Shabbat Shalom all,

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 65:2 “I have held out My hands all day long to a stubborn people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts”

Sha’ul quotes this verse in:

Romiyim/Romans 10:21 “And to Yisra’ĕl He says, “All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and back-talking people.”

Spreading out His hands all day to a stubborn, disobedient and back talking people! Sha’ul was quoting this when referring to the clear fact that while the Word of Elohim had gone out into all the earth, there were still many who refused to submit and obey to the clear call to turn to יהוה and put their trust in Him. In Chapter 11 Sha’ul goes on and quotes the words of Ěliyahu and says that the rebellious had killed יהוה’s prophets and overthrown יהוה’s altars! While Ěliyahu felt all alone after fleeing the threats of Izeḇel, he was clearly reminded that יהוה had left 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Ba’al, and Sha’ul confidently proclaims that there was still a true remnant of faithful servants of the Most High – even amidst a wicked and rebellious generation! Today is no different – the majority of mankind is still very rebellious, disobedient and vicious back-talkers! The Aramaic of Yeshayahu renders this verse as “I have sent my prophets”; and what we are able to see from these words of יהוה, in telling us that He has held out His hand all day long, is that He is making it clear that He has continually made known His outstretched Arm and Hand through His servants, the prophets! The prophets were called to call the backsliding and rebellious back to Elohim, yet they refused to listen! The Greek word used in Romiyim/Romans 10:21 for ‘disobedient’ is ἀπειθέω apeitheō – Strong’s G544 which means, ‘to disobey, disbelieved’. The word for ‘back-talking’ is ἀντιλέγω antilegō – Strong’s G483 which means, ‘to speak against, contradict, oppose, object, obstinate, decline to obey, refuse to have anything to do with him’, which comes from the two words: 1) – ἀντί anti – Strong’s G473 which is a primary preposition that means, ‘over against, opposite, instead of’ and 2) – λέγω legō – Strong’s G3004 which means, ‘to say, address, speak, call, command, exhort, advise’. What we can clearly see from this is how Elohim has continually made His Hand readily available to a people who disobey and speak against His clear commands!

These two Greek words are used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak) in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 65:2, which is collectively used to translate the Hebrew word used in this verse of the Hebrew text for ‘stubborn’, which is סָרַר sarar – Strong’s H5637 which means, ‘stubborn, rebellious, backslide’. It is a very dangerous thing to be stubborn and rebellious toward the Truth, and those who refuse to humble themselves and submit to walking in the Truth, a Truth that has been made known to all, stand the risk of facing an extreme judgement of fire; and in a message tonight called, ‘WARNING AGAINST STUBBORNNESS!’, I want to remind you of this very loud and clear call of woe to any form of stubbornness and rebellion toward the need to hear, guard and do the Torah of Elohim!

Please turn with me to Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30 (Read).

How many of you have struggled at times with stubbornness? What is stubbornness or rather what does it mean to be stubborn? Well according to various dictionary definitions it can be summed up as follows:

‘Having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something, esp. in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so; Difficult to move, remove, or cure; Unreasonable, often perversely unyielding; bull-headed.’

Ever heard of the saying, ‘as stubborn as a donkey’? Stubbornness can also refer to one who has an ‘unrepentant heart’ – one who unwilling to yield to the Truth and change, one who is unwilling to learn and is stubbornly set in their ways!

I want to run through a few key words from Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30 and help us further understand these words, that are as alive for us today as it was back then when these words were given to the prophet!

First up this chapter is very clear in its “woe” to the “stubborn”!

Here in this chapter we see a very severe ‘woe’ being proclaimed – and the Hebrew root word translated as ‘woe’ here is הוֹי hoy – Strong’s H1945 which means, ‘woe, alas!, ah!’ and is the prolonged form of הוֹ ho – Strong’s H1930. We often hear the term ‘hoy vey’ which in essence expresses a cry of grief or sorrow and declares, ‘woe is me!’, as one faces pain and regret; with the construction of two Hebrew words – אוֹי oy – Strong’s H188 which means, ‘woe’  and אֲבוֹי aḇoy – Strong’s H17 which is a primary interjection which means, ‘oh! Sorrow, grief’, and both of these can be found in:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 23:29 “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who feels hurt without cause? Who has redness of eyes?”… answer… :30 “Those staying long at the wine, those going in to search out mixed wine.”

Why I am sharing this with you is to get a clear picture of how this very emotional exclamation we see throughout Scripture, is being used as a severe warning and call to repentance, while clearly declaring the fate of those who refuse to hear and turn from wickedness and sin. This severe woe given here in this chapter is to ‘stubborn children’, and refers to them as – סוֹרְרִים  – ‘sor’riym’, which is the plural of the root word we have already mentioned –  סָרַר sarar.

Stubbornness is a very big problem; and we see all throughout Scripture the clear warnings that are given against the stubborn, and how so many times Yisra’ĕl, as a nation, were stubborn and rebellious as they refused to submit and obey the Torah of Elohim. Rulers were stubborn:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:23 “Your rulers are stubborn, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and runs after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow reach them.”

Hoshěa/Isaiah 9:15 “All their evil is in Gilgal, for there I have hated them. Because of the evil of their deeds I drive them from My house, no more do I love them. All their rulers are rebels.”

The nation was stubborn:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 6:28 “All of them are rebels of rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, all of them are corrupters.”

Rebels of rebels! The first word translated as ‘rebels’ isסוּר  sur – Strong’s H5493 meaning, ‘turn, turn aside, depart from a way, avoid, be removed from, put away’; while the second word translated as ‘rebels’ is סָרַר sarar – Strong’s H5637 – our key word for tonight – the word for ‘stubborn’.

A derivative of this word סָרַר sarar is the adjective סַר sar – Strong’s H5620 which means, ‘stubborn, resentful, rebellious, sullen, implacable, embittered’; and this word is used only 3 times in Scripture, and they are all used in referring to the attitude of the wicked king, Aḥaḇ, who was embittered in his being after being rebuked by a prophet of Elohim, after Aḥaḇ did not put Ben-Haḏaḏ, sovereign of Aram under the ban (Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 20:43). He once again became embittered when he could not get the vineyard of Naḇoth the Yizre’ĕlite (Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 21:4-5).

How resentful and stubborn and embittered do you become when you are rebuked for not having put under the ban and destroyed that which you should, or when you did not get what you wanted? Well this is what Aḥaḇ did, and he pictures for us the response of stubbornly rebellious people who become resentful and embittered in their being – the very thing we are to guard against, as we hear this severe woe!

This root word – סָרַר sarar – basically speaks of being obstinate and rebellious, and lays stress on the attitude of a person – a wrong attitude that results in wrong actions!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 21:18-21 speaks of the resulting actions to be done to a son who is wayward and rebellious and refuses to listen to the discipline of his parents – he would be stoned by all the men of the city, in order to remove the evil from the city!

This word often portrayed Yisra’ĕl’s total rebellion against Elohim and we see in:

Tehillim/Psalm 78:8 “And not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation which did not prepare its heart, whose spirit was not steadfast to Ěl.”

This Psalm is an appeal to turn our ears to the Torah and walk in it and not be stubborn and rebellious like our fathers!

Stubbornness reflects a bad attitude toward submission to authority and is clearly seen in not taking up the responsibility of bearing the necessary requirements upon one’s shoulders! Hoshěa says that Yisra’ĕl is like a stubborn calf (Hoshěa 4:16) and Neḥemyah says that they have a stubborn shoulder:

Neḥemyah/Nehemiah 9:28-29 “But after they had rest, they turned back to do evil before You. Then You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. But when they turned back and cried out to You, You heard from the heavens, and delivered them according to Your compassion, many times, 29 and warned them, to bring them back to Your Torah. But they acted proudly, and did not obey Your commands, and sinned against Your right-rulings, ‘which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they gave the rebellious shoulder and hardened their necks, and would not hear.”

In a clear call to live by the right-rulings of Elohim, Yisra’ĕl gave a rebellious shoulder! In Scripture we are told how the priests were to bear the Ark of Elohim on their shoulders, and so one’s shoulders are often pictured for us as how we are to carry the presence of our Master and Elohim, as we guard to do all He has commanded us! To have a ‘rebellious shoulder’ pictures a clear stubbornness to bearing the responsibility of walking in the Torah, as the rebellious cast down His presence instead of bearing it upon their shoulders!

Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 7:11 “But they refused to listen, and they shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears from hearing.”

The word translated as ‘shrugged’ is סָרַר sarar – shrugging one’s shoulders is to shrug one’s responsibilities, and the clear result of this is seen in their refusal to hear the Truth – hearing but not hearing! Those who have ears hear what the Spirit says – the stubborn and rebellious refuse to listen!

This rebellion is a clear sign that it is rooted in their hearts, and so it was with Yisra’ĕl too:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 5:23 “But this people has a backsliding and rebellious heart, they have turned aside and gone away.”

סָרַר sarar is used here and is translated as ‘backsliding’ and the Hebrew word translated as ‘rebellious’ here is מָרָה marah – Strong’s H4784 which means, ‘to be contentious, rebellious, bitter, disobedient’.

The Torah is to be upon our heart and here we see how Yisra’ĕl had a rebellious and backsliding heart – a heart that was filled with wickedness and deceit, instead of the Torah! The danger of stubbornness and rebellion being in one’s heart, is that you risk the severe danger of being bitten by the rebellious and stubborn whore, who lurks the streets!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 7:11 “She was boisterous and stubborn, her feet did not stay at her own house.”

Many have been captivated and ensnared to walking in stubborn rebellion, as they have fallen for the wicked schemes of the whore, under which many of us were born, as a result of our fathers being stubborn and rebellious!

And here in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30 we hear the loud woe to the stubborn children and the urgent call to repentance!

What do stubborn children do? Well for starters they do not listen, and they refuse to obey! When you do not listen to what you are supposed to then you will easily make up your own way – a way that leads only to death and destruction!

Here in verse 1 we are given clear insight into what stubbornness looks like. Stubborn children make their own counsel, a counsel that is not of יהוה! The Hebrew root word translated as ‘make’ is עָשָׂה  asah – Strong’s H6213 meaning, ‘to do, work, make, produce, to act with effect, to observe, to bring about, institute’, and the Hebrew word translated as ‘counsel’ is עֵצָה etsah – Strong’s H6098 which means, ‘counsel, advice, purpose’. Stubborn people work out or observe their own or another’s advice, apart from יהוה!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 29:15 “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from יהוה, and their works are in the dark; they say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

I want to read to you a few verses from Yeshayahu 47 as we see how the stubborn and rebellious exhaust themselves by their many counsels while neglecting to seek the only true and sure counsel there is – that of יהוה:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 47:8-15 “And now, hear this, you who are given to pleasures, who dwells complacently, who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is none but me. I do not sit as a widow, nor do I know the loss of children.’ 9 “Both of these come to you suddenly, in one day: the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in completeness, because of your many witchcrafts, for your numerous great potent spells. 10 “And you have trusted in your evil, you have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray. And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is none but me.’ 11 “But evil shall come upon you, you not knowing from where it arises, and trouble fall upon you, you being unable to put it off, and ruin come upon you suddenly, which you know not. 12 “Stand now with your potent spells and your many witchcrafts, in which you have laboured from your youth, if so be you are able to profit, if so be you find strength. 13 “You are exhausted by your many counsels; let the astrologers, the stargazers, and those who prognosticate by the new moons stand up and save you from what is coming upon you. 14 “See, they shall be as stubble, fire shall burn them, they do not deliver themselves from the power of the flame, there is not a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before it! 15 “So they shall be to you with whom you have laboured, your merchants from your youth. They shall wander, each one his own way, there is none to save you.”

Tehillim/Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of יהוה stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.”

Tehillim/Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, and shall not stand in the path of sinners, and shall not sit in the seat of scoffers, 2 but his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, and he meditates in His Torah day and night.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:20-21 “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, so that you are wise in your latter end. 21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the counsel of יהוה that stands.”

These verses I have just quoted are very clear – seek the counsel of יהוה! Stubborn people do not and as a result they devise their own plans, plans that are not of יהוה’s Spirit! The Hebrew wording that is translated as ‘and to devise plans’ is from the two root words: 1) נָסַךְ nasaḵ – Strong’s H5258 which means, ‘cover, cast, pour out, set up’, and 2) מַסֵּכָה masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 which means, ‘image, covering, veil, web, woven stuff’. In other words it could best be rendered as ‘cover with a covering’, or ‘make a veil to cover yourselves’! Why I find this very interesting in describing the stubborn is that this word masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 is used in Shemoth/Exodus 32:4 and is translated as ‘moulded’, as in ‘moulded calf’! This was when Aharon took the gold from the children of Yisra’ĕl and made a moulded calf and they all worshipped it! They devised a plan to worship יהוה according to their own counsel and this was an abomination in the eyes of יהוה, and any form of man-made worship that does not submit to the clear counsel of יהוה is nothing more than an abomination before Elohim! Do not make any masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 – those things that man has made to seemingly cover you!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 27:15 “Cursed is the man who makes a carved or moulded image, an abomination to יהוה, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Aměn!’”

Cursed in the man who makes a masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 – for that is nothing more than an abominable veil that causes one to lose sight of the Truth and become blinded by stubborn deceit!

It is יהוה who removes the masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 from a people covered in deceit, who repent and turn back to Him

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 25:7 “And He shall swallow up on this mountain the surface of the covering which covers all people, and the veil which is spread over all nations.”

The Hebrew word masseḵah – Strong’s H4541 is translated here as ‘veil’, and I find this a very powerful picture for us as we know that Sha’ul tells us in:

Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 3:15-18 “But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 And when one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away. 17 Now יהוה is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of יהוה is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, as with unveiled face we see as in a mirror the esteem of יהוה, are being transformed into the same likeness from esteem to esteem, as from יהוה, the Spirit.”

When we turn to the Master the veil is removed! When we humble ourselves and turn from stubbornness and rebellion, the veil of deception and man-made schemes is taken away!

Walking in wicked counsel and devising wicked plans cause one to add sin to sin; and we know that sin is lawlessness!

False counsel, stubbornness and falsely made coverings, such as a false ‘I am under grace’ slogan for an assumed license for lawlessness, will cause one to be destroyed in their drunken state of lawlessness! In speaking of the one who turns their hearts away from Elohim, He says in:

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 29:19 “And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,’ in order to add drunkenness to thirst.”

This Chapter in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30 progresses in the warning against stubbornness as it makes it clear that the stubborn and rebellious easily run to Mitsrayim for help. Mitsrayim is a metaphor for us today in describing those who run to the world for help and counsel, for those who run to the world for advice are those who have not sought יהוה as they should, and in stubborn haste they run to the worldly to get advice on matters of life!

We need to take heed to this woe here – we must not run to the world to get advice, when we ought to be seeking יהוה and finding wisdom in the counsel of many true servants of our Master and Elohim! This we need to hear today, as there are many on the Torah walk who are still running to the world for advice, when they should be consulting the word of Elohim and finding counsel in the assembly of true believers. We need to learn to ask each other for advice and share with each other our concerns and plans, in order that we can seek יהוה together for His perfect counsel that can be found in His Word, as guided by His Spirit! Those who are running to the world, do so in stubbornness and pride as they seek to be strengthened in the strength of Pharaoh – that is to seek their strength and safety in worldly ways, when the Word clearly tells us who our strength and refuge is:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 16:19 “O יהוה, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”

The Hebrew word for ‘strengthened’ in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 30:2 is עוּז uz – Strong’s H5756 which means, ‘to take or seek refuge, flee for safety’, and is a verb that carries the concept of taking shelter quickly; and here we are given the clear futility of seeking ‘quick help’ from the world – there is no quick fix in the world – our fix is in יהוה alone!

The protection or strengthening of Mitsrayim will become your shame; and this we see happening in many people’s lives, who run to the world for help, only to find that their help is short-lived and they find themselves worse off and stand in shame for having listened to such foolish advice that does not lead to true life and shalom in the Master!

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 17:5-6 “Thus said יהוה, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from יהוה. 6 “For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and not see when good comes, and shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land that is not inhabited.”

Those who stubbornly turn away from יהוה and run to the  world for help, will find themselves standing with their shame exposed, when He comes again; and in the clear call given to the lukewarm assembly in Ḥazon/Revelation we see that the result of turning away from stubbornness and pride, and turning to the Master with our all, there is the promise of a sure covering and our shame never being exposed!
Ḥazon/Revelation 3:18 “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so that you become rich; and white garments, so that you become dressed, so that the shame of your nakedness might not be shown; and anoint your eyes with ointment, so that you see.”

In Yeḥezqěl/Ezekiel 44:13 we are told that the false priests will not be allowed to serve, and they shall bear their shame!

The result of walking is stubbornness and being led in falsehood will be that of becoming ashamed of a people who clearly cannot help or perfect them!

In verse 4-5 we are told that their princes were in Tsoʽan and his messengers came to Ḥanes. צֹעַן Tsoʽan – Strong’s H6814 means, ‘place of departure’, and חָנֵס Ḥanes – Strong’s H2609 means, ‘favour has fled’; and what is given as a clear message here is that the place of departure where favour has gone, is when one stubbornly refuses to walk in the counsel of Elohim! To put it plainly – favour (grace) is only extended on the basis of a Covenant with Elohim; and to turn away from walking in the clear Torah of His Covenant is the place where His favour departs from being available to the stubborn, unless they turn and repent! There is a clear rebuke being given here to those who run to the world for counsel and the message to the south is also another reference to that which represents the flesh, as we know that Ěḏom was in the south and pictures for us that which represents Ěsaw or the walking according to the flesh that יהוה hates!

Mitsrayim and that which is a false help, יהוה says he has called Rahaḇ-Hĕm-Sheḇeth, which in essence means, ‘pride He causes to cease’! יהוה will put an end to PRIDE!

And this is the Word that is witnessed forever!

Verse 9-11 goes on to tell us that the rebellious who refuse to hear the Torah only want their ears tickled with soothing messages:

Timotiyos Bet/2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.”

In verses 12-14 we see the response to the stubborn and rebellious – ‘because you despise the Word of warning, discipline and reproof, you will be broken swiftly!’ The Hebrew word for ‘despise’ is מָאַס  mâ’as – Strong’s H3988 means, ‘reject, completely abhor, despise, refuse, cast away’. To reject His Laws takes a clear choice to despise and refuse to obey; and today so many have cast away His Torah as they render it null and void in their hearts and as a result they do not realise the consequences that this rejection of His laws will bring upon them, lest they repent.

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.”

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?”

Verse 15 gives the clear solution – In returning and rest you are saved! The word in Hebrew for ‘returning’ is שׁוּבָה shuḇah which means, ‘retirement, withdrawal, repentance, returning’ and comes from the word we have already discussed previously as the word used for man’s repentance – שׁוּב shuḇ – Strong’s H7725 which means, ‘to turn back, return, repent, recover’. The word used for ‘rest’ is נַחַת naḥath – Strong’s H5183 meaning, ‘quietness, rest’  and is from the root נוּחַ nuaḥ – Strong’s H5117 which means, ‘to rest, cause to rest, set down, leave, depart from’ and the Name of the man who found favour in יהוה’s eyes is derived from this root – Noaḥ  – נֹחַ  – Strong’s H5146 whose name means, ‘rest, comfort’.

In turning back to Elohim in true repentance and having turned away from wickedness and self, entering into His rest as we walk in His clear instructions, we are saved.

Verse 16 tells us that while they were called to return, they said NO! Today we find that this has not changed as so many stubbornly refuse to repent and return to Elohim, and arrogantly say NO to walking in His Torah! While many of you might think that this does not apply to you, let me ask you this: ‘How many times have you stubbornly refused to turn back to יהוה and put your trust in Him, after being clearly told that you are in the wrong!’

The danger of a stubborn pride is that it will eventually cause one to flee in panic, even at the sound of a leaf!

In verse 18 we see how patient יהוה is, as He longs to let His favour be received by all who call upon Him; and herein lies the urgent call for us who are in Him, and that is to wait for Him – and those who faithfully ‘wait’ for Him are those who are guarding His commands!

The promise of our Teacher being revealed happened when Messiah came and dwelt among us; and now by His Spirit He is able to teach us as we listen to His voice clearly showing us the Way in which we are to walk, as we sojourn here as faithful ambassadors of His Coming Reign! The result of those who are attentive to the voice of our Master who teaches us, is that we will be done with sin and defile that which falsely covered us in the past – and throw away any form of stubbornness and pride, as a menstrual cloth! Have you said ‘Be Gone!’ to that which causes shame? If you are truly walking as a student/taught one/disciple of the Master and Good Teacher, יהושע Messiah, then you should be done with sin and say to that which brought shame – Be gone!

The promise of His provision is sure, as we walk in the fullness of His teaching and guidance, according to His Word that lights our path! No matter the circumstances we find ourselves in – be it that we are facing a huge mountain, or that we are in a deep valley, or whether we are feeling the heat of daily pressures, His Light will be our guide – even in the darkest hours, we will find our rest in Him!

One thing is made clear – יהוה is coming again – and He is coming in His wrath, ready to destroy His opponents! And while this is a clear warning to the stubborn, we who are in the Master and stay in the Master, can hold fast to the joy of His coming, as we continue to make our praise known and sing of His loving-commitment!

In verse 32 we see a picture of how יהוה shall destroy our enemies, as He fights for us when we continue to lift up a banner of praise unto Him! The mention of tambourines and lyres is a picture of our ability to continually praise Him, as He fights for us with a ‘brandishing’ arm. The Hebrew word translated as ‘brandishing’ is תְּנוּפָה tenuphah – Strong’s H8573 and means, ‘wave offering, swinging or brandishing of the Hand of Elohim, or weapons; technical term of a sacrifice’, and the ‘tenuphah’ was the offering that was lifted up and waved and presented before יהוה, in a figurative way of giving it or releasing it fully to יהוה; and this carries great significance for us as we too need to realise that our lives are to be lifted up as a wave offering before יהוה; and that includes everything we have, as we lift up our hands in the declaration that all we have is presented to יהוה; and that we now belong to Him, having been bought at a price and betrothed by the Blood of the Lamb; and have been sealed with His Set-Apart Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession!

As we lift up our lives as a daily living sacrifice unto Elohim, He fights for us!!!

And at the end of this chapter we are told that Topheth has been prepared! Topheth means, ‘place of fire’  and this was a place located in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, known in Greek as ‘Gehenna’ and ‘Gehinnom’ in Hebrew, which is translated at times as hell or hell fire. This was a place  that was south of Yerushalayim, a place of filth; and dead animals were cast and burned there; and this in itself has become a clear symbol for us of the wicked and their future destruction.

It was here at Topheth that Yisra’ĕl burned their children in the fire to Moleḵ for pagan fertility worship.

This was the place that Yoshiyahu defiled and destroyed so that no more parents could pass their children through the fire; and here we are told that this will be the site that יהוה will consume with fire, as He comes from the South having tred the winepress in His wrath, ready to destroy His stubborn opponents with fire, as the blast of His breath will burn up the stubborn and rebellious at the place of fire! Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah Chapter 19 speaks of a very severe warning and judgement coming for the abominations that were done at Topheth!

Stubbornness is a dangerous thing that can cause a perfect walk to become diseased – let this be a warning to be watchful against this very danger. Let us take heed of this very Word tonight and not be stubborn in our walk and find ourselves having departed from righteousness, due to stupid and stubborn rebellion!

For stubbornness and righteousness are worlds apart!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 46:12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness.”

Stubbornness and lawlessness are closely attached and the fate of the lawless in that they will be plucked out and thrown into the fire!

Do not be bull-headed or as stubborn as a donkey for stubbornness can be terminal to your walk – but rather yield to the King of Kings and our Master Redeemer – יהושע Messiah – for if you love Him you will obey Him and walk upright in Him!

Take heed to this severe woe given to the stubborn children, so that you continually walk humbly before our Master and Elohim as you fear Him and guard His commands – for this applies to all mankind!

הוֹי בָּנִים סוֹרְרִים – ‘hoy baniym sor’riym’ – Woe to the stubborn children!

In returning and rest you are saved and in stillness and trust is your strength! – He who has ears hear what the Spirit is saying!

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!