Ecclesiastes 11 and 12—The Bottom Line

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Ecclesiastes 11

Ecclesiastes 11:1–2, 6, Cast your bread. Go through life being a giver, for it will come back to you. Some people call it karma (a Hindu expression reflecting the pagan idea of reincarnation). In the Bible, on the other hand, it can be referred to as the law of reaping and sowing or the law of reciprocity: you reap what you sow. 

Ecclesiastes 11:3, If…there it shall be. Many things that happen in life are what they are, and you cannot change them, so accept them and just deal with it.

Ecclesiastes 11:4, He who observes the wind. If one spends one’s life waiting around for ideal conditions before doing anything, then one will never accomplish anything.

Ecclesiastes 11:5, You do not know. If it is impossible for us to wrap our brains around aspects of Elohim’s physical creation and how he interacts with humans on a spiritual level, then how can we understand his ways and methods? (Why even try to understand things that are above our limited capacity to do so? It is futile. Just praise, worship and obey YHVH Elohim!) For example, modern science has discovered much about the world around us, but wherever scientists’ searches take them, they eventually hit up against a wall of impenetrable mystery beyond which lays the unexplainable and ultimately the spiritual realm or dimension and the divine. Why not be a wise person and skip the middle man and go there directly by seeking, praising, worshipping and obeying YHVH Elohim?

Ecclesiastes 11:7–10, O young man. This is a final call to young people, upon whose shoulders the future rests, to wake up from the often foolish youthful ways and to face reality and the light of truth while they are still young and before it is too late. The old and wise Preacher instructs the youth to enjoy life, but that while doing so, not forget that a day of reckoning is coming. Even though ultimately everything in life is vanity or empty, meaningless nothingness, there is nevertheless something else beyond it all that is there for those who are wise and will open their eyes to the reality of this truth.

Ecclesiastes 12

Ecclesiastes 12:1, Creator[s]. Heb. boreka, plural. (For more examples of the plurality of the Creator, see also Job 35:10; Isa 54:5; Ps 149:2 according to Bible commentators Keil and Delitzsch, Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry, Jamison Faucett and Brown, and John Gill.)

Ecclesiastes 12:1, Remember. Remember means “do not forget.” With youth comes the zest for life, idealism, much energy, many distractions and the notion that one will live forever, that is, that old age is so far down the road that who needs to think about end of life issues? The wise Preacher says, “No! Stop now while you are young and remember your Creator.” Remember is the Hebrew word zakar meaning “to think about, meditate upon, pay attention, recollect, commemorate, invoke and confess.” This word indicates deep thoughtfulness and critical thinking. How many young people (and even older folks) stop even for a moment from the busyness of life to deeply ponder the long term consequences of their actions before the difficult days of old age come? When one is young is the time to make the necessary adjustments in one’s life, so that one will end up in a good place at the end of life when it is too late to do so. And the missing ingredient to insuring this, according to the Preacher, is to “remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” This is such a simple instruction, yet so hard for most young people to implement. Very few heed this advice, and if so, only marginally. Sadly, most young people end up only giving their Creator the left over crumbs of their time, energy and attention.

Ecclesiastes 12:2–8, The rigors of old age. In this section, the Preacher describes in the most graphic and poetic terms the perils and difficulties of old age. He especially focuses on health issues and the deterioration of the body along with life’s desires and passions. All begins to die until there is little left to live for and mere existence becomes a painful and burdensome task.

Ecclesiastes 12:6, Remember your Creator. Even though this phrase is not in the original Hebrew text, it is implied, which is why the translators inserted it here. So once again, the wise Preacher, after describing the perils and plight of old age, challenges the youth to factor their Creator into the equation of life while they are young before it is too late—before death stops the time clock of life and the judges’s gavel falls and the final judgment on one’s life is rendered. As Scripture reveals elsewhere, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” (Heb 9:27), and “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).

Ecclesiastes 12:7, The spirit will return to Elohim. Previously, the Preacher almost provokes if not taunts the reader into thinking about end of life issues by asking the question, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?” (Eccl 3:21). Now at the end of his dissertation, he affirmatively declares that the spirit of man returns to Elohim who gave it. This is an important fact to consider in that there is a part of each of us that returns to Elohim at the time of death. Even though each man possesses as an aspect of his makeup a immortal substance called spirit (along with his soul and body; see 1 Thess 5:23; see also Heb 4:12; Luke 23:46; Ps 90:10), this in no way implies that the spirit of man is conscious after the body’s death. Scripture is silent on this subject. Yet one thing is clear. Physical death is not the end of the human. There is more, yet the Preacher fails to elucidate on this point. 

Ecclesiastes 12:8, Vanity of vanities. As we have noted before, this phrase is found only twice in Ecclesiastes: once at the beginning of the book (Eccl 1:2) and here again at the end. Also, as discussed previously vanity is the Hebrew word hebel meaning “vapor, breath, wind” or figuratively, as the author of this book often uses it, “worthless, senseless, empty, futile or vacuous.” The root of the word hebel is the verb “to act emptily.” Thus, as we have seen after examining Ecclesiastes, the vast majority of human activities can be summed up as nothing more than being emptiness, meaningless and senseless. As the Preacher starts the book, so he ends the book with this terse and seemingly hopeless summation of life…yet he does not actually leave the reader in this hopeless place.

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14, Hear the conclusion. “Look heavenward!” the Preacher seems to declare. Through the gloomy mist and fog of life’s conundrums, the author continually encourages his readers to look up toward the heavens for the answers to the nagging questions about the meaning and purpose of life. He then concludes by saying,

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Elohim and keep His [Torah] commandments, for this is man’s all. For Elohim will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. (Eccl 12:13–14)

Couple these verses with the revelation that the human spirit returns to Elohim when we die (v. 7), and that each of us will be judged for what we have done while in our bodes and rewarded accordingly (2 Cor 5:10), and if a person heeds the advice of the Preacher, it will end up well for him eternally.

Therefore, the overall message Ecclesiastes may seem gloomy and hopeless, there is a silver lining, so to speak, in this dark cloud called life for those who remember their Creator and look up and fear him by obeying his Word.

 

Natan’s Notes on Matthew 24—Where are we at in end times biblical prophecy?

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Today, Shabbat, I have been busy studying and writing in preparation for Yom Teruah—the Day of Shouting or Shofar Blasts. In several days (Thursday, Sept. 9 on the biblical crescent new moon, abib barley calendar), my family and I will be celebrating this first of four fall biblical feasts, which our rabbinic Jewish brothers incorrectly refer to as Rosh Hashanah—an unbiblical name. Although Scripture gives us but scant information about this high holy day, its significance relative to the disciple of Yeshua’s cannot be overestimated.

In light of the current global chaos occurring on so many fronts and the tidal wave of evil that is systematically sweeping across the earth, Yom Teruah affords the faithful saint a great opportunity to celebrate in advance a glorious upcoming event. This is because Yom Teruah not only points prophetically to the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah but to the resurrection and glorification of his righteous saints as well. (See my in-depth study article on the subject at https://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/yom_teruah.pdf)

In preparation for celebrating this biblical holiday, I have put together a study on Matthew 24, the famous Olivet Discourse, where Yeshua talks about end time events as they will occur in more or less chronological order. This is an excellent place to attempt to figure to where we are at in the progression of events that signify the end of the age or end times just before the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah.

What follows is my best analysis of the subject based on decades of Bible study. However, I reserve the right to be wrong on anything that I write below. Regardless of biblical understanding, we are still looking through a glass darkly, and we will not fully understand end time events until they are occurring or have already occurred. This is a biblical provable fact regardless of what the profit motive driven Christian prophecy pundits and prognosticators will tell you.

So here is my best analysis on the first part of Matthew 24.

Matthew 24

Matthew 24:1–51, The Olivet Prophecy and the Book of Revelation. See notes in Revelation entitled “Revelation and the Olivet Prophecy (i.e. Matt 24 and 25) Compared.”

Matthew 24:1, The buildings of the temple.The geographical context of Yeshua’s Olivet Discourse contained in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 is the Temple Mount containing Herod’s Temple (vv. 1–2), and from the vantage point of the Mount of Olives overlooking the same (v. 3ff).

Matthew 24:3, Do you see? Yeshua’s predicts the destruction of the temple—a prophecy that was clearly fulfilled in A.D. 70.

Matthew 24:3, Tell us. Yeshua’s statement as to the destruction of the temple elicits further questions from his disciples. Yeshua’s following discourse is in response to three questions that his disciples asked him, while on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount. These three questions were:

  • When shall these thing be?
  • What shall be the sign of your coming…
  • And the [sign of] end of the age?

The first question is in response to Yeshua’s statement that the temple would be destroyed. The temple was destroyed approximately forty years later in A.D. 70.

The second questions is more open-ended as to the timing of its fulfillment. The disciples knew that Yeshua would eventually return as the Conquering King, Son of David Messiah, even as so many Old Testaments prophets had predicted and of which the disciples were well aware. The disciples had no way of knowing whether Yeshua’s second coming was imminent or far away timewise.

The third question refers to the end of this present age age when Messiah will establish is kingdom on earth—a subject that many Old Testament prophets had written about. We now refer to this Messianic Age as the Millennium based on John’s book of Revelation. There we learn that at the end of this present age, Yeshua will return from heaven to destroy the world-ruling kingdom of Satan (called Mystery Babylon the Great) along with all of his demonic and human minions, and will then establish his kingdom on this earth for one thousand years.

So as we can see, the three questions that Yeshua’s disciples asked and that he subsequently answered cover a long time span including from the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 until the end of the age some two thousand years later.

Therefore, the Olivet Prophecy must be viewed as being fulfilled over a long, protracted time-frame. This view, however, has not been that of many classical Christian scholars, who, rather, have viewed Yeshua’s prophecy as having been fulfilled in A.D. 70 and subsequently thereafter with the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church as Yeshua’s supposed kingdom on the earth. It is total folly to view the largely apostate, paganized Roman Catholic Church with all of its offshoot denominations as representing Yeshua’s millennial kingdom on earth for several reasons. 

First, the Roman Catholic Church and its spiritual daughters have, to one degree or another, failed to walk in Yeshua’s Torah-truths that he came to bring to its fullest expression (Matt 5:17) and not to destroy (Matt 5:18), and which he commanded his disciples to obey (Matt 5:20; John 14:15, 21) and teach (Matt 28:20). Rather, the Catholic Church and her spiritual daughters have spurned much of his Torah. 

Second, all of these churches, in spite of the good works they may done on this earth in the name of Jesus, have not fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that speak of the universal rule of King Messiah on this earth in specific detail. It certainly cannot be said that the Roman Catholic Church has fulfilled these millennial prophecies.

Third, the book of Revelation speaks of many events that have yet to transpire and that must happen before the Millennium. Most notable of these is Yeshua’s return on a white horse with his saints and the overthrow of all of men’s governments, and the defeat and banishment of Satan and his minions into the abyss for one thousand years. 

Matthew 24:4, Deceive [Gr. planao] you/lead you astray. Planao means “to lead astray via fraudulence and seduction.”  The fact that Yeshua mentions this warning first emphasizes the importance he places on this point. The fact that Satan comes as an angel of light seeking to devour spiritually whomever he can is the first and foremost tactic of the enemy of which the saints must be aware. The moment Elohim reveals his Truth to humans, whether it was in the Garden of Eden to the first humans, or in the form of his Son as the Word of Elohim incarnate, the enemy has been there to counterfeit it and to lead and to lure humans astray. His tactics have not changed from then until now and on to the end of the age.

Matthew 24:5, I am the Messiah. In Gospels of Mark and Luke, this phrase simply reads, “I am” (Mark 13:6; Luke 21:6). This can possibly be viewed as a Hebraic allusion to the I AM of Exodus 3:14, to which Yeshua likened himself in John 8:58. Matthew’s account adds the title the Messiah to I am. The word Messiah is from the Hebrew word mashiach meaning “an anointed or consecrated one.” Here Yeshua is plainly telling us that after him, many deceivers will come claiming to be the one that heaven has anointed or consecrated as its divine messenger to humans. The world is full of pseudo-messiahs and those claiming to be Elohim’s messenger and billions of people have been deceived to follow many false religions. Mohammed, the founder of Islam is a leading example of false prophet or anointed one. There have been plenty of such individuals in the Christian church as well. 

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Blog Scripture Readings for 9-5 Through 9-11-21

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Parashat Vayelekh — Deuteronomy 31:1-30
Haftarah — Isaiah 55:6 – 56:8 | Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20; Joel 2:15-27**
Prophets — Micah 7; Nahum; Habakkuk
Writings — 2 Chronicles 16:1 – 22:12
Testimony — Revelation 2:1 – 8:13

Our current annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2020-2021 with daily readings that began on 10/11/20 is available to download and print. The new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2021-2022 that begins on 9/26/21 is now available to download and can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links”. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.

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 or the “share your thoughts” box 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 and/or Maftir is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week it is Shabbat Shuva on the traditional calendar. Otherwise, Isaiah 55:6 – 56:8 would be read.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 9/5 through 9/11/2021.

 

The Plain Truth About the New Covenant

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Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8:2, 5, The true tabernacle…heavenly things. The Tabernacle of Moses was merely an earthly or physical replica of the one that exists in heaven where Yeshua is no ministering as our Great High Priest before the throne of YHVH Elohim the Father (see Heb 9:11, 23–24; Rev 8:3–5; 9:13; 14:17, 18; 16:7, 17; 11:19; 15:5, 6). 

Hebrews 8:6, Better covenant … better promises. (See Heb 9:11–15.) In the Greek, the word better is kreitton meaning “more useful, more serviceable, more advantageous, more excellent.” The Renewed Covenant is a better covenant for the reasons discussed in the notes in verse eight. In 2 Cor 3:7 calls it “the ministry of the Spirit” and refers to it as “more glorious” than the former covenant. The Renewed Covenant comes with Yeshua’s promise that from within our heart the Set-Apart Spirit will empower and lead us into all truth. Moreover, under the Renewed Covenant, the promise of salvation resulting in eternal life in the kingdom of Elohim is spelled out more clearly. The Renewed Covenant also carries with it relief from the penalty of the law, which is death, for those who put their faith in Yeshua’s atoning and substitutionary death (see notes at 2 Cor 3:7). Through the Spirit and blood of Yeshua, one’s sin conscience is now cleansed in that the guilt from sin is removed (Heb 9:14). Also, as discussed in the verse eight notes, the covenant (or contract) is the actual agreement between two parties. The terms and conditions of a covenant (or contract) are something else. Torah was the terms and conditions of YHVH’s agreement between himself and his people. When the author here uses phrase like “better covenant,” this in no way implies that the Torah has been abrogated. If this were true, then this flies in the face of what is said elsewhere in the Testimony of Yeshua to the contrary (e.g. Matt 5:17–19; Acts 21:24; 24:14; 25:8; Rom 3:31; 7:14; 1 John 2: 3–6; 3:4; Rev 12:17; 14:17; 22:14).

Hebrews 8:8, Finding fault with them. What was the fault of the first covenant? The Torah-law of Elohim, or the people who failed to abide by the terms of the covenant, i.e, the Torah? The next verse gives us the answer: “because they continued not in my covenant…” The Israelites were at fault.

YHVH gave Israel his Torah-laws (or instructions in righteousness) to teach them how to love him and to love their neighbors (Mark 12:29–31). If they followed his Torah-instructions, he promised to bless them (Deut 28:1–14), and declared that all would go well with them (Deut 4:30). Of course, we know the sad history of ancient Israel and how they rebelled against YHVH again and again. There was nothing wrong with his Torah laws, which said, you shall not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, covet, kidnap, commit homosexuality or incest, worship false gods, take YHVH’s name in vain, keep his Sabbaths, don’t practice divination, honor your parents and so on. What’s wrong with these? Nothing. The fault was with the people who failed to abide by these standards of righteousness, and this is exactly what the author of Hebrews is saying here. Because the people broke their contractual or covenantal agreement with YHVH and literally abandoned him for false gods, he was forced to make a new covenant with other people who would have the heart and love and obey him. This is exactly what Jeremiah prophesied would occur, and the writer of Hebrews is simply quoting Jeremiah in this passage. What is the main difference between the first and second covenants? As the Israelites of old didn’t have the heart to obey YHVH because of the hardness (or carnality) of their hearts (Heb 3:8, 15; 4:2, 7), YHVH promised through Jeremiah to renew his covenant with the descendants of the ancient Israelites (i.e. the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Jer 31:31; Heb 8:8), but this time, by his Spirit, he would write his Torah-laws on their hearts and in their inward parts, so they wouldn’t resist obeying him, but would desire to be pleasing in his sight. So the fault was with the hard-hearted Israelites, not with YHVH standards of righteousness called his Torah-laws!

New covenant. (For a discussion on the etymology behind the phrase new covenant see notes at Matt 26:28.)The (renewed) covenant of Jeremiah 31:31 is the same covenant to which the writer of Hebrews makes reference in Hebrews 8:7–13. From the author’s perspective, the renewed covenant isn’t fully in place yet, and the former covenant is decaying (wearing out), growing old and vanishing away (disappearing). The indication is that it has not totally gone away yet.

Yeshua initiated the renewed covenant at his last Passover supper (Luke 22:20). The renewed covenant has already been presented for believers in Yeshua, but it hasn’t been universally applied to all Israel yet. This will occur when the two houses of Israel will return to the Promised Land after they have been set free from spiritual Babylon. 

YHVH’s Word tells us that no man can add or subtract from the terms of the renewed covenant (Gal 3:15). When Yeshua initiated this covenant at his Passover, the Torah was in force then, and not one jot or tittle was removed from the Torah, which are the terms of the former and renewed covenants. Any traditions that came into the Christian (Sunday, Christmas, etc.) or Jewish religious systems which are contrary to the Torah are men’s additions, and are therefore invalid.

Even as there was a gradual process of phasing in the former or first (old) covenant, the same is true of the renewed covenant. With the former covenant, the Israelites put the blood or the lamb on their door posts at Passover, prepared themselves for to meet YHVH at Mount Sinai (Exod 19), were then presented with the terms and conditions of the Sinai Covenant at Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, Exod 20–23), and then the covenant was ratified (Exod 24). After that, subsequent generations of Israelites automatically entered into that covenantal agreement as they were born (Deut 29:12–15). Similarly, Yeshua initiated the renewed covenant with redeemed Israelites in his day when his blood was put on the cross at Passover, and when he wrote his Torah (the terms and conditions of the renewed covenant on their hearts by his Spirit on Pentecost. This began the process of regathering scattered and adulterous Israel back to YHVH through the blood of Yeshua the Lamb of Elohim.

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Deuteronomy 29 Notes

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Deuteronomy 29

Deuteronomy 29:4, A heart to perceive.This verse prophesied the outpouring of the Spirit of Elohim en masse on humans.

Deuteronomy 29:15, Not here with us today.This verse teaches us that YHVH made his covenant not only with the Israelites present there that day, but with all those who would live in the future. What are the implications of this with regard to your life? How does it impact what you do, how you act, your attitude and relationship with your Maker to know that covenants were made 3500 years ago that have a bearing on our lives today as Redeemed Israelites or the Israel of Elohim (see Gal 6:16)? 

There are those in the modern church who will say, “Since I’m not an Israelite, but I’m a Gentile Christian, therefore, I have no obligation toward the Torah, and thus the Old Testament laws mean little or nothing to me.” 

My response to this argument that, with the flick of the hand and the nod of the head, dismisses two-thirds of Scripture—the Word of Elohim—is simple. The idea that a born again believer is still a Gentile—a lie that the church system has convinced most Christians to believe—isn’t biblically substantiated. The Scriptures are clear on this point. For example, Paul calls redeemed believers the “one new man” and part of the nation of Israel. And who are the ex-Gentiles that Paul talks about who were aliens to the covenants (plural, referring to the Abrahamic Covenant revealing the path to salvation, the Mosaic Covenant revealing the path of righteousness and the New Covenant, which is the previous two covenants written on our spiritually circumcised hearts) of Israel, but have now been brought into the commonwealth of Israel through the work of Yeshua? (See Eph 2:11–19.) Remember, there’s no Gentile gate in the New Jerusalem—only the 12 gates named after the 12 tribes of Israel. So what tribe are you?

Additionally, some might question whether covenants made with one’s forefathers are applicable to us today. If this is your case, then let us pose the following question: Did the founding fathers of America make laws more than 200 years ago (i.e. the U. S. Constitution) that are binding upon us today? If so, how much more applicable upon us are covenants made by our forefathers 3500 years ago with YHVH? Just because our ­forefathers broke their covenant with YHVH does not free us to violate YHVH’s laws any more than if someone in the past violates a nation’s constitutional law frees this frees future generations from violating that law. Think about it! 

Deuteronomy 29:16–19, Emboldened to sin. As we pass through the spiritual wilderness of the world around us (verse 16) on our way to the Promised Land of our eternal inheritance, it’s easy for us sin-oriented beings to justify our personal rebellion, our sinful habits, our lustful and materialistic thoughts on the basis of carnal rationalizations. Delusions are tempting. It is all too easy to fall prey to such excuses as, “Everyone around me is doing it,” or, “It feels like it’s okay to do,” or, “If it feels good, do it,” or “YHVH’s laws don’t apply to me … that was for the people back then, not for us today,” or, “That’s not what the church I belong to teaches,” or, “Surely YHVH doesn’t expect us to keep his commandments … they’re too hard to do … we can’t really do all that stuff today,” or, “We’re under grace today … that stuff has been done away … Jesus fulfilled it … nailed it to the cross,” etc. Do these statements square with YHVH’s words of truth? If we have fallen prey to such excuses to disregard the Creator’s commandments, we have, in reality, emboldened ourselves to continue sinning. The question each person needs to ask themselves is, “Do what I believe and practice square with YHVH’s Word?” Is YHVH pleased with our excuses or our obedience? What did Yeshua say would be an identifying mark of those who would love him? (Read John 14:15.)

Deuteronomy 29:20–28, Rooted them out of their land. What was YHVH’s response to those who refused to obey him? Are some of the curses (i.e. the bad things happening to you now) in your life related to disobedience of his commandments (or YHVH’s instructions in righteousness) in the past or perhaps even now?

Deuteronomy 29:23, Whole land is brimstone. The area just west of the Dead Sea where ancient Sodom and Gomorrah likely were is to this day a barren wasteland of gypsum containing little or no vegetation, and, in places, is covered in sulfur balls (brimstone) that one can still pick up. This region is an enduring testimony to the severity of YHVH’s judgments against men’s sin, which speaking loudly to us even now in harsh and warning tones.

Deuteronomy 29:26, Other gods. This is likely referring to the demon-gods (demigod) nephilim of Genesis 6:2–4 (see The Great Inception by Derek P. Gilbert, p. 67).

Deuteronomy 29:28–30:1–20, The Final Redemption of All Israel. A time is coming when Israel, including the ten northern tribe will be redeemed and regathered back to the land of Israel after having been exiled into captivity from their land. What is the captivity from which Israel will be returning? 

What Is This Captivity? 

The biblical term captivity is often a reference to Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom or house of Israel, being brought out of captivity by YHVH (Ezek 16:53). Also compare Isaiah 61:1 with Luke 4:18–21 where, while preaching in the region of Galilee and Nazareth (the historic homeland of the Northern Kingdom or House of Israel), Yeshua quotes the Isaiah 61 passage relating it to his ministry to the ten tribes of the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:6). Yeshua states that it was his mission “to preach the gospel to the poor … to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captive and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bound, to preach the acceptable year of YHVH.” 

To what“captivity” is Yeshua referring? Is it a physical or spiritual captivity? Compare this with Revelation 18:4 where YHVH states that his people (the saints) are enslaved to the last days’ Babylon the Great religious-economic-political system and must come out of it. What is this religious part of this system that he is now calling his people to leave?

Deuteronomy 29:28, Cast them into another land. “This verse also alludes to the fate of [those Israelites] who had become so assimilated among other peoples that their [i.e. the Israelite’s] origins had become forgotten. When the final redemption comes, these hidden ones known only to [Elohim] will be reunited with the rest of the nation and be restored to the status of their forefathers” (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 1090). To whom is the author referring here? Who became assimilated among the peoples and forgot their origins? Who is it that Elohim will bring out of hiding from among the nations where he, in judgment, scattered them and reunite with the Jews (the tribe of Judah) in the end times during what the Jews refer to as “the final redemption”? In Jewish thought, what is the “final redemption”? (For the answer, read Ezek 34:13; 36:24; Isa 56:8; Matt 24:29–44; Acts 1:6; 1 Cor 15:51–53; Rev 11:15–18.)

Another land. Let’s next notice a quote from the ancient apocryphal book of 2 Esdras 13:40-45(elsewhere known as The Fourth Book of Ezra; quoted from Lange’s Commentary; bracketed phrases are from an alternate translation by James H. Charlesworth in his book entitled, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha—Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments); Two Esdras is a Jewish work written near the beginning of the Christian era,

[T]hese are the ten tribes which were carried [led] away prisoners out of their own land [into captivity] in the time of Josia[h] the king, whom Salmanasar king of Assyria led captive, and carried them over the river and they were brought over into another land. But they took this counsel [formed this plan] amongst themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen [nations], and go forth into a further country [a more distant region], where mankind never dwelt, that they might there keep their own statutes, which they had not kept in their own land. But they entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river; for the Most High then wrought signs for them, and held still the waves [stopped the channels] of the river till they had passed over. But through that country there was a long journey to make of a year and a half; and the same region is called Arzareth [Hebrew for “another land”].

Arzareth or “another land” is a reference to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 29:28 which states, “And YHVH rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land [Heb. eretz acheret], as it is this day.” Acheret in the Hebrew means “another,” but also has the connotation of “new”such as “next year”(or in the “new year,” Gen 17:12), a “another well” (Gen 26:21); “another man” (i.e. a new husband); and so on. Other Hebrew words for “new” include chodesh or chadashah, which can mean either “brand new”or “renewed”such as in “new moon, new heart, or new heaven and new earth”; tiyrowsh, which refers to “new wine” or “new fruits.” These are unique Hebrew words, which specifically describe those things and nothing else; and beriyah, which is used once in Numbers 16:30, describes the earth opening up to swallow Korah and his malcontents. 

The point of this brief word study is that eretz acheret can justifiably be translated into English as “new earth,” or “new world.” The “New World” is a common historical reference to what? North America, of course. It was there that Scripture seems to indicate that the Israelites would, in part, at least, be scattered and the rabbinic writings of 2 Esdras 13:40–45possibly makes reference to this land.

Additional Comments on Deuteronomy 29:28

Israel to Be Lost Among the Gentiles

Deuteronomy 29:28 states, “And YHVH rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land [Heb. eretz acheret], as it is this day.” How did the ancient Jewish sages understand this passage?

Rabbinic Commentary on this Verse

b. Talmud, Yevamot 17a (c. 500 C.E.) (Soncino Talmud, Soncino):

[T]hey had declared them [i.e. the ten tribes of Israel, see rabbinic footnote below]19 to be perfect heathens [or gentiles]; as it is said in the Scriptures, “They have dealt treacherously against YHVH, for they have begotten strange children.20” 

A Rabbinic footnote on this passage states, “(19) The ten tribes; (20) Hos. 5:7.”

The ArtScroll Tanach Series Bereishis/Genesis (an Orthodox Jewish commentary on Genesis) states, regarding Genesis 48:19, Orthodox Jewish sage of the Middle Ages, Ibn Ezra wrote:

Many nations will descend from him [Ephraim]. That is, the word, fullness, melo, connotes “abundance,” the phrase meaning: and his seed will become the abundance of the nations (Neter; Karnei Or)” (p. 2121). According to Radak [R. Dovid Kimchi Torah, a scholar of the Middle Ages], “This refers to the Exile when the lands of others will be filled with his scattered descendants. See also Hosea 7:8: Ephraim shall be mingled among the nations (ibid.).

 

Ecclesiastes chapter 10

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Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10:1–20, More wise counsel. In this chapter, the Preacher gives his student more wise counsel on how to derive the most fulfillment out of an otherwise seemingly meaningless and pointless existence as a human being trapped in a spaceship called planet Earth.

Ecclesiastes 10:1, Dead flies. Even the smallest error, sin or folly (the opposite of wisdom) can lead to disastrous consequences and ruination, thus, a wise person will correct the small defects in his character, so that they do not ultimately ruin him. Regular self-examination leading to correcting one’s errant ways is to choose the path of wisdom. So deal with your sins and faux pas while they are still small and before they get out of hand.

Ecclesiastes 10:2, Right…left. A wise man follows the right hand path, while a fool goes in the left direction. In Hebraic thought, the right hand represents strength while the left hand symbolizes weakness. This is because most people are right handed and, therefore, they use their right hand more than the left hand making the right arm and hand stronger muscularly. Even in our modern vernacular we have the expression “the right way,” or “doing the right thing” as meaning to make the preferable choice between right and wrong, good and evil. Wisdom is strength while foolishness is weakness. 

Ecclesiastes 10:3, Even when a fool. Sadly, a fool cannot help himself because he has become accustomed to his condition and willingly chosen to be blind. Those around him can see that he is foolish in the choices he makes, but since his eyes are shut, he continues blithely on his foolish path.

Ecclesiastes 10:4, Conciliation. When wrongs are committed whether real or imagined, especially in relationship to those in authority over you, be quick to make peace, for it will go much better for you in the long run. Moreover, stay small and keep a low profile when it comes to interaction with civil authorities, for such a position draws less attention to your actions and less chances of conflict and even persecution.

Ecclesiastes 10:5–7, There is an evil. Just because a person has attained a high position of authority does not mean that they are wise. Similarly, just because one has a low social status does not mean that they are a fool. This truth considered in the context of verse four teaches us something: Sometimes those in authority over you are fools who are incapable of make wise and equitable decisions, especially in the area of resolving controversies. This is all the more reason to make peace with these leaders be they foolish or wise when a matter of disagreement is small before it goes too far and gets blown out of proportion causing all sorts of mischief and grief for all involved.

Ecclesiastes 10:8–9, He who digs a pit. What goes around comes around. How we treat others, whether well or badly, will come back to us.

Ecclesiastes 10:10, If the ax is dull. A wise person learns to work smarter, not harder.

Ecclesiastes 10:11–14, The babbler. Beware of the words of a foolish blabber mouth, that is, one who talks incessantly and says little or nothing of meaning. Mischief and poison issue forth from such a person, for they are untrustworthy and their words means nothing. In our vernacular we refer to such a person as “a talker” as opposed to being “a doer.”

Ecclesiastes 10:11–15, The labor of fools. A fool is so lazy and lost in his foolishness that after working he is so enervated that he cannot even find his way back home. Foolishness not only robs a person of the energy to work hard, but also causes one to lose one’s direction in life.

Ecclesiastes 10:16–18, Woe to you, O land. A country suffers grievously when young and foolish people who want to play and party all of the time are its leaders. Blessed s the country whose leaders have a heritage of hard work and responsibility and not of slothfulness and partying. Decay and ruination are the result of sloth and laziness.

Ecclesiastes 10:19, Money answers everything. Partying and drinking may be fun, for it is full of boasting and bravado, but this accomplishes nothing. Unless one puts one’s money where their mouth is, nothing gets done. “Put up or shut up,” and “Show me don’t tell me,” as the sayings go. 

Ecclesiastes 10:19, Do not curse the king…a bird. Bad thoughts lead to bad words which lead to bad actions that eventually come back to bite a person.

Moreover, this verse instructs us: “Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird [Heb. owf] of the air may carry your voice, and a bird [Heb. baal] in flight may tell the matter.” 

This verse is very revealing regarding what goes on in the unseen spiritual realm where Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) and the ruler of this world (John 16:11). 

The phrase in this verse is a parallelism—a form of Hebrew poetry where two phrases are juxtaposed and appear to be saying the same thing, but, in this case, a subtle spiritual truth is being revealed in the second phrase. In the first phrase, the word for bird is a generic Hebrew word meaning “a bird, a winged creature or a winged insect.” The second phrase reveals the subtle truth. It is telling us to be careful what you say or even think—even in private, for a god (or demon) might reveal it to its lord or king. In other words, a false god or demon spirit might convey what you’ve thought or said to its demon master, or even to Satan, who is the god of this age (2 Cor 4:4). And who knows where it will go from there.

With regard to prayer, we must remember this: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:1). In light of this reality and concerning prayer, it is vital that we remember this: When making intercession for situations or people or praying against the enemies of Elohim or engaging in spiritual warfare against Satan and his plans, ask YHVH to cover your prayers under the blood of Yeshua (Rev 12:11), to bind the (demonic) strong man (Matt 12:29; Mark 3:26–27 cp. Rev 20:2), to send his angels to protect you against the enemy’s plans to thwart your prayers (Ps 91:11–12; Heb 1:14), and to send confusion to our spiritual enemies (Ps 35:4, 26; 40:14; Jer 20:11). 

It is essential that we employ this strategy against our spiritual adversary, so that he will not be able to hear our prayers and thus be able to prepare a defensive plan or a punishing backlash against us to prevent our prayers from being effective. When he succeeds in this, the result is often unanswered prayers causing the saint to become discouraged, so that he prays less often rather than more—a victory for the evil one. 

Perhaps this is why some of our prayers go unanswered or seem ineffective; it is because we are inadvertently revealing our plans to the enemy thus allowing him to thwart them.

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 8-29 Through 9-4-21

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Parashat Nitzavim — Deuteronomy 29:9 (10)* – 30:20
Haftarah — Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9
Prophets — Jonah 3:1 – 4:11; Micah 1:1 – 6:16
Writings — 2 Chronicles 9:1 – 15:19
Testimony — Hebrews 8:1 – 13:25; Revelation 1

Our annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2020-2021 with daily readings that began on 10/11/20 is available to download and print. The link to the previous 2019-2020’s Scripture Reading Schedule will still be available on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links” into next year. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.

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 or the “share your thoughts” box 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 English Bibles when they differ from Hebrew Bibles or the Tanakh.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 8/29 through 9/4/2021.