we say and feel be true, but they must both come from and be the prime love of our spirits, our heart’s deepest desire. It’s a sad fact that many worship with ulterior motives, the desires of their hearts are far from our Heavenly Father. For example…
Matthew 6:2-7, 16-18
tells us that some seek their own glory and praise and some seek wealth and earthly prosperity.
They seem to be serving God, but they do so because they think God will make them rich on earth. This is not the life of true discipleship.Matthew 6:19-24
Some love and follow traditions they have invented, rather than the Scriptures.This is what Messiah Jesus was referring to quoting Isaiah, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”Matthew 15:7-9.
We worship in vain when our hearts are centered on things mentioned above, because our hearts are far from Him.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough ”” Luke 5:33–39.
“And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better” Luke 5:39.
This passage is sometimes taught out of context; however it takes a new meaning when reading it in the context of what Messiah was saying. We may have heard it said, that we need to become new wineskins to receive the new wine, but was this what Messiah Jesus was talking about? The situation at the time was that He was being confronted by some of the religious leaders who were demanding that His disciples/talmidim, should follow the traditions of the elders, and the times of fasting that were established by them.
The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men’” (Mark 7:1–7)
The religious leaders were adding new practices and new fasts, in an attempt to bring about revival, but Jesus/Yeshua objective was to bring revival by leading the people back to the teaching of the Scriptures and by showing them how to apply it to their lives in order to live righteously before the Father. Was He comparing the Scriptures to the old wine, and the new practices along with the traditions of the elders to the new wine?
“And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? “But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough ”” Luke 5:33–39.
Is it true to say then, that Yeshua/Jesus was not trying to get people to accept the new wine? He said, And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new the old wine is good enough. Is the new wine people’s traditions and religious practices that have no foundation in the Scriptures?
He came to fulfill the Scriptures – not to replace them. He was trying to get them to return to only what was in Scripture and by expounding on them through His teaching, He was showing them how to live by His Fathers Word and this new wine.. together BOTH are preserved.
“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” Ephesians 4:14, NLT
Are we also too comfortable with cultural doctrines and traditions and what we know and are used to, and reluctant to change?
It may be that we should never under-estimate the power of individuals saying, “but we’ve never done it that way,” and then observe them digging in their heels over a tradition, until the doors close in their assembly, church or school.
Would we be pharisaical in our objections to revealed truth of Gods Word as declared in Scripture?
Would we continue to repeat what we think scripture says rather than being certain what it actually does say? And isn’t that then an untruth – a lie?
How many of us could tell the so called Christmas/Nativity story in complete accuracy; or are we simply repeating what we have heard probably since childhood? Have our traditions, the traditions of men and doctrines of demons, made the Word of God of no effect literally changing the truth of God for a lie?
Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
That means if we misquote scripture and both believe and declare what we think is true… we are reprobate?
How many things do we choose to believe because someone told us, or we read it somewhere (here included), and just accept it without checking it out for ourselves to see if it indeed is the truth?
And this doesn’t mean google it! Google has seemingly replaced Fathers Spirit of Holiness as our Teacher. We are often so impatient we cant wait because we want instant gratification. Scripture says to study to show ourselves approved unto God. 2Tim.2:15. How many people truly study His Word? Is study such a undesirable concept that we recoil from it with some kind of allergic aversion? Yet we will spend time reading/listening/watching other material and much of it is from ungodly sources.
We are encouraged to search all the scriptures like the noted Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, who were commended for their actions. So many of the traditions of men have become doctrinal dogma, and it appears we will defend them with a vigorous aggression which is most un-Christ-like.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, charges the Pharisees, Scribes and leaders with false doctrines making Gods’ Word redundant in favor of their rules and regulations and by making laws that added to the perfect Law of God.
Paul told the people, I see perceive that you are very religious, superstitious and reverent to demons! So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus [Mars Hill meeting place], said: Men of Athens, I perceive in every way [on every hand and with every turn I make] that you are most religious or very reverent to demons. Acts 17:22.
There are so many obvious traditions of men that are prominent around the Christmas/New Year holiday time. Many have their roots in paganism, tales, fables and legends from cultures around the world.
Our tendency is to pick up on traditions because we like them and they are fun believing they are scriptural when there is absolutely no scriptural basis at all. We have a responsibility to search the scriptures for even our most cherished traditions and resist turning them into dogma if they are not in the Bible.
Some examples that may shock us are contained in the carols, hymns and songs about the nativity we all hear at this time of year!
No where in the scripture does it say that angels sing! They are either saying, shouting, speaking, talking but never singing! We have absorbed the idea of angels singing from all those Christmas hymns, songs and the scenes of nativity plays!
Hark the herald angels sing?
O come all ye faithful, etc. etc.
In Luke 2:13
It says Maleak amar = angels saying
mem lamed alef kap alef mem resh
Aramaic Bible in Plain English And suddenly, the great armies of Heaven appeared with the Angel, whileshouting praisesto God, and they were saying:
King James Bible And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hostpraising God, and saying,
In the Greek saying is: λεγόντων(legontōn) Verb – Present Participle Active – Genitive Masculine Plural Strong’s 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.
Legonton means:
to speak, say, tell, or command.
And if we accept and believe Luke was written in Aramaic, the word used here is: ‘Amar, which is also speaking or saying. It does not use the word Zamar or Shir which is singing or a cry giving praise,like: Holy, Holy, Holy.
Angels are created supernatural beings so it maybe fair to say they are not physically the same as us. It is curious that commentators don’t point out that angels never sing; but that’s probably because it’s so entwined in our Christian cultural beliefs, that they are reluctant to challenge the popular traditions.
Whatever we choose to believe will not change the truth!
In heaven they cry Holy but they do not sing.
Those around the throne sing, but they are not angels they are the different than the messenger angels like Michael, Gabriel and the Heavenly Host.
Revelation 14:3 The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of the whole human race they are the only ones who have been redeemed.
They sang AS IT WERE a new SONG before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
King James Bible – Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
This may throw some of us for a loop and hopefully compels the reader to study in order to seek truth!
There is much evidence that music is not always necessary to worship and praise our Heavenly Father. This is not condemning music in any way however historically it wasn’t really used by the ancient Hebrews; David introduced it, yet worship was entered into without music. The Psalms are the place we read of instruments and they were few and not the musical beats and rhythms we hear today. Some genres stir emotions and the result is no different to a worldly performance, whipping up a false feeling of Gods presence. We must be mindful of not bringing the worlds ways into our sanctuaries.
Historical facts show the early church would not even allow music until well into the 18th century and even then it was only singing the Psalms for this very reason. The closest the church came to music would be to chant and we see that in the Gregorian singing mostly in Latin. Angels don’t sing Let that be a lesson to us all, that many of our beloved traditions are just that, traditions and there is no Scriptural basis.
Worship comes from the heart and not a musical sound or beat.
What we choose to believe does not change truth and we should remain teachable and humble enough to allow our beliefs to be challenged. Because truth is unchangeable and if it withstands the scrutiny of study; the revealed word will confirm what the scriptures really tell us and not what misinterpretation, mistranslation, tradition, doctrine or dogma has told us. Only the truth will make us free. Why would we choose to hold onto a lie, a deception and something that’s not even real – just to protect our traditions?
Isn’t this adding to the Word that Messiah warns us of in Revelation 22:18,19? For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Ready for some more?
Surely we have lost count of the times we have heard the story but do we ever really stop to think…
Take another look at the story we are so familiar with:
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the City of David which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David)
5 to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child.
6 And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and SAYING,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”
15 And it came to pass, when the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
18 And all those who heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Do we ever question the words in songs that are inconsistent with scriptures account? Maybe we can ascribe it to artistic license for the lyric writers; however over decades and centuries, these carols become gospel and not all of what we sing is truth. Do we want truth or tradition? Recalling Messiahs’ words to the religious leaders. So ask yourself these questions:
1 Why was the night watch so important that it was recorded in scripture?
2 When did the shepherds sleep if they stayed up all night watching their sheep?
3 Why did the angels appear to this specific group of shepherds?
4 Why to shepherds before anyone else?
5 Why was there a group of shepherds, didn’t they work alone?
Here are some facts from historical Jewish writings and Hebrew literature that helps to explain meanings and cultural content.
The Greek word for shepherd used in Luke 2:8 is:
Poimenes
which means:
to feed or to protect
It’s also a word for:
pasture,
as that is where the shepherd feeds his flock of sheep.
The Latin word for shepherd is pastor
as in pasture;
where we get the idea that: our pastor is our shepherd whose job it is to spiritually feed us. This is true as infants but we are all supposed to grow and learn to feed ourselves too.
Shepherds – RA’IA’
ר,עיא
Resh ayin yod alef
Luke 2:8 “And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.”
In Luke these shepherds were good shepherd because they were keeping watch over their flocks by night. Some also say ‘on a cold winters night’ but they would not have been outside if it was so cold? This is indeed something shepherds do but they do it in the spring when the new lambs are born…so this is probably not an accurate view and gives us a wrong seasonal image; we agree with it because December 25 was chosen and is traditional.
December 25th in 336, is the first recorded celebration of Christmas. and is is largely attributed to the first Christian historian, Sextus Julius Africanus, around 221 A.D.
In one view of why December25 was chosenas the official date for Christmas, historians believe the early church wanted to link the Son of God’s birth with the “rebirth of the sun,” which arrives after the winter equinox; which begs the question why some Christians started celebrating Jesus’ birth on Dec. 25. Ancient records indicate that a feast dedicated to Sol Invictus, a sun god, was held in the Roman…Most scholars would probably agree that this is unlikely to be earlier than AD 274, the year when [Emperor] Aurelian dedicated a new temple to Sol Invictus in Rome. The pagan festivities that revolved around December25 were so rooted in popular tradition that the Church of Rome thought to give that date a Christian religious meaning. For this, the Sun god was replaced by the true Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ, choosing this day as the date of His birth.
Shepherds were not poor as the song goes:
as to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay…
Often like David, the shepherd was a young teen age boy usually the youngest of the family charged with keeping watch over the families livestock. Having sheep was not a poor occupation as we may imagine. Sheep and lambs were symbols of wealth and used as barter. They were a valuable commodity, worth much in financial terms instead of hard cash coins. If there was no son, the family would hire an outsider that was trustworthy. Hence the parable of the son/shepherd and a hired hand, who may not be a faithful as a son would be.
Studying ancient times/cultures reveals that a shepherd was a well respected profession in those days and every mother dreamed that her son would become a shepherd. So the idea of God announcing His sons birth to poor lowly scum of the earth, is not accurate according to historical Hebrew/Israelite life.
Why reveal to shepherds and these particular ones; and why were they grouped together?
Documented writings in Hebrew literature reveal that the sheep which were to be used for the daily sacrifice in the Temple were to be fed in the Bethlehem pastures!
These shepherds had charge of the most important sheep of all the sacrificial lambs!
These sheep were not entrusted to only one shepherd but to a team/group of shepherds; and most likely they were from the tribe of Levi.
The tribe from which the priests, the first born came.
They watched the sheep 24/7 and there were 4 distinct night shifts according the ancient clock called watches.
Evening watch
midnight watch
the cock crowing
and the morning watch.
The shepherds were not all laying on the ground fast asleep and only woke up when a great light shone on them. The Bible says clearly they were:
watching their sheep by night.
The Greek words here are:
phulassontes phuloakas
which literally means:
guarding in the guardhouses of the night.
The shepherds in Bethlehem who were guarding (not watching) these sacrificial lambs and did so 24/7 and slept in established guard houses when not working their shift/turn.
These pastures were specifically owned by the temple for the raising of the yearling ewe lambs. These were not nomadic ones who wandered all about looking for suitable grazing
A lamb raised for sacrifice had to be without blemish and without spot so they required extra special care and only the best of the best shepherds were chosen for this highly specialized task of guarding these little lambs.
In the Peshitta the Aramaic word for shepherd is Ra’a.
It comes from a Semitic root which expresses the idea of:
a deep passion.
These are the good shepherds who feel such passion for their sheep and their duty to guard these sheep that they would lay down their lives for these sheep: as we recall David did in defending his flock from lions and bears.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, as the Good Shepherd was a Ra’a! Yehoveh Ra ah the Lord our shepherd.
Puts a new light on the statement:John 10:11
I am the Good Shepherd …Who has such passion that I will give my life for my sheep.
And of coursePsalm. 23.
These angels appeared to the best of the best of those special Levite Priestly Shepherds.
Why were they so special?
Because they had the hardest most difficult watch which was the midnight to 3am watch.
There is an ancient belief for the Jewish people that their Messiah would come at 12midnight and if these shepherds were actually Levites they would have been anticipating the arrival of their Messiah at midnight.
Think about this…. for these special, faithful, dedicated – ra’a – shepherds, to up and leave their flock – the sacrificial lambs; and to abandon their responsibilities in the middle of the night. They had to have been convinced the angels were not only telling the truth, but that they were going to worship the true – ra’a – shepherd and sacrificial lamb; Who was probably delivered in the tower of the flock – the
Migdal Eder – מגדל עדר
Click link below for earlier post of the mysterious tower.
Did they realize that there was no longer any need for the sacrificial lambs because the true sacrificial lamb had arrived?
One final puzzle…
Tradition teaches that there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary and they had to settle for a stable, a cave, or a house where they put the new born Yeshua/Jesus in a feeding trough, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and this was to show His humble birth. Let’s look at what Scripture says:
Luke 2:7-8: “ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (8) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Micah 4: 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 16:3-4, “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.”
Only Luke references Messiah being wrapped in
swaddling clothes.
It was a custom that eventually stopped in 26th century.
In Aramaic the term is
azrura which really means:
a bandage
used in Ezekiel 16; the Hebrew word for
bandage is: Chatal.
The practice of swaddling is very old and is believed to have originated around 4500 years ago in the bronze age circa 2600 B.C. Archeologists have found little sculptures of babies wrapped this way. After an infant was born the umbilical cord was cut and tied.
As there was no midwife as referred to in the days of Egypt the Hebrew midwives. Either Mary of Joseph would have had to do this. They would then sprinkle the baby with a powder made from dried myrtle leaves. Then they would gently rub the baby’s skin with a very small amount of salt that had been ground into a kid of mortar like paste. It was believed this would make the child’s flesh firm. For young Jewish parents, it represented a testimony that the parents would raise the child to be truthful and faithful.
The swaddling clothes was a yard of cloth, 1 meter approx., which had a narrow band attached at one corner.
The mother would wrap the child in this swaddle with its arms close to its body and its legs stretched out. She would then wind the narrow band around the body from the shoulders to the ankles until it looked like an Egyptian mummy. This would have been meant to assist the babys body grow firm and strong. To the Jewish parent it carried symbolic meaning, as most of Israelite customs do. This was a sign to the parents that they would teach the child to become honest, straightforward, and free from crookedness.
Why did Lukesay it not once, but twice, again in verse 12, if every child is wrapped in swaddling clothes just how were the shepherds to know the difference?
Some say that Luke mentioned this because he was a physician and was concerned for details. Luke was not like a physician or Doctor of todays standards and this thinking comes from Col. 4:14 calling him, the beloved physician.
The Greek word is IATROS most lexicons say
physician, ἰατρὸς(iatros) Noun – Nominative Masculine Singular Strong’s 2395: A physician. From iaomai; a physician.
Although the practice of medicine existed in 1s century, it was far from the skills, education and training of today. The Aramaic word used in Col 4:14is Assai which is really a healer. An assia is not a surgeon nor a dispenser of medicine as was practiced among the romans and Greeks. An assia was more of a chiropractor who adjusted joints and dislocated bones and would have practiced a form of holistic healing. This knowledge was handed down through families with no formal medical training nor did they depend upon the practice for a living. Which supports the fact that there were so many multitudes sick and in need of healing. So he probably didn’t mention swaddling from a professional point of view.
Isn’t it more likely he mentioned it from the point of a spiritual value as he would have been familiar withEzekiel 16:4 where the prophet refers to this custom in his prophecy? In Ezekiel 16 the prophet refers to this custom and is speaking out against the people of Jerusalem who were unfaithful to God and His commandments; and he uses the symbolic reference of washing salting and swaddling. The failure to perform this tradition was symbolic of disloyalty and unfaithfulness to God. The term swaddling clothes was to the semitic mind expressing the idea of loyalty and faithfulness to God; so maybe Luke was wanting to make sure that this child which was born, was not only the Son of the Most High, but a Son who would be loyal and faithful to His Heavenly Father. So loyal and faithful that He would lay down His life being as One with His Father – loyal unto death.
For the answer to how the shepherds knew where to look and why swaddling was a clue for them click link below
Choosing to ignore facts and instead keep our cultural Christian westernized ideals, that do not reflect the origins of our Jewish Hebrew, Israelite Messiah, whose Aramaic roots were chosen by our Heavenly Father. Or are we falling into the same thing He pointed out to the religious leaders, meaning we are content with the way we are and what we believe to be truth?
Truth or tradition – it’s our choice.
Truth is freedom – tradition is bondage.
As this Gregorian new year of 2023 begins, let us not have any idols before the Lord, nor any of mens’ traditions leading us and filling our calendars; but let’s wholeheartedly follow Him the true Good Shepherd and the Word made flesh and the whole of Scripture.
The 31st of December 2022 in Hebrew is the
7th day of Tevet, the year 5783 …
and His return is closer now than when we first believed!
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.
and is sometimes put between the subject and adjective, since Hebrew doesn’t have the verb: to be in the present tense, by placing a personal pronoun after the subject it helps to give the thought of: state of being.
So, literally איתנו הוא אלוהים
would be:
God, He (is) with us.
The Hebrew translation of
God is near (to me)
אֱלֹהִים קָרוֹב אֵלַי
Elohim – אֱלֹהִים – God
Karov – קָרוֹב – (he) is close
Elay – אֵלַי – to me.
The prepositionעִם – eem means:
with or together with,
as in אני עם יוסף – I [am] with Joseph.
עִמָּ֫נוּאֵ֫ל – JESUS Is IMMANUEL
GOD WITH US
and it marked the fullness of time.
`Eemmanoo eyl
Mary/Maryām/מִרְיָם, Did You Know??
The questions we must ask ourselves are …
Is Immanuel also IN us?
Is the kingdom of God present withIN us?
Is God – the hope of glory – IN us?
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.
John 15:4-6. 4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.]
The abiding within…
This time of year can stress the calmest of individuals… The hustle and bustle and pressures of all things commercial designed to separate us from our hard earned money! There is little doubt that the disciples and emissaries of 2000+ years ago would NOT have had the same issues…it makes one wonder why we have allowed this month of the year to evolve into such a time consuming and expensive event; where the focus is not on the Lord but on gifts, food, drink and family festivities. For many it is a nightmare because of overspending leading to debt, travel leading to commuting horrors, and over-indulgence in every area giving ourselves excuses to behave way outside of our normal lifestyle.
Let’s answer the primary question…
Is Immanuel IN us not just WITH us?
Are we filled with His Spirit?
Or are we filled with the false Christmas spirit offered by the worlds’ holiday season…what are we focused on?
God is in us in Hebrew is:
בנו נמצא אלוהים
God is in me
In Hebrew, it is written as
איתי אלוהים
It means that our Heavenly Father is at work within all His creations and watches us every moment of every day.
Psalm 121:4 indeed, he who watchesoverIsrael will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord watchesover you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
He will never leave us alone whenever we face certain problems or we are put in difficult circumstances that we are unable to overcome.
The promise: I will never leave you nor forsake you; was first given to Israel and Joshua before entering the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 31:6.
Instead, He will lift us up with His righteous right hand, and will fill us with His wisdom and love, enabling us to go through the storms and climb over the mountains in our lives!
Never will I leaveyou; never will I forsakeyou. Hebrews 13:5 is the same promise in the Brit Chadashah/New Testament.
Our Heavenly Father, in the present time in the form of His Spirit of Holiness, is WITH US, in a very personal and intimate way.
The God of all creation lives within us, if we have invited Him in to stay.
He comforts us through challenging times.
He teaches us through His Word,
and leads us in His Way by equipping us to serve Him.
The fullness of time was marked at Messiahs’ birth and we are in the days of the wrapping up of the ages. Don’t let’s allow the wrapping up of gifts overwhelm us and cause us to push aside the presence of the most precious present ever given to the world and to each one of us.. Emmanuel…. He came, and although He left for a season; He will return in the completed fullness of time. Meanwhile He sent Himself as comforter, helper, counsellor; and in His spirit form He will never leave us nor forsake us.
He comforts the lonely and He heals the broken hearted.
He is the Peace that can fill and calm our chaotic lives and remove all fear, anxiety and depression.
There is not one reference to December 25th in the scriptures, so really it is just a date on the calendar when so many try to remember their Christianity.. maybe go to church and sing a nostalgic carol or two.. but that is not what our Heavenly Father has told us to do nor did Jesus. Rather it’s what we (people), have decided to do… We should rather celebrate Him every day, in every aspect of our lives. Continually grateful for our salvation because He gave His life for us. His death gave us life…eternal life and the opportunity to live the spiritually abundant life here on earth; being filled with fullness of God by His indwelling spirit, and sharing the good news that He did indeed come.
He is Emmanuel – God with us – and He desires to be
God IN US too,
so He can work His works through us, to a dying world lost in sin.
When sin abounds how much more does grace abound.
Romans 5:20
Where sin exists in abundance and is multiplying and constantly expanding… describes the growing nature of unrestrained sin today.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt. 5:16
The darkness is rapidly increasing and we are to
shine all the brighter
and allow His glory to be seen in and through us; because
the night cometh when no man can work; John 9:4
Meaning the night of death, and of the grave, also suggesting His own death and that He had but a little time to be in this world and needed to do the works of His Father.
So it is for each individual follower of Messiah,
As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
There’s a storm coming! A spiritual storm and we need to be spiritually prepared!
We need to be certain that we are filled with His Spirit that Immanuel is both with us and IN us.
Salvation is Nearer Now than When We First Believed. ‘And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber. Romans 13:11
This is a time of spiritual reawakening, as we return to what we should be doing.
If you are already awake then wake up someone else!
It’s closer now than when we first believed and it’s time to
be ready and not be caught unprepared…
Don’t be distracted by things which have no heavenly value and are of no eternal benefit.
Be about our Fathers business and stay alert
being prayerfully on watch
for you know not the hour your master comes.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Matt.24:42 & 25:13
Phil. 4:7 And let the peace that passes understanding fill your hearts and minds this season because He is our Sar Shalom. This is a season of opportunity to remind all those around us why we have this date on our calendars and exactly what it means to us.
In previous years, the story we are so familiar with has been the focus of the posts. Below is a list of some whose content looks at details we may have missed.
If you haven’t read earlier posts.. below are some links for this season
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.
For the answer to this question we will look at several scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments:
Judges 7:13 HEB: ק) לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙ בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה NAS: a loaf of barley bread KJV: and, lo, a cake of barley bread
לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙
barley
שְׂעֹרִים֙
Strongs # 8184
seorah: barley
Original Word: שְׂעֹרָה Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: seorah Phonetic Spelling: seh-o-raw’ Definition: barley
לֶ֤חֶם
Strongs # 3899
lechem: bread, food
Original Word: לֶחֶם Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: lechem Phonetic Spelling: lekh’-em Definition: bread, food bread (188), food (87), fruit (1), loaves (3), meal (7), meal* (1), meals (2), prey (1), provision (1), showbread* (4), something (1).
Greek:
Strongs #740 artos: bread, a loaf
Original Word: ἄρτος, ου, ὁ Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: artos Phonetic Spelling: ar’-tos Definition: bread, a loaf Usage:bread, a loaf, food.
740 ártos – properly, bread; (figuratively) divine provision; all the sustenance God supplies to yielded believers scene-by-scene to live in His preferred-will (2307/thélēma).
bread, loaf.
From airo; bread (as raised) or a loaf — (shew-) bread, loaf.
(The shew bread that was in the tabernacle)
The common bread was made of
barley –seorah
שְׂעֹרִים֙ –
and was eaten by the very poor and unfortunate folks
and by everyone in times of famine.
The sons of the prophets in the days of Elijah & Elisha ate
barley bread.
42 HEB: עֶשְׂרִֽים ־ לֶ֣חֶם שְׂעֹרִ֔ים וְכַרְמֶ֖ל בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ NAS: loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain
… tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barleyfor a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” Elisha replied, “Listen to this …
… and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.” and she added, “He gave me these six scoops
... Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of … Prepare and eat this food as you would barleycakes. While all the people are watching,
There was famine in the land in the days of Second Kings.
We are told In verse six that they brought Elijah bread and flesh each morning and evening; meanwhile, he drank of the brook. Birds were used by God to provide food and water!
Later, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath.
He commanded a woman there to sustain him. Interesting to note that she only had
a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse
for her and her son,
and was gathering sticks for the fire.
Elijah, the man of God, instructs her to not only make a cake, but to make it for him FIRST.
The cakes the widow of Zarephath made for Elijah with a handful of meal, (l Kings 17:13), were baked on hot stones and covered with hot embers.
Thin wafers of dough spread with oil (Exodus 29:2), sometimes strewn with seeds, were baked in an earthenware oven.
Sometimes cakes would be baked with honey,
Ezekiel 16:13, 19
and these tasted so good that the manna of the desert was compared to them. Exodus 16:31; Numbers 11:8.
The dough was kneaded in a stone mortar or it would be rolled.
It was not uncommon for the people to complain that their oppressors had left them nothing but barley bread to eat. The Bedouins often called their enemies “eaters of barley bread.”
The diet of the East has always been plain, light and simple. The contrast between their diet and that of the west is the very small amount of animal food they consume and the variety of things used with bread; but the most important thing to note is the huge consumption of bread. This reference would immediately mean something with those listening and no doubt this is one reason Jesus/Yeshua used bread in many of His parables and miracles. He also included it in His instruction concerning prayer, when His disciples asked how to pray; He said,
give us this day our daily bread.
Preparations of their bread were simple yet varied; sometimes after being carefully picked, the fresh grains were roasted in a pan over a fire, and eaten as “parched corn” This was and still is part of an ordinary diet.
In Syria women make bread by first, making a fire of dried dung and vine branches which have withered, they are then laid on the hearth; the bread is spread out with the hands like a pancake, and baked over the hearth. Each flat cake was very thin, and could then be rolled up and placed in the mouth.
Many times unleavened wafers were made, smeared with olive oil, they were then baked in a plate or pan. Genesis 18:6 tells us that Sarah made upon the hearth for the three angels, and it is very likely the cakes she made were of this type.
Genesis 18:6 KJV
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
Sometimes the grain was bruised and then dried in the sun; it was eaten, either mixed with oil, or made into soft cakes. This was the dough of the Old Testament scriptures. The common people who were poor by western standards did not, and still don’t, have much other food than durra bread, this durra bread, is made of a sort of coarse millet, it is kneaded with camel’s milk, oil, butter, or grease.
The best bread was always made of wheat, it was ground and sifted and formed the fine flour, such as was used in the sacred offering.
Leviticus 2:4 (KJV) » And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
The ground but un-sifted wheat would answer to the “flour” and “meal” of Judges 6:19.
Judges 6:19 KJV
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
Gideon prepares food (a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour) for the angel. Judges 6:19-20
Another reference to barley cakes and Gideon is in Judges 7:13-15
“Gid‘on got there just as a man was telling a comrade about a dream he had had: ‘I just now dreamt that a loaf of barley bread fell into the camp of Midyan, came to the tent and struck it so hard that it overturned the tent and knocked it flat.‘ His comrade answered, ‘This can only be the sword of Gid‘on son of Yo’ash, a man of Isra’el. God has given Midyan and all its army into his hands.’ When Gid‘on heard the dream and its interpretation, he fell on his knees in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, ‘Get up! because Adonai has handed Midyan’s army over to you.’”
Why would a Midianite soldier see
a barley cake as symbolizing Israel?
In those days, bread made out of barley was considered the food of the poor people which is what Israel was during their time of oppression.
It was also the season when the nomad tribes came to attack Israel.
In Judges 6:11, it is recorded that Gideon was given his divine assignment by the Angel of the Lord, when he was threshing wheat in a wine press.
The invaders came during the wheat harvest and not the barley harvest. In general, wheat tends to ripen slightly before barley. Most translations in English Bibles read as a
loaf of barley
that tumbled into the camp.
Maybe this is not the best translation, because the original word being used here in Hebrew is:
tselilor צְלוּל.
Strongs 6742
Literally it means a: round loaf.
The word tselil not referring to a typical squared shaped loaf of bread which is the image most people have.
The barley cake most likely looked similar to those in the picture below:
It was a flat bread that was cooked on a griddle and was round like a thick pancake or Middle Eastern pita bread.
This was the main food of the Bedouins in the ancient Middle East.
There is also an interesting play on words, that can only be seen in the original Hebrew.
It seems the wordtselil
was meant to be paired with the Hebrew word
haphakor הָפַךְ.
Strongs 2015 happek or hapkehu as indicated below.
According to Strong’s concordance,
haphak
means: to turn or overturn.
The word tumbled is also a correct translation.
The image being suggested here is of:
a round barley cake tumbling into the enemy tent.
After Gideon overheard what the soldier had dreamt, he was greatly strengthened and he fell to his knees in worship to the Lord.
Gideon was now ready to place all his faith and trust in God’s promises to him and to Israel.
Shouldn’t this be our response too when our Heavenly Father sends us an encouraging message? Just as the widow in 1Kings our Fathers promises can always be relied on.
What possible significance can of
a lump of barley bread
have?
Obviously by itself, nothing, however for Gideon and the armies of Israel, it won the victory!
Gideon was an unassuming, humble and unpretentious man. Exactly the kind of individual our Father looks for, through whom He can perform great exploits. However like all humans, Gideon did have some issues.
He had doubts concerning God’s power and ability to work in his life. We know this, because Gideon was a sign-seeker and asked God to give him signs, not once, but three times… to prove to him that He, God, was really going to use him to destroy Israels’ enemies.
And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Finally Gideon didn’t ask for another dream…
because he knew what the
barley bread meant.
Barley bread – A weak and contemptible thing, and in itself as unable to overthrow a tent as to remove a mountain; but, being thrown by a divine hand, it bore down all before it. ~ Benson
That barley bread,
the bread of the poor,
the least of all breads,
was Gideon.
He said,
My family is poor in Manasseh, and
I am the least in my father’s house.
This is very encouraging to all of us, that our Heavenly Father would choose to use someone of such low standing.
Little is much
when the Creator of the universe is involved in it!
Truly God will exalt the humble…
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10
and He hasn’t changed.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (1 Corinthians 1:26-28)
We are not to serve simply because we see with physical eyes but, with the eyes of our heart, the eye of faith.
a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.
Matt. 16:4.
We have our sign, Messiah Jesus was resurrected and He lives…we need no other sign to trust in and have faith in than our Heavenly Father and His Messiah!
In those days there were no kitchens. Food was cooked in the open in front of the tent, in the closed courtyards of houses in the cities or in the communal living room. In villages the bread is either baked on cakes of dried dung, or by means of clay ovens, built on the floor of the house.
Except for the very poor, each household had an oven, and one oven often served for several families.
It was heated with dried twigs and grass and thorns.
The bread to be baked was placed both inside and out.
A team from the Tell Halif archaeological excavation made their own tannur,
a traditional oven referenced in the Hebrew Bible, and baked bread in it.
An Iraqi woman baking with a tannur.
J. Gordon [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
The bread dough in the picture below, was made from stone ground wheat, barley, oat, and rye flours, mixed with whey, honey, and nuts.
The dough would then be flattened and cooked on a flat pan over the coals of an open fire (below).
The bread would have been eaten warm, since such loaves turn rock hard when cooled.
Pancakes made of a sour dough and filled with a tasty mixture were fried in oil (2 Samuel 13:8)or baked on hot stones pulled out of the embers of a fire. (1 Kings 19:6).
Many baking pans have been found on which the dough of bread and cakes was laid and cooked.
Providing bread for Israel in the wilderness—is reminiscent of God’s supernatural feeding of the Israelites with manna in the wilderness in the days of Moses. Jewish tradition had come to expect the Messiah to repeat this miracle of provision. Messiah/Jesus was revealing Himself as the spiritual redeemer of Israel to all who would accept Him.
The people were as “lost” as their ancestors who wandered in the desert during the Exodus, when God provided manna to feed them.
Messiah/Jesus was superior to Moses because He not only provided physical food but also spiritual food, as the bread of life.
When Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, miraculously fed 5000, it is the only one recorded in all 4 Gospels.
He fed the hungry multitude with five barley loaves which belonged to a small boy.
For 5,000 Matthew 14:13-21;
Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1- 15.
Some scholars believe that the crowd could have been between 15,000 and 20,000 people to include all the women and children.
Matthew 15:32-39 features the feeding of the 4,000
& Mark 8:1-10 the 4,000.
John 6:8–13) One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
Everyone, men, women and children ate as much as they wanted! Jesus/Yeshua miraculously multiplied the loaves and fishes so there was more than enough.
Then He told His disciples/talmidim to gather the leftovers so nothing was wasted.
The disciples collected enough broken pieces to fill 12 baskets; which some believe may symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel. This event tells us that our Heavenly Father is not only an extremely generous provider, but that His resources are limitless.
Possibly over 20,000 on 2 separate occasions ate their fill.
There were baskets of food left over that no one could eat.
Do you still not understand?
Do you not remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and now many basketfuls you gathered or the 7 loaves for the 4,000 and now many basketfuls you gathered?
There were 12 basketfuls of broken pieces from the 5000 and in
Mark 8:20 And when I broke the seven loaves for the fourthousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did … pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” also in John 6:12
There was abundance but nothing was wasted!
This was because according to halakhah, traditional Jewish law, (shabbat 50b), the destruction of food was prohibited, in feeding the multitudes, Messiah honors the edicts of Judaism by stating,
Gather the leftover pieces, so that nothing gets wasted.
This is a timely reminder for us as shortages are on the rise, along with prices, that we are to good stewards of the resources and daily provision that we receive; and to be mindful of the true source of every provision in our lives.
In all these biblical accounts, the individuals were
eaters of barley bread
for one reason or another. They all had needs that only our Heavenly Fathers intervention could supply. When they yielded in humble obedience to Jehoveh Jireh, they A:LL received miracles. Provision in abundance yet with no waste!
If we remain humble and obedient, we too can be counted among
the eaters of barley bread
and be included with Gods’ mighty men and women!
In Matt. 4:4. He reminds us that
we cannot live on bread alone.. and later tells us:
I am the bread of life.
If we eat of Him we will not perish but have everlasting life…
see alsoMatt. 14 :17,19and15:34,36.
We are so very blessed when we simply go to the nearest store and buy a loaf, of which ever bread we desire. We don’t have to plough the ground, plant the seed, grow the wheat, harvest it or process it by grinding the grains. Nor do we have to prepare the flour or cook the dough – we just eat the bread of our choice….
May we not ever take for granted what our Heavenly Father supplies as we continue to thank Him for our daily bread…let’s remember the eaters of barley bread and learn to put our faith and trust in the only One Who is the Bread of Life everlasting. The Bread Who came down from Heaven for each and every one of us.
Eat of Him today and live forever in His presence. Meanwhile we are still on earth where He promises to supply all our needs…not desires so it’s possible that what we don’t have right now we don’t need today!
and when youNEED that Miracle,
be like a
Barley Bread Eater –
simply receive it by faith!
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.
is a common term/idiom that is used when people cannot make a decision one way or the other.
It’s a life choice that we must make when considering who we follow and serve and which kingdom we are a part of;
either the kingdom of darkness
or
the kingdom of light.
We cannot be in both and there is no grey,
it’s black OR white.
Making no choice is a choice in itself!
The question is, in which kingdom are we dwelling?
Many people are familiar with the sirens that sound a warning of an imminent tornado, or other life threatening situation… when we hear that sound there is no time to prepare ..it’s too late to get ready for whatever is about to happen. This is in a natural sense and everyone should have a plan for things that take us by surprise. If this is true in the natural, then how much more important is it to have an eternal plan already in place? In the natural, people can pick up the pieces and start over and make provision for being ready next time… With the things that pertain to life and godliness, there is no reset button once our days are complete according to His book.
Ps 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
Then we are called home and we need to know for sure which direction we are headed in for eternity.
We must make that decision that choice now, today is the day of salvation.
The stark truth is there is
NO fence
to sit on.
There is one Kingdom of Heaven where our Heavenly Father and His Messiah is, and another of darkness where He is NOT.
The alarm is sounding loud and clear to get ready
choose this day and choose life,
eternal life. Deut. 30:19
There is only
THE GATE … John 10:1-9
Then we are to live with the kingdom within us, awaiting the fullness of it when we move to His realm; then the physical body will no longer support us or if we are still here at His return.
Only the Father knows when that will be and only He knows when our race is complete…if we are still here then our race is not yet finished….
We are to encourage all those around us
to be ready,
be prepared,
to…
Wake up o sleeper!
Ephesians 5:14
This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’
Often in the Scriptures believers are exhorted to awake. They are warned of the dangers of spiritual sleep, that such a slumber is like a coma that will result in death unless the believer awakens.
Right now each and every one of us is living/dwelling in a kingdom…. but which one?
There is NO fence…
so in which kingdom are we dwelling?
He who dwells… the first 3 words of Psalm 91:1
The world is in crisis mode and Psalm 91 is one place we can go for help.
Many conversations over the years have revealed that people feel out of place; like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.
Our feelings, responses, beliefs, personality, core values never seem to find a perfect solution, and this feeling grows more than ever in our world today.
The words to many songs describe our position that we are just passin’ through, because this world is without doubt NOT our home. It’s true to say that if you feel comfortable in this world then you are probably dwelling in the wrong kingdom. This world and its systems belong to and have been formed by the prince of this world; the prince of the kingdom of darkness. Scripture says if we love the world the love of the Heavenly Father is not in us. And we cannot have two masters we love one and hate the other. So which one do we really love? Which one are we attached to? The fruit of our lives will reveal truth …
Our lives are a reflection of and summed up by our choices. We are indeed the sum of our choices. What we choose day by day reveals who we truly are. It doesn’t matter what we say who we are is in our choices. The place we cannot depart from is the place of our bondage and we defend the things that have been established in the flesh.
Everyone seems to spend their lives looking for somewhere to call home…
Psalm 91 is likely the home address for all believers and until we experience this psalm, we will forever searching.
We are no doubt familiar with Strong’s definitions, however here are some meanings from the Hebrew Alephbet.
As Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us,His Word is life to all who find it.
In the very first verse of Ps. 91 is a reference to the individual:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High.
Dwells is not a word we hear everyday.
It may be used to encourage someone to stop focusing and thinking about a situation, however there is another angle revealed in the Hebrew meaning.
InStrong’s #3427, dwells is a primitive root:
yashab
Phonetic Spelling: yaw-shab’
defined as: to dwell, to sit down, to remain, to settle, to marry, make to keep [house], and to return.
Dwell, is indicated as a permanent address by most of the words used to describe it; and not like a hotel, B&B, motel or a travel trailer used on holidays and vacations.
To dwell means: to set up a permanent household, settling down where a house/home can be established, to marry and set up housekeeping.
We may not have realized that all the promises of this Psalm hang on this first phrase…why? Because dwelling is an absolute condition if we want to experience the benefits that are listed in the rest of the Psalm.
We should ask ourselves what does dwell mean to us personally? Then we should find out what does it mean to our Heavenly Father?
We can do this by looking at the Hebrew letters
in the word dwell (remember to read from right to left.)
Bet Shin Yod – yashab
Recall from previous posts that each Hebrew letter has a name, a picture, a number value, and a meaning.
We know that humans discoveries and knowledge called Science, only serves to confirm what believers already know as Truth and scientists have discovered that each letter also has a specific sound frequency when spoken out loud and is the only language known with all of these qualities.
YOD – 10 = The outcome, the completion of something.
Picture:Hand, Right Arm,
Means:Power – Right hand of God’s power, a Deed Done, to Work, to Cover, Allow, Hollow, Open Hand, also refers to His Holy Spirit as the letter always hangs in the air, overseeing.
SHIN – 300 = Victory of good over evil, Holy Spirit.
Picture: Teeth or Fire.
Means:Teeth, Fire, the Fiery zeal of God to consume all His enemies, Devour, Destroy, Something Sharp.
BET 2 = Divide or Division.
Picture: House/floorplan of tent.
Means:House/Family; God’s word, God’s dwelling place
A deeper meaning behind the worddwell is:
He who Dwells is:
Bet…
one who has made the choice to live permanently in God’s house – trusting in God and honoring His Word.
Yod…
There he will experience the activation of God’s right hand of power covering him.
Shin…
And God in His fiery zeal will consume all that tries to keep or draw him away from Dwelling.
When we choose to trust and obey Him, we live secure in His Presence.
We are His dwelling place and He is ours.
According to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple/sanctuary of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Colossians 2:9-10 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
He is our house—our hiding place
In the Amplified Bible 2 Corinthians 12:9 reads: But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
He will pitch a tent over us and DWELL
covering us with Himself!
In our drive through microwave Instagram, hashtag life, dwelling is not something we do very well we have become impatient, wanting everything immediately.
We need to take time with our Heavenly Father today and ask Him to show us how we can dwell more fully in His presence because it’s not just a Sunday/Wednesday attend meeting experience, it is a lifelong process.
Those who have ever remodeled a house know it takes time and longer than a weekend to complete, How much more is it so for Him to dwell in us and for us to dwell in Him; it is a total surrender and commitment of all that we are.
Where do we dwell?
The text says: He who dwells in the Secret Place…
What did he mean by: the Secret Place?
A Secret Place is a …hidden, concealed, private, safe.
SECRET PLACE inStrong’s #5643
סֵ֣תֶר
Cether
Phonetic Spelling:say’-ther
is defined as:
a cover
secrecy
hiding place
protection
and the primitive root #5641 is defined as:
to hide (by covering)
keep close
conceal
to guard
Again reading from right to left, these are the letters that spell Secret in Hebrew:
RESH, TAV, and SAMEKH
SAMEKH 60 = Pride, Conceit, Earthly.
Picture: A Tree propped up by a piece of wood.
Meaning:To Lean Upon, a Prop or Aid, Hold, Assist or Support – the heart of God.
TAV 400 = the Outcome of Trial and Testing.
Picture:A Rough Cross.
Meaning:Cross, Covenant, Seal, Mark, a Sign, Ownership, Finished or Complete.
RESH 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
Picture: Head
Meaning: Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience.
When we allow human reasoning, sometimes referred to as common sense, to be our head or master, Spiritual poverty inevitably follows.
The Hebrew Sages see the circular form of the samekh as: the heart of God, which upholds and supports us, in the same way as a circle has no beginning or end, neither does our Heavenly Father. His love is from everlasting to everlasting, we can lean on His faithful love and support and as we do, we will be surrounded, supported, and kept in perfect peace/shalom in the heart of God.
Isaiah 26:3 says,
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
The meaning of this word through Hebrew eyes when putting this understanding together with the other letters is:
The Secret Place is: living in the midst of our Heavenly Father’s heart, trusting fully in His Word that covers us with His covenant promises of protection, because He loves us and He is head over all.
In Psalm 32:7 David wrote:
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
And in Psalm 31:19-20
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the Secret Place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
The words
hiding place and the secret place
come from the same root word.
To dwell in the Secret Place is:
to live in the midst of our Heavenly Father’s heart /Samekh, trusting fully in His Covenant /Tav Word
and trusting that He is Head/ Resh over all.
His covenant covers us with promises of protection, because He loves us.
David wrote:
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:4-5
Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
You shall hide them in the Secret Place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep themsecretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:19-20
Our Heavenly Father will keep us in the
secret place,
away from the strife of tongues.
These days everywhere we turn there is a contention/strife stirred up by things that are spoken surely we need a secret place right now?
The secret place
is a place of quiet, inside our souls, a place to rest in Him completely.
A secret place
is not just a stopping place or a place to run to in times of chaos and danger,
but a place to live, to abide, to dwell.
The secret place is IN Him, where we are to live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
Outside of this place is chaos, confusion, fear and dread. which is the opposite of shalom/peace.
The secret place is the place to be, whether we are running from the enemy or not; and we can live there ALL of the time It’s a personal choice to remain in Him.
By putting the two phrases together we see that: He who Dwells – is one who has made the choice to live permanently in our Heavenly Father’s house; trusting in Him and honoring His Word. There the individual will experience the reality of our Heavenly Father’s right hand of power covering them; and in His fiery zeal He will consume all that tries to keep or draw the individual away from dwelling.
So once more to recap.:
To dwell in the secret place is to
live in the midst of God’s heart, trusting fully in His Covenant Word and trusting that He is Head over all.
His covenant covers us with promises of protection because He loves us.
If we haven’t found the secret place yet, we must spend time asking His Holy Spirit to help us and by reading this psalm and other psalms, we can feed on the attributes of our Heavenly Father. The more we know Him, the more we will dwell in the secret place.
There are countless messages and many teachings on the power of our words and how what we sow in words, we reap physically, emotionally and spiritually.
It is critical to remember that what we say about our Heavenly Father is of utmost importance.
His word tells us that out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths speak, so, what we believe about our Heavenly Father is heard when we speak and it sets a course for our faith.
In Psalm 91:2David writes: I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust. What David believed, out of the abundance of his heart, he said.
Proverbs 18:21says that, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. David was living in the secret place and wanted others to enter in and enjoy the benefits.
He is declaring what he discovered about the Lord when he says, I will SAY of the Lord…
The wordSAYin this verse is one of those familiar words:
I will say
is Strong’s #559.
omar
אֹמַ֗ר
Phonetic Spelling:aw-mar’
And it means:
to utter, to say, answer, consider, declare, publish, report, think.
What we say is what we get because there is power in our words, they are containers of life or death. Just as pebbles drop into water releasing ripples, our words release blessings or curses, freedom or bondage.
Why is it so important about saying or confessing something, isn’t it possible to just believe it inside without saying anything?
The Hebrew text points out that, in addition to vocalizing, the word say,refers to internal speech. 2 Samuel 13:32; Esther 6:6. and it also refers to what is being conveyed by a person’s actions along with their words.
Exodus 2:14; 2 Chronicles 28:13.
The Hebrew letters for the word
say are:
אֹמַ֗ר
aleph/alef mem resh.
אֹ
ALEPH/ALEF 1 = God – Echad –
Unity, Unique – no other like it.
Picture: Ox head
Meaning: Strength or Leader, Most Important, First – The Strength and Power of the leader.
מַ֗
MEM 40 = Trial, Testing, Tribulation.
Picture: Water
Meaning: Womb, Water from the womb, Cleansing water, flowing water that brings life, Mighty, Massive Chaos, Humility, taking the low place, hidden relationship with God, Cleansing water, flowing water that brings life.
Resh 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
Picture: Head
Meaning: Head, Chief, Beginning, Highest, Most Important, a Person, Human Reasoning vs. Obedience. When we allow human reasoning/common sense, to be our master, our head, poverty of the Spirit results.
What we SAY, releases Aleph – God’s strength and power. In humility we are declaring our Mem- hidden relationship with Him. It transforms the circumstances of our testing, based on what we declare. What we say, reveals who, or what we believe to be the most important and worthy of our obedience – Resh.
In the secret place David discovered that Our Heavenly Father is Who He says He is, and by declaring Who He is, David consistently put himself in a position of trust. He kept his focus on the Lord God and he was not shaken by the circumstances around him, but instead he was rested, protected by Him, being free of stress and worry.
I will say of the LORD…
Our Heavenly Father wants to establish us in the secret place of His presence. He wants us to settle down and confidently trust in Him. Our focus and the choice of our words, what wesay, can enable or disable our ability to dwell.
When we are praying with other people and the prayers are focused on needs and people are crying out to our Heavenly Father for help, let’s ask Him to reveal Who He is in the midst of this circumstance; and begin saying/declaring those things in spoken prayer.
We could say for example:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are our help and that nothing is impossible with You. Thank You that Your name is above every name and You are Lord/Adonai over everything and every circumstance. You are our provider and all that we need is found in You. Thank You that when we ask according to Your will, You hear us and answer us. Father, intervene in this situation by bring about Your will and plan and purpose. You triumphed over the enemy at the calvary and You are exalted above all principalities and powers. Come now and show Yourself strong on our behalf because we place our trust in You in the wonderful Name of our Messiah Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMashiach.
These words redirect the focus of the prayer meeting from the problems to being centered on our Heavenly Father. Answers of salvation and deliverance will be released, not only for the specific situation being lifted up in prayer, but also for those seeking help, as It will build our faith and trust in Who He is.
Who do weSaythe LORD God is? What is the declaration coming from the abundance of our hearts? Is He truly on the throne of our lives and hearts? Is He known to us as our Heavenly Father, or is He still some far off untouchable, unreachable religious deity?
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide…”
Psalm 91:1
Abide is not really a common word we use today unless we are studying the Bible.
In John 15:4
Jesus/Yeshua gave a clear message:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
The word abide here seems to indicate an invitation to stay. In Psalm 91:
ABIDE is
Strong’s #3885 and it is a primitive root.
In Hebrew,ABIDE is:
לוּן
luwn –
pronounced: loon;
or liyn –
pronounced: leen/luwn Phonetic Spelling:(loon)
ABIDE is defined as:
to stop (usually over night), to stay permanently, lie all night, (cause to) lodge (all night, in, -ing, this night), remain, or tarry.
The individual letters reveal more…
ל
LAMED
Numerical value: 30
Number 30 = Blood of Messiah, Dedication to a task.
Picture:Staff,Goad or Stick,
Meaning:to Teach or Instruct, Authority, to Control, Urge Forward, a Tongue
וּ
VAV
Numerical value: 6
Number 6 = Man.
Picture:Nail or Hook,
Meaning:to Secure, Pin together, Connect -Yeshua
FINAL NUN
Numerical value: 700
Number 700 = Restoration, Holy Spirit, Jubilee.
Meaning: Life or Action
The meaning of
To ABIDE is:
to permanently stay under God’s instruction and Authority, moving forward as He direct and when we do, our Father connects us with heaven, and manifests His life in and through us on earth.
Recall that He who dwells, is:
one who moves in permanently – trusting in God and obeying Him.
When he does, he will experience the activation of the Father’s hand of power, His Holy Spirit, consuming with His fire all that destroys or tries to invade, or keep us from His house.
ToABIDEpromises even more,by promising that He will teach us how to overcome our enemies by His power, and to keep them from invading our lives.
Build faith by readingJohn 15:4-6 again:
Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me,
he is cast out as a branch and is withered;
and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
To abide, like the word dwell, means: we have to stay put in order to receive the full impact of the secret place.
Instead of going from conference to conference and from teaching to teaching in search of spiritual refreshment; we can settle down in the secret place, spend time with Him and allow Him to uncap the well of living water that will never dry up.
All that is needed is for us to make Him our priority and put time with Him first place in our day because to remain fruitful, we must abide, stay close to the source of that living water.
In John 15:7 Jesus promised that, if you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done for you.
He will answer in accordance with His will and His plan for us, because He knows what we need better than we do. During times of trial and the testing of our faith, the thing we most often need is to know is that He is with us, and that His perspective on our situation is the best for us. Instead of complaining and questioning why things are happening to us, we should ask how can we cooperate with You Father, for Your Will to be established in this situation?
The answer may come quickly, however it’s more likely to unfold as a step by step process as we continue to wait, are willing to listen, and obedient to apply His counsel and instructions.
In a world where the media can be overwhelming with reports of danger and cause fear, we can choose to listen and allow worry and panic to rule us, or we can go to the secret place of the Most High and learn to abide, trusting in His direction where we can dwell, abiding in peace/shalom. The choice is ours and Psalm 131:2 is another beautiful picture of this abiding: Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Our souls include our minds, our will and our emotions…and in Hebrew thought, our bodies are also included so in abiding/dwelling, we will find complete peace/shalom.
When we choose to move into and remain in the secret place of the Most High, we become acquainted with the One Who is the source of every breath we breathe.
It won’t take us long to find out that only IN HIM do we live and move and have our being. If we are outside of Him and have not completely surrendered to Him, we are simply functioning on our own power, which is not going to have a happy ending.
The alarm is sounding and we all need to move in now and while there is still time, get to know the One who loves us more than His very life. In Him we have the source of all power, because all that is good is Him living in us.
Seek the lord while He may be found
and make certain the kingdom
in which you are dwelling is His…
because
…there is NO fence
only THE GATE!
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.
Immanuel 
For the answer to this question we will look at several scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments:
SHIN – 300
BET 2
SAMEKH 60 = Pride, Conceit, Earthly.
TAV 400 = the Outcome of Trial and Testing. 
RESH 200 = Insufficiency, Poverty.
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