and where it was evident in the lives of biblical characters.
There are many references to the number 40 in both the old and new testaments. Mentioned 146-149 times. The English word “forty” appears 158 times in King James Bible verses. This breaks down to 134 occurrences in the Old Testament and 24 times in the New.
Hebrew Strongs #705
arbaim: forty
Original Word: אַרְבָּעִים Part of Speech: noun plural indeclinable Transliteration: arbaim Phonetic Spelling: ar-baw-eem’ Definition: forty
The number 40 is associated with seasons of probation and preparation where spiritual awareness is deepened. It also represents a time of leadership, fasting and victory as well as testings of faith, trials and chastisement. This chastisement is not the same as judgment, like the association represented by the number 9 which operates in connection with punishment of enemies; but rather is in connection to the chastisement of sons, family and of a covenant people who are loved.
As we are in the days of counting from the Omer, which comprise 7×7 weeks, equaling 49 days and on the 50th day is Pentecost/Shavuot. We are aware of the 40 days that Messiah remained with His disciples/talmidim after His resurrection and appeared to many.
As Shavuot/Penetcost is also the Moed/Appointed Time of remembering the giving of Torah to Moses/Moshe. We remember that Moses was called up onto Mount Sinai. Exodus 19:1-3 Moses went up the mountain and in v14 he came down; then in verse 20 he goes up the mountain again -25.
He goes up the mountain in Ex. 24:1-3 with others plus the 70 elders. In verse 9, they ate and drank. Moses went up in verse 12 -18 and stayed 40 days and forty nights; then in chapter 32:15 he came down again.
In chapter 34:1-4 it is recorded that Moses went up the mountain again. In verse 18 he was instructed to keep the feast of matzah. In 34:10 God says: I am making covenant. From verse 22 to verse 27 it records Moses was another 40 days and 40 nights on Mt Sinai and verse 29 tells us when Moses came down his face was shining.
Moses was up and down Mt Sinai several times and twice for 40 days and nights.
Exodus 24:18, 34:1 – 28.He was there in order to receive God’s Torah/teaching/instructions and directives for the children of Israel.
The first 40 years of Moses’ life entails him from growing up in Pharaoh’s royal household and living in Egypt until he slays a man and has to flee to Midian.
The second part of his life is spent as a shepherd in Midian tending Jethroes sheep in the wilderness, until God calls him at age 80 (2×40), to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
During the last third of his life he leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness until he dies at age 120. 3×40 years.
Deut. 34:7
40 years is also applied as encompassing a generation according to Numbers 14:26-38 as with the children of Israel 40 years wandering while the generation died out.
Moses had sent spies, for 40 days, to investigate the land God promised the Israelites as an inheritance. Numbers 13:25, 14:34.
Believing the report of the ten doubters, the people lost heart and rebelled. They “raised their voices and wept aloud,” grumbling against Moses and Aaron, saying, “If only we had died in Egypt…Num. 14:1-10
Num 14:34
According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], 40 days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for 40 years, and you shall know…
They then had to experience the consequences and cost of disobedience and unbelief. The 40 year Wilderness wandering for what was only an 11 day journey!
God told Moses that Because of their sins and initial unwillingness to enter Canaan, God swore that the generation of Israelites who were 20 years old or older, (except for Joshua and Caleb), who left Egyptian bondage would not enter the Promised Land; they would wander in the wilderness until this generation died and a new one could inherit what the Lord promised.
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies
Hebrews 3:16 -4:11
Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me . . .
And your children shall feed in the wilderness forty years and bear your whoredoms until your dead carcasses have been consumed in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29, 33, HBFV).
Some more instances of 40:
The book of Exodus, KJV, is the only book that has 40 chapters.
The chapters Exodus 25, Numbers 29, Judges 6 and 11, 1Chronicles 7, 8 and 12, Job 31, Psalm 37, Jeremiah 23 and 31, John 18, Acts 8, 16 and 21, 1Corinthians 7 and 14, along with Hebrews 11, all have 40 verses in the KJV.
From the time they entered the Promised Land, to the time of King Saul, Israel was sporadically governed by a number of individuals known as Judges. Though they did not rule like a king, they nevertheless had a tremendous influence on the people, as they represented God and were inspired to execute His will. Judges who served 40 years include Othniel, Deborah and Barak, Eli and Gideon.
The first three human kings over the children of Israel, Saul, David and Solomon, each ruled for forty years (1050 to 930 B.C.). After the united kingdom split into two separate pieces, King Joash served 40 official years (39 actual years) as one of Judah’s better kings.
Absalom’s rebellion was near David’s death. The time cannot exceed the stated 40 years. Saul reigned forty years as first king Acts 13:21. And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom …
Abraham began his bargaining with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah if 50 righteous were found, then he asked if they could be spared if 45 existed Genesis 18:23 – 28. He then pleaded to save the cities if only 40 righteous people were found.
And he (Abraham) spoke to Him (the Lord) yet again, and said, “Perhaps there shall be forty found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for forty’s sake.” Genesis 18:29.
Both Isaac and Esau were 40 years old when they were first married Genesis 25:20, 26:34.
Elijah went 40 days without food or water at Mount Horeb. Yeshua/Jesus was tempted by the devil many times during the 40 days He fasted days in the wilderness, after His immersion in the Holy Spirit and before at the start of his public ministry.
40 days of repentance/teshuvah, is observed every year before Rosh Hashanah.
40 days from conception to the initial formation of a human baby, and 40 weeks of gestation until birth.
God flooded the earth by having it rain for 40 days and nights. Genesis 7:12.
After the patriarch Jacob (Israel) died in Egypt, the Egyptians spent 40 days embalming his body. Genesis 50:3.
God allowed the ancient Israelites, from time to time, to be harassed and dominated by certain enemies in order to chastise and humble them for their sins. The Philistines, in the southern and western parts of Israel’s land, harassed them from 1105 to 1065 B.C. God’s resolution to the harassment was Samson who would become one of Israel’s JudgesJudges 13:1, 1Samuel 7:13, 15 – 17.
The prophet Jonah powerfully warned ancient Nineveh, for 40 days, that its destruction would come because of its many sins.
And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the Word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a very great city of three days’ journey across. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4,
The prophet Ezekiel was commanded by God to first lay on his left side for 390 days for the Kingdom of Israel. He was then told to lay on his right side for 40 days for the Kingdom of Judah. This act represented, in years, the length each kingdom would suffer correction for their disobedience to God.
For I have laid on you the years of their (Israel’s) iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when you have fulfilled them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days; a day for a year; a day for a year, I have set it upon you. Ezekiel 4:5 – 6.
Yeshua/Jesus, just days before His crucifixion in 30 A.D., prophesied the total destruction of Jerusalem. Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-2. 40 years after his crucifixion the mighty Roman Empire destroyed the city and burned its beloved temple to the ground, A.D.70.
There are 21 words and phrases in the Bible’s original languages that are recorded exactly 40 times.
Number 40 is equal to 2 x 2 x 2 (or 2 cubed) x 5. Both 2 and 5 are prime numbers.
In the Hebrew AlefBet, the 13th Hebrew letter called Mem, has the numerical value of 40 and is thereby associated with the following: 40 days and nights of flood waters; 40 years in the wilderness; 2×40 days Moses was on Mt Sinai.
Traditionally the letter Mem has several related meanings: waters, people, nations, languages and tongues.
The name of the letter in its most ancient form resembles waves of water. With this in mind such sayings as: sea of torah, the ocean of knowledge and wisdom are often used.
Mem is regarded as the letter of water/mayim; symbolizing the spring of the Torah – Rivers of Living water, i.e. Gods Word. Just as the waters of an underground spring rise upward from an unknown source to reveal themselves, so does the spring of wisdom rise up from the mysterious Source that is our Heavenly Father. This flowing stream of the inner wisdom can be expressed through the gift of human speech. Proverbs 18:4 the words a man speaks are deep waters, a flowing stream, a fountain of wisdom.
In the Hebrew alef -bet, the letter Mem has 2 forms when it is written: an open form and a closed form.
The open form, peucha, is said to represent the revealed truth of God as demonstrated by Moshe/Moses. The use of the closed letter Mem, stumah, is said to represent the concealed truth of our Heavenly Father as was demonstrated by Yeshua/Jesus, the revealer of mysteries.
Matthew 13:10–11 10. The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”
and
Matthew 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hiddenfromthefoundationoftheworld.
Yeshua/Jesus is the only One Who truly satisfies the inner thirst we have for real life, He is the only One Who can satisfy and quench our thirst. Faith/emunah in Him brings refreshment and healing for those He has called His own. John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
The letter M is represented in the Greek alphabet by the letter Mu.
The Old Testament writings use the word “forty” for the number 40. The ones containing the most, are the book of Numbers (19 times) followed by Genesis and Deuteronomy (15 times each). The New Testament books that use the word the most forty, are the book of Acts (10 times) followed by Revelation (6). It is first used in Genesis with its last appearance in Revelation.
And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters. Genesis 5:13, KJV.
The Hebrew word ephah, Strong’s Concordance #H374, is written 40 times in 29 Hebrew Old Testament verses. Its spelling stays the same in the KJV. It is found the most in Ezekiel (17 times) followed by the book of Zechariah (5).
An ephah is used in Scripture as a measure of dry goods such as flour, barley meal, parched corn, wheat and so on. It is roughly equivalent to 22 liters or 20 dry quarts. One of its first uses is in the book of Leviticus.
But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering . . . Leviticus 5:11, KJV.
Caleb, who was 40 years old, and Joshua, were two of the twelve spies Moses sent to the Promised Land, as previously noted, He and Joshua were the only two to have the faith to encourage the people to take the land God had promised them.
Forty-five years later he requested from Joshua the land he was promised for obeying the Lord. He received part of the hill country of Judea which included the cities of Hebron and Debir.
Joshua 14:7 – 15.
King Ahaz, who ruled over the Kingdom of Judah from 735 to 715 B.C., died when he was forty years old.
God’s law allowed a wrongdoer, in certain cases, to be beaten with 40 stripes (scourging) as part of their punishment. Deuteronomy 25:1-3. The Jews would later change this to 39 stripes in order not to exceed this amount per Deuteronomy 25:3. Both Messiah and the Apostle Paul were scourged five times by the Jews for preaching the gospel. 2Corinthians 11:23 – 24.
The Bible was written by 40 different people. There were 32 writers of the Old Testament and only 8; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Peter, Jude, and Paul of the New.
A brief note on the covenants.
The Mosaic covenant, Ex 19:3-6, on the basis of the Abrahamic covenant and promise made to Abraham in Gen.15; God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt and established another covenant with them at Sinai. God used Moses as the deliverer and mediator of this covenant between Israel and Himself. It’s not a covenant of salvation but instead a covenant of blessing and cursing based on trusting and faithfulness on Israels part. The Mosaic covenant is similar to a marriage covenant/contract. This is called a Ketubah or a vassal treaty between God as husband and king, and Israel as His wife and people. It spells out the boundaries and guidelines of the relationship between them, and is summarized in Ex. 19 and 20. The Mosaic covenant includes blessings and security in the land for faithful obedience, Deut. 28; and curses and exile for faithless disobedience. Deut. 27.
The Mosaic Covenant further includes a promise that even though Israel will not keep this covenant fully, and will ultimately be removed from the land; God will not completely forsake them, but He will punish them and scatter them among the nations. From their exile God will circumcise their hearts and they will return to Him in repentance/teshuvah. The Lord will gather Israel back and atone for His people and the land. Deut. 30-33. This promise is to confirm and keep His promise to Abraham. This generation that made the covenant with God at Sinai was not able to enter into the land. The next generation reaffirmed the covenant and entered the land under Joshua, who was a type of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. Each generation of Israel in the land and diaspora must confirm the Abrahamic Covenant by the circumcision of their males; and confirm the Mosaic Covenant by binding the words of God on their foreheads, called teffilim. Though they waver in their faithfulness to the covenant, God remains faithful.
The promises of this covenant must be fulfilled. Messiah Yeshua/Jesus says in Matt. 5:17-19 that until heaven and earth pass away based on the covenant with Noah, the smallest letter or stroke of letter will not pass from the Torah /Mosaic covenant until it is all fulfilled.
Our Heavenly Father said through His prophets that, as long as the heavens and the earth remains, consistent with the Noahide Covenant, Israel would remain a people before Him. The Mosaic covenant is not a replacement of the covenants with Noah and Abraham. It is dependent upon them and along with them is presently in effect. The Davidic covenant also affirms and expresses the earlier covenants. Therefore the new covenant fulfills, adds to and completes, rather than merely replacing the previous covenants. Some denominations are mistaken when they claim that the new has replaced the covenant made between Moses and the children of Israel and God at Sinai. It is simply renewed and added onto the existing covenants, line upon line and precept upon precept. Messiah Yeshua/Jesus came to show us how to live them and complete them according to Gods teachings, ways and decrees, not mans rules regulations and laws.
The Highlight of Revelation, Sinai and the Messiah – Exodus 19:6
When the children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai, Adonai made Himself known to all those people and gave them the Torah by the hand of Moses. Jewish tradition says that this encounter occurred on Pentecost/Shavuot – the Festival of Harvest or Weeks, based on the chronology and Exodus 19:1, 10–16.
Since the event is the highlight of God’s revelation to Israel, it is also known as the Festival of Revelation. At a earlier occasion when Moses encountered the burning bush, God declared that Mt. Sinai was the goal of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.When you have let the people out of Egypt you will worship me on this mountain. Exodus 3:12.
Throughout the Exodus story leading up to this climax, the Lord repeatedly declares that He will make Himself known both to the children of Israel; Exodus 6:7, 10, 29:46; 31:13 and to the Egyptians, Exodus 7:5, 17, 9:29, by His Mighty acts of deliverance. At Mount Sinai this process of self revelation reaches its climax, as all Israel witnesses God’s presence on the mountain. Exodus 19 Deuteronomy 5:2. They accept God’s instruction contained within the Torah. Exodus 24:3 –8
According to Jewish commentators the fact that the nation of Israel witnessed the Lord speaking to Moses from Mt. Sinai, established the Torah as Gods Word; a Word that includes Gods call to Israel to be a kingdom of priests /cohanim.
For me a nation set apart. Exodus 19:6.
Ex. 19:5 -7 the children of Israel and their 12 tribes were supposed to be a whole nation of priests, a kingdom of priests/cohanim, but it ended up with only the Levites being the priestly tribe out of 12 sons and their families.
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus Himself, is an even higher pinnacle of revelation. He doesn’t supersede Torah but rather embodies and perfectly fulfills/completes it. He has made His Word above His Name. Psalm 138:2 For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. |
Like Israel, called to be a nation of priests at Mount Sinai, and although they do not replace the nation of Israel, Messiahs followers are also a chosen people, the Kings Cohanim/priests, a holy nation, a people for God to process.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1Peter 2:9
Are our lives a true reflection of what we are called to be?
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, Deliverer 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.
We know of many names for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the scriptures, and also that they are not mere titles; but they tell us of our Heavenly Fathers character, His attributes, describing Who He is. As well as us knowing Him by His names, we are also better able to understand how He protects, sustains us and intervenes in our situation when necessary.
This reinforces that He is faithful – emeth – אֶמֶת
He is the One Who will bring us through to victory.
The Hebrew word translated faithfulness
means: steadfastness, firmness, fidelity.
The faithfulness of God means that our Heavenly Father is: unchanging in His nature,
faith (1), faithful (2), faithfully (6), faithfulness (10), lasting (1), nor* (1), right (1), true (18), truly (4), truth (80), truth that you may correctly (1), truthful (2)
Genesis 32:10 HEB: הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכָּל־ הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ NAS: and of all the faithfulness which KJV: of all the mercies, and of all the truth,which thou hast shewed INT: the lovingkindness all the faithfulnesswhich have shown
One name we know very well from Psalm 23 is
the Lord our Shepherd.
Shepherd in Hebrew is Rohi.
Yahweh Rohi means: The Lord My Shepherd.
In Psalm 23, David calls upon his Shepherd to be his guide through both the good and the dark places in life. A shepherd feeds his flock and leads them to green pastures. Ezekiel 34:11-15. Yeshua/Jesus – our Good Shepherd is leading us, protecting us, delivering us, hearing us, feeding us, and so much more. When we allow Him to be all of these things to us, really allowing the Lord to be our Shepherd, then David’s words I shall not want will be ours too.
If the Lord is our Shepherd, then we are His sheep. Psalm 100:3 says Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
In Micah chapter 2 there is another reference to His people being as sheep:
Micah 2:12-13: “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make a great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.”
The Hebrew imagery and tradition gives us a great picture of a shepherd making an overnight place of protection for his sheep by building a makeshift rock wall up against the hillside.
When he lets the sheep out in the morning, the shepherd makes a hole/ a break, in the fence/wall by removing some of the stones. Then he steps through the break/gate and the sheep follow after him. They have been tightly corralled all night and the sheep push one another, all trying to get through at the same time, which in their eagerness to get out breaks the wall further, widening the opening. Finally they all break through out into the pasture and run after their shepherd.
In this passage the breaker and the king are one and the same person but, as the rabbis interpret it, the breaker is Elijah, and their king is the Messiah.
In the New Testament we can relate this to Matthew 17:12/13 where Yeshua/Jesus says But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. ….….Then the disciples understood that Hespoketo them concerning Johnthe Baptist.
The rabbis teaching on this passage in Micah 2 is that Elijah would come first as the breaker, the one who would make the first hole in the rock. He goes before the Messiah to prepare the way for Him.
The Messiah is the king who follows Elijah and leads the sheep through the gate to the kingdom of God. The ones following the Messiah will be so anxious to pass through the gate, that they will deliberately widen the gate, like the sheep, ready to get out of their pen and into green pastures.
in Matthew 11:12:it reads “And from the days of John the Baptist until the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
The word violent in the Matthew passage in the Greek is biastes which carries the idea of breaking forth.
In the Aramaic the word used is qetira which has the idea of breaking away from a restraint.
In Jesus/Yeshuas day the teaching in Micah was well known and He was possibly referring to this passage in Micah when He spoke in Matthew 11:12 of taking the kingdom of God by breaking out or removing any restraints.
The translation of the Greek word biastes or of the Aramaic word qetira as violent, gives the impression of aggressive anger rather than the idea of an eager desire to be near the Messiah and unfortunately can be misleading.
What seems clear is that John the Baptist is the breaker here. He makes the breach/hole in the rock wall/gate and goes forth as he has opened the way. He is the Elijah that the rabbis suggest in their teaching on Micah 2. Now as the King, Yeshua/Jesus leads the people/sheep through, and they are so eagerly desiring to enter into the kingdom, like the sheep they break through the gate rushing to the Messiah and the kingdom of heaven.
if in this instance, Yeshua/Jesus is referring to the rabbis, then He is not talking about taking the kingdom by aggression and violence, but is referring to this imagery. This picture was one, which every one listening to Him knew from the old testament. This being, that the people/sheep will be so eager and excited to break out of their old traditions in order to follow the Messiah and enter the kingdom of Heaven; that they will biastes or qetira, that is, they will break down the narrow gate and widen it so that more and more can quickly break through.
In 2 Samuel 5:20 there is another picture of the Lord and of breaking through:
And David came to Baal-perazim, and he smote them there, and said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like the bursting out of great waters. So he called the name of that place Baal-perazim [Lord of breaking through].
He hath overpowered and scattered them, as waters, when they make a breach in a bank, overflow and carry all before them.
20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.”
Strongs 1188
Baal Peratsim: “possessor of breaches,”
a place in Palestine
Original Word:בַּעַל פְּרָצִים Transliteration:Baal Peratsim Phonetic Spelling:bah’-al per-aw-tseem’
From ba’al and the plural of perets; possessor of breaches;
2 Samuel 5:20 HEB: דָוִ֥ד בְּבַֽעַל־ פְּרָצִים֮וַיַּכֵּ֣ם שָׁ֣ם NAS: came to Baal-perazim and defeated KJV: came to Baalperazim, and David INT: came David to Baal-perazim and defeated there
2 Samuel 5:20 HEB: הַה֖וּא בַּ֥עַל פְּרָצִֽים׃ NAS: he named that place Baal-perazim. KJV: the name of that place Baalperazim. INT: place he Baal-perazim
1 Chronicles 14:11 HEB: וַיַּעֲל֥וּ בְּבַֽעַל־ פְּרָצִים֮וַיַּכֵּ֣ם שָׁ֣ם NAS: So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David KJV: So they came up to Baalperazim; and David
1 Chronicles 14:11 HEB: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֔יד פָּרַ֨ץ הָֽאֱלֹהִ֧ים אֶת־ NAS: God has broken through my enemies KJV: God hath broken in upon mine enemies INT: said and David has broken God enemies
1 break or burst out, from womb Genesis 38:29 (J; with accusative of congnate meaning with verb); from enclosure Micah 2:13.
break or burst out, from womb with the breaking of the waters just prior to giving birth.
1 chronicles 14:11 Baal-perazim. — Lord, or owner, of breaches, or breakings forth. “Baal” may refer to Jehovah ( comp. 1Chronicles 9:33, Note); and perāzîm may have also meant the fissures or gullies.
God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.
So David and his men went up to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, God has burst out against my enemies by my hand.”
2 Samuel 5:20 HEB: דָּוִד֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר פָּרַ֨ץ יְהוָ֧ה אֶת־ NAS: The LORD has broken through my enemies KJV: The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies INT: David said has broken the LORD enemies
Strong’s Concordance 6555
parats: to break through
Original Word: פרַץ Transliteration: parats Phonetic Spelling: (paw-rats’) Definition: to break through
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin a prim. root Definition to break through NASB Translation became…prosperous (1), breaches (1), break (2), break their down (1), break down (1), break forth (1), breaker (1), breaking away (1), breaks through (2), broke (1), broke down (1), broken (3), broken down (5), broken through (2), destroyed (1), distributed (1), employ violence (1), everywhere (1), increase (1), increased (3), infrequent* (1), made (1), made an outburst (1), outburst* (2), overflow (1), sinks (1), spread (3), spread abroad (1), tear down (1), through (1), tore down (2), urged (4).
Strongs 6559
Peratsim: a mountain in Isr.
Original Word: פְרָצִים Transliteration: Peratsim Phonetic Spelling: (per-aw-tseem’)
The breaking out of the sheep – the place of the breaches.
This is the place they left their gods and they were burned up completely. It’s a place of a spiritual battle.
David had a similar experience when he encountered the Lord fighting for them in 2 Samuel and 1chronicles. He described it as like a river bursting over its banks and overwhelming his enemies, a similar scene to the sheep rolling out over the stone walls, pictures the rush and flow or the breaking through.
Yeshua/Jesus our shepherd, our Messiah – our breaking through. He is Lord of breaking through.
Whatever prison we are in, whatever situation seem to have us penned in, He is the Way out, He is the breach that leads to our freedom. He is Lord of breaking through. Just like a river bursting over its banks, after the water has risen to the point beyond capacity, our Heavenly Father promises that we will never be tested beyond what we can handle and then the break through comes!
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
1Corinthians 10:13
He is the Lord our Shepherd, the One who makes a breach in the wall for us to rollout over the wall and follow Him like a overflow of rushing water eager to enter into His kingdom!
He is the Lord of the Breaking through. He is the place of the breaches. He is baal Perazim, He is the spiritual break through and the natural breaking through in our situation and circumstances.
Ba’al P’ratzim – Lord of breaking through.
Baal Peratsim: possessor of breaches.
It is time to burn our idols and any thing that we put before the Lord in our lives. David said God has broken through my enemies by my power like a river breaking through its banks. Because he obeyed the Lord’s command… the victory was assured.
Its time for us to paratz – to break through. John went before Messiah and Messiah has gone before us and opened the WAY. He knows where you are and your situation, He has not forgotten you… the Lord of breaking through has made a Way for you. Keep your eyes on Him, your Good Shepherd is about to call you out by name.
Read Micah 2:12,13 again…..
We are grafted into Israel through Messiah, Who is The breaker.… Who has come up before them: and passed through the Veil, the Gateway, the Dalet, the Door to the Father.
He is the King who has passed before us… the prison door is open wide what are we still doing inside?
He is the Lord our breakthrough,
believe it,
receive it
and see the salvation of the Lord today.
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.
What has a flaming sword at a garden gate, a golden box, keruvim, a lion, an ox, and an eagle to do with mazzaroth, the Tribes, two visions, the mishkan and Yeshua/Jesus?
Investigating more mysteries that connect from Genesis to Revelation.
Keruvim כְּרוּבִים
CHERUBIM
Angels but not what we thought!
Hebrew: keruvim כְּרוּב kərūv, pl. כְּרוּבִים, kərūvîm;
Latin cherub, pl. cherubin, cherubim;
Depiction of the cherubim of glory shadowing the Mercy-seat (χερουβιμ δόξης κατασκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον) of Hebrews 9:5 (Julius Bate 1773).
In Hebraic angelic hierarchy, cherubim have the second-lowest rank according to Maimonides Mishneh Torah (12th century).
Cherubim are discussed within the Midrash literature. The two cherubim placed by the Father at the entrance of Eden (Gen. 3:24) Angels were created on the third day, and therefore they had no definite shape; appearing either as men or women, or as spirits or angelic beings (Genesis Rabbah xxi., end). The cherubim were the first objects created in the universe. (Tanna debe Eliyahu R., i. beginning).
The Cherubim angels are occasionally confused with the Seraphim rank of angels, as there are many kinds of angels; the highest being the Seraph, next the Cherub.
They are actually different categories of beings. Cherubim have four wings and do not look human, (seraphim, have six wings and also do not look human). The Bible also refers to Angels as men, since that is exactly what they look like and they do not have wings or halos, (nothing in the Bible has a halo). Angels, as their name denotes, are messengers. If a being is not delivering a message, does not look like a human male and has wings then it is not an Angel.
For one example, see Genesis 18:2 three men and 19:1 which identifies two of them as Angels. (Many scholars say that the other was pre-incarnate Yeshua/Jesus).
The Cherubim, similar to the word Seraphim, is plural. The word Cherubim refers to more than one Cherub angel.
Cherubim are said to be about 18ft (5.4864 Meters) tall have four faces:
one of a lion (representative of all wild animals , one an ox (domestic animals), one a human (humanity), and one an eagle (birds).
They have four conjoined wings covered with eyes, a lion’s body figure, and they have ox’s feet.
Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24).
and also to the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14-16).
Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end: you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. Ex. 25:19
“And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks.” Ezekiel 10:5
A Cherub is a supernatural being referenced throughout both the Old and New Testament of the Bible. Like the Seraphim, the Cherubim were originally a Judaic rank of angels, and they eventually were incorporated into Christian scripture, appearing in numerous books including the Book of Revelation. Other notable examples of them in literature are in John Milton’s 17th century epic poem, Paradise Lost.
Cherubim are first mentioned in connection with the expulsion from Eden in Genesis 3:24 here there is no information given of their shape or form.
The Cherubim and flaming sword were to keep Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of life while in an unregenerate state; or mankind would have been forever separated from the love and blessings of the Father.
They are next mentioned when Moses was commanded to provide furniture for the tabernacle Ex. 25:17-20; 26:1,31.
God promised to commune with Moses from between the cherubim. 25:22
They represent the mercy of God, which is always above the testimony.
Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
2 Samuel 6:2, “And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.”
Numbers 7:89, “And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims; and he spake unto him.”
The Cherubim are not just allegories. They are actual beings in heaven guarding the way to the Mercy Seat.
This expression was afterwards used to denote the Divine abode and presence. Num. 7:89; 1Sam. 4:4; Is 37:16; Ps. 80:1; 99:1.
In Ezekiel’s vision they appear as living creatures supporting the throne of God. From Ezekiel’s description of them 1:5-10;41:18-19 they appear to have been compound figures each one having 4 different faces, the face of a man, lion, ox, and eagle.
Unlike any real object in nature, possessing the features and properties of several animals.
The closest word we have to describe them is chimera; an animal whose body contains different cell populations derived from different zygotes of the same or different species, occurring spontaneously or produced artificially; i.e. an individual composed of a mixture of genetically different cells.
Man- This face spoke of mind, reason, affections, and all the things that encompass a human being.
Lion- The lion was always recognized as strong, fierce, and majestic. It was the most royal of all animals.
Pro 30:30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts and does not turn away from any;
Pro 20:2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
Ox- The Ox was recognized as the animal who patiently labored for his owner. He was strong, able to bear a burden, and knew its owner.
Pro 14:4 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox.
Ps 144:14 That our oxen may be well-laden; that there be no breaking in or going out; that there be no outcry in our streets.
Is 1:3 The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider.”
Eagle- The divine bird that flew above the storms, while below there was only sorrows, dangers, and distress. A swift bird strong and powerful, never becoming weary.
Pro 30:18-19 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a virgin.
Is 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Ps. 103:5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Ex. 19:4 `You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Ezek. 17:3 “and say, `Thus says the Lord GOD: “A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, full of feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon and took from the cedar the highest branch.
Hos. 8:1 “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
King David probably knew about God’s chariots/cherubim, as apparently he a rode in one of them. This is recorded in two accounts in scripture, 2 Samuel 22: 7-22 and Psalms 18:6-17.
A record of a divine deliverance, when he was trapped between Mount Carmel jutting out into sea and the Mediterranean ocean as he was cornered by the army of Saul.
Two cherubim were placed on the mercy seat of the ark and two of COLOSSAL size overshadowed it in Solomons Temple.
“In the inner shrine he [Solomon] carved two cherubim of wild olive wood, each ten cubits high . . . and he overlaid the cherubim with gold.” (1 Kings 6:23-28) “The cherubim, whose wings were spread over the place of the Ark , formed a canopy above the Ark and its poles.” (1 Kings 8:7)
The illustration below depicts Solomons Temple and the Kohen Gadol (High Priest.) On the day of Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement); he was presenting incense before God, a few steps away from the Ark of the Covenant which was resting between the outstretched wings of the towering figures of the two Cherubim. This was the only day of the year the Kohen Gadol ever entered the Kodesh haKodashim (Holy of Holies). He is shown wearing a simple linen garment specially made for the day.
The main hall of the Temple which is reported to be 20 cubits wide (9 meters or 27 feet) and 30 cubits high (13.5 meters or 40 feet). The Holy of Holies, with the Ark of the Covenant and the two giant Cherubs in it, is described as a cube 20 x 20 x 20 cubits. 2 Chron 3:13; they stood on their feet and faced inwards their wings spanned 20 cubits overall.
Converting the measurement of the biblical cubit as approximately 18 inches, the cherubim were 15 feet tall and the wing measurement from the tip of one wing to the other was also 15 feet.
Together, the two cherubim covered a span of 30 feet in the Holy of Holiest in the Temple of Solomon.
Ezekiel 1:4-14 speaks of 4 and also this number, 4, of living creatures is mentioned in Rev. 4:6.
Those on the ark are called the cherubim of glory. Hebrews 9:5;
Hebrews 9:1-5 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. 2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 5 And over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. (KJV)
These cherubim of Glory were the appearance of the Glory of the Lord.
That is the Shechinah, or cloud of glory, for on them the visible glory of God rested. They were placed one at each end of the mercy seat, with wings stretched upward, and their faces toward each other and toward the mercy-seat. They were anointed with holy oil, like the ark itself and the other sacred furniture.
The cherubim were symbolical.
They were intended to represent spiritual existences in immediate contact with The Father. Some have regarded them as symbolical of the chief ruling power by which God carries on His operations in providence. (Ps.18:10). Others interpret them as having reference to the redemption of men, and as symbolizing the great rulers or ministers of the church.
Their office was: first, on the expulsion from Eden, to prevent all access to the tree of life;
and second to form the throne
and the chariot of God in His manifestation of Himself on Earth.
He dwelleth between and sitteth on the cherubim (1 Sam 4:4; Ps. 80:1; Ezek.1:26,28).
The 2 cherubim were on the mercy-seat with wings outstretched.
Ex 25:18-20 “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. “Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. “And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.”
They represent the judgment of God.
Their position indicates that God’s judgment upon Israel was averted because of the blood-sprinkled mercy seat.
John also in Revelation sees a vision of the cherubim:
Rev. 4:6-8 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Though artistic interpretation can be fairly relaxed when it comes to the Seraphim, it is also extremely varied in regard to the Cherubim.
The original Jewish depictions of them are thought to resemble an angelic or mythical being similar to that of a griffin, possessing a lion’s body, and an eagle’s wings and head.
In Christianity however, the Cherubim are often portrayed in artistic iconography as a four winged creature with more than one head, usually that of man, lion, eagle, and ox. Some of the gothic interpretations can be quite fearful in appearance.
During the Renaissance a tremendous amount of confusion arose over the attributes and characteristics of the Cherubim, when on numerous occasions they were confused with putti angels, winged children who are generally depicted holding small golden trumpets.
In Western Christian tradition, cherubim have become associated with the putto (derived from classical Cupid/Eros), resulting in depictions of cherubim as small, plump, winged boys.
So the scripture shows that a Cherub is a mighty and fearsome winged beast and guardian of Eden, not the image of an innocent childlike being. The confusion is still widespread even in this day and age, and we can blame the Renaissance artists for it. So now when we call a small child a little cherub we may want to change the adjective for something else!
In chapter 1 Ezekiel the prophet designates them as living creatures (chayyoth); the chart above shows the difference between the cherubim described in Ezekiel, with the one that John gives in the book of Revelation.
Do they appear the same on earth as in Heaven??
This is a possible explanation for the differences.
The wings being raised would cover the view of the other faces. Due to Heaven existing in another dimension parallel to ours, it makes sense that they would probably appear differently there.
Time is cyclical. Time as we know it exists only in this earthly dimension.
When we recognize the fact that God has more dimensions of space and time than just the 4 dimensions we tend to think in, it makes it easier to understand how God is able to be omnipresent and that this plural God is singular.
We tend to look at life in 3 dimensions of space and one dimension of time because of the way we have been educated.
Time, that for us, seems to travel forward and is linear.
God however, is not limited to 1 dimension of time or He would not be 1 God who is omnipresent. The chart below on the left depicts 2 dimensions of time; one of length and one of height. If time has just 2 dimensions, then within every moment of time there is an infinite amount of time. Paper, for example, is only 2 dimensional, and so we can only show 2 dimensions at once.
In the diagram above pictured on the right, simulated are 3 dimensions of time in which it implies that time has depth as well. If God is above time, at this point He can not only see the past, the present, and the future consecutively but He can also influence and interact with them all simultaneously. This is why He can say His Name is I AM (not I WAS or I WILL BE); and why He is the same yesterday today and forever. Heb.13:8
When John saw Messiah in Heaven for example, He appeared as a lamb that was slain, with 7 eyes and 7 horns.
Seven is the number of perfection and horns represent power. In the same way eyes are how we perceive things, so they represent wisdom. This is picturing Messiah with perfect power and perfect wisdom. In Ezekiel, the cherubim are depicted with 4 wings and 4 faces.
The number four is the signature of the Earth, depicting our four seasons and 4 corners giving us 4 directions; East, West, North, and South.
Ezekiel 41:18 And it (the paneling of the holy place of the temple) was made with cherubs …and two faces were to a cherub, the face of a man, toward the palm tree from here, and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree from there. It was made to continue all around on the wall of the temple.
The Keruvim/Cherubim are the connection to the flaming sword at a garden gate, a golden box (ark of the covenant/mercy seat), a lion, an ox, an eagle and the two visions of Ezekiel and John. However the conclusion to the mystery with mazzaroth, the Tribes, and Yeshua/Jesus is coming in part 2.
The Scriptures tell us that angels watch over us make sure that you are saved and that they can be of optimum assistance in your life
For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven Matt. 18:10
“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Ex. 23:20
Shalom Mishpachah/Family!
Please, don’t leave this page until..
you are awakened to Messiah..
we all need to born again from above..
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
Its 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.
Now we are at the fourth Hebrew Feast called Shavuot in Hebrew and Pentecost in Greek, from the word for 50.
Pronounced sha-voo-ote.
In parts of Europe it is also known as Whitsun, Whit Sunday or Whitsuntide.
In Deuteronomy 16:16, 17 Shavuot is known as the Feast of Weeks in addition to being called first fruits.
The name Shavuot, comes from the word, weeks. In Hebrew, the word weeks is Strong’s 7620, Shaabu’ot.
It is not mentioned by name but referenced in John 5:1. So called because it falls exactly 7 weeks and one day after the first fruits of Unleavened Bread following Passover.
Shavout was the Holy day that launched the reaping of wheat, the summer harvest and the second first fruits of the year.
It was during this feast that God’s Holy Spirit filled them and they spoke in tongues and 3000 came to the Lord. They were the first fruits of the congregation of believers.
These 3000 were all Israelites/Jewish men and women who had come in obedience to Jerusalem. This was one of the three pilgrimage festivals of: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, where all Israelite males are to appear before God with offerings, and give according to his blessings. They came to see and be seen before the ‘face of God’ in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. This was not a new Holy date for them, their ancestors had been obediently keeping this command since God gave the dates to Moses in Leviticus 23:15
This is why it is also the anniversary of the giving of the 10 Commandments and the Torah, (first five books of the old Testament), on Mount Sinai. Here, God’s covenant was made with the children of Israel to come and dwell with His presence among them, to be contained in the ark of the covenant. Ex.19:1
The Israelites accepted the covenant agreements and declared ‘all He has said we will do.’ It was in effect the marriage of God to His beloved Israel and Israel became a nation that day. A chosen generation, a people set apart to Him a Holy nation, a royal priesthood. Ex 19:6 ‘And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an Holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.’
For us as believers, grafted in by grace, Holy, sanctified, set apart as 1Pet 2:9 tells us;
‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an Holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.’
Everything is connected, when we only remember some parts of the Holy days, it does not make as much sense.
50 days earlier, The children of Israel sacrificed their first Passover lambs; ate their first meal consisting of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs; fled away from Pharaoh and the Egyptians; and emerged alive from the Red Sea, all in the first month (Aviv). They traveled for the remainder of the first month and throughout all of the second month (Zif or Iyyar). The day the children of Israel walked out of the Red Sea (Aviv 17) is counted as day one, then Sivan 1 would have been day 45 of their journey. They then set up camp in front of Mount Sinai which, according to Gal. 4:25, is in (Saudi) Arabia.
Although not specifically stated, it was probably the next day (day 46) that Moses ascended the mountain to speak with God Ex.19:3-6; and the following day (day 47), Moses returned to the people and told them everything God had said (19:7). The people agreed with what God had said, so the next day (day 48) Moses brought this information back to the Lord (19:8,9).
The Lord told Moses to return to the people that very day (day 48) and “…consecrate them today and tomorrow…and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people” (19:10,11). The third day (Sivan 6), then, would be the fiftieth day of their trek, beginning with the day they came up out of the Red Sea (Aviv 17).
For Shavuot, it is added also that ‘you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt,’ (Deut 16:12). In reminding ourselves, we understand both the natural and spiritual meaning to what it means to be a ‘slave in Egypt.’ For us it was to have been, ‘In bondage to the ways of the world’, and without God’s provision through Jesus, we have no hope of gaining freedom, no promise of forgiveness of sin or redemption unto eternal life in the Fathers presence.
God’s appearance upon Mount Sinai, on the sixth day of the sixth month (Sivan), was in a manner that the children of Israel would not soon forget:
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. … Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire.
The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.
Teeth, consume, destroy:sheen – alef:ox, bull, strength,leader, first
Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him (Ex.19:16,18,19).
The people were too awestruck and afraid to have God speak directly to them Ex 20:18; Deut 5:5. So, then and later, God spoke to Moses the Ten Commandments and the Law (the Torah):
the instructions and guidelines by which He wanted His people to live and the means by which sacrifices were to be presented.
This was a manifestation of the same fire Moses saw in Midian many years before.
While unleavened bread symbolizes Jesus’ sinless humanity (Luke 22:19),
the two loaves used at Shavuot / Pentecost contain yeast and symbolize that the Body of Messiah Jesus (the congregation) would be made up of sinners as well.
The two loaves used at Shavuot also symbolize Jews and Gentiles, demonstrating the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham to bless all the nations through him (Gen. 12:3; see Gal. 3:26-28).
Here is also where the story of Ruth is remembered.
On the surface a seemingly simple story, however it is profound in depth. It describes the loyalty and kindness of the gentile Moabitess, who sought refuge under the wings of the Divine presence after the death of her Israelite husband. It is also the story of the Scripture guidance and nurturing provided by her mother-in-law. Further it is the account of the older judge who became her kinsman redeemer and from whose union emerged the hidden spark of the Messiah.
Boaz became Ruth’s ‘kinsman redeemer’, (a type of Jesus the Messiah). It was prophetic of the future ‘grafting in‘, of the gentiles. (Also called, the heathen or goyim and refers to all people from non-Israelite nations.)
Boaz was true to his responsibilities and married Ruth. They had a boy and named him Obed, (Oved). He was the father of Jesse, the father of David and therefore part of the ancestral line from which Jesus/Yeshua was descended.
(See video at end for more of the Ruth and Boaz story.)
We as gentiles, are indeed grafted in by grace to the royal household of Jesus the King of Kings. Everything is connected and not one story can be left out, nor does it stand alone.
We are to count 50 days, including the Day of First fruits, to the day after the 7th weekly Sabbath, which is Shavuot (Pentecost) (Leviticus 23:15-16). The 50th day is Shavuot the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
An offering of two loaves of bread was made with fine flour and baked with leaven. The bread is to be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. (Lev. 23:16,17,20).
‘bring two loaves made of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of first fruits to the Lord’ ( Lev. 23:17).
These loaves of leavened bread were significant as a ‘mikrah’ (rehearsal), of something that God had in mind for a time in the future.
This subtle instruction indicates a great truth.
These two ‘wave loaves’ are of equal weight and they are baked with leaven called ‘firstfruits.’ Since they are baked with leaven, they represent sinful man (certainly not, for example, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who are unleavened) and since they are ‘first fruits’, they are redeemed or resurrected men. Obviously God was predicting here that the Body of Jesus would be comprised of two parts, Jew and Gentile, of course it was originally and has always been part Jewish, since the Lord inevitably retains a remnant of His People.
We are the ONE NEW MAN: Israelite/Jew and Gentile/Heathen TOGETHER
Eph. 2:15
Counting the ‘days between’, the disciples continued in prayer. Acts 2:42; and waited obediently and patiently for Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit would come and live in believers’ hearts (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), and He said it would happen soon after His ascension (Acts 1:4-5)
They were Preparing their hearts to receive the gift of Holy Spirit. The comforter, the One who comes alongside to help, to empower, to quicken us, and make us alive.
Acts 2 records the fulfillment of Shavuot as the promised Holy Spirit descends, indwells believers and ushers in the church age, which we are still in.
Holy Spirit descended upon each of them with the same Holy fire that some 3300 years before, had protected their ancestors in the wilderness.
The same ‘fire’ from the mountain that had made Moses face shine.
Now 3300 (approx.) years later His presence is with them and each individual becomes the physical container of His Glory.
On the Day of Pentecost, as descendants of the children of Israel from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem, they read, among other Scriptures, Ezek. 1:1-28 and 3:12; and Hab. 2:20 – 3:19. These passages speak of the brightness of God’s glory. Ezekiel heard wind and voices, and saw fire; later, he witnessed the departure of the Shekinah glory from the Temple.
There was expectation on this special day that the Shekinah glory would return and take its rightful place in the Temple’s Holy of Holies. But instead, as Luke records in Acts 2, there was wind, fire, and voices (the 120 speaking in tongues). Rather than returning to reside in the Temple, the Holy Spirit took up residence in the ‘temple of God’ (1 Cor. 3:16), the bodies of believers in Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
(Acts 2:5). When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues [languages] as the Spirit enabled them.
‘…there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound [the speaking in tongues], a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language’. (Acts 2:5,6).
In this way, God began to use believers, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, to be His witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). The 3,000 saved on the Day of Pentecost were Jews. Filling them with a bold spirit that compelled them to testify of Him in joy and truth, preaching the good news to all who would listen.
Just as faithful Israelites brought the first fruits of their wheat harvest to the Temple on Shavuot, so the 3,000 Jewish believers on the Day of Pentecost were the first fruits of the Body of Messiah, (the congregation/church).
Peters was ‘on fire’ for the Lord and his first sermon after Pentecost is recorded in Acts 2:1-41.
This feast is very much about those of us who are grafted in by His Grace.
Jesus/Yeshua and Pentecost/Shavuot
Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, fulfilled the 4th Hebrew Spring festival at Pentecost.
The Feast of Weeks always had been considered a time of offering ‘firstfruits’ to the Lord. Lev 23:20; Num.28:26, just as the Feast of First fruits had been. Similarly, Pentecost was the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s moving upon many people who would be the ‘first fruits’ from spiritual death—‘born again,’ as it were—into spiritual Life in Jesus. John 3:3-7.
At Mount Sinai, there was an unmistakable, extraordinary, supernatural manifestation of God, to those whom He had chosen to perceive it firsthand. At that point in time, though, God still was ‘untouchable’; and the people were so afraid to hear God speak that Moses had to be the ‘mediator’ between God and the children of Israel.
In Jerusalem on Pentecost, the manifestation of God, in Holy Spirit, not only was perceived but also received by those who believed upon Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Jesus, manifested in the Holy Spirit, was (and is) the ultimate “mediator” between God and His people.
Before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that He was “…going to the Father” John 14:12, 28; 16:10. In other words, He was going to leave them by ascending into heaven (after His resurrection) to join God the Father. Then He made this promise:
‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor [or Comforter] to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.’ John 14:16-19.
Jesus said that He was leaving but that the Father would send another (the Counselor or Comforter) in His place. But then Jesus said, ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you and …you will see me’. Later He said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’.
How could this possibly be? Was Jesus ‘coming or going’?
Actually, and wonderfully, He was going to do both. Holy Spirit would come to dwell within all believers, enabling them spiritually to ‘see’ Jesus, John 14:19. There is not a thought, motive, purpose, or action that the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit do not share in common. Therefore, when Jesus claimed that the Counselor (Holy Spirit) was coming, yet in another place implied that ‘He’ was coming, there was no contradiction; Jesus was (and is) present in and through the Holy Spirit of God.
Meaning of Pentecost
Finally, this ties counting the days and the two first fruits together. Just as Jesus ties His Resurrection, Ascension and the giving of the emersion of His Holy Spirit at the Feast of Weeks.
In the same way as the farmers could not use the wheat crop until the offering of the loaves; so also Jesus the Bread of Life, had to ascend, before the rest of ‘the grain’, (His disciples), could take Holy Spirit and be used in power as recorded in Acts 2.
After Pentecost they healed the sick, delivered the oppressed and raised the dead.
It was REAL and they were forever changed. When God truly touches your life you are never the same again. There is a fire in your heart and in your bones (Jer. 20:9), and nothing else but God will satisfy. (Ps. 90:14; 107:9)
The zeal of God consumed them, (Ps.69:9) and they were on fire, a fire that cannot be quenched, the same fire that burns but does not harm, like that which Moses saw in the burning bush.
The description is of tongues of fire upon each one and may seem a little strange as some artists depict it. However, when you experience the power of the living God it is unmistakable.
It is to the Jew first and then to the gentile (Rom 1:16; 2:10) and because of their obedience to the Lord’s commands and also because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are grafted in by His grace. (Rom. 11:17) This enables us to receive the benefits of salvation, forgiveness, mercy and the opportunity to be filled with His Holy Spirit.
His priceless gift is given to every believer.
He did not come to abolish the law (Matt. 5:17) and as Jesus told the rich young ruler to keep the commandments, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–43
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and let your desire be for Him. Jesus, the Father and Holy Spirit are one and with His indwelling power we are enabled to accomplish that which is not possible by our own abilities and strength.
For as Matt.19:26; Luke 18:27 remind us..
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
We can experience Pentecost every day and not for a purely personal experience but to empower us to do His will and fulfill the purpose for which we are reminded here, Exodus 8:1 .. I set you free to serve Me.
The same is also true for us. We are called to leave all our idols behind, which is often hard in this materialistic, Nikolatian, humanistic, leisure filled age. Old habits die hard! As with the children of Israel in the wilderness and we often fall short in our focus on material things, instead of doing the things Jesus brings out in Matthew 25:35.
Shavout is important to believers because it ties deliverance, freedom and salvation, celebrated at Passover with Jesus crucifixion, to His resurrection and firstfruits of unleavened bread. His ascension 40 days later and then his sending the emersion/saturation of Holy Spirit on the first fruits of Shavout giving us the power to live victorious lives and to witness to non-believers.
Jesus is the promise and reality of the 10 commandments made flesh.
This does not mean these were the first people to receive the gift of eternal life, just that they were the first to obtain access to numerous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
When invited, God’s Holy Spirit dwells inside anyone who believes in Jesus’ physical, bodily resurrection from death, one who accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord of one’s life, and who looks forward with great anticipation to the miraculous resurrection and eternal perfection of one’s own body. Paul said that “…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom.8:23).
This post completes the 4 Spring Feasts series and all of them are relevant to us as Christian Believers.
A look at the number 40,
The open form, peucha, is said to represent the revealed truth of God as demonstrated by Moshe/Moses. The use of the closed letter Mem, stumah, is said to represent the concealed truth of our Heavenly Father as was demonstrated by Yeshua/Jesus, the revealer of mysteries.
An ephah is used in Scripture as a measure of dry goods such as flour, barley meal, parched corn, wheat and so on. It is roughly equivalent to 22 liters or 20 dry quarts. One of its first uses is in the book of Leviticus.
This does not mean these were the first people to receive the gift of eternal life, just that they were the first to obtain access to numerous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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