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Review Your Journey With The Lord

Numbers 33 is perhaps an easy passage of scripture to quickly pass over on the thought that it is simply a recap of what we have already read. It does provide some historical evidence to the story to help demonstrate the reality that the Bible is not a “made up book” or a book of stories like Aesop’s Fables, but an actual historical account of YHWH’s relationship with His people. If simply making up a book of stories, who would bother to include detailed historical accounts such as this one?

More than that, I am struck by the feeling that YHWH is encouraging us to periodically look back at the journey we have traveled when we follow Him. Moses was reviewing a journey that was both physical / geographical and also spiritual as the people journeyed from slavery to freedom… from bondage to Egyptians to freedom to serve our Father and Creator.

For me, I can reflect on the journey the Lord has led me on over the past 20 years in particular. There were battles (not literal warfare), there were times of victory and defeat, there was a growing relationship between myself and my Father. There were changes in how I lived my life and what my priorities were. There were changes in how I spent my time and my money. There were changes in how my family lives our daily lives and how we celebrate holy days now according to YHWH’s instruction rather than traditions of men. There are changes in how we help and support others in the body of Christ more joyfully.

While we still have further to go with the Lord, it is good to reflect on how far we have come with Him and His patience and lovingkindness to lead us along the way as we learn and change with His help.

Numbers 33:1-49

Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan

     1These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of the LORD, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. 3They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the LORD had struck down among them. The LORD had also executed judgments on their gods.

      5Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. 6They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. 8They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 9They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10They journeyed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11They journeyed from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 12They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13They journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14They journeyed from Alush and camped at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink. 15They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. 16They journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

      17They journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19They journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20They journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. 21They journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 23They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25They journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26They journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27They journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28They journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29They journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31They journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. 32They journeyed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33They journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35They journeyed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. 36They journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh. 37They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

      38Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt, on the first day in the fifth month. 39Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

      40Now the Canaanite, the king of Arad who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.

      41Then they journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43They journeyed from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, at the border of Moab. 45They journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. 46They journeyed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47They journeyed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 49They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Take time to reflect on the your journey with YHWH. You may even want to write it down in a journal. Don’t rush it. Set aside time to prayerfully and reflectively go through it. Share it with someone you trust. Give thanks to Him for leading you and waiting on your progress. Ask Him what changes you need to continue to make and ask Him for His grace to help you make those changes. Continue the journey to grow closer to the Lord.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross

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A Parable For Those Who Reject YHWH… You Can Return. He Is Waiting Eagerly For You.

Don’t overlook this parable because you know it well. Take time to read it and really dwell on it. Pray for God to really open your eyes to its core message in a personal way.

YHWH is the forgiving Father. Many of us are or have been the prodigal son. Many openly and consciously choose to reject and leave our Father for what they think is a better life. They may leave with the utmost of disrespect to Him. This is different than simply being lost and not knowing the way. The prodigal son made a conscious choice to leave and seek something else he thought was better.

The Father lets us go. He will not chase us down and beg us to stay. We are granted freedom. However, for those who are fortunate enough to realize later how bad the choice is that they made… if they repent and come back to the Father, He will run to meet them. He is always ready to accept us back, no matter how much disrespect we showed Him by our leaving Him. But we must choose to humble ourselves, repent from our selfish and wicked ways, and return to the Father asking forgiveness and committing ourselves to obedience to Him.

Luke 15:11-32

The Prodigal Son

     11And He said, “A man had two sons. 12“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13“And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15“So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16“And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ 20“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

      25“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26“And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. 27“And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28“But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

What amazing grace and love our Father has for us! Praise Him and come with thankful heart.

Psalm 84:10

       10For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Faithful, Grace / Forgiveness, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Parables, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

He Seeks That Which Is Lost

Rejoice that we serve a loving and kind Lord and master than loves each of us enough to pursue us. We are each important to Him. No matter how many or how few are the people who follow Him, He loves us and pursues us… even when we are not (or were not) pursuing Him.

Luke 15:1-10

The Lost Sheep

     1Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

      3So He told them this parable, saying, 4“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5“When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

     8“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

He loved us when we were yet sinners. Let us be thankful. Let our praises ring out as we worship YHWH.

Romans 5:6-11

     6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Diligent / Hard Worker, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Through Prophets

Continue Until The Mission Is Complete

Let us take care we do not only follow God long enough to take care of ourselves and receive our own blessings. Rather, let us remain in full obedience to Him, avoiding complacency and focus on self, continuing until all He has called us to accomplish is done.

Numbers 32

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

     1Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that it was indeed a place suitable for livestock, 2the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, 4the land which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.”

      6But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? 7“Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the LORD has given them? 8“This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9“For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10“So the LORD’S anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, 11‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, 12except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD fully.’ 13“So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed. 14“Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the LORD against Israel. 15“For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

      16Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; 17but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18“We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance. 19“For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”

      20So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, 21and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven His enemies out from before Him, 22and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the LORD and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the LORD. 23“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24“Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

      25The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26“Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead; 27while your servants, everyone who is armed for war, will cross over in the presence of the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”

      28So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 29Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; 30but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. 32“We ourselves will cross over armed in the presence of the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us across the Jordan.”

      33So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land. 34The sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35and Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. 37The sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. 41Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns, and called them Havvoth-jair. 42Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Fear / Reverence for God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Purposeful / Intentional

Count The Cost… Of Discipleship

Yeshua reminds us that being a true disciple is not just something we do when we have time or something we do “on the side”. To be a true disciple, we must put Him first… above all things and all relationships.

If we are to choose to follow Him, let us take time to count the cost to ensure we are prepared to complete the journey.

Luke 14:25-35

Discipleship Tested

     25Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

      34“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35“It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

He does not literally mean that you must hate your wife and family. The point is that you must put Christ first, above all relationships and possessions.

Regarding the “salt” reference, I He is considering the following. Disciples of Christ are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). If disciples become tasteless (unable to distinguish from non believers) because of they prioritize other relationships and things above their relationship with Christ, then they are of no value to the kingdom of God.

On the other hand, if we prioritize Christ first, then all other things will be added to us in the proper context and value.

Matthew 6:33

33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Count the cost of discipleship so you may prepare properly… but choose to follow Yeshua.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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The Dinner Invitation

YHWH has created a metaphorical feast for His people. It is an offer of forgiveness, grace, mercy, hope, love, joy, peace and more that we may partake in through accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. He made the feast for His chosen people, Israel, but they in large part rejected Him and turned down the offer. Then He offered it to the gentiles.

Today we are all invited. Do not let yourself pass on this invitation to receive Christ as Lord and savior of your life. It has implications for our lives even today, missing out on His best for us, but it has everlasting, eternal implications for you as well. Choose wisely and find joy and peace. Choose poorly and find eternal separation from God on this earth and in hell to follow, which Christ warns us repeatedly will be like being in a pit of fire.

Luke 14:16-24

Parable of the Dinner

     16But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ 19“Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20“Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22“And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

Let us not offend our Creator by rejecting His invitation to come into His feast. Let us not delay coming, but come at once and be fully committed.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

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He Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled, And He Who Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted

His ways are not our ways… they are better! Yeshua teaches about humility and kindness for those of us who wish to follow Him in deed and not just in word.

Luke 14:7-15

Parable of the Guests

     7And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. 10“But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. 11“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

      12And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13“But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

      15When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Now the challenge is whether or not we will live out our lives as Yeshua teaches. Will we lift up others? or ourselves?

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Compassionate, Healer, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Help / Serve Others, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Miracles, Miracles, Purposeful / Intentional

The Sabbath Was Made For Man, And Not Man For The Sabbath

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YHWH has directed His people to obey the Sabbath and keep it holy. You shall not work in it. He set the example during creation when He rested on the 7th day. He did not need rest. He rested to set the example and pattern He intended for us.

Exodus 20:8-11

    8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Many act as if YHWH has changed His mind regarding Sabbath because our culture has changed and moved away from His instruction such that it is now considered normal and acceptable to work and have businesses open 7 days a week. YHWH has not changed His mind. His instruction to keep the Sabbath is still relevant today.

Another trap we should be careful to avoid is one that the Pharisees fell into. They made a list of rules and expectations in a legalistic way to define what was and was not work and could or could not be done on the Sabbath. They also took Sabbath so legally as to disregard other commands YHWH provided. Some excerpts from scripture below document some important teaching that Yeshua went out of His way to demonstrate about healing on the Sabbath and about times when there are more important concerns such as David’s men who needed to eat and ate the consecrated bread that was only for the priests.

We can not simply put a strict legal formula around obeying our Father, whether regarding Sabbath or other instructions. Sometimes instructions conflict in certain circumstances or there are competing priorities that both may honor the Father, as in resting on Sabbath or helping/healing someone in need.

In the example of healing on the Sabbath, Yeshua points out the hypocrisy that all would stop and help an animal out of a ditch on Sabbath, so why would you not heal someone on the Sabbath… to the glory of YHWH?

Mark 2:23-28

      23And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” 27Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 14:1-6

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

     1It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6And they could make no reply to this.

Matthew 12:8-14

      8“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

      9Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

We do well to respect and honor the instructions of the Lord regarding Sabbath. Take care so as not to always come up with “good excuses” to be busy on Sabbath, even if doing good. Most of that can be planned for other days if we try. However, if the opportunity to do good and glorify our Father comes before us, such as healing or helping others, and it happens to be Sabbath… avoid being too legalistic. We should reflect in our lives His compassion and lovingkindness in our response to those in need around us.

Remember that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is for our benefit to rest on the 7th day and keep it holy, not for YHWH’s benefit.

As a quick sidebar… Sabbath is the seventh day, which is Saturday, not Sunday. Man made that change to move away from God’s instruction. because man changed the calendar, it is even more confusing now because God created the days to be marked by sundown rather than an arbitrary numerical indication we are now so familiar with. Sabbath starts on what is now our Friday night at sundown and continues through Saturday night at sundown. This makes for an interesting study of the “Hebrew calendar” you can make. Consider Psalm119 Ministries for reference.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Justice / Judgment, Righteous, Righteousness / Serving God, Thankfulness, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Lord Reigns; Let The Earth Rejoice

Let us worship Him and reflect on His glory. He is Lord of the whole earth, even those who deny Him. Those who love righteousness and holiness… let us rejoice in Him. He has no equal.

Psalm 97

The LORD’S Power and Dominion.

     1The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.

      2Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

      3Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.

      4His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.

      5The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

      6The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.

      7Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,
Who boast themselves of idols;
Worship Him, all you gods.

      8Zion heard this and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

      9For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

      10Hate evil, you who love the LORD,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

      11Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.

      12Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Faith / Trusting God, Holy Spirit (hearing from God), Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Miracles, Money / Finances / Wealth, Obeying God, Through Prophets

Financial Obedience And Joyful Gifts To Our Father

The Lord provided great victory for the Israelites over the Midianites. Verse 49 seems to indicate they did not lose a single man in the battle.  They knew this victory could only be from the Lord. They were victorious because they obeyed the Lord. In victory, they similarly obeyed the Lord in dividing the booty according to His instruction rather than their own.

We do well to learn to obey the Lord and seek His specific instruction for our lives. He does provide specific instructions to His people for their lives. He is more than just His written word, which helps us to know Him and understand how He relates to His people. He spoke to the people about this specific event and how they should handle it. He offers us this relationship today as His children. He provides the Spirit to dwell within believers and guide us. We need to take time to be still and quiet and focused in His presence to continue building our relationship with him so that we better understand His voice when He speaks to us.

Numbers 31:25-54

Division of the Booty

     25Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty that was captured, both of man and of animal; 27and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28“Levy a tax for the LORD from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the LORD. 30“From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      32Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33and 72,000 cattle, 34and 61,000 donkeys, 35and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

      36The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, 37and the LORD’S levy of the sheep was 675; 38and the cattle were 36,000, from which the LORD’S levy was 72; 39and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the LORD’S levy was 61; 40and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons. 41Moses gave the levy which was the LORD’S offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      42As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who had gone to war— 43now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44and 36,000 cattle, 45and 30,500 donkeys, 46and the human beings were 16,000— 47and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

      48Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, 49and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. 50“So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought articles. 52All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. 54So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD.

I appreciate in particular what is recorded in verses 48-54. They had already brought to the priests what YHWH required. Still the soldiers recognized that the victory was from the Lord. There was no man missing. They were thankful and brought an additional voluntary gift to the Lord… and it was significant.

We should ask ourselves… even if we obey with giving to the Father what He asks from us, how often do we bring extra gifts just out of a joyful and thankful heart? It may be money, it may be time, it may be our talents… but how often to we give back to Him more than He asks? Truly He provides all we have. Let us be joyful and thankful.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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