Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Joseph’s Faith—An Encouraging Example!

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Genesis 41:9–10, The chief butler spoke. Here the chief butler is recounting the events to Pharaoh of how he ended up in prison as if Pharaoh weren’t aware of these facts. It is quite possible that this was a new Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh who had put the butler in prison was now dead. If so, then this new Pharaoh was very young, since in Genesis 45:8 Joseph, who by now would have been at least in his late 30s, refers to himself as “a father to Pharaoh.”

YHVH’s timing is perfect. Do you have the trust in YHVH to believe that for your life? Had the chief butler remembered Joseph prior to this how would things have been different for Joseph? Would he have had the chance to interpret Pharaoh’s dream? Would he have returned to Canaan? How would the history of the nation of Israel been different? Would YHVH’s purposes have been fulfilled?

Genesis 41:16, Elohim. By this time, Joseph had endured multiple false accusations, murder attempts, enslavement and imprisonment. A man of lesser spiritual stature than Joseph might have lost his faith in Elohim along the way.

In this verse, what is the evidence that he hadn’t given up hope in his Heavenly Father, and that he had not lost sight of the dreams and promises that YHVH had made to him many years earlier?

As a form of witnessing, do you give honor to YHVH whenever you can—even to strangers as Joseph did? The fact that Joseph was able to proclaim his faith in front of one of the most powerful monarchs of his day is evidence of his strong and abiding faith in and fear of YHVH even in spite of years of mistreatment and false accusations.

Joseph is a powerful and encouraging example to the down-trodden of the world who have been persecuted for the their faith. It is possible to maintain faith in YHVH even in spite of dire circumstances, even as Joseph did.

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 12-2 Through 12-8-18

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Miketz — Genesis 41:1 – 44:17
Haftarah — 1 Kings 3:15 – 4:1; Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7**
Prophets — 1 Samuel 18:1 – 24:22
Writings — Psalms 62:1 – 68:35
Testimony — Mark 7:1 – 10:34

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day: one each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.

** A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week it is Shabbat Rosh Chodesh and during Chanukah on the traditional calendar so Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7 is read. Otherwise, 1 Kings 3:15 – 4:1 would be read.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 12/02/18 through 12/08/18.

 

On Celebrating Birthdays Including Christmas

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Genesis 40:20, Pharaoh’s birthday. The is the first of three references to birthdays in the Bible. The second one is to Job’s children who were killed on, presumably, one of their birthdays (Job 1:4, 18–19).The third reference to King Herod, who had John the Baptist beheaded on his birthday (Matt 14:6–12). Because of the fact that birthdays are associated with calamity in the Bible, some people refuse to celebrate birthdays, even though there is no direct or indirect prohibition against honoring a loved one once a year on the day of their birth. 

Though I respect a person’s right to disagree with me on this issue, it is the opinion of this writer that celebrating birthdays is neither inherently evil nor a pagan thing to do. It is merely honoring and respecting a loved one on the day marking their debut into this world. What’s evil about that? “Oh, it’s a pride thing,” someone might respond. If so, then answer me this: How is honoring and showing love by telling someone that you’re glad they were born “a pride thing”?  And if it’s pride, then Continue reading →

 

Down to Egypt (or “Hell”) or Up to the Jerusalem (or “Heaven”)?

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Genesis 39:1, Down to Egypt…down there. 

There are more than twenty references in the Bible to “going down to Egypt,” coming “up from Egypt” or words to this gist. Egypt can be taken as a biblical metaphor for the secular world and all that is in it that is in opposition to YHVH’s paths of righteousness. Egypt represents the low spiritual way of following the world, flesh and the devil that is evil that leads to death and separation from Elohim, while the Promised land, and specifically Jerusalem, is a metaphor for the spiritual high place of truth, righteousness and godliness that leads to eternal life. This is why the Bible speaks of “going down to Egypt” and “going up to Jerusalem.” 

Each person has only two choices in life on how they will conduct their lives. They must make a choice—they will make a choice purposely or inadvertently. They can choose the proverbial downward path or the highway to hell or the upward path or the highway to heaven. Everyone Continue reading →

 

Eighteen Attributes of a Demonic Spirit

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Mark 5:1–20, The Gadarene demoniac.

This encounter between Yeshua and this demon-possessed individual teaches us about the characteristics of one who is tormented, oppressed or even possessed by an evil, unclean spirit.

  • One with an unclean spirit is “unclean in thought and life” (Mark 5:2).
  • Such an individual may have a pre-occupation with things relating to death and dying (Mark 5:3).
  • They may possess superhuman strength thanks to the aid of the demon in them (Mark 5:4).
  • They may act wild, and unable to be restrained (Mark 5:4).
  • They may be prone to fits of shouting loudly (Mark 5:5), shrieking or making a shrill cry (Mark 9:18).
  • They may cut themselves, or resort to other acts of self-mutilation (Mark 5:5) or self destruction (e.g. burning oneself by fire, Matt 17:15; Mark 9:22), or attempts at drowning (Mark 9:22).
  • The demoniac may possess supernatural knowledge (Mark 5:7).
  • The demon can speak through the demonized person (Mark 5:7), or cry out (Mark 9:26).
  • A demonic spirit wants to possess or inhabit something; if not a human, then an animal (Mark 5:12), or a house, an objects like idols or books (Acts 19:19; Rev 13:15) or even a mechanical device or “matrix” (e.g. the image of the beast in Rev 13:13–14).
  • They may be clothed improperly or scantily (Mark 5:15).
  • They will not a possess a “right [sound, self-controlled, sober]” mind (Mark 5:15).
  • A demonic or an unclean spirit may cause convulsions or spasmodic contractions, bodily contortions within a person, or cause a person to be hurled to the ground (Mark 1:25; 9:18, 20) resulting in one wallowing or rolling around on the ground (Mark 9:20).
  • Epileptic-type seizures or madness can be symptoms of demon possession (Matt 17:15).
  • A demoniac may foam at the mouth (Mark 9:18, 20).
  • A demoniac may grind or gnash their the teeth (Mark 9:18)
  • A demonic spirit can cause one’s body to waste away, dry up or become rigid (Mark 9:18).
  • Demonic spirits can accompany people as they come into the congregation of YHVH (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33).
  • A demonic spirit can make one to be mute or unable to speak (Mark 9:17).

How does one deal with a demon or demonic influence in a person? The short Continue reading →

 

Midianite or Edomite slaver traders? Does the Bible contradict itself?

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Genesis 37:25, 27, 28, 36, Ishmaelites….Midianites. To whom did Joseph’s brothers sell him: to the Ishmaelites or the Midianites? Some disparagers of the Bible view this passage as proof that Scripture contradicts itself and cannot be trusted divinely inspired. So what’s really going on here?

Likely the traders this story were in a caravan comprised of different tribes or ethnics groups (e.g. Ishmaelites and Midianites), as Adam Clarke suggests in his commentary, and were traveling together for safety. That two nationalities would unite in their journey to Egypt is not far-fetched, since the land of Midian and Edom (the country of Ishmael) were contiguous—the former was located south of the latter. The Midianites would have had to travel northward toward Edom to get around the Gulf of Aqaba in order to traverse the Sinai Peninsula en route to Egypt. Therefore, it’s not inconceivable that these two groups of traders could have converged and joined together in their trek to Egypt.

Keil and Delitzsch in their commentaries point out these people-groups were referred to in ancient cultures as Arabs due to the geographical proximity of their two countries and were easily confounded by outsiders not only due to their close association socially and culturally, but due to their resemblance, and due to the fact that they shared a common ancestry from Abraham.

The seeming discrepancies in this story in no way proves that this narrative derives from the convergence of two separate oral traditions that were later written down as some modern biblical scholars suggest (e.g. The Language and Imagery in the Old Testament, pp. 38–39, by J.C.L. Gibson).

Once again, the truth of the Bible triumphs over its critics. HalleluYah!

 

Yeshua the Messiah Prophesied in the Life of Joseph

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Genesis 37–41 The Life of Joseph—A Foreshadow of Messiah Ben (Son of) Yosef

The spirit of Antimessiah (Antichrist) is on a dramatic rise in our day. It is even rampant among those who are returning to the Hebraic, Torah-centric roots of the Christian faith where some people are losing their faith in Yeshua the Messiah. A few are even converting to Rabbinic Judaism, which denies the messiahship and deity of Yeshua and the divine inspiration of the Testimony of Yeshua. Some of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of a few of the modern-day descendants of the non-believing Pharisees (i.e. the Rabbinic Jews), who use clever arguments to beguile unstable and unlearned souls into humanistic reasoning devoid of a living faith in Yeshua their Savior and the Redeemer of man. Because of a spiritual blindness that Scripture prophesied would come upon the Jews producing a hardness of heart toward Yeshua the Messiah, unbelieving Jews ignore the numerous prophetic shadow-pictures pointing to Yeshua the Messiah contained in their own Tanakh.

May the following study strengthen your faith in Yeshua the Messiah, in his divine origination in the very heart, mind and essence of Elohim, and in the fact that he was foreordained to come to this earth to reconcile sinful man to his Heavenly Father through his self-sacrifice on the cross. All this was prophesied long ago in the Tanakh. The ancient Jewish sages speak of a messianic figure coming called Messiah son of Joseph (Mashiach ben Yosef), the Suffering Servant, whose life and ministry would parallel that of Joseph, yet Continue reading →