GracePower

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Noach (Noah). This reading portion covers Genesis Chapters 6 through 11. The events described in these chapters will be referred to in scripture again and again. This means that there are foundational principles that will be the basis of God's future interaction with mankind. As I looked at the familiar account of Noah, I learned things that I had not considered before it but led me to a deeper understanding of my own walk with Jesus Christ.

     We can begin by briefly reviewing the conditions on earth before Noah was called by God. Genesis 6 tells us that "sons of God", perhaps referring to angelic beings, coveted (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-daughters of men and took them as wives. They produced children that were called mighty men, giants, or gibor in Hebrew, meaning "strongest, mightiest, giant, powerful, warrior, tyrant, champion, proud, bold, hunter."  The LORD saw that the wickedness of man "was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-man on the earth, and He was grieved ('asab - grieve, hurt, sorry, put in pain, torture, worry, anger, suffer, to afflict). So the LORD said, 'I will destroy (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry (naham - sorry, regret, repent, suffer, grief, lament, groan." Also: "be comforted, be consoled, have compassion, sigh) that I have made them." (Gen. 6:1-7). At the same time that the LORD was "sorry" that He had made men, He also wanted to offer comfort and consolation to both *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega-man and Himself, according to the Hebrew meaning of naham above. In Isaiah 54, Jeremiah 31 and Zephaniah 3, additional reading portions from this Noach Sabbath, the LORD offers mercy, kindness, restoration, comfort and consolation to His people who had been sorely afflicted or punished. The apostle James wrote that for those who show mercy in the law of liberty, "Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James. 2:12-13). God's mercy exists even within His judgment, as we will see with the account of Noah.

     So now, God will call Noah using a very special and powerful quality: "But Noah found grace (hen/hanan/hana - grace, favor, precious, acceptance, good-will/mercy, gracious/encamp, pitch a tent, dwell, grows to an end) in the eyes of the LORD." (v. 8). "Grace" is very much spoken of in the New Testament. Do we understand it, or what it accomplishes? In the account of Noah, it saved the earth, including a remnant of its inhabitants, from deserved total destruction. 

     At this point, we can find out more about Noah before we go further. Noah's name in Hebrew, Noach, means: "rest, resting place, quiet, have rest from enemies, ceased, set down, lay, remain, give rest to, to leave or depart from, repose, be granted rest, give comfort, resting place, to deposit for safe keeping, to leave remaining, of a person dying." To say that Noah's name just means, "Rest" does not give the complete picture. There is also a hint of death or dying in the meaning. The Hebrew letters of Noah's name, nun + cheth, can mean "the heir to the throne, the descendant + inner room or chamber, to protect, cut off from." 

     After finding grace in the eyes of God, scripture tells us that Noah "walked (halak/yalak - to walk, move, depart, come or go away, manner of life, to die, to enter, pass away, travel/go, walk, depart, away, to die, to live, flow, vanish, pursue, take away) with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-God. Again we see in the Hebrew, the meaning can include death, dying, pass away. There are other examples in scripture of servants of God who either experienced a physical death and restoration, or a kind of spiritual death and restoration. This happened to the prophet Jonah (Jonah 2), the prophet Jeremiah (Lamentations 3) and to King David (Psalm 69, Psalm 22 [as prophecy of Christ's death]). All of them ascribed their restoration to the mercy of God.

     After finding grace in the eyes of God, Noah is described as "a just man, perfect (tamim - without blemish, perfect, upright, without spot, whole, complete, innocent, entirely in accord with truth and fact, undefiled) in his generations." (v. 9). This was Noah's spiritual condition after grace. Noah did not "earn" his relationship or grace with God by his own perfection or righteousness. God sovereignly gifted Noah with His grace and its fruits. It is God who said elsewhere in scripture: "...I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Ex. 33:19, Rom. 9:15-16). Noah's "perfection" was not his own, but the product of God's sovereign grace upon Noah for His own purposes.

     In circumstances of unrestrained and unlimited wickedness and corruption in the earth, so pervasive that even the beasts of the earth and the air were affected, and with the rule of evil in every man's heart, God's grace set Noah apart. Scripture says of grace: "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 5:20-21). No matter how pervasive wickedness and evil are, the power of God's grace is able to overcome it. Grace is not a weakness but a reigning power given as a gift by God, just as He gave His Son, Jesus, the Person of Grace, as a gift to mankind if they will believe and accept it.

     Here are some additional facts regarding Noah. Noah, a descendant of Adam's third son, whose (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-name was Seth, was the ninth after Adam and the tenth of the line of mankind on earth. The significance of being "ninth" is reflected in the Hebrew letter with the value of "9", which is tet. This letter has a "u" shape like a vessel or a womb and "represents something hidden, protected, incubating inside a container, not immediately obvious on the surface." This sounds to me like the Person of Christ hidden within the believer. It also me think of the promised seed of Messiah/Christ, hidden and gestating in the future generations of Noah, and prophetically hidden within Noah as Noah and his family were hidden in the ark. The Hebrew letter tet also represents "the eternal and unchangeable truth." 

     The significance of being the "tenth," as mentioned above regarding Noah, is reflected in the Hebrew letter yod. The letter yod has the value of ten, reflecting "a single point of flame, the hand of God, indivisible divine power, spiritual continuity, a gathered community, a unity of multiple parts, a whole body, a complete community wherein God's presence dwells." This makes me think of the unified Body of Christ, both Jew and Gentile, composed of many parts making up a whole, within which dwells the Holy Spirit of God.

(Note: The above interpretations of the numbers 9 and 10 are found in rabbinical writings and traditional Jewish understanding.)

     We saw above a reference to death or dying in the Hebrew meaning of the name "Noah." I don't think that this means that Noah had been physically dead. However, we know from the New Testament writings that those who are called to Messiah/Christ, the embodiment of grace and truth, are called to a kind of spiritual death and resurrection with Messiah/Christ, as well as our later physical death and resurrection. Jesus, who was grace in the flesh, said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life." (Jn. 5:24). The believer while still living has already passed from death to life (eternal). Paul wrote: "...you were raised with Christ...Set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden (see the meaning of "9" above) with Christ in God." (Col. 3:1-3). He also wrote: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...I do not set aside the grace of God." (Gal. 2:20-21, excerpt). Paul directly connects the power of grace to the raising of us up together with Christ: "But God, who is rich in mercy (eleos - mercy, kindness, compassion, clemency, good-will, kindness), because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk (Noah walked with *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega-God) in them." (Eph. 2:4-10). We do not have to physically die first before being raised up with Christ. The work of grace ends our present life and raises us up in new life with Christ.

     By finding grace in the eyes of God, Noah was also being enabled and empowered for the "good work" that the LORD had prepared for him to do. Paul wrote that he could minister only by grace: "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I am labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I of they (the other apostles), so we preach and so you believed." (1 Cor. 15:9-11). We often associate the grace of God only with our salvation, but the work of grace continues throughout our works in the name of the Lord. We may often credit our "gifts" in ministering, but we are lax if we do not understand that we minister, however God has purposed us to minister His name, by the power of His grace even more so.

     The grace of God is not an excuse to knowingly continue to sin without repentance as some may wrongfully believe. Scripture tells us that the ongoing work of grace makes us to have died to sin and continues to teach us to turn away from sin in our lives (Rom. 6:1-2, Titus 2:11-14). The power of grace, by remaining in it, removes us from the dominion of the sin under the law (Rom. 6:14), and is an ongoing presence in the life of a believer. Grace is absolutely necessary in our on-going spiritual walk with God and in our purpose, as it was in Noah's.

    Please join my prayer for the grace of God if you would like to: "Dear Father, Your great grace through Your Son, Jesus, saved my life. Your grace has been shown to me so many times, and I have seen its operation throughout my life in so many ways. I depend upon and lean upon Your grace with thanksgiving every moment of my life, and I ask that Your grace works through me to others. I praise You, Lord, because even in the darkest evil of the times, Your Word says that Your grace is even more abounding. Let my eyes not be fixed on the darkness but upon the grace. I call upon Your eternal grace, Lord, not only for Your people, but for those who have been captured in the darkness. I pray the Name of Your Grace, Jesus, upon the earth and all of its inhabitants. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

    

Standing

      This is the Sabbath before the great Feast of Trumpets. That Feast of the LORD contains the multiple blasts of the shofar ram's horn trumpet that sound out to all the earth, but particularly to God's people. The blasts signal the urgent call to repentance and return of hearts to the LORD.

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading is a double title. The first title is Nitzavim, meaning "Are standing," found in Deuteronomy 29:10-15, which are the words of Moses to the Israelites: "All of you stand (nasab - stand, appointed, establish, upright position, fixed, stationary) today before the LORD your God...that you may enter into covenant (berit - covenant, alliance, league, agreement, pledge, alliance of marriage or friendship) with the LORD your God, and into His oath ('ala - oath, a covenant confirmed by an oath, an oath joined with an imprecation or curse, to swear, to curse, to put under a curse bound by an oath), which the LORD your God makes with you today, that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I make this (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-covenant and this (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-oath, not with you alone, but with him (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-who stands ('amad - raise up, stand up, withstand, waited, remain, continue, establish, abide, endure, be steadfast, be upright, be appointed) here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today."

     There are two different Hebrew words used in the above verses that are translated as "stand." The first, nasab, from which the Sabbath title comes, refers mostly to a physical position of standing. The second word, 'amad, seems to mean more of a spiritual standing: an abiding, enduring, remaining and steadfastness. Jesus also spoke of the blessings and the curses attached to abiding and remaining (see 'amad "standing" above) in Him and in His words, or the failure to do so. The blessings of abiding in Christ are fruitfulness, answered prayer, His love, and His joy. The curse includes being fruitless, cast out, withered and thrown into the fire. (see Jn. 15:4-11). Jesus was dealing here with issues of life and death.

     The LORD's oath mentioned in the above verses from Deuteronomy which accompanies the covenant includes the idea of an attending curse according to the Hebrew meaning above. Moses told the people of Israel that both blessings and curses attend the covenant of the law: blessings if the people follow the LORD and His Word, and curses if a man turns away from the LORD to follow other gods or to follow the ideas of his own heart instead of the LORD. Moses warned that the consequence of doing this would be that every curse of the law would fall upon the land until it is brimstone, salt and burning like Sodom and Gomorrah. (see Deut. 29:18-23). 

     As Jesus dealt with issues of life and death as mentioned above, Moses also connected the spiritual "standing" of God's people with life and death: "And the LORD your God will circumcise (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-your-heart and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live...The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good....if you obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn (sub - return, turn back to God, come back, repent) to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command you today...the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-life and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-good, (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-death and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-evil, in that I command you today to love (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess." (Deut. 30:6-16, excerpt). This is not about "standing" legalistically or religiously, this is about the heart, and Who our hearts worship in love. It is not just about what or how much you know, but WHO you know and LOVE with an (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-heart that only He can circumcise. Sometimes we lose track of that "WHO and the LOVE for Him." (see Rev. 2:4-5). It is a matter of life and death, and good and evil. We also see above that the LORD makes room for His people who have turned away from Him to turn back to Him. We all need to return to the LORD so that we may live and dwell in His blessing.

     The oath of the curse that came with the covenant was never meant for God's people, but for their enemies: "Also the LORD your God will put (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-all-these-curses on your enemies ('oyeb/'ayab - enemy, adversary, foe, to persecute, to hate/to be hostile to, to hate, to treat as an enemy) and on those who hate you, who persecuted you." (Deut. 30:7). His people were not to fall into the same ways as these enemies, forgetting to love God with all of their hearts. Moses was warning them not to choose this way that leads away from the LORD. Paul wrote the same principle, saying, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint (tithemi - to set, fix, establish, place, ordain, set forth) us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." (1 Thess. 5:8-11). Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law so that we would receive the blessings of Abraham.  (Gal. 3:13-14). Paul, the highly trained Pharisee, knew his Torah, and he knew the fulfilment of the Torah through the salvation of Jesus Messiah/Christ.

     The LORD God was warning His people through Moses to stand before Him, to remain and abide in Him in love because He is the life and the blessing, and not to fall into the same curse as their enemies. Paul also wrote that we should not be conformed to the world (and its ways) but to be transformed in our minds (see Rom. 12:1-2). Jesus said that while we were physically in the world, we were not of this world (see Jn. 17:14-19). God's people are separated, consecrated, sanctified unto Him. (see Deut. 7:6, Jn. 17:17-19).

     As we look at the corresponding reading portion to Nitzavim, "Are standing", the blessings of the LORD are unlimited through the Person filled with the anointing (masah - root of the Messiah/Christ) of the Holy Spirit. They are earth-changing. Where once the curse that brought mourning, darkness, being stricken, forsaken and hated covered the people, now the light of the glory of the LORD has risen upon them for all to see. The Person in whom the anointing of the Spirit of the LORD resides preaches and proclaims healing, liberty, comfort, beauty, joy, righteousness, rebuilding and restoration, double honor, everlasting joy, truth, an everlasting covenant, garments of salvation, robes of righteousness, a crown of glory, a new name, delight, and being married. "So the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations...Indeed the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world: 'Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him...And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed (see Gal. 3, above) of the LORD..." (Isa. 61 through Isa. 62, excerpt). Isaiah refers to salvation as a Person, as the prophet uses "His" and "Him" to describe salvation above. Jesus referred in part to this above blessing as being fulfilled on the day that He read it from the scriptures in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (see Lk. 4:16-19). He had come to announce to the ends of the world the redemption from the curse and the coming of the blessing through Himself, who is the Messiah/Christ, the Salvation anointed with the Spirit of the LORD. Jesus' name in Hebrew means "Salvation of the LORD."

      Moses' time was running out. The second title of this double-titled Sabbath is Va-yelech, meaning "Then he went out." This title comes from Deuteronomy 31:1: "Then Moses went and spoke these (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-words to all Israel." Moses, now one hundred and twenty years old, had little time left before he would die, and Joshua would then lead the people over the Jordan River and into the land. In part, Moses tells Israel regarding the tribes that were currently inhabiting the land: "The LORD will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 31:5-6). These were some of Moses' last words to Israel telling them to stand in the LORD in courage and trust in Him. The LORD was sending His people into the land with His presence and authority going with them.

     Jesus also sent His disciples, which includes us, into the "land" or world in the same manner: "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (aion/aei - forever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity, the worlds, the universe/perpetually, incessantly, at any and every time, always).' Amen." (Mt. 28:18-20).

     If you would like to learn more about standing and abiding in the Lord with all of your heart and soul, you can join my prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, circumcise my heart so that I will stand before You and in You always, and that I will love You with all my heart and soul. LORD - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - You are with me always because of the abundant and eternal blessings of Your new covenant with me, written in the broken Body and the poured-out Blood of Your Son, Jesus. You have redeemed me from the curse! Let my heart, mind and will be staid upon You, loving and trusting You in worship and thanksgiving. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Life&Death

     "It's a matter of life and death!" This is a well-known expression meaning that something is of extreme urgency. This expression came to mind as I read the Sabbath reading portion.

     This is the second week of the Sabbath reading portion titled Acharei-Mot, which means "after the death". This reading portion began on the Sabbath following Passover, which we discussed in the previous blog entry "Tabernacles&Passover" and continued through the Feast of First Fruits (Lev. 23:9-12), which occurs on the day after the Sabbath following the Passover, which would be on a Sunday. This is the Feast which was fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:20-23), who was slain on Passover, and three days later rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits (Mt. 28:1, Mk. 16:`1-2, Lk. 24:1-3, Jn. 19:42-20:1). 

     As mentioned last week, this Acharei-Mot Sabbath reading starts in Lev. 16 after the deaths of two of Aaron's sons, who had offered strange (zur - a stranger, an enemy, a foreigner, loathsome, profane, commit adultery) fire before the LORD (Lev. 16:1). By offering strange incense, Aaron's sons did not regard the LORD as holy, and did not glorify Him before the people. For this, fire went out from the LORD and devoured them. (Lev. 10:1-3). If we consider the fact that the tabernacle given to Moses by the LORD was patterned after the heavenly things, we know that the incense that is to come before God in His heavenly temple is made up of the powerful, Spirit-filled prayers of the saints, which prayers are cherished by God (Rev. 5:8). To come before God with a tainted version of this would be unacceptable. These deaths may seem harsh to many who read of them. However, by disregarding the holiness and glory of the LORD, and the profound purpose that exists within that holiness and glory and coming before Him in the same manner as strangers or enemies, His people were removing that part of the LORD's character that is powerful to save from death and the grave and to deliver any and all who call upon Him. Why would anyone call on God if His own people treat Him no differently than a useless idol, or a powerless figurehead? It is this holiness of the LORD  that called us to His salvation: "...God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed...who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel..." (2 Tim. 1:8-9). Isaiah wrote of the LORD's declaration over us: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you., For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...Fear not for I am with you...I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth - Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." (Isa. 43:2-7). The LORD also said that when He redeemed us, we became His. (Isa. 43:1). We became enfolded into His holiness and glory through His Son, sent as a sacrificial Lamb to atone for us, and to pay the redemption price for us on behalf of His Father in heaven. Not only does the LORD save and deliver through His holiness, but He calls us into His own holiness as He also glorifies us in His own glory (Rom. 8:30, Jn. 17:22-24, 1 Thess. 4:7-8, Eph. 1:3-6). Only the holy and glorious God can do this, and it is His purpose to offer this salvation to all who will call upon Him as the God who saves (Joel 2:32).

     In this week's Sabbath reading portion the LORD calls upon His people through Moses, saying: "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy." (Lev. 19:1-2). We read last week that the uncleanness of God's people causes His house, or tabernacle/temple, to become defiled and unclean as it sits in the midst of them (Lev. 16:15-16). We will see more about the house/tabernacle/temple of the LORD later. In Lev. 18, the LORD gave a command to Moses to speak to the children of Israel, saying: "I am the LORD you God. According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My judgments, and keep (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My ordinances, to walk in them [which if a man does, he shall live (hayay - remain alive, have life, continue in life, to revive from sickness or death, preserve alive, restore to life, save life) by them]: I am the LORD your God. (Lev. 18:1-5). The ways of Egypt and Canaan were wrapped up in the worship of terrible gods and idols that glory in the death of men, but the ways of the LORD God are wrapped up in life, even the restoring of life from the dead, and salvation life, as we see in the Hebrew meaning of hayay, life above. The LORD couldn't make it plainer to His people. In another place, Moses tells the people: "See (ra'a - see, perceive, prophetic sight or revelation, have vision, discern, be visible), I have set before you today (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes and His judgments, that you may live (hayay - same as above) and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess." (Deut. 30:15-16, see also Josh. 24:14-15).

     In another reading from this week's Sabbath portion, the prophet Jeremiah received the Word of the LORD for Judah and Jerusalem. The LORD said to Jeremiah: "A conspiracy (qeser/qasar - conspiracy, treason, unlawful alliance/to bind, to tie, to bind together, to bind oneself) has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have...gone after other gods to serve them...have broken (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My covenant which I made with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) their fathers. Therefore...I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them...(they) will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense but they will not save them at all in the time of trouble...you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Ba'al (Phoenician/Canaanite god)...What has My beloved to do in My house, having done lewd deeds with many? And the holy flesh has passed from you. When you do evil, then you rejoice." (Jer. 11:9-15). In using the word "conspiracy" above, the LORD is saying that His people have tied themselves to an unlawful alliance with the gods whom they have chosen to serve. These gods of depravity and death become spiritually bound to the individual. The LORD sees the body of death to which His people have tied themselves.

     It is interesting that the LORD gave prohibitions regarding contact with a dead body (Num. 19:11-22). In these prohibitions, if the man who is unclean from touching the dead "does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD."  Again we see that the uncleanness of the people of God also defiles the house of God. As Paul saw the destructive power of sin in our/his flesh, our spiritual temple, he cried out, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:24-25). The house of the LORD is the house of life which breaks out against death.

     In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the prophet Amos prophesied against the northern kingdom of Israel when the nation was divided into two kingdoms. Amos prophesied of a great calamity that would come upon Israel because of its injustices and corruption, because it did not heed the voice of the LORD and His commandments: "The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day, says the LORD God - Many dead bodies everywhere, they shall be thrown out in silence." (Amos 8:2-3). The LORD showed Amos another vision of the temple: "I saw (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the LORD standing by the altar, and He said, 'Smite (naka - slay, beat, wounded, stripes, give wounds, to be stricken or smitten, scourge, chastise, send judgment upon) the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them..." (Amos 9:1). The LORD promised that wherever the people chose to hide from those shaking doorposts and thresholds of His temple, they would not be able to escape..." All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.' (v. 1-4, 10). The very doorposts and lintels or the house/temple that were to shield the Israelites from death by the blood of the Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:3-7), were now to be struck, slain, beaten, wounded, scourged, stricken and smitten, chastised in judgment for the sins of God's people (see Isa. 53). In disregarding the blood of the Lamb which was provided for deliverance, and choosing instead the gods of this world, all things become death. The gods and systems of this world do not serve life. They serve money.

     The apostle John wrote of the revelation given to him. In that revelation, he saw the Lamb, Jesus, in the temple of heaven, opening the seals of the scrolls that would lead to the wrath of God that was to be poured out upon the earth. (Rev. 15:5-8). The temple of life breaks out against the powers of death, and against all of those who "tie" themselves to those things. Elsewhere in scripture, the LORD commands His people: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God. and they shall be My people...Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you...I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty." (2 Cor. 6:16-18, see also Isa. 52:10-11).

     This prophecy of Amos, above, is certainly a matter of life and death, but then the LORD gives Amos this prophecy: "On that day, I will raise up (qum - rise up, raise, establish, preserve alive) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the tabernacle (sukah - tabernacle, booth, pavilion, entwined boughs, covering) of David (meaning "beloved"), which has fallen (napal - fall down, lie down, violent death, perish) down, and repair its (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) damages; I will raise up (qum - same as above) its ruins, and rebuild (bana - build, repair, have children, obtain children) it as in the days of old (olam/alam - everlasting, ancient, evermore, perpetual, continuous existence, eternity, a hidden time/to conceal, hide, secret); That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,' says the LORD who does this thing...I will bring back (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the captives of My people Israel..." (v. 11-12, 14). The LORD promised that they would drink the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) wine (yayin - effervescent, banqueting wine, ripened grape cluster, vineyard) and the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) fruits (peri - first fruits, fruit, boughs, reward).

     As the prophecy of Amos tells us, according to the meanings of the Hebrew words used, the LORD is going to raise up from death the tabernacle of David, meaning the Messiah/Christ. This tabernacle did not originate from the time of David but was concealed within eternity. This is the same thing that Paul wrote above about salvation, which is God's purpose and grace through Messiah/Christ, which was from before time began, and what was previously hidden in that eternity is now revealed (see 2 Tim. 1:8-9). The tabernacle of which Amos wrote prophetically is the original tabernacle of life. It is not referred to as an ohel tabernacle, but as a sukkah tabernacle, an intimate chamber or booth made of boughs of living matter, of the type constructed for the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a tabernacle that is meant to welcome many children, even those who were once enemies and heathen, but are now called by the name of the LORD. Those who were taken as spiritual and physical captives are brought home to enter the time of banqueting and fruitfulness with Him. It is the sukkah of eternal life for those who belong to "the Beloved", the Son of David, the Son of God (Mt. 17:1-9, Mt. 3:16-17).

     In this chapter of Amos, we see that the LORD's judgment and salvation, death and eternal life, are offered side by side to His people. It's a matter of life and death - choose life.

     If you would like to learn more about holiness and glory to save life, you can join with me in prayer: "Heavenly Father, I choose life today. I choose the Word and Way of the LORD. I gratefully receive Your salvation, provided to me by the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus. By Your Holy Spirit, lead me in the ways of life. Cleanse me of all unrighteousness by Your grace extended to me. Show me how to turn away from the paths of death and walk instead in the path of life. Let me dwell all my days in Your tabernacle, in Your holiness and glory. I ask this in the name of Jesus, My Savior. AMEN."

 *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

Sights&Sounds

Last week, the Sabbath readings took us to the beginning of the fifth Book, Deuteronomy, or D'Varim, meaning (Words) in Hebrew. "Deuteronomy" is from the Greek language, and means "a repetition (of the Law)". We will see that Moses does repeat the Law to the Israelites as they camp along the eastern side of the Jordan River before they enter into the Promised Land. However, there is something else going on in this week's reading portion titled Va'etchannan, which means "And I besought". This portion begins in Chapter 3 of Deuteronomy, where Moses begs the LORD to allow him to enter the Land with the Israelites: "Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, "...I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.' But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: "Enough of that! Speak no more to Me on this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan." (Deut. 3:23-27). And the LORD told Moses that He was giving the leadership of the Israelites to Joshua, and Joshua would go over with the people. (v. 28). From our English translation, we might think that the LORD was strongly and perhaps callously denying the heartfelt request of Moses, who described himself to the LORD as His (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega, see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) servant (ebed/abad (servant, bondservant, slave, worshipper, subject, laborer, worship and obey). (Deut. 3:24). However, if we look at the Hebrew meanings of the key words here, we will see that the LORD wants Moses to speak (dabar) no more about it, because his request, as a prophet of the LORD, actually limits God's purpose. In fact, the LORD, in answer to His servant's pleadings above, commands Moses to elevate the vision of his eyes and understanding. The LORD told Moses: "Enough!", or, "Let it suffice!". Unlike the meaning of our English understanding, the word "enough/suffice" in Hebrew is rab/rabab, meaning "great, much, prince, captain, master, multitude, mighty, abounding, exceedingly, increase, great understanding, vast, arrows, archers/multiplied, manifold, ten thousands, become many, expand, spread". Then the LORD told Moses to "go up", or ala in Hebrew, meaning: come up, offering, raised, arose, light, exalted, ascend, extend the boundary, lift oneself, overcome. "The top" is: ros - top, chief, captain, sum, beginning, height of the stars, highest, supreme, prince, first and foremost. "Of "Pisgah/pasag": cleft/contemplate, consider, accurately contemplate. The LORD doesn't want Moses to limit his vision to the land, even though Moses calls the land "good" (tob - of favor, goodness, delightful, joyful, benefits, precious, rich, sweet, upright). The physical land is a foregone conclusion, because it is a promise of God. However, at the pleading of Moses, the LORD does not ignore that pleading, but He commanded Moses, the prophet of God, to see beyond that to the truly awesome, unlimited destination of the LORD's VISION. God tells Moses to "lift up your eyes" (nasa - bare up, lift up, exalt, rise up, accept, marry, magnify, forgive/obtain pardon, raise up, grow, increase, lift up soul in desire (towards God). "Eyes", or ayin in Hebrew, not only means physical eyes and sight, but the understanding, a fountain, knowledge, judgment. Moses is told to look in the four directions from Mt. Pisgah: westward, northward, southward, eastward. These directions also translate from the Hebrew as "the roar of the sea, the nations by the sea and across the sea; that which is dark, hidden, obscure, of heaven; at the right hand; rising, rise up, shine, come forth, like rays of sunlight, appear. From the meanings of these fur directions, Moses was supposed to "see" the plan of salvation, including the resurrection of the Son Who is at the Right Hand of God. The LORD told Moses not to speak small things of a limited, natural understanding, but to lift up his eyes from the greatest height, and see beyond to what God has seen and purposed. Then Moses was to take this revelation knowledge and command (sava - appoint, ordain, lay charge upon, send with, delegate), encourage (hazaq - encourage, prevail, strengthen, press urgently, make firm, make bold, hold up and support, fortify), and strengthen (ames - courage, brave, establish, increase, assure, make alert, stenghten) (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Joshua (yehosua - "Jehovah is Salvation"). Joshua will bring the people into their inheritance, "which you will see (ra'a - look, behold, appear, consider, perceive, foresee)". (v. 28). This is a prophetic journey that requires the prophetic Vision of God given to His prophet, to a prophesied spiritual, as well as a physical destination. The LORD says to Moses, and to all of us, don't limit your vision, and don't speak that limited vision. Lift up your eyes and ra'a see! It is also interesting that the beginning place of this amazing encounter, Pisgah (v. 27), and the ending place of this encounter, Beth-Peor/Ba'al-Peor (see v. 29), were places from which Balaam tried to curse the Israelites for King Balak, but could not (see Num. 23:13-14, Num. 22:41). Man cannot curse what God has blessed, and the plans of God, established before the world was formed, will not be contradicted (see Rev. 13:8, 1 Pet. 1:19-20). In this Sabbath reading portion called Va'etchannan, or "And I besought", Moses repeated portions of the Law to the Israelites so that they would keep it when they entered the Promised Land in order to prosper, and keep their lives (see Deut. 4:1). However, also repeated several times within these three chapters of Deuteronomy, are specific sights and sounds that Moses never wants the Israelites to forget, because these sights and sounds make this nation of Israelites different from among all the nations of the earth: "For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, lest you forget the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb (horeb/harab - desert/dry up, desolate, laid waste, kill, decay, destroyer), when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people to Me, and I will let them hear My (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) dabar words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children." (Deut. 4:7-10). Moses is about to repeat the sights and sounds that all of the Israelites saw and heard that they were to remember all of their lives, and teach to their children, and he will repeat the telling several times: "Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. So He declared to you His (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) covenant (berit/bara - covenant, alliance, pledge, friendship, banquet, marriage, cutting:passing through pieces of flesh/miracles, create, something new, shape, form, transformation, eat, food, manifest) which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments...". (Deut. 4:11-13). These were amazing and unforgettable sights and sounds, as the LORD made His presence known and His voice heard before His people in a place that can only be described as the devil's own stronghold of death, according to the meaning of Horeb (see above). Again, in another place, Moses said: "Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or did God ever try and go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation...according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (Deut. 4:33-34). Moses explained the reason why God had done this thing before their eyes: "To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him." (v. 35). Again Moses repeats: "Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth, He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire." (v. 36). Moses told the Israelites that the LORD had done this because of His love for their fathers, and those fathers' descendants (v. 37). "Therefore", Moses Said, "know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath; there is no other." (v. 39). Therefore, God's people were to keep the Words that God spoke to them, His statues and commandments to prosper and prolong their days (written "behold" (hey), yamim - days, time, continually, ever, always) in the earth (adama - earth, nations, ground) forever (kol/kalal - all the whole, everything, all, whosoever, whatsoever/made perfect, made complete) (v. 40). This is where the Hebrew words are important, because Moses is revealing what he learned when he enlarged his Vision - that the LORD is talking about eternal life and perfection for whosoever in the whole earth. This is also the Gospel, our Good News. Again, Moses will repeat to the people: "Hear, O Israel, the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) statutes and judgments... (to learn and observe)...The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb (see above)...with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire...you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain..." (Deut. 5:1-5). Moses repeated again: "These (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words (the Ten Commandments) the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more..." (Deut. 5:22). And again he repeated: "So it was when you heard the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire..." (v. 23). These awesome sights and sounds that the people witnessed were never to be forgotten, but told to their children and children's children. The Word of God, which brings life (Jn. 1:1-5), was brought forth out of the stronghold of death, and only God can do that. This is the promise and the consolation that God has given to His people. The LORD confirmed and sealed the Word that was delivered on Mt. Horeb (part of the Sinai summits) with the signs and wonders of His fire, darkness, and voice. Jesus assured His disciple that He was the resurrection and the life when she was disconsolate over the death of her family member (Jn. 11:25-26). Jesus also said that the day was here when "...all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth..." (Jn. 5:26-29). As the LORD displayed before Moses and His people His Words of life from a mountain of death, Horeb, Jesus spoke His Words of life from the mountain of death called Calvary (kranion/keras - a skull/a horn), or in Hebrew, Golgotha (golgotha/gulgolet/galal - skull/every man/roll down, remove, roll away). From that place He said: "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do", and told the criminal crucified next to Him, who had besought Him: "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."{Lk. 23:32-34, 42-43). These are also sights and sounds witnessed, recorded, and to be remembered forever. Those who beseech the LORD in their desperation, as Moses did, as one of the criminals who was crucified with Christ did, will not be turned away. This Sabbath is also the Sabbath that follows the sorrowful events that occurred to God's people throughout history on the Ninth of Av, or Tisha B'Av (see previous blog post titled "Words and Vision"). Because of this, this Sabbath's reading portion is also called Nachamu, from the Hebrew word naham, which means "comfort, repent, comforter, moved to pity, compassion, to pant or groan, to lament and grieve". For this portion titled Nachamu, Isaiah 40 is read in the synagogues: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!' says your God. 'Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD double for all her sins." (Isa. 40:1). Just as Moses besought the LORD and received much more than he asked, God's people receive a double portion of comfort ("Comfort ye, Comfort..."), and not only that, but the pity and compassion of that double portion of comfort from the LORD leads to repentance from which God overcomes sin. Now this double portion of compassion is directed towards Jerusalem. However, the Vision of the LORD in this chapter of Isaiah encompasses the whole earth, as God is described as "...He who sits above the circle of the earth..." (v. 22). While some believed, and maps of old epicted, that the earth was flat well into the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, the Greek, Eratosthenes, had calculated the circumference of a spherical earth in 240 BC. However, Isaiah had seen the Vision of God, and recorded the Vision with earth as a circle long before that, in around 750 BC. The Vision was written to bring to the remembrance of God's people how BIG God is, and the limitlessness of His power. In this same chapter of the double portion of comfort for His people in circumstances of desolation, God gave Isaiah another prophecy connected to the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD...The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (v. 3-5). This is the prophetic promise, as part of a double portion of comfort, of the ministry of John the Baptist that would arrive many hundreds of years later as recorded in all four Gospels (Mt. 3:1-3, Mk. 1:4, Lk. 3:2-6, Jn. 1:19-23). He would be the prophet who called God's people to prepare with repentance of nachamu, and identified Jesus as the promised Messiah, saying, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:29). He was the prophet who came out of the LORD's provision of the double portion of comfort for His people. The miraculous, unlimited, and all-powerful comfort and consolation of God to Moses, to His people, Israel, to the whole world, extends far beyond what we think: "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power (of Christ) that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21). With these inspired words, it sounds like Paul was preaching from the revelation of this week's Sabbath portion, doesn't it? Finally, of all the sights and sounds that the Israelites, that most special nation in the earth, were reminded of during this Sabbath reading portion of Va'etchannan, "And I besought", and Nachamu, "Comfort", was this sound: "HEAR, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:4-5). If you would like to learn more about the comfort and consolation of God, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You answered Moses when he besought You with a Vision of consolation that far surpassed his sorrow. You allowed Moses to receive the Vision of Your salvation, resurrection, and eternal life by the One, Your Son, Who sits at Your right hand. I want to remember always the sights and sounds when You revealed Your Son and Yourself to me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I will always remember that moment and tell it to my children, and their children, amd so that I will always walk in the highest Vision of the double portion of the Comfort of the Almighty. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

BATTLE!

These last few weeks, we have been learning from Sabbath readings in the Book of Exodus. As mentioned previously, exodus is a Greek-Latin word meaning "the way or road out of". Therefore, as we read through this Book, we will be looking at how an exodus of God's people through the work and name of the LORD was and is accomplished. This week's sabbath reading is titled Bo in Hebrew, meaning "enter". The individual Hebrew letters in the word Bo have the meaning "House or family of Adonai (Lord), the First". Within these chapters of Exodus 10 through 13, there will be a showdown between the LORD and Pharaoh, king of Egypt. As a result, during the events of one night the enslaved Israelites will be freed and removed from Egypt. Not only will they be delivered from oppressive slavery and Pharaoh's repeated attemps at genocide, but they will also leave with flocks, herds, and Egyptian wealth (see Ex. 11:2). One Jewish teaching refers to this night as "The Battle of the Firstborn". We read previously that the LORD had said to Moses: "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me.. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed, I will kill your son, your firstborn." (Ex. 4:22-23). The LORD used the word "son", in the singular, and used the pronoun "he", in the singular even though the Israelites numbered at least in the hundred thousands at the time, if not in the millions including the women and children - yet the LORD spoke in the singular of His son, His firstborn. Jesus, the Messiah not yet born but within the future generations of the Israelites, is also the Son, the firstborn of God, "...the firstborn of many brethren" (Rom. 8:29, see also Col. 1:15, 18, Heb. 1:5-6, Rev. 1:5-6). The Book of Proverbs asked this question for all of us to consider: "Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know it?" (Prov. 30:4, see also Jn. 3:11-13, Jn. 6:62, Eph. 4:8-10). In this week's sabbath reading, the LORD has been releasing plagues upon Egypt, although those plagues never affected the enslaved Israelites dwelling in Goshen, meaning "Drawing near". Pharaoh would promise Moses to do as God commanded and let His people go if Moses would entreat the LORD to stop the plague. When the plague would be stopped as a result of the intercession of Moses, Pharaoh would then go back on his promise (see Ex. 9:33-35, 10:16-20). The word "Pharaoh" is from the Hebrew word paro meaning "Great House", therefore under this Pharaoh, the "Great House" has become a house of lies. The LORD also refers to it as "a house of bondage" (Ex. 13:3). The LORD told Moses that He was about to release the tenth and last plague upon Egypt: "...Afterward he (Pharaoh) will let you (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive/thrust (garas - drive away, expel, thrust out, cast out) you out of here altogether'...Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight (see also Mt. 25:6) I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again." (Ex. 11:1, 4-6). Pharaoh would not just let them go, but, the LORD promised, Pharaoh would drive them out. This is exodus, "the way or road out of", in the extreme! A stiff-necked, stubborn enemy of God is ordained as the one who will give the order to send God's people out. Before this final plague was set in motion however, the LORD had to provide a special protective covering over His own people against this coming plague of death. The LORD had promised Moses that not one of the children of Israel would be harmed, so that it would be seen that "...the LORD does make a difference (pala - sever, separated, make wonderfully, set apart, show marvelous, put a difference, to be distinct or distinguished, marked out) between the Egyptians and Israel" (v. 7). The LORD commanded Moses that the Israelites must apply the blood of an unblemished young lamb upon the doorposts (mezuza/ziz - door post upon which the hinges turn/conspicuous, fulness, abundance) and lintels (masqap/saqap - overhanging, lintel/lean over, look down, appear, overlook from on high, God looking forth from heaven) of their houses (Ex. 12:5-7). This horizontal-vertical pattern of blood also reminds us of the cross of Christ, and Jesus is also referred to as "the Lamb of God...slain before the foundation of the world......Who takes away the sin of the world" (Rev. 13:4, 8; Jn. 1:29-30). He is also called by Paul "our Passover", as he also tells us to "keep the feast" (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Moses was told by God that the Israelites were to eat the Passover in haste, being ready and dressed to leave immediately because: "It is the LORD's Passover" (Ex. 12:11). This is what the battle would look like, as the LORD described it to Moses: "For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn...both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign (ot אוֹת- sign, ensign, mark, miracles, banners, proof, evidence, monument, beacon) for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting (olam/alam - ever, perpetual, old, ancient, always, hidden time, long past antiquity, eternity) ordinance." (Ex. 12:12-14). The blood applied is to be a "sign", or a token, to the Israelites of a powerful meaning. The Hebrew letters that make up the word ot, or "sign", are aleph, vaw, and tav. These letters carry a meaning "Adonai (Lord), the First, the nail and the cross". This blood was to speak to Israel throughout all future generations forever. The enslaved Israelites who dwelled in Goshen, were miraculously spared all of the other plagues brought against Egypt, but this time, only the line of separation formed by the lambs' blood would spare their firstborn sons from the plague of death. The lamb's blood caused them to be distinguished from the Egyptians, whose gods could not save them. It is the verses concerning Passover, and the following Feast of Unleavened Bread, as well as verses from Deuteronomy, that the Jewish people were to keep on their foreheads and on their hands. They began to wear them in phylacteries or tefillin (meaning "prayers"), and eventually, when they entered the promised land, the verses were to be placed on the doorposts and gates of their houses (Ex.13:9, 16, Deut. 6:8-9). When during their history, Israel neglected to observe and remember the Passover, or when circumstances prevented them from observing the Passover, the LORD would raise up a leader to restore the observance of this first of the LORD's feasts as we see in other portions of this sabbath's reading (Ezra 6:15-22 and 2 Chron. 35:16-19). The Passover was not just a one-time event, but it has an eternal and on-going message regarding the moment of deliverance or exodus for every generation. Only those who were circumcised (see Rom. 2:28-29) and part of the people of God's covenant could participate in Passover observances (Ex. 12:43-45). As current events in the world become more dire, the revelation and deeper consideration of the Passover, and our Passover Lamb, becomes even more important for God's people, both Jews and Gentiles. "The Battle of the Firstborn" was not just executed against Pharaoh, and the Egyptians, but also as judgment against their gods (Ex. 12:12). We read about some of the gods of Egypt in the previous blog post titled "LORD". In another portion from this sabbath's reading, the LORD again speaks judgment against Egypt, Pharaoh, and their gods. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would strike Egypt: "Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol (a fortified city on the Egyptian border); proclaim in Noph (also known as Memphis, the capital of Egypt) and in Tahpanhes (a fortified city in Egypt); Say, 'Stand fast and prepare yourselves, for the sword devours all around you...They cried there, 'Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!' O you daughter dwelling in Egypt, prepare yourself to go into captivity! For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant." (Jer. 46:13-14, 17, 19). The LORD also prophesied again against Egyptian cities in Jer. 43:10-13, promising to "kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt...He (Nebachudnezzar of Babylon) shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shamesh (later called Heliopolis, House of the Sun, a city in Egypt) that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire." There are additional Egyptian cities prophesied for destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in Ezek. 30:13-19. All of the cities mentioned to be burned with fire are not just mentioned arbitrarily, but they are associated with the worship of specific gods and goddesses of Egypt. All of these gods and goddesses are a pagan religion's attempt to overcome death without acknowledging the LORD. These Egyptian gods include a false creator figure, an underworld god of the dead, "the head of the age", "the beginning of the world", "the lord of the resurrection", and many others. In ancient Egypt, even Pharaoh was considered a god-like figure himself, with a divine connection by birth to the sun god. These gods both represent and, at the same time, conceal evil spiritual powers and principalities. However, the LORD God, with His mighty hand and the blood of the Passover Lamb, showed these false gods and half-gods and those who worshipped and relied upon them that He alone is The LORD. He alone has overcome the power of death, and has given that as a sign for us to wear for all generations. If you would like to know more about the LORD of Passover and exodus, "the way or road out of", you can pray with me: "LORD and Father, I will remember the blood of the Passover Lamb, Your Firstborn Son, Jesus, which broke the power of death for those who dwelled under it. Nothing could hold back Your hand of deliverance that brought Your people out of the House of Bondage in one night. I rely on You only, and the provision of salvation that You have made for me by Your own power. You lead me out of the bondages of sin and death. I pray that Your Spirit teaches me how to walk the way of exodus, not by pagan counterfeits that cannot save anyone, nor by customs that have lost their true meaning and power, but by a living faith found as I search Your Word. I ask this in the Name of Jesus. AMEN."

Deceptions

There are deceptions prophesied in scripture for the latter days that will lead many into destruction. The deceptions are so convincing that even the elect (those chosen to obtain salvation) will be vulnerable to them (Mk. 13:22). I think one of those deceptions that we are seeing today is the dismissal of sin. Many in the world have believed the deception that sin is an outmoded religious concept, perhaps meant in its time to keep man from certain undesirable behaviors for fear of hell. In error it is believed that we no longer need the concept of sin, being ruled instead by secular laws decided by society regarding right and wrong, even though secular law can never nullify the holy and perfect Law of God (Rom. 7:12). Even many believers and churches have adopted this same secular viewpoint, and are reluctant to teach the destructive power of sin. However, this is a deadly deception.
Sin is not just the wrong that we do against the law of God, but it is also a spiritual power, as we will see. Sin has the power to enslave a human being. Jesus said:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin."   Jn. 8:34
The apostle Paul also speaks of the power of sin to enslave:
"...our old man was crucified with Him (Jesus), that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin...to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey...whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness...But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered."   Rom. 6:6, 16-17
Peter wrote that those who yield themselves to sin and promise others that there is liberty in practicing what God has declared to be sin, have themselves become slaves to corruption (2 Pet. 2:15-19).
As we also read above, sin is the power that kills:
"...the end of those things is death...For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."   Rom. 6:21, 23
"The sting of death is sin..."  1 Cor. 15:56
Not only does sin have the power to kill, but it has the power to keep the body in the grave, and the soul in hell (1 Cor. 15:55). When God was warning Cain about the power of sin, He said this:
"If you do well (be glad, joyful, pleasing, to make a thing good, right, or beautiful), will you not be accepted (exaltation in rank or character, dignity, loftiness, raising up, lifting up)? And if you do not do well, sin lies (lurks) at the door ("pethakh" meaning gate, opening, grave). And its desire (craving, longing, stretching out after, devour like a beast, overflow like water) is for you, but you should rule over it."    Gen. 4:7
As we can see above, the door that sin lurks beside is not the Hebrew word "daleth", but "pethakh" which can mean the opening of a grave. Sin's craving, desire and longing is to pull us into an open grave, and keep us there. The bad news is that we have all sinned (Rom. 3:23, 1 Jn. 1:10). The good news is that Christ came for the purpose of overcoming death, hell and the grave by paying the penalty for sin in our place. He fought its power and broke its enslaving hold. He died and rose again to make all alive (1 Cor. 15:22). The offering of His body in replacement for ours was done once, for all (Heb. 10:10).
The world may embrace the deception that the power of sin is not real, falsely thinking that they are achieving liberty from unreasonable constraints. However, when the believer who has accepted Christ's atoning and redeeming sacrifice runs after that same deception, or is consenting to it, something awful occurs in the spiritual realm:
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away (to deviate from the right path, to error; root meaning-to descend from a higher place to a lower, to be removed from power by death, to lose authority, to no longer have force, to fall from a state of uprightness), to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame."   Heb. 6:4-6
"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins...of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?"
                                                                                              Heb. 10:26-29 (excerpt)
What a terrible thing to do to ourselves, but even more so to Christ! If we, the believers in Christ, deny the reality of sin, or its spiritual power to kill and enslave forever, then we are also denying the power and necessity of the atonement and resurrection of Christ. We are therefore denying the very foundation of our salvation and faith. None of us wants to do such a thing. However, this deception is sent from hell in order to convince man that sin is no longer relevant, in order to keep man from seeking the remedy of Christ, and to keep him enslaved and bound in death.
We can see that the end time deception disregarding the truth and power of sin is a far more dangerous thing than it would appear on the surface. In order to fully participate in the victory which Christ has achieved for us all, we need to understand the reality of the evil power which He overcame. Delusions and deceptions will come as prophesied, but we are here to stand as witnesses to the truth of what Jesus has done for all: the liberty from enslavement and death that He has accomplished on our behalf:
"And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience...but God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..."   Eph. 2:1-6 (excerpt)
"...Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."   Rev. 1:5-6

Our Father is exposing the destructive deceptions.

Special thanks to my pastors who faithfully teach the truth of the Word, on this subject and all others, without compromise.

Battle

Scripture tells us of a battle, and it was not an easy battle to win. It was long and protracted, going back and forth, wearying and challenging the people of God. This battle, related in Exodus 17, involved Moses, the children of Israel, and the Amalekites, who attacked them at Rephidim, meaning "rest, refresh, support". During the battle, as long as Moses raised up his rod/staff in his hand, the Israelites prevailed. However, if Moses did not keep his hand raised, the Amalekites prevailed. Moses grew weary, so two of the elders of Israel sat Moses on a stone, stood on either side of him, and held up his hands. The battle lasted all day, until the sun went down, and finally, Joshua, who was leading the Israelites in battle, was able to weaken (discomfit) the enemy enough to overthrow Amalek. The LORD told Moses that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. This victory was not final, but the warfare with this nation would be a continuing thing. We would read of another campaign against the Amalekites in the future under King Saul, that would not be a complete success because of Saul's disobedience. Also, Haman, the persecutor of the Jews in the Book of Esther, was a descendant of Agag, a king of the Amalekites (Est. 3:1).
If we look more deeply into this battle with Amalek, we find some interesting things.
First of all, it must have shocked Moses to find that holding out his rod did not produce the immediate result that he had come to expect. This is the same rod that the LORD told Moses would be used to do signs in the authority of God (Ex. 4:17). It is the same rod that Moses used to  bring forth the plagues against Egypt (Ex. 7-10). It was this rod, outstretched in the hand of Moses, that parted the Red Sea, and allowed Israel to cross on dry land (Ex. 14:16, 21). Yet during this battle, Moses had to extend this rod of signs and wonders for hours, before seeing the eventual great victory. Who was this enemy, Amalek, and why was he so hard to defeat?
Amalek was Esau's grandson. Esau had despised his birthright as first born, and felt it had no value to him in the "now", as he expressed. He traded his birthright to his brother for a meal, because he was hungry. As firstborn, he would have carried the seed of promise (of the Messiah) inherited from His grandfather, Abraham, and from his father, Isaac, who was a prophetic type of the sacrificed Christ, but this covenant promise from God meant nothing to Esau. God in His foreknowledge, sovereignly had elected Jacob, the younger twin, instead, to carry this inheritance (Rom. 9:11). Esau even sought to murder his brother.
Esau had a son with his concubine, and named that son "Eliphaz", meaning "my God is pure gold". Eliphaz had a son named Amalek, meaning "valley, or depths". The Amalekites, the descendants of this son, attacked Israel in a place that means "resting place". They attacked the weakest stragglers at the rear of the Israelites. Amalek is described as not fearing God (Deut. 25:17-19). Amalek does not just represent a person, or even a nation, but also the eternal evil, who hates, persecutes, and seeks to murder those whom God has chosen for His own, especially when they are at their weakest.
The mention of the combination of resting place, a rod, and a valley mentioned in this account of the battle with Amalek, brings to mind Psalm 23:
"...He makes me to lie down in green pastures ; He leads me beside still waters (waters of rest). He restores my soul...Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Also, as Moses had two to support his weary hands, David had two supports in this Psalm-goodness and mercy.
Moses (meaning to draw out of water, to save, to preserve) grew weary, and sat upon a rock (Christ, and the revelation of Him). Aaron (light bringer), Christ as the Light and the Word, which brings light (Ps. 119:105, 2 Pet. 1:19, 2 Pet. 1:19), and Hur (hole, crevice of a serpent, a cell of an abominable subterranean prison; root meaning: white cloth, fine white linen), held up the tired hands of Moses. Joshua ("Jehovah is Salvation") led the Israelites in battle. The fine, white linen, connected to the name "Hur", represents the righteousness of Christ. Christ as righteousness, delivered out of Hell. The righteousness of the saints, also, is founded in faith (Rom. 1:17, 3:22, 4:5, 9, 13, and many more), that faith being that Christ has delivered us from the power of sin, death, and Hell. This righteousness that begins in faith in Jesus, also produces works, or fruits of righteousness in the believer, and the wedding garments of the Bride of Christ for her marriage to the Lamb ( Rev. 19:7-9 ).
At the successful conclusion of this battle, Moses built an altar (sacrifice), and called the place "Jehovah-nissi", or The LORD my Banner (something lifted up, a signal pole, lifted up to be seen far off), like Jesus lifted on the cross of Calvary. An account of the battle was to be written in a book, which was to be read repeatedly to Joshua. "Joshua" would be a form of the name that we know as "Jesus". The memorial of this battle was for the use of Joshua.
To me, this battle represents not only Jesus, and His sacrifice, but also what the battle must have been like that Jesus fought in the three days that He descended into Hell. While there, He preached "to the spirits in prison" (1 Pet. 3:19). He was able to lead those captives (root meaning: precious stones in the high priest's breastplate) out of that captivity (Ps. 68:18-20). Jesus entered Hell in the same manner as He died, as the Son of Man, while also being the Son of God. During those three days, in what we refer to as Hell or Sheol, Jesus, I believe, must have had to do intense spiritual warfare in order to escape the bars of death for Himself and the captives. I base this thought on what Jesus said about Jonah. Jesus told an "evil and adulterous generation" that the only sign that would be given to them was the sign of the prophet Jonah (Mt. 12:39-40, 16:4, Lk. 11:29-30). Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights (Jonah 1:17). He cried out to the LORD from that terrible place of death:
"Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice...The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me...I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God."  Jonah 2:1-6 (excerpt)
In the Psalms, there are also many references of the psalmist crying out to the LORD to rescue him from death, the pit, the grave, the mire, deep waters, darkness, Hell/Sheol, etc. Here are some examples:
"The pangs of death surrounded me...The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God..."
"I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave...Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead rise and praise You? Selah. Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or You faithfulness in the place of destruction?...But to You I have cried out, O LORD..."  Ps. 18:4-6, Ps. 88:4-13 (excerpt)
Jesus, the Word, must have earnestly prayed all of these many verses on our behalf while He battled the hold of death in the depths of the earth. If death on the cross was unimaginably torturous, why would we think that the battle to break the bonds holding Him in death and Hell would be any less difficult?
This battle between Moses and the Amalekites to me, especially because of the meanings of the names and places involved, is a prophetic type of Jesus' warfare in the pit-to come out of it alive, in resurrection: not only for Himself, but for the other captives there, and for us, the generations who followed. He descended into the depths, and He who lives and was dead, and alive again forever, has the keys of Hades and of Death (Eph. 4:9, Rev. 1:18).
Why is the war ongoing then, according to what the LORD spoke to Moses? The victory is already assured and won for those who believe Jesus' atonement for them, but death, hell, and the grave for all others, will exist until after the  reign of Messiah on earth. At that point, there will be a final warfare. At its conclusion, the devil, those who refused the salvation of God, who were not written in the Book of Life, also Death and Hades, will be cast into the lake of fire, the second death (Rev. 20). Paul says that at Christ's coming, "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."  1 Cor. 15:24-26
Similarly, the Amalekite enemy in Exodus 17, is described as one with whom the LORD will have war for many generations because the LORD has sworn it (v. 16). He swore that promise to Abraham when Abraham obediently offered his son Isaac, a type of Christ, on the Mount:
"By Myself, I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son...your descendants shall posses the gate of your enemies. In your seed (Messiah, Christ) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."   Gen. 22:16-18
Included in the reference to the enemies' gate above, are also the gates of Hell: "...on this rock (the revelation of the person of Christ-Moses was sitting on a rock) I will build My church (called out assembly-called out of the darkness and into His marvelous light), and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Mt. 16:18
How powerful and awesome is Christ's accomplishment for us!
There are so many more things that can be revealed in this account of the battle against the Amalekites, but even if we stop here, it is more than enough to think about!

Our Father has won the victory over Death and Hell for us through His Son, Jesus.


"The Anthem"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkAREE-h2Dc

"10,000 Reasons"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E