who were a group of 37 men who fought with King David?
To answer this question we must journey back to a confrontation recorded in:
1 Samuel 4:6 On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,
I Samuel 4:7: And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp and they said Woe unto us
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore.
JPS Tanakh 1917 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said: ‘God is come into the camp.’ And they said: ‘Woe unto us! for there was not such a thing yesterday and the day before.
What the Philistines knew but the Hebrew Israelites didn’t realize was that the Hebrews had with them
joined the ranks of the Israelites and the Philistines recognized when He did and they cried out in terror!
The Philistines were in fact saying that:
They were standing before the Third/Ultimate Warrior.
The use of the feminine pronoun, SHE, gives a picture of a mother fighting to protect her young.
This is a picture of an
ultimate warrior,
one who will fight to the death for someone or something,
and was the same in ancient times as it is today.
This is how the Philistines saw the Hebrew God; as a mother protectively wrapping her young in her arms and glaring at them and threatening that, if you touched her little ones you will have to deal with her, and the Philistines did not want to deal with “Her.”
This account is more than just the Philistines fear of the Israelites Hebrew God; it is about taking the physical ark they could see and touch in the natural to give them victory and not trusting in God and His spiritual power to intervene.
They were relying on
the power of an object,
instead of Who and Whom it represented.
Here it is interesting to note that it was the Philistines who recognized the difference; they said
GOD has come into the camp
not
the ark has come into our camp!!
The fact that the Philistines declared that God had come into the camp is profound because in verse 3, the children of Israel declared that “it”, referring to the ark, would save them.
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, {c} Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
(c) Before we fought against men, and now God has come to fight against us.
Israel was defeated before the Philistines.
Why?
Because sin, was in the camp, and it gave their enemies all the advantage they could desire.
The hand of God was there for them but, instead of submitting, they spoke in anger, as if they were not aware of any action they had done to provoke Him.
The foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord, Proverbs 19:3, and finds fault with him.
They supposed that they could compel God to appear and help them, by bringing the ark into the camp.
Those who have gone back into a life of religious doctrine and men’s traditions, sometimes end up loving and preferring all the outward observances, thinking these things will save them.
The Israelites thought that by bringing the Ark, God’s throne, into the camp, it would bring heavens help to them.
Whatever we place our trust in, whether it’s our Heavenly Father or the world and the flesh, this is what is really on the throne of the heart. This is what we have faith in.
The people of Israel said
the ark would save them
and the enemy, the Philistines, their godless, pagan enemies, said
“God” would save Israel!
There are occasions when the people of the world have greater clarity and can see things that we just don’t see.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward in
Luke 16:1–13 is referring to this.
Israel represented a strong and notable faith, one that was feared and respected by the Philistines, yet as events unfolded, it was shown that they may have represented a true faith, but in action, they had no faith at all.
They did not walk the walk, or talk the talk, and were defeated. Their failing was a lack of trust in the Lord which was caused by a lack of knowledge of Who He is, usually as a result of having no intimate relationship with the One they said they represented.
That last phrase: “Woe to us for there has not been such a thing heretofore” is a very strange statement. Most translations will render this phrase in a similar fashion, however, in Hebrew, it says literally:
“Woe to us for she has not come as this yesterday three days.” and it doesn’t seem to make sense.
Possibly what we are reading is a combination of the thoughts and feelings of all the Philistines? There is no single translation to this phrase.
The word yesterday is really an adverb which means before or heretofore.
The word thing is also very interesting.
As already noted, it’s the word
shaleshim
used in extra-Biblical literature for the
third warrior or the ultimate warrior.
The Philistines are saying that
they stand before the ultimate warrior.
The next time we are challenged or confronted by a spiritual Philistine, as they stand there laughing at us, they will see something behind us that we may not really be paying attention to, and they will run in terror because our Heavenly Father is right behind us; just like the mother bear, ready to rip that Philistine to shreds if they try to touch a hair on our heads.
Each translation renders this phrase a little differently but with much the same meaning, this is because its a difficult passage to translate and there aren’t appropriate words in the English language suitable to insert in here.
However it could read:
nothing like this has happened before.
But something like that had happened before… because in the Hebrew it literally says:
“Woe to us for she has not come as this yesterday three days.”
Yesterdayis an adverb and is correctly translated as
Heretofore …this three days.
Ancient Jewish literature provides insight into this phrase, as this is an ancient Semitic expression/ an idiom.
This Semitic idiom has its roots in the picture of picking up a chick/baby bird /equivalent to the first warrior; and then facing the wrath of the male/father bird /equivalent to the second warrior.
It is easy to deal with a baby bird, and the male father bird may show some increased resistance, but is not overwhelming. It is the reaction of the female mother bird that will be the problem, because she will fight to the death to protect her little chick/equivalent to the third warrior.
As already noted as an interesting point, that the Philistines used she, a feminine pronoun, to represent God and maybe the use of the feminine pronoun would be appropriate because this idiomatic expression pictures this ultimate warrior as a mother fighting to protect her young.
As ancient Semitic languages had only two genders, male and female and there was no neuter gender this was not unusual in those times.
However scholars note that in ancient pagan religions, many of these pagan gods and goddesses demanded an end to gender identity and the Priests of goddess religions had to be castrated and therefore rendered gender-neutral and homosexuality was also encouraged. It is clear that the enemy, unclean and fallen spirits were at the root of these pagan religions and were trying to destroy humanity; and there are certainly similarities to the gender-neutral movement we have today, to that of ancient paganism. Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun!
The word thing in this verse, which in Hebrew is the word
shaleshim and really means three days,
also carries the idea of a
third element.
Thing, third day, third warrior, ultimate warrior.
The Philistines are saying is that this is the first time
the third warrior or the ultimate warrior
has appeared or joined the Hebrew armies.
We could look at it in this way:
When Israel faced their enemy the first time, they were nothing more than a mere baby chick /first warrior, and were easily defeated by their attackers.
God later raised up judges who would lead a powerful army /second warrior.
The point to remember is what the Israelites didn’t fully comprehend but what the enemy knew, was that the Hebrews had a Shaleshim,
a Third or Ultimate Warrior
join their army and the Philistines recognized when He did; and this is why they cried out in terror because they knew that the equivalent of a ferocious mother bear had shown up to protect her cubs!
Everyone of us face difficult situations alone, and in the times when we face the enemy and are defeated/first warrior, we run to the local assembly and join forces with other believers/ second warriors, but sometimes the enemy will still attack and defeat us. However, when the appearance of that third warrior, Shaleshim, Who is Jesus/Yeshua, the more than equal of any ferocious mother defending her young, then the enemy flees in terror.
Resist the devil and he will flee.. James 4:7-8 and only when we submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father.
However, our complete and ultimate victory comes when we allow the Shaleshim, the Third Warrior, Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach to join us, that our victory is absolutely assured. The truth is that we can call upon that Third Warrior anytime we need Him. We may not always see the spiritual power behind our Shaleshim, but the enemy certainly does and flees in terror at the very sound of the Name of this Third Warrior.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua crushed demonic power continually throughout His ministry. Our real enemy is the spirit behind the attack, our fight is not against flesh and blood.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, the rulers, against powers, the authorities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
This is referring to the enemies that confront us in the spiritual realm. This present dark kingdom could be using a co-worker who is always difficult to deal with and causes us to constantly lose our peace and joy and then we react to them in an ungodly way. Another example could be someone reacting rudely to us while driving in traffic simply provoking us to react back at them. The dark kingdom continually uses people, situations and circumstances to attack us in the spiritual realm. It is at these times that Messiah teaches us how to connect and stay joined with Him, and deny ourselves and our fleshly, carnal, old man ways. Even when it’s painful, we are to daily carry our cross, deny those ways,
follow Him, think, speak and do as He would.
When we surrender our will to the Lord’s will within ourselves, He will come in power and demonstration in and through us as the Third Warrior. When He does, then His love flows through us to that unkind co-worker and begins a transformation in them too, because that change begins when we allow Yeshua/Jesus to first change us by the power of His Spirit of Holiness.
Only when our will is surrendered to His will can He use us as His vessel to flow in us, and through us, to affect and influence our circumstances in a powerful way as the Third Warrior.
All that Messiah imparted to His disciples includes entering the ongoing battle against the demonic powers, and in His name we are to set free those in bondage, He is our Deliverer, the Liberating King.
This is the truth that strengthens us to face the attack and enter the battle without fear.
Mark 16:15-20
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
In ancient warfare,
Goliath was known as
the 3rd Warrior
the best of the best – the elite!
OurHeavenly Father/Yeshua/Jesus is
the 3rd and ultimate warrior.
We can appear to the devil to be easy prey and seemingly powerless at times; but the Lord is NOT powerless and we should remember that when we trust in Him …
Who is it that the adversary sees coming? us?
or the shaleshim we serve??
Remember!
There is nothing wrong with a first warrior attempt to defeat the enemy, nor with that of a second warrior. God expects us to confront our enemies, but our ultimate victory comes when we are joined with the Shaleshim, the Third Warrior, Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, then victory is really assured.
Also remember the fact that we can call upon that third warrior anytime we need Him; and though we may not see the power behind our Shaleshim, the enemy certainly does and he will flee in terror at the very sound of the Name of the Third Warrior.
Whatever we do, let us do it as unto the third warrior,
the Shaleshim, Messiah, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Mashiach.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
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.
A Hebrew Hour is defined as 1/12 of the time between sunset and sunrise,
or 1/12 of the time between sunrise and sunset.
Hebrew Day Hours.
The midpoint of the 12 Hebrew Night Hours is called Mid-night. The moment of Mid-night occurs exactly halfway between sunset and sunrise separating the sixth and seventh Hebrew Night Hours. The midpoint of the 12 Hebrew Day Hours is called Mid-day. The moment of Mid-day occurs exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset separating the sixth and seventh Hebrew Day Hours. An easy way to measure Day Hours is by using an equiangular sundial marked with 12 divisions.
The only Scriptural reference to there being
12 Hebrew Hours in a Hebrew Day
is found in John 11:9
where יהושעthe Messiah asked a famous question,
“Are there not 12 hours in a day?”
The diagram below is a working timepiece where the sun’s position indicates the current Hebrew Hour at Jerusalem. One Hebrew Hour ends and another begins when the center of the sun crosses an hour line.
In the Creation Calendar, Hebrew Hours begin at sunrise and sunset.
Remembering Yeshua/Jesus was present at creation!
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: Col 1:16
A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunset and sunrise is called a Hebrew Night Hour.
A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunrise and sunset is called a Hebrew Day Hour.
Sunset occurs and the First Watchbegins exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Night Hour.
TheSecond Watchbegins exactly at the beginning of the fourth Hebrew Night Hour.
Mid-night occurs and the Third Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the seventh Hebrew Night Hour.
The Fourth Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the tenth Hebrew Night Hour, and ends at sunriseat the end of thetwelfth Hebrew Night Hour.
Sunriseis always exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Day Hour.
Mid-dayoccurs exactly at the end of the sixth Hebrew Day Hour.
Sunsetoccurs exactly at the end of the twelfth Hebrew Day Hour.
The duration of a Hebrew Hour varies with the season. A Hebrew Day Hour is shorter in duration during winter when a Hebrew Night Hour is longer in duration. A Hebrew Day Hour is longer in duration during summer when a Hebrew Night Hour is shorter in duration.
In Acts 3:1 Peter and John went up together into the temple at
John 13:1, “When Jesus knew that His hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,”
John 16:32, “Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,”
John 17:1, “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son.”—ἵνα δοξασθῇ, that—should be glorified) with the Father:
John 17:5, “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was,” and in the sight of every creature.
A brief explanation of this reference helps us to understand and appreciate why these times of the HOURS were included.
Devout Jews, living in Jerusalem, went to the temple to pray.
Morning Prayers were from sunup to about 11a.m. any time between sunrise and the first half or third of the day; the earlier the better.
According to Jewish time this is the 3rd hour. Meaning it is the third hour from sunrise sometimes written as the third hour of the day; according to Roman time this is the 9th hour. Roman time for each day began at 12 midnight. This has continued into our western time today.
From halfway through the daylight hours – around 1:00ish to about an hour before sunset. So named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem,
Evening prayers
מַעֲרִיב Maariv or arvit עַרְבִית
are recited after dark from sunset to before midnight.
Also spelled Maariv,
plural Maaribim, or Maarivim,
Hebrew meaning: of the evening Maʿariv,
who brings on twilight/ bringing on night
Halachic midnight is the halfway point between sundown and sunrise. This can be before or after – especially during DST – 12 a.m.
The hours and times can be confusing when read in the scriptures unless we understand that our time has been changed from what was originally followed. Some charts below…
and this was also covered in detail in previous post.
Crucifixion was an execution designed by the Romans to kill, torture, and humiliate its victims. Some people suffered for days on a cross before dying. Messiah was on the cross for about six hours before He gave up HIs Spirit.
The Romans started each day’s hours at midnight. Using the Roman system of time, John tells us that Yeshua/Jesus’ trial began about the sixth hour, 6 a.m. (John 19:14).
Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the Jewish system of time, beginning each day at 6 a.m. Mark tells us Messiah was crucified at the third hour, 9 a.m. (Mark 15:24–25).
Matthew tells us the day turned to darkness from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, noon to 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:45).
A Roman soldier confirmed His death by pushing a spear into His side, and He was taken off the cross (John 19:34–38).
The Torah, the Prophets and the Writings do not number specific Hebrew Hours. Only the Messianic Scriptures number specific Hebrew Hours inMatthew, Mark, Luke and Acts.
Thethird hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:3-4, Mark 15:25 and Acts 2:15.
The third hour of the nightis referred to inActs 23:23-24.
The sixth hour of the dayis referred to in Matthew 20:5, 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44 and Acts 10:9.
The ninth hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:5, 27:45, 27:46, Mark 15:33, 15:34, Luke 23:44, Acts 3:1, Acts 10:3 and Acts 10:30-31.
The eleventh hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:6 and Matthew 20:9.
All the detailed prophetic fulfillment was so very significant to the children of Israel and unless we understand their WAYs we miss so much of His WAYs! We have taken our western Christianity at doctrinal face value without its true origins and think that is all we need to know.
Again, it is good to be reminded this Bible is originally a Hebrew book, with a Hebraic mindset, about a God of the Hebrews/children of Israel. We gentiles/heathen, are the ones grafted in to Messiah not the other way around. If we ignore that fact, it leads us to leave out the true foundations and depart from the heritage and of what we say we believe about a Jewish Messiah!
Devout Jews, living at Jerusalem, went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:10Acts 3:1).
Sages tell us that the custom of praying three times a day was originally introduced by the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.
Abraham introduced prayer in the morning,
Isaac—in the afternoon, and
Jacob/Israel added one at night.
The regular hours of prayer, as we may glean fromPsalm 55:17 and Daniel 6:10, were three in number.
The first coincided with the morning sacrifice, at the 3rd hour of the morning, at 9 AM therefore (Acts 2:15).
The second was at the 6th hour, or at noon, and may have coincided with the thanksgiving for the chief meal of the day, a religious custom apparently universally observed (Matthew 15:36Acts 27:35).
The 3rd hour of prayer coincided with the evening sacrifice, at the ninth hour (Acts 3:1; Acts 10:30).
The Hebrew verb for prayer— hitpallel התפלל—is in fact the reflexive form of palal פלל, to judge.
Thus, to pray, conveys the notion of judging oneself:
ultimately, the purpose of prayer—tefilah תפלה—
is to transform ourselves.
It is not God that changes through our prayer,
rather it is man himself who is changed.
During the first 1000 years approx., since the time of Moses, there was no set order of prayer. Each individual was duty-bound to pray to God every day, but the form of prayer and how many times a day to pray was left to the individual; by Yeshua/Jesus’ time it had become more clearly defined and more of an institution.
In the HOUR we can find our life or lose it.
This is why He came…
For This I Have Come Into the World
John 18:37
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. John 14:13-15
Like our Messiah, who told us to follow Him, not only are we to take up our cross; which is the means of our execution – our means/method of crucifying the fleshly carnal life.…..
and not only are we to die to self through the process…
we are to be willing to drink the cup that He drank.
Are you willing …yes…. then you will …He told His disciples.
If they had known what it would mean would they still have been so quick to accept the cup?
Matt 20:22 Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”ESVJesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking.
Christianity is not for wimps.
We too are called to walk with Him to Calvary’s hill, to
take up our crosses,
to drink the cup of suffering,
to be conformed to His image.
As disciples, our attitude should not be to ask that times of sorrow and difficulty be prevented or even stopped but that our Heavenly Father protect us and strengthen us in order that we remain true to Him; and to that which He has created and afore determined we should become.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath beforehand ordained, that we should walk in them. & Ephesians 1:11
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.Romans 15:4 & Romans 8:30.
Our prayers should be that, in spite of all the refining fires and sorrowful challenges we experience; that our faith does not fail us, that we accept our position and realize our purpose in the midst of it all.
This one thing we should look at carefully and not misread the statement He made in these verses; knowing that
He knew
He understood and
He accepted His purpose.
He willingly faced and received Himself by this acceptance, and because of it, in the midst of this incomparable fire of sorrow and ordained purpose….
He was saved NOT
FROM the HOUR but
OUT of the HOUR
and His Father glorified His Name.
This question was rather rhetorical as He says
what shall I say save Me from this HOUR?
And follows it immediately, answering Himself…
But for this purpose I came to this HOUR
When the HOUR has come for us He will not save us
from it
but
OUT of it.
As with
Noah and his family
as in the days of …
He did not save them
from
the flood but
OUT of it
the flood still came but
in the ark they were saved
and lifted out and above it.
Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark to escape the flood waters. Gen. 7:7
and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
2Peter 2:5
Genesis 6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus – the ark of our covenant
lifts us up
OUT of our HOURS
of trouble and testing; just as He was lifted up out of the world both by resurrection spiritually and lifted physically – ascension.
This is the promise for us.
He faced His HOUR and in doing so received/faced Himself in the fires of sorrow in that HOUR.
Many question, and many preach and teach that there ought to be no sorrow – that trials and difficulties are not from a loving Heavenly Father God.
However…He chastens those He loves ..
and there is sorrow, and like the one we say we follow; we are to accept and receive ourselves in these fiery trials.
1 Pet 4:12-14 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13
It is foolish to try and evade and refuse to deal with sorrow because it’s one of the bigger facts of life, so it’s a waste of breath to say it should not be part of our experiences.
Sin, sorrow and suffering are very real and they exist; and we are not in a position to say our Heavenly Father makes mistakes in allowing these things to happen to us.
The work of sorrow in our lives removes a great deal of an individuals shallowness, however it does not always make that individual better. Times of suffering will either help us to face ourselves, or it will destroy us. It is a yielding and a letting go; a total submission and laying down of ones life, in favor of the offered cup and the HOUR of death.
An individual cannot find or receive self through perceived success, that which is calculated by worldly standards.
Why?
So that one will lose their head in pride and self achievement/ aggrandizement by the worlds terms. We cannot receive/face ourselves through the monotonous drudgery of day to day living. Why?
Because that un-dead/un-crucified flesh will give in to griping, complaining, and murmuring.
In the fires of sorrow is the only place we will find ourselves. Wondering why it is this way is immaterial because His ways are past finding out.
We should rather accept in faith and trust in His Word and His Way, which has been written for us historically in all the human experiences recorded. We can always recognize these believers, those who have been through the fires of sorrow and received themselves… we too must receive unto ourselves the HOUR of our laying down our life, to take it up again in Him, just as Yeshua/Jesus did.
Because of this, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it up again. John 10:17.
When our Heavenly Father has us on our knees, it is there that He can change us.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” James 1:2-3.
God must test our faith in order to reveal our faith.
We may look knocked down to men yet be exactly where our Father can use us.
“We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out”. 2 Cor. 4:9.
We must empty out our own desires, that we would be filled with His. When we stay right with the Lord and allow Him to change us through our circumstances, then He can bring us forth as the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
The closer you get to God, the more you realize how He uses your suffering for His purposes. It is a demonic notion born out of the flesh of man, carnal and worldly to think and believe that God will only make us rich and comfortable in this life.
We must get the fleshly thoughts cast out of our mind, thinking that we could serve God better in our comfort than in our suffering. Let Him use our circumstances to teach us how to serve His children. The more we want to serve Him, the harder His lessons are going to be. So we must be willing to count the cost.
1 Pet 4:12-14 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13
First we must be broken, so that He can reshape us into something new. In the midst of God shaping us, we usually pray that our difficulties would be removed or we be saved from them instead of praying that they would change us; and as we are changed, then He saves us out of them.
That which appears to be destroying us, is actually where God is recreating us into the very thing that He can use. We must forget the notion that our Father will make our lives easy and remember that He knows what He is doing.
By allowing Him to break us, He reforms us into bread worth eating. By allowing Him to place us in that winepress; the process of crushing us into wine is never easy.
However we can’t have the bread until it has been broken and we can’t have the wine without first crushing the grape.
If you want to reach the broken, be the broken. “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [crushed] spirit” (Psalm 34:18).It is when we are broken that the Lord can form us into something new.
Consider that the reason He has broken your heart, is that He then might flow through it onto others.“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
Until we are broken and have yielded ourselves to our Father, are we not just another zealous soul working opposite to the Kingdom of God. Remember Paul …persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. …being more exceedingly zealous… (Galatians 1:13-14). Then his Messiah Yeshua/Jesus broke him.
Sometimes we have to have our feet knocked out from under us and to hit rock bottom in order to get our footing.
Those who have died to self, allow the fire to burn away the carnal shallowness … those who have truly laid down their life.
Losing it during the hour of fire and testing, to find it in Him; taking it up again and yoking that life to His, in permanent submission to the perfect will of our Father.
These are those we recognize as ones we can go to in our moments of trial and trouble and find they have plenty of time for us. A listening ear and an encouraging word from our Heavenly Fathers storehouse of treasures. Ones who make you feel you are the most important person of that HOUR.
This gift of time is often overlooked as we are so busy and we never seem to have enough of it to do all we want to do. By submitting to the life He has for us, in laying down our own, we will find we have all the time we need for Him to accomplish through us His perfect will plan and purpose. One who has not been through the fires of sorrow is more often than not prone to be dismissive, contemptuous of others and their trials; having no respect for and no time for others, turning away with many excuses and reasons for their actions.
If we are willing, and if we will receive/recognize/accept ourselves in the hour of sorrow: accepting our position and realizing our true purpose in light of His calling in the midst of this HOUR of fire…
He will save us
out of it…
NOT from it;
and through it, He will make us instruments /vessels of nourishment for other people – sheep feeders and lambs fodder and then like Peter, He can feed His flock through us,
Yeshua/Jesus states Peter’s task in three words,
“Feed my sheep” (John 21:17)
We should not try to avoid this HOUR
or be saved FROM it
because for this purpose
we also came to this HOUR
and He is faithful and will save us OUT of it.
This is how we become as our Lord and Savior was…
broken bread and poured wine,
that His life be shared and given out
for whosoever will receive Him.
God calls us today..
be broken bread and poured out wine.
Bread must be broken to be consumed and shared,
and grapes must be crushed and poured out to make wine.
If we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us…
then He can never make us into wine!
It is He who chooses the people
and the circumstances to crush us,
and it is up to us to allow Him.
How long will it be before we finally get it into our understanding, that we are here to willingly submit to His will, so that He may work through us what He wants?
Just as our savior did and then said follow me…
“Although he was a son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey him,
being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrew 5:8
We are to do likewise and once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
Is our glass still empty?
Meanwhile let’s continue
to stay alert and ready,
be in prayer and in His Word
for in an hour we think not
He is coming.
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.
… and…
it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
KJV: of my salvation; on thee do I waitall the day.
INT: of my salvation for wait all the day. Psalm 25:21
There are a few words in Hebrew for wait.
InIsaiah 40:31 we learn that those who
waitupon the Lord will renew their strength.
This wait is qavah
which is a twisting or binding.
It is the word used for making rope and the ancient method of making rope is still used today.
Hundreds of thin strands of fabric, each one alone could easily be broken, but when tightly bound together they form a rope that cannot be broken.
We may here recall the scripture:
A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Ecclesiastes 4:12.
In some weddings, a three-cord braid is included as part of the ceremony, here the three cords that are not easily broken represent Our Heavenly Father, the bride and the groom.
So in Isaiah 40:31 this waiting is just not sitting back, doing nothing, it is a process of binding/blending/melding/merging ourselves with the Father and the more we bind ourselves to Him, the stronger we become.
In Isaiah 30:18, however, he uses a different word for wait.
which is the word chakah this is a:
patiently waiting,
like someone waiting for a train.
However, this word is in a Piel or imperfect form,
so it has the meaning of:
a continuing process, it is patiently waiting.
יָחַל verb Niph`al – wait;
Pi`el – await (compare Late Hebrew יִחוּל expectation); to Niph`al – Perfect feminine singular – נחֲלָה in Ezekiel 19:5 also Imperfect: וַיִּיָּ֫חֶל in Genesis 8:12 + 1 Samuel 13:18 וַיּחֶל;
and wait: Genesis 8:12 and he waited yet seven days.
WAITING – CHAKAH – the Hebrew letters: חכה – Cheth Kap Hei.
The word chakah is spelled:
Chet, Kap/Kaph, Hei/Hey.
The Chet indicates:
moving to a higher level,
something like:
waiting in line and then moving forward.
Our Father is patiently allowing us to go through our human/carnal ways, trying to satisfy all our needs by ourselves; then all of a sudden He appears next in line.
Here we find the next letter in the word for
waiting – chakah
which is the letter Kap/kaf
this has the picture word for:
the palm of the hand.
This shows us that all this time our Father has been holding out His hands in order to receive us; and finally after years of searching for answers, we ask Him to come into our lives.
The 3rd Hebrew letter in the word
to wait, chakah, is Hei
and is akin to:
the conclusion of His waiting, entering His presence which is filled with all of His graciousness and mercy.
Isaiah 30:18 tell us about it:
blessed are those who chakah (wait) for Him.
Our chakah is not in the sentence construction/parts of speech as a Hebrew Piel or imperfect form, it is a Hebrew Qal participle (a word formed from a verb (e.g., going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective or noun.
This means in others words:
blessed are those who
have been waiting for God.
Without realizing it we have been waiting for Him all the time; we just did not know or understand it. At least our Father’s waiting has been in the Hebrew (Piel Imperfect sentence construction) as in: He is waiting
Original Word: יָחַל Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: yachal Phonetic Spelling: yaw-chal’
In the following versions of Luke 24:49
English words used are:
remain and tarry
Berean Literal Bible And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But you, remain in the city until that you should be clothed with power from on high.”
King James Bible And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Amplified Bible Listen carefully: I am sending the Promise of My Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you; but you are to remain in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed (fully equipped) with power from on high.”
Hee•ne ano•chi sho•le•ach et asher hiv•ti•ach la•chem Avi ve•a•tem ho•chi•loo ba•eer Ye•roo•sha•la•yim ad ki-til•be•shoo oz mi•ma•rom.
This must have been an extremely stressful time immediately following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua. There was much unrest in the city which was filled with 1000’s of people who had travelled there for the Spring Meodim/Appointed Times of Passover/Pesach; which was one of the 3 annual Shalosh Regalim. Passover/Pesach/הַפֶּסַח, Pentecost/Shavuot/שבועות & Tabernacles/Sukkot/סוכות.
Though they are called Feasts by many, the correct Hebrew translation is Rehearsal Pattern because it is a rehearsal. It was/is a practice for the real thing to come, similar to rehearsals prior to a wedding ceremony; and why they were required to be in Jerusalem precisely at those times. We looked at this in previous posts.
This had been a momentous time; unlike any other previous year and the turmoil following those events had made the talmidim/disciples and followers of Messiah further targets for those who had plotted to kill Him.
On the road to Emmaus, one of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?”
verse 18.
Luke 24:13-24
In verse 25: Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!…
This was confirming that HE WAS the fulfillment of Gods’ prophetic plan of redemption.
Luke 3:16 John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
John 1:26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know.
John 1:33 I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6Sowhen theycame together,they askedHim,“Lord,will You atthistimerestorethekingdomto Israel?”7Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.… But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”…
Acts 1:4V-PNA GRK: χωρίζεσθαι ἀλλὰ περιμένειν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν NAS: Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father KJV: but wait for the promise INT: to depart but to await the promise
לחכות ל wait for
לחכות wait
The length of time they were told to wait was not just for a couple of days, it was for the next 49 days until Pentecost/Shavuot.
Yeshua/Jesus had said He had come to fulfill the Torah which has the Moedim/Appointed Times of the Lord as pivotal to the annual cycle of Israeli life.
We miss the full revelation of what Messiah accomplished as we in our western christianity and calendar festivals, jump from Passover/Resurrection Sunday (which we have called easter), to Christmas. There is a very precise sequence of Appointed Times/Moedim, whose meanings were prophetic in nature in their annual rehearsal for fulfillment in Messiahs’ life.
What was the purpose of this waiting?
He told them they would be
endued with power from on high
but why did they have to wait so long?
What does it mean for us?
The purpose of waiting is part of our training as talmidim/disciples.
It is for us to get into the right relationship to meet the requirements of our Heavenly Father and His Will not ours. Once those needs /requirements for being His child /disciple are met then He will open the doors and make the WAY clear for us to GO and DO and fulfill His will, plan and purposes.
One thing we should have learned during our 49 day walk/halak, it is this; we cannot artificially accelerate the growth of our crops and we cannot force them to produce out of season!
We need to see that we are not in control and being impatient will only cause frustration.
It will also choke the seeds and prevent them from bringing forth the harvest; which will result in us being impatient farmers with only barren and unfruitful fields. We must bear the fruit of patience if we are to grow in Messiah, without it we become impatient, impetuous, unsatisfied and are always looking for a future we cannot change. This is sad because it means we are ignoring what we have been blessed with today in the here and now.
Our training is accomplished by the power of His Spirit/Ruach within us, as we are also
endued with power from on high!
and for what?
To be witnesses to Him.
We must allow our lives to be slowly and continually transformed by the indwelling life of His Son; which is the ultimate purpose and goal ..that Jesus/Yeshua be exhibited in us.
This Shavuot/Pentecost, let’s be in an attitude of waiting after our days of preparation, and allow Him to do the necessary work in us and then He can fill us again. Just as we recharge batteries and continually refill our cars’ tanks with fuel, we need to be-being filled with His Spirit – continuously.. to go on being filled not just one time. Meaning to completely surrender our life and give Him full control. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 the command is given, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” Paul gives the simple principle when he says, “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” Gal. 5:16. The important experience of becoming a Spirit-filled disciple results in the progressive sanctification of a believer in Messiah. The result will be that the individual will manifest the fruit of the Spirit as stated inGalatians 5:22-23,
The 49 days leading up to Pentecost/Shavuot is a time of looking at our own lives and allowing God to do His work in us so He can work through us.
Hebrews 10:9 Behold I have come to do your will O God.
Jesus/Yeshuas life was one of obedience to His Father and He said Follow Me; so we are to be obedient to His/our Fathers will also.
We must take the time to be continually filled up or we will have nothing to pour out. If all we are doing is seeking to be blessed personally, we are missing the point of servanthood. We are blessed to be a blessing – freely we have received, freely we give. If we are always taking in/receiving, and not giving out, we will stagnate like the waters of a pool with no outflow; then we will become like the Dead sea and not a sea of Galilee. Living waters flow continually, that is what flowed through Messiah and what we are to release to others. Let Him pour into us so we can pour out.
For Them…?
The time of waiting was not a new thing for the disciples as every year the counting of 7 weeks or 49 days from the Omer following Peasch/Passover to Shavuot/Pentecost/Weeks was part of the Spring Feasts/Moedim/Appointed Times of the Lord which they followed every year.
Leviticus 23:1-2 God introduces His Moedim/Appointed Times when He begins by declaring to Moses
My appointed times are these….
This statement makes clear that these Moedim/Appointed Times, originate with our Heavenly Father, they cannot be claimed to have been appointed by any nation, including Israel. While they were initially given to the children of Israel for them to observe as their calendar/way of life, they are just as applicable to the followers of Messiah today.
Many have grown up believing that the Jewish Feasts have nothing to do with the New Testament body of Messiah – the ecclesia, the called apart ones. A few have grown up trying to take back the feasts and celebrate them, while rediscovering Christianity’s Hebrew Heritage. Some have never heard of the Feasts at all, however there are a growing number who are interested in what the Moedim/Appointed Times/Feasts of the Lord, have to impart to us prophetically.
Questions for us are: why are we ignoring what the Father has instructed us to do and why are we only understanding and remembering 2 of the 7?
We have the benefit of the completed Word of God so we can study His plan of redemption; and one of the ways in which He prophetically revealed His big picture plan, is through the Appointed Times/Moedim/Feasts of the Lord. Approximately 4000 years ago, God commanded His people to gather in sacred assembly for very specific celebrations – His Feasts.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.” (Leviticus 23:1-2)
If we are not aware of the Moedim/Appointed Times when we read that verse, we do not understand the whole picture.
God commanded a yearly remembrance of each of His Holy convocations. The Hebrew word for sacred assembly or holy convocation is miqra, which carries the meaning of a dress rehearsal. Every time these festivals are celebrated, it is a visual and spiritual aid to remind humanity of the prophetic plan of God.
Prior to each feast’s fulfillment, it points forwards to Messiah.
During each feast’s fulfillment, it points directly at Messiah.
Subsequent to each feast’s fulfillment, it points backwards to Messiah.
These seven appointed times are collectively called the mo’edim and are detailed inExodus 12-13, Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29and Deuteronomy 16. Together, they represent the Fathers’ entire redemptive plan from Messiah’s death through His millennial rule.
This is what Yeshua/Jesus was referring to in Matthew 5:17-18 when He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law/teaching till all is fulfilled.”
Because the common western understanding of fulfill
means done away with,
Christians have believed that Yeshua/Jesus meant the prophetic pictures pointing to Him are now no longer needed. This is not what He meant, because to Jewish rabbis at that time, the word that is translated into English as
fulfilled was understood to mean:
the true or correct interpretation of Scripture,
while the word destroy meant: to give a false or incorrect interpretation.
Yeshua/Jesus was telling them that:
He did not come to do away with the Hebrew Scriptures/or destroy i.e. lead them astray by false teachings
Rather, He was:
the human embodiment of their true meaning and spiritual reality.
Again we can see other reasons for the WAITING…
First it was for their own preparation and
second because Messiah was not yet glorified.
As soon as He was glorified Acts 2:33tells us:
therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit/His Spirit of Holiness He poured out this which you now see and hear.
The second reason is in the statement in John where he clearly tells us in 7:39..
for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
This is not the case for us today because His Spirit of Holiness/Ruach haKodesh, has been given and Messiah is glorified; our waiting is not dependent on the promised future outpouring; but rather on our own spiritual condition/preparation, to receive what is readily available.
We know from scripture that the influence and power of His Spirit were at work before Shavout/Pentecost because He was upon individuals, prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament; and in some instances, He filled them with His Spirit: e.g. both John the Baptists parents. Luke 1:41
However, once Messiah was glorified in His ascension, His Spirit of Holiness/RuachHaKodesh, came into the world in an unrestricted way and has been here for the last 2000+ years. It is critical that we believe and receive this revealed truth that He is indeed here in our midst; and within each believer who welcomes His presence, influence and power. He will not force His presence upon us but patiently waits for us to invite Him in as we yield to His offer.
The attitude of receiving and welcoming His Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive His Spirit we receive His life/chaim which revives us, imparting the same resurrection life that raised Him from the dead, which will quicken us and make us alive in Him. Romans 8:11
As our ascended Messiah He is able to give New Life.
It’s not the so termed, baptism of His Holy Spirit, that changes people, but it is the power of the risen Messiah coming in to dwell in our lives that changes us through His Holy Spirit working from the inside out. We sometimes have a tendency to separate things that the New Testament/Brit Chadashah does not separate. The termed, baptism of His spirit of Holiness, is not an experience apart from Jesus/Yeshua – it is the real and living evidence of the risen Messiah. He has given us chaim/life everlasting and full of glory.
John 17:3This is eternal life that they may KNOW You
it’s something that begins at new birth and never ends….
We often speak of types and shadows in the scriptures…
The giving of the Torah (teaching/law) at Sinai was the type/shadow
that was fulfilled at Shavuot/Pentecost.
Sinai marked the birth date of the dispensation of Torah/Teaching/Law, and involved great displays of God’s power through thunderings, lightning, fire and the sound of His reverberating voice.
The fulfillment at Shavuot/Pentecost was the giving of the Spirit of the Law to the followers of the Mashiach/Messiah.
Shavuot/Pentecost, marks the birth date of the ecclesia/church/called apart ones, and what some term as the dispensation of Grace.
This occasion was also accompanied with great displays of God’s power through fire and a sound like a mighty rushing wind. According to Ephesians 4:30, from this point onward, His Ruach HaKodesh/Spirit of Holiness dwells within each follower and seals the Body of Messiah for the day of redemption.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
The gift of tongues is simply the Holy Spirit giving us the supernatural ability to speak in a foreign tongue/language that we have no knowledge or ability to speak out on our own.
There are two types of tongues He can give us. One is a tongue of this earth; e.g., if our native language is English, then He can give us the ability to speak in Chinese, Japanese, or Spanish, etc. For the simple reason we may be in that country or with people who speak that language and will understand it.
The other type of tongue that He can give us is a tongue direct from heaven, a heavenly language that is not of this earth. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that there are tongues of angels.
Whichever it is, it will be a foreign language that we will not be able to speak out on our own, and only His Holy Spirit’s supernatural transmission of this language out of our spirits will give us the ability to be able to speak it using our voice.
Whatever tongue Holy Spirit gives us, we will be able to use it all the time, whenever we want. It will be our own personal, private, prayer language between us and the Lord.
One thing to remember with this gift is that for the most part, we may never know or understand what we are praying about when we operate in this gift, however we can pray to interpret what the Lord has spoken through us.
The Bible tells us that we will be speaking out “mysteries,” and only the Father and His Holy Spirit will know exactly what the prayer is about on any given occasion.“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)
Here we are told clearly that they were ALL filled and spoke in other tongues… which was the physical evidence of His Spirit in them, there were no exceptions and so we can expect the same today, and includes all the other gifts of His Spirit as in
The Word of Knowledge
The Word of Wisdom
The Gift of Prophecy
The Gift of Faith
The Gifts of Healings
The Working of Miracles
The Discerning of Spirits
Different Kinds of Tongues
The Interpretation of Tongues
our Father has not changed..
He is the same yesterday today and forever. Heb.13:8
In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Here we see the sealing by His Spirit to enable us to continue our walk.
It is interesting that the Father waited 50 days after Messiahs’ resurrection, (10 days after His Ascension) before He sent His Holy Spirit. As our Father is precise in all His details it is without doubt because He was waiting for the Appointed Time/Shavuot/Pentecost. He is never early and He is never late in fulfilling His promises.
The other symbol of His Spirit and presence is FIRE.
From the Ex.3:2burning bush, to the pillar in the wilderness, to the outpouring in Jerusalem …
our God is a consuming FIRE Heb.12:29
and as Malachi states like a refiners fire.
In Malachi 3:1-4, the prophet declares the
imminent return of the Lord
and with it,
His holy judgment of refining fire.
We are all too well aware that being a follower of Messiah does not spare us from experiencing testings, trials, conflict and trouble; and the process of refinement is one that He continually applies to our lives.
This fire is Holy Fire – Esh Kadosh/qadosh. אש קדושה
The Fire that cleanses, refines and purifies; it burns up all that is not acceptable to the Father and also speaks of His power so that like Jesus/Yeshua, we may work the works of Him who sends us.John 9:4, for greater works than these will you do. John 14:12.
BUT as always, there is a condition, an IF …
We have to be willing..
we have to lay down our lives, our plans and allow Him to be sovereign in our lives.
The choice is ours…His offer is there for whosoever will… The events of Acts 2 includes the
empowering
of His spirit
and the imparting of His boldness to proclaim the good news of Messiah’s Kingdom. The boldness of the fire like Jeremiah* had.
Are we truly on fire for God? .. or
are we just barely glowing embers, dying without the breath of His Spirit … we need the mighty rushing wind of Shavuot to blow on and re-ignite the fire.
Holy Spirit of Truth is certainly God, however, He is not the Person of Yeshua/HaMashiach/Jesus Christ. The scriptures seem to indicate that it was the Father who sent the Holy Spirit – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) And then Messiah says – “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
The early spring Appointed Times/Moedim: (Pesach/Passover, Chag haMatzot /Unleavened Bread, Bikkurim/Firstfruits); were fulfilled in order, all in the same year, through the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach. When we look at the harvest times, Yeshua/Jesus and the many saints that were resurrected with Him, were the barley harvest. Notably, the ripeness of the barley is what decides if a new year can begin, or if a leap month, called Adar2, needs to be added to the calendar. This is always taken into account when the date of the late spring feast – Pentecost/Shavuot is calculated.
Pentecost/Shavuot experienced at least a partial fulfillment in the same year the three spring feasts were fulfilled. As we already noted, 50 days after Firstfruits/Bikkurim, or 10 days after Yeshua/Jesus’ ascension, His Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh, descended upon the Jewish believers waiting in Jerusalem. Partial fulfillment in that He has been indwelling and sealing believers ever since, until the day of their redemption –
as He said, we are to
look up for your redemption draweth nigh,
so it is not yet completed!
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28
Since Holy Spirit is God, He is omnipresent, everywhere at the same time.
Pentecost/Shavuot marks the time of the wheat harvest in Israel.
As we have walked through the springAppointed Times/Moedim, we can see a picture of our own walk with Messiah.
At Pesach/Pasover we are reminded of being set free from the bondage of sin and death, then during the Feast of Unleavened Bread/Matzah week, we have the opportunity to practice our unleavenedness; and rejoice in our saviors Resurrection as Firstfruits from the dead. Then as we count from the Omer we are like the wheat crops growing towards maturity, ultimately designed to become an abundant harvest for Him.
During this season of counting we can focus on certain spiritual themes such as: sowing, growing, increase, being fed and nourished by the Father and being mindful of how we are growing toward maturity in Messiah. By examining our ways we discover if they are truly aligned, submitted and conformed to His.
This is why we are to WAIT on the Lord, for His power to fill us and enable us to be witnesses unto Him; this is how He goes with us, and will always be with us, and will never leave us nor forsake us.
Isaiah 30:18: “And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted that he might be merciful upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment, blessed are all that WAIT for him.”
Like the farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth, we too have to wait for God to mature us and grow us. Part of our being mature in Messiah, is knowing when to put our hand to the plough and work hard but also knowing that when we have done all we can do then it is time to WAIT/CHAKAH. We must ask ourselves if we have been listening/hearing to His call and responding by doing that which He has required of us?..We must walk and work in maturity and continue to be patient, stabilize our hearts because the coming of the Master draws near. James 5:7-8
Let’s be mindful of the season we are in…..
on each of us..
For those new to the site previous posts linked below cover more detail on Shavuot/Pentecost..
Shavuot 2022 begins Saturday, June 4 at sunset and ends Monday, June 6 at nightfall.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim/friends and mishpachah/family!
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,
you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.
REMEMBER..
Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation
Not sure ..you can be…
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.
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.
2Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3And Judas begat Phares and Zara
of Thamar;
and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5And Salmon begat Booz
of Rachab;
and Booz begat Obed of
Ruth;
and Obed begat Jesse;
6And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16And Jacob begat Joseph the husband
of Mary,
of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Ruths’ story begins in
Bethlehem!
House of Bread
Beit Lechem –
where Yeshua/Jesus,
the Bread from Heaven,
came into this earthly realm.
In Bethlehem of Judea,
(Land of tribe of Judah)
there was a man called
Elimelech
אלימלך
Strongs 458
There is only one Elimelech in the Bible,
and means:
My God is King.
El-imele-ch is pronounced as
iy-L IH MMeh-LehK
Elimeleck, Elimelek, Elymelech, Elymeleck,
and Elymelek are variant spellings.
אלאלה
The name Elimelech consists of two elements.
The first part is the word
אל El ,
In names אל – ‘el
usually refers to
אלהים –‘Elohim,
or God,
also known as
אלה –‘Eloah.
The name applied to the God of Israel.
In English, the words ‘God’ and ‘god’
exclusively refer to the deity but in Hebrew the words
אל -‘l and אלה -‘lh are far more common
and may express approach and negation,
acts of wailing and pointing,
and may even mean oak or terebinth.
The second part of the name comes from the noun
מלך – melek,
meaning king:
and a king is not merely a glorified tribal chief
but the alpha of a complex, stratified society,
implying a court and a complex government.
Elimelech was a member of the clan of Ephrath, a native of Bethlehem of tribe of Judah, a man of wealth and probably head of a family or clan (Ruth 1:2,3; 2:1,3).
He lived during the period of the Judges and had a hereditary possession near Bethlehem, and he is chiefly remembered as the husband of Naomi.
Ephrath: For those of the tribe of Ephraim are also called Ephrathites,
Judges 12:5,
Art thou an Ephrathite 1 Kings 11:26; 1 Samuel 1:1.
David is called the son of an Ephrathite,
that is, a Beth-lehemite.
(לְאֶפְרָיִם): Ephraimites
אֶפְרַיִם , ʾEfrayim pronounced like Ef•ra•yim) meaning: fruitful, fertile, productive.
Genesis 35:19; Micah 5:2; either from Caleb’s wife of that name, 1 Chronicles 2:19; 4:4, or from the fertility of the soil about it; which title may therefore be used here, to show the greatness of the famine, which affected even fertile parts.
Recall that Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph and his Egyptian wife.
Genesis 41:52
Ephraim was the second son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. These 2 were absorbed into the 12 Tribes of Israel/Jacob. Genesis 48:2
Later Ephraim became the name of:
The half-tribe Ephraim (Joshua 16:5).
The hill country in Palestine (1 Samuel 1:1).
The scripture records that 3000 years ago there was a famine in the land and because of the famine affecting nearby Israel.
Elimelech and his family had traveled from Bethlehem Ephrathah to escape its ravaging effects; moving to a pagan country bordering Canaan called
Moab מוֹאָב
located east of the dead sea in Israel.
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.
Moab is the area shaded in pink is the territory known across from the wilderness of Judah.
A flat and arid plane extends east from the banks of the Dead Sea before ascending sharply some 4,000 feet to the plain above. The upper plain is a more fertile stretch of land that extends about 15 miles from the escarpment east to the Arabian Desert. Dibon, the capital city of Moab in the biblical era, is located in the northern region of the upper plane.
In ancient times, it was home to the kingdom of the Moabites, a people often in conflict with their Israelite neighbors to the west.
From a prolonged form of the prepositional prefix m-
and ‘ab; from (her (the mother’s)) father;
Moab, an incestuous son of Lot;
also his territory and descendants
Which is why the Israelites were forbidden by law to marry a Moabite.
This name is pronounced mo-ahv in Hebrew.
The base word is ahv meaning father.
The prefix mo means from.
Combined these mean: from father.
Mo’av was the son of Lot’s oldest daughter and Lot himself (Genesis 19:35), the product of an incest relationship; implying that the similarity in Hebrew between
Mo’abi /Moabite and me’abi – from my father
was no coincidence Gen 19:37.
According to the Torah, no descendent of Mo’av is allowed in the assembly of Israel (Deuteronomy 23:3).
Moab, Moabites, pronounced:
Moh´ab, moh´uh-bits.
So reading the biblical narrative, it describes the Moabites’ origins in terms of both kinship and disdain. They are blood relatives of the Israelites, but their forefather was born as a result of incest. According to the Genesis 19:30-38 story, Moab was the son of Abraham’s nephew Lot, through his own eldest daughter, with whom he had a child after the destruction of Sodom.
The Bible clearly explains the etymology of Moab as meaning “of his father.” Nevertheless, there was considerable interchange between the two peoples, They were closely linked with their northern neighbors, the Ammonites (descended from Moab’s half brother, Ben-ammi), with whom they later shared a border.
So from this account, clearly, Israel and Moab shared kinship, history, language, institutions, and theology, and that this closeness often led to competition and strife between the two peoples. Being “just like us” made the Moabites dangerous to Israelite identity and assimilation was always a threat.
It shows that there was incest, disobedience and gentile heritage in the mix.
In Moab, a child was probably raised in a culture that worshipped an ungodly idol named Chemosh. This entity was worshipped by the Moabites sacrificing their children to it. This child knew no other way of life and may have witnessed family or friends being offered as sacrifices to this pagan god.
In this Biblical account this young woman was called Ruth and one day a new family came to her home town.
This family of four people were father Elimelech his wife Naomi and their 2 sons Mahlon and Chilion.
he was a complainer and it is spelled the same way as,
but pronounced slightly different from,
the noun כליון ( killayon ),
meaning failing or annihilation,
Also
כִּלְיוֹן Ḵilyōn
further meaning is:
Wasting Away
Pining
Coming To An End,
Man Of Finality
Used up, consumed, finite.
From the verb כלה – kala,
to come to an end.
Chilion is pronounced kil-yone’
Strong’s concordance H3630
And they came Judges. 5:30 into the country of Moab, and continued (Hebrew)were there.
[They continued there]
While the famine continued, they could remain, which was lawful: However, it was not lawful to abide for ever in a foreign land, both because of the danger of idolatry; and on account that they may become forgetful of the covenant and appointed times of the Law.
Remember, all the males were required to go up three times in a year to the Temple, Appointed Times/Feasts.
Ruth 1:3
tells us that Elimelech died in Moab leaving Naomi with her 2 sons
Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion /Kilion married Ruth’s sister Orpah.
Strong’s Hebrew: 6204. עָרְפָּה (Orpah)
Ruth Orpah עָרְפָה
Phonetic Spelling: or-paw’ ʿorpā,
meaning neck or fawn or
back of the neck; she turned her back on Naomi.
The name Orpah comes from the verb ערף ( arap ).
The added letter he is a common feminization form:
The verb ערף ( ‘arap) means to drip or drop.
Noun עריף ( ‘arip) means cloud and ערפל ( ‘arapel) describes a heavy cloud mass.
The noun ערף ( ‘orep) means neck.
Hebrew Strongs #06204: hpre `Orpah Orpah = “gazelle” 1) a Moabite woman, wife of Chilion, the son of Naomi, and sister-in-law of Ruth 6204 `Orpah or-paw’ feminine of 6203; mane; Orpah, a Moabites:-Orpah.
It is highly probable that during the 10 years of marriage Naomi would have recounted the stories of her homeland and of the God in whom she believed.
This God who created the universe and brought her people out of slavery performing mighty miracles while leading them for 40 years through the wilderness to the promised land where they had come from. She may have told them the history of Jerichos walls falling down the other side of the Dead Sea and of Rahabs courage to save her family with Joshuas men and the scarlet cord in her window. She may have shared how her God had provided guidelines that helped His people and stopped them from hurting one another opposite to the demands of their false god to sacrifice children as a form of worship.
Sadly, about ten years later, both of Naomis sons died.
It would be interesting to know why all three died; it’s unusual for all the men in a family to die at more or less the same time. However God had a plan and the timing was crucial had they not died the women would probably have remained in Moab.
So Mahlon and Chilions wives, Ruth and Orpah tragically became widows; they were alone and they faced certain poverty and a future of destitution as they had no one to support them. Their death leaves Naomi, Ruth and Orpah stranded, without protection, they had to find a refuge, or starve.
Not long after that, probably towards the end of the period of the Judges, in c.1060BC/1050BC, news came to Naomi that the famine in Israel was over and that God was blessing her people; this made her want to return to Bethlehem.
Ruth 1:6-18
Naomi decides to return alone; assuming that Ruth and Orpah would not want to return to Bethlehem with her, even though the women respected and loved each other.the main problem for Ruth and Orpah was that they were Moabite women, not Israelites.
The Moabite people were traditional enemies of the Israelites. There was frequent warfare between the two groups. As previously mentioned according to the Israelite belief, Moabites came from the act of incest between Lot and his older daughter (Genesis 19:30-38), and to them the whole nation was tainted and inferior.
At first both Ruth and Orpah wanted to go with her.
Naomi loved the women but she reminded them that if they did leave with her, they would become the foreigners and so she encouraged them to return to their mothers house.
Verse 8.
Naomi did not want a bad future for them and said to them; the lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
Her genuine desire was for them to remarry into their own people and to be at peace.
They lifted up their voices and wept v.9
Then in verse 10 they insisted on accompanying her because they didn’t want to leave her. Naomi told them she had no more sons for them to marry. Obviously she loved them v13 and crying with loud sobbing Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye; however Ruth clung onto her and what Ruth says at this moment is recorded in verses 16-17 and are without doubt some of the most touching and beautiful words in the Bible.
But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
This is a prophetic reference to the heathen, goyim, gentile nations being grafted in as they believe in the God of Israel.
Orpah, decided to return to her people and the Moabite way of life, but Ruth could not be budged.
She had shared loneliness, anxiety and grief with Naomi, and now that the older woman was completely alone, Ruth stood by her and out of love and loyalty to her mother-in-law, accompanied Naomi back to Bethlehem, while Orpah stayed in Moab.
This revealed that not only is she is devoted to Naomi but that she was also willing to totally submit her life and future to Naomis’ God, the God of Israel. Ruth abandoned her lifelong home and her pagan gods and she became a Jew by choice.
The scriptures show that she had some understanding of what she was doing and that she had a relationship with Him, as she uses the proper name of the God of Israel saying; the existing one/ Yahweh /Lord.
The last part of verse 17 was her promise to Naomi. This was more than Naomi could resist and they headed towards Bethlehem together along the dusty road.
This young womans decision 3000+ years ago was more than a step towards Bethlehem it was a momentous decision to both follow Naomi and Naomi’s God who had also become her God.
The extraordinary modern painting (below) of Ruth and Naomi captures the essence of the story: the mutual dependence of people within a family. It shows the younger woman, Naomi, sheltering and protecting the elderly woman (billowing cape as shield against harsh weather, supportive arm around the shoulder) and the older woman leading the way (staff in her hand, grey hair signifying both wisdom and experience).
Together, the figures form a single unit, stronger together than they would be if they had gone their separate ways.
Ruth 1:19-22
The two women arrive in Bethlehem
meaning ‘house of bread’
at the start of the barley harvest in April.
Barley was used to make bread.
Jewish holiday of Shavuot – Weeks.
The Book of Ruth also functions liturgically, as it is read during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot – Weeks.
The book is divided into four chapters;
and takes place at the beginning of
barley harvest
which is Passover Pescah
and the story goes through to
wheat harvest
which is Pentecost Shavuot
and covers the
counting of the Omer
over 49 days = 7 weeks.
Barley was used to make bread….
and Who is the Bread of Life?
Feasts of the Lord in Hebrew is
סעודות האל
Chag means feast or festival,
and has its root in the word chah-gog,
that, in the Hebrew mindset, means:
to circle, as in to circle dance or feast.
By definition, these three feasts
are to be celebrated before the Lord
in a joyous, party atmosphere with singing, dancing,
Passover: The Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach.
Passover is the 1st feast commanded by the LORD for Israel to observe. In Old Testament Israel, it commemorated Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
Feast of Unleavened Bread: The Burial of Our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Hag HaMatzah
in modern Israel
is the 2nd of the 7 feasts
that the LORD commanded Israel to celebrate.
Feast of Firstfruits: The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach.
The Feast of Firstfruits
called Bikkurim
in modern Israel
is the 3rd of the 7 Feasts of Israel
commanded by the LORD to be celebrated by Israel.
NOTE: When Ruth appealed to his kinship, he redeemed the property in Ruth 3:9.
In consequence of this he had to marry Ruth, in order
to raise up the name of the dead!!
Pentecost: The Giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church and the First “Come Up Hither”.
The feast of outpouring called
Shavuot
in modern Israel
4th of the 7 Feasts of Israel.
Gleaning was a common practice in ancient Israel.
It was a form of charity for the disadvantaged
(see Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19).
Recognized groups of the poor, such as widows, orphans and foreigners, could walk behind the harvesters, picking up what was left. This is what Ruth did.
They knew that women took an active part in all stages of food production – and Ruth decided she would help to glean the barley in the fields, to feed herself and Naomi and to get a store of grain for winter.
So to keep them from starving to death, Ruth gleans grain in the field of Naomi’s relative, Boaz.
For Ruth, this course of action behind her words led to her salvation…
Don’t leave this page until you are certain of your salvation.
Conclusion coming in next post….
Shalom, shalom, mishpachah!
You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.
Please don’t leave this page without the knowing in your heart you are totally His.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
Its all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.
What is the purpose of the hour?
You must be logged in to post a comment.