Sorry for the problems with viewing this blog over the past few days. It was driving me crazy. We had some web server problems, which have now, thankfully, been solved.
I wasn’t even able to get on my own blog, much less post or edit anything. It appears that everything is working okay now. HalleluYah!
Get ready for some surprising prophetic understandings from one of the most well-known stories about Yeshua—the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes.
The corollary passage to Mark 8:1–10 is Matthew 14:13–21, which we will explore below.
First you might want to review Matthew 14:13–21.
This account appears to be an allegory pertaining to end-time events—specifically, the regathering of the Israelite exiles, and is another allusion to the final redemption.
John the Immerser (Baptist), who came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Messiah, had just been killed by the politico-religious system of his day. (Similarly, it is interesting to note that the two end time witnesses or prophets who will come in the spirit of Elijah will be martyred in Jerusalem just prior to the return of Yeshua [Rev 11:1–13].) In response to John’s murder at the hands of Herod, Yeshua and his disciples left the area to escape any possible backlash of the wrath of Herod (who allegorically represents the devil). This seems to be a picture of what is prophesied to occur to the bride (the saints) of Messiah during the great tribulation just prior to the return of Yeshua (Rev 12:12–17). The boat seems to metaphorically represent the eagle’s wings of Revelation 12:14 that carried the woman into the wilderness, which is a place of protection and safety during the great tribulation.
Once in the wilderness, “when the day was far spent … and now the time is far passed” (a prophetic reference to the end of the age Continue reading
Parashat Vayeshev — Genesis 37:1 – 40:23
Haftarah — Amos 2:6 – 3:8
Prophets — 1 Samuel 20:1 – 27:12
Writings — Psalms 57:1 – 63:11
Testimony — Mark 6:1 – 9:37
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.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 12/2 through 12/8/2012
Remember when body piercings, nose rings, ear discs and other forms of bodily mutilations including mass tattooing were something you saw only on half-naked indigenous peoples sporting on the front cover of the National Geographic?
How is it that these practices, once considered ridiculous, or even barbaric, savage and heathen, are now considered fashionable by many in our society?
Is this yet another bellwether of our society’s turning away from biblical values and a continued spiritual declension into godless heathenism and demonism?
Why would someone so mutilate their body and call it fashionable? What is mental-emotional status of a person given to expressing themselves in this manner?
Are those who engage in such practices simply evidencing their spiritual confusion about who they are? Is it an expression of self-dissatisfaction, self-rejection? Is it a cry-out for spiritual help, guidance—an expression of a need for love and acceptance? Or is it simply a “fashion statement” and an effort to be different from the societal norm only for difference’s sake?
Do you know any individuals who are “well-adjusted,” have a healthy self-esteem, or are even biblically-grounded who mutilate their bodies for fashions’ sake?
What are your thoughts on this matter? Is this growing trend in our society a cause for alarm, or simply a current fad that has no further ramifications than that?
By the way, you might want to take a look at the following blog post I wrote a few months ago—
Genesis 35:4, Strange gods …earrings. For a discussion on the biblical view of men wearing earrings, see an earlier post I wrote on the subject at http://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/?s=earrings&submit=Search.
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 or even possessed by an evil spirit.
But thanks be to YHVH Elohim, our Father, who has given the saints of Yeshua the power over demonic spirits through the blood, the Word and the name of Yeshua the Messiah!
Luke 9:1, Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Luke 10:18–19, And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
See also James 4:6–10; 1 John 4:4; Revelation 12:11.
Genesis 32:24, Wrestled with him. Why did Elohim wrestle all night with Jacob? Why not just wound him early on and save the time and trouble? What does this teach us about the long-suffering nature of Elohim who will continue to strive with us and our fleshy tendencies and self-reliances until we finally submit to him and recognize that only through him can we have real strength and victory, though we might end up physically lame in the process?
Let’s break this story down.
Why the wrestling all night “till the breaking of the day”? What does night and breaking of day represent metaphorically with regard to our spiritual walk?
What does this teach us about faith, the struggles of this life and about not giving up until the very end when the blessings and dawning of a new day are about to break forth?
Jacob received the new name of Israel during this time (verse 28). Through this struggle, he took a quantum leap spiritually and became a new man with a new identity. Has this ever happened to you? Don’t we progress spiritually only out of crisis? “There is no gain where there is no gain,” as the saying goes.
What were the results of Jacob’s struggle? Verse 32 says of Jacob, “as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.” Penuel means “faces of El.” Taking a little poetic license (at the drash/allegorical or third level of Jewish biblical interpretation) here, we could paraphrase this verse as follows:
“As Jacob emerged out of the darkness of self-reliance, the face of Elohim shined favorably upon him as he no longer relied on the flesh.”
Pause to reflect on this for a moment and take quick stock of your spiritual walk in the light of these words.
Who are some other notable Biblical characters besides Jacob who struggled with trying to achieve their divine mission through human means? How about Abraham with Hagar, Moses when he murdered the Egyptian, Samson, or Peter when he cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant? Can you think of some others? What did these men learn about walking in the Spirit versus walking in the flesh?
Genesis 32:28, Jacob but Israel. Jacob/Ya’acov means “heel snatcher/holder or supplanter,” while Israel/Yisra’el means “Prince of El or El Prevails/Prevailer with El.” What can we learn about the change of Jacob’s character as reflected in the changing of his name? Who is the focal point of the name and the initiator of the action in the first name … in the second name? What can we learn from this for our own faith walk?
Genesis 32:32, The muscle that shrank. Please notice that the sinew, representing the strength of the flesh, only shrank. It was not removed. What does this signify spiritually with regard to the redeemed man’s old sin nature?
At the point in one’s spiritual journey when one is regenerated by the Spirit of Elohim, a man doesn’t lose his identity, personality or soul (i.e., his mind, will and emotions). What then happens to a person’s soul? It must be transformed and renewed by the Spirit of Elohim to be conformed to YHVH’s perfect will (Rom 12:2). The soul-man will still try to assert dominance over the spirit-man, but man must learn to submit to the Spirit of Elohim.
Paul discusses the struggle between the soul and the spirit in Romans 7:14–25. This is the same struggle that Jacob faced in his dark night of the soul. There he died to his own will and finally submitted totally to that of his Heavenly King.
Today, while scanning the news (I keep regular tabs on about 20 to 30 internet news sites—I’m kind of a news junkie), the following article posted today on Matt Drudge’s site [http://www.drudgereport.com] caught my attention. It’s from PRAVDA—yes you read that correctly.
The fact that Drudge—a major conservative American news site—would post anything from PRAVDA grabbed my curiosity.
For those of us who grew up in the Cold War Era, we remember well that in the former Soviet Union, PRAVDA was the major source of anti-American Soviet lies and propaganda. To our Western mindset, PRAVDA was anything but a reliable source of news and information, yet our American news media continually fed us a steady diet of PRAVDA quotes in an effort to “balance out the news.” Remember those days? As a youth, a journalism student and finally a budding journalist, PRAVDA and American media’s duplicity in quoting PRAVDA always infuriated me!
The headline on Drudge’s news site that made me do a double-take reads as follows:
PRAVDA: ‘Obama re-elected by illiterate society’…
Go read this article for yourself at http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/19-11-2012/122849-obama_soviet_mistake-0/.
In this article, the Russian author derides America for re-electing Obama, whom he calls a communist. He claims that America is headed in the same failed direction as the former Soviet Union, and that Americans must be illiterate not to know this history to have re-elected Obama.
Furthermore, the author claims that while Russia is in a state of spiritual revival in that its returning to its Christian heritage, America, at the same time, is turning its back on God and its Christian heritage to its own detriment.
Okay, I’ve said enough. You need to read this article for yourself. I found it to be amazingly true and accurate. It definitely sounds like a speech that could have been given by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the late author, Nobel laureate and political dissident—if not by Ronald Reagan himself!
Please read this article and tell the hundreds of other who will read this blog post your thoughts.
Am I going crazy, or is this world going crazy?
Whatever the case, please join me in praying for the spiritual soul of America!
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