Asher, Happiness & the Number 8

Are you “happy”? Are you supposed to be “happy”? What is “happiness”?

“Happy” as 1st seen in the Holy Scriptures is in Genesis 30: 12-13:

 Zilpah Leah’s slave-girl bore Jacob a 2nd son, and Leah said, ‘How happy [in Hebrew, ‘asher] I am! Women will say I am happy!’ and called him Asher.

Asher derives from the primitive Hebrew root ‘asher: to be straight, be level, right, or happy , to go forward, be honest, prosper, as also in Job 29:11, Psalms 72:17, Proverbs 31:28, and Malachi 3:12, 15.

 So, Asher is pronounce ‘ happy’ or call blessed, one who is honest and prosperous in right level way of living! If so, you are happy!

“Asher” or happy is son #8, after Reuben #1 [see, a son]; Simeon #2 [Shi’mon, hearing]; Levi #3 [joining, attaching]; Judah #4 [Y’hudah, praise]; Dan #5 [He judged]; Naphtali #6 [my wrestling]; and Gad #7 [good fortune].

• Message in the  8 sons of Jacob:

See [that God is good]  +Hear [His Word ] +Join or Marry [to God] +Praise [His Name] +Reason [Together with God, Isaiah 1:16] +Contend [fight the good fight of faith]—> Good Fortune and Happiness!                       

•  In Hebrew the number eight is (Sh’moneh), from the root (Shah’meyn), “to make fat,” “cover with fat,” “to super-abound.” “Fatness” symbolizes the blessing of abundance and oils and fats become poured out &  sacrificed by Jacob in chapter 28 and by the Levites later on.
• Of Asher Moses says in Deuteronomy 33:24-25:

May Asher be most blessed of sons [out of Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulon, Gad, Dan, Naphtali; Simeon (hearing)  and Issachar (reward) not mentioned; ] , May he be the favorite among his brothers and bathe his feet in oil. May your bolts be of iron and bronze and your strength last as long as you live.

• Moses continues to teach “Yeshurun” the beloved one that there is “no one like God, riding through the heavens to help you [v.26]! “

The God of old is a dwelling-place, with everlasting arms beneath. He expelled the enemy before you and He said, “Destroy!” So Israel lives in security…Happy [‘asher, O thy happiness] are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yehovah, your defender helping you and your sword of triumph. Your enemies will cringe before you, but you will trample down their high places [Dt. 33:27-29].

 

The queen of Sheba was breathless when she saw the wisdom and prosperity of Solomon in 1 Kings 10. In verse 8 she states how “happy your people must be, how happy these servants of yours who are always here attending  you and get to hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be Yehovah your God, who took pleasure in you to put you on the throne of Israel.” She gave him 4 tons of gold!

How happy [‘asher] are we when we receive the Father’s spirit, the 7 as in Isaiah 11: 1-2: the same spirit  of Yehovah which rested on Yeshua Jesus the Messiah rests on and in us if we believe: with  His Spirit of wisdom, understanding,  counsel, power, knowledge, and fearing [revering] Yehovah!

David sang in a song [Psalms 144:15] :  “How happy the people who live in such conditions [the blessings]! How happy the people whose God is Yehovah!”

Happy is he whose help is Jacob’s God, whose hope is in Yehovah his God [Psalms 146:5]

Happy the person who finds wisdom, the person who acquires understanding, for her [wisdom’s] profit exceeds that of silver, gaining her [wisdom] is better than gold, she is more precious than pearls–nothing you want can compare with her [wisdom] [Proverbs 3:13-15].

How happy is everyone who fears Yehovah, who lives by His ways. You will eat what your hands have produced, you will be happy and prosperous [Psalms 128:1-2].

There was also a prophet named Anna [Hannah] daughter of Penuel of the tribe of Asher [happy] . She was a very old woman [84= 10 x 8  , complete abundance +4 corners of earth]…She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying. She came by at that moment [Mary & Joseph brought baby Jesus] and began thanking God and speaking about the child to everyone  who was waiting for Jerusalem to be liberated [Luke 2:36-38].

“Now if I , the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. For I have set an example, so you may do as I have done to you…If you know these things, you will be blessed [happy] if you do them [John 13:14-17]”.

• This ‘happy‘ is in Greek : “makarios“, supremely blest, fortunate, well off, blessed! Blessed is he who obeys and follows as taught.

Look, we regard those who persevered as blessed [happy]. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you know what the purpose of Yehovah was, that Yehovah is very compassionate and merciful [James 5:11].

How happy [asher] the person whom God corrects! So don’t despise Shaddai’s   [the Almighty’s] discipline. For He wounds, but he bandages the sore; His hands may strike, but they also heal [Job 5:17-18].

There is power in contentment, to choose to be happy over sad, to “count your blessings one by one and see what God has done” in your life. Look not to others. Choose not to be discontent. We are created to worship Yehovah [Psalm 150]. This journey is “not about us but about Him”. We are here to glorify God:

Romans 11:36″ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen”.

Once we submit our lives to Him, He fills us with the abundant life, the fatness, the #8, the ‘asher, happiness. Shalom

 

Press on to Your Assigned Portion: the Story of Tamar

Shout, O barren one, You who bore no child! Shout aloud for joy, You who did not travail! For the children of the wife forlorn shall outnumber those of the espoused–said Yehovah the LORD! ~ Isaiah 54:1

In Genesis 38, Tamar, a  young childless widow, probably prayed for a child and humbly received the “duty [Levitical law of inheritance, Deuteronomy 25:5]” of her brother-in-laws to provide offspring by her, for their brother. However, they did not right as we shall study, and “sin crouching at the door”, almost prevented the Messiah to come through the line of Judah!

We can see an example of sin “crouching at the door” in Genesis 4: the LORD was not accepting Cain and his offerings to Him because Cain’s heart was not acceptable. Rather than repent and turn from his sin, he became distressed.

Yehovah God  said to Cain ,

“Why are you wroth? And why is your face fallen? [Genesis 4:6] If you do well, is there not acceptance?

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should master it [v.7]”!

Cain~ Qayin [Hebrew= striking fast, a lance or spear]~  does not do right, murders his  twin brother, Abel, and is driven into the wilderness marked [v.15].

Since man is sinful, the Holy Spirit, the very breath of Yehovah,  “shall not abide in man forever”, [Genesis 6:3]. Yehovah will not strive forever in our going astray. We are flesh and our days are numbered [6:3, 5]. We need to be masters over sin and death, made in His image. But we are flesh and… little “sin” or “missing the mark” leads often to more sin unless we “nip it in the bud”!

• With sin forever crouching at the door, how do we master it?

Judah [~Yahudah, in Hebrew,  means “worshipper of YHVH”] is  Ya’akov/ Jacob’s  4th son] and goes astray. He had gone astray long before he deceived Tamar, his daughter-in-law to wait at her father’s house with no intention of giving his son, Shelach, to her [Gen. 38:11].

Sin crouched earlier at his door and that of his 9 brethren, when they became jealous of Joseph [Yoseph], envious of his multi-colored coat, and hated him for his dreams of the “sun and moon and the eleven stars [his brothers] bowing down” to him [Gen. 37:3-11] . Yoseph was only 17 and Benyamin [Benjamin] was younger and stayed behind with Ya’akov.

Sin became evident when they conspired to murder Yoseph . At the counsel of the eldest, Re’uben, they stripped Yoseph and threw him into a dry pit [v.22].  And Yahudah [Hebrew, “one who worshiped Yehovah”]  advised they sell Yoseph so ‘their hands would be clean’!

“And at that time [Yoseph sold to Potiphar in Egypt] it came to be that Yahudah (1) left his brothers [and Ya’akov ] and (2) turned aside to a man [not Yehovah!] an Adullamite whose name was Chirah [in the sense of false ‘splendor’] {Gen. 38:1}”.

“And Yahudah (3) saw there a daughter of a certain Kena’anite whose name was Shuwa [halloo, a cry of freedom]. And he (4) took her and went in to her [v. 2].”

Yahudah was even in Chezib, a Canaanite [Kena’anite] village, at the birth of Shelah, his third son [v.5].

• Chezib , in Hebrew, is “falsified” from “kazab“, to lie, deceive, fail.

Yahudah took  Tamar [ Hebrew=palm tree] for Er [Hebrew=watchful] , his first-born son, to wife. But Er “was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH took his life [v.7]”.

Onan [Hebrew=strong], his second son, was told to “go in to your brother’s wife and marry her and raise up an heir to your brother [v.8]”. But Onan refused, wasted his ‘seed’ on the ground, not wanting to give an offspring for his brother Er [v.9]. Yehovah takes his life too [v.10]! What Onan did displeased Yehovah.

• The custom both among the Hebrews, Ya’akov and 12 sons, and throughout the ancient world was that, if a man died without having any heirs, it was the duty of his younger brothers or his nearest surviving male relative to take his widow and have children by her who would carry on his family name. It was always Yehovah’s way to multiply Yisra’el among the nations.

When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.  (Deuteronomy 25:5)

• 400 years later, at Mt. Sinai, it became ” Torah ” or   “teaching”, instructions : the Levitical law of inheritance, Yehovah’s desire for our best way of life!

And it shall be that the first-born whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Yisrael.” (Deuteronomy 25:6).

Yahudah deceives by sending Tamar back to her father’s home and fails to see Yehovah’s hand:

“‘Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah is grown’. For he said, ‘Lest he also die as his brothers did’ [v.11].”

Yahudah neither gives Tamar to his son Shelah nor takes Tamar to wife after the death of his wife [Gen. 38:12]. Also there are no heirs for Er and Onan.

Yahudah has forsaken the ways of his fathers Ya’akov , Yitzchak and Avraham, and  ‘errs ‘ in so many ways!

“In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You rescued them. To You they cried out and they escaped; In You they trusted and were not disappointed [Psalm 22:5-6]”!

• His father Ya’akov marries Rivkah’s nieces, worships Yehovah, builds altars of sacrifice and praise, confesses his sin and fault, swears by fear of Yehovah, prays to the Elohim of his father in thanksgiving and supplication, even dreams in the Spirit with understanding! [Genesis 28:1-5,10-22; 31:53, 54; 32:10-13; 35:6-7, 9-12]

Rather, Yahudah is comforted [nacham, to sigh or breath deeply] after his wife’s death by ascending to his sheep-shearers, “gazaz-tse’own” to cut off his flock’s wool, figuratively to destroy an enemy himself, rather than through a sin sacrifice or supplication to Yehovah.

• Ya’akov , his father, would have ascended to Beyth-El [House of El], and offered a prayer of supplication, to receive Yehovah’s open portal of forgiveness and blessings.

In Isaiah 1:15-16, Yehovah appeals to those whose heart is corrupt and full of evil:

“Wash yourself and make yourself clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes…learn to do good; seek mishpat [right-ruling], relieve the oppressed, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow.

“Come now, and let us reason together, says YHWH: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool “.

• If Yahudah were willing and obedient to Yehovah and His Way, his sins would be clipped, removed like wool, and be as far as the East is from the West!

Rather, Yahudah goes to Timnath with his chaver [friend] Chirah [false splendor] the Adullamite.  Timnah in Hebrew means “portion assigned”, from manah, to weigh out, allot, or prepare. Timnah was also a clan with families of Esau in Edom [Genesis 36:40].

Judah Gives his Signet, Bracelets and Staff in Pledge to Tamar (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Timna in Genesis 36:12 is Esau’s son’s concubine, giving birth to Amalek, future enemy of  Israel [Yisra’el] the nation. Over 400 years later, Timnath is where Joshua is buried in Judah [Yahudah] and Sampson meets his first wife, in Dan [Judges 14:1].

Tamar rises like a palm tree to claim her “portion assigned” and right the wrongs of the Yahudah clan. Disguised as a harlot, she sits in the gate Enaim [~ ‘ayin: eye or fountain] or “the way to Timnath”! Yahudah turns to her by the way, pledges a kid goat and gives his seal, cord and staff to hold. Tamar conceives and reveals the father when Yahudah is about to have her burnt for fornication.

“And Yahudah acknowledged them [the seal, cord and staff], and said, She has been more tzadik [righteous] than I; because that I gave her not to Shelach my son. And he knew her no more [Genesis 38:26].”

The seal, cord and staff of Yahudah foreshadow the King and Messiah to come through the line of Yahudah:

Tamar holds the seal, cord & staff of Yehudah as proof…

• Seal of the signet ring of rulership: “your brothers praise you; your hand is on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children bow down to you [Genesis 49:8”;
• Cord or twine to bind “the donkey to the vine and the donkey’s colt to the choice vine [v.11];
• Staff or sceptre that ” shall not turn aside from Yehudah nor a Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and to Him is the obedience of peoples [prophecy of Ya’akov, [ v.10]”.
• Shiloh [shiy’loh] is “tranquil”, and a descriptive word for “Messiah”.
• “Shiloh”  derives from “shalah” or “shalav”, to be tranquil, secure or successful, prosperous, happy. Messiah Yeshua promises life abundant with His peace, in Him.
• Shelah, the son of Yahudah, is “petition and request”; however, the same name, Shelah, in 1 Chronicles 1:18, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, is ” shoot of growth, a branch or missile such as a spear”, Shelach, from “shalach” to send away/ for or out, stretch forth, spread.
• Siloam, the pool in Jerusalem, by the king’s garden is the same as Shiloah or Siloah, both derived from Shelach or Shiloach, a rill or fountain.

“And it came to be, when she [Tamar] was giving birth, that the one put out his hand. And the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, ‘This one came out first’…as he drew back his hand…his brother came out! And she said, ‘How did you break through? This breach be upon you!’ So his name was called Perets.[Genesis 38:27-30]”!

” The sons of Yahudah : Er [WATCHFUL], AND Onan [STRONG] , and Shelach [SHOOT OF GROWTH]; the three of them were born to him by the daughter of Shuwa [ CRY OF FREEDOM, RICHES], the Kena’anitess. And Er, the first-born of Yehudah, was evil in the eyes of Yehovah, and He slew him [1 Chronicles 2: 3]”.

Watchful Strong Shoot of Growth Cries Freedom Abundance of Life: joy peace longsuffering in the Branch, the Nazarene Yeshua.

4) And Tamar [PALM tree], his daughter-in-law, bore him Perets [BREACH] and Zerach [RISING of LIGHT]. All the sons of Yahudah were five…5)  the sons of Perets… 6) and the sons of Zerach…”.

So the son of Yahudah, Perets, is ” a break “, from parats : to break out, make a breach, break away/ up/ forth, burst out, compel, disperse, open & press~ the rachamim [mercies] of Yehovah on the house of Yahudah!

“And those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. And you would be called the Repairer of the breach [peretz], the Restorer of streets to dwell in.” ~ “light break forth..whose waters fail not” prophecy, Yeshayahu/ Isaiah 58:12

• Job declares during his broken-mess, until Yehovah blesses him double :

“I was at ease, but He broke me. And He took me by the neck and shattered me, and He has stood me up for His target…He made a breach [peretz] in me, breach upon breach. He runs upon me like a mighty man [Job 16: 12 & 14].”

Perets’ twin, Zerach, becomes a hint of “rising of light”, from zarach, to irradiate, shoot forth beams of light, to rise as the sun; to appear suddenly, as soon as it is up!

Tamar pressed on , dioko, [ Greek ], to pursue, press toward, follow after:

“I press [dioko] on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in Mashiach Yeshua [ of God in Messiah Jesus]”. ~ Rabbi Sha’ul/ Paul, in Philippians 3:14

The genealogy of Perets [ the son of Tamar with Yahudah] :  Perets–> Chetsron–>Ram–> Amminadab–> Nahshon–>Salmon–>Boaz–>Obed–>Yishai [Jesse]–>  David —> 14 generations –> Messiah Yeshua.

“In that day, there shall be a Root of Yishai/Jesse standing as a banner to peoples– Unto Him [Messiah Yeshua] the gentiles/nations shall seek,   and His Rest shall be esteem…And it shall be in that day that YHWH puts His hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people…And He shall raise a banner and gather the outcasts…and assemble the dispersed of Yahudah from the four corners of the earth [ Yeshayahu/ Isaiah 11:10-12]”.

•  Widow Naomi sells her husband’s land and now destitute, seeks a “redeemer”. But the ‘next-in-line’ redeemer was ‘unavailable; instead he tells Boaz, next in line,to buy it himself!  He takes off his shoe before elders and the people to confirm the sale to Boaz, that he would no longer ‘walk on the land’ nor own it. So Boaz redeems or buys all that was Naomi’s husband’s, and her deceased sons and acquires Ruth, her daughter-in-law, as his wife to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance . Boaz becomes “the kinsman redeemer”!

• Ruth the Mo’abitess, a gentile, an alien and foreigner ,  is blessed through a  Hebrew redeemer!

” YHWH make the woman …as Rachel and as Leah [Ya’akov’s wives]…and proclaim the NAME in Beyth Lechem [ House of Bread~,  birthplace of Messiah, Bethlehem] (Ruth 4:11)”!

“And let your house be like the house of Perets whom Tamar bore to Yahudah, of the seed which YHWH gives you from this young woman [v. 12]”!

• Naomi  had said to call her “Mara, for El Shaddai has dealt very bitterly with me [1:20]”!
• Now, the women in praise  to Yehovah, esteem:

“Baruch [blessed] be YHWH, who has not left you this day without a Redeemer. And let His NAME be proclaimed in Yisra’el. And He shall be to you a Restorer of Life and a sustainer of your old age [Ruth 4:14-15]”!

“And the sons of Yehudah, according to their clans: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perets, the clan of the Partsites; of Zerach, the clan of the Zarchites. And the sons of Perets: of Chetsron, the clan of Chetsronites; of Chamul, the clan of Chamulites.

These are the clans of Yahudah according to their registered ones: 76,500 [Numbers 26: 20-22]”!

“So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14…and from David until the exile to Babel were 14…and from the exile to Babel until Messiah were 14…. [Mattityahu/ Matthew 1:17]”.

“And she shall give birth to a  Son [Ben] and you shall call His Name Yeshua for He shall save His people from their sins [Mattityahu/ Matthew 1:21]”.

May you receive this Son in your life. Yehovah has insured a Way for us to be saved from “sin crouching at the door”. If we believe on this Son and receive Him as LORD and Savior we shall reign with Him in the coming millennium and live eternal, amen.

Link: other studies such as https://kumi07.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/seeking-your-portion-of-yah-the-gate-of-huldah/ about Huldah the prophetess

other strong women: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/5-strong-women-from-the-bible/

Baldness of the Head and Heart

“Now  Korach [baldness] the son of K’hat [Kohath, allied or to ally oneself], the son of Levi [attached], along with Datan [strong] and Aviram [exalt my Father], the sons of Eli’av [El is my Father], and On, the son of Pelet [escape, deliverance, swiftness] descendants of Re’uven [Behold a son ] took men and rebelled against Moshe [drawn out , rescued].  Siding with them were 250 men of Isra’el, leaders of the community, key members of the council, men of reputation [but not Levites].” ~ Numbers16:1,2

The Punishment of Korah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

[Is there a hidden message in the names of these verses? If you read the names from latter to first it could read: [You will be] rescued or drawn out of the [flood] waters, [if you] behold the Son, [who will bring] escape, deliverance swiftly! O El is Father, exalt El, [be] strong and attached  [to Him] like an ally, or mourn, shaving the hair of your head~]

“When Moshe heard this he fell on his face.”~ v. 4

“Then he said to Korach [baldness]…”…ADONAI will show who are His and who is the holy person… near to Himself…”.~v.5

“…Take censers…put fire …incense in them …”. ~v.6

Korach  and the Kohathites, sons of Levi, were servants in the Tabernacle, assigned to assist Aharon the cohen [priest] and his sons: “They are to carry out his duties and the duties of the whole community before the Tent of Meeting …in charge of all the furnishings…their one responsibility in regard to the people of Isra’el is to serve him [Numbers 3:7-9]”:

• “The K’hat [Kohath] clans were to camp next to the tabernacle, toward the south [Numbers 3:29].”
• “They were responsible for the ark, the table [of Bread of Presence], the Menorah, the altars [sacrificial & incense], the utensils the cohanim use when they serve in the Holy Place, the curtain, and everything involved with the maintenance of these things [Numbers 3:31].”

Moshe said to Korach [baldness], ” Listen…is it for you [sons of Levi] a mere trifle that the Elohim of Isra’el has separated you…to bring you close to Himself…do the work…of ADONAI and stand before the community serving them? [Numbers 16:8-9]”

• Moshe accused Korach [baldness] :”Now you want the office of cohen too? [v.10-11]”
• When Moshe sends for Datan [strong] and Aviram [exalt my Father], also Levites, they refuse [v.12-14]!
• Korach [baldness] assembles all the 250 with fire in their censers; he is still  angry  against Moshe the next morning. No mourning, no repentance, nor grief  in his heart noted in the morning!

“But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgement; that whoever calls his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing!” will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, ‘Fool!’ incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom [Matthew/ Mattityahu 5:22]!”

English: The Fire of Atonement, as in Numbers 16:41-50, watercolor by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• The glory of ADONAI appears to all  in the morning and ADONAI commands the earth to open and swallow Korach, Datan and Aviram and all their households. “So they and everything they owned went down alive into Sh’ol. …Then fire came out…and destroyed the 250 men who had offered the incense [v.31-35]”.

The brass fire pans became holy and were hammered into plates to cover the  incense altar: “…to remind the people of Isra’el that an ordinary person not descended from Aharon is not to approach and burn incense before ADONAI [16:39-40]”.

• Baldness [qorha or qarah, Korach] is “mourning” baldness, when the head hair of an Isra’elite is shaved to grieve, and clothes are torn, as a mark of mourning for the dead.
• The culture of mourning today includes entering the house, lamenting and grieving, sitting “shiva”, 7 days, with mirrors covered, bringing food, preparing a meal, bringing comfort and consolation [see Jeremiah 16:5-9].
• Otherwise, Isra’elites were FORBIDDEN to shave their heads, lest they be like the peoples around them.
• In the Tanakh [Holy Scriptures] hair has a increasing importance and is called the crown of glory when gray [Proverbs  16:31].
• Fallen hair or natural baldness is considered “clean” while a red and /or white spot on the scalp is “unclean” and under Levitical law as in Leviticus 13:40-45.

Pending judgement of ADONAI  and possible death, should have brought a change in Korach the Levite. As in Isaiah 3:24, there should have been :

“…instead of perfume, a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of a well-set hair, a shaved scalp; instead of a rich robe, a sackcloth skirt; and a slave-brand instead of beauty.”

It may be said of Korach and the sons of Levi:

“That day Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot [LORD of Hosts] called on you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads and wear sackcloth; but instead one sees joy and celebrating, killing of oxen, slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, drinking of wine–‘Let’s eat and drink now, because tomorrow we’ll be dead!’ [Isaiah 22:12-13]”.

Was the “mark of mourning”, the shaved head on Elisha when he was taunted by boys , misunderstanding him, in Kings 2:23? Was he grieving the death of  prophet Eliyahu  the Tishbite [ Tishbe ~recourse ] of Gilead, [~heap of testimony east of the Yarden ] and so shaved his head? Natural baldness or mourning?

• As the fiery chariot with horses of fire separated Eliyahu [Elijah] from Elisha. Elisha grieved and  cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Isra’el [2 Kings 2:12]”. Then he lost sight of Eliyahu , seized his clothes, tearing them in half! Picking up Eliyahu’s prayer shawl, he struck the Yarden [Jordan], saying, ” Where is ADONAI, the G-d of Eliyahu?” And the Yarden divided! [v. 11-14]

“Elisha left to go up to Beit-El [House of El]. As he was on his way up the road, some boys came out of the town [not recognizing him for healing the waters of Yericho with salt to halt death & miscarriage,{v.19-22}?] and began making fun of him [ Lev. 21:5 Priests shall not make baldness on their heads for the dead ?]. ‘Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!’ He looked behind him, saw them, and put a curse on them in the name of ADONAI, whereupon 2 female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the boys [v. 23-24]”!

The cohen [priest] of  the sons of Aaron could not make himself unclean except for close blood relatives, “…because he is a leader among his people… [Leviticus 21 v.4]

“Rather they [cohanim] are to be holy for their God…they are the ones who present ADONAI with offerings made by fire, the BREAD of their God…[v.6].

Korach [baldness] was a K’hat son of Levi  but not a cohen. Also, Korach was not Aharon’s descenant, and so, was not forbidden to shave his head? Yet he certainly had “baldness” of the heart and neither mourned nor shaved his head . His “baldness  of the heart” was his sin and so he was judged by the Holy One.

Elisha a follower of Eliyahu the prophet mourned and grieved his death,  shaved his head as his mark of mourning for the dead.

Conclusion: Baldness

1. While from natural causes, it  was not uncommon to shave heads as signs of mourning (2 Kings 2:23; Isa. 3:24). With the  Isra’elites  artificial baldness was a sign of mourning (Isa. 22:12; Jer. 7:29; 16:6); it also marked the conclusion of a Nazarite’s vow (Acts 18:18; 21:24; Num. 6:9).

1. a. The cohanim were forbidden to shave heads ; they were disqualified for the priesthood if they had any defect (Lev. 21:20). One had to be perfect to present the BREAD of ADONAI.
2. The people of the land such as the Egyptians shaved their heads, only allowing the hair to grow as a sign of mourning!
3. Baldness is often alluded to (Micah 1:16; Amos 8:10; Jer. 47:5)
4. The Isra’elites were forbidden to follow the customs of surrounding nations in making themselves bald (Deut. 14:1) except for mourning the dead.

Baldness references

Lev. 21:5 Priests shall not make baldness on their heads.

Deut. 14:1 God’s children are not to disfigure themselves in mourning.

2 Ki. 2:23-24 Bears destroy the children that mocked Elisha.

Isa. 3:24 The judgments which shall be for the pride of the women.

15:2 The lamentable state of Moab.

Jer. 16:6 Do not make yourself bald for the dead that are punished.

47:5 The destruction of the Philistines.

48:37 Moabites shall be bald with beards clipped.

Eze. 7:18 The mournful repentance of them that escape.

27:31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee.

Amos 8:10 I will bring baldness upon every head.

Mic. 1:16 Micah exhorts to mourning.

Baldness [from Wikipedia]

The religious meaning of hair dates back before the Bible as a symbol of faith, truth and higher mind.  Jesus, Sampson & the prophets, never cut their hair because they believed it further connected them to God. Sampson’s story is that of a judge or religious leader with long hair and super-natural powers that become weak when his head was shaved. Conversely, the shaving of the head can be an act of grieving. The symbolic nature of hair depends on the religious tradition of each culture.

Jewish men are often seen with long, flowing beards that they never cut. The older they get, the longer the beard and the greater the wisdom. This symbolizes their connection to the divine element. Ancient Israelites considered baldness a sign of calamity and grief.

Consider the Lily

“And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises [lilies], and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, yet I tell you that not

Consider the lily….

even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.”~ Yeshua Jesus , in Mattiyahu/ Matthew 6:28

Think about, consider, and ponder the lily?

“The capitals on the columns in the hall had shapes like lilies and were 7 feet tall.” ~  [description of  King Shlomo’s Temple, 1Kings 7:19]

Lily, in Hebrew, is Susanna or Shoshana (Hebrew: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה, Modern Šošana Tiberian Šôšannâ: “lily”); also, whiteness;  also a  [silver] trumpet with a shape like a lily.  As we read, lilies used on the columns could be symbolic of a  call to assemble  the people to worship. Susanna answered His call and became a disciple of Yeshua,[ Luke 8:3].

Consider the lily:

“On the tops of the  [ 2, named Yakhin , “Yah will erect/ establish” and Bo’az ], columns [in the hall of the Temple] were shapes like lilies; thus the work of the columns was finished.” ~ [v. 22]

Consider this also: lily, in Hebrew, can be : shuwshan, showshan, shoshan or showshannah, for its whiteness! This  derives from suws [soos] or siys [sece], a primitive root to be bright, cheerful, be glad, joy, make mirth, rejoice!

• The ‘ lily connection’   connects some dots! Lily used as a symbol  in Shlomo’s Temple is a reminder for us to rejoice and be pure and established or firm in Yah ; for then we shall be as glad, erect, strong & tall as the column Yakhin, and pure!

More to consider:

“He made the cast metal “Sea” circular, 17.5 feet from rim to rim, 8.75 feet high & 52.5 feet in circumference. Under its rim, 300 gourds encircled it in 2 rows…rested on 12 oxen…the Sea was set on top of them…its rim was made like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 11,000 gallons.” ~ [v.23-26]

This “Sea” was to cleanse the cohenim [priests] and was placed on the right [covenant] side of the Temple, toward the southeast. Arranged near the Sea were 5 of the 10 bronze basins ,with their own 220 gallon capacity within 7 foot diameters. All were made of burnished bronze, cast in the Jordan plain in clay ground between Sukkot [~tabernacle] and Tzartan [ ~ to pierce, puncture] [v.46] !

• The Sea would have been located near the Eastern gate which was bronze. This Sea to cleanse began in the clay between the tabernacle and the piercing: we are only cleansed by the blood of Yeshua who traveled in circuit in the Jordan valley. His Name is Emmanuel, El with us. He who came to tabernacle with us, has been pierced for us, and is said to return during Sukkot.
• The Sea symbolizes the  cleansing  of the Ruach HaKodesh [the Holy Spirit] which produces fruit & seed [as seen in the gourds],  Isra’el’s strength [as in the 12 oxen], and purity [ or whiteness as in the lily].

“Lily” also appears symbolic of the bride in Song of Songs, the bride to be pure, glad & chosen:

2: 1 {She} I am but a rose from the Sharon, just a lily in the valleys,

      2 {He} Like a lily among thorns, is my darling among the other women.

    16 {She} My darling is mine, and I am His, as He pastures His flock among the lilies.

Yeshua is the Good Shepherd of the purified, rejoicing,  and established among the lilies.

4:5 {He} Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

We wear the ‘breast’ plate of faith and love, the 2  columns erect & pure white in Him! We hop, skip and rejoice in His pasture as He shepherds us!

5:13 {She} His cheeks are like beds of spices, like banks of fragrant herbs. His lips are like lilies dripping with sweet myrrh.

• The spices are sap of thorny bushes, bled from cuts in bark, gathered & ground into powder or heated to extract the oil. The spices symbolize the nature of the death and crucifixion of the Messiah [ Isaiah 53]. For example, myrrh is from a thorny and bitter bush but when burnt its fragrance is sweet; same as with frankincense, which is bitter but has ‘white’ fragrant smoke.
• His Word is fragrant with sweet aroma, purifying the soul, and denying self, carrying the cross at the same time.

6:2 & 3 {She} 2   My darling went down to His garden, to the bed of spices, to pasture His flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

                         3    I belong to the Man I love, and He belongs to me; He pastures His flock among the lilies.

7:2  {He}  Your navel is like a round goblet that never lacks spiced wine.  Your belly is a heap of wheat encircled by lilies.

• Yeshua taught that out of our bellies would come “rivers of living waters”. Wheat is symbolic of the Bread , Yeshua. In Him is life abundant, a life of joy, purity, and steadfastness, in His Way, the Truth & the Life. He is the Life & the Resurrection! In Him we never lack “spiced wine” nor bread!

Hoshea the prophet prayed for Isra’el to return to ADONAI for she had rebelled. “Ashur will not save us…for it is only in You that the fatherless can find mercy.” [14:3]

“I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them freely; for My anger has turned from him.

I will be like dew to Isra’el; he will blossom like a lily…” [v.4-5].

May we all blossom like a lily, strike roots like the cedar of L’vanon, our branches spread out, our beauty like an olive tree! Ahmein and shalom!

For further study:

Shusan or Susa [from the Wikipedia]

Susa is also mentioned  by the name Shushan, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of the 6th century BCE. Esther became queen there, and saved the Jews from genocide. A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, known as Shush-Daniel. The tomb is marked by an unusual white stone cone, which is neither regular nor symmetric. Many scholars believe it was at one point a Star of David. Susa is further mentioned in the Book of Jubilees (8:21 & 9:2) as one of the places within the inheritance of Shem and his eldest son Elam; and in 8:1, “Susan” is also named as the son (or daughter, in some translations) of Elam.

The Book of Susanna [from Wikipedia]

Both abiding and refuting God’s law are at the core of Susanna. From the beginning, we are told that Susanna had been trained ‘according to the law of Moses’  and this is clearly visible throughout the text. When forced to choose between adultery or accusations of adultery (leading to certain death), Susanna is aware of God’s law as it is written in Leviticus 20:10, ‘If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death’ and Deuteronomy 22:22, ‘If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman as well as the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.’

When facing possible rape , Susanna knows that the law instructs that a woman must cry for help, for if she doesn’t, she will not be seen as having been violated (Deuteronomy 22:24). When placed on trial before the accusing elders, Susanna shouts to the Lord that ‘these men have given false evidence,’  indicating her understanding of law in accordance with Deuteronomy 19:16-21. Later, it is Daniel who refers to the same law when asking ‘Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to condemn a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts?’ .

The ‘two elders from [whom] the people… appointed judges’ , are clearly aware of the law of Moses, handed down from God, but choose to disobey them. The elders ‘began to lust’ after Susanna, despite the law in Exodus 20:17: ‘you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.’ Before they give false testimony against Susanna, they ‘laid their hands on her head,’ as written in Leviticus 24:14, ‘Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head, and let the whole congregation stone him.’ The elders are clearly aware that two witnesses are required when trying a Jew that has been charged with a crime, as attested in Numbers 35:30, ‘no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness’ and Deuteronomy 17:6, ‘On the evidence of two or three witnesses the death sentence shall be executed; a person must not be put to death on the evidence of only one witness.’ In an ironic twist, when the elders are found to be liars and have mocked God’s law, those same laws deal them their fate  in accordance with Deuteronomy 19:16-21.

The Anointing & The Oil

Genesis 28:10 And Jacob [Ya’akov] went out from Beer-Sheva [Beer-Sheba, or fountain of oath, and went toward Charan [Haran, parchness, aridity~ dryness of Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh] .

His grandfather Abraham had planted a grove in Beer-Sheva, and called there on the Name of YHVH, El-Olam [Gen. 21:31]  .

His father Isaac had been offered in the land of Moriah, grandfather calling Mt. Olivet “YHVH-Yireh”, YHVH will provide, Himself becoming the Lamb [Genesis 22:14].

Now Ya’akov leaves the foundational stones of his faith, his mother Rivqah [Rebbeca, the beauty] and Yitzchak [laughter], his father, and ventures out in the desert which is void of worship of the Elohim [God] of his fathers. He goes to a “certain place”, stays all night, laying his head [~the mind, thoughts] on those ‘stones of faith’, the Rock of Ages.

And Ya’akov [Jacob]  lay his head on a stone and dreamt of the ladder with messengers of Elohim  going up and down; Elohim stood above it, announcing His blessings over Ya’akov, of  the land to him and his seed.

And see, I AM with you and shall guard you wherever you go…for I AM not going to leave you UNTIL I HAVE DONE what I have spoken to you [Genesis / Bereshith 28:15]!

Truly, YHWH was in that place, said Ya’akov! “How awesome…this is none other THAN THE HOUSE OF ELOHIM [Beyth-El]  & THIS IS THE GATE of the shamayim [heavens] [v. 16-17]!

And Ya’akov rose early in the morning & took the stone…and poured oil on top of it [v.18]!

And Ya’akov called the place “Beyth El”, House of El… & made a vow , saying, ‘Seeing Elohim is with me & has kept me in this Way…has given me BREAD [Yeshua] to eat & a GARMENT [of righteousness] to put on…of all that You give me, I will certainly give a tenth [tithe] to You [v.19-22]’ !

• Ya’akov [heel-catcher] was the first worshiper mentioned,  to pour oil as an offering to Yahweh, the El Elohe Yisra’el.
•  His grandfather, Avraham, righteous by faith, called on Yahweh, offered a ram for a burnt offering , circumcised himself & all males of his house, and named places to honor Elohim, such as ” YHWH Yireh… YHWH Provides ” in Gen. 22:14.
•  His  own father, Yitzchaq, was once an offering of Avraham, halted only by the Messenger of Yahweh [Yeshua], who recognized his  reverence for Elohim , saying, ” …seeing you have not  withheld  your  only son from Me [v.12]”! Following Avraham, Yitzchaq built altars , kept peace, made oaths and in gratitude to Yahweh, called places honorable names such as “Rehoboth [a broad way]” , “For now Yahweh has made room for us [26:22]”!
•  Yahweh blessed both Avraham and Yitzchaq a hundred-fold, appearing to them , and swearing oaths to them and their seed             [ 17:1-21, 26:2-5]!
• Elohim appears to Ya’akov again after the reunion [with Esau], the rape [of daughter Dinah], hiding the foreign elohim [by Rachel & family], and blesses him, saying, “…Yisra’el [Prince of El] is your name…I AM El Shaddai [The All-Sufficient One]. Bear fruit…a nation and a company of nations shall be from you & kings come from your body [35 : 9-12]”!
• Ya’akov then puts up a standing column , a monument of stone in Beyth-El, where El had spoken with him, pouring a drink offering on it AND pouring oil on it! [35:14]

What is an offering ? a drink offering?  Why oil ? Why pour it out?

• An offering is, in Hebrew,  “terumah“, a present offered up, as a sacrifice or gift ; “qurban“, something brought near the altar, a sacrificial present; “tenuphah“, the wave offering, shaking; & minchah, to apportion, bestow, a donation, usually bloodless, voluntary sacrificial .
• A drink offering or libation, nesek from nasaq, to pour out, to anoint a king!
• The oil in Hebrew is “sheh’men“, liquid, grease; richness;  olive or ointment!

Anointing, ” mishchah”  in Hebrew, is the act of “unction”, a consecretory gift, a gift of consecrating: to set apart as sacred, make or declare holy; to dedicate or devote; to elevate in a sacred or exalted office, to crown a king or ordain a priest! So , anointing  with oil sets apart, to dedicate or make sacred something offered to Yahweh.

I have found My servant David; with My qodesh  [holy] oil I anointed him [Psalms 89:20]

• Ya’akov set apart the stone, marking it with oil, usually olive; as we know, this oil of anointing can not be washed by the baptism or immersion! It is a mark or seal!
• Oil is “sheh-men” in Hebrew, grease, liquid; richness!
• Note the unleavened wafer [~ the sinless Lamb of Exodus 12 & Messiah of Isaiah 53] is anointed with oil [~Yeshua our Kohen HaGadol, High Priest, to return as King] :

And this is the task you shall do to them to qadosh [make holy] them to serve Me as kohenim [priests]: Take …unleavened bread…cakes mixed with oil & unleavened wafers anointed with oil…& shall take the anointing oil & pour it on [Aharon’s] head & anoint him [Exodus 29:2; see also Leviticus 7:12].

The Bridegroom Yeshua, in Song of Songs 1:3, is praised:

For fragrance Your oils are good. Your Name is oil poured forth, therefore the maidens love you.

Yeshua is loved & anointed by a  forgiven woman, in Luke 7:37-50:

And standing behind, at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears & wiping them with the hair of her head & was kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume [oil in an alabaster flask].

• The Koheleth or  wise Preacher, in Ecclesiastes 9:8 says,

Let your garments be white [~purity] at all times & let your head lack no oil!

The wise keep oil in containers with their lamps ready for the Bridegroom Yeshua to return and take those who are ready in to the wedding feast before the doors shut! [Matthew 25:1-13]

The anointing oil is sacred &  to be used only to anoint that used for Yahweh, such as  the tabernacle furniture and the priests [the following is condensed review of the 4 spices used to make the anointing oil:

Exodus 30: 22 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 23) Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh [about 12 /2 pounds or 5.8kg],

half as much [that is, 250 shekels or 6 1/4 lbs. or 2.9kg] of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 ) 500 shekels of cassia– all according to the sanctuary shekel-and a hin [gallon or 3.6L] of olive oil.

“And you shall make from these  a holy anointing oil, a compound,blended,  the work of a perfumer.  It is a holy anointing oil.

26) And with it you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the covenant law, the table [ of Bread]…the Lampstand…the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering…the basin…29) & you shall qadosh [consecrate] them &  they shall be most qodesh [holy]. Whatever touches them is to be qodesh.

30) And you shall anoint Aharon & his sons & qadosh  them, to serve as kohenim [priests] to Me”!

• The sacred anointing oil for generations to come; not to be poured on anyone else’s body other than a priest of Yahweh!

• We are to be as priests of the royal priesthood, if believers in Yeshua, as in 1Peter 2:9 :

“But you are a chosen race, a royal kehunnah [from kaw-han‘, to mediate; officiate, as a priest], a holy nation, a people for possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light…”!

1. “Take”  myrrh : bitter but fragrant aroma symbolic of the bitter sweet loving death of Yeshua for our sins. Magis or kings gave Yeshua myrrh as a babe, beside the frankincense and gold, then used to escape to Egypt! {See the blog post, “Myrrh, Miryam & Yeshua Connection}
2. “Take” sweet smelling cinnamon, also “hot”, symbolic for the passion of the Cross; Yeshua going all the Way for us; the holy jealous love for honor & glory of Yahweh & His Righteousness! {See the blog post, “Cinnamon: Red & Hot“}
3. “Take” calamus or sweet cane , a reed, erect, standing upright, reflective of the water baptism in the Sea of Reeds of the Israelites before crossing the desert to be redeemed &  enter the promised land! The ‘bruised Reed’ for our sin, Yeshua, raised into Righteousness, in a world of sin! {See the blog post, “Calamus & the Sea of Reeds”}
4. “Take” cassia, peeled shriveled rolls of bark, similar to cinnamon, symbolic of Yeshua’s & thus our submission and  worship of Yahweh! Stripped of our own pride, brought to humility, we can then bow or stoop to pray before the Almighty Yahweh! {See the blog post, “Cassia: Stoop, Peel, & Roll“}
5. These sweet spices are then diffused or mixed in olive oil to become one sweet scent!
6. His Name was & is “as an ointment poured forth [Song of Songs 1:3]!
7. The ointment or oil represents the sacrifice, the passionate love, the baptism,  & the submission blended in one of our Redeemer ! Now, as priests, we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice [Romans 12:1,2]; spread the Bisorah or Good News with zeal & love of our Savior; be baptized & kept full of the Holy Spirit, as a vessel of honor; & humble submitting ourselves to the King of kings, in worship and praise! Yeshua came to be an example , and we are to follow Him, picking up our daily cross, dying to self, and love one another as He loved us!

Isaiah 10:27  “… and your yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”

1 John 2:20  “But you have an anointing from the Set-Apart One, and all of you know the truth.”

Luke 4:18  “The Spirit of Yahweh is on me, because He has anointed me to bring the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away crushed ones with a release, to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh.” [from Isaiah /Yeshayahu 61: 1-11]

Mark 6:13  They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

James 5:13-15 Is any one of you suffering evil? Let him pray. Is anyone in good spirits? Let him sing psalms,  songs of praise. Is any one among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly & let them pray over him, having  anointed him with oil in the Name of the Master. And the prayer of belief shall save the sick person & the Master shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he shall be forgiven.

2 Corinthians 1:20-21   For as many promises are of Elohim , in Him they are “Yes” and so in Him the “SO BE IT, AMEYN”  to the esteem of Elohim through us. But He who establishes us with you  in Mashiach [Messiah] and has anointed us, is Elohim, who also sealed us, and gave  the Ruach [Spirit] in our hearts as a pledge.

Hebrews / Ibrim 6:1-2 Therefore having left the Word of the beginning of Ha’Mashiach, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of belief in Elohim, of the teaching of immersions, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (And other simple truths like anointing with oil, calling on the elders, speaking the truth and loving one another)

Ahmein!

Cassia: Peel, Bend & Roll

Image by Gertrud K. via Flickr

Cassia is the 4th ingredient in the  anointing oil of the Tabernacle, according to the word Yahweh gave Moshe :

And take for yourself choice spices [500 shekels liquid myrrh, 250 cinnamon, 250 calamus or cane reed] and 500 of cassia…and you shall make…a holy anointing oil…[Exodus 30:23-25]

• Cassia [cinnamon aromaticum]  is often mistaken for cinnamon; looks like it, but it is not the same!

• Cassia is “qiddah” in Hebrew, for the inner bark [shriveled rolls] imported from the East Indies, which has come to mean : contract, bend , stoop, or bow from the head down, [qiddah used in verses Ex. 30 and Ezekiel 27:19 :

Wedan and Yawan from Uzal paid for your  [Tsor’s] wares, they exchanged wrought iron , cassia [qiddah], and calamus [cane] for your merchandise.

• Tsor [ a bare rock, in Hebrew, known as Tyre ] was a worldly merchant trade port on coast of Phoenicia trading with Damascus and Egypt. The king of Tsor also became symbolic later to represent hasatan [satan], trying to rob the Christ the Messiah of worship!
• So… cassia means to bend the body or  bow down and worship …qiddah!
• Qiddah!
• Cassia is also known as Indian Oris [saussurea], and in Hebrew  is qetziah, as peeled [the bark] from the Hebrew qatzah: to scrape, or strip off partially; to segregate at an angle or to corner!
• This cassia, qetziah, appears in Psalms 45, a Messianic song:

Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever, the sceptre of Your reign is a sceptre of straightness. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness,

Therefore Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

All Your garments are myrrh and aloes, cassia [qetziah]; Out of the palaces of ivory, Stringed instruments have made You glad.[Psalms 45:6-8]

He came humble, lowly as a Man; no earthly possession nor place to lay His head. He was not received  by His own, often cornered for rebuke and even stoning.  He bent and stooped for us, this Man from heaven!  His glory peeled away, His garments became strips of linen dipped in myrrh, aloes and cassia! His submission and reverance were an example!

• So…cassia can also mean to strip off, scrape, be peeled or cornered as well as bow down and stoop~

Man too is to submit and reverence His Creator and Redeemer. We are to contract and enter into covenant with Him. We are to stoop and bow down the head in humble and contrite heart. We need to be scraped and peeled of all our scars, hurts, “baggage”, unforgiveness, disrespect, bitterness, hopelessness, envy, jealousy, distrust, faithlessness, impatience…and anything which blocks loving Him and loving our neighbor as our selves: sin and sin’s sin! We need to get in that corner or prayer closet with Him and pray!

Cassia is mentioned x 3 in the Scriptures, but is doubly important, as the myrrh! Cassia is a reminder right there in the anointing oil: to submit and worship !  If we do not submit nor worship, we become disobedient and fall away.  Sha’ul [Paul] feared this, “lest I be cast away”! We are not “once saved, always saved”! It is all by His unmerited favor! We must check ourselves always: are we in obedience to His Word? Are we submissive or rebellious? It’s either one or the other: He hates lukewarm! Let cassia be a reminder to us all! May we all go to the Right! He will return soon as King!

 

 

Secrets from the Garden of Eden

Image via Wikipedia

Y’shua said to search the Scriptures, for they tell of Him!

Indirectly I happened on a secret I have not yet heard, as I dwell in the Word~ I have been searching for a natural herb to activate my ” hypo” thyroid ; gentian bitters, oats, greens, kelp all help to warm me up! An MD recommended “guggul”. When “googled”, guggul becomes also  bdellium or bedolach, which happens to also be not only in the Sriptures but is also Hebrew! Bedolach was in the Scriptures, in Numbers and Genesis; also it may be myrrh, amber and pearl in the Scriptures.

All can be relative : our inactive, low energized, cold , dead lives can be brought to life! Through the works of Y’shua . as the Separate One,we are separated through His Spirit, in His Blood, giving us Life Eternal in Him! I am ‘warm’ in Him, as He fills me with oil and keeps me lit!

 

Here is a verse in which bedolach or bdellium appears: note that manna is like coriander seed, with stripes:

“The manna [bread from Heaven~Y’shua] by the WAY, was like coriander seed [with stripes!] & WHITE like gum resin [bedolach] [from  bdellium shrub] (Numbers 11:7)”!

.

The second verse with bedolach is  found in Genesis! The river of life in the Garden of Eden divided into 4 streams: one stream,  Pishon *  winds through Havilah, land of gold, with this bedolach and onyx stone [Genesis 2:10-12]!

 

Points to note:

• Bedolach implies bitter and separated, symbolic of Y’shua, who went through bitterness of Isaiah 53 for us, to make us separated and holy, as He is the Separate-One, Holy One of Yisrael!
• Pishon *the river, in Hebrew = dispersive~ the Gospel , the Good News, has been dispersed to the 4 corners of the world; the 12 tribes of Yisrael have been dispersed to the 4 corners of the earth, sent out as Adam & Eve were sent out from the Garden! The rachamim or unmerited favors of Yahweh have been dispersed through the blood of Y’shua! The rivers of Living Waters have been dispersed by the Holy Spirit, giving us fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace,  faithfulness, patience, kindness, goodness, humility, self control!
• Havilah, land west of Ural, in Hebrew , Chavilah = circular! similar to chiyl, to twist or whirl, to dance to writhe in pain or fear, to bring forth, calve, grieve sorrow, stay, tarry, BE WOUNDED!
• The Pishon winds or dances through Havilah, the circular or circuit ~ Galilee, Galil, galiyl= circle~ Y’shua ministered mostly in Galilee, started His ministry there [Mt. 2:22] and finished there in Galilee[Mt. 28:16]!
• We dance rejoicing in the joy of Salvation brought through tears, sweat and blood of Y’shua! We have been birthed, born again out of the bitter pain of the execution torture at Golgotha of Y’shua, King of the Yahudim![Luke 23:38]

Bedolach is aromatic & white~ holy, gummy resin or sap of a tree! A tree refers to a shoot from the ” Root of Yishai/ Jesse and The Branch, the Netzer, as in Isaiah 11: 1, upon which the 7 Spirits of Yahweh rest ; also the tree upon which they hung Y’shua for our sin! Aromatic oils of Bedolach were used as myrhh, both bitter to taste, but sweet in fragrance.

Now we have not only stripped corriander but white aromatic gummy resin! Why?

Bedolach is a white ~ holy, aromatic gummy resin, tapped, or exudes as the juice or fruit sap of the bdellium shrub tree! Y’shua, by hung on a tree, makes us holy; we will be wearing fine white linen as His Bride, we who believe in Him as Savior and Messiah and Yahweh! He is the Firstfruits and we are the fruit of His Vine, as long as we remain in Him

• Aromatic: having an aroma; fragrant!
• “..like a column of smoke [prayers of the altar of incense] perfumed with myrrh and frankincense…”~ Song of Songs 3:6 Our prayers are as smoke of incense reaching up to Heaven!

My sister, My Bride, is a GARDEN locked up, a pool COVERED over, a SPRING sealed shut. You are an orchard that puts forth pomegranates and other precious fruits, henna & [spike]-nard–saffron and aromatic cane, cinnamon & all kinds of frankincense trees, MYRRH, aloes, all the BEST spices. [Song of Songs 4:13-14]

We are to be fragrant as well as holy, separated unto Yahweh, covered by the blood of Y’shua, a spring of living waters sealed shut, awaiting our Bridegroom.

Your [Y’shua’s] anointing oils have a wonderful fragrance; Your Name is like anointing oil poured out! ~Song of Songs 1:3

• “…I will get myself to the mountain of myrrh to the hill of frankincense.”~ SOS 4:6

Bedolach, #916 Strong’s Concordance =”something in pieces“; could be in other verses “amber” or “pearl” used often to describe the appearance of the throne and gates in Heaven! Seems when this white gum resin dries, it turns dark brown and clumpy, as exposed to the environment! When we expose our selves to this world, we become ‘dirty’ and dusty and dry, without the Waters of Living Word, and must wipe the dust off our feet, after travel!

Bedolach =Bdellium, an aromatic but bitter gum resin, similar to “myrrh”

or “mor”, bitter! Miryam, or Mary,  Y’shua’s mother’s name derives from same root mar or bitter as myrrh, an oil spice applied to Y’shua’s body and given to him as a gift when young.[Mt 2:11]

Bedolach is probably from #914 SC,  “ba-dal”: to divide; divided, severed, separated!

 

**”But thanks be to Elohim, who in the Messiah constantly leads us in a triumphal procession & THROUGH US spreads everywhere the fragrance of what it means to KNOW HIM! For to Elohim we are the AROMA  of the Messiah, both among those being saved and among those being lost; to the latter, we are the SMELL of death leading only to more death; but to the former, we are the sweet smell of LIFE leading to MORE LIFE. [1 Corinthians 14-17]”!**

 

PRAYER: May we be a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, one that pleases Elohim well. May our Elohim fill every need of ours according to His glorious wealth, IN UNION WITH THE MESSIAH Y’SHUA! And to Elohim be the glory forever and ever. Ahmein!

 

SPIKENARD: “…sends forth the smell…”~SOS 1:12; ‘very precious ointment’, Mark 14:3; Mary wiped the feet of Y’shua with a pound of ointment of spikenard, John 12:3

Nard

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My Talent He Asks?

Moshe said to the whole community…, ‘ Here is what Adonai has ordered [Exodus 35:5-9]…then let all the craftsmen among you come and make everything Adonai has ordered [v.11-20]…and they came, everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit made him willing…[v. 21b-29]”.

Bring what you have, your talents* and possessions, to Adonai. Behold what He makes out of them. He has given you your talents** and they do belong to Him [see the parable of the talents, Matthew 25:24, 25]!
*Talent: “Kikkar” from Kaw-rar,to dance or whirl, in a circle, in Hebrew; can be a round loaf, a morsel or round coin; is a circle or circumjacent tract or region; spiritually a talent ~ Messiah Y’shua Jesus, the Bread of Life, given freely to us, in His Spirit; freely given, freely receive and then give again; the more given, the more receive!
**As talents are used for Adonai, territory is bought or claimed or restored, from the enemy! Let us praise and sing in dance to Adonai, as in Moshe’s Song, Exodus 15!

Moshe said to the people of Israel, “SEE, Adonai has singled out B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur [Ben Hur!], of the tribe of Y’hudah. HE has filled him with the Spirit of G-D!- with wisdom, understanding AND knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft…[Exodus 35:30-35]!”

Adonai endowed them [gifted them] with wisdom and skill necessary to carry out the work needed, to do exactly according to everything HE ORDERED! HE orders the world and knows the needs…and gives us the talents to fulfill these needs. What an Almighty Elohim G-D we serve!
Moshe summoned the men and gave them from the voluntary offerings of the people what they needed to carry out the work! B’tzal’el made:
– the Tabernacle [v.8-13] of fine linen with yarns of blue, purple, scarlet and threads of hammered gold [fine linen~ purity of G-D; blue~ Heaven ; purple~Royalty of G-D ; scarlet~blood of Y’shua ; hammered gold~ us, hammered & cut/shaped by G-D into pure vessel for HIM!]
– the tent covering [v.14-18] in goat hair
– the tent covering [v.19] in ram skins and one in fine leather
– the planks [20 south & north, 6 in rear west, 8 in corners overlaid with gold, to support the tabernacle [v.23-30]
– the crossbars [v.31-34]5 each N, S, W
– the curtains [East] of blue, purple, scarlet and linen {East ~ eternity}
– the screen also E. of blue, purple, scarlet and finely woven linen for the entrance to tabernacle
– the ark [Ex.37:1-9] overlaid with gold, covered with the k’ruvim [the cherbim or angels of mercy]
– the table overlaid with gold, for gold dishes
– the menorah [lamp] of beaten piece of pure gold
– the altar to burn the incense [v.25-28]~ our prayers to the heavenlies go up as smoke
– the holy anointing oil for anointing the things of the tabernacle, and incense
– the altar for burnt offerings, with four horns

+ the wash basin of bronze “…from the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance of the tent of meeting [v. 8]!”

+ As we wash or immerse in the Name of Y’shua Jesus Christ the Messiah, we reflect on our sinful nature and see what G-D has done, as HE accepts the blood for atonement for our sins!+

– the courtyard, with tapestries of fine linen
– the screen for the Gate-way {Y’shua!} of blue, purple, scarlet and finely woven linen, 30 feet x 7.5 ft. [Ex.38:18]

And so was made all Adonai ordered Moshe to make. May we be so ‘ordered’ and be led by His Spirit to offer our own body to be that “living sacrifice” set apart and used for G-D!

I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of G-D’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for G-D. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you [Romans 12:1]!

>to be continued:the accounts of the Levites and Nethinim, temple servants
>see other notes : Winds of Direction
The Four Horns

Shalom ! May Adonai bless you and keep you. May Adonai make His face shine on you & show His favor. May Adonai lift up His face toward you & give you peace! [Numbers 6:24-26] May He give you a hunger for His Word and draw you ever closer to His side! Ahmein…

Lest I Be a Castaway by the Moth

“And the earth was corrupt before Elohim, Almighty God, and the earth was filled with violence… for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth…” [Genesis 6:11-12]

•  Corrupt [shaw-kath in Hebrew] :  to decay, cause ruin, cast off, perish, spoil or waste .

“Therefore, diligently guard yourselves…lest you should do corruptly & shall make for yourselves a carved image…[Deuteronomy 4:15, 16, 25]”.

Moses said to Levites, elders & officers of the 12 tribes : “For I know that after my death you shall do very corruptly & turn aside from the Way which I have commanded you…[31:29]”.

The fool who says in his heart, ” There is no Yahweh”, has done corruptly an abominable deed! [Psalm 14:1]

Job 13:28 “So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.”

Yahweh says in Jeremiah 8:12, ” Were they ashamed when they had done  abomination? No!…nor did they know how to blush. So they shall fall among those who fall. They shall stumble in the time of their visitation, ” said Yahweh”.

Abomination done? “The time of their visitation” ? Waste away as clothes eaten by moths?

• Abominations: do not obey or incline the ear to Yahweh; walk in the counsels, in the stubbornness of their evil heart & go backward & not forward [Jeremiah 7:24]!

1. Abominations :adultery, gossip, falsehoods, deception!

“Their tongue is a slaying arrow. It speaks deceit-speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he makes his ambush [9:8]”.

• The time of their visitation: As Moshe [Moses]says in Numbers 16: 29, all men are visited as all men are reckoned with or charged or appointed by Yahweh! Peq-u-dah means  in the Hebrew, an official account, charge,  custody, office, order, reckoning or visitation! It comes from paw-qad, to visit, with either friendly or hostile intent; appoint, avenge, bestow, commit, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment…and punish.

1. Visitation of Yahweh can either preserve our spirit [Job 10:12], or cause us to perish [Jeremiah 8:12, 10:15, 51:18]. The days of punishment did come already for Israel, as in Hosea 9:1- 7, and would come for Judah!

And as He [Yeshua Jesus] came near, He saw the city & wept over it, saying, ” If you only knew…because the days shall come upon you when your enemies shall build a rampart around you & surround you & press you on all sides, and dash you to the ground & your children with you…you did not know the time of your visitation  [Luke 19:41-44].”

This prophecy of Yeshua was fulfilled in 70 AD in Jerusalem and soon after at Masada: all there committed suicide rather than be taken by the Romans, who  set up ramparts around them!

“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness…in whose heart is My Torah: do not fear…nor be afraid…

For a moth eats them like a garment, and a worm eats them like wool; but My righteousness is forever, and My deliverance to all generations  [Isaiah 51:7-8]”.

The Servant [Messiah]  said , in Isaiah 50:9, ” See, the Master Yahweh helps Me. Who would declare Me wicked?

See, all of them wear out like a garment, a moth eats them.”

• Moths waste, spoil,  & ruin clothes by eating holes in them. A wool coat or jacket will eventually show holes if not kept in a cedar closet with cedar oil ”moth balls”!

• Moth is #6211 SC: awsh, from aw-shesh, to be consumed, to shrink or fail! The moth consumes as a larvae worm and adult and is itself consumed and dies , too! We have all seen the moth attracted to the light, in the darkness, only to get burned!
•  Yeshua said not only man  but his possessions waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths. So store up treasures in heaven , not to be eaten  by moths!

 Matthew 6:19-20  : “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in the heavens, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

1. This moth is to lay waste, oppress, crush in judgement, “…because he walked after the command when it pleased him [Hosea 5: 11]”.

“So I AM to Ephrayim like a moth, and to the house of Yahudah like rottenness  [v. 12]”.

---

” How silently the moth makes its way into the best wardrobe, and what dreadful destruction it makes of the wool clothing! Its deadly work is always on the best garments.

It is even so with sin. To so many people Adam’s sin was so small that it did not amount to anything, and yet see how it has affected the whole human race. It has made the earth to heave and groan. It has robbed heaven of millions  and has also built our great state prisons, which are in a sense our hells on earth.

For our state prisons are places of banishment and punishment, and sin has filled them with precious human souls, and has kindled its fires of sin and vice and degradation, and has finally populated hell with precious souls, where “the smoke of their torment ascends upward for ever and ever.”
The enemy has tried to make you believe, no doubt, that the thing you have committed is so small
it doesn’t amount to anything, or will never harm you; but just stop and think a moment of that one
sin of Adam. Think of the wrecked homes, broken hearts, ruined lives, blighted prospects; think of
the wails, moans, and groans of the offspring of Adam; and all of this misery and wretchedness was
brought about by only one sin. “

“How much more those that dwell in houses of clay , whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth?” [ Job 4:19]

Yahweh is our Maker, the Righteous one. If we as mortal man, put our trust in Him, we build on the Rock, a solid foundation!  He shall charge His heavenly malachim or angels over us to protect us, morning to evening. We shall not perish unlike the moth attracted to the light! We become His Beloved and live, with wisdom , knowledge, and understanding of the Eternal Holy One!

     “When You [Yahweh] correct man for iniquity with rebukes, You make his  beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. [Psalms 39:11]”.

Our hope [tikvah] is in Yahweh who through Yeshua Jesus Messiah will deliver us from all  our transgressions, and hears our prayers!

“O spare me so that I may recover strength, before I go away, and am no more! [v.13]

See, behold, Yahweh Elohim, has made a Way to raise from decay and the pit of destruction  [shaw-kath] through Yeshua Jesus Christ!

“For the creation was subjected to futility…because of Him who subjected it, in anticipation, that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage to corruption INTO the esteemed freedom of the children of Elohim GOD [Romans 8: 20-21]”!

“…So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption…sown in disrespect;, it is raised in esteem; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.  [ 1 Corinthians 15:41-43]

“And this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is unable to inherit the reign of Elohim, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.[v.50]”

See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the …dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.[51-52]

“O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your overcoming [v.55]?”

But thanks to Yahweh who gives us the overcoming through our Master Yeshua ha Mashiach. [v.57]

“Do not be led astray: Elohim is not mocked….he who sows to his own flesh shall reap corruption...he who sows to the Spirit shall reap everlasting life…[Galatians 6:8]”!

As Peter, servant of Yeshua said, we have been given exceedingly great & precious promises! So, through Yahweh’s Mighty power, we escape from the corruption in the earth, caused by lust! [2 Peter 1:4] Let us not again get entangled in the defilement of the world, but be over comers through Yeshua Jesus Christ our Savior. [2:20] Ahmein!

“Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. [James 5:2]!”

“Your gold & silver have become rusty…a witness against you…shall eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days [v.3]!”

“You have lived on the earth in pleasure & luxury, you have fattened your hearts, as in a day of slaughter [v.5].”

“Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master has drawn near [v. 8b]!”

Ten Dimensions of GOD

 

Do you know the  “steps to GOD“? Have you “entered the 10 ‘dimensions’ of GOD? Are you  going up higher in Him?  How do we get close to GOD? And how do we measure this “closeness ” to Him? What are the 10 dimensions?

• Dimension: any measurable extent as length, breadth, thickness or height; or size; or magnitude, from French, a measuring!

How do we measure ourselves in GOD? what and how do we measure these dimensions or length, breadth, height in Him?

We know that nothing can separate us from His love for us. As Paul the apostle [Sha’ul, also a rabbi] said

” …we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor heavenly angels, nor principalities [of darkness], nor powers [of darkness], nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love [ahava] of Yahweh, which is in Messiah Y’shua our Savior.” [Romans 8: 37-39]

We read from  chapter 32:1 of JOB,  that Job is ”self-righteous”. In chapter 32 of JOB, Elihu, one of his 3 “friends”,  responds, telling Job, ‘See, in this you are not righteous…

         Why do you complain against Him [GOD] ? For He doesn’t give answers about all His matters. For El [GOD] speaks once or twice, yet a man perceives not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed; Then He opens the ears of men & seals their instructions.

      GOD [Yahweh] is always working: He may remove man from His purpose! He hides pride from man…keeps back man’s being from hell…his life from perishing…chastens him with pain…the multitude of his bones with strong pain!

      GOD sends a messenger with him, a Mediator [Y’shua  Jesus] one among a thousand, to show to man His righteousness!

      His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s…he shall make prayer to Eloah [form of El], and He will show unmerited favor to him: and He shall see his face with joy: for He will restore to man his own righteousness! [Job 33:12-30]

Yahweh answers ”out of the hurricane ” [translated as ‘ whirlwind’ , which took up Elijah into Heaven, 2 Kings 2:1]  asking,

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?…Who marked off its dimensions?…Who stretched a measuring line across it? [Y’shua stretched the plumb line ]  On what were its footings set, or who laid its Cornerstone [Y’shua] – while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? [38:4-7]

Will the one who contends [riyb to toss or grapple] with the Almighty [Elohim] correct Him? Let him who accuses GOD [El] answer Him!” [40:2]

Then Job answered Yahweh: ‘I am unworthy-how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth…” [3-5]

• Job turns back from the pit of Sheol or Hell, so that the Light of Life  [Y’shua ] may shine on him! [33 :30]
• Job rises up in Yahweh, by chapter 42, knowing Yahweh is Sovereign, that He can do all things, and that no plan of His can be thwarted. [42 :2]   Job admits he spoke of things he did not understand, ”things too wonderful for me to know”. Yahweh said, “Listen now” and Job listened.

My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” [v.5-6]

• Job  repents in the ”finished” ashes and symbolically becomes covered with  friends’ blood sacrifice offerings of 7 bulls & 7 rams !
• He then prays for his friends, which Yahweh accepts [v.8].
• Job is now considered  as ‘travailed‘ and brought forth to another dimension or step! Tribulation of Job was his trial , but the travail he did in intercession for himself and friends brought him through to the ”other end of the tunnel” and to a new dimension in GOD!
• “Travail” is arduous, exhausting, mental or physical; intense anguish or suffering especially when caused by extreme hardship! [ Travail comes from Medieval Latin instrument of torture made of 3 stakes!]
• Job is blessed double with livestock, 10 children, including 3 beautiful daughters, with full inheritance and blessed names for the horn of plenty and salvation, the cleansing purification, and the Spirit [Qeren, Kezia, and Yeminah], and lives to see his 4th generation. [42: 10-17]

Some dimensions of Yahweh [ conviction, commitment, devotion and speech] are revealed , while some are secret, hidden, concealed [ super-conscious will, wisdom, understanding, love, fear, and mercy]  !  Ephesians 1:17-19 & 21:

That the Eloah of our Master Y’shua Messiah , the Abba Father of glory, may give to you the Ruach [Spirit] of wisdom and revelation in the da’at [knowledge] of Him:

So that the eyes of your lev [heart]  being enlightened; to know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Yisraelite kidushim [the saints or holy ones of the Commonwealth of Yisrael, no longer Jew and Gentile],

And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us, who believe, according to the working of His mighty power….”.

“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come…”.

The 10 dimensions of Yahweh:

1. Faith in YHWH: pistis [Greek] persuasion, credence, conviction; must be born again [John 3:3-6] to see the Kingdom of Heaven; then will enter the Kingdom of Heaven; to know [as in marry & tarry], experience, and ”see” Him, as the Kingdom is within you [Luke 17:2]!

2. Light: Owr, illumination or luminary, from darkness to seeing a great light, the Light of the world, Yahshua Jesus the Son of GOD [John 8:12]; from sin to righteousness; ”…they grope in the dark without light…” [Job 12:25] He is our Light & Salvation, as we walk in the Light and rejoice. [Psalm 27:1]; to turn them from darkness to light. [Acts 26:18]; to now walk as children of light [ Ephesians 5:8]; for we are children of light [1 Thes. 5:5] !

3. Wisdom :Chokmah, skillful , wisely, wit by a Spirit of GOD, gives us counsel or advice, in every situation to know what to do; teaches us to rightly apply revelation; gives us a wise & discerning heart. Joshua received, ”…for Moshe had laid his hands on him…” [Deuteronomy 34:9] Wisdom cries out, as in Proverbs 1-8. Wisdom brings wealth & honor and long life.

4. Revelation: apokalupsis, disclosure by a Spirit of GOD, to bring light and unveil hidden things, and disclose the secrets of GOD: reading the Word; prophetic, as in dreams or divine!

5. Power:  a) Dunamis: healing power, explosive power, of the Holy Spirit [Ruach HaKodesh] receive from waiting on Him, as in Acts 1:8;  b) Ischus : energizing power which brings on dunamis, as the Spirit energizes your faith! Ischus is the prayer of faith [James 5:16] c) Kratos : another level, multiplying and prevailing power : ”So the word of the LORD grew mightily and prevailed [Acts 19:20] d) Exousia: delegated authority, as we step out in faith, as in speaking the word. We are given this power by Y’shua as in Matthew 10:1 :”…He gave them exousia over unclean spirits, to cast them out & to heal all kinds of sickness & all kinds of disease”.

6. Life: Chayim: in the Word, in Y’shua who is the Life and Resurrection; by the Word, not from hearsay nor others, but from the mouth of Yahweh. Life is birthed in our disasters! Yahweh pours waters on him who is thirsty and floods the dry ground, with streams and rivers of living waters. We are born again for His purpose, and power comes from this purpose. Sampson was born to be a deliverer of his people and so was given powers . When he lost sight of Yahweh, he lost his eyesight and hair. As his hair grew back, his power was restored; he gained insight, and standing between 2 pillars of strength, he brought the pagan temple down and killed the enemy.

7. Favor: Channan: unmerited kindness  from Yahweh, stooping or bending over to us, from an open heaven, sending the angels to delivering the blessings, as released by Yahweh. The Aaronic blessing states : ” This is the way you shall bless the children of Yisrael, saying to them, Yahweh bless you and keep you: Yahweh make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you: Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you shalom. And they shall put My Name upon the children of Yisrael; and I will bless them [Numbers 6:23-27]”.  The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom live within us as believers! Believe and receive, and be favored ! “Favor and shalom be multiplied to you through the knowledge of Yahweh and Y’shua…[2 Peter 1:2-8]”.

8. Prosperity: Shalom, in Hebrew: safety, wellness, happiness, friendly; welfare, health, peace.  Deuteronomy 28 :1-12, the open heaven blessings! An open heaven is Yahweh’s treasure for you. The storehouse is open wide when we obey! All good things come from Him [James 1:17]! He wants to prosper you [Psalm 1]. Y’shua came to give you life abundant!

9. The Voice of YHWH : Shama: Hear intelligently with attention, and obedience! Pay attention to the ‘voice of many waters’ !His voice is connected to having an intimate knowledge of Him. Marry and tarry in the secret place of El Elyon and abide under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty [Psalm 91:1] Make Him your delight and He shall give you the desires of your heart. He is the Lover of your soul and so awaits your attention. He will awake you with the thunderous voice.

10. Worship Yahweh : Shachah: to depress, prostrate in homage to, bow down, crouch, fall down flat, humbly beseech, do obeisance, do reverence. Worship in Hebrew is a form of fastening up oneself to kiss [naw-shak]!

“Kiss the Son lest He be angry & you perish in the Way… [Psalm 2: 12].”

• Praise, prayer, intimacy and worship, sitting at His feet and being in His presence are all connected.

  Yahweh exceeds our expectations in power and dominion when we humble ourself as ”the Hebrew slave” and serve our Master, in steadfast faith and prayer. Our trials and tribulations only advance this process or spiritual growth in Him. Ruth, the Moabite widow, entered the threshing floor of Boaz, only after supplicating on her knees, bowing, pounding the floor in earnest to Yahweh. Earlier, after the death of her husband, she revised by following Naomi to Bethlehem, listening to the wisdom and knowledge of elder Naomi! Now Ruth is revived ,  and blessed; and through the seed in her womb comes the Messiah!

There are many plans in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of Yahweh shall stand [Proverbs 19:21].

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