Tehillim/Psalm 9:9 “And יהוה is a refuge for the crushed one, a refuge in times of distress.”

How many of you have felt crushed and in deep distress of late? As many face the increasing pressures of the world and its oppressive systems, many are finding themselves in such despair that they do not know which way to turn; yet here we see the great promise and assurance that יהוה is a refuge for the crushed and a refuge in times of distress. The Hebrew root word for ‘refuge’ is מִשְׂגָּב misgaḇ – Strong’s H4869 which means, ‘a secure height, retreat, stronghold, refuge’ and comes from the primitive root verb שָׂגַב sagaḇ – Strong’s H7682 which means, ‘to be (inaccessibly) high, exalted, lifted, safe, set securely on high’.

Tehillim/Psalm 29:25 “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in יהוה is set on high.”

Being crushed in distressful times can cause many to find themselves living in the fear of man, while lacking their ability to trust יהוה; yet we need to recognise that while we may have troubles and even be crushed by the times of distress – as we trust in יהוה, and find ‘refuge’ in Him, we are safe as He ‘sets us on high’ giving us the shalom we need to sojourn here amidst all the distress of the nations! Tonight I would like to look at a couple of verses that speak a great deal of truth to us, in shadow picturing the hope we have in Messiah, our Coming King; and as we look at those who joined themselves to Dawiḏ during times of great distress, we are able to recognise the assurance of our refuge that we are able to find in Our Beloved King, יהושע Messiah! In a message tonight called, “FINDING REFUGE IN OUR BELOVED KING!” may we be encouraged and refreshed in the truth of the Blessed Hope we have in our Master! Please turn with me to:

Shemuʼěl Aleph/1 Samuel 22:1-4 (Read).

I initially was wrestling with this entire chapter, but got immersed into the great truths we can find here in these first 4 verses and how we can, by looking at some key words, see great parallels in Scripture and also understand the clear consequences of our choices that we face today and make amidst times of increasing distress.

This chapter starts with Dawiḏ escaping to the cave of Aḏullam, after having left Gath and fleeing from king Sha’ul. As we look at these 4 verses we will see a great prophetic shadow picture of Messiah, and our sure ability of putting our trust in Him. גַּת Gath – Strong’s H1661 means, ‘winepress’; and so here in Dawiḏ’s travels we can see, that from his coming from ‘Gath’ to ‘Aḏullam’ and then going to ‘Mitspeh of Moaḇ’, a picture that contains the clear message of the two comings of Messiah as represented by the collection of these 3 places for each of His comings. I will first run through the meanings of these other two places and then dig a little deeper into the shadow pictures of hope that we can see in these events. Firstly though, I just want to remind you that the name of דָּוִד  Dawiḏ – Strong’s H1732 means, ‘beloved, beloved one’, and is a clear picture for us of our Beloved King,  יהושע Messiah.

עֲדֻלָּם Aḏullam – Strong’s H5725 means, ‘justice of the people’, and it was here in a cave that Dawiḏ had escaped to; and the word translated as ‘escaped’ in Hebrew is מָלַט malat – Strong’s H4422 which means, ‘to slip away, escape, certainly rescue, delivered, saved’, and so Dawiḏ had ‘saved’ himself from the hand of Sha’ul that was pressing hard after him, by coming to the cave at Aḏullam. In a manner of speaking we can see how this cave can represent a cave of deliverance; and in understanding the work of Messiah through His life, death and resurrection, we understand how Messiah who went from praying earnestly in the garden of Gethsemane, which means ‘wine press’, where He began to sweat blood as He began to be crushed for our iniquities and was then impaled on a pole, taking upon Himself the curse of the Torah (which is death) died for our sins and was buried in a ‘cave’, having faced the punishment of death for us, and was risen on the third day, for death could not hold Him; and now we who call unto Him in our distress and immersed in Him are set free from death, as we work out our deliverance with fear and trembling, finding our complete refuge in Him!

Righteousness and Justice are the foundations of His Throne and by the name of this cave that Dawiḏ came to, picture for us how our King, who leads the way, does so by satisfying the completeness of His Torah, establishing for us the True Justice of the people, who call upon His Name!

At first we see how Dawiḏ’s brothers and all his father’s house heard where Dawiḏ had gone and they went down to be with him at the cave of Aḏullam! This can picture for us, in a sense, a complete restoration of the house of Ya’aqoḇ who are brought together in Messiah. It was here in Aḏullam that Yehuḏah came, after he and his brothers had rejected and sold Yosĕph into the hands of the Miḏyanites; and after leaving his brothers he settled here and found a wife and had two sons – Ěr and Onan, before leaving to a nearby place, where he had a 3^rd son Shĕlah. Ěr was evil in the eyes of  יהוה and his life was taken by יהוה before he had any offspring with his wife Tamar… ! I am not going to go in to the account of Yehuḏah and Tamar… please read about it in Berěshith/Genesis 38. The point I am trying to show here is how we see this place ‘Aḏullam’ playing a key prophetic role in shadowing the deliverance that our Beloved King has brought to us in His own Blood and how by His Blood, the whole House of Ya’aqoḇ will be reunited and brought together as One in Messiah.

Miḵah/Micah 1:15 “Again I shall bring a dispossessor to you, O inhabitant of Marĕshah. The esteem of Yisra’ĕl shall come to Aḏullam.”

This is a powerful prophetic statement of the deliverance that Messiah brings to an oppressed and scattered people. The place מָרֵשָׁה Marĕshah – Strong’s H4762 means, ‘crest of a hill’  and comes from the root that means, ‘principalities, place at the head’ and by the strong words of יהוה here we see the clear words of deliverance as He will dispossess or bring low the high and exalted ones of the earth and bring low the rulership of the principalities of this world and will come and bring justice to Yisra’ĕl, who shall be exalted with Messiah at His return, when His Rule and Reign is firmly established here on earth!

The word used here for ‘cave’ in Hebrew is מְעָרָה me’arah – Strong’s H4631 and can mean, ‘cave, den, hole’. What is very interesting to see in Scripture is the frequent use of caves and the applications/events that we see that occurs in caves.

A cave can represent different things for us, for example:

Caves were used as:

1 – An assumed place of refuge – Lot dwelt in a cave with his two daughters after escaping Seḏom and Amorah – although the events that took place there were not good at all!!! The assumed place of refuge became twisted into a place of incest and, this is a lesson for us in recognising that Lot ended up in the mountains and dwelling in a cave, after he had asked to go to a nearby city. He could have even gone to Aḇraham’s camp and found husbands for his daughters, yet he took unnecessary stops and detours along the way – a great lesson for us in recognising that we must keep our feet on the path of Truth and not slip off into finding our own way and think we can find rest and refuge on our own!

2 – Burial sites – The most frequent use of caves in Scripture was for burial sites – in other words, caves primarily picture for us ‘death’. Not that all ‘caves’ for burial sites were ‘bad’ – some were fully paid for – Aḇraham purchased the cave in the field of Maḵpĕlah in order that he would have a burial site for Sarah; and he too was buried there.

3 – Hiding place – In Yehoshua/Joshua 10 we read about the day the sun and moon stood still, when Yehoshua fought against the 5 kings of the Amorites, when he helped the Giḇ’onites who had made a covenant with Yisra’ĕl. This was a spectacular day… none like it before – where יהוה listened to the voice of man and fought for Yisra’ĕl and brought a great victory. The 5 kings of the Amorites fled and hid in a cave at מַקֵּדָה Maqqĕḏah – Strong’s H4719 which means, ‘place of shepherds’. Yehoshua commanded that large stones be rolled over the mouth of the cave, so the 5 kings could not come out, and after the victory they were brought out and killed and hung on 5 trees until evening, after which they were thrown back into the cave they hid in and the cave was shut up forever!

There is much we can take from this account alone, yet for tonight we can see a powerful picture of how many of the ‘false shepherds’ who have led many astray with their false theologies and traditions of man, will be destroyed. This cave, which means a ‘place of shepherds’ represents the teachings and gatherings of the falsified ways of man, and while many assume to find their ‘hiding place’ in a cave that they have been led to by false shepherds who have muddied the truth, will be shut up in the first death and be delivered up at the second resurrection to be judged and face the second death!

4 – Gathering place – caves were also used as a gathering place – lie the account we see here of the many who were gathered to Dawiḏ at Aḏullam – after Dawiḏ’s brothers and his father’s house had come – more came  – about 400 hundred men were with him! We will speak about the gathering at this cave and its meaning for us today, shortly…!

5 – Place of protection and supply – Oḇaḏyah hid 100 prophets of יהוה in two caves and fed them bread and water, as he hid them away from Izeḇel, in the days of Eliyahu.

6 – Birthing place of praise and prayer – We can see that while Dawiḏ found himself in this and other caves as he fled from the hand of Sha’ul, we can see how some of his Psalms and prayers were proclaimed and sung from these caves;

Tehillim/Psalm 57 was written as a plea to יהוה that he not be destroyed when he fled from Sha’ul, and the introduction to this Psalm is, ‘To the chief musician, altashḥeth, a poem of Dawiḏ, when he fled from Sha’ul in the cave’ – אַל־תַּשְׁחֵת altashḥeth means, ‘do not destroy’ ; and in Tehillim/Psalm 142 we see a great prayer and cry to יהוה, as its introduction is, ‘A contemplative prayer of Dawiḏ, when he was in the cave’. What we can clearly learn from this is that while we may find ourselves in some of the most darkest times, we can see the birthing of pure praise and prayer unto our Great and Awesome Deliverer!

What we can see from the use of a cave is that while it primarily pictures darkness and death, we can also see how that by the death of Messiah, we have a place of refuge in times of distress, enabling us to be a praising and praying people, aměn!

This word for ‘cave’  – מְעָרָה me’arah is also translated as ‘den’ in:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I Myself have seen it,” declares יהוה.”

Turning the House into a den of robbers – this is what יהושע said to those who were buying and selling in the Set-Apart Place, when he turned over the tables of the money changers and those selling doves! Once again we see how falsehood and the twisting of Scripture is likened to the dark works of death as represented by a cave.

So many people have made a business out the Truth and think that they will prosper – their days are numbered!!!

What we also recognise here at this point of Dawiḏ and those who were gathered to him at Aḏullam, is that Dawiḏ had already been anointed by Shemuʼěl as King; however Sha’ul was still ruling Yisra’ĕl as the king that the people cried out for!

Dawiḏ was king, but yet his time had not yet come; however there was an army that had gathered to him, and he became their head! Today we can see the truth of this here on earth – While we certainly know that יהושע Messiah is our King and He is the King of Righteousness, His Kingdom has not yet come, and we who are gathered to Him, here and know are to proclaim His Kingdom as ambassadors of that which is coming, amidst the chaos of the earthly rulership and order that man has sought for himself. Sha’ul is the picture for us of man-made or self-rule, the rule that seeks to destroy toe Beloved’s ways and all who follow the Beloved King!

Metaphorically speaking, Aḏullam was no ordinary cave – and we see from this how we have a refuge in Messiah, our Coming Beloved King in whom we put our trust – and by us being ‘gathered’ to Aḏullam, so to speak, is a picture for us of how we ‘die to self’ and in our immersion in Messiah we are raised to new life – where we have the assurance in him that the second death has no power over us!

When the news of Dawiḏ was heard – his family came and a few came too in response to what was Good News to them – I say few as 400 in the bigger picture is a clear picture of a remnant that are gathered to their beloved king!

The word used for ‘gathered’ is קָבַץ qaḇats – Strong’s H6908 which means, ‘to gather, collect, assemble, meet, brought together’ and we see this word used a number of times in reference to the gathering of the remnant Yisra’ĕl to Her Beloved Husband and King:

Diḇre haYamim Aleph 11:1 “And all Yisra’ĕl came together to Dawiḏ at Ḥeḇron, saying, “See, we are your bone and your flesh.”

We are you bone and flesh – powerful words of a returning people to their king.

On the day that the Ark of the Covenant was returned and set up in the tent that Dawiḏ had built, he gave thanks and prayer to Elohim and part of this prayer is:

Diḇre haYamim Aleph 16:34-36 “Give thanks to יהוה, for He is good, For His kindness is everlasting! 35 And say, “Save us, O Elohim of our deliverance; And gather us together, And deliver us from the gentiles, To give thanks to Your set-apart Name, And boast in Your praise.” 36 Blessed be יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl From everlasting to everlasting! And all the people said, “Aměn!” and praised יהוה.”

When Neḥemyah prayed to YHWH and acknowledge his and his father’s sins, he appealed to YHWH on the basis of His Word:

Neḥemyah/Nehemiah 1:8-9 “Please remember the word that You commanded Your servant Mosheh, saying, ‘If you trespass, I shall scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you shall turn back to Me, and guard My commands and do them, though you were cast out to the end of the heavens, I shall gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen, to make My Name dwell there.’”

And during the rebuilding of the wall, Neḥemyah encouraged all under the intense threats of Sanballat and his crew, to not give up:

Neḥemyah/Nehemiah 4:20 “In whatever place you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, join us there. Our Elohim fights for us.”

We have an Elohim who fights for us and we need not be afraid – even though we may be a remnant few and sojourning amidst distressing times! In verse 3 we are told that Dawiḏ went from Aḏullam to Mitspeh of Moaḇ; and here can see a powerful picture of Our Beloved Messiah King who watches intently over us and fights for us. The word מִצְפֶּה Mitspeh – Strong’s H4708 means, ‘watchtower’ and comes from the primitive root צָפָה tsaphah – Strong’s H6822 which means, ‘to look out, watchman, keep watch’ and מוֹאָב Moaḇ – Strong’s H4124 means, ‘of the father’.

This is a clear picture for us of Messiah who has gone through the winepress, down to a cave and faced death, was risen on the third day and ascended to the Heavenly Tabernacle where He intercedes for us, as He ‘watches over’ us, for He has brought us the assurance of the coming deliverance of the Father!

The promise of us being gathered is clearly stated over and over in Scripture, just like we see in:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 23:3 “Therefore I shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and shall bring them back to their fold. And they shall bear and increase.”

When we consider the people who came to Dawiḏ at Aḏullam, we can see from this that it was those who were in great distress and had been in debt and all who had been bitter in the beings. Without going into each of these Hebrew words, for the sake of time, What we can see here is that the desperate came to their king in order to find true justice. These verses do not in any way say that to have debt is ok, or that to be bitter is ok…NO! What we see here is that this speaks of a people who despite their hard work and daily efforts in trying to survive, they just struggled and the only place they could find true refuge was in the true anointed and beloved king of Yisra’ĕl. The more we walk in the Torah, the harder it will become for us as we sojourn here, yet we are to take courage for messiah has overcome the world and as we walk in Him we too can be more than overcomers, aměn!

We who turn to Messiah, and accept to walk in His Kingdom ways by faithfully obeying His Torah, have the promise of a sure deliverance that will be made complete at His return, and so we find refuge for our lives right here, right now, as we die to self daily and allow His resurrection power to equip us to walk and work out our deliverance with fear and trembling, as we proclaim His name and His Kingdom. What is interesting to see from this Aḏullam account is that those who were gathered to Dawiḏ, while Sha’ul was still in the position of king, is that they became Dawiḏ’s mighty men; and when Messiah  – our Beloved King returns with great vengeance, He is coming to tread upon the winepress in His wrath, those who have opposed Him, and in the establishment of His Kingdom, many will run into caves!!! This time those who are running to caves – are not running to a cave of deliverance, but are running to seek shelter from the wrath of Elohim and they will not be able to hide!

Ḥazon/Revelation 6:15 “And the sovereigns of the earth, and the great ones, and the rich ones, and the commanders, and the mighty, and every slave and every free one, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains”

Notice here that it is the kings, the great ones, the rich ones and all the mighty and ‘free’ that are hiding in a cave!!! This is a contrasting picture of those who came to Dawiḏ; for our King will bring low the exalted and exalt the low, in that Day!

While we may find ourselves crushed under great distress, let us be encouraged to seek refuge in our risen king and be able to declare as Sha’ul declared in:

Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 4:7-10 “And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power might be of Elohim, and not of us – 8 being hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; being perplexed, but not in despair; 9 being persecuted, but not forsaken; being thrown down, but not destroyed; 10 always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in our body.”

In verse 4 we see that Dawiḏ’s family and all who were with him dwelt with him in Moaḇ all the time he was in the stronghold – and the word for ‘stronghold’ is מְצוּדָה metsudah – Strong’s H4686 which means, ‘a fastness, stronghold, fortress, inaccessible place’, and this word is used in:

Tehillim/Psalm 18:2 “יהוה is my rock and my stronghold and my deliverer; My Ěl is my rock, I take refuge in Him; My shield and the horn of my deliverance, my high tower.”

As long as we remain in and live in Him, we shall be safe and assure of the blessed hope of His soon return!

What I want us to recognize from these accounts that we have read about tonight is that we have a Refuge – and he has defeated the ‘cave of death’ so to speak and has established His justice and righteousness that we are to live by and proclaim – may we be found in Him, even in the darkest trials and distress and not be found in the caves of falsehood and lies, but be found in the light of His Truth, finding Refuge in our Beloved King – we do not need to hide in caves and be like Eliyahu who was asked – ‘what are you doing here?’, but we rather must take living refuge in the Living King!

In summary: As we consider ‘Gath’ (winepress), ‘Aḏullam’ (justice for the people) and the ‘metsudah’ (stronghold) at ‘Mitspeh’ (watchtower) of ‘Moaḇ’ (of the Father); we are able to see how at Messiah’s first coming, He went through the winepress for us as He bore our iniquities, bringing true justice and becoming our Refuge and strong tower who is on high; and when He comes again – he will trod the winepress of the wrath of Elohim and administer His justice, bringing down the exalted and raising up the low.

While we are in between these two comings may we be like the desperate men who came to Dawiḏ, and ended up being some of his mighty men, and not be found to be living for self at His second coming and in danger of being trodden down in His wrath! No matter your crushed or desperate state – our Beloved King is a Refuge for those who trust in Him – may we be a people that are daily FINDING REFUGE IN OUR BELOVED KING!

In closing here are a couple of verses from Tsephanyah/Zephaniah that echo the same language and message of our need to be gathered to our Beloved King …. NOW!!!

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 2:1-3 “Gather together, gather together, O nation without shame, 2 before the decree is born – the day shall pass on like chaff – before the burning wrath of יהוה comes upon you, before the day of wrath of יהוה comes upon you! 3 Seek יהוה, all you meek ones of the earth, who have done His right-ruling. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, if so be that you are hidden in the day of wrath of יהוה.”

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 3:12 “But I shall leave in your midst an oppressed and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of יהוה.”

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 3:18-20 “I shall gather those who grieve about the appointed place, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. 19 “See, I am dealing with all those afflicting you at that time. And I shall save the lame, and gather those who were cast out. And I shall give them for a praise and for a name in all the earth where they were put to shame. 20 “At that time I shall bring you in, even at the time I gather you, for I shall give you for a name, and for a praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes,” said יהוה.

We have a Beloved King – יהושע Messiah – are you – FINDING REFUGE IN OUR BELOVED KING?

Shalom!

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 5:9 “And having been perfected, He became the Causer of everlasting deliverance to all those obeying Him”

This verse is speaking of our Deliverer – יהושע Messiah, who became the ‘causer’ of everlasting deliverance – to who???

ALL THOSE OBEYING HIM!!!

This is a very important statement of truth being made here – it is only to those who are obeying Him, that He actually becomes the causer of everlasting deliverance! The Greek word translated as ‘causer’ is αἴτιος  aitios – Strong’s G159 which means, ‘causative of, responsible for, that which is the cause of anything that resides, author’. The One who ‘causes us to be’ is the One who causes us to have everlasting deliverance!!! The author of our belief causes the obedient to obtain deliverance! The Greek word translated as ‘obeying’ is ὑπακούω  hupakouō – Strong’s G5219 which means, ‘to listen, attend to, obey, heed, become obedient, to submit to’ and comes from two Greek words: ὑπό hupo – Strong’s G5259 which means ‘under’ and further means ‘to be controlled by or in subjection to’; and the second word is ἀκούω akouō – Strong’s G191 meaning, ‘hearing, listen, give heed, understand’. In other words, we clearly see from the Greek, the one who obeys the Master is one who is in subjection to the hearing of His commands, and diligently gives heed to obey and understand by making sure his ears are open to hear the Master’s voice!

Yoḥanan/John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

The ‘Causer of Life and Deliverance’ has spoken, and His Word stands forever – the question that ought to be asked today, is whether the sheep are listening and obeying, or are they putting off what is being instructed, for another day!

Dawiḏ, a man who took heed and listened to the Master’s voice says in:

Tehillim/Psalm 18:2 “יהוה is my rock and my stronghold and my deliverer; My Ěl is my rock, I take refuge in Him; My shield and the horn of my deliverance, my high tower.”

I simply wanted to mention this verse to clearly indicate that the words of יהושע Messiah, our Rock and the causer of our deliverance, are the same words of יהוה, our Rock and our deliverer. And the reason for this is to simply make it clear that there is only One Elohim – יהושע Messiah is יהוה, our deliverer!!! Therefore when we obey the voice of the Good Shepherd and Rock of Yisra’ĕl, we listen to and subject ourselves to His Torah, and submit to walking in it, knowing that it is not a worthless word, but rather it is our life, as we see Mosheh making this clear in Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 32:47!

There are many today who claim to be listening to the voice of the Deliverer, while they cast the Deliverer’s words behind them and assume that the Torah is of no effect and in their vain attempt at true worship and obedience, they cast aside total obedience, rendering them as simply being a rebellious people.

There are also many who claim to be walking in the Torah of Elohim, yet the fruit of their lives reveals that they do not harken to His voice with urgency, but rather delay their need to submit and obey for a later time or another day. Delayed obedience is nothing more than pure rebellion!

In a message tonight called, “LISTEN UP – TODAY!”, let us look at what the Master יהוה says to a people who ‘put off’ His Word for another day. Turn with me to Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 12:21-28 (Read).

This section in Yeḥezqěl begins with a phrase that we find as a regular phrase in Yeḥezqěl –

“And the word of יהוה came to me, saying”

In fact this phrase is found 49 times in the Book of Yeḥezqěl – that is pretty significant if you ask me!!! The words that Yeḥezqěl received and spoke, were relevant words to a rebellious nation, who had been called out of darkness and separated unto יהוה as a treasured possession! When we recognise and acknowledge that the Word of Elohim is alive and active, then we also are able to recognise how relevant the words of the Prophets are for us today; and having said that, we are then able to clearly see that the same Word that was relevant to a rebellious nation back then, is as relevant to us today – which would obviously suggest that rebellion is still a major problem for so many! When I think of this powerful phrase being recorded 49 times in Yeḥezqěl, the thing that jumps to my mind is the counting of the omer – which will be coming up very soon, where we are commanded to count 50 days (49 +1) from Bikkurim (the waving of the sheaf of barley) to Shavuot where two loaves are waved as an acceptable offering before יהוה. 50, as we know, represents the Yoḇel and the year of release, and also points forward to the Yoḇel year when יהוה shall return for His ready Bride, who has worked out Her deliverance with fear and trembling. With the number of times that the ‘word of יהוה came to Yeḥezqěl being 49, we can be clear is the picture of this showing us that if we do not diligently ‘hear and obey’ the Word of יהוה in the ’49 times’ it is being proclaimed, so to speak, then by the 50^th time, when He returns, it will be too late – By the 50^th time the Word of יהוה comes – those who have not heard, nor understood, and rebelled, it will come to them as a thief in the night!

Yeḥezqěl was told to go and tell the rebellious that their own little proverbs and fabricated words are false and His Word has been spoken and therefore it is!!! They were at that time developing sayings among themselves that tried to tickle the ears of the masses, by saying that the spoken judgement was not true and each new day proves it! In response, יהוה makes it clear that His Word is True and his coming destruction will prove it – hence the critical call to wake up and listen – Today! Kěpha tells us that this same mentality will be evident in the last days:

Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:3-4 “knowing this first: that mockers shall come in the last days with mocking, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues as from the beginning of creation.”

In Luqas/Luke 12 we see by the parables given by Messiah of His return, that He clearly states that blessed are the servants whom the Master finds watching, when He comes; and also gives a stern warning to those who delay their obedience to hear, guard and do, by putting off for another day that which they were to be watchful over and obedient in today, neglecting their duty shall be cut in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers:

Luqas/Luke 12:43-47 “Blessed is that servant whom his master shall find so doing when he comes. 44 “Truly, I say to you that he shall appoint him over all his possessions. 45 “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male servants and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant shall come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour that he does not know, and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the unbelievers. 47 “And that servant who knew his master’s desire, and did not prepare, nor did according to his desire, shall be beaten with many stripes.”

Very sobering words indeed – and I encourage you to read the rest of the chapter in Luqas/Luke, as Messiah makes it clear that He did not come to bring peace, but division and He came to fire on the earth and how He wished that it was already kindled!!!

Fire refines and He wants a refined Bride who listens up – Today!!!

יהוה makes it clear here in Yeḥezqěl that the days have drawn near, and that the time has actually come where there is no longer to be any false vision or flattering divination within the House of Yisra’ĕl – it is time to listen to the Word of Truth and not the babel of falsehood and lies!

In Verse 23 יהוה says that He will make the false proverb to cease, so that it is not used in Yisra’ĕl any longer! Interestingly the word used here for ‘cease’ or ‘I will cause to cease’ is – הִשְׁבַּתִּי – ‘ha’shaḇati’ which is from the root verb שָׁבַת shaḇath – Strong’s H7673 which means, ‘to cease, desist, rest, observe, observe the rest, put an end’ and it is written in the ‘hifil tense’, which is the causative action of the ‘qal tense’, which can be rendered as, ‘to put an end to, to exterminate, destroy, to cause to desist from’; and this I find very interesting as it is the same root word used for the clear instruction given to us to ‘observe, keep’ the Sabbath; and what is being clearly stated here is that all falsehood and flattery He will cause to cease, as the true observance of His Word is adhered to.

Hence the clear reason that we are told in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 58 that on His Shabbat we shall esteem calling it a delight, not seeking our own pleasures, nor doing our own ways, nor speaking our own words, but rather delight ourselves in יהוה.

In verse 24 the Hebrew root word translated as ‘flattering’ is חָלָק ḥalaq – Strong’s H2509 which means, ‘smooth, flattering, slippery’. Messiah tells us that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart (Mattithyahu/Matthew 12:34 & Luqas/Luke 6:45) and we are also told in Hoshěa/Hosea 10 we are told that Yisra’ĕl who had become a degenerate vine due to rebellion and lawlessness, had a ‘slippery’ heart, which is the word חָלָק ḥalaq which can further mean, ‘to be smooth, or being deceitful in giving misleading opinions or thought about what is true and often encouraging wrong behaviour, and also means to flatter or seduce’. Wow – how sad it is today to see how so many have been seduced in following ‘misleading opinions’ and are being ‘encouraged to be disobedient’ by the ‘smooth talkers’ – beware of the smooth talkers! And even more importantly – do not be a smooth talker – be a truth talker!

Mixed or lukewarm worship that does not listen “today” to the Truth, but rather gets flattered by smooth and misleading opinions will result in hearts and words becoming ‘slippery’ and in danger of slipping away!!! And when many use the vain and pathetic excuse of the overused saying, “Oh but He knows my heart!”, they are sadly misinformed by flattering lies into thinking that their hearts are healthy, when the Word says that the heart is crooked above all and desperately sick. Many are sick and they do not know it, and sick hearts speak falsehood!

As a result of a closed ear to hearing the Truth ‘TODAY’ many do not take the Truth seriously, as a result of the muddied waters of false and flattering teachings of man that tickle ears, and the message is very clear – In the House of Yisra’ĕl – only the Word of Truth  – יהוה’s Word must be heard and attended to diligently!!!

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that the anti-messiah is coming, even now many anti-messiahs have come. This is how we know that it is the last hour.”

The time to hear and guard and do the Word of Elohim in NOW – and as long as it is called Today – we have time to hear and obey – not putting off until tomorrow what must be heard and observed TODAY!

There are many flattering teachings that are ridiculously false, yet if one is not paying careful attention to the Word, then how would you be able to discern the Truth from the False?

Yoḥanan Bět /2 John 1:7 “Because many who are leading astray went out into the world who do not confess יהושע Messiah as coming in the flesh. This one is he who is leading astray and the anti-messiah.”

Just think about this statement being made here by Yoḥanan for a moment – here was a man that had walked with Messiah and many of the first recipients of his letters would have either walked with or seen Messiah – so you have to ask the question as to why would those who literally saw יהושע Messiah actually have to confess that He came in the flesh –  I mean many physically saw Him!!! What Yoḥanan is clearly stating here is that unless you can confess that יהושע Messiah is יהוה our Deliverer in the flesh, then you are sadly being led astray by the many who are teaching otherwise!

And many will dress up this lie that denies the deity of Messiah with many flattering words and explanations, while they are missing the mark completely – and we are to be awake against such heresies that deny that Our Deliver and Rock – that is יהוה – came in the flesh – and His Name declares that He who causes us to be – is the One who shall cause those who obey Him, to receive an everlasting deliverance!

When we repeatedly hear the term “TODAY” being used in reference to the word of יהוה that has been spoken and is to be heard, we clearly see TODAY does not speak of ‘tomorrow’ or the next day, or next week, or year or any other day… but TODAY! Today lasts only as long as there is opportunity to decide to hear – and as long as the conscience is sensitive to יהוה. When a person’s “today” is over, it is then too late. His heart gets harder every time he says no to the clear Word and instructions of יהושע Messiah ‘today’ with a ‘slippery’ heart that reckons that they will to get to what needs to be done ‘tomorrow’ or even another day. Delayed obedience is rebellion, as I have already mentioned!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 30:8-9 “Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my lawful bread; 9 lest I become satisfied and deny You, and say, “Who is יהוה?” and lest I be poor, and steal, and seize the Name of my Elohim.”

יהושע Messiah further teaches us that we are to ask for, seek out and eat our ‘daily bread’ from the Father – which is His provision for us – His Bread (Manna) that comes from Him! And the saying ‘you are what you eat’ will be clearly evident as to whether or not you are eating that which is your daily lawful bread or whether you are eating words of flattery and divination!

In 20 verses in Deḇarim/Deuteronomy the call to guard and obey that which was commanded ‘TODAY’ is spoken by Mosheh to the children of Yisra’ĕl, which pictures a clear urgency to be a doer of what you hear ‘TODAY” and not just a hearer only, for the putting off that which must be done is rebellion!

The Hebrew word used here for ‘rebellious’ is מְרִי meri – Strong’s H4805 which means, ‘rebels, rebellious, bitter’ and comes from the primitive root מָרָה marah – Strong’s H4784 which means, ‘to be contentious or rebellious, to be disobedient’;  and when one does not listen up and obey TODAY, bitterness grows and the heart becomes more and more hardened to hearing the Truth – to the point where the heart becomes a slippery slope where the Word does not even get planted any longer and is sadly brushed off as irrelevant – to the point where compromised hearing and doing leads to total rebellious and lawlessness, leaving only a degenerate, rather than a fruitful vine – which is thrown into the fire!

Iḇ’rim/Hebrew 3:7-8 “Therefore, as the Set-apart Spirit says, “Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness”

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 3:13 “but encourage one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened by the deceivableness of sin.”

The name of the place where Yisra’ĕl rebelled in the Wilderness was called “Massah” and “Meriḇah”: Massah – מַסָּה  Strong’s H4532 meaning, ‘temptation, test, try, prove’ and מְרִיבָה  Meriḇah – Strong’s H4808 means, ‘strife, contentions’ and comes from the root word רִיב rib – Strong’s H7378 meaning, ‘to strive, contend, argue, complain, find fault, quarrel’. This was a place where they constantly found fault with their ‘Wilderness’ sojourning and having to listen to Mosheh and Aharon!

This was a place where, instead of their hearts being united in set-apartness, were hardened and cried out in contention against the Word of Elohim, the very thing we are to guard against:

Tehillim/Psalm 95:7-8 “For He is our Elohim, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice:  8 Do not harden your hearts as in Meriḇah, and as in the day of Massah in the wilderness”

We ought to be urging and encouraging each other on in remaining faithful and obedient in love.

Shemuʼěl Aleph/1 Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of יהוה, He also does reject you as sovereign.”

What must be a very clear and sobering reminder to us here is that rebellion is as the sin of divination, which is not to be found in the House of Yisra’ĕl!!! Rebellion is simply the act of rejecting the need to ‘listen up – today’ and guard to do all that has been spoken and instructed by יהוה, and when people rebel against the need to hear, guard and do, they risk the reality of being rejected as the called out priesthood that we ought to be:

Hoshěa/Hosea 4:6 “My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children.”

Hear the true Words of our Master here in Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 12:28, where he tells us clearly that none of His words are deferred any longer – for When He speaks it is done!!! He has spoken – are you listening???

For now is the time to “LISTEN UP – TODAY!”

Let us be a hearing people – a people who are awake to the times and attentive to the Word of our Deliverer and not be like so many who refuse to hear and obey the Torah of Elohim – for to those who put off today what they hear, may face death and not see the everlasting deliverance the Messiah causes the obedient to receive.

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 42:21-22 “So I have declared it to you today, but you have not obeyed the voice of יהוה your Elohim in all which He has sent me to you. 22 “And now, know for certain that you shall die by the sword, by scarcity of food, and by pestilence in the place where you have desired to go to sojourn.”

Perhaps you have found that you have been guilty of turning a deaf ear to the Truth, in order to find the flattering words of falsehood in an attempt at justifying a compromised lifestyle; then hear TODAY the call to hear, guard and do! What have you been conveniently putting off for another day? While it is still Today – do what is required – you do not know if you will have a tomorrow!!! In a day and age where flattering words of divination and falsehood are heard all around us – let us be careful to not fall for that which does not satisfy, but be diligent in hearing the Voice of our Good Shepherd, as we follow Him and walk as He walked, allowing his Torah to light our way – and if you have been closing the ear to what must be done – then – “Listen up – TODAY” and guard the charge of our Elohim to let your light so shine before men, so that they see your good works and praise your Father who is in the heavens; being clearly evident that you hear, guard and do what is commanded to you TODAY!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 8:1 “Guard to do every command which I command you today, that you might live, and shall increase, and go in, and shall possess the land of which יהוה swore to your fathers.”

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 4:1 “And now, O Yisra’ĕl, listen to the laws and the right-rulings which I am teaching you to do, so that you live, and shall go in and possess the land which יהוה Elohim of your fathers is giving you.”

“Listen up – TODAY” and HEAR, GUARD and DO!!!

Shalom!

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Luqas/Luke 11:35 “See to it therefore that the light which is in you is not darkness.”

What does this really mean? I mean think about it – how can ‘light’ be darkness? At first this may seem like an odd statement to make, yet I assure you that it is a very powerful instruction that we ought to heed, lest we find ourselves with light that is actually dark!!! Tonight I want us to understand the concept of light as pictured for us in Scripture and look at some key Hebrew words that will help us to do our utmost in ensuring that the light that is in us is in no way darkness! In a message called, ‘LAMP AND LIGHT – WE NEED THEM BOTH!’ turn with me to a very popular verse:

Tehillim/Psalm 119:105 (read).

In diligently searching and studying the Word, I was about to take a portion of this Tehillim as a base for the message tonight, and while I started out with the intent to look at verses 105-112, I very quickly realised that I could not get past this verse and so I got captivated by this one verse that led me to dig and further understand the concept of lamp and light and how we need them both as one in order to live. In this verse we can clearly see that His Word is both a lamp and light for us, yet there is clearly two different aspects to this and the responsibility we have as children of Light in carrying in our daily walk.

Yoḥanan/John 8:2 “Therefore יהושע spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but possess the light of life.”

Yoḥanan/John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

יהושע Messiah also tells us, His disciples, that:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:13 “You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city to be hidden on a mountain.”

So, while He was in the world He is the light of the world, and He has called us to be that light and not hide His truth and as we walk in this ‘dark’ world, we are to walk as children of light as we allow His Word to be a lamp for our feet.

Let us look at the breakdown of the key root words here in Tehillim/Psalm 119:105 and then identify the further understanding of these words as seen in other Scriptures.

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Firstly we need to recognise what is the source of the lamp and light or rather what is the lamp and light and clearly we can see here that it is the Word of יהוה! The Hebrew word for ‘Word’ is דָּבָר  daḇar – Strong’s H1697 meaning, ‘speech, word, commandment, chronicles, message’ which in its primitive root form – דָּבַר  daḇar – Strong’s H1696 means, ‘to speak, command, counsel, declare, proclaimed, converse, warn, threaten, promise’.

After the flood we are clearly told in Berěshith/Genesis 11:1 that there was one language and one speech, with the word for ‘speech’ being דָּבָר  daḇar; and when man tried to do things his own way and build a tower and make a name for themselves at Baḇel, יהוה came down and confused the language as a result of man’s neglect to submit to יהוה’s Word; and as a result brought confusion and the inability to understand each other’s speech and from this point forward various languages were birthed and various interpretations and understanding of man was developed, and so the earth was ‘confused’ without the pure restoration of the one language and one Word!

The word בָּבֶל Baḇel – Strong’s H894, which was the name of the site of this event, comes from the verb בָּלַל balal – Strong’s H1101 meaning, ‘to mingle, mix, confuse, confound’ and so בָּבֶל Baḇel can best be understood as meaning, ‘confusion (by mixing)’. Confusion certainly does arise when the True and pure Word is mixed with man-made doctrines, dogmas, theologies and traditions that aspire to build for themselves a ‘tower’ of self-identification!

While not all speak the same language, nor do all adhere to and submit to the same Word today, we know for certainty that in the Millennial reign there will once again be one language and most certainly one Word – יהוה דָּבָר – ‘Daḇar יהוה’ – The Word of Yahweh – as He, The Word Himself, will come and rule and reign as he restores One language and One speech!!!

Ḥazon/Revelation 19:12-13 “And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns, having a Name that had been written, which no one had perceived except Himself 13 and having been dressed in a robe dipped in blood – and His Name is called: The Word of יהוה.”

יהושע is the Word and the word is Elohim – and the Word of Elohim, the True Light that enlightens every man came into the world that came to be through Him and the “confused” world did not know Him, and His own did not receive Him; yet those who did receive Him He gave authority to become children of Elohim – and therefore become children of Light and shine that Light in this dark and confused world!

The Word of Elohim – is both a lamp to our feet and a light for our path:

The word used here for ‘lamp’ is נֵר ner – Strong’s H5216 meaning, ‘lamp, candle, light’. Now a lamp in ancient times would primarily be a vessel with a wick for burning a liquid such as oil in order to produce light; and as one would walk the lamp would typically be carried in one’s hand! The picture here is that as we take each step, our hand (which speaks of our works) needs to hold up (that is to do) the lamp (which is the Word) in order to let our eyes see the path before us!

We need not fear the path that lies ahead as we know that Elohim goes before us:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 31:8 “And it is יהוה who is going before you, He Himself is with you. He does not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be discouraged.”

And again we are told that יהושע our High Priest has gone as a forerunner before us, having brought His clear Light for the expectation that is set before us; and by His life, death and resurrection, He made known His Light and showed us the Way, so that we may walk in it, having our lamps filled with His clear oil lighting our path in this dark and confused world:

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 6:17-20 “In this way Elohim, resolving to show even more clearly to the heirs of promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, confirmed it by an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable matters in which it is impossible for Elohim to lie, we might have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the expectation set before us, 19 which we have as an anchor of the life, both safe and firm, and entering into that within the veil, 20 where יהושע has entered as a forerunner for us, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq.”

This word for lamp – נֵר ner – is also used in:

Shemuʼěl Bět/2 Samuel 22:29 “For You are my lamp, O יהוה, And יהוה makes my darkness light.”

Shemoth/Exodus 25:37 “And you shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall mount its lamps so that they give light in front of it.”

This was part of the instructions given for the construction of the Tabernacle and the lampstand with its seven lamps that were to be in the Set-Part Place giving light over the table of showbread, and this is also a clear pointing to the seven lampstands as seen in Ḥazon/Revelation 2 & 3, and how יהושע walks in the midst of these!

Shemoth/Exodus 27:20 “And you, you are to command the children of Yisra’ĕl to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”

The lamp was to burn continually which is the word תָּמִיד tamid – Strong’s H8548 which means, ‘continuity, all times, always, constantly, regularly, continually’.

This is a clear picture for us in the command to keep our lamps burning continually:

Tehillim/Psalm 119:44 “That I might guard Your Torah continually, forever and ever”

How we keep our lamps burning continually is to be a people who are guarding His pure and clear Torah, day and night!

The lamp is for our feet! The root word for ‘feet’ here is רֶגֶל ‘regel’ Strong’s H7272 – means ‘a foot/feet or to walk’, and in Scripture this often speaks of one’s obedience to walking according to the commands of יהוה and obeying His call to keep His feasts as commanded; as this same word is used in Wayyiqra/Leviticus 23 and translated as ‘times’ in reference to the 3 times a year all males were to appear before Elohim at Yerushalayim which would collectively cover all 7 Feasts/Appointed Times of Elohim, marking out the clear need to walk according to His word and guard the Appointed Times or Feasts of יהוה!

The Word teaches us how to walk and guides us in paths of righteousness and helps us in recognising the need to guard and keep His Feasts, as opposed to man-made feasts that are rooted in pagan worship practices!

While we may recognise that the Word is a lamp to our feet, we need to understand the source of the lamps ability to light the way, for we can certainly see in the confused world today how many different religions proclaim a way that seems right to them and so they hold up their own ‘lamps’ that lights their path – and what we recognise as true children of light is that the Word must be both our Light and Lamp, lest we are found having our own mixed lamp of confusion that has discarded the need for the Torah to light our path!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 21:2 “All a man’s ways are right in his own eyes, but  יהוה weighs the hearts.”

The Torah is supposed to be written upon our hearts in order that we do it and have the True Light give light to our lamp as we take each step of faith in total obedience to His Word!

A continual theme that we find all throughout Scripture we see very clearly here in this Creation account, and that is the separating of light from darkness.

The word used for ‘light’ here in Tehillim/Psalm 119:105 is אוֹר  ‘oor’ – Strong’s H216 which we know in Scripture, in being the opposite to darkness, carries with it the clear significance it has for us in speaking of knowledge and insight and understanding as opposed to ignorance and confusion. In fact in Berěshith/Genesis 1:3 when Elohim said, “let light come to be”; I firmly believe that He was in essence saying that His Word brings order to the chaos, and wisdom and understanding is established by His Word as His Light brings order that restores confusion!

Right here in the beginning of creation we see the power and effect of the Word of Elohim – it separated the light from the darkness! And when we understand that darkness is a picture of folly and light a picture of wisdom then we see that His Word shows us the clear difference by separating all that is folly from that which is of wisdom:

Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 2:13 “Then I saw that wisdom is better than folly, as light is better than darkness.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:23 “For the command is a lamp, and the Torah a light, and reproofs of discipline a way of life”

Here we see both the use of the words ‘lamp’ – נֵר ner; and ‘light’ – אוֹר  oor, and what we understand is that His Torah is the fullness of all His clear instructions, statutes and commands, and we must therefore recognise that His Torah lights our path – as revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Messiah; and therefore we need to realise that the lamp for our feet is brought forth in our diligence to hear, guard and do His clear commands as seen in His Torah!

Mattithyahu/Matthew 6:22-24 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, all your body shall be enlightened. 23 “But if your eye is evil, all your body shall be darkened. If, then, the light that is within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one and love the other, or else he shall cleave to the one and despise the other. You are not able to serve Elohim and mammon.”

The eye is the lamp! What are you fixing your eyes on? Eyes without true ‘love’ are blinded to the True Light of the Word, and we know that ‘love’ for Elohim is to obey His commands – so when many claim that the Torah is no longer applicable or valid and cast it behind them, their eyes are clearly blinded by a ‘confused’ application of what is and assumed love with no regard for the fixing of one’s eyes on the Truth! An evil eye is a dysfunctional eye that may have the appearance of seeing yet are unable to ‘know’ or perceive!

We are to fix our eyes on Messiah, as we meditate daily on His Torah and let His Word dwell in us richly:

Qolasim/Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing with pleasure in your hearts to the Master in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs.”

The Torah is to be upon our hearts, in order that we shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day when the Light and Word comes and dwells completely in our midst:

Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 1:19-21 “And we have the prophetic word made more certain, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture came to be of one’s own interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the desire of man, but men of Elohim spoke, being moved by the Set-apart Spirit.”

Yoḥanan/John 12:46 “I have come as a light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.”

יהושע Messiah came to light our path that we may not walk in darkness and confusion anymore, and as we walk daily in His commands we shine brighter and brighter:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

Just as the instructions were given to make the lamps burn with clear pressed oil in Shemoth/Exodus 27:20  we recognise that we too need to make sure that the ‘oil’ which lights our lamp is clear and pure, and just as the priests were commanded to tend it from evening until morning before יהוה as a law forever; and as taught in the parable of the ten virgins we also see the clear need to have our lamps filled with oil and not dare be found empty on the day of His visitation, reminding us how we too are to keep our lamps burning in these ‘dark times’ until the morning comes!

Romiyim/Romans 13:12 “The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

Now if our lamps are to be tended continually then we see the need to constantly be on guard as to what we set our eyes upon – for our eyes are to be looking to יהושע Messiah (Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:2)!!!

Lamps filled with pure and clear oil! There are many today who have lamps in their hand and presume to be walking on a sure path, while they have been misguided by inherited lies and tradition, as the confusion of man has mixed the clear and pure oil of the Truth with false worship practices, and as a result have contaminated the oil to the point of it becoming a wicked counterfeit that leads many on a path to destruction under the guidance of a false light as its source, which will be proved to be darkness when the True Light appears before all!

The following two verse make it very clear:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 13:9 “But the lamp of the wrong is put out.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 24:20 “For there is no future for the evil-doer; the lamp of the wrongdoers is put out.”

What we can notice from these two verse is that we see the use of the word ‘lamp’ – נֵר ner is used, yet we see no connection of this lamp to the True Light – אוֹר  oor of יהוה.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 21:4 “A haughty look, a proud heart, the lamp of the wrong, are sin.”

As discussed last week we know that Yoḥanan spells it out very clearly that ‘sin is lawlessness’, so therefore we can see that the wrong have a lamp, and if the lamp of the wrong is sin then that lamp is a lamp of lawlessness that is leading people astray!

The wrongdoers have a lamp and that lamp claims that the Torah is not necessary, as they allow their lamps of tradition to set their feet on a path of falsehood that intends to change the Appointed Times and laws of Elohim, which I remind you cannot be changed! Those who have lamps without the Torah will find out that the light that is in them is darkness and their lamps will be put out! The lamp of the wrongdoers have a lamp that keeps a different day for assembled worship and celebrates different feasts, while claiming to have a right to the Covenant Promises of Elohim, while casting His Words and instructions on how to walk in the path of light behind them – and this is what the Master  יהוה says to the wrong who have changed His times and laws as a lamp for their paths:

Tehillim/Psalm 50:16-17 “But to the wrong Elohim said, “What right have you to recite My laws, or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 “While you hated instruction and cast My Words behind you?”

Dawiḏ declared that יהוה was His lamp – and we too must declare this clear Truth as The Word of Elohim being evident as our lamp and light. If יהוה is not your lamp then who is? We cannot serve two masters, and sadly today we can clearly see how so many, especially in light of the corrupt season of man-made tradition of worship that we find ourselves in the midst of, will hold fast to the traditions of man, while they neglect the commands of Elohim. Their lamps have a wrong source and so they actually have no true light!

Lamp and Light – we need them both – and both are contained in the revelation of His Word and our submission to walking in His Word!

In the renewed heavens and earth there will be no need for lamp and light, for יהוה Himself will give light:

Ḥazon/Revelation 22:5 “And night shall be no more, and they shall have no need of a lamp or the light of the sun, because יהוה Elohim shall give them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; and as a true set-apart, chosen, royal priesthood and a people for a possession, we are to continually proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous Light as we hear, guard and do all He commands and walk in His Torah with joy and gladness of heart, keeping our lamps burning with the pure clear oil of His Truth in us, unhindered by traditions and dogmas of man, so that a pure language and speech may be restored to us, His people!

As you walk from day to day, what lamp is guiding you? Is His Word your lamp and are you guarding to keep His Appointed Times and laws or are you walking in the paths of traditions that run contrary to the plumb line of His Word?

As we follow Messiah and walk as He walked, we shall possess the light of life and be able to lift up a tended lamp that will lead our every step.

Have you found at times that your lamp has been soiled with self and as a result found yourself in a dark place?

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who among you is fearing יהוה, obeying the voice of His Servant, that has walked in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the Name of יהוה and lean upon his Elohim! 10 See, all you who light a fire, girding on burning arrows: walk in the light of your fire and in the burning arrows you have lit. From My hand you shall have this: you shall lie down in grief!”

What is being said here is that if you try to ‘light your own fire’, or carry your own man-made lamp then you will be snuffed out, and if you have found yourself in a dark place then put your trust in יהוה, and not in the confusion of man-made traditions that have resulted in a false language and speech!

As we walk in Messiah, doing our utmost to walk diligently in His commands, may we be careful in making sure that we tend our lamps daily and keep His Light in us burning brightly and allow Him to bring to us daily deliverance from darkness.

Let this often repeated verse in Tehillim/Psalm 119:105 be a sober reminder to us that we need both lamp and light, and be urgent in proclaiming this truth to others who have lamps yet no light, so to speak. as they reject the need to walk in the Torah.

May we all be true light bearers of the Truth, who have trimmed and oil filled lamps:

Luqas/Luke 12:35-36 “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, 36 and be like men waiting for their master, when he shall return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they open to him immediately.”

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all matters without grumblings and disputings, 15 in order that you be blameless and faultless, children of Elohim without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”

As we hear, guard and do all He has commanded us to, may we see to it that the light that is in us is not darkness, in order that the whole body be enlightened and found ready for the soon return of our Maker, Husband and Redeemer –  יהושע Messiah, as we hear and consider the clear words of Messiah in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, so that they see your good works and praise your Father who is in the heavens.”

This was right before He said that He did not come to destroy the Torah and the Prophets, but to complete! In other words He was making it clear that in order to be the light and have lamps lit with the truth, you need the Torah and the Prophets to guide your way!

The lamp and light – We need them both, lest our lamps be put out!

Shalom!

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The word used here for gift in the Greek is δῶρον dōron – Strong’s G1435 and means, ‘a gift, present,  sacrifice, offering’.

This word speaks of a gift that is the result of an offering or sacrifice, and so Messiah offered Himself!

The gift of Elohim – the gift of Elohim is that we have been saved through faith in His working a perfect redemption for us and it is not something that we could work out for ourselves.

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 9:13-14 “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sets apart for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the everlasting Spirit offered Himself unblemished to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?”

The sacrificial system of removing guilt and cleansing from sin could only truly be fulfilled in Messiah offering up His own sinless body for us who were full of sin – and this is exactly what the Master יהושע Messiah, our Elohim did for us! The gift of life has been offered to us to freely take hold of; yet what many today fail to understand is that this gift, while it is free for all to receive, does come at a cost! And more importantly this gift comes with instructions, instructions on how to live and use the gift of life that we have been favourably given through His blood and not our own! Tonight in a message called, “THE GIFT THAT COMES WITH INSTRCUTIONS!” I would like us to be reminded of this fact and therefore ask ourselves the very important question of whether we are using this gift according to its instructions and guarding it closely, or do we do as many do today, and throw it aside in the falsely taught notion that because we have been given it that it now belongs to us and cannot be taken away, and therefore see no need to heed the instructions on how to use the gift! Please turn with me to Titos/Titus 2:11-15 (Read).

Tonight I will be sharing with you a few Greek words and their meanings in order to help us understand our need to heed the instructions of the gift of Elohim, and this short passage contains a very powerful and clear message that so many fail to see under the veil of inherited dogmas and traditions of man.

Here Sha’ul tells us very clearly that the saving gift of Elohim has appeared to all men! Everyone has the opportunity to receive this gift – none are excluded, yet few really choose to receive it and cling to it as we ought to!

The Greek word used here for ‘saving gift’ is χάρις charis – Strong’s G5485 meaning, ‘grace, kindness, blessing, gift, favour’. Most translations may have this rendered in English as ‘grace’, and is often understood in the Hebrew as the word חֶסֶד ḥesed – Strong’s H2617 and means, ‘goodness, kindness, deeds of devotion, faithfulness’ and appears 248 times in the Tanak (OT) – almost 2 times more than the Greek word translated as ‘grace’ in the Renewed Covenant (N.T.)!!!

Another word used in the Tanak (O.T.) which is often translated as ‘grace’ or ‘favour, kindness’ is the Hebrew word חֵן ḥen – Strong’s H2580 meaning, ‘grace, adornment, favour, gracious’ and comes from the primitive root חָנַן ḥanan – Strong’s H2603 meaning, ‘show favour, be gracious to, dealt graciously with, given to them voluntarily, shown favour’. These two words (ḥen and ḥanan) are collectively used 147 times in the Tanak (O.T.).

In the Hebrew the concept of חֵן ḥen and חֶסֶד ḥesed go hand in hand in understanding our loving relationship with יהוה. חֵן ḥen can best be described as ‘a gracious and favourable action passing from a superior to an inferior’ and is an action that cannot be forced upon or demanded! This in many ways carries the same concept of the ‘Christian’ idea or concept of ‘grace’ as understood through the Greek word χάρις charis – Strong’s G5485 meaning, ‘grace, kindness, blessing, favour’. חֵן ḥen is poured out as a gift to a people who have no ‘claim’ to it as it is given freely and so we see that this certainly is not a ‘new’ concept as it is a continuous theme right through the Scriptures as seen in the Loving Kindness extended by יהוה to Yisra’ĕl, His Covenanted people! What we must understand though is that both חֵן ḥen and חֶסֶד ḥesed are uniquely related in terms of understanding the fullness of our relationship with our Creator.

What we find in Scripture is that חֶסֶד ḥesed is used only where there is a prior relationship bond, be it through family, marriage or kinship, and it is used in regards to a bond or relationship that produces in the bond itself a requirement or an obligation for action, where both parties share חֶסֶד ḥesed and can expect from each other and even demand in a sense reciprocal responsibilities, and so חֶסֶד ḥesed is not a free gift, but is rather the devotion and faithfulness shown as a result of a covenanted relationship! What we need to recognize is that חֵן ḥen is offered on the basis of חֶסֶד ḥesed as a result of a Covenant. Yisra’ĕl and יהוה are obligated to each other, in marriage, as a result of the Covenants made by יהוה with Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq and Ya’aqoḇ!

חֵן ḥen may certainly be, and actually is, the primary reason behind the establishment of the Covenants of Promise, however the moment the Covenants were made, obligation became attached to it by both parties. And while Yisra’ĕl constantly broke their obligation to the Covenants we see how lovingly committed יהוה is by extending His favour to us, an undeserving people and by His חֵן ḥen (being gracious toward us and adorning us with favour in His eyes) He has extended to us His Kindness – חֶסֶד ḥesed – His loving-commitment to the Covenants which He remains faithful to in being obligated and fully committed to; and thus because of His  חֵן ḥen which is freely given to us, we too are now by our acceptance of His free gift also required to express true commitment in understanding our obligation to guarding the Covenant! And this is exactly what Sha’ul is saying here in the letter to Titos – His free gift comes with instructions on the basis of the already established Covenant which has been renewed in the Blood of Messiah. Sha’ul is clearly telling us here that ‘grace’ comes with instructions on how to live – in other words, grace is extended as a gift to an undeserving people as a result of the Covenants of Promise given to Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq and Ya’aqoḇ by יהוה. This is the pattern that we see continually in Scripture and it is no different for us today as it was when Yisra’ĕl were delivered from Mitsrayim!

Based on His Covenants of Promise, יהוה saved Yisra’ĕl by grace, and after bringing them out of Mitsrayim He gave them the commands on how to live as a set-apart bride who had accepted this free gift of life!

In Messiah this ‘grace’ or gift of life has appeared to all – all who would accept and receive it and are willing to learn how to live as a set-apart bride who makes herself ready for her Husband’s soon return at the end of this age!

Verse 12 Sha’ul tells us that this saving gift ‘instructs’ us on how to live in this present age and the word used for ‘instructing’ is παιδεύω paideuō – Strong’s G3811 meaning, ‘to train children, to chasten, instruct, correct, discipline, correcting, educating’, and this word is also used in the following verses:

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:7 “If you endure discipline, Elohim is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline?”

We also see this word used in the clear wakeup call that is given to the lukewarm assembly in:

Ḥazon/Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. So be ardent and repent.”

Now we can clearly see what this saving gift does – it disciplines us, teaches us, rebukes us and calls us to repentance and turn away from living in sin! Sha’ul goes on and explains to us what this gift actually instructs us to do:

RENOUNCE – ἀρνέομαι  arneomai – Strong’s G720 which means, ‘ say no to, deny, disown, refuse’ – what are we to say no to and deny or refuse to partake in?

1 – WICKEDNESS – ἀσέβεια  asebeia – Strong’s G763 meaning, ‘impiety, wickedness, lack of reverence’  as well as meaning, ‘a neglect or violation of duty toward Elohim’

2 – WORLDLY LUSTS – two words – a) ‘worldly’ – κοσμικός  kosmikos – Strong’s G2886 meaning, ‘pertaining to the world’ in the sense of, ‘having the character of this present corrupt age, belonging to the world’ and b) ‘lusts’ – ἐπιθυμία epithumia – Strong’s G1939 meaning, ‘lust, desire, lust after, desiring what is forbidden, deep desire and longing for, coveting’

The saving gift of Elohim disciplines us to disown and say no to desiring or lusting after that which is of this corrupt age and world system that seeks only to satisfy the flesh. The disciplining us to disown and say no to the fleshly things and live set-apart lives according to the Kingdom of Messiah, is exactly what the Torah (instructions) of יהוה does!!!

To desire and lust after the fleshly renders one being sold under sin, while the Torah is spiritual and having been redeemed from sin, we must disown that which once owned and enslaved us as we live as sojourners here while we wait for the blessed hope and appearance of our Master and Saviour! We are in the world but not of the world, having died to sins that we might live unto righteousness.

The gift of life teaches us through the Torah how to strip away that which does not belong and disciplines us to be able to bear fruit of righteousness, if we are actually willing to be trained by it! (Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:11)

Ok so it teaches us to say no to that which we must say no to, while at the same time it also teaches us how we are to live:

1 – SENSIBLY – σωφρόνως  sōphronōs – Strong’s G4996 meaning, ‘soberly, with sound mind, temperate, sensibly’ and is from the word  σώφρων sōphrōn – Strong’s G4998 meaning, ‘sound mind, self-controlled, prudent’  and this is made up of the two words – a) – σῴζω sōzō – Strong’s G4982 which means, ‘safe, well, to save, preserved, restore’ and φρήν phrēn – Strong’s G5424 which means, ‘midriff, heart, mind, thought’ – in our words, ‘thinking’.

The word σώφρων sōphrōn  is used 4 times here in Titos (1:8; 2:2; 2:5; 2:6). We are to live sensibly, meaning we are to be sober and have a sound mind that takes captive the thoughts. What is the opposite of being sober? Being drunk!!! Now in terms of Scripture we see that those who live lawlessly are living as the result of being drunk with the wine of whoring! What is whoring? It is to commit adultery! In other words whoring is what happens when one steps outside of the clear boundaries of a marriage covenant and breaks their commitment through a disregard for the instructions for living set-apart and show true love to one’s betrothed!

Living sensibly in this age can only be done with a renewed mind that meditates on the Torah day and night and does not turn aside or wander from the Torah!

2 – RIGHTEOUSLY – δικαίως dikaiōs – Strong’s G1346 meaning, ‘righteously, just, upright’:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”

3 – REVERENTLY – εὐσεβῶς eusebōs – Strong’s G2153 meaning, ‘reverently, piously, devout’ which expresses pure devotion and commitment to respect and honour that is to be given unto our Master and Elohim.

This gift of life instructs us how to live a sober, upright life that walks in the fear of Elohim with eyes fixed on Messiah as we look forward with great expectancy His soon return – the return of our Beloved Saviour who gave himself for us in order to redeem us from ALL LAWLESSNESS!

The word used for ‘lawlessness’ here in verse 14 is ἀνομία  anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’.

This verse is very loud and clear – Messiah redeemed us from ‘lawlessness’ – if this is the case then that means we are no longer lawless, but rather we can now freely run in the commands of Elohim and no longer be without law and doing lawless deeds. The word ‘redeem’ here is  λυτρόω  lutroō – Strong’s G3084 which literally means, ‘to release by paying a ransom, redeem’ – in other words Messiah has paid the price for us and released us from lawlessness by paying the ransom for our lives with His Blood.

Sha’ul tells us in:

Romiyim/Romans 6:18 “And having been set free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.”

Released from lawlessness and here Sha’ul saying ‘set free from sin’ – the word sin here in the Greek is the word ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin, failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’.

So in other words we can see that The Master  יהושע Messiah has redeemed us and set us free from all lawlessness and sin, in order that we never wander from or violate the Torah.

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

This verse spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin! It is as though Yoḥanan was spelling out this fact very bluntly and straightforward for those who struggle with a Greek mind-set and see no need to walk in the Torah – well right here in the Greek it is clear – If you are lawless (that is to walk contrary to the Torah) then you are indeed sinning!

ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 is ἀνομία  anomia – Strong’s G458

When we understand this very simple truth then we can see plainly what Yoḥanan is saying in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:18 “We know that everyone having been born of Elohim does not sin, but the one having been born of Elohim guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”

This is a very sobering verse as it is clear that everyone who is born of Elohim does not sin but guards themselves – how? By hearing, guarding and doing the Torah! What he is in effect saying here is that anyone who is born of Elohim does not keep wandering from the law of Elohim! So many confessing believers who claim to be born of Elohim continue to wander from the need to walk in the Torah and this means only one thing – they have not been born of Elohim!!!

Redeemed from lawlessness and cleansed to be a lawful and faithful Bride – that is our call in Messiah!!!

His saving gift has come with very clear instructions – are you following them as you dress yourself daily in Him, guarding the gift of life as you walk diligently in His Torah and express your love for Elohim with great zeal in doing the good works prepared beforehand for us to do? We have been given a priceless gift – one that we are to be daily adorned with as we put on the Master יהושע Messiah, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.

Are you ‘wearing’ this saving gift each and every day as you offer up your lives as a daily living sacrifice or do you at times neglect the gift and refuse to be trained and disciplined by it, and wander from the call to be living sensibly, righteously and reverently in this present age!

Grace comes with instructions  – that is His Torah. It is time for the True Bride of Messiah to rise up and live sensibly in the present age and call many out from the drunken state of lawlessness as we shine our clear commitment to not be found wandering from the Law of Elohim.

How are you living in the gift of Elohim? Are you following the instructions or not for His gift is a gift that comes with instructions – let us guard to do them as we recognise our obligation to the Covenants of Promise that we have been brought near to by the Blood of Messiah, aměn!

Anyone who claims to be under grace and disregards the Torah while claiming to be the bride is not a part of the True Bride, but is rather a part of an apostate bride that is headed for destruction!

Let the True Bride stand up and, together with the Spirit, say, “Come!” and let us delight ourselves in walking in the Torah (instructions) that came with the saving gift of Elohim!

יהוה bless you and guard you, יהוה make His face shine on you and give you favour, יהוה lift up His face to you and give you peace!

Shalom!

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Berěshith/Genesis 1:27 “And Elohim created the man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them.”

יהוה had just created a perfect environment for man – an environment to place His image, and He makes a great declaration before all that He had already created, including the heavenly host of beings that also had been created at this time, saying “let us make man in our image” and this declaration can be seen as a ‘royal plural’, which is a manner of speaking shows that the One who is speaking is very great, as He speaks on behalf of all His Kingdom – a Kingdom which He had made specifically for His image that would be portrayed through man, which could now be placed and established!

Here the term ‘man’ is the Hebrew word אָדָם aḏam – Strong’s H120 which means, ‘man, mankind, human, person’ and so this also collectively refers to both men and women! The word used here for ‘male’ is זָכָר zaḵar – Strong’s H2145, which comes from the primitive root זָכַר zaḵar – Strong’s H2142 which means, ‘remember, be mindful’ and the word used for ‘female’ is נְקֵבָה n’qeḇah – Strong’s H5347 and comes from the word נָקַב naqab – Strong’s H5344 which means, ‘to pierce’. This is a truly wonderful picture here, as we see that the female came from the male who was pierced, as Aḏam’s side was ‘pierced’ and the woman was brought forth from his rib; and therefore is a shadow picture of how we, as the Bride of Messiah, have been brought forth by His flesh being ‘pierced’ for us!

And in Messiah the perfect and functional image of Elohim could be restored and re-established which was lost through sin.

Have you ever wrestled over your purpose and reason for your existence? In a message tonight called, “Who am I and what am I doing?”, I hope to be able to shed some light on these often overlooked or misunderstood questions and therefore be able to seriously ask ourselves these and determine if our answer actually matches up with who we ought to be and what we ought to be doing. Please turn with me to Tehillim/Psalm 8 (Read).

This Psalm is a powerful declaration of praise that embraces the true power of redemption in Messiah our King; and in Messiah the completeness of our call is recognised and the dominion mandate shall be re-established, which will be fully evidenced at His soon return which will usher in His supreme rule and reign of which we will be privileged to rule and reign with Him – if in fact we are doing what we ought to be doing right here right now and living according to the true identity of who we are to be in Messiah!

What is also interesting to note is that this Psalm in its introduction is titled, “To the chief musician upon Gittith, a Psalm of Dawiḏ” – the term ‘Gittith’ is a Hebrew musical term גִּתִּית  – Strong’s H1665 which means ‘wine-press’ and is often a song title that is used for the feast of booths. As you read the whole Tehillim/Psalm 8 we see the praise Dawiḏ has for Elohim and proclaims the Creation account!!! This term ‘Gittith’ as a title is used for 3 of Dawiḏ’s Psalms (8, 81 and 84) all of which are Psalms of praise connected to restoring the Creation account of Elohim dwelling with His people which will again take place when he comes to ‘booth’ with us!

Also we see a wonderful play on words when Dawiḏ makes the following statement in His Psalm in:

Tehillim/Psalm 8:4 “What is man that You remember him? And the son of man that You visit him?”

The first word translated as ‘man’ here is  אֱנוֹשׁ enosh – Strong’s H582 which means, ‘man, mankind, mortal man’ while the second ‘man’ as in the ‘son of man’ is אָדָם aḏam and the word for ‘remember’ is זָכַר zaḵar.

So when we see in the creation account the perfect image of Elohim being created in man, we can see that by the male and female terms meaning in essence, ‘marked and pierced’ we recognise that this is exactly what Messiah came for (to be marked and pierced) in order to restore the image of Elohim in mankind that the first Aḏam defiled through sin, and so while He was pierced for our transgressions we must ask the sobering question… “Am I marked in Him?”

In a wrestle for worship the beast too has ushered in a clear attempt at stealing away man’s true identity and purpose by marking man with a false mark of worship that is presented as the real, yet is a wicked counterfeit to which many have been ignorantly marked by through traditions and lies.

And while many would ask what this battle for worship has to do with man, the answer is very simple – the enemy wants his image as opposed to the true image of Elohim revealed before all creation.

Here in this Tehillim/Psalm Dawiḏ clearly praises the True Elohim of all creation and with His powerful play on words we find the great truth of just how focused the Master יהוה, Elohim of Hosts, is on mankind. He in essence begins and ends with the declaration of how excellent the name of יהוה is in all the earth.

In Shemoth/Exodus 3 when Mosheh was commanded by the Elohim of Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq and Yaʽaqoḇ to go to the Yisra’ĕlites and tell them that they would be delivered from the hand of Pharaoh, he asked the question that when he would tell Yisra’ĕl that the Elohim of their fathers had sent him to them and they say to him, “what is His Name?” who would he say had sent him? The Almighty then answered him “I AM that which I AM” and that he was to tell them that the “I AM” had sent him. He then said to Moshe to tell the children of Yisra’ĕl, “יהוה Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham, the Elohim of Yitsḥaq, and the Elohim of Ya’aqoḇ, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.’” (Shemoth/Exodus 3:15).

Wow, what a defining moment in Scripture – the Almighty, our Elohim revealing His Name to Moshe! Now let us look at this event a little more in-depth, in order to get the right foundation and understanding of the True Name and realise the power of this Scripture that declares that His Name is forever and for all generations!

What was The Almighty saying to Moshe in Shemoth/Exodus 3:14, when HE said, “I AM that which I AM”?

אהיה אשר אהיה – I Am that which I Am – ʾĕh­­­­­­­­­˗yĕ(h)  ʾªšěr  ʾĕh­­­­­­­­­˗yĕ(h) 

The above is what Elohim declared to Moshe (Moses). This is a title of our Elohim, with a focus on presence, care, concern and relationship. It literally can mean ‘I AM that I AM’, or rather I exist, I cause to be. In other words it renders “I AM the One who causes to be, I AM the One who brings into being, I AM the life-giver, the giver of all existence, I AM the ever living self-consistent and unchangeable One.”

יהוה means – “He (The I AM) is the One who causes me to be”! This is very powerful, for every time you call on the Name of יהוה, you are declaring who it is that causes you to be, you are declaring from your lips the One who gives you life, who made you, who gives you existence! And we are to declare His Name, giving praise to the I AM!

Now this was the excellent name that Dawiḏ was declaring, and goes on to declare that it is יהוה who set His splendour above the heavens and in a praise of the Creation account He acknowledges how the Great I AM chooses to use what is often least expected in order to reveal His majesty!

Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But Elohim has chosen the foolish matters of the world to put to shame the wise, and Elohim has chosen the weak of the world to put to shame the strong. 28 And Elohim has chosen the low-born of the world and the despised, and the ones that are not, that He might bring to naught the ones that are, 29 so that no flesh should boast in His presence.”

In verse 3 Dawiḏ declares the true fact that the moon and stars have been established by יהוה, and in reference to the Creation account he is in essence declaring that at Creation יהוה already established His Appointed Times and this is very important for us to realise. Before man was even created יהוה established His Appointed Times – He did not introduce His Appointed Times after man had fallen – His plan for redemption was established before man even came to and this is the excellence of His provision for us in Messiah and this is a hymn of praise to our Redeemer who established His everlasting plan to dwell with the focus of His creation – which is man – before man was even made!

And while we certainly may often ask as Dawiḏ did – “What is man that you remember him?” we certainly see that man is remembered by Him because all creation was geared to contain His image in man, and so he remembers man because man is the focus of His design! And while we recognise that the Master יהוה our Elohim is infinitely above us we also recognise that He is intimately involved with us:

Tehillim/Psalm 113:4-9 “יהוה is high above all nations, His esteem above the heavens. 5 Who is like יהוה our Elohim, who is enthroned on high? He looks down on the heavens and in the earth; 7 He raises the poor out of the dust, lifts the needy from a dunghill, 8 to make him sit with the nobles, with the nobles of His people, 9 causing the barren woman to dwell in a house, a rejoicing mother of children. Praise Yah!”

The universe reveals the greatness of יהוה, while at the same time the universe reveals man’s smallness and this is the powerful illustration of how such an Almighty Elohim could be so intimately involved in us, and for some this intimate involvement can often seem intimidating. Iyoḇ asks the same question in:

Iyoḇ/Job 7:17-19 “What is man, that You should make him great, that You should set Your heart on him, 18 that You should visit him every morning, trying him every moment? 19 How long do You not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my saliva?”

Iyoḇ in pouring out his complaint reckons that he cannot even swallow his spit without יהוה not looking upon us!!! While many may feel uncomfortable by the fact that יהוה chooses to be intimately involved with us, this must be recognised as a positive thing, and when Iyoḇ tells us that יהוה tries man every moment we can understand why and the benefit thereof – and that is so His image can be formed in us through Messiah. Ya’aqoḇ tells us to rejoice when we face all kinds of trials – why? Because we get mature and His image is being perfected in us and that the proving of our faith might result in praise and esteem at His return!

Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 1:7 “in order that the proving of your belief – much more precious than gold that perishes, and proven by fire – might be found to result in praise and respect and esteem at the revelation of יהושע Messiah”

Ephesians also tells us how He chose us to be set-apart in Him before the foundation of the world:

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Master יהושע Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Messiah, 4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be set-apart and blameless before Him in love”

Man was created to rule and reign with Elohim and that very image of Elohim was corrupted through sin and lawlessness and because Elohim is so intimately involved and focused on man, He made provision in Messiah for that image to be renewed and restored, so that we can rule and reign with Him.

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews quotes this Tehillim/Psalm in reference to Messiah and it is clear in this Psalm that the true image and purpose of man can only be fulfilled in Messiah and so our call is redeemed in Messiah, our Head.

My question tonight is not a complicated one but rather a very simple one – and that is: “How are you responding to the intensity and intimacy of יהוה’s focus on you?” Do you realise that in Messiah you are heirs to the promise and seed of Abraham, and that if we are of Messiah we are in fact co-heirs with Messiah if we indeed suffer with Him!

In fact the word promises us:

Timotiyos Bet/2 Timothy 3:12 “And indeed, all those wishing to live reverently in Messiah יהושע, shall be persecuted.”

Understanding this fact of a promised persecution for living reverently in Messiah, we need to ask ourselves how we are responding to the trials and persecutions we face each day? Are we rejoicing and allowing the trials to result in praise and esteem as we recognise how intimately involved our Elohim is with us, or do we cry out in frustration and ask “why is He so interested in me? Who am I?”

As we consider the powerful declaration of praise that Dawiḏ is giving in this Psalm, may we recognise that while we are in fact very small and seemingly insignificant in the grander scheme of creation,  יהוה does not see us as such, but rather He sees the climax of His creation upon which He can set His image and seal and we in turn need to be as focused in our intensity and intimacy of our relationship with Him as He is for us – the question is – ARE YOU?

If you are… then no mountain would be too high to climb so to speak as you walk by fervent obedient faith! If you… are then you would not be ashamed of the Besorah and would proclaim it to all without fear of the negative responses. If you are… then you would not deny Him before men, and stand up for righteousness and not compromise in the least even in the toughest of trials, knowing that יהוה is bigger than any intimidating boss and that He will take care of you no matter the circumstances or outcomes of man’s wicked responses to your obedient faith! So again I as – ARE YOU? Are you ,with great intimacy and intensity, focused on יהוה? Or does the fear of man stand in the way?

Who am I and what am I doing is a valid question we ought to ask each day. And in being able to recognise the great love יהוה has for us may we be able to humbly respond in declaring the praise of His excellent Name on all the earth as we walk in uncompromising obedience with joy and gladness of heart, marked by Him as we guard to do all His commands and be built up in the most set-apart faith as we encourage one another daily!

Who am I? If I am of Messiah then I ought to live as such – right! Then I ask, ‘What am I doing?’ – If I am of Messiah then I ought to be walking as He walked – right! Well then ask yourself – “Who am I and what am I doing?”

Is your answer in line with the pattern given us as instructed in the Word of Elohim, or are there some areas in your life that needs to be realigned in order that true praise of His excellent Name – the One who causes you to be – can be brought forth from your lips!

At this time of year where the world runs around in a frenzy, and are in a drunken hypnotic state of the worship of mammon, how are you doing at holding fast to the Truth and giving forth true praise!

Who am I and what am I doing? Do you know that you belong to Messiah or is there an identity crisis as you are challenged to compromise by giving in to family, friends and bosses who are calling you to turn from pure obedience?

Let us be like Dawiḏ – a true man of praise and a man after the heart of Elohim – and praise His excellent Name!

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Tehillim/Psalm25:21 “Let integrity and straightness guard me, for I have waited for You.”

Integrity and straightness – תֹּם־וָיֹשֶׁר  – ‘tom vayosher’ – the things that guard us as we wait for the return of our Master!

The word used for ‘integrity’ is תֹּם tom – Strong’s H8537 and carries the meaning, ‘completeness, integrity, blameless’ and comes from the primitive root verb  תָּמַם tamam – Strong’s H8552 meaning, ‘to be complete, full, perfect, finished’ and from this root we get the word תָּמִים tamim – Strong’s H8549, meaning ‘perfect, without blemish, complete, sound, and blameless, without defect’.

The word used for ‘straightness’ is ישֶׁר yosher – Strong’s H3476 meaning, ‘straightness, uprightness, correctly, honesty’ and comes from the primitive root verb יָשַׁר Yashar – Strong’s H3476 meaning, ‘to be straight, smooth, upright’

To be complete, blameless, sound and upright is what will guard us as we sojourn here!

He word used for ‘guard’ is the primitive root verb נָצַר natsar – Strong’s H5341 meaning, ‘to keep watch, guard, preserve’ and a derivative of this word is the נֵצֶר netser – Strong’s H5342 meaning, ‘Branch, a sprout, descendant’ and is used as a reference to Messiah! Why all the words? Well it is clear that as we walk in integrity and straightness according to the Word, we recognise that in following in the steps of Messiah and walking as He walked we shall be preserved as we faithfully wait for Him. Now to walk in integrity and straightness we must recognise that we are to indeed walk as Messiah walked and as we recognise that He did not come to destroy the Torah and the Prophets but rather He came to fully meet all that is written in them and show us how we can, in Him who is our perfect sacrifice, too ‘walk’ in the fullness of the Torah and the prophets as true talmidim (disciples). When  יהושע brought the Besorah of the Kingdom He in one sense increased the standard of what has been written in that he came to show us not only the letter but the Spirit of the Letter; and so while He did not add or take away, what He did do was reveal to us to greater call beyond letters on a page, for when His letter is on our hearts a higher call is resounded! In a message tonight called, ‘BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY!’ I would like us to look at some more key Hebrew words and terms used in some of Sovereign Dawiḏ’s words. Please turn with me to Diḇre haYamim Aleph/1 Chronicles 29 (Read)

For the purposes of time I would simply like to highlight some key Hebrew words that will help us understand the call to go beyond the call of duty; and by that I mean that while many certainly recognise the need to walk in the Torah and keep the Torah in a manner of speaking, I do recognise that that there are many who never go beyond the base standard of the Torah and simply do what is called for or required and as a result never give their all, but only what they deem necessary as instructed in the letter. When Messiah came, I believe that His teachings never belittled the Torah in any way but rather expanded on the true nature of the Torah and therefore revealed a higher standard or call beyond the letter, which does not set the letter aside but rather fulfils it and embraces it in Spirit and in Truth!

In these closing chapters of Diḇre haYamim Aleph/1 Chronicles we see some very powerful words from Dawiḏ – challenging words indeed – words that ought to challenge our motives and actions in serving the Master יהוה with our all.

Before looking at this chapter 29 I want to highlight Dawiḏ’s words to his son Shelomoh in Chapter 28:9:

“As for you, my son Shelomoh, know the Elohim of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a pleasing life, for יהוה searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you do seek Him, He is found by you; but if you forsake Him, He rejects you forever.”

Very powerful words give to Shelomoh indeed – words we too ought to take careful heed of. As we know from the life of Shelomoh, he did not end well as he turned away from serving with a perfect heart as he preferred to satisfy all his wives and concubines!

Here Dawiḏ instructs his son the same instructions we as children of the Most High must take heed of; and that is that we are to ‘know’ our Master יהוה, which is the word יָדַע ‘yada’ – Strong’s H3045 and means ‘to acknowledge, clearly understand, to perceive, distinguish and discern’ and implies the ability to respond to and recognise the Master’s voice and follow His commands.

Yoḥanan/John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

The word for ‘serve’ is עָבַד aḇad – Strong’s H5647 which means, ‘to work, serve, become slaves, cultivate, perform, serve, worship’, from which we get the word עֶבֶד eḇed – Strong’s H5650 meaning, ‘servant, slave, bondservant’, and as a child of Yisra’ĕl, which we have become by the Blood of Messiah, we are servants of יהוה.

When Messiah came He told His disciples that He no longer calls them servants but friends for servants do not know what their master is doing, but we are now friends as He revealed through His life, death and resurrection The Master’s teachings!

This does not set aside our need to serve, now that we are called friends; on the contrary the call is greater for now we know and understand the teachings and service with our all becomes the utmost and only priority of our lives!

A true friend serves with a perfect heart and a pleasing life! The word used for perfect here is שָׁלֵם ‘shalem’ H8003and means ‘complete, safe, at peace, blameless, whole, full’, and speaks of an undivided heart, a loyal and devoted heart and the word used for ‘pleasing’ is חָפֵץ ḥaphets – Strong’s H2655 meaning, ‘delighting in, having pleasure in, willing’, and form this we can see that the service called for unto our Master and King is service that comes from an undivided heart and in which we take great pleasure and delight in – it is not under compulsion but motivated by loving obedience in going beyond the call of duty!

A warning is also given here in that Dawiḏ makes it clear that יהוה searches the hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts! The word used here for ‘intent’ is יֵצֶר yetser – Strong’s H3336 which means, ‘imagination, a form, fashioned, framing, purpose’ – in other words יהוה understands and knows exactly the forming of our thoughts and the fashioning of our thinking in our life. He knows what shapes our thinking and the warning here is clear – if you depart from His Word that ought to shape our thought and direct our lives then we risk the end result of being rejected by Him forever! True seeking of יהוה is seek out, study, investigate and meditate on His Word – and this is expected of a true servant who goes beyond the call of duty. It is not enough to simply read a Torah portion once a week and listen to a message once a week – each and every day our thoughts and intents of our hearts and minds ought to be shaped by his Word, and so I ask you tonight – are you simply just doing a duty in reading what you think is required to pass or are you immersed in His Word day and night, allowing it to give you true discretion and discernment in all matters?

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 29:13 “And you shall seek Me, and shall find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Seeking with all our heart implies having forsaken all else and only allowing the Torah to be the true navigation of our souls, in Messiah!

Later in the chapter 28 Dawiḏ encourages Shelomoh to be strong and courageous and assures Him the promise that יהוה will not leave him nor forsake him until he had completed all the work for the service of the House of יהוה. This is prophetic in nature as we certainly see that Shelomoh indeed fell away after the House was built and this should be a sobering reality to us that we have to guard the duty of the House (that is His Body) at all costs!

Moving into Chapter 29 I simply want to look at more key words  which ought to challenge us in assessing the motives of our hearts and the action of true committed service to our Loving Redeemer and King!

Dawiḏ made it clear that he was not going to build the house and that Shelomoh his son was the one to do so; and in these great words of Dawiḏ, the beloved king, he expresses powerful words of joy, fervency and generosity as he reminds them of the Covenant that יהוה had made with them and challenges all to get involved in the building of the House of Elohim as he calls to action those who are willing – as he certainly set the standard in the delight he had in giving his all and going beyond the call of duty; to which the leaders responded greatly with intensity and fullness of heart.

Complete trust in יהוה will cause us to voluntarily give our all and go beyond the letter of the Torah!

Dawiḏ had contributed a huge amount – in today’s value the 3000 talents of gold would amount to around $5.6 billion and the silver at around $250 million!!!

He then asks “Who then is moved to fill his hand today for יהוה?” Now I am sure that the people were moved by the example of Dawiḏ and his challenge inspired them to respond. The question being asked could be rendered as, “who is willing to set themselves apart for service today to יהוה?”

It is the same question that is being asked today – who is willing to be set-apart and serve, not only as a called out people for a service – but who is willing to give their all – who is willing to go beyond the call of duty. The requirements for the Tabernacle service were clear and the temple tax was clear – yet this was a call for voluntary service – and boy did they respond! The contribution from all who volunteered was 5000 talents of gold which today would amount to a value of around $9.3 billion and the silver of 7000 talents would be around $359 million (the reason I used dollars is because it is too much to compute into SA Rands!!!)

In verse 9 we see that the people rejoiced for they had given voluntarily with a perfect heart to יהוה, and at this Dawiḏ too rejoiced!

The word for ‘rejoiced’ is שָׂמַח samaḥ – Strong’s H8055 and means, ‘to rejoice, be glad, be joyful, delight in and be elated’, and can also carry the meaning ‘to brighten up’, giving us the picture how we are to carry His joy as the light of the world and let praise and rejoicing abound!

The root word used for ‘given voluntarily’ is נָדַב  nadaḇ – Strong’s H5068 meaning, ‘to incite, impel, make offerings willingly, volunteers’ and we get the word for the voluntary offerings from this word, which is נְדָבָה nedaḇah – Strong’s H5071 meaning, ‘voluntariness, freewill offering, volunteer freely, willingly’.

Tehillim/Psalm 54:6 “Voluntarily I slaughter to You; I praise Your Name, O יהוה, for it is good.”

Tehillim/Psalm 119:8 “Please accept the voluntary offerings Of my mouth, O יהוה, and teach me Your right-rulings.”

This speaks of our willing choice to offer up our lives in wholehearted devotion to serving our Master – and to do so voluntarily is a great expression of our joy in loving Him as we should, with praise and thanksgiving. This speaks of our eagerness and willingness to freely offer up our lives as a living offering and incite others to do so too!

The voluntary offerings were beyond the tithes, contributions and vowed offerings and were as they are called – ‘voluntary’, and while this was not mandated as a strict requirement we see that the provision of this acceptable offering to יהוה reflects the call to go beyond the call of duty!

Once again we see that it was with a perfect – שָׁלֵם ‘shalem’ – complete and undivided heart that the people rejoiced in their voluntary giving in response to call of their beloved king!

Dawiḏ blessed  יהוה before all the assembly and declares thanks and praise unto His Name, and in this powerful prayer he says in verse 17 that he acknowledges that יהוה, his Elohim, tries the heart and that יהוה desires uprightness, and it was in the uprightness of his heart that he gave voluntarily!

Well here we can clearly see what the desire of Elohim is – uprightness and Sha’ul tells that we are to be a living sacrifice and how we can know the desire of Elohim:

Romiyim/Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.”

He desires uprightness and this word used here is the word already discussed in the beginning as ‘straightness’ that guards or watches over us – the word ישֶׁר yosher – Strong’s H3476 and this word can speak of walking straight or making straight paths and living blameless lives as we walk in righteousness; and this word is also often used in connection with ‘eyes’ as an idiomatic expression ‘’to do what is right in the eyes” as in:

Shemoth/Exodus 15:26 “And He said, “If you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim and do what is right in His eyes, and shall listen to His commands and shall guard all His laws, I shall bring on you none of the diseases I brought on the Mitsrites, for I am יהוה who heals you.”

In verse 24 we see a powerful illustration of the correct response to the call of a beloved king in that all the rulers, mighty men and sons of Dawiḏ submitted themselves to Shelomoh the king!

The term ‘submitted themselves to’ is – נָתְנוּ יָד תַּחַת – ‘nat’nu yad tachath’ – from three words:

1 – נָתַן Nathan – Strong’s H5414 which means, ‘to give, put, set, ascribe, devote, give over, deliver up’ and a derivative of this word is נְתִינִים Nethinim – Strong’s H5411 which were the ‘temple servants’ or ‘given ones’ who served in the temple and often did menial tasks yet their lives were given over to service in the temple under the hand of the Lěwites.

2 – יָד  yad – Strong’s H3027 and is a primitive root which is translated as, ‘hand, command, authority, power, tenon, side’, and the primary meaning of this noun is “the terminal part of the arm used to perform functions of man’s will.”

3 – תַּחַת tachath – Strong’s H8478 meaning, ‘underneath, below, instead of, allegiance’ and can be understood as ‘under the authority of’.

What we can see from this here is the clear submission of true servants who volunteer to go beyond the call of duty as they gave over their lives to work and serve under the authority of king Shelomoh, or rather they ascribed and submitted under the hand of Shelomoh and their allegiance to him would be clearly seen in the work of their hands as they would not do their own works, but submit and walk in his commands and instructions!

This is a powerful illustration that we see here in these closing two chapters of this book, and echoes a call for us as servants of the Most High Elohim. Dawiḏ as a picture of our Beloved King, reminds us of how Messiah gave His all for us and has called us to total set-apartness, which will cost you your all – and as a result of a true heart response of pure uprightness we too submit ourselves to our King. The wording here is a great shadow picture of Messiah, the True King to whom we surrender our lives and ascribe all the work of our hands under His authority and rule. Shelomoh means ‘peace’ and so we see a great picture of the King of Peace as Malkitseḏeq, who was the kings of Shalĕm, is a clear description of our Messiah King who is our high Priest according to the order of Malkitseḏeq!

The heart behind this message tonight is about true servanthood – true service in the Kingdom under the hand of Messiah King – which involves the call of our Beloved King of Peace to discipleship and follow Him with our all as we do so with a full and complete heart of peace that rejoices in our Maker, bringing praise and esteem to His Name. Sha’ul said that he learnt to be content no matter what circumstances he found himself in and so pictures for us a שָׁלֵם ‘shalem’ that is filled with the Truth and the desire for total uprightness and integrity!

My question to you tonight is whether you are willing to go beyond the call of duty?

Are there areas in your life that are still causing you to have a divided heart over certain matters or relationships etc. What do you fill your heart with each day – is it His Word and His presence so that you can be led forth in true peace in all you set your hand to, or do you try to scrape by in doing what may be classed as ‘the bare necessities’ of the Torah while you’re ability to go beyond is hampered by the world and extremely tough circumstances? Let us respond to our True King of Peace – יהושע Messiah and go beyond the call of duty in giving our all with a rejoicing perfect heart!

Shalom!

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Shabbat Shalom family, it is good to praise the Name of our Mighty Elohim – The Master יהוה of hosts!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:5 “Why should you be beaten anymore? You continue in apostasy! All the head is sick, and all the heart faints.”

Here we see that יהוה is appealing to Yehuḏah by saying ‘Why should you continue to be beaten down – there is not a part of the body that has not been beaten – why do you keep disobeying!!! You continue in apostasy!’

Apostasy means ‘a renunciation of one’s belief and an abandonment to loyalty’ – and this is exactly what Yehuḏah had done, and we get our English word ‘apostasy’ from the Greek word ἀποστασία ‘apostasia’ – Strong’s G646 and is translated as a ‘falling away’ in reference to how many will abandon their faith and belief in the Truth before the man of lawlessness is revealed:

Tas’loniqim Bět/2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you in any way, because the falling away is to come first, and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed, the son of destruction,”

In Hebrew however the word used here for apostasy carries a wonderful picture for us showing the direct contrast between who Yisra’ĕl was called to be and what they had become as we see in the Hebrew a wonderful play on words: The word used for apostasy in verse 5 is the Hebrew word סָרָה ‘sarah’ – Strong’s H5627 and sounds exactly the same as the name of Aḇraham’s wife: שָׂרָה ‘Sarah’ – Strong’s H8283 ,yet does not carry the same meaning! The word used for apostasy – ‘sarah’ is spelt with a סָ ‘samek’, רָ ‘resh’ and ה ‘hey’; while ‘Sarah’, Aḇraham’s wife, is spelt with a שָׂ ‘Sin’, רָ ‘resh’ and ה ‘hey’; and carries the opposite picture to an apostate Bride, as the wife of Abraham’s name means ‘princess or noble woman’; and as we know she is used in Scripture as a picture of the obedient wife. Abraham is often referred to in Scripture as the ‘father of our faith’, which would make Sarah, his wife, the ‘mother of our faith’; and the play on words here is incredible as Yehuḏah were being called to look into the mirror of His Word, which would show them how they were not, by their lifestyle, who they ought to have been, but were rather the opposite and had become a disobedient and rebellious children of whoring who follow a ‘mother’ that was sick from head to toe – not the picture of a princess or noble woman and Bride of יהוה. Yehuḏah looked like the offspring of an adulterous whore and not the seed of a faithful people who listen to and do not despise the discipline of their father, nor forsake the Torah of their mother – which is the true faithful Bride! And while we see today how so many claim to be the bride – when looking through the mirror of the Word of Truth, they will be found out to be nothing more than an adulterous and dressed up whore!!!

יהוה has a remnant and all through Scripture we see that there is always a remnant – a faithful few! When we hear the words of many who have been led astray say ‘but they all can’t be wrong’, may we be sober and realise that ‘oh yes they can!’ And in fact the likelihood is that they are indeed very wrong!!! If it were not for the remnant – we would have been made like Seḏom and Amorah and the call has gone out before destruction does come upon the world! It is always a remnant few who obeys and are preserved – It was only Noaḥ and 7 others in the ark, and with Seḏom and Amorah only Lot and his wife and two daughters who escaped, while his wife did not make it very far for her heart had not left Seḏom; and it was only Yehoshua and Kalěḇ who were left from the generation of adults that came out of Mitsrayim  and were able to enter the Promised land – there is always a remnant!

Apostasy or falling away from the truth is a real and present danger that threatens us all each and every day, and tonight in a message called, “OVERCOMING THE TEMPTATION OF APOSTASY!” I would like us to go through a very powerful melody, so please turn with me to Tehillim/Psalm 73 (Read).

What we do not have in the Scriptures translation in the introduction to this Psalm, which says, “A Psalm of Asaph”.

I think it is important for us to know this introduction as it helps us clearly understand the message being portrayed for us today! The word use for ‘Psalm’ is מִזְמוֹר  mizmor  – Strong’s H4210 meaning, ‘melody’ and it comes from the primitive root זָמַר  zamar – Strong’s H2167 meaning, ‘to make music (in praise of Elohim), sing praises’, and Asaph – אָסָף Strong’s H623 –means ‘gatherer’, and he was the son of בֶּרֶכְיָה Bereḵyah – Strong’s H1296 which means, ‘Yah Blesses’. Asaph was appointed as one of the chief musicians under Dawiḏ. So here we in essence have a ‘song of the gatherer’ or a ‘song of gathering’ and this melody/song that is sung unto Elohim in praise carries with it a great sobering lesson for us to be on our guard against the very real temptations of apostasy!

I would like us to look at these verses and recognise that the cry of this gatherer most certainly echoes in many of our hearts on a daily basis, as it highlights the reality of what we see before us on a day to day basis, and the necessity for us to make our refuge in the Master יהוה!

Verse 1 – Truly Elohim is good to Yisra’ĕl – this is a valid and true statement, but what Yisra’ĕl? To those whose heart is clean!!!

יִשְׂרָאֵל Yisra’ĕl – Strong’s H3478 means, ‘he who prevails, overcomes with El’ and comes from the primitive root words, אֵל el – Strong’s H410 which means, ‘Mighty, power, shortened form of Elohim – Mighty One’ and the root word verb שָׂרָה sarah – Strong’s H8280 which is spelt the same as the wife of Aḇraham and means, ‘to persist, exert oneself, persevere, wrestle, contend’. So we who are Yisra’ĕl and in essence children of the promise, of the seed of Abraham and Sarah, are the ones who prevail and overcome with El, pressing on and persevere as we delight in his Torah and guard to do all His commands, as opposed to the children of apostasy – the other ‘sarah’ (apostate whore) who cast His Torah behind their backs!!!

Yisra’ĕl with a ‘clean’ heart is the Yisra’ĕl that Elohim is truly good to! יהושע Messiah tells us in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the clean in heart, because they shall see Elohim.”

And Dawiḏ tells us that with a clean heart we can draw near to יהוה  our Elohim:

Tehillim/Psalm 24:3-4 “Who does go up into the mountain of יהוה? And who does stand in His set-apart place? 4 He who has innocent hands and a clean heart, who did not bring his life to naught, and did not swear deceivingly.”

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy clearly tells us that His Torah is to be upon our hearts and in our mouths to DO IT, and when we are also commanded to love Elohim with all our heart, we clearly see how ‘love for Elohim’ is to guard His commands and do them, yet we are also warned that we are to ‘guard’ our hearts, lest they be deceived into turning away to other mighty ones. Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah also warns us that the heart is crooked above all and desperately sick – therefore we can clearly see the reason for Messiah coming in the flesh to renew our hearts in His Blood, for he said that He has only come for the sick! He came so that the desperately sick and crooked hearts could be healed and the Torah could be written upon our hearts, bringing us near to the Covenants of Promise we were once far off from! A clean heart is a heart that guards the Torah of Elohim in order to do it; and many today render a vain lip service while their hearts are far from Elohim, in their stubborn refusal to submit to and obey His Torah and they hate instruction – to these He says that they have no right to take His Covenant in their mouth (Tehillim/Psalm 50:16-17)!

Why I am stressing the heart condition here is because it is a serious matter – either our hearts are clean and therefore are able to see and know how truly good Elohim is to Yisra’ĕl or we are not and as so many who are lawless (Torahless) have instead the theologies and traditions of man on their hearts and in the process of holding fast to these are on a fast path of being deceived to destruction!

Verse 2 – the Psalmist, after recognising what a clean heart is, confesses that he had almost slipped and stumbled! Ones feet and steps in Hebrew carry the clear picture and understanding of one’s walk, and the Hebrew word used for ‘feet’ in here is רֶגֶל ‘regel’ Strong’s H7272 – means ‘a foot/feet or to walk’, and speaks of one’s obedience to walking according to His commands and obeying His call to keep His feasts as commanded, as this same word is used in Wayyiqra/Leviticus 23 and translated as ‘times’ in reference to the 3 times a year all males were to appear before Elohim at Yerushalayim, marking out the clear need to walk according to His word and guard the Appointed Times or Feasts of יהוה! With the psalmist saying that his feet stumbled and his steps nearly slipped, we recognise that he is clearly saying that he was so close to walking in disobedience and being lawless, by not keeping the commands of Elohim – so close to the point of neglecting to see just how good and pleasant Elohim is – but why?

In the next few verses he expresses why, and explains that the reason for his near slipping into apostasy was as a result of what he saw going on around him. Today we can clearly identify with what he saw and can relate at how tough it is at times to not just ‘go with the flow’ so to speak! And as we go through these verse we are given some clear insight on what not to be deceived by!

He was ‘envious’ of the boasters!!! The root word used here for ‘envious’ in Hebrew is קָנָא qanah – Strong’s H7065 meaning, ‘to be jealous or zealous, be envious, ardent’. It is written in the ‘piel’ tense which indicates the expression of an intensive or intentional action! He was seriously envious of the boasters. It is the same word used to describe Pineḥas in Bemiḏbar/Numbers 25 who was ardent/zealous for יהוה and rose up and took a stand against the whoring of Yisra’ĕl! This word as we can see can have a dual meaning, depending on where your focus is on and on what your eyes are looking at! Our eyes are to be on יהוה and His Torah, which is to be the ‘apple of our eye’ (Tehillim/Psalm 7:2) as we guard his commands so that we live, and in doing so we can be like Pineḥas and Ěliyahu who expressed great zeal for יהוה, or if our eyes are turned away from the Truth for a split second and focused on the things of the flesh that do not satisfy, we are in danger of becoming extremely envious of what others have and in doing so find our feet in a slippery place! This ‘conflict of temptation’ that he had was as a result of where his eyes turned to and saw that the wrongdoers have peace, or rather an appearance of peace! They seem to be strong and stand firm and are not in fear of death that awaits them – and this seemed a little unfair to the psalmist who goes on to say that they wear a necklace of pride and are covered with violence! What pride and what violence – well they think that they have arrived so to speak and walk around with great arrogance, thinking that they have no need to walk in the Torah as it has all been done for them.

Let us face it, as we look at the false worshippers out there, it can often be a daunting site as we see their ‘seeming success’ in their outreaches and programmes that seem to be causing many to walk in an assumed peace.

As we look at a couple of the things that the psalmist saw, let us weigh it up against the Word and see how wrong the wrongdoers who claim to be walking in truth are.

Firstly do not be intimidated by their boastfulness and declaration that they have the truth, as they use advertising and media to be a platform for their boastful claims and statements of faith!

We are to walk in humility and what is to be on our neck?

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 1:8-9 “My son, heed the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the Torah of your mother; 9 For they are a fair wreath on your head, and chains about your neck.”

The answer is clear – The Torah is our ‘necklace’ or yoke that we must be led by!

We are to be led by the Torah as we do our utmost at getting wisdom (which is pictured as the Torah in Scripture), and in the getting of wisdom we are to get understanding, which comes in the doing of the Torah, and keep our feet far from the wide path that leads to destruction:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 4:14-17 “Do not enter the path of the wrong, and do not walk in the way of evil-doers. 15 Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil. And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. 17 For they have eaten the bread of wrongdoing, and they drink the wine of violence.”

The necklace of the boasters is the pride of man’s traditions and theologies that people are yoked and led by; and verse 7 says that their eyes bulge from fatness and their hearts overflow with imaginations – this is the result of satisfying the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, which is not of Elohim. They have false vision and prophecies that tickle ears and overflow in their imaginations as they feed people on false dreams and hopes that are based on lies and traditions. Eyes that become fat become blinded to the Truth, which causes people to overlook and become blinded to what is really important!

Tehillim 119:69-70 “The proud have forged a lie against me, with all my heart I observe Your orders. 70 Their heart has become like fat, without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah.”

In speaking of those who disagreed and turned away from what Sha’ul spoke to them it says in:

Ma’asei/Acts 28:27 “for the heart of this people has become thickened, and with their ears they heard heavily, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I should heal them.”

In a word from יהוה, that the prophet of Elohim was told to speak to a foolish people without heart or people with a backsliding and rebellious heart, we see that יהוה says in:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 5:28 “They have become fat, they are sleek. They also overlook the deeds of the wrong. They did not rightly rule the cause of the fatherless, so that they prosper. And the right of the needy they did not rightly rule.”

In verse 8 we see how the ‘lawless’ are corrupt and mock, speak evil  of oppression which points to their neglect for the poor and needy and speak as if from a high position, speaking proudly about themselves and their exploits, and it says of those who speak proudly in order to use people for self-gain in:

Yehuḏah/Jude 1:16 “These are grumblers, complainers, who walk according to their own lusts, and their mouth speaks proudly, admiring faces of others for the sake of gain.”

Verse 9 goes on and says that they speak against the heavens – in other words they are blasphemers. Ḥazon/Revelation 13 speaks of those who marvel at and worship the beast, and it says of the beast who the masses follow:

Ḥazon/Revelation 13:6 “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against Elohim, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tent, and those dwelling in the heaven.”

Blasphemies against Elohim, His Name and His Tent is a clear picture of the wicked blasphemy against His Torah and His Bride (that is us who are the Tent/dwelling Place of the Most High) and speaking against the Set-Apart Spirit which teaches us to walk according to His Kingdom Rules helping us understand the clear design of His Tent!

Not only do the wicked blaspheme against His Torah, they also spread that blasphemy as doctrine all across the world – their tongue walks through the earth – spreading a false message of lawlessness under the disguise of many fancy titles such as ‘The word faith movement’ or ‘faith-righteousness’ or the ‘prosperity gospel’ to simply name a few that has gripped many all over the globe as they are catching the masses in their net of destruction, and calling people to drink of the cup of whoring, as they give an abundance of mixed/muddied waters (poisoned waters) or  better understood as wormwood, which speaks of false teachings; and the masses are consuming this wormwood in great quantities as this cup of whoring is being drained by the lawless. What they do not realise in their drunk state is that draining this cup of mixed water they are sentencing themselves to drinking the cup of the wrath of Elohim

Tehillim/Psalm 75:8 “For a cup is in the hand of יהוה, and the wine shall foam; It is filled with a mixture, and He pours it out. All the wrong of the earth drink, draining it to the dregs.”

In the drunken state of pride they rely on traditions, doctrines and theologies of man, and in the process they are always at ease and increase wealth – just think about it – so many mainstream churches are thriving as their corrupt leaders are living in the lap of luxury, which is the reward they are receiving now for bowing to Satan and his lies, teaching as teachings the commands of men!

When looking at how the man-made systems of religion and worship are growing at a rapid pace and how the lawless seem to have the appearance of doing well, the psalmist expresses that for a moment it felt as though his obedience seemed to be in vain as he saw how the wicked were prospering, and every day he was plagued by the fact that he was earnestly trying to walk in obedience while the masses were excelling in their ways, and he says that his reproof was every morning. In other words, while thinking that the wicked seemed to be doing something right as a result of what he saw and how this made him envious and almost caused his foot to slip, the Word brought reproof each morning showing him that the wrong were wrong, no matter how right they may have looked in the flesh!

How many of you often feel like the call of obedience to walking in the Torah is in vain – especially when the people you know and possibly even used to walk with seem like they are having all the fun and you are just getting disciplined through the Word every day, and come Shabbat get hammered even more when a tough message is delivered? So much so that you are tempted to let your foot slip back into the mainstream of what others are doing?

The psalmist says that while the abominations plague him every day and the temptation of apostasy looked like a valid option based on the physical evidence that was seen, he realised that if he had done this, and spoke and lived like the lawless, that he would have led a generation astray – he recognized how important his testimony in guarding the commands is critical even to the next generation!!!

Verse 16 he expresses his urgency to understand all of this – why were the wicked prospering so much, why were people who were blaspheming Elohim by wilfully disregarding His commands and following an imposter living it up so to speak! He tried to understand it so much that is was hard labour to his eyes! In other words this clearly pictures for me how earnestly the psalmist sought after Elohim and His righteousness by meditating daily on the word – which is hard work to the eyes! How many of you find it hard to sit down and dig into the Word every day? We should be, and while it is hard work we must not neglect it but get disciplined into doing what we ought to be doing!

He was as the Word tells us – getting wisdom and with all his getting he would get more wisdom, and while all the getting would seem to be very hard labour, he tells us in Verse 17 that the breakthrough came when???

It was labour to his eyes until – until he went into the set-apart place of El – then he perceived the end of the wicked!!!

This is a very powerful picture for us to recognise – and it is something I have mentioned many times, and that is:

UNDERSTANDING COMES IN THE DOING OF HIS COMMANDS!!!

Getting all the knowledge and Truth of the Word without application and the doing of the Word will just be hard work, yet when one begins to do what is commanded then understanding comes and the ability to see and perceive becomes a reality!!! Unlike the wicked who as the words of Yeshayahu speak true of, in that they hear but do not understand and see but do not perceive, we who ‘guard to do’ the commands hear and understand as we ‘do’, and as we ‘do’ the Torah lights our path and we see and perceive or see and know. The word used in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6:9 for ‘perceive/know’ is יָדַע ‘yada’ – Strong’s H3045 and means ‘to acknowledge, clearly understand, to perceive, distinguish and discern’ and implies the ability to respond to and recognise the Master’s voice and follow His commands.

Yoḥanan/John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

He then goes on and clearly lay out the fate of the lawless – they may look like they are prospering now under the false prosperity gospel and false word faith doctrines, yet their end is destruction if they do not repent and return to יהוה.

We need to recognise, just as this psalmist did, that our need to walk in the Torah and remain committed to being faithful without compromise is of utmost importance in bringing us understanding, clarity of sight and the ability to know יהוה; while those who do not will hear the words no one wants to hear when he tells the lawless to depart from Him for He does not know them!!!

The Psalmist gives praise to Elohim and recognises that the flesh is of no value, so to run after the flesh is futile and worthless, but what he declares we too must declare, and that is as he tells us in verse 26 – Elohim is the Rock of my heart – The Living Torah is the Rock of my heart, and while all those who are far from Him will perish and be cut off, we make our refuge in the Master יהוה and declare His works!!!

This Psalm/melody of gathering is a gathering call that needs to be heard today, as many are on the verge of slipping under the delusion of the lawless. Doubt is a transition to apostasy and to slip from walking in His commands, even in the slightest, the real threat of neglecting to fellowship with the True body will become increasingly hard not to keep away from. Pondering and envying the prosperity of the carefree life of the wrong is dangerous ground, as this care free prosperity gospel is a poisonous message that promotes a care free approach that claims and promotes a “‘Jesus’ has done it all for them” mind-set that causes them to cast the Torah of Elohim behind their backs and walk in their own paths!

The temptation of apostasy is greater than most of us would care to admit and we are to guard against the threat of our feet from slipping away into any form of compromise – and we do this by fixing our eyes on the Truth, giving no room for the flesh to distract our sight and we also must recognise as we consider the melody of the gatherer that we must not neglect the gathering/assembling of the set-apart ones:

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our expectation without yielding, for He who promised is trustworthy. 24 And let us be concerned for one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging, and so much more as you see the Day coming near.”

Overcoming the temptation of apostasy is the call for the True Yisra’ĕl – those who shall overcome with Elohim:

Romiyim/Romans 8:37 “But in all this we are more than overcomers through Him who loved us.”

Don’t be overcome by the temporary and corruptible success of the wrong, but be overcomers through walking in His Torah shining the True Light of our active and working faith walking in righteousness, as we follow our King – even if we are only few in number; for we who are more than overcomers walking as Messiah walked and control ourselves in every way will receive an incorruptible crown.

Has your foot nearly slipped lately as you allowed your eyes to look at the worldly? Have you compromised the set-apart walk of the righteous? Has your obedience felt like it is in vain as you face struggle after struggle? Hear the words of this melody of the gatherer and Hear, guard and do what our Master has instructed us to and fix your eyes on Him, for He will make your paths straight and not let your foot slip!

Tough days are ahead – that we know – let us daily overcome the temptation of apostasy as we stay in Messiah our King, and Rock of our heart in whom we make our refuge each and every day, aměn!

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Tehillim/Psalm 136:1-3 “Give thanks to יהוה, for He is good! For His kindness is everlasting. 2 Give thanks to the Elohim of mighty ones! For His kindness is everlasting. 3 Give thanks to the Master of masters! For His kindness is everlasting”

Give thanks to יהוה – a phrase found often in Scripture, yet what we must take note of is that this term carries a deeper meaning than just words from our lips. The Hebrew root word used for ‘give thanks’ is  יָדָה ‘yadah’  – Strong’s H3034 and literally means ‘to throw, shoot or cast, to confess, laud with praise, extol, i.e., make a public confession of the attributes and acts of power of a person’ and comes from the word Strong’s H3027 יָד ‘yad’ which means ‘hand’ and so the expression of giving thanks is understood in the Hebrew as ‘extending the hands in praise’ – that is why Sha’ul tells us in Timotiyos Aleph/1 Timothy 2:8 that men everywhere should lift up their hands that are set-apart in prayer – our expression of giving thanks with the extended hands that are set-apart is in our willing obedience to working unto Elohim (extending the hand) in all we do – and at the same time giving Him esteem and praise – Giving thanks is not a silent matter and it must be seen in our work ethic too as our actions often may speak louder than words!

In fact there are two Greek words that are also translated as ‘giving thanks’:

1 – εὐχαριστέω  eucharisteō – Strong’s G2168  which means, ‘give thanks, be thankful’ and comes from the word εὐχάριστος  eucharistos – Strong’s G2170 meaning, ‘thankful’ which is made up of two words: 1 – εὖ eu – Strong’s G2095 which is an adverb meaning, ‘good, well done’ and 2 – χαρίζομαι charizomai – Strong’s G5483 meaning, ‘forgive, deliver, to show favour, give freely’ from the primitive root word χάρις charis – Strong’s G5485 meaning, ‘grace, favour, kindness’.

Why I am sharing all these words here is simply for the fact that we can clearly see that our giving thanks to Elohim is a surrendered response of obedience to His perfect will for our lives as we acknowledge and accept that which He has freely given us in Messiah – to walk in His ways and forsake all sin!

2 – ἐξομολογέω exomologeō – Strong’s G1843 which means, ‘to agree, confess, give praise, give thanks’ and comes from two words: 1 – ἐκ ek – Strong’s G1537 which means, ‘from, from out of’ and is used as a preposition denoting the origin or point from where the action proceeds; and 2 – ὁμολογέω homologeō – Strong’s G3670 and means ‘to acknowledge, admit, to confess, i.e. to admit or declare one’s self guilty of what one is accused of’ and also means ‘to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with’. Therefore to “confess” in essence means that it is more than just admitting you were wrong – to confess means that you say what יהוה says!

This word ἐξομολογέω exomologeō is the word used in the Septuagint (Greek Translation of the Tanak (O.T)) as the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew יָדָה ‘yadah’ . What we certainly see from this is that to ‘give thanks to יהוה’ means so much more than what the English word ‘thanks’ is able to describe, which is defined in English as, ‘an expression of gratitude’! Ok – that is fine – but how do you express??? It is so much more than simply saying ‘thanks’!!!

In a message tonight called, “HOW ARE YOU GIVING THANKS?”, please turn with me to Tehillim/Psalm 105:1-7 (Read).

Verse 1-15 of this Tehillim forms part of the song by which Dawiḏ gave thanks by the hand of Asaph and his brothers whom Dawiḏ had appointed to serve before the ark of יהוה, to bring to remembrance, and to thank, and to praise יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl; which can be found in Diḇre haYamim Aleph/1 Chronicles 16, as this song of remembrance, thanksgiving and praise was sung at the return of the Ark of יהוה which Dawiḏ brought back and set in the tent that he had pitched for it, and after he had offered up burnt and peace offerings to יהוה and blessed the people in the Name of יהוה and gave everyone in Yisra’ĕl bread and raisins.

The song that was sung that day also contains the majority of Tehillim/Psalm 96 and ends with 3 verses from Tehillim/Psalm 106 (verse 1, 47 & 48). The Ark of יהוה had been brought back and a very powerful song of thanksgiving was sung – a song that calls for an active response and not simply lip service alone!

True thanksgiving enables an urgency to earnestly seek יהוה and do His good and pleasing will!

These first 7 verses in Tehillim/Psalm 105 is an invitation to engage in proper thanksgiving and praise that ought to make a clear and definite sound far and wide among the nations – if in fact we are responding correctly and truly giving thanks as we should!

Dawiḏ, in beginning with the call to ‘give thanks to יהוה’, is making it very clear that the beginning of thanksgiving can only begin when true repentance is taking place, and by ‘giving thanks to יהוה’ in the truest sense, carries the understanding that your confession and acknowledgement of who He is, is real and that you have turned from all wickedness and turned back to the True giver and source of life, choosing to walk in His ways! Turning away from lawlessness and sin, to Him who has called you out of darkness, begins a life of thanksgiving that must continue daily.

As we can see in this first verse that together with giving thanks to יהוה there is the call to ‘call upon His Name’; and the word for ‘call’ here is קָרָא qara – Strong’s H7121 which means, ‘to call, utter a loud sound, proclaim, read aloud, cry for help’. True thanksgiving recognises the need for help and there is only One name that saves:

Yo’ĕl/Joel 2:32 “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the Name of יהוה shall be delivered. For on Mount Tsiyon and in Yerushalayim there shall be an escape as יהוה has said, and among the survivors whom יהוה calls.”

Sha’ul quotes this verse in:

Romiyim/Romans 10:13 “For “everyone who calls on the Name of יהוה shall be saved.””

Abraham called on the Name of יהוה (Berěshith/Genesis 12:8; 13:4; 21:33); Yitsḥaq called on the Name of יהוה (Berěshith/Genesis 26:25); Eliyahu called on the Name of יהוה at the showdown on Mount Karmel with the Ba’al prophets (Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 18). All through Scripture we see the clear call for us to call upon the Name of יהוה, as we respond in faith to His clear voice calling us out of darkness:

Tehillim/Psalm 86:5 “For You, יהוה, are good, and ready to forgive, and great in kindness to all those who call upon You.”

Giving thanks and calling on יהוה through repentance and confession is what is being called for and as it says in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The word used here for ‘confess’ is ὁμολογέω homologeō – Strong’s G3670 – the word we have already discussed that makes up the word ἐξομολογέω exomologeō which is used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew word  יָדָה ‘yadah’.

The word יָדָה ‘yadah’ is used again in verse one, which has been translated as ‘make known’ or ‘declare’. What we see here is that the process of giving thanks involves repentance and a turning away from lawlessness and turning back to יהוה, calling on His Name and then making the good confession of our belief to all, as seen in our words and walk!

“Make known” among the people!!! How are you doing at that?

Tehillim/Psalm 18:49 “Therefore I give thanks to You, O יהוה, among nations, and I sing praise to Your Name”

If the truth of His deliverance that He has worked for you has become a living reality that has caused you to turn away from lies and traditions then the natural response ought to be one of proclaiming His Truth and the need for a people to be calling on His Name! The true response to what He has wrought for you ought to be one of urgency in telling everyone out there! I ask you again – “how are you giving thanks?”  – Has true thanksgiving stirred you to go and tell others what they need and are you urgent and bold about it? If you are giving thanks to יהוה then you should be!!!

His Name reveals His attributes toward man, as the root meaning of His Name declares that the He is the One who causes me to be – He gives me my breath and my life – so when I call on His Name I am declaring the One  – the I AM – The Aleph and the Taw – who gives me life and causes me to be; and while I was dead in my sin – calling upon the Name of יהוה  – the Great I AM forgives me, cleanses me by His Blood and gives me everlasting, abundant life!!! That in itself ought to stir me to get the Besorah out and proclaim what He has done – stirring up the need for true thanksgiving among the peoples!

Having established what true thanksgiving involves, we can also see clearly from this powerful song what transpires from true thanksgiving or what the natural progression of thanksgiving entails in its entirety:

Verses 2-5 Dawiḏ goes and instructs us in thanksgiving by telling us what we are to do by listing 8 more attributes of a true giver of thanks. What we need to understand is that the return of the Ark inspired a great call to repentance and pure praise and worship – the same inspiration is needed again today – and we who have the presence of יהוה ought to be doing this, inspiring others to follow as they see the true joy of a thankful heart!

Let us look at these 8 powerful words or attributes of a true giver of thanks and then allow the mirror of His Word to answer the question, “How are you giving thanks?”

1 – Sing – שִׁיר  shir – Strong’s H7891 and simply means ‘sing’ meaning to use one’s voice as an instrument to sing musical tones, rhythms, and often words. Using our voice to sing to יהוה is an attribute of giving thanks or rather that which should flow from giving thanks. So many people are too shy to sing, yet we should not worry what others may think of our voice as we sing to the One who causes us to be – He loves to hear you sing!

2 – Sing Praise – זָמַר zamar – Strong’s H2167 meaning, ‘to make music (in praise of Elohim), sing praises’. This word carries with it the idea of ‘striking with the fingers’, and more properly meaning ‘to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument’. This praise goes further than just the voice, but carries the clear picture of making music or singing with the aid of instruments! In Tehillim/Psalms 149:3 we see ‘zamar’ being translated as ‘sing praises’ or in other translations as ‘make melody’, and that is with tambourine and harp. What a joy it is to have the gift of ‘zamar’ praise happening here in our midst as יהוה continues to inspire Marcia to produce such wonderful songs in praise unto our Elohim – together with the ‘striking of the fingers’!

We may not all be able to ‘strike with the fingers’ an instrument like Marcia, but we certainly can join as a family together in singing praises as she leads us with zamar singing, causing us to join together in making that joyful praise of song with instruments unto יהוה. And we can all certainly ‘clap our hands’ and make music to Elohim!

3 – Speak – שִׂיחַ  siaḥ – Strong’s H7878 means, ‘talk, speak, meditate’. We are to open up our mouths and speak the Truth! However to be able to speak the Truth you have to know the Truth and know what you are proclaiming; and one’s ability to speak Truth only gets better by meditating on the Word day and night! If you are not meditating on His Word daily how do you think you will be able to speak it???

Tehillim/Psalm 77:12 “And I shall meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.”

With these first 3 attributes of a true giver of thanks we can see what Sha’ul meant in:

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:17-21 “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the desire of יהוה is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is loose behaviour, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to each other in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs, singing and striking the strings in your heart to the Master, 20 giving thanks always for all to Elohim the Father, in the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah, 21 subjecting yourselves to each other in the fear of Elohim.”

4 – Boast – הָלַל  halal – Strong’s H1984 which means, ‘to shine; to be boastful; to be clear; to make a show; to rave; be foolish; to celebrate; praise, cheer, brag or extol, i.e., extol the greatness or excellence of a person, object or event.’ Make your boast in His set-apart Name!!!

We are to praise His Name, extol His name, make known His Name and revere His Name. His Name reveals His Character and we in our actions are to display His very character being shaped and formed in us –

Therefore our confession must line up with our deeds. Far too many are simply giving lip service while their hearts are far from Him and therefore bring His Name to nought! Our boasting is not in self but in Him and His set-apart Name. His Name is set-apart – above all names and titles and therefore we cannot bring down His Name to the level or form of a common title or any other name with other forms of association!

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus said יהוה, “Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty boast in his might, nor let the rich boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am יהוה, doing kindness, right-ruling, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” declares יהוה.”

Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 10:17 “But “He who boasts, let him boast in יהוה.””

5 – Rejoice – שָׂמַח samaḥ – Strong’s H8055 and means, ‘to rejoice, be glad, be joyful, delight in and be elated’. A derivative of this word is שָׂמֵחַ ‘sameaḥ’- Strong’s H8056 and carries the same meaning as well as implying ‘to be merry’. Both of these words are used in the command to rejoice in Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 16:14 & 15.

The word ‘samaḥ’ can also carry the meaning ‘to brighten up’, giving us the picture how we are to carry His joy as the light of the world and let praise and rejoicing abound!

6 – Seek (1) – בָּקַשׁ  baqash – Strong’s H1245 which means, ‘to seek, aim, search, look, inquire’, and it is written in the ‘piel’ form which expresses an intensive or intentional action and could therefore be expressed as, ‘seek earnestly or seek the face, seek to find, demand, desire, ask’, and this kind of ‘seeking’ is an intense seeking with a purpose!

Now I just want to make it clear that יהוה is by no means lost in any way – it is us who were lost through sin and lawlessness and so we earnestly seek Him while He is to be found, as we seek to please Him and walk in His Truth.

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 2:3 “Seek יהוה, all you meek ones of the earth, who have done His right-ruling. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, if so be that you are hidden in the day of wrath of יהוה.”

 7 – Seek (2) – דָּרַשׁ  darash – Strong’s H1875 means, ‘to resort to, seek out, ask, avenge, consult, investigate, search carefully, make inquiry, question’. Now when we see that this word carries more than simply just take a quick peek, but rather emphasises the need to be digging deep in seeking out carefully and with great diligence, through consultation, and asking. When we are told to ‘seek’ first the Kingdom – we must recognise that this is not an instruction that gives the notion that you look at it and now that you have seen it you can go on your merry way – NO! To seek His Kingdom requires hard work and discipline each and every day. Here we are being clearly instructed to ‘seek’ יהוה and His strength. We need to ‘seek’ Him and this implies an inquiry after knowledge, advice, and insight into any situation or circumstance we find ourselves in.

A word that is derived from דָּרַשׁ  darash is מִדְרָשׁ  midrash – Strong’s H4097 means, ‘a study, record, writings or story, commentary’. A ‘midrash’ speaks of the ability to search out something and often refers to that which is written to teach, and later became known as a Hebrew word relating to the in-depth study of the word, often done together. The point is that we are to be a people who are earnestly growing in wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures so we can remember what we look like when we look intently into the mirror of His Word!

Ěḵah/Lamentations 3:25 “יהוה is good to those waiting for Him, to the being who seeks Him.”

We are to be seeking His face always:

Tehillim/Psalm 27:8 “To my heart You have said, “Seek My face.” Your face, יהוה, I seek.”

8 – Remember –  זָכַר  zakar – Strong’s H2142 which means ‘to remember, or be mindful, or bring to remembrance’; The true givers of thanks will be mindful and remember the Covenant and walk in the Torah of יהוה, as we remember His wonders which He has done. A word derived from this for ‘remembrance’ is זִכָּרוֹן ‘zikkaron’-  Strong’s H2146 meaning ‘memorial, commemoration or remembrance’; and as we know we are commanded to have a remembrance on Yom Teruah – a remembrance of the Trumpet blast or shout!

We are to remember His wondrous works, His miracles and His right-rulings! The word used for ‘miracles’ means ‘signs, wonders’ and these we do remember – how He delivered Yisra’ĕl from Mitsrayim through great signs and wonders and His marvellous deliverance that He has brought! We can remember His signs and wonders and do not need to look to the ‘signs and wonders’ that many wicked and adulterous seek today!

When we remember His works, we are greatly encouraged to the sure promise of His return and therefore do not need other signs and wonders to determine our faith – yet as we go out, giving thanks and proclaiming His Name, יהושע Messiah tells us in:

Marqos/Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs shall accompany the ones who believe: In My Name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak with renewed tongues, 18 they shall take up snakes, and if they drink any deadly drink it shall by no means hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall get well.”

This clear call given in this song by Dawiḏ is to us, the called out, chosen, set-apart and royal priesthood of Elohim:

Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.”

יהוה is our Elohim and His right-rulings are in all the earth, now let us give Him proper pure and undefiled thanks!

How are you giving thanks? As we have considered some very powerful words and attributes of a true giver of thanks, how do you measure up against the mirror of these Truths presented before you? Is there some fine tuning or a major service that is needed in your giving thanks unto Our Master, Redeemer and King – יהוה of Hosts.

By the Blood of Messiah we have been grafted into that which we were once far from – His Covenants of Promise – will you be as Dawiḏ was – A true giver of thanks as יהוה, by His Spirit, rebuilds the Booth of Dawiḏ which has fallen down!

Giving thanks to יהוה involves your entire life – can you give Him thanks – How are you giving thanks?

Shalom…

יהוה bless you and guard you;  יהוה make His face shine upon you, and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face upon you, and give you peace.

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Timotiyos Aleph/1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the belief, lay hold on everlasting life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession before many witnesses.”

Taking hold of everlasting life to which we have been called, and continually making the good confession before many witnesses, as we hear, guard and do the commands of Elohim as a true expression of our love for Elohim, is a fight – and it is a fight that we must be willing and able to continually give our all as we stand firm with great zeal and commitment as a called out and chosen priesthood. Our walk in Messiah is certainly called the good fight of the belief, because it is a fight as we sojourn here until our King returns, as we do our utmost to ensure that when He does come that He may find faith – that is a working, fighting faith of a faithful remnant who call upon and walk in His Mighty Name, as we guard to do His commands, aměn!

Understanding then that we are in a fight we must therefore recognise that in order to be a well-equipped fighter, we must be fit and strong in the doing of His clear instructions, clothing ourselves in His righteousness with the full armour of His Torah that will daily enable us to stand, stand and stand against the enemies attacks at trying to cause us to fall into compromise that leads to sin and destruction! In a message tonight called, “FERVENT FIGHTING FAITH OR COMPROMISED CONTENTMENT?” I would like us to be reminded once again that we are to guard against all forms of compromise, no matter how subtle it may be, in order to maintain a fervent fighting faith. Please turn with me to Shophetim/Judges 1 as we look at what started out as complete commitment that turned into being content with compromise under the threat of the enemy. (Read)

At the end of Yehoshua/Joshua (Chapter 24) we see a nation who by their own confession declared their steadfast commitment to יהוה, and yet here in Shophetim/Judges 1 we see a generation who quickly let go of the once confessed complete commitment, by allowing compromise to cause them to fall short of guarding the clear commands of Elohim.

Chapter 2 sums it up by saying that as long as Yehoshua or any of the elders who outlived Yehoshua, who had seen the great works of יהוה, were alive, the people served יהוה. But as soon as that generation died the new rose up who did not know יהוה. To ‘know’ in Hebrew which is the root word יָדַע ‘yada’ – Strong’s H3045 means ‘to acknowledge, clearly understand, to perceive, distinguish and discern’ and in terms of knowing יהוה it implies the ability to respond to and recognise the Master’s voice and do what He says! יהושע tells us in:

Yoḥanan/John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

To follow Him means to follow Him completely without compromise, and any compromise in one’s claim in following Messiah through a disregard for His Torah reveals that they do not hear His voice and He does not ‘know’ them!!!

Here we see the nation of Yisra’ĕl go from being a nation with a fervent faith that turned into apathetic apostasy – in other words they had no interest or concern for the Torah of Elohim which caused them to abandon their once claimed loyalty to יהוה and His commands! But how you may ask? The answer is clear and the last verse in Shophetim/Judges sums it up:

Shophetim/Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no sovereign in Yisra’ĕl – everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

No king and everyone does what they want and does whatever is right in their own eyes! This was the very thing that Mosheh warned Yisra’ĕl against in:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 12:8 “Do not do as we are doing here today – each one doing whatever is right in his own eyes.”

While Judges contains some great moments of victory in just over a 300 year span, the sad picture of the inability to submit to the reign of Elohim by adhering to His Kingdom rules as outlined in the Torah is the same picture of apathy we see today by so many who seemingly claim to be believers, yet by their denial in the need to obey the Torah and follow the clear instructions, commands and statutes contained therein, they are in fact nullifying their acknowledgment of Messiah as Master and King by their wilful disobedience and acts of lawlessness towards the Kings Kingdom rules, despite the vain confession of their lips while their hearts reveals their claims of no effect as their actions show that their hearts are far from Him!

At Mount Sinai יהוה called and set Yisra’ĕl apart to be a kingdom of priests under the clear instruction that they obey the voice of the Master and King of all creation and keep His Covenant! Our identity in Messiah as a called out and set-apart people must line up with our obedience to our Master and King:

Shemoth/Exodus 19:5-6 “And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is Mine – 6 ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl.”

Mosheh reaffirms the ‘Kingship’ of יהוה when he explained the Covenant to the next generation that would enter into the Promised Land, before they entered into Kenaʽan.

After the conquest of Yeriḥo and Ai, Yehoshua declared once again to all Yisra’ĕl her Kingdom responsibilities, when he built a slaughter place out of unhewn stones  and offered ascending offerings to יהוה, and in the presence of all Yisra’ĕl he wrote on the stones a copy of the Torah of Mosheh, which he had written (no oral Torah)!!! He then read in the hearing of all, all the words of the Torah, with the blessings and the cursings according to all that was written!

At the end of Yehoshua, shortly before his death, he reminded Yisra’ĕl once again their duties and requirements in living according to the Kingdom rules as outlined in the written Torah for a nation and people who chose and claimed to serve and follow יהוה as their Elohim and King!

Giḏ’on, who was possibly one of the greatest judges in Yisra’ĕl’s history even told Yisra’ĕl when they asked him to be their ruler that he could not be as they already had a ruler and king:

Shophetim/Judges 8:23 “But Giḏ’on said to them, “I do not rule over you, nor does my son rule over you. יהוה does rule over you.”

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6 is very clear as it tells us plainly that we are to love and obey יהוה with our all (in fact to love יהוה is to obey Him – Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:3 “For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy”). Deḇarim 6 also tells us that we have a responsibility to teach and train our children to do the same as we teach them His Torah day and night by teaching them all day long in all that we do (something lacking greatly today indeed!).  We are also to be a separated people as we separate ourselves from all forms of pagan worship practices and lifestyles – all very simple really – yet time and time again we see so many who fail to simply obey and pay the price for compromise!!! Why? Because they neglect the True King and Master and therefore they do not diligently ‘seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness’, but instead find themselves flirting with the idolatry and lusts of the nations around them – and it is no different today!!!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to peoples.”

Righteousness is equated with obedience to the Torah, while sin is lawlessness!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Shophetim/Judges records for us some major lessons for us in regards to the consequences of neglecting to obey the Kingdom rules and commands of our Redeemer and King, and here in this first chapter we see a very eager start that lacked a faithful follow through when the going got a little tough in the fight against the enemy and as a result the enemy was not destroyed; and in being spared from total destruction which was commanded, caused Yisra’ĕl to end up submitting to and eventually imitating the worship practices of the enemy as we see in Chapter 2 of how they worshipped and served Ba’al and the Ashtoreths! As a result of this these nations were not driven out by יהוה, but were left in their midst in order to try Yisra’ĕl to see if they would guard the way of יהוה and walk in His Torah or not!

After the death of Yehoshua we find that Yisra’ĕl did the right things and asked who should go up and fight first against the Kenaʽanites – and Yehuḏah was chosen, perhaps because it was the kingly tribe, from which Messiah would come, however they went up and called for Shim’on to help, and they had victory striking 10 000 men at Bezeq. They pursued and caught a fleeing Aḏoni-Ḇezeq and cut off his thumbs and big toes – the very thing that he had done to 70 other sovereigns and he acknowledged that Elohim had repaid him for what he had done. The 70 kings that he had struck is symbolic of him being the ruler of the earth and so in this vital victory we see a shadow picture of a counterfeit messiah having his authority stripped and removed, paving the way for Yisra’ĕl to take Yerushalayim again under the rule of the True Messiah and King!

Yehuḏah had great victory and we also read of Kalěḇ’s call for whoever would take Qiryath Sĕpher could have his daughter, and Othni’ĕl, son of Qenaz, Kalěḇ’s younger brother stood up and captured it – this is the same Othni’ĕl that we read about in Chapter 3, who יהוה raised up as a saviour for Yisra’ĕl and destroyed the sovereign of Aram after which Yisra’ĕl had rest for 40 years until Othni’ĕl died, after which Yisra’ĕl once again did evil in the eyes of יהוה!

So things were going great – for a while!!! And in verse 19 we see that it says that יהוה was with Yehuḏah, so they took possession of the mountains, yet were unable to drive out the Philistine’s because of their iron chariots. This is a great lesson for us in that while יהוה is certainly with us as we face battles, we must realise that because He is with us does not mean that things will be easy to overcome – the battles we face will be tough – yet we must stand firm, no matter what weapons the enemy has formed against us.

Yehuḏah means “praised” and we must recognise that we are to be a praising and rejoicing people, no matter what we face:

Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:2-4 “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the proving of your belief works endurance. 4 And let endurance have a perfect work, so that you be perfect and complete, lacking in naught.”

Just because the enemy has iron chariots does not mean that you are defeated – for we are to recognise that it is יהוה who fights for us and He goes before us – and iron chariots are nothing for Him to destroy:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 45:2 “I go before you and make the crooked places straight; I shatter the gates of bronze and cut down the bars of iron.”

Binyamin did not drive out the Yeḇusites – יְבוּסִי  Yeḇusi  – Strong’s H2983 – sons of Yeḇus – Strong’s H2982, which comes from the word בּוּס  bus – Strong’s H947 meaning ‘threshing, trample, trodden down, desecrate and utterly reject’. This speaks plainly to rebellion and what it brings about in people. This speaks of those who suppress spiritual authority in fellow believers – in other words they refuse to submit to authority that יהוה has ordained and reject instruction from those whom יהוה has called to speak His Word. They represent those who will always criticise and break down all forms of community advancement and adherence to Torah principles. Binyamin, which means ‘son of the right hand’ not being able to destroy the ‘sons of Yeḇus’ is a picture for us today of not destroying all form of rebellion to the Torah from our lives, and therefore we must guard against the company that we keep, especially if they have an influence in our lives that may cause us to be in a place of rebellion to the pure authority of the Torah through subtle acts of compromise that often seem harmless, yet can bring great destruction and devastation in our lives without warning! How are you at submitting to authority, especially authority of those that יהוה has appointed? We would do well to not rebel – we know what happened in the Wilderness!!!

Compromise will cause one to overlook rebellion and eventually that compromise will result in the refusal to submit to the authority of the Creator and King – dangerous ground to be on!!!

Menashsheh, which means ‘cause to forget’ named so by Yosĕph as he realised that יהוה had caused him to forget all his toil that he had suffered. Menashsheh did not dispossess 5 groups of people and their villages:

1 – Bĕyth She’an – בֵּית שְׁאָן  – Strong’s H1052 which means, ‘house of ease, place of quiet’

2 – Taʽanaḵ – תַעְנָךְ  – Strong’s h8590 which means, ‘sandy’

3 – Dor – דּוֹר  – Strong’s H1756 which means, ‘generation’

4 – Yiḇleʽam – יִבְלְעָם  – Strong’s H2991 which means, ‘devouring the people’

5 – Meḡiddo – מְגִדּוֹ  – Strong’s H4023 which means, ‘place of crowds’

I find a very powerful picture here that reflects the sad reality of so many today. Recognising the true redemption that has been purchased for us by the Blood of Messiah and how he has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light in order to walk in Him and walk according to His Torah which lights our path and how He has caused us to forget our toil as He remembers our sin no more, should cause us to remember His Torah and stand firm on the Rock of our Salvation. Sadly many today have done the opposite – through compromise they conveniently forget that they have a Kingdom standard to live by, excusing it away as being of no effect anymore, and in so doing do not destroy the inherited lies of a counterfeit message that has led to the formation of a house of ease that is built on sandy foundations that has caused many generations to be devoured in the place of crowds as they gather in vain through a compromised man-made system of false worship that has neglected the very Torah and Kingdom standards of the True Creator and King!

יהושע tells us: “DO NOT THINK that He came to destroy the Torah and the Prophets” … but rather that he came to fully meet its requirements and reveal to us through His life, death and resurrection how we are to walk as He walked, and so fully meet the requirements contained therein as we hear, guard and do all He commands! Sadly so many stop at “DO NOT THINK” and in the process are ‘caused by their lawlessness to forget’ to obey the Torah and end up living in a ‘house of ease’ that has no firm foundation that calls huge crowds together and in the process allows the enemy to devour the masses through inherited lies!

Ephrayim did not drive out the Kenaʽanites in Gezer.  Kenaʽanites – כְּנַעֲנִי Kena’ani  – Strong’s H3669 – and from its root can mean, ‘zealous, lowlands people, brought down, defeated or made low’. It represents for us a resorting to a low life in respect to addictions and perversions and exaggerations. Seḏom and Amorah are portrayed as Kenaʽanite cities and we know all the low life stuff that went on there! This also pictures for us the battle against depression and anxiety and hopelessness. Are you struggling with anxiety and have little hope? Destroy it with faith in the One who knows what you need and do not worry – throw off anxiety and keep your eyes fixed on the Blessed hope we have in Messiah! They also represent those who seek to gain something for themselves by means of being people pleasers. They are people pleasers and will resort to very low and degrading means in order to do that. Herod’s daughter ‘danced’ here way to receiving what she wanted in getting Yoḥanan the immerser head cut off, by pleasing the fleshly sense of Herod. She ‘prostituted herself to get her way and this is what this spirit will do – cause you to resort to low life actions in order to get what you want as well as to please others as you do not want to feel out! We are to please Elohim by bearing the fruit of righteousness and not be man-pleasers bearing false fruits of compromise!

Zeḇulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Qitron and Nahalol:

1 – קִטְרוֹן  Qitron – Strong’s H7003 means, ‘incense, great burning of incense or great smoke’

2 – נַהֲלֹל  Nahalol – Strong’s H5096 means, ‘pasture or watering station where one could rest’

Who would want to put to death a place that was very hospitable and provided a refreshing stop and the sweet smelling fragrance of a well-crafted compound burned lured in weary travellers? Zeḇulun means ‘exalted’ and here is the test – they did not destroy the seemingly harmless aroma of the enemy and this pictures for us the falling prey to the false worship that is offered up to Elohim in vain through the man-made concoctions of an incense that is not worthy to be offered up on the altar of incense before יהוה, no matter how refreshing and soothing it may appear – if it does not line up with the Torah it is not true and pure worship!

This pictures the trap of the enemy that calls people into a false rest that assumes that obedience to the Torah is no longer necessary and their prayers are not heard!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”

Tehillim/Psalm 50:16-17 “But to the wrong Elohim said, “What right have you to recite My laws, or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 while you hated instruction and cast My Words behind you?”

To truly exalt the Name of Elohim, we are to hear, guard and do His Torah – then our prayers are true and pure incense – any other prayers that are offered from the basis of a neglect for His Torah and His Covenant is false and abominable to His ears!!!

Ashĕr which means ‘blessed one’ and here we see that he they did not drive out the inhabitants of 7 places and what we recognise from this is that from the seeds of paganism that were allowed to stay here became the region that produced Izeḇel!

1 – עַכּוֹ  Akko – Strong’s H5910 means, ‘his hemming in’

2 – צִידֹן  Tsiḏon – Strong’s H6721 means, ‘hunting as in hunting fish’

3 – אַחְלָב Aḥlaḇ  – Strong’s H303 means, ‘I will be fertile, fertile place’

4 – אַכְזִיב  Akziḇ– Strong’s H392 means, ‘I will deceive’

5 – חֶלְבָּה  Ḥelbah – Strong’s H2462 means, ‘choicest part, fertile’

6 – אֲפֵק  Apheq – Strong’s H663 means, ‘self-restraint’

7 – רְחוֹב  Reḥoḇ – Strong’s H7340 means, ‘wide-open or broad place’

We must guard ourselves from that which tries to hem us in and hunt us as fish through deception and cause us to lose self-control in the wide open spaces of deception! The way of the blessed is narrow and few find it!!!

Naphtali which means, ‘wrestling’ did not drive out Bĕyth Shemesh – בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ  – Strong’s H1053 which means, ‘house of the sun, sun-temple’  and Bĕyth Anath – בֵּית־עֲנָת  – Strong’s H1043 which means, ‘house of affliction, house of response, temple of Anath’.  Today so many are ‘wrestling’ with the reality of recognising the inherited lies and sadly most will be content to compromise and wrestle with the call to come out of sun-worship as they are unable to drive out deep rooted lies and traditions!

Dan, which means ‘judge’ was pressed by the Amorites and driven to the mountains and as a result we see that the Amorites had a recorded border in Scripture within the territory of Yisra’ĕl – something that should not have been so if the Dan had done what was required! Amorites – אֱמֹרִי  Emori – Strong’s H567 – meaning  ‘cave dwellers’ and comes from the word אָמַר  amar – Strong’s H559 which means, ‘utter, say, speak’  and can represent for us as meaning “boasters”. The Amorites, or Emori, were the biggest and strongest people in Kenaʽan. They were the ‘mountain people’ which speaks of the heights and give a picture of the tall ones or renowned ones – people who love self-exaltation. They are the prominent speakers or rather the ‘big mouths’ and ‘know it all’s’. They desire knowledge just to be superior to others and we know that ‘just’ knowledge without true application simply puffs up and pride becomes the result. Isn’t pride the strongest of strongholds within each of us? Love builds up and love for Elohim is to guard to do all He commands – so love in action that builds is the correct application of knowledge. Watch out for the ‘smooth talkers’ and the big talkers! Amorites is a picture also of those who are arrogant and boastful in their speech, which always challenge everyone and want the last say and simply speaks of a form of rebellion.

How is your speech? Do you always want to be right, because you think you know it all? Kill any pride that may set in, quickly before it takes root!

What is very interesting to note from the accounts here in Shophetim/Judges 1 is that there is no mention of the tribe of Yissasḵar! Now while we may speculate on various reasons, what is certain here is that they were not mentioned as being unable to drive out the inhabitants of the land in their allotment, which can presuppose that they actually did what was required! Having said this we must recognise that in Messiah we have the ability to do all that has been commanded us as we fervently stand firm in Him and fight the good fight! In the song that Deborah and Baraq sang we see in Shophetim/Judges 5:15 the mentioning of the princes of Yissasḵar being with Deḇorah and we also have an account of one of the judges of Yisra’ĕl, Tola, who was a man of Yissasḵar (chapter 10:1).

In this chapter 1 which clearly makes mention of the nations that were not driven out and the effects of this as seen in chapter 2 shows us that by making no mention of Yissasḵar  makes it seemingly clear that they did what was required of them as commanded in the Torah of Elohim!

7 ½ tribes did not do what they should have done and as a result they ended up bowing to Ba’al and provoked יהוה as they soon lost their fervent fighting faith by resorting to a compromised contentment; and we must learn from these accounts. What compromises are there in your life that you have come to be content in having as a part of your life because to destroy them would cost you more than you are willing to pay? As we consider the lasting effects that Yisra’ĕl’s compromise to not drive out the enemy had for generations to come, may we recognise our need to drive out all from of sin and compromise from our lives, without fearing the outcome but trusting in and relying on the Mighty Creator, Redeemer and King who has bought us at a price and serve and follow Him with our all!

Will you stand up and get dressed in the Torah of Elohim, clothed in Messiah our King and fight the good fight of faith?

FERVENT FIGHTING FAITH OR COMPROMISED CONTENTMENT is the choice and the answer is obvious – be done with compromise and be ignited with fervency for our Coming Messiah King!

Shalom!

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Tehillim/Psalm 30:4 “Sing praise to יהוה, you lovingly-committed ones of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His Set-apartness.”

Singing praise and giving thanks – a daily attribute of a lovingly committed servant of the Most High Elohim – יהוה of Hosts is His Name!!! We are most certainly equipped in יהושע Messiah to do just that at the very remembrance of His Set-Apartness and His calling us out of darkness into His Marvellous Light in order to be a set-apart people unto Elohim!

We have just completed celebrating the great Feasts/Appointed Times of יהוה of the 7^th month as prescribed and commanded for us to celebrate and keep, and as I am sure you can all agree with me that this year’s Sukkot was truly a great time of pure rejoicing as we were blessed to be able to ‘booth’ together as a family with our Lovingly-committed Creator and Redeemer, so much so that most of us did not want to come home!!!

Now that Sukkot for this year is over and we are back in the normal day to day routines we need to earnestly assess our ability to be careful in guarding with great care the shalom and joy of remaining in His presence and not dropping our guard at all as we encourage one another daily. When we are diligent in guarding His commands and keeping His Appointments, we are further equipped to remember His set-apartness and are further strengthened to be lovingly-committed in binging true praise and thanks to Him; and the inherent shock of coming back into the ‘rat-race’ of busy schedules ought to cause us to realise the critical need for us to ensure that we remain a set-apart people, separated unto our Redeemer and King for His good pleasure, that we may daily please Him in all we do as we pass the time of our sojourning in fear, having been redeemed form the futile way of life inherited from our fathers, through the blood of Messiah!

In a Message tonight called, “BE SEPARATE AND GIVE THANKS!” please turn with me to a very fitting chapter for us at this time of year as we read Neḥemyah/Nehemiah 9 (Read).

This chapter records for us the heartbeat of a people who had separated themselves unto Elohim and had just completed performing the Feast of Sukkot and the 8^th Day Assembly (Shemini Atzeret), and now just a couple of days later the children of Yisra’ĕl were again assembled with fasting, repentance, confession and praise. They were clearly instructed In the previous chapter not to mourn as the Torah was read on Yom Teruah and the people were taught and caused to understand the reading. They had discovered the instructions for Sukkot and faithfully carried them out as commanded, and here we find that not very long after the Feast of Rejoicing (Sukkot) has ended the people gathered to make earnest confession , after they had heard the words of the Torah of Elohim and had experienced a taste of the Kingdom in the keeping of Sukkot. The Feasts and the hearing of the Torah was a very clear mirror for them as they recognised the reality of just how short they had fallen. Morné mentioned during Sukkot that he was humbled by the realisation of the sobering fact that if Messiah were to have come back in this 7^th month at Yom Kippur, he may have been in some serious trouble!!! And this is the place that Yisra’ĕl were at as they had just experienced keeping the Creator’s Appointments of the 7^th month and heard His pure Word – something they had not done for many years – and the reality of the Truth shocked them into confession and praise!

Many of their brothers were still in exile and the city was not yet completed and in recognising where they stood they realised that fasting and prayer was the logical next step – as there was some serious work to be done in calling others to repentance and the need for true worship to be restored that the city could be built יהוה’s way!!! So too today do we find ourselves in the similar position, as many of our brothers are still in exile and having said that, we recognise then that the True Tabernacle (that is you and me and some of our exiled brothers) is not yet completed. What we can see from this great prayer of commitment in this chapter is that it covers their acknowledgement of who the Creator and Redeemer is, as the primary focus of this powerful prayer is יהוה our Elohim – who He is, what He has done for His people and what His people are expected to do in response to His great love toward them.

This prayer covers the historical account of: 1 – Creation (v.6); 2 – The calling of Aḇram and the Covenant יהוה made with him and changed his name to Aḇraham (v.6-7); 3 – The deliverance of the children of Yisra’ĕl for Mitsrayim (v.9-12); 4 – The Marriage Covenant given to and accepted by Yisra’ĕl at Mount Sinai (v.13-14); 5 – The Wilderness journey (v.15-21); 6 – The conquest of the nations (v.22-25); and 7 – The time of the Judges that carried highs and lows, followed by the series of various kings which ultimately led them into captivity into the hands of their enemies because of rebellion. Yet our patient Creator and Redeemer, in His great compassion, did not make an end of them nor forsake them.

Yisra’ĕl acknowledged their shortcomings and the reality that they deserved the punishment for their sin and wickedness and  in a powerful confession of servanthood they made a trustworthy pledge in writing and set their seal on it – to walk in the Torah of Mosheh, which they had heard with their own ears for the first time in many years!

Both verse 6 and 7 begins with – אַתָּה־הוּא – ‘attah – hu’: אַתָּה attah – Strong’s H859 meaning, ‘you, thou (in the second person masculine singular)’ and הוּא hu – Strong’s H1931 meaning, ‘he, she, it (a primitive pronoun, written in the 3^rd person singular)’. And literally this renders, “You are He!” – what this clearly reveals to us in the acknowledgment that they were declaring to יהוה that “You are He” – the Creator in verse 6 and in verse 7 “You are He” – the Covenant Maker and Redeemer – all in the 2^nd or 3^rd person singular! יהוה is not only the Creator of all things; He is the life-giver and sustainer as well!!! In fact the Scriptures in the original language never allows you to separate or divide into 2 parts the Creator from the Redeemer, for it is One and the same, for Creation and Redemption go hand in hand so to speak; as we acknowledge that from the beginning the Creator in the Creation Week expressed His redemption plan for mankind very clearly when we begin to understand His Appointed Times; and the one matter that Kěpha (Peter) tells us to not be ignorant of:

Kěpha Bet/2 Peter 3:8 “But, beloved ones, let not this one matter be hidden from you: that with יהוה one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

In not letting this matter being hidden from us by the keeping of His Appointed Times we are able to clearly see the Creator and Redeemer are One and the same, as it was on the 4^th day that the lights were given their function in order to separate the light from the darkness and so we see the Light of the world came in the 4^th Millennium to separate the light from the darkness and call us out of darkness and separate us as a people unto Himself forever!

Without the Torah of Elohim and the obedience of keeping His Appointments these matters will be hidden form us, and so just as Yisra’ĕl had the hidden matters revealed to them through the hearing of the Torah and the keeping of His Feasts in the 7^th month here as recorded in Neḥemyah/Nehemiah and were enabled to recognise and make confession before the True Creator and Redeemer, so too do we today through our hearing of the Torah and the keeping of the Appointed Times of Elohim need to recognise and make the bold confession of faith in Messiah King, Creator and Redeemer, as we fight the good fight of belief and lay hold on everlasting life to which we have been called as we praise the Trustworthy One:

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our expectation without yielding, for He who promised is trustworthy.”

Sukkot had ended and feasting turned to fasting and this is a great picture of commitment to truth that comes through hearing and doing and not just hearing alone!

True worship of our Creator and Redeemer involves the hearing of the Torah and the entire Scriptures of Elohim, and the guarding of that which is heard which enables the doing of the commands with great joy. True worship also involves praising, praying and confessing which cannot happen authentically without the hearing, guarding and doing of His clear instructions. True worship also involves separation – that is a separating ourselves away from that which displeases Elohim and separating ourselves to Him. Worship unto the Creator and Redeemer of our souls involves the Word as the Word reveals to us who He is; and without our daily lawful Bread we cannot know Him as He is. This is a sad reality for so many who claim to know Him yet do not have ears to hear, guard and do His commands which are not heavy! Those who forsake the hearing of His Torah and excuse it away as being of no effect while they claim to worship the Creator and Redeemer of mankind are mistaken in their claim to be worshipping, while in fact their vain worship is simply a form of idolatry through the entertainment of man-made theological ‘thoughts about Elohim’ that are clearly unworthy of being accredited to Him as they do not line up with His pure plumb line of His Word as expressed in His Torah and the Prophets. Therefore it is very clear that masses of professing believers today are engaged in idolatry rather than true worship, and unless they submit to hearing the Torah and the keeping of The Creator’s timetable they will sadly stay in their idolatrous form of man-made worship, risking their eternal separation from the Creator of all!

I want to briefly touch on a couple of Hebrew words that we find here in this chapter as seen in verse 2 and 3:

In verse 2 we see the effect that the hearing and doing of the Truth has, not only on an individual but also on a nation!

The heard, they acted and obeyed and as a result they did what is required of all who claim to worship the Creator – they separated themselves and confessed their sin/lawlessnesses and the faults/iniquities of their fathers!

The primitive root word used for ‘separated’ is בָּדַל  badal – Strong’s H914 meaning ‘to be divided, separate, make a difference, make a distinction’. This root word is used in:

Wayyiqra/Leviticus 20:24-26 “But I say to you, “You are going to possess their land, and I Myself give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am יהוה your Elohim, who has separated you from the peoples. 25  ‘And you shall make a distinction between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean birds and clean. And do not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or whatever creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 ‘And you shall be set-apart to Me, for I יהוה am set-apart, and have separated you from the peoples to be Mine.”

3 times in these 3 verses we see the word בָּדַל  badal being used – twice translated as ‘separated’ and once as ‘make a distinction’. It is יהוה who has separated us from all peoples, to be a set-apart nation unto Him and therefore we are called to make a clear distinction between what is clean and what is not, and so by the hearing of His Torah and the obedience of keeping His Times and laws we are called to active separation from that which is not pleasing to Him!

Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 6:17 “Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says יהוה, and do not touch what is unclean, and I shall receive you.”

Being separated involves a coming out from among that which foreign and contrary to the Torah! The Greek word used here for ‘separate’ is ἀφορίζω  aphorizō – Strong’s G873 which means, ‘to mark off by boundaries, ostracise, separate, set-apart’ and comes from the two words: 1 – ἀπό  apo – Strong’s G575 which is a preposition and primitive particle, meaning, ‘from, away from, against’ and 2 – ὁρίζω  horizon – Strong’s G3724 which means, ‘predetermined, fixed, appointed, to mark off by boundaries’.

What is very clear throughout Scripture is that we are called to come out and be separate. If we do not heed this call to come out and be separate then we may find ourselves among those whom the Messengers of יהוה will ‘separate’ from the congregation!

Mattithyahu/Matthew 13:49-50 “Thus shall it be at the end of the age: the messengers shall come forth, and separate the wicked out of the midst of the righteous, 50 and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

The choice is very clear – separate yourselves from all foreign worship and its practices or you will be separated for destruction!

We see here in Neḥemyah/Nehemiah that Yisra’ĕl separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed.

In verse 3 we see the words confessing and worshipping:

The Hebrew root word for ‘confessing’ is יָדָה  yadah – Strong’s H3034 and literally means ‘to throw, shoot or cast, to confess, laud with praise, extol, i.e., make a public confession of the attributes and acts of power of a person’

‘Yadah’ in practice would be to lift my hands in gratitude and thanks, expressing a surrendering of self totally unto יהוה as well as openly confessing our shortcomings before Him!

The Hebrew root word for ‘worshipping’ is שָׁחָה ‘shachah’ – H7812 and it means, ‘to bow down, to prostrate oneself before another, to humbly beseech, to do or show reverence, and to do or show obeisance’.  Obeisance means ‘a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission as well as to acknowledge the superiority of another’.

Both of these words are used here in the hithpael form which expresses the reflexive action in response to a true relationship with the Creator and Redeemer – יהוה of Hosts!

The word יָדָה  yadah is only used as a derivative of the word יָד yad – Strong’s H3027 which means ‘hand’ and we understand in the Hebraic mind-set that one’s hand symbolises what one does or one’s ‘works’ and so to extend the hand to יהוה can carry with it a dual purpose of firstly a confession of the wrong works that have been done in disobedience to His commands and at the same time also can render a thanksgiving for us being His workmanship, created in Messiah יהושע unto good works, in restoring to us the ability to walk in and do the good works that were prepared beforehand for us to do! This speaks of an acknowledgement and a total surrender of self in complete submission to guard to do the clear instructions of Elohim as we are guided by His Mighty Right Hand – יהושע, and so in everything we can give thanks as we ‘do’ it in Messiah:

Qolasim/Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Master יהושע, giving thanks to Elohim the Father through Him.”

In all that we do – we do according to His Word and give Him thanks as we confess and surrender our own ways to submit to His!

The Greek word used here for ‘giving thanks’ is εὐχαριστέω  eucharisteō – Strong’s G2168  which means, ‘give thanks, be thankful’ and comes from the word εὐχάριστος  eucharistos – Strong’s G2170 meaning, ‘thankful’ which is made up of two words: 1 – εὖ eu – Strong’s G2095 which is an adverb meaning, ‘good, well done’ and 2 – χαρίζομαι charizomai – Strong’s G5483 meaning, ‘forgive, deliver, to show favour, give freely’ from the primitive root word χάρις charis – Strong’s G5485 meaning, ‘grace, favour, kindness’.

Why I am sharing all these words here is simply for the fact that we can clearly see that our giving thanks to Elohim is a surrendered response of obedience to His perfect will for our lives as we acknowledge and accept that which He had freely given us in Messiah – to walk in His ways and forsake all sin!

True thanksgiving and surrender happens when we recognise our need to hear, guard and do all He has commanded us to and the worship we therefore bring Him as a result of confession and thanksgiving is from a position of surrender and true humility. The word שָׁחָה ‘shachah’ can literally render the meaning, ‘to be brought low’ in the sense of being humbled and in essence, ‘to have one’s arrogance knocked out of Him’!!! This is exactly what the Word does – if one makes themselves available to hear, guard and do and look intently into the Living Word and do what is required, by separating oneself from the ways of the world and give thanks!

It is only when we make ourselves truly available to hear His Torah that we are able to be brought to the true place of humility, confessing and giving thanks in reverent worship of the Great I AM!!!

Having just come through the Feasts of the 7^th month and more specifically having heard His entire Torah during this Sukkot Feast – will you pledge to be separate and give thanks to יהוה our Elohim as we too declare with our mouths in making the Good confession to יהושע Messiah:

“YOU ARE HE who created me and YOU ARE HE who redeemed me, and therefore I humbly surrender my life, forsaking all to follow you with all, giving you thanks always, aměn!”

I certainly trust and hope that this past Sukkot Feast has caused you to realise the desperate need for us to be separate and give thanks and the responsibility that goes with that confession, as we diligently guard to hear, guard and do His Good Word and in the hearing of His Word learn to fear Him and Him alone!

Perhaps you have too recognised that in the hearing of His Torah over this past week during the Feast that there are some things that may need to be dealt with and destroyed…. Well now is the time to do just that and hold fast the confession of our expectation in the True Trustworthy One – יהושע Messiah!

As verse 5 declares to us, so I say to you: Rise up and bless your Elohim forever and ever! As we close with the song, “Rise up”:

Rise up! Stand up! Lift your eyes to Elohim.

Rise up! Stand up! Be you not afraid. X2

In this world you will face trouble

In this world you will have pain

But if your hope is in Yahushua

You will never be ashamed

We can see the mountains trembling

We can feel the valleys quake

As the righteous ones of Elohim

Are rising up for His name’s sake

Darkness cannot overcome His light

In His presence evil flees

But those who trust in Yahweh’s mighty name

Will find salvation on their knees

יהוה bless you!

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