Vayeshev – “And he settled”

B’reisheet 37:1 – 40:23

The story of the life of young Yoseph ben Ya’acov is the great pictorial essay of Messiah ben Yoseph, the suffering servant. In the narratives of Yoseph’s early years we find the most revealing pictures of the life of our Messiah Yehoshua’s first coming.

Also in this parsha we will see the revealing of numerous pictures that were not for those who lived prior to Messiah’s first coming but rather were revealed for those of us upon whom the end of the age has come.

Let’s take a brief look at the events that shaped Yoseph’s life in todays Parsha.

• Yoseph brings bad reports to his father about his brothers’ conduct
• Yoseph is loved by his father more than his brothers
• Ya’acov makes a special coat of many colors for Yoseph
• Yoseph’s brothers hate him because their father favors him
• Yoseph dreams a dream about becoming the head of the family, and relates the dream to his brothers
• Yoseph’s brothers hate Yoseph even more
• Yoseph dreams another dream about becoming the head of the family and relates the dream to his abba and his brothers
• Ya’acov rebukes Yoseph for suggesting that Yoseph’s father, mother and brothers would bow down to him, but guards the dream in his heart
• Ya’acov sends Yoseph to check on his brothers as they are feeding the flocks
• A ‘man’ meets Yoseph while he is on the way to meet his brothers, and informs Yoseph that his brothers have gone to Dothan
• Yoseph goes to Dothan, finds his brothers, his brothers seeing Yoseph coming plot to kill him
• Reuven intercedes to save Yoseph’s life
• Yoseph’s brothers strip Yoseph of his special multicolored coat
• Yoseph’s brothers cast Yoseph into a dry pit/hole in the ground
• Yoseph’s brothers sell Yoseph to Yishmaeli traders for twenty pieces of silver
• Yoseph is taken to Mitsrayim and sold to Potiphar, the Captain of Pharaoh’s guard
• YHWH blesses the work of Yoseph’s hands; Yoseph is given charge over all of Potiphar’s servants and household
• Yoseph is faithful, Potiphar does not concern himself with Yoseph’s work performance
• Potiphar’s wife seeks to commit adultery with Yoseph; Yoseph resists
• Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Yoseph of attempted rape; Yoseph is cast into prison
• YHWH shows rachamim to Yoseph and blesses him while in prison; the guardian of the prison gives Yoseph charge over all of the prisoners
• Two of Pharaoh’s servants are put into the prison in the care of Yoseph
• Pharaoh’s servants each dream a dream and tell Yoseph of the dreams
• Yoseph interprets the dreams; one of Pharaoh’s servants is to restored, the other is to be killed

Now lets take a look at these events in Yoseph’s life, and see if we can find some parallels in the life of Yehoshua our Messiah.

Yoseph is loved by his father more than his brothers

B’reisheet 37:3 states that “Yisrael loved Yoseph more than all his children”. How is this paralleled in the life of Messiah?

We know that Yehoshua is the only son of Yehowah born of a woman. Yet Iyob (Job) 2:1 and B’reisheet (Genesis) 6:2 tells us that YHWH Elohim has other ‘sons’. This tells us that Yehoshua was more loved by Elohim than any of His other sons; therefore at His first coming Yehoshua was given the role of “The Prophet” spoken of by Moshe in Debarim 18:15-16.

After Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection he would also be given the role of Kohen haGadol (High Priest), as the levitical priesthood ceased to exist.

And יהושע came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Mat 28:18 TS98)

Ya’acov makes a special coat of many colors for Yoseph

In giving Yoseph the ‘coat of many colors’ we see a special significance. According to the rabbis this coat was known as a ‘ketonet passim’. This special garment was customarily given to the children of kings. Since Yoseph is the only son of Ya’acov who was given such a coat, this signified Ya’acov’s intent to give the birthright, blessing and double portion to Yoseph.

We will see later how this is paralleled in the life of Yehoshua.

Yoseph’s brothers hate him because their father favors him

Yoseph’s brothers did not like the fact that Yoseph had clearly been chosen to be the inheritor of his father’s authority.

Yehoshua’s brothers (the Yehudim) hated Yehoshua because He did not acknowledge the supposed authority of the P’rushim, Tsadokim, and Sophrim. Also it became known amongst all in Yehoshua’s day that Yehoshua was healing the sick, cleansing the metsorim, casting out demon’s, raising the dead etc. Therefore it was self evident that Yehoshua was bearing the authority of the Father.

Further, when Yehoshua was challenged on several occasions by the priests, rabbis etc. Yehoshua skillfully exposed their evil hearts and answered them truthfully, without sinning. He even rebuked some of the rabbis and priests on certain occasions publicly in the temple courts. This did not win Yehoshua any favors with His “brothers”.

Yoseph’s brothers strip Yoseph of his special multicolored coat

Yoseph’s brothers stripped him of his special coat. Since Yoseph’s coat signified his father’s intent to give Yoseph authority over the family upon his death, stripping Yoseph of his special coat signified their rejection of his leadership over the family.

Similarly when Yehoshua was crucified the prophecy was fulfilled that they would divide his garments and cast lots for them.

And having impaled Him, they divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be filled what was spoken by the prophet, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” And sitting down, they guarded Him there. (Mat 27:35-36 TS98)

Amongst all of the other things that had been done to Yehoshua at His crucifixion, stripping Yehoshua of His garments was one of the signs of the rejection of Yehoshua as Messiah over Yisrael.

Yoseph’s brothers cast Yoseph into a dry pit/hole in the ground

Yoseph’s brothers threw Yoseph into a pit into the ground. Later Yoseph was cast into Pharaoh’s prison, basically a glorified hole in the ground.

Yehoshua upon crucifixion and death was placed into the tomb, a hole carved out of the rock signifying the ‘belly of the earth’, just as He had prophesied.

“For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so shall the Son of Aḏam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Mat 12:40 TS98)

Yoseph’s brothers sell Yoseph to Yishmaeli traders for twenty pieces of silver

Yoseph was sold to traders to become a slave in Mitsrayim. In Scripture Mitsrayim signifies sin and death. The price for which Yoseph was betrayed at the hand of his brothers? Twenty pieces of silver!

When Yehoshua was betrayed by Yehudah of Qerioth, the chief priests paid Yehudah 30 pieces of silver for his willingness to betray Yehoshua.

Then one of the twelve, called Yehudah from Qerioth, went to the chief priests, and said, “What would you give me to deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. (Mat 26:14-15 TS98)

Then Yehudah – he who delivered Him up – having seen that He had been condemned, repented, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and to the elders, saying, “I have sinned in delivering up innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” And throwing down the pieces of silver in the Dwelling Place he left, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not right to put them into the treasury, seeing they are the price of blood.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field, for the burial of strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood, until today. Then was filled what was spoken by Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him who was pierced, on whom they of the children of Yisra’ĕl set a price, and gave them for the potter’s field, as יהוה had ordered me.” (Mat 27:3-10 TS98)

Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Yoseph of wrongdoing; Yoseph is cast into prison

Yoseph was falsely accused of attempting to rape the wife of Potiphar. Note that in Scripture adultery is used as a picture of idolatry.

When Yisrael entered into covenant with Yehowah Elohim at Mount Sinai, they entered into a marriage covenant with Him, the Torah being the ‘ketubah’ (marriage contract).

We are the Bride of Messiah, and as believers have become betrothed to Messiah; at His return He will consummate the marriage.

Just as a man or a woman violates the covenant of marriage when they commit adultery, so does a person violate the covenant of salvation and blessing when they turn around and start worshiping a false god, idol or placing anything else before one’s relationship to their Creator.

Yehoshua was falsely accused of breaking the covenant with the Father. When Messiah explained that He existed before Abraham, He was considered to be just a man who elevated Himself to be Elohim. Therefore they considered Yehoshua to be a heretic / blasphemer / idolater, certainly a covenant breaker in their eyes.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone guards My Word he shall never see death at all.” The Yehudim said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets. And You say, ‘If anyone guards My Word he shall never taste death at all.’ “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died. Whom do You make Yourself?” יהושע answered, “If I esteem Myself, My esteem is none at all. It is My Father who esteems Me, of whom you say that He is your Elohim. “And you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be like you, a liar. But I do know Him and I guard His Word. “Your father Abraham was glad that he should see My day, and he saw it and did rejoice.” The Yehudim, therefore, said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” יהושע said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but יהושע was hidden and went out of the Set-apart Place, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

(Joh 8:51-59 TS98)

Two of Pharaoh’s servants are put into the prison in the care of Yoseph.

Each of the two servants of Pharaoh dream a dream and tell Yoseph of the dreams.Yoseph interprets the dreams; one of Pharaoh’s servants is to be restored to his former station, the other is to be killed.

When Yehoshua was crucified two criminals were crucified on either side of Yehoshua at the same time. One of the criminals repents on the cross; the other does not. Let’s see the result:

And one of the evil-doers who were hanged, was speaking evil of Him, saying, “If You are the Messiah, save Yourself and us.” But the other, responding, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear Elohim, since you are under the same judgment? “And we, indeed, rightly so, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this One has done no wrong.” And he said to יהושע, “Master, remember me when You come into Your reign.” And יהושע said to him, “Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luk 23:39-43 TS98)

Conclusion

Through the many parallels of the life of Yoseph and the first coming of Yehoshua ha Mashiach, we see that in the pages of the Torah we are presented with prophetic pictures of our Messiah’s suffering more than 1500 years before Messiah first walked this earth in the form of a man.

Although these pictures were recognized by some of the rabbis prior to Yehoshua’s first coming, the true understanding and recognition of the fulfillment of these prophetic pictures would not be fully realized until our day.

Praise Yehowah that we have been blessed to be able to see these things revealed in our day. And get ready, for His triumphant return as Melech ha Melechim and El ha Elohim is drawing near…

A New Look At the Old Testament – The Virgin Birth

The following article was written by a fellow Talmid of Yehoshua HaMashiach and a dear brother, Sean Hersey.

When people first started to believe that Yeshua of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, there were not New Testament Scriptures to teach from. Every single doctrine, belief and tenet had to be found within the only Scriptures available – the Torah, Prophets and Writings (better known as the Tanakh). Back when Paul wrote, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living” (2 Timothy 3:16), there was not one in the world who considered the inspired writing to be “Old” or nailed to a cross. We read in Acts 17:11 that the Bereans searched the Scriptures diligently every day to see if there was truth to Paul’s words. Although Christians tend to view this verse as being about people in Berea searching the Gospels and Paul’s letters, it’s actually speaking of them reading the Tanakh. The “New Testament” wouldn’t be canonized for a few more centuries! The Messiah stated that the Tanakh bears witness of Him (John/Yochanan 5:46). Paul (Sha’ul) demonstrated from the Tanakh that Yeshua really is the Messiah (Acts 18:28; 28:23) and said the gospel was found in the Scriptures (Romans 1:1-2). If the Messiah said the Tanakh was a testifier of Him, the Apostles taught Yeshua as Messiah from the Tanakh, and the Bereans believed Yeshua was the Messiah after checking the Tanakh, could you defend your faith simply using the Tanakh?

Around the world, the birth of Messiah is celebrated on December 25th – even though Scripture indicates that the Messiah was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (which occurs in either September or October). Everyone knows the story: A virgin named Mary, betrothed to Joseph, is pregnant and gives birth to a son. Joseph had been considering secretly leaving Mary, but an angel appeared and revealed to him in a dream that the conception had been the work of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).  Now, let’s see if we can find this taught in the “Old Testament”.

Before we begin our search, we must understand two things about the Torah. First, the Torah presents its doctrines as shadows. The picture being painted is black-and-white. Also, the Holy One of Israel uses progressive revelation to teach us His truths. A concept, a shadow, will be presented and more details get added to the picture as you progress through the Scriptures. As Isaiah says, “here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Understanding these two teaching techniques, let’s start our investigation!

In Genesis 11:30, we read, “Sarai was barren – she had no child.” Renamed Sarah (17:15), she gave birth to Isaac when she was 90 years old. Even Abraham – a man of strong faith – wondered how this could be so. His wife was long past the age of child bearing. Sarah’s womb, for all intents and purposes, was dead. Yet a miracle occurs, and the impossible happens – Sarah brings forth a child. [Interestingly, a conversation takes place between YHWH and Abraham where YHWH asks, "Is anything too hard for YHWH?" (18:14) - we'll come back to this later.]

Isaac’s wife Rebecca was also barren (Genesis 25:21). It took Isaac praying and interceding on behalf of his wife. The twenty years that passed between their marriage and the birth of the couple’s twins (Esau and Jacob) must have reminded Isaac of the fact that his mother had also been barren until YHWH miraculously acted. With that in mind, he prayed and another miraculous birth took place.

Jacob married Rachel – after being tricked into first marrying Leah. Leah was having children left and right, but Rachel remained barren. In Gen. 30:22, we read that Rachel prayed to be fertile. She had spend years watching her sister giving birth while her womb was closed. She prayed… and for a third time in as many generations, life sprung forth from a womb that had been closed.

Closed wombs aren’t limited to the matriarchs in the Scriptures. When Abdon, a judge of Israel, died after ruling for eight years, the Israelites sinned again and were turned over to the Philistines. Who was turned to in order to save Israel from the power of their enemies? A woman who goes nameless in the Bible, known to us only as the wife of Manoah – a woman who was barren. The historian Josephus wrote that Manoah “entreated God to give them seed of their own bodies to succeed them…” The Angel of YHWH appears to Manoah’s wife and announces the upcoming birth of a son, who later is named Samson (Judges 13:2-5). This Messianic figure went on to give his life to save his people. And Hannah’s struggles are recorded for us in 1 Samuel 1:2-20. Like Rachel, Hannah is the more-loved wife and is forced to watch her rival raise children while she waits to conceive. Also like Rachel, she prayed for Divine assistance and asked for a son. The son she bore was Samuel, one of the first prophets and the man who would anoint Israel’s first two kings.

All three matriarchs of the Hebrew nation were unable to have children without Divine assistance. But what does this have to do with the Messiah? If you follow the Torah’s “Promise Line,” you’ll note that the promises and blessings all went through the child of the barren womb. Abraham was promised that his seed would come through Isaac. Isaac’s promises were to come through Jacob, and Jacob bestowed the blessings to Joseph. All four patriarchs are in the family tree of the Messiah!

Isaiah made an interesting prophecy around 742 BCE that is hotly debated to this day. “Therefore YHWH himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Emmanuel means “God with us.” The debate is over the proper translation of the Hebrew word almah, here translated as “virgin.” Judaism tends to translate the word as “young girl” or “maiden.” The Torah uses almah to describe both Rebecca (Gen. 24:43) and Moses’ sister Miriam (Exodus 2:8). What translation is correct? When the Torah was translated by Jews into Greek over 200 years before Yeshua’s birth, they used the Greek word “parthenos” (virgin) instead of “neanis” (young maiden). When Matthew 1:23 was translated into Greek, parthenos was also used. It seems like the debate only started after a virgin gave birth to a son and He was “God with us.” Some argue this prophecy applies only to King Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah. Most prophecies have multiple levels of fulfillment. Even if the prophecy applied to Hezekiah, there’s nothing prohibiting it from also applying to the Messiah.

Isaiah also prophesied that a child would be born, a son given that would have “the government on his shoulders” (9:6,7). The Sages of Israel observed a spelling “error” in verse 7. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end,” writes Isaiah. When writing marbeth (“increase”), the letter mem (מ) is in its closed form (ם), which only appears a the end of a word – not at the beginning! The Zohar implies that the closed mem indicates the child of promise will be born from a closed womb. The Talmud says a closed mem indicates mystical and hidden teaching (Shabbat 104a). In Sanhedrin 94a, the Talmud relates the closed mem of Isaiah 9:7 to the sealing up of Messiah’s identity. Clearly, the Sages of Israel can see Messiah coming forth from a womb that should not be bearing children… in the Tanakh!

How does this relate to Mary (Miryam)? Matthew 1:18-25 tells us that Mary had not known Joseph (Yosef) – or any other man, for that matter – until after the birth of Yeshua. The Ruach HaKodesh had come upon her and conceived the Messiah. (The Tanakh is full of examples of the Spirit coming upon people – see Exodus 31:2-3, Numbers 11:26, Deuteronomy 34:9, Ezekiel 2:2, and Joel 2:28, to name only a few). Miryam’s womb, like the 3 matriarchs who brought forth children of promise, could not produce a child. She had not known a man, and the laws of nature require that sort of knowledge for a child to be born. Simply put, Mary needed the same Divine intervention Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel required. Do you remember a little while back when I said we’d return to a comment the Holy One made to Abraham? Check out Luke 1:37. The angel Gabriel states to Mary, “For with God, nothing is impossible.”

Why, that’s just a rewording of the Genesis 18:14 comment! This thematic connection tells us the stories are indeed related. And they are – by the closed/barren womb!

The Torah paints only a shadow picture of the virgin birth for us by telling us that the 3 women who started the Hebrew nation required Divine assistance to bring forth fruit from their womb. Isaiah gives us a little more detail about the birth of the Anointed One. Perhaps the angel who appeared to Joseph opened these Scriptures to him the way Yeshua opened the Scriptures about Himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. It might explain how Joseph so openly accepted the message given to him and married the pregnant virgin he was betrothed to. And now, these Scriptures have been opened to us.

Thanksgiving – Do we need it?

In today’s world of fast food, quick access to anything and everything at our fingertips via a computer and an Internet connection, 24/7/365 grocery stores, where instant gratification is the norm of the day, one might find it prudent to ask, what do we need a ‘Thanksgiving’ holiday for? Who are we thanking anyway, and what are we supposed to be thankful for?

After all, all we do is take a day off from work, eat a wide variety of foods in such quantity that we stuff ourselves to excess, hold parades, and watch football games. The most popular term for the day is fast becoming ‘Turkey day’, in honor of the traditional meat that we eat on this day.

We’ve worked hard to provide ourselves with everything that we need, and much more. In fact it is known throughout the earth that we are the most prosperous nation at the individual level that has ever existed in the history of the world.

We have tamed a wild continent, fought and won wars for our freedom, abolished slavery, become captains of industry, freed oppressed peoples far beyond our shores, and generally become the most ‘peaceful’ nation on earth. Why shouldn’t we just congratulate ourselves, remember our ancestors who fought and died for our / others’ freedom, remind ourselves of what a great nation we are, and ‘party on’?

In this writing I would like to present historical information that provides a bit of detail concerning the events and people that led to the establishment of this nation, why this day became a national celebration, what we need to be thankful for, and who we need to be thankful to.

The establishment of the Northern colonies

In terms of when the first settlers arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent, the Northern Colonies were not the first established. In fact, by the time the first Pilgrims arrived in Provincetown Harbor on 21 November 1620, the eastern shores of North America had seen a number of European arrivals, including the Jamestown settlers who sailed up the James river in what is now known as Virgina in 1607, and a group of Spaniards who established the St. Augustine community in what is today known as the state of Florida in 1565. ¹

By the time Plymouth Colony had seen it’s first winter and spring in the New World, less than half of the men and one third of the male children were left of the original Mayflower travelers. This was the beginning of some very harsh struggles that would see the early settlers suffer many trials and setbacks, and see the early deaths of most of the founders. ²

Ultimately Plymouth Colony itself would not perist. Yet out of Plymouth Colony several other colonies in the area would be developed, and a permanent European presence would be established in North America. ³

Why were these early settlers willing to endure such great hardship and risk their lives to establish a foothold in a wild, heretofore unsettled land? As it turns out, this was not the first community that had been established by these brave pioneers. It seems that these same Pilgrims – as they later came to be called – were a group of Christians who refused to worship the Creator of the Universe according to the dictates of the English King and his state-dominated church. Rather, at risk of loss of freedom and life, this group of believers established a covenant-based community, using their faith and understanding of the Scripture to create the communities’ tenets of law, worship and interpersonal relations. The Scrooby congregation was first constituted in Northern England and later in the vicinity of Amsterdam, Holland.

As is always the case in pluralistic, socialistic, authoritarian and other Creator-hating/denying cultures, persecution becomes too great to bear for the people of The Book. 17^th century Holland was a permissive, pluralistic society that tolerated any culture, no matter how diverse – or perverse.

During their time in Holland those who eventually became the settlers of the Northern North American colonies were required to work so hard as to not have time to devote to Biblical studies and living, and were greatly dismayed to see their children being assimilated by this heathen culture. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Something had to be done to keep alive the dream of living freely in covenant with their Creator and each other. ^{4 5}

America’s First Thanksgiving

After the difficult ocean journey and their first winter, spring and summer in the New Land, the Pilgrims began to experience success in hunting, fishing, and the growing of produce, thanks in great measure to certain kind and helpful indigenous Americans. Let’s take a look at their heart attitude at this time:

1621 Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims at Plymouth

Painting of “The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth” By Jennie A. Brownscombe. (1914)

The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins from a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season. It is this iconic event that is generally referred to as the “First Thanksgiving.”

Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch fish and grow corn and served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English as a slave in Europe and travels in England). The Pilgrims set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in 1621. At the time, this was not regarded as a Thanksgiving observance; harvest festivals existed in English and Wampanoag tradition alike. Several colonists gave personal accounts of the 1621 feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims, most of whom were Separatists, are not to be confused with Puritans who established their own Massachusetts Bay Colony nearby (current day Boston) in 1628 and had very different religious beliefs.[6]

William Bradford, in Of Plymouth Plantation:

They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to the proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

Edward Winslow, in Mourt’s Relation:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.⁶

As imperfect as the early settlers of this country may have been, they had one very good thing going for them: they recognized their need to give thanks to their Creator for their provision.

Proclamations

Lets take a look at the state of our nation and government 161 years later, to determine what our forefathers thought was the cause for our national success, even our very existence as a nation, in this proclamation set forth by the hand of the Governor of the State of New Hampshire:

Continental Congress Thanksgiving Proclamation

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November 1, 1782

 

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STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
IN COMMITTEE of SAFETY,
EXETER, November 1, 1782.

ORDERED, THAT the following Proclamation for a general THANKSGIVING on the twenty-eighth day of November [instant?], received from the honorable Continental Congress, be forthwith printed, and sent to the several worshiping Assemblies in this State, to whom it is recommended religiously to observe said day, and to abstain from all servile labour thereon.
M. WEARE, President.

By the United States in Congress assembled.

PROCLAMATION.

IT being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged; the present happy and promising state of public affairs; and the events of the war, in the course of the year now drawing to a close; particularly the harmony of the public Councils, which is so necessary to the success of the public cause; the perfect union and good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them and their Allies, notwithstanding the artful and unwearied attempts of the common enemy to divide them; the success of the arms of the United States, and those of their Allies, and the acknowledgment of their independence by another European power, whose friendship and commerce must be of great and lasting advantage to these States:—– Do hereby recommend to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of THURSDAY the twenty-eight day of NOVEMBER next, as a day of solemn THANKSGIVING to GOD for all his mercies: and they do further recommend to all ranks, to testify to their gratitude to GOD for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience of his laws, and by promoting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness.

Done in Congress, at Philadelphia, the eleventh day of October, in the year of our LORD one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, and of our Sovereignty and Independence, the seventh.

JOHN HANSON, President.
Charles Thomson, Secretary.

PRINTED AT EXETER.

Seven years later, we see a similar proclamation, not by a state governor, but by the President of the United States of America himself, the honorable General George Washington:

Thanksgiving Proclamation

[New York, 3 October 1789]

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

74 years later, the leaders of this nation still find it prudent to acknowledge the source of our wealth, strength, provision and very existence of this country. Here from the hand of the legendary Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States:

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She wrote, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.” The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.”

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

As we see from these historical and founding documents of our nation, people and government, we were constituted as a country to walk in the ways of the Creator of the Universe, not to follow in the ‘footsteps of failure’ of every other nation on the planet.

This day was instituted solely for the purpose of acknowledging the Hand of Yehowah Elohim in the affairs of this nation; it’s continued survival, providence, blessing and strength. As we reflect on these truths, let’s recall our rich spiritual heritage and the purpose for the establishment of this nation, that is to be a people set apart to their Creator and His Messiah, Yehoshua HaMashiach.

Give Thanks

I give You thanks with all my heart; Before the mighty ones I sing praises to You.

I bow myself toward Your set-apart Hĕḵal, And give thanks to Your Name For Your kindness and for Your truth; For You have made great Your Word, Your Name, above all.

On the day I called You did answer me, You made me bold with strength in my being.

Let all the sovereigns of the earth Give thanks to You, O יהוה, When they shall hear the words of Your mouth. And let them sing of the ways of יהוה, For great is the esteem of יהוה.

Though יהוה is exalted, He looks on the humble; But the proud He perceives from a distance.

Though I walk in the midst of distress, You revive me; You stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand saves me.

יהוה does perfect for me. O יהוה, Your kindness is everlasting. Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

(Psa 138:1-8 TS98)

1. The Dawning of a New World
2. The Story of the Pilgrims IV: The First Year
3. The Story of the Pilgrims V: After the First Year
4. The Story of the Pilgrims 1: From Scrooby to Holland
5. The Story of the Pilgrims II: The Leyden Years
6. Thanksgiving (United States)

Chayei Sarah and The Bride of Messiah

The chronicle of Avraham taking a bride for his son Yitzhak is more than just a beautiful story of betrothal and marriage, it also happens to be a shadow picture of Messiah taking his bride at His triumphant return in the end of days. Let’s take a look at some of these pictures and see what we can learn from this beautiful, meaningful historical account

3 And I will make you swear by Yehowah, the Elohim of the shamayim, and the Elohim of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Kanaanites, among whom I dwell: 4 But you shall go to my country, and to my mishpacha, and take a wife for my son Yitzchak.

(Gen 24:3)

Just as Avraham would not allow his son to marry the daughter of a pagan, so our Heavenly Father will not allow His Son to marry a pagan people. His bride consists of those whose garments have been washed and made white in righteousness.

“He who overcomes shall be dressed in white robes, and I shall by no means blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I shall confess his name before My Father and before His messengers.

(Rev 3:5 TS98)

After this I looked and saw a great crowd which no one was able to count, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

(Rev 7:9-10 TS98)

5 And the eved said to him, Suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: do I need to bring your son again to the land from where you came?

(Gen 24:5)

Note that the Land of Promise, which is promised to the descendants of Avraham, conditionally requires that the descendants of Avraham remain in the land.

In Scripture, when the descendants of Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’acov leave the land, it is either due to drought/famine, or exile for the cause of sin and rebellion.

Additionally, as in every other matter between man and El Shaddai, man’s involvement in the relationship must be voluntary. Our Father does not compel anyone to enter into covenant relationship with Him.

6 And Avraham said to him, Beware that you bring not my son there again.

(Gen 24:6)

Just as Yitzhak was not to return to the land of Avraham’s pre-covenant origin, neither is the Bride of Messiah to return to the ways of our forefathers. When our Abba calls us to become betrothed to His Son, we are to willingly and freely of our own choice answer the call. We are to leave everything behind us and go forward with complete faith and trust in our Elohim.

“Everyone, therefore, who shall confess Me before men, him I shall also confess before My Father who is in the heavens. “But whoever shall deny Me before men, him I shall also deny before My Father who is in the heavens. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword, for I have come to bring division, a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – and a man’s enemies are those of his own household. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take up his stake and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life shall lose it, and he that has lost his life for My sake shall find it.

(Mat 10:32-39 TS98)

“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

(Mat 19:29 TS98)

Messiah is teaching his talmidim the lesson of Avraham. This is a clear message today for those of us who desire to inherit eternal life. Once we accept the call, there is no turning back. The former things are to remain the former things. We are to walk in a new way, regardless of what our family, friends, society etc. thinks of us. Furthermore, we are to school our children only in the way. We are not to allow our children to return to the paths of our pre-covenant past. Rather we are to teach and instruct our children in everything that He is showing us.

Naturally we should never seek division but peace. In fact we are to be the most peaceful people on earth, living in the shalom of Sar Shalom, The Prince of Peace. However, if a family member or friend or our community rejects us because of our new found faith, we by necessity must separate from them. We must be focused on our relationship with the Messiah in order to be a functional partner in the relationship.

Imagine that a man and woman exchange vows and seal the covenant, but their parents interfere and require them to follow their way of thinking & living; what chaos would ensue in the marriage?

Or suppose a man ceases to engage prostitutes, enters into covenant and pledges his faithfulness to his new bride, but returns to engaging in relationships with prostitutes? What kind of marriage could that man have with his wife?

7 Yehowah Elohim of the shamayim, who took me from my abba’s bayit, and from the land of my mishpacha, and who spoke to me, and that swore to me, saying, Unto your zera will I give this land; He shall send His malach before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

(Gen 24:7)

Just as every bride receives a dowry, we are not asked to leave everything and everyone behind and enter into covenant with our Groom for nothing; He promises us a great reward: land inheritance, and His protective covering.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this oath: only bring not my son there again.

(Gen 24:8)

If He gives us the invitation and we refuse the offer, He will not force us to enter into the covenant. Rather He will leave us alone…

16 And the young girl was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the eved ran to meet her, and said, Please let me drink a little mayim from your pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my master: and she hurried and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw mayim for your camels also, until they have done drinking. 20 And she hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw mayim, and drew for all his camels.

(Gen 24:16-20)

Note the heart of the young virgin. In behavior she is pure, undefiled and lovely. She has not played the harlot, but preserves herself for the one special relationship that awaits. Keep in mind that she does not yet know who her husband will be; but in patient faithfulness she waits, maintaining her dignity in the integrity of her heart.

She is prepared for every opportunity to show kindness to others; she has the heart of a dedicated servant.

Let the brotherly love continue. Do not forget to receive strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained messengers.

(Heb 13:1-2 TS98)

This is the type of heart that our Master comes looking for. If your heart is divided or if you will not be dedicated to Messiah, he will take no joy in you, for you will not be able to maintain a functional relationship with Him. You will not become His Bride.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and stayed all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master. 55 And her brother and her eema said, Let the young girl stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she shall go.

(Gen 24:54-55)

When your call comes, watch out for the enemy to delay your decision. With delay often comes a change of heart. Instead, when the opportunity comes, leap forward and don’t look back! There is nothing of import that you should want to hang on to. Go forth and be blessed!

57 And they said, We will call the young girl, and ask her. 58 And they called Rivkah, and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go.

(Gen 24:5-58)

No hesitation! A heart that is humble, patient, pure and prepared! That is what our Heavenly Father is looking for in a Bride for His Son!

64 And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak, she was lifted from off the camel. 65 For she had said to the eved, What man is this that walks in the field to meet us? And the eved had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself. 66 And the eved told Yitzchak all things that he had done. 67 And Yitzchak brought her into his eema Sarah’s tent, and took Rivkah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Yitzchak was comforted after his eema’s death.

(Gen 24:64-67)

When Messiah returns at the sound of the Shofar haGadol, he will destroy His enemies, those who have been seeking to destroy His Bride and prevent the marriage. This will be the Yom ha Kippurim haGadol, the Great Atonement. And what comes next? The Marriage Supper of The Lamb, at the Chag Sukkot Gadol, the Great Feast of Sukkot! We will enter into the Sukkah/tent with our Groom, and consummate the Eternal Marriage.

Today is the time for us to prepare our hearts to become the Bride of Messiah. We must put on the purity, faithfulness, kindness, humility and willingness to serve of our ancient Matriarch Rivkah. Only then will we be an acceptable Bride for our Groom!

HaShem (?)

שׁם

HaShem

(The Name)

In our religious culture today we are missing something that Scripture indicates is very important. We in this current generation aren’t responsible for losing ‘it’, but we are responsible for bringing to ‘light’ that which is being revealed by the Almighty in this late hour.

Once upon a time, the Elohim of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’acov revealed Himself – by His Name – to the Patriarchs of the faith. Along with that – and all – revelation from Him comes responsibility. Those to whom He reveals His knowledge, understanding and wisdom are not to ‘hide it under a bushel’, but rather are to let His revelation shine in this dark place we call home.

For millennia we have been laboring under a yoke of oppression, foisted upon us by our forefathers via man-made religious systems.

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.”

(Jer 16:19 TS98)

We live in an age where the yoke of darkness that has been propagated throughout all the world by these religious systems is producing consequences that will soon coalesce into the certain destruction of everything that has been established in the generations of sinful man. In fact, if our Messiah doesn’t return at the appropriate time we will succeed in destroying all life upon this earth.

In His perfect timing – as always – our Father has been providing His servants with an increasing level of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. The restoration of Hebrew as a spoken language, the reestablishment of Erets Yisrael as a nation, the return of Yehoshua’s Talmidim to the ancient paths of Torah, and other significant events are indicators that He is preparing for the Shofar haGadol.

The amazing thing about this is that He chooses not to act alone, but rather is enlisting the assistance of men to prepare a way for the coming of Messiah. The primary tool that He is using to equip His talmidim is His Truth, something that has been given short shrift in todays many and varied religious systems.

One element of His Truth is His Name. It may sound like a rather small matter when compared to the cataclysmic end time events that we read about in prophecy. Yet the restoration of His Name is a critical element of the overall process.

You see, we have been calling upon the name of the lord, believing in god, acknowledging ‘hashem’, praising jesus etc. What we haven’t been doing is seeking out His direction concerning how He is to be addressed. This, in conjunction with a general disdain for His instructions for living in general have resulted in a people veiled in ignorance of every major aspect of His plan.

Obedience to His instructions not only brings about physical blessings, it results in our eyes being opened to His prophetic plan for the restoration of all things. Why am I bringing this up in the context of a discussion about His Name?

In the Brit Chadasha (Renewed Covenant) Messiah warned us that in the last days false messiahs would arise and deceive many. In an environment where we do not study the foundations of understanding in Scripture, it is easy to see how Messiah’s words can come alive and take shape.

In fact, many people who came about a century later would be led astray by one such false messiah, Shimon bar Kokhba. Notable of bar Kokhba’s followers is the fact that they did not believe that Yehoshua was/is the Messiah, and their halacha/practice was that of the cult of the P’rushim (separatists).

Much like today’s Shiite Muslims, bar Kokhba’s followers believed that the return of the Messiah could only be accomplished by warfare with everything and everyone who did not follow their particular flavor of the P’rushi halacha. They even devolved to such an extent that one of Judaism’s most famous rabbi’s, Akiva, pronounced bar Kokhba to be the Messiah, after bar Kokhba scored some victories on the battlefield.^{1 2}

By the time bar Kokhba experienced his rise in popularity, the Name was no longer in use by the P’rushim, Tsadokim, and Sophrim. The rabbinic religious system had enacted a rule that forbade the usage of His Name, due to the rampant Torah-lessness of the ‘religious right’. At least they got something right. Is it any wonder they didn’t know that bar Kokhba couldn’t possibly be the Messiah.

As Yehoshua’s Talmidim we are not called to walk in the ways of the rabbis, nor to follow in the traditions of the church. We are not to be ignorant and unable to identify Who our Shepherd is. We are called to examine Scripture and find out what His Name IS, and what He has to say about It’s usage. Let’s delve into some Scripture and explore the issue.

Brown Driver Briggs:

H3068

יהוה

yehôvâh

BDB Definition:

Yehovah = “the existing One”

1) the proper name of the one true God

1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of H136

Strongs Exhaustive Concordance:

H3068

יהוה

y^ehôvâh

yeh-ho-vaw’

From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal;

And Aḏam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Shĕth, “For

Elohim has appointed me another seed instead of Heḇel, because Qayin had slain him.” And to Shĕth, to him also a son was born. And he called his name Enosh. Then it was begun to call on the Name of יהוה.

(Gen 4:25-26 TS98)

From the beginning it was intended that the people of Yehowah would call upon His Name.

I lift up the cup of deliverance, and call upon the Name of יהוה. I pay my vows to יהוה now in the presence of all His people. Precious in the eyes of יהוה Is the death of His kind ones. O יהוה, I am truly Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant; You have loosed my bonds. I bring You a slaughtering of thanksgiving, And call upon the Name of יהוה.

(Psa 116:13-17 TS98)

King Dawid understood the pattern set forth in the Torah, that is to bring vows and/or offerings and then call upon the Name of Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey. Not surprisingly, Noach, Abraham, Ya’acov & Moshe all followed this pattern, and set the example for future generations.

And Noaḥ built an altar to יהוה, and took of every clean beast and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And יהוה smelled a soothing fragrance, and יהוה said in His heart, “Never again shall I curse the ground because of man, although the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth, and never again smite all living creatures, as I have done, as long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”

(Gen 8:20-22 TS98)

And יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said, “To your seed I give this land.” And he built there an altar to יהוה, who had appeared to him. And from there he moved to the mountain east of Bĕyth Ěl, and he pitched his tent, with Bĕyth Ěl on the west and Ai on the east. And he built there an altar to יהוה, and called on the Name of יהוה.

(Gen 12:7-8 TS98)

And Yaʽaqoḇ came to Luz, that is Bĕyth Ěl, which is in the land of Kenaʽan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built there an altar and called the place El Bĕyth Ěl, because there Elohim appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

(Gen 35:6-7 TS98)

And Mosheh built an altar and called its name, יהוה Nissi, for he said, “Because a hand is on the throne of Yah, יהוה is to fight against Amalĕq, from generation to generation.”

(Exo 17:15-16 TS98)

Moshe meets the Distinct El

And Mosheh said to Elohim, “See, when I come to the children of Yisra’ĕl and say to them, ‘The Elohim of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His Name?’ what shall I say to them?” And Elohim said to Mosheh, “I am that which I am.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” And Elohim said further to Mosheh, “Thus you are to say to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘יהוה Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham, the Elohim of Yitsḥaq, and the Elohim of Yaʽaqoḇ, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance to all generations.’ “Go, and you shall gather the elders of Yisra’ĕl together, and say to them, ‘יהוה Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham, of Yitsḥaq, and of Yaʽaqoḇ, appeared to me, saying, “I have indeed visited you and seen what is done to you in Mitsrayim; and I say: I am bringing you up out of the affliction of Mitsrayim to the land of the Kenaʽanite and the Ḥittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Ḥiwwite and the Yeḇusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ‘ “And they shall listen to your voice. And you shall come, you and the elders of Yisra’ĕl, to the sovereign of Mitsrayim, and you shall say to him, ‘יהוה Elohim of the Heḇrews has met with us. And now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness to slaughter to יהוה our Elohim.’

(Exo 3:13-18 TS98)

The use of the Name has been critically important since the beginning of time. Yehowah wants all of mankind – no matter what false god they worship – to know His Name. This way He could use Yisrael to demonstrate His Greatness, and provoke the world to jealousy – not to be jealous of the god known as ‘the name’, but of Yehowah Elohim, The El of Yisrael!

“And I appeared to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, as Ěl Shaddai. And by My Name, יהוה, was I not known to them?

(Exo 6:3 TS98)

The Patriarchs knew His Name, and would undoubtedly think it strange that His people Yisrael would at some point in the future cease to call upon His Name!

And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of the Heḇrews, “Let My people go, so that they serve Me, for at this time I am sending all My plagues unto your heart, and on your servants and on your people, so that you know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. “Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. “And for this reason I have raised you up, in order to show you My power, and in order to declare My Name in all the earth. “You still exalt yourself against My people in that you do not let them go!

(Exo 9:13-17 TS98)

This explains why He performed His Great Works in Mitsrayim – so that all the world would know His Name!

And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you bless the children of Yisra’ĕl. Say to them: “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.” ‘ “Thus they shall put My Name on the children of Yisra’ĕl, and I Myself shall bless them.”

(Num 6:22-27 TS98)

As we are called to be Priests in service to our Kohen haGadol Yehoshua HaMashiach, we are to put His Name upon His people Yisrael.

‘And do not swear falsely by My Name and so profane the Name of your Elohim. I am יהוה.

(Lev 19:12 TS98)

Because the P’rushim, Tsadokim and Sophrim were in the habit of swearing falsely (Mat 23:16-22), one of the reasons they stopped using His Name was because of a misguided idea that if they didn’t swear directly in His Name they would somehow avoid becoming guilty of swearing falsely.

“I am יהוה, that is My Name, and My esteem I do not give to another, nor My praise to idols.

(Isa 42:8 TS98)

We have not been called, forgiven, imbued with the Ruach haKodesh from on High and empowered to go forth in the name of the indistinct god. Rather we are to carry forward His esteem in His Name!

“Therefore My people shall know My Name, in that day, for I am the One who is speaking. See, it is I.” How pleasant upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims deliverance, who says to Tsiyon, “Your Elohim reigns!”

(Isa 52:6-7 TS98)

Here we see the Father revealing that His name not only would have been lost, but also that it would be restored in the latter days. Note that He specifically states that ‘…My people shall know My Name…’. It seems that in the latter days one of the signs that you are part of His covenant people is that you know – and by implication call upon – His set apart Name.

“And it shall be, if they learn well the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, ‘As יהוה lives,‘ as they taught My people to swear by Baʽal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people.

(Jer 12:16 TS98)

It would seem that part of learning to be Yisraeli/grafted in to His people involves learning to swear by His name.

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.” Would a man make mighty ones for himself, which are not mighty ones? “Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is יהוה!”

(Jer 16:19-21 TS98)

Apparently the people of the nations who come to worship the Only True Elohim will worship Him by His Name!

“Therefore hear the word of יהוה, all Yehuḏah who are dwelling in the land of Mitsrayim, ‘See, I have sworn by My great Name,’ declares יהוה, ‘My Name shall no longer be called upon by the mouth of any man of Yehuḏah in all the land of Mitsrayim, saying, “As the Master יהוה lives…”

(Jer 44:26 TS98)

Here we see the crux of the problem. Because Yehowah made a covenant promise that descendants of Dawid (Yehudah) would rule over His people (2 Sam 7:1-17) until the coming of The Sent One, we of the nations would be at the mercy of the descendants of Dawid to teach/proclaim/share The Name. Since the descendants of Dawid stopped using The Name, it has been necessary for those of the nations who come to worship the Elohim of Yisrael to restore the Name.

Fortunately not all of brother Yehudah is ignorant of The Name, nor does all of Yehudah today refuse to use The Name, as you’ll see in the attached article.

G2424

Ἰησοῦς

Iēsous

ee-ay-sooce’

Of Hebrew origin [H3091]; Jesus (that is, Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites: – Jesus.

H3091

יהושׁע / יהושׁוּע

yehôshûa‛

BDB Definition:

Yehoshua = “Yehovah is [our] salvation”

Determining the true Name of our Mashiach is not able to be accomplished (as far as I know) from direct written historical accounts. Rather, the Name of our Messiah can only be determined by utilizing a combination of the improper Greek translation of His proper Ibri Name, and searching the Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim to discover what was prophesied about His person, nature, and purpose, and from there ‘extrapolate’ what His given Name was.

What is even more important is to note what the Prophets were given to tell us what Name He will be known by at His triumphant return to the olam.

Malach Yehovah / Yehoshua

One interesting item that comes into the picture when trying to understand what the Name of the Messiah would be is to consider the scriptures that describe the Malach Yehowah, or Messenger of Yah.

“See, I am sending a Messenger before you to guard you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. “Be on guard before Him and obey His voice. Do not rebel against Him, for He is not going to pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him.

(Exo 23:20-21 TS98)

And the Messenger of יהוה said to him, “Why do you ask My name, since it is wondrous?”

(Jdg 13:18 TS98)

There are many pictures of Messiah in the Malach יהוה. One of the prominent things to note in Torah is that the D’var Elohim always came through the Malach יהוה.

H1697

דּבר

dâbâr

BDB Definition:

1) speech, word, speaking, thing

1a) speech

1b) saying, utterance

1c) word, words

1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner

Part of Speech: noun masculine

Also note that Yehoshua is called in Greek the Logos in Yochanan 1:1.

In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. the same was in the beginning with God. all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made.

(Joh 1:1-3 Mace)

G3056

λόγος

logos

log’-os

From G3004; something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (that is, Christ): – account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say (-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.

Greek logos = Hebrew D’var

And Aḇraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son, but the Messenger of יהוה called to him from the heavens and said, “Aḇraham, Aḇraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

(Gen 22:10-11 TS98)

And the Messenger of יהוה called to Aḇraham a second time from the heavens, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares יהוה, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, that I shall certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess the gate of their enemies. “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

(Gen 22:15-18 TS98)

“See, I am sending a Messenger before you to guard you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. “Be on guard before Him and obey His voice. Do not rebel against Him, for He is not going to pardon your transgression, for My Name is in Him. “But if you diligently obey His voice and shall do all that I speak, then I shall be an enemy to your enemies and a distresser to those who distress you.

(Exo 23:20-22 TS98)

Big clue – My Name is in Him!? What does this mean?

Ha Navi / The Prophet

‘I shall raise up for them a Prophet like you out of the midst of their brothers. And I shall put My Words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ‘And it shall be, the man who does not listen to My Words which He speaks in My Name, I require it of him.

(Deu 18:18-19 TS98)

Note that the ‘Prophet’/Navi speaks ‘Words’ (D’varim) in ‘My Name‘. Compare this with Yochanan (John) 5:43:

“I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not receive Me, if another comes in his own name, him you would receive.

(Joh 5:43 TS98)

Sound familiar??

“And now, say to My servant Dawiḏ, ‘Thus said יהוה of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be ruler over My people, over Yisra’ĕl. “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. “And I shall appoint a place for My people Yisra’ĕl, and shall plant them, and they shall dwell in a place of their own and no longer be afraid, neither shall the children of wickedness oppress them again, as at the first, even from the day I appointed rulers over My people Yisra’ĕl, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. And יהוה has declared to you that He would make you a house. “When your days are filled and you rest with your fathers, I shall raise up your seed after you, who comes from your inward parts, and shall establish his reign. “He does build a house for My Name, and I shall establish the throne of his reign forever. “I am to be his Father, and he is My son. If he does perversely, I shall reprove him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. “But My kindness does not turn aside from him, as I turned it aside from Sha’ul, whom I removed from before you. “And your house and your reign are to be steadfast forever before you – your throne is established forever.” ‘ “

(2Sa 7:8-16 TS98)

This is not only talking about King Dawid, it is also a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah, who would come through the kingly line of Dawid → Shlomo → Messiah.

Also note that the Messiah was to be known as ‘My son‘. Does not the Son bear the Name of the Father?

“And one shall say to him, ‘What are these wounds in your hands?’ And he shall say, ‘Because I was wounded at home by those who love me.’ “O sword, awake against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,” declares יהוה of hosts. “Smite the Shepherd, and let the sheep be scattered. But I shall turn My hand upon the little ones. And it shall be throughout all the soil,” declares יהוה, “that two thirds therein are cut off and die, and one third is left therein. “And I shall bring the third into fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My Name, and I shall answer them. I shall say, ‘This is My people,’ while they say, ‘יהוה is my Elohim.’ “(Zec 13:6-9 TS98)

And יהוה shall go forth, and He shall fight against those gentiles, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, which faces Yerushalayim on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. And you shall flee to the valley of My mountain – for the valley of the mountains reaches to Atsal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziyah sovereign of Yehuḏah. And יהוה my Elohim shall come – all the set-apart ones with You. And in that day it shall be: there is no light, it is dark. And it shall be one day which is known to יהוה, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. And in that day it shall be that living waters flow from Yerushalayim, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea, in summer as well as in winter. And יהוה shall be Sovereign over all the earth. In that day there shall be one יהוה, and His Name one.

(Zec 14:3-9 TS98)

In the above Messianic prophecies, we see that the Messiah will bear the Name of יהוה. Also note the clear salvation (Yeshua) theme in the above passage. The passage tells us that salvation (Yeshua) comes in the Name of יהוה.

Blessed is the coming reign of our father Dawiḏ – in the Name of יהוה! Hoshia-na in the highest!”

(Mar 11:10 TS98)

יהושע answered them, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness concerning Me.

(Joh 10:25 TS98)

In the two passages above Messiah is being equivocated / identified with the Malach Elohim and the Deliverer of Zecharyah 14! Hence, the true Messiah who brings salvation and bears the Name of the Father would have the name Yehoshua.

What is the Name of the One True Creator of the Universe? Read this short teaching from Karai Nehemia Gordon of Jerusalem, Israel.³

It is widely believed today that the divine name was originally pronounced Yahveh (or Yahweh). The basis for this belief is a statement of the 5th Century Church Father Theodoret of Cyrus. Theodoret reports on the divine name: “The Samaritans call it IABE while the Jews AIA.” Theodoret’s statement that the Samaritans pronounce the divine name as IABE is the only historical basis for the modern pronunciation Yahweh!

There are several problems with Theodoret’s statement. First of all, Theodoret is not talking about the Israelites but rather the Samaritans, who were Babylonian gentiles forcibly settled in Israel by the Assyrian Kings. Furthermore, Theodoret states that the Jews pronounce the name as AIA. This does not refer to the name YHVH but to the abbreviated form Yah (as in: Halleluyah). If Theodoret is talking about the Jewish pronunciation of Yah, then perhaps he is not even talking about the Samaritan pronunciation of YHVH when he says they call God by the name IABE. Finally, the Greek language in which Theodoret is writing is incapable of transmitting the full range of Hebrew sounds. For example, the divine name has the Hebrew letter he as the second letter, a sound which cannot even be expressed in the ancient Greek language! So whatever Theodoret may have heard from the Samaritans would have been corrupted when he transcribed it into Greek.

If there is no reliable proof that the name is Yahweh, what real evidence is there about the name? The first solid piece of evidence comes from the names of ancient biblical personalities. In ancient Israel, people often had names that incorporated the divine name in a short sentence. For example, my name is Nehemia, in Hebrew Ne-chem-yah, which means “YHVH comforts”. This name combines the verb nichem (“he comforts”) and yah. In earlier times, yah would have been yahu as in the name Elijah, in Hebrew Eliyahu (eli “my God”, yahu “is YHVH”). Yahu appears in biblical names as part of YHVH. From this we could conclude that the divine name is to be pronounced something like Yahu-ah or Yahu-vah.

The problem with this is that in the names of other biblical personalities the name YHVH appears as Yeho-. For example, in the name Joshua, in Hebrew Yehoshua (Yeho “YHVH”, shua saves). This raises the question: Does the divine name begin Yeho or Yahu? One of the rules of Hebrew names is that when words are combined to form a name, they undergo changes to their vowels depending on their position within the new name. So the verb nichem “he comforts” is changed to nechem in the name Nehemia because of its position in the word. The rule is that the letters YHV (from YHVH) always appears as yeho- at the beginning of names, but as -yahu at the end of names (because of something called “pre-tonal shortening”). In the name YHVH, the letters YHV- are at the beginning of the name, so based on the rules of Hebrew pronunciation the divine name should begin YeHo-!

The next piece of evidence comes from the Masoretic Text, the oldest and most reliable complete version of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is commonly believed that the vowels of the name of YHVH in the Masoretic Text are the vowels of Adonai (LORD). Were this true, the Masoretic Text would have the name written as YaHoVaH (using the vowels of Adonai). But this is just not how the name is written in the Masoretic text! In fact, the divine name is written as Yeh?vah in the Masoretic Text.

Any Hebrew reader will see an immediate problem with the spelling Yeh?vah, namely, that the first H has no vowel associated with it even though the rules of the Hebrew language require it have some vowel (at a minimum it must have sheva). The fact that it has no vowel indicates that the scribes intentionally withheld writing the vowel so that readers would not (accidentally) read this word. The only reason the scribes would want to prevent people from reading the name Yeh?vah is if they knew that the name was pronounced in this way. It is significant that the ban on pronouncing the divine name never applied to pronouncing it with the wrong vowels!

What is the missing vowel in Yeh?vah? The linguistic evidence of names such as Yehoshua (Joshua) would indicate that the missing vowel is a cholam, in English “o”. Based on this evidence we would expect the name to be Yehovah and it would seem the scribes suppressed the “o” to prevent people from pronouncing this true pronunciation of the name. What confirms this is that in a small number of places in the Masoretic manuscripts, the scribes forgot to withhold the vowel “o”! For example, in the Leningrad Manuscript of the Masoretic Text, upon which the renowned BHS edition is based, the name appears as Yehovah with the “o” in Genesis 3:14 (even though it usually appears in this manuscript as Yeh?vah). This is because the scribes knew that the name was pronounced Yehovah, and in most instances successfully suppressed the vowel “o” to prevent people from reading it in the correct manner. But sometimes they let the secret “o” slip and the truth was able to shine through!

It is worth noting that the English Jehovah is quite simply an Anglicized form of Yehovah. The main difference is that the English letter J has crept its way into the divine name. Of course, Hebrew does not have a J sound and the letter in Hebrew is Yod which is pronounced like English “Y”. Another difference is that in the Masoretic text the name has the accent mark on the end of the word. So the name is really pronounced Yehovah with the emphasis on “vah”. Pronouncing the name Yehovah with the emphasis on “ho” (as in English Jehovah) would quite simply be a mistake.

One question we must consider is how the Masoretes, the medieval scribes who copied the text of Scripture and suppressed the “o” in Yehovah, could have known the true pronunciation of the name. After all, the ban on the name was in full force since the time of Abba Saul in the 2nd century CE (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1). One of the things we know about the Masoretic scribes is that they were Karaites. We also know that there were two factions of Karaites, those that required the pronunciation of the name and those that forbade it. It is clear that the Masoretes belonged to the group that forbade the pronunciation of the name and this was why they suppressed the middle vowel from Yeh[o]vah. At the same time they heard how the other Karaites pronounced the name so they knew how it was properly pronounced.

The 10th century Karaite sage Kirkisani reports that the Karaites who pronounced the name were based in Persia (Khorasan). Persia had been a major Jewish center ever since the 10 Tribes were exiled to the “cities of Media” (2Ki 17:6) and remained so up until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. Because Persia was so far from the Rabbinical centers of Galilee and Babylonia, the Jews of Persia were protected from the Rabbinical innovations in the Mishnah and Talmud up until the 7th century CE. It was only when the Rabbis attempted to impose these innovations on the Jews of Persia in the 7th-8th centuries that the Karaite Movement rose up to ensure the preservation of the old ways. So it is not surprising that the Karaites of Persia preserved the correct pronunciation of the name from ancient times. It seems that the Masoretes suppressed the vowel “o” from the divine name to prevent their fellow Karaites from simply reading the name as it was written. Now when these Karaites read the Biblical text, they had to provide the vowel missing from the name themselves.

A final issue of pronunciation concerns the Hebrew letter vav. Some linguists suggest that this letter was pronounced in ancient times like the English “w” while others maintain it was pronounced as “v”. This is the reason for the difference between Yahweh and Yahveh or Yehovah and Yehowah. Obviously there are no audio recordings from ancient times so the only evidence comes from pronunciation traditions of Jewish communities around the world. The facts are that while some Jewish communities pronounce this letter as “w” most pronounce it as “v”. For example, the Jews of Egypt, Eastern Europe, and Spain traditionally pronounced the letter vav as “v” while in Yemen they pronounced it as “w”. Which is right? V or W? It is possible that both pronunciations originally existed in ancient times! In Judges 12:6 we are told that some Israelites pronounced the Hebrew letter shin as “sh” while others pronounced it as “s”. This combines with other evidence that points to the existence of different dialects of spoken Hebrew in ancient Israel. Some linguists suggest that the differences in pronunciation traditions among Jewish communities around the world may go back to different dialects of spoken Hebrew in ancient Israel. So it is very possible that in ancient Israel some said Yehovah while others said Yehowah (like potayto and potahto)!

1. Talmud Jerusalmi, tractate Tannit, “When Rabbi Akiva saw bar Kokhba, he said, ‘this is the king Messiah’.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokba
3. http://m7000.com/Yehovah.htm

Chesed

dsx

Chesed

In today’s western religious culture we hear much about the character traits of hwhy. We especially hear much about his goodness, kindness and faithfulness. Yet it seems that we primarily hear about these character traits as being something ‘new’, as in new with the coming of the Messiah. As believers in the Messiah of Yisrael who are seeking to return to the Hebrew roots of our faith we need to be studious to inform ourselves what the Bible has to say about these character traits in hwhy.

I’d like to expound upon one of the words used in the Tanak that describe an aspect of the Father’s character, chesed. From this Hebrew word we derive the English words goodness and kindness.

dsx (Chet-Samech-Dalet)

chêsêd

BDB Definition:

1) Goodness, kindness, faithfulness

1. A reproach, shame

Part of speech: Masculine noun

From the Hebrew shoresh(root):

dsx (Chet-Samech-Dalet)

châsad

BDB Definition:

1) to be good, be kind

2a) (Hithpael) to show kindness to oneself

2) to be reproached, be ashamed

1a) (Piel) to be put to shame, be reproached

Part of Speech: verb

Kindness

Gen 24:12-14 And he said, “hwhy, Elohim of my master Abraham, please cause her to meet before me this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.“See, I am standing here by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. “Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar to let me drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and let me water your camels too,’ let her be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Yitzhak. And let me know by this that You have shown kindness to my master.”

When Abraham sent his long-time trusted servant and friend Eliezer to Charan to find a wife for his son Yitzchak, his servant seemed to feel intimidated by the prospect of finding a wife for his master’s son from a people he had not known.

What else was there to do in a situation like this but to follow his master’s example and call upon the Mighty one of Abraham and seek His favor in this matter? Notice that this servant never forgot his station; he did not seek favor for himself, but rather asked the Master of Abraham to show His servant Abraham chesed – or kindness – once again, as he had seen hwhy do so many times before.

Exo 20:6

…but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands.

Here we see hwhy making a clear statement about the chesed – or kindness – aspect of His character. Please note the last part of that statement, that directly relates loving hwhy with guarding his commands.

Exo 34:6-7

And hwhy passed before him and proclaimed, “ hwhy,, hwhy, an El compassionate and showing favour, patient, and great in kindness and truth, watching over kindness for thousands, forgiving crookedness and transgression and sin, but by no means leaving unpunished, visiting the crookedness of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Goodness

Psa 25:7

Do not remember the sins of my youth, and my transgressions; According to Your kindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O hwhy.

King David is appealing to the goodness aspect of the character of hwhy in seeking forgiveness for his past sins. This is similar to – and is probably inspired from – Moshe’s intercession on behalf of Am Yisrael to stay the hand of hwhy from destroying His people, beseeching the Father for the Father’s sake, so that others who are observing the interaction of the Father with His chosen people won’t draw the wrong conclusion about the character and motives of hwhy in bringing His people out of Mitsri bondage.

Psa 33:5

Loving righteousness and right-ruling; the earth is filled with the goodness of hwhy.

In this passage of scripture we see that the earth itself and all that it contains testify of the goodness or loving-kindness of the Father. For He sustains all things, recreating or maintaining our environment so that it is habitable and relatively safe to live here!

Messianic Application

Luke 11:39-41

And the Master said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is filled with greed and wickedness. “Mindless ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? “But give in kindness of that which is within, and see, all are clean to you.

The above passage from Luke is an example of the application of the verb chasad, the shoresh (root) of chesed. We are being admonished here to prioritize kindness or chesed above the outward acts of piety.

Gal 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness trustworthiness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah.

Commentary

As believers in the Hebrew Messiah, we find that – to paraphrase Melech Sh’lomo, ‘…there is nothing new under the sun.’ Chesed is used throughout scripture to denote the kindness – even loving-kindness, mercy, and goodness of the Father. Since the Father is the same yesterday, today and forever, we can believe and trust that the character that the Ivri word chesed denotes has been part of the Father’s character from the beginning.This understanding was deeply ingrained into the hearts of Yehoshua and His talmidim, and is reflected throughout the writings of the Brit Chadasha.

Considering that the root of chesed is a verb or action word and means to show kindness to others, we as followers of the Ivri haMashiach are to emulate this character of hwhy in our dealings with each other in the assembly of Yisrael, as well as in our dealings with those outside of the faith. In so doing we shine the light of our Messiah in a dark and dying world.

Messianic 101: Who are we?

The Messianic movement: Who are we??

In the Messianic movement we seem to have an identity problem. Some think we should become Jewish, or adopt Jewish customs. Others think being Messianic means Christianity with a kipa and a tallit, replacing ‘Sunday service’ with ‘sabbath service’.

Many who have started out from Christianity and supposedly become ‘Messianic’ have moved onward and downward to one flavor or another of Orthodox Judaism, forsaking the Messiah altogether, in favor of non-biblical orthodox Jewish halacha (way of walking).

Some have come from orthodox Jewish families, and have thrown out the baby with the bathwater, forsaking even the small element of Torah halacha still remnant in Judaism, in favor of Christian practices.

Becoming Messianic is much more than exchanging one set of customs for another.

A very small minority have discovered the true vision of the Messiah, implementing a disciplined life, changing their walk to follow the halacha of Ben Elohim, the Son of Righteousness.

This blessed minority have undertaken a pattern of Tanak, Brit Chadasha, Hebrew language and historical studies to realize what the ‘perfecting of the kidushim’ actually means:

Let the proud be put to shame, For with lies they perverted me; But I study Your orders.
(Psa 119:78)

O how I love Your Torah! It is my study all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies; For it is ever before me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your witnesses are my study. I understand more than the aged, For I have observed Your orders.
(Psa 119:97-100)

I rise before dawn, and cry for help; I have waited for Your word. My eyes have gone before the night watches, To study Your word.
(Psa 119:147-148)

“As it is written in the Torah of Mosheh, all this evil has come upon us, and we have not entreated the face of יהוה our Elohim, to turn back from our crookednesses, and to study Your truth.
(Dan 9:13)

And the brothers immediately sent Sha’ul and Sila away by night to Beroia, who, having come, went into the congregation of the Yehuḏim. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonike, who received the word with great eagerness, and searched the Scriptures daily, if these words were so.
(Act 17:10-11)

Do your utmost to present yourself approved to Elohim, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.
(2Ti 2:15)

And it came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and be perfect.

(Gen 17:1)

“Therefore, be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect.
(Mat 5:48)

And He Himself gave some as emissaries, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers for the perfecting of the set-apart ones, to the work of service to a building up of the body of the Messiah… (Eph 4:11-12)

In the process they have revealed to themselves their own nakedness, their sin that they have not known of because they didn’t think the instructions of the Father needed to be learned, or worse, they developed a hardness of heart that enabled them to ignore the sin in their lives that they once experienced guilt and shame about.

This produces a heartfelt desire to change one’s behavior to come into obedience to the instructions of the Creator. Once one begins to remove the chametz(leaven, representative of hypocrisy) from their life, the words of Messiah come alive and take shape:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.

(Mat 7:21)

When you begin to experience victory over deeply ingrained habitual sin, your joy increases and your personal sin consequences decrease. Great encouragement begins to come into your heart.

Let’s take a look at the scriptures to uncover what it means to become ‘Messianic’.

And יהוה said to Abram, “Go yourself out of your land, from your relatives and from your father’s house, to a land which I show you. “And I shall make you a great nation, and bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing! “And I shall bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you. And in you all the clans of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram left, as יהוה had commanded him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Ḥaran. (Gen 12:1-4)

We see here that Avraham is our Messianic forefather and example. In other words, Avraham was challenged to leave behind everything he had known. Avraham avinu grew up and lived as an adult amidst the pagans of ancient Chaldea, whose descendants would centuries later become part of the Assyrian empire.

In Avraham’s day the idea that a ‘god’ would actually ‘speak’ to a man was unheard of. Yet Avraham not only heard the voice of Yehowah Elohim, he conversed with Him! When the Creator of heaven and earth called Avraham to leave everyone and everything that he had known, in order that he may receive an inheritance, a name, and a multitude of descendants, he listened and followed the Voice.

Much in the same way that Avraham avinu was called to follow an El that he had not seen, in order to inherit a reward that he could not know of in advance, we are called out of the nations of this world, to leave behind our sin and follow the same El that Avraham did!

We are promised, similarly, that we will inherit the same land that Avraham was promised. In fact, although we may not be blood descendants of Avraham, we are told that we will become part of the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’acov. (Read Romans 11)

For as many of you as were immersed into Messiah have put on Messiah. There is not Yehuḏi nor Greek, there is not slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Messiah יהושע. And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Aḇraham, and heirs according to promise.
(Gal 3:27-29)

Because through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim, having been built upon the foundation of the emissaries and prophets, יהשוע Messiah Himself being chief corner-stone, in whom all the building, being joined together, grows into a set-apart Dwelling Place in יהוה, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit. (Eph 2:18-22)

Like Avraham, we are asked to step out in faith, not knowing what perils, trials, triumphs and tragedies may lay ahead. All that we are told is that salvation is a gift that we receive freely before stepping out on our journey, and that we must vow to put sin away from us and learn to walk in the ways of our Creator.

Similarly to Avraham, we are surrounded by the evidence of generations of sin, manifesting in the consequences of sin and death. Our culture today, while perhaps different technologically, is no less sinful that the generations of Noach’s descendants that lived in Avraham’s day.

Worse, we have inherited religious systems that propose to be the true path to eternal life, yet seem to fall far short in the light of even a cursory study of scripture.

Well did Yirmeyahu prophecy,

Jer 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.”

In Avraham’s day Yehowah came seeking a heart that would separate from this culture of sin and death.

Avraham’s faith is tested

Gen 22:1-2 And it came to be after these events that Elohim tried Avraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Take your son, now, your only son Yitzhak, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriyah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I command you.”

As awesome an avinu as Avraham was, he had no way of knowing that this ‘little’ test was being conducted so that you and I could understand the Ibri meaning of emunah or ‘faith’.

What did Avraham think was going to happen, and what heart attitude did his thoughts on this test reflect?

Gen 22:7-8 And Yitzhak spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “See, the fire and the wood! But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, Elohim does provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” And the two of them went together.

How did Avraham avinu score on the test?

Gen 22:9-10 And they came to the place which Elohim had commanded him,
and Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound
Yitzhak his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched
out his hand and took the knife to slay his son…

A perfect score…

No separation between Instruction and obedience! This is exactly the kind of heart that Yehowah was seeking!

As a parent, the deliberate slaying of an only son is as foreign a concept as I can think of. Yet Avraham had already seen enough to trust his Creator with the most important possession that he had.

We get a deeper glimpse into the heart of Avraham’s ‘extreme’ faith from the writings of Rav Shaul in his letter to the brethren in Yerushalayim:

By belief, Avraham, when he was tried, offered up Yitsḥaq, and he who had received the promises offered up his only brought-forth son, of whom it was said, “In Yitsḥaq your seed shall be called,” reckoning that Elohim was able to raise, even from the dead, from which he received him back, as a type.
(Heb 11:17-19)

Avraham was aware of the salvation of his ancestor Noach and Noach’s family after the destruction of all life by the flood, save what was placed in the Ark.
Avraham understood that Yehowah has the ability to create life from nothing, as well as the ability to raise the dead.

Avraham remembered that Yitzhak’s life – as well as his own – was a gift that had been given and preserved only by the Hand of the Almighty, and that one lives and dies at the behest of his Creator.

How does the example of Avraham’s life demonstrate the fullness of becoming ‘Messianic’? Let’s return to the letter to the brethren in Yerushalayim for the answer:

By belief, Aḇraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he was about to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By belief, he sojourned in the land of promise as a stranger, dwelling in tents with Yitsḥaq and Yaʽaqoḇ, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he was looking for the city having foundations, whose builder and maker is Elohim.

By belief also, Sarah herself was enabled to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the normal age, because she deemed Him trustworthy who had promised. And so from one, and him as good as dead, were born as numerous as the stars of the heaven, as countless as the sand which is by the seashore. In belief all these died, not having received the promises,but seeing them from a distance, welcomed and embraced them, and confessed that they were aliens and strangers on the earth. For those who speak this way make it clear that they seek a fatherland. And yet, if they had indeed kept remembering that place from which they had come out, they would have had the chance to return. But now they long for a better place, that is, a heavenly. Therefore Elohim is not ashamed to be called their Elohim, for He has prepared a city for them.

By belief, Aḇraham, when he was tried, offered up Yitsḥaq, and he who had received the promises offered up his only brought-forth son, of whom it was said, “In Yitsḥaq your seed shall be called,” reckoning that Elohim was able to raise, even from the dead, from which he received him back, as a type.
(Heb 11:8-19)

Through the faith of Avraham avinu we were given the greatest glimpse of the purpose of the first coming of our Messiah Yehoshua, that is for an only begotten, sinless Son to be made an offering on behalf of the sins of us all, one righteous, sinless offering for all the sins of all mankind, for all time.

Yet Avraham would not be allowed to offer his only begotten son by Sarah, for this special task was reserved solely for the only Son of Yehowah born of a woman.

Is your heart prepared to be ‘Messianic’? How much have you been given, that you know you cannot keep, that you are willing to give away at the command of the Creator of the universe?

The Messianic walk is not a weekly group activity. It is a moment by moment personal activity; we are to be fully engaged in walking with the Messiah, every moment of every day of our lives. When called to give, even of our very lives, we must be prepared to achieve a perfect score, every time.

How are your grades?