Lesson date: 08/23/5857AA

Deu 11:1 “And you shall love יהוה your Elohim and guard His charge: even His laws, and His right-rulings, and His commands, always.

Charge: H4931 – משׁמרת – mishmereth – BDB Definition: 1) guard, charge, function, obligation, service, watch 1a) guard, watch, house of detention or confinement 1b) keeping, preserving 1c) charge, injunction 1d) office, function (ceremonial) ((Wait, wait, wait just a minute: let me include this; here is the root word for this verb:)) H4929 – משׁמר – mishmâr –  BDB Definition: 1) place of confinement, prison, guard, jail, guard post, watch, observance 1a) jail, prison, guard-house 1b) guard, guard post, act of guarding 1c) observances

Now, if you look up H4929 and look at its root word you will see: A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H8104, and what is H8104, you ask? H8104 – שׁמר – shâmar – BDB Definition: 1) to keep, guard, observe, give heed. That is why I say that we are supposed to Hear, Guard, and Do. That is why I say that Scripture really means; “If you HEAR My Word, and GUARD it and DO it you will prove to Me that you Love me by DOING My Word.” This is why Ya’aqob wrote his book in the B’rit Hadasha so that people would see that showing YHVH that we love Him is best done by doing His Commands. ((It is actually in every book in the B’rit Hadasha but Ya’aqob is so very clear about what he is trying to say as opposed to some of the other writers.)) Eze 44:16 “They shall enter My set-apart place, and they shall draw near to My table to serve Me, and they shall guard My charge.

His Laws – H2708 – חקּה – chûqqâh – BDB Definition: 1) statute, ordinance, limit, enactment, something prescribed 1a) statute Part of Speech: noun feminine. A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H2706

H2706 – חק – chôq – BDB Definition: 1) statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due: A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H2710

H2710 – חקק – châqaq – BDB Definition: 1) to cut out, decree, inscribe (in stone), set, engrave, portray, govern, lawgiver, scepter: Gen 49:10 “The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor an Inscriber ((H2710))  from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of peoples. (Now, does this Scripture begin to make more sense to you than it did before?)) Where does He Inscribe?

Isa 33:22 for יהוה is our Judge, יהוה is our Inscriber ((H2710)), יהוה is our Sovereign, He saves us –

Pro_3:3 Let not loving-commitment and truth forsake you – Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,

Pro_7:3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Isn’t that what Yeshu’a did in Matthew 5? He tried for sure.

His right-rulings – H4941 – משׁפּט – mishpâṭ – BDB Definition: 1) judgment, justice, ordinance: A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H8199

H8199 – שׁפט – shâphaṭ – BDB Definition: 1) to judge, govern, vindicate, punish

Isa 33:22 for יהוה is our Judge ((H8199)), יהוה is our Inscriber ((H2710)), יהוה is our Sovereign, He saves us –

H4687 – מצוה – mitsvâh – BDB Definition: 1) commandment 1a) commandment (of man) 1b) the commandment (of God) 1c) commandment (of code of wisdom) Part of Speech: noun feminine A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H6680

H6680 – צוה – tsâvâh – BDB Definition: 1) to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order

Just an important note: many times when you read Scripture and it says Command rather than Commands it is because it is understood in Hebrew that Command can also be plural even though it appears singular like Deer, or Cannon which can be either singular or plural in normal usage.

Always = כָל־הַיָמִים – H3605 – כּול / כּל – kôl / kôl – BDB Definition: 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of

1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything

H3117 – יום – yôm – BDB Definition: 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1

When you put this together we are supposed to keep His Charge, His Laws, His Right-Rulings, His Commands EACH AND EVERY DAY ((MONTH; YEAR, ETC.)) or as we say today 24/7/365!

1Ti 6:13 In the sight of Elohim who gives life to all, and of Messiah יהושע who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you:

1Ti 6:14 that you guard the command spotlessly, blamelessly, until the appearing of our Master יהושע Messiah,

Deu 17:19 “And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he learns to fear יהוה his Elohim and guard all the Words of this Torah and these laws, to do them,

Deu 17:20 so that his heart is not lifted up above his brothers, and so as not to turn aside from the command, right or left, so that he prolongs his days in his reign, he and his children, in the midst of Yisra’ěl.

Psa 19:7 The Torah of יהוה is perfect, bringing back the being; The witness of יהוה is trustworthy, making wise the simple;

Psa 19:8 The orders of יהוה are straight, rejoicing the heart; The command of יהוה is clear, enlightening the eyes;

Just 3 times where the singular form of the word command represents the plural.

Verse 2-7 – to know – H3045 – ידע – yâda‛ – BDB Definition: 1) to know 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to know 1a1a) to know, learn to know 1a1b) to perceive 1a1c) to perceive and see, find out and discern 1a1d) to discriminate, distinguish 1a1e) to know by experience

“have not known (H854 – את) … not seen (H853 – את) discipline (H853 –את) greatness (H853 – את) His strong hand. Isn’t this an interesting construction?

Compare the two phrases: “when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up,”

and: and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon

and what does “river” in Hebrew Scripture mean?

Verse 8 – It tells us why we are to guard EVERY command – to make us STRONG in body, mind and spirit.

Verses 10-11 – are a construct. YHVH is telling the Children of Yisra’el that the fertile land of the Nile River valley was fertile and easily watered (by stepping on a small dam and releasing the water from the river into an irrigation channel) but in Cana’an they would have to depend on YHVH for the rain from the heavens to make their crops grow. It is establishing a relationship between obedience to YHVH’s commands and the food that they eat and rightly so: ‘Our Father who is in the heavens, let Your Name be set-apart,

Mat 6:10 let Your reign come, let Your desire be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:13 ‘And do not lead us into trial, but deliver us from the wicked one – because Yours is the reign and the power and the esteem, forever. Aměn.’

This is not a weather forecast, but rather it is talking about Yeshu’a coming from Heaven to feed us:

Joe 2:23 And you children of Tsiyon, be glad and rejoice in יהוה your Elohim, for He shall give you the Teacher of Righteousness, and cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before. ((This was a prophecy of the coming of our Messiah but it was completely missed in the KJV.))

Jas 5:7 So, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Master. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

((We are now waiting for the LATTER Rain – the SECOND Coming))

Hos 6:3 So let us know, let us pursue to know יהוה. His going forth is as certain as the morning. And He comes to us like the rain, like the latter rain watering the earth.’

Early/former = Moreh – comes from “yarah” H3384 which means “former rain” or teacher. Didn’t Yeshu’a come as a Teacher of Righteousness?

Latter – Malqosh – comes “laqash” H3953 – which means ((Can I have a drum roll)) to gather the later crop completely, to glean the later crop, to take everything. He will take everything but what the church gets wrong is the idea of a “Rapture”. You don’t want to be taken first: Mat_13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, “First gather the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.”

Darnel, also called “false wheat” can readily be separated from the wheat by two qualities: first, the seed only grows on one side of the panicle (seed stem) whereas wheat grows on two sides and, second the wheat seed itself is white and the darnel seed is black. See any spiritual correlation with this?

The tares/darnel is taken first and burned and then the wheat, that’s us, is taken next. Which day is the celebration of the wheat harvest? Look at the following verse when asked where the taken person would go: Luk 17:37 And they answering, said to Him, “Where, Master?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures shall be gathered together.”

Remember, tares/darnel has a hallucinogenic quality to it, and is reflected in its latin name “Lolium temulentum” and temulentum means drunk. I can say positively that the church is “drunk” on the doctrine of the rapture.

They are gathered to destruction: Isa 66:15 “For look, יהוה comes with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His displeasure with burning, and His rebuke with flames of fire.

Isa 66:16 “For by fire and by His sword יהוה shall judge all flesh, and the slain of יהוה shall be many –

Isa 66:17 those who set themselves apart and cleanse themselves at the gardens after ‘one’ in the midst, eating flesh of pigs and the abomination and the mouse, are snatched away, together,” declares יהוה.

Verse 16-17 – This is a reminder that if we do not keep the commands that we can be easily deceived into following other gods and that YHVH will cut off the rain.

Verse 18-19  – Here is the Mark of YHVH. So, what is the Mark of the Beast (Hasatan)?

Exo 13:9 “And it shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, that the Torah of יהוה is to be in your mouth, for with a strong hand יהוה has brought you out of Mitsrayim.

Exo 13:16 “And it shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim.”

The Mark of YHVH is what we think and do, the same as the mark of the Beast.

The word used for bind is H7194 – קָשַׁר – qâshar – kaw-shar’ – to bind, tie, knit, weave physically and/or mentally in love. If we keep YHVH’s moedim, His Sabbaths and teach our children to do them, then we can say we truly understand the Word of YHVH. We are seeking His Face: Psa 119:105 Nun Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Pro 6:20 My son, watch over your father’s command, And do not forsake the Torah of your mother.

Pro 6:21 Bind them on your heart always; Tie them around your neck.

Pro 6:22 When you are walking about, it leads you; When you lie down, it guards you. And when you have woken up, It talks to you.

Pro 6:23 For the command is a lamp, And the Torah a light, And reproofs of discipline a way of life,

Verse 20 – I am still working on this. Hope to have it done this winter.

Verses 22-23 – Do we seem to have a problem with immigration today? Could it be that we, as a nation, have not kept YHVH’s commands foremost in our lives?

Verse 25 – Do you think the Taliban is afraid of us?

Verses 26-32 – YHVH gives His people a choice, a blessing or a curse; which has America chosen?

There is much more here and we will discuss it as we go.

Ahavah,

---

Lesson date: 08/27/5857AA

When I open my Scriptures I never know which direction I will be drawn in. Sometimes I am drawn to a word, a phrase or maybe just a similarity in location or proximity. On my way to Debarim 12, I was halted at Deb. 11:29: Deu 11:29 And it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ěyḇal.

H1630 – גּרזים – gerizı̂ym – BDB Definition: Gerizim = “cuttings off”: from H1629

H1629 – גּרז – gâraz – BDB Definition: 1) to cut, cut of  1a) (Niphal) to be cut off (destroyed)

H5858 – עיבל – ‛êybâl – BDB Definition: Ebal = “stone” or “bare mountain”

Eze 36:26 “And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I shall take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I shall give you a heart of flesh,

Eze 36:27 and put My Spirit within you. And I shall cause you to walk in My laws and guard My right-rulings and shall do them.

Wow! Look at Gerizim closely, doesn’t it make you think about this: Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree,

Looking at the above picture, you see Mt. Gerizim on the left and Mt. Eybal on the right. The blessing was to be read on Mt. Gerizim and the curse was to be read upon Mt. Eybal on the right. Notice anything? Notice anything about the picture? The people live in between. The city is the city of Shekem where the lands of Yisra’el were divided and the bones of Yosef were buried: Jos 24:32 And the bones of Yosěph, which the children of Yisra’ěl had brought up out of Mitsrayim, they buried at Sheḵem, in the plot of ground which Ya‛aqoḇ had bought from the sons of Ḥamor the father of Sheḵem for one hundred qesitah, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Yosěph.

This reminds me of another group of people who were sharply rebuked by the prophet of Elohim, Eliyahu: 1Ki 18:21 And Ěliyahu came to all the people, and said, “How long would you keep hopping between two opinions? If יהוה is Elohim, follow Him; and if Ba‛al, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

The people found it comfortable to live between the blessing and the curse or hopping between two opinions because they did not have to commit to either one wholeheartedly. So, quite literally, the people chose to live between the blessing and the curse, neither hot nor cold. Naturally, this reminded me of Laodekia: Rev 3:15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot.

Rev 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.

We have talked about the waters around Laodekia in the past but as I thought about it I don’t think I told you where the waters originated. The hot water was piped or, ducted, from Hieropolis 11 miles away. Hieropolis was famous for its numerous hot springs where rich and poor came great distances to “take the cure”, like the man at the well: Joh 5:2 And in Yerushalayim at the Sheep Gate there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Běyth Zatha, having five porches.>> ((This is an Asclepius and it has been located at the base of the Old City of Jerusalem.))

Joh 5:3 In these were lying a great number of those who were sick, blind, crippled, paralysed, waiting for the stirring of the water. ((The stirring was the old dirty water going down the drain before the new clean water was let into the pool. In other words, it was free.))

Joh 5:4 For a messenger was going down at a certain time into the pool and was stirring the water. Whoever stepped in first, then, after the stirring of the water, became well of whatever disease he had.

Joh 5:5 And a certain man was there who had a sickness thirty-eight years.

Joh 5:6 When יהושע saw him lying there, and knowing that he already had been a long time, He said to him, “Do you wish to become well?”

Joh 5:7 The sick man answered Him, “Master, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Please note who Asclepius was: Asclepius or Hepius is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia, Iaso, Aceso, Aegle, Panacea

So, we had a Jewish man waiting to be healed by a Greek god and, that is why Yeshu’a told him: Joh 5:14 Afterward יהושע found him in the Set-apart Place ((So, he had to be a Jew)), and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, so that no worse matter befalls you.”

The reason I underlined John 5:4 is because the phrase is not found in the oldest manuscripts but was added a couple of hundred years later as a type of commentary to explain to Greeks what the Hebrew writer was saying. We have already talked about this.

Laodikea on the Lycus (Its full name) has a very interesting history and location, some of which we have discussed. It was located in the Roman province of Phrygia, 11 miles from Hierpolis and 9 miles from Colosae which had very, very cold water coming from seeps in the ground where wells were sunk and water piped around to places like Laodikea that had very poor water. The water would go to pools on the NW side of Loadikea and the volcanic hot water from Hieropolis on the NE section of town. The drinking water came from the pools on the NE part of town, which in turn poured into the Lycus River on the East side of town. The hot water ran out of the pools into a stream on the west side of town and both water sources came together at the bottom southern edge of the city which caused the city to have the appearance of a heart when viewed from above. Because of all the people bathing in the “hot” side the water was filled with human waste and soap from the washing of clothes and, the “cold” side being mixed with the Lycus River water came together at the southern end of the city and the water was now lukewarm and undrinkable, so one would naturally spit it out.

Another very interesting point about Laodikea; it was a very rich city due to the trade routes coming through the town and it was the banking center of that portion of the Roman Empire. It was so rich that when the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 60 A.D. Nero offered to pay for the reconstruction and the citizens told Nero, “No thanks.” and paid for the rebuilding out of their own pockets.

Also, because the volcanic hot water represented healing, the city worshipped Zeus, Asclepius and Apollo, all gods associated with healing and also the kings (Greek and Roman). It is important to note that Antiochus III, also called Antiochus the Great, transported 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon to Laodikea and those families would tithe about 20 pounds of gold each year to the temple in Jerusalem. Antiochus III, knowing that he was god, starting intercepting the offering and keeping for his treasury.

I know a lot of this is boring, but to me it is fascinating. Antiochus III married Laodice of Pontus (Yes, the woman for whom Laodikea was named) and had several children and one of them was named Mithradates, who after the death of his two brothers became king and ruled under the name of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who married his sister Laodice IV (who had also been married to his two brothers before their deaths). Now, remember, Epiphanes means God Manifest and he is the king who sacrificed pigs on an altar to Zeus that he had built in the temple in Jerusalem.

Now, you can see why Laodikea was described: Rev 3:15 “I know your works, (worshiped the “healing” gods, i.e. science) that you are neither (Mixed) cold (water on the NE side of town) nor hot (Hot spring water on the NW side of town). I would that you were cold or hot. (Unmixed)

Rev 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm (Mixed), and neither cold nor hot (Mixing pagan with set-apart), I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.

Rev 3:17 “Because you say, ‘Rich I am, and I am made rich, (the banking center of that part of the Roman Empire) and need none at all,’ (No, thanks, we can pay for it ourselves) and do not know that you are wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. (All of the sick people who were coming to take the cure, get naked and bathe in hotspring water on the NW side of town.)

Rev 3:18 “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire (Unmixed gold), so that you become rich (Mat. 5:3); and white garments (Wedding garments), so that you become dressed (Ready for the Wedding Feast of Sukkot), so that the shame of your nakedness (Having no covenant) might not be shown; and anoint your eyes with ointment, so that you see. (Several sources say that an ointment(Phrygian Powder) was made from a specific crushed rock (Phrygian stone mentioned by Aristotle) in the region of Laodikea, mixed with the water from Colossae and olive oil, for an eye ointment, which I believe turns our attention back to Mat. 7:3-4, you help others to see but you yourselves are blind.)

Now, bet you thought I forgot about Gerizim and Eybal, right? In ancient times cities were built on the tops of a hill (tel) or, a mountain (har) for safety and the valleys were for planting and pastures for livestock, but the people of Shekem chose not to. Rather, they chose to live between the two not wanting to commit to one or the other. How easy it would have been to have archers on the tops of the two hills and shoot down onto the town and kill everyone. Why would anyone be that foolish? Laziness? Indecisiveness, afraid to commit to one or the other because you may be wrong? Jos 24:15 “And if it seems evil in your eyes to serve יהוה, choose for yourselves this day whom you are going to serve, whether the mighty ones which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the mighty ones of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But I and my house, we serve יהוה.”

Why this verse of Scripture reached out to me I did not know when I first began looking at the contrast but, later on as I studied it dawned on me: this is the time of year that we have to chose who we are going to serve; YHVH or Ba’al, as Eliyahu pointed out. This is the time of the year we will be bombarded by “The Holidays,” which are just recycled pagan holy days MIXED into the worship of a generic God, who has no name, rather than יהוה – YHVH and, is called Lord by many: H1168 – בּעל – ba‛al – BDB Definition: Baal = “lord”.

We have all had people tell us, “We don’t know what day Jesus was born so one day is as good as another.” Right? But that is because the “church” divorced itself from the primacy of Torah and can’t see the Truth: Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-forth of a father, complete in favour and truth.

You pitch your tent on the first day of Sukkot and Yeshu’a, by John’s testimony, pitched His Tent among us so, that would mean that He was circumcised on the 8^th Day, Shemini Atzeret, of Sukkot, which is the day Solomon dedicated the temple to YHVH, where fire fell from Heaven and consumed over 25,000 slain bulls. It all points to Yeshu’a being the House of Elohim: Joh 1:51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, from now on you shall see the heaven opened, and the messengers of Elohim ascending and descending upon the Son of Aḏam.”

This should immediately make us think of the following: Gen 28:12 And he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to the heavens, and saw messengers of Elohim going up and coming down on it.

Gen 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Elohim, and this is the gate of the heavens!”

Gen 28:18 And Ya‛aqoḇ rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a standing column, and poured oil on top of it.

Gen 28:19 And he called the name of that place Běyth Ěl, however, the name of that city had been Luz previously. H1008 – בּית־אל – bêytḣ’êl – BDB Definition: Bethel = “house of God”

Now, speaking for myself and no one else, as we go into this pagan season of Christmas and New Years don’t get discouraged because it is just a few short months until Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and from there on to Shavu’ot. I know I got discouraged yesterday when I walked into HEB and right in the middle of the entryway was a Christmas tree: Jer 10:1 Hear the word which יהוה speaks to you, O house of Yisra’ěl.

Jer 10:2 Thus said יהוה, “Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be awed by the signs of the heavens, for the nations are awed by them. Footnotes:  Lev_18:3, Deu_12:30 and Deu_18:9, Eze_11:12 and Eze_20:32, Eph_4:17, 1Pe_4:3.  Deu_4:19 and Deu_17:3.

Jer 10:3 “For the laws of these peoples are worthless, for one cuts a tree from the forest, work for the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

Jer 10:4 “They beautify it with silver and gold, they strengthen it with nails and hammers so that it does not topple.

H1471 – גֹּי  גּוֹי – gôy gôy – go’ee, go’-ee -nations, pagan, heathen

Sunny has a really good story to relate about this that took place in her custody hearing.

Ahavah,