Psalm 8:5,A little lower than Elohim/the angels. The Hebrew says elohim. Is this referring to Elohim (“God”) or to elohim (gods); that is, to the sons of Elohim or beney Elohim (hosts of heaven or angels)as mentioned in Job 1:6 and 2:1? The KJV assumes the first interpretation, while the NKJV assumes the second translation. The second translation seems preferable, since man is not a little lower than Elohim, but is light years below him. By contrast, man is a little lower than the angels. The writer of Hebrews assumes that elohim in this verse is referring not to Elohim but to the sons of Elohim when in Heb 2:7 he quotes this verse and uses the Greek word angelos instead of theos.
Psalm 9
Psalm 9:16,Higgaion. Meditation, resounding music, musing; from hagah meaning “ to moan, growl, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak, groan.” See also Pss. 5:1, 19:14 (meditation), and 92:3 (with a solemn sound).
Psalm 11
Psalm 11:1,Flee as a bird. When the enemy attacks, fleeing to a mountain—escapism—seems tempting, yet it’s not the solution, for the arrows of the wicked can reach one there also. So what can the righteous do (v. 3)? They must trust in YHVH (v. 1) to defend the righteous against the wicked. YHVH will bring judgment against the enemies of the righteous (v. 6), for he loves he righteous (v. 7).
Psalm 11:3,If the foundations are destroyed. We have seen the moral, ethical and spiritual foundations of the West and America destroyed, and our societies are now in chaos; we have lost our way, and are destroying each other because of conflicting values. The righteous sigh and cry for the abominations that are committed and the spiritual darkness that has descended upon the land like a led blanket, and for the evil that is overtaking us like a tsunami.
Psalm 11:3–7,What can the righteous do? So what can the righteous do when evil is overtaking them like a tsunami? The psalmist doesn’t answer this question directly. Perhaps there is no answer, at least in the immediate future. Certain things in the course of human events simply have to play out to fulfill the larger, global purposes of Elohim. But the righteous can be assured of several things. Elohim is in heaven ruling, and nothing man can do will change undermine much less destroys the sovereignty of Elohim (v. 4). Moreover, YHVH hates violence and the wicked (v. 5), and he will eventually pass a fiery judgment upon them (v. 6). This is an allusion to the lake of fire, which is the ultimate fate of the wicked. Through it all, the righteous can be assured that YHVH loves them and he keeps them in his sight through all the perils and evil machinations of the wicked (v. 7).
Psalm 14
Psalm 14:1,The fool has said in his heart.Atheists and Elohim haters often don’t verbalize their true belief, but their actions reveal what is really in their heart as the next several verses go on to show. By one’s fruits, the real beliefs of the heart are evidenced.
The modern alternative to believing in a Divine Creator is to credit our existence to evolution, to aliens, or some unknown and undefined spiritual entity somewhere. This is utter idiotic foolishness because it require leaps of faith to believe such, even though there is not a shred of evidence to support such a belief.
Joshua 8:14,When the king of Ai saw it. Pride as a result of over-selfconfidence is folly and can result in disastrous as the people of Ai discovered. Pride creates blind spots preventing one from viewing circumstances realistically and objectively.
Joshua 9
Joshua 9:14,Did not ask counsel of YHVH. In the wake of his success in defeating and destroying Jericho and Ai, Joshua became over confident in his own abilities and failed to consult YHVH, and thus fell to the deception of the Gibeonites. We must consult with YHVH over every major move that we make in our lives. Even though YHVH commanded the Israelites to kill all the Canaanites, allowances were made to spare those who chose not to fight Israel but to submit to and join themselves with Israel. This was the case with Rahab and Caleb.
On the other hand, the Gibeonites surreptitiously wormed their way into the nation of Israel through deceit. This teaches us that the saints are to be ever vigilant against ungodly interlopers who, for one reason or another, seek to become a part of their company. When the saints allow this to happen, they risk being pulled down from a high position spiritually to a lower one, which can lead to apostasy. As Paul states, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits,”(1 Cor 15:33), or as he declares elsewhere, “Do you not know that little leaven [i.e. sin] leavens the whole lump?” (I Cor 5:6). YHVH’s people are not to assimilate with the world, nor to allow the world to assimilate with them. The saints are called to come out of the world and to be separate and to not touch that which is unclean (2 Cor 6:17). To become like the world is a slippery slop downward toward what the Bible refers to as apostasy or the abandonment of divinely revealed Truth. On the other hand, to require the world to come up to the level and biblical standards of righteousness is the biblical definition of evangelism and can result in spiritual conversion of the heathen from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light or Elohim.
It appears that the Gibeonite people gradually assimilated into the nation of Israel and did not contribute to that nation’s moral decline, for we hear nothing more of them as being a distinct people group.
This story is an example of YHVH’s mercy triumphing over his judgment vis-à-vis both the Gibeonites (who were not killed) and the Israelites (who had failed to obey YHVH).
Joshua 10
Joshua 10:1,Jerusalem. This is the first mention of Jerusalem in the Bible, a city of the Jebusites and also called Jebus (Josh 19:10). There are different opinions as to the meaning of the name Jerusalem. The traditional view is that it means “city of peace, wholeness, well-being” (ayr rHG and shalom OKA). It may also mean “to teach peace, wholeness or well-being” (yareh/ vrH and shalom OKA).
Jerusalem is mentioned 767 times in the Scriptures and is called by seventy different titles according to Menashe Har-El (Golden Jerusalem, p. 24). Although Jerusalem seems to be an atypical place for a city in that it is located inland away from rivers, coasts and ports, it is strategic in that it was the junction of several ancient regional highways and international trade routes that linked three continents.
Hello dear ones in Yeshua! One-and-a-half weeks ago, due to construction activity next door to my house, our fiber optics cable was cut and our internet went down. Darkness! This is why I have been unable to make any new blog posts since then. However, our internet was restored today, so buckle your seat belts for the torrent of fresh manna that is about to gush forth my the Hoshana Rabbah headquarters, which 28 years ago, when we moved here, was a chicken coop and rabbit hutch. No kidding!
Our new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2021-2022 with daily readings is available to download and print. If you are still working through 2020-2021’s Scripture Reading Schedule, the link will still be available 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.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 10/10 through 10/16/2021.
The children of Israel have come to the end of their forty year wilderness journey. Now YHVH’s people must go forward in possessing the land and the inheritance that he has for them. This is a new beginning for the Israelites. They must go forth and carry with them into the Promised Land YHVH’s teachings or instructions in righteousness—the Torah—as well as the lessons they have learned in their wilderness experience. This principle applies to us as much as it did to the ancient Israelites, for as Paul said, “these things happened to them for examples [or types] and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world [or ages] are come” (1 Cor 10:11).
The saga of YHVH dealing with Israel did not end with the death of Moses. Similarly, the life of a believer does not start and end at the work of Yeshua at his first coming (whom Moses foreshadowed, see Deut 18:15–18). No, as the death of Moses signaled a new beginning for Israel, so Yeshua’s death on the cross marks a new beginning for redeemed believers as they make their way into their spiritual Promised Land. As Joshua (in Hebrew, Yehoshua meaning “YHVH saves”) led Israel into their physical Promised Land, so Yeshua (the Hebrew word for salvation) at his second coming will lead the saints into the “Promised Land” of his millennial kingdom, and then eventually into the spiritual kingdom of the New Heaven and Earth and the New Jerusalem 1000 years later. Read Hebrews chapters three and four for insights and understanding into how Moses and Joshua were prophetic shadow pictures of Yeshua at his two advents.
Joshua 1:1,Joshua … Moses’ servant. For how long was Joshua Moses’ servant before he became the leader of Israel? What does this teach us about YHVH’s discipleship program? How many other servants of YHVH’s does Scripture reveal spent years in training for the ultimate mission YHVH had for them as leaders of his people? How long was Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, the disciples of Yeshua and Paul in training, to name a few, before YHVH was ready to use them for his special purposes? As Matthew Henry says in his commentary on this verse, “Those are fittest to rule, who have learned to obey.”
Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18,Be strong and of a good courage. Four times in the first chapter YHVH encourages the Israelites with this phrase. Why the fourfold repetition of this admonition at this juncture in Israel’s sojourn? Be strong is the Hebrew word chazak/קזח meaning “to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, and be resolute.”According to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, the majority of times chazak is used in Scripture it refers to “being strong in battle.”This word can also mean “to harden one’s heart”against YHVH’s purposes as was the case with Pharaoh twelve times between Exodus chapters 4 and 14. Good courage is the Hebrew word amats/ץמא meaning “to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, stout, bold, solid, hard.”The aspect of this word that means “to harden one’s heart” can have both a good and bad connotation. One can harden or secure one’s heart with the resolve to obey YHVH, or contrariwise, choose to disobey him with an obstinate heart as well. Examples in Scripture where amats is used in the negative sense are Deuteronomy 2:30 and Amos 2:14. These two words, chazak and amats almost appear to be synonyms. Why would YHVH use two words with only slight variation in meaning in admonishing the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land? Was he trying to emphasize a point? Perhaps he anticipated that eventually they would grow faint and weary battling the onslaught of evil around them and succumb to the influences of the surrounding pagan nations leading to their apostasy. Perhaps the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews had these two Hebrew words in mind when he wrote the following:
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living Elohim. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Messiah, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Heb 3:12–19)
The Israelites crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.
What can we learn from our ancient forefathers in this regard as we face the challenges of remaining faithful to YHVH in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation?
Joshua 1:8, Make your way prosperous…you shall have good [Heb. sakal] success.The expanded meaning of the word prosperous is literally “to press through, to break out”or “to accomplish satisfactorily what is intended” (according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). The TWOT continues, “Real prosperity results from the work of God in the life of one who seeks God with all his heart (2 Chr 31:21; Ps 1:3, vol. 2, p. 766). The word success literally means “understanding, prudence, good sense, insight, prosperity.” An alternate rendering of this last phrase of Joshua 1:8 reads, “Make your way successful, and then you will act wisely” (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach).
But how is that prosperity and success achieved? The answer is to be found in the first part of verse eight where four keys to success are given. They are:
Our new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2021-2022 with daily readings is available to download and print. If you are still working through 2020-2021’s Scripture Reading Schedule, the link will still be available 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.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 10/3 through 10/9/2021.
My commentary on the first five chapters of Genesis is 67 pages. There is no way this can be shared in a blog. So I will give you some hopefully salient snippets from my commentary.
Genesis 1
Genesis 1:1, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. The process of creation lasted for a literal six days as stated in Exodus 20:11.
Heavens. The Bible reveals that there are at least three heavens: the heaven of earth’s atmosphere, the heaven of the sun, moon, planets and stars, and the heaven of YHVH Elohim’s abode.
Genesis 1:16, Greater light…lesser light. Elohim made two great lights to shine in the darkness—the sun (the greater light) and the moon (the lesser light). The sun is a spiritual picture of Yeshua whom the Bible calls the Light of the world (John 1:9; 8:12), the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2), whose face shines like the sun (Rev 1:16), and who will be the light of the New Jerusalem replacing the physical sun (Rev 21:23). But who does the moon represent in this spiritual picture? If the sun is a picture of Yeshua, the Light of the World, then who has been tasked with the responsibility of reflecting Yeshua’s light into the spiritual darkness of this world? Of course, this is the job of the saints who Yeshua called to be a like light on a hill (Matt 5:14), or a menorah lamp stand (Rev 2:1).
Now think about this. Although the moon is a quarter of a million miles from the earth, and because it has no atmosphere to absorb the sun’s light, it is able to reflect the sun’s light to this earth, so that a person is able to see in the darkness of night. The amazing thing is that the moon’s surface isn’t a polished mirror. Rather, it’s a dull rocky surface. Not only that, it’s not even flat. It’s pockmarked—covered with huge craters, mountains, valleys and canyons. With such an uneven, gray and nondescript surface, it seems miraculous that it’s even able to reflect any light at all, much less all the way to the earth! This speaks to the unimaginable power of the sun to throw its light such a great distance through space and then to ricochet it off the moon earthward even though the moon’s surface is anything but reflective.
The moon is a perfect picture of each of us. We are nondescript in appearance, possess rough natures, stoney hearts, gray dispositions, barren of spiritual fruit, possessing no power of our own, pockmarked by sin, covered by mountains of human pride, and etched with canyons of guilt and shame. In truth, YHVH has not chosen many wise or noble people to reflect the light of his Son, Yeshua, the Sun of Righteousness, but instead he has chosen the weak, foolish, despised and base things of this world to put to shame the things that are wise (1 Cor 1:26–28). As the lesser light, like the moon is to the sun, YHVH has called the saints to be his sons of light (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1 Pet 2:9) to shine the Light of Yeshua into the midst of crooked and perverse world (Phil 2:15).
Since Yeshua has called us out of spiritual darkness into his marvellous light, let us embrace and demonstrate the fact that he calls us a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and his own special people by being ready and quick to proclaim his praises to everyone everywhere every time (1 Pet 2:9)!
The Sun, Moon, the Feasts and the Saints. Genesis 1:14–16 reveals that the sun is the greater light and the moon is the lesser light. The Bible reveals that the sun is a spiritual metaphor for Yeshua who is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2), the Light of the World (John 8:12) and whose face shines like the sun (Rev 1:16). The saints, like the moon, are the lesser light that reflects the light of Yeshua into this dark world. One of the ways the saints do this is through observing and teaching about the seven biblical feasts, which are the seven steps of YHVH’s plan of salvation. Seeing the visible new moon is how we determine the beginning of the months and hence the dates of the feasts. In other words, by the light of the moon we determine the feasts. The visible new moon is a visible sign (Heb. owt, Gen 1:14) to point us toward YHVH’s seasons or moedim (i.e. the biblical feasts). In the same way, by our reflecting the light of Yeshua and the truth of his feasts into this dark world, we bring the light of the gospel to the world. This analogy breaks down if the month starts when the moon is dark in its conjunction.
Genesis 1:28, Dominion over the fish…birds…[the land animals]. Elohim gave man dominion over the animals. Elohim, however, never, however, gave man the authority to take dominion over other people, which is what Cain, Nimrod and their descendants did when they started cities, states and kingdoms.
YHVH’s government is patriarchal and tribal in nature and is built on the foundation of the family, which is something the devil and his servants have been attacking from time immemorial.
Yeshua echoes this same divine prohibition of man ruling other men in Matt 20:25–26 where he tells his disciples that the Gentiles rule each other through oppression, but that was not how the kingdom of Elohim was to operate. Government was to be based on servant-leadership.
Elohim created man to work the land and to live free, and he designed humans to be more or less self-sufficient and to help each other in loving service to one another when and where needed. The Scriptures decry and even pronounce woe upon those who form urban communities as they “join house to house,” so that people no longer “dwell alone in the midst of the land” on ten acre farms (Isa 5:8–10).
Men’s cities and the hierarchial Babylonian system of government they require to operate is opposed to Elohim’s system of family farms and patriarchal servant-leadership. This is because the urbanization of men results in the collectivization of humans by other humans ostensibly for the purpose of making life easier, but in reality, it enslave them to oppressive human-led governmental systems where humans are forced to look to human leaders for their sustenance and for handouts instead of relying on the Creator. This bondage is forcibly financed through legalized extortion called taxation, and enforced through draconian government regulations that control nearly every aspect of a person’s life.
This transferral from a rural to an urban-based society model not only reduces man’s freedom and self-sufficiency as he becomes increasingly dependent on government for his sustenance, but it also tends to facilitate spiritual apostasy, the breakdown of the family and the stratification or splitting apart of society. In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, class distinctions occur, which further divide and separate people causing racism and prejudice as men slide downward morally and spiritually away from Elohim. The family on the micro and macro levels fall apart and disintegrate.
Moreover, such a system promotes institutionalized religious systems and personally enriches those who are at the pinnacle of those systems. Out of this false, non-biblical system, religious construction projects such as temples, cathedrals and educational institutions abound allegedly to enhance the worship of Elohim, but in reality, they’re usually monuments, not unlike the ziggurat Tower of Babel, of men’s achievements as men are attempting to reach Elohim through their own humanistic efforts and turn themselves into their own self-promoting and self-adulating demigods. Elohim doesn’t require the construction of such projects for men to have a personal, spiritual relationship with him, as Paul states in his epistle to the Romans, which is a rephrasing of a passage from Deut 30, “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?’’’ (that is, to bring Messiah down from above) or,”, “Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach)” (Rom 30:6–8). The construction of denominations and buildings are primarily for the benefit of the ruling elite who have found a way to insert themselves as middlemen between man and his Creator largely for the purposes of money and power.
All of these things are a result of the man’s move from a rural to an urban living environment and taking dominion over one another instead of stewarding the earth and its animals and serving one another in love as Elohim originally instructed him to do.
Genesis 2
Genesis 2:2, The seventh day.Sabbath. Though this is not a direct command to keep the Sabbath (Heb. Shabbat), YHVH was leading his people by example when he sanctified the Sabbath and then rested from his work on this day. In Hebraic thought, one leads by example, without necessarily stating the command to do so. YHVH blessed the family first (Gen 1:28), then Sabbath next. Sabbath keeps the family together that keeps the Sabbath. The imperative command to keep the Sabbath is first found in Exodus 16–30 and then repeated in 20:8–11.
Genesis 2:4,The LORD/YHVH. This is the first mention in the Scriptures of the name of Elohim. He wants us to use his Hebrew names (YHVH, Elohim, Adonai and Yeshua). If not, then why is “YHVH” found in the Tanakh nearly 7000 times? True, we are not to use his Hebrew name carelessly as the third commandments teaches us (Exod 20:7). YHVH’s people have forgotten his name (Ps 44:20; Jer 23:27). His name will be restored and used again (Jer 23:6; 31:23; Ezek 39:7). His name was so precious to his people in ancient times that it was used in common greeting (Ruth 2:4; Ps 129:8; Jer 31:23). The Hebrew name YHVH will be applied to Yeshua at his second coming (Ps 118:26; Matt 23:39). The prohibition of the rabbinic Jews about using God’s Hebrew names is not supported biblically, but is a more recent man-made tradition. Therefore, I believe and teach that the sacred names are to be used.
