Tag Archives: Moses

Moses Prophesies His Own Resurrection and Glorification—and Ours Too

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Exodus 34:1–35, Moses’ second ascension of Mount Sinai is a prophetic picture of the saints’ resurrection and glorification at the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah.

According to Jewish tradition, Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second set of stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments on the first day of the sixth month or 30 days before Yom Teruah, which occurs on the first day of the seventh month. Forty days later on Yom Kippur he descended from the mountain carrying with him the second set of tablets as a sign of YHVH’s forgiveness of the children of Israel after the golden calf incident. This signaled YHVH’s renewed relationship with Israel after they had repented of golden calf worship.

Moses' shining face

We know that a biblical Israelite bride, while waiting for her betrothed to arrive from his father’s house, would hear the sound of the shofar in the distance as her bridegroom approached. If she were alert and not asleep (as were the ten virgins in Matt 25), she would have had time to put on her wedding robes, trim her lamp’s wick, and have it filled with oil and ready to light as soon as he arrived.

Prophetically, the Scriptures tells us that the saints of Yeshua are to be resurrected and to  Continue reading →

 

Redemption: The Strong Arm of YHVH to Save His People (pt 1)

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Exodus 6:6–8, I will. In this passage, YHVH reveals to Moses the seven steps of Israel’s redemption, which are actually promises of what YHVH will do for Israel.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, “I am YHVH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem [Strong’s H1350, ga’al meaning “to buy back, ransom for money”] you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you an Elohim, and you shall know that I am YHVH your Elohim, which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am YHVH.” (Exod 6:6–8, emphasis added)

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Here we find listed the seven steps of redemption YHVH lays out for Israel. YHVH uses his covenant name (YHVH) three times during the seven promises: at the beginning, middle and end. He wraps his covenant promises in his covenant name for emphasis.

YHVH is telling Moses (and us, too!!) to just believe him! Believe his Word; trust that he is who he says he is (which is what his covenant name implies: I am who I am, or I will be what I will be; i.e., I will be your All Sufficient One and will meet your every need … So just trust and believe!)

Redemption involves three things.

First, Continue reading →

 

YHVH—Memorial Name of God

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Shabbat shalom to everyone from our family to yours! 

Here’s a  little Sabbath treat for everyone. Enjoy…

Exodus 3:14–15, I AM THAT I AM.The name YHVH is Elohim’s memorial name forever. It reflects that fact that he is; that he is undefinable in human terms, and that he has always existed. This is the name by which he is to be remembered (not forgotten as is the case with the ineffable name concept of the rabbinic Jews whereby the names of deity or forbidden to be used). Exodus 3:14 and 15 read as follows:

14 And Elohim said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM (EHYEH ASHER EHYEH YHVH RAT YHVH): and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM (EHYEH YHVH) hath sent me unto you. 15 And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, YHVH the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name [Heb. shem] for ever, and this is my memorial [Heb. zeker] unto all generations.

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Here are some examples of how various Bible versions translate the name of YHVH:

  • I Am That I Am (KJV)
  • I Am Who I Am (NAS, NIV, NKJV
  • I Am That Which I Am (YLT)
  • I Shall Be As I Shall Be (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach)
  • I Will Be What I Will Be (The Gutnick Edition Chumash, JPS)
  • I Will Be There Howsoever I Will Be There (The Schocken Bible)
  • I Am the Being (LXX, Brenton)

Exodus 3:15 states that YHVH is the name Moses was to use when referring to I AM THAT I AM. Both the former and latter are forms of the Hebrew verb hayah meaning “to be.” YHVH instructed that YHVH was to be his memorial name forever. In other words, humans were to use YHVH to remember him by. There is no indication here that it was YHVH’s intention that his name was to be forgotten or hidden through euphemisation. The word memorial is the Hebrew word zeker (Strong’s H2143) and means “remembrance, memory.”

It must be noted here that we don’t refer to YHVH as I Am, for were we to do so it would be necessary to say “I Am,” and in all reality, we aren’t the I Am, but YHVH is the I Am. Just so there is no confusion when communicating YHVH’s name in every day speech, the Bible uses, not the Hebrew ehyeh meaning “I Am,” but the form of the verb which means “He Is.” In this way, every time we say his name we’re glorifying him, and not inadvertantly glorifying ourselves.

In writing, I use the Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, and hey (or in English YHVH). Why is this? Because there are many possible ways to pronounce YHVH when transliterating it into English, and I don’t want to offend anyone by not spelling it your favorite way. So I just use the consonants as found in the Scriptures.

However, for those who are curious, I pronounce YHVH as Yehovah, or Yehowah. Many say Yahweh. I used to also, until it become clear to me that Yehovah seemed more correct. This can become a matter of discussion and debate, but I don’t choose to go there. Study out the subject for yourself and do what you think is right. Just keep an open mind, and be gracious to others who are of a different opinion.

Blessings to you all!

 

The Bible on Divorce (and Remarriage)—A Sticky Wicket!

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Matthew 19:8, Put away your wives. Most churches allow for divorce, but some do not permit remarriage under any circumstances. This is may seem like an extreme position, those who teach this can make a strong case that this is the Bible’s position.

Some churches teach that divorce and remarriage is acceptable in some instances, but not in others. This is where it gets sticky and depends on the interpretations of many clear as well as some unclear biblical passages. The truth is that each marriage and divorce case is unique. Each situation needs to be evaluated case by case based on biblical guidelines. My thoughts (below) on the subject of divorce and remarriage are only general in nature.

Some churches take the approach that all sins can be forgiven except the sin of divorce and remarriage. This would mean that divorce and remarriage is the unpardonable sin for which the blood of Yeshua is ineffective. This is a biblically untenable position.

The Scriptures say that YHVH hates divorce (Mal 2:16). Why? Because he had to divorce his own (spiritual) wife, Israel, because of her adultery against him (e.g., Jer 3:8). But he’s going to remarry her again, but this time it will be to redeemed Israel, which is a new, spiritually regenerated bride. Furthermore, Yeshua died to pay the price for Israel’s capital sin of adultery. On our website (http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/divorce.pdf), I have a teaching about the prophetic implications of divorce where I discuss this issue.

The Torah allows for divorce and remarriage following certain protocols (Deut 24:1–4). Yeshua acknowledges this in the Gospels and accepts this fact due to of the hardness of people’s hearts (Mark 10:4–5).

The issue of divorce and remarriage becomes sticky, since in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 no one knows the exact meaning of the word “fornication.” Even the Jews of Yeshua’s time debated about its meaning, and the two Pharisaical schools of the day defined pornea (Greek) or ervah (Hebrew, see Deut 24:1, uncleanness) differently. Continue reading →

 

The Timing and Purpose of Israel’s Exile in Egypt

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What Is the Timing of the Exile?

Christian teaching says that Israel was in exile in Egypt for 400 years (Gen 15:13; Acts 7:6) or for 430 years (Gal 3:17). Some see a contradiction in these two numbers, which to nonbelievers “proves” that Scripture is not inspired by Elohim, but rather is the work of men.

The Jewish Sages, on the contrary, say that the 430-year count started when Abraham left Ur, and that the 400-year count started when Isaac was born and that the Egyptian exile lasted for four generations only, or about one-third of the 400 years. The accounting of this is found in Genesis 15:13–16,

And [YHVH] said unto Abram, “Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land [eretz] that is not theirs [the land of Canaan and Egypt], and shall serve them [the last half of their bondage in Egypt]; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation [goy], whom they shall serve, will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And you shalt go to your fathers in peace; you shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation [after having been exiled into Egypt] they shall return again [return to the land of Canaan], for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

Another point of interest in this regard is Jochebed, the mother of Moses. She was the daughter of Levi (Exod 2:1; Num 26:59) and was married to Amram the father of Moses and the grandson of Levi. Jochebed was the aunt of Amram (Exod 6:16–20). If the Egyptian exile were 400 years, as many believe, then Jochebed would have been around 320-340 years of age at the birth of Moses. This is an unlikely scenario since the biblical record shows us that the lifespan of humans was between about 110 to 150 years at this time. However, if the time of the exile were four generation as noted above (Gen 15:16) then she could have been between 80 to 120 years of age at Moses’ birth, which is in the more likely realm of possibility. The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash confirms this math. It says Jochebed was 130 when Moses was born (p. 297) and that at the time Moses returned to Egypt Israel had been living there for 210 years, 116 since the servitude began and 86 since the beginning of the backbreaking oppression (p. 300).

Why the Exile?

The purpose of the exile was to prepare Israel for its inheritance. Egypt was the “boot camp” to prepare them for the rigors of the wilderness journey so that they could then take the land of Canaan. Egypt was an incubator where Israel grew from 70 to more than two to four million people. Israel literally became a hardened army ready to go in and dispossess the Canaanites of their land and in turn repossess it.

Furthermore, YHVH could not allow Israel to dispossess the inhabitants of the Promised Land until the time was right. Scriptures says that the sins of the Amorites had to come to the full (Gen 15:16). YHVH is just and gives nations ample time to repent before judging them.

 

Moses—A Prophetic Picture of the Messiah

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Deuteronomy 18:15–22. A prophet…like unto me. Let’s study the parallels between Moses (Heb. Moshe) and Yeshua the Messiah (Heb. Machiach) to see how Yeshua perfectly fulfilled this prophecy.

Moses’ early life seems to foreshadow some details of Yeshua’s life and ministry. This really should not surprise us when we consider the words of the book of Hebrews (10:7 from Ps 40:7), which attributed to YHVH-Yeshua, who said, “The volume of the scroll was written of me.” Yeshua himself, when confronting the Pharisees in John 5:46, said “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me.”

This of course begs the question, when did Moses write about Yeshua? Of course there are many places in the Torah that speak of the Messiah in types and shadows. This is a section of scripture that definitely verifies the words of Yeshua. Let’s now explore this passage to see how it pointed to the Master.  Continue reading →

 

Back to the Future with Moses at Mount Sinai

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Moses’s bringing the children of Israel into a covenantal (marriage) agreement with YHVH at the foot of Mount Sinai contains powerful prophetic symbolism that applies to us now. Point-by-point, it foretold the steps that Yeshua would take through his death on the cross as he brought the spiritually lost (you and me) into a covenantal (marital) relationship with him.

Exodus 24:6, Moses sprinkled half the blood of a sacrificed animal on the altar, which prophetically pointed to Yeshua shedding his blood on the cross, so that we might enter into a covenantal relationship with YHVH. The wine Yeshua drank at the last supper that ratified the Renewed Covenant signified the blood he was about to shed at the cross (Matt 26:26–28). When we as redeemed believers drink the third cup (i.e., communion) of the Passover Seder and eat the bread, we are signifying our marital commitment to YHVH-Yeshua. We are accepting the terms (our marriage agreement or ketubah) of the covenant—the Renewed Covenant, which includes the Torah being written on our hearts by the Spirit of Elohim (Jer 33:31–33; Heb 8:8–10).

Exodus 24:7, Israel agreed to the terms of the ketubah the third time (see also Exod 19:8 and 24:3). As Israel pledged loyalty and obedience to YHVH, even so, we also must confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Yeshua was raised from the dead, and then walk in righteousness, which is obedience to the Torah (Rom 10:9–13; Ps 119:172).

Exodus 24:8, Moses sprinkled the blood of an innocent animal over the people, which is a prophetic picture of Yeshua shedding his blood at the cross for the redemption of sinners from the penalty of sin, so that they might enter in a sinless state into a covenantal relationship with YHVH (Heb 9:18–22).

Exodus 24:9–12, Only after the blood of the sacrificed animal was shed and sprinkled over the people were the elders permitted access into the Presence of Elohim. Only through the shed blood of Yeshua and through the veil of his flesh are we able to come boldly to Elohim’s throne of grace (Heb 10:19–20; 4:16).