Category Archives: Scripture

Scripture Studies

Where you want to go may depend on where you’ve been…

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  • From shepherd to spiritual leader.
  • From carpenter to spiritual house builder.
  • From fishers of fish to fishers of men.
  • From tent maker to tabernacle builder.
  • From husband and parent to church leader.
  • From your profession to ? in the kingdom of Elohim.

Exodus 3:1, Tending the flock. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness of Midian tending the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law. After this phase of his life, YHVH called and commissioned Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and then to shepherd them through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. This was the very same wilderness where Moses had shepherded Jethro’s sheep for forty years. Moses’ job as a physical shepherd prepared him for the next phase of his life—his ministry as a spiritual shepherd. 

Often YHVH chooses individuals as his servants based on their vocational background, which provides training for the spiritual ministry to which he then calls them. For example, David was a shepherd before he became the king over Israel. Amos was a picker of fruit and a shepherd who called the nation of Israel back to become good spiritual fruit and to come back to Elohim, Israel’s true spiritual Shepherd. John the Baptist was a priest calling the Jews to repent of sin and to become a holy nation. Yeshua was a carpenter before he became a builder of the spiritual house of Israel (Heb 3:3–6; 1 Pet 2:5), and several of Yeshua’s disciples were commercial fishermen before becoming “fishers of men” or apostolic evangelists. Paul was a tent maker helping to raise up the fallen tabernacle of David. Sometimes our physical vocations may be an indicator of what our spiritual calling is. 

Being a shepherd of physical sheep is a most suitable profession to prepare one for tending YHVH’s spiritual sheep. A shepherd has to put the needs, comfort, care and protection of the sheep above his own needs and wants. This is one reason why the Scriptures refer to those who care for and protect YHVH’s spiritual sheep as shepherds or pastors. 

There are many similarities between physical and spiritual shepherds, and physical and spiritual sheep. Unless one has been a physical shepherd and cared for physical sheep or even children, it is unlikely these reasons will be readily apparent. This is why being a parent is a one of the qualifications for being an elder or deacon in the church (1 Tim 3:2, 4, 12; Tit 1:6).

 

Moses’ Rotten Apple Son

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Exodus 2:22, Gershom. A sad piece of Bible trivia is that some of Moses’ descendants didn’t follow in his righteous steps. Gershom’s sons became idol worshipers (Judg 18:30–31). Many of the children of righteous men in the Bible didn’t follow in the footsteps of their fathers in remaining faithful to Elohim. 

Examples rotten apple children falling from good fruit trees include Isaac (Esau), Aaron (Nadab and Abihu), Samuel (1 Sam 8:1–3), and David and many of the other righteous kings of Judah. 

What’s more, the Bible tells us nothing about the spiritual status of the sons of any of the prophets or apostles. Whether they remained faithful to YHVH or not, we don’t know. If they had been notable in their service to YHVH, it seems that Scripture would have some record of it. 

One thing seems certain. Most of the high visibility servants of YHVH were solitary figures. Little if anything is known about their spouses, families or children who seemed to play no major role in the key figure’s ministry activities. 

Interestingly, there are also several examples of righteous sons coming from unrighteous fathers and vice versa. This is the case with several of the kings of Judah. 

All this is to say that just because a child was raised well in a godly family doesn’t guarantee they will continue to serve Elohim and walk in righteousness. Likewise, just because a child was raised in an ungodly, even wicked family, doesn’t mean they will be wicked and ungodly. 

Salvation is an individual matter. YHVH calls and chooses whom he will, and it’s up to the individual to respond to that calling. Some will respond, but most will not. As Yeshua said, many are called, but few are chosen (Matt 22:14), the gate is wide that leads down the wrong path, while the one that leads down the straight path is narrow (Matt 7:13). One thing is certain though. The Father’s arms are open wide for his prodigal children to return to him, and so should ours (Luke 11:15–31).

 

On the blind leading the blind…

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Luke 6:37–45, Judge not…Give…Can the blind…a good tree. What can we learn from these seemingly unrelated statements of Yeshua? Simply this: When we are a giver, not only does the Divine Giver repay us from his heavenly storehouse, but other people will bless us in our bosom—in the depths of our innermost being. This is the law of reciprocity at work: You reap what you sow. 

Now what does Yeshua’s discussion of the blind leading the blind have to do with giving? Let’s connect the dots. When we’re not a giver or being river of life to others, but are stingy, niggardly, selfish and self-absorbed, and it blinds us from seeing our way forward. It also hinders us from helping others to see their way forward. Therefore, the blind are leading the blind. 

Our stinginess and lack of generosity brings bad fruits, which then leads us to the next point that Yeshua makes. A tree is known by its fruits. Those who are generous will be like trees that produce good fruit, while those who are stingy and selfish will be like trees that produce bad fruit. We see the law of reciprocity at work here—you reap what you sow. 

Yeshua concludes by saying that when one has an evil (or stingy) heart, then the result or fruits of one’s life will be evil, for the words of one’s mouth are the window into the heart or the fruits that reveal the true condition of one’s innermost being. 

Now let’s wrap this back around to verse 37 to where Yeshua warns us against judging other. When our heart is evil, our heart will be blinded to our own sinfulness or spiritual blindness, and we will be unable to render accurate or righteous judgment (John 7:24) on any matter. Instead, we will be rendering unrighteous, blind or hypocritical judgment, and, as such, we’ll stand in danger of being judged ourselves.

Luke 6:40, Perfectly/fully trained. Those disciples of Yeshua, the Master-Teacher, who are properly trained, fit out, prepared or equipped can become like Yeshua the Master-Teacher. Those who aren’t properly equipped or trained to teach are like the blind leading the blind and will cause others to fall into a spiritual ditch (Luke 6:39). 

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In times of trouble, call 9-1-1 (Psalm 91:1…)!

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Psalm 91:1 (and the rest of Psalm 91) Is the Biblical 9-1-1 to Call in Our Time of Trouble

Psalm 91:1, Secret. Heb. cether means “covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy,” and is from the root word meaning “to hide, conceal.” When troubles comes our way like a tidal wave, the natural human reaction is to stand and fight or to flee in fear. In psychology this is known as the fight or flight response. The Bible teaches us there is both a time to fight and a time to flee (Eccl 3:1; Matt 24:16; 12:14 cp. Eph 6:14; Luke 19:13), but at all times we need to be hiding in the secret place of our relationship with our Almighty Father in heaven, to which the latter part of this verse alludes. Out of that place, and from under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty and in his throne room, we will not be cowering in fear from our enemies, but we will find the courage, will and stamina to stand firm in faith, and, if necessary, to come out and to fight the enemy not in our own strength, but in that of Elohim as led and guided by his Spirit. 

Abide. Heb. luwn means “to lodge, stop over, pass the night or abide.” A lodge is a place where one temporarily spends the night. When dark times come our way, we need to stop over, spend the night, run to and abide in the throne room of the Almighty! This speaks of prayer, worship, praise and studying his Word.

Psalm 91:1, 4, Under the shadow of the Almighty…under his wings. According to the ancient Jewish sages, Moses composed this psalm for the tribe of Levi who dwelt under the shadow of the wings of cherubim that stood over the ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle of Moses—a physical representation of YHVH’s throne room in heaven. The sages go on to explain that the psalmist describes the devout man of faith who lives with Elohim in his heart, and who never leaves Elohim’s shadow. Such a man is a true biblical hero of faith to whom Elohim pledges (v. 16) he will satisfy with long life and show him his salvation (The ArtScroll Tanach Series Tehillim/Psalms Commentary on Ps 91). This psalm ends with the promise of the blessing of long life to those love and serve YHVH, and beyond that, salvation, which is the Hebrew word Yeshua—the very name of the coming Messiah who would offer his people deliverance from the ultimate enemy, namely sin and its death penalty. The result of this deliverance is the glorious divine gift of eternal life through faith in Yeshua the Messiah—the supreme gift and blessing of all! This psalm is a prophecy pointing to the Messiah.

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My Notes on Exodus 1 and 2

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Exodus 1

Exodus 1:7, Increased abundantly…multiplied. This was a partial fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy in Gen 48:16 and 19. 

Exodus 1:11, Taskmaster…afflict them. Taskmaster literally means “gangs of government officials who exacted or levied tribute or taxes from the Israelites by forcing them to work as serfs.” These government bureaucratic goons forced the Israelites, through affliction, into compulsory service involving government works projects. The Egyptians imposed a fascistic socialistic system upon the Israelites, which was a form of slavery. 

Exodus 1:19–21, Midwives said. The righteous, Elohim-fearing midwives (v. 17), chose to obey Elohim rather than to follow government edicts that violated the laws of the Creator. This necessitated them lying to the Egyptians to preserve the lives of the innocent babies. This teaches us that it is not only acceptable to lie, but it is even commendable in YHVH’s eyes, to preserve life (see also Josh 1:17 where Rahab lied to protect the Israelite spies from certain death, and 1 Sam 20:6 where David had Jonathan lie for him to save his life from the murderous Saul). For their work of preserving innocent lives, YHVH blessed the midwives (vv. 20–21). In reality, the midwives were pro-life, anti-abortion activists who were given a place of honor in YHVH’s hall off fame for the righteous.

Exodus 2

Exodus 2:16; 3:1 (also 18:1), Priest of Midian. Heb. kohen meaning “priest, principal officer or chief ruler.” In the days prior to the Levitical priesthood, the Bible considers a father to be the priest of his family (see Exod 19:22, 24). Since Torah mentions three times that Jethro was the priest of Midian, evidently he was more than just a spiritual leader to his family; he was likely also a regional leader.

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Yeshua on Religious Tradition

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Luke 5:33–39, Fast often…eat and drink? The sayings of Yeshua are often enigmatic. This passage is one of them. Here is one possible interpretation of these difficult words of Yeshua. It was evident by the questions the Jews were asking Yeshua that he and his disciples weren’t following the accepted norms of the day in how they expressed themselves religiously. 

Yeshua explains that our religious expression rather should fit the spiritual times and seasons (as determined by the Spirit of Elohim) in which we find ourselves, and that we shouldn’t just blindly follow men’s religious traditions. This will put us out of synch with the heart and will of Elohim. 

Yeshua then goes on to illustrate his point by saying that some things don’t fit with other things because they’re mismatched such as a new patch on old clothes, or new wine in old wineskins. 

The bottom line is this: If one tries to pound the proverbial round peg into the square hole, both the peg and hole will be ruined. Or put in spiritual terms, what is to be gained from trying to beat the round peg of YHVH’s will into the square hole of men’s traditions or expectations? Sometimes the old traditions are better, and sometimes the new ways are better. Wisdom and being in tune with the will and heart of Elohim will determine which way is preferable.

As we grow stronger in our spiritual maturity, hopefully we will learn to bend more with the wind of the Holy Spirit, and not so much with the winds of men’s doctrines, traditions and opinions.

 

Yeshua on Divine Healing

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Luke 5:17, The power [Gr. dumanis] of YHVH was present. Sometimes the power of YHVH is present to heal people, sometimes it is not. There are many factors that determine if and when a person is healed divinely. These include such things as the sovereign will of Elohim for that person’s life, the faith of the individuals performing or receiving the healing, repentance of sin or the lack thereof, divine judgment, trials Elohim may be allowing in one’s life for character refinement (think righteous Job and Paul’s thorn in the flesh), and whether one is a saint or not and many more factors about which we may or may not be aware due to our limited human understanding of the spiritual dimension where Elohim operates.

Let’s now explore the healing activities of Yeshua to see what we can learn about the spiritual mechanics of divine healing.The Greek word dunamis in the phrase, “the power [dumanis] of YHVH was present” means “strength, power, ability” or, as often used in the Testimony of Yeshua, it can mean “miraculous power.” This statement by Luke is interesting when it comes to understanding the dynamics of Yeshua’s healing activities. Did Yeshua heal all people all the time, or only when the power of Elohim was present for him to do so? This verse, at least in this case, would indicate the latter. Elsewhere, we read that Yeshua “healed many that were sick” (Mark 1:34), but not all that were sick. On other occasions, the Gospels record indicates that Yeshua did in fact heal all the sick who were brought to him (Matt 4:23–25; 9:35; Luke 6:19). 

The Gospels also reveal some other interesting facts about Yeshua’s healing activities that we often pass over. On at least one occasions, Yeshua prayed to heal someone and they were only partially healed. Only after he prayed for them the second time, were they completely healed (Mark 8:22–25). Why was this? Couldn’t Yeshua have healed them the first time? Of course, but perhaps their faith wasn’t yet strong enough for them to be healed. Or maybe Yeshua was teaching us that sometimes we have to demonstrate persistent faith and keep seeking healing until the healing occurs. On other occasions, Yeshua healed people after he was “moved with compassion [love and pity]” for someone who was sick (Matt 14:14; Mark 1:41; Luke 7:13–15). The Greek word for compassion, literally means “to be moved in one’s bowels,” or in the deepest areas of one’s emotions. At other times, people simply touched Yeshua’s clothing as he was walking by, and the miraculous power (Gr. dunamis) of Elohim flowed from him and healed them (Matt 9:20; Mark 6:56; Luke 8:44 cp. Luke 6:19). They had the faith to be healed, and the received their miracle.

Elsewhere, it appears that Yeshua’s healing activities were hampered by the presence of those who ridiculed him and exhibited doubt and unbelief, which is why, on one occasion, he put the doubters out of the room and closed the door behind them, when he raised the little girl from the dead (Mark 5:40–42). Similarly, in his hometown of Nazareth, Yeshua “could do no mighty works there” except for healing a few sick people, “because of their [the townspeople’s] unbelief” (Mark 6:5–6; also Matt 13:58). Matthew’s account adds that the people of Nazareth were offended (literally, scandalized) by Yeshua, or that they stumbled over (or judged unfavorably, distrusted) Yeshua. Because of their low esteem for him, they lacked the faith to receive healing, which is why he healed so few people in that town.

When it comes to praying for divine healing, when in doubt, always look for an opportunity to pray for a sick person. Before praying, one must discern the situation. Does the person have faith to be healed? Is the anointing or Presence of YHVH there to heal the person? How is the Spirit of Elohim directing one to pray? Sometimes we sense the need to pray more authoritative prayers, other times, more pleading or intercessory prayers, and still other times prayers of agreement while asking heaven for the healing.

What’s more, prospective converts and new believers tend to have their prayers for healing answered more quickly, since this is a demonstration of the signs Yeshua promised that would follow the preaching of the gospel. Yeshua declared that divine healing as a result of the laying on of hands was to be a result of the preaching of the gospel to the unsaved (Mark 16:15–18).True, the saint can be healed, but often this will occur after having their faith stretched and refined. Therefore, the healing sometimes takes longer to receive.