our Toldot are our ancestors our previous generations.
They are our Avot: forefathers, fathers or ancestors.
אבות
The opening blessing of the T’filah/prayer, is called
Avot v’Imahot,
which literally means
Fathers and Mothers.
The blessing connects us with the patriarchs:
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ;
and the matriarchs:
or imahot (אמהות) in Hebrew,
refers to the Torah ’s four foundational women:
Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
Below In Hebrew:
Rachel, Leah, Rebecca and Sarah.
רחל לאה רבקה שרה מהתנ”ך
I am the root and offspring of David, and the star, the bright, the morning (star).
He is David’s Lord and David’s Son, possessing David’s throne Matthew 22:42-45; Luke 1:32 ;
He is the bright star which leads up the dawn of everlasting day Malachi 4:2; 2Peter 1:19
שֶׁרֶשׁ
shoresh: a root
8328 Original Word: שֶׁרֶשׁ Transliteration: shoresh Phonetic Spelling: (sheh’-resh)
The certainty of final triumph for all mankind rests on the fact of its intimate relationship with Yeshua/Jesus which is only found in a vital union with Him.
These titles imply the entire identification of humanity with Messiah.
Jesus/Yeshua, declared Himself to be the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Messiah would come:
John 6:25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.
Another translation says:
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus answered “I am he, the one who is speaking to you”
and,
not only is He the promised descendant or
Offspring of David,
but that He is the eternal source or
The Root of David.
Yeshua/Jesus is not only the Offspring of David,
He also is his Root.
The Root is that which,
hidden from sight,
is
the SPRING and origin of life/chaim
to trees and herbs
and
countless OFFSPRING
of the garden and the plain.
Thus Yeshua/Jesus is the
cause of life/chaim
to David.
I am the root of David
that is,
David sprang from Him.
That is a title of deity
I am the ROOT of David.
David came into existence
through
the omnipotent power of Yeshua/Jesus.
I was before all things…
Colossians 1:17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Adding khi makes the word a very definite, deliberate action.
It means Because I AM.
and the word elohim meaning God.
JOHN 8:56-59 56 “ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Some say that the words
I AM
is the divine name of God
of which Yeshau/Jesus attributed to Himself.
John 8:58
The context of the passage for which Yeshua/Jesus was answering points to the fact that He was speaking about
His existence,
NOT
His name,
which is in reference to the words
Before Abraham.
Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44
Proverbs 8:22-31. 22 “I, wisdom, was with the Lord when he began his work, long before he made anything else. 23 I was created in the very beginning, even before the world began. 25 before the hills were there, before the mountains were put in place.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Genealogy has become a popular hobby as we try to find out where we come from. Most know their immediate family members but after grandparents, things often get cloudy and memories fail and so we lose the connections to our ancestors.
In Hebrew those who were to become priests had to have documents as proof of their being qualified to be accepted into the priesthood.
It was all about lineage from acceptable tribes that God had begun with Moses and the Levites from the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel.
This is why in Matthew and Luke the first chapters have the genealogy of Jesus clearly stated. He was to become our high priest and the Toldot was of critical importance.
Kohen · Recognition of priestly descent.
There were other qualifications for becoming High Priest other than heredity. Although the age of eligibility is not fixed in the Bible, according to rabbinical tradition it was twenty years old 2Chronicles 31:17.
The man considered for the office of High Priest must be married, and his wife must be an Israelite maiden
Leviticus 21:13 – 14.
The priesthood of ancient Israel was the class of male individuals, who, according to the Hebrew Bible, were descendants from Aaron, who served in the Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple and Second Temple until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Their temple role included animal sacrifice.
The priests are viewed as continuing in the Kohen families of rabbinical Judaism.
We often skimmed through or
even pass over reading the list of the begats
and yet… within this list are
five chosen specifically by God
in a line unbroken
in the root and offspring of David.
This is not a comprehensive in depth study but rather an overview of Mary as being 1 of the 5 connected by their Toldot.
These who came before Him were also born of woman.
From Genesis, God refers to the seed of the woman, not the man, who is the one crushing the seed of the serpent.
No doubt this is why women have had such a rough deal through the millenia; the seed of the serpent hates her because she is the agent of his demise!!
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and
her seed/zera.
He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
This was the first announcement of the gospel.
This is the first prophecy about the Messiah (Christ), who through His death on the cross and resurrection would ultimately defeat Satan, the power behind the serpent, with a death blow.
The Lord Jesus/Yeshua is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but He is also the Root of David (Isaiah 11:1 and 10).
Yeshua the Messiah is in absolute control. The title/the Root, or descendant, of David comes from a prophecy in 2Samuel 7:5-16, the chapter of God’s covenant with David, where ADONAI said:
Your house and your kingdom will last forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.
The Bible is over 95% male-oriented. Of 1,426 names in the Bible only 111 names are women’s. … Mary of Nazareth, however, is among the women most mentioned in the Bible, that is, in the New Testament./B’rit Chadashah
חֲדָשָׁה בְּרִית
The Brit Chadasha, like the Tanakh, is a collection of writings (27 in total) all authored by devout Jews (with the possible exception of Luke/Acts).
But it is essential that everyone comes as a child through a womb. Just as Jesus/Yeshua also came through a womb to enter this realm; and the seed was from above the womb from below.
Heaven and earth joined and brought forth a child who would be our agent of salvation.
From the realms of unapproachable light, God sent Gabriel His angelic messenger with a message specifically to the children of Israel.
The Toldot of Jesus/Yeshua is clearly listed and within the list are five Rechem/ wombs that were essential in His Toldot.
Because it is the season when many think of His birth, we will first look at His mother whose Rechem carried Him while His physical body developed.
The word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Because so much unscriptural doctrine revolves around Mary it is important to examine the scriptures carefully to avoid being misled.
Initially lets discard some traditions of men, some church folklore and other misconceptions that have gathered around Mary over the generations/Toldot.
Mary was called Miriam/Maryam/Miryam in Hebrew
and she was not Catholic.
Catholicism was rooted in Roman Christianity which began much later.
The official beginning of the Roman Catholic church occurred in 590 CE, with Pope Gregory I. This time marked the consolidated of lands controlled by authority of the pope, and thus the church’s power, into what would later be known as ” the Papal States.”
Christians started the church in Rome almost certainly by AD 50. Paul visited the well-established church in AD 63. The Roman Catholic Church can trace its roots all the way back to the original Christian church in Rome.
In fact all denominations have their roots back there…
The scriptures do not tell us that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life; nor that she was herself coming from an immaculate conception. There is no scripture that says she was raptured into heaven without dying; or that she has any part in the process of salvation for the humanity of the world. Nothing in the Jewish/Hebrew prophets point to anyone other than Jesus/Yeshua becoming flesh to save and redeem humanity from sin.
As the Scriptures tell us, Mary/Miriam like every other human being was born in sin. Romans 3:23
Mary did not have any god-like qualities placed upon her at her death, and we are to pray to the Father in Jesus/Yeshua Name according to the scripture.
Matthew 14:19.
Praying directly to God the Father in the name of Yeshua/Jesus, means you recognize and realize that it is only through Yeshua/Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross, that we now have direct access to both Him and His Father in heaven.
And Him only are we to worship. No one else can hear and answer prayers. Matthew 22:37
It was important that Jesus/Yeshua be known as the legitimate son of Joseph and Mary because through Joseph He came the right to David’s throne.
In Mary’s day there were Jews and Gentiles, pagans and heathens who worshipped idols. Mary/Miriam was Jewish and for centuries Israel had waited for the redeemer spoken of by the prophets.
It is probably true to say that many Jewish women desired to be that ONE; even maybe prayed to be the chosen vessel. It was part of their faith, culture and belief system. It was not an unknown possibility/ and they believed that prophecy would be fulfilled one day. Luke 1:28
Then it happened God sent Gabriel to Nazareth to a young woman whose faith was noticed and whose Royal lineage made her the perfect vessel/racham/womb, for the Masters use.
The announcement Gabriel made and her response was indicative that she was willing, available and spiritually prepared to fulfill her destiny; and the reason she had been born/ sent here at that time. Just as Esther and ourselves, who knows but that we are come into the kingdom for such a time as this.
Mary was a direct descendent of King David through Bathsheba’s son Nathan from the tribe of Judah.
Nathan means to give.
One view of the lineage recorded in Luke is that it is referring to Mary.
Mary’s husband Joseph was descended from David and Bathsheba’s son Solomon.
Caesar Augustus decreed that people were to return to their ancestral homes for taxation purposes, Mary and Joseph have to Bethlehem which was David’s Home town. 1Samuel 16:1, 4
for more on ketubah and wedding at Cana click link below
Thousands of years had already passed since the Lord had promised to send the redeemer through the seed of a woman to crush the head of Satan. Genesis 3:15
The unfolding of biblical prophecy revealed the promise coming to a female descendent of David who would fulfill three things:
one she would be a virgin Isaiah 7:14
Second she would bear a son verse 14; and
thirdly she would give birth to that son in Bethlehem, Ephrathah Micah 5:2
Mary’s husband had to be of David’s Line, so that they would be in Bethlehem for the census and birth to fulfill prophecy.
Who Was Mary? Historically, little is known about Mary’s background, but we know she was of the tribe of Judah and the line of King David (Luke 1:32).
We are told that Mary was a 1st-century Galilean Jewish peasant woman from Nazareth; where she lived before her marriage. She became the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus/Yeshua.
Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anna, and she’s first mentioned by name in Matthew’s Gospel. She was an ordinary woman, and her name was common enough that other women of the same name in the gospel, had to be distinguished by their relatives or their place of origin.
Though she was of nobility, being in the line of King David, the family had lost all its status because of the years of Israel’s captivity and years of foreign domination.
From tradition we can assume that she grew up as a young Jewish girl in a small town in the Palestinian Galilee. Because Mary was born into Judaism, she would have experienced the Hebrew Scriptures both in her prayer and her way of life as a woman living in Nazareth. As a girl, Mary’s education would have included listening to the readings of the Torah and the Prophets in the synagogue. We cannot be certain, however, it’s possible that Mary knew how to read and based on the knowledge found in the Scriptures of Mary’s character, there is little doubt that she came from a godly Jewish home.
In the time period that Mary lived, girls were not always trained in the Holy Scriptures, but were trained mainly to run the home; however, it would seem Mary had training in the Scriptures which is obvious by her praise of God in her Magnificat in Luke 1:47-55, showing that Mary was well-versed in the Scriptures and had hidden portions of it in her heart.
Although women probably were seated separately from men during synagogue services, they could have learned the prayers and listened to the readings from the Tenach. … There is no reason to suggest that Mary wasn’t present when Yeshua/Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue, maybe even wondering about the Messianic implications of certain passages?
Every Jewish girl was a minor until the completion of her 11th year and from her 12th birthday, she was considered to be of age.
That meant that from that day forward, Mary was expected to keep those parts of the Torah, which were specific to women; It also that she had became eligible for marriage.
She would have surely been submissive, and obedient to her earthly parents’ wishes. So, when she was about 14, and her parents promised her to a man of their choosing, she accepted their decision, having little choice of the arranged marriage which was normal in their culture.
It was probably around that time that Mary was betrothed to Joseph, which generally lasted a year. We know that Gabriels visit occurred during this time.
God had communicated to women previously, as recorded in the scriptures concerning the mothers of Samuel and Samson. When God desired to make a Covenant with humanity, He had only spoken to men; examples: Noah, Abraham, and Moses.
At the beginning of the New Covenant, which was to be eternal and irrevocable, He chooses a woman: Mary/Miryam who was a virgin living in Nazareth.
Luke 1:35 details her conversation with the angel Gabriel concerning her calling to bear the Messiah. Mary was related to Elizabeth who confirmed the words of Gabriel to Mary when she went to stay with her and Zacharias.
So many of the pictures we see show Joseph as being an older man but, we really don’t know as there is no reference in the Scriptures. Bible scholars have put Marys age at between 14 and 16 and as mentioned earlier, as was the culture, it is believed that Mary was quite young when she married. Most Israelite boys at that time married in their late teens. According to The Handbook of Life in Bible Times, by J.A. Thompson, rabbis had set the minimum age for marriage at 12 for girl, so Mary was likely a young adolescent.
Mary clearly knew the Hebrew Scriptures and believed them.
Both Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts show that Joseph and Mary were faithful observers of the law in the Hebrew scriptures.
However in Luke 1:29 it says that she was troubled/ when she saw the angel.
It’s not surprising that she was alarmed for it was well known before the angel appeared to Zacharias 6 months previously, while he was attending his priestly duties; she would have known that there had been no prophet in Israel, no prophetic vision or utterance for 400 years. God had been silent for a long time.
Again no wonder she was surprised when Gabriel told her that her son would reestablish the Israelites kingdom on reign on David’s throne forever; and furthermore that He would be the messianic hope that her people had clung onto since the days of the patriarchs!
She asks how it can happen and Gabriel tells her Ruach haKodesh/ Holy Spirit would overshadow her, verse 35. The words she spoke following this declaration, showed her unshakable faith and trust in the God of Israel.
v 38. Lets it be done unto me according to your word.
The One who called her His most beloved, is Love Himself.
Mary learned that she is loved for who she is and not for what she can do and this awareness leads her to identify herself as the handmaid of the Lord; and compelled her to embrace the task and destiny given to her. Mary completely entrusted herself to God submitting both her intellect and will, showing faithful obedience to the One who spoke to her through Gabriel.
The previously mentioned Zechariah was married to Elizabeth, Mary’s elderly cousin who lived in the hill country of Judea she was at that time 6 months pregnant with John.
When Mary arrived and Elizabeth heard her greeting, the baby within her womb leaped and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41, 43, 45
No doubt Mary was encouraged by Elizabeth reaction and surely it confirmed the message Gabriel wrote to her. It is significant that Elizabeth called Mary
the mother of my Lord
that had to be Holy Spirit within her telling her such an amazing thing.
The verses 46 to 55 is Mary’s response and from the first word of the Latin translation is known as the Magnificat. It is Mary’s declaration of her faith and unconditional love for the Lord; which include at least 15 references from the Hebrew Scriptures the Old Testament/tenach, obviously because the New Testament had not yet been written.
Her song also bears a striking resemblance to Hannah’s famous prayer 1Sam. 2:1-10. Now, she would become part of the fulfillment of God’s ultimate plan.
He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever. Luke 1:54-55 .
Mary had other children after Jesus/Yeshua Scripture tells us verses 55 and 56 and also the references to Jesus brothers and sisters.
His parentage was not an issue
13:54 – 55 is this not the Carpenters son
Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe him. Mark 6:3.
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers Acts 1:14.
Miriam was the most recent (2000yrs ago) of
Five Chosen In An Unbroken Line
of Toldot – Generations.
Although Joseph was with her as they witnessed His birth, she was the only person that was present as Messiah took His first breath on this earth and she also saw Him breath His last.
Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Aramaic Bible in Plain English “And a lance will pass through into your soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed
Luke 2:35
Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. john 19:25.
Mary was a woman who was blessed by God.
Though she seemingly had nothing to offer, she was chosen by God Himself to be a part of His plan of redemption of mankind.
She was young, poor, and unknown. She had never been a mother, she possessed no wealth or family inheritance, and she boasted no fame or social status; and yet she has been honored throughout the last 2000+ years of history for her faithful obedience to God.
Mary was a mother to Yeshua/Jesus for the thirty years that He lived with her their Nazareth home.
Mary loved and nurtured Yeshua/Jesus as He grew into manhood. She did all the things a devoted mother did for the son she new was no ordinary man.
Mary did not offer her Son earthly wealth or success. It would appear that the family was poor because when they went to the Temple to present Him to the Lord, they only offered a pair pigeons which was the offering of the poor.
She endured a forced exile in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) yet Mary had so much to give Yeshua/Jesus, gifts of greater value than worldly material things.
She gave Him birth and along with Joseph, gave Him a home with a purity of heart, obedience, and love.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4. There, Paul says that God’s son was “born of a woman, born under the law.”
The phrase,
genomenon ek gynaikos, ‘born of a woman’,
is a frequently used Jewish expression to designate a person’s human condition. It reflects
‘ādām yělûd ‘iššāh of Job 14:1
a human being (that is) born of a woman …
אִשָּׁ֑ה. יְל֣וּד אָ֭דָם
this significantly refers to Genesis 3:15
with words of
the Proto-evangelium
She is that woman who was present in the miraculous unfolding
of the long awaited plan of salvation….
which marks the fullness of time:
this event is realized
in her
and
through her womb
Mariam–The picture that emerges through the Gospels is at times powerful and detailed.
She celebrates.
She suffers.
She observes.
She prays.
She treasures things in her heart and reflects on them.
From the time the shepherds’ visit the ‘babe lying in the manger’, Mary as a woman of Israel and daughter of Zion must have remembered and ponders over the words and events of God.
in Luke the Greek word symballousa used of her means:
to turn over and over again in one’s mind and heart in order to face what is happening either through life’s experiences or God’s revelation.
in those days a Jewish woman faithful to the law did not participate in public life. No doubt even her chin was covered by the veil, which she wore so that none of her traits were distinguished. The fact that in Mark’s Gospel, Mary is searching for Jesus/Yeshua, and is familiar with His whereabouts could lead to an almost certain conclusion that she is then a widow and has possession of all that Joseph owned.
Mary was, for Yeshua/Jesus, what every Jewish mother was supposed to be for her child; and while Joseph was alive Mary apparently went with Him to Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Mary’s last appearance is found in Acts 1:14.
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
We see her in the midst of the Apostles/Disciples in the Upper Room, prayerfully waiting for the gift of RuachHaKoesh/Holy Spirit. To the ecclesia of that time, Mary was a living witness to Yeshua/Jesus’ childhood and hidden years of life in Nazareth and now she can share what she has kept and pondered in her heart.
The Mother of Yeshua/Jesus did not need a miracle to strengthen her faith. From her Son’s word in Cana which was the first of His miracles, she showed her faith. when in a way, she was part of the beginning of the signs which revealed His messianic power to perform miracles.
The meaning of Mary at Cana is fully revealed when His Mother stands near the cross and hears Him say:
Woman, there is your Son. Jn 19:26.
This means more than the simple fact that the dying Yesua/Jesus was providing for His Mother’s care. …
Mary on Calvary could be said to symbolize …
the new Israel,
the new People of God,
the mother of all men both Jew and Gentile.
and it also included her deep sorrow of the Mother who through faith shared in the amazing mystery of her Son
who emptied Himself…
this is perhaps the most profound example of faith in human history.
Both times, at the beginning and at the end of His public life and ministry, Yeshua/Jesus addresses her as woman.
The words of Yeshua/Jesus to His Mother,
Woman, how does this concern of yours involve me? My hour has not yet come,
Spoken at Cana, they were an invitation to deepen her faith, to look beyond the need of wine at a wedding and towards His messianic destiny … no sign was ever done to help Mary believe that we know of. Truly the Mother of Yeshua/Jesus, did not require a miracle to strengthen her faith.
Although Miryam was the last of the 5 in the line she merits a first mention for without her there would be no gospel to share and no salvation for anyone!
She showed her faith by simply saying
Whatever He tells you do it..
She had faith in Her Son and His Word…
and so must we!
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8 KJV
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.
… And What’s The 2000 year old connection to Abraham meeting a King?
The identity of this mysterious figure has been a puzzle to many since the writing of the Torah by (Mosheh) Moses)..(Torah, pronounced Towrah, comprises the first 5 books of the Bible.)
His name is “Melchizedek.” According to Genesis 14:18 was both the King of Salem and Priest of El Elyon.EL ELYON: The Most High God. This name emphasizes God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy. In Genesis 14:20, Melchizedek said to Abram, “blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” He understood that the Lord is extremely exalted.
The God who gives height and dignity to our low places.
To those who have “eyes to see and ears to hear,” it may not be a complete mystery as to who this man ‘was’ and ‘is’. However providing proof of his identity is not the focus of this post, so only a basic background is presented to assist in the understanding of the connection and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions from the following scriptural evidence.
The scriptures reveal the plans of Elohay Ha Elohim God of All ‘gods’.
ELOHAI. MY GOD
The name of God most often used in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton ( YHWH יהוה ). …. Elohai or Elohei (“My God”) is a form of Elohim along with the first-person singular pronoun enclitic. It appears in the names “God of Abraham”
Leviticus 16 gives us the instructions through Moses for all Yisra’el on how to keep the Appointed Times Of Adonai including that of the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (pronounced Yowm Kippur).
The biblical feast of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai over 3000 years ago. (It is also the birth and death day of King David.)The drama of the events at Mount Sinai is well known: It was the third day, in the morning, that there was thunder and lightning. A heavy cloud was on the mountain and there was a very loud sound of the shofar. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people toward God out of the camp. They stood at the foot of the mountain. The entire Mount Sinai was enveloped with smoke, for God had descended upon it in fire. Its smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace and the entire mountain trembled violently (Exodus 19:16-18)
The national response was ‘Na’aseh v Nishma‘ which means, “We will do, and we will hear.“
This declaration amounts to a commitment to carry out Hashem’s commandments –
even before hearing what the observance of those commandments actually involves.
Only someone who is totally willing to shape their entire life around Torah observance, as the supreme act of love toward Hashem, would be willing to make such a commitment.
Click links for more on Shavuot & Yom Kippur and Appointed Times of Adonai
If you are familiar with the 7 Appointed times Adonai, then the following note concerning the scapegoat and lots will be arbitrary.
However a brief explanation will be helpful here to enhance a more complete picture.
The High Priest (Kohen ha’Gadowl) was to take two goats and present them before YaHuWaH at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.He was to cast lots for the goats, one for YaHuWaH and the other for “Azazel” which literally means: “the goat of removal” or “the scapegoat.” Two goats were to be brought before him. He would place his hands on their heads and confess the sins of the people. One would be slaughtered as a sacrifice to YaHuWaH.
(YaHuWaH Is used Here its the Name of God YHWH with vowels added Yud Hey Vav Hey)
The scriptures tell us that the second goat is to be offered to “Azazel,” which is a Hebrew word that literally means the following in the Hebrew Strong’s Concordance:
#5799‘aza’zel az-aw-zale from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:–scapegoat.
The root-words for “Azazel,” are #5795(ez) which means “she-goat,” and the other is #235 (azal) which means “to go away.”
The idea behind the scapegoat is that it is to be sent out into the desert, separated from the people “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12).
He escapes death,
but
he carries the sins of the people with him to his dying day!
They sinned, he suffers.
They were guilty, he pays the price.
That’s what the word “scapegoat” has come to mean: “an innocent person who takes the blame for the guilty party.”
From our viewpoint today looking back, we clearly see a real and specific picture of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua’s substitutionary life and subsequent death.
(As we are seeing, everything is connected and therefore we need to take a quick look at The High Priest before unfolding more of the mystery or it will not make sense.)
The High Priest (pronounced Kohen ha’Gadowl) ha’gadol, the high priest; Aramaic: kahana rabba) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Previously, in the Israelite religion including the time of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, other terms were used to designate the leading priests; however, as long as a king was in place, the supreme ecclesiastical authority lay with him.
The official introduction of the term “high priest” went hand in hand with a greatly enhanced ritual and political significance bestowed upon the chief priest in the post-Exilic period, certainly from 411 BCE onward, after the religious transformations brought about by the Babylonian captivity and due to the lack of a Jewish king and kingdom.
The high priests belonged to the Jewish priestly families that trace their paternal line back to Aaron, the first high priest of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and elder brother of Moses, through Zadok, a leading priest at the time of David and Solomon. This tradition came to an end in the 2nd century BCE during the rule of the Hasmoneans, when the position was occupied by other priestly families unrelated to Zadok.
Predecessors of Aaron:
Even though Aaron was the first high priest mentioned in Exodus, the legendary passage revealed the first man assumed the title of high priest of God is Enoch who was succeeded by Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, (some say this was Melchizedek), Abraham, Isaac and Levi. They are very intricate pieces of clothing.
Comprising a linen tunic, finally woven colored fabrics,
of precious stonesbells and pomegranates (said to have 613 seeds = to 613 laws of Torah
around the hemand a crown of gold.This was all part of the old covenant and he served as the mediator of that covenant between the people and God.In ancient Israel the ones ordained by God to offer up the sacrifices were the priesthood, the sons of Aaron who came from the tribe of Levi one of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel.
This is important to establish their lineage because of where we are going. God is a God of detail and precision and nothing was left to chance! Nor is anything a coincidence.Charts showing the line of Levites priestly calling
Holy, Kadosh in Hebrew, is that which is separate, set apart for the purposes of God and Israel was called to be a Holy nation.
To be a holy nation it had to be a separate nation. Within the 12 tribes of Israel were the Levites, as Gods ministers, this was a more holy calling than the rest of the tribes.
So they had to be separated from the rest of Israel. Then from the tribe of Levi God called the Cohanim, the Priests with a Holier calling.
From the priests, God called the High Priest with an even holier calling. So the Cohanim had to be separated from the Levites.
The high priest had to be separated even from the priests.
The ordinary garments of the priest Exodus. 28:39-43;39:27-29
The officiating priests wore 4 pieces of garments: Ex.28:42 (1) white breeches Ex. 28:40 (2)White Linen garment; (3)White linen sash; (4)White turban. (Only by birth can one be a priest.)
The other Levites were employed in more menial tasks, such as the housekeeping of the tabernacle, keeping oil in the lamps, transporting the Ark of the Covenant, taking down and setting up the tabernacle when moving, and related tasks in assisting the priests The priests could offer sacrifices for the people, burn incense on the altar, and teach the law. The Aaronic (or Levitical) Priesthood thus functioned only within the tribe of Levi, and the right to have it conferred upon one was determined by lineage and worthiness. The lineal restrictions of that Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood were lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled, and thereafter the offices of the priesthood were conferred upon worthy men without limitation to the tribe of Levi. Numbers 8. (10)
Every degree of holiness, was matched by an equal degree of separation. That which is Holy must be separated.
The priestly divisions or sacerdotal courses; (Hebrew: mishmar (מִשְׁמָר)); are ritual work groups in Judaism. According to 1 Chronicles 24, they were originally formed during the reign of King David.
These priests referred to as “descendants of Aaron.” In the biblical traditions upon which the writer of Chronicles drew, Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. However, Nadab and Abihu died before Aaron (incident of offering strange fire); and only Eleazar and Ithamar had sons. In Chronicles, one priest, Zadok, from Eleazar’s descendants and another priest, Ahimelech, from Ithamar’s descendants, were designated by King David to help create the various priestly work groups.
Sixteen of Eleazar’s descendants were selected to head priestly orders while only eight of Ithamar’s descendants were so chosen. The passage states that this was done because of the greater number of leaders among Eleazar’s descendants. Lots were drawn to designate the order of ministering for the heads of the priestly orders when they entered the temple in Jerusalem.
Each order was responsible for ministering during a different week and shabbat and were stationed as a watch at the Tabernacle. All of the orders were present during biblical festivals.
Their duties involved offering the daily and Jewish holy day sacrifices (korbanot in Hebrew), and blessing the people in a ceremony known as nesiat kapayim (“raising of the hands”), the ceremony of the Priestly Blessing.
Following the Temple’s destruction at the end of the First Jewish Revolt and the displacement to the Galilee of the bulk of the remaining Jewish population in Judea at the end of the Bar Kochva Revolt, Jewish tradition in the Talmud and poems from the period record that the descendants of each priestly watch established a separate residential seat in towns and villages of the Galilee. (The location of the Galilee is obviously significant)
They maintained this residential pattern for at least several centuries in anticipation of the reconstruction of the Temple and reinstitution of the cycle of priestly courses.
Specifically, this Kohanic settlement region stretched from the Beit Netofa Valley, through the Nazareth region to Arbel and the vicinity of Tiberias.
In the synagogues in subsequent years, there was a custom every Sabbath, of publicly recalling the courses of the priests; a practice that reinforced the prestige of the priests’ lineage. Such mention evoked the hope of return to Jerusalem and reconstruction of the Temple.
This is all important because of who was ministering in his appointed cycle was non other than Zechariah, a priest of the course of Abia/Abijah,who was performing his priestly service and the Temple of Jerusalem.
Luke 1:5-2:20. Clearly explains this story it is carefully placed in geography and time. Luke relates this not as a timeless legend, but as an historical event.
Zechariah in his youth had married a woman named Elizabeth. They had never had any children and now That they were “well along in years” (Greek probaino, KJV “stricken”) may indicate that they were over sixty, since sixty years was considered “the commencement of agedness.”; They were “upright” (NIV) or “righteous” (KJV, Greek dikaios), not meaning perfectly sinless, but “pertaining to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, upright, just, fair.”
They were a kosher, respected, priestly couple who took seriously what it meant to obey God in every way that they knew. They lived in dark days, during the bloody reign of Herod the Great (37 to 4 BC). Yet life went on, and for most of the year, Zechariah and Elizabeth live in a small village “in the hill country of Judea,” south of Jerusalem (Luke 1:39), except when Zechariah’s priest-division is on duty in the Temple.
According to Mosaic law, priests weren’t required to marry a wife from the Tribe of Levi (Leviticus 21:7, 13-15), but for a priest to have a wife from Levi’s tribe was considered a twofold honor.
Zechariah belonged to the priestly division of Abijah/Abia
from the tribe of Levites.
Religious workers in Israel were divided into two groups, Priests and Levites. All were descended from the Tribe of Levi, but, additionally, the priests were descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron. Priests were set apart for a special ministry in the Temple with regard to the worship of God that took place there.
“Once, when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.” (1:8-10)
The priests were divided into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles 10:7-18), of which Zechariah’s “division of Abijah” is eighth in the rotation. Priests and their families would live in Jerusalem or in various nearby villages, but when their division was called up for duty for a week, twice each year, the priests would come to Jerusalem to work in the Temple.
Each day about 50 priests would have been on duty, with perhaps 300 on duty during a given week.
Every priest had a specific amount of days each year to perform those tasks and it was done in rotation.
Luke 1:9 This day, Zechariah is “chosen by lot” to go inside the temple and burn incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. It is considered a great honor. Since there were a large number of priests, no priest was allowed to serve as the officiating priest more than once in his lifetime. Sometimes the high priest himself officiated. Jeremias remarks:
“For the incense offering, two priests had to help the officiating priest who was chosen by lot for the office. One brought glowing coals on a silver firepan from the Altar of Burnt Offering to the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. The second took from the officiating priest the bowl in which the dish of incense had lain until the censing was finished.”
As the officiating priest, it was Zechariah’s job to place incense on the heated altar and then prostrate himself in prayer.
The incense represented the prayers of the people.
Outside, the people were reciting this prayer during the incense offering: “May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people.”
It was at that point that an angel of the Lord did indeed enter the Holy Place. (1:11-17) The angel Gabriel comes to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth would in her old age give birth to a child. and announced the identity of his son.
God fulfilled the ancient hopes of Israel through the fulfilling of an old couples long lost hopes for a child. And this is highlighted because behind Zechariah’s name is a mystery.
Zechariah’s real name was Zicharyah.
Zicharyah means ‘God has remembered’.
Elizabeth’s real name was Elishevah.
Elishevah means ‘the oath of God’ or ‘God is my oath’ Ex.6:23
Zicharyah and Elishevah where joined in marriage so, “God has remembered’ was joined to ‘the oath of God”!
The marriage of the two lives created a prophetic message.
God has remembered the oath of God.
This was a sign to Israel that God had not forgotten his promise but in actual fact was about to fulfill it. When God remembers his oath/ promise then the oath/ promise bears/ brings forth life. So here Elishevah will have a baby who will be known as John the Baptist. However his real name in Hebrew is Yochanan, which means ‘the grace of God/”Yahweh is gracious”.
God’s remembrance of his oath/ promise causes the birth of the grace of God.’ The grace of salvation, the very thing that would come forth out of John, fulfilling His promise/oath.
When Zicharyah/ ‘God has remembered’, gave praise to the Lord, he was declaring that God had performed the miracle, to remember His Holy Covenant, the promise/oath which He swore to Abraham.
God never forgets His promises nor ever breaks his Word, for He is always watching over it to perform it and even out of the broken, the barren and the seemingly impossible, comes – the Yochanan, (the impossible/the miracle).
He was the only priest in the history of the levitical priesthood whose birth was announced by an angel in the sanctuary of the priests.
Leviticus 26:40 – 42; Luke 1:4 – 17, 72 – 73;
You are to call him John (1:13d), which means, the grace of God or”Yahweh is gracious” which, when we think about it, was John the Baptist’s chief message: baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Announcement of the Birth of John… When the baby is born:
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth (15c). Under the Old Covenant, to be filled with the Holy Spirit was rare — the privilege of a few prophets priests and kings only.
During this time, outside the Temple….“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.” (1:21-22).
(Due to the subject of the post and the need for extra details in tying it all together, the conclusion follows in part 2! )
Shalom!
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!
Charts showing the line of Levites priestly calling
The other Levites were employed in more menial tasks, such as the housekeeping of the tabernacle, keeping oil in the lamps, transporting the Ark of the Covenant, taking down and setting up the tabernacle when moving, and related tasks in assisting the priests The priests could offer sacrifices for the people, burn incense on the altar, and teach the law. The Aaronic (or Levitical) Priesthood thus functioned only within the tribe of Levi, and the right to have it conferred upon one was determined by lineage and worthiness. The lineal restrictions of that Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood were lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled, and thereafter the offices of the priesthood were conferred upon worthy men without limitation to the tribe of Levi. Numbers 8. (10)
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