When the Bible talks about something being forever, what does it mean, and who does it apply to and for how long? Does it literally mean “forever,” or only for a period of time, or for a specific people group? This is an important to know since it affects our relationship with Yeshua our Lord and Savior, and our eternal rewards.
This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”
If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=Y…. Thank you!
The Bible clearly states not to add or subtract from the Bible, the Word of God/Elohim, yet cults and others are constantly wanting to add or subtract books from the Bible. What does the Bible say about this, and what curses will befall those who do?
This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”
If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=Y…. Thank you!
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
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 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)
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.”
