Month: August 2021

R U Salty?

We are no doubt very familiar with

Yeshua/Jesus’ words in the verse 

Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth. 

Also referenced in the other gospels:

 Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness,

how can you make it salty again?

Mark 9:50

Luke 14:34, 35 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the [a]dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

All these references are traced back to

Leviticus 2:13 & Numbers 18:19

All the Holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.

In the Scriptures the Creator of the universe made a

Covenant of Salt

with Aarons sons, the children of Israel

and the Davidic Kingdom.

Our Heavenly Father keeps His Covenants and in this ancient ritual of middle-eastern covenant making, we can see how faithful and loyal He is towards us. When we realize how permanent the salt covenant is, this reference is a scriptural answer/rebuttal, to the replacement theology theory because…

It is a covenant of salt

FOREVER

before the Lord unto thee and thy seed with thee.

Covenant of Salt/Salt Covenant

in Hebrew:

b’rith melah,

ברית מלח

In paleo 

is the most extraordinary of all HIS Covenants.

It is symbolic of endurance, preservation,

and freedom from corruption.

It is a perfect picture of our CREATOR,

and it is generously sprinkled

on HIS Ancient Path

to preserve it and

keep it pure.

This is the WAY of Holiness,

The Kings’ Highway.

Isaiah 35:8 & 2 Tim. 2:19

This act of eating another’s salt has always been regarded as a token of fidelity friendship.

Sometimes bread and salt are eaten together making a covenant.

There is bread and salt between us we are brothers.

Covenant of Salt.

A Biblical phrase for a two-way agreement, the sacredness of which was symbolized by the salt

A Middle Eastern saying, “There is bread and salt between us,” meant that a relationship had been confirmed by sharing a meal. 

Salt symbolized the life and enduring nature of the alliance.  

It means “we are now friends.”

In ancient Middle East salt was a rare commodity, and one also shared salt with their friends as a flavor enhancer. 

This custom came down from remote antiquity and the covenant can never be forgotten or renounced.

 

To understand the fullness of the reference, we must go back to the old testament – Tenakh/Tenach, specifically Torah. Where we read about the gifts to the Priesthood/the Kohanim.

Remember everything is connected.

In Bemidbar/Numbers 16:1-18:32 we’ve read that the Levites and the Kohanim would receive no portion of the land in the promised land of Israel; the people were instructed to support them by means of gifts – mattanot.

For reference they are are listed at the end of this section of scripture.

Numbers 16:1-18:32.

gift – matana

מתנה

Strong’s Hebrew: 4503. מִנְחָה (minchah) — a gift, tribute

A gift (the act of giving) is ‘ma•tan,’ very close to the word of the day, ma•ta•na. The first time ma•ta•na, gift, is mentioned in the Bible, is in reference to the Levites that are given as a gift by God to the Israelites:

The Torah lists 24 of these gifts to the priests including the regular portion of crops terumah; offerings,

bikkurim, first fruits;

parts of various sacrificial offerings, and revenue from the redemption of the first born son’s pidyon haben.

Pidyon HaBen – פדיון הבן

Redemption of the (firstborn) son.

The ceremony wherein

the father of

a firstborn male born to Israelite

(non Kohen or Levite)

parents is redeemed from a Kohen –

(a priestly descendent of Aaron) –

in exchange for 5 silver coins, 30 days after his birth.

Our Heavenly Father calls this agreement

A pidyon haben, or 

“redemption of the firstborn son,” 

a covenant of salt.

ברית מלח

Brit melach.

Strong’s Hebrew: 4417. מֶ֫לַח (melach) — salt

KJV: of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

INT: which sea is the Salt.

Genesis 19:26 HEB: וַתְּהִ֖י נְצִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃   

KJV: and she, (Lots wife), became a pillar of salt.

A covenant of salt.

Specifically, in Leviticus,

God tells Moses that the Israelites are to:

Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. Leviticus 2:13

It’s interesting that God talks about the salt of the covenant. He instructs Moses that all the offerings are to have salt added to them; and then, tells Moses that because they don’t have a land inheritance Aaron and the Levites can have all the offerings except the burnt offerings; explaining that this agreement is

an everlasting covenant of salt:

Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring. Numbers 18:19

All the wave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to Yahweh, have I given you, and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever: it is a covenant of salt forever before Yahweh to you and to your seed with you.

The tribe of Levites were promised that they will always have food, that this is an everlasting covenant as long as they do the work necessary in the temple;(conditional). The covenant of salt did not only have to do with meat or grain offerings in the tabernacle (temple). According to scripture the covenant of salt was in effect when there was no offering, at the time when the kingship of Israel was given to David and his progeny forever:

Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 2 Chronicles 13:5.

Here it seems to clearly imply that the covenant of salt is

a lasting agreement,

something that goes on forever.

Salt is a mineral that preserves foods without refrigeration.

 Salt is good, it makes meat savory, and keep this flesh from becoming corrupted; and so it is with our Heavenly Fathers grace which seasons men’s hearts, and makes their conversations savory.

Col. 4:6  Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (that is: Our words should be with SALT – wholesome and palatable). 

It preserves them/us from the corruption of sin.

Following salvation, believers become partakers of the grace of God; and, both by their words and actions are good and useful to others, all true ministers of the Gospel, are the salt of the earth.

Our bodies require salt to survive. These bodies cannot make salt so must get it (sodium) from the foods we eat, because without salt, the body would die.

So what is the meaning of the covenant of salt?

Is it our Heavenly Fathers’s way of saying that it is a

covenant that is preserved,

one that lasts forever?

Could it infer that without this covenant, we die to the things of God?

Salt is NaCl. 

An ion of sodium (Na), which is a metal, reacts with chlorine ion (Cl), a poisonous gas, to create Sodium Chloride (NaCl) which becomes a stable rock called salt.

We add it to our foods, and we use it on our roads to melt ice.

Salt is Sodium chloride.

Sodium ions (Na+) are required in small amounts by some plants. Sodium is needed in large amounts by animals to generate nerve impulses and to maintain electrolyte and fluid balance. Sodium chloride is vital for maintaining extracellular fluid in multicellular organisms.

In medicine, saline, the solution of sodium chloride, is used for intravenous infusions.

An interesting point is that a permutation of the Hebrew word

melach, salt; is chalam,

which means healing.

On the other hand, excessive salt consumption can aggravate hypertension in our bodies and soil with a high concentration of salt is infertile. However in a measured quantity salt can kill weeds and we know if you do nothing to a garden you still get/grow weeds. This is symbolic of the garden/ground of our lives we will get spiritual weeds growing if we don’t tend and keep it, planting seeds that will produce a beneficial harvest. This thought brings to remembrance the original directions to Eden’s occupants!

As the Torah says,

Sulfur and salt have burnt the entire land.

Deuteronomy 29:22

 Another scripture tells us that when Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he

“sow[ed] salt on it” Judges 9:45,

to render it barren and prevent its repopulation.

When Elisha the prophet came to Jericho:

And the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord may see; but the water is bad, and the ground causes untimely births.’ And [Elisha] said, ‘Bring me a new flask and put salt in it.’ And they brought it to him. And they went out to the spring of waters, and cast salt in there, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; there shall not be from there any more death or miscarriages.’ So the water was healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha. 2 Kings 2:19-22.

No matter who they are or what they do, the bottom line for each and every person, is that they will serve somebody/something. This is a black and white statement; and it is either the devil and his kingdom or Our Heavenly Father and His Kingdom whom we serve.  People can cover up/camouflage satan with all the religious pomp and finery they desire; 1 Cor. 8:4-6, but in the end, its’ roots are still in satans kingdoms of this world, and are not of the one True God, The Creator of His universe. 1 Cor. 10:18-22.  Our thoughts, words, and/or actions will indicate the one we serve as scripture says you will know them by their fruit. Matt. 7:16

Can this truth be found in the Tenach/Tenakh, this phrase

Covenant of Salt?

Scripture only refers to it 3x, yet it has great significance to the believer in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus today. 

For many, it is an integral part of their commitment one to the other in the marriage covenant.

Leviticus 2:13

is the first time this phrase is found,

where the order of the words is

“salt of the covenant.” 

Salt was to be added to the grain offering which is the context of this passage.

However our Fathers’ Spirit did not stop with the grain offerings; in the same verse, He directed Moses to write that the Israelites were to add salt to all your offerings.  Specifying that not just grain offerings, but ALL offerings made to Him by the Israelites, were to have salt added to them. 

In Numbers 18:19, is the second time it is mentioned, and it’s also in the instructions concerning offerings.  Here, the word order has been changed to covenant of salt.  In Numbers 18, Moses is told to instruct Aaron and the Levites that the care of the Tabernacle was their responsibility to fulfill.  Moses was also to inform them that

all the holy offerings the Israelites give Me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share. 

This was their share/allotment, as they would not receive any inheritance in the Promised Land because

He was their inheritance. 

All the offerings, belonged to them apart from the burnt offerings; this was because He was letting them know that through the offerings given by the people, He Himself would provide for them. The Priesthood/Kohenim were to serve the Lord and trust Him for their livelihoods. This has a counterpart in the New Testament as we are now a royal Priesthood and to rely on our Father in Heaven to provide for us. 1 Peter 2:9 & Matthew 6:8, 25-34.

 Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you…It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD.  

2 Chronicles 13:5 is the last time the phrase is found when the Lord gave to David and his descendants the kingship of Israel forever through a covenant of salt. 

The previous two scriptures are concerning offerings, but this one is not.  2 Chronicles is seemingly totally unrelated to the 2 previous references, but is it connected somehow?  The scripture references never directly define the phrase in any of these passages, so how do we find out what our Father was trying to tell us through them?  More importantly for us reading it, what does it mean to believers in Yeshua/Jesus today?

And Why Salt?

Salt is a symbol of eternity because of its preservative properties; as opposed to leavening /chametz.

Salt does not ferment and so preserves food against rot and decay.

Because salt does not ferment …. it does not change its base elements!

As we read all these facts we must apply their meaning spiritually.

The Word of God is spiritually discerned and the precepts laid out in scripture are to be applied to our lives as we gain understanding.

This is the meaning of Proverbs 4:7:

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

It is the application of His Word to our lives and applying that knowledge to ourselves. If we don’t have understanding, how will we know what to do with the knowledge we gain?

So when Yeshua/Jesus said you are the salt of the earth/world…

It suggests that we are

to stay the same, to be permanent,

we are not to change,

we are not to be blown around by every wind of doctrine

but remain stable, unmoved,

firmly planted on the Rock of our salvation,

Jesus Christ the Messiah/Yeshua HaMashiach.

We are to be consistent, committed and unshakeable in our faith and stand for the Lord, enduring to the end.

Remember salt is an element found in huge quantities all around the world and we are formed from the dust of the ground which includes salt. Ever tasted tears? They are salty and so is the sweat of our brow!

Because of this, Salt is essential to our bodies and they will not function properly without salt; and a lack of it can cause serious health issues. Any element which ferments is caused to expand due to the chemical process and this gives rise to volatile gases with explosive qualities!

We are not to be explosive in our conduct and manner of life. We are to be seasoned with salt and therefore not given to any explosive gases; instead to be calm, even tempered, bringing forth the fruit of His spirit and filled with His shalom.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The most interesting element of salt is: it a natural long term preservative and will keep food fresh for a long time. Before refrigeration technology, meat and fish were salted and many who preserve those, as well as fruit and vegetables, use salt techniques today.

He will preserve us until the day of our full redemption.

Apparently, Salt contains all of the 84 elements found in our bodies.

Some of the Health Benefits

 of natural Himalayan Crystal Salt include:

Regulating the water content throughout your body.

Promoting a healthy pH balance in your cells, particularly our brain cells.

Promoting blood sugar health and helping to reduce the signs of aging.

Assisting in the generation of hydroelectric energy in cells in your body.

Absorption of food particles through your intestinal tract.

Supporting respiratory health.

 

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT 

It is estimated that salt has 14,000 uses;

below are just a few.

The Bible mentions salt more than 30 times. Salt has a religious significance and symbol of purity.

Salt is essential to health. Body cells must have salt in order to live and work. Blood, sweat and tears are salty.

Salt is an antiseptic (germ killing) property that make it useful for bathing of infections including being used as a mouth wash. It is also used for cleaning teeth.

Among people today, salt is still used as a sign of honor, friendship and hospitality. A saying, mentioned earlier, is “there is salt between us” meaning “we have eaten together, we are bonded friends”.

Salt was once so scarce and precious that it was used as money. Caesar’s soldiers received part of their pay in common salt. This was known as salarium from which the word salary comes.

Dating back to the days when workers were paid their wages in salt is the modern expression “not worth his salt”, and it literally means not working good enough to earn his wage.

Salt was a chief economic product of the ancient world. It was important in the development of the earliest highways of trade.

Roman soldiers built one of the great military roads in History, the Via Salaria (Salt Road), from the salt works at Ostia to Rome.

How is this relevant?

Salt enhances the taste of food.

Can the plain be eaten without salt? asks Job 6:6

On the other hand, over salted food becomes inedible. Drinking sea salt water will cause madness and death.

We are to seek the spiritual meaning. 

Salt changes everything it comes in contact with but the salt itself remains unchanged!

So as we walk through life we are to initiate change in others lives and circumstances but remain unchanged ourselves. Directing them to Yeshua/Jesus His Ruach HaKodesh who always point to the Father.

As salt preserves food against decay and rot; if we are the salt of the earth, then we are to preserve the bread of life, which is the food of His Ruach/Spirit. It is that which feeds His sheep daily and it needs to be fresh, not stale or moldy. Just as the manna/manhu fed the children of Israel in the years of their wilderness journey. We are pilgrims, as Moses said, traveling through this land, sojourners not residents! This is not our home; and as we travel through our personal wilderness, passing between Egypt (type of the world) and the Promised Land; (Future Resurrection /Ascension life/chaim;) we are also receiving daily manna from Heaven seasoned with salt for our walk. Jesus/Yeshua said He was the bread of heaven, the bread of life; we eat of Him continually and are satisfied.

We are to be in receipt of His meat in due season and this food is the same that Yeshua/Jesus said He had,

I have meat that you know not of. John 4:32

We are to

and not become saltless and tasteless

and have the fate of being thrown to the side and trampled underfoot.

This is in reference to the fact that when salt had become tasteless it had no further use and was thrown into the streets and literally trodden underfoot by the roman armies marching along these roads.

This was probably also a reference to those living at that time under the oppressive Roman regime.

Some scholars point out that salt was used as a preserving element and it was added to the meat to help it stay fresh longer, until the priests could eat it.  Others point to the prohibition of eating meat containing blood; salt was applied to the offering (after it was killed and the skin removed) to aid in the removal of the blood from the carcass.  Salt was therefore seen as a cleansing or purifying agent as well.

If we read the scriptures there seems to be a question with these two lines of thought.

Salt was to be added to all your offerings, including the grain offering, which had no blood.  The burnt offerings, which were to have salt, were never to be eaten by the priests as the entire animal was consumed by fire. Lev. 1. Therefore in those cases no preservation or cleansing agent would be needed.  Furthermore, it couldn’t just be related to the Kohenim/Kohanim, as the phrase covenant of salt was also used with David, who was from the tribe of Judah.  So it would seem that the meaning of the salt covenant was something other than preservation, prevention from eating blood, or cleansing.

One scholar noted that “salt had an enduring quality and therefore in the Middle East salt was used in ceremonies to seal an agreement.  Hence, the idea may simply be that God’s call upon the Kohenim and their service should endure, i.e., overcome all things.” 

It sounds right but it doesn’t explain why it’s used in connection with the House of David and the Israelites who presented the offerings.

There seems to be much more to this covenant of salt.  Is it possible that the covenant of salt was all about a relationship with the Father based upon trust?  

Faith in Him alone?

The people were to trust Him by giving the salt that was put into their offering.  He would provide for them and they were to give back out of love and obedience. 

The priests and Levites were to trust Him by serving Him without a land inheritance like their brothers. 

He would provide for their livelihood while they were away from their cities which were all throughout Israel. 

David and his sons were to trust God as their King and serve Him, believing He would keep the throne moving through David’s line long after David and his sons were gone; fulfilling prophecy.  

It seems most likely that this is the truth Our Father is trying to express when He uses the phrase covenant of salt.

Is it not Truth that He desires a relationship with His people based upon trust? One that can be witnessed in their actions and, the end goal will be seen through a changed life?

The first Hebrew word in the phrase, covenant, is

bĕriyth

בּרית.  

This word basically means an agreement or alliance between two parties where each party makes a pledge to keep their part of the agreement.

Genesis 6:18. is the first time this word is found.

One scholar states: “In the essence of salt is the power of water and the power of fire, which signify two of the [Divine] attributes on which the world is established: the attribute of Compassion (midat rahamim) and the attribute of Justice (midat hadin), and for this reason . . . it is called the salt of your covenant with God.

The covenant of salt

is one of permanence;

if it were not important or relevant to us,

Jesus/Yeshua would not have talked about it.

Remember His listeners were Jewish and knew Torah and Tenakh. Even if they did not read scrolls for themselves, the Rabbis read portions of scripture in the synagogues each week through the year; cycling through the Torah Prophets and Writings annually. These sections are called parashat and served as a calendar for the people. Appropriate teachings accompanied the readings. This is the reason that Yeshua/Jesus went to His hometown that particular week because it was the week for the reading of the Isaiah scroll. It was not random. He would of course have known that, and so would all those listening. In every synagogue, everywhere, at that time, all of them would have been reading the same portion of Isaiah as Messiah declared

this day it is fulfilled in your hearing! Wow!

It was the Fathers perfect timing as they literally read through Torah and later the Tenakh every year. The second reading, called haftorah, was added when the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon and they were forbidden from reading Torah. They took the time to locate scriptures within the writings and the Prophets that spoke of, and had reference to, the subjects of the Torah parashat readings; that way they were neither in rebellion to the authorities to whom they were captive, nor lacking in their yearly readings.

Ma’aser, tithes to the levites. God made an agreement with the Kohanim, so He made one with the Levites, who would receive the first 10% of each farmers’ produce. This regular tithe amounted to the supporting the servants of the priests of the Lord. This is the origin of the tithes commonly referred to in many of todays denominations. Interesting when it comes to money that this old testament observance is included in modern Christianity and other old testament scriptures are ignored or ‘done away with’!

These tithes were to feed those who were 100% dedicated to the Lord and had no other means of support. In obedience to doing the Lords will for their life they owned no land and had no other source of income but the Lord. These tithes were not given for constructing buildings or other projects; or to be used by the kohanim to make themselves comfortable. Somewhere along the way we have missed the real reason for the tithe and since 70AD with no temple, and no priesthood, no tithes were given/received? And now instead of produce its mostly in the form of money, not physical food etc. So this was given to the Israelites and all those connected to the covenant which revolved around the annual harvests and Gods’ Appointed Times; yet we dismiss that part as not relevant to our walk….hmmmmm!!!? One wonders is this selective observance of scripture, just doing what we feel comfortable with or what we are told to do??? Nowhere does Yeshua/Jesus tell us to give of our income just for projects inspired by men, but rather to give where there is real need, to the poor, to the needy for food, clothing, shelter, etc. We are to give liberally and joyfully.

2 Cor. 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Prov. 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD, and his good deed will he pay him again.Jesus reminds us that our giving is ultimately to the all-seeing heavenly Father.

Deuteronomy 15:10. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; 

Jesus said “When you give . . . ; your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4).

ברית מלח

Brit – melach – salt

מלח

tav lamech mem

Many things have natural salt and salt is added to food to enhance the original flavors.

We see the equivalent in our spiritual walk salt, when we are salty we give flavor to life, to ours and to those around us.

In many recipes, it is an ingredient that needs to be carefully measured or too much will spoil the result; so with us, we are to be led by His Ruach and give out just the right amount; not over salting but in a balanced portion so it can be enjoyed and ingested and not overdone. In the same way as Proverbs 25:16,27, tells us to be cautious about overeating honey!

The food we are to eat in order to feed our spirits and maintain a healthy walk, is found in His Word,

Our daily bread, our manna from heaven.

Added salt increases its satisfying properties, and we all know how salty food makes us thirsty, so then we look for water and again a type of His Word.

Washing of the water of the Word and when we come to Yeshua/Jesus, we will never thirst again spiritually, for He is the source of the wellspring, the water of the river of eternal life/chaim.

The covenant of salt symbolizes:

loyalty,

honesty,

and it represents that which is

a lasting or preserved covenant.

 

Mentioned earlier, some of the Eastern people still use the phrase:

There is salt between us. 

In Bible times, they understood that the

covenant of salt

meant that they would keep their word at all costs!

It is important that we are aware of these things as we immerse ourself into the world of our Heavenly Fathers’ people and their spiritual life.

Salt in Water Produces Fire!

In this context salt is employed to express the preserving, purifying, divine spiritual energy, which is also spoken of as fire.

The two emblems produce the same result.

They both salt….

That is, they cleanse/purify and keep/preserve.  

Mark 9:49-50 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another”

  1. 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one”. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. 

There is also a custom of a Salt bath for newborn babies. Newborn babies were rubbed with salt symbolizing that they would grow up and

say what they mean, and mean what they say!

Ezek. 16: 1 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations; 3 and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your birth and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to cleanse you; you weren’t salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

Mark 9:50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

The question is

R U salty

are we salty

are we the salt and light of this world??

Or

are we the ones being trampled underfoot

by the feet of the oppressing enemy?

This enemy is to be under our feet;

so let’s be the salty ones.

Those who are full of His flavor, then, when truth seekers come to us we can say… taste and see that the Lord is good.

And the food that we offer them will be seasoned in perfect quantity.

It is our responsibility to fill up with this meat in due season and be seasoned with salt, so that we have an encouraging and appropriate, right in the moment word in that season, for every hungry heart. 

We are the seasoning of this age

and in this hour

we

MUST

May His true Shalom rest upon each one in Yeshuas’ Name.

You are greatly loved Mishpachah Family

משפחה

and prayed for daily..

 make sure you are secure in the knowledge you are saved

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

What Is & Who Is >

is a mathematical symbol meaning

greater than,

> is right next to the ? key on the keyboard.

So when we have a ? remember the > symbol is just to our left

and our Heavenly Father/ Yeshua/Jesus is

greater than >

any ? that may trouble us.

Greater than
in Hebrew is

Gadol min

Hebrew for greater is רבתי

Strong’s Hebrew: 1419. גָּדוֹל (gadol) — great

In Mark 3:17

There was a day that the disciples were discussing who was the greatest among them.

Luke 9;46-48 46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.

Mark 9:33-37 33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Mathew 18:1-5  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

In Mark 10:35 Two of the disciples James and John had a mother who wanted the prime place for them beside Yeshua/Jesus in His coming Kingdom.

Then Salome the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons James and John and knelt down to make a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

23“You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.

Messiah sat down with the 12 in Matthew 20:25,26

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

Whoever wishes to be 1st or greater than everyone else will be last of all, servant of all.

We are to grab on to Yeshua/Jesus, its not about us, or about being great, or first, or the best, or the greatest; it’s about Him and the Father; for if we take hold of Him we are taking hold of the One who sent Him.

Mark 9:37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Mark 10:35

Yeshua/Jesus went on to say more about

greater than:

Matt. 12: 41, The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

  1. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

   Luke 11 32.  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Matt. 12:6. “But I say to you that there is something greater than the Temple here.”

6. wa’ani ‘omer lakem ki yesh-poh gadol min-haMiq’dash.

One

greater than

the Temple is here

Strong’s Hebrew: 1965. הֵיכַל (hekal — a palace, temple

Original Word: הֵיכַל.

Part of Speech: Noun Masculine.

Transliteration: hekal.

Phonetic Spelling: (hay-kal’)

Definition: a palace, temple.

Word Origin. (Aramaic) of foreign origin.

Strong’s Hebrew: 1964. הֵיכָל (hekal) — a palace, temple

The temple was a building made with human hands Yeshua/Jesus came to destroy that physical structure and replace it with Himself through His resurrected body and the release of His Ruach.

He not only filled the building/house they were in, (Acts.) but the physical body their spirits were indwelling.

This He has done for us.

Now we are the temple/the sanctuary/the inner holy of holies

where He abides with every true believer.

He does not live in a sanctuary made with human hands. Acts 17:24

The word temple is sanctuary

and that is where His Ruach HaKodesh, the presence of our Heavenly Father was, in the ark located inside the holy of holies; now the sanctuary/temple is in us and there is no need for a physical building because we are the lively stones.

 

 

One >

greater than

Jonah is here

Luke 11:29 32

& Matthew 12:41

Yonah ונה’

יוֹנָה֙     yō-w-nāh

w’hinneh-phoh gadol miYonah.

One greater than Yonah is here.

Jonah was a prophet, however he was also not very quick to obey; and being disobedient, he ran in the opposite direction from his assignment and ended up in the belly of a whale!

When he did finally obey, he was irritated that the people heard him and repented. He was more concerned about saving face than saving souls. Yeshua/Jesus made Himself of no reputation and loved not His life unto death. He set His face towards Jerusalem in obedience to His Father and did not run from His destiny knowing what He was to face after Moses and Elijah had been discussing His situation on the Mt of Transfiguration. Matt. 17, Mark 9, Luke 9.

His flesh would have preferred to have the cup pass from Him

…if it be possible, let this cup pass from me …” Matthew 26:39.

yet He still submitted willingly to the Fathers plan and purpose. Learning obedience by the things He suffered.

7. During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

8.Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Hebrews 5:8.

The words in verse 8 may be connected with what was written in the previous verse, 7, which implied that He was heard for His reverent fear, not because, in the preeminent sense, He was God’s Son.

This puts a greater demand on us also, to always be in the correct attitude toward our Heavenly Father showing reverent respect for Who He is.

One

>

greater than

Yonah/Jonah who was in the belly of a whale is

Jesus/Yeshua

Who went into the belly of the earth

and both came forth to victory.

However Yonah/Jonah was mentioned by name from the lips of Messiah as a reference point to His own death, burial and resurrection. The number of days in the belly of the earth.

He said this will be the only sign for a wicked and adulterous generation. Below are some of the signs given for the generation that

seeks after a sign..

Jonah/Yonah spent three days inside the belly of a great fish because of his own sinfulness and rebellion.

Yeshua/Jesus spent three days inside the belly of the earth because of our sin and rebellion.

Yonah/Jonah ran from the difficult calling God gave Him. Jonah 1:3

Yeshua/Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father’s will, coming to earth and dying on the cross.

Jonah was asleep on the ship during a storm caused by his own disobedience and was eventually thrown overboard. Jonah 1:4-12.

Yeshua/Jesus slept on a boat during a storm, and rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:35-41.

The difference was that Yonah/Jonah was the cause of a storm. Yeshua/Jesus had authority over the storm.

Yonah/Jonah feared the Creator

Who had authority on earth. Jonah 1:9.

Yeshua/Jesus is the Creator with all authority over heaven and earth. John 1:3; Matthew 28:18.

While he was inside the fish, Yonah/Jonah knew that Salvation belongs to the Lord. Jonah 2:9.

Yeshua/Jesus’ name means Yahweh saves.

ישוע

Yeshua/Jesus is the way of salvation. Hebrews 5:9; Acts 4:12.

Yonah/Jonah became angry with God for showing grace toward repentant sinners. Jonah 4:2.

Yeshua/Jesus showed God’s grace toward repentant sinners. Romans 3:24.

Yeshua/Jonah was angry enough to die because of the grace of God’s shown toward his enemies. Jonah 4:3.

Yeshua/Jesus was compassionate enough to die because of His love for his enemies in an ultimate show of Grace. Romans 5:10.

w’hinneh-phoh gadol miYonah.

One

greater than

Jonah/Yonah is here.

 

One

>

greater than

Solomon is here

Mark 11:31 & Matt 12:42

w’hinneh-phoh gadol miSh’lomoh.

One greater than Shelomoh is here.

שלמה

gadol miSh’lomoh

Strong’s Hebrew: 8010. שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomoh)

The name Solomon means Recompense, or Fair Penalty.

Solomon (Σολομών) is also ancient Koine Greek name, derived from 3rd cent. B.C.E. Septuagint translation of the Hebrew name שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomoh).

W’hinneh phoh gadol mish’lomoh

One greater than Solomon is here.

He was the king of Israel, the son of David and asked YHVH

only for wisdom to rule His people.

Solomon was the wisest that lived … yet, Yeshua/Jesus said

one greater that Solomon is here.

The Queen of the south came..

to hear the wisdom of Solomon/Shelomoh.

lish’mo`a ‘eth-chak’math Sh’lomoh

The wisdom of God was in Jesus/Yeshua

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 

and therefore His wisdom was directly from His Father I and the Father are one.

So His wisdom was

greater than

that of Solomon.

James said if any of us lack wisdom we should ask and the Father will impart it to us.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Jam.1:5

and yet Solomon/Shelomoh ended with the view

that all is vanity worthless and declared

there is nothing new under the sun…

that should make us think!

 

One

>

greater than

Moshe/Moses is here.

The name Moses

is written in the Hebrew Bible as

משה

mosheh,

Strong’s #4872

This name is derived from the Hebrew verb

משה

M.Sh.H, Strong’s #4871

meaning “to draw out.”

Mosheh was named such,

because the Pharaoh’s daughter

“drew him out of the water”

Exodus 2:10.

A prophet like unto Moses

משה

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, Deut.18:15

Moses led the people out of bondage. He stood before the face of the Lord God/YHVH and received the 10 sayings that they were to live by and to follow the feasts annually in preparation for the wedding. Recall they were betrothed to the Lord at that time and Jesus/Yeshua came saying that, He was the bridegroom…in answer to the ? about why His disciples were not fasting.

He came to fulfill the law, the torah, the teaching, and to fulfill the feasts that were set in place. Moses/Moshe was the agent of deliverance for the children of Israel; their salvation from bondage to Egypt came through His obedience… a type of Jesus/Yeshua in the Re-New –ed Covenant.

The Father caused the waters before Moshe/Moses to be split – to make a WAY for them to go forward in order to meet with YHVH at Sinai and be betrothed to Him through covenant.

The children of Israel were to focus on Moses and the journey NOT on the enemies pursuing them. Just as we are to focus on Yeshua/Jesus and in the same way the waters split leaving Egypt and at the river Jordan entering the Promised land….

The veil in the temple split as Messiah Jesus/Yeshua made the Way – opening access back up to the Father on the cross for us.

So we can become part of that bride awaiting the return of her bridegroom.

Their deliverance was in the physical; ours is in the spiritual. An eternal relationship

One

>

greater than

Moses

is

Yeshua

It is always a process of coming out and going in, leaving and entering, of deliverance to freedom

One

>

greater than

Adam is here..

He was the last Adam

אדם

The Hebrew word

אדמה

adamah

is the feminine form of

אדם

meaning

ground

 Genesis 2:7.

The word/name

אדום

Edom

means

red.

Each of these words has the common meaning of

red.

Dam is the “red” blood,

adamah is the “red” ground,

edom is the color “red”

and adam is the “red” man.

The Hebrew word 

adam is translated either as man or Adam

depending on context and on the presence or lack of the definite article (“the” in English, ha in Hebrew).

So ha-adam  is translated usually as the man

(referring to either an unspecified man or to mankind as a whole, depending on context),

whereas adam (without ha)

is translated as Adam

(referring to the specific man by the name).

Strong’s Hebrew: 120. אָדָם (adam) — man, mankind

The Hebrew letter Mem as the last letter in Adam’s name discloses what is at the end of the PATH that Adam chooses. Mem.

Mem is pictured as WATERS.

Mem can mean the Waters of Life as pictured by as the gentle rain, a clear spring, running brook or a gently flowing stream as well as storm.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:12

The first Adam sinned and caused everyone that followed to be born in sin and death

האדם האחרון

the last Adam came and caused everyone that believes and recieves Him to be born again in to life and be free redeemed from sin and death.

 

One

>

greater than

John the Baptist is here

Mark 11:9,10 11:11

Yochanan HaMatbil  

יוחנן המטביל

Yochanan/Johns birth was a miracle

and His name was supernaturally given.

The name John has a long history that traces back to

the Hebrew name

יוחנן Yôḥānnān,

which means

Yahweh is gracious.

John the Baptist:

Yochanan HaMatbil –

יוחנן המטביל 

John: Yochanan יוחנן

Yo = God,

Chanan = to bless; to amnesty 

Baptist: Matbil [מטביל]

From the root T.B.L- to immerse; to baptize:

John is Yawchanan or יוחנן

John/Yochanan came in the spirit and power of Elijah and Jesus said.. 

And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come.

Matthew 11:14

&

But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.’. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist” Matthew 17:12-13.

As was prophesied in Malachi 3:23

Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day; 24 He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction.

John/Yochanan the forerunner He described the One who was coming after him He was the voice in the wilderness crying repent return to the Lord prepare the way for Him…

This is what John preached to the people: “There is one coming after me who is ·greater

[mightier; more powerful] than I;

I am not ·good enough [fit; qualified] even to kneel down and untie [L the thong/strap of] his sandals [C a task of a servant or slave]. Mark 1:7

 Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Luke 7:28

Yeshua/Jesus said none born

greater than

John yet the least of these

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

The One Who Sends Is

Greater than

the One Who Is Sent.

One

greater than

anyone who has ever lived on this earth is here..

He remains in every stone of those fitly joined together

“lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” 1 Peter 2:5,

and like the temple of Solomon, where “the glory of the Lord filled the house” 2 Chronicles 7:1,

these stones…each one of US…

“also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” Ephesians 2:22.

Himself being the Rosh Pinah – the corner stone.

The One that was rejected.

We are builded together in Him – the son of man/son of God We are here in His Bride whom He is preparing to present to Himself without spot or wrinkle.

One greater has come

and paid the price for our sin

redeemed us by His blood

loving His life not unto death and

pouring out Himself dying that we may live.

The Lamb of God did take away the sin of the world

and our individually too

if we receive His sacrifice personally

and are washed in the blood He willingly shed.

Yes one

greater than

Adam

Moses

Jonah

Solomon

John

and the Temple/Sanctuary

IS HERE.

Students are not greater than their teacher,
and slaves are not greater than their master.
Matthew 10:24

We are not greater than our teacher

but we are like Him as we follow Him continually!

The greater one is in us and Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater `works’ than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. John 14:12

Let’s be ready. Let’s be prepared for those greater works!

We will never be one greater than Messiah Matthew 10:24

but we have the

one greater than

us within.

Remember, He is wearing us! Lets choose to die to the self life and yield to His spirit and let Him work those works of the Father through us.

Let go of the world and all that it offers and take up your cross today and every day..

for one

greater than

the call of the wild or the world

is calling us to come up higher….

Remember As Jesus/Yeshua said 

You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and

I am coming back to you.’

If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because

the Father is

greater than

I.

John 14:28

You are of God, little children,

and have overcome them,

because He who is in you is

greater than

he who is in the world.

1 John 4:4

The Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness/Ruach HaKodesh, our Helper, has made His home in us as believers. What a miracle, the Greater One lives inside us. We are the sanctuary/temple of the living God.

 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”1 Corinthians 3:16,

Wherever we go, He goes with us. Wherever we are, He is there. He is everything we need Him to be. If we know Who lives in us and if we believe God’s Word, then no matter what or whom we face in life, we will have no fear. The Greater One Who lives in us is

greater than

he who is in the world!

He will give us the victory in life!!!

so let’s Raise a Hallelujah

These songs touched my heart this week

hopefully they will touch and bless yours also. Let’s Believe for it  because there is power in His Name and Miracles are waiting to be claimed….remembering all our sisters and brothers all around the world going through tests and trials and praying this for them….

May His true Shalom rest upon each one in Yeshuas’ Name.

You are greatly loved Mishpachah Family 

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa

and prayed for daily..

 make sure you are secure in the knowledge you are saved

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

 

Crusts & Crumbs – Part 2 – Explaining Obscure Scriptures

 Explaining Obscure Scriptures

Part 2 

A bruised reed,

A shepherds pipe

and

A smoking flax.

“A Bruised Reed” Isaiah 42:3.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

קָנֶ֤ה

qa neh  – reed

רָצוּץ֙

bruised – ra sus

In Israel in the springtime there is an abundance of green pasture, the sheep are allowed to graze close to the village where the shepherd’s home is nearby.

After the grain is reaped, and the poor have had an opportunity to glean what is left for them; then the shepherd brings in his flock. The sheep feed on certain fresh growths, or dried blades, or an occasional ear of grain that the reapers may have left, or was overlooked by the gleaners. When this source of food is exhausted then the pasture is looked for in other places.

The wilderness of Judea, which is located along the western side of the Jordan Valley, is carpeted in the spring with a certain amount of grass and this turns into standing hay as the hot weather comes, this becomes food for the sheep during part of the summer

The shepherd spends much time alone with his sheep isolated in desert places; and his reed pipe, helps to pass the hours cheerfully.

This reed pipe is a frail little instrument of two reeds bound together, hollowed out and with holes on the side. Over time the shepherd learns to play many little tunes on it.

The reed pipe is very easily broken and if it falls it can be quickly crushed by a careless foot, then its’ music is silenced.

This simple pipe is of almost no value, a new one could quickly and easily be made and the bruised pipe simply left by the wayside to disintegrate.

However, the shepherd appears to have a great fondness for this pipe; and because he loves it so much, he will not let it go.

He picks up the crushed reed, and with great affection he tenderly repairs it, binding up its broken parts, until once more he can play it, producing the music he loves so well.

A bruised reed shall he not break.

This is such a precious picture of the sinner, bruised and broken by sin, of no apparent value and lying by the wayside, downtrodden and kicked to the side. Then God’s love and concern is turned towards that one and His desire to restore the broken life reaches down and lifts up the crushed, rejected soul; bringing healing and restoration that will cause songs of praise and tunes of worship to gush forth from a thankful heart.

See

https://www.minimannamoments.com/because-9/

for more on Psalms/Mizmor and the connection to our heart strings.

The Shepherd’s Pipe

A dual-piped flute made of reed is often carried by shepherds in different countries.

These reeds are similar to our bulrushes/cats tails or bamboo/ papyrus.

Only simple musical notes come from this pipe, but the heart of the shepherd is stirred, and the sheep in his flock are soothed by the lively music that comes from the inner being of the shepherd through this simple instrument.

There can be little argument that David probably used such a pipe when he was guarding his sheep, in the same way the young shepherd boys have done for centuries around Bethlehem.

Reeds were also used to make flutes by Jewish children. When they were broken they were discarded and thrown away. 

An interesting point is that the word in the Arabic/Aramaic language which is mazmoor

which means:

played on a pipe or flute.

The equivalent of the word in Hebrew word is

מזמור

 mizmor.

Which means: a melody.

 

The  phonetic spelling is miz-more’

The Hebrew word for “Psalm” is

tehillim,

The most common reed native to Israel is the Arundo donax (Natural Order Gramineae), known in Arabic as qacabfarasi, “Persian reed.” It still grows today in immense quantities in the Jordan valley along the river and its tributaries.

It also grows at the oases near the Dead Sea, notably around `Ain Feshkhah at the northwest corner. It can often grow up to 20 ft./7metres high, and is still a beautiful fresh green in summer when everything else is dead and dry.

Other scriptures where a pipe is mentioned:

Zechariah 10:8

I will whistle for them –

“hiss, whistle, & pipe”

piping with a shepherds pipe.

Judges 5:16

“Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,

To hear the pipings for the flocks?”

This context does support the shepherd’s reed pipe being used to gather his flock.

He will Strengthen them! (12) He will establish them “back in the land”.

The ancient reed pipe forerunner to gaelic bag pipes with which we are familiar today.

A thought worth mentioning here is that the enemy never created anything, he just takes of our Heavenly Fathers creation and perverts it; changing it to his own nefarious and ugly plans for everything opposed to the good that God has for all of us.

The shepherds pipes makes one recall the pipes of pan. The pan flute is named after Pan, a creature half goat and half man, the Greek god of nature and shepherds!! 

Another legend is that of the Pied Piper of Hamelin from the 1300’s. Often what we deem as folklore and old wives tales have very much more truth to them than we choose to believe!

As both of these were the agents of beguiling their followers/children to follow them as they played music, remembering that Lucifer himself was the covering cherub with musical instruments, specifically timbrels and pipes as part of him. see  Isaiah 14:12-14; and in Ezekiel 28:13-17

You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.

The timbrel or tabret (also known as the tof of the ancient Hebrews, the deff of Islam, the adufe of the Moors of Spain) was the principal percussion instrument of the ancient Israelites. It resembled either a frame drum or a modern tambourine

The tabret or timbrel was a favorite instrument of the women, and was used with dances, e.g. by Miriam, to accompany songs of victory; it was one of the instruments used by King David and his musicians when he danced before the Ark of the Covenant. 

The Smoking Flax

“The smoking flax shall he not quench.”

Here in this Scripture we see a little clay lamp, with its wick floating in an hour’s supply of olive oil. The oil has been used up, and the wick begins to smoke as it burns. We would probably say,

Just throw it away and get a fresh wick; this one is smoking and it’s of no value.

But the owner does not agree to that,

The old will do just fine, all that’s needed is more oil, and the wick will burn as brightly as ever.

That is just what our Heavenly Father does, pouring out His grace upon us and restoring us when the light is almost out.

The smoking flax will he not quench.

The oil is representative of

His Ruach HaKodesh – His Spirit of Holiness.

Known as anointing when poured over the head of one being consecrated or dedicated to the Lord’s service; and also is a type of the Torah. Oil can also represent the qualifying experiences of our halak/walk along lifes’ WAY (Chaim Derek). This oil represents our life and cannot be bought, sold or given as Yeshua/Jesus speaks of with the parable of the 10 virgins.

Jesus/Yeshuas’ listeners understood what He meant because

 a smoking flax was a Hebrew idiom

for an untrimmed lamp casting a dim light and

irritating the eyes and nose with smoke.

The people knew that logically the best thing to do with such a lamp is put it out, extinguish or quench it.

 Above is a picture of the flax of which the wick is made, and some of the lamps of ancient times which were made of clay and filled with olive oil.

The wick for such a lamp was a few strands of flax fiber or twisted cotton thread.

The flaxen wick was a quick burner and hard to keep lit.

From this understanding …

A smoking flax

represents a state in which there is a little good.

The words

dimly burning flax.

Indicating it is burning; but it is burning very dimly. There is a tiny spark of good within the center, in our case our hearts; which our savior sees and fans the tiny flame until it burns bright enough to become the light that will shine in the darkness again.

ye are the light of the world.

He does not break the bruised reed.

He does not reach out to extinguish it, but to rekindle and to reinforce and strengthen it.

He does not quench the smoking flax! He will not snuff out that smoldering flame, but He will breathe His life/chaim upon it once again.

We can see from these examples that the believer is likened to the smoking flax; which is a picture of an oil lamp with a flax wick that is not properly trimmed or that does not have any oil in reserve. So instead of burning brightly, it is smoking, and instead of providing light in the darkness as it is designed to do, it is smoldering and producing irritants.

We are to be encouraged that Yeshua/Jesus doesn’t throw away His smoking lamps but rather breathes new life into them giving them another opportunity to burn brightly for Him.

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua was bruised for us, the wick has little light and is mixed with smoke BUT, when He blows upon us until we burst into flame, then the smoke of any residual fleshly life in us is burned away.

It is important to remember that when Matthew wrote these words, he was quoting a prophecy from Isaiah 42:1–4. This prophecy was pointing to the actions and character of the then future Messiah,

the bruised reed and the smoldering wick.

In the prophecy, it’s in reference to those who are weak spiritually, physically, or morally. A reed that is bruised may be damaged, but its’ damage is NOT irreversible. Even though a smoldering wick may be about to go out altogether, it can still be rekindled.

To see these in the new Testament, we can read at the beginning of Matthew 12, where we find the disciples walking through a grain field with Yeshua/Jesus, picking grain because they were hungry. Picking grain was a lawful activity according to Deuteronomy 23:25, but the Pharisees, who were always looking for something against Him were quick to condemn what they did, questioning its’ legality because that day was the Sabbath. They accused the disciples of “harvesting” grain and therefore “working” on the Sabbath day.

Yeshua/Jesus explained that doing good on the Sabbath was acceptable in His and the Fathers sight and that there was something more significant happening here than simply the observation of a holy/set apart day, Matthew 12:6. He further explained that the Pharisees were condemning innocent people because they misunderstood the Scriptures, which said,

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” Hosea 6:6,7

While the Pharisees sought to judge those who did not keep the man made traditions, imposed rules and laws, Yeshua/Jesus sought to grant mercy to all and to restore the correct interpretation of His Fathers Word and to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17.

The Pharisees challenged Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Matthew 12:10-15, and Jesus /Yeshua again showed mercy by healing a disfigured man in front of them.  Later still, in a large crowd that was following Him, Jesus/Yeshua

healed all who were ill.

Why did Yeshua/Jesus warn the crowd not to mention His miracles to anyone else?

His instructions for secrecy could have been for the purpose of timing and must have made Matthew remember the ancient prophecy, of Isaiah bringing it into a new understanding with Messiah’s identity being revealed:

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope”

Isaiah 42:1–4

In fulfillment of that prophecy, He did not shout rather He worked quietly, to accomplish His Fathers’ will, and many times avoiding the public eye on purpose. Not seeking fame or the spotlight to be on Him until the Fathers’ appointed time of His revealing…

My time has not yet come.

Also there is the bruised reed.

To the world, a bruised reed is a worthless thing. It has no power, no stability, no purpose. It cannot be relied on so it’s good for nothing but to be cut down and discarded. We know that in the world there are many bruised people, individuals who have been wounded emotionally, spiritually, or physically. They are, to most of the world, dispensable.

But NOT to God.

The prophecy that Messiah fulfilled is that

the bruised reed He would not break.

This prophecy that speaks of Jesus/Yeshua’s tender, compassionate care. His loving kindness for the weak and downtrodden.
In Matthew 12, the disfigured man whom Yeshua/ Jesus met was a bruised reed and He cured his shriveled hand and also gave him strength.

In John 8, another bruised reed was the woman taken in adultery. Yeshua/Jesus forgave her sin, and saved her from being stoned to death.

Another bruised reed was Jairus, as he mourned his daughter’s death, but Yeshua/Jesus strengthened his faith and raised his daughter from the dead.

In Luke 8, The woman with the issue of blood was a bruised reed, too; and Messiah restored her to full health.

After his denial of the Lord, Peter was a bruised reed but after His resurrection Yeshua/Jesus gently and lovingly restored their relationship.

All through the gospels, we see Messiah showing His loving kindness and tender mercies towards all the bruised reeds that He met.
Because He was bruised for our iniquities, 

Yeshua/Jesus completely understands the

bruised reeds. Isaiah 53:5.

To put it another way,

He was bruised on behalf of those bruised by sin.

He will not despise those who come to Him and they have this promise in Isaiah 61:1 from His own mouth: God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted

Many are bruised reeds in some way today, pressed down with the troubles of the world. Many struggle with fear, doubt and unbelief. Many may be feeling disheartened and ready to break and give up.

But remember this:

Yeshua/Jesus cares.

He has compassion for the humble,

affection for the repentant hearts,

healing for the afflicted, sick and oppressed

and pity for those with broken-hearts.

We are not to wait on feelings but to come to Him in faith, and to humbly trust in His abilities and strength, and know that we can find He is gracious to everyone.

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick 

he will not quench.

Matthew 12:20

There is not much that can be said of anything that is weaker than the bruised reed or the smoldering wick!

When any wild bird lands on a reed that grows in the marshlands, it snaps under the weight; and if a man’s foot brushes against it, and it is bruised and broken; and every wind that sweeps across the river blows it to and fro.

No two things have more shaky lives than a brittle reed that is bruised and the smoldering wick; because even though it has a tiny spark within it, it is almost smothered; and even a baby’s breath could easily blow it out.

We need never shrink back from His touch and never fear harsh words from Him; though He might well discipline us at times. Bruised reeds shall not receive any harmful blows from Him, and the smoldering wick no smothering actions. He will not crush the weakest reed, or put out a flickering candle and finally He will cause justice to be victorious.

Our Heavenly Father has not forgotten about us.

Look once more at the smoldering wick and what it is referring to as concerns us… It was a ancient bowl of olive oil with a little flax floating in it for a wick. As long as the lamp had enough oil, the wick would soak up the oil and serve as a catalyst for turning it into light. But when the oil was gone, the flax would begin to burn. Flax doesn’t give much light, it just fills the room with smoke and stinks up the room.

Could this be us at times in our walk?

The solution would be to throw out the smoking flax and start over with fresh oil and a fresh wick.

A point here to think on:

It takes a lot of patience to make a smoldering wick burn bright again. Our father has the patience to stick with us when every one else has given up. He certainly looks beyond our faults and sees our needs. Others might give up on us. But He will work with us until we burn brightly again.
Gentleness. Patience. Persistence. We need all three. 

Let patience have her perfect work.

Our healer is gentle:
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

Isaiah 42:2-3

These idioms will bring comfort when we are disappointed in ourselves.

A bruised or broken reed is unreliable and should be broken and thrown away. Yet Messiah will not do this. He knows all too well His people are all broken reeds, damaged by sin, bad habits, selfishness and weakness. Yet regardless of the failure, He will not break any bruised reed. When we are at our lowest, feeling bruised and broken and perhaps having let Him down in some way just like Peter did when he denied his savior, still, we will not be broken, because as soon as we repent He will receive us back and continue to use us as His vessels.

In Israel, a Smoking Flax is the source of light in the darkness coming from the lamp. It held oil and used a wick to burn brightly. The wick, made of flax, was placed in the lamp and raised or lowered for optimum light. In the parable of the ten virgins, the wise not only took extra oil, but when the bridegroom came..

all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

(Mt. 25:7).

They brought trimmers because as the wick burned, its upper portion became charred and the light dimmed. Once charred, when raised to give more light, it would smolder and smoke.

Even the golden lamp stand had wick-trimmers Num. 4:9.

As we have seen a smoking flax was an idiom for an untrimmed lamp casting a dim light and irritating the eyes and nose with smoke and the best thing to do with such a lamp is put it out /quench it.

So who are the smoking flaxes?

Once again Isaiah speaks of those who serve the Messiah as His disciple in an obedient/perfect way.

If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light and you shine as lights in the world.

Lk. 11:36; Phil. 2:15-16.

When we are zealous and holy/set apart; the light does indeed shine brightly, but dims and smokes when we are discouraged or when we sin and fall short. Yet Yeshua/Jesus is not like any other because He will continue to use the smoking flax.

A smoking flax, He will not quench.

What a Savior we love and serve!

He is meek and lowly in heart and in Him we will find rest for our souls.

Isaiah did not justify laziness or unfaithfulness. He gave hope to the weak, the immature, and even those who stumble as mature disciples. Even after a lifetime of working to remove undesirable character flaws we are still

bruised reeds and as the flax, we still smoke sometimes!

But as a bruised reed He will not break us and if our light should become as a smoking flax He will not quench us. 

May His true Shalom rest upon each one in Yeshuas’ Name.

You are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

 make sure you are secure in the knowledge you are saved

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

 

 

 

Crusts and Crumbs – Explaining Some Obscure Scriptures

What does the grass of the field and

a bruised reed mean?

What are teraphim and

12 yoke of oxen?

In the course of study a rereading of what the scripture actually says revealed in

IKings 19:19. Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth.

The last 5 words tells us something we may have missed and when we have a clearer understanding of the cultural aspects of farming and agriculture of the day it makes more sense. And as we are all learning, this is an amendment to the post previously made in mantle of glory, where it was mentioned as:

Worthy of note that:

Elisha was working with twelve yoke of oxen that is a huge number of animals.

Two or four were a more usual number.

He had to have been very skilled and strong to manage and control so many, we miss the importance in the reference to the number of oxen that were yoked together.

Now with further information and another translation recording the call of Elisha which says:

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.

Rather than being inclined to think, from a surface reading, that he had a team of twelve yoke of oxen with which he was plowing;

there were twelve teams of oxen in the field,

and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team.

The picture is actually of twelve separate plows following another one another as closely as possible as they traversed the field.

In that time the arable land of nearly all villages was cultivated in common. The local inhabitants joined forces and cooperated with each other enjoying each others company and camaraderie. The fact of being a group was also partly for protection, there being safety in numbers.

Each of their small plows did not make a really deep furrow, and only scratched the top surface of the soil, so the added number of plows that could follow after, with each making its own scratch, had a much greater effect and took less time than if it was done by only one individual. They went back and forth in this manner until the whole piece of land was plowed.

The yoked oxen with their farmer had to remain in line and could not pass one another as they plowed. Elisha was plowing last in the procession and this was significant because it gave time for the mantle to be given and at the same time not hinder or interrupt the plowing process because once a furrow was started they had to plow through to the end without stopping.

So Elisha was not plowing with 12 yoke of oxen by some supernatural strength but working in a well organized group of local farmers ( or possibly his servants); coordinating and combining their resources to achieve a common goal.

 

Rachel Took the Images

Genesis 31:34 Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing.

Another translation says:

“Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them.”

hat·tə·rā·p̄îm

הַתְּרָפִ֖ים

household idols

Later on they were frequently mentioned however, this appears to be the first mention we have of the existence and worship of these teraphim in this patriarchal family.

They were very small and easily hidden under the saddle bags/furniture of the camel. People were known to often hide stolen property under their saddles. Though it may seem strange to us, stealing a god to worship was in fact not to them. Why? Because, their logic and reasoning would no doubt tell us that it was not a sin to steal a god who would help you get other things you wanted and needed!

Teraphim were frequently consulted for answers about the future by the children of Israel; a kind of fortune telling, divining. After they entered the Promised Land, the worship or use of the teraphim remained one of their corrupt practices.

Many of the Hebrews leaned to idolatry in those days and consulted these images of gods, while still holding on to their belief in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob/Israel.

The statement in the passage:

Rachel stole the family gods or teraphim.

If we’ve ever wondered why such a big issue was made over a pair of small figurines that had very little money value. Here is one possible explanation from an inscription found by an archaeologist on a clay tablet. The Nuzi tablets 15th century.

To date, around 5000 tablets are known, mostly held at the Oriental Institute, the Harvard Semitic Museum and the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

 Although the Nuzi tablets are to be dated in the 15th and 14th centuries b.c., sometime after the patriarchal period (c. 2000–1800 b.c.), nevertheless, they illustrate the times of the patriarchs. The reason is that when the patriarchs came out of Ur, they sojourned in Haran and mingled in west Hurrian society.

 The Nuzi tablets tell us why the person who was in possession of these domestic images (teraphim) also had the rights to the inheritance. Taken together there is a striking conformity between the Bible and the Nuzi texts.

Nuzi (or Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur; modern Yorghan Tepe, Iraq) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of Kirkuk in modern Al Ta’amim Governorate of Iraq, located near the Tigris river.

The site consists of one medium-sized multiperiod tell and two small single period mounds.

Nuzi was a provincial town in the kingdom of Arrapha.

The tablets of this period indicate that Nuzi was a small provincial town of northern Mesopotamia at this time in an area populated mostly by Hurrians, a people well known though poorly documented, and that would be even less if not for the information uncovered at this site.

According to the inscription their belief was that:

“If a son-in-law possessed the household gods of his father-inlaw, then he was considered a real son and shared in the inheritance.”

Is it possible then that Rachel stole the family gods to make her husband an immediate member of her father’s family, and that made him an heir and gave him a claim to a portion of Laban’s property?

Her husband had served the father-in-law fourteen years for the two daughters so, did she feel he had a right to be considered an heir?

Household gods similar to those Rachel stole.

Genesis 31:19 

The objects Rachel stole may have been small figurines that resembled certain gods of the day. Worshipers thought that the gods were present in/on these images or idols, and why Laban speaks of them as “my gods” Genesis 31:30.

Perhaps Rachel stole those household gods because she hoped that possessing them will bring her good fortune and deprive her father of such benefit? If so, she had not fully broken free from her polytheistic upbringing read Genesis 35:2; Joshua 24:2. She may also have taken the items for their monetary value if they were made of precious metals.

However, the fact that we are informed she sat on them, also meant she had no respect for them and by that, we would understand she was probably not a worshipper of these gods.

In Genesis 31:19-20 we are told,

Rachel stole . . . Jacob deceived.

Although it is not immediately obvious from most English translations, these verses describe two thefts.

In verse 20 the Hebrew text says,

Jacob stole the heart of Laban;

in Hebrew the idiom to steal someone’s heart

means to deceive or trick a person. Genesis 31:26-27.

While Jacob steals Laban’s heart (that is, deceives him),

Rachel steals her father’s gods.

Later, Laban accuses Jacob of stealing everything that Jacob now possesses Genesis 31:43.

Laban searches for what he fears he lost, in this case his protection and entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols.

Genesis 31:33 33

Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s.

Instead of showing love to his family, Laban searches out his family for his possessions.

His idols are seemingly of more valuable to him than his family.

A very old interpretation (the Tanhuma Yelammedenu) suggests that Rachel stole the teraphim in order to “eradicate idolatry from her father’s home.”

What might the teraphim have looked like?

The Tanhuma has a picturesque vision of them:

And how were they constructed? First they would take a firstborn male child, kill him, and sprinkle him with salt and spices. Then they would write a demon’s name upon a gold tablet and place it beneath the child’s tongue while performing certain magical rites. After this, they inserted the corpse into a recess in the wall and bowed down before it. Then, they would bow down before it, and it would speak to them in a whisper.

(Tr. Samuel Berman)

It s no wonder from the above quote, that our Heavenly Father forbade such idolatry!

More likely, the teraphim were much less gruesome, (but who knows?): household gods, familiar deities were made of stone or clay. Such deities, perhaps a foot or so high, have been found through much of the territory of ancient Israel.

 

What did Jesus/Yeshua mean

when He used the local idiom of:

The Grass of the Field

in Matthew 6:30 saying

“IF God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven.”??

The term is used generically to include the meadow-flowers which were cut down with the grass, and used as fodder or as fuel.

The shortage of wood in Israel, Palestine at that time, made their use for fuel more common there than in Europe.

The oven in this passage was the portable earthen vessel used by the poor for baking their bread.

The rough hay/grass/sticks were placed below it and round it, and short-lived as the flame was, so that “the crackling of the thorns”

(Psalm 118:12; Ecclesiastes 7:6)

became well known, and it had time to do its work.

Which for us today means: 

It lives today, or it lives for a day.

It is short-lived, and seems to be a thing of no value, and is so treated.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field: 

What grows up in the field, or grows wild and without culture. The word grass, also applied here to the lily, denotes merely that it is a vegetable production, or that it is among the things which grow wild, and which are used for fuel.

A Jewish proverb says:

People are like grass in the field:

some blossom, some wither.

Is cast into the oven

The Jews had different modes of baking. In early times they frequently baked in the sand, warmed with the heat of the sun. They constructed, also, portable ovens made of clay, brick, or plates of iron, which could be easily transported.

The one probably referred to here, was the most common kind made by digging a hole in the ground 2 1/2 feet in diameter, and from 5 to 6 feet deep and paving the bottom with stones. It was heated by putting wood or dry grass into the oven, and, when heated, the ashes were removed and the bread was placed on the heated stones. Frequently, however, the oven was an earthen vessel without a bottom, about 3 feet high, smeared outside and inside with clay, and placed upon a frame or support.

Fire was made within or below it. When the sides were sufficiently heated, thin patches of dough were spread on the inside, and the top was covered, without removing the fire as in the other cases, and the bread was quickly baked. 

This is illustrated, by the short endurance of the grass of the field, which is so clothed; and the use it is put to, when cut down; which today is in being, but does not live long, as it were only for a day: it flourishes in the morning, continues for the day in its glory and verdure, is cut down at evening, and withers and dies, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, to heat it with,

or as the Syriac version reads

“in the furnace“.

(From Munster’s Hebrew edition of this Gospel.)

For furnaces used to be heated with straw and stubble, and things, that were gathered out of the fields; so, we read in the Mishna (k), that pots and furnaces were heated; 

“a pot which they heat “with straw and stubble”, they put into it that which is to be boiled–a furnace which they heat “with straw and stubble”, they put nothing into it, nor upon it (i.e. till they have removed the coals or ashes): a little furnace, which they heat , “with straw and stubble”, is as the pots.” 

The last word, is said to signify wood, or sticks, small as stubble, which they gather out of the field; that is, the stalks of some sort of herbs and plants, that grow in the field:

This is for readers to understand that if God clothes these plants, which are so short lived, and at their end used for such basic purposes; shall He not much more clothe you, His people, who are of a much longer life, designed for greater ends and destined for His purposes; including the worship and service of God, for His honor and glory here, and for eternal life and happiness hereafter.

We as God’s children can trust our Heavenly Father to provide everything we need.

Yeshua/Jesus asked in the previous verses why they worry about what they will wear Matthew 6:28–29; it’s likely some of His original listeners, literally did not know where the money would come from to replace their tattered garments; so He asked them to think about lilies, clothed in splendor despite doing nothing equivalent to human work. 

Then He makes the point of the illustration clear, encouraging them that our Heavenly Father cares much more deeply about His children than He does about birds, or about flowers.

Matthew 6:26

The wild lilies are considered only grass here. They spring up, bloom in splendor, and quickly die before being raked up and burned. If God provides clothing for them, Yeshua/Jesus says, don’t you think He will clothe you?

 

He cares for us SO VERY MUCH,

so let’s focus on Him above all else

and as we wait for Him

let these songs minister to us…

We’re going home very soon… but, have we already sent our hearts on ahead?

Be Our Vision…

A bruised reed, smoking flax and

a shepherds pipe in part 2…

May His true Shalom rest upon each one in Yeshuas’ Name.

You are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

and make sure you are secure in the knowledge you are saved

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.