Exodus 13:17-17:16; Judges 4:4-5:31; Matthew 5 (complete)
If you are a believer in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth, then join me and let us go back in time and back in the pages of Scripture.
Let us go back to the days of our forefathers when Moshe (or Moses) was leading our forefathers out of Egypt and into the wilderness for the very first time.
As we go back in the pages of Scripture let us see if we can spot any patterns and let us see if those patterns in the ancient Hebrew writings have anything to say to us about the news today and how we can survive these End Times.
I have been in this walk since 1999 and I am always asking Yahweh about how to communicate what He wants His people to know, and it seems like one of the themes that keeps repeating, keeps coming up, is that Yahweh’s people do not really seem to understand: Why they are asked to do the things that Scripture asks them to do.
And perhaps that is part of the reason they do not do it.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:32
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Because I know myself when I do not understand the need for something I do not really want to do it and even if I do it I do not necessarily do it right, because I do not know even with the best of intentions, I do not know what I am trying to accomplish.
So, how can I get it right?
And I am sure that there are just some plain slackers in Ephraim who do not really pay attention to what Yahweh wants for His part in this whole deal.
And it is kind of hard to please Yahweh though if we do not even know what He wants. Do you know what I mean? So, if we want to please Yahweh we have to know what it is that He wants, and we have to be helping Him to get it.
So, I am just a student; I am learning. I was called in 1999 and Yahweh gave me a vision and I am attempting to walk that vision out for Him. And along the way, I am learning a lot of new things every single day, but I just want to share with you the things that I have learned because when I was praying and asking Yahweh, what it is that He wants me to communicate to His people. What I heard is that I am just supposed to talk and try to help Yahweh’s people understand what is truly going on in this Parasha.
Well, again, we talk about paradigm shifts, so if you are a Messianic, or an Ephraimite, or a Two-House person, it may take some time to understand the shift to the Nazarene Israel paradigm.
But what we need to do here, is what we find is there are a lot of people that have a lot of knowledge, but they do not seem to have a lot of wisdom in walking that knowledge out in a comprehensive way that keeps with all of Scripture.
So, what we are going to try and do in this Parasha is, we are going to try to weave a lot of various threads together to make kind of a tapestry (so to speak), uh, if you know what I mean.
But, we are just going to talk about the Parasha and try to understand what Yahweh wants, and how does Yahweh expect us to approach things versus how our ancestors are approaching things. Then, hopefully it is going to help some people connect the dots because they are going to see the difference between how Yahweh wants us to do things and how our ancestors did things.
But that is how our ancestors did them. Is there any possibility that we also are making the exact same errors because we are not learning from their mistakes of history?
So, now come with me on a journey and let us remember all the way back in time. Let us put ourselves in our forefathers’ sandals (so to speak), just for a moment.
Now, our forefathers came down into Egypt in the days of Joseph and life was good when they lived in Goshen, which was the best of all the land of Egypt. And Joseph who was number two in the land provided for them.
But now it is 430 years later and the new Paros (or the new Pharaohs) they do not remember Joseph. And one of them tried to kill all our male children.
And if Paro is not trying to kill us, he is working us to death (basically). We came down into Egypt as Joseph’s family; as his honored family and guests, but now 430 years later we are Paro’s slaves.
And that is a drastic situation that you really, we really need to get saved from, because as a slave we do not own anything.
In other words, in Egypt we are supposed to own nothing and be happy in our work for Satan’s servant Paro. Does anything sound familiar?
Perhaps any kind of pattern repeating itself?
And the thing about being a slave is that you do not even own your own body. You do not even own your own reproductive rights.
Your reproductive rights belong to your master (or your governor or to the state, so to speak). Does anything about this sound familiar to anyone?
Well, sometimes you can hear it said that Yahweh works in patterns or in cycles. That is also how we can know the end from the beginning, is that the patterns in Scripture tend to repeat themselves in a cyclical fashion over and over and over again.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 46:9-10
9 Remember the former things of old, for I am Elohim, and there is no other; I am Elohim, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’
Uh, so, if we study the patterns in the first five books of Moshe (or what is called the Torah), we can see important patterns and trends and cycles in how the news progresses.
And perhaps we do not see the patterns week by week, but certainly year by year and decade by decade. And, one pattern is that Israel’s children went from freedom to slavery down in Egypt. They were there for 430 years, right?
So, when they went there, they were free and then later they were slaves, for 430 years.
Shemote (Exodus) 1:11
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Paro supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
So, if we want to talk about any possible parallels at least for those living in the United States of America especially those who are of Christian European descent, the United States was originally presented to the Christian European pilgrims as this wonderful land where they could establish a new life in the “new world” and practice Scripture their way without government meddling and interference.
And, then, about 430 years after the people began settling in what would later become the United States. Uh, what was that pattern? How is that going, anyway? Are there any patterns; any cycles?
One thing we need to be aware of is: what kind of government does Yahweh like? And lot of people think very highly about democracy (ironically, particularly in Christian circles).
But as we talk about democracy in the Nazarene Israel study, in the chapter on the End Time sequence, we see that one of the great many ironies is that so many Christians and Messianics and Ephraimites seem to think of democracy as a good thing.
But Scripture never advocates democracy anywhere. In fact (as we show in the Revelation study), Scripture is against democracy.
Yahweh (let us put it this way) always places power in one man or in a small group of men who have order between them so they can act as one man.
That is how it is done in Scripture. Now, the European settlers did need to break away from the Babylonian European kingship system, because it was Babylonian.
But democracy was not the solution. Democracy is basically mob rule. Democracy is basically people voting for what seems good and right in their own eyes.
And in Scripture, we are told not to do that. We are told not to seek after what seems good and right in our own eyes, but to (in every case) seek diligently after what Scripture says.
Well, democracy works on the principle that the wisdom of the majority is always right, but the problem is that in Scripture the wisdom of the majority is usually wrong.
So, in order to make Scripture work, (basically) Yahweh gives (what you might call) a benevolent dictator role. Either to one man or a small group of men who are ordered, and who are responsible and responsive to Elohim; much like a Moshe or like a Joshua (or perhaps like a King David type).
Tehillim (Psalms) 89:20
20 I have found My servant David; with My set-apart oil I have anointed him,
Now, that kind of leadership that is what Scripture speaks of and it really does not work any other way in Scripture. Scripture is geared for a benevolent dictator.
As we show in Revelation and The End Times and also in Revelation Simplified (the YouTube version) and in other places, democracy itself is a Babylonian concept.
So, when we did the research, what we found is that democracy was first used in Babylonian council meetings and then the idea was later seized upon and expanded. First by the Greeks and then later by the Romans. And, what we know is that all three of these kingdoms are in Daniel’s vision or king Nebuchadnezzar’s vision in Daniel about the End Time beast.
So, those are all three Babylonian nations that have used that concept.
Daniel 2:39-40
39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
Now, Hebrew is an amazing language. You can analyze words because it is both alphabetic and pictographic.
Now, in Hebrew, the name “Babylon” is “Bavel”. It is spelled, “bait”, “bait” and then “lamed”. The “bait” stands for a house and the second “bait” represents a second house and “lamed” symbolizes a staff (or a goad) which symbolizes authority. So, democracy is basically when you have power or authority divided between more than one house; “bait” & “bait” sharing a “lamed”.
Well, uh, (you know), for example, the United States and many other countries have a similar separation of powers. The United States’ power is separated into three parts: The executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.
Now, the problem is that Yeshua tells us quite plainly in Mattityahu (or Matthew) chapter twelve in verse twenty-five that any house that is divided against itself will eventually fall.
Mattiyahu (Matthew) 12:25
25 But Yeshua knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Because rather than seeking to rally behind their king (rather than seeking to rally behind their benevolent dictator/leader), the people will all be seeking their own personal good as if they themselves were sovereigns.
And for those of you living in the United States, there is a strong sovereignty movement that claims to be based in Scripture, but Scripture speaks of us as slaves. Scripture speaks of us as willing servants. Not as, well we are a nation of kings and priests as well, but not in that sense.
We must submit to Yahweh, in His Spirit. So, for those who are a part of the pro-democracy movement, how is it going right now, 430 years later in those pro-democratic United States?
How is it going in the country where democracy was first introduced to the world in the modern day?
So, it is true the Christian pilgrims from Europe did need to turn away from the Christian kingships of Europe, because the Christian kingships were Babylonian and Roman (basically mixed with paganism).
However, it is a huge mistake to replace Babylonian Christian kingship with democracy, because the Bible never advocates democracy anywhere. The Bible is antithetical to- to the democratic principle. Those two things do not work together. Those two things do not compute and neither does a democratic republic, either.
So, it is one of those difficult things for men to humble themselves and realize that the Bible (Scripture) advocates a benevolent dictatorship. Now, whether we are talking through an anointed Judge (like Moshe), or a hereditary King, (like David), or a constitutional Prince (like the coming Nasi of Ezekiel chapters forty to forty-six). That is what Scripture speaks of; a benevolent dictator who is directly responsible to Elohim.
And then some will say, “Well, yes, but Yeshua came as a suffering servant” and that is true, but He will return as the conquering King. And Kings like order within their kingdoms. They want their subjects (meaning us) to establish this order for them.
So, then someone is going to ask about Acts chapter fifteen, in the so-called “Jerusalem Council”. And that is because a lot of Christians (and some Messianics) seem to think that Acts chapter fifteen is where a bunch of Christians (or Messianics, or whoever) just got together in a room and talked all the issues out using their own common sense.
And a lot of people might think (or might like to think) that sounds a lot like democracy. And a lot of people might think that is what they did in Acts chapter fifteen, but that is not what they did in Acts chapter fifteen at all.
As we show in our studies, (especially in Torah Government) the so-called “Jerusalem Council” was really just a meeting of the Council. It was a meeting of what Judaism calls the “Beit Din Gadol” (the “big council” or the “big court”). We call it the “Nazarene Sanhedrin” (if you want), but we prefer the Hebrew terms.
So, the Nazarenes were just Jews and they continued to organize by the form of Judaism that they understood in their time; trying to get rid of any Babylonian influences and just going strictly on what the Scriptures say to do.
But the Beit Din model is a classic manifestation of the commandment given in Deuteronomy (or Devarim) chapter sixteen in verse eighteen, which tells us that we are to appoint judges and officers within all of our gates (so that there will be order) which Yahweh (or Elohim) gives us, according to our tribes. And, that these Judges and Officers should judge (meaning to lead or to govern) the people with just judgment. Meaning that they are supposed to give them just government; they are supposed to be good governors.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:18
18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your Elohim gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
So, there is a government commanded right there in Scripture and that is what they were doing in Acts fifteen. But, somehow, some people get the mistaken idea that it was just some town hall meeting or some town council meeting (or something like that) and that is not what it was. It was not a populist voting club.
Rather, the Beit Din operates really more like a military tribunal than anything else, because that is what the Firstborn Priesthood Order, the Levitical Order, and later the Melchizedekian Order (they are all spiritual military orders) they require order; and you have to have leadership (basically to a single man or a small group of men with order between them), so that there is accountability in the kingdom.
And it is completely appropriate, because that is what Yahweh call- that is why He calls us “The armies of the living Elohim”. So, and a lot of people have a hard time with this because we have images of Yeshua as this soft, cuddly lamb (and this kind of a thing), but really, Yahweh is a war man; He is a war Elohim and He has a job He wants us to do for Him (if you know what I am saying).
Shemote (Exodus) 15:3
3 Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is His name.
So, we need to be busy with it. We need to be about our Father’s business, just as our Master and King, an example, Yeshua was about His Father’s business. And if we have His Spirit, we are going to want to be about our Father’s business.
So, what is our Father’s business? What does He want us to know? What does He want us to be doing for Him?
Because we are supposed to treat Yahweh like our King. And this is the thing sometimes people forget because we have lived under democracy for so long. We have forgotten what kingship is really all about. It is not just that the king had the final say. It is that every citizen, every subject in the kingdom had to be loyal and pulled together behind the king.
And, to not do so was considered treason and the punishment was death (it was capital punishment). The death penalty for treason and that is just for not being on the king’s side. That is for being on someone else’s side. That is a death penalty offense.
So, that is how we are supposed to treat Yahweh our Elohim and King. And we just need to talk about things because we are here, there is a small number of us, who are trying to understand the need to actually do something for Elohim; to actually build something for our King.
That is what He wants. He wants us to be a Proverbs thirty-one bride busily helping Him build His kingdom. That is what He wants from us. But sometimes I wonder if we have lived under democracy for so long that maybe certain people have forgotten what righteous kingship looks like and why we need one. I have heard more than one person argue in favor of anarchy because they have this picture that we are supposed to be leaderless and headless. And there are certain verses that you can take out of context (we deal with those in the Torah Government).
But we need to remember Scripture does not command democracy because democracy is one of the devil’s traps. There is a reason that the Illuminati celebrate the American revolution of July the 4th, 1776, and that is because that is the date when Yahweh’s people (Ephraim) broke away from the European, Christian kingships of England.
And there are certain protocols that say that was really their only defense and that without a Christian kingship they can easily be manipulated and controlled because the black horse can easily control the red horse (If you do not know what that means we’ve covered it in Revelation and The End Times or in Revelation Simplified).
Turning away from the Christian kingships was the beginning of the end for the Christians, but they still do not know it today.
The problem is that, as bad as a king might be (especially a Babylonian king), but even a bad Babylonian king they are still required to teach the people Scripture, because that is where he gets his base of power from.
Because people do not believe Scripture, they are not going to support a Christian king. So, the American revolutionaries did not support a king. And let us take a look. Now, (less than 250 years later) how Christian is young America? How Christian is democratic, young America?
In fact, America is attempting to destroy the Christians. So, and that is because (as we explained in our study on Revelation and The End Times) America is the land of Babylon of Jeremiah chapters fifty and fifty-one. And we are commanded to leave the land of Babylon.
There is a whole lot we can say here, but the point we are trying to make is that the whole concept of voting makes no sense from a Scriptural perspective.
Okay, let us say that you are going to have a nation of people. They are all seeking what is good and right in their own eyes, so they are all seeking their own selfish good. And somehow the collective selfish good is supposed to somehow lead to the selfless good of the nation?
How does that work? Every man voting his own private good is supposed to build a strong healthy, unified nation with a sense of camaraderie and common purpose? And that is going to provide for the common good of all?
The whole idea makes no sense. So, what you want in Scripture is a nation that is going to rally behind their king, so everyone comes together to support the king. In times of war especially. So, are you going to trade that away for a nation of people doing whatever seems good to them; whatever seems good and right in their own eyes?
So, if you still believe democracy is a good thing, then I still do not understand the concept. How does everyone seeking his own selfish, private good lead to a unified nation that seeks the common good of all?
If you establish a system based on selfish interest, then how do you end up with a system in which everyone is loved and taken care of like a community? How do you get a community spirit in that kind of environment?
And why are Yahweh’s people, Judah and Israel (or Ephraim), adopting a style of government that was originally developed in Babylon, and then was later seized upon and developed in Greece and Rome?
Why are Yahweh’s people adopting government systems that come from Israel’s traditional enemies Babylon, Greece and Rome?
It makes no sense to me.
So, I know we have got to see a lot of themes open at the same time, but what is really happening here in Parasha B’shalach is that Paro is sending us out, but we are leaving Satan’s government behind, that is great.
Shemote (Exodus) 12:31
31 Then he called for Moshe and Aharon by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve Yahweh as you have said.
So, we have been serving Satan’s servant Paro (I was about to say, “Satan’s serpent Paro”) now, for 430 years and it has been getting progressively worse and worse and worse and worse. But now it is finally Yahweh’s time; It is finally time to go home.
So, once we leave Satan’s government behind then, now we can start to set up Yahweh’s form of government. We can have Yahweh’s form of government, His righteous government for ourselves and our families and our whole nation. Does that not sound great? Does that not sound like something we want to do today?
Okay, but now, before we left Egypt, Yahweh had the Pesach (or the Passover) with us, so we shared that private meal and (as we show in our studies on the Ancient Hebrew Wedding Feast) the Pesach corresponds to the first phase of the Hebrew wedding ceremony, which is called shidduchim and refers to the match, a match is called the shidduch.
But, so, a shidduchim is the stage where a groom takes his bride (and in this case Yahweh takes Israel for His Son Yeshua). So, they have had an agreement to marry, so to celebrate the match, their families get together and hold a celebratory meal and that private celebratory meal makes the deal official.
So, Yahweh came to redeem His bride Israel from slavery and there was a shidduch (or a match) with Israel and we celebrated the shidduch as the Pesach meal. That is what the Pesach was, it was a celebration of our agreement to marry Yahweh Elohim.
So, if we think about it, the Pesach is kind of like an anniversary of us getting asked to marry Yahweh. That is not the anniversary of the celebration, but it is when Yahweh came and selected those who would be a faithful bride for His Son Yeshua.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:1-2
1 And Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
So, originally, He wanted all Israel to qualify, but as we go further and further on in the story, it seems that the vast majority of people disqualify themselves by their lack of zeal and enthusiasm.
So, if we understand what the Pesach is we should want to keep the celebration, yes?
Because, whoever heard of a bride that did not want to keep her own wedding celebrations? It does not make sense. So, Yahweh wants us to celebrate the day that He came and asked us to be His bride. Great! Wonderful! Let us do that.
And we are going to see in the very next Parasha, in Parasha Yitro, we are going to see where Yahweh will now lead us to the foot of Mount Sinai. And Yahweh is going to give us His bridal instructions (the Torah).
Now, in the ancient Hebrew wedding tradition, the groom gives His bride what is called a Ketubah. And the Ketubah is the bride’s wedding covenant which spells out all the duties and all the responsibilities. It spells out what the groom is going to do, and it spells out what the bride is going to do. It says that the husband’s family is going to provide a land flowing with milk and honey.
Shemote (Exodus) 19:5
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
But now the bride must live up to these kingly standards. These high, heavenly, kingly standards. (And the rules for the bride are this and this and this and this and other duties as assigned as we go on down through time because the plan is going to change from time to time.)
Israel does not know, but Yahweh already knows, that the firstborn priesthood will be succeeded by a Levitical priesthood. And the Levitical priesthood will be succeeded by a corrupt rabbinical priesthood. And then the corrupt rabbinical priesthood will be succeeded by a Melchizedekian priesthood; a restored one. And then ultimately, it will be merged with the refined Levitical priesthood after the tribulation and Armageddon and the in-gathering. So, Yahweh knows there is going to be this progression of priesthoods.
So, it is always understood that we need to hear and obey His voice. If you are on board a ship (or perhaps a commercial or a military airliner) you know, you cannot just do your job, you also must listen to the commands of the captain, you must do things as crises emerge. You also must do other things you have to remain in communication and good relationships with the rest of the crew. That is all part of the job; doing your part on board the ship (or the airplane). That is all part of the job.
So, if the bride will be faithful and do her part as a helper, as a help meet, learn what her Husband and King loves and does not love, they will be married. If she will do her part, He will lovingly help guide her and lead her along the way.
Shemote (Exodus) 19:8
8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” So Moshe brought back the words of the people to Yahweh.
There will be a lot of refinement for every one of us, but can you, just, can you imagine being married to the Son of the Creator of the universe (just for a moment), can you imagine what that is going to be like?
And think about how unworthy we are, because if you think about it we are really not much more than just bags of dirt. He took the dirt of the ground and breathed the breath of life into us and here we are and (for some reason) now He wants to clean us up and give us His Spirit and marry us to His Son.
We are just bags of dirt, right? Okay, I am in! If that is what He wants. And I do not care what, I do not care what it costs. That is the thing and I think that is the difference. I think for a lot of people they do care what it costs, because if it costs their money or it costs their time they are gone or they are going to stay on the periphery. They do not really want to help their King establish His kingdom. They would really rather stay back in slavery, back as part of Paro’s kingdom, back in Egypt. They would rather stay in the world.
We saw the same thing happen when Judah went to the Babylonian exile. Only ten percent of the Jews came back when the Babylonian exile was done. So, periodically, Yahweh does this winnowing and threshing; He gets rid of the extra. Like there was a time when Yeshua turned extra disciples away. He was like, “These are not really dedicated to Me, you need to eat My flesh and drink My blood”, but what He is really saying is, “I am testing you”. And many of them turned back. It was only the twelve. It was, “Where else are we going to go? There is nowhere else to go, You are the, You are the One that has the words of eternal life, so I hope that you will explain what you mean”. And He did. But are you in?
We need to sit down and count the cost before we begin because all of us are going to be required to humble ourselves. And all of us are going to be required to abase ourselves, and all of us need to remain in an attitude towards learning and knowledge.
It is not about us being right, it is about us all learning what is right, because we have to agree with Him if we are going to walk along the way with Him.
So, we want to agree with Him and then we want to agree with each other, in Him. Once we are submitted to His Spirit, then we can submit one to another in the Spirit. And then we can get something done according to His Spirit (that is the step most of the churches and the synagogues miss).
But the thing is, most of us, we have this quite different idea of marriage. And I do not know if it comes from marriage in the modern day, or if people want to turn marriage into something that it was never meant to be and never can be, (you know), but today, people get married for romantic love. So, you let teenagers fall in love (and it is fine if they want to choose within the faith, wisely within the faith, that is great).
But back in the day, you got married for family survival and reproduction (back in the days we are reading about here in the Parasha), your ultimate safety is always in Yahweh, but we still must do things in a wise way. Just because we believe in Yeshua does not mean we do not need to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
But, just consider that, back before they had nation states, your family was literally your nation. So, before they went into Egypt, Israel was your family, your nation. When they went down into Egypt their family was still their nation. Now they are being pulled out of Egypt there is no longer a single common ancestor. So, no longer really truly primary nuclear family.
So, now they need another form of government so they can stay together as a family, as a nation, but back in those days who you chose for marriage was a huge, huge deal. Even once the nation of Israel was formed you still want to choose someone who is in the faith. You do not want to be unevenly yoked. That is a good way to fall away. It is a good way to have a hard time in life is to be unevenly yoked.
So, you know marriage represented vital strategic and commercial ties and commercial alliances and strategic alliances. And in a sense, family still does for families that still consider these kinds of things and those kinds of strategic alliance relationships were so very important to your survival back then and let alone your financial health.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 28:1
1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
So, you did not just leave the choice over which other family line to marry into up to kids, do you know what I am saying? When families live together in the modern day, when children live apart maybe that can be something different, but if you are going to come live under your father’s roof (because families lived together back in those days) you did not leave, you could, if your son has a recommendation (there is someone he wants) you can make the introduction you can meet the family, you can check it out, but you do not just leave the decision up to the children, (you know).
You remember what it was to be a teenager right? So, you are going to let your teenage son or your teenage daughter with raging hormones so, your teenage son is going to decide who the woman is that is going to come live in your home and whoever she is, you are now in strategic and commercial alliance with that family? Whoever they are?
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We are not going to do that here, okay? This is not “whatever”, this is “forget about it”, okay?
In the patriarchal system there are a lot of Messianics who are in rebellion to the fact that it is a patriarchal system. That is what Scripture speaks of. So, you made the rules for your house, but it was an extended house.
So, marriage was not just about children it was (again) also about strategic alliances, and marriage was about duty. It was about responsibility, taking personal responsibility and raising up the next generation of your family in the way that they should go, and it is still that way today.
So, the thing is both- well both in ancient times and today in marriage, both bride and the groom need to obey every single part of the marital covenant and all it implies.
When we are talking about the Torah, we need to obey all it implies under penalty of death because what we are really doing in a marriage is we are weaving another family into the mix.
So, you know what happens in the house is going to impact everyone else’s life in the house and the way the marriage is run is going to impact everyone else’s life in the whole community.
And in Israelite society, this is something that is impossible in the Messianic movement because they do not have any kind of headship. The Messianic movement is just a mess. It is a disorganized mess.
But in true Israelite society (as we explain in Covenant Relationships and especially in our study on “Yahweh’s Heart in Marriage“), in Israelite society, in Hebrew society, how you run your marriage is very much your neighbor’s business because he is going to be impacted by it.
So, in the Torah if you, if you do something wrong the nation will suffer as a result. So, in Israelite society you get to know everyone and you talk with everyone and you get to know your neighbors in a very deep and loving and intimate way because these are the people that you and your children are going to go through the next war with and the war after that and the good times and the bad times and the feasts and the famines.
And to do that successfully as a community and as a nation you have to love the people that you know in your nation, that is very much a focus in Israelite society. But today, under democracy, uh, well, a lot of things are different and sometimes it can seem like the husband and wife are kind of a solo team.
It can be that way, um, but that is ideally when we are trying to get back to the concept of community. We are trying to prepare End Time communities because we know they are going to cut our communications during- at least during the second half of the tribulation. But really there is more to it even than just safety. The community thing is part of Israelite life and getting to know and love each other in a very real way, that is an integral part of Hebrew culture.
And this can be difficult in dispersion because we are so scattered, but if you have others that you are truly connected with you that are truly helping each other walk better day by day as iron sharpens iron, well this can lead to fellowship for you and your family. If you are helping Nazarene Israel perhaps by translating and you are republishing the word in your language, this can help spread the truth in your area.
And it can also lead to fellowship for you and your family.
But getting back to the wedding agreement. So, when you get married you receive a Ketubah which we know in our case is the Torah.
Now in Parasha Yitro, in the very next chapter, we are going to see where we receive the 10 Commandments. Now, bride does not get to obey nine of the commandments and break the tenth, okay? and the bride in the marriage, she does not get to do 90% of the things her husband says to do and then blow off the 10th, okay? You do not get to cook and clean and raise up children then go off and have an affair.
It does not, it does not work like that, okay? And it is the same with Yahweh’s Torah. We do not get to keep 90 percent of the commandments and blow off the other 10 percent.
Now, our Husband is a very great King, and He is very zealous for our attentions, and He wants what every great king wants which is a good name and the very best queen for Him.
Mishle (Proverbs) 31:11
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.
So, if we are going to get married to Yeshua then we ought to get to know Yeshua, perhaps?
So, what kind of queen does Yeshua want?
Well, I do not know, but I imagine He wants a queen who truly loves Him and who wants to help Him get what He wants. And since what He wants is a kingdom, I would suspect that what He wants is a Proverbs 31 bride who is eager to help Him build His kingdom so she can see Him happy sitting on His set apart throne.
Mishle (Proverbs) 31:12
12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Why would He not want to sit on His throne? Why would He not want a Proverbs 31 bride? Because bride is described as a helper, right?
Mishle (Proverbs) 31:13
13 She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.
So, people think of the queen’s life as being very relaxed and nothing to do but her hair and her nails (or something like that). No, queens are very active, very busy people. Sometimes queens rule when their husbands go off to war. Queens, it is a different role than many people think.
So, if we want to be His bride and He is looking for someone to help Him get what He wants, then are we helping Him, perhaps to get what He wants? Hello?
Are we helping our Husband in His work of pleasing His Father by bringing the kingdom of heaven down to earth? By bringing the earth first into spiritual subjection to Yeshua, who then will turn and yield spiritual subjection to His good heavenly Father?
So, are we helping Him with that? Are we helping to bring the kingdom of heaven down to earth? Or are we simply praying for that and then not doing anything about it.
So, I mean, are we helping our Husband build His kingdom by performing the Great Commission? How important is it to us?
Mattityahu (Matthew) 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in My name*
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amein.
[*For why we immerse in the name of Yeshua only, please read “Immersion in Yeshua’s Name Only” in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Three.]
So, (I mean) for me, my understanding is that is what this life is all about is that He gives us something to do for Him. He is the war Elohim, He gives us a mission, a campaign to perform for Him and then He sits back and sees how much we do to see how much we care about what He wants. That is how kings operate. This is not democracy this is a kingship.
And He says in Hitgalut or Revelation chapter 22 and in verse 12.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 22:12
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
So, now let us notice something really important here. So, in Shemote (or Exodus), it seems like there is really only a very few people that Yahweh is truly happy with to the point that you might suspect that Yahweh might want to take them either for His Son’s bride or some other important role (however, you want to say that), but He does seem to be generally happy with Moshe, with Joshua, with Kaleb, because it seems like their commitment level is very high. It seems like they are doing their very level best. Even though they could (perhaps) slack off and be like one of the people, but they are actually doing their level best to serve Yahweh faithfully.
But what about the majority? So, I guess what we really need to say here is that if we want Yahweh to be pleased with us the pattern that we are seeing here is that Yahweh our Elohim wants us to love Him with all of our heart, with all of our mind with all of our soul, with all of our strength. He wants us to truly commit to Him and He is going to place tests and trials in the way, and He wants us to trust in Him.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4-5
4 “Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is One!
5 You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
So, are we doing that? (You know). I mean, if Yeshua was here (to look at things a different way), Yeshua could say something like: “Well, (you know) I am a very great King, or I will be very soon. And I am looking for a queen who shows Me how much she loves and respects Me, and that she is trying to help Me with My work. My Father has called me to bring the earth into spiritual subjection.”
“So, bringing them first into subjection to me and then I will be in subjection to My Father. So, and I am going to be in heaven for a thousand years while she is My body here on earth ruling and reigning in My stead so if she is going to be My hands and My feet and she is going to wield My rod of iron then she has always got to be connected with Me.”
“And if she has got My Spirit truly, then she has got to be looking for ways to help Me get my job done. So, I need a bride I can truly feel one flesh with, because she lets My Spirit manifest (move through her).”
“So, I am going to want her to serve as My body while I am the head in heaven for a thousand years, and yet she and I are going to be one flesh because she will be My hands and My feet. She will be My body while, I am in the heavens.”
“So, if anyone is going to wield My rod of iron then they have to have My Spirit, and they must be fully and completely submitted to My Spirit.”
“Only if she abides in Me and I and her, that is the only way she can rule for Me. And also really, that is the only way that the tabernacle of David is truly going to get built. Because that is a world, spiritual government that is centered on Me and centered upon My Spirit.”
“So, if she does not manifest My Spirit then that is not the kind of bride I am looking for. She has to manifest My Spirit.”
So, here in Shemote, the situation is, we have already been picked as the bride. We already had the Pesach, the shidduch deal, and we are official. We are engaged to be married we are going to make the announcement, we will come up, shortly, we will see that in the very next Parasha, but we have already seen Yahweh cast down and bring judgment upon ten of the Egyptian gods.
Right, so, we have already seen miracles. Now, we are leaving Mitzrayim for the very first time. We are the promised bride-to-be nation, okay? This is the time when the whole bride, the whole nation is supposed to be talking with the Groom’s best friend, in which in our case is Yeshua’s Spirit or Elohim’s Spirit. And learning about what the Groom likes so that we can please our Husband when we get to the consummation in the wedding week, which is symbolized by the feast of Sukkot (or Tabernacles).
Um, but… (how shall we say), Israel is not really acting like a very mature bride at this point. Instead, she is like our forefathers are acting really (basically) very childish and immature. And Yahweh does not like that. There are other religions that like child brides, but not this one. Yahweh wants a mature bride for His Son.
So Qorintim Aleph (or First Corinthians), chapter 14 and verse 20, tells us not to be children in understanding. So, we should be babes in malice and evil (should not be developed in those things), but in understanding we are to be mature.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 14:20
20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.
And really, when our forefathers came out of Mitzrayim (or Egypt) they were not mature. Really, they behaved more like spiritual children.
And it is embarrassing, but they are our forefathers, and can we see some parallels to today? because, well, you can tell how old someone is spiritually. There is a correspondence to the nuclear family they grow up in, and the spiritual family that we hope to bring them into.
So, in a nuclear family, when you have children, first you have to feed them, and clean them, and wash them, and change them and do all those things. Keep them warm, and keep them cool, and take care of everything just so, and then, eventually they grow to a phase where they are grown up. And hopefully, if you wean them correctly, then they want to start helping out around the home.
When you train them correctly then that is, that is something that they should do. They should behave like young adults and want to help out around the home. But still, for young children it is natural to ask a lot of questions, “Can I have this?” and “Can I have that?” “Can we do this?” “Can we do that?”, (you know) they have a lot of interest in these kinds of things.
And that is good for children. They are in a receiving mode but then when they become adults then they need to shift. With adults it is more, “How can I help?”, not just my family, but the people around me in my community and in my nation.
So, it is more of a heads up thing with children, because with children it is all about getting what we want, whereas as an adult it is all about helping out in the family and also in the community and in the nation.
And, as a wife it is all about helping the Husband serve Yahweh (at least in our case with Yeshua), and to raise up the family in the way it should go. So, every Israelite family should be raising its children in the way they should go. To serve Yahweh and serve Yeshua the way They want to be served, and that is the difference.
So, is it possible as we go through the pages of Shemote, is it possible that Yahweh was kind of expecting Israel, (His Son’s newly selected bride) to behave a little bit more like a mature bride and not like a child bride?
Because, in ancient Israel, a bride tries to see how she can help her husband with his works. It is hard work, so she is used to work, so, she fits in with the rest of the family and she helps out with the work in the ancient Hebrew model.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 15:58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of Adon, knowing that your labor is not in vain in Adon.
But children, they are not looking to help out with the work. You have to train them into wanting to help out with the work. So, yes, you want to feed them, and clothe them, and educate them, and do all those things, but at the exact same time there are physical tasks to get done in ancient times.
And here is Israel, here are our forefathers, (basically) just asking for things like children, “We need food, we need protection, we need safety, give us water” like, Yahweh did not already have a plan to provide for all those things. That is the thing, the faith aspect was not there.
So, I just do not know, but I just kind of imagine Yahweh just kind of taking everything in watching as He does. Waiting for us to ask Him what we can do to serve Him. Can you tell when your children really love you because they want to do something to help you?
So, you can tell what an employee really wants to help because they are looking for things they can do to serve.
But that is all (you know), you cannot buy those kinds of things, those things just kind of have to exist, but what are our forefathers like? Like, “Hey.” “Hey there king, you are so great. Thank you for giving me that list of things that I asked you for. Here is another list of things that I would like to ask you for.”
They behave like this, if it is the “bless me” club (you know what I mean), they are not here to serve their King.
They are here to see what they can get for themselves and that is the extent of their caring. That is the extent of their concern, because they never stop to think what can they truly give back.
When Yeshua healed the ten lepers only one came back even to give thanks (let alone to help the ministry somehow).
Luqa (Luke) 17:15-16
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified Elohim,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Only one came back to give thanks and if we are willing to receive it that is the difference between the 4,000 and the 5,000 and the myriads and the multitudes the crowds and the throngs and the 12 that Yeshua actually spent His time with is the 12 that were dedicated to helping Him build His kingdom. So, what about us, brothers and sisters?
You know, I mean, sometimes you have to wonder. Take a look at all the people out there who are just really not involved. They just effectively cannot be bothered to help set up Yeshua’s kingdom and you just have to wonder, do they not think that Yahweh can see our hearts? Can, could He not tell what we are thinking in our hearts?
Let us see, He can just sit back and make a selection. I just kind of imagine Yeshua, sitting back and pondering what bride He wants to take and so He is pondering one bride and He says, “Hmm…let us see. So, she never stops to ask what the Groom or His Father want, she does not even really pay her tithes. Hmm…now, what kind of a bride is that going to make? So, is she always looking or only comes when she wants something?. Hmmm…”
You might say, “Well Yeshua will never know the difference between that and someone who is eager to help build His kingdom.” He is like, “What can I do for you; now what can I do next; how can I help you?”
And a lot of people, you hear always, the Christians and the Messianics will say, “Well He knows my heart, that is why I do not do anything, that is why I do not help, that is why I do not give anything.” Yes, He does know our hearts because He looks at the fruits.
Because a tree is judged by its fruits. And that is why Yeshua says, “Behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with Me to give to everyone according to his works.” Because the works are the good fruits. That is the good fruits of repentance as we want. We do not want to serve Satan’s kingdom anymore. We want to serve Yeshua. We want to build His kingdom.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 7:12, 17-19
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“Oh, there is work involved?” “Oh, there is tithing involved?” “Oh, well...” (you know).
Did you ever think about getting married to someone and you never stop to ask them what they want or how you can give it to them?
If you do not really love them enough to ask them what they want, then why do you want to get married?
Yahweh called me to repentance in 1999, June the 6th of 1999, and gave me a vision for what we should be doing. I just can never quite understand why people have such a hard time with the concept that Yeshua wants a dedicated Proverbs 31 bride who loves Him enough to want to help Him build His kingdom.
Why is that so hard to understand? He is a King, He can have anyone He wants… (you know). I mean, are any of us ever praying that He will make us into a Proverbs 31 bride worthy for His Son?
Because that is what He wants. That is what His will is. So, if we want to be in His will, then do we not need to become Proverbs 31 brides who are eager to come together and organize so we can help give Him, the kingdom that He so eagerly desires and deserves?
I mean, that is, that is the whole reason why He commands the Great Commission. That is the whole reason for the five-fold ministry and the unified foundation of apostles and prophets…
And if we think about it, it is all for our good anyway, because do we like living in Satan’s Kingdom?
So, Yeshua (our Husband) wants us to build His kingdom by performing the Great Commission and building a single unified body on a single foundation of apostles and prophets according to the five-fold ministry protocols.
So, if we will follow those we will build His kingdom, but if we do not follow those how do we leave Satan’s kingdom?
It is like leaving Egypt. “Oh, and we do not want to do the things it takes to build a kingdom.” So, we have no kingdom. So, we have no government, so now the family will disperse. Why do we want that?
We will end up servants in Satan’s kingdom, again. Because any nation divided against itself, any nation that does not unify around its king and around its Elohim, is not going to survive.
So, really, at the end of the day, either we can serve Yahweh the way He says and build His Son’s kingdom, or we are still in Egypt.
So, and people, like, they want to stay in spiritual Egypt, and they say, “Well we do not want to do that we…what you are talking about requires work, requires money, requires time effort energy.”
“Mmmm, brrrr…No, we would rather watch Saturday Night Live. We do not want to pay tithes, we do not want to organize, we do not actually want to have to submit first to His Spirit, and then one to another in the Spirit, so that we obey every Word of Scripture.”
“Oh, no we are not up for that. We know we were bought with a price. We know what that price cost Him, but we do not want to do that. No it takes time, and money, and energy, and effort. No...”
Well, you see a lot of that, and we know that it was, as it was in the days of Noah, “So shall the coming of the son of man be” and only eight people were saved through the flood, and the prophecies speak about great destruction coming upon the children of Ephraim. Such that only a tiny remnant will return to the land.
We have to know who our Father, Yahweh is. So we need to know who He is and what He wants. And we need to figure out how to organize in order to give it to Him, because what He wants to do requires organization.
And He is a Man of war; Yahweh is a Man of war. So, and as we explain in Torah Government (and in other places), He sent His Son, Yeshua, to bring the earth into spiritual subjection to Him. So, that His government can then rule and reign. And it is a big multi-phase operation that lasts as long as the earth lasts. There is a lot to do.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians 15:28)
28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that Elohim may be all in all.
A lot of people, they are very ignorant of the fact that there is something to do, okay? That if we have truly sat down and we have counted the cost we ought to know there is something to do. That is how Yeshua can give us our reward according to our work. Is there something to do for Him.
So, and that is why Yahweh says He wants us to love Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength. So, He is looking for that kind of dedication that Moshe, Joshua, Kaleb, all had. And that is the kind of dedication we need to have if we want to survive the tribulation, because that is the only way to be one of the few that He is pleased with.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 22:37-38
37 Yeshua said to him, “‘You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
There are a lot of ways to walk a broad easy road and there is only a very few to walk a narrow an afflicted one.
So, let us look at this another way. Okay, so, if you are a sister and you are a bride, you are someone’s wife. Okay, if your husband is not happy, are you happy? If he is unhappy; he does not have what he wants, are you okay with that?
Okay, so what about Yahweh? All of us, brothers and sisters, if Yahweh does not have what He wants yet, are we happy? But, yet we want the claim to be His bride. We care about Him so much that we do not care that He did not get what He wants, yet?
So, or do we find it a fascinating challenge to figure out? Oh well, Yeshua does not have what He wants yet so we are His hands and His feet, we are His body, so our children are going to be the ones to rule and reign over this, His global spiritual empire anyway, so why do we not want to help him?
I think that is more the kind of attitude He is looking for. More like a Joshua and Kaleb kind of a Spirit (you know).
That is who He is looking to get married to. Now, again, so they have made the agreement with the Pesach and now our forefathers are coming to the foot of Mount Sinai (we will get there in the next Parasha).
And the thing is, once the marriage vows are made public, we will be lawfully married to Yahweh in the next Parasha, “Parasha Yitro”.
Okay, so we are going to take a special look at this. We got some special information. We are gonna talk about why the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai was a public Ketubah and a public witness of the marriage.
That is not all the commandments that there are by any means, and we will explain that in this, and in other Parashiot, but what we are going to see there with the giving of the Ten Commandments we are going to see Yahweh make a public, written and visual witness to the whole world that He was taking us as His bride.
Shemote (Exodus) 24:12
12 Then Yahweh said to Moshe, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
So, now He is given a public witness and there is a written testimony so now the whole world knows that Yahweh and Israel are a thing, right? Well, okay, so sometimes the discipline gets a little rough, but let us consider things from His perspective.
Have we ever sat and looked at things through Yahweh’s eyes, and pondered what to pray about, “Yahweh, please show us what do You want”?
Okay, well, He is the greatest King of all time, ever. If He cannot even get His bride Israel to live up to her wedding vows, what is that going to look like to the rest of the heavenly council? What does that do to Yahweh’s name?
You know what I am saying? You know how important Yahweh’s name or His reputation or His fame or His renown is to Him? How does it look on Him for His bride to adulterate away from Him and not truly keep the whole wedding Ketubah?
Not like the Messianics. Not like resting and reading on Sabbath and saying, “I kept the whole thing!” You did not keep the whole thing. I guarantee you did not keep the whole thing. You are hearing only and not doing, deceiving yourself.
And the problem of our forefathers and the blessing is, our forefathers made a solemn covenantal oath at the foot of Mount Sinai (we are going to see it in the next Parasha). And they made a deal and there was a public announcement (that is what the Torah is, the public announcement).
So, our forefathers made a deal, and we need to live up to it and it is what we want.
But the thing is if we say we are keeping the Torah, but we do not actually do the things that are written in the Torah. Then it is not safe to have us in the community because the words that are coming out of our mouth are different than what Yahweh says.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 20:10
10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
We are not taking every thought into captivity, okay? We are letting Satan’s thoughts come out of our mouth, we cannot do that, okay?
Sin must be purged from the camp. The alternative is you have a little bit of leaven leavening the whole lump. That principle still applies in the Renewed Covenant. That is what they were dealing with in First Corinthians chapter five.
So that is why the penalty for idolatry is also death, because idolatry is a form of spiritual adultery.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 8:19
19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget Yahweh your Elohim, and follow other elohim, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
And that is why no idolatry is the very first of the five principles of Acts chapter 15, because we are supposed to be a chaste bride who focuses every thought upon her Husband.
Ma’asei (Acts) 15:19-20
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to Elohim,
20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
We are supposed to be waiting on our Husband not getting distracted by Satan and thoughts of this world.
So, every time we or our forefathers disobey command, or every time we or our forefathers serve any kind of false Elohim, or do anything for any reason other than Him, that is spiritual adultery. That is prohibited.
Every time we serve our own sense of vanity or our own ego or our own pride saying Yahweh told us to say something that Yahweh did not really say it. Especially if you know because it is contrary to Scripture, that is self-idolatry. That is just excessive hubris and pride; to say that Yahweh said something that is contrary to His Word.
That is putting self above Yahweh Elohim; It is pure pride. So, in modern psychology they call it narcissism.
Pride, some consider pride to be the worst sin of all – pure egotism. It is because we are paying attention to what we want rather than paying attention to what He wants. So, if we are going to be a good bride, we must decrease so that He might increase.
So, what kind of servant pays attention to what He wants and ignores what His Master wants? Is that a good servant?
Okay, so here we have our forefathers in the wilderness and Yahweh has just brought us out of Egypt; He is just given us our own prophet, Judge, servant, leader, Moshe, to lead the temporal armies of Elohim.
Okay, the 12 tribes that carry the swords and shields was the temporal, or the real, or the physical armies of Elohim. So, Moshe fulfills the kingship role in that sense. He has also got the prophetic gift.
But now Yahweh has also given us a first born priesthood as a spiritual army, because that is effectively what a priesthood is – a spiritual army.
So, Israel had 12 physical armies, one for each of the tribes, but Israel also had (with the firstborn priesthood), a spiritual army for the nation.
But the battle belongs to Yahweh. So, if you want to win in war, first you need to be successful with Elohim. Priesthood is very important if it atones for the whole nation, not just for the household.
And you need to do it because if Elohim is not pleased how are you going to win the war? You are not going to win if Elohim does not help you win. So, the priesthood (at least in a certain sense), a priesthood is actually more important than the physical armies, because you are not going to win the physical war if the priesthood is not doing its job.
And to extend that thought, if Elohim is not truly pleased with us right now (because we are not helping to build a kingdom for His Son), then how do we expect to survive the great tribulation?
Let us think about this. If you are one of the ones who is just hanging back and you are enjoying Nazarene Israel’s teachings and you are not doing anything to build His kingdom, how are you going to survive that?
Because the prophecies tell us that only a tiny minority of Ephraim is going to survive the tribulation. It says that that will be a judgment overflowing with righteousness. Scripture also tells us that the number of Judah, that will remain at the end of Armageddon, will be so few in number that a child can count them.
Well, in the first month we have the Pesach (which is a half day event in the afternoon followed by seven full days of unleavened bread). Okay, well, in the seventh month we have the mirror image. Now, we have seven full days of Sukkot (or tabernacles), followed by a half day event on the eighth day called the eighth day assembly, in the morning.
Okay, so now our forefathers in Shemote just went through a sudden exodus from Egypt. And now they are going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years while attrition occurs and their bones drop in the wilderness because they did not show faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 32:13
13 So Yahweh’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of Yahweh was gone.Ivrim (Hebrews) 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Elohim must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Well, those of us who do not please Yahweh, our forefathers who did not please Yahweh, our bones are just going to drop in the wilderness. There is going to be very few who actually reach their objective. Moshe did not make it into the land, but you know he is in Yahweh’s favor.
Joshua and Caleb, they were the only two who made it into the land. Why? Because they had Elohim’s Spirit. They had a different Spirit about them.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:24
24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
So, and as we explained Revelation and The End Times and in the Torah Calendar study, there is a mirror imaging in the calendar. There is also a mirror imaging in the prophecies.
All right, so, in the first exodus you had a sudden exodus and then 40 or so years of wandering in the wilderness and the attrition. Okay, well, now we are going to see the opposite. We are going to see 40 or so years of attrition and then a sudden in-gathering in the land.
So, but the point is, there is going to be a lot of attrition happening in these End Times and if we do not work hard to truly please Him; to do our very best to be towards Him as a Proverbs 31 bride, how is He going to take delight in us?
What if we do not have to go for the bride, can we choose another position? but (you know) forever is a very long time.
And if He is trying to purify His people-, He is going to purify the sons of Levi. What, do you mean Ephraim is going to get off scot-free? I do not think so.
So, how are we going to survive the tribulation process if we do not do the things He wants us to do? Because one of the main points of the tribulation is to weed out those who are only lukewarm.
Well, we do not have to worry, Yahweh is so completely in charge that not even a sparrow is going to fall to the ground apart from the will, (or at least the consent) of Our good heavenly Father.
So, it is like the old teaching says, “The best place for us to be is in His will.” And that’s 100 percent, completely true. The best place to be is in His will. I mean, but again, what have we been talking about? What is His will?
We have already talked about His will. We already know what He wants. He wants a Proverbs 31 bride who trusts Him and shows faith in Him and that she wants nothing more than to help Her Husband build His kingdom the way He says to do it.
He wants you to be filled and moved by His Spirit. He wants you to be constantly in connection with Him. Constantly in touch with the Vine.
Well, so now what happens to us though, uh, if we do not help Him get what He wants, (do you know what I mean)?
Is He going to take some bride who eats His bread, and she rests on Shabbat, and she feels all refreshed, and she had a nice time fellowshipping with her friends, but she does not contribute to His cause, and she never volunteers any time for Him?
She is resting and reading. She is getting relaxed. She is having a good time with her friends, but is she helping Him?
Is she His help-meet?
(You know.) I do not know what some people think, but you go to some of these Messianic assemblies, and you think, “Mercy!”
In some of these home fellowships it is like they think that Yeshua wants a bride who goes to her friend’s house once a week and they break bread they have a good time of fellowship.
But the subject of how to fulfill the Great Commission never comes up. They never talk about how to unify on a single foundation of apostles and prophets. They never talk about anything Yeshua says to do.
So, I do not know. I am not Yeshua, but if I were, if I were Yeshua, if I had to make a choice of a bride (you know). Do I want a bride who already shows Me that she does not really care about Me, because I do not see the fruits of her love? She wants to be queen, but does she really care about me as her King? Hello!? Knock, knock, knock is Ephraim’s-body home?
I mean…listen, here is the thing: Do not accept the wedding engagement with Yahweh coming up in the next Parasha and then say you are going to keep His Torah, but then you do not keep it. Because once you say you are going to keep the Torah and you do not…now you are accountable.
How would you like to be Yahweh? Well, just think about this. Just put yourself again in Yahweh’s shoes (or in His throne so to speak). How would you like to be Yahweh and you send your Son to redeem some bride from horrible slavery in Egypt; they do not even control their own bodies, they do not even control their own reproductive rights.
So what kind of gratitude is that? And she treats you like this? What does He want that for? Does He want that for a bride?
You do not want that for a bride. There we go, so again, can we imagine Yeshua debating with Himself about which of the Israelites to pick as part of His set-apart bride?
And He could say, “Well, I could have this sister; I could have this bride. She has been faithful and she has been zealous. She tithed, she helped build My kingdom ever since she knew that is what I wanted. I revealed to her that I had a kingdom, and a Great Commission, and five-fold ministry, and she is on it.”
“She has been faithfully giving over time and money and it seems like she is really thrilled to do it just like it is-, like there is nothing she would rather do, or something like that. It is kind of like she loves Me. I see the fruit of her love for Me.”
“Well, I suppose I could also have this other sister for a bride. Well, so she does not tithe and she does not help with her time she does not volunteer anything. But she always brings a dish when she goes to her friend’s house to talk Scripture with her friends on Shabbat.”
“And they have a great time of fellowship, they share Scriptures. But neither one of them is really helping Me build a unified global kingdom for My Father. So, neither one of them is really helping Me get My work done. So, neither one of them is helping me please my Father.”
“They are just always asking Me for stuff now let us see. Which one of these two brides do I want to take as My wife unto Me and take back to My Father’s house forever and forever?”
“Hmm…I want to take the one who is doing her best to try to help Me according to My writings and My rules? Do I want the one that does not really do much of anything for Me?”
“Hmm…”
Another example I have is have you ever had children? We are trying to help people understand here. Have you ever had children, and can you tell when your children do something nice for you because they truly love you?
You did not ask them to, but they just help with the dishes, or they took out the trash, or they maybe they cooked a meal (or something). Or maybe they handled some project. You did not have to ask them they just did it because they love you and they want to help out around the house.
Likewise can you tell when they cleaned up their room because you made them? Or can you tell when they not only made their room, but they helped out around the kitchen, and living room, and they helped with all the kind of things?
Can you tell as a parent when their hearts are really in it and when they are not really in it?
Have you ever been a business owner, have you had employees, or maybe even soldiers working for you? And can you tell when one of them is trying to do their very best job, trying to do the very best they can for you? And can you tell when one of them does not really care. They are just sort of there for the paycheck (kind of).
And if we can tell the difference then can Yahweh not tell the difference? Can He not tell whether we really love Him or not?
So, remember when our forefathers left Egypt it was a sudden exodus with 40 years of attritions with the bones of the ones who did not please Him dropping in the wilderness. There were only a very few who were found faithful, only a very few were found pleasing.
And we are coming up on shakedown time again with the great tribulation in Armageddon. As it was in the days of Noah so shall the coming and the Son of Man be. And in Noach’s time only eight people were saved through the flood. That is not many.
Luqa (Luke) 17:26-27
26 And as it was in the days of Noach, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noach entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
And in Moshe’s time Yahweh was not happy with the majority.
So, you know I ask Yahweh every week how to get the people’s attention and what to say to them. And I really do not know what else to do. I know it is a long talk, but you see so many people wasting their one and only lifetime golden opportunity to serve our Creator and King the way He says He wants to be served.
And I see so many people not getting that. I see so few people say “Oh hey you know what? That is right. I better live up to everything that I know.”
Well, I do not know, I do not know what to say brothers, sisters. We have to serve our Husband the way that He wants.
And I see so many people not getting it. Or maybe they get it, but they just do not want to do it. Because the cares and worries of this world they choked out the good seed like the second kind of soil; like the third kind of soil.
Well, the thing is, He is a King. When will we understand He is a King? He needs to be treated like a King. We have only been out from under kingship for 250 years, but it used to be before that.
So, I know this is a very long presentation. I would apologize for it except there is so much good information that needs to be covered from this unknown original sect of the Nazarene’s paradigm (so to speak). Because I just see so many Messianics not getting it, Ephraimite, Two House people just not getting the fact that we have but one life, and one opportunity; one golden opportunity to serve Yahweh Elohim the way He says He wants to be served in His Word.
I was looking for a ministry to join back in those days I thought I was going to apprentice. But the idea was I was going to learn first, before I began teaching and I was not able to find a ministry that matches one for one what Scripture says. Still cannot.
We are finding people who are discovering Nazarene Israel and they have a heart to give something back to Yeshua because they know that is what He wants. And you would think that would be obvious to people in Hebraic Roots, but apparently not.
Apparently, people in the Hebraic Roots do not yet understand that a bride is there to serve her husband. And we are here to serve our Husband, ever since we were taken as a bride…at the Pesach.
Yahweh is our King long before Yeshua is our Husband. And according to the ancient eastern ethic you are supposed to be willing to die for your king if it will help advance and further his kingdom. That is the eastern code of honor. And Israel lies in the Middle East, not in the Mid-West.
So, here in Shemote we see what our ancestors did. And in Shemote chapter 14 and verse 10 we read that when Paro drew near the children of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold here come the Mitzrites.
Shemote (Exodus) 14:10
10 And when Paro drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to Yahweh.
Okay, now look at the faith our forefathers exhibited in trials. Did they give joy in trials? Do they take joy?
In verse 11 they cry out to Moshe and they wail! “Is it because there are no graves in this Mitzrayim that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” It is like you would accuse them of too much drama, except they really mean it.
Shemote (Exodus) 14:11
11 Then they said to Moshe, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?
So, “What have you done and bringing us out of Egypt?” They really mean it because they do not have any faith. They have not put on the whole armor of Elohim.
“Is this not what we said to you in Mitzrayim? ‘Leave us alone that we may serve Satan’s servant Paro and build his kingdom instead of Yahweh’s.’”
“Because it would have been better for us to serve Satan’s servant Paro and to build Satan’s kingdom, rather than Yahweh’s, than for us to die in the wilderness. We were so comfortable in our flesh. Oh! You took us away from all that good slavery just so we could go and serve Yahweh and build our King’s kingdom.”
Shemote (Exodus) 14:12
12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
“And we saw Yahweh cast down 10 Mitzrite elohim and bring judgment upon them, but still we do not have any faith that He plans to save us.”
We have to do everything He says to do and with all the zeal that we have. But we can expect inconveniences here. Our forefathers like, “We have inconveniences!”
“What? What? You expected us to have some faith that our Husband would provide for us? What? we are supposed to endure hardships like good soldiers of Yahweh of hosts? What? What are we doing wrong? Oh!”
Oh mercy that is some interesting faith our forefathers had. But do not some of us act just like our forefathers did?
“Oh, no! We thought leaving spiritual Egypt was going to be easy! No! We did not expect any inconveniences, or any challenges, or any trials, or any tests, or anything. No! But we thought the life of a queen was going to be a breeze. We thought this was going to be a cake walk.”
“We did not expect we would have to do anything. We did not expect we would actually have any spiritual wars or physical wars back in those days to fight for Yahweh our Elohim. Even though He is called us out of Egypt as the armies of the living Elohim. Oh! We do not have water! Oh! We have just seen Him bring judgment on ten elohim and cast them down.”
Some real faith. So, then in chapter 13 and verse 17 it says, No. Elohim did not lead the people straight to the land by way of Philistines, even though that would have been much easier, quicker, nearer, simpler, because Elohim said “These people, they are going to change their minds when they see war. Just like the third and the second and the first kinds of soil, they do not stick around through thick and thin. They will not stick around through thick, they do not stick around through thin”.
Shemote (Exodus) 13:17
17 Then it came to pass, when Paro had let the people go, that Elohim did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for Elohim said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
Yahweh says, “Perhaps the people are going to change their minds when they see war, (if it is easy to go back to Egypt) they are going to go back because they value their comfort more than they value helping Me establish My kingdom for My Son”.
So, because of that, Elohim led the people around by the way. The wilderness of the Yam Suph (or the Reed Sea). He did not dare take him direct because they did not have enough commitment.
Shemote (Exodus) 13:18
18 So Elohim led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Reed Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
But even so, the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks (or it also reads sometimes in battle formation) out of the land of Egypt.
And in Hebrew, the word for orderly ranks is H2571. It is chamuch or khaw-moosh. In Hebrew it is “chet”, “mem”, and “sheen”. And it is the passive participle of H2570 and it refers to able-bodied soldiers.
H2571 chamuch. (or) khaw-moosh’. Passive participle of the same as H2570; staunch, that is, able bodied soldiers: – armed (men), harnessed.
Okay, that is nice, that is good. But some people also see it as the past participle of the number five, which is khamesh. And there are some references some people think it means that Israel went up by fives which in those days referred to a kind of a battle formation from moving through wadis and such; going five abreast.
So, clearly there was an understanding that Yahweh was bringing them up as the armies of the living Elohim. He says this many times. So, why was there no expectation on the part of the armies of the living Elohim, that they would see adversity?
You know, in the army you suffer adversity. That is what you do. And He called all of Israel as a bridal nation. Out of Israel, how many were able to face adversity?
You know, our forefathers just thought He was going to take His armies right there. I do not know…riding on camels or maybe chariots and litters? (You know.) Maybe they are going to have a big cake walk something like that. You know, life of a queen it is going to be easy street, it is gonna be a breeze.
Oh, hey and let us not forget the prosperity gospel. No, no, we do not need to do any battle for Yahweh. We do not need to suffer any adversity for Yahweh. Oh, no, no, no. Yahweh is a genie in a bottle that we can call on any time we need for help. He does not actually have any kind of a program for us to follow.
Oh no, we do not need any actual discipline to be disciples of Yahweh Elohim. No, no, and we do not have to perform the Great Commission. Just as long as we know what it is, we do not actually have to build on a foundation of apostles and prophets. Just as long as we read that chapter sometime long ago (because we did not like what it said so we did not read it again).
I mean Elohim wants us to have nice happy comfortable convenient lifestyles, enjoying the benefits of the first world while believing on Him without doing any battle for Him, right?
Because we are special, right? Are we not? Are we not? Yes, we are special. I mean (you know) He does not really want us to fight His wars or build His kingdom, does He? So, we do not really have to do anything for Him, do we?
So, the apostles did all that work, so we do not have to now, right? Yeshua died so we can watch Saturday Night Live, right? And patronize book sales ministries, right? That is really what Yeshua died for.
So, we do not need to do things the way Yeshua said to do them in Scripture, right? Wait, wait, wait…excuse me? Okay, we do not need to do what Yeshua said to do? We do not need to do 100% eagerly of what Yeshua said to do?
That sounds right to you? But is that not how most of us actually treat Yeshua; both on the Ephraimite and on the Jewish side of the house?
So, brother Judah’s rebellions against Yahweh come in different flavors than the Ephraimite versions (so to speak), but still Judah has their rebellions. When brother Judah left out the land of Israel to go into the exile to Babylon, he left out with a Levitical priesthood, but when he came back he came back, with a rabbinical priesthood.
Now, if you ask any Orthodox Jew, they will justify everything and (they have got their rules and), but they cannot justify it from Scripture. They will try to tell you that Moshe was the very first rabbi, but we never see that term connected with Moshe. In fact, we never see that term anywhere in the Tanach (or the Old Testament).
So, the first time the term “rabbi” appears is in the Renewed Covenant and Yeshua tells us (in no uncertain terms) not to use that term for ourselves because that term only applies to Him. He is our only Rabbi; our One and only.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 23:8
8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brethren.
So, someone needs to let the Messianics in on the secret, because the Messianic rabbis will make up their justification for why it is okay for them to call themselves “Rabbi” and why it is okay for them to do other things Yeshua said not to do. But you beloved, be wise you do not have to do the wrong thing just because someone else is doing the wrong thing. We are going to follow what is written in the Word. We are going to follow what is written in Scripture.
So, can we see that our forefathers in the wilderness accepted the wedding invitation with Yahweh and His Son without really understanding what it was they were getting themselves into? You ever get that impression?
So, what about us? Did we perhaps accept Yeshua in our hearts and take the immersion; but we have not really yet sat down and counted the cost? May not really know completely what we got ourselves into when we said that we would die to our flesh and our desires in this world? We would dedicate ourselves to Yeshua, that we were to die to ourselves and let the old man of sin be symbolically washed away in the waters of the immersion just like our forefathers coming through the Red Sea or the Reed Sea or the Yam Suph?
They were supposed to be a renewed nation, dedicated to Him. Just like we are supposed to be renewed disciples of His; dedicated to Him. Sometimes you have to have a job in this world, but He needs to be first throughout your life. He is not something we put second, He is something we put first.
So, if He is someone we put first, if we love Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul and with all of our strength, then why not obey all of the bridal Ketubah? Why not obey all of the instructions in the Torah?
Luqa (Luke) 10:27
27 So he answered and said, “‘You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
Because now, if we jump to the Brit Chadashah (or the Renewed Covenant) portion for this week, that is exactly what Yeshua tells us to do at the start of His very first sermon.
So, Yeshua’s very first and most famous sermon is called “the sermon on the mount.” It is right there in the “be-attitudes” in Mattityahu or Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. Yeshua tells us not to think- do not think- do not think that He came to destroy the bride’s wedding contract.
Mattityahu (Mathew) 5:17
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
He did not come to do away with the bride’s wedding contract or with any of the prophecies over His return. There are also prophecies over our coming marriage. He did not do away with those prophecies over His return or over our coming marriage. In fact, He tells us plainly He did not come to destroy any of those prophecies, but only to fulfill the first part of them. You are not going to do away with any of the prophecies, because they speak of His return.
They speak of Him taking us as His bride. Why would He do away with any of the prophecies of Him returning to receive His kingdom and taking His bride unto Himself?
And why would He do away with any of the prophecies that have to do with Him coming to spiritually subdue the earth; so, then He can turn and be in submission to His Father so that everything may be all in all?
Why would He do away with those prophecies?
From what we see, Yeshua has two main goals: The first of which is to bring the kingdom of heaven down to earth (in other words) to spiritually subdue the earth so that Elohim’s kingdom reigns. And the second is to find a bride who’s truly eager to help Him build this kingdom according to the commandments He Himself gave us in the Great Commission and the fivefold ministry protocols, building on a single foundation of apostles
and prophets.
Yochanan (John) 14:15
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.Marqaus (Mark) 16:15
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:11
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,Ephesim (Ephesians) 2:20
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua HaMashiach Himself being the chief cornerstone,
So, He is looking for a Proverbs 31 bride who is eager, who loves Him, who wants to help Him build His Father’s kingdom, because she loves Him.
Brother, sister, are we trying to be that bride? Are we truly, with all of our heart, trying to love Him and help Him get what He wants?
You know, we are not promised tomorrow. Most people are not doing the right thing; most people are treating Yahweh’s kingdom like a thing of the world. Now, most people are trying to see how much they can get from Yahweh and then how little they have to give back to Him. Because that is what you do in the world, right?
In this world it is fair game, in the free market you try to see how much you can get for how little. That is part of the bargaining process, right? It is part of sales, but to do that to Elohim’s kingdom that is backwards, brother.
It robs Elohim’s kingdom of the things it needs to actually build the kingdom.
Okay, if you are reading this study and you have learned you are benefiting from Israel Nazarene and you know Yeshua wants you to plug yourself in to the protocol and the framework of the living tabernacle or the living temple made with living stones. That is a grass-roots effort. We are the grass-roots. That is a bubble-up, crowd-funded effort, and we are the crowd.
Kepha Aleph (1 Peter) 2:5
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua HaMashiach.
If we are going to actually serve Yeshua it is pay to play. We are supposed to bring our A-game and be happy to do it.
Now, I know I have had hobbies in the past. I used to belong to a search and rescue group. I spent all my time and all my money thinking about that search and rescue group and how to do a better job in search and rescue; how to be a better searcher and rescuer for other people. And I eagerly, willingly spent my money and spent my time to do that.
What about Yahweh? Do we have any hobbies that are not Yahweh or Yeshua? Because we need to be disciples about this thing, brother. Because the promises and the rewards are not to the believers.
Because even the demons believe and they tremble, but the promises and the rewards are not to the demons. The promises and the rewards are not simply to the believers only, but the promises and the rewards are for the disciples; the ones who were actually doing everything that Yeshua said to do.
Yaakov (James) 2:19
19 You believe that there is one Elohim. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Why? Because that is how we build His kingdom together; when we plug in and shoulder the load and give our fair share. That is what builds His kingdom, according to the fivefold ministry protocol, building a single ministerial building. A single ministerial kingdom (say that three times fast) on a single foundation of apostles and prophets.
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:11
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,Ephesim (Ephesians) 2:20
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yeshua HaMashiach Himself being the chief cornerstone,
What He wants is a Proverbs 31 bride who excels all the other brides, okay?
We take a look at Shemote, we can see that in Moshe, we can see Joshua, we can see Kaleb going for it, but look at where the rest of our forefathers are. And now, if we are going to learn the lessons of history, how are we doing, really?
Now, it is just my opinion (this is not Scripture), but from what I have read, what Yeshua wants is a Proverbs 31 bride who excels them all. That is what He wants. And why would He not want that? He is the greatest King! Why would He not want the best of the best of the best of the best?
So, if that is what He wants, then how are we doing? Okay, well, let us take a look at our forefathers. Let us see how they did.
And now, in Shemote chapter 16, Yahweh is starting to train our forefathers with the manna from heaven. He is pretty plain with His instructions. He says, six days we go out and gather it. We just get just enough for that day (there is a lot of spiritual implications, we can talk about those some other time).
Shemote (Exodus) 16:26
26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
He says, and then on the sixth day we gather twice as much. We are going to cook what we are going to cook, because on the seventh day of the week (on the Shabbat) there is not going to be any, okay? So, whatever you are going to get it on the sixth day (on the day of preparation) because on Shabbat, there will not be any.
Shemote (Exodus) 16:29
29 See! For Yahweh has given you the Sabbath; therefore, He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
And I do not know, but I think if an earthly husband said to his earthly wife “Let us not do this? Let us gather enough, just get enough food each day for five days and on the sixth day we are going to get twice as much and cook what we are going to cook. And on the seventh day (on the Shabbat) we are going to take a break. We are not going to go out anywhere we are just going to go to the assembly, but that is it we are not going to work we are just going to go to the assembly and home and that is it.”
We probably get it, right? But when Yahweh tells us what do our, forefathers do…okay?
So, first our forefathers get more than they need and then they wonder “Why the excess rots?” And then they go out looking for it on Shabbat and then they wonder “Why He gets upset?”
Just because He said not to. And we could talk about this and that, but you could summarize the whole thing: Yahweh is saying (basically) “We just had the agreement, we just had the Pesach, we just brought you out of Egypt. I just brought judgment on 10 Egyptian gods. Why do you not just be a good bride, Israel? Why do you not just listen to what I am saying? And believe Me and then help Me by doing what I ask you to do?”
“Okay, I am trying to make it simple. I am trying to break it down it is like paint, the paint by numbers, or connect the dots (or something), okay? It is not that hard. It is not that complicated.”
“Okay, you want to become a Proverbs 31 bride of the King-of-the-universe’s Son. You cannot miss, but you have got to do it. That means you have got to humble yourself to do it.” To me, that is what Yahweh is saying through His Spirit.
I see a bunch of Ephraim, and I do not mean to point fingers, and I am not trying to be high and mighty; I am learning like everyone else. But from what I am seeing, I am learning to separate myself from the vast majority who do not really care, because that is what Yeshua did. Yeshua let the four thousand, and the five thousand, and the myriads, and the multitudes, and the crowds, and the throngs go. Why? Because they did not commit to Him. They did not commit to their King.
They were not willing to lay down their lives for Him, if it could help further His kingdom; they did not follow the same ethics.
So, how are we going to please Elohim? We cannot even get simple little instructions like “rest on the seventh-day Sabbath”, right?
And you say, “Well come on, we all know what the Sabbath is now.” Oh, really? Okay, so we got people teaching the Lunar-Sabbath, we have got two people teaching equinox-theory, we have got people teaching conjunction-moon, we have got the Karaites (or the Sadducees) teaching some complete other calendar they have a completely off definition of aviv barley. Breaks this verse, that verse, Deuteronomy 16 and verse 9. They do not care.
And it is wildly popular among the Messianics. Even though Yeshua said not to listen to the Sadducees. And even though their calendar is completely wrong. Okay, well, how obedient is it of Yeshua’s people not to do what He said? And they think they are all disciples, right?
Okay, well, then the rabbis have their own calendar (which is more popular still). Then you have Ephraim’s, Ephraim’s got the Christian calendar (the Roman-Gregorian-Christian calendar) which is even more popular.
And then there are many people they consider themselves to be Nazarenes, but they do not want to do what Yeshua said because it takes their time and it takes their money. It is like those professional slackers at work. They do not want to do their best job; they just want to collect their best retirement paycheck (you know what I am saying?)
So, a lot of Ephraim, I mean, we are talking about 40 years of attrition first. If you do not make the 40 years of attrition, your children do not go to the land.
So, in chapter 17 Yahweh gives us another test; another opportunity to excel; to see how His army handles it. So, now this time it is another inconvenience (what a surprise). So, this time, there is no water. So now, instead of praying to Yahweh (having faith in Yahweh, petitioning Yahweh), now there is wailing and crying and there is no faith that Yahweh is going to deliver His armies.
We just saw Yahweh cast down the ten Egyptian gods and bring judgment, we just saw Yahweh part the Yam Suph, still they do not believe. They are the armies of living Elohim. What are they going to do when they see an actual war?
Well, so brothers, sisters, when we are in His will, when we are either working for Yahweh or making our contributions, or we know we are working for Him we know we are doing His will, how many of us will hit a snag when something goes wrong (like it did in the wilderness), how many of us lose faith in that moment? How is He going to deliver? How many of us despair in that situation? How many of us worry that He is going to give the victory to Satan, when it is His battle that we are fighting?
So, my reason for bringing this up is: I hope we can see the parallels between when our forefathers came out of Mitzrayim and how our people do, in general, today. And I pray that He is pleased; He is going to help us become the kind of people He wants us to be, doing the kinds of things He says in His Word He wants us to do to build a unified global ministry for His Son.
There is a lot more that we could say, but that is all the time we have for this week. There are some very good things we would love to cover next year, in the beatitudes and also in the half prophetic portion. Hopefully we can cover that next year because there are some very important things there.
But my prayer for all of us today is that we are going to be real with ourselves and be real with Yahweh and sit down and count the cost. And hopefully we are going to be able to see any parallels between our forefathers, when they came out of Egypt and today. Because if we are able to repent of our sins, we are able to see what we are doing wrong, then we are able to understand that if we do not reform then we are beginning a time when it is going to be 40 years of bones dropping in the wilderness for disobedience (if we disobey Him). And people (I think), tend to take this not so seriously because there has been generation after generation after generation where you got by with it. But now we are coming to a certain point in history where we have got the shakedown going on.
We have got to believe that the word for tribulation is related to the word for when they sift wheat and they- the chaff, gets blown off. So, we are coming into a portion of our history that is a lot like when our forefathers left Egypt. They were not a nation, now they have to learn to become a nation. They have to learn some basic rules. They do not want to do it.
Well, we are in a very similar situation. We are in the world (spiritual kind of Egypt), Yahweh is now calling us to come together and to begin forming a nation. That is what we are supposed to be doing all along, with the great commission in the five-fold ministry that all builds a nation together; weaves a tapestry (so to speak).
That is what we are really doing when we are serving Him. We are weaving things together. We are creating a global network. And Father willing, sometime we will have time to explain how that will integrate with the government in the land of Israel (in the millennium). If you think about it (probably you can figure it out but), we need to learn the lessons of our forefather’s history. We start getting things right ourselves when you start helping His Son build His unified global kingdom, which is a unified global ministry.
And may He help us to do it with some kind of zeal like Moshe, like Joshua, like Caleb, so that we serve Him truly; with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our strength. Not taking thought for ourselves (looking for what we can get out of things, how much can we get for how little), treating Yahweh’s ministry like a thing of the world.
It is disgusting the way most people treat Yahweh. They say “He is a great King”, they go to Him with their needs, when it comes time to help Him get what He wants (which is a kingdom for His Son and His Son died for us!), they say: Oh, no, no, sorry, I don’t have money or time.
Well, it is time for people to sit down and count the cost and to realize the times and the seasons that we are in now.
Briefly about the Haftara: There is also there is a lot of things we could say here, (Father willing) hopefully we can cover it next year, but we do not have time this year because we need to talk about some things that are even much more basic.
I am not really sure why the rabbis chose this passage except again it is Yahweh delivering. But if you want to know about Devorah the prophetess, we cover her extensively in two studies. The first one is called “Gender Roles in The Kingdom” and that is found in the Covenant Relationships collection and then there is also our study called “Junia: Woman Apostle or Courier?” and that is located in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Three.
But briefly, uh, and I hope we can treat this subject with sufficient respect. The sisters do not always get a lot of credit for what they do, but the sisters play a very important supporting role. And without the sisters playing that supporting role there is no next generation of Israel. And a lot of other stuff does not get done.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 2:18
18 And Yahweh Elohim said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
The sisters have a very important job to do and are part of a patriarchal system. So, Yahweh did create the man to lead, and he did create the sister (his wife) to help. He created her for a role and that is good!
So, I do not know how it has been that people have denigrated the helper role. If anyone has felt slighted because they only have a helper role. You really need someone very capable in the helper role and in fact, the more capable your helper is, the better.
And so, one of the things that is commendable about Devorah though is that, even though she was created as a helper, when none of the men were doing the job, she stepped up to fill a lead role. But the thing is (and this is what so many sisters forget is) that she only did so when there were no men who were able and willing to do the job. So, she is to be very much commended, but the problem is her example is misunderstood because we can also see from the text, she did not want to lead Israel.
Shophetim (Judges) 4:6-9
6 Then she sent and called for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not Yahweh Elohim of Israel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun;
7 and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand’?”
8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”
9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
And so, from verses six through nine she tried to get Barak to fill the man’s role; she tried to get Barak to do the man’s job saying, “I will go with you if you really want me to but there’s not going to be any glory in it for you because that is your job so a Woman is going to go with you. I realize I am a prophetess but still that is military business that is your job”
So, and she pointed this out right there in the text and so the whole difference, you get into with the modern red horse women in leadership and women in ministry crowds is their red horse. And you can read all about the red horse in the Revelation Study. Red horse is deadly; do not mess around with the red horse. There is one appropriate place for the red horse and that is Yahweh’s priesthood. There is a red horse organizational structure, but that is the only place.
Now, the women in leadership and the women-apostles-crowd, they want to use the fact that Devorah stepped up to do the job (when no men were willing to do the job) as an example of why women should always be allowed to serve as priests, and apostles, and elders, ministers (etc.). And that is just not right. That does not follow – it does not compute.
And now you look through Scripture and we do have examples of women in the kingship. We also have-, women prophesied; prophetesses (say that three times fast). Women prophetesses, but we never see any example anywhere of women priests (does not happen).
Now there are some Renewed Covenant examples of women who help their men in ministry, but they do not serve in the priesthood. And according to the law-of-first-mention, in the Renewed Covenant you can modify the rules slightly, but not in leadership roles.
So, we see Priscilla and Aquila, we see Junia and her husband; so, a lot of people, they have questions about that. So, if you have questions on that score, I would encourage you please to check out our study on “The Ahab and Jezebel Spirits” that is in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Five. And in that study, we see how the assembly of Thyatira allows the woman Jezebel to preach (or to teach).
She is actually a prophetess, that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and the whole assembly of Thyatira dies because they do not repent of it.
Well, brothers and sisters, we are coming into the End Times; we are about to have our 40 years of attrition before the sudden, second exodus and the in-gathering with Armageddon coming first.
And with that 40 years of attrition, those who do not truly obey Yahweh’s Word will die outside the land.
And if you want more, we could point out that Thyatira is one of only seven assemblies in the book of Revelation. So, does that mean that perhaps one brother and one sister out of seven is going to believe it is okay for women to preach and teach and lead? That one brother or sister in seven is going to believe it is okay? Maybe they do not have a Jezebel or an Ahab spirit them self or maybe they do, but for whatever reason it is okay with them, if Jezebel teaches it is okay with them. If Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, it is okay with them, if Jezebel pretends to be a very spiritual person, but somehow her words do not always line up with what Scripture says.
So, I do not know, I have been in this walk since June the 6th of 1999 and that kind of matches with my experience of about one in seven, both men and women. It does kind of seem like about one in seven are okay with the idea of women apostles, women priests, women elders (and that kind of thing). And if you are one of them, I would really recommend that you read that study and then pray seriously, and then repent of a Jezebel spirit because it is very common. A lot of people have a Jezebel spirit, one in seven (approximately) in my experience. And that is what Revelation says, there is seven assemblies and that is one of them.
So, verse 22 says that those who commit spiritual adultery with her, go into great tribulation (unless they repent of their deeds).
Hitgalut (Revelation) 2:22
22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
I do not know…are we talking the great tribulation? Because we are entering that season right now. We are out of time. Yahweh is calling us all to repent. Yahweh winks at times of ignorance past, but now He is calling all men everywhere to repent.
So, we are out of time. Yahweh is calling us to close this session. I would ask you please, if you love Yeshua and you want to hear the truth spoken, please join us next week for a very important Parasha, “Parasha Yitro”. There we are going to talk about all sorts of good things that pertain to anyone who wants to survive the great tribulation and the attrition period that is coming in these times.
So Shabbat Shalom!
I hope to see you the next time and may Yahweh be with you and your family, and may He lead and guide you all and help you to develop a heart to build His unified kingdom; so that you can get your reward, so that your children can continue on to the land
Shabbat Shalom.