① lentils
Genesis 25:27-34
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; 30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil (h5742. עָדָשׁ ‘âḏâš) stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
▸ h5742. עָדָשׁ ‘âḏâš; from an unused root of uncertain meaning; a lentil: — lentile.
AV (4) – lentiles 4;
The other occurrences:
2 Samuel 17:27-29
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils (ESV note: Hebrew adds “and parched grain”), 29 honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
2 Samuel 23:11-12 one of David’s mighty men
11 Now after him was Shammah (h8048. שַׁמָּה šamâ) the son of Agee (h0089. אָגֵא ’âg̱ê’) a Hararite (h2043. הֲרָרִי hărârîy). And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory. There is much here; we cannot dig too deeply presently, but the names are important. And Philistine is a conjoined word, פלשתי, and the פל is from the variant family of the word for beans (פול) seen just below. We will explore a bit more in an upcoming Blog on Ezekiel’s bread. The שתי is from p.272 שתה flow; move in particular direction. We will soon see the פל family. A very important picture the Philistines present in Scripture and at the present time.
Ezekiel 4:9-15
9 “But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days. 10 Your food which you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time. 11 The water you drink shall be the sixth part of a hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time. 12 You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human dung.” 13 Then the LORD said, “Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them.” 14 But I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth.” 15 Then He said to me, “See, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung over which you will prepare your bread.”
- This makes me want to look up all the ingredients of the bread, what he was to אכל consume.
① being new
Leviticus 26:9-12
9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new (h2319. חָדָשׁḥâḏâš).
11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. Leviticus 26:10
10 וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֥ם יָשָׁ֖ן נוֹשָׁ֑ן וְיָשָׁ֕ן מִפְּנֵ֥י חָדָ֖שׁ תּוֹצִֽיאוּ׃
I realize it is hard to tell, but I am really trying to keep this entry from being extremely long. I must challenge the translation of verse 10. Feel free to agree with my challenge or not. This interpretation has been used to preach that the Old Testament should be cleared out in light of the New Testament. If this is what you believe I likely will not change your mind with this challenge, but all I ask is that you hear me out. The first challenge is that any interpretation must fit with the whole of Scripture. Scripture will not contradict itself (there may be apparent contradictions, which should lead us to question interpretations). If Yeshua/Jesus said in Mt5:18 not one jot or tittle will pass away, that would be a striking contradiction.
A look at the wording helps. There are three points to make with words. First, what is translated as “cleared out,” תּוֹצִֽיאוּ, is from the root יצא pp.107-108 exit; come out. Its first two occurrences are in Gn1:12 and 1:24, “bring forth grass” and “bring forth creatures.” And used in Gn8:17, when God tells Noah to bring out with him from the ark every living thing.
Second, the word מִפְּנֵ֥י is here translated as “because,” but that is questionable. The prefix –מ is from מן. We most frequently see it translated (quoted many times here) as p.299, that which emanates from an object or person. It is occasionally translated in English versions as “on account of,” and maybe that is the justification for “because,” but that ignores the primary root here פנה. The root means to turn or focus attention. The noun derived from it can be face or presence or countenance (usually in the plural form פנים). More like the sense is that the old should be brought forth from the turning of the new or on account of the presence of the new. I will explain more in a moment, but let’s get to the third point.
This is a very unusual occurrence of a word three times in a row; the word is ישן “old,” which should focus our attention. The root p.112 ישן weaken; darken. In the mind of “the new/renewed,” the old are weak. (See 1K12 and 2Chr10 for the understanding and why Rehoboam’s approach led to the splitting/separation of the Kingdom yet to this day – we have discussed before.) Hopefully as this entry comes to a close you may see that at least part of the message is that gradual change in life is better tolerated than rapid change. At some point we will get to a much bigger theme in Scripture of the devastation of rapid change. In this section we will try to tie this back to the Book of Esther. The cycles, the seasons (see Genesis 8:22) are God’s way. Gradual, stepwise renewals. Our world currently is suffering from too rapid change, discarding, “clearing out” the old, rather tha bringing it forth in the face of the new. The guidance in Scripture, the measure of whether a prophet was truly a prophet, was whether what they said came true (Dt13:2; Jr28:9). Many prophets are recorded in Scripture and have said what has come true and/or will come true. We will speak below of both Devorah and Samuel. What they spoke came true. Both prophets and judges. At some point you must study Judges 4 and 5. (Samuel’s involvement is spread over many more chapters – critical to know, but more extended reading.) For now I suggest you ponder the interaction between Barak and Deborah in Judges 4:8-9, and ponder in the light of our current topic.
② renewing
Lamentations 5:19-22
19 You, O LORD, remain forever;
Your throne from generation to generation.
20 Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored;
Renew (h2318. חָדַשׁ ḥâḏaš) our days as of old,
22 Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!
Look at this from the perspective of our recent discussion of separation and time, as relates to טמא. Time – God sees us from outside time. We see ourselves within time. Interesting this word includes time measures. ((See Gn1:14-19, the lights in the expanse, on day four.))
③ month; renewal of moon
Genesis 8:1-5
1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month(h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš), the seventeenth day of the month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš), on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth (month). In the tenth month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš), on the first (day) of the month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš), the tops of the mountains were seen.
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Exodus 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month(h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš) (shall be) your beginning (h7218. רֹאשׁ rô’š) of months (h2320. חֹדֶשׁḥôḏeš); it (shall be) the first (h7223. רִאשׁוֹן ri’šôn) month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš) of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš) every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of (his) father, a lamb for a household.
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Deuteronomy 16:1
1 “Observe the month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš) of Abib (h0024. אָבִיב ’âḇîyḇ), and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁ ḥôḏeš) of Abib (h0024. אָבִיב’âḇîyḇ) the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
▸ Strongs h0024. אָבִיב ’âḇîyḇ; from an unused root (meaning to be tender); green, i.e. a young ear of grain; hence, the name of the month Abib or Nisan: — Abib, ear, green ears of corn (not maize).
The pieces to look at here: Nisan is Abib. Do you get the point that the major focus is ripening, or maturing? And that ripening/ maturing is the first/beginning month/חדש of renewal/expanding strongly (Ex12:2)? But I want to look more closely at first/beginning through our new lens we have learned to use. The very first word of God’s Word is בראשית, Bereshit, “In the beginning,” and that first word is the Hebrew name for the first book of the Bible, that we also call Genesis. That word is derived from ראש. Now we have a few pieces if investigation to do.
First let us look at the root ראש, plain and simple:
In Ps14:3 exemplifies when those sent out are told to be both cunning and innocent. The word is corrupt, h0444. אָלַח ’âlaḥ, which only begins the search, to lead to (reverse order):
So often a scavenger hunt•••
Ps31:3 in Hebrew is 31:2 in English. The word, apparently, that the hint refers to, is היה, which leads, by way of a variant family, to הוה and הוא. [So very typical of God’s people, the Hebrew nation. As their lifestyle, they have adopted God’s method as, “every life challenge/trial/test is a teaching moment.” ((Look at passages with h5254. נָסָה nâsâ test and note cognate with h5375. נָשָׂא nâśâ’ lift. And especially note Ex16:4 the word “test.” Your Bible most likely has the word “law” in that verse. The word is תורה, which really means teaching, as we have discussed many times.))] Simple, straightforward, and easy rarely teaches us anything. It is through the digging that we learn. Thus my constant encouragement for you to do the work of digging into God’s Word. You will get much more out of it.
Before the other connections, see that the ❶ ❷ ❸ roots if taken together could mean (warning! my interpretation – maybe no one else would suggest this – take it for what it is worth) that at the time of Creation, it was not only an animation, a beginning, but it was complete, and that its carrying forward (including the concept of “decay,”) was built in. The design/intent all along was loosening and new beginnings. The initial “loosening” was the chaos of “the beginning,” when “the earth was without form and void.” God’s bringing light initiated the process of organizing, making sense of the disorganization. And then the lights, the cycles of night and day. (And the sequence of loosened to more organized has become a part of the Jewish tradition of the twenty-four hour day to begin at sundown, to remind them that the chaos of the dark hours will be followed by morning – look at these words, evening, night, morning, to “see:”
Evening – the coming of the darkness – p.191 ערב mix substances with no change in character; penetrate with foreign matter;; CM facilitate/restrain penetration (A49)
Night – the time of darkness/chaos – p.130 לול blend together;; no cognates
Morning – the time when we are able to begin to “see” clearly – p.30 בקר distinguish differences;; CM free from control (B27)
- If you want to understand how a parable might speak to you about this watch the Disney movie The Lion King,” or better yet, see it in live theater.
The importance of the cycles was made more apparent in another new beginning, which we will see.
Consider שרה also possibly as ש + רה
שַׁ ⇦ from אשר and/or ישה
GLOSS which, that; since, because
PARSING Hebrew, particle, relative
H3426. יֵשׁ yēš: A semiverbal expression meaning to be, to exist.
The –ש as a prefix means “which” or “it is”
+
GV p.240 רהה fear; p.237 ראה look [see and understand]; p.241 רוה strengthen [through water]; p.110 ירה cast [shoot]; p. 110 ירא fear [call to constant attention].
¿ DV ארה – p.240 רהה fear; p.237 ראה look [see and understand]; p.241 רוה strengthen [through water]; p.110 ירה cast [shoot]; p. 110 ירא fear [call to constant attention] > p.16 ארהcontain; take and hold ?
¿ DV הרה – GV p.240 רהה fear; p.237 ראה look [see and understand]; p.241 רוה strengthen [through water]; p.110 ירה cast [shoot] > p.61 הרה implant and absorb seed ? No other DVs
CM רהה shatter (E81); ראה satisfy needs (E63); רוה increase/decrease (E66); ירה and יראlimit activity (C40); ארה and הרה absorb/expel (A51)
This family is very important to understand. We have already spoken of תורה as teaching, from ירה, to cast; shoot, as in “spread the word” (see the parable of the sower, casting the seeds even for all kinds of soil. Now look at this root, when looked at as the prefix ש (which is) plus the root ירה (cast; shoot; teach):
We have spoken before of the importance of songs and poetry in God’s Word, partly because it helps to understand more than simply the surface level events, but gets deeper to the more spiritual and soulful levels (we used an example Judges chapters 4 and 5, chapter 5 being Devorah’s Song (only two people in the Hebrew Scriptures are named both judge and prophet: they are Deborah/Devorah and Samuel/Shmuel). So, notice that song/poetry/(parables are one form of poetic experience) is a mechanism for expressing teaching, a very powerful one, as you have no doubt seen in your life. You may recall lyrics to songs from years ago that you learned easily when accompanied by music. And note the cognate listed here זכר, “store in memory.”
Parable as Religious and Poetic Experience The Journal of Religion Vol 53, No 3: only a glimpse:
Parables, in both Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, help us to see “concepts, spiritual principles” in everyday-type events. They therefore help us to understand life more clearly. Recall the subtitle of Log and Speck, which is “Tools for Understanding the Revelation of Life in Scripture.”
Here we will show the connection between the beginning in Gn1:1 בראשית and other beginnings, covenants בְּרִית. The first covenant we are introduced to is that with Noah in Gn9:9-17, which is in the same discussion as the quoted Gn8:22 above, regarding seasons, cycles••• This was noted as a new beginning. And God says he establishes (h6965. קוּם qûm) the covenant, lifts it up, makes it stand. We see several other covenants in Scripture.
h1285. בְּרִית ḇerîyṯ; from h1262. בָּרָה ḇârâ (in the sense of cutting (like h1254. בָּרָא ḇârâ’)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): — confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league.
Recall first that we have focused over recent blogs on the prefix –ב as being derived from בית, and meaning basically house, or the place in which we live (might be a mental/emotional/spiritual “place” or a physical place).
So, we need to look at both the בר family, and also ב + רה
One of the more important words in Scripture, in many ways, בר. Very important to understand. Very extensive connections, as you see:
• בַּר-[idiom] old, son.
• בַּר-son.
• בַּר-choice, clean, clear, pure.
• בָּר-corn, wheat.
• בַּר-field.
• בֹּר-cleanness, pureness.
• בֹּר-[idiom] never so, purely.
GV p.32 ברר cleanse [eliminate unfit material]; p.31 ברה rejuvenate [restore physical health]; p.31 ברא open [actualize]; p.23 בור dig [clear pit]; p.26 ביר isolate [tall structure]
DV p.20 באר – p.32 ברר cleanse [eliminate unfit material]; p.31 ברה rejuvenate [restore physical health]; p.31 ברא open [actualize]; p.23 בור dig [clear pit] > p.20 באר clarify; go from dark to light
DV p.2 אבר – p.32 ברר cleanse [eliminate unfit material]; p.31 ברא open [actualize]; p.23 בורdig [clear pit]; p.26 ביר isolate [tall structure] > p.2 אבר soar above protectively
DV בהר – p.32 ברר cleanse [eliminate unfit material]; p.31 ברה rejuvenate [restore physical health]; p.23 בור dig [clear pit] > p.22 בהר enlighten; shine
DV הבר – p.32 ברר cleanse [eliminate unfit material] > p.55 הבר analyze
CM ברר separate out (B42); ברה and ברא emerge from constraints (B37); בור undermine (B20); ביר free from control (B27); באר and בהר highlight/expose (B1); אבר and בהרexpose/conceal (A8)
So, if we see ברית as from ברה as noted in Strongs, it has the sense of a rejuvenation.
- [far too much to go into here and now but fitting in with the discussion both from ברwords and the cycle discussion, those with the EDBH book could 🤔 the roots בקר and ברק and ברך (power growth; spur prosperity). I leave connections to you•••]
Consider also ב + רה
–ב as “in” or “living in”
And רה as listed under ❸ שרה above. There is an element of fear, definitely looking and understanding, being strengthened, and the idea of casting, both as teaching but as in casting forward in time, everlasting. Fifteen times the two words appear together, everlasting covenant. This also sounds like what we saw in בראשית, as in considering as completed henceforth. We do well to pay attention to the words covenant and everlasting covenant. The gradual, cyclical progression in God’s covenant with Noah, expressed in Gn8:22 will not cease while the earth remains.
And of course the B’rit Hadashah is a “covenant renewed.”
•
•
•
④ thirty days (( in case you have lost track, this is #4 under the root חדש ))
Numbers 11:17-20
17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For (it was) well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but (for) a whole month (h2320. חֹדֶשׁḥôḏeš), until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the LORD who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?”‘”
- The cycles become apparent everywhere once one sees them.
① sneezing
Job 41:18-20 read all of Job 41 – Leviathan
18 His sneezings (h5846. עֵטִישָׁה ‘êṭîyšâ) flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils (h5156. נְחִיר neḥîyr) comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
▸ Strongs h5846. עֵטִישָׁה ‘êṭîyšâ; from an unused root meaning to sneeze; sneezing: — sneezing.
AV (1) – neesings 1;
sneezing
Other “עט” words (CWSBD) probably not all of them, what I found at first pass – leaving out Aramaic H5843 and H2942, per Hirsch
▸ H3271. יָעַט yā‘at verb (to cover, to clothe) Isa. 61:10.
▸ H5860.
I. עִיט ‘iyṭ verb (to scorn, to insult) 1 Sam. 14:32([Ke] עָשָׂה [H6213]); 15:19; 25:14.
II. עִיט ‘iyṭ verb (to pounce upon, to rush greedily) 1 Sam. 14:32(KJV, [Ke] ‘āśāh [H6213]); 15:19.
▸ H5861. עַיִט ‘ayiṭ masc. noun (bird of prey) Gen. 15:11; Job 28:7; Isa. 18:6; 46:11; Jer. 12:9; Ezek. 39:4.
▸ H5862.
A. עֵיטָם ‘ēyṭām proper noun (Etam: town in Simeon) 1 Chr. 4:3,32.
B. עֵיטָם ‘ēyṭām proper noun (Etam: town near Bethlehem) 2 Chr. 11:6.
C. עֵיטָם ‘ēyṭām proper noun (Etam: rock formation in Judah) Judg. 15:8,11.
▸ H5842. עֵט ‘ēṭ masc. noun (iron stylus, pen) Job 19:24; Ps. 45:1(2); Jer. 8:8; 17:1.
▸ H5844.
I. עָטָה ‘āṭāh verb (to wrap around, to cover)
Lev. 13:45; 1 Sam. 28:14; Ps. 71:13; 84:6(7); 89:45(46); 104:2; 109:19,29; Song 1:7; Isa. 22:17(NASB, NIV, see II); 59:17; Jer. 43:12; Ezek. 21:15(20)(KJV, me‘uṭṭah [H4593] NIV, see II); 24:17,22; Mic. 3:7.
II. עָטָה ‘āṭāh verb
(to take hold, to grasp)
Isa. 22:17(KJV, see I); Ezek. 21:15(20)(KJV, me‘uṭṭah [H4593] NASB, see I).
▸ H5845. עֲטִין ‘aṭiyn masc. noun (body) Job 21:24.
▸ H5846. עֲטִישָׁה ‘aṭiyšāh fem. noun (sneezing, snorting) Job 41:18(10).
▸ H5847. עֲטַלֵּף ‘aṭallēp̱ masc. noun (the bird, bat) Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18; Isa. 2:20.
▸ H5848.
I. עָטַף ‘āṭap̱ verb (to turn, to wrap, to cover) Job 23:9; Ps. 73:6.
II. עָטַף ‘āṭap̱ verb (to be feeble, to faint, to be weak) Gen. 30:42; Ps. 61:2(3); 65:13(14); 77:3(4); 102:[title](1); 107:5; 142:3(4); 143:4; Isa. 57:16; Lam. 2:11,12,19; Jon. 2:7(8).
▸ H5849.
I. עָטַר ‘āṭar verb (to crown) Ps. 8:5(6); 65:11(12); 103:4; Song 3:11; Isa. 23:8.
II. עָטַר ‘āṭar verb (to surround, to encompass) 1 Sam. 23:26; Ps. 5:12(13).
▸ H5850. עֲטָרָה ‘aṭārāh fem. noun (crown, wreath) 2 Sam. 12:30; 1 Chr. 20:2; Esth. 8:15; Job 19:9; 31:36; Ps. 21:3(4); Prov. 4:9; 12:4; 14:24; 16:31; 17:6; Song 3:11; Isa. 28:1,3,5; 62:3; Jer. 13:18; Lam. 5:16; Ezek. 16:12; 21:26(31); 23:42; Zech. 6:11,14.
▸ H5851. עֲטָרָה ‘aṭārāh fem. proper noun (Atarah) 1 Chr. 2:26.
▸ H5852.
A. עֲטָרוֹת ‘aṭārôṯ, עֲטָרֹת ‘aṭārōṯ proper noun (Ataroth: town E. of Jordan) Num. 32:3,34.
B. עֲטָרוֹת ‘aṭārôṯ proper noun (Ataroth: town on S.W. border of Ephraim) Josh. 16:2.
C. עֲטָרוֹת ‘aṭārôṯ proper noun (Ataroth: town in N.E. Ephraim) Josh. 16:7.
D. עֲטָרוֹת ‘aṭārôṯ proper noun (Ataroth: town in Judah; [NASB, NIV, part of the name ‘aṭrôṯ-bēṯ-yô’āḇ [H5854]) 1 Chr. 2:54.
▸ H5853. אַדָּר עַטְרוֹת ‘aṭrôṯ ’addār proper noun (Ataroth-addar) Josh. 16:5; 18:13.
▸ H5854. יוֹאָב בֵּית עַטְרוֹת ‘aṭrôṯ-bēṯ-yô’āḇ proper noun (Atroth-beth-joab)
1 Chr. 2:54(KJV, ‘āṭārôṭ [H5852,D], bayiṭ [H1004], and yô’āḇ [H3097,A]).
▸ H5855. שׁוֹפָן עַטְרוֹת ‘aṭrôṯ šôp̱ān proper noun (Atroth-shophan, Atroth and Shophan) Num. 32:35.
- Note cities sometimes named for their founder or tribe or child (Gn4:17; Jg18:29) or important events (Gn26:33, 28:19), which may reflect the character
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Last time we looked at PaRDeS as פר + דס and spoke of one root, p.199 פור invalidate [undermine proper proceeding] in the פר family. There are two Queens in the Book of Esther. In a way one could say both queens undermined proper proceeding. Vashti was in the king’s face with her undermining and Esther was wiser and more cunning in her approach. Still her way fit with the cycles better, and Mordecai says it best, Esther 4:14
14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Time, we seem to continue to come back to time•••
Early in the website, I made it clear that the teaching here is not for people of any particular background, but for any who want to know more about what Scripture says. At times, things are shared with more of one particular viewpoint, and at other times, from another viewpoint.
Below are two links, the first for a transcript of a Christian sermon, and the second is the audio recording. If you are not of a Christian background, please take into consideration the background the pastor is coming from and put aside any offenses you have. His broader message runs true across people of faith of any denomination, which is what I hope you will be able to hear. About two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through, he speaks of Jesus/Yeshua as “He’s the captain, he’s the commander; he says what we do.” If you are not sure how you consider this Jesus/Yeshua, in light of two thousand years of battles, verbal and physical, consider him for now as here:
Joshua 5:13-15
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commanderof the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Many believe in God. But we have killed one another over our perspectives of who God is and what God stands for. Below is a brief excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. The entire address is not long, and you can read it at https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=38&page=transcript . The point here is what I have highlighted – set aside the battles for now and hear the larger view, the 30,000 foot view.
“Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.
“One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern half part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?”
The 30,000 foot view I want you to hear is that first and foremost, we must fear God:
- (Matthew 10:27-28
- 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And secondly, whatever is “spoken” to us (the inspiration of God) must be shared. Many times I have thought of stopping to share what I am “hearing.” I know I am saying what few want to hear. But when I think about stopping I am overwhelmed by God’s message above, and as in Luke 12:47-48, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
I have been given SO very much. I have a deep and abiding fear of the LORD (יהוה). I once told someone that I did, before I even knew what that meant. I feel God’s presence at all times. I strive to carry out my purpose, with all my fleshly failings.
Transcript of that Christian sermon (NOT a watered-down one):
https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/church-confronts-the-worldthe/
If you prefer to listen rather than read, it is around 24 minutes:
May we all hear that we need to lower our heads to God’s Word, and we need to learn it and live by it. Certainly high on our list, in addition to the Ten Words we discussed before should be God’s Covenants. You should look them up and 🤔.
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