On Shavuot (that is, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), at Mount Sinai, YHVH entered into a marriage covenant with the children of Israel, but they were not ready to live up to the terms of that covenant. Those terms, simply stated, involved the Israelites being faithful and obedient only to YHVH, Israel’s Elohim (or God) and spiritual husband, and to follow his instruction in righteousness, the Torah. This Israel quickly demonstrated they were not willing to do, and the subsequent golden calf incident is proof of this.
The proverbial ink was barely dry on the marriage certificate between YHVH and the children of Israel, or otherwise state, the children of Israel had hardly said “I do” to their marriage vows (Exod 24:3, 7) when they turned their hearts away from YHVH and began worshipping the golden calf—a pagan deity from Egypt. After the golden calf incident and up until Yom Teruah (or the Day of Trumpets or Shofar Blasts) when Moses received the second tablets of stone from YHVH containing the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel, the bride of YHVH, prepared herself not only to receive YHVH’s instructions again, but this time to be faithful to her marriage vows. This Israel did. She remained faithful to YHVH for approximately 38 years while trekking through the wilderness of Sinai, after which she entered the Promised Land and “stayed the course” until after the death of Joshua. What can we as Bible believers learn from ancient Israel that applies to us today?
Sadly, the cycles of history often repeat themselves. This time, it involved the descendants of the spiritual children of Israel who were at Mount Sinai. In the early first century a.d., the redeemed Israelite followers of Yeshua received the Torah written on the fleshly tablets of their hearts by the finger of the Spirit of Elohim on the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot) as recorded in Acts chapter two. But starting in about a.d. 70 with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and continuing up through the Second Jewish Revolt of a.d. 135 until the time of Emperor Constantine (in the fourth century), the first-century spiritual bride of Messiah had, to a large extent, abandoned YHVH’s Torah-commandments and turned, to one degree or another, to a mixed form of worship (of which ancient Israel’s worship at the golden calif was a prophetic foreshadow) where some pagan practices were assimilated into the early churches’ belief system (most notably, Sunday replaced the Sabbath, and Christmas, Easter and other paganesque holidays replaced the biblical feasts).
Moses’ descent of Mount Sinai on Yom Teruah with the second set of tablets containing the Torah prophetically foreshadows Yeshua’s second coming. As Moses renewed YHVH’s covenant with the repentant Israelites after the golden calf incident and the Israelites remained faithful for a long time afterwards, even so, Yeshua, at his second coming, will establish a renewed covenant with his faithful end time saints who have come out of golden calf-type religious systems.
In our day, YHVH is calling out a remnant of people from the church who are leaving behind the pagan traditions of golden calf worship and who are returning to the ancient blessed paths of YHVH’s Torah-instructions in righteousness. The Book of Revelation speaks of a group of end-time saints who will say “I do” to YHVH (Rev 14:4), and whose identifying mark is their faith in Yeshua the Messiah (i.e., the gospel message) and yet who faithfully keep YHVH’s Torah-commandments (Rev 12:17 and 14:12).
When Yeshua returns on or near Yom Teruah at the end of this age, he will be ready to marry a bride that is without spot and wrinkle and who has come out of the end-times Babylonian religious whore system (Rev 18:4). This bride who will be wearing the robes of righteousness of Torah-obedience (Rev 12:17; 14:12; 19:7–9) will be ready to enter into a new covenantal agreement—a wedding contract or ketubah—with Yeshua (Heb 8:7–13), the Bridegroom, ever to remain faithful to him and never again to return to Baal or golden calf worship. He will lead his wife into the Messianic Age or Millennium, even as Joshua, a prophetic foreshadow of Yeshua, led the younger generation of wilderness Israelites into the Promised Land.
Golden Calf Worship Among YHVH’s People Today
The Bible warns YHVH’s people against failing to learn the lessons of the children of Israel and their falling into golden calf worship.
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah. But with most of them Elohim was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Messiah, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor 11:1–12, emphasis added)
Let’s look at the series of events that occurred as the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, which have major relevance to what is occurring in mainstream Christianity in our day. If we fail to learn the lessons of history, we will likely repeat the mistakes of history.
The following is a brief historical review of how Israel fell into golden calf worship.
Exodus 30:13, Half a shekel. For an explanation, see notes at Numbers 31:50.
Exodus 30:14, From twenty years old and above.This passage suggests that the Torah viewed the age of accountability to be 20 years old (see also Num 1:3, 18, 20; 26:2). That is to say, those who died prior to age 20 were not held eternally accountable for their sins, and presumably might be given a second chance to live out their lives at some latter date. The idea that YHVH held one accountable for their sins after the age of twenty is supported by the fact that all Israelites over age of 20 (with the notable exceptions of Caleb and Joshua) died in the wilderness prior to entering the Promised Land because of sins they had committed during their wilderness journey, while those under age 20 were allowed into the land, presumably because YHVH did not yeet hold them accountable for their sins (Num 14:29; 32:11).
A real 2,000 year old Second Temple half-shekel from the time of Yeshua!
If the age of 20 is the age of accountability, then this begs an obvious question. What will happen to those who died before age 20? It is generally accepted by many in the church that babies or young children who have died before having had a chance to “accept Yeshua” will be given a second chance to do so. But what about those who died “unsaved” prior to age 20 (see notes at 1 Pet 3:6)? Some people have speculated that these people may be resurrected at some time in the future and be allowed to live out their lives during the Millennium (e.g., Isa 65:17–20). Perhaps the reason Satan will be released at the end of the Millennium from the pit where he was held captive for one thousand years will be to give all those living on the earth at that time a chance to accept or reject Yeshua. YHVH will use the devil to test the loyalties of this new crop of potential saints (Rev 20:7–10). Those who remain faithful will inherit eternal life, while those whom Satan seduces into rebellion will have their part in the second death (Rev 20:11–15). One thing we know. At the last judgment or white throne judgment, the books (plural) will be opened, and all dead humans will be resurrected and will stand before YHVH’s judgment sest (2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:11–12) to be judged based on their works whether righteous or unrighteous (Rev 20:12 cp. Rom 2:12–16). Some will be cast into the lake of fire, while presumably the rest will be given an opportunity to accept Yeshua then and there, thus avoiding eternal annihilation (Rev 20:13–15).
Exodus30:15, Rich…poor.
Are Humans Created Equal?
This passage teaches the equality of all believers. That is, each redeemed Israelite saint is equal in the yes of YHVH. To the Creator of all things and who owns everything, no one is worth more than a half-shekel, and no one is worth less than a half shekel. The rich are not superior to the poor and vice versa. This is also the moral of Yeshua’s Parable of Lazurus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19–21). Contrary to what many Christians have erroneously been taught, this parable is not a doctrinal statement about the state of the dead and the afterlife. To many people, including the rich Scribes and Pharisees of Yeshua’s day, material success denotes superiority and even divine favor. The Bible dispels this false notion both in the Book of Job and in Yeshua’s parable. Rather, YHVH looks at the heart and character of a person and the righteous fruits of their lives, and not at the outward, physical trappings—the proverbial cover of the book. The Scriptures address this issue in several places:
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matt 7:19–20)
But YHVH said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for YHVH seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but YHVH looketh on the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)
Now the Torah and the rest of the Scriptures teach us that all the saints are equal. But what about the rest of humanity? Are all humans created equal?
There are many ways to look at this equality issue and as many opinions. But what does the Bible teach on this subject?
The Bible states in several places that all humans are created in the image of Elohim. This implies equality among all humans with regard to their intrinsic and innate value.
The Bible also states that all humans are sinners, that all deserve death and that none are righteous of themselves. This also implies equality among humans with regard to their sinful state.
The Bible states that Elohim so loved all the world that he sent his Son to die for all humanity. This implies equality among humans with regard to the Creator’s love.
The Bible also state that Elohim loved us while we were still sinners. This implies equality among all humans.
Elohim desires all humans to be saved. This also implies equality among humans with regard to Elohim’s intent for humans.
The Bible furthermore states that Elohim is not a respecter of persons. This implies equality among humans in a legal sense in the eyes of YHVH.
The Bible teaches that there is one Torah-law standard of righteousness for all people—Israelites and non-Israelites. This implies equality with regard to YHVH’s standards of righteousness.
Moreover, the Bible states that Elohim will judge all humans by his Torah-law. All humans will come before his judgment seat (2 Cor 5:10 cp. Rev 20:11–15). Thus all humans are equal before heaven’s Torah-law and before the Judge of the universe.
Conversely, there can be no question that the Bible teaches that Elohim favors those who love and serve him. He favors them with a special love and enters into a personal relationship with them. He blesses then in a special way with salvation, healing, answered prayers, special protection, guidance, the wisdom of his Holy Spirit and much more. Eventually he will reward his saints with eternal life, glorification and inclusion into his eternal kingdom as his adopted children.
So as we see, Elohim starts out loving and treating everyone equally, but those who choose to love and obey him he favors them and extends his grace to them. In this regard, not everyone is treated equally. But this is not based on favoritism on YHVH’s part, but upon the choices that humans make with regard to his initial equal treatment of all. In the end, all humans will reap what they sow. If they obey Elohim they will be blessed with immortality. If they disobey him, they will suffer the fate of their ill choices resulting in eternal death or separation from their Creator.
Even though all humans are created equal by Elohim and will stand equal before him, the Bible in no way promotes the idea of economic equality among humans as socialism advocates. But this is another discussion for another time.
Exodus30:15 and 16, To make atonement for your souls. Some Bible students may read Exodus 30:15–16 and conclude that one can buy their redemption through charitable giving and therefore circumvent the need to place one’s faith in Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross. Does this passage suggest a theology where man can save himself from sin’s death penalty by acts of charity? Let’s dig a little deeper to see what these verses are really teaching us.
In this passage, YHVH instructed the Israelites to pay an annual half-shekel temple tax. This money went, in part, toward, to support the service of the Tabernacle of Moses (verse 16) and its construction of (e.g., Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the OT, vol. 1, p. 459; Exod. 38:21–31), and later toward the purchase of the animals the priests sacrificed therein (The Temple and Its Service, by Alfred Edersheim, p. 48). In this way, the people were participating vicariously in the act of sacrificing an innocent animal as an offering or atonement for their sins. Again, the Scriptures reveal that this sacrificial system merely pointed prophetically toward the Greater Sacrifice that would come later in the Person of Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel (Isa chapter 53 cp. Heb chapters 9 and 10). On the point that the paying the half-shekel was a merely a temporary solution to the problem of man’s sin, Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary on this passage,
As an expiation [atonement] for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel’s nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin (ibid.).
Keil and Delitzsch’s point is further strengthened in Exodus 30:16, which says,
And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls. (emphasis added)
The giving of the half-shekel was amemorial to what? The Hebrew word for memorial is zikrown meaning “reminder, token, record.” According to TheTWOT, a zikrown is an object or act which brings something else to mind or which represents something else.” Thus the payment of the half-shekel reminded the Israelites of their sinfulness and pointed prophetically to a Redeemer—Yeshua the Messiah, who would come and take away their sins once and for all (Heb 10:10).
For a more detailed study of this subject, please see our teaching article entitled, “The Atonement: Bloody or Bloodless? Understanding the Concept of Atonement in the Torah” located on the Hoshana Rabbah website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/atone.pdf.
Exodus 30:17–21, A laver of brass. The large bronze basin that was located in the courtyard of the Tabernacle of Moses just in front of the door of the tent of meeting was fabricated from the mirrors the Israelite women donated (Exod 38:8). Perhaps James the apostle had this tradition in view when he speaks of being a doer of the Word of Elohim, not just a hearer, for a hearer and not a doer is like one who sees himself in the spiritual mirror of Elohim’s Word and forgetting what he looks like does not allow the Word to transform him (Jas 1:22–25). We know that water is a poetic metaphor for YHVH’s Word (Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5; Heb 10:22; Deut 32:2).
In the laver, the Levites were to wash their hands and feet before going into the tabernacle, so that they would not die. The hands and feet represent the entire body since they are the highest and lowest parts of the body. They also represent our direction and our action—everywhere we go and all that we do—must be pure before ministering before YHVH.
Constructed of the mirrors of the Israelite women, the bronze laver represents a believer looking into the Torah (YHVH’s instructions in righteousness) as a mirror, seeing himself for who he really is (an unrighteous sinner) in light of the high standards of righteousness presented to us by the Word of Elohim. When we see the differential between the two, this should challenge us to conform our life to who the Word says he should be (Jas 1:22–25).
The laver was the font where the priests washed themselves before performing the service of the tabernacle. The laver represents immersion or baptism for the remission of sins (Rom 6:3–6), and the washing of the water of the Word of Elohim (Eph 5:26), which are the first act of obedience that a new believer is required to take after being “washed” in the blood of Yeshua and having one’s past sins atoned for after having been first saved (e.g., Acts 2:37–39 cp. Matt 28:18–20; Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31–33). The second high Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a prophetic picture of this ritual washing or immersion. This is because it was most likely on this day that the children of Israel crossed through the Red Sea and were “baptized” by Moses (1 Cor 10:12).
YHVH instructed the priests to wash their hands and feet before ministering in the tabernacle or else they would die (Exod 30:19–21). Hands and feet are symbolic representations of our actions and our ways—what we do and where we go. Similarly, Yeshua washed the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper (John 13:4–11), thus ritually cleansing them for the great commission ministry to follow. In the believer’s life, one must be immersed (baptized) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; cp. John 13:8–10 and 1 Cor 6:11) by the legal and symbolic faith-act of which one identifies with the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua resulting in the newness of spiritual life that comes to the believer as a result thereof (Rom 6:3–14). As already noted, immersion speaks of the washing of the water of the Word of Elohim (Ps 119:9; Eph 5:26). This is because water in Scripture is a symbolic metaphor for YHVH’s Torah instructions and teachings of YHVH (Deut 32:1–2). Through Yeshua living in the life of a saint via his Holy Spirit, the saint’s actions (hands) and ways (feet) will become more and more righteous.
Additionally, the bronze laver was constructed of the bronze mirrors of the women of Israel. This teaches us that when we look into the water of YHVH’s Word and see our reflection against YHVH’s standards of righteousness (the Torah), we will always come up short. But when the priests washed their bloody hands in the water of the laver the blood and water mingled. When this happens, by YHVH’s grace, we do not come up short. This teaches us that through the blood of Yeshua we measure up to YHVH’s righteous standards and are reconciled to our Father in heaven. Or another way to look at it is that when we look at YHVH’s word through the blood of Yeshua, that is who we really are in they eyes of the Father.
Furthermore, from Yeshua’s side came forth blood and water. This points to the bronze laver where blood and water mixed to redeem sinners from judgment (represented by bronze) against the sins of pride and rebellion (pride is a reference to the mirrors used to make the laver). Blood represents atonement and water represents both the Torah-Word and Spirit of Elohim. The word, Spirit of YHVH and the blood of Yeshua unite to effect salvation or redemption in one’s life. In 1 John 5:8 we read, “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water and the blood, and these three are one.” The Bible informs us that a legal matter is to be determined in the mouth of two or three witnesses (Deut 17:6; 19:15; Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1; Heb 10:28). John views these three elements as distinct and separate witnesses. Each plays a role in and testifies to man’s redemption by YHVH. The blood points to remission of past sins, water points to the Torah-Word of Elohim washing, renewing and cleansing us in the inner man to conform us into the image of Yeshua, the Word made flesh, and all this occurs through the transforming work of the Spirit in our lives. At the bronze laver, these three elements all come together to form a complete picture of redemptive, reconciliatory and sanctifying work of Yeshua at the cross as well as a the subsequent and ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the saint’s life to conform him or her into the image of their perfect Messiah.
Exodus 30:23–33, Anointing oil. See notes at verses 34–38.
Exodus 30:34–38,Sweet spices. According to Jewish tradition (b. Talmud Keritot 6a), there were eleven sweet spices (Heb. ketoret bisamim) in the tabernacle incense, four of which are mentioned here. They were balsam, clove, galbanum, frankincense, myrrh, cassia, spikenard, saffron, costus, aromatic bark (a type of cinnamon), and cinnamon. Four thousands of years, ancient cultures relied on the medicinal properties of aromatic plants. Only in recent years, has the West rediscovered the salutary benefits of these plants. Listed below are the suggested healing properties of several of these herbs. In modern times, the oils from these plants are being extracted for use in various ways. (Source of information is from various online sources and Aromatherapy Workbook by Marcel Lavabre.)
Galbanum (Ferula gummosa or Ferula galbaniflua) is an antiseptic (prevents the growth of disease-causing microorganisms), and helps to treat asthma, acne, coughs, cramps, scar tissue, wrinkles. Apparently, the smoke from burning the resin of this plant was used in ancient times to keep flies and snakes away.
Onycha may be referring to cloves, which is an antiseptic, analgesic (pain relief), carminative (for relieving flatulence), or to Styrax officinalis, which is a resin from this tree and is great for kidney support (edema), bronchitis, colds, sinusitis, skin conditions, and is said to relieve stress.
Frankincense is a skin tonic, heals infected wounds and is an anti-inflammatory. It helps to reprogram cellular memory thus promoting permanent healing. It is used against typhoid, allergies herpes, tonsillitis, head injuries, depression, and cancer. Research shows that it will lower cortisol by 40 percent just by deep inhalation. Elevated cortisol contributes to weight problems.
Myrrh (stacte) is a skin tonic or conditioner, anti-inflammatory, cough expectorant, vulnerary (heals wounds), fungicide, antiseptic, astringent (causes the contraction of body tissues—notably the skin). It is especially useful for mouth ulcers and throat infections. In ancient times, pregnant mothers anointed themselves with myrrh for protection against infectious diseases, and they used myrrh during labor to stretch the perineum and on umbilical cords. Myrrh has a long history of use in skin health and hygiene products, and it prolongs the life and scent of other oils. Myrrh helps to combat wrinkles, is antiseptic, aids in balancing the thyroid, clearing athletes foot, ringworm, viral hepatitis, thrush in babies, inflammation and bronchitis.
Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) is an antiseptic, antibiotic, and immune system builder.
Spikenard is a skin tonic or conditioner.
Aromatic Bark is an antiseptic (against flu and infectious disease), stimulant (circulation, nervous system).
Cinnamon (leaf) is an antiseptic (against infectious disease), relieves skin irritants (e.g., poison oak).
Exodus 31
Exodus31:3, 6, I have filled him…I have put wisdom.
When YHVH is behind a project (as was the case with the Tabernacle of Moses), he brings in the resources to accomplish it (Exod 25:2; 36:5), and he brings the skilled laborers to do the task as these verses demonstrate. When men through their own efforts, strength, ingenuity and resources attempt to make something happen, chances are it is not a project ordained by heaven.
Unless YHVH builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; unless YHVH guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Ps 127:1)
Exodus31:13–17, My Sabbaths you shall keep.Note that the word Sabbaths is plural. This is a reference not only to the weekly Sabbath, but to the feast day and land Sabbaths as well. However, the seventh day Sabbath remains central to YHVH’s spiritual economy for his people. In fact, it was so central to the spiritual life of YHVH’s people that he designated it to be a visible and outward sign of the special relationship that existed between him and his people. Let’s explore this idea.
Why did YHVH designate the Sabbath as a sign (Heb. owt meaning“signal, distinguishing mark, banner,” Exod 31:12) between him and Israel? As YHVH’s set-apart people, Israel was distinguishing itself from the surrounding nations who did not observe the Sabbath. What distinguishes the saints today as YHVH’s set-apart people from the non-believing heathen around them? Certainly it is their love for one another is a distinguishing mark, according to Yeshua (John 13:35). Yeshua also said that if we love him we will keep his Torah commandments (of which the Sabbath is the fourth of the ten commandments, John 14:15, 21; Exod 20:8). John was inspired to write that those who say they know Elohim and refuse to keep his Torah-commandments (of which the Sabbath is a foundation stone) are liars and the truth is not in them (1 John 2:3–6). And finally, Yeshua told those “Christians” who were Torahless (i.e., workers of iniquity or lawlessness) to depart from him, that he did not know them even though they claimed to be his followers and had done many religious works in his name (Matt 7:21–23). Although the Sabbath and the biblical feasts may not be the exact sign of the New or Renewed Covenant, Elohim’s Sabbaths are foundation stones of the Torah, and the keeping of them remains in effect to this day for the saints of Elohim (Heb 4:9).
The seriousness with which YHVH views the Sabbath is exemplified in TheArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach translation of Exodus 31:15:
For six days work may be done and the seventh day is a day of complete rest, it is sacred to [YHVH]…(emphasis added)
What is complete rest? What is the connection between “complete rest” and the idea of sacredness or being holy or kadosh? The people of YHVH are called to separate the holy or kodesh from the common or profane:
Her priests have violated my Torah, and have profaned my set-apart/kodesh things: they have put no difference between the holy [Heb. kodesh] and profane [common, polluted] neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. (Ezek 22:26)
And [the priests] shall teach my people the difference between the holy [Heb. kodesh] and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. (Ezek 44:23)
What is common or profane are those activities which is commonly done on the other six days of the week. It is those thing that YHVH commands his people to rest from completely.
Exodus31:14, Sabbath…profanes it.Profaning or polluting the Sabbath with secular activities is a sin. Sabbath desecration is as much a capital offence in YHVH’s eyes now as it was then. This because the wages of sin is still death (Ezek 18:4; Rom 6:23).
Exodus31:18, Written with the finger.The Sabbath along with the rest of YHVH’s Torah commands were ordained by Elohim and literally written with his finger. How dare men subsequently declare that the Sabbath was changed and that what YHVH wrote with his finger in tablets of stone is now irrelevant or passé! What hubris and arrogance on men’s part to counter the will and laws of Elohim with silly, specious and vacuous justifications for man-made and unbiblical teachings that deign to nullify the validity of YHVH’s Sabbath and the rest of his commandments. No matter how erudite and novel the theological arguments or the multitudes of followers they garner, such edicts and traditions of men will not stand, but will blow away like lowly dust in the wind; they will be burned to ashes in the fiery judgments of Elohim, and will fall by the wayside like all the other traditions of men, which have dared to make the word of Elohim of no effect!
Exodus 32
Exodus32:1, Moses delayed coming.Moses is a prophetic picture of Yeshua. Moses’ descending from Mount Sinai is a prophetic picture of Yeshua descending from heaven to the earth both the first and second times. When the people presumed that Moses delayed his coming, they fell to the temptation to syncretize with the heathen religious system around them by yielding to their baser nature and giving in to the lusts of their flesh as expressed in golden calf worship. The heathens, along with their man-made religious systems, have lower moral and spiritual standards than those of YHVH. In many respects, the mainstream church has done the same thing as the ancient Israelites by acting as if Yeshua has delayed his second coming, and in many ways subsequently acquiesced to conforming to many of the world’s standards and customs. This is a form of golden calf worship, which is an admixture of Torah-truth and pagan practices. Yeshua warned his disciples against this proclivity of humans to grow impatient and spiritually lukewarm while waiting for his return (Matt 24:48).
The golden calf as described in the book of Exodus
Exodus32:2, Break off the golden earrings.The Christian people have generously given the mainstream church much gold and other wealth over the past 1900 years. Just visit any one of the hundreds of cathedrals throughout Europe and around the world and this opulence becomes blatantly apparent. In the mean time, with that wealth, the church system has constructed many huge religious monuments, systems and programs. These all are monuments, in part, to the gods of materialism, and is a form of golden calf worship. Neither Yeshua nor his disciples needed vast sums of money, resources or monuments to spread the gospel message. What they lacked in material resources they made up with passion for the gospel message and confirmed by miraculous power and anointing of YHVH. What the mainstream church largely lacks in passion and the anointing to spread the gospel, they now, sadly, have substituted with wealth, programs and religious monuments to men’s achievements. Despite all of this, in his merciful grace, YHVH has caused the gospel message still to go forth and countless lives have been transformed by the Word of Elohim!
Exodus32:4–5,Your gods…a feast to YHVH. This is the first example in the Scriptures of YHVH’s people mixing pagan practices (i.e., evil) with the divinely revealed Truth of Elohim (i.e., good). We see that Satan the deceiving serpent was the first entity to defile good with evil when he questioned Elohim and tempted the first humans (Gen 2:9 cp. 3:1–6). The Hebrew word babel or Babylon means “confusion or mixture.” It is the mixing of evil with good, error with truth, darkness with light and death with life. In the end times, the saints must first recognize such mixture by knowing the difference between the holy and the profane and then be able to separate the two, and then come away from that which is evil or part of Babylon (Ezek 22:26; 44:23; Rev 18:4; 2 Cor 6:14–17.) Though mainstream Christianity and Judaism are biblically-based religious systems, both have allowed numerous pagan traditions, celebrations and belief systems to insinuate themselves into their religious practices. In these end times, YHVH is calling his people away from everything that is unholy and unbiblical (Rev 18:4). Will you heed the divine call to come out of spiritual Babylon?
Exodus32:5,A feast. Hebrew chag means “festival, feast, festival-gathering, pilgrim-feast or a festival sacrifice.” In the Torah (e.g., Lev 23; Deut 16:16), only three of the seven biblical holidays are referred to as a chag. They are the pilgrimage festivals (e.g., Ps 42:4) called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks or Harvest of First Fruits and the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering. Chag can also refer to a pagan festival as is the case in Exodus 32:5 at the golden calf, or to the feast instituted by Jeroboam I to replace the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kgs 12:32–33; The TWOT).
The verb chaggag, the root of chag, means “to hold a feast, hold a festival, make pilgrimage, keep a pilgrim-feast, celebrate, dance, stagger, to keep a pilgrim-feast or to reel.” Chagag primarily refers to celebrating the three biblical pilgrimage feasts, but can also refer to a pagan festival (1 Sam 30:16), or to sailers reeling to and fro on a ship as if drunk (Ps 107:27; ibid.).
Now let’s discuss the feast or chag that the Israelites made in honor of the golden calf. There is a strong likelihood that the day the Israelites dedicated to the worship of the golden calf was on the weekly Sabbath. The reasons that support this idea. Let us first assume that the Israelites received the ten commandments on Shavuot, which was always falls on the first day of the week (i.e., 50 days after the morrow or day of the weekly Shabbat; see Lev 23:15–16). On the next day—a Monday—(Exod 24:4), Moses built an altar and ratified the covenant with the Israelites (vv. 4–8). After that, Moses celebrated with the elders at the base of Mount Sinai (vv. 9–11). Next, Moses went up onto Mount Sinai to receive the tablets of stone (vv. 12–15). It had been six days since the glory of YHVH had been resting on the mountain (from Sunday to Saturday). On the seventh day or the weekly Shabbat, YHVH called Moses to enter the glory cloud where he remained with YHVH until his descent from Sinai. Moses was on the mountain from sometime Monday until Shabbat, when he entered the glory cloud. All total, Moses was on the mountain for forty days (vv. 16–18). At the end of 40 days, YHVH informed Moses of the people’s sin (Exod 32:7). If Moses ascended the mountain sometime on Monday, then the same time on Tuesday would have been day one. Forty days later was the weekly Shabbat. Moses descended the mountain after YHVH informed him of the people’s sin or after forty days. This means that Moses descended on a Sunday. This also means that the people made a pagan feast to the golden calf on the Shabbat. Although the Bible never calls the Shabbat a chag, nevertheless, as we have seen above, the Bible refers to pagan celebrations as a chag. This is because pagan festivals were not solemn, but were often raucous, lewd, bacchanalian events—hence the term chagcan indicate the festive nature of an event though in a pejorative way.
Furthermore, often the Torah juxtaposes sinful events with instructions against those same sins. In this case, immediately preceding the Torah’s chronicling the gold calf incident are the instructions pertain to the Sabbath including strict admonitions against profaning it (Exod 31:12–18). YHVH goes so far as to condemn to death those who profane it. In accordance with this law, Moses had the sons of Levi slay all the idol worshippers—three thousand in all (Exod 32:26–28). This is further evidence that the so-called “feast to YHVH” that the idolators proclaimed, in a vain attempt to legitimize their evil actions by invoking the name of Elohim, occurred on the Sabbath. This blasphemous act of sacrilege obviously did not go over well with YHVH Elohim!
Exodus32:6,Play. Heb. tsachaq means “to laugh, mock, play, to laugh, to jest, to sport, make sport, toy with, make a toy of.” In this verse, the verb tsachaq is in its piel (intensive active form) and means “to jest, to sport, play, make sport, toy with, make a toy of” (The TWOT). If the Israelite’s festival dedicated to worship of the golden calf occurred on the weekly Shabbat (see notes above on v. 5), then YHVH’s displeasure against the Israelites was not only for their idolatry, but for their profaning his holy Sabbath by using it as a time for partying and for carnal sporting activities. They were mocking, making light of, toying with YHVH’s Shabbat, and were seeking their own sensual and carnal, if not, illicit pleasures on his day! This is something that Scripture forbids (Isa 58:13; 56:6).
Some reading this will justify themselves for their profaning the Sabbath by doing “their own pleasure” on that day as having nothing to do with golden calf worship. In reality, the golden calf was a form of or metaphor for Baal or self-worship—i.e., doing our own will or pleasure over that of Elohim’s. Make no mistake about it, this is the biblical definition of idolatry!
The Word of Elohim must be the final determiner of what we do or do not do when it comes to our walk of righteousness—not our own carnal feelings and desires, which are heavily influenced by our fallen, sin-inclined natures as well as the influence of the world and the devil, which are all antithetical to and rebellious against the will and Word of Elohim. It is the Word of Elohim that will judge us. To be sure, our well-thought out excuses and deeply ingrained self-justifications will not pass muster before the throne of the Almighty and Righteous Judge of the universe on judgment day!
Exodus 32:15, In his hand…written on both sides. A popular misconception is that the two stone tablets were large and were written on one side. However, this verse tells us that they were small enough to fit in one hand, and were written on both the front and back.
Exodus 32:16, The writing of Elohim. The contemporary square script letters of the Hebrew alphabet were likely introduced into Israel by Ezra the scribe after the Babylonian exile. Prior to this, Israelite writers used the Paleo-Hebrew pictographic script, which is of ancient origination and is likely the script that YHVH used when engraving the stones on Mount Sinai.
Most modern linguistic scholars trace the alphabet of the European languages, including English, back to the pictographically-based Phoenicians alphabet of the tenth century bc, which shows striking similarities with the Proto-Sinaitic or Paleo-Hebrew script of nearly one thousand years earlier indicating the our own alphabet likely originates from the ancient Hebrew script of Mount Sinai!
The Scriptures record that the time the Phoenician script came into prominence on the world scene coincides with the Israelite alliance with King Hiram of Tyre, who was the king of the Phoenicians. Theirs was a commercial and military alliances that dominated much of the known world, and Israel was the senior partner in this confederation, since the empire of Israel (under kings David and Solomon) controlled a large area of land from Egypt to the Euphrates River (in modern Iraq). In the eyes of some ancient nations (e.g., the Greeks), the Phoenicians and Israelites were regarded as the same people, and both were known by the label of “Phoenicians”(see The Origins and Empire of Ancient Israel, pp. 148–151, 229–231 by Steve Collins quoting George Rawlinson, nineteenth century biblical scholar and history professor at Oxford University). From this evidence, we can see that it is likely that the script known as “the writing of Elohim” (in Exod 32:16) is likely the root of many of the world’s alphabets including Japanese! (See http://jamesjpn.net/index.php/2010/06/10/japanese-script-compared-with-hebrew/.)
Exodus 32:29,Bestow upon you a blessing.YHVH gave the tribe of Levi the priesthood.
Exodus 33
Exodus 33:1–2, YHVH…my Angel/Messenger.Who is YHVH and who is the Angel? See notes at Exodus 3:2 and 23:20–21.
Exodus 33:7, Moses took his tent.There comes a time when the anointed servant of the Most High can no longer tolerate the sinfulness and faithless of the people he is leading; he is compelled to turn his face away from prideful, rebellious, stiff-necked sinners and liars (see Ps. 40:4). Even Yeshua, in frustration, despaired on several occasions at his disciples for their lack of faith. Once, in desperation, he cried out, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” (Matt 17:17). This frustration on the part of some of the holy servants of the Most High is due to the fact that they are in a different place spiritually than the people they lead. As anointed and divinely appointed leaders tasked to lead YHVH’s people higher, they themselves must be out ahead spiritually of the people they lead, and their walk must be a little, if not a lot, higher. Their job is to lead people into a higher and deeper walk with YHVH. Sometimes, in frustration when they feel they have been less than successful in their mission, they must remove themselves from the people for a season to draw closer to YHVH for strength, wisdom, guidance and spiritual renewal as Moses did in this case.
A man who is holy or set apart unto YHVH cannot abide long in an unholy situation without inner stress and turmoil. Opposition to YHVH is anathema to him and causes every fiber in his being to cry out, sometimes in frustrated disgust. Such a person is in a different, higher world that carnal people know nothing about. This is why Moses had to separate himself from the Israelites—a stiffnecked and rebellious people who did not have a heart to follow Elohim.
Exodus 33:12–13, Grace.The mainstream church places a great deal of emphasis on the “message of grace.” The biblical doctrine of grace, to the surprise of most Christians, actually finds its roots in this chapter in the Torah, and not in the New Testament as the mainstream church teaches.
The noun grace (Heb. chen) is found six times in chapters 33 and 34. The adjective gracious (Heb. chanan and channuwn) as an attribute of YHVH’s character is found three times in chapters 33 and 34. Six is the number of man and three is the number of Elohim or the “Godhead.” That is to say, the grace of the entire Godhead covers man completely even when his children turn away from him and give into golden calf worship. His grace for his people rejoices or triumphs over his fiery and consuming judgments (Exod 33:4; Jas 2:13; Pss 85:10; 89:14; Mic 7:18; Eph 1:7; Rom 5:8) that they deserve for their stiff-neckness and sinful rebellion against his commands (Exod 33:3).
The Hebrew word for grace is chen meaning “favor, grace, charm, acceptance.” The Hebrew word chen (found 69 times in the Tanakh), which is translated as grace, in this verse is equivalent to the Greek word charis, which is found 156 times in the Testimony of Yeshua and is translated as grace 130 times in the KJV.The equivalency of these two words is confirmed by the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek Tanakh) who used charis in place of chen when translating the Hebrew Tanakh into Greek beginning in the third century bc.
According to TheTWOT, in the vast majority of occurrences of chen in the Tanakh, the focus of attention is not on the giver, but on the recipient. The emphasis is on the relationship of the superior to an inferior (e.g., a king to his subjects). What this teaches us is that despite sin and rebellion against him, YHVH (the king) is gracious (to humans, his subjects).
Contrary to what many people in the mainstream church have been led to believe, the grace of Elohim is a very prominent theme in the Tanakh. Examples of this include Noah who found grace in YHVH’s eyes (Gen 6:8), or the children of Israel although dead in their sins in Egypt and deserving of YHVH’s wrath, they were saved by the blood of the lamb. There are a number of other references to the grace of Elohim in the Tanakh as well (e.g., Gen 18:3; Exod 3:21; 33:16,17; 34:9; Ps 84:11; Zech 12:10).
Exodus 33:14, My presence will go with you.YHVH’s presence led the Israelites through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Yeshua will lead his people through the wilderness of life and into the Promised Land of their eternal inheritance in his kingdom. Where is YHVH’s presence today in and among his people?
Exodus 33:15, If your presence goes not with me.Moses refused to take one step forward without YHVH’s presence leading the way. How earnestly do you seek the presence of YHVH in your life? Is it your heart passion? Is his leading presence more vital to you than life itself? Do you feel spiritually lost, dried up and, in a sense, even dead when YHVH’s presence is absent from your life? What was David’s heart passion in this regard? (Read Ps 84:1–12.) Yeshua taught that his life and presence comes as we abide in him (John 15:1–4). What are the rich benefits of abiding in Yeshua, the true vine? (See John 15:5–17.)
Exodus 34
Exodus 34:1–35, Prophetic pictures of Moses’ second ascension of Mount Sinai.
History frequently repeats itself in curious and interesting ways, and Bible history is no exception except for one thing. When history repeat itself in the Bible, it does so in miraculous and prophetic ways. Moses’ second ascension of Mount Sinai is yet another example of this, for upon close examination, it reveals a prophetic and allegorical picture of the saints’ resurrection and glorification at the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah. Upon exploring the details surrounding this yet one more God-encounter occurrence in the chronicle of the children of Israel, the saints, who are the descendents of those ancient people (Gal 3:29), can gain precious details about their own future encounter with YHVH Elohim.
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 biblical month on the biblical calendar or 30 days before Yom Teruah, which occurs on the first day of the seventh month. Forty days later on Yom Kippur, Moses 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 renewing his relationship with Israel after they had repented of their idolatry.
We know that in biblical times an Israelite bride, while waiting for her betrothed to arrive from his father’s house, would hear a shout and the sound of the shofar in the distance as her bridegroom approached (Matt 25:6 cp. Matt 24:31; 1 Thess 4:16; 1 Cor 15:51–52). If she were alert and not asleep (as were the ten virgins of Matt 25:1–13), she would preparing by adorning herself in her wedding robes, be trimming her lamp’s wick (an ancient version of a flashlight), and have it filled with oil and ready to light as soon as he arrived, since he would be coming at night time.
Prophetically, the Scriptures indicate that the saints of Yeshua are to be resurrected and to meet the returning Messiah Yeshua in the air at the seventh or last shofar blast most likely on Yom Teruah (Day of the Trumpets also known as the Day of Shouting or Shofar Blasts, see 1 Thess 4:16; 1 Cor 15:52; Rev 11:15–18). From the time the saints begin hearing the shofar blasts in the distance signaling the arrival of Yeshua the Bridegroom until their ascension (at the resurrection) to meet King Yeshua in the air roughly seems to correspond to Moses’ ascension of Mount Sinai on the first day of the sixth month. That being so, then Moses’ descent with the stone tablets, which were the tokens of a renewed covenant between YHVH and Israel on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), would correspond to Yeshua returning to earth with his recently resurrected saints. As Moses saw the glory of YHVH in the cleft of the rock the second time he ascended Mount Sinai (Exod 33:18–23; 34:5–9), and as he descended in a glorified state, his face shining with the glory of YHVH, so the saints will resurrect to meet Yeshua in the air, see his glory, and will return with him with their own glorified immortal bodies (1 Cor 15:42–54; 1 Thess 4:16–17).
First John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of Elohim, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” These resurrected saints are those who have heeded YHVH’s call to come out of Babylonian, golden calf-type religious systems (i.e., Christo-pagan churchianity, Rev 18:4) where paganism has been mixed with the truth of the Scriptures. These same saints are now waiting to enter into an everlasting (marital) covenant with YHVH-Yeshua (Rev 19:7–9). These are those who love Yeshua and his the Torah-commandments (Rev 12:17; 14:12 cp. John 14:12, 21 and Matt 7:21–23), are not defiled with woman (i.e., spiritual prostitution and adultery with the world), and who have been following the Lamb wherever he goes right to the very end (Rev 14:4). They are the spiritual firstfruits of Elohim and the Lamb (ibid.). There
The resurrection of the righteous firstfruits saints at Yeshua’s second coming.
In the end times there will be a great spiritual revival as many people are saved and come to faith in Yeshua out of the great tribulation period (Rev 7:14). Some of these new converts to Yeshua the Messiah will be native Israelites, along with many Gentiles, who have been spiritually grafted into the nation of Israel (Rom 11:11–33), and all of whom have repented of the golden calf worship of Torahlessness and false religious systems. This group of saints (both biological descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel as well as Gentiles who have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel, Rom 11:11–33) are “the one new man” (Eph 2:11–19) or the seed of Abraham (Gal 3:29; Rom 4:16; 9:8–11). According to the end time prophetic chronology of the fall biblical feasts, we see that this momentous and glorious event will occur in the time period leading up to the Day of the Trumpets when many people will wholeheartedly repent and receive the sin-covering or atoning blood of Yeshua, as pictured by the Day of Atonement. This will be a continuation of the process of the rebirth, regathering and reunification of the two houses of Israel (loosely speaking, Ephraim who is he church, and Judah who are the Jews) that began in the apostolic era and is nearing completion with the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah.
The Bible likens this process to branches being grafted into an ancient olive tree, or to the unification of Jews and Gentiles becoming into the “one new man” Israel of Elohim through faith in and the blood of Yeshua the Messiah (Rom 11:13–24; Ezek 37:15–28; Eph 2:11–19; Gal 6:16).
Exodus34:1,Cut two tablets…I will write. The first set of tablets YHVH not only hewed out of stone himself but he also wrote on them the ten statements (Exod 24:12; 31:18; 32:16). The second set of stone tablets, YHVH had Moses hew out upon which YHVH then wrote the ten statements. Why didn’t YHVH hew out the second set of tablets as he had done with the first ones?
One reason is this. The two stone tablets are symbols of the human heart which is divided into two main sections: the left and right ventricles. In Scripture, the heart represent the essence of a person’s moral character and mind (Exod 9:7; Deut 30:6; Job 38:36; Pss 44:21; 64:6; Prov 12:20; 14:33; 15:14; Jer 9:26; 17:9, 10; Matt 12:34; 15:19; Acts 2:37; Rom 10:10; 1 Cor 2:9; Heb 4:12; 1 Pet 3:4). The human heart can be hard, like stone (Job 41:24; Ezek 11:19; 36:26; 2 Cor 3:3) or soft like flesh (2 Cor 3:3 cp. Acts 2:37; Heb 8:10; 10:16). It is upon the human heart that YHVH writes his laws (Ps 40:8; Jer 31:33; Ezek 11:19–20; 2 Cor 3:3; Heb 8:10; 10:16).
When YHVH creates a person, he initially embeds in the human heart, personal spirit or conscience a basic concept of morality or of right and wrong, that is, the basic tenets of his laws (Rom 2:14–15 cp. 2 Cor 5:11).
Once sin comes into a person’s life and a person chooses to go against the laws of Elohim that he has written in their as yet undefiled heart, their heart is now defiled by sin. Previously, they were a pure vessel like the first set of stone tablets that YHVH made and upon which he wrote his laws.
However, when sin enters a person’s life and they go against their conscience or the laws that YHVH wrote on their hearts when they were created (Rom 2:14–15), man’s heart becomes defiled and hardened by sin (1 Tim 4:2).
At some point along the way, a person has to make a choice either to remain in his sin-hardened heart condition, or to yield to the conviction of the Spirit of Elohim (John 16:8)as they are cut to the heart or convicted of their sin followed by repentance of that sin (Acts 2:37). If a person makes the latter choice, then YHVH will give the person a new or circumcised heart upon which he will write his laws anew, but this time in greater scope and detail.
However the choice to change from a stoney heart to a heart of flesh belongs to each person. That’s why YHVH had Moses cut out the second set of tablets upon which YHVH then wrote his laws again.
The children of Israel are a biblical metaphor representing each of us. YHVH gave Israel his laws at Mount Sinai, and when they subsequently sinned at the golden calf, their hearts became hardened against Elohim. They then had to repent of their sin, and make the choice to obey YHVH’s commandments. This was represented by the second set of tablets upon which YHVH wrote his laws again, but this time on a heart of flesh. After the sin of the golden calf, Israel remained faithful to Elohim until after the death of Joshua (Josh 24:31; Judg 2:2).
Similarly, each of us was created as a pure, undefiled and sin-free vessel at the time of our birth. Eventually we committed our first sin and we went downhill spiritually from there. At some point, we became awakened to our sinful state and chose to repent of our sin and submitted ourselves to obey the Word of Elohim (Yeshua the Messiah) as a result of receiving his Spirit within hearts. This is when YHVH wrote his laws on the second set of stone tablets and also begins to write his laws on our hearts again.
Exodus34:4,Took in his hand. Evidently, the two stone tablets were small enough to fit into one hand. With one hand free, it made climbing the mountain a little easier especially for an aged person like Moses who probably used a staff as a walking aid.
Exodus34:5,Proclaimed the name. YHVH identified himself by name to his name as if he really needed to do so again. Perhaps this was to impress upon Moses the glory and majesty of being in the very presence of the Creator. It would also indicate to Moses the intimate nature of his encounter with the Almighty and Kadosh One, who was willing to share his personal name with his Moses his friend once again even as he had done a few years at the burning bush.
Exodus34:6,YHVH…YHVH. The name YHVH is mentioned twice in this verse defining YHVH’s attributes. Why? Perhaps it was to reveal to Moses that there were two YHVHs: YHVH the Father and YHVH the Son. This is in response to Moses asking him to show him his glory. What Moses saw was the glory and characteristics of both the Father and the Son.
Exodus 34:6–7, The attributes of YHVH’s mercy. YHVH Elohim is:
compassionate
gracious
abundant in kindness
abundant in truth
a preserver of kindness for thousands of generations
a forgiver of iniquity, willful sin (transgression) and error (sin)
cleanser of our sins
Merciful (verse 6)in Hebrew is the word rachuwmfrom the root word racham meaning “to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection or have compassion.” TheTWOT explains that this word refers to a deep love (usually a superior individual for an inferior) rooted in some deep natural bond. It is used for the deep inward feeling we know as compassion, pity or mercy. This word is found 47 times in the Tanakh, and frequently refers to the love of Elohim for his people (see Ps 103:13; Mic 7:17). Often Elohim’s mercy and grace are linked together (note Exod 33:19; 34:6; 2 Kgs 13:23; Pss 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8). His mercy and graciousness are at times unconditional upon those he chooses to favor (Exod 33:19), and is upon those who repent of their sins as well (Deut 13:17). The Tanakh elsewhere frequently exults in the attributes of YHVH’s mercy or compassion (see Deut 4:31; 2 Chron 3:9; Neh 9:17, 31; Pss 78:38; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2). Again, can there be any doubt that the “God of Old Testament” is just as loving and merciful as the “God of the New Testament?” Yeshua and his Father possess the same character, for they are one in the same Divine Personage—and the character of Elohim is unchangeable (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8)!
Numerous parallel passages in the Testimony of Yeshua can be found that are built on these foundational Torah principles of YHVH’s grace and mercy ( Heb 4:16; Rom 3:24; Eph 1:17; 2:4, 8; Tit 1:4; 2:11; 3:5; 1 Pet 1:3; Jude 21).
Exodus 34:7 mentions three categories of “sin.” TheArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash describes them as:
Iniquity is an intentional sin that YHVH forgives if the sinner repents.
Willful sin is sin that is committed with the intention of angering YHVH that will be forgiven with repentance.
Error is a sin committed out of apathy or carelessness.
Exodus 34:14,(and Deut 6:4). The phrase another God, resh R in echar RJT (another) is enlarged so as not to confuse with dalet s so that word would read echad sJT (one) in Deuteronomy 6:4 (Tikkun, p. 207).
Exodus34:18,The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a sign of coming out of Egypt and putting the sins of Egypt out of us as symbolized by our removing the leaven from our homes during this feast. It pictures putting off the rudiments of this world and not having anything to do with them any longer. This is why it is apropos to mention this feast directly after the golden calf incident.
Furthermore in verse 20, we see that the donkey—an unclean animal and a metaphor of the Egyptians killed in plague of the firstborn—was to be redeemed by a lamb or killed. This teaches us that without the shedding of the Yeshua the Lamb’s blood, YHVH’s judgment against sin is severe and final.
Month abib. See notes at Exodus 12:2.
Exodus34:20,Firstborn of a donkey. See notes at verse 18.
Exodus34:21,The seventh day. As with the mention of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 18 it is appropriate to mention the Sabbath after YHVH’s warnings not to get involved with the heathens or to go whoring after their gods. This is because the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a yearly reminder of our coming out of Egypt and forsaking paganism to serve and obey YHVH. Similarly, the Sabbath is a weekly reminder for YHVH’s people to come away from the profane things of this world for one day each week, and to realign our focus on him and those spiritual things of his which are holy or set-apart.
Exodus34:22,At year’s end. In Judaism, the fall feast of Yom Teruah (also known as Rosh Hashana meaning “head of the year,” which is the rabbinic Jewish, non-biblical name for this day) marks the beginning of the new year. However, this verse states that the Feast of Ingathering or Sukkot is the year’s end, and thus should mark the new year, not Yom Teruah. At the same time, the Scriptures state that Yom Teruah marks the first day of the seventh month, not the first day of the first month (Lev 23:24) as many Jews erroneously declare. Now add to this the fact that YHVH clearly states that the month of the abib is to be the beginning of the new year for the Israelites (Exod 12:2 cp. 13:4), which occurs in the spring just prior to Passover (Lev 23:5). There is no mention here of the seventh month beginning the new year. Between what the Scriptures say in Exodus 12 and 13, and then in Exodus 34 compared with what the rabbinic Jews teach, when does the new year begin? YHVH’s word is clear. The calendar year begins in the spring, however, the civil or agricultural year ends and begins again in the fall at Sukkot when the last of the year’s harvest was gathered in, and the new crops are planted. The new civil year (not the biblical calendar year) begins when the autumn rains (in the Scriptures called the “former rains”) would began to fall on the parched land of Israel. These rains would soften the top layer of soil allowing the Israelite farmers to sow (literally, scratch in) their grain into rain-softened soil. This harvest would come into fruition in the spring starting with the barley harvest in the early spring and the wheat harvest in the late spring.
Exodus 34:24,Neither…desire your land. YHVH promises to protect the Israelites property (and presumably their jobs and sources of income as well), while they are away keeping the three pilgrimage (aliyah) feasts of YHVH.
Exodus 34:25,The Feast of Passover. Passover is a feast or chag like Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles (see notes at Exod 12:14). This is because the Passover day’s activities (i.e., the seder meal) overlaps into the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Exodus 34:26,Boil a young goat. See notes at Exod 23:19.
Exodus 34:29,His face shone. Moses’ face shone after coming from the presence of YHVH bearing the Word of Elohim is a prophetic type of Yeshua, the Word of Elohim incarnate, who came to bring the spiritual light of YHVH’s Word to this dark, sin-filled earth of which the idolatrous children of Israel were a prophetic picture (John 1:9), and who is the Sun of Righteousness who comes with healing in his wings (Mal 4:2), and whose face shines like the sun (Rev 1:16).
Shone. The Hebrew word qâran means “to push or gore; from qeren, to shoot out horns; figuratively rays; i.e., to have horns or shine.” From this verse, the Renaissance painters got the idea of rays of light emitting from Moses’ head like animal horns after he met with Elohim. For example, it was the mistranslating of this word as horn in the Latin Vulgate that led Michelangelo to place two small horns in his famous statue of Moses had resides in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
The Tabernacle of Moses’ twice daily offering known as the continual burnt offering (Heb. olah tamiyd) as commanded by YHVH Elohim was offered on the bronze altar (Exod 29:42) was the central feature and beating heart of the tabernacle. This sacrificial offering has great spiritual implications for the serious disciple of Yeshua and relates to his or her daily life of devotion, praise and worship to YHVH Elohim. Christians now refer to this time in the saint’s life as one’s “daily devotional.” Let’s now discover the amazing and prophetic parallels between the twice daily sacrifices prescribed under the Torah’s Law of Moses and this quotidian activity in the life of the serious believer.
The word continual (Heb. tamiyd) in verse Exodus 29:38 means “continually.” The Hebrew word for burnt offering is olah meaning “ascent, stairway or steps,” and derives from the basic Hebrew verb, alah, meaning “to go up, climb or ascend.” In this sacrificial offering, the fire consumed the entire animal, and the word olah refers to the smoke of this whole burnt offering ascending to heaven, which to YHVH was a “sweet aroma” (verse 41). Why did the Creator of the universe consider such a mundane thing as smoke from cooking meat to be a pleasant aroma? Let’s dig into this idea and discover the rich and significance implications of this curious religious ritual.
The olah was an offering or gift (Lev 1:2, Heb. qorban)to YHVH and had to be a kosher animal such as a bull, goat, ram, turtle dove or a pigeon as long as it was a perfect specimen without defect (Lev 1:10). What was the point of this sacrificial offering? If an Israelite sinned, he could bring this gift-offering to the door of the tabernacle where he would place his hands upon the head of the animal, after which the priests would slaughter it, and sprinkle its blood around the altar of sacrifice just inside the door of the tabernacle (Lev 1:2, 4, 5). The meat was then prepared and arranged on the altar and entirely burnt (Lev 1:6–17). When the sinner laid his hands on the animal, it was as if he were transferring his sins onto the innocent, blemish-free animal, where upon YHVH accepted it as an atonement for the person’s sin (Lev 1:4). In reality, offering was a down payment on a debt that the sinner owed to YHVH, which prophetically pointed to and would ultimately be paid by Yeshua’s death on the cross.
The writer of Hebrews clearly teaches that this offering (along with all the other offerings in the sacrificial system) pointed to Yeshua, our Great High Priest, whose atoning death on the cross fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Levitical, sacrificial system (Heb 4:14–5:7; 7:1–10:18).
Besides the obvious antetypes pointing to Yeshua’s death on the cross, what else can we learn from the olah tamiyd offering rituals? What are the spiritual implications and the lessons to be learned for the redeemed believer living in the twenty-first century? Matthew Henry in his commentary on Numbers 28:1–8 sums up the main relevant object lesson to be learned from the twice daily sacrifices in this concise way:
The particular law of the daily sacrifice, a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening, which, for the constancy of it as duly as the day came, is called a continual burnt-offering (v. 3), which intimates that when we are bidden to pray always, and to pray without ceasing, it is intended that at least every morning and every evening we offer up our solemn prayers and praises to [Elohim]. (emphasis added)
Thus this olah tamiyd sacrifice was connected to the rising and setting of the sun as implied by the words of the psalmist (Ps 113:3). At the same time, the priest was to burn incense on the incense altar (Exod 30:7–8) as part of the olah tamiyd sacrifice. This obviously signifies a spirit of repentance, self-deprecation and humility coupled with praise and worshipful adoration on the part of the saint while engaged in prayer to one’s Father in heaven.
The biblical writers foresaw a time coming when either there would be no tabernacle or temple in which to offer the sacrifices and incense, or a designated place of worship would be inaccessible to the Israelite. In this situation, Hosea admonishes sinful Israel to return to YHVH and to offer up the sacrifices (lit. the calves or young bulls) of one’s lips, while expecting Elohim to graciously receive them and take away their iniquity (Hos 14:2). Paul embraced this idea when he admonished the saints to become as “living sacrifices…unto Eohim” (Rom 12:2). In John’s vision of heaven, he sees the prayers of the saints as being like sweet smelling incense before the throne of the Almighty One (Rev 5:8; 8:3). Not only does YHVH view the prayers of the righteous as incense, but their praises of him as a sacrifice or a thanksgiving offering as well (Jer 33:11; Heb 13:15). The psalmist goes on to connect the dots between the olah tamiyd sacrifice, incense, prayer and praise when he writes,
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141:2)
But how is the non-Levite priest supposed to offer incense before YHVH? This is done through prayer and worship as the prophet Malachi indicates:
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith YHVH of Hosts. (Mal 1:11)
The Torah prohibits offering sacrifices anywhere YHVH has not placed his name. What’s more, Yeshua has fulfilled the sacrificial system by his death on the cross once and for all as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews clearly informs us, and has become the saints’ Great High Priest. So how then do the people of the nations offer up sacrifices in every place as Malachi prophesies except but through prayer and praise? The same is true, of course, for redeemed believers who are now part of Yeshua’s royal priesthood as Peter testifies:
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Elohim by Yeshua the Messiah. (1 Pet 2:5)
However, since there is no longer either a temple or a Levitical priesthood, yet the saints are called priest of Yeshua (Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6), how shall we as the saints of the Most High fulfill our priestly duties if not by serving our Master Yeshua through our twice daily prayer and praise?
From the time of Abraham to Mount Sinai, to defeating Israel’s enemies, to the prophets’ warning call, to summoning Messiah’s bride to prepare for the marriage of the Lamb, to the pouring out of the end times wrath of Elohim upon Earth’s rebellious inhabitants, to announcing the return of Yeshua the Messiah, to the resurrection of the saints, the biblical ram’s horn shofar has played a key role in the life of Elohim’s people for thousands of years to this day. When sounded, the shofar sends terror and confusion into Satan’s camp, while causing the Divine Ear of heaven to listen. It is still a potent weapon and praise instrument in the hands of today’s saints when used with wisdom and understanding as this teaching reveals.
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YHVH took Moses’ weaknesses and turned them into strengths!
Of Frail Men and a Faithful Elohim—The Roots of the New Covenant Revealed
How many times have you started off on a new venture full with enthusiasm and alacrity only to have it fail immediately out of the starting gate? We all have our stories to tell. The difference between one who is successful and one who is not is that the former does not give despite initial failure. Though Moses was one the Bible’s greatest heros of faith, he experienced apparent failure in his initial efforts to free his people from Egyptian tyranny. However, thanks to overcoming faith in YHVH, he “let go and let God” and became the great liberator of the Israelite people and victor over that era’s most powerful nation—a biblical metaphor for the world, the flesh and devil. There is an inspiring lesson and an encouraging message in this story for each of us to this day.
Moses’ first brushes with defeat began the moment he exited the womb, for he was born with a death sentence on his head as he narrowly escaped being aborted. At the last moment, he was adopted into an alien, heathen family and was raised as a prince in the king of Egypt’s household estranged from his Israelite heritage. We can now look back with perfect 20-20 hindsight and see how YHVH orchestrated circumstances in Moses’ life to accomplish a divine destiny, but at the time both Moses and his Israelite family were totally oblivious to higher purpose. For them, it was a day-by-day struggle for survival much less a faith walk.
Despite an auspicious and promising future as a member of the Egyptian royal family in the region’s most power nation, Moses suddenly found himself fleeing for his life as a wanted criminal—a murderer. From riches and fame, he escapes to the backside of the desert out of the legal jurisdiction of the Egyptian authorities where he becomes a lowly peasant tending sheep for forty years. As a shepherd leading quiet, bucolic life, he end up marrying the sheep rancher’s daughter, but his life struggles do not end there.
Two sons are born to him. And they all live life happily ever after. Right? Well, not exactly. While leading a rather mundane life for decades tending sheep in the desert, he unexpectedly has a divine encounter. While tending sheep, YHVH suddenly drops into his life through the spectacle of bush that is engulfed in flames but is not consumed. At that moment Moses’ life is suddenly turned upside down. Then and there, YHVH commissions him to return to Egypt and demand that Pharaoh set the children of Israel free. This is when Moses’ troubles really begin.
A happy marriage, the father of two, a peaceful life as a shepherd—what could go wrong? Moses’ wife wanted nothing to do with Moses’ new ministry. She likely thought that he was out of his mind. Consequently, she abandons him and Moses’ marriage likely ends in divorce. Now Moses is alone and without his family. Likely a monumental depressions situation for him.
But in faithful obedience to YHVH, Moses accepts the call to lead the enslaved Israelites out of captivity and into the wilderness in which he had spent forty years leading sheep. For all those years, YHVH had been preparing him to lead two-legged sheep.
As Moses returned to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, YHVH literally put a sermon in Moses’ mouth to preach to Pharaoh, even though he was stricken with a speech impediment of some sort. To this point, Moses’ life is one of stumbling, failure and seemingly random and serendipitous events. What could YHVH possibly make out of this stew of disparate ingredients? A disgraced member of the Egyptian royal family, a wanted criminal, a lowly shepherd, a failed family marriage and life plus a speech impediment on top of it all. This sounds like a recipe for disaster!
The Bible is teeming with examples like Moses of individuals, who YHVH called to accomplish great things, but who encountered seemingly insurmountable and often life threatening challenges en route to their ultimate, heaven-mandated destiny.
For example, like Moses, although YHVH gave Abraham a divine mission, but stumbled along the way in fulfilling his destiny by trying to make things happen in his own way. The same occurred with both Jacob and Joseph whose lives took a series of unexpected and seemingly disastrous and dead end turns until the seemingly random puzzle pieces fell into place and YHVH’s plan for their lives came to fruition. Similarly, David was anointed as king of Israel many years before became king. In the interim, he spent many years fleeing for his life from those who wanted to kill him. Many more examples could be given.
So Moses’ struggles did not end with his divine encounter, commissioning and empowering at the burning bush. They only begin. As mentioned earlier, shortly thereafter, his marriage likely ended in divorce. His wife of some forty years failed to catch YHVH’s vision for Moses’ life and preferred to remain in the comfort zones of her father’s house in the land of Midian.
Moving on, YHVH had set the stage is set for Israel’s redemption in Exodus 5:22–23. After all, Moses, as either Pharaoh’s adopted grandson or his nephew (depending on whether this was the Pharaoh of Moses’ childhood or his son), had an “in” with the monarch that he could have exploited for the benefit of securing the release of Israel. Yet Moses’ first venture to Pharaoh was a disaster. The plight of the children of Israel deteriorated instead of being improved. Discouraged, Moses almost takes on an accusative tone toward YHVH (Exod 5:22–23). Graciously, YHVH doesn’t rebuke Moses, but as a loving Father encourages him to refocus on his word and the veracity and surety of his promises (Exod 6:2–5).
Despite Moses’ complaints, YHVH graciously encourages Moses upward and onward in spite of his discouraging first attempt at securing the children of Israel’s release from captivity. Is it possible that YHVH allowed immediate success to elude Moses to bring him “to the end of himself” with regard to any tendency he might have had to rely on himself and on his own wisdom to accomplish Elohim’s plans? Probably so, for YHVH tested the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and David in a similar manner.
As YHVH wanted Moses to rely on him alone for Israel’s deliverance, even so YHVH is teaching is modern saints to trust him alone to accomplish his will in our lives, rather than on not relying on our own human abilities. This is how YHVH increases the faith of his servants. For faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). We have to be totally emptied of ourselves before we are ready for the Master’s use. This does not mean that YHVH will not use our natural abilities, talents or what he have gained through life’s experiences, but we must learn to submit all that we have and are to his sovereign will. Moses gave up everything important in his life to serve YHVH: his wife, his family, his career as a successful shepherd, and his connections to Egyptian royalty. He learned to “trust in YHVH, and do good…Trust in YHVH, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in YHVH; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto YHVH; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass…Rest in YHVH, and wait patiently for him…The steps of a good man are ordered by YHVH: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for YHVH upholdeth him with his hand” (Ps 37:3–5, 7, 23–24).
By following this upward path of spiritual matriculation and maturation, not only is one’s faith built, but YHVH, not man, gets the glory when success occurs (Jer 9:22–23). There is no truer maxim in the Bible than this: they down is the way up. Yeshua characterized this counterintuitive spiritual path this way:
And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt 10:36–39)
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt 16:25)
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. (John 12:25)
David summarized this spiritual journey similarly:
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca [or weeping] make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. (Ps 84:5–7)
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Ps 125:5–6)
Or to put these ideas into modern parlance, there is no gain without pain.
When one finally dies to oneself and lets Elohim have his way in his life, it is then that one steps into heaven’s river of life and into the realm of supernatural with its miraculous possibilities endless opportunities.
To this point, at age 80 Moses’ life continues to be one of ongoing struggles and failure.
Moses’ story is one to which most of us can relate. How is this? Because Moses’ road to ultimate success involved multiple setbacks and wrong turns, and he was beset with human foibles and weaknesses. Yet out of the bittersweet ingredients of Moses’ life, out of this confused potpourri and miscellany of human experiences, the Creator of the universe, who ex nihilo created the heavens and the earth, created Moses out of nothing, formed and shaped him, prepared him to prophetically prefigure Yeshua the Messiah, who was to come 1,500 years later. So what is the moral of this story? Like formless, worthless lumps of clay, if we will, in faith, trust and submit our lives into the hands of the Almighty, despite our weaknesses and failures, he can turn each of us into useful vessels that will ultimately bring glory and honor to him—and to ourselves as well.
So what was Moses’ ultimate destiny that required him to go through such a refining process? What was the real meaning and ultimate purpose his life? Here is a key takeaway regarding the life of Moses. He was the tool that YHVH would use to unfold heaven’s plan of redemption for the descendents of Abraham—a plan that would eventually expand to encompass all humans. Through Moses, YHVH brings the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and adds to it the of righteousness as outline in the Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant, and in the process lays the groundwork for the New Covenant.
How did YHVH encourage and empower Moses? By reminding Moses of and reaffirming his covenantal promises made to the patriarchs, Moses’ forefathers, and by standing by his word which is summarized in his name and reputation. YHVH reaffirmed his covenant promises to Moses using his covenant name YHVH, three times (Exod 6:6, 7, 8). Here are some other examples of how Scripture uses YHVH’s covenant name along with modifying adjectives to describe his promise and ability to meet all our human needs and to fulfill his lofty plans in our lives:
Many Hebraic Christians are having difficulty finding a local fellowship to attend of like-minded believers in Yeshua and his Torah-Truth. It’s a spiritual wilderness out there! For those who YHVH is calling to walk the more biblically aligned, upward-focused Spirit and Truth path (John 4:23–24), it is a niche market, so to speak. That is, there are few people who are willing to leave the comfort zones of traditional Christianity or even a low-level Hebraic, Torah-centric walk. If you are wanting more as you are attempting to fly higher in your spiritual trajectory, but can’t find meaningful fellowship, or deep, Spirit-filled and led, meaty biblical teachings, then perhaps Elim Fellowship Online is the place for you.
For the past four years, we have been meeting online via Zoom (a free app) that is accessible via any WiFi connected device (e.g., home computer, tablet or smartphone). We meet weekly on the seventh day Sabbath (on Saturdays) and on the biblical feasts at 2:30 PM US East Coast Time (or Eastern Standard Time). Yeshua and Torah-lovers from many US states and several other countries join us weekly. We pray together, midrash, sing, share biblical insights and do formal teachings each week.
If YHVH is speaking to you about the need (and the biblical command) to assemble on his divine appointments (i.e., the weekly Sabbath and biblical feasts, Lev 23:2–3; Her 10:25–25), then please send Nathan Lawrence an email at hoshanarabbah@earthlink.net or hoshana.blog@gmail.com. Please state your name, where you are from, plus a brief testimony of how you came to Yeshua (your salvation testimony) and your interest in and involvement with the Hebraic, pro-Torah roots of our Christian faith. We will then go from there with additional details on how to connect.
The phrase “Jacob’s trouble” is a curious code term found buried deep in the prophetic writings of the ancient Jewish prophet Jeremiah who lived in the sixth century BC. Many Bible commentators have recognized that this phrase has end time prophetic implications and have attempted to decode this perplexing prophecy. Many have offered novel explanations as to its meaning. But most have fallen short. Why is this? Because unless one takes into consideration the greater contextual backdrop of this phrase, any explanation will wildly miss the target. Once the veil of mystery is lifted, this prophecy along with its Genesis 32 historical context, suddenly opens a huge panoramic window of understanding that explains the current conflict in the Middle East between the Jews and the Muslims, between the country of Israel and its surrounding neighbors as well as the tension between Islam and Christianity, plus explosive eruption of the current rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments worldwide.
Moreover, a failure to understand the meaning of “Jacob’s trouble” explains the current animus in some of the most unexpected places including among some so-called contemporary American Christian social media influencers and news commentators such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes to name a few. If these misguided and uninformed media personalities were to understand the true biblical end time implications of Jacob’s trouble, they en masse would be stunned into silence, put a hand over their mouths, and immediately shut off their microphones for a long moment of reflection and repentance. They would quickly realize that they are on the wrong side of history, the truth and YHVH Elohim, the God of the Bible. In fact, they are taking the position of the spirit of antichrist! This may seem like a wild assertion on the part of this author, but once the facts are revealed, the pieces of the puzzle will suddenly and easily fall into a place and a huge picture of undeniable truth will form and the silly, childish babbling of the foolish Israel-haters will be once and for all silenced.
Woe be to anyone who finds themselves on the side of the enemies of the God of Israel. The Pharaoh of Egypt, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, the Catholic Church, the Russian Tsar, the British Empire, Hitler, the Palestinian Authority, the Muslim Brotherhood, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Yemen and many more have attempted or are attempting in vain to squelch or even extinguish Jacob’s descendents from fulfilling their God-mandated Abrahamic Covenantal promises in one way or the other, and all have failed and are to this day still failing.
Now let’s learn what the phrase “Jacob’s trouble” means, and may the veil of ignorance be lifted and the scales fall off the eyes of the unbelievers and skeptics, and may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants along with the timeless truth of the Bible be vindicated(!)—sadly as if this should even be necessary.
“Jacob’s Trouble”—His Dark Night of the Soul in End Times Prophecy and YOU!
Jacob meeting Esau
You have probably heard the saying that the night is the darkest just before the dawn. Metaphorically speaking, when circumstances conspire against you and the outcome looks the bleakest, that is often when the rays of hope begin to shine through the darkest darkness and the outcome suddenly reveals itself. A way forward unexpectedly manifests itself out of the obscure gloom of apparent defeat and hopelessness. People of faith can more easily relate to such a scenario. This was exactly the place in which the patriarch Jacob found himself when returning to the land of Canaan—the future Promised Land. He had reached the pinnacles of success in his earthly endeavors, and now circumstances beyond his control in front of and behind him were conspiring to take everything away including his very life This is not only the story of his life, but each of us has likely found ourselves in similar spots as well. Deliverance and victory often emerge out of the darkest and bleakest periods of life. This is a test of our faith that, if we are to progress to the next level in our spiritual growth, we must pass.
Genesis 32 is the story of Jacob’s return to Canaan after having been exiled from his homeland for 20 years. His exile occurred after he obtained his divinely promised birthright through shrewd and somewhat unscrupulous means from his brother Esau resulting in his having to flee Canaan for fear of his life due to his brothers desire lust for vengeance. Jacob took refuge in the region of Babylonia at his Uncle Laban’s home, where he married Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel. After twenty years working for the greedy and treacherous Laban, Jacob had to flee Babylon with is father-in-law in angry pursuit. As if that were not enough, while Jacob and his family were returning to Canaan, they encountered Jacob’s angry brother Esau who was still angry two decades later of being cheated out of his inheritance. Esau along with a small army not only stood in Jacob’s way from entering the land of his promised inheritance, but also wanted to kill Jacob.
This account of Jacob’s personal, spiritual struggles also has prophetic, end times implications relating to the regathering out of exile of the twelve tribes of Israel (the Jews and the Christians) and their return to the Promised Land in Israel under Yeshua the Messiah at his second coming. The Scriptures refer to this time period as “Jacob’s Trouble.” This Bible verse is found in Jeremiah where we read,
Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. (Jer 30:7)
The ancient Jewish sages believe that the encounter between Jacob and Esau (no doubt informed by Jeremiah’s prophecy) is prophetic in nature and will happen again in the end times, but this time on a much larger scale involving the numerous descendants of both Israel (or Jacob) and Esau (also called Edom). That is to say, the Israelites of the end times will be attempting to return to their ancestral homeland, while the modern descendants of Esau (the forces of Antichrist as represented by the antichrist religion of Islam and their Elohim-hating allies) will be blocking their way. As we proceed in this study, we will see whether this prophecy is beginning to come to pass in these last days.
Relating to Jacob’s descendants coming into the Promised Land, the ancient Jewish sages speak of two major redemptions in Israel’s long history. The first redemption occurred when YHVH delivered the oppressed and enslaved children of Israel out of Egypt at the exodus. History will then repeat itself in what the Jewish sages refer to as “the second or final redemption,” which will occur at the end of this present era when the Messiah will regather and then lead his exiled and scattered Israelite people back to the Promised Land in fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies.
Rolling the time line backwards a little in the present story of Jacob, not only had Laban chased his son-in-law out of the area of Babylon, but Jacob was also being blocked from entering Canaan by his murderous brother Esau (or Edom). This is reminiscent of Pharaoh pursuing the Israelites as they were exodusing Egypt only to find their escape route blocked by the Red Sea. Pharaoh was the first Edom, if you will, or, stated otherwise, Edom is the second Pharaoh. In both instances, YHVH’s people were or will be forced to rely totally on him for deliverance from their enemies who were both in front of and behind them.
Initially, Jacob dealt with his crisis in a typically human way—by scheming and conniving “to save his own skin,” so to speak, instead of having faith in YHVH “to work things out.” He figured that by bribing his angry and bloodthirsty brother with wave after wave of gifts, he might appease and assuage Esau’s desire for murderous revenge (Gen 32:13–20).
Yet Jacob’s bifurcated response to this present danger by resorting to both appeasement and prayer was not acceptable to YHVH, who wanted Jacob to be a man of unmitigated faith, that is, to solely trust in him. Or as Job put it, though you slay me, yet will I trust you (Job 13:15).To bring Jacob to this point, a part of Jacob had to die: his prideful self-reliance and his inclination toward extricating himself from difficult situations through his own cunning ingenuity. This innate tendency of his, not unlike our own, was based on fear of death, and not on faith in YHVH. The Bible tells us that where there is fear, there is no love (1 John 4:18), and that YHVH has not given his people a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). For Jacob to mature spiritually, YHVH wanted him to leave the fear and faithless aspect of his human nature on the east side of the Jordan where Babylon (a spiritual metaphor for the old carnal and sinful man and the ungodly ways of this world) was located. In its place, a faith-filled man who would totally trust YHVH in all things had to rise up. Jacob could no longer trust in his soul man (i.e., his mind, will and emotions) to determine his actions; rather, he had to rely on the Spirit of Elohim to lead him as it informed his inner man or personal spirit, which would, in turn, lead his soul forward in the walk of faith. Only a man of faith, who is mighty in the Spirit and obedient to YHVH, will be deemed worthy to enter the Promised Land (see Ezek 20:33–38, especially note vv. 37–38). The children of Israel learned this lesson the hard way too. The carcasses of older generation that lacked faith in and obedience to YHVH littered the wilderness en route to the Promised Land.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it…Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience…(Heb 4:2, 6)
Like Jacob’s descendants later learned, he too had to discover that his old man, who lacked faith, had to die just before entering the Promised Land. But this was a difficult process. This is because Jacob had to come to grips with his own limitations and overcome the ugly side of his innate human nature that was directed by his mind, will and emotions and not by the Spirit of Elohim. This internal battle between the soul and the spirit occurred during a “dark-night-of-the-soul-encounter” when Jacob wrestled all night with the Messenger of Elohim (Gen 32:22–32).
The result was that in this struggle Jacob became permanently lame in his hip (Gen 32:32). He became physically injured, but more importantly, he became humbled in his heart. His soul man (i.e., his mind, will and emotions) became subservient to his spirit man (under the leading of the Spirit of Elohim). Out of his wrestling match, he gained a new identity, a new heart and a new name. Jacob the “heal catcher” became Israel “the prince of El [God]” or “the prevailer with El.” By wrestling with and overcoming his own soulish or carnal limitations, that is, his own pride, self-reliance on his mind to figure things out instead of trusting Elohim by walking in the faith and in the Spirit, he became a broken and changed man. By trusting in YHVH, he became a vessel that the Creator could use to further his plan of redemption as promised to Abraham, the father of our faith, for it was through Jacob that the birth of birth the nation of Israel was to occur.
Through events leading up to Jacob’s dark night of the soul, he learned a vital spiritual lesson: his carnal attempts at appeasing Esau gained him nothing except a slimmer net worth via the loss of material possessions. On the other hand, his wrestling with and surrendering to the Messenger of Elohim—who was, in reality, the preincarnate Yeshua—gained him and his descendants not only a nation and the Promised Land, but ultimately the whole world, through Yeshua the Messiah, and a place in YHVH’s eternal kingdom.
Interestingly and as part of a larger picture that would latter play out prophetically in the Bible’s pages, as a gambit to save his own skin from his vengeful brother, Jacob divided his family into two camps in the hopes that if Esau killed one group, the other would survive and vice versa. This was another one of his schemes that failed to work, but which has tremendous end-time prophetic implications. Genesis 32:2 records that Jacob called the name of the place where he split his family into two camps Mahanaim, which is a Hebrew word meaning “two camps” and is the plural of the root word machanah meaning “encampment, camp, camp of armed host, army camp, company or body of people.”This spot is near the River Jabok, which is a tributary to the Jordan River and is located on the east side of that river in the modern country of Jordan.During the time of the nation of ancient Israel, it was located in the Gilead region on either the border between Gad and Reuben or Gad and Ephraim. The Song of Solomon makes reference to mahanaim in chapter 6:13 where we read,
Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon you. What will you see in the Shulamite? As it were the company [Heb. m’kolah] of two armies [Heb. mahanah].
The Hebrew word m’kolah means “dance.” I see a correlation between Song 6:13 and Genesis 32:2, since mahanaim in Genesis and machneh or “two armies” in the Song of Solomon are the same word; the former is the plural and the latter is the root word.
What is the prophetic connection between these two biblical passages? It appears that Genesis 32 is a prophetic shadow-picture of just how Jacob’s descendants will come back into the land of their inheritance prior to Yeshua’s return. This prophetic scenario is confirmed in the Jeremiah 30:7—the Jacob’s trouble prophecy. In Jeremiah’s prophecy, the context is Jacob’s end time descendants (i.e., the Christians and the Jews) returning from their captivity and exile in the nations of the world.
“For behold, the days are coming,” says YHVH, “that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel [the house of Israel who would become the Christians] and Judah [the Jews],” says YHVH. “And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it…Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day,” says YHVH of hosts, “That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve YHVH their Elohim, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. (Jer 30:3, 7–10)
Obviously, this prophecy along with a resurrected King David to rule over a regathered and reunited Israel (i.e., Christians and Jews) hasn’t occurred yet. This will happen at Yeshua the Messiah’s second coming. The corollary to this prophetic passage is Ezekiel’s Two Sticks Prophecy where, again in the end times, the two camps or houses of Israel are regathered and reunited with King David ruling over them in the sight of the Messiah (Ezek 37:13–27).
