Monthly Archives: November 2014

Toledoth – ‘these are the generations of Isaac . . .’ As we were reading the beginning verses of this week’s Torah portion, it reminded us of the following excerpt from an article we posted sometime back concerning Rebekah and her connection to the woman of Revelation 12.
” Let’s take a little closer look at the passages concerning Rebekah for some deeper understanding and clarification. Unlike Moses and Jacob finding their brides at a well, when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, she – Rebekah – was found at a spring. So what’s the significance? In the Hebrew a well and a spring are not the same. ‘Be’ayr’ – well – is a hole in the ground full of water. The Hebrew word for spring is ‘ayin’, literally the eye of the water. It is actually the word for ‘eye’ in the Hebrew. Why was Rebekah found at a spring? Why is that important? Later in life we find that Isaac is physically blind. He was also spiritually blind in reference to his two sons. Isaac was blinded to Esau’s spiritual depravity by his affection for his eldest son. Rebekah, on the other hand, is the one that had ‘eyes to see’. She is the woman chosen to birth Israel.” You know, both Jacob and Rebekah get what we believe to be a ‘bad rap’ in reference to the events concerning the ‘deception of Isaac’. It’s funny how we can read something over and again and still miss nuggets right under our noses. In the opening verses of this passage, God declares Jacob’s preeminence over his brother Esau. We also get a glimpse of Esau’s attitude towards God Almighty. The passage says ‘he (Esau) despises and had no regard for his birthright’. So Esau ‘sells’ his ‘right of the firstborn’ to his younger brother. Jacob now had a legal, enforceable right to the ‘bekorah’ or ‘first-born preeminence’. So, although the actions of Rebekah seem a little underhanded, she is prophetically the one with the ‘eyes to see’ and is determined to make sure the birthright is enforced. Here again, a meal is involved which could represent the appetites and desires of the flesh rather than the Word spoken by God. Isaac offers the birthright blessing to Esau in exchange for a ‘savory meal’ ; the same birthright Esau despised and sold cheap for a bowl of ‘red stuff’. . . We find it interesting Esau ( Edom – ‘red’) exchanges his preeminence with God for something ‘red’ . . . red, like the ‘dragon’, that serpent of old . . . Shalom –

“This is what the LORD said, – “Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the LORD . . . Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. The whole house of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. Above, all keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between you and Me throughout your generations that you may know that it is I, YAHWEH, Who sanctifies you.”
So observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. For there still remains a ‘Sabbath-keeping’ for the people of God. Shabbat Shalom – J&R

Previous study tells us this portion of Scripture begins with the death of Sarah and concludes at the death of Abraham. It includes, among other history, the account of the meeting of Isaac and Rebekah. But, while reading through it last evening and again this morning, something came to mind we had not noticed before. Abraham, the first Hebrew, the patriarch of all Israel (which includes all born-again believers ) bows himself before a pagan. What’s up with that? Abraham bows himself before the children of Heth, the council of the Hittite leadership and before Ephron, the leader of this pagan bunch ? Anybody besides us have a problem with this ? Let’s look a little deeper and see what we find.
The Torah admonishes us to ‘honor our father and mother, for this is the first commandment with a promise.’ We, as adults, should have learned ‘respect and honor’ while we were children in the home, by honoring our parents. As we mature, this understanding and extending of respect and honor should mature as we do and be evidenced by appropriate respect and honor for our God, our spouse, our family, our employer and those in positions of responsibility and authority over us. Eventually, this comes to be known as ‘proper protocol’.
So what does ‘proper protocol’ have to do with Father Abraham bowing himself before a pagan leader? Remember in the letter of Jude how the writer makes reference to Michael the archangel NOT railing against satan but literally turnin’ him over to The Lord ? That’s because the angelic host understand proper protocol and chain of command in ways we haven’t quite got a grasp on as of yet.
Abraham could have gone strutting into the ‘enemy’s camp’ and declared ‘I am Abraham, the friend of God, so recognize my importance and give me what I desire’. Alas, he did not, for he knew ‘proper protocol’ and the purpose for his visit. He wasn’t there to ‘take on’ the enemy. He was there to accomplish the purpose for which he came – to find a suitable burial place for his beloved wife. There would come a time to deal with the enemy. There are times when God has called his people to fight and times when He has called them to stand down. But, again, what has all that got to do with Abraham bowing before the descendants of Heth? Let’s try to boil all this down.
The Apostle Paul understood and taught this concept – first the physical, then the Spiritual. Abba gives us tasks to perform in the physical realm by which we are to learn and understand Spiritual truths. Abraham understood ‘proper protocol’. It was evidenced by his interaction with Ephron and the children of Heth, and shows the maturity level of his understanding of ‘respect and honor’.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul confirms this truth – “If you are in Messiah, you are Abraham’s seed . . .’ (Gal. 3:19) and if we are Abraham’s seed we should be able to walk in some reasonable level of an understanding of honor and respect comparable to that of our father Abraham. Abraham knew how to properly honor, respect and approach His Father and this understanding overflowed into his relationships with those around him.
So how does our Heavenly Father desire we approach Him? The Word is jam-packed with ways in which Abba would want us to come into His presence, and visa-versa. Just as we need to learn what pleases our Father, we also must learn what displeases Him, and that is in His Word as well. Here are some examples:

‘Seek out the old paths and walk therein and find shalom . . . but the people said
we will not . . .’ Jeremiah 6:16

‘Do not come to Me in that manner . . .’ Deut 12:4;

‘you shall not behave this way before the Lord your God . . .’ Deut 12:31;

‘do not imitate the ways of the nations . . .’ Deut 18:9;

‘do not learn the ways of the nations . . .’ Jeremiah 10:2;

‘while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were also serving their idols. To this day their children and their grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did in the past. 2 Kings 17:41 (and they were judged accordingly );

‘But now that you know God– or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and beggarly practices of the world . . . (by) observing (their) special days and months and seasons and years ?’ Galatians 4:9-10;

and the phrase ‘under every green tree’ is always connected to ‘the ways of the nations’ and is a phrase especially appropriate this time of year.
Deut 12:2, 2 Kings 16:4, 2 Kings 17:10, 2 Chron. 28:4, Jer. 2:20,
Jer. 3:6, Jer. 3:13, Ezekiel 6:13

‘Thus says the LORD: “Learn not the way of the nations . . . 3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and fashioned with an axe by the hands of a workman. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 They are idols that cannot walk or speak . . .’ Jeremiah 10

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The nations shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, that which is worthless and unprofitable;                                    (weak and beggarly; Galatians  4:9);

So just as our Father Abraham understood ‘proper protocol’ in his day, so to, we must understand in these days the proper ways to approach our Father as well as the ways that displease Him . . . especially ‘as The Day approaches’.

In the meantime, Shabbat Shalom to you and yours –

” . . . and by this they shall know that you are My disciples when you” – fuss and fume over the ‘proper’ spelling and pronunciation of My and My Father’s Names;
when you have learned all the mysteries of the Hebrew language and culture so as to show how much you know and how much others don’t;
when you have divided my family and drawn battle lines due to disagreements over calendars and moon phases and when the month and week begins;
when you expect mercy, grace and compassion but are not willing to extend it because someone is not as ‘Torah observant’ as you;
when you have come to the point that you are ‘so right’ that anyone even hinting they may disagree with you is ‘all wrong’;
when you have ‘arrived’ and come to the point that you will not and need not receive and accept true, loving correction from a brother or sister;
when you have come to the point you have such zeal for the Word that you have lost the capacity for compassion for the misguided, misinformed, and those in error;
when you have come to the point that you are so ‘heavenly minded’ that you are no ‘earthly good’ . . .
NO, wait a minute . . . that’s not what it says, is it . . .

“For if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
1 Cor. 13:2
Yeshua said “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the kabod of the law – justice, mercy, and faith. These ought you to have done, and not neglect the former.” Matthew 23:23

Father, give us the grace and willingness to bring more Light to the discussion than heat . . . B’Shem Yeshua – Amen.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) Baptist Preacher, author and teacher among other accomplishments. Referred to as the ‘Prince of Preachers’ . . . A ‘Baptist among Baptists’ who understood the un-biblical issues of and with christmas . . .

God established the 7th Day in the beginning, reiterates it to all of Israel through Moses, and confirms it foundational in the Ten Commandments and throughout the Torah, Prophets and Apostolic Writings. There are only a small handful of Biblical guidelines in the proper observance of Abba’s Sabbath. What are they ? (chapter and verse . . .)

Earlier, Rhonda wrote a response to a Facebook newsfeed post concerning happenings having to do with halloween. She made a statement that is profound in it’s simplistic clarity and can accurately be applied to the other ‘holiday seasons’ that are a mixing and twisting of truth. Her statement ?

It is this – ” we are to be a peculiar people and not a participating people with the things of the world.”

No division of Israel or Jerusalem . . . Solidarity . . . Support for Israel . . . These are all popular statements in today’s atmosphere, but are they all ‘Biblical’ ? We know this doesn’t sound ‘supportive’ and may not be very popular, so, BEFORE you run away, please understand we are avid, passionate supporters of the land of Israel and the Israeli people. We understand and teach the reality that the Land of Israel is the promised homeland, the ultimate destination and eternal habitation of every ‘born-again’ believer. We are to pray for the shalom of Jerusalem, to bless and be a blessing to the God and family of Abraham through Isaac to Jacob. So, if that is how we feel concerning the Land of Israel and the Israeli people, why do we have difficulty and feel challenged when asked to pray against the dividing of the Land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem ? GOD states through the prophets Joel and Zechariah the land will be divided and the nations will be judged accordingly. For us, to pray against the dividing of the Land is to literally pray against that which Abba has declared. We would that the Land would not be torn asunder, but God in His foreknowledge has said it. What we DO pray is that the US as a nation and a people would not be involved in the division of the Land of Israel. But that, too, doesn’t seem to be.

So what do we do ? As commanded, we pray for the shalom – the wholeness of Jerusalem, which will not exist until the Prince of Peace returns. As admonished, we bless the people and the Land and stand by and with them. It is God’s Land with which He has a covenant and we, as believers, are all part of the citizenship of Israel by the Blood of Messiah Yeshua. We pray for mercy, grace and deliverance for the ‘ten righteous in the city’, in Israel as well as this nation and all those that stand against His ways in these days. We pray we might be the light and salt in the place where we are until He returns. We will stand . . . we will pray . . . and when we’ve done all, we will see the Salvation of Israel. Shalom –

The link below was posted this morning. As soon as I saw it a chill came over me. There is a spirit of death associated with this and was and will be celebrated by people all across this land. The really sad and frightening part is believers in Messiah will be participating in this set apart day to Satan. In churches across this nation people will be dressing up in what they call ” good and friendly” costumes to hand out candy and tracts to try and draw in and convert people to the God of the Bible through the work of the Saviour, the very God and Saviour who’s Words stand against the very tool (halloween) being used. My question is convert people to what?
What difference is there in the holy days of the world ( halloween, christmas, easter, valentines day) and the holy days that are being taught and kept in the churches today? They are one and the same no matter how you try to spin them or try and add the name of Jesus to sanctify and justify them. These holy days of the world and now the church are not the Holy Days that the God of the bible, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, set apart for His people to keep. Those are listed in Lev.23 (and other places). You cannot find where His people were keeping any of the holidays we now have in the church except when His people were in error and were practicing a mixture or had abandoned Him and His ways completely. Do we really think Yeshua would condone or be apart of or participate in the carnival-like festivity that is depicted below? Notice in one of the descriptions of this parade they use the word ‘carnival’ which carries the connotation of ‘riotous excess’ and revelry.

The word ‘Carnival’ was first used in the late 1500’s to early 1600’s referring to the period of revelry leading up to Lent. At the foot of Mt. Sinai (Gen.32) ‘they rose up to play’. The word ‘play’ used here in the Hebrew carries a very deep meaning. It not just ‘fun-time’ but actually carries the picture of ‘conjugal caresses’. In the Spirit realm this would be considered spiritual adultery or ‘Idolatry’. That is the kind of ‘play’ that went on at the foot of the mountain and that is how God sees the ‘play’ at Halloween and other pagan festivities that we participle in and come up before Him as a stench in His nostrils, as opposed to observance of His Holy-days that comes up before Him as a sweet smelling savor. Notice in Gen. 32 there was a mixed multitude and in 2 Kings 17: 24 a mixed multitude was brought in to the kingdom of Israel and settled there. In both instances they were participating in a mixture of worship even though both groups had been instructed in the correct way to worship the Father. In fact in 2Kings 17:34-40 says it succinctly …….
2 Kings 17:34 “ To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the LORD nor adhere to the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies. 40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices.” Notice in verse 34 and 40 what it says……”they persist in their former practices…..they would not listen but persisted in their former practices.” Is that not the very thing that is happening in the church today?

Do we not bring all our worldly festivals with us and continue to practice them just as the nations did coming into the kingdom of Israel in 2 Kings? It was said of them in verse 33…..”they worshiped the LORD but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. vs 41…..to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did”.   Sadly this is where the biggest part of the present day church finds itself.
So back to my original question….convert the people to what?   Notice in the first few pictures (link below) the progression shown…..disease, blood and then outright death (skeletons). Just a ponder…..coincidence or not that they put them in this order?
Isa. 24 says that “the earth is defiled by its people” and “therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt” and why is the earth defiled?…..v.5…”they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant”. It is evident that judgment is falling all around us on the earth. So why would we even want to participate in these set apart high holidays to another god (that we brought with us when we came into the kingdom) or even do what is spoken of in Gen.32 or 2 kings 17 and mix the two and call it worship of the One true God, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.? It is not and never will be! May we be found faithful at Yeshua’s return.
Luke 21:36 “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape (literally – strength to survive) all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Rev. 3:3 “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard: obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
Jeremiah 16:19 “O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, that which is worthless and unprofitable . . .””
Read Psalm 78 . . . TRUTH to our children and grandchildren.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2816685/Zombie-schoolgirls-killer-clowns-EBOLA-Hazmat-suits-disease-quarantine-centers-center-stage-annual-NYC-Halloween-Parade.html

Amazing what a difference a few days can make . . . 80 degrees on monday and snow this morning . . .