Lesson date: 10/29/5855AA

Verse 1 – The first clue to this chapter is the word Rephidim: H7508 – רְפִידִים – rephı̂ydı̂ym – ref-ee-deem’ – Plural of the masculine of the same as H7507; ballusters; Rephidim, a place in the Desert: – Rephidim.

This definition tells us nothing of the meaning of the word. Let’s look to the BDB: H7508 – רפידים – rephı̂ydı̂ym – BDB Definition: Rephidim = “rests” or “stays” or “resting places” 1) a station of Israel in the wilderness between Egypt and Sinai. And why do you do you stop and rest? Because you are weak or tired: H7504 – רָפֶה – râpheh – raw-feh’ – From H7503; slack (in body or mind): – weak. In other words when we grow weak or slack, He prepares a place for us to rest and recuperate.

Job_4:3 See, you have instructed many, and you have made weak hands strong.

Isa_35:3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the weak knees.(Also Hebrews 12:12)

Jer_6:24 We have heard the report of it, our hands grow weak. Distress has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labour.

Zep_3:16 In that day it shall be said to Yerushalayim, “Do not fear, Tsiyon, do not let your hands be weak.

Rephidim can also mean “spread them” as in the spreading of hands or arms.

1Ki_8:22 And Shelomoh stood before the slaughter-place of יהוה in front of all the assembly of Yisra’ěl, and spread out his hands toward the heavens,

1Ki_8:38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication made by anyone of all Your people Yisra’ěl, each knowing the plague of his own heart, and shall spread out his hands toward this House,

1Ki_8:54 And it came to be, when Shelomoh had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to יהוה, that he rose up from before the slaughter-place of יהוה, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to the heavens.

Upon arriving in Rephidim the Children of Yisra’el found no water and immediately begin to complain. What part of this Scripture did they forget? What part of the lesson in Chapter 16 did they forget?

Verse 2 – Striving with Mosheh (Torah) is testing or trying YHVH.

Verses 3-7 – In these verses we see YHVH giving Mosheh specific instruction on how to deal with the Children of Yisra’el. 1. “Pass over before the people”; 2. Take some of the elders; 3. Take in your hand your rod or, “In plain sight of the people and with witnesses take your symbol of My authority.” Is this significant?

Mat 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and they shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads, as having been slain to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the earth marvelled after the beast.

Jer_14:14 Then יהוה said to me, “The prophets prophesy falsehood(a) in My Name. I have not sent them, nor commanded them, nor spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own heart. Footnote: aSee Jer_23:11-36.

Deu 13:1 “When there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he shall give you a sign or a wonder,

Deu 13:2 and the sign or the wonder shall come true, of which he has spoken to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other mighty ones – which you have not known – and serve them,’

Deu 13:3 do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה your Elohim is trying you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.

Deu 13:4 “Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

Deu 13:5 “And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is put to death, because he has spoken apostasy against יהוה your Elohim – who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim and ransomed you from the house of bondage – to make you stray from the way in which יהוה your Elohim commanded you to walk. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Debarim 13:1-5 is the litmus test and the church flunked the test. What did Sha’ul say about this?

2Co 11:4 For, indeed, if he who is coming proclaims another יהושע, whom we have not proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different Good News which you have not accepted, you put up with it well enough!

Which Yeshua did Sha’ul proclaim?

“See” – It must have been obvious to all that YHVH was standing on the rock, which I take to mean the  pillar of cloud had rested on the rock in Horeb. Next, Mosheh is commanded to strike the rock so that water will come forth. Look at the word for strike: H5221 – נָכָה – nâkâh – naw-kaw’ – A primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively): – beat, cast forth, clap, give [wounds], X go forward, X indeed, kill, make [slaughter], murderer, punish, slaughter, slay (-er, -ing), smite (-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, X surely, wound.

If it was obvious that YHVH was on the Rock at Horeb it was the presence of His Messenger Yeshua who was there in His Name.

Joh_5:43 “I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not receive Me, if another comes in his own name, him you would receive.

Joh_10:25 יהושע answered them, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness concerning Me.

Yeshua came in His Father’s Name to accomplish a work which YHVH could not accomplish and that was to die (to be struck) and restore us to a covenant relationship to the Father and become the source of the Living Water: Joh 4:10 יהושע answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me to drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

1Co 10:1 For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,

1Co 10:2 and all were immersed into Mosheh in the cloud and in the sea,

1Co 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food,

1Co 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah.

1Co 10:5 However, with most of them Elohim was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness.

1Co 10:6 And these became examples for us, so that we should not lust after evil, as those indeed lusted.

Mosheh called the name of the place Massah (temptation) and Meribah (strife). Do we tempt Mosheh or strive with Mosheh today? Do we tempt or strive with YHVH today?

The root word for Meribah is “rib” (reeb) which means to quarrel, find fault, to contend or argue. Don’t we see a lot of this happening today?

Psa 95:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in Meriḇah, And as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

Psa 95:9 “When your fathers tried Me, Have proved Me, though they saw My work.

Psa 95:10 “For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘They are a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’

We, our generation, harden our hearts to the true miracles that YHVH does in our lives everyday and look for “other” miracles that tend to satisfy our flesh but are not of Elohim.

Verses 8-10 – One thing that is overlooked, in my opinion, is the fact that Mosheh didn’t just raise his arms but rather he was holding “the rod of Elohim”. Rev_19:15 And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. And He shall shepherd them with a rod of iron. (Psa_2:9) And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Ěl Shaddai.

Verses 11-16 – This portion of Scripture is one of the strangest to me. Amaleq is a descendant of Esaw, what makes him think he can defeat an army of 600,000 (at least) men? Did Amaleq die in this battle? Why will YHVH have to fight against Amaleq from generation to generation?

Mosheh built an altar(slaughter-place) there and called it YHVH Nissi or YHVH is my Banner: Rev 19:16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: SOVEREIGN OF SOVEREIGNS AND MASTER OF MASTERS.

We have discussed this Scripture before. The copiers or translators of the Hebrew to Greek probably misread the word “degel” and mistook it for “regel”

H1714 – דּגל – degel – BDB Definition: 1) banner, standard

H7272 – רגל – regel – BDB Definition:1) foot 1a) foot, leg

Psa 60:4 You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it might be lifted up Because of the truth. Selah.

For those of you who were not in the military the person who carries the banner or guidon is also called the guidon and it is this person around whom we are supposed to rally. Now apply this to Rev. 19:6. We are supposed to rally behind our Guidon, Yeshua and He will lead us to our Father.

There is some controversy over the phrase “because there is a hand on the throne of Yah.” Take a look at the Hebrew: כִּי-יָד עַל-כֵּס יָהּ The word in red is “qes” which is throne. Many believe that the original word used was “nes” which is the word being used here for banner. It would have been easy to mistake the letter nun (נִ) for qaph (כִּ). In which case it would have read “There is a hand on the banner of Yah.” What is the big deal? We know that Yeshua is seated at the Right Hand of the Throne of Yah. But if the word is “nes” for banner then we have a clue as to who Amaleq is. If Amaleq put his hand on the “banner” of Yah he would be trying to usurp the authority of YHVH. Perhaps Amaleq’s goal was to not fight the Army of YHVH, the Children of Yisra’el but rather to kill Mosheh (Torah) and assume authority over the Children of Yisra’el. Is there any proof of this in Scripture? Yes! Lots. Look back to Mat. 24:24 and Deb. 13:1-5 above. But we also see a shadow of this in the book of Yehudah: Jud 1:9 But Miḵa’ěl the chief messenger, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Mosheh, presumed not to bring against him a blasphemous accusation, but said, “יהוה rebuke you!”

If Hasatan had stolen the body of Mosheh and reanimated it he would have been able to mislead the Children of Yisra’el. Is Satan able to reanimate? Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads, as having been slain to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the earth marvelled after the beast.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to fight with him?”

There will always be an Amaleq putting his hand on the banner of YHVH in an attempt to deceive His People.  2Th 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way, because the falling away is to come first, and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed, the son of destruction,

2Th 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called Elohim or that is worshipped, so that he sits as Elohim in the Dwelling Place of Elohim, showing himself that he is Elohim.

 

Dan 11:36 “And the sovereign shall do as he pleases, and exalt himself and show himself to be great above every mighty one, and speak incredible matters against the Ěl of mighty ones, and shall prosper until the wrath has been accomplished – for what has been decreed shall be done –

Dan 11:37 and have no regard for the mighty ones of his fathers nor for the desire of women, nor have regard for any mighty one, but exalt himself above them all.

Dan 11:38 “But in his place he shall give esteem to a mighty one of strongholds. And to a mighty one which his fathers did not know he shall give esteem with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

 

Dan 7:24 And the ten horns are ten sovereigns from this reign. They shall rise, and another shall rise after them, and it is different from the first ones, and it humbles three sovereigns,

Dan 7:25 and it speaks words against the Most High, and it wears out the set-apart ones of the Most High, and it intends to change appointed times and law, and they are given into its hand for a time and times and half a time.

 

What is our hope?

Co 2:14 But thanks be to Elohim who always leads us on, to overcome in Messiah, and manifests through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

2Co 2:15 Because we are to Elohim the fragrance of Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

2Co 2:16 To the one we are the smell of death to death, and to the other the fragrance of life to life. And who is competent for these?

2Co 2:17 For we are not, as so many, adulterating the Word of Elohim for gain – but as of sincerity, but as from Elohim, in the sight of Elohim, we speak in Messiah.

 

Psa 21:8 Your hand reaches all Your enemies; Your right hand reaches those who hate You.

Psa 21:9 You make them as a furnace of fire in the time of Your presence; יהוה does swallow them up in His wrath, And fire does consume them. 

Psa 21:10 You destroy their fruit from the earth, And their seed from among the sons of men.

Psa 21:11 For they held out evil against You; They devised a plot; they do not prevail.

Psa 21:12 For You make them turn their back, When You aim with Your bowstring toward their faces.

Psa 21:13 Be exalted, O יהוה, in Your strength! We sing and we praise Your might.

 

Ahavah,