The HOUSE YHWH built
Transcript of The HOUSE YHWH built
Zekeniam Y’Ishra’al
Sherut haRitztzuy
(the ministry of reconciliation)
by whom we have now received the
( Atonement)
Reconciliation of the Dvar HaRitztzuy
Let this day be a day of reconciliation and regeneration
( AHaYaH (He was), HoYAH (He is), and YihYAH (He will be).
ב
ב
אהיה
Debarim6:4
Hear, Y’Isra'al: אהיה is our ALuaHiYM! אהיה Is One!
Debarim 6:5 and you shall love [long for] your ALuaHiYM with all your
heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. (me'ode)
My Memorial for generation after generation.”
Shemot 3:13-16
This is MY NAME for ever,
ALuaHiYM of your father’s Abraham, Yitzchak [Isaac], and Ya’aqob ,אהיה
[Jacob], has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial
for generation to generation." and I appeared to Abraham, to Yitzchak, and to
Ya’aqob as hashadday [the almighty]. and my name, אהיה, was not well known
(famous) to them.
ב
The ministry of reconciliation
Message of Reconciliation
Torah sh’Bichtav
(Written Torah)
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear?
“Sola Scriptura”
(the Scriptures alone is authoritative for faith)
(in His Name)
[Yah -hoo-Wah]
is the Name of the Creator.
is His Son (`בהיה)
[Al-u-heem - ALHYM] means "Mighty Ones“ or "Power"
means Set-apart, Pure.
(Qodesh) also means "Set-apart"
Ruwach (Spirit) is the Ibry (Hebrew) name for His "Presence", pictured as the
Counselor, Helper, and Advocate, the One Who "proceeds from the Father"
Tehillim 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will keep me secretly in His booth. In the covering
of His Tent He will hide me. On a Rock He raises me up.
is for you too!
Scripture speaks of a secret place where we can simply go, be alone, be
protected, pray, and hear from בהיה. Knowing there is such a place is a matter
of faith. Going back time and again, that's a matter of building a relationship.
You need not have an advanced degree in any subject, need not have
memorized Scripture from beginning to end, but instead be aware the אהיה of
Y’Ishra’al has a place for each Jew and Gentile who will open their minds and
hearts to Him.
Mt 6:5-8
When you pray, you shall not be as the role-fakers, for they love to stand and
pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen
by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. But you,
when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray
to your Father Who is in secret, and your Father Who sees in secret shall
reward you openly. In praying, don’t use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do;
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Therefore don’t
be like them, don't you see that your Father knows what things you need
before you ask Him.
The truth in reality is visited in this secret place AND must be shared by those
who will live or else ... they will perish ... in darkness.
It is written
Lu 11:33
“No one, when he has lit a Lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a
stand, that those who come in may see the Light.
Tehillim. 119:105
Your Word is a Lamp to my feet, and a Light (aur) for my path.
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole
body is also full of Light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. If therefore your
whole body is full of Light, having no part dark, it shall be wholly full of Light, as
when the Lamp with its bright shining gives you Light.”
The menorah is the only symbol created by בהיה`
With this in mind, heart soul and strength let us study together in the Raukh
And now brothers and sisters
Come out of the secret place bearing light!
who see it from afar. The Secret Place, here, shines a bit of light so many can
see from afar. The topics we have chosen are addressed to Jew and Gentile
together. We do this because that is what the Bible does. This opens the
window to make more sense of what Scripture tells us!
In the secret place is plain language, something simple to read. This is a mere
starting place for deeper consideration.
If the Raukh of אהיה has moved your Raukh to seek out his word
www.slideshare.net/Keiyah
Before the study I wish to point out that only the WORD is the TRUTH, be it
days, months, years, hence the calendar is “sola Scriptura” based.
Dan_7:25
And it shall speak words opposing the Most High, and it will wear down
the pure ones of the Most High Ones, and it will try to change set times
(Festivals) and Law, (Lawlessness) and they shall be granted into its hand for a
time and times and half of a time.
And then I will profess to them,
‘Never did I acknowledge you: even if you are on My lap and do not do the will
of My Father Who is in heaven, out of My lap will I cast you away! Depart
from Me, all ye workers of Lawlessness!’
So that in them is fulfilled the prediction of Yshá`Yâhuw, which says: “You shall
surely hear, but you shall not understand; and you shall surely see, but you
shall not perceive! For the heart of this people has grown thick, and they do
hardly hear with the ears, and they have shut their eyes, lest they should see
with their eyes, and with their ears they should hear, and their heart should
understand, and they should return to Me and I should cure them.
The Hebrew Bible is fully aware of that. Deuteronomy declares the worship of sun, moon, and stars as allotted by אהיה that is to all the other peoples
Dev 4:19.
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto Shomayim, and when thou seest the shemesh, and the yarei'ach, and the kokhavim, even all the tz’va HaShomayim,
shouldest be driven to hishtachaveh (bow down, worship) them, and serve them which Hashem Aloheicha hath divided unto kol HaGoyim under kol
HaShomayim.
Duet 4:19
"or lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the armies of heaven, you should be impelled to bow down to
them or enslave yourselves to these [things] that אהיה has apportioned to all the nations under the whole heaven;
Anyone can see the heavenly bodies, but we have heard from אהיה. There is no “hard copy” of Him! People want something they can identify with, which is what makes the “god-man” concept so attractive, because it makes them think
they can be gods too. We can only understand what אהיה allows us to know about Himself, and we cannot control what we cannot comprehend.
Apportioned: divided, assigned, distributed; Aramaic, "designated to serve". I.e., He gave them to all the nations and they are common (contrast v. 20).
But none of them is to be identified specifically with אהיה.
Dev 4:20 But Hashem hath taken you, and brought you forth
out of the iron furnace, even out of Mitzrayim, to be unto Him an Am Nachalah (a people of inheritance), as ye are yom hazeh.
Deut 4:20.
"But אהיה has selected you, and brought you out from the crucible of iron--from Egypt--to become His own--for the purpose of being a people [that are His
own] prized possession, just as [is the case] today."
Any wood placed into a furnace for smelting iron would be consumed immediately. Egypt completely used them up, while feeding them—like pack animals. Even the products forged of iron there—chariots—were used to kill
them. Now they were going to a place that would serve them rather than consuming them. Nothing in the Tabernacle was made of iron; אהיה had no use for it at this point. Prized possession: How awesome! Why throw away such a rare privilege and settle for something that the nations all stoop to--
nations that He considered a mere drop in the bucket in comparison
Yeshayah40:15?
Surely the Goyim are like a drop in a bucket, and are accounted as dust of the scales; surely He taketh up the iyim (islands) like fine dust.
Isa 40:15
See, nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are reckoned as dust on the balance. See, He lifts up isles as fine dust.
Today we see the illegitimate worship of these celestial bodies , within those
who claim to WORSHIP אהיה
How many more times will Y’Isra’al turned to HIS CREATION and not their CREATOR
Melachim Bais 23:5,
And he did away with hakemarim (the idol priests), whom the Melachim of Yehudah had ordained to burn ketoret in the high places in the towns of
Yehudah, and in the places around Yerushalayim; them also that burned ketoret unto Ba'al, to the shemesh, and to the yarei'ach, and to the
mazalot (constellations) and to all the Tzeva HaShomayim.
2 kgs 23:5 And he put down the black-robed priests whom the sovereigns of Yehudah had
appointed to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Yehudah and in the places all around Yerushalayim, and those who burned incense to Baʽal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of the
heavens
Melachim Bais 23:11
And he took away the susim that the Melachim of Yehudah had dedicated to the shemesh, at the entrance of the Beis Hashem, by the chamber of Natan-
Melech the saris, which was in the colonnades, and set eish to merkevot hashemesh.
2 Ki 23:11
And he did away with the horses that the sovereigns of Yehudah had given to the sun, at the entrance to the House of אהיה, by the room of Nathan-Melek
the eunuch, that were in the court. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
Yirmeyah 8:2
And they shall spread them out before the shemesh, and the yarei'ach, and all the tz'va haShomayim, whom they have loved, and whom they have served,
and after whom they have walked, and whom they have consulted, and whom they have worshiped; they shall not be gathered up, nor be buried in a kever;
they shall be like domen upon the surface of ha'‘Âthâ´m ah.
Jer 8:2; and shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the
heavens, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought, and to which they have bowed
themselves. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be for dung on the face of the earth.
And He brought me into the khatzer Beis Hashem hapenimit [i.e., the Court of
the Kohanim], and, hinnei, at the petach (entrance) of the Heikhal Hashem, between the Ulam and the Mizbe'ach, were about five and twenty ish, with
their backs toward the Heikhal Hashem, and their faces toward the east; and they bowing down toward the east worshiping the sun.
Ezek 8:16
And He brought me into the inner court of the House of אהיה. And there, at the door of the Hĕkal of אהיה, between the porch and the altar, were about
twenty-five men with their backs toward the Hĕkal of אהיה and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing themselves eastward to the sun.
Yet in the creation story these celestial elements are simply taken as creatures
like any others
Bbereshiyth 1:1
We know by looking at the very first line of scriptures it gives us an insight to
Plan with the letter Beyt being the very first letter, the dod in the middle .יהוה
makes the letter
Means Beyt ( House of אהיה) and its called a house of Prayer
said בהיה
Mar_11:17
And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called by all
nations the house of prayer?
but ye have made it a den of thieves.
When we look at the sentence we see אהיה for six days, instigated at creation
the Sabbath day
Bber 31:13.
I am the Al of Bayit-Al,
where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to Me. Now arise, get out
from this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”
Ya’aqóv promised that the anointed stone would become אהיה’s house, and,
though the place would not be in Y’Ishra’al possession until the time of Dawyid,
,is already calling special attention to this spot. As in his dream at that site אהיה
it is now time to ascend again along with those who descended from him. He
also does not identify Himself as “the Äluahiym of your fathers” this time, for
Ya’aqóv had said at that place that if אהיה brought him back safely
He would be known as his Äluahiym as well.
Bber 28:2
And I return in well-being to my father's household, then אהיה shall be my
Äluahiym,
And let everyone deliver his being from the burning displeasure of יהוה.
And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you
share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. Flee from the midst of Babel, and let
each one save his life! Do not be cut off in her crookedness, for this is the time of the
vengeance of יהוה, the recompense He is repaying her. Come out of her midst, My people!
And let everyone deliver his being from the burning displeasure of יהוה.
It almost sounds as if he doubts or that אהיה is not yet His Äluahiym, but אהיה
has already promised to do just this for him. in which Kanaan (who now owns
this Land) will serve Shem. There אהיה is called the Äluahiym of Shem. He
echoes this, saying that if he does indeed return with his descendants and they
receive Kanaan’s possession, his family will be fulfilling Noakh’s prophecy by
continuing Shem’s role.
Now that he has begun his journey back, אהיה is telling him that He is not
ashamed to be known as Yaa’qov’s Äluahiym as well.
NOAKH
Noakh is a name that comes from the root "nakh" in the Hebrew -- and that root word means 'rest.' The extra
vowel changes the meaning from 'rest' to 'comfy' or 'at ease.' this man's name is at one and the same time a
description of his character -- and an indictment against him. The text of the Torah says, "Now the earth was
corrupt in אהיה's sight, and the earth was filled with violence." Is this a time to be "noakh," which is to say
comfy or at ease? I ask you! Does our hero deserve accolades? Thus it is with Noakh. Not only does he sit on
that deck chair -- he goes ahead and builds his own lifeboat! The parable fits the occasion hand in glove! Here
we have the situation -- the very earth is burning beneath his feet -- and he is an innocent righteous man! Did
you ask yourself, how can anybody remain calm and innocent when the whole earth is being corrupted? But
not Noakh! He rests easy... He owns no stock in 'S.S. Our World!' And if this is true of Noakh, how about the
rest of us? We are, you know, his descendants. We are his seed, and his character is part of our heritage -- I
believe a part we need to overcome, to live down. Noakh would have fit in fine in our congregation, in our
town, in our epoch. He would have come to services late and left early; he would have avoided any
inconvenience caused by conflicts between the Jewish and secular calendars; he would have stayed away on
second day of yom tov, and he would have shunned the crowds on Simkhat Torah... In his ease, in his
comfort, he would have accepted his children's excuses, and forgiven them for not attending religious school,
for missing required participation in services, for avoiding homework and serious consideration for the
learning that the school is trying to pass on to the next generation. And when he would have discovered that
of his three kids one became wicked, and another was empty of content and nothing more than a pleasure
seeking, skin deep social butterfly -- he would have bragged about the third, exclaiming, "one out of three are
not' too bad, now isn't it?" Only late at night, when he would have been alone and with his conscience not
sufficiently anesthetized by the alcohol in his new wine, would he have bared his soul before אהיה, to show
how much of a failure he really knew himself to be, how little ease he really felt!
The great discovery I made this year is that Noakh is actually responsible for the flood! Because he was
Noakh, easy, because he did not shout out to decry the violence, to protest the iniquity, to turn around the
wrongdoers and protect the victims -- he brought about the flood! No wonder he turned to drink
And we, his progeny -- we must not forget, and we must not allow ourselves the sin of taking it easy. It was
not meant to be an easy life. אהיה did not put us on this earth to pursue happiness -- He wished for us to toil
in His garden, to be guardians and care-givers to His creatures. He wished for us to dedicate ourselves to His
service -- and in this kind of a life find pleasure, find happiness. The easy times are transient and fleeting, as
anyone will tell you. Each moment of bliss is paid for with a river of tears -- but the pleasure of אהיה's service,
alone, is a constant joy. The sons of Noakh, all of us, need to learn this. We need to etch upon our memory
that "grandpa" was a good man, in his generation -- but that we must fashion ourselves into something much,
much better, much loftier and much more creative and productive -- lest we find that we, too, become the
generation of the flood. Amen
So Yitzhaq called Ya’aqóv
and he blessed him and gave him orders, saying, "Do not take a wife
from the daughters of Kanaan!
Orders: a military term. This was not a request. When a superior in the army
gives a command, it is not something negotiable that we can stop to ponder to
determine if we agree with it or feel like carrying it out. It is to be followed no
matter what—and right away. The blessing was a command, but the command
was also a blessing. If we do as our father instructs, we will inevitably be
blessed, even if it does not seem so at first.
It is a test of whether we really trust אהיה to take care of any consequences
there may be. If we fail, we have to take it again in a different way. It is
embarrassing to be 25 years old and still in the third grade! Removing some of
our options gives us better structure and highlights our priorities more clearly.
When we are speaking of the Torah, a distinction should not be seen between
blessing and command. And Yitzhaq was indeed echoing the words of his wife
Rivqah
Bber 27:46,
But to Yitzhaq, Rivqah said, "I am weary of my life on account of the daughters
of the Hittites. If Ya’aqóv also takes a wife from among the daughters of Heth,
like those from the daughters of the land, of what value is my life to me?"
She found a way not to have to tell him that Esaw wanted to kill Ya’aqóv. She
appeals to Yitzhaq’s love for her, saying, “It will kill me if Ya’aqóv does this
too!” Are those who “send us” doing so for the sake of the Torah, or for other
motivations? The daughters of Heth
She found a way not to have to tell him that Esaw wanted to kill Ya’aqóv. She appeals to
Yitzhaq’s love for her, saying, “It will kill me if Ya’aqóv does this too!” Are those who “send us”
doing so for the sake of the Torah, or for other motivations? Yaa’qov’s flight cannot be seen as
rebellion, so that Yitzhak will not reverse what he has just done and again set Esaw over all
that he has. So Rivqah, being clever in her own right, makes sure the blessing given when he
sets out on the journey will be one freely given, not coerced. When those who are meant to be
YHWH's people have their eyes on the world, it sometimes takes this sort of roundabout
maneuvering to get them to make the right decisions.
Bber 26:34.
Now when Esaw was 40 years old, he took a wife--Yehudith, the daughter of
Be'eri the Chittite--and also Bas'math the daughter of Eylon the Chittit
Yaa’qov’s flight cannot be seen as rebellion, so that Yitzhaq will not reverse
what he has just done and again set Esaw over all that he has. So Rivqah, being
Ēl (written aleph-lamed is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity" and it is used as the
name of major Ancient Near East deities,. In the Canaanite religion, or Levantine religion as a whole, El
or Il was a god also known as the Father of humanity and all creatures, and the husband of the goddess
Asherah as recorded in the clay tablets of Ugarit (modern Ra′s Shamrā—Arabic: شمرا رأس , Syria)
Y'hudith means "praise". Bas'math means "spice" or "perfume of the balsam tree". Be'eri means "my
well". Eylon means a mighty tree ( righteous /unrighteous) trees were found in Gan Eden. These names
sound like things that would make his parents glad. Praise. Yitzhak had spent his whole life digging
wells. Avraham preferred to camp under big trees. Bas'math is called Yishma'el's daughter in chapter
36, so she was even a descendant of Avraham. But Proverbs 14:11ff, which tells us that the way that
seems right leads to death and has many parallels to this chapter (compare Prov. 16:22ff), also tells us
that the simple believe every word. These women were not what their names made them seem. "My
well" actually would remind Yitzhak of the strife at Eseq. (v. 20) A mighty tree was also a common place
for pagan rites. Esaw was religious, but not righteous. He made too many decisions in ignorance when
teaching was readily available to him. Beeri, whose wife's name was apparently Anah, which means
"answer") is called a "Hivvite" in 36:2; Chittite is a general term (related to the word for "terror") for
any descendant of the second son of Cham; Hivvite is a more particular genealogical one.
We often see the Ruakhual element in the church trying to make the Bible seem relevant to
the lives of those who have marginalized it through irrelevant means designed only to get
their attention. But this was a true statement on Rivqah's part, even if it was only her pretext.
If Ya’aqóv attached himself to foreign elements, his seed would not pass through the right
channels, and the covenant as prophesied by Noach would fail. If we want to be partly foreign,
and not fully attached, why keep the Torah at all? YHWH wants us hot or cold, not lukewarm.
Most Western law is based partly on the Torah, but it only half-serves it. Many say they "do
what they have to do" for the sake of peace, but the true peacemaker carries a sword. There is
no honor in avoiding confrontation if it means compromise. We cannot let pressing concerns
make us set aside Kingdom things. If Yitzhak listens to what she says, he will do the right thing.
Those with a tender heart toward the Torah will do the right thing. Some would say that
obeying the Torah is only about serving words, but it only appears to be; it is really about
preserving Israel (which was originally none other than Ya’aqóv himself).
clever in her own right, makes sure the blessing given when he sets out on the
journey will be one freely given, not coerced. When those who are meant to be
s people have their eyes on the world, it sometimes takes this sort of'אהיה
roundabout maneuvering to get them to make the right decisions. We often
see the Ruakhual element in the church trying to make the Bible seem relevant
to the lives of those who have marginalized it through irrelevant means
designed only to get their attention. But this was a true statement on Rivqah's
part, even if it was only her pretext. If Ya’aqóv attached himself to foreign
elements, his seed would not pass through the right channels, and the
covenant as prophesied by Noakh would fail. If we want to be partly foreign,
and not fully attached, why keep the Torah at all? אהיה wants us hot or cold, not
lukewarm. Most Western law is based partly on the Torah, but it only half-
serves it. Many say they "do what they have to do" for the sake of peace, but
the true peacemaker carries a sword. There is no honor in avoiding
confrontation if it means compromise. We cannot let pressing concerns make
us set aside Kingdom things. If Yitzhaq listens to what she says, he will do the
right thing. Those with a tender heart toward the Torah will do the right thing.
Some would say that obeying the Torah is only about serving words, but it only
appears to be; it is really about preserving Israel (which was originally none
other than Ya’aqóv himself). whom we have seen is also a picture of the Torah.
He starts with a prohibition against connecting ourselves with the people of
Kanaan, who molested his grandfather Noakh when he was drunk. Kanaan
means “knee-bender”, with overtones of being about only fleshly pursuits,
hungering for pleasure at any cost. If we bend the knees too far, we end up
down on all fours like an animal—a picture of those who primarily follow
animal instincts. The serpent was cursed even further Bber 3:1-15 having its
belly right down on the earth. It hungers for the dust of the earth (therefore
being in direct opposition to אהיה, who has chosen the “dust of the earth”--
Avraham’s descendants). So אהיה puts it all the way down in the dust. Ya’aqóv
cannot be attached to those who would influence him in this direction. If the
descendants of Avraham get down where the serpent is, it will devour us.
Kanaan is like an animal. The land named after him is under that curse, but
had sent Avraham there as a teacher and to establish the covenant that אהיה
would make it holy again. In contrast, אהיה’s pet name for Y’Ishra’al when
obedient is Yeshûrûn—the one who is upright—that is, on two feet, standing
up straight. Ya’aqóv is now in a position to continue to guard the covenant of
Avraham, but if this seed gets mixed in with those who are down on all fours,
his success will be greatly inhibited. We are not talking about being so
heavenly-minded that we are of no earthly use, because that is unbalanced in
the other direction, but our inclination needs to be toward bring heavenly
things to earth. Animals walk with their bellies parallel with the earth, but men
are meant to walk perpendicular to the ground—with the things of heaven and
earth in balance. What we hunger for will determine our actions. If we
surround ourselves with selfishness, we tend to become selfish too. The
promise cannot be carried by one who is about himself. אהיה’s gifts are meant
to be passed on to the whole community. This is one of the reasons Esaw had
lost his birthright. Yitzhaq’s eyes had grown dim, because he was becoming
more interested in Esaw’s ability to satisfy his belly. But now that Ya’aqóv has
the blessing, thanks to Rivqah’s influence; he realizes that the covenant cannot
be attached to anyone who is only about the flesh or the earth. If Ya’aqóv
wants to be able to continue seeking the things that satisfy the soul, and if he
wants his children and grandchildren to be upright too, he must not connect
himself to one who is not upright. He has proven that more than anything he
wants to uphold the covenant, but even he can be influenced or impeded if his
mate does not share the same concerns, appreciate the fact that he is a man of
tents, not the field, and uphold his higher pursuits. His wife must thus come
from the line of Shem, whom Noakh made the master of Kanaan and the
teacher of Yefeth. She, too, must have Kingdom priorities if he is to carry on
the work of Shem, the teacher.
Bber 28:2.
"Get up, go into Paddan-Aram to the household of B'thual your mother's
father, and take yourself a wife from there--from the daughters of Lavan, your
mother's brother.
Paddan-Aram: the plain of the Aramean’s (Syrians). The scope of his search for
a wife is much narrower than his father’s, for the bar has been raised. Not just
any Aramean would do. She had to follow the pattern that had proven best:
Rivqah was Sarah’s niece, so Yaa’qov’s wife would be Rivqah’s niece. She had
to come from this very special group of women—a queenly family, who are
pictures of the Torah, as we have seen. Rivqah was taken into Sarah’s tent,
taking her place. The same picture must continue with the next generation for
the blessing to continue.
Bber 28:3.
"Then Äl Shaddai can bless you, make you fruitful, and multiply you, and you
will come to be an assembly of peoples.
Though he said he had no blessings left to give, apparently Yitzhaq's prophetic
Raukh has revived. Äl Shaddai: the “feminine” side of אהיה, from a word
meaning “breast”, thus emphasizing provision, which he indeed received.
Yitzhaq is beginning to see again, due to his wife’s influence. Fruitful: His great-
grandson’s name means "doubly fruitful". (48:19) multiply you: or, grant you
greatness and abundance. Through the descendants of Yoseyf, which means
"add", they have become grafted into Yaa’qov’s stock and thus his heirs both
physically and Raukhual. (Rom. 14:19; Eph. 2:15) An assembly of nations: an
organized body, gathering, or congregation. Even in the first generation,
Yaa’qov’s household would become this. In contrast with Avraham’s many
descendants who spread far and wide, Yaa’qov’s were intended to remain
together and remain concerned about one another, not just self. They are not
to be just a group of individuals, but an “individual group” whose strength lies
in the fact that they are an assembly, not just one man. Each one dopes not
just add strength, but multiplies it. The Hebrew term is qahal--the equivalent
of the better-known Greek “ekklesia", for though these peoples would still be
scattered at one point, they would later be regathered out from among the
nations with whom they would mingle, to again form one people,
1 Kefa 2:9-10
Bber 28:4.
"May He also give to you Avraham's blessing--to you and your seed along with
you, so you may possess the land of your sojourning’s, which Äluahiym gave to
Avraham."
Avraham’s blessing: This is what it is really all about. That Land is supposed to
be our inheritance, too. We can inherit it, not just visit it, if we connect
ourselves to the right things now. The promise of inheriting the Land is again
narrowed, for the last time, to Yaa’qov’s descendants alone. Yitzhaq must
never have intended to give this blessing to Esaw, because when he had the
occasion to, he did not. He gave him only earthly blessings, though the most
important of these, too, actually went to Ya’aqóv as well. Esaw received some
as well, just as the one Ya’aqóv made his firstborn (Efrayim) would also inherit
the more important blessings, but not as much physically, as the brother he
displaced (Menashe). But until this point he had still only blessed Ya’aqóv with
preeminence, fertility, and the position of leadership. (27:28ff) Now that, as
per verse 8, his eyes have been opened again (no longer being blinded by
Esaw’s gifts) and he knows to whom he is talking, he gives him the fullest
birthright blessing. Avraham’s covenant was not mentioned in the first blessing
that he intended to be for Esaw. Yitzhaq had trembled greatly (27:33), waking
up from his dreamy stupor. He recognized again that Esaw was not the right
man for the job of teaching. It was now in the right man’s hands. But the
blessing is still contingent on his maintaining the right attachments and
accepting the command along with the blessing.
Bber 28:5.
Then Yitzhaq sent Ya’aqóv away, and he went into Paddan-Aram, to Lavan the
son of B'thuel the Aramean, the brother of Rivqah, who was Ya’aqóv and
Esaw's mother.
As in church history, what came out of Yitzhaq was taken in by Lavan, the
"white one", whom we have seen was actually full of greed, and חיימ was
adopted by Gentiles who were nonetheless his relatives. Notice the order the
two sons' names are listed in, contrary to their birth order, but in agreement
with the way their mother saw them. In contrast with 25:5, Ya’aqóv is now
counted the elder. Esaw was called, but Ya’aqóv was chosen. (Mat. 20:16) The
calling is general, but who is chosen depends on how we serve אהיה. Yaaqov
was willing to take on the role of servant and teacher, so his father chose him.
It is interesting that the church has been known as the "called-out", but even it
has continued to refer to the Jews as the "chosen people".
Bber 28:6.
When Esaw saw that Yitzhaq had blessed Ya’aqóv and sent him away to
Paddan-Aram to take a wife for himself from there (how in his blessing he had
commanded him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Kanaan"),
Esaw saw: Being a son of Yitzhaq, he still had some gifting’s and
understanding; he just had the wrong priorities.
Bber 28:7.
and that Ya’aqóv had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-Aram,
Bber 28:8.
and when Esaw saw that the daughters of Kanaan were disagreeable in the
sight of his father Yitzhaq,
Bber 28:9.
[only] then did Esaw go to Y’Ishma’el and take Machalath, the daughter of
Y’Ishma’el the son of Avraham (Nevayoth's sister), as his wife, adding her to his
other wives.
Thus some of the Arabs (Yishmaʽĕlites) are also Edomites. Esaw perceives
that there is something different in this relationship that he could have had if
he had not married the Kanaanites. He understands that his parents wanted
him to marry a cousin. Like the Protestant Reformation, he tried to make
amends for his earlier errors by taking a more worthy wife also but without
putting away all the paganism in the process. He tried to please his father, but
did not follow orders completely; he tried to find a substitute more close at
hand. Martin Luther read the Bible and thus made some worthwhile
improvements over the Roman system, but still was very anti-Semitic. Esaw
still chose the wrong line. He went to Yishma’el’s camp, which was much closer
than Paddan-Aram. Machalath: from a root meaning "weak, sick, or diseased".
(See 26:34, 36:3). He should have been following Ya’aqóv, not to kill him, but
to marry Lavin’s other daughter. Leah, who by the pattern of his ancestors’
marriages should have been Esaw’s wife, was 100% Semitic (from the line of
Shem). She could have helped him become a man who made better decisions.
Instead, while doing what looked right, he actually compounded the problem.
Machalath was a descendant of Shem, but not through his mother, and she
was actually only 25% Semitic, the remaining 75% being Hamitic as his other
two wives were. Likewise many Christians are eager to repent, but no matter
how bad they feel about their sin, they cannot succeed if they do not return all
the way to the Torah, because without the proper knowledge they would be
turning away from one type of sin, but continuing to break many others
because they ignore the Torah, which reveals what sin is, though it is right in
their Bibles. Repenting, in Hebrew, means going back to where one came from.
To know how to go back, we have to know where we are supposed to be, and
what our context is meant to be. So Ya’aqóv turned back to the ancestors who
were worthy of emulation. Dwelling in the tents of Shem (25:27) had made
him complete. By studying, he had gained the knowledge it took to make the
right decisions. If we do things our fathers’ way despite our own preferences,
and do not use our gifting’s to further our own desires, but for the betterment
of the set-apart community, we too can inherit
Bber 28:10.
When Ya’aqóv had left [va-yetzer] Beer-Sheva and was walking toward Haran,
By going to the place Avraham had stopped en route to the Land, Ya’aqóv
was retracing his grandfather Avraham's steps, getting in touch with his
heritage. The first leg of the journey brings him to a more recent part of his
heritage, the place his father was offered up on the altar.
Bber 28:11.
he encountered the Place. He stopped there to spend the night, because the
sun had gone [down]. And he took [one] of the stones of the place and
established a place for his head. Then he lay down in that place.
"Place" appears here three times--a sign of great emphasis. These stones
may have been from the very altar on which Yitzhaq was offered as an
"ascending". Established a place for his head: i.e., used it as a pillow, but the
wording also hints at his laying the groundwork for אהיה to be forever the Ruler
of His descendants. (See vv. 21-22) "The Place" is shorthand for "the Place
where I have set My Name” (Deut. 12), and indeed this does turn out to be the
Temple Mount itself (v. 17).
Bber 28:12.
And he had a dream: behold, a stairway was established earthward, its top
reaching the heavens—and indeed, the messengers of Äluahiym were
ascending and descending on it!
Stairway: or ladder, based on the word for "lifting up" or piling up for the
purpose of climbing higher. It is what gets one closer to that which is higher.
The Torah is full of ladders in this sense: the Sabbath (a 7-step ladder) and
other festivals, the dietary laws, and every other command by which we can
draw closer to אהיה. We need to recognize where He is giving us a step up.
Many of the steps are wide so that the whole nation can ascend on them. At
other times, one man ascends on behalf of the nation. It is related to a name
used of 54 אהיה times: Äl Alyon (the highest Äluahiym). Reaching the heavens:
Was this the reality counterfeited at the Tower of Bavel (11:4)? That one was
earth-based, but though this one was "fixed in place" onto the earth, it began
in heaven, much like the stairways that fold down from an airplane. The word
for a “burnt offering”, which אהיה told Avraham to offer Yitzhaq as, also means
“ascending”, so his family was actually forming this staircase, by which a people
mediates between אהיה and the rest of humanity". Top: really the word for
"head" here. In Jewish mysticism, the "body" of the reconstituted ‘Âthâ´m (of
which חיימ is the Head, or first part) is called "the stairway". בהיה alluded to
Himself being such an approach to אהיה (Yâhuwchânâ´n 1:51), and we must be
the same for others. Messengers: the priests are called אהיה’s messengers in
Mal’akhi 2:7, and the Levites took their turns ascending to the Temple to
minister to אהיה, then went back down into the rest of the Land to teach the
rest of the Nation. (cf. Matt. 22:37-40) So Ya’aqóv is seeing ahead to the days
when that would be taking place at this very site.
Bber 28:13.
And there stood אהיה at its top, and He said, "I am אהיה, the Äluahiym of your
ancestor Avraham, and the Äluahiym of Yitzhaq. I will give to you and your
descendants the Land on which you are lying.
At its top: or, above him.
Bber 28:14.
"And your descendants shall be as many as the dust of the earth, and you will
spread out [forcefully] to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the
south, and into you and your Seed shall all the families of the earth be grafted.
Families: Everywhere else this promise is given, except the first time אהיה
spoke to Avram in ch. 12, it says "nations" instead. But here is the reason the
descendants of the tribes of Y’Ishra’al should not be identified only with certain
ethnic groupings, for every family on earth has to some extent been mixed with
his seed. (Compare how אהיה will regather us to the Land, Yirmeyahu 3:14.)
Bber 28:15.
"And behold, I am with you, and I will guard you in every place to which you
may go, and I will bring you back to this Land, because I will not forsake you—
not until I have done everything I have told you."
Until: up to and including that time; it does not mean He will then abandon
him.
Bber 28:16.
Then Ya’aqóv awoke from his sleep and said, "Truly אהיה is in this place, and I
did not know it!"
Bber 28:17.
And he was awestruck, and said, "How awesome this place is! This is none
other than the house of Äluahiym; this is the very gate of the Heavens!"
Awestruck: filled with the deepest respect. How awesome: The Aramaic
targums say, “This is no ordinary place!” Yerushalayim, which this was just
outside, is called "a city that is compact [joined] together" (Tehillim. 122:3), and
thus is considered the "place where earth and heaven meet". A Midrash says
the true heavenly temple always stood here, situated "opposite", above, or
corresponding to, the ones later built there. The pattern Moshe saw on Sinai
(Ex. 25:9, 40) was present in heaven first (Heb. 8:2-5). Äluahiym gave Dawyid
the blueprints for Shlomo to build from. (1 Chron. 28:19) Scientists now speak
of "layered space": several levels of reality existing at the same point in space.
In another dimension, this correlates with the stairs leading to the Temple that
would later stand in this place. (v. 17) Mount Sinai is another place He has put
His ladder down. It too is called the “Mountain of Äluahiym” (Ex. 3:1) There is a
connection visible only in Hebrew, for the numerical value of the words for
both “stairway” and “Sinai” is 130. Both were places of coming higher than we
were before and getting closer to אהיה’s presence. Another word with this
value is moadi (“my appointed time”), and indeed His appointed times are
when He would meet with Yaa’qov’s descendants on this mountain. The 32
physical steps to the Temple remain to this day. Despite being constructed in
the best architecture available at the time, the steps are of uneven height and
depth. This was intentional, so no one would rush into אהיה’s presence. They
had to think about each step, or they would get hurt. But many who have
started to ascend have found a broad step and decided it was big enough to
permanently set their tent on, though they had not reached the top. This is
how denominations have begun. Just as אהיה’s cloud camped in one place but
then moved on because we were not yet in the Promised Land, only the 32nd
step counts, because 32 is the value of the word for “heart”. The Sabbath is
the first step to אהיה’s heart—to knowing what pleases Him. Interestingly,
Ya’aqóv was reunited with Yosef at the age of 130 (Gen. 47:8), and all of
Y’Ishra’al is to come together at this mountain for three of His appointed times
each year.
Bber 28:18.
So Ya’aqóv got up early in the morning and took the stone that he had placed
under his head, and he set it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil on top of it.
Memorial pillar: here, an unaltered stone, to mark the site but possibly also
to symbolize the promise of what he could not yet finish building. For his head:
There is also a plural aspect of this compound term in Hebrew, so it can also
refer to the numerous anointed “heads”, the Levitical priests, who would also
use this very site as their place of service. (They, even more foundationally
than the king, are אהיה’s choice as heads of Y’Ishra’al, per Deut. 17:12.) Dawyid
might have noticed that this particular stone was not set aside for use in the
construction of the Temple, calling it “the stone that the builders rejected”,
although Ya’aqóv intended it to be the cornerstone. (Tehillim 118:22) The
term for “Place” actually means “place of standing up”, so he stood the stone
up. This was sometimes a pagan practice, but not here; it was also simply a
common method of marking a place where a highly significant event took
place—the ancient equivalent of a photograph.
Bber 28:19.
And he named that place "The House of Äluahiym" [Beyth-El], though the city's
original name had been Luz.
This was not the city later named Beyt-Al; the ambiguity may have been what
later led Yaravam/Jeroboam to choose Beyt-Al as an alternative worship site (1
Kings 12:29), which displeased Äluahiym, to Avraham this spot was a mountain
(22:2), a center of sanctity from which he could promulgate his message to
wherever it might be heard. With Yitzhaq, “the field” (24:63) is the next place
he is seen after the event here in ch. 22. A field is open, but has clear
boundaries. He remained within certain confines while reaching out to others
who wanted to know אהיה. But to Ya’aqóv, this place was a beyt (house),
because he reached out to others from within the narrowest setting—yet only
Ya’aqóv is said to have spread out to the east and west (v. 14), indicating that
his method of making the message known (by living it in community and letting
those who wanted to know more come to him) was the most effective of these
ways of spreading the knowledge of אהיה.
Bber 28:20.
And Ya’aqóv made a vow, saying, "If Äluahiym is indeed with me and keeps me
safe on this journey on which I am walking, and gives me bread to eat and
clothing to wear,
If Äluahiym is indeed with me: i.e., if this was not just a dream. Bread and
clothing: foreshadowing his descendants who would be given "manna" on their
journeying’s, in which their clothing would not wear out.
(Compare Yeshayahu/Isa. 61:10-11.)
Tradition says the dowry he took for the wife he was to find was stolen on the
way. But why does he not just say, “Bread and clothing”? What else would we
do with bread but eat it and what would we do to clothes but wear them?
Moshe and Dov Kempinski tell us that it is because too often people’s food
“eats” them. Obtaining our clothing consumes us. Our jobs devour us rather
than being seen only as means to pay for higher pursuits that help us ascend
another rung. He wanted to keep these things in the right perspective.
Tradition says the dowry he took for the wife he was to find was stolen on the
way.
Bber 28:21.
"And I return in well-being to my father's household, then אהיה shall be my
Äluahiym,
It almost sounds as if he doubts or that אהיה is not yet His Äluahiym, but אהיה
has already promised to do just this for him. (v. 15) He is alluding to the
blessing in 9:24ff in which Kanaan (who now owns this Land) will serve Shem.
There אהיה is called the Äluahiym of Shem. He echoes this, saying that if he
does indeed return with his descendants and they receive Kanaan’s possession,
his family will be fulfilling Noach’s prophecy by continuing Shem’s role.
Bber 28:22.
"and this stone which I have set up as a memorial pillar shall indeed become
the house of Äluahiym, and of all which You shall give me, I will tithe one tenth
to You."
Become: Not by magic. He is saying that he or his descendants will build the
house of יהאה, and that this standing stone will constitute its (at least symbolic)
cornerstone. Tithe: to give back a tenth as a tribute. Non-agricultural tithes
were never actually required, but if they come from the heart, they are a
wonderful expression of thanks. All You shall give me: This includes His
descendants.
Bber 28:14.
and Ya’aqóv set up a memorial pillar --one made of stone--in the place where
He had spoken with him, and he poured a drink offering on top of it, and
anointed it with oil.
Bber 28:15.
And Ya’aqóv called the place where Äluahiym had spoken with him "Beyt-Al".
He had already realized that this is what it was on his outgoing journey to
Paddan-Aram. (28:17-19) And above, אהיה had already called it by this same
name. Now Ya’aqóv reconfirmed it as such, just as Yitzhaq had renamed his
father’s wells by their same names after they had been filled and dug again.
Bber 28:16.
Now they pulled up from Beyt-Al, and while there was still a considerable
stretch of land to go before they came to Efrath, Rakhal went into labor, and
she had great difficulty in the delivery of her baby.
Considerable stretch: a kibrah, or an undefined “measure”, but the root word
means to bind or weave together like a rope used for measuring. Efrath means
"fruitfulness". So an alternate reading is, there was already a witness of the
binding together of the Land for fruitfulness. This site of Boaz’ fields, Dawyid’s
and בהיה birth is only a few miles south of Yerushalayim, so this Beyt-Al was the
site of the Temple Mount, not the town later called by the same name further
to the north. The time for her fruitfulness was near, but her descendants
would not become "doubly fruitful" until the “son who adds" (Yosef) had a son
named "doubly fruitful" (Efrayim). Great difficulty: probably precipitated by
their having to pick up stakes and leave Sh'khem so quickly. Perhaps he
blamed Shim'on and Levi for her death, as he apparently never forgave their
behavior there.
Bber 28:17
. And it came to pass that, when her labor became most difficult, the midwife
told her, "Don't be afraid, because this child is also a son for you!"
She is told to rest assured that her desire that Äluahiym ‘add another’ is being
fulfilled." It was a breach birth, because she could tell that he was male before
he was fully born, but this is one reason she was bleeding to death.
Bber 28:18.
But what took place was that as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she
named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Binyamin instead.
She also died because Ya’aqóv prophesied it due to her association with
idolatry. (31;32) Ben-Oni means “son of my agony/trouble/sorrow”. Binyamin
means “son of the right hand”, i.e., his favorite wife Rakhal. The Temple Mount
and more of Yerushalayim actually belong to his tribal land. (1 Shmuel 10:2)
Bber 28:19.
And Rakhal died and was buried on the way to Efrath, that is, Beyth-Lekhem.
By tradition she was only 36 years old, but the small nation of Y’Ishra’al was
on its way to fruitfulness, at Beyt-Lechem, the "house of bread" (or, more
anciently,
simply "food"--i.e., the staple).
Bber 28:20.
And Ya’aqóv set up a monument over her grave; that is the marker of Rakhal's
grave to this day.
And so it remains, now with a more elaborate mausoleum near the entrance
to Beyth-Lechem
Bber 28:21.
Then Y’Ishra’al pulled up stakes and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the
Flock.
When Ya’aqóv buried what he cherished most from Lavan's house and what
he even loved more than אהיה, after the birth pangs of the last of his children,
his community is finally able to act as Y’Ishra’al. The Mishnah says this tower
was the boundary of a perimeter around Yerushalayim within which all lambs
be slain for the daily Temple sacrifice (by the priests) had to be born--a major
reason it is also mentioned in Mikha 4:8 in conjunction with the more precise
location of "the first dominion". This refers to its being the birthplace of חיימ
(the king) at his first coming. The Aramaic targum identifies it as the place
where חיימ would reveal himself at the end of days. Beyt-Lechem is visible
from here, but it is still within the Temple precincts. That Ya’aqóv stretched his
tent "beyond it" may
allude to the directive given to חיימ in
Yeshayahu/Isaiah 54:2, 3.
. "Broaden the place of your tent, and extend the drapes of your dwelling
places! Don't hold back! Continue to make your cords longer, and make your
stakes firm!
I.e., you are going to have many visitors to be hospitable to; make room for
them!
It also means going beyond the fact of חיימ (mâshıyach) coming to the purpose
for which he came--that we could be a united Y’Ishra’al and a real physical
kingdom again. But he was now going outside the Sacred part of the Land, and
this set the stage for the next event:
http://www.slideshare.net/keiYAH/nation-of-disciples
`בהיה
In His Name
Blessed be, in His name
" '.bless you אהיה ,be with you.' and they answered him אהיה
Be not blind to the truth
And, hinnei, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that בהיה`
passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O אהיה, [thou] Ben Dawyid. An
stood still, and called them, and said, what will ye that I shall do unto you `בהיה
they say unto Him, אהיה, that our eyes may be opened. So בהיה` had compassion
[on them], and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight,
and they followed him.
His servant and yours
shalowm in Righteousness
by the GRACE of אהיה
GO I
keiYAH
Nätzräya
Remember me and pray for me that אהיה will be gracious unto me and be
merciful unto my sins which I have sinned against him. Peace be to them that
read and that hear these things and to their servants:
Amein and Amein
Freely ye have received, freely give
A rule necessary, and of great extent. A servant in the Gospel Vineyard, though
worthy of his Comfortable support while in the work. Should never preach for
hire, or make a secular traffic of the Raukh (spiritual work): what a scandal is it
for a man to traffic with gifts which he pretends, at least, to have received from
the Raukh HaQodesh, of which he is not the master, but the dispenser. He who
preaches to get a living, or make a fortune, is guilty of the most infamous
sacrilege