As the week of Unleavened Bread – Matzah are completed, it is not an end in itself but rather a transition into the next season and within that week, there is a Moed without an official name, though some call it yom haBikuriym, day of the first fruits. Lev. 23:9 -16
At this appointed time the sons of Israel are commanded to bring an omer to the priests. An omer is simply a sheaf of the harvest, specifically a bundle of grain from the beginning of the first crop. The priest is then to wave the omer before the Lord as a wave offering so that the omer and the entire harvest as well will be accepted.
This is also significant of Messiah and His resurrection from the dead, being the first fruit of the harvest of souls that will be gathered in at the final spiritual harvest. He was’ waved’, presented before the Father and His offering of Himself was accepted. The children of Israel were further instructed …
Then from the day of your bringing in the omer of the wave offering count 50 days and you will bring near a new offering to the lord.
Counting from the omer began this year, according to one Hebrew calendar, on 24th of April and will extend to 11th June when Shavuot/Pentecost begins.
There is some dispute concerning which day the counting is to begin, and has been since before Yeshua/Jesus day. This dispute hangs on the interpretation of Lev. 25:15 which says the counting is to begin from the day after THE shabbat.
The time to begin the count could be the day after the first day of the feast of matzah, the 16th day of the first month; which is the day after the 7th day Shabbat week of rest/no work. or the day after the last day of the feast of matzah. The current Jewish calendar fixes the date for the wave offering on the 16th day of the 1st month, the day after the 1st day of the feast of matzah. This is because Judaism considers the 15th day of the first month to be a Shabbat. Hence the day after the Shabbat, according to this interpretation, is the 16th of the month. According to scripture however, neither the first nor the last days of the feast of matzah, are notated within the text as shabbats, they are simply designated as days to do no regular work. Since the days of the month fall on different days of the week every year, the ocurence of the 7th day Shabbat during the feast changes from year to year. The date is always the same but the day varies, which can sometimes be on a weekly Shabbat day; i.e. Friday evening to Saturday evening. Remembering in Hebrew the days are as scripture reads in Genesis – day one through day 7. In Hebrew, day= yom, not as we designate the 7 day week named as Monday through Sunday.
The days are named simply by their numerical order in the week, and a Hebrew week starts with Sunday. “The First Day” Sunday in Hebrew: Sunday in Hebrew is Yom Rishon which literally means “first day”. It is written like this in Hebrew:
יוםראשון
Monday is the second day in the Hebrew week. Thus it is called Yom Sheni which literally means “second day”. Written like this in Hebrew:
יוםשני
Tuesday in Hebrew is Yom Shlishi which means “third day”. Written in Hebrew this way:
יוםשלישי
Wednesday in Hebrew is Yom Rvi-ee meaning “fourth day”. Written like this in Hebrew:
יוםרביעי
Thursday in Hebrew is Yom Chamishi, you guessed it! Yes, it means “fifth day”. This is how it is written in Hebrew:
יוםחמישי
Friday in Hebrew is Yom Shishi, meaning “sixth day” and this is how it is written in Hebrew:
יוםששי
Saturday Shabbat. This is how we write Yom Shabbat or Shabbat in Hebrew:
יום שבת or simply שבת
The modern Hebrew calendar has been designed to ensure that certain holy days and festivals do not fall on certain days of the week. As a result, there are only four possible patterns of days on which festivals can fall. Note that Jewish days start at sunset of the preceding day.
This time of counting is the combined period when Yeshua/Jesus was 40 days on earth after His resurrection and before His ascension; and it included the added 10 days He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until the promise of the coming of His Holy Spirit. These 7 weeks are an important link between the first 3 feasts and the last of the 4 spring appointed times. They call for introspective thought on our lives and to focus on where we are walking daily.
Are we on that narrow Way?
Are we staying true to our commitment to Him?
In the agricultural sense, this is a season of growth, are we growing and maturing spiritually, ready for the harvest soon to come?
The counting from the Omer is a feature of Israel’s calendar that instructs her regarding the correct time to harvest and make an offering from the mature wheat crops. As we walk through the spring Moedim, we can also see a picture of our own walk with Messiah.
At Pesach/Passover, we are reminded of being set free from sin, then during the Feast of Matzah, we have opportunity to practice walking in our unleavened-ness.
As we count from the Omer, we are like the wheat crops growing toward maturity, ultimately destined to become an abundant harvest for Messiah. During this season of counting we can focus on certain spiritual themes such as: sowing, growing, increase, being fed and nourished by our Heavenly Father and being mindful of how we are growing in obedience toward maturity in Messiah.
One very important area is love, everything we do must be done in the love of the Father; which was very evident in Messiahs life.
This is a key to holiness.
1 Thess. 3:12-13 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and Jesus our Lord guide our steps to you [by removing the obstacles that stand in our way]. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may strengthen and establish your hearts without blame in holiness in the sight of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His [ a]saints (God’s people).
Our Fathers desire for us is that one day, at the coming of the Lord, we will stand blameless in holiness before our God and Heavenly Father. By what means does He expect us to come to this state of perfection/maturity? As we find ourselves right now, how can we hope to achieve such a perfect/mature state?
Our Father must have some miracle plans of intervention in order to make us appear before Him with all His Holy Ones – His Kedoshim.
When we think of holiness, we usually liken it to levels of sinlessness. In other words, we think we are holy when we are able to resist acting on our physical desires and not fall into sin; and we think that to be really holy, we need to achieve some state of being, where we no longer even have any sinful desires. However, Paul shows us that holiness can be much more human than that and he indicates that holiness is present when the Lord causes us to overflow in love toward one another and toward everyone.
Only when we increase and overflow in such love will we receive the strengthening of our hearts to be blameless. When our hearts are weak we are too easily led away into sin. Strengthening in blamelessness comes as we take the focus off ourselves and pour out love toward one another. We are holy, not simply because we keep ourselves from sinning, but because we give away the love in our hearts; we walk the way the Master walks, we lov
1Cor. 13:4 love suffers long and is kind.
e the way the Master loves. Being holy is not just a matter of being on our best behavior, it requires our submission and active surrender to the Holy One. We do not automatically possess the inner strength to be blameless because of anything we do or think, it is the Lord alone who makes holiness grow and increase in our lives. Let’s choose to humbly and willingly submit and walk in God’s ways, and then yield ourselves fully to Him. He is the one who causes us to increase and to overflow in love –
toward the strengthening of our hearts, to be blameless in holiness.
1Cor. 13:4 love suffers long and is kind.
Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, that is; it bursts forth in amazing ways. Paul’s description of love doesn’t speak of precise certainty of how it will show itself. We cannot predetermine our thoughts and actions by making statements such as: now I’ll never think any evil thoughts and I’ll believe everything that Jesus/Yeshua would have me to believe.
No the characteristics of love is spontaneity.
We don’t deliberately set the statements of Jesus/Yeshua before us as our standard but when His Spirit is having His way with us we live according to His standard without even realizing it. Then, when we look back, we are amazed at how unconcerned we have been over our emotions; which is the very evidence that real spontaneous love was there.
The nature of everything involved in the spiritual life of God in us, is only discerned when we have been through it and it is in our past. We all have 20 20 vision in hindsight!
The fountains from which love flows are in our Heavenly Father, not in us. It is careless of us to asume that the love of God is naturally in our hearts as a result of our own nature.
Human love is inherently selfish.
His love is there only because ithas been poured out in our hearts by His Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5
If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we really don’t love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, which flows naturally from His nature within us, and when we look back we will not be able to figure out why we did certain things, but we can know that we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love within us.
The life of God exhibits itself in this spontaneous way because the fountains of His love are in the Holy Spirit given to us, Who abides within. As we continue on our way towards Pentecost/Shavuot, let’s prepare our hearts and purge ourselves from any hindrance to receiving a fresh outpouring from those cleansing purifying flames; and be ready to be filled afresh with all the fullness of the One Who can complete the work in us. As we engage in this process and let the overflow of His love pour out to those around us, it will enable us to be all He has called us to be.
Keep counting family!
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.
23 And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
We are to be as He was in the earth…
As He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17.
Do we really know what that is, and what it means?
When we pray asking the Father to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly and in not understanding what it means, how can we be serious about it in our lives?
Are we prepared to pay the price of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns and an extensive cultivation of all our Godly concerns.
Sanctification means to be intensely focused on our Heavenly Fathers point of view and the only way to know what that viewpoint is, is to get to know Him intimately.
It means to secure and keep all the strength of our body, soul and spirit for His purpose alone. To be completely dedicated to Him. It is the action of making or declaring something holy, separating us from sin..
Sanctification is the state of proper functioning of something or someone which is set apart for God’s use. It is the work of God in grace, who sanctifies human beings and creation by His presence.
Sanctificationis the Holy Spirit ‘s work of making us Holy. When the Fathers’ Holy Spirit creates faith in us, He renews in us the image of Himself, so that through His power we produce good works.
Now, may the God of peace himself cause you to be completely dedicated to him; and may your spirit, soul, and body be kept intact and blameless at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming. 2 Thess. 3:16.
Initially God does a work in us, then we are to not only maintain that position by our freewill, choosing daily to walk as called apart children; but we are to press in to maturity, growing in grace and becoming more and more like Messiah.
Are we truly prepared for our Heavenly Father to perform in us everything for which He separated us?
Sanctification is an act of sanctifying or
the state of being sanctified,
which means growing in divine grace after being born again from above by His Spirit and water immersion.
By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Hebrews 10:10
Sanctification is the work of God’s grace that makes believers holy in their whole person by virtue of their union with Messiah, and has both definitive and progressive qualities.
And after He has done His work in us, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to Him just as Jesus/Yeshua did? This is how we follow Him.
As He said in John 17:19 for their sakes I sanctified Myself.
From qadash; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity — consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most) holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.
The Hebrew word kiddush
translates as
“sanctification” or “separation.”
It’s a mitzvah to verbally declare Shabbat, the seventh day of the week, sanctified, separate and holy.
Mitzvah
מִצְוָה
The simple meaning of the wordmitzvah is command.
Mitzvot are commandments.
They are traditionally understood to come from God and to be intended for the Jewish people to observe. Understood as the state of being connected to the Father. It is usually referring to a charitable, beneficial act or good deed performed by another person.
הַקְדָּשָׁה
hakdasha
consecration sanctification.
The term “sanctification” here is from the Greek word
Original Word: ἁγιάζω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hagiazó Phonetic Spelling: (hag-ee-ad’-zo) Definition: to make holy, consecrate, sanctify Usage: I make holy, treat as holy, set apart as holy, sanctify, hallow, purify.;
which is also translated as “made holy.”
The reason some of us haven’t entered into the experience of sanctification, is that we haven’t realized the meaning of sanctification from our Father’s perspective. We have not understood how He sees it. Sanctification means being made one with Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, so that the nature that controlled Him will control us.
It is literally Him in us.
Being, or calling oneself a Christian, or a believer in Jesus/Yeshua, is not an end in itself; nor is it a ticket to heaven so a person can continue to live their preferred lifestyle. It only truly begins at the point of repentance for sin and being born again from above by the Holy Spirit of the Heavenly Father. It is a 180 degree turn around in the direction of our lives. A freewill choice to live according to the ways of the Holy Creator God of the universe.
Are we really prepared for what that will cost? Because it will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.
Every bit of the old man/woman we hold on to, will hinder the fullness of the provision Messiah Jesus/Yeshua paid the price on Calvary for us to receive. We are to no longer live after the flesh but after the spirit.
For if you liveafter the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13
We are no longer to be led around by our carnal nature and desires, cravings and comfortable choices of a preferred lifestyle with self at its center. We are to crucify, literally kill the flesh life and die to self and all that means. Are we prepared to be immersed into the full meaning of Pauls prayer here; and are we willing to say, Lord make me, a sinner saved by grace as holy as you can? Messiah prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is One with the Father. John 17:21-23.
The obvious evidence of His Holy Spirit in the life of any individual, is the undeniable likeness to Jesus/Yeshua, as in family resemblance; and the freedom through deliverance from everything which is not like Him.
I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me. John 14:30
The devil comes and finds nothing in Me He said, He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me .… can we say the same?
Is there anything in our lives that the devil can identify as his attributes? Is there any darkness in us, hidden deep away, buried that the light of Messiahs truth has not yet reached?
At this time of the year many people do their spring cleaning and call it a deep clean for their homes. Our bodies are our physical homes for our spirit and sou while here in the earth. Maybe its time to do a deep clean there also?
Are we truly prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirits work in and through us?
There is a serious reason for His calling to us.
Are we willing to trust our whole life and being to Him, to the point of physical death and through suffering?
Job 13:15
is a verse where Job expresses his trust in God despite his suffering and his intention to defend his ways before God. We are not supposed to be defending our ways to the Lord but to be humbly submitted to Him and trust His process.
1Pet. 4:13 we are to be a partaker of His sufferings
because the divine nature is revealed in those times.
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
A true child of God is no stranger to affliction, grief and death are common to every single one of us. Darkness falls on both saint and sinner alike, just as the rain does.
Matt. 5:45.
The difference is, those with an intimate relationship with the Lord will find joy, and peace in the midst of life’s bitter experiences. The indwelling, abiding presence of His Holy Spirit sustains us, providing spiritual stamina, fortitude and endurance in the face of hardship; which tests our faith and tries our patience. The Way we travel is not so smooth for us that there are not obstacles and pitfalls along the way. If they were not there how could we ever testify of His provision and deliverance? It is better for us to keep our mouths closed and our lips forever sealed in silence, rather than deny Him in the times of calamity and devastation.
The reason for our preparation is not for our progress and spiritual maturity alone, it is so that He can use us in the hour of crisis and for the needs of others.
When we find ourselves in the crises of life, these are not the times to cry out for deliverance and help, saying, save me from this situation; but instead we should already be prepared and able to cry out instead, ‘Lord use me where you can.’
We need to stop being so self aware, so self centered and selfish, that our life is all about us. It is not only about us. The only part that is about us, is how we as individuals respond to His usage of us; and deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him. We are to lay down our life for Him and our brothers and sisters. We are to be selfless, that’s the only acceptable place for the word self to be, is in the word, selflessness.
Greater love has no man than he lay down his life…
John 15:13
We need to stop complaining how hard our life has been and how much we have given up, and all we have sacrificed for the Lord. Why are we keeping count of what we think we have had to forego?
2 Cor. 4:17.
Most of us especially in the west have never, and will never, know or experience real fiery trails that so many martyrs have gone through. We need to stop murmuring and complaining, or we are no better than the children of Israel in the wilderness; and it didn’t end well for them.
They never entered the promised land!
Our promised land is eternal life with our Heavenly Father when we leave this world, and there are several lists in scripture of those who will not enter in. Let us make certain we are not among them.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]homosexuals, nor [b]sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were [c]sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Messiah and being set apart for God’s purposes. It is our free will choice.
In everything that our Heavenly Father does, there is His part and our part; that is the essence of covenant, it takes two parties to agree. Here the Blood of Messiah offers us the cleansing sanctification and then our part is to sanctify ourselves with the help of His Holy Spirit.
Joshua 3:5; And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
God is telling the people to hithekadashu or to sanctify themselves. This comes from the root word
קָדַשׁ
קֹדֶשׁ
kodesh – to make holy.
Here it is in a Hithpael form which makes it reflexive, in other words, the people are to make themselves holy.
How do we make ourselves holy?
6944 qodesh: apartness, sacredness
Original Word: קֹדֶשׁ Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: qodesh Phonetic Spelling: (ko’-desh) Definition: apartness, sacredness
holy One, saint . Or qadosh {kaw-doshe’}; from qadash; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary
There is further insight to be gained from the meaning of the letters of the Hebrew Alefbet.
Qop, Daleth and Shin which spell out
Qodesh/Kodesh = Holy, sanctification.
קֹ Qop represents holiness and sanctification.
דֶ Daleth represents a doorway through to the next letter, the
שׁ Shin which represents the power and wonders of the Lord God.
We all understand that:
holiness is the doorway to God’s power.
Qop, Daleth and Shin.
קַדָּ֑שׁ
The numerical value of each of these three letters taken together help us to know how we can become holy.
First the Qop, is the number 100 which represents a new beginning. This new beginning involved leaving behind the old and making peace with the changes that need to take place for our new beginning.
Next Is the letter Daleth, with a numerical value of 4, which represents creation; as we become a new creation in Messiah.
Lastly, the Shin has the numerical value of 300 which represents our separation from sins.
Together, the total value of Kodesh/Qodesh is 404 and we could interpret these values as helping us to understand that:
to make ourselves holy, we need to
Qop – קֹ
make peace with the changes our Heavenly Father
has brought into our lives;
we need to
Daleth – דֶ
allow God to create something new in our lives;
and then we are to
Shin – שׁ
allow this new change and new creation in our lives to separate us from the cares and sins of this world.
The bottom line is that, we need to make ourselves holy by allowing Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, complete His work in us and let Him do what He wants to do in our lives; even if it means going through many trials that will remove all the trust we place in ourselves. We need to realize that all these trials in our lives are making us holy. We simply need to allow God to continue this work within us, so He can complete the miracle of bringing us, like the children of Israel into His promise land.
What does the number 404 have to do with any of this?
Recall from previous posts, that the Hebrew teachers/rabbis say that, Hebrew words with the same numerical value are connected in their meanings, and have a further message from the Lord God.
Two other words with the numerical value of 404 are, the words vabahanasim, which means: to carry me
and hafashim which means: to strip away.
Is this a key to being made holy?
Could we read this as saying it this way?
We must allow our Heavenly Father to strip away – hafashim – all that extra heavy burden weight of guilt and sin, so He can carry us – vaahanasim – into His promise land.
Today is the day of salvation!
Luke 19:44 They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”
Don’t miss the day of our visitation and the opportunity to clean house so that nothing will prevent us from entering in.
2 Corinthians 6:2says, “For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.”
By living a sanctified life, we can walk in harmony externally with our Heavenly Fathers’ plans and purposes and be intensely focused on His point of view; and internally we can live a life submitted to, and controlled by, the Holy Spirit of Messiah.
Then all the strength of our body, soul and spirit are
sanctified –
set apart for Gods purpose alone.
In Psalm 119:33-40The psalmist doesn’t ask for help in a situation or for material blessing, but for a transformation that leads to a greater submission to the Lord God. He asks for the Father to teach him, to grant him understanding, to change the direction of his heart and his gaze, to confirm the promise to him and to turn away reproach.
It is a prayer of holiness.
Let this be our prayer today…
33. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
36Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholdingvanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
38Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts:quicken me in thy righteousness.
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.
Genesis 17:1-2, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”
The word before means “in front of, or in the presences of” (Webster’s 1828). God was calling Abraham to a personal relationship with Himself. He wanted Abraham to live in His very presence.
In Hebrew/Jewish literature the Rabbis and Sages teach that this verse should read
Walk WITH Me.
This is interesting because we are to understand that only after the fullness of 99 years, Abraham was finally invited to Walk WITH YHVH/Yahoveh/God as we are informed in Genesis that Enoch did also.
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Amplified Bible And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him. Genesis 5:24
Was Abraham able to do this because He understood that YHVH/God was El Shaddai, the Almighty or all sufficient God/YHVH? The rabbis and sages further say that 90 is the number of humility and 9 is the number of completion. So this infers that when Abraham was 99, he became complete (9) in humility(90) and recognized that YHVH/Yahoveh/God was truly El Shaddai – all sufficient, only then he could walk WITH Yahoveh/ YHVH/ God.
Humility is defined as: not for one moment trusting in self, in the arm of the flesh or in all securities we have built up; but having complete and total trust in our Heavenly Father God/El Shaddai, to be all sufficient for us.
אל שדי (el shaddai) the almighty
Genesis 17:1 HEB: אֲנִי־ אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י NAS: to him, I am God Almighty; Walk KJV: and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God;
And when Abram was ninety nine years old and the LORD appeared to Abram, and he said to him, I am El Shaddai, walk before me, and be perfect Genesis 17:1
7706 Shadday: Almighty
Original Word:שַׁדַּי Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: Shadday Phonetic Spelling:shad-dah’-ee
In the previous post we looked at the meaning of the word
אל el,
as found in אל שדי (el shaddai),
and the word שדי (shaddai).
Most Bible translations translate this word as Almighty.
Many times a translator will not, or is reluctant to, translate a Hebrew word literally;
Why?
Because the literal meaning would not make sense to the Western mind and in some cases could or would actually offend them.
This is the case with the word שדי (shaddai).
The use of the word “Almighty” by the translator is their attempt at translating the text in a manner that will both make sense to the Western reader as well as to retain some of the meaning of the original Hebrew word.
Let’s take another look at this word.
The parent root for this word is שד (shad).
The original pictograph for this word is:
The (sh) is a picture of the two front teeth
and has the meaning of:
“sharp,” “press” (as from chewing)
as well as “two.”
Shin: His Heartbeat apparent in the fervent ardency and the intense, fiery, consuming, passionate power of His essence; A picture of His desire which is evident in; the works of His hand – the brought forth One – the author and finisher.
The picture is the two front teeth.
The whiteness of the teeth shine.
Picture: Teeth
Associations: Shine
Sound:sh
Ancient Name: Shin
Modern Name: Shin
Modern Form:ש
Meaning: Sharp, Press, Eat, Two.
The (d) is a picture of a tent door
with a meaning of
“hang” or “dangle” as:
the door is hung or dangles down from the top of the tent.
Dalet – Door, passageway –
Process of entering-in; according to the Instructions, through the ‘Promised’ Instructor!
Move, hang, entrance, open, path or way.
The entrance of the Hebrew’s tent was covered by a curtain suspended from a horizontal pole.
The picture of this letter represents the “door” of the tent.
Picture: Door
Associations: Door
Sound: d
Ancient Name: Dal
Modern Name: Dalet
Modern Form: ד
Meaning:Move, Hang, Entrance
The combined meanings of the
shin and dalet
could be two danglers.
The goat was a very common animal within the herds of the Hebrews. It produces milk within the udder and is extracted by the goat kid by squeezing and sucking on the two teats dangling below the udder.
The function of these teats is to provide all the necessary nourishment for the kids, as they would die without it.
The Hebrew word שדי (shaddai)
also has the meaning of a teat.
Just as the goat provides nourishment to its kids through the milk, God nourishes His children through His milk and providesall the necessities of life.
This imagery can be seen in the following passage:
“And I will come down to snatch them [Israel] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and wide land to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:8
The word שדי (teat) is often coupled with the word
אל (mighty, strong)
creating the phrase
אל שדי (el shaddai)
and literally meaning
the “mighty teat,”
hence we can see the translator’s reluctance to literally translate this phrase and instead using the more acceptable “God Almighty.”
It has also been termed as the Almighty breasty One.
The idea of God being characterized as having breasts/teats does not sit well in our Western culture. We are familiar with identifying with God as a father, but not as a mother.
The Hebrew word for
mother is אם (em)
or
in the ancient pictographic script.
The ox head
meaning strength
combined with the picture for water
forms the word meaning: strong water.
Animal’s hides were placed in a pot of boiling water.
As the hide boiled, a thick sticky substance formed at the surface of the water and was removed and used as glue, a binding liquid or “strong water.” The mother of the family is the “one who binds the family together.”
Our Heavenly Father God can be seen as the
“glue” that holds the whole universe together;
which is more than a figurative statement however it is also quite scientific. We know that all matter is made up of atoms, each atom consists of protons which have a positive charge and electrons which have a negative charge. The protons are packed together in the nucleus, which is the center of the atom, while the electrons orbit/surround the nucleus. Since each proton has a positive charge, each proton should repel the others causing the protons to fly apart, but for some unknown reason, they do not. This phenomenon is called nucleic bonding. Our Heavenly Father God literally binds the entire universe together. WOW!
In Genesis 1:27 we are told “male and female he created them.”
This passage states that man was created as male and female and also that man was created in the image of God. God has the characteristics of both male and female and these characteristics were put into His creation, male characteristics in men and the feminine characteristics were placed in women. When a man and a woman come together, they unite these characteristics as one, now a perfect ‘representation’ of God. AsGenesis 2:24 states and they shall become one flesh.
(In His image and likeness.)
God promised the nation of Israel that he would bring them into a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
God as the אל שדי (el shaddai), the mighty teat, will supply His children with His life sustaining milk.
A brief note highlighting some of the problems with Biblical translations.
There are many aspects that comprise a translation which are both unknown and unseen to the reader. Many people assume that the English translations of the Bible are all equal representations of the original text in which it was first written down. Due to the huge difference between both the ancient Hebrews language and culture compared to our own, an exact translation into our English language is impossible. The job of any translator is extremely difficult as they attempt to bridge the gap between both languages and cultures.
Because the Hebrew text can be translated various ways, sometimes the translator’s personal beliefs have an influence how the text is translated; then it becomes more of a interpretation of the original text based on the individuals own theology and doctrine.
Whoever reads this translation has no choice but to believe the translators understanding of the text and it then also becomes the readers’ foundation.
For this reason, readers will often compare translations, but are usually limited to Christian translations. And many do not have the resources or education to do the research themselves and just simply accept what is presented in the version they have available.
A wise recommendation for any student of His Word is to include a “Hebrew/Jewish” translation when comparing texts, as this will give a different and more authentic perspective. Of course it will be biased toward the Hebraic/Jewish faith, but then Christian translations are biased toward the Christian faith too; so being able to compare the two translations can certainly help to understand the different viewpoint each one contains. We miss so many hidden gems and pearls when we confine ourselves to just one translation…Hopefully these posts help to illuminate and explain some of the more obscure scriptures which because of language ambiguities can seem to be contradictions.
The aim and heart of these posts are not to offend any readers, nor to take the place of personal study and research. No one understands it all and we are all learning along the Way. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is the most important aspect, drawing closer to Him through His Word and so; having even a small glimpse into Hebrew language/culture, albeit clumsy, hopefully reminds us how little we really know and then only with the help of His Spirit. As always be encouraged to study for yourself and forgive any errors in the text, the writer simply wants you to fall in love with His Word.
Here is one that we can ponder on..
Is God Inhabiting Holiness or Praises?
In Psalm 22:3 it is written:
and thou art holy sitting …the praise of Israel.
Youngs Literal Translation.
In KJV it reads
3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
In other translations it reads as
enthroned
The word inhabit in Hebrew Strongs# 3427
is
יָשַׁב
YASHAV or Yashab
Phonetic Spelling: yaw-shab’
(recall the letters for v and b are interchangeable.)
Yashav means many things related to dwelling,
so, it could be sitting,
as used in Youngs translation,
or it could be
remaining, staying,
set in one place an abodeorestablishing.
Again, depending on the context where the word is used and is most applicable to what the original writer was trying to convey.
Here is a question.
Are our bodies the temple/sanctuary of God
or
are they the Yashav/yashab of God?
Many translations insert the word Temple
yet sanctuary is more appropriate.
Ephesians 2:21
Why?
Because the inner, holiest part of the temple complex was the place where YHVH/Gods’ shekinah presence dwelt.
(whereas naos denotes the central sanctuary itself) of the Temple (at Jerusalem or elsewhere) — temple.2411. hieron
3485naós (from naiō, “to dwell”) Phonetic Spelling: (nah-os’) Definition: a temple, a shrine,
that part of the temple where God himself resides.– properly, a sanctuary (divine dwelling-place);
a temple (sacred abode), the place of divine manifestation. 3485(naós) refers to the sanctuary (the Jewish Temple proper), i.e. with just its two inner compartments (rooms).
As His Spirit of Holiness is now imparted into our innermost being, then it would seem more likely that the holiest place would be just that, in our innermost being – the sanctuary of our hearts.
Something to think about…
Returning to yashav/yashab,
And some more questions..
Are we hoping Gods’ presence will somehow come
… when we praise Him?
Is it that we somehow think/believe we can entice Him to join us by praising Him?
Doesn’t this signify that He is not yet in the midst of us or that He is not indwelling each of us by His Spirit? Yet
Does He inhabit the praises of His people
or
does He inhabit His Holiness?
Or maybe it could read literally from the Hebrew as:
He the praise of His people?
A serious and more revealing question is:
what is the praise of our congregations?
What are we as a body of believers lifting up?
Is it the leadership, the building?
The number of those attending, is it the denomination and it doctrines and beliefs?
Then we must ask… what is the individuals focus in praise?
Is it our family, job, career, house car etc etc?…
because what we praise
and give our allegiance to and focus on is what our priority is.
All we have to do is listen to conversations all around us, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What’s in there in abundance will come out of our mouths in conversation.
The Lord is Holy and we are to let no unholy thing come out of our mouth.
1Peter 1:15 be holy in all manner of communication.
Kadesh – holy means:
to be separate and sacred.
The One we are to be in intimate communication with, is Our Heavenly Father and in that intimate relationship, we are drawn to Him Who, Jesus/Yeshua and His Spirit of Holiness always point us to;
and when He dwells within us,
He becomes our praise.
The word for praise here is
HALAL which means: to SHINE.
When we say Hallelujah, we are saying:
God SHINE in us let the world see You not us.
God already inhabits His people so
He obviously inhabits the praises that come forth from them.
God is our praise and He dwells in us, there’s no treasure anywhere that can even come close to who He is;
2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Our treasure is that holy spirit within our “earthen vessels”. Earthen vessels are jars or containers made of clay. Jar of clay or earthen vessel is a figurative description of the human body as formed of clay (Gen. 2:7; 3:17)
and it should cause us to be continually praising Him, which in turn will give no room to be praising anything else.
As Yeshua/Jesus said, if people are forbidden to shout praises theThe very stones will cry out..
Let it be our aim to
walk with Him
and to let the
el shaddai who
(yashab) inhabits us
as His sanctuary here on earth;
inspire the praises that issue forth from our lips
by His indwelling Spirit of Holiness.
He is then inhabiting the Holiness of our praises!
Here I bow – live common gathering.
Shalom
friends and family!
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,
you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.
Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,
Savior, Lord, and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
Original Word: קֹדֶשׁ Transliteration: qodesh Phonetic Spelling: ko’-desh
Holiness Unto The Lord
written in Hebrew
‘Kodesh L’ADONAI’
HOLINESS (holy) UNTO THE LORD;
Sanctum Domino (Vulgate);
Ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι (Septuagint).
This was the inscription upon
the golden plate on the mitre of the high priest.
Mitre in Hebrew: mitsnepheth,
something rolled round the head;
the turban or head-dress of the high priest
Exodus 28:4 Exodus 28:37
Exodus 28:39; 29:6.
Exodus 39:30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Leviticus 8:9
Leviticus 19:1-2
The Israelites were commanded to be
Holy
on account of their relationship with
The Holy One of Israel
K’dosh Yisrael or Qedosh Yisra’el
הקדוש של עם ישראל
The term Holy One of Israel
is used more than 30 times in the Bible.
Bible references: 2 Kings 19:22; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa. 1:4; 17:7; 30:11; 41:14; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5; Jer. 50:29; 51:5 and a total of about forty five times.
Against the Holy One of Israel! 2 Kings 19:22.
The English translation of the word, does not very clearly convey the acurate meaning, as seen in Hebrew. In the English language, the words
one and of
are added to the translation
הקדוש של ישראל,
meaning: the Holy Oneof Israel.
In Hebrew, it is written as:
Holy Israel – קדוש ישראל,
and the difference is significant.
The English language conveys:
a belonging to,
but also
a distinctly separate association.
The Hebrew, however, communicates
oneness.
Indicating the Shema.
The Lord is One.
In other words, Holy Israel is another name given to Adonai.
He is Holy, and He is also Israel/Yisrael.
The implication is that Yeshua/Jesus,
Who is the Word of God revealed in the flesh,
is called Holy Israel,
and therefore it could be said,
He and Israel are inseparably one.
The Holy One –
The One set apart
as completely perfect and unique,
transcending the realm of the finite, the fallen,
and the imperfect.
Only God is worthy of worship, for He alone is Holy.
qadosh {kaw-doshe’}; from qadash; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary — holy (One), saint. HEBREW qadash.
1Peter 1:13-16; 1Cor. 6:9-20.
The Torah defines a
Holiness Code
that contains more commandments for His children concerning practical ethics beginning with Lev. 19 1-2.
His Spirit is the Ruach Ha Kodesh
the Holy Spirit
Hebrew: רוח הקודש ,
ruach ha-kodesh
Literally: spirit of Holiness Who will always guide us into the Truth and into the Fathers presence by WAY of Messiah Yeshua HaMashiach.
is frequently translated as holy, which is an abstract word.
When we use the word holy, as in a holy person, we usually associate this with a righteous or pious person.
If we use this concept when interpreting the word holy in the Hebrew Bible, then we are misreading the text, as this is not the meaning of the Hebrew word qadosh!
Qadosh literally means:
to be set apart for a special purpose.
A related word, qedesh,
is one who is also set apart for a special purpose
but not in the same way we think of holy. Deut 23:17.
Israel was qadosh
because they were separated from the other nations as:
servants of Elohiym.
The furnishings in the tabernacle were also qadosh, as they were not to be used for anything except for the work in the tabernacle.While we may not think of ourselves as holy, we are in fact
set apart from the world to be Elohiym’s servants
and His representatives/ambassadors.
Holiness could be described as a:
state of consecration produced by ethical separation from profane culture when viewed in practical terms relating to human beings and their relationship to the Father.
Kadosh
encompasses the whole sphere of the sacred and
set apart things that are totally separate
from anything that is profane and sinful.
According to
Isaiah 57:15/Is 40:25
this means:
elevated and lofty and
beyond all comparison
and utterly unique, entirely righteous
Is 57:15 glorious and awesome
Ps 99:3 full of light and power
Is 10:7 and is chosen and favored as Gods own
Ezek 22:26.
Holiness is a name for the Lord Himself:
Ha kadosh barukh hu – the Holy One blessed is He.
Isa. 40:25
The idea of holy therefore suggests: separation..
meaning:
the realm of the holy
is entirely set apart from
the common, the habitual, or the profane.
The holy is singular, awe inspiring, even terrible or dreadful.
Neh 1:5 Ps 68:35
As the Holy One, God is
utterly unique, distinct, sacred and set apart as
the only One of His kind.
Only God is worthy of worship, for He alone is Holy – Kadosh.
As the Holy One ( ha’kadosh ),
the Lord of Hosts ( Adonai Tzeva’ot)
He alone is worthy of true worship and adoration, since He alone is peerless, without rival and stands in relation to the world as Creator and Lord.
Only the Lord is infinitely and eternally
known to Himself as Anochi.
Ezek. 3:15
I am that I am.
Holiness then implies more than an abstract separation as is often suggested but rather means:
separation from that which is common, mundane or evil,
(evil meaning: out of harmony with God).
In other words
holiness implies: absolute moral goodness and perfection.
God is not just Holy…
He is
Holy, Holy, Holy!
Isaiah 6:1-3
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is YHWH of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.”
In Scripture, finding the same three words in a row is rare. Two other instances are in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
This use of this grammatical emphasis, is most often with double words and occurs frequently in the Hebrew scriptures. It is a way of emphasizing the point and by repeating the same word; it was like putting an exclamation mark today. Seeing the same three words one after the other, was like shouting.
In the B’rit Chadashah/New Testament, John/Yocahannes used this word repetition too, and he experienced a vision similar to Isaiah’s:
Revelation 4:8
And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”
Kadosh – Holy, holy, holy As the Holy One ( ha’kadosh ), the Lord of Hosts ( Adonai Tzeva’ot)
We are to be a reflection of Our Heavenly Father God’s Holiness!
Holy is not a word that we should flippantly and disrespectfully throw around, like the terms of exclamation like: “holy cow” or “holy guacamole”.
Holy is rich in meaning and it is one of the main descriptors of Our Heavenly Father/God. To those who have a relationship with Him, it is a descriptor of us too. WHY? Because He calls us to be Holy and because we are to be a representation of His glory on earth. That’s a great responsibility which we should not take lightly!
Leviticus 19:2-4
“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy.’
Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am YHWH your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am YHWH your God.”
Leviticus 20:26
‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I YHWH Am Holy; and I have set you apartfrom the peoples to be Mine.’
The Call to Holiness
Various practical commandments are given in the Torah through which His people were sanctified or set apart, to be kadosh/holy; and therefore prepared to enter a relationship with God.
God is not unreachable because He encompasses all of creation but those who are called into presence must be holy themselves.
Practical holiness results in sanctification which is gained through obedience to His commandments. These commandments include both those directing us to do something and those telling us to stop from doing something. In addition decrees are given that further separate the Israelites from the customs and profanity of the nations surrounding them.
The call to holiness is given
3 times in Leviticus 19:2; 20:7; 20:26.
Because the Lord is Holy, the Israelites could not be in relationship with Him if they had been involved in idolatrous or profane practices.
They were
called to be separate
from all that was unholy
Lev. 22:44-45.
The call to holiness was based on the fact that they were Gods possession because He had separated them from the Nations.
Lev. 20:26
Yes, we are to be Holy, but how do we live up to that?
Are we worthy enough to be His reflection on earth?
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus was.
He was, and is, the perfect reflection of God.
Throughout the B’rit Chadashah /New Testament, Yeshua /Jesus is referred to as the
Holy One of God,
from the very announcement of His birth:
Luke 1:28-35
“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
We are called to holiness through the letters of Shaul/Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20a
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the HolySpirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
and reminded of holiness once again in Revelation, where those around the throne cry
קָדוֹשׁ. Qadosh holy.
and from the prophets statements…
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 14:20-21
The word holy in the Hebrew means to set-apart or separateness. While godly behavior is the result of being made holy unto the Lord, IT IS NOT a requirement to receive salvation, we come as we are.
When we become born again by His Holy Spirit, Yeshua HaMasiach/ Jesus Christ’s righteousness and holiness isIMPUTED to us.(meaning it is accredited to our account.)
We are set apart unto the Lord as vessels for His use, in the same way as God set apart pots and vessels under the old testament/Tanakh, to be used in his service.
The Holy Spirit is called theSpirit of holiness, because He is the sanctifier of all our Father’s vessels and makes them acceptable for His use by the washing of the word and regeneration of His Spirit of Holiness.
When the scriptures say:
Without holiness, no man shall see God. Heb. 12:14.
This means being born of His Holy Spirit into new life in Yeshua/Jesus. Without being born again of the Spirit of holiness one cannot be made Holy and therefore we would have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
God’s indwelling Spirit empowers His children to live lives that please Him. The scriptures tell us that all who seek to be justified by the law are not holy but defiled, defiled by the sinful nature whose works are as filthy rags in God’s sight.
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God IMPUTETHrighteousness without works. Romans 4:6
IMPUTED: attributed/given on behalf of another.
Yeshua/Jesus places His righteousness on our record,
when we trust upon Him for salvation
and this is what makes us holy
and not our behavior, whether we are good or bad.
Holy is the Greek is hagios
which means:
to be in awe, venerate, regenerated.
When we are regenerated and set free from sin, we become holy vessels unto the Lord.
Faith in Yeshua/Jesus is our righteousness
and our fruit is then holy.
Lev. 20:26 you shall be holy to me for I the lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine.
Western Christianity has sadly earned the title of being a cheap religion. For onlookers, many so called christian lifestyles do not look any different from the non believers in the world.
This world revolves around and caters to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These things may please the flesh in the short term, but they work death. The Bible says that the pleasures of sin are only for a season. They are short lived. They do not satisfy. They do not give peace. They end in death. They fool us. Satan is the ruler of this world. The world that we are living in is his kingdom.
Keeping the 10 sayings is not impossible as the scriptures tell us the rich young ruler had kept them from his youth, and Elizabeth and Mary among others had also kept them.
Yet today so many say that we aren’t able to keep them and we are under grace not law!
We are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect and it is possible through Jesus/Yeshua,
if we will choose to follow Him.
Though many say, no one is perfect, it’s really a way out, and to condone sin and compromise away from the standard Messiah sets for all who would be His talmidim/disciples. And in His words, how are we to do greater works than these, if we are not walking as He walked? We have His spirit within us now, since Pentecost; before then all generations who kept Torah did it without His indwelling spirit… so we have little to no excuse today. Not a welcome statement for those who still choose to live their own life on their own terms and still believe they are saved in their own understanding of salvation based on their own terms.
It is impossible that the Holy One could tolerate sin since this would invalidate the distinction between the sacred and profane and thereby weaken the nature of Holiness itself. That which is Holy, is in total opposition of the profane and therefore the Lord God has to hate and oppose that which violates the sacred and holy.
Where there is no fundamental change and no sacrificial putting away of ungodly habits and behavior, there can be no holiness. Many claim salvation and holiness by grace alone; neither understanding, nor appreciating, the cost involved and the seriousness of our precarious position before a Holy God; before Whom no sin can be present. It is only through Jesus/Yeshuas’ sacrifice that we can even dare to think that we can approach the Holy Creator and King of the universe. This was only possible by way of all the statutes and ordinances in the Torah until He died and shed His blood in our place.
We take this relationship so lightly and often without the reverential respect which we should willingly show from a humble, repentant and grateful position.
We are called to holiness, just as the priest wore upon his head the band with that word inscribed upon it; we are grafted in by His mercy and grace, into the family of His chosen children. This is a Hebrew Book and He is the Hebrew Messiah. Salvation is of the Jews, it was given to them first and we are privileged to be among those gentile nations offered the gift of eternal life and restoration relationship with a Holy God.
Now as the scripture says, we are priests unto the Lord, called to minister to and for Him while we remain here on the earth.
Are we truly making ourselves able to wear the band upon our foreheads, saying, Holiness unto the Lord?
Are we doing all that we are required to do? We are not to throw out the commandments He gave, but to apply them to our lives and to walk a set apart sanctified life before Him. Don’t let’s be of those accused of following a cheap religion with no cost to ourselves. We are to lay down our life, to lose it for Him and for the gospel; and in so doing find it through a life of being
Definition: to wrap oneself, enwrap, envelop oneself.
In the passage from 1Peter, the call to holiness is established on the hope that will be brought to us at the revelation of Messiah in the end of days and in 1Cor., Paul outlines the same moral restrictions that determine
a called out people of God.
Believers in the Jewish Mashiach/Messiah are to be free from sin that pervades surrounding culture and in particular from sexual immorality, which is idolatry. The follower of the Mashiach Yeshua/Jesus, is not exempt from
the call to personal holiness
since Messiah and His Father are the
same yesterday today and forever.
Our carnal nature always will lean to a meaning and understanding that ‘let’s us off the hook’ so to speak; one that makes it easier for us to live a compromised lifestyle and still think we can get all the blessings and benefits here and now and also eternal life in heaven.
We need to wake up toreality and count the true cost of Who and what we truly believe and follow.
As the days grow darker and the morals of the world become increasingly in complete opposition to all that our Heavenly Father requires for His family; there is a call for sobriety and being genuine, we must make the effort to be authentic in our lives and to walk in the fullness of the calling upon us.
That call is to
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,
you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.
Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,
Savior, Lord, and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
The nature of sanctification and its cost.
First a P.S. for those who read last weeks post
Bible references: 2 Kings 19:22; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa. 1:4; 17:7; 30:11; 41:14; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 54:5; Jer. 50:29; 51:5 and a total of about forty five times.
You must be logged in to post a comment.