It is not strange that Yeshua/Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, 14, enter by the narrow gate because narrow is the gate and difficult is the Way which leads to life and few there are that find it!

So if your life is difficult, it’s the WAY, the right WAY. Easy-street is the broad road that leads to destruction. We, in our fleshly selves, are resistant to the talk of hard, difficult and sacrificial lives. We don’t want it. We just want the blessings of a life of comfort and prosperity with no problems.

That’s not what Yeshua/Jesus promised. His words were: in this world you will have tribulation. If we are going to live the life of a disciple of Yeshua/Jesus, it will help us to remember that anything of worth or excellence is going to be difficult. Of the 12, only John lived to old age and he was in exile!

This ‘knowing’, should inspire us to press on and overcome as Yeshua/Jesus has overcome this world.

God has saved us through the atonement of Jesus/Yeshua, by His sovereign Grace. Philippians 2:13. He works in us vs.12; our part is to work out that salvation in every day practical life.

It requires bravery, courage and holiness.

He is bringing many sons/children to glory; Heb. 2:10, and according to the scriptures, requirements of sonship are not associated with pampered, spoilt weaklings, still drinking milk, holding selfish, prideful attitudes of entitlement and exhibiting self-righteousness; or those with religious thinking, based on doctrines of demons and traditions of men.We Must answer His CALL IMMEDIATELY.

It takes a tremendous amount of discipline, to live the worthy and excellent life of being His disciple in the realities of life, especially in this day and age. And for the effect our lives are to make, it’s absolutely necessary for us to live a life of worth and excellence.

With this in mind, consider whether the disciples of Yeshua/Jesus were talmidim as understood by the people of His time.

They were to be with Him, Mark 3:13-19;

to follow Him, Mark 1:16-20;

to live by His teaching, John 8:31.

They were to imitate His actions, John 13:13-15.

They were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi. Luke 14:26.
When the teacher believed that his talmidim were prepared to be like him; he would commission them to become disciple-makers. He was saying ‘As far as is possible you are like me. Now go and seek others who will imitate you. Because you are like me, when they imitate you they will be like me.’ This practice certainly lies behind Jesus/Yeshua’ great commission; the focus of which, was the reconciling of our relationship with the Father. (Matt. 28:18-20).

DISCIPLES-MAKE-DISCIPLES!

While in one sense, no one can be like Yeshua/Jesus in His divine nature, or in His perfect human nature; when taught by the Rabbi, empowered and blessed by the Spirit of God, imitating Yeshua/Jesus becomes a possibility. The mission of the disciples was to seek others, who would imitate them and therefore become like Yeshua/Jesus.He chose disciples whom He would empower to become like Him and led them around, (the shepherd with His sheep), until they began to imitate Him.

Then after Pentecost/Shavuot/the gift of the Holy Spirit was given and received; He sent them out to make disciples…to lead people to imitate them, by obeying Yeshua/Jesus. Yeshua/Jesus calls us to be His talmidim and to know God’s Word and Yeshua/Jesus’ interpretation of it.

We must be passionate in our devotion to that Word and to His example, then, when we are filled with His Spirit, we must be filled with the desire to become like Him as far as is humanly possible.

This means that the present day talmid /disciple, must be no less focused on the rabbi.

We must be with Him in His Word,

we must follow Him even if we are not sure of the final destination,

we must live by His teaching; which means we must know those teachings well;

and we must imitate Him whenever we can.

In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like Him.

When they had observed and learned for a time they were sent out to begin to practice being like the teacher (Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-24)

This is one of the most significant concepts of the New Testament. Jesus, the divine Messiah Yeshua, chose the rabbi-talmid system.

He taught like a rabbi in real life situations, using the most brilliant methods ever devised, (e.g. using parables).

He interpreted God’s Word and completed it.

He demonstrated obedience to it.

He says to us today, you are…

In Revelation we read that Messiah’s Bride is CALLED, CHOSEN and FAITHFUL:

Revelation/Chazown 17:14

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Master of masters, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

14. Ve•hem yi•la•cha•moo et-ha•Seh ve•ha•Seh yig•bar aley•hem ki hoo Adon ha•a•do•nim oo•Me•lech ha•m`la•chim ootz•va•av ee•mo k`ri•ey El be•chi•rav ve•ne•e•ma•nav.

יד. וְהֵם יִלָּחֲמוּ אֶת-הַשֶּׂה וְהַשֶּׂה יִגְבַּר עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי הוּא אֲדוֹן הָאֲדֹנִים וּמֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים וּצְבָאָיו עִמּוֹ קְרִיאֵי אֵל בְּחִירָיו וְנֶאֱמָנָיו:

Why 3 CALLED, CHOSEN and FAITHFUL?

Matt 22;14 holds a clue those who are CALLED then those who are CALLED AND CHOSEN; and finally in Rev. 17:15 CALLED, CHOSEN AND FAITHFUL.

Seems like there are 3 stages here.  

There are also 3 groups at the Wedding of the Lamb.

The guests who are CALLED

The 5 of the 10 bridal attendants who are CHOSEN 

and

The bride who is FAITHFUL.

However Jesus/Yeshua asks the critical ?

and continued to make it clear in Matthew 22

What is our identity as grafted in believers? Are we Called, Chosen, Faithful, Hebrews, Israelites, Jews or Gentiles?

The terms Hebrew, Israelite and Jew, originated through 3 different biblical personalities:

The first Hebrew was Abraham.The word Hebrew/Ibriym means ‘one who crosses over,’ as Abraham crossed over from paganism into a set-apart life with YHWH (YaHuWaH). Therefore, Abraham was the first one to become a ‘Hebrew.’ He was ‘CALLED’ and he obeyed the call.

The first Israelite was Jacob.

He was the first one to be called ‘Yisra’EL,’ which means ‘one who prevails or overcomes with Elohiym.’

He was ’CHOSEN’ over his twin brother Esau.

And the first one to be called a Jew/Yahuwdiy was Judah.Jacob (ISRAEL), and Leah named their 4th son Judah/Yahuwdah; from where we derive the term ‘Jew’ and it means ‘I will praise YaHuWaH.’

Judah was ultimately ‘FAITHFUL’ because he honored his promise to his father Jacob when he promised to ’bear the blame forever’ if something bad happened to Benjamin. (Gen. 43:9). Judah is the tribe that volunteered to become the scapegoat. And ultimately why Messiah was born into that Tribe because as the scapegoat, He was the sinless lamb who took the punishment for guilty sinners.

Hebrew = called out (Genesis 12:1; Revelation 18:4).

וָאֶשְׁמַע קוֹל אַחֵר מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם קֹרֵא צְאוּ מִתּוֹכָהּ עַמִּי פֶּן-תִּגְּעוּ בְחַטֹּאתֶיהָ וְדָבְקוּ בָכֶם תַּחֲלֻאֶיהָ:

4. Va•esh•ma kol a•cher min-ha•sha•ma•yim ko•re tze•oo mi•to•cha ami pen-tig•oo ve•cha•to•te•ha ve•dav•koo va•chem ta•cha•loo•e•ha.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Could it be said that when we are saved/born-again, we begin as a Hebrew, because we obey the CALLING to come out of paganism and the sinfulness of this present world and cross over into our new life?

Yisra’el means an overcomer, or one who prevails. (Gen. 32:28; Rev. 3:12).

Then, we become like Jacob, an Israelite/Yisraelite when we wrestle with Elohiym to find our identity in Him. Like Jacob, we prevail against the enemy of our soul when we conquer the sinful nature (Rom. 8:37). This is what qualified Jacob/Ya’aqob to have his name changed to Israel/Yisra’EL. 

Likewise our names will be changed as seen in

Rev 3:12,

17. Mee asher-oz•na•yim lo yak•shiv et asher ha•Roo•ach ma•gid la•k`hi•lot lam•na•tze•ach e•ten min-ha•man ha•sha•moor ve•na•ta•ti lo even le•va•na ve•al-ha•e•ven cha•kook shem cha•dash asher eesh lo yi•ko•ve•noo bil•tee ha•m`ka•bel.

18. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The scripture says that those who receive a new name, are those who overcome, or in other words, they prevail with Elohiym!

Jew/Yahuwdiy means one who praises YHWH. (Gen. 29:35; Rev.19:5).

Do we finally become a Jew/Yahuwdiy when we learn to praise YaHuWaH no matter what the circumstances are? This would seem to be the mark of a mature believer who is ready to be the bride!

The Hebrew Strong’s Concordance shows the definition of the name Judah as follows: 

#3063 Yhuwdah yeh-hoo-daw from 3034; celebrated; praised; Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory, Judah.

It stems from another root word: 

#3034 yadah yaw-daw’ a primitive root; used only as denominative from 3027; literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands):–cast (out), (make) confess(-ion), praise, shoot, give thanks; thanksgiving; thankful.

#3064 Yhuwdiy yeh-hoo-dee’ patronymically from 3063; a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew), or descendant of Jehudah (i.e. Judah):–Jew.

By the definitions above, the name Judah/Yahuwdah means one who praises YaHuWaH.

Remember everything is connected!

Many are CALLED (Hebrews) but few are CHOSEN (Israel/Yisra’el).

And of those who are CHOSEN, only the FAITHFUL (Yahuwdiy) are the ones who praise YaHuWaH!

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the term Jew/Yahuwdiy. The term Jew or Yahuwdiy comes from the Tribe of Judah /Yahuwdah. Melchizedek is from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Hebrews 7:14).

(Remember the Priests of Jesus/Yeshua’s day were corrupt: click link below to see relevant post.)

https://www.minimannamoments.com/why-was-the-priest-in-the-water-conclusion-of-the-mystery

Paul uses the term Jew/Yahuwdiy in Romans 2:28, to describe those whose hearts are circumcised. Why does he use the term Jew to define somebody who has a circumcised heart? Why does he not use the terms Hebrew or Yisraelite?

Could it be because a bride joins the tribe of her bridegroom when she marries him.

So to be called a Jew/Yahuwdiy, means that you have reached the place of maturity where you are ready to be called Messiah’s bride?

In a previous post about Ruth the scripture records that she was a Moabite, and Torah/Towrah says that no Moabite may enter the congregation of Israel/Yisra’el forever (Deuteronomy 23:3; Nehemiah 13:1).

So how was she able to marry Boaz who was from the Tribe of Judah? She ‘crossed over’ when she followed Naomi to Bethlehem, Judah and she said ‘Your God/Elohiym is my God/Elohiym, and your people shall be my people’.

in Ezek. 47:21-22 where any stranger may join the tribe of their choosing simply by ‘sojourning‘ with that tribe, and they would also inherit land with that tribe; so the principle is clearly referenced here too.

If, as believers in Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, we are ‘walking with’, or ‘sojourning with‘, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah/Yahuwdah (Rev.5:5); should it not follow that those who are His bride are going to be married into His tribe?

Followers of Messiah are called a royal priesthood. (1Peter 2:9). This royal priesthood is the priesthood of Melchizedek, and Melchizedek is the King of Salem. Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem, and according to Hebrews 7:14 Melchizedek also sprang out of Judah/Yahuwdah. Followers of Messiah are therefore part of this priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.

See last 2 posts for more of on Melchizedek.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/a-mystery-why-was-the-priest-in-the-water/

However we must still have our hearts circumcised in order to be counted as a Jew/Yahuwdiy by our Messiah. (Rom. 2:28-29; Rev.2:9 & 3:9).

Another amazing point to note is in the paleo Hebrew, alef bet, there is only one letter different from the name YaHuWaH

to YaHuWDaH.

The difference is the letter Dalet in the middle of the name Judah/ YaHuWDaH. 

The letter Dalet means the Door!

Also meaning (by the definitions above,) the name Judah/Yahuwdah means one who praises YaHuWaH.

Click link below for more on the alef bet

https://www.minimannamoments.com/alef-bet-alphabet/

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is the DALET/DOOR to the Father (John 10:7-9)and

He came from the Tribe of Judah/YaHuWDaH (Rev. 5:5).

The only tribe that bears the Father’s name is Judah/YaHuWDaH!

Messiah’s name is Yeshua and can be written and said YaHuWShuWA which means YaHuWaH is Salvation, as seen in 

Hebrew Strong’s Concordance:#3091 Yhowshuwa` yeh-ho-shoo’-ah or Yhowshua {yeh-ho-shoo’-ah}; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:–Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare both 1954, 3442.

Now it makes sense as to why our Messiah came from the Tribe of Judah/Yahuwdah , and why He told the Samaritan woman at the well that Salvation is of the Jews/Yahuwdiy (John 4:22).

It’s because the Levite Priesthood could not act as the permanent Kinsman Redeemer* for Israel/Yisra’el.

For the simple reason that they would eventually die because they were mortals. However in the scriptures we are told that Melchizedek, who sprang out of Judah/YaHuWDaH has an endless life, and he never dies behind the veil. (Hebrews 7:14-16).

(Boaz was Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer*, a type of Messiah, offering to redeem her and marry her, (covenant), and it took place located right on Mt. Moriah where Yeshua was crucified)!

Those who are the bride of Messiah are part of His ‘Royal Priesthood’ (1Pet.2:9), and they bear the Father’s name, YaHuWaH, just like Ruth we have crossed over.

Crossing over and entering the narrow WAY through The Door/Dalet of Yahuwdah/Judah, praising the Father YHWH, in every circumstance, appears to mean that we have reached the place of maturity where we are ready to be called Messiah’s bride?

The bride also is married into the Tribe, YaHuWDaH. The five wise virgins in Matt 25 will enter into the bridegroom’s chamber and the door will be shut!

The key of David which qualifies the bride to enter into the chamber is only open to those whose hearts are circumcised for they have kept His Word/Torah/Towrah and have not denied his name (Rev 3:8).

Remember Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah who called their 4^th son Judah In Gen. 29:16-25, we learn that Jacob loved Rachel because she was beautiful, but her sister Leah was not very attractive.

The same thing happened with our Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua orYahuwshuwa. In Matthew 15:24, Yeshua/Yahuwshuwa said that He had come for only the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el. Like Jacob who only loved Rachel, our Messiah only wanted to remarry His divorced bride, Israel/Yisra’el (Jer. 3:8; Hos. 2:19-20; Rom. 7:4).

The leadership in Israel/Yisra’el however, did not accept Him as their Messiah, and the gentiles were the ones who accepted Him.

Leah typifies the gentiles who were not the favored ones, and Rachel typifies Israel/Yisra’el who was favored by Messiah. Surely Messiah was disappointed in the same way Jacob was. He had come for his beloved Israel/Yisra’el, but instead, He was married to the gentiles who accepted His message, and thus, they were grafted into the olive tree of Israel/Yisra’el (Romans 11:17-25).  There were also many 1000’s who accepted Him at Pentecost who were not gentiles.

John/Yahuwchanon 1:11

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Leah typifies the bride of Messiah who first comes into the understanding of her salvation when she gives birth to a son (1Timothy 2:15). Leah was CALLED to be the bride of Jacob/Ya’aqob and she accepted the call to be married to him.

This means that she was CHOSEN by YaHuWaH.

Leah typifies the person who is called, then chosen. However, once she is chosen, she goes through affliction and testing.

Leah represents the bride of Messiah who will be married to Him first, just as Leah was the first to marry Jacob. in the future, possibly on a Feast of Trumpets /Yom Teruah, the faithful bride, typified by Leah, will be taken for seven days to the New Jerusalem for the wedding. Then she will return with Messiah in her new resurrected body riding white horses (Rev.19).

This event could take place on a future Yom Kippur, and could be when Messiah will meet the other bride who typifies Rachel, the House of Judah.

They will look upon Him whom they have pierced as His feet touch the Mount of Olives

they will mourn for him as one mourns his only son. (Zech. 12:10; 14:4).

Mount of Olives was and is,

Ha Makem nitsachon/the place of victory.

Ha Makem-The Place-המקום

Instructions are given in Lev. 16:18, for what the High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadowl has to do on Yom Kippur.

He is commanded to combine the blood of the goat with the blood of the bullock and to sprinkle that mixed blood on the altar.

What is this representing?

The Hebrew origin of Rachel’s name means ‘LAMB‘,’Ewe,’ or ‘female sheep’, and Leah’s, meaning ‘Gazelle’ which is ‘beauty and grace’,’contented One,’ ‘also worthy COW‘, as in the biblical days cows were very valuable and treasured.

This means that both brides shall combine and become one bride on a future Yom Kippur, under our High Priest Jesus the Messiah/Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach.

Leah’s faithfulness to YHWH/YaHuWaH caused her sorrow and rejection to be turned into happiness, for she was rewarded with fruitfulness.

Faithfulness is doing what we need to do regardless of feelings or personal preferences, our desires need to be His desires then we make the right choices.

There is a prophetic picture of Messiah and His FAITHFUL bride told in the story of Leah & Jacob. Leah was willing to die to her own selfish desires in order to please her husband.

Similarly, those who follow the lamb wherever he goes (Rev. 14:4) are the ones who are ready to die and be buried with him:

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

הֲלֹא הֵם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-נְגֹאֲלוּ בְנָשִׁים כִּי בְתֻמָּתָם הֵם כִּבְתוּלוֹת וְהֹלְכִים אַחֲרֵי הַשֶּׂה אֶל-אֲשֶׁר יֵלֵךְ וּפְדוּיִם הֵם מִקֶּרֶב בְּנֵי הָאָדָם כְּבִכּוּרִים לֵאלֹהִים וְלַשֶּׂה:

4. Ha•lo hem asher lo-n`go•a•loo ve•na•shim ki ve•too•ma•tam hem kiv•too•lot ve•hol•chim a•cha•rey ha•Seh el-asher ye•lech oof•doo•yim hem mi•ke•rev b`ney ha•a•dam ke•vi•koo•rim le•Elohim ve•la•Seh.

Romans/Romiym 6:4; Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Messiah/Mashiyach was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Leah finally found contentment in her circumstances when she trusted in YaHuWaH and praised him. This is what made her a faithful bride to Jacob

Leah symbolizes the gentile who begins with an uncircumcised heart (Romans 2:26), but learns to place their trust in God.

Rachel symbolizes the one who only appears to be a Jew/Yahuwdiy externally, or in other words only beautiful outwardly (Rom. 2:28).

Those whose hearts are circumcised inwardly are true Jews/Yahuwdiy for they are the ones who faithfully offer up praises to God/YaHuWaH:

Romans/Romiym 2:29 But he is a Jew/Yahuwdiy, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of Elohiym.

A chosen remnant of Israel survives today namely those who have received Jesus/Yeshua, their promised Messiah, as the 3000 did on the day of the first Pentecost/Shavuot.

To the Jew first and then to the Gentile/Greek. Rom.1:16

Over the centuries Gentiles/ גּוֹי/ Goy (go’-ee)
Goyim/Nations, have been made partakers of the grace given to this remnant of Israel. Rom. 11:2–5

Israel is compared to the Olive tree because of unbelief. Many of the Olives branches had been broken off and wild Olive branches had been grafted into the stock.

Click link below for more on the Olive tree:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/grafted-in-to-the-olive-tree/

This is an unnatural act, performed by the sovereign hand of God. As gentiles we are to be humble, because we are grafted in on the basis of our faith and not by any merit we have in ourselves. We should be mindful not to boast in our position even as grafted in believers, since we are supported by the root, (Abraham and his family); and not by means of our own lineage or merit.

The root supports us.

ALWAYS.

Romans 11:9

Whether natural descendents or Gentile, the picture of the Olive tree illustrates that the branches are those who come To the Lord by trusting in His promises of deliverance, just as father Abraham did.

May our faith in Him be solid and unwavering.

Receiving The Hidden Manna And The White Stone. Rev. 2:17

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Once again, like the previous CALLINGS, the one who hears is CALLED to OBEY.

Hebrew has no word for obedience. The word SHEMA or SH’MA means HEAR and OBEY.To hear someone means to obey him. He who obeys is described as conqueror and overcomer. To this particular overcomer, Messiah is promising something very special – hidden manna and a white stone with a new secret name.

Manna is a symbol of God’s sustenance and provision for the people of Israel in the wilderness; as they came out/crossed over the Reed Sea, leaving Egypt in obedience to God’s call, risking their own lives to go by faith, to a land they would only later be shown.

When Jesus/Yeshua spoke with the Samaritan Israelite woman (John 4), His Judean, Israelite disciples were returning from a nearby town with food acceptable for consumption by the Judeans (Ioudaioi). The disciples asked among themselves if someone already had brought food to Him. He then answered them that He had something that, in the passage in Revelation, also being promised to the one who overcomes – the hidden manna.

He said: I have food to eat that you do not know about. (Jn.4:32)

This secret food that ‘the rest’ did not know about is nothing less than, divine energy of Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh, who is able to provide sustenance in the most unimaginable and perilous circumstances. This characterized what was soon to become a reality for believers in Pergamum. Jesus/Yeshua promised this power/energy/dunamis, to the one who obeys God’s Words. This is why the one who obeys also is the one who overcomes.

The Identity of the White Stone. 

Among the most-likely interpretations that may fit the context is a suggestion that the white stones, with names of the recipients inscribed, were given to contest winners of the Roman sport races. The white stone inscribed with a personal name presumably served as a pass to a prestigious banquet only attended by the winners.

Symbolic of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the need to have a robe of righteousness, that would be the pass into the banquet.

This stone would have been received upon completion of the race. While this is not a particularly Jewish cultural reference, we do know of many biblical examples of the use of Greco-Roman cultural references as illustrations for and by the Jews. For example, the Apostle Paul used many Roman sports metaphors to make his points (Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 4:6-8).

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also employed Roman sport imagery of running a race and receiving a winner’s wreath (See also Heb. 12:1). This kind of imagery was well known in Judea where there were elaborate sports arenas. The analogy much more closely matches the culture of the Roman city of Pergamum.

No doubt the persecuted believers, both Jewish and former pagans, were aware of this practice and the elaborate banquets of honor for the overcomers/winners of the race. Most of the believers did not take part in these games by the virtue of the fact that the games included a dedication to the Roman gods. Jesus/Yeshua tells them that in all reality they have not missed out on anything. The real race is the race of perseverance dedicated to the God of Israel. Whoever perseveres in this race and overcomes will receive ‘a pass’ into the heavenly banquet of eternal honor.

Another intriguing possibility continues with the theme of priestly attire as was already used in Revelation. The High Priest’s robe had 12 stones with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

One of the stones was actually WHITE – Yahalom

(it was WHITE stone number 6),

signifying the 6th son of Leah – Zebulun. What’s Important About Zebulun?

We read in Is. 9:1-7, quoted in Matt. 4:15 that:

“In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

According to this interpretation, the sacred WHITE STONE is a symbol of Greco-Romans residing in Galilee who would receive light through the birth of Messiah.

Could the secret here be Messiah Himself?

Could the white stone point to Jesus/Yeshua through the yahalom stone once adorning the breast of the High Priest of Israel? … Perhaps.

As believers we are not called to force or make people receive salvation but rather to make DISCIPLES of those who have been CALLED and CHOSEN and have shown themselves FAITHFUL.

So the question we must ask ourselves is, are we true DISCIPLES and if we are

CALLED and CHOSEN

are we being FAITHFUL in following Him?

And

Have you heard the calling?

And did you answer?

Will our names be inscribed on a white stone?

Those who are with Him are CALLED CHOSEN and FAITHFUL.

ee mo k ri-ey El be-chi-rav ve-ne-e-ma-nav.

Don’t let anyone or anything take your crown!

Yes we are predestined in Father’s plan.. however, we still have a free will to CHOOSE! Choose this day and Choose LIFE, The Way and Truth.

Shalom!

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that life-saving decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

          קָרָא    qara – to call, proclaim.

(Strong’s Hebrew 7121)

Calling someone by their name,

or summoning them, is “Likro”

Can also be found in Scripture..

More importantly… Did we answer??

And what did we say??

The Father is the one who draws us to Himself.  John 6:34-71 (verse 37)

Every one the Father would give to Me will come to Me.

The Father/Avinu/Abba is the one who draws us to Himself

and NO ONE can come unless the Father draws them.

He chooses us and calls us.

Is this why some of our friends and family members will not change or believe? (Verse 65)

John 15:16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [and I have placed and purposefully planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.

Psalm 139:16 . KJ21. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet … All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence.

Is this why Many are CALLED but few are CHOSEN? (Matthew 22:14)

‘All the Jews had first been called; then all the Gentiles; many were they who obeyed not the call; and of those who did come in, many were not of the inner election, of those, that is, whose life and character were worthy of the call to follow Him.’

In the Hebraic thinking, ‘BELIEVE’, is not simple agreement, or mental assent, it requires a change in behavior – action.

Verse 65 God has not called them..??

So is it predestination??

Even as He chose us, in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and blameless before Him.

In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ/Messiah Yeshua, according to Eph. 1:4,5

For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

…Rom 8:29,30

What God has for us to do while we are here is ordained by Him. 

We are CALLED out of darkness into the light, the light of the revealed knowledge of the Son of God who gave His life for us.

CALLED out of the world’s system, to ‘come out from among them and be ye separate’.

CALLED to be ‘changed from glory to glory’.

CALLED to follow Yeshua/Jesus and walk in His Way which is Truth and Life.

CALLED to be a witness of that WAY, TRUTH and LIFE by how it has changed us so that others will see Him.

CALLED to be a Holy people set-apart unto good works to fulfill His will on the earth.

CALLED to preach the gospel/the truth of the good news His message of Malchut Shemayim –‘The kingdom of heaven’ and to MAKE DISCIPLES, to heal the sick and cast out demons in His Name. 

Our new life is progressive – salvation is continual; ‘be-being saved’. Salvation is being born again from above by His Holy Spirit, however it’s not an end in itself; rather it’s a beginning of a process. His working in us. To will and ro work after His good pleasure.

Matthew 4:18-22 … Immediately they left their nets and followed him. … Immediately they left the boat and their father and the family business, their livlihood and WAY of LIFE …. and followed Him.

There is more to the concept of the CALLING, other than the choosing and recruiting of the 12 disciples.

Interestingly, further research shows information contrary to what we may have thought concerning the people of Galilee being simple and uneducated fishermen in an isolated village. The reality of the world at the time of Yeshua/Jesus, records Galilean Jews were actually more educated in the Bible and its application than most. They were known for their great reverence for the Scriptures and their passionate desire to be faithful and committed to their faith.

Famous teachers came from Galilee more than anywhere else in the world.

Due to the location noted in Matt 4:15 on ‘the way of the sea’, (a trade route), they would have had more opportunity to meet foreigners, whereas in Jerusalem where the comments were made, was in the mountains.

In the book of Acts during Shavuoth, people seemed amazed that the Galileans were capable of speaking in other languages. These comments appear to belittle them and it gives an inaccurate perspective for the people in Judea no doubt were biased against them.

The people of Gallilee resisted the pagan influences of Hellenism and when the great revolt started against the pagan Romans and their collaborators in 66-74 AD, it began among the Galileans.

It was by perfect design that Yeshua/Jesus would fit His world perfectly and the environment to which Yeshua/Jesus was born, grew up, and spent His ministry was among people who knew Scripture by memory, and as who debated its application with enthusiasm, and according to might (Deut. 6:5). People who loved God with all their hearts, all their souls and all their might.

Here Yeshua/Jesus would have exactly the context He needed to present His message of Malchut Shemayim/ The kingdom of heaven, and His followers would have had no problem understanding His message or joining Him.

The Mishnah gives an enlightening description of Yeshua/Jesus’s day and of His education as a young Jewish boy.

(The Mishnah contains rabbinic interpretations of Scripture written down during the second century AD. Jewish scholars believe it contains the oral traditions present during the 1st century BC to 1st century AD and therefore would reflect what was true during Jesus’ lifetime.)

At five years old [one is fit] for the Scripture, at ten years the Mishnah (oral Torah, interpretations) at thirteen for the fulfilling of the commandments, at fifteen the Talmud (making Rabbinic interpretations), at eighteen the bride-chamber, at twenty pursuing a vocation,

at thirty for authority (able to teach others).

This clearly describes the exceptional student, for very few would become teachers but indicates the centrality of Scripture in the education in Galilee.

This parallels the Mishnah description quite closely.

Not much is stated about His childhood, we know that He “grew in wisdom” as a boy; (Luke 2:52) and that He reached the “fulfilling of the commandments”; indicated by ones first Passover at age twelve and amazing the rabbis in the Temple by His insight of the scripture. (Luke 2:41- 47).

He then learned a trade (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3) and spent time with John the Baptist (Luke 3:21; John 3:22-26) and began His ministry at about age thirty. (Luke 3:23).

In first century Galilee Schools were associated with the local synagogue each community would hire a teacher for the school. (respectfully called Rabbi).

Children began their study at age 4-5 in Beth Sefer (elementary school). Most scholars believe both boys and girls attended the class in the synagogue.

The teaching focused primarily on the Torah, emphasizing both reading and writing Scripture.

Large portions were memorized and it is likely that many students knew the entire Torah by memory by the time this level of education was finished!

At this point most students (and certainly the girls) stayed at home to help with the family and in the case of boys to learn the family trade.

It is at this point that a boy would participate in his first Passover in Jerusalem; (a ceremony that probably forms the background of today’s bar mitzvah in orthodox Jewish families today.) Yeshua/Jesus’ excellent questions for the teachers in the temple at His first Passover indicate the study He had done.

The best students continued their study (while learning a trade) in Beth Midrash (secondary school) also taught by a rabbi of the community. Here they (along with the adults in the town) studied the prophets and the writings in addition to Torah and began to learn the interpretations of the Oral Torah to learn how to make their own applications and interpretations much like a catechism class might in some Churches today.

Memorization continued to be important because most people did not have their own copy of the Scripture. so they either had to know it by heart or go to the synagogue to consult the village scroll. Memory was enhanced by reciting aloud, a practice still widely used in Middle Eastern education both Jewish and Muslim. Constant repetition was considered to be an essential element of learning.

Just a very few of the most outstanding Beth Midrash students sought permission to study with a famous rabbi; often leaving home to travel with him for a long period of time. These students were called talmidim, (talmid’s) in Hebrew, which translates as disciple. There is much more to a talmid than who we call a student.

A student wants to know what the teacher knows for the grade, to complete the class or the degree or even out of respect for the teacher.

A talmid wants to be like the teacher, that is to become what the teacher is.

That meant that students were passionately devoted to their rabbi and noted everything he did or said. This meant the rabbi-talmid relationship was a very intense and personal system of education. As the rabbi lived and taught his understanding of the Scripture his students (talmidim) listened and watched and imitated so as to become like him. Eventually they would become teachers passing on a lifestyle to their talmidim.

Because of this, Galilee was a place of intense study of Scripture. People were knowledgeable about its content and the various applications made by their tradition. They were determined to live by it and to pass their faith and knowledge and lifestyle on to their children. It was into this world that Yeshua/Jesus came as a child and eventually a rabbi.

Many people referred to Jesus as Rabbi and He certainly fitted the description of a first century rabbi especially one at the most advanced level, the one sought by talmidim. It was a word meaning “great one” or “my master” which was applied to many kinds of people in everyday speech. The use of this term for Him by the people of His day, is a measure of their great respect for Him as a person and as a teacher; and not just a reference to the activity of teaching He was engaged in.

Rabbis used similar methods of interpreting Scripture. For example the great teachers used a technique today called remez or hint, in which they used part of a Scripture passage in discussion assuming their audience’s knowledge of the Bible would allow them to deduce for themselves fuller meaning.

Click link for more on Remez

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-rules-of-pardes/

Apparently Yeshua/Jesus used this method often.

Contrary to what some think Yeshua/Jesus did not come to do away with God’s Torah or Old Testament. He came to complete it and to show how to correctly keep it. Also to point out that much of what had been added by the Pharisees and Scribes was the letter of the law and did not engender life, calling them ‘religious traditions of men’ and referred to in 1Tim 4:1 as doctrines of demons because they confused man’s traditions with God’s commandments, adding to His Word.

These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’” 10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.…

One of the ways Jesus interpreted the Torah was to stress the importance of the right attitude of heart as well as the right action done in love (Matt. 5:27-28)

This is why His followers were completely devoted to God and His Word.

And it helps us to understand their great faith and courage, born in the godly communities in the Galilee; which enabled them to leave their homes and take the good news to the world and fulfill their CALLING.

A Disciple is a Talmidim

The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today. Since a talmid was totally devoted to becoming like the rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice.

Yeshua/Jesus describes His relationship to His disciples in exactly this way (Matt. 10:24-25; Luke 6:40) He chose them to be with Him (Mark 3:13-19) so they could be like Him (John 13:15)

Most students sought out the rabbis they wished to follow. This happened to Yeshua/Jesus on occasion. (Mark 5:19; Luke 9:57).

There were a few exceptional rabbis who were famous for seeking out their own students.

If a student wanted to study with a rabbi he would ask if he might “follow” the rabbi.

The rabbi would consider the students potential to become like him and whether he would make the commitment necessary.

It is likely most students were turned away.

Some of course were invited to “follow me”. This indicated the rabbi believed the potential talmid had the ability and commitment to become like him.

It would be a remarkable affirmation of the confidence the teacher had in the student.

This makes so much more sense when we read of their immediate reaction to leave everything and follow Him when He called them.

They knew It was an honor and they did not hesitate!

They were CALLED and He had CHOSEN them!!!

Again without an understanding of the Hebrew culture and how they lived we are left with more questions than answers;

and why its so helpful to return to the very real roots of our faith and to examine,

what it is that we really do believe???……..

The Conclusion Coming in Part Two

Shalom!

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus 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 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 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. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!