Category Archives: Bible, General

The Importance of Having a Daily Devotional

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Twenty-One Reasons to Have a Dedicated, Daily Devotional (or Time Alone With YHVH)

The reasons are too numerous to mention! Here are only a few reasons.

  • Draw near to Elohim and he will draw near to you. That is to say, incline your heart to Elohim and  he will incline himself to you. The converse is also true. Disincline your heart to him and he will respond accordingly. (Pss 71:2; 78:1; 88:2; 102:2; 119:36; 141:4) 
  • You are what you eat. What you feed on is what you will become; what a person puts into his mind and heart is he who he is (Prov 23:7). If you do not feed on the Word of Elohim, you will not grow spiritually, and the converse is also true. 
  • We need to be continually renewing our mind by spiritually brainwashing our mind and heart with the Word of Elohim to combat the distracting and hell-bent influences of the world, the flesh and the devil. We wash or cleanse our minds by washing in or feeding continually on the water of the Word of Elohim (Rom 12:2; Eph 5:26).
  • Yeshua instructs us to ask, seek and you shall find, and knock (Matt 7:7). YHVH Elohim like is a vast ocean wisdom, knowledge, understanding and truth, and we are little children on the edge of that ocean. How can we learn and grow spiritually if we do not ask and seek?
  • If we don’t ask through prayer, we will not receive from our Father in heaven (Jas 4:3).
  • The Bible commands us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), and even to pray for our enemies (Matt 5:44). 
  • With regard to prayer, Yeshua instructed us to pray (Matt 6:9–13). The implication was not if you pray, but when you pray. Yeshua lived a life of prayer and set us the example of being prayerful. If we are followers of Messiah, then are we not to imitate him in all areas of our life, to walk in his footsteps (1 Cor 11:1; 1 John 2:6) and to do all that he commanded us to do (Matt 28:20)?
  • The Bible commands us to be thankful in all things (Col 3:17). We express our gratitude to our Father in heaven through prayer.
  • David, a man after YHVH’s heard prayed and thanked Elohim seven times a day (Ps 110:164).
  • The morning and evening sacrifices are our example to follow for the sacrifice of our lips (Pss 27:6; 50:8–15; 69:30–31; Hos 6:6; 14:2 [KJV]; Heb 13:15; 1 Pet 2:5).
  • The Bible instructs us to a living sacrifice, that is, live a life of prayer, fasting, worship, praise, self-negation and service (Rom 12:1; Phil 2:17; Heb 13:15–16; 1 Pet 2:5).
  • Study to show yourself approved by rightly dividing the Word of Elohim (2 Tim 2:15).
  • Be like a noble Berean by searching the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:10–11).
  • Be like a tree planted by (Yeshua) the river of life by meditating day and night on YHVH’s Torah-Word, so that you will bear much spiritual fruit and you will not whither spiritually in the day of adversity (Ps 1:1–6).
  • Abide in and be strongly attached to Yeshua (and his word) who is the true vine and we are the branches (John 15:1–8).
  • Walk  in the Spirit by not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, which war against the Spirit (Gal 5:16–17). Establish good disciplines in your life. Self control or self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). Learn to reign in the lusts of the flesh by not always doing the things our flesh wants to do (Gal 5:19–21), but following the prompting of the Spirit by spending time with Elohim, which is an act of self-discipline.
  • Feed your inner spirit man by feeding regularly on the Word of Elohim as opposed to continually feeding your soul man (i.e., your mind, will and emotions) (Gal 5:5:16–18; Col 3:1–2; 2 Cor 10:4–5).
  • If you don’t know the Word of Elohim, how are you going to do spiritual warfare by resisting the temptations of the devil with the Word of Elohim as Yeshua did when combatting the devil (Matt 4:1–11), and by taking every thought captive to the mind of Yeshua (2 Cor 10:4–5)?
  • How are we to fulfill Romans 12:2 by being transformed into the image of the Messiah (Rom 8:29) by renewing our minds and not being conformed to this world if we are regularly reading and studying the Word of Elohim?
  • The wise virgins in Yeshua’s parable were ready for Yeshua their Bridegroom, since they had oil (i.e., the Spirit and the Torah-Word of Elohim) in their lamps (Matt 25:1–4).
  • Seek first the kingdom of Elohim and his righteousness by starting every day with our daily devotionals (Matt 6:33). YHVH deserves the first and best part of each of our days.

Things That Keep Us From Having a Daily Devotional

We have become spiritually lukewarm.

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Was the NT Originally Written in Hebrew?

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For more information on evidence that much of the NT was originally written in Hebrew, do an internet search of Dr. Miles R. Jones. I have watched many of his videos, and am intensely intrigued by his scholarship and discoveries.

 

The Book of Psalms—Introduction, Overview and List of Topics

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Introduction to the Psalms

Name of the Book

The Hebrew name for Psalms is Sepher Tehillim meaning “Book of Praises.” The word psalm is the Hebrew word mizmor meaning “melody” and derives from a word to mean “to sing, sing praise, make music.” The English word psalm derives from the Greek word psalmos meaning “a song sung to harp music.”

The Nature of the Book

The Book of Psalms is a collection of devotional materials including prayers, poems, and hymns some of which were set to music. Worship and praise of Elohim through music is a unifying aspect of this book. The psalms include songs of thanksgiving, hymns of praise, psalms of repentance and confession, psalms which invoke curses upon one’s enemies, psalms sung by pilgrims en route to Jerusalem, and messianic psalms.

Authors of the Psalms

This book contains psalms by at least six authors. David wrote 73 psalms (according to the titles of the psalms) and two others are ascribed to him in the Testimony of Yeshua (Ps 2, see Acts 4:25 and Ps 95, see Heb 4:7). Asaph either wrote or was responsible for preserving 12 psalms (Pss 50 and 73 through 83). The sons of Korah wrote 11 psalms (Pss 42, 44 through 49). Solomon composed two psalms (Pss72 and 127), while Etham wrote Psalm 89, Moses authored Psalm 90 (and possibly Ps 91), and Heman (Ps 88). Several Psalms have no designated author.

Categories of Psalms

  • The psalms can be group into five categories.
  • Didactic and wisdom psalms that give instruction (e.g., Ps 119).
  • The Messianic psalms containing prophecies relating to the Messiah (e.g., Ps 22).
  • The imprecatory psalms where the servant of Elohim pleads his case before the Almighty pleading for justice for the righteous and punishment upon the wicked (e.g. Ps 109).
  • Penitential psalms expressing the feelings of the repentant heart but also the desire for spiritual cleansing (Pss 32; 38; 51;102; 130; 143).
  • Psalms of praise, worship and thanksgiving.
  • Other classifications of Psalms include
  • Psalms of degrees or ascent (i.e., Pss 120–134). These are psalms that were sung on special occasions as the priests were ascending the steps of the temple, or that were sung as the Israelites were going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly biblical pilgrimage feasts (i.e. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Tabernacles).
  • The miktam (or michtam) psalms (Pss 16; 56–60). Though the meaning of the term michtam is unclear, it seems to refer toa psalm that is considered as precious as stamped gold.

The Five Books Within the Psalms

According to Jewish tradition, the Book of Psalms can be divided into five smaller books or sections. They are,

  • Book One: Pss 1–41
  • Book Two: Pss 42–72
  • Book Three: Pss 73–89
  • Book Four: Pss 90–106
  • Book Five: Pss 107–150

Scholars aren’t sure why Psalms is so sub-divided. One theory is that the five sections correspond to the five books of the Torah (or Pentateuch). Or they may simply be individual collections of psalms that were eventually combined to form the larger book we now have. 

The first three books end with the word, “Amein and amein” (the only places in the Scriptures where this double-amein phrase occurs. The last two books end with the phrase, “Praise YHVH.”

A Topical Index to Key Subjects in the Psalms (and elsewhere)

  • Afterlife, The— Job 14:14–15; 19:25–27; Pss 6:5; 42:2; 50:4; 73:24; 17:15; 71:20; 90:10; Prov 14:32; Eccl 3:21; 12:7
  • God Bubble— Pss 91:1; 119:114
  • Fear of YHVH— Ps 34:9; Prov 1:7
  • Healing— Pss 41:3; 103:3
  • Hunger, Spiritual— Pss 42:1; 63:1
  • Leanness of Soul— Pss 106:15; 107:9
  • Lifter of My Head— Pss 3:3; 27:6; 110:7
  • Name of YHVH— Ps 20:1
  • Pit, The— Pss 28:1; 40:1; 69:1ff
  • Prayer, Answered— Pss 3:4; 4:3; 6:9; 9:12; 20:6; 34:4, 6, 15, 17; 55:17; 65:2; 66:19; 69:33; 86:12; 99:6; 109:7; 118:5; 145:18, 19; Prov 15:29; Isa 55:8; Jas 5:16;  
  • Prayer, Unanswered— Pss 66:18; 35:13; 99:6–8; 109:7; Prov 15:8, 29; 28:9; Isa 1:15; 1 Pet 3:12
  • Repentance— Job 42:6; Ps 51:38
  • Resurrection of the Saints, The— Job 14:15; 19:26–27; Pss 16:10; 17:15; 50:4–5; 71:20; 73:24; 102:17; 118:5; Dan 12:2; 1 John 3:1–2
  • Revelation, Divine— Pss 13:3; 25:14; 36:1; 63:2; 77:13; Prov 3:32; 4:18; 20:27;
  • Sacrifice, Higher— Pss 4:5; 20:6; 27:6; 35:8–15; 51:17; 107:22; 116:17; 119:108; Prov 15:8; 21:3; Jer 17:26; 33:11; Hos 6:6; 14:2; Jon 2:9; Mal 1:11; Matt 9:13; 12:7; Rom 12:2; Eph 5:2; Phil 2:17; 4:18; Heb 9:26; 13:15; 1 Pet 2:4 cp. Ps 113:11; 141:2; Rev 5:8; 8:3
  • Sacrifice of Praise— Ps 27:6
  • Tabernacle Holy of Holies/Throne Room of Elohim— Ps 77:13
  • Waiting on YHVH— Pss 25:3, 5; 27:14; 37:7, 34; 39:7; 59:9; 52:9; 62:5; 69:3, 6; 104:27; 106:13; 123:2; 130:5; 145:15; Prov 20:22; Isa 8:15; 40:31; Lam 3:25; Hos 12:6; Mic 7:7; Hab 2:3; Zeph 3:8
  • Warfare, Spiritual— Deut 1:30; 20:1; Pss 91:1ff; Ps 3:1–8; 18:29
  • Woman, A Contentious—Prov 19:3; 21:19; 24:24; 27:15
  • YHVH, The Name— Ps 20:1
  • Yeshua (a list of where the Hebrew word Yeshua appears in the OT)— Gen 49:18; Exod 14:13; 15:2; Deut 3:15; 1 Sam 2:1; 14:45; 2 Sam 10:11; 22: 51; 1 Chron 16:23; 2 Chron 20:17; Job 13:16; 30:15; Pss 3:2, 8; 9:14; 13:5; 14:7; 18:50; 20:5; 21:1, 5; 22:1; 28:8; 35:3, 9; 42:5, 11; 44:4; 53:6; 61:1, 2; 67:2; 68:19; 69:29; 70:4; 74:12; 78:22; 80:2; 88:1; 89:26; 91;16; 96:2; 98:2, 3; 106:4; 116; 13; 118:14, 15, 21; 119:123, 155, 166, 174; 140:7; 149:4; Isa 12:2, 3; 25:9; 26:1, 18; 33:2, 6; 49:6, 8; 51:6, 8; 52:7, 10; 56:1; 59:11, 17; 60:18; 62:1; Jon 2:9; Hab 3:8 (The word Yeshua occurs 78 times in the OT. Mathematically, this is 7 and 8 signifying perfection and new beginnings or eternity, or 7 x 70 + 8 signifying perfect law and order plus new beginnings or eternity.) 
  • YHVH Hates— Pss 5:5; 11:5
  • YHVH, The Voice of— Ps 29:3

Hebrew Words of Praise Found in the Psalms

  • Barak means “to bless YHVH as an act of adoration by kneeling (literally means ‘breaking the knee’).”
  • Basar means “to be cheerful, to announce glad news.”
  • Halal means “to be boastful, to shine, to make a show, to be thunderously foolish, to rave, to celebrate; denotes a tremendous explosion of enthusiasm in praising YHVH.”
  • Nagad means “to declare, stand boldly, to announce.”
  • Qara means “to cry out, to proclaim, to cry out to YHVH, to proclaim YHVH’s name.”
  • Ruah means “to split the ear with sound, shout for joy, to make a joyful noise, to sound the victory.”
  • Rum means “to extol, to lift up, to celebrate, to honor, to exalt.”
  • Shabach means “to address in a loud voice, to shout, to glorify, to give praise to YHVH with a loud voice or shout.”
  • Tehillah means “a laudation or hymn.” From the root of hallal.
  • Todah means “adoration, giving thanks, giving thanks, a choir of worshippers.” From yaddah meaning “an extension of the hands.”
  • Yadah means “to hold out the hands, to revere or worship with extended hands. The root of yad means “an open hand.”
  • Zaman means “to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, to make music accompanied by the voice; that is, to celebrate with songs and music; to give praise, to sing forth praises and psalms.”
 

Was the New Testament Originally Written in Aramaic? NO!

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In this discussion, Nehemia Gordon gives proof that the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament was translated from the Greek, not the other way around. For the video version of Nehemia Gordon’s discussion with Michael Rood, go to:

Hebrew Voices #130 – Was the New Testament Originally Written in Aramaic

The following is the transcript of this discussion between Nehemia Gordon and Michael Rood:

Michael: And then I was talking to him about the Peshitta, he said, “We don’t use the Peshitta. The Peshitta, Aramaic text…”

Nehemia: Let me stop you. This is the head scholar of the Aramaic…

Michael: Syrian Orthodox…

Nehemia: Aramaic-speaking church in Jerusalem.

Michael: And the head scholar of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Nehemia: In Jerusalem.

Michael: In Jerusalem.

Nehemia: Wow.

Michael: He is the top of the entire school, okay? He is an old man, he’s in his 80s. And he said, “We don’t use the Peshitta. The Peshitta is a later Aramaic translation from the Greek.

Nehemia: Look, I’ve spoken to scholars about this. In fact, I sat down with a scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and I told him, “You know, people have suggested that this Aramaic Peshitta is the original Aramaic that Jesus, that Yeshua, spoke and taught, and the Greek is a translation from the Aramaic,” and this guy was an Aramaic scholar, specifically of Syriac-Aramaic, which the Peshitta’s written in. Actually, when I walked into his office, he was looking at this giant… it was like this big, this dictionary of Peshitta Aramaic. And I asked him for some proof, so I said, “Well, how can we know? You’re telling me…” I mean, look, people will tell you that this Hebrew Matthew, that this isn’t the original Matthew, it was written in Greek, so why would I believe you when you tell me that the Aramaic isn’t the original? The Greek is the Aramaic? I said, “I need some proof. I can’t trust your word for it.”

And this was just for me, I don’t think I’ve ever even shared this. I really just wanted to know for myself. And so, he started off, he told me a bunch of linguistic things about how the Aramaic that Yeshua spoke was completely different than the Aramaic that the Peshitta is written in. It’s a completely different dialect of Aramaic. He said, “It would be like the difference between German and Dutch.” Dutch is the language they speak in Holland. I don’t speak either of those languages, I read a little German. German is called in their language, “Deutsch”, and you have “Dutch”, which is the language of Holland. Originally, they were obviously a single language, but now they’re incomprehensible to one another, unless you’re from the border area there. But the German people can’t understand Dutch. But they’re that similar. The Aramaic that Yeshua spoke and the Aramaic the Peshitta is written in are similar, but they’re also different enough to be, essentially, he said if it was any other language, they’d be called two different languages. But for Aramaic, we consider all these different, very vastly different dialects, one language.

And he gave me specific examples I won’t go into, but you could look up at any Peshitta grammar, it’ll tell you what those differences are. They’re profound differences. But then he gave me some really powerful examples. I’m like, “This is it, it’s the end of the story. We’re done.” I wanted to know, and he answered me. Here’s an example of one of the things he showed me.

So, the Hebrew word for “covenant” is “brit”. Now, in American Jewish-speak we call it a “bris”, and that’s because the Hebrew letter Tav when it has a dot in it, it’s a tuh. When it doesn’t have a dot, it’s a thuh or in some dialects, suh. So, “brit, bris, brees.” It’s the same word, different pronunciations of Hebrew. So, the word is “brit” or “bris”, like I had my “bris” on the eighth day, the covenant, the circumcision, in that case.

Genesis 6:18 says, “I will establish My covenant with you.” The word is “diatheke”. “Diatheke” is the Greek word for “covenant”. Aramaic has a perfectly good word for covenant. The Aramaic word for covenant is “kiyam”. It comes from the Hebrew word, the Semitic root, “lakum, lehakim”, “to establish”. That word also appears, a form of that, in the Hebrew connected to covenant, but the actual word for covenant is “brit”, and you say, “lehakim brit”. And so, Aramaic takes that and it’s “kyam”, that’s the word for “covenant”.

So let’s look in the Targum, that’s the ancient Jewish translation of the Tanakh. And there, in the very same verse, Genesis 6:18 it says, “Ve’akeim yatkiami,” “And I established My kiyam,” “My brit, My covenant”. If you looked in the Peshitta, if it was the original Aramaic, you would expect the word “kiyam” to be used all over the place as the word for “covenant.”

Michael: Yeah, look in the…

Nehemia: In the New Testament.

Michael: Right, the New Testament, in Matthew, etc.

Nehemia: Right. So Matthew 26:28, I’m just choosing a verse here that has the word “covenant”. It says, Yeshua says here, “For this is My blood of the covenant.” Okay, so in the Greek, it has for covenant, “diatheke”, same word as when it translated “brit” in the Tanakh. So, we have Hebrew, “brit”, Aramaic, “kyam”, Greek, “diatheke”. What do you think you have in the Peshitta? The Peshitta’s Aramaic. Some people say it’s the original Aramaic that Yeshua spoke. Surely, you have the word “kiyam”, the Aramaic word for “brit”. And that would be a great word, because also, you get from that the word “lakum”, which means “to rise up”.

So, if the word “covenant” were connected to “rise up”, and Yeshua’s saying, “This is the blood of My rising up, of My covenant,” that would be a powerful message. But in the Peshitta, you don’t have “kiyam”, you have “diatheke”.

Michael: It’s Greek.

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The Biblical Feasts and Yeshua’s Wedding Prophesied in the Tabernacle of Moses

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Welcome to the World of the Tabernacle of Moses

If you were the Creator of the universe, what means would you use to communicate with those that you had created through love in your likeness and image? In a remote way, it’s like a human standing over an anthill trying to communicate with the ants. How do you do it? Similarly, how does an all powerful, Spirit Being, loving Father in heaven relate to his mortal children who are but mere specks of dust without vaporizing them with his raw power? The difficulty is compounded when fearful humans don’t want to hear the voice of Elohim, which is what happened when YHVH Elohim’s voice thundered from Mount Sinai. The children of Israel begged him not to talk to them, lest they die. They asked the Almighty One to speak to them instead through Moses (Exod 20:19).

When man sinned at the tree of knowledge, and YHVH kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, direct communications between man and his Maker were hampered, if not all but cut off. However, Elohim had a plan to restore the loving relationship he had with man before the rebellion. But if men refuse to hear you when you speak, what are you do?

To be certain, the Almighty doesn’t lack for ways to communicate with men. Man is without excuse when it comes to hearing Elohim, for even the heaven’s declare the glory of the Creator and the plans he has for mankind. The visible things of this creation shout loudly about the spiritual mysteries heaven desires to reveal to its earthly subjects. Furthermore, from time to time over the millennia, Elohim has chosen to speak directly to some select servants through dreams, visions, signs, wonders, angels, and even once through a donkey! But how does he speak to a whole nation, if that nation is plugging its ears and refusing to hear its Master’s voice?

Enter into the picture the Tabernacle of Moses, which was literally a three-dimensional gospel message tract. It is the visual demonstration of the whole message of the Bible in a building  —  the blueprint of the plan of redemption of wayward man. It was a functioning masterpiece of artwork demonstrating the Father’s love for his people, of his desire to commune and to communicate with Israel  —  his treasured possession, those he had hand picked and called out from the 70 nations of the world. Not only did the tabernacle involve the sense of sight, but the other four senses as well: sound, smell, touch, and taste. It also engaged and even challenged the heart, emotions, mind and spirit of man. The Tabernacle of Moses was a vehicle for the Creator of the universe to communicate with man using a panoply of communicative devices all of which pointed to the coming Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind who would die for the sins of the world to restore man into a loving relationship with his ever-loving, gracious, and longsuffering Father in heaven.

This is the story of the tabernacle, which, in every way, resembles a theatrical play, even a pageant, containing costumed actors each performing his carefully choreographed role on cue. Even a child can comprehend the message of this play, yet it contains mysteries and truths so deep that only in eternity itself will they be revealed to those who have been initiated into higher spiritual levels through the tabernacle’s spiritual paradigms of which its rites and ceremonies were mere prophetic shadows of things to come. To understand it, is to understand the message of the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Let’s now enter into this world of the Tabernacle of Moses. Welcome!

The Seven Steps in the Tabernacle & the Biblical Feasts

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