333

At the end of last week and into this one, for five sequential nights, I have been waking up, and when looking at the digital clock it was showing 3:33.  This has happened a few other times in the past, but never so consistently.  Upon waking on the fifth night I did not want to look at it, but as I lay awake the pressure from the Spirit was growing to the point that I had to glance at it. It was 3:33 again. Getting out of bed that morning, baffled as to this persistent reoccurring ‘phenomenon’, I began looking for answers. One of the obvious possibilities was to look up scriptures in accordance with this data. I opened up to Ezekiel 33:3:  "And he sees the sword coming upon the land, and he blows on the trumpet/shofar and warns the people". Next, I looked up Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell/show you great and mighty things, which you do not know “.  Rimona and I were quite astounded at these scriptures and their meaning. Those were the only two scriptures that I felt compelled to view.  What immediately came to my attention was that, since we are in the days of the fulfillment of much of the prophecies of old, YHVH is speaking to us as watchmen, just as He did to Habakkuk, who in 2:1 of his book responds thus to YHVH: "I WILL stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart, And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved" (emphases added). In other words, while YHVH speaks we are actually seeing what He is saying AND fulfilling, at the same time.  He did not say to Habakkuk that he would first hear His voice, but that he would see His speech experientially.  The “knowing” comes by experience, just like at Mount Sinai, when “the people saw the voices” (Exodus 20:18, literal translation, emphases added).

At the end of that day, I shared the above experience in a meeting.  One person commented that 333 is half of 666, with the thought in mind that we were on the ‘road’ to the tribulation.  Another person remarked that the Hebrew letters for three hundred and thirty-three are shin, lamed, and gimel make up the word “sheleg” - “snow”.  He also explained that “snow” can refer to the righteousness of YHVH’s Word.  The following morning I received a message from someone, which included a passage from Job 38:12-15.  Because I like to read in context, I read all of Job 38. To my surprise, Job 38:22-23 says the following:  "Have you entered the storehouses [literally treasures] of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?” (emphasis added).

The picture was becoming clearer: the sword, war, battle, and hail are only a few of YHVH’s righteous judgments, along with what we are experiencing worldwide with the Corona plague.  The question is, what does YHVH mean by “great and mighty things”?  Could this be like the time that preceded the Exodus, with the same signs and wonders that also show up in the book of Revelation, which we obviously have not known yet in our generation?  We have been hearing, for example, older people saying, “We have never experienced such weather conditions in our lifetime”, or reports about record heat and unusual temperature changes in the earth.   What does all this mean, other than the looming events that are to lead to the restoration and return of a remnant of the whole house of Israel, along with judgments upon the nations, including Israel?

Birth pangs are always a little deceptive, as some are stronger than others, but the closer one gets to the birth the frequency becomes important.  “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22).  But what is the whole creation waiting for other than for Zion to give birth to her man-child, a corporate body of the redeemed remnant of the chosen seed of Abraham and Sarah - a “One New Man” that will manifest the nature, life, light and fruit of their Redeemer Elohim?  “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of Elohim” (Romans 8:19).  Hosea prophesied this long before the Redeemer of Israel showed up on the scene of history. 

“Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ it will be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living Elohim’. And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and they will go up from the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel” (Hosea 1:10-11). 

In the beginning days of the declared pandemic, many believers were claiming, reading, and sharing Psalm 91.  It may be a good idea to take it to heart, as we are moving toward very uncertain days.  Proverbs 3:33 is also quite appropriate: “The curse of YHVH is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.”

Through the Strainer (IV)

How important today is the “faith of our father Abraham” (Romans 4:16)? Does his faith mean anything to us? Does it have any relevance? Do we even consider that when the scriptures tell us that we have the same faith, i.e., Abraham’s, it is because we are of his progeny/seed, through Sarah’s miracle son, Isaac (Romans 9:8b-9)? “But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise: ‘At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son’” (Romans 9:8b-9).  There is another term associated with the Abrahamic faith, and that is “hope.” “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 emphases added). YHVH sealed a covenant with our forefather because Abraham’s “belief” was based on this hope, which is a confident assurance that Elohim would carry out what He had promised.

We, as human beings, have the capability to “believe”, which means that we can believe anything, even lies, and be convinced that it is the truth. This kind of “belief”, however, is not “the faith” of Abraham. For example, many non-Jewish believers profess that they are like Ruth, which means that they compare their attachment to Israel or to the Jewish people to Ruth’s choice to follow Naomi and her Elohim. But, even though it is a heart-warming analogy, it is not corroborated by scripture.  When it comes to the New Covenant books, Ruth is mentioned only once, and that is in the genealogy of Yeshua (see Matthew 1:5). With this analogy inbred into the common doctrines, the believer is convinced that he or she cannot be an Israelite, and thus is blinded to the truth.  There is another doctrine espoused for solving (or dissolving) the non-Jewish/Israelite identity, and that is to believe that the natural forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are one’s spiritual fathers. Such a viewpoint distorts the word of Elohim concerning those fathers, making Elohim one who does not keep His word, His promises, or His covenants to all the natural descendants.  What is worse, it makes the book of Genesis not as relevant for the non-Jews, and the rest of the scriptures anemic.

There is something even more tragic, and that is that we miss seeing Yeshua the Living Word of the Heavenly Father actively involved in the history of His people, faithfully watching over and guarding every dot and tittle of His Father’s assignment. Do we really know Him - Yeshua - not just from His first appearing in the flesh of man, but also as the Word in the Beginning?  “For by Him [Yeshua the Word] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).  Again, do we see Yeshua in the Creation, both visible and invisible? “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things (in the natural) that are made, even His eternal power and divinity; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  We are told to mind the things of the spirit (see Romans 8:5-6) so that we can understand correctly the created things. When we read the book of Genesis, do we see the unseen realities of Him who is the Word, the “same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)?

His divine power gave Sarah something that her old body could not produce.  She was given a “christed” (spiritually anointed) egg; a supernatural miracle on the female side of Man.  In one sense, “the Word became flesh” in a tiny egg fertilized by an Adamic man, who had the faith/hope that His Elohim could do and accomplish what He had spoken and promised. But this was only the beginning of the destiny of this zera/seed/zygote called “Isaac”.  YHVH, by the power of His word, was calling into being “a father of many nations” [Goyim] I have made you’, in the presence of Him whom he believed, Elohim, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.  In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, ‘so shall your seed be’” (Romans 4:17-18 emphasis added).  Actually, the SPIRITUAL connection to the forefathers is what YHVH provided in Sarah’s womb, along with the anointings in the covenant promises.

Abraham’s faith/hope in the seed that YHVH was going to bring forth by his son Isaac, in the womb of Rebecca, was made manifest in him whom we know as Jacob. His seed would carry the life of “the Word” into the future progeny.  Jacob’s anointed life and the faith that can believe life from the dead, was to become real in a multitude of people, only after the Father raised Yeshua from the grave.  From Sarah’s womb until Yeshua’s resurrection, the faith remained hidden in the life of the scattered tribes of Israel. “But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed” (Galatians 3:23). “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).  By this very faith of Abraham our father, we are in Messiah, and because we are in Him we are heirs according to the promise (see Galatians 3:29). We are the evidence of that which was not seen.  Oh, the faithfulness of the Elohim of Abraham!

“The counsel of YHVH stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is YHVH, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:11-12). “For YHVH's portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). 

Through the Strainer (part III)

In the course of the last few weeks the Spirit has been impressing on me to read and study the scriptures more and depend on Him to lead, guide, direct and bring revelation-understanding.  Yeshua told His followers that "…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).  In 1 John 2:27  we read that “…the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him”.

As we know, only the Holy Spirit can bring revelation-understanding of YHVH’s Word.  The main reason being, is that all the fullness of wisdom and knowledge of the mystery of Elohim is hidden in Messiah (see Colossians 2:2-3).  If we depend mainly on human resources for our spiritual food, we may be like the little chick in the nest waiting for the parents to regurgitate what they have eaten, and drop into its mouth.  Obviously everyone starts out as a “babe”, but cannot stay there, growth has to take place.  The Creation itself speaks very loudly about the importance of maturing, for without it, bearing offspring or producing fruit would be impossible.

Paul writes: “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:2-3).  We are also warned: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the Torah of Elohim, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:6-7).  Thus, the “carnal” mind, and its accompanying behavior, is connected to a state of immaturity.

Let us now move on, and place side by side a couple of concepts into the strainer: the wisdom of the carnal mind in contrast to the wisdom of the spiritual mind.  Obviously, as believers our mind can function in both realms.  We can partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, or of the tree of life which is the mind of Messiah.  How can we discern the difference?  The above-mentioned scriptures give us some very obvious clues. The fruit of the first tree produces death - killing, stealing and destroying, while the fruit of the other tree yields life and peace.  Shortly after our ‘arrival’ into this world our minds fall victim to the power of sin, and are indoctrinated by the spirits coming out from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which means that for wisdom and understanding we rely on this world’s perspective.  However, as believers we are warned: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Messiah” (Colossians 2:8).

James further characterizes the worldly wisdom:  “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.  This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.  For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (James 3:14-16).  The definition for wisdom, is the accumulated relational experiences with people, places and things, coupled with information, producing a knowledge and understanding of ourselves, others and our culture.  The society, culture and life style that most of us are born into have produced in us good and evil traits and reactions to the situations that we are experiencing or facing.  We are very cognizant of the material world, and very ignorant of the unseen realm.  Only after YHVH calls us out of this dark spiritual kingdom and by grace transfers us to the Kingdom of His Son, are our eyes opened to recognize the difference.  However, the mind, that houses the “wisdom”, has to be renewed: “ Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Elohim” (Romans 12:2 emphasis added).

“But of Him [the Father] you are in the resurrected Spirit of Messiah Yeshua who became for us wisdom from Elohim—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30 modified). “…The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:17-18).

“Therefore as you have received Messiah Yeshua the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude…for in Him you have been made complete…” (Colossians 2:6,7,10). “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, Elohim will reveal even this to you” (Philipians 3:15).

Applying our mind to the Spirit of the Word of Elohim is wisdom, thus distinguishing the wisdom which is in Messiah Yeshua, the tree of Life, from the wisdom of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is truer now than ever before, which is why we need the Spirit of Holiness to guide us into all truth.

Through the Strainer 2

Four times today the Spirit brought to our attention the calling that is upon the remnant, redeemed in this generation of the seed of the forefathers.  This calling takes us back to the womb of Rebekah, when YHVH chose Jacob to be His nation/goy, eventually to become a kingdom of priests unto Himself.  Yeshua gave up His life so that we could ‘return to the womb’ of our foremothers.  These mothers gave birth in pain, none more so than Rachel, who died in the process.  She, above all the other mothers, was left weeping for her children as YHVH had hidden them from her, at least until He inaugurated the New Covenant through the blood of Yeshua.

In Zechariah chapter 10, we get a glimpse into the restoration of both Judah and Joseph/Ephraim.  The house of Judah’s return to nationhood came in 1948 when ‘she’ was “born in a day”, through a vote in the United Nations.  At the same time, another phenomenon began taking place in the valley of dry bones; the house of Joseph started to feel the breath of YAH coming into them and the sound of rattling and babbling resonated in many Christian denominations. 

  

Thus, Ezekiel chapter 37 began to throb in the hearts of many who were believing that Yeshua/Jesus, was the Messiah of Israel, who came as a kinsman redeemer to bring Jacob back to the Father.  The breath of Yah brought new life into their Abrahamic bone marrow, being awakened to their identity as the second stick/nation of Joseph/Ephraim.  But as time moved on and the call to holiness through obedience fell on deaf ears, many just chose to continue to walk in the pleasures and riches of this world.  Unfortunately, along with that, the vision of being the second nation/stick started declining; complacency and acquiescing to the spiritual, or non-spiritual, life among the nations set in.  Because the imminent return to the land is not a viable option at present, Ephraim’s reconstitution of his nationhood and zeal for Zion gave way to re-evaluating the possibilities of returning to the Promised Land, accompanied by a sense of weariness and hopelessness.

Even more tragic, if this kind of apathy continues, the children who are born into ‘Hebrew roots’ families will not know that they too have a very important role to play in their generation of Israel’s progeny. In addition, the wide-spread spiritualization of the seed of Jacob has taken hold even in Israelite families.  The parents are playing right into the hands of those who are advocating replacement theology.  This state of affairs, or the possibility of such demise, if contrasted with the lofty calling of a “segula” nation, which is supposed to function as the firstborn royal priesthood makes for a very dire conclusion. It makes for an affront to the faithfulness of the covenant keeping Elohim of our natural forefathers and mothers, especially in this very day in which we are living, as rapid changes are being introduced into this world. Therefore watch and pray, stay alert to the enemy’s subtle tactics to draw us away from the vision that is set before us. Yeshua’s work is to reconstitute our former foreign/gentile identity, back into our national identity as a royal priesthood and holy nation - “Israel” - through the indwelling kingdom by His Spirit.    

Through the Strainer (1)

Why does YHVH state very clearly that the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel belongs to Him?  He declares and claims over and over that they are His people. As a matter of fact, they are defined as His inheritance: “For YHVH's portion is His people; Jacob is the place/allotment of His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9).  ).  No less than 17 times in the book of Exodus does YHVH claim these Hebrew people for Himself.  In the rest of the Tenach “My people Israel” is mentioned over 30 times.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.  What then shall we say to these things? If Elohim is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:29-31). It is no small matter in YHVH’s eyes for us to be cognizant that we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.   “I say then, has Elohim cast away His people? Certainly not…  Elohim has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2 emphases added).   

One might ask then, ‘so what about the ten tribes of Israel whom He called “not MY PEOPLE”? (ref. Hosea 1:9).  On top of that, YHVH also declared that He was “not their Elohim” and that He would scatter them, like seed, among ALL the Nations/Goyim. According to His Word, they were destined to become estranged from their ancestry and foreigners to their heritage, yet at the same time He makes reference to “the day of Jezreel” – Yah’s sowing (Hos. 1:11).

YHVH continues to watch over the seed He has sown, and has this to say about it: “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground” (Amos 9:9 emphasis added).  Before the farmer scatters or sows seed in his field, he examines the grain by sifting it, making sure that there are no seeds of different species among the specific type that he intends to sow.  Likewise, YHVH says very clearly: “You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed” (Leviticus 19:19), and He of course does not violate His own law.  Yeshua left us with a parable that explains the enemy’s on-going attempts to disrupt YHVH’s eternal order: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way” (Matthew 13:24-25).  YHVH has chosen Jacob as His very peculiar seed/life that would bear His name and bring glory to Him by predestinating this progeny to be “conform to the image of His Son”.  This is why in the final restoration the proclamation will resound throughout the entire creation: “Great is the day of Jezreel”!! 

“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living Elohim.'  Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!  (Hosea 1:10 - 2:1 emphasis).

  

 “Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my Elohim!'" (Hosea 2:23).

"I will sow them among the peoples, and they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with their children, and they shall return” (Zechariah 10:9 emphases added). 

Let me make a “what if” statement.  YHVH’s Word promises Abraham and Sarah multitudes of natural seed-decedents, like the dust of the earth, stars of heaven and sand of the sea” (Genesis 13:16; 22:17). He said that He would sow this covenanted seed into all the goyim/nations/ethnos/ gentiles, and that they would be so numerous that they would make up the majority of the population in some of the lands of their scatterings (ref. Genesis 48:19).

“What if” in order for the rest of humanity and for creation itself to recognize YHVH’s faithfulness to His Word, He will have to harvest the very seed that He planted?  Could it be that the ones responding to the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom in the field of this world, are of the seed that YHVH sowed?  Perhaps a non-Jewish person, who has been ‘harvested’, should be told that he or she are a testimony, or an ensign, of Elohim’s faithfulness to those whom He foreknew.  He called this seed “Israel” and He is therefore compelled to harvest “Israel”.  Yeshua taught His disciples that people are known “by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), through their natural and spiritual characteristics. Obviously a specific seed will bear the fruit that is identical to the species sown, and in this case IT IS the seed that came from the loins of Abraham and the womb of Sarah.  (ref. Romans 9:6-9).

A very common obstacle in the restoration of the identity of the natural seed of Abraham, is naming Abraham and the other forefathers “Jewish”.  I’m not saying that the Jews are not of the seed of those fathers. It’s just that Abram was from the linage of Shem and Ever, where the name Hebrew actually comes from (ref. Genesis 14:13), while in Hebrew “Jew” is “Yehudi”, meaning “Judean”, and began to be in common use during the Babylonian exile of the tribe of Judah in 556 BCE.  Joseph, for example, was recognized as a Hebrew slave in Egypt (ref. Geneses 39:14), and later when his family joined him they too were called Hebrews by their task masters.  But, it is noteworthy and worthwhile to be aware of what YHVH called them: “And YHVH said, ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows’” (Exodus 3:7 emphasis added).

Through the Strainer

Lately I have been talking to a friend and fellow Israelite about the dispensational doctrine which, according to what I had heard in the past, typically sections biblical history into periods of ‘divine’ ages (while including, of course, the so-called rapture of the ‘church’ before the great tribulation). Other than these points, I didn’t know much more about this doctrine and its views of Scripture at large.  Probing a little deeper, and reading on “dispensationalism” and its definition, I found that its main tenant is a literal approach to Scripture.  Here is a quote: “Dispensationalism has two primary distinctives: 1) a consistently literal interpretation of Scripture, especially Bible prophecy, and 2) a view of the uniqueness of Israel as separate from the Church in God’s program.  Classical dispensationalism identifies seven dispensations in God’s plan for humanity”.

The separation mentioned above puzzled me.  If in accordance with this view, Biblical prophecy is treated literally, like Jeremiah 31:31: "Behold, the days are coming, says YHVH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” – how can there be a disconnection or variance regarding what is actually being said?   The new covenant spoken of by the prophet and its literal inauguration, took place when Israel’s Redeemer, the Messiah of Israel, came to establish and confirm it by shedding His blood (see Hebrews 9).  The Father then raised Yeshua back into His glory, in order that He could restore the house of Jacob and set up the everlasting kingdom (ref. Luke 1: 31-33).   The uniting of the two houses of Israel (ref. Isaiah 8:14) is at the very heart of the new covenant.  Is this not “the hope of Israel” that the apostle spoke about in Acts 28:20?

The dispensationalists, it seems, are of the opinion that the words of the prophets of old regarding the Messiah’s coming, His suffering, death and the shedding of His blood in order to establish the new covenant (see 1 Cor. 11:25), are quite literal. Therefore, how can there be a “separation” placed between the recipients of the message, when the Messiah of Israel had an actual down to earth, physical, coming to and for a real physical people who are the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”?  In Yeshua’s own words: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24).  One has to conclude that Jeremiah 31:31’s new covenant pertains specifically and literally to the houses of Jacob/Israel.  "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place” (Jeremiah 50:6, see also Ezekiel 34). There has to be a consistency and a literal connectedness between the Tanach and the books of the Brit Chadasha, otherwise YHVH’s Word (Yeshua) is not “the same yesterday, today and forever” (ref. Hebrews 13:8).  Are His people ‘of the Tanach’ no longer the same as those ‘of the New Covenant’?

Yeshua pointed out that the problem was not with the lost sheep, but with the shepherds who have been leading them astray.  He also made it very clear as to Who He was, and as to why He came: "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have [Israel/Ephraim] which are not of this fold [Judah]; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).  These statements echo very clearly Ezekiel 34 and 37.

When the time came for the message of this new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah to go out from Jerusalem into the nations, Yeshua commanded His called-out ones to "…go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand'” (Matthew 10:6-7).  The apostles knew exactly what message to bring to the nations, and whom they were anointed to call out of darkness into His (Yeshua’s) marvelous light.  It is no wonder, therefore, that the gospel which they taught was from the Torah of Moses and the Prophets (Acts 28:23).  

According to YHVH’s point of view, His two flocks were in desperate need of a Savior, especially from the Lion (world’s religious system epitomized by Babylon), the Bear (prowess of man, symbolized by the Median and Persian powerful armies), and the Leopard (embodied by the Greek-Hellenistic philosophies and mindset).

Israel and Judah were both steeped in idolatry and adultery, all the while Israel/Ephraim wandered among the nations where they became, literally, one with the heathens.   So much so, that they completely lost their identity as YHVH’s fold. They truly fit the lost sheep stereotype.  But through their shame, disgrace and dishonor YHVH was going to reveal His grace and honor, by keeping His covenants and promises. Ezekiel 34 culminates with the Shepherd of Israel’s summation:   "I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. Thus they shall know that I, YHVH their Elohim, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ says Adonai Elohim.  You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your Elohim,’ says Adonai Elohim” (Ezekiel 34:30-31). YHVH is looking at these sheep as those who are of the natural seed of the forefathers.  As we know from the prophet Hosea, He called the house of Israel/Ephraim “Not my People”. But while mixed in the nations, they became speckled sheep so that, like Jacob’s spotted sheep, they could be separated out by Him when the time comes.  (to be continued)

The End of Another Three Days' Journey

Last week we took a three days’ journey with our Israelite ancestors from Rameses through Succoth, Etham and finally (on the 3^rd day) to Pi Hahiroth located opposite Baal Zephon, at which point they crossed the Reed Sea with the Egyptian chariots chasing after them. We noted that this would have taken place on the 18^th of the month of Aviv, signifying “chai” – the very day of Yeshua’s resurrection from the dead.

Immediately after this miraculous and joyous event, indicating the nation’s formation, another three days’ journey commenced. This journey brought the Israelites, on the 21^st day of Aviv, to a place called Mara, which was named so because of its bitter waters. Thus the seventh day of the Feast of Matzot that was to be a holy convocation (ref. Ex. 12:16) and set aside as a solemn day to YHVH, turned out to be a time of worry, complaint and… bitterness.

It was right there that YHVH had pointed out to Moses, a tree (“etz”) that was cast into the waters making them sweet. How much of a promise is there in a “tree”?! How much power is there in a “tree”? It was on a tree that Messiah Yeshua bore the bitterness of our sins in His body, so that we may live in the sweetness of His righteousness (ref. 1^st Peter 2:24). There is also a promise which remains, that one day there will be one tree held in the hand of the Almighty; the tree of the united people of Israel and Judah (ref. Ez. 37:19), the tree which is mentioned in Romans 11:17.  Then all the bitterness of the former ‘defiling with idols, with detestable things, and with any of the transgressions’ will be turned into the sweetness of ‘deliverance, salvation and cleansing’ (ref. Ez.37:23).  

Thus the high Sabbath (“shabbaton”) of the last day of the feast of Matzot became a day of testing, as is declared in Exodus 15:25, but beyond the test YHVH also chose that day for announcing “a statute and an ordinance” according to which: ”If you diligently heed the voice of YHVH your Elohim and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am YHVH who heals you – YHVH Rophe’cha" (v. 26).  

The next stop of our fathers, three weeks after this decisive incident, found them in Elim, on the 15^th day of the second month (ref. 16:1), “where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there by the waters” (15:27). However, even with all this wonderful provision of grace, their complaining did not cease (16:2-3).

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1^st Corinthians 10:11).  

As we look forward to our wilderness/desert journey, may we remember YHVH’s words: “I’m not doing this for your sake oh house of Israel but for my name sake… to humble you and test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you will keep My commandments or not… and that I might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from My mouth” (Modified from Deuteronomy 8:2-3).