Miqedem is a Messianic Israeli team of musicians who sing The Word set to very compelling, interesting ‘Hebrew’/Middle Eastern sounding music.

They have a song called “Ad Ana”, which is Tehillah [Ps] 13 set to a moving, melodic, tune that, in my view, gets very close to expressing the ‘tone’ of the heart of Melekh David, the writer.

I have been ‘contemplating’ Melekh David of late, and have been re-reading his history, and as such, have decided to teach His life in our next Torah study.  I think one of the reasons he has been on my mind of late is because of the near three-month ‘trial’ that I endured, when I turned to David’s words of ‘prayer/praise’ daily [more than the one or two I usually do], echoing them back to my Savior, Messiah Yeshua, because David ‘gets me’, and expresses ‘right thinking’ in times of trouble.

This ‘Tehillah’, which is ‘praise’, is one of MANY that he wrote, that expresses deep, deep emotion.

Personally, people who say they know Messiah and have not experienced His ‘compassion’ [deep affectionate love] for Him and for His people are missing ‘something’.  Moreover, if they ‘say’ they do not suffer ‘trials’, then their ‘tzedaka’ is suspect.  “MANY are the tribulations of the tzadikim”; “Tzadikim” is “Justified Ones,” those who are set right before G-d by their trust in the blood of Messiah.  They are not perfect, as was not David HaMelekh, who had his own bouts with sin AND affliction; but he understood the compassion of Elohim, and boiled over with it at times.  And, he ‘suffered’ at the hands of PEOPLE, and GRIEVED over it… weeping, crying out, mourning, full of sorrow for things not being ‘right’ between him and people he loved.  I venture to say he emoted more even than me!  He lamented wrongdoing, his own, AND that of others, especially when they wronged him simply because he was anointed, or wronged him simply because they were disobedient to truth and bereft of the compassion of יהוה .  “My tears SOAK my bed,” he lamented.  “My heart writhes within me,”  “I moan ALL the day,” and on and on.

There are those who misread [past tense] my “Chimera” post.  Which is why I took it down.  There are those who misread [present perfect tense] me, when I ‘sorrow’ over affliction.  First of all, they see only one facet of what I might be enduring.  [Right now, I am enduring NOTHING but His joy!  Do not weep for me!]  And, they do not understand the very spiritual truth of the enemy wanting to destroy the Tzadikim, body and soul, if he can.  If WE let him.  “Kol Yisra’el aravim zeh lazeh,”  “All of Yisra’el is responsible one for another”.  Or, the way the Brit Khadashah puts it, “BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS”, “BEAR WITH ONE ANOTHER.”  Like Iyov, most people do not ‘see’ when a Tzadik is ‘suffering’ spiritually, because of and for the WILL OF GOD; they only see in human terms, and try to diagnose the Tzadik, instead of simply giving him ‘compassion.’  They judge.  Just as Iyov’s [Job] ‘friends’ did.  Just as those closest to David did. They blurt their perverted version of what is happening, many times in hatred and extreme anger, and condemnation.  They have NO COMPASSION for their ‘friend.’  Especially if they are the one who errs with and/or against their ‘friend’.  Sha’ul even accused his own son of having a perverted relationship with David, when Yehonatan was petitioning the king for David’s life!  He twisted their deep love into perversion!  That is the way of the accuser. David was afflicted by BELIEVERS and PROPHETS!  Not by the wicked, but by fellows, brothers, beloved friends, even his own son.  People who had genuinely ‘experienced’ G-d!  Sha’ul was not only king, but a Navi, given the very Ru’akh of Elohim!  David was NOT troubled by the Kena’ani;  NOT the P’lishtim.  In fact, he once was ‘taken in’ by the P’lishtim, running from those who professed trust in  יהוה !  I once told my wife that I could probably go to a bar and get more compassion than I can among the ‘brethren’.   Sometimes it really does seem that way.  As such, I am abundantly grateful for the brothers who did ‘take me in’, and who did show me compassion during my recent trial, without judging me or reading things into my life that were not there, because of their own perverted views, and worldly counsel.

Looking into David’s life and seeing his experiences, and his EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL RESPONSE to those experiences has been a great comfort to me, especially with the echo of judgement, suspicion, and accusation lingering behind the words of wise and compassionate counsel at times.  Singing this song this past Shabbat [practice] was cathartic, to a  degree, punctuating all the ‘counsel’ given to me of late, by King David, and good friends.  Singing it by myself [with Miqedem] this morning moved me in a new way, and ‘opened my eyes’ again to the purpose of these ‘prayers’ written for the Congregation by King David, the ‘shadow and type’ of King Messiah, Yeshua HaNatzri, who is ‘familiar with suffering’.  Even when it ‘seems’ like Abba is ‘absent’ and not attending to us, yet do we TRUST in HIS COMPASSION, REJOICE in His YESHUA, and SING to HIM, because of His bountiful compassion toward us, ‘ad olam’…

It is NOT wrong, at times, to have ‘sorrow’.  It is wrong to have sorrow and NOT PRAISE HIM ANYWAY!  It is wrong to listen to the counsel of those without compassion, and wrong to trust ‘judgement’ rather than HIS COMPASSION.  His compassion is what sustains us in the sorrow that HE has allowed into our lives, for the purpose of drawing us closer to Him, and showing us where His compassion truly lies. 

Sha’ul understood the depth of His Compassion, writing:

“If He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, why will He not freely give us all things with Him? Who is to complain against the chosen ones of Elohim? It is Elohim who justifies. Who is He who condemns? It is Mashi’akh who died and rose again, and He is at the right hand of Elohim, making intercession for us. What shall separate me from the love of Mashi’akh? Tribulation, or imprisonment, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we die every day, and we are accounted as lambs for the slaughter.” But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor HaMalakhim, nor empires, nor armies, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else created, shall be able to separate me from the love of Elohim which is in Yeshua HaMashi’akh Adoneinu.”

Tehillah 13

For the Leader. A Mizmor of David.  

Until when, O יהוה , will You forget me forever?  עַד אָנָה יהוה תִּשְׁכָּחֵנִי נֶצַח

                Ad ana, יהוה  , tishkakheini netzakh?

Until when will You hide Your face from me?    עַד אָנָה תַּסְתִּיר אֶת פָּנֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי

                Ad ana tastir et paneikha mimeini

 Until when shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart by day?                                              עַד אָנָה אָשִׁית עֵצוֹת בְּנַפְשִׁי יָגוֹן בִּלְבָבִי יוֹמָם

                Ad ana ashit etzot b’nafshi yagon bilvavi yomam

Until when shall my enemy be exalted over me?  עַד אָנָה יָרוּם אֹיְבִי עָלָי

                Ad ana yarum oiyevi alai?

 Behold, and answer me, O יהוה my Elohim;   הַבִּיטָה עֲנֵנִי יהוה אֱלֹהָי

                Habit, aneini,  יהוה  Elohai

 Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of Mavet [eternal death];          הָאִירָה עֵינַי פֶּן אִישַׁן הַמָּוֶת

                 Ha’irah einai pen ishan haMavet

Lest my enemy says, “I have prevailed against him”; lest my adversaries rejoice when I am moved.

פֶּן יאֹמַר אֹיְבִי יְכָלְתִּיו; צָרַי יָגִילוּ כִּי אֶמּוֹט   

                 Pen yomar oiyevi “Yakholtiv!” Tzarai yagilu, ki emot

But as for me, in Your compassion do I trust; my heart shall rejoice in Your Salvation. [Yeshua’s Name is in this word]

                וַאֲנִי בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי יָגֵל לִבִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ

              Va’Ani b’khasdeikha batakhti, yagel libi bishuateikha

I will sing unto יהוה , because He has dealt bountifully with me.   אָשִׁירָה לַיהוה כִּי גָמַל עָלָי

               Ashirah la  יהוה  ki gamal alai

Shalom!

Many have been wondering about the publication of the new translation of the scriptures which we are calling “HaDavar, D’var יהוה ” “HaDavar, The Word of יהוה “, as we had an expected availability date of end of November [2019].  There was a miscommunication from our printer, and so we exceeded our page limit.

This means that the publication file has to be reformatted.  I found this out only yesterday, after having bugged the printers for some weeks.  I was concerned the delay would be entirely too long, but, thankfully, the attempts I’ve made to come under  the page limit already have shown promising.

We are reducing the size of the print by one font, and removing some of the ‘features’, especially most of the ‘special characters’ that we’d see as a reflection of scriptural oddities in original Hebrew scrolls.  Other than that, I’m almost certain the rest of the text remains in tact.  My ‘guess’ now is that we should return the files to the printer within a couple of weeks.  Turnaround time should then be roughly ten days.  A good estimation, then, is by end of January 2020 we ‘should’ have printed copies in hand, and it should be available at most booksellers by that time.

I appreciate everyone being so patient, and understanding the magnitude of this work, and the delays that we have endured because we are trying to make it as perfect as possible.  Thank you for your continued prayers that Abba moves hands to finish this work, and that it touches as many people as are reaching out to Him for truth.

 

A couple of weeks ago, while studying parashat “Khayei Sarah” with my wife, I saw a few things on a deeper level.

Sarah died and was buried at חֶבְרוֹן , Khevron, which was formerly called, קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע , Kiryat Arba.  Reading these in English or transliteration doesn’t reveal much.  Reading them in Hebrew, with some understanding, starts to peel back some layers.

First, ‘Sarah’ means ‘princess’.  Or ‘female ruler’.

Khevron is the city from where David ruled his kingdom for seven years.  Most people know that “Sar Shalom” is “Prince of Peace.”  ‘Sarah’ is the feminine version of “Sar”. קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע , or “Kiryat Arba”, means “City of Four”.  And Khevron means “Friendship”.

In the portion, Sarah has died.  Avraham is looking for a place to inter her body.  On a peshat level, that is as plain as it can be.  But, is there a deeper reason that so much detail is given us concerning her burial?  Is there anything to see, beyond just her interment?  I believe there is.

Everyone should know that Avraham believed in the resurrection.  If so, then everyone should know that, like Avraham, who now lives in “Eden”, otherwise known as “Paradise”, or the “Bosom of Avraham,” Sarah, too, is alive.  Elohim is the G-d of the LIVING, and NOT the dead.  Though her body is dead, Sarah yet lives.  But, her body represents who she was/is on earth.  And she is a princess.  She is the wife of the father of our faith.  She is seen as a symbol of faith.  [Ivrim 11].  Is it possible, then, at all, that she could be representing the Bride of Messiah?

David ruled from Khevron during the first seven years of his reign.  It means “friendship”, where ‘khaver” is the root, and vav-nun is the suffix.  I will leave my thoughts about vav-nun out for now, but to say that a vav is both a nail, and an upright man, and a nun is a ‘seed’, and an upright man.  One might see ‘death’ in the first one, and ‘life’ in the second.

Khevron is a city; and Sarah’s body was placed there.  This is the city where David was anointed to be “Melekh David,” literally “A Beloved King”.  The z’kanim were gathered together there to see him anointed as king .  There are overtones of “prince and princess” in that event, of bride and groom:

“Then came all the tribes of Yisra’el to David unto Khevron, and spoke, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past, when Sha’ul [a picture of Mashi’akh HaSheker, the false/lying anointed one] was Melekh over us, it was you that did lead out and bring in [shepherd] Yisra’el; and יהוה said to you, ‘You shall feed My people Yisra’el, and you shall be prince over Yisra’el’.” So all the elders of Yisra’el came to HaMelekh to Khevron; and Melekh David made a covenant with them in Khevron before יהוה ; and they anointed David Melekh over Yisra’el.”    2 Sam 5:1-3

So, the place where Sarah is buried was formerly called “City of Four”, or ‘a city ‘foursquare’, perhaps?  And it is here that David enters into a covenant, bone of bone, flesh of flesh, with Yisra’el’s elders?  And the city is then called “friendship” or “association”.

Is it mere coincidence that Yeshua’s bride, or princess, is seen as “elders”, ‘z’kenim’ assembled around a throne in the Hitgalut [ch 4 and 5]; and that this city is called ‘foursquare’; and that He is anointed/declared the only one worthy, and declared King there; and that a marriage occurs there, and that it takes seven ‘earth’ years to complete the event?  And then Yeshua returns from that City, then to rule in the earthly Yerushalayim for the remainder of man’s time on earth?  It cannot be mere coincidence. Is it also mere coincidence that this is one of the cities of “refuge”, where a person flees from an avenger?  I am a firm believer that every letter, every stroke of the pen in the Torah matters.  [Matti 5:17-19].  There is so much more depth to all of this than I am able to convey right now.  But the overtones, to me, are obvious and glaring.  I cannot wait to see our “Khevron”, our city of refuge, our foursquare city of friendship, where our King will be anointed as King.

 

Shalom!

It has been a while since my last post.  I have taken some time to press in to our Creator, to seek His face, concerning personal matters.  I do not know what the immediate future holds, but one thing I have is absolute shalom.  And I have gratitude for that, as well as His many other blessings.  These past few weeks have not been fun.  But, in a sense, they have been more beneficial for me in so many ways, ways that others cannot fathom.  Due to huge waves of misunderstanding, I have pursued only Him.

The nightly prayer  we pray with the Shema is Tehillah [ps] 4, and the verse that always ‘shines’ out to me is, “Rigzu, v’al tekheta’u; imru vilvav’khem al mishkav’khem, v’domu; Selah.”

“Tremble, and do not sin; speak with your own hearts in your beds, and be silent. Selah” [sic: on the fly verse citation and xlation from memory]  Selah is likely a musical ‘pause’, or an encouragement to meditate on the prior words.  No one really knows for sure, but to me, that’s what the evidence suggests.  In my morning prayers, I have great communion with Avinu in His Words through our Messiah Yeshua.  During the daily standing prayers, I have a much needed repast from work, and a brief connection to Avinu through His Son again.  But, at night, after the Shema and Tehillah 4 are offered as sacrifices of praise by my wife and me, the ‘deep’ meditation in Him begins, the ‘crying out’ of the soul.  Every night, I ‘know’ that He hears me.  Even though sometimes I don’t ‘feel’ like He did.

The last two weeks have been some of the tougher weeks of my life.  But in the midst of it, I have had a deep, deep Shalom, in spite of the ‘storm’ of words and emotion that is going on.  Two Fridays ago, I was so full of Shalom, that my unusually low resting heart rate of 50-52 was even lower: 40 beats per minute.  In spite of being on a Keto diet, which can rob a person of sleep, I have slept deeper and more sound, apart from the 3 a.m. break required by most men at my age.  And that break actually gives me a second opportunity to ‘commune’ with Him ‘with my heart’.  And those times have been some of my most cherished times, especially these past couple of weeks.

On two separate nights, I asked specific things of Abba concerning His thoughts of me.  Last night I did the same again.  As someone who was raised in a bit of a dysfunctional home, negative ideas about oneself are sometimes difficult to overcome.  When others perpetuate the negative criticisms, they can be even harder to overcome, tearing open old wounds again.  Those have been near incessant for me this year, for some inexplicable reason.  I am all too aware of my many flaws.  But, I am also very aware that there are good things about me, most of which others seem not to see at all.  But, the greatest and single most important ‘thing’ about me is my confession of Yeshua’s death FOR ME.

Each of those three nights that I prayed, asking Abba of His thoughts concerning me, I ‘saw’ in my mind the right wrist of Yeshua being laid on an old piece of gnarly wood, already bloody, with a huge nail poised on His wrist [In ancient Hebrew, the ‘hand’ included the wrist up to where the arm starts to widen out], and I all but heard the first blow of the hammer on the huge nail, and I saw the metal go into His flesh, in my mind.  Last night’s episode was the more vivid, as it seems that it has gotten clearer every time.

Avinu, Our Father, ‘thought’ enough of me, in spite of all my many flaws people are so quick to point out, to send His Son ahead of time, almost 2,000 years before I existed, to take that nail, and two others, into His flesh, after having taken the stripes on His back already, for me.

Not very many people besides my wife ever truly seem to offer me compassion and grace; but, the ONE who NEVER fails to do so for me is our Creator, and His Son, Yeshua.  Each of those nights, when I ‘saw’ His suffering right arm, I awoke the next morning, and in my morning reading I read a Tehillah that spoke specifically concerning the questions that I asked of Abba during my communing with Him by His Son’s Name the night before.  Tehillah 31, then 40, and 129.  Others, who have preconceptions in their hearts and judgments for me, if they read them, may read ‘into’ them what they ‘think’ I took from them; but Abba knows TRULY  what He spoke to me by and through His Son.

I’m not a very confident person; but, I take absolute confidence in the truth of His Word, and for myself, especially in regard to the absolute fact of the death of His Son, Yeshua, for ME.  Others don’t seem to want to give me that compassion, but He has, abundantly.

There are three sides to His Death: the Father’s, who had to forsake His Son for a season while sin was heaped upon Him; the Son’s, whose soul was laden with the sin-guilt of every human being, while His Father turned His back on Him, and the sins that were heaped on Him included all sinners. For me, it is the recognition of His deep, unfathomable love, that He would do such a thing ahead of time, knowing the very depth of our propensity to betray Him by sinning again, against G-d, and against our brothers.

Yeshua rose from the dead, and now His right arm, left arm, and both feet, and His side, bear the scars for eternity that have lifted ALL of my sin debt off of me.  If there is NOTHING ELSE in this world for which to be grateful, there is that.  And I will be able to look upon and touch those scars one day, much as did T’oma, and the eleven.  I cannot wait to see in flesh the reminder of  what I have seen in my nighttime prayers of late.

“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor HaMalakhim, nor empires, nor armies, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else created, shall be able to separate me from the love of Elohim which is in Yeshua HaMashi’akh Adoneinu.”

 

 

This goes along with my previous blog, “Who is Yisra’el”.  I was reading in Phil this morning, and read through the third paragraph below, and thought immediately of the first two.  I’ve gotten good feeback on the previous blog, so this supplement may prove useful to some.

People who identify as “Israel” today, who are not Jewish, are fooling themselves.

THEY say that Israel is today’s gentile Christians descended from their preferred genetic stream, which they cannot trace back to the twelve sons scientifically or by heritage.  Some of these streams are: Brit Am, who say the Anglo Saxons are the ten lost tribes.  “Danites” and Efrayimites” who say the “Danes” are Dan, “Black Israel”/”Hebrew Israelite who say that all ‘true Jews’ are black, and today’s Jews are fake Jews, “Two House” who say that anyone who claims faith in Messiah is absolutely descended from the 10 northern tribes, because they are the lost sheep of the house of Israel about which Yeshua spoke [if you believe that, you’re wrong, see the previous blog]. The list keeps growing of people who claim and end-around of the tree of Messiah’s gospel to be saved.

Yeshua is a Jew.  His pedigree is established better than anyone’s in the world, in Matti 1 and Luka 2, and Hitgalut 5.  Sha’ul [Paul] was a Jew.  And he was an “Israelite”, and a Benjamite, and a Hebrew. See the verses below.  Israel is ONE PEOPLE!  And our Jews are that people today, and genetically, NO ONE ELSE IS.  [see previous blog].

“But Pavlos [Sha’ul’s name of Greek citizenship] said, “I am a Y’hudi [a JEW] of Tarsus in Cilicia, born a citizen of a well-known city; I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” And when he had given him permission, Pavlos stood on the stairs and beckoned with his hand to them. And when they were quiet he spoke to them in the Hebrew language and said to them…..”

“I am a Y’hudi, [JEW] born in Tarsus of Cilicia, yet I was brought up in this city at the feet of Gamli’el, and trained perfectly according to the Torah of our fathers, and was zealous toward Elohim just as you are also.”

“As for me, I once relied on things of the flesh. However, if a man thinks his hope is on things of the flesh, I have more hope than he has; for I was circumcised when I was eight days old, being brought forth from Yisra’el, of the tribe of Binyamin, a Hebrew son of Hebrews…”

Sha’ul, being a Benjamite, nonetheless called himself a Jew in the public defense of his Torah observance.  This betrays the lie that the Jews are JUST “Judah”.  Yehudah is the ruling house of Israel.  True Israel is submitted to that house.

Being a Jew, he called himself a “Hebrew“, which is in deference to his culture AND language.  Hebrew is and was always spoken exclusively in the LAND of ISRAEL.  NO OTHER PEOPLE GROUP in the Middle east, or Africa, or anywhere in the world ever spoke that language.

Being a Hebrew, he called himself an Israelite, meaning he was ‘brought forth’ in birth into the covenant of Avraham and circumcised on the eighth day.  No African or European culture used circumcision until the 20th century.

There is only ONE HOUSE and ONE PEOPLE in the Kingdom of Elohim, and genetics plays NO part in it.  The gospel was OFFERED to the Jew first, and THEN to the gentile.  But, both get in by the SAME WAY, and it has NOTHING to do with your flesh.  If it does, in the least way, you are still lost, or have turned to another gospel from His Truth. [Gal 1:9]

[This summary is for a project we are working on, and is a very first draft; but, it is a good summary, concise and clear, “plain”.  I covet your thoughts]

[for transliterated terms, reference: https://battzion.org/resources/glossary/ ]

Elohim, the Creator and King of the Universe, chose Avram, changed his name to Avraham, and entered into covenant with him, preaching the B’sorah to him, and declaring him a Tzadik because he trusted in  יהוה .  He then also obeyed the Torah.

The genetic, chosen children of Avraham are the descendants of his son Yitz’khak, through his son Ya’akov.  There are only twelve tribes, descended from the twelve sons of Yisra’el.  They formed a nation in Eretz Yisra’el.

The nation split in two, and the northern tribes were scattered and forgotten [Hoshe’ah 4:6] because of their spiritual harlotry, mixing the worship of  יהוה with the worship of Ba’al and Ishtar. 

The southern Kingdom was called “Yehudah”, and from there we get our moniker for this people, the “Jews”.  The Jewish people today are all of genetic Israel.  The remnant of the ten northern tribes already returned and rejoined the southern Kingdom, as plainly seen in scripture [2 Chron 30], and all twelve tribes were scattered, together, in 150 AD, and will again be brought back into the land, together, as the Nevi’im declared.  The ‘two sticks’ are already united, and the descendants of Yisra’el are ONE: the Jewish people.

This is earthly, genetic Israel, and no other. 

[We are certain that there are descendants of the northern tribes in other areas, but no one can ascertain where or who they are, with any certainty.  It is all mere speculation, and some of the proponents of genetic identity make up word associations, such as “Brit Am” must mean that “Britains” are the ten tribes, “Covenant People suddenly means “Britain”; they ignore etymology and real linguistics to dupe people.  They make up genetic mumbo jumbo, asserting they know whose DNA is whose.  They forget the 12 sons had five different mothers, and that Efrayim and Menashe had an Egyptian mother.  There is no “Israel DNA”, as there is NO KNOWN base for it.  It is deceit.  The ones that were scattered are forgotten.  Some of their very distant offspring today may indeed be believers in Yeshua, but if so, they are saved because of and by their trust ALONE, and are become the Yisra’el of G-d, along with Jews AND Gentiles.  Consider this: the ten northern tribes were scattered, according to scripture, into parts that are now exclusively Islamic, oddly enough.]

“Charge certain ones not to teach diverse doctrines, and not to give heed to fables and stories of endless genealogies, which cause dispute, rather than build up HaEmunah of Elohim.”

Two-house doctrine does NOTHING to build trust in Yah.  It only divides, just as our Jewish people divide the Body at times.  “Is Mashi’akh divided?” No!

The Israel of Elohim [Gal 6:16] , the CHOSEN BY PROMISE THROUGH TRUST, is any JEW who TRUSTS IN the risen Yeshua as the son of Elohim, AND, any Goy that has joined himself to Yeshua, the King of the Jews, in like manner. [Rom 2:29, 11:17-21, Gal 3:9, 6:16]

Read more:

The Malakh  יהוה  appeared unto Avraham, Yitz’khak, and Ya’akov, and Moshe, and was a manifestation of “HaDavar”, the Word, which later manifests in the man Yeshua, as it is today. [Ivrim 1:1-4]

Elohim, through His Malakh, chose the son of promise, also a Tzadik, the one named Yitz’khak.  And His son, Ya’akov, inherited the covenant and the promise.  Ya’akov’s name was changed to Yisra’el.  His sons and their descendants are the people of Yisra’el.

The nation of Yisra’el was established through covenant with  יהוה  at the mouth of Moshe at Mount Sinai.  All twelve tribes were present.  Elohim delivered them from bondage and brought them into the land of promise.  Eventually, they became a Kingdom.  That Kingdom was divided in two because the northern kingdom rebelled against the southern kingdom, and His appointed king.  The northern kingdom was called “The Kingdom of the House of Yisra’el”.  The Southern Kingdom was called “The Kingdom of the House of Yehudah”. 

The Kingdom of the House of Yisra’el went into mixed paganism, creating two houses, one in Dan and one in Efrayim.  In each of those houses was a golden calf.  The golden calf represents gods made by man. [doctrines of harlotry]  The northern tribes called each calf  by His Name,  יהוה , just as did their fathers in the desert.  As such, יהוה said that He would forget northern Israel [Hoshe’ah 1:4, 4:6], but would save a remnant [Is 1:9, 10:20-23, Jer 37:31] and unite them again with Yehudah [Rom 11:7].  This already happened. [2 Chron 30:5]   

Yeshua is the ROOT of the tree of Yisra’el.  The B’sorah was OFFERED to the JEW first, which was to all Yisra’el.  The Brit Khadashah was ratified at the Pesakh Table, when Yeshua offered the Cup of Redemption, to TWELVE JEWISH MEN, who represented Yisra’el, Yehudah [Jer 31:30-33].  Yisra’el and Yehudah were BOTH present at the Seder, as ONE people.

NOT all of Yisra’el accepted that cup, however.  And they are CUT OFF, just like the northern Kingdom had been cut off.  The “Yisra’el of Elohim” is made up of Jews who are genetic Yisra’el, who are saved because of the promise and BY TRUST ALONE, such as Avraham, Yitz’khak, Ya’akov, Moshe, David, Khizki-Yahu, Yeshua, Yoknanan, Kefa, Matti [from Levi], Sha’ul [from Binyamin], Shimon and Khana [Luka 2:25-36, NOT of the tribe of Yehudah but Asher, 2 Chron 30, Luka 2], because it was offered to them FIRST, and it is also made up of GOYIM from the OTHER nations NOT descended at all from Avraham.  The Goyim, NOT of Yisra’el, were offered the B’sorah after Yisra’el in large part rejected it.  A remnant, the Talmidim, were Jews, Israelis, who received it.

The phrase “the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’el” was spoken to the Kingdom of Yehudah, in both the Tanak and Brit Khadasha:

Yirme-Yahu [the prophet to the SOUTHERN KINGDOM, as the northern kingdom had already been destroyed, and the disobedient scattered and forgotten] 50:1-17 [go and studiously read this passage!  See to whom it was addressed, and when, and why]

This is spoken concerning the destruction of Bavel, because it was prophesied that ALL YISRAEL, in the Kingdom of Yehudah, in the restored/reunified SOUTHERN KINGDOM, would go into captivity to Bavel TOGETHER, and then RETURN, BOTH HOUSES TOGETHER.  The people of Yisra’el were LOST DOCTRINALLY because of the DISOBEDIENCE of SHEPHERDS [pastors, supposed teachers of His Word], and that is why they would soon go into captivity, TOGETHER, [seen in Yirme-Yahu and Lamentations] and return TOGETHER to the land [seen in Ezrah and Nekhem-Yah].  They were also TOGETHER in the time of Yeshua.

In Yeshua’s day, ALL TWELVE TRIBES were LOST DOCTRINALLY, because their teachers [Pharisees] were teaching salvation by GENETICS AND WORKS [be a Jew, be circumcised, keep MAN’s mitzvot].  Yeshua sent the twelve to Yisra’el’s lost sheep, explicitly telling them NOT to go into Shomron, the nearest GENTILE community, descended from the 10 northern tribes! [Matti 10:5-6].  Yeshua came to minister to Yisra’el, the land of Yehudah at that time, the small, reunified kingdom of Yisra’el.

Sha’ul repeatedly refers to the Jewish people of his day as “Yisra’el”.  He called himself a JEW, though he was of the tribe of Binyamin.  He referred to the people who ministered in the Temple as Yisra’el. 

There is ONE Yisra’el of G-d, and ONE NATURAL Yisra’el that is our Jewish people today.  Only a genetic Jew [which are all twelve tribes restored] can be both.  Salvation ‘because’ one is a northern Israelite is ANOTHER GOSPEL [Gal 1:9], and is an utter waste of time and energy.

Shalom,
This is a difficult subject to broach, but necessary.

This was a fb post written six years ago; some of what I asserted has already begun to happen, sadly.  I have another article on this difficult subject brewing.  The fact that this was a memory ‘today’ on fb is timely, as I was approached about the subject moments after I saw this ‘memory’.

====

Today, the subject of same-sex marriage garners way too much attention, and due to Hollywood and politics, many have come to think that we should grant constitutional privilege to this very small group of people who have created a social cast based on behavioral choice, much like biker clubs or football fans, only far more organized and with a political agenda. Before I delve off into the difficulties of the social aspect of this public conundrum, I will first explain my position on the wider issue.

I do not hate any class of people, neither for behavior, nor for race, nor ethnicity, nor religion, nor any other reason for which hate is spewed at a group of people who might be different from me. I loathe the likes of Westboro “Baptist” “Church”, those who spew venom at the homosexual community and treat them as second-rate citizens who are “hated by god”. That is a LIE. So, this is in no way meant to demean anyone for the choices they make, or the beliefs they have. It is only meant to explain what I believe in regard to same sex marriage; so, if there is any backlash for this, before you throw hate at me, consider the hypocrisy of it. I have a right both to believe what I believe, and to express it. My hope is that those who differ will at least try to understand why I believe what I believe, and hear my thoughts on the marriage issue, which is why I pontificate here.

I do believe that same-sex relationships are wrong, but not in the same way some believe. First of all, the word “homosexual” is not in the scriptures, as that word was not even a part of the English language until very late in the game, and not part of any ancient language at all. But, I arrive at what “error” is by seeking the opinion of the Creator on the matter, and I do believe that the Holy Scriptures express HIS opinion clearly: “V’et zahav lo tishkav, mishk’vei isha, to’evah hu”. This is the ONLY thing  יהוה said about this matter by way of direct prohibition: “And with a male you [male] shall not lie as one who lies with a woman; it is perversion.” In the Hebrew, this is a very plain and simple sentence, addressed to the male reader/hearer. So, Elohim has said that a man should not lie with a man as with a woman. It is not how and for what we were designed. [We infer the same prohibition for women, as does Romans 1].

G-d did, in fact, create woman for man, and commanded all men to “be fruitful and multiply”, saying “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave only to his woman.” For what reason? Because that G-d created woman for man, drawing her out of man and placing her by his side.

Now, as a believer in the Creator, and in Messiah, I understand that there are those in our society who do not believe in the Creator, and some who do but who do not believe in the Messiah Yeshua. I wish I could change that, and He knows I try to every day! But, I also understand that it is HIS JOB to do that, all I can do is try to show people that He exists by loving Him, expressing that love by obeying His Voice, the Torah, and by loving people. I do try to do that, and still work on it daily. But, knowing that not everyone does believe, I have to find my place in society. Sadly, that is ever more difficult in our country, as most have gotten to the point where the Word of G-d is outdated, meaningless, marginalized, allegorized, and not taken to mean what it says. So, I must learn to communicate with those people the OTHER reasons why I believe we should not condone same-sex marriage.

In the same passage where we find the command for man not to lie with man, we find other forbidden sexual activities. Regarding children, we are told that they are not even to see our “shameful nakedness”, which actually means sexual activity, and not just our bare bodies. So, if they are not even to ‘see’ it, then they are certainly not to be participators in it, such as is the case with child molestation, which is expressly addressed as forbidden in the New Testament scriptures. Psychologists today, some of them, are now calling child molestation “sexual orientation”. In other words, they are telling the wider human community that child molesters are “geared” that way; in some “christian” circles, they are saying that G-d made them that way, or “oriented” them that way. This was the same conversation we began to have as a society about 100 years ago concerning homosexual behavior. And now, most in America are convinced that this is not a behavioral choice, but is how they are born.

Do we not see the danger here? If we start classifying all of the forbidden sexual BEHAVIORS/choices as built-in “orientation”, and we grant one group of “sexual orientation” so called constitutional rights of marriage, then we will, eventually, be obliged to grant all of those groups those same rights. We will be paying spousal insurance [since we now pay for everyone’s insurance] for horses and dogs, and for children, if we stay on this path, rest assured. Muslims will be free to marry six-year-old girls just as their founder Mohammed did, and just as many in the Middle East STILL do today! Do we really want that here? Those who prefer bestiality will be allowed to marry their animals. It has ALREADY been petitioned for, and with this precedent on the books, it will not be long before we must grant them the same “right”. This will cause our society to spin into utter moral decay, where everything is permissible, if we are not already entirely there. Thieves will claim they were born that way, and we’ll be granting them constitutional rights to our property! Murderers will make the same claim, and we will not be able to prosecute anyone or protect life, because they will have the “right” to take it, because of their genetic bent, or ‘orientation’. Chaos will be our new norm. THAT is why Sodom was destroyed, not because they were homosexual. They had NO rules, no boundaries, and did not care whom they harmed, nor how.

Like it or not, the benchmark for our society and what behaviors were acceptable when the constitution was written was indeed the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Our founders had to have a benchmark, and a “standard” that could be applied. They chose the Bible, somewhat indirectly. While the constitution does not delve into the details, what most people do not realize is that most of the laws of the several states [former colonies] were based on British Common Law, which underwent “received status” and became statutory in the new states. Great Britain was a “christian”, albeit faulty, monarchy, and the common law of Britain evolved over the same time period that the Christianization of Britain occurred. When the early statutes were written into state laws, adding to the received common law, they were based on Judeo-Christian values, ie the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. This is why, for example, there were many anti-Sodomy laws on the books of most states. Saying that it was not the standard at the beginning of this country’s legal history is just like saying rocket science was not used to design the Apollo spacecraft.

“Alternate” sexuality is a behavior, and it is a learned behavior. There is not just one root cause as to why people choose a particular sexual behavior, and I am not here to speculate about that, although I do have a solid theory about it. Neither am I here to try to stop those who choose this lifestyle from choosing it, apart from giving them Messiah and allowing them to make that choice through His guidance. But, to declare this behavioral choice as a genetically inherited bent, and then to force those of us who disagree with it to support that through our tax dollars, is hypocritical. The same people who are pushing this agenda, some of them, would very much love to rob me of my right to worship as I do, and to rob me of the right to speak about my beliefs, both of which ARE constitutionally guaranteed! And they will not allow ANY tax dollars to support our worship [rightfully so!]. So how is it not hypocrisy to declare that I must support this behavior with my tax dollars?

As to whether they are “born that way”, how can this be? Some have claimed that it is an evolutionary development! Evolution flies in the face of logic, as it states that we are “advancing”, becoming “more complex” and “better”, whereas the evidence shows that we are “devolving”, “winding down”, in a state of decay, and heading for destruction. And if this “choice” is actually “orientation” resulting from our “advancement”, how will the human race perpetuate?  Procreation becomes obsolete.  How does it add to our ability to survive? How will the race go into its evolutionary future, if men choose men and women choose women? We will die off. And if it is an inherited behavior, how will it be passed on to the next generation, when no one is being born?

I do believe they have the “right” to behave behind their doors as they choose, since they are consenting adults. [I do not believe child molesters have this right]. I do not hate them for choosing this behavior. If so, I would have to hate all those who chose their sexual partner[s] before being married, or all those who are unfaithful to their spouse, and anyone who commits any sin; I’d be without anyone to love if that were the case. But, I do not believe they have the right to force their belief about it on me, to flaunt it before my children, any more than they would have me force my belief on them or flaunt my belief before them. I am willing to have honest and courteous dialogue, and have had conversations with some about their choice. And yes, one time I did offer the Truth of Messiah to a gay man, and he received His forgiveness, and did come out of that lifestyle, and was given the power to turn away from the behavior. His name is Scott, and I witnessed that myself, as did thirty other men with whom I worked, so I do know that it is a changeable behavior. But with many who profess this lifestyle, having civil dialogue is near impossible, because their hatred and vitriol is just as venomous as some on the other side, if not more so.

This behavior is indeed “perversion”, meaning only that it violates the design. Eating shrimp, crawfish, catfish, pork, snake, and other foods are “perversion” as well! Look it up! G-d thinks the same about those as he does about men lying with men. The punishment, however, for this behavior, in the time of Moshe, WAS [but is no longer], “the two [men] shall be put to death”.

I MUST first qualify this statement. The death penalty was enacted for far more than just this one “sin”/error in behavior: BREAKING THE SABBATH incurred the death penalty as well! And unfortunately, many who believe in G-d and in His Son as their atonement still break the Sabbath. So, before ANYONE thinks that we need to be violent against homosexuals or Sabbath breakers, or that this is what I am trying to assert, STOP. No. Messiah Yeshua incurred the death penalty in the place of EVERY PERSON ON EARTH, for every infraction against His Torah, and that forgiveness is affected as soon as one “turns” from the error and stops it. He then gives them the power not to commit that error again. That is why He has not again destroyed the earth, nor any locale, for any sin committed by groups of people: that is why He has not punished believers for breaking His Sabbath yet, because the blood of Messiah has made the way to forgiveness for all available to everyone. The death penalty was measured out on Messiah Yeshua in our place: “Messiah died NOT ONLY for our sins, but for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD”. But, simply because He offered that forgiveness does not mean that he no longer regards these things as erroneous and perversion. These things bring on us the “decay” of error, and it spreads into the rest of our lives, and we eventually allow any behavior, simply because we don’t want to address these behaviors as displeasing to G-d or detrimental to society, lest we offend someone.

So, I do not in any way advocate physically harming anyone for any error. But, it was necessary to point this out, because it shows us how serious about the matter the Creator is. He is just as serious about adultery [which also incurred the death penalty], fornication, breaking the 7th Day Sabbath, murder, theft, lying, coveting [greed], and idolatry. And, just as I try to avoid those behaviors, though not being perfect, I try to show others the benefit of avoiding all of them, and the joy of being obedient to our Father. This is how we love Him, and how we love others. He shows us His love by loving us in spite of our error, and giving us the ability to change.  Rom 12:2

So, I offer this into the public dialogue not to engender anger, nor to pick a fight, nor to hurt or offend anyone. But to say that this debate about same-sex marriage needs another look. I wish I could offer to everyone who feels trapped in this particular error the truth about the matter, that it is wrong because it violates the design, in spite of how right it might feel, and that there is a greater happiness in obeying the Father, the Creator. But, that is not the goal here. The goal is to assert that this one behavior should not be granted constitutional status in regard to marriage, because we open the door to granting that same status to other behavioral groups, and we remove even the concept of having societal boundaries or a concept or standard of morality. We must allow people to err, but at the same time encourage them not to. We must all have the freedom to err, and the freedom not to. But, there are things that we must, as a society, regard as harmful to society. A law that changes a behavior to a “right” is exactly that. It will open a door we do not need to open, and ten, fifty, a hundred years from now we will have removed all protections from our society, reasoning them away as infringements on the rights of others. The next step is implosion. Selah.