Category Archives: Gospel Message/Salvation

The Tabernacle of Moses: Fast Facts & a Quick Tour

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Fast Facts About the Tabernacle of Moses

The tabernacle (Heb. mishkan)was constructed circa 1450 b.c. at the foot of Mount Sinai. It took about a year to build.

Hebrew Names for the Tabernacle

  • Mishkan means “tabernacle, dwelling or habitation.” Mishkan is from the root word shakan meaning “to dwell, abide, settle down, reside, tabernacle.”The word shechinah derives from shakan and refers to the manifest light or presence of YHVH among his people(Exod 25:8–9).
  • Ohel ‬(as in tent of the congregation/meeting) means “a nomad’s tent, dwelling, home, habitation”(Exod 29:42).
  • Miqdash means “sacred place, sanctuary, holy place”and is from the primitive root qadash and means “to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed or set apart, be separate or holy” (Exod 25:8).
  • Kodesh or the sanctuary because it was set-apart ( or kadosh) to Elohim (Exod 30:13).
  • Ohel haeduth means “the tabernacle or tent of the testimony or witness” since it contained the ark of the covenant housing the Torah-law given to Moses, which was an abiding witness of Israel’s covenant with YHVH (Num 9:15).
  • Mishkan haeduth means “tabernacle of the testimony” (Num 10:11).

Examples of YHVH Tabernacling With His People

The children of Israel have just left Egypt and are now trekking through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. Within a couple of months, YHVH gives them their first assignment. In Exodus 25, he tells them to build a tabernacle. Why? He says to Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” (Exod 25:8). From the beginning of time, in the Garden of Eden, Elohim has wanted to “hang out” with man. Elohim’s desire to dwell or tabernacle with man is a theme that runs from Genesis to Revelation. We see this idea repeated in the Testimony of Yeshua (the New Testament).

John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The word dwelt (Gr. skenoo) means “tent or tabernacle.” The Greek word skenoo most likely derives from the Hebrew word shakan meaning “to dwell, abide, settle down, reside, tabernacle”and is the root word for mishkan, which is the main name for the Tabernacle of Moses.

Luke 2:7, The baby Yeshua was laid in a “manger.” This may have been a sukkah or tabernacle, which is the flimsy little hut that Israelites build during the biblical feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles as commanded in the Torah (Lev 23:33–43). We see the connection between manger and sukkot in Genesis 33:17 where Jacob built booths (or tabernacles; Heb. succot or sukkot, sing. sukkah) for his livestock showing us that the Hebrew word sukkot can also mean “livestock barn or manger” as well as a temporary habitation where Israelites dwell during the biblically commanded festival of Sukkot. This raises the possibility that Yeshua was born in a festival sukkah during the feast of Sukkot — not just an animal barn. The LXX Greek word for sukkot in Gen 33:17 is skenas meaning “habitation, dwelling or tabernacle” and is the same word used in John 1:14 and Revelation 21:1–3 in reference to Yeshua tabernacling with his people. Putting all the pieces together, Yeshua was likely born in a sukkah-manger most probably on the Feast of Sukkot with a human sukkah (or body, of which the physical sukkah during Sukkot is a metaphorical picture) in order to redeem man from sin, so that Yeshua might tabernacle with redeemed men forever in the New Jerusalem.What an amazing Truth picture is presented before us when we put all the pieces of the puzzle together!

Revelation 21:1–3, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they shall be His people. Elohim Himself will be with them and be their Elohim.’” The word tabernacle in verse three is skenoo in the Greek, the same word used in John 1:14.

Examples of YHVH’s People Tabernacling With Him

The talithe (also talit) or prayer shawlworn by Jewish men is an examples of YHVH’s people tabernacling with him. The word tal-ithe means “little tent.” Each Hebrew man has his own little tabernacle, tent or prayer closet to pull over his head whenever he wants to tabernacle or commune with his Elohim. When a talit is spread out with one’s arms it resembles a bird with wings. This represents YHVH’s “wings” forming a protective shield or brooding over his people. Such a place becomes a place of refuge (Ps 91:1,4). The Spirit of Elohim brooded over the waters of the earth at creation (Gen 1:2). Yeshua spoke of his desire for Jerusalem as a mother hen spreads out its wings and gathers together its young (Matt 23:37). In ancient Mideast culture, a man would cast his outer garment over his wife-to-be as an act of claiming her for marriage. In Ezekiel 16:8, YHVH spread is “wings” (Heb. kanaph meaning “edge, extremity, wings, bird’s feathered wings”) over his bride, Israel, to cover her nakedness. The Jewish wedding canopy or chuppah represents this.

Constructing the Tabernacle — All Israel Was Involved

All Israel contributed to the building of the tabernacle (Exod 25:1–7), yet YHVH chose two Israelite artisans, Bezalel and Aholiab (Exod 31:1–6), filled them with the Spirit of Elohim “in wisdom, understanding, knowledge and in all manner of workmanship…” This teaches us that the work of YHVH is a joint effort of the entire body of YHVH-Yeshua, but that YHVH will endow certain individuals with unique gifts of the Spirit in order to accomplish his specific plans and purposes (Eph 2:22; 4:11; Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12 and 14).

The Israelite Encampment Around the Tabernacle

The Israelites camped around the tabernacle (Num 2:1–34). On the east side were Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; on the South side were Reuben, Simeon and Gad; on the west side were Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin; and on the north side were Dan, Asher and Naphtali. According to the numbers of the fighting men given in Numbers 2, we see that the encampment of Israelites around the tabernacle formed a perfect Paleo-Hebrew letter tav, which looks like a cross or our small letter t. This is amazing when added to the fact that everything in and around the tabernacle pointed to Yeshua the Messiah, to his redemptive work on the cross and the steps of each person must take to be reconciled to Elohim and eventually to inherit eternal life. Moreover, the Levites camped around the tabernacle forming a protective perimeter between the Israelites and the tabernacle itself (Num 1:53), even as Yeshua provided the five-fold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd or pastor and teacher to surround the church, to edify the body of Yeshua and to bring them into the unity of the faith (Eph 4:11). 

A Quick Tour of the Tabernacle

The Altar of the Red Heifer (Num 19:1–11)

See the article toward the end of this teaching on the red heifer where we discuss how it relates to Yeshua’s death at the cross. It is necessary for each saint to visit this altar representing the cross, which was located just outside the tabernacle, before being allowed into the tabernacle as the writer of Hebrews informs us (Heb 13:12–13).

The Outer Curtain (Exod 27:9–19)

The tabernacle’s outer court was approximately 150 feet long by 75 feet wide (or 11,250 square feet, which is about one-fourth of an acre) in size.

The curtains of the outer court (Exod 27:9–19) were made of fine white linen and was seven-and-a-half feet tall. The linen curtains speak of robes of righteousness the bride of Yeshua will wear on her wedding day (Rev 19:8).

Sixty pillars supported the outer curtain. They were set in heavy bronze (or brass) bases topped by silver capitals. These pillars represent redeemed humanity wearing robes of righteousness. Wood symbolizes humanity, while bronze symbolizes judgment against man because of sin, and silver represents redemption or Elohim’s ransom price for man’s sin.

The Door to the Tabernacle (Exod 27:16–17)

The door of the outer court curtain contained three colors woven into white linen fabric: blue, purple, crimson, and white. These four colors speak of different attributes of Yeshua, whom Scripture likens to the door of salvation (John 10:1–18). These four colors combine to form a full picture of Yeshua, the Redeemer and Savior of Israel. Only through him can man come to the Father, have salvation, eternal life and inhabit the glorious New Jerusalem pictured by the glory cloud over the Holy of holies in the tabernacle. The four colors also correspond to the four faces of the living beings around the throne of Elohim (Ezek 1).

Crimson symbolizes the human aspects of Yeshua, for red is the color of man and red clay from which YHVH created man (adam). Some Bible commentators believe this points to the Gospel of Mark, which reveals the nature of Yeshua at the pashat (the simpleor plain level) of biblical understanding. Some see this as corresponding to the ox cherubim and the tribe of Ephraim, which had on its banner an ox. According to Hebrew roots commentator and linguistic scholar James Trimm, “Mark presents the Messiah as the servant (the servant who purifies the Goyim in Isa 52:13, 15) the “my servant the Branch” of Zech 3:8 who is symbolized by the face of the Ox in Ezekiel 1 (the Ox being a servant, a beast of burden). Mark does not begin with an account of the birth of Messiah as do Matthew and Luke because, unlike the birth of a King, the birth of a servant is unimportant, all that is important is his work as a servant which begins with his immersion by [John]. Thus Mark’s simplified account omits any account of Yeshua’s birth or preexistence and centers on his work as a servant who purifies the [people of the nations].”

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The Tabernacle of Moses—YHVH’s Pattern of Salvation for Mankind

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The Story of the Bible From Genesis to Revelation

Thy way, O Elohim, is in the Sanctuary (Heb. Kodesh). (Psalm 77:13)

The story of man, as recorded in the pages of Divine Scripture, begins in a garden and ends in a garden. In both of these paradises — the Garden of Eden and the heavenly New Jerusalem, man walks in intimate oneness with his Creator. Paradise was lost in the former and will be regained in the latter.

But between the two — between the books of Genesis and Revelation — is the saga of man’s separation from his loving Creator due to his prideful rebellion against YHVH’s Torah — his life-giving, fatherly and loving instructions in righteousness. Between Genesis and Revelation is the agonizing history of a Father reaching out in every conceivable manner to his prodigal children, urging them to repent of their sin, and to turn from the downward path that leads to spiritual darkness, separation and eternal death.

YHVH has a plan to redeem man — to save him; that plan is revealed in the Bible — the Word of Elohim. But the Bible is a big, complex and daunting book to most people. Deciphering this plan of salvation can be intimidating to those who do not have the keys to unlock the mysteries. Once the code is deciphered, however, and the plan unveiled, understanding the Book is a cinch. To understand the Tabernacle of Moses is to understand that plan. Though of divine origin, it is a simple layout and design. But its simplicity belies the true enigma of it. Even though the youngest child can understand the basic message of the tabernacle, within it’s linen veiled enclosure is to be found some of the deepest wisdom of the universe, for in it the mysteries of YHVH’s plan of redemption for mankind is revealed. In its furnishings and details one finds in code-form the seven-step plan of YHVH’s set-apart annual appointed times, as well as the seven steps of the biblical Hebraic wedding. These all reveal the steps every human must take to reverse the curse of death that fell upon Adam. They show man the way back to the Father and back to that garden paradise that man lost. Within the set-apart or holy sanctuary of the tabernacle is revealed the way of Elohim, the way of salvation and eternal life.

When Adam and Eve sinned, YHVH thrust them out of the paradise called Eden. They began to wander in search of redemption in a wilderness of separation brought on by their sin. From that point on, men continued to wander seeking redemption. Their wanderings took them further away from redemption and from YHVH the Redeemer, however. We pick this story up with the children of Israel who have left the Wilderness of Sin and begun to wander in the wilderness of Sinai in search of their destiny. After having revealed himself to them at their deepest point of despair, YHVH brought them to a mountain in the desert — Mount Sinai — and presented to them an alternative lifestyle — one that would give them hope and lead them to everlasting life replacing the hopelessness and uncertainty about their future. He then gave them a purpose and a destiny. YHVH gave them a job assignment. It was to build a tabernacle — a place of rest, healing, cleansing and intimate relationship with him. Whether they realized it or not, that simple tent was their future hope. It was the pathway back to paradise. Outside the tent was a hot, parched and gray wilderness full of serpents, scorpions and the dreaded heathen Amalekites. Inside was redemption, cleansing, life, food, leading to the glorious presence of the Elohim of Israel — a foreshadow of the New Jerusalem. David understood this when he said, “Thy way, O Elohim, is in the sanctuary” (Ps 77:13).

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Exposing Christian Mythologies—Part 1

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What are some of the main, non-biblical, false teachings, traditions of men doctrines in the Christian church that DO NOT line up with biblical Truth from a whole Bible, Hebraic (the Bible was written by Hebrews from a Hebraic perspective) context? Why is it important to ask these questions, and what does it have to do with each saint preparing for the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah? What this video and find out.

 

Psalms 82–88: From Heaven to Hell and in Between

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Psalm 82

Psalm 82:1, Elohim stands…the gods/Congregation of the mighty. Dr. Michael Heiser in his two books, Reversing Hermon and The Unseen Realm puts forth a convincing argument that the elohim mentioned in this verse are what Scripture refers to in many places as “the hosts of heaven” and refer to Elohim’s divine heavenly council. This same council is also referred to in Deut 33:2; 1 Kgs 22:19; 2 Chron 18:18; Job 15:8; Jer 23:18; Dan 7:9–10 and Heb 2:1; Acts 7:53. 

“The congregation of the mighty” seems to be a reference to Elohim acting as the Supreme Judge among his divine, heavenly council that carries out his orders. This is more than the traditional “Godhead” (i.e., the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and also includes angelic and spirit beings, and even Satan himself. 

From time to time, Elohim gathers his council together as we see in Job (Job 1:6; 2:1). Even lying spirits are subject to and do the bidding of Elohim who presides over this council also referred to as the host of heaven (1 Kgs 22:19–23). Moreover, some of the “Us” passages in the Scriptures, which have typically been attributed to the “Godhead,” according to Heiser, likely refer to this divine counsel (e.g., Gen 11:7; Ezek 44:6). This has been the view of ancient Jewish sages as well.

Modern biblical theologians have traditionally taken a non-supernaturalistic view of Psalm 82:1 by saying that the gods here refer to human rulers. While elohim may by definition and biblical usage refer to human rulers, this passage cannot be limited to this definition alone, since verse seven refers to these gods or elohim as “dying like men” as a result of Elohim’s divine judgment on them because of their wickedness. This threat makes little or no sense if it is referring only to human rulers. 

For the record, Yeshua quotes verse six in reference to human rulers (John 10:34; 14:30; 16:11), so this passage should not be taken to refer only to Elohim’s divine counsel or just to human rulers, but probably to both. This is because behind human rulers are evil spirits or principalities that govern the nations (Dan 10:20; Eph 6:12; Rev 13:2) and all of these are under the aegis of Satan, who has his own kingdom (Matt 12:26) and is presently the ruler of this world (John 12:31); however, even Satan’s kingdom is under the ultimate authority of YHVH Elohim.

The idea that there were and are unseen evil spirits and demi-gods that rule the nations of the world behind the scenes is revealed in the book of First Enoch and is also found in traditional ancient Mesopotamian historical accounts and forms the basis for the ancient Greek mythos, as Heiser proves. 

Additionally, we learn from Genesis chapter ten (in the Table of the Nations) that, at that time, there were seventy nations of the world that rebelled against YHVH at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11). Interestingly, and a little later, Jacob had 70 descendants who went down to Egypt (Exod 1:5) and who become the children of Israel. From them, Moses chose 70 elders to rule over Israel (Exod 24:1), which would eventually became the Great Sanhedrin that ruled the Jewish people. YHVH then commissioned Israel to evangelize the apostate nations by being a spiritual light to them (Deut 4:5–8)—a task they utterly failed to perform. Picking up where ancient Israel failed in its mission, Yeshua chose 70 disciples not only to replace the Jewish Sanhedrin in spiritual authority over the people of Elohim, but to go forth and to preach the gospel to the 70 nations (Luke 10:1–12, 17; Acts 1:8 cp. Matt 28:18–20) that had been lost to the kingdom of Satan at the Tower of Babel, thereby to reclaim the world for the kingdom of Elohim at the devil’s expense.

Eventually, and hopefully in the not too distant future, the resurrected and glorified saints, who will become the sons of Elohim and will be adopted into his divine family as small E elohim (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1; Gal 3:26; Rom 8:14; Eph 1:5), will rule and reign with Elohim (capital E Elohim, Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6) over the new heavens and new earth. This will all be to Satan and his kingdom’s detriment and to that of the small E elohim human rulers of his present-day earthly kingdom, all of whom will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of the age (Rev 20:10).

Psalm 82:6, You are gods…children of the Most High.This statement likely has a dual meaning or double entendré. It can refer to the righteous saints as Yeshua alludes to in John 10:34, or possibly to the demon-nephilim of Genesis 6:4–6 who were the spawn of the heavenly angelic hosts who became the fallen angels and who cohabited with women in the pre-flood world as the context of this psalm seems to suggest.

Psalm 83

Psalm 83:6–8, Edom. This is a ten-nation confederacy of Muslim nations led by Edom, Israel’s archenemy, who have conspired against Israel. This seems to be prophetic, since this event has yet to occur. The territories of these ancient peoples include the modern nations of Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey. The territory of the ancient Edomites is in the modern nations of Jordan, Ishmael are in northern Saudi Arabia, Moab and Ammon are in Jordan, Hagrites are in Jordan in the ancient area of Gilead, Gebal is in Jordan, Amalek (grandson of Esau) were found in the Negev Desert and Sinai Peninsula, Philistia are modern day Palestinians in the Gaza Strip area, and Assyria was centered on the upper Tigris River, in northern Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey). At the pinnacle of its power, the Assyrian empire stretched from the island of Cyprus to Persia (Iran), and from the Caucasus Mountains (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan) to the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. 

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Why David Had to Fight for His Throne Is Why We Have to Fight for Eternal Life

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2 Samuel 2–5

What We Can Learn from Israel’s Internecine Conflict Over Who Would Be the Next King of Israel

Second Samuel chapters two through five chronicle the conflict between those Israelites allied with David and those loyal to the family of Saul over who would be Israel’s next king. Scripture characterizes this bloody civil war with swords and spears that lasted for seven long years this way, “Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker,” (2 Sam 3:1). Even though at YHVH’s command the now deceased Samuel had chosen and anointed David king over Israel many years earlier, why did YHVH require David to have to fight his way to the top leadership position in Israel? Why didn’t the Almighty just hand David the keys to the throne of Israel after the untimely death of Saul and his sons? What lessons can we learn from this tragic portion of Scripture?

There may be other reasons for this, but upon prayerful reflection several immediately come to mind. The first is this: When YHVH gives us a promise, he often does not tell us how or when the promise will be fulfilled. That is to day, there is no guarantee that it will be handed to us on the proverbial silver platter. 

Why is this? 

Everything in life is an uphill battle, even in fulfilling one’s spiritual, Elohim-ordained destiny. This is because the saints have resist the spiritual gravitational pulls that keep us grounded as prisoners on this earth; they all conspire to keep us from flying high spiritually. We are, in a sense, condemned to fight against and to overcome the world, the flesh and devil, which are all aligned against the will and ways of the Creator. However, on the positive side, in the process of having to overcome these enemies of Elohim’s plans, one grows in faith, patience and dependence on his Creator. The character of the saint is refined and strengthened in the fires of adversity. As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” Weightlifters, body builders, athletes and coaches understand this principle well. Gravity and inertia are against success and victory and these must be overcome to win. For this reason, the aspiring athlete pushes his or her body past the point of pain and endurance in order to attain higher levels of achievements resulting in victories and broken records.  A trophy awaits the winner. The same is true on the spiritual playing field.

In the Scriptures, there are few if any examples of physical or spiritual achievement without hard work. It all started in the garden after the fall of man when sin entered the world. After that, man had to go to work. Life was no longer a free lunch, so to speak. The days of living in a paradise called the Garden of Eden were gone where man could just stroll about naked freely feeding himself with the fruit just hanging from trees ripe for the picking. Now he had to struggle not only against his own carnal, fallen sin nature as well as against the devil serpent, but also against the unrelenting earth itself where weeds and thorns now grew and would only reluctantly yield its fruit by blood, sweat and tears to satisfy man’s hungry belly.

Why did the Creator make it necessary for man to have to endure such a lifelong struggle from cradle till grave? Other than the fact that this struggle was man’s criminal sentence for rebelling against his Creator, there is a greater purpose for man’s otherwise painful and laborious existence trapped on this time-space capsule called Earth. It is this: YHVH has called his saints to be overcomers, even as Yeshua, who led the way for us, was an overcomer. We read the following in the Scriptures:

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them [i.e. the spirit of Antichrist that controls the world], because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

For whatever is born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Why does YHVH require his saints to be overcomers? Because the rewards that he intends to hand out are beyond anything any human can think or imagine, and are only for those who are willing to fight hard for them and who will thus appreciate them. What are these rewards that require so much overcoming to achieve? We read,

To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of Elohim. (Rev 2:7)

He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. (Rev 2:11)

To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. (Rev 2:17)

And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. (Rev 2:26)

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Rev 3:5)

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My Elohim, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My Elohim, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My Elohim. And I will write on him My new name. (Rev 3:12)

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Rev 3:21)

And finally, the pièce de résistance:

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his Elohim and he shall be My son. (Rev 21:7)

So, in reality, this physical sin-sick, spiritual wilderness of life in which we are condemned to exist physically is, in reality, a proving or testing ground, a class room, or a cauldron of fire to test and refine us, if you will, to prepare us for something much greater, which is way beyond anything we can think or imagine. It is a launch pad, for those who qualify, to send us into a perpetual spiritual orbit around YHVH Elohim-Yeshua.

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which
Elohim as prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)

Yes, YHVH Elohim put the first humans into a garden paradise and set before them the free gift of eternal life on the condition that they would first pass the test of obedience. Well, we all know what happened: they flunked the test and here we are today in the ensuing, resulting chaotic mess. 

Yet despite it all, our Father in heaven, who so loves the world, is still offering the same reward to whomsoever will believe on him and meet his conditions by passing the obedience-sin test. This is why we must swim upstream and overcome all that is coming against us and trying to pull us downward, for this is what it takes to fullfil the spiritual destiny to which he has ordained us and to win the prized trophy of eternal life. David had to pass such a test, as did Abraham, Moses, Yeshua and everyone else who would inherit eternal life. 

After two previous rebellions (i.e., the Luciferian and the Adamic rebellions), YHVH Elohim will not allow a third rebellion to occur resulting in everlasting chaos in his eternal kingdom. He wants peace, joy, love, holiness and righteous to be set in stone forever, not the opposite.

 

Natan’s Commentary on Psalms 48 to 50

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Psalm 48

Psalm 48:2, Sides of the north. (See notes at Dan 11:6.) Zion here has the expanded meaning of referring to the Temple Mount where the temple stood, which laid in the northeast corner of the ancient city of Jerusalem (Keil and Delitszch). Technically, Zion refers to the ridge on which the city of David was situated, which is southeast of the modern old city of Jerusalem laying on the ridge above (west of) the Kidron Valley just east of the Tyropoeon Valley (which as since been filled in). When Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah, the word Zion, took on the expanded or poetic meaning of referring also to the Temple Mount (Pss 2:6; 48:2,11–12; 132:13). Later the meaning of Zion was expanded further to include the city of Jerusalem, the people of Israel and the whole land of Israel (Isa 40:9; 60:14 Jer 31:12; Zech 9:13) and later even of the heavenly New Jerusalem (Heb 12:22; Rev 14:1).

Psalm 49

Psalm 49:1–14, An evangelistic message to the unsaved. This entire psalm is a good basis for a sermon to the unsaved or spiritually lost.

Psalm 49:4, Dark sayings [or riddles] on the harp. Harp is the Hebrew word kinor from an unused root word meaning “to twang.” Poetic music is a thought provoking way to “preach” the gospel; it touches the heart of man in a special way. This is because music is capable of bypassing the innate defensiveness of the mind and can go straight to the heart.

Psalm 49:7, None…can…redeem his brother. In that all men are of equal value before Elohim, a man can’t redeem his brother from the penalty of sin, which is death. One can only atone for his own sins by dying, and once dead, there is no more possibility of living, since the wages of sin is death. So there is no possibility for a man to atone for his own sins, much less those of another; this verse makes this truth clear. 

Even if a man could live a sinless life, he could, at best, save only one other individual—that is, give his life in exchange for only one other sinner. Only Yeshua, who was the Creator of all humans life (Col 1:16; Heb 11:3), could exchange his sinless life for all humanity. This is because common logic tells us that the one who creates something is of more value than the sum total of all that he creates. This is why verse eight states that the redemption of men’s souls is costly, since it cost the life of the Son of Elohim, the Creator of all things. Only this costly sin sacrifice could redeem men from the pit of the grave and give men the gift of eternal life (verse nine).

Another point to consider in this discussion is that since Yeshua was born of a virgin and not of the seed of man, his nature wasn’t polluted or defiled by Adam’s sin nature. If he had not been born of a virgin, this would have disqualified him from being the perfect and blemish-free Passover lamb sin offering for the remission of men’s sins before the judgment seat of Elohim. Since the life of man is in his blood (Lev 17:11), and man’s blood was defiled by Adam’s sin nature, and since Yeshua’s blood didn’t derive from man, but from his Father in heaven, Yeshua’s blood was acceptable to a holy Elohim as the required atonement for the redemption men’s souls (Lev 17:11 cp. Isa 53:10). No man except Yeshua has ever met these criteria, thus no man other than Yeshua is qualified to atone for another man’s sin. 

Because Yeshua was the blameless and sin-free Passover lamb, those who spiritually identify and unite with his atoning death through faith in him and via the ritual of baptism for the remission of sins can now be presented as blameless before Elohim in heaven (Col 1:21–23).

Psalm 49:8, The redemption of the soul is costly. Indeed it is, for it cost Yeshua his life.

Psalm 49:9, Continue to live. In other words, the soul is not immortal.

Psalm 49:10–20, The senseless person. That which the world esteems is an inversion of the truth and reality and is, therefore, anathema to and enmity with Elohim (Jas 4:4). The redeemed are those who have come out of the confused mixture of light and darkness or good and evil (called Babylonianism) of what worldly people esteem (1 Cor 6:17; Rev 18:4). They no longer esteem that which the unsaved foolish or senseless people esteem (i.e. wealth, the houses and monuments they create to last forever to honor their memory, as well as the lands they name after themselves, v. 11). This is the way of the senseless and foolish person (v. 12). The wise person knows that death comes to all humans, and all die like common animals (vv. 11, 20). Only Elohim has the power to redeem our non-immortal soul from the grave (v. 15), so that a person will see the light of life again (v. 19) at the resurrection of the righteous dead.

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