Category Archives: Weekly Scripture Readings

Blog Scripture Readings for 7-5 Through 7-11-15

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THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION:

Parashat Pinchas — Numbers 25:10 – 30:1 (29:40)* 
Haftarah — 1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21 | Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:3**
Prophets — Ezekiel 16:1 – 20:49
Writings —Ezra 1:1 – 7:28
Testimony — 2 Corinthians 2:1 – 8:24

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.

* Verse numbers in parenthesis refer to the verse number in Christian Bibles when it differs from the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh.

** A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week is the Parasha following Tzom Tamm*z.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 7/5 through 7/11/15.

 

22 Tips to Walking in the Presence of Elohim

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(From Hoshana Rabbah Biblical Discipleship Resources at www.hoshanarabbah.org.) 

It’s time to extricate YHVH Elohim from the religious boxes we all too often have confined him to in our lives. These boxes are times and places we do our “God-thing.”  This can be church or other religious services, grace at meals,  and even or personal devotional times. After having thrown a bit of religiosity at Elohim, we then go our way as if he weren’t much of a part of our lives. In this way, we keep Elohim confined to a few boxes labeled “religion.”  We keep him trapped in these closets when he wants and demands to be part of every aspect of our lives.

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Here are 22 practical tips for bringing YHVH into every aspect of your daily life.

  1. Watch and pray (Matt 26:41; Mark 13:33; 14:38; Luke 21:36).
  2. Pray that you might be counted worthy to escape YHVH’s judgments that will be coming on the earth because of wickedness (Luke 21:36).
  3. Endure to the end (Matt 24:13; Mark 13:13).
  4. Keep your eyes on the Yeshua the Lamb and follow him wherever he goes (Rev 14:4).
  5. Occupy until Yeshua comes (Luke 19:13). Be busy doing what Yeshua has called you to do.
  6. Engage in intercessory prayer, though at this time, it may not do much good, since biblical prophecy has to be fulfilled as end time events occur. This means that things will be getting worse and worse until Yeshua returns and destroys Babylon the Great New World Order.
  7. Be an overcomer in every way possible. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21). Those who overcome spiritual evil will experience great rewards (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21)
  8. Be prepared to engage in civil disobedience as a last resort, if necessary. If civil laws violate YHVH’s laws, the Bible tells us to obey YHVH’s laws over men’s laws (Acts 4:19; 5:29; Ps 94:16).
  9. Be prepared to help persecuted brothers and sisters in any way possible. You might be next the next one to be persecuted!
  10. Continue to be salt and light to those around you in every way possible (Matt 5:13–16).
  11. Don’t expect things on earth to get better. Yeshua never said it would get better, but only darker before his return. He’s coming at the midnight hour when evil will be the most pervasive and rampant on the earth.
  12. Expect intense persecution of Bible believers (2 Tim 3:12; Matt 5:10–12; 10:22–25; 23:34; Mark 10:30; John 15:19–21; 16:2, 33; 17:14; 1 Thess 3:3–4; 1 Pet 4:12–16; Rev 7:14). Yeshua and the Book of Revelation prophesy this will occur in the end times.
  13. Be wise as serpents (Matt 10:16). Find ingenious ways to circumvent Caesar’s evil and unbiblical mandates without getting caught, while at the same time being obedient to YHVH’s higher laws.
  14. Love not your lives unto death (Rev 12:11). Be willing to lose some or all of yourself for Yeshua including your material possessions. Greater rewards await you for your faithful obedience to Yeshua (Matt 10:39; 16:25).
  15. Be inspired by the great faith heros of the Bible and the Christianity (Heb 11).
  16. Come out of Babylon more completely (Rev 18:4) starting with the spiritual aspects of this evil and ungodly worldwide system.  Eventually, this may mean leaving the cities and going into communal situations into the wilderness with others like-minded believers. Some of the Roman Catholic monasteries were started by those fleeing the corruption of Rome.
  17. The more evil intensifies against you, love the light of YHVH’s truth, love Yeshua more and run to and hold on to him — the Rock of your salvation — more tightly.
  18. Love your enemies, do good to those who despitefully use you and pray for them (Matt 5:44).
  19. Put the audio Bible on your iPod or smart phone and listen to during the day.
  20. Wear tzitzits or fringes on the corners of your garments as the Torah commands to help you remember YHVH and the importance of loving him by keeping his commandments throughout the day (Num 15:37–41; Deut 22:12).
  21. Fast periodically even if it’s only for a meal or two. Among the many spiritual benefits of fasting, when you feel the hunger pangs, it will remind you to think about YHVH Elohim and the need to grow closer to him by controlling and sublimating the carnal appetites.
  22. Read your Bible and pray after you get up in the morning and as you’re going to sleep each night even if it’s only for a few minutes.
 

Beware of Modern-Day Balaams!

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Balaam — A Subverter of Divine Gifts and a Prophet of Babylon

The name Balaam means “destruction of people.” The Hebrew word bela means “destruction, confuse, confound.” The Hebrew word am means people, tribe, nation. The name Balak means “waster, to annihilate.” He was king of Moab; distant cousins to Israel through Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

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Balaam was from Pethor, a city located on the Northern Euphrates and Tigress Rivers areas called Mesopotamia in modern Syria and including modern Iraq to the south.

Balaam was a soothsayer or diviner (one who foretells or predicts events, Josh 13:22). The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash says that Balaam was a sorcerer, necromancer or wizard (one who consults evil spirits) and that the sublime prophecies he uttered over Israel were but temporary aberrations that YHVH granted him for the honor of Israel (Ibid., p. 863). These prophecies also served to glorify YHVH in the eyes of the nations. Other commentators consider Balaam to have been a true prophet of YHVH gone bad. Some consider him to have been a bad prophet going good (i.e. learning obedience to YHVH). Some consider him to have been a false prophet seeking personal fame and fortune who had prophetic abilities that he misused by mixing paganism and the truth of YHVH. This seems to be the Scriptures’ view of Balaam, for 2 Peter 2:15 indicates that Balaam had some knowledge of the truth, but turned away from it loving instead the “wages of unrighteousness.” In the book of Revelation, we learn that Continue reading →

 

A Star Is Born!

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Numbers 24:17, A Star out of Jacob. To what notable, kingly biblical figure is this prophecy referring? (See Matt 2:2; Rev 22:16 cp. Ps 2:1–12; Rev 17:14; 19:16. See also Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15.) This prophecy can have a double meaning in that it also pointed to King David who smote the Moabites and took possession of Mount Seir, the land of the Edom (vv. 17–18 cp. 2 Sam 8:2,14).

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However, both Christian and Jewish scholars have recognized the Messianic implications of this verse. For example, Akiva Ben Yosef, the rabbinic Jewish leader of the second century, applied this verse to Simon Bar Kosiba (whose name he changed to Kokhba meaning “son of the star” after the Star Prophecy of Num 24:17) who presumed to be the Messiah when he unsuccessfully attempted to defeat the Romans in the Second Jewish revolt.

Additionally, Adam Clarke notes in his commentary on this verse that Moses Ben Maimon (or Maimonidies), the Medieval Jewish Torah scholar applied this verse to the future Messiah as do the Onkelos Targum and Jerusalem Targum (the ancient Jewish Aramaic translations of the Tankah). Rashi (the medieval JewishTorah scholar) and Sforno (the renaissance Jewish Torah scholar) in their Torah commentaries note the Messianic implications of the star of Balaam’s prophecy as well (Sforno Commentary on the Torah, ArtScroll Mesorah Series).

One thing is certain, only Yeshua the Messiah can make the claim to having fulfilled this biblical prophecy!

 

The Spirit of Elohim Can Be ON But In a Person

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Numbers 24:2, The Spirit of Elohim came upon him. We see from the Scriptures that the Spirit of YHVH can come on just about anyone, but this doesn’t mean that the Spirit dwells in them, leads them, or that such a person has a heart to love, serve and obey Elohim.

For example, the Spirit of Elohim came upon King Saul who prophesied (see 1 Sam 10:9–11; 19:20–24), but Saul didn’t serve YHVH with his whole heart and eventually became a murderous, apostate occultist.

Not only does the Bible warn us to beware of prophets who prophecy falsely (e.g. Deut 13:1–5; Jer 23:9–40; Ezek 13:2; 22:24; Isa 28:7; Matt 24:4–5; 2 Pet 2:1–3), but to beware false prophets or unrighteous individuals who YHVH may use to prophecy correctly—not because they are filled with the Spirit of Elohim, but simply because the Spirit of Elohim temporarily comes upon them to accomplish YHVH’s purposes.

 

Who is the liar? Elohim or the mainstream church?

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Numbers 23:19, El is not a man that he should lie. Read the rest of this verse, which speaks about the immutable character of Elohim. (Also see Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8.) From the beginning in the Garden of Eden (thanks to the lies of Satan the serpent, see Gen 3:1–4), man has been under the spiritual delusion that Elohim changes his word, laws or commandments and that he doesn’t really mean what he says. That is to say, when YHVH gives a command, later on he may change his mind and his commands are no longer applicable to subsequent generations or people-groups.

Liar

Down through the ages, church leaders have bought in to this lie of the enemy with regard to validity of the Torah as pertaining to the life of the redeemed believer. But by saying that the Torah is “done away with,” “has been nailed to the cross” “has been fulfilled in Jesus” meaning “he did it for us so that we don’t have to do it,” isn’t this really calling Elohim a liar?

Consider the numerous places throughout the Bible, the Word of Elohim, where the Torah is revealed as YHVH’s unalterable standard of righteousness for all time and for all people everywhere. (In this regard, read the following scriptures: Ps 119:44, 142, 144, 160, 172; Matt 4:4; 5:18–19; Rom 3:31; 7:12.)

 

Have you crossed over to YHVH’s side, or are you still a Balaam?

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Numbers 22:10ff, Crossing over. Carnal men want to be like YHVH’s saints, to be the recipients of the blessings of Israel, and to be numbered among YHVH’s chosen, but few want to walk the walk required to receive these blessings and privileges. Many will “court YHVH” by getting as close to him as possible without actually crossing over that spiritual river that divides the land of Israel from the rest of the world. Those who cross over become an Ivrit or a Hebrew, which means “to cross over.”

Have you decided to cross over?

Have you decided to cross over?

Crossing over means surrendering one’s life totally to the Elohim of the Hebrews who is YHVH. The sacrifice of doing so is too great for most people to pay. To leave spiritual Babylon and to cross over the Jordan River to YHVH’s side and come into the land of Israel as a spiritual Hebrew means that the fame and fortune that this world has to offer must be laid aside and one must become a servant-slave of YHVH.

Balaam couldn’t cross over all the way. He still preferred the riches and fame Babylon had to offer. He was willful, carnal and greedy (Jude 11). Many people in the mainstream church are like Balaam.

How serious are you about serving YHVH? The Scriptures say of the end-times saints that they loved not their lives unto death (Rev 12:11). Paul declares that followers of Yeshua must become “living sacrifices” in service of YHVH (Rom 12:1). Yeshua gave his very life for you. Are you holding back some of your life for him? Do the cares of this world, the desire for pleasures, material goods, money, entertainments or acclaim still have a grip on your heart? Are they preventing you from moving into your spiritual calling and destiny—to truly walk by faith?