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https://www.minimannamoments.com/have-you-been-to-the-beit-yatsar-part-2/

 

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משפחה

Have You Been To The Beit Yatsar? Part 2

Concluding the Hebrew meanings behind the different vessels made in the Potters House.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/have-you-been-to-the-beit-yatsar/

The

כלי של קלון

Vessel of Dishonor

קלון Galon

Strong’s Hebrew: 7036. קָלוֹן (qalon) —

ignominy, dishonor

remains at the house where

all the waste water

from the home

is emptied into it.

It receives a lot but gives out very little.

In Jeremiah 48:38

I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure.-

It is also the vessel called

empty of pleasure.

חֵ֥פֶץ – ḥê·p̄eṣ

Jeremiah 22:28
HEB: כְּלִ֔י אֵ֥ין חֵ֖פֶץ בּ֑וֹ מַדּ֤וּעַ
KJV: [is he] a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure?wherefore are they cast out,
Jeremiah 48:38
HEB: כִּכְלִ֛י אֵֽין־ חֵ֥פֶץ בּ֖וֹ נְאֻם־
KJV: like a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure, saith

This is the vessel beside the

כלי של כבוד

כלי keli: an article, utensil, vessel

כבוד – kabed:  honor

vessel of honor

on the bench.

This vessel by receiving the left over stale water is

forever receiving water, but

never gives out any clean refreshing water.

After some time the inside becomes slimy and the bad smelling water

has no pleasure

in it either for the potter or to the owner.

Finally, it is placed in the backyard as a

container for waste things and then it is called

כלי מתועב

an abominable vessel.

תּוֹעֵבַה – toebah: abomination, to-ay-baw’

 

Vessel of Mercy –

כלי keli: an article, utensil, vessel

רחמים  Ra-chem/ra-cha-min – Mercy/Womb

That he might make known – What if by showing such long-suffering even to the vessels of wrath, he did the more abundantly show the greatness of his glorious goodness, wisdom, and power, on the vessels of mercy; on those whom he had himself, by his grace, prepared for glory.

Romans 9:23

Here is a Vessel of Mercy

There all some religions that require people to wash their hands before they pray, especially in the middle east as travelers go through villages they need to water supplied to them.

The villagers provide small vessels of water

for the traveler to use, they are called

Vessels of Mercy

because they are there to help others.

A Clean Vessel

כלי נקי

כלי  keli: an article, utensil, vessel

טָה֖וֹר  ṭā·hō·wr  clean

 

And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

Isaiah 66:20

This vessel was once a

vessel of honor

on the bench behind the door, giving out life-giving water to thirsty travelers.

It has been touched and handled by many unclean hands.

Although its outward looks have been marred it’s nature and function has not changed; so the

Clean Vessel

כלי נקי

is taken to the potter again to be filed and scraped.

Also Numbers 5:17 

biḵ·lî  בִּכְלִ֤י vessel pot

HEB: מַ֥יִם קְדֹשִׁ֖ים בִּכְלִי־ חָ֑רֶשׂ וּמִן־
NAS: in an earthenware vessel; and he shall take
KJV: in an earthen vessel;

Strong’s Hebrew: 2931.

טָמֵא (tame) taw-may

unclean

He will remove all uncleanness which has been left by contact with dirty hands then he will place it in the furnace/kiln again and burn it with fire once more then it comes out clean on the inside and on the outside; a clean vessel once more.

A Chosen Vessel

כלי נבחר

כלי  keli: an article, utensil, vessel

בָּחִיר. bachir. chosen – baw-kheer’

Strong’s Hebrew: 972.

Ephesians 1:4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Once again by talking to the potter the meaning of this can be found out.

Being a visitor to the potters house, we tell him that we’re going back home and want to take a vessel as a gift for family/friends and would appreciate him choosing one for us.

The Potter will hand you

his chosen vessel

and as he does he’ll no doubt say something like this: that he’s not ashamed of this vessel because he has chosen it and even though it may not look the same as the other vessels or seem as attractive, it will stand the test because it is a

chosen vessel.

 

 

Holy Vessel

כלי קדוש

כלי  keli: an article, utensil, vessel

קָדוֹשׁ.  qadosh kaw-doshe’ holy, sacred

Strong’s Hebrew: 6918.

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house.

Isaiah 52:11

A

Holy Vessel

is a very

sacred and set apart vessel,

no one can handle it

but those who are

clean and fit

to enter the house/presence of the Lord.

The hill of the Lord was the place of His presence.

Ps.24:3-5

 

Clay in the potters hands to be made into vessels:

of honor, dishonor,

wrath, mercy;

broken, clean,

chosen, or Holy…

Which is it to be?

The choice remains and we have a big part to play in our own future.

2 Timothy 2:21
If a man therefore

purge himself from these

he shall be

a vessel unto honor,

sanctified,

and meet for the master’s use,

and prepared unto every good work.

Our Heavenly Father has given us

the necessary resources needed to be

a clean and holy vessel,

fit for His use.

 

A

Vessel of Wrath

כלי זעם

כלי  keli: an article, utensil, vessel

זעם – kets-af – qetsaph – Wrath

Strong’s Hebrew: 7109.

What if by showing such long-suffering even to

the vessels of wrath,

he did the more abundantly show the greatness of his glorious goodness, wisdom, and power, on the vessels of mercy; on those whom he had himself, by his grace, prepared for glory.

Romans 9:22

Another thing we will find at the Potters House, is a pile of vessels put to one side these are called

Vessels of Wrath,

and are useless to the potter.

 

They appeared to be perfectly alright until they were put into the furnace/kiln; however, they came out cracked because they could not stand the fire.

The potter was surely saddened when one of his precious vessels became broken

but the Potter did not give up on them

because in the real-life pottery days of Israel, the potter had a remedy for broken/cracked vessels. 

He would take special time to sit at his bench and work with patience to repair it. 

After he had finished his work for the day, he would go out through the fields and and hunt for a tick-like insect,

called a fasuka,

פאסוקה

This insect clung to the back of sheep, oxen, bulls and goats and lived on their blood.  Having found some, he would take them home to his shop where he would keep them in small clay jars or leather bags.

He crushed the fasuka between his finger and thumb to mix the blood with clay to form an effective mortar of glue.  He worked the glue substance into the cracked area. 

This sealed the break. 

Then it was placed right back into the fire that had cracked it to begin with.  We as believers, understand the

holding power of the blood. 

If it is cracked again, the process was repeated as often as necessary. 

Only after it came out un-cracked, could it be released for service.

The potter takes the blood of the fasuka and mixes it with some powdered broken pottery and cements the cracks of his Vessels of wrath.

When it goes through the furnace again it may come out okay or it may not and be broken again.

The potter patiently cements it again and again hoping it will come out all right. If it does not after many attempts he may finally have no alternative but to lay it aside and pronounce it as a

Vessel of wrath,

being of no value and therefore worthless and he casts it away. Piles of broken vessels were frequently found on the floor of ancient potters’ shops.

Here it is worth mentioning the reference of sheep, oxen, bulls and goats and lived on their blood; being somewhat significant in regards to the sacrificial system for the covering of sin. That is until Messiah became all of the sacrifices, by the giving of His Blood once and for all time.

Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 26:26-29

The fasukas lived on the blood of the sacrificial animals we are to live by the Blood of the Lamb of God. Then they were used to give their blood to fix/heal and seal the cracked and broken vessels. We are sealed by His Blood, redeemed and totally healed.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:54

Some of the Vessels are in

Romans 9:22

 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Obviously these are pictures of various individuals and they are examples for us; much like the parables of Jesus/Yeshua.

Here another interesting mention of a

vessel or pitcher of water.

In Mark 14:13  And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

also 

Luke 22:10  And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.

and

Mattthew 26: 20  And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

Above are the references with directions to the disciples concerning the man they were to meet in Jerusalem.

In Luke and Mark, the identity of the man is very specific; each tells us that the disciples must find the man “carrying a jar of water.” In all three gospels, this man is recognized, – unnamed, and never mentioned again – though it appears as such for no particular reason. So why is this man significant enough that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention this no-named, ordinary man?

These instructions were connected to the upper room where they were to prepare the seder meal for Pesach/Passover.

Recall the

vessel of honor, 2Tim2:20,21;

is a vessel that gives out pure water to quench the thirst of the stranger and traveller. It is placed on the shoulder/head and the person goes to the fountain to get water. The mission of the vessel of honor is that of giving free water, the gift of God to passers by, fulfilling the expectation of the Master Potter. 

This does not seem like a very good description to help them identify the Lords host for Pesach. Notice the man was to meet them, suggesting it must have been a prearranged connection and if he was carrying a vessel of honor, was this confirming the individual was a worthy person to provide accommodation to Messiah for such an important event?

A vessel of honor,

as was the pitcher he carried, ready to freely give the gift of God, fulfilling the expectation of the Master Potter and the One from Whom flowed the pure water of life/chaim?

It is important to remember in Yeshua/Jesus’ day and culture that a man usually never, or at least rarely, carried water in a pitcher!

 

So we understand more clearly that he would have stood out in a crowd and been an unusual sight for the disciples to look for.

It was the women who carried all the water supply for the house, and was never a mans work; though he may carry a water skin through the streets, selling water, but never in an earthen vessel or pitcher for home use!

It’s an interesting question to ponder:

Was the man carrying the water jar, a vessel of honor?

One scholar has suggested that the man must have lived in an “Essene Quarter” of Jerusalem as the Essene religious group separated themselves from women and would have had to carry their own water.

Because men in the First Century Mid-Eastern culture did NOT carry water jars, being that it was a woman’s duty; it was an extremely feminine act. Yet this humble man, who probably drew much scorn from his neighbors, led the disciples to the Upper Room.

The Greek word used here, however, implies simply a person and not necessarily a male??

 

 

 

In Israel they understood pottery and the potter’s wheel. 

When a vessel became broken, it was a result of clay that wouldn’t take the heat. The fire produced a crack, usually around the lip of the vessel.  It was in need of repair. When the broken vessel came out of the fire cracked at the lip, the potter had the fasuka remedy to salvage it.

After firing, if the scarred vessel comes forth un-cracked, it is again ready for service.

Our healing involves re-firing.

Maybe it is not too far a stretch to see that the power of the blood to fix broken pottery also alludes to the power of the blood of The Lamb, our Lord and Savior, Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is the glue for cracked, broken people?  

His alone is The Blood that Mends because

it’s stronger than that of bulls and goats. 

Messiah said that He was sent to heal the brokenhearted. 

He came to seek the lost & bring victory to failures. 

He is the Master Potter applying His Blood to broken vessels.

When we crack:

Apply the blood:

Are we vessels fit for the Masters use?

If not

Apply the blood.

During this process, the Potter would sometimes put more wet clay on it, reheat it, re-fire it, and if it held the patch, it was called a
vessel of mercy.

A vessel of mercy

as we have already seen,

was used to carry fresh water

that was freely shared with stranger.

If we honestly repent, He is faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us. 

This is the remedy of the potter for broken vessels.

This blood will hold. 

Come to Him and let Him do His work.

He forgives all that repent.

His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. I Jn.1.9

The blood of Christ brings victory in the midst of trial, and that “…we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done so, stand.” Eph. 6.13

 

The late Dr Sam Sasser in his book The Potter’s Touch, succinctly brought out the amazing power of the blood of Messiah.  He went on to say:

“The cross of Calvary provides a glue that works effectively and uniquely in the lives of broken people. How thankful we should be for Christ’s blood, shed at Calvary for our salvation. Stronger than the blood of bulls and goats (Heb 9:12), the blood of the Lamb is God’s provision for cracked, flawed men and women.  Jesus Christ shed His precious blood to bring wholeness to all who have been broken and cracked in life’s fire.”

Now, let’s look at middle eastern pottery because you will not see any machinery or special buildings, simply a plain shed.

There is a wheel and

beside it a pile of clay

and a dish of water.

When watching a professional potter, it is amazing to see how quickly this process takes place until we remember that this clay is in the hands of a master craftsman.

The Potter takes a lump of clay in his hand puts it upon the revolving wheel and smooths it into a low cone.

Then he

thrust his thumb

into the top of the cone and opens a hole

down through the center.

The Potter takes his fingers and forces them down into the center of the vessel. 

For visual reference, here is a short video of a potter doing exactly what is described above and below making a terracotta earthenware pot on a wheel.

Terra cotta, Terracotta or Terra-cotta

(Italian: “baked earth”, from the Latin terracocta)

is a clay-based unglazed ceramic.

Its uses include vessels, water. 

The inside of the vessel is called, appropriately,

the Heart.

Lev – לב

and

Strongs # 3825 lebab – לְבַב

If the potter doesn’t work on the heart,

then the vessel cannot contain anything!


The vessel will only look good on the outside,

but will have no usefulness.
The bigger it is

ON THE INSIDE,

the more it can contain and

the more it can pour out.

The potter at this stage has

one hand inside the vessel,

and one hand on the outside.

The same careful, loving way our Father shapes us.

To enlarge the capacity of the vessel,

the Potter

MUST WORK DEEPLY.


Our hearts are a repository for everything that will come out of us, and thus must be changed, having the Law of God written on them.

After the potter has shaped and molded the vessel

both inwardly and outwardly,

he must finish with the topmost part, which is called

the mouth.


The mouth is vital –

it is the final part that

anything

inside the vessel

touches

when it is poured out.
Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

Here he continually widens it by pressing the edges the revolving cone between his hands. He gives it whatever shape he chooses with the utmost care and speed.

When Jeremiah was watching the potter,

the vessel was marred in his hand and so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

He saw this happen many times because of some defect in the clay.

So the potter changed his mind crushing the jar into shapeless mass and he started all over again forming it into a completely different vessel.

The work of Messiahs cross, is our fasuka;

it provides a glue to work into the lives of broken people.

He forgives all who repent.

The power of the blood to fix broken pottery also alludes to the power of the Savior’s blood to fix broken hearts. Recall the Potter has his thumb pressed into the ‘heart’ of the clay.

Have you been to the potters house?

How do we get ready?

We have sung the songs…

You are the Potter and and I am the clay,

mold me and make me this is what I pray…

Do we really mean it?

Or is it just a great teaching that we have just

filed away in our notes and never applied

or experienced personally?

Because it is total surrender

and if we have not done so then it is time to.

Yeshua/Jesus said

Will He find faith/ faithfulness when He comes?

Have we allowed to the repair,

the healing,

the restoration,

the reworking,

the re-firing,

the re-glazing,

the new purpose to be established in us?

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand. 

God gives us time… but time is running out.

We are only promised today.

So run to the potters house

like Jeremiah did,

so we can hear what He has to say to us;

and let the Master creator of the pot, made from the same clay/dirt from which we are all created; let Him throw us on His wheel and let His hands rework our frame.

Let Him place us in the heat of trial and adversity

to test our constitution,

to see the caliber of our trust,

our faith in the creator.

If we truly have given our life to Him, it no longer belongs to us…

so why are we still trying to direct our own path and control our own destiny?

Our life is no longer our own, so let’s allow the potter to use these pots/ vessels He has created for His purpose and trust Him that He knows what He’s doing.

The moment we forget that He is Almighty, the times we bring our thoughts of Him down to our level of thinking and of our decided gauge, is the moment that we weaken and diminish His ministry and work in us and through us.

We have our attributes and experiences but there is often no complete surrender to Him and therefore we struggle to try and handle difficult circumstances for ourselves, our incompleteness is ONLY remedied by looking unto Jesus/Yeshua, the author and finisher of our faith.

His power and provision are limitless.

We measure answers to problems and resolutions to situations by our human understanding/ knowledge. When will we realize and truly understand that His ways are not ours and when we just trust His way of doing things and get out of His way and simply wait in patient obedience and faith?

Heavenly Father help our unbelief and let us cease from striving in the wrong manner.

When we find it hard, remember

ALL things are possible to them that believe

because with God all things are possible.

And when we don’t understand what’s happening is the time we need to trust Him more.

The humbling and testing is not for punishment and discipline although, without them we would surely persist in our old ways; it is designed for us to know what is in our hearts. Through the testing we see how our hearts are responding to Him..

Are we resisting His will or learning our lessons?

Humbling leads us to a point of decision.

Whether we will keep His commands or not.  Our ability to yield and submit to the ways of the Lord is determined by how we allow Him to lead us in the wilderness; Bemidbar (the times when we don’t know where we are going; But He does!)

If we are rigid, stubborn, prideful or fearful, the times of testing will lead us into greater chastisement and discipline but when we are pliable in the Master Potters hands, the Lords’ humbling ways will lead us only into maturity and times of fruitfulness.

 Jeremiah 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it]. 

When the potter takes up the clay, he has, in his mind, an ideal form towards which he works with the clay. But, if his work fails, he tries again. And if he fails again, he tries some other form of vessel, such as the quality of the clay will bear. 

A vessel of honor fulfills the expectation of the master potter.

We are clay pottery jars…

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Treasure in Jars of Clay. 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The word skenos, vessel, is used in Mark 11:16, and

vessels of earthenware in Revelation 2:27.

The treasure in our earthen vessel is the Messiah who dwells in us; we are containers of honor and glory, for Messiah is the God of honor and the God of glory.

When others see us, however, they may not see the treasure yet, for we are not yet glorified; however, when the Messiah returns, others will be able to see that we,

as vessels unto honor,

are ….

containers of

His glorious treasure!

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2Cor.4:6

 

Treasure in Jars of Clay. 

As we prepare there is a promise of treasures:

Light  Darkness  Heart  Glory 

Glory of His ministry in the midst of the weakness and suffering these are the

treasures of the darkness

Earthen vessels or jar of clay;

The glorious light which we have to show to the world is, like Gideon’s torches, carried in earthen pitchers.

Light represents understanding,

Darkness represents ignorance,

Heart is used interchangeably with our spirit, the heart here is talking of our spirit,

Glory is talking about the yet unrevealed potentials of God in and through us,

Earthen vessels or jar of clay represents our mortal bodies.

and three glory gifts for the Earthen vessel or jar of clay;

are

Love, Joy and Peace

Ahava /agape – simcha – shalom

and cHesed is love, mercy, favor and grace.

Days are approaching.

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more

as you see the Day approaching. 

Hebrews 10:25

Days are coming when the turmoil and chaos will be great and the place of peace: complete shalom,

will need to be within our hearts.

It will not be found in our external surroundings.

So of the three glory gifts, joy has a deep meaning.

Because this is how to get strength,

the joy of the Lord is our strength and

in your presence there is fullness of joy

that is where we belong.

Hearing his voice from the cleft of the rock.

Our weakness provides the perfect place for His strength.

My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

His spirit within us can handle any circumstance – this is the basis for our confidence and quietness spending time alone with Him.

In confidence, confident trust relying on His sufficiency;

that is our strength, that is where it comes from

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Cor. 12:9

His joy is at the root of our faith. We are strengthened in the inner man by His Spirit of Holiness knowing we are set apart/the ecclesia.

His blood makes us blameless before Him because we are saved by the blood of His redemptive, sacrificial death and the subsequent resurrection.

We are no longer dead in our sins but alive spiritually to the Father and his everlasting life/chaim.

In chapter 18:15. Jeremiah stumbled from

the ancient paths

to walk in paths in a way not cast up,

we too are to return/teshuvah repent.

It is no coincidence that the same message

is in every part of the word of God

That of repentance.

It is a core requirement of the salvation message.

Let part of our JOY be in the knowledge that

we have been to the Master Potters House

and we are truly formed in His image by His Hand

May His true Shalom/Peace

rest upon each one in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name.

‘Mishpachah’ ‘Family’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa Mish-pa-KHa

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

NOT SURE if you are part of His Family?

YOU CAN BE..

Say the following and mean it from your heart…

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 came in the flesh and 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 in my spirit 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.

Have You Been To The Beit Yatsar?

Have You Been To The Beit Yatsar?

Jeremiah went… but have we been?

To The Potters House

בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר

בֵּ֣ית  beit-house 

הַיּ

to the

יָצַר  – yatsar – yaw-tsar -potter

yatsar: to form, fashion

strongs 3335

יָצַר
Transliteration: yatsar
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-tsar’)
Definition: to form, fashion Creator, earthenware. 

Before we allow ourselves to think that we know this story and the many sermons and teachings; let’s see what pearls we may have missed, and view it fresh from Hebraic thought, culture and language…

Genesis 2:7 
HEB: וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים
KJV: God formed man

2 Samuel 17:28 
HEB: וְסַפּוֹת֙ וּכְלִ֣י יוֹצֵ֔ר וְחִטִּ֥ים וּשְׂעֹרִ֖ים
KJV: and basons, and earthen vessels,

Psalm 2:9 
HEB: בַּרְזֶ֑ל כִּכְלִ֖י יוֹצֵ֣ר תְּנַפְּצֵֽם׃ 
KJV: thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Jeremiah 18:2 
HEB: וְיָרַדְתָּ֖ בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר וְשָׁ֖מָּה אַשְׁמִֽיעֲךָ֥
KJV: and go down to the potter’s house,

ירמיהו

Jeremiah

can be either

Yirmeyahu or Yirmeyah.

 

What Happened on the Way to the Potters House?

Go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. (Jeremiah 19:1–2)

The Potsherd Gate is probably the same as the Dung Gate (Nehemiah 3:13–14) which exited out to a general dump heap of the city in the Hinnom Valley where, in the days of King Manasseh, child sacrifices took place (2 Chronicles 33:6).

DUNG GATE. dung (‘ashpoth, domen, peresh; skubalon, etc.): Nine different words occurring in the Hebrew have been translated “dung” in the Old Testament;

‘ashpoth, is the word used to designate the gate in Nehemiah 2:13; 3:14 as it’s more general than the others and may mean any kind of refuse. The gate was probably so named because outside it was the general dump heap of the city.

 

The potsherd gate was also the exit from the city to where everyone dumped their broken pottery outside the wall.

So Jeremiah would have seen all the broken pots/vessels as he passed by. 

Pictured here are thousands of pottery shards that are over 2000 years old at Beth Shemesh.

Here too there is a passing reference to the Hinnom Valley which may be more familiar to us as the field of blood in Matthew 27:9-10.

In Hebrew called Akeldama  חקל דמא   Ḥaqel D’ma.

The name Akeldama, Aceldama or Hakeldama occurs only once in the Bible, namely in Acts 1:19. The earth in this area is composed of rich clay and was formerly used by potters. The clay had a strong red color (Adam), it was for this reason the place was known as the Potter’s Field. 

Some verses in Jeremiah to look up.  Jer. 7:31-34 and Jer. 19:1-15.  Interestingly, these verses are talking about the Valley of Hinnom, which is the same area as the Potter’s field, which is also where Judas was thrown. The Valley of the Son of Hinnom was considered accursed. Those who were buried there, or rather who were thrown there without burial, were considered the worst of sinners and discarded there as a sign that they were considered to be cursed, and to be unworthy of burial.  The 30 pieces of silver purchased the field referenced in Matthew 27:9-10. Then was fulfilled what was SPOKEN (not written) by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me’

The Zechariah reference says the money was to go to the potter in the house of the Lord (i.e. the person in charge of making ceremonial pottery for the temple). 

Zechariah 11:13 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”–this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

All misshapen pottery was to be thrown out as unclean and broken.  It was to be thrown into the Valley of Hinnom – the city dump – broken worthless and thrown there like the worst of sinners.

So on the WAY to the Potters House, Jeremiah passes by the place where a sum of 30 pieces of silver was involved and Messiah’s betrayer was thrown as a worthless, broken vessel into the valley of Hinnom also know as Gehenna/Hell!/The valley of the shadow of death!

Somewhat significant maybe?

 

 

What Happens at the Potter’s House?

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

First, Jeremiah is told he will be given a message from the Lord.

So in obedience he went.

In our case, when we go to the potters house it is into the presence of the Master Potter and we too will hear from Him.

Jeremiah 18:3 
HEB: וָאֵרֵ֖ד בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר [וְהִנֵּהוּ כ]
KJV: Then I went down to the potter’s house,

And What Did Jeremiah See?

and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

But What Did Jeremiah See?

Not the almond branch this time..

“Behold, the potter wrought his work on the wheels, and the vessel that he made of the clay was marred” – 

נִשְׁחַת Hebrew: shacath; to decay, ruin.

Here, the Septuagint Version has “fell”:

it is indicating a spiritual fall? – “in the hand of the potter.”

The clay is MARRED/FALLEN in the hand of the Potter;

IN not out of the hand.

It never falls out of the hand of the Potter: it is marred in it. 

So is it possible it is referring to not just

a mark or a dent, a bump or a slight imperfection

but a fall?

However, it is fallen in His hands –

when we fall stumble in sin,

we are in the Master Potters hands

and He will hold us until

we turn around/teshuavah/repent;

and then He remolds us.

We have a big part to play in the creative process because the potter can only work within the limits of clay:

a flaw, a rebellious, inflexible mingling of contaminations,

a hard opposition to the molding process,

and…. the vessel is marred/fallen!  

God has left it to each of us to decide whether we shall be

a vessel unto honor, 

or

a vessel unto dishonor. 

In 2Tim. 2:1-23 Paul says:

 “If a man purge himself from these” –

these what?

cowardice; want of faith; 

a controversial spirit; 

wrong handling of Scripture; 

ungodliness; error on resurrection; 

retention of old sins –

“he shall be a vessel UNTO HONOUR” (2 Tim. 2: 21).  

The scriptures remind us that we are the clay

in

His capable hands.

Jeremiah 18:6 
HEB: כַחֹ֙מֶר֙ בְּיַ֣ד הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר כֵּן־ אַתֶּ֥ם
KJV: Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand,

Isaiah 64:8 
HEB: הַחֹ֙מֶר֙ וְאַתָּ֣ה יֹצְרֵ֔נוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדְךָ֖
KJV: we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work

Jeremiah was facing difficult times and the Lord wanted to teach him a special lesson, so that He could understand why such hard times were coming upon the nation of Israel.

So, He sent Jeremiah to the house of the potter where Jeremiah started to understand God’s truths.

 Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

What Will We Find at the Potters House?

The potter makes pots of all sizes and shapes for all kinds of uses.

The potter has a process for preparing the clay, and we probably all know it; many sermons have been preached on it. We think it is a very nice analogy and we go on our way. We may even be suffering from sermon fatigue having heard the same thing over and over and it has become boring and we have lost interest…

BUT…

have we been to the potters house ourselves?

Have we actually allowed the process to be done in us?

Have we truly submitted this vessel of clay to be reworked and remolded by the divine potter?

The re-making is a painful process; so it can be a temptation to side step and take a diversion/another path along the WAY…to see if we can avoid it…  

The clay has to be crushed back into mud again; and the Potter has to knead it on his bench, until it is plastic enough to take a fresh shape.

Our Heavenly Father uses this picture for a word of tremendous, warning to the unsaved.  

There are limits both to the will and to the power of the potter.

In the English Potteries they enamel a vessel with black; then put it into an oven; and the scorching heat turns the black to gold: it is the only way they can make the gold.

 Some clays are very pure, and rich, and pliable; almost white, so that they can be made into the finest porcelain: others are too soft – the technical term is fat – to be used as they are; others have such an excess of iron/red in them, that they can be used only for colored earthenware; other clays will form, but then they will twist or crack in the firing.  

Cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord.  

Yes, is the answer, but only as the potter can:

“as in the potter’s hand, so in Mine.”  

So long as the clay is plastic, it will take any shape:

let it once be fired, and it is not plastic, shapeable clay anymore:

its’ mold can now never be altered.  

It is possible for a heart and a life to grow so hard that it is only fit to be destroyed?

“and he shall break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing: so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the cistern” (Isa. 30: 14) 

We must be molded into the Holy will of The Master Potter, or else all that can be done, is a total breaking apart- leaving only shattered fragments that can never be put back together again –

“everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”

This indeed is spiritual death…

I AM/ANOCHI the Potter and you are the clay.

Have we allowed Him to break us up His WAY,

and take up the broken pieces of our lives

and bring together a new vessel

worthy of the Master Potters mark/signature?

Every potter marks their work, sealing it so others may know who that craftsmen was and seek them out to gain a worthy vessel. One that can be trusted, depended upon to perform the duty to which they were assigned, to be and to fulfill the function they were designed for. Can people see the mark/seal of the hand of the Lord on us?

Have we been to the Master of ALL potters’ House yet?

Following is a look at the potters vessels from a middle eastern, Hebraic mind set in Jeremiah’s time; and it reveals how those listening to the references in Yeshua/Jesus’ day, to various pots and vessels, would have understood the concepts and the message.

While our Heavenly Father is not explicitly called a potter in Beresheet/Genesis, the presence of the verb:

yasar – to form, fashion

which is the root of yoser – potter,

does suggest that He is viewed as a potter. 

YaHoVeH/The Lord’s message to Jeremiah for the nation was that He had the right to deal with Judah as the potter dealt with his clay.

Rom. 9:20-21.

Judah was like clay in Yahweh’s hands.

Yahweh/YaHoVeH was also like a potter (Heb. yoser) in that He created and shaped (Heb. yasar) His people.

Brief Picture History of the Potters Wheel:

Several types of vessels made by ancient potters are mentioned in scriptures.

For example:

a vessel of honor (2 Timothy 2:20-21),

an abominable vessel (Isaiah 65:4),

a clean vessel (Isaiah 66:20), and

a holy vessel (Isaiah 52:11).

When we examine these vessels, represented in the context of Middle Eastern pottery making, we can gain a fuller understanding of their symbolism.

The word for vessel in Hebrew is:

כלי or כְּלִי

Strongs #3627 keli

(kel-ee’)
Definition: an article, utensil, vessel

A container of liquid, such as:

a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher

 jar (2), jars (1), jars* (pots (1),

pottery vessel (28), vessels (37), vessels of kinds. 

Hebrew words for the different vessels:

Vessel of Honor: כלי של כבוד

Vessel of Dishonor: כלי של קלון

Dishonor:

qalon

ignominy, dishonor

Strongs# 7036

 קָלוֹן
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-lone’)

Mercy:

Romans 9:23

Ra-chem

כלי הרחמים

Wrath:

קְצַף

qetsaph

kets-af’

Strong’s Hebrew: 7109. 

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: Romans 9:22

Clean:

כלי נקי

Isaiah 66 :20

 

Chosen: כלי שיט נבחר

Chosen: in Hebrew can be either:

Bahar: to be chosen, preferred, desired, appointed, to be joined, made excellent.

Bahir: chosen one as the above but singled out for a specific task.

or

Barar: to be chosen to be pure, clean, polished, sharpened in an appointed position of service.

Ephesians 11

Holy: כלי קדוש

Strong’s Hebrew: 6918. קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh) — sacred, holy

KJV: [himself] unto the LORD, he shall be holy,

קָדוֹשׁ

qadosh – kaw-doshe

Exodus 27:19 
HEB: לְכֹל֙ כְּלֵ֣י הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן בְּכֹ֖ל
KJV: All the vessels of the tabernacle

In the New Testament/B’rit Chadashah

בְּרִית

(ber-eeth’)

berith: a covenant

New = Chadashah or Hadashah – khad-aw-shaw’-חֲדָשָׁה

Strong’s Greek: 4632. σκεῦος

(skeuos) — a vessel, implement .

 (skyoo’-os)

Definition: a vessel, implement, pl. goods.

Usage: a vessel to contain liquid; 

The word skenos, vessel, is used in Mark 11:16,

and vessels of earthenware in Revelation 2:27.

What Did The Potters House Look Like?

The home of a potter back in Jeremiah’s day may have had a bench about 4 feet high with three holes in it behind the door as you enter. This is the water jar stand and it is called the holder of jars. Here we would see two large jars each able to hold 4 or 5 gallons beside a small vessel for drinking.

As you enter the house the potter would offer you that small vessel and you would be invited to fill it to the brim from the first jar, called the vessel of honor.

What is a vessel of honor?

The answer can be found when you ask the potter if you can buy a vessel; because he will ask you:

do you want to carry it to the fountain?

Then you must be a vessel of honor. 2Timothy 2:20,21

What does that mean?

It is a vessel that will give out

pure water

to quench the thirst of the stranger and the weary traveler.

You would buy the vessel of honor

which holds about 5 gallons. It has two handles and is beautifully shaped.

Then you place it on your right shoulder or your head and go to the fountain to get water.

If you meet a stranger he will see your jar filled with cold clean refreshing water and most likely he will ask for a drink.

This is the mission of

a vessel of honor.

Giving free water, the gift of God to passers by.

It seems to be nothing but an earthen vessel but nevertheless,

it is a vessel of honor

because of its

giving out nature

and

it fulfills the expectations of the master potter.

This is the first large vessel on the bench behind the door,

next to that is another vessel;

it looks just like in the vessel of honor but it is not of the same nature.

We would not be able to tell the difference but the potter is able to explain to you the difference between the vessel of honor and the vessel of dishonor in Hebrew culture.

Conclusion to the deeper Hebrew meaning behind the different vessels made in the Potters House in Part 2

 

May His true Shalom/Peace

rest upon each one in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name.

‘Mishpachah’ ‘Family’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa Mish-pa-KHa

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

NOT SURE if you are part of His Family?

YOU CAN BE..

Say the following and mean it from your heart…

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 came in the flesh and 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 in my spirit 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.

Between A Rock And A Hard Place?

This may be one of the

most enigmatic accounts in scripture,

that of:

Why did Yeshua/Jesus write on the ground?

and followed quickly by the obvious question:

What did He write in the dust?

There have been many suggestions from many people concerning this scenario.

Was it a list of sins etc.?

This suggestion would account for the reaction of her accusers, who, uncomfortable with their criminal past on display for the crowd to see; one by one they slunk away.

IF that is what Yeshua/Jesus wrote, then His point was obvious: Inferring to them that they were not without sin, and didn’t appreciate their sins on display any more than the woman did. It was true, she may have deserved death according to the Law of Moses, but they probably did too.

Some say that it was not uncommon to write in the dirt being a way to draw directions to a covert meeting for believers, who sometimes made the fish sign which could easily be erased with a quick slide of the foot.

Here it may be helpful if we think with a Torah based Hebrew mindset, taking into account the situation, the accusation, also, those who were accusing and their knowledge of Torah laws and instructions. The law of Moses which Pharisees and Sadducees followed said, the guilty one should be stoned to death.

This was for both the individuals in question, so was He upholding womens’ rights? Yeshua/Jesus seemed to disrupt the laws of His time in every single encounter with women recorded in the four Gospels, turning upside down that which was accepted as wisdom in His day.

His perspective toward women ran opposite to the Middle Eastern cultural norms. Women were often treated as property. Jewish rabbis began every temple meeting with the words, “Blessed art thou, O Lord, for thou has not made me a woman.”

A wife could never divorce her husband. However, a husband could divorce his wife for any reason, and he had no obligation to financially care for her. The husband simply handed her a bill of divorce and she was sent away.

Women were often viewed as inferior to men, excluded from public religious life and rarely taught the Torah, even in private.

Yeshua/Jesus taught both men and women and healed and performed miracles equally for both. Regardless of their lifestyle, including thieves, prostitutes, lepers, women of low social class (e.g. samaritan woman at well). He paid no attention to social standing or religious credentials; interacting in a very welcoming way with both men and women because He loved people. He knew that women had no religious or legal authority as spokespersons, yet Yeshua/Jesus gave them the role of being the very first to inform others of His resurrection.

John tells us something people often miss, that Yeshua /Jesus wrote twice, clearly a gesture that’s meant to call our attention to in emphasizing this point, and yet, at the same time it seems strange.

There is more to this scene than at first meets the eye and we must recall that this was not the first time God wrote with His finger.

When YeHoVeH gave the Law up on the mountain with Moses, in Exodus 31:18.

He wrote the Ten Commandments/10 sayings Himself.

YeHoVeH did not write in sand or dirt which can be wiped away but on tablets of stone. These words were permanent, unchangeable, binding, a covenant; He was marrying Israel to Himself.

And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. 

Exodus 31:18

Click link below for more:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/sapphire-and-10-sayings/

Truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:18

The second time in Daniel that He wrote with his finger, it was a condemnation of those arrogant peoples for not following his laws. , “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.”

click link below for more of above:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/bones-of-fire-and-graffiti/

In John Chapter 8, this is the third time Gods finger writes – as Messiah, the God-man Yeshua/Jesus; and it appears He was also writing a condemnation or was He writing a pardon for sins?

An interesting point is that Yeshua/Jesus never stands up.

He straightens up but He never stands up.

Is it because He is sitting to judge this woman;

He keeps sitting and writing in the dirt.

 

Why?

Messiah sat, because Judges sit.

Bema Seat.

Matt.27:19

Even Pontius Pilate was seated on the Bema/Judgment Seat when he condemned Messiah to death.

Yeshua/Jesus will sit at the right hand of God to judge the living and the dead.

They said: such a woman is to be stoned to death; which implied that they had enough evidence. However, it was not clear if they had already put her on trial and/or if they had already questioned the witnesses. In either case, they had not yet pronounced judgment but instead they dragged her out in front of Yeshua/Jesus.

At the end of the story, Yeshua/Jesus tells her to sin no more so it looks like she may have committed adultery. 

So in bringing the woman to Yeshua/Jesus, they were testing Him in another way. If He was a prophet, then He should be able to discern if she was guilty or not.

They knew Yeshua/Jesus had forgiven some people of their sins, e.g. the crippled man. However, the sins of the people whom He had forgiven had not been accused of any crime. The woman was accused of adultery, apparently even caught in the very act of adultery so there must have been witnesses willing to testify against her. So would Yeshua/Jesus fulfill the law or would He forgive her sins?

Beginning at Numbers 5:11, specifically verse 23, this gives insight into WHY Messiah wrote in the dirt and further insight into what He may have written.

These verses also talk about adultery; this portion of scripture has been called The Test for An Unfaithful Wife.

The Test for an Unfaithful Wife

In Numbers 5:11, the priest brings the woman accused of adultery and has her stand before the Lord and has her take an oath. He also sweeps up some dust and dirt from the tabernacle floor and puts that dirt into cup of holy water from the tabernacle.

The priest also pronounces a curse that if she is guilty, then when she drinks the dirty water, she will get deathly sick but if she is innocent, then she will not be harmed by drinking that cup of dirty water. But before she drinks that cup, the priest also writes down the curses that he pronounced on a scroll. Then he takes some holy water and rinses the scroll of curses into the cup of dirty water. So now the dirty cup of water has the curses in it as well. Then she is made to drink that cup of dirty water.

Is this why Yeshua/Jesus wrote in the dirt and possibly what He wrote?

Did Yeshua/Jesus write this woman’s name and her sins in the dirt in order to forgive her for her sins!

How is that possible?

In order for Him to forgive/pardon this woman’s sins and to let her go, He had to first write down her sins and put them in a cup of water and then He needed to drink that cup.

Yeshua/Jesus knew that very soon He would have to drink the cup of sin. This cup would contain not only this woman’s sin of adultery, it would contain your sin and my sin, it would contain the sin of Adam, it would and did contain all sin that has been or would ever be committed!

No wonder in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prays to the Father, if it were possible to take away this cup.


“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Has it ever occurred to us what cup Yeshua/Jesus was referring to here while He was praying to His Father?

Was it this bitter cup of sin?

Remember the Last Supper/Pesach Meal, immediately preceded the Garden of Gethsemane, which He and the disciples never finished.

During the meal, Messiah did something radical, something new, He changed the cup of the covenant of the Passover Meal to a new covenant.

There is no mention of them eating the lamb, just bread/sop and that which it was dipped in.

Why?

Because He was THE Pesach/Passover Lamb and why He said you must eat me! And drink my blood/wine/. Symbolic of the blood on the doorposts of the first Passover/Pesach.

Pesach has been covered in previous posts.
From the text, it appears that they left the Passover Meal and went to the Garden to pray; so Messiah and His disciples never finished the Passover Meal in the old tradition drinking the other cups of wine… However, He would finish the New Passover/Covenant as THE Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He would drink that cup of sin and condemnation for us; which has become our cup of redemption.

We drink this new cup of redemption during every Communion meal and someday soon, we will finish the new Pesach/Passover Meal with Yeshua/Jesus in Heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I will drink new with you in my fathers kingdom confirming and completing the covenant between us. Him the Bridegroom and those believers who make up The Bride of Messiah.

Another possibility as to why did He do such an strange thing?

Again the answer is in the Old Testament/Tenach, where there is a reference to almost all that Messiah said and did. 

Why?

Because it was the Old Testament/Covenant that proved His claim to be the Messiah, fulfilling prophecy.

The Prophet Jeremiah gives us the answer to His action:

Jeremiah 17.13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. Those who depart from Me shall be

written in the earth,

because they have forsaken the LORD,

The Fountain of Living Waters.

On the previous day Yeshua/Jesus had made His startling announcement to the crowd on the Temple Mount:

John 7.37-52 On the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of Living Water.”

Click link for more on Sukkot /Feast of Tabernacles

https://www.minimannamoments.com/in-the-end-its-all-about-yeshua-jesus/

However, His announcement was not received with universal acclaim because:

Many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee?……So there was a division among the people because of Him.

There is no doubt that the ruling group of Scribes and Pharisees had rejected Him, and forsaken the LORD, as the Prophet Jeremiah wrote.

Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?

Yeshua/Jesus, who was Himself The Fountain of Living Waters had offered the people rivers of Living Water…..but His offer was rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees.

He symbolized their rejection of Him by stooping down and writing on the ground with His finger.

The aggressive response to His confirmation of Himself as Messiah was rooted in their fear and anger that their authority was being challenged. Therefore, Yeshua/Jesus wrote on the ground….as though He did not hear.

John 8:7  4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

His action of ignoring them, as though He did not hear, was in fulfillment of Psalm 66.18 and Isaiah 59.2:

Psalm 66.18   If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear.

Isaiah 59.2   Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

How did they react?

Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.

They knew what the Scriptures said, and no doubt recognized the reference that Messiah made to Jeremiah 17.13, that those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD.

They would also have recognized why He seemed not to hear, because they were regarding iniquity in their hearts.

They were convicted by their conscience, and there was only one thing for them to do, leave, one by one.

However, there was another option for them. In Jeremiah 17.14, the following verse, is His offer of redemption:

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.

It is very sad that they rejected every offer that He made.

There is another possible explanation that may be the answer and maybe we should ask why it is that none of the Gospel writers put in their account exactly what was written. Could it be that it was because it was obvious to those whom the account was written to at that time?

Did the onlookers of the day understand without explanation?

As we have seen in previous posts, many of the Hebrew idioms are included in the narrative and we miss it; as we both read and look at it with a Greek Western mindset.

The religious leaders became increasingly irritated by Yeshua/Jesus’ popularity. Thousands of people followed Him, some for His teachings and most because of the miracles He was doing among them, healing their sick.. And so, being jealous, did they come up with a plan?

It is worth noting here that this scene played out following His discourse on the beatitudes…..

and when He said this it was in context of the woman taken in adultery.

Again It is important that we look at this situation with a Hebraic thinking mind otherwise we interpret it with a Greek way of thinking and miss the truth of this account. The Bible is a Jewish book and this is a Jewish story and they understood without an explanation, which is probably why none was given!

They brought her to Yeshua/Jesus, knowing the Law of Moses said she must be stoned and also knowing that if Jesus/Yeshua said stone her, He would be going against the Law of Rome which forbade execution by Jews and if He said not to stone her, He was going against the law of Moses.

Almost between a rock and a hard place!

Were they trying to trap Him between 2 laws?

Remembering Moses law said stone her and also the man!

So He wrote in the dust of the earth,

and to a Jew, with a Hebraic mindset,

it means only one thing;

It’s a claim to be YeHoVeH/God !

to be the very same Who wrote the 10 sayings

with His finger on the stone.

was He in fact saying I wrote that law?

We miss that because we are not Jewish and what He wrote, is not as important as the point He was making by His actions. He was claiming to be responsible for that law.

She found herself between a rock and a hard place.

The rock in her case was the Rock of Ages, Messiah Himself; and the hard place of her impossible situation, was softened; not by the rocks of accusation and judgment falling on her, but of her falling on the hard ground/place at the feet of the Rock of her salvation.

Go and sin no more.

This was not for her alone but for ALL who fall at His feet.

Our accusers have been silenced

by the Blood of the Lamb

and though there is a saying

‘you can’t get blood from a stone’;

in the case of Messiah,

the rock of the ages;

the rosh pinah/corner stone Himself…

it may have TRUTH to it!

His redeeming Blood has flowed forth to pay for our sins and judgment upon us has been passed and withdrawn for ever. As long as we stay humble and repentant at His feet, covered in His blood.

Even as He spoke to His disciples in the sermon on the mount/beatitudes,

Moses said, but I say…. and this is what I meant when I gave that instruction.

He came to correct the perversion of His laws by men. He reminded them of another of Moses laws which says that, no one can become a witness in a criminal charge if they have ever committed the same crime so when He said John 8:7 let him who is without sin.

He wasn’t saying that you have to be perfect before you can punish someone else, which is more or less a Greek way of thinking.

That is impractical for no judge is sinless.

He was referring to: Ex 23:2  You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause, following many, to divert judgment.

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong and quoting the law which says:

if you have never committed adultery then you can be a witness in this case

and that’s when one by one they walked away John 8:9 beginning with the oldest..

so the witnesses were dismissed based on the law.

Then He asked her where are your accusers? 

John 8:12 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord.

Another point of the law stated in:

Deut. 19:15 15

A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

Here are the passages they would have had in mind:

If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. ~ Leviticus 20:10

If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman as well as the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. – Deuteronomy 22:22

Based on the Scripture above, some would also ask the obvious question: if she was caught in the very act of adultery, that means she wasn’t alone. So where is the man? 

The relevant legal question at this juncture is whether the woman is married or not.

Under Torah law, adultery is a question of exclusivity and ownership. A married woman’s sexuality is “owned” by her husband, but not vice versa. This means, if the woman is not married, she has committed adultery and is under the potential sentence of death. If she is married, then both she and the man are under that potential sentence, because the man has violated the sexual “ownership” of another man. However, even if she was married, it is not outside of the realm of possibility that men in a patriarchal system could come to an arrangement on how to proceed, leaving the man out of it, especially given the socio-political maneuverings of the scribes and Pharisees to trap Messiah. 

It seems clear that the whole thing is a set up because should Yeshua/Jesus order her to be stoned, He upholds Jewish law, but breaks Roman law!

This was because the Jews who were living under Roman occupation did not have the unilateral rights to capital punishment for adultery.

If Yeshua/Jesus condemns the stoning, He breaks Jewish law and risked being discredited as being a compromiser who is soft on crime.

Jesus/Yeshua knew it was a set up, but He still needed to answer. Which, of course, He did by saying very little. What He wrote may have been just as powerful due to the fact that there had to be 2 or 3 witnesses and as there were no witnesses then the case was voided.

John 8:11. Neither do I condemn you but go and sin no more.

We should remember that mercy is not offered to us to go back into sin.

Was the point He was making simply, that He knew the Law better than her accusers did… and used Moses law to bring justice to the situation. And at this time He says John 8:12 declaring that He was the Light of the world.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

I AM the Light of the world.

Matthew 5:14-16

Anochi  – I AM that I AM

and

John 8:12. You are the light of the world.

He said of Himself and His disciples,

He did not say He was the salt of the earth!

Light, it’s not so much what we say or do, it’s what we are. If we follow Him we will not fall into sin, tempted and drawn away by our own lusts. James 1:13-14

Follow Him and walk in the light and not be living and walking in darkness.

Matthew 4:16.

He exposed their way and showed

His WAY which is Truth; and truth is love/ love is truth.

Matt 5:14-16 is

showing the higher standard of moral living in a wicked and adulterous generation. Good action is not doing good things, so much as being, and it proceeds to list the WAY, which is impossible for anyone to live up to in the natural but we are supernatural and as we press in personally, that’s what gives the glory to the Lord because its not us, It’s Him IN us. It’s supernatural NOT to worry! Don’t think of what you will eat or wear because our needs are met.

It is worth noting that this woman was likely a victim of entrapment and they were tempting Him, it was a trap, a snare.

Matt 22:15 tells us the Pharisees were always plotting how they could trap Him with a question.

If He gave her mercy, it would mean He was compromising concerning adultery and therefore an enemy of their moral law; but if Yeshua/Jesus stoned her, then all His teaching about mercy and forgiveness was invalidated.

John 8:7  4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

Verses 7, 8. – But when they continued asking him; he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and with his finger was writing on the ground.

another version says:

John 8:7. So when they continued asking him. For observing that he put himself in such a posture, they concluded that they had puzzled and perplexed him, and that he knew not what to say; and therefore they were more urgent for a speedy answer, hoping they should get an advantage of him; and that they should be able to expose him, and that his confusion would appear to all the people:

7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

One by one they walked away, “beginning with the oldest” until it was only Jesus left with the woman. Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.
“Neither do I condemn you, ” Jesus declared. “Go and sin no more.”

This was not normal, it never happened.

Imagine her shock!

Not only was she allowed to live but she is free to go.

Surely, He knew very soon, He would be paying the penalty not only for her adultery, but also for the crowd’s hatred, and for the religious leaders’ callous arrogance… on a cross.

The sins of the whole world would fall on Him, as He paid the price for our forgiveness and redemption.

Though He was YeHoVeh/God, the only one with the right to judge her, He was able to honestly tell this woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

At that time, Messiah said He did not come to judge, but came to seek and to save the lost.

He is our Savior.

He changes the lives of those who know Him and when He returns He will be as judge.

At the end of the story, Yeshua/Jesus and the woman are the only ones left. Not even His disciples are present.

Why were only He and the woman left? 

Did everyone leave because everyone has been indicted? 

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth…. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. . (John 1:14;16-17)

The Scribes and Pharisees came with the letter of Moses’ law for sneaky, ungodly purposes. Yeshua/Jesus knew all this and responded accordingly, with the spirit of the law, which is full of grace.

When He tells her that He doesn’t condemn her, and that she should stop sinning. Was He saying: I do not condemn you and the truth of the law is what you did was wrong, stop it.

Can we assume He is referring not only to the adultery. She, like all of us, probably has more than one secret shame, as well as patterns of unholiness.  

The scribes and the Pharisees weren’t wrong: the woman had sinned; but she was a pawn, merely a means to an end, because their purpose and goal in revealing her sin was condemnation. They debased her more than the man she was caught with and not just her but it was also against Yeshua/Jesus.

As we are continually seeing everything in the Bible is connected, woven together in a unique way. Yeshua/Jesus was purposefully writing in the dirt. Was He writing her sin and not only hers but writing all of our sins? He would not only drink that cup of sin and condemnation, but absorbed it all and eradicated it as if sin had never existed.

He will separate our sins from us.

Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

The phrase 

as far as the east is from the west

is meant to communicate in infinite space. 

East is in one direction, and west is in the other.

Implying as if we never sinned.

The bad news is that we are all law-breakers.

No one can keep the law perfectly.

As Paul wrote,

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Rom. 3:23.

But The Good News is

He came not to condemn the world, but to offer salvation.

He came into the world to make dead men live.

Forgiveness for repentant hearts…

Although the Law was written in stone, our sins need not be. Yeshua/Jesus offers forgiveness, and as the Scripture tells us, fulfilling Psalm. 103:12.

Why did Yeshua/Jesus write in the dirt?

The Last Adam wrote in the very dirt that He created the First Adam out of but…

unlike words in stone that cannot be changed, what is written in sand/dirt can be wiped away.

This is why He came and is exactly what He wants to do for us.

All we need to do is accept the grace He offers by repenting of our sins and He will remove those sins forever.

There may be much much more than we know to His final words.

IT IS FINISHED!

May His true Shalom/Peace

rest upon each one in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name.

‘Mishpachah’ ‘Family’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa Mish-pa-KHa

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

Happy Shavuot and may every reader be filled to overflowing

with His Ruach!

 

There may have been some confusion as to the timing of Shavuot 2021 which was a two-day holiday, celebrated from sunset on May 16 until nightfall on May 18. Orthodox Jews state it coincides with the date that God gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. It comes after 49 days of counting the Omer.

For Messianic Believers we are also remembering the outpouring of His Spirit of Holiness/Ruach Ha Kodesh recorded in Acts 2:1-13

Pentecost is also dated according to this calendar below.

For more on Shavuot click links below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/2-x-3000-a-marriage-made-in-heaven/

NOT SURE if you are part of His Family?

YOU CAN BE..

Say the following and mean it from your heart…

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 came in the flesh and 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 in my spirit 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.