Are you Sinning by tithing?

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Apr 19, 2013

News Letter 5849-009
24th day of the 1st month?5849 years after the creation of Adam
7th Day of 3rd week of Counting the Omer
The 2nd Month in the Fourth year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences
Day 21 of Counting the Omer

 

April 20, 2013

Shabbat Shalom Family,

 

You can now follow me and my posts on twitter. Not sure if this is good idea or not but it is available to you now. https://twitter.com/JosephFDumond

We would like to announce to you all that this year I will not be going to Israel for Sukkot. I have been invited to spend Sukkot with a group in Tennessee. They would like me to teach them for all 8 days and I have accepted.

I would like to extend that invitation to all of you as well; To come to Tennessee this Sukkot and let me teach you all that I have come to know about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years.

We will cover the basics as a review and then some of the new teachings that are explained in Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016. We will then review The Prophecies of Abraham for those who are new. After this then we can learn about the Prophecies of Niddah. Daniels 70 Shabua which is the next book being edited right now. The 7 years of Plenty and the 7 Years of Famine of Joseph, and The Two witnesses and 2300 days of hell. It is my intention to explain these things so that all of you can then teach them to others.

Here is part of the official announcement for the Feast in 2013. You can also contact them on Face Book.

Welcome to the event “Sukkot 2013” which we will be holding at Fall Creek Falls campground located in Central Tennesse- South of Cookeville! We look forward to meeting all of you with much anticipation! 🙂

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FallCreekFalls/

At this stage we have tentatively set aside area “C” as the location for our group. If we find we outgrow that area we can be moved to one to accommodate our entire group.

The event is tentatively scheduled to begin (according to the Sighted Moon) on the evening of September 21st, 2013.??Our guest speaker will be author Joseph F. Dumond whose literary accomplishments include The Prophecies of Abraham as well as Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016…?We are very honored he has chosen to come and speak with us at this event. His speaking schedule will include a daily teaching beginning at 10 a.m. and he will speak for about 3 hours each day. On High Holy Days he will speak again in the evening.

If this Sukkot you would like to join us then please email me ASAP and I can send you the full brochure to read and I will then forward your name to the host and convener of this event.

You need to act quickly as space is limited and we may have to announce that the site is full. Don’t be left out. Write us and let us know you want to come and we will help to get you set up. Others are already booking the limited number of rooms and camp sites. So you need to act if you would like to come.

Dear Brethren this weeks teaching was planned now for a few weeks. Then a lot of events took place with me this past few days that has my head just spinning. Please read through this newsletter and before the weekly 3 ½ year Torah cycle I am going to explain what has happened and what our next goals are.

I hope you will be as excited as I am about this.

Here is a comment from EE about last weeks note on Noah’s Ark.
Also, the 10th of the new moon was when the lamb was selected and brought in the house; it is also when everyone and the animals entered into the ark! (Gen. 7:4, 10). The rain also lasted the 40 days that Yeshua was on earth after his resurrection.

Each week, I think the teachings can’t get any better, yet each week I am blown away again!

Today is the seventh day of the third week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-first day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath. Today is Sabbath, the third Sabbath of seven Sabbaths. Today completes the third week of seven weeks.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. 2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah.
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You.
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us!
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:1-7)

161 Rulers have persecuted me without a cause, but at Your Word my heart stood in awe.
162 I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.
163 I have hated falsehood and loathe it, Your Torah I have loved.
164 I have praised You seven times a day, because of Your righteous right-rulings.
165 Great peace have those loving Your Torah, and for them there is no stumbling-block.
166 ????, I have waited for Your deliverance, and I have done Your commands.
167 My being has guarded Your witnesses, and I love them exceedingly.
168 I have guarded Your orders and Your witnesses, for all my ways are before You. (Psalm 119:161-168)

You can read each of these Psalms in the back of the new book “Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016”. Let me also announce to you that after 3 years of requesting this. The Prophecies of Abraham is finally available as an e-book. If you go to this link you can order both books here.  Sightedmoon Marketplace

I am sorry it has taken so long to get this done. But now it is available to you all around the word at a very cheap price and without the cost of postage. May it be a blessing to you all. Please let others know as well.

 


Here are the rest of the reading for this 4th week which you can read on the day they represent.

WEEK FOUR | 4

Day Twenty-Two | A Prayer For Help | Psalm 119:169-176

Today is the first day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-second day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

169 My cry comes before You, O ????. Make me understand according to Your Word. (Psalm 119:169)
170 Let my prayer come before You. Deliver me according to Your Word. (Psalm 119:170)
171 My lips pour forth praise, for You teach me Your laws. (Psalm 119:171)
172 My tongue sings of Your Word, for all Your commands are righteousness. (Psalm 119:172)
173 Your hand is a help to me, for I have chosen Your orders. (Psalm 119:173)
174 I have longed for Your deliverance, O ????, and Your Torah is my delight. (Psalm 119:174)
175 My being lives, and it praises You; and Your right-rulings help me. (Psalm 119:175)
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commands. (Psalm 119:176)

Day Twenty-Three | True Happiness | Psalm 1:1-6

Today is the second day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-third day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

1 Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, and shall not stand in the path of sinners, and shall not sit in the seat of scoffers. (Psalm 1:1)
2 But his delight is in the Torah of ????, and he meditates in His Torah day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
3 For he shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:3)
4 The wrong are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind blows away. (Psalm 1:4)
5 Therefore, the wrong shall not rise in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (Psalm 1:5)
6 For ???? knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wrong comes to naught. (Psalm 1:6)

 

Day Twenty-Four | Confidence In Yehovah | Psalm 11:1-7

Today is the third day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-fourth day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

1 In ???? I have taken refuge. Why do you say to me, “Flee to your mountain like a bird?” (Psalm 11:1)
2 For look! The wrong bend a bow, they set their arrow on the string, to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. (Psalm 11:2)
3 When the foundations are destroyed, what shall the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)
4 ???? is in His set-apart H??al (Temple), the throne of ???? is in the heavens. His eyes see, His eyelids examine the sons of men. (Psalm 11:4)
5 ???? tries the righteous, but His being shall hate the wrong and the one who loves violence. (Psalm 11:5)
6 Upon the wrong He rains snares. Fire and sulphur and a scorching wind are the portion of their cup. (Psalm 11:6)
7 For ???? is righteous, He has loved righteousness. The upright shall see His face. (Psalm 11:7)

 

Day Twenty-Five | What Yehovah Requires | Psalm 15:1-5

Today is the fourth day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-fifth day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

1 ????, who does sojourn in Your Tent? Who does dwell in Your set-apart mountain? (Psalm 15:1)
2 He who walks blamelessly, and does righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. (Psalm 15:2)
3 He has not slandered with his tongue, he has not done evil to his neighbor, nor lifted up a reproach against his friend. (Psalm 15:3)
4 In whose eyes a reprobate one is despised, but he esteems those who fear ????, he who swears to his own hurt and does not change. (Psalm 15:4)
5 He has not put out his silver at interest, and has not taken a bribe against the innocent. He who does these is never moved. (Psalm 15:5)

 

Day Twenty-Six | The Creation of Yehovah | Psalm 19:1-7

Today is the fifth day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-sixth day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

1 The heavens are proclaiming the esteem of ?l; and the expanse is declaring the work of His hand. (Psalm 19:1)
2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. (Psalm 19:2)
3 There is no speech, and there are no words. Their voice is not heard. (Psalm 19:3)
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He set up a tent for the sun. (Psalm 19:4)
5 And it is like a bridegroom coming out of his room. It rejoices like a strong man to run the path. (Psalm 19:5)
6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end. And naught is hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:6)
7 The Torah of ???? is perfect, bringing back the being. The witness of ???? is trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)

 

Day Twenty-Seven | A Prayer For Guidance | Psalm 25:4-10

Today is the sixth day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-seventh day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

4 Show me Your ways, O ????. Teach me Your paths. (Psalm 25:4)
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the Elohim of my deliverance. On You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:5)
6 Remember, O ????, Your compassion and Your kindnesses, for they are from everlasting. (Psalm 25:6)
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, and my transgressions. According to Your kindness remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O ????. (Psalm 25:7)
8 Good and straight is ????; therefore, He teaches sinners in the way. (Psalm 25:8)
9 He guides the meek ones in right-ruling, and He teaches the meek ones His way. (Psalm 25:9)
10 All the paths of ???? are kindness and truth, to those who guard His covenant and His witnesses. (Psalm 25:10)

 

Day Twenty-Eight | Longing For Yehovah | Psalm 63:1-8

Today is the seventh day of the fourth week of seven weeks. Today is the twenty-eighth day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath. Today is Sabbath, the fourth Sabbath of seven Sabbaths. Today completes the fourth week of seven weeks.

1 Elohim does favor us and bless us. Cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. (Psalm 67:1)
2 For Your way to be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. (Psalm 67:2)
3 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim, let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:3)
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You judge the peoples uprightly, and lead the nations on earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4)
5 Let the peoples praise You, O Elohim; let all the peoples praise You. (Psalm 67:5)
6 The earth shall give her increase; Elohim, our own Elohim, blesses us! (Psalm 67:6)
7 Elohim blesses us! And all the ends of the earth fear Him! (Psalm 67:7)

1 O Elohim, You are my ?l; I earnestly seek You. My being has thirsted for You. My flesh has longed for You in a dry and thirsty land without water. (Psalm 63:1)
2 Therefore I have had a vision of You In the set-apart place, to see Your power and Your esteem. (Psalm 63:2)
3 Because Your kindness is better than life, my lips do praise You. (Psalm 63:3)
4 Therefore I bless You while I live. In Your Name I lift up my hands. (Psalm 63:4)
5 My being is satisfied as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises You with singing lips. (Psalm 63:5)
6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. (Psalm 63:6)
7 For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing. (Psalm 63:7)
8 My being has closely followed You. Your right hand did uphold me. (Psalm 63:8)

 

Some have asked why I am doing this Jewish thing of counting the Omer. I tell them first of all this is not a Jewish thing. It is a commandment from Yehovah that you count each day from the Wave offering during the days of Passover until Shavuot. There are lessons to learn as you do this.
Lev 23:15 And you shall count to you from the next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete. 16 To the next day after the seventh sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new food offering to Yehovah.

It is because of this commandment that I have been doing this count and reading those psalms that have been assigned to each day and I have found them to be prophetic at times. This is why I count the Omer, because we are commanded to. What other excuses are you going to come up with not to do it?

Also this last week we all saw the bombing of the Boston Marathon and if you are like hedge around the USA has been removed. Why did I cry? The hedge around the USA has been removed which is written of in Isaiah. With each day we draw closer to that time when this world as you now know it will be but a distant memory.

Then again another huge explosion in Waco, Texas and many first responders killed and hundreds wounded. And then after this news still more news about more deaths and a car chase with explosion devices tossed out the window of the speeding car.

As bad as these things are we must step back and look at this from Yehovah’s point of view. He has removed that hedge that once protected us.

Isa 5:1 Now I will sing to my Beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
Isa 5:2 And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with choice vines, and built a tower in its midst, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and He looked for it to produce grapes. And it produced wild grapes.
Isa 5:3 And now, O people of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard.
Isa 5:4 What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Who knows? I looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes.
Isa 5:5 And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down;
Isa 5:6 and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor dug; but briers and thorns shall come up. And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.
Isa 5:7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant; and He looked for justice, but behold bloody iniquity; for righteousness, but behold a cry!
Isa 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, laying field to field, until the end of space, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the land!
Isa 5:9 Jehovah of Hosts swore in my ears, Truly many houses shall be deserted, big and fair, without inhabitant.
Isa 5:10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
Isa 5:11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning to go after strong drink; tarrying in the twilight while wine inflames them!
Isa 5:12 And the lyre, and the harp, the timbrel, and pipe, and wine, are at their feasts; but they do not regard the work of Jehovah. Yea, they do not see the work of His hands.
Isa 5:13 For this My people go into exile without knowledge, and their honorable men into famine, and his multitude is dried up with thirst.
Isa 5:14 So hell has enlarged itself, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pride, and he who rejoices in her, shall go down into it.
Isa 5:15 And man is bowed down, and man is humbled and the eyes of the lofty are humbled.
Isa 5:16 But Jehovah of Hosts is exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
Isa 5:17 Then shall the lambs feed in their way, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
Isa 5:18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin with cart ropes;
Isa 5:19 who say, Let Him hurry and hasten His work, so that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, so that we may know!
Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Isa 5:21 Woe to those wise in their own eyes, and bright in their own sight!
Isa 5:22 Woe to those mighty to drink wine, and brave men to mix strong drink;
Isa 5:23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Isa 5:24 So, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame burns up the chaff; their root shall be like rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up like dust, because they have cast away the Law of Jehovah of Hosts, and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 5:25 Therefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled on His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them, and has stricken them; and the hills trembled, and their dead bodies were as filth in the midst of the streets. In all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
Isa 5:26 And He will lift up a banner to distant nations, and will hiss to them from the ends of the earth; and behold, they shall come with swift speed.
Isa 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the waistcoat of their loins be loosened, nor the thong of their sandals be broken;
Isa 5:28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
Isa 5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion; they shall roar like young lions; for, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
Isa 5:30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea; and one looks to the land, behold darkness, and lo, darkness! Distress! And the light shall be darkened by its clouds.

The ones that Yehovah hisses for is Assyria and they are today known as the German Nation who will come with the Muslims and defeat the USA.

I would also like to share with you a commentary from the National Journal. And as you read this go through the list that this editor makes keep in mind the very first curse of the Sabbatical cycles and why these things are happening.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-boston-bombings-might-be-scarier-than-9-11-20130416

April 19, 2013 – BOSTON – Call it “terrorism” if a label helps you make sense of this madness. Find who did it and squash him—or them—with what President Obama called “the full weight of justice.” But in the broad scheme of things, such loose ends matter less than this: Life in America changed with the Boston Marathon bombings—again, and as with past attacks, for the much worse. The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were knee-buckling blows that led to an obsession over domestic security and foreign wars that will mark—and mar—our generation. The last mass terrorist assault on U.S. soil was carried out by Maj. Nidal M. Hassan, an Army psychiatrist with loose connections to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who fatally shot 13 people and wounded 30 more at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. There were attacks thwarted by the swelling ranks of federal police: The so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid; an attempt to bomb the New York City subway system in 2009; and an unexploded car bomb in Times Square in 2010. Boston is another bridge too far. The Boston Marathon and its competitors reflect the best of America—always striving, forever resilient, and, as measured by population and cultural significance, enormous. You might say it’s unfair to compare Boston’s relatively low death toll to 9/11 and Oklahoma City, much less to the thousands of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the daily total of gun deaths on U.S. streets. But the Boston attack is notable not for the number of deaths, but for its social significance. It’s one thing—a dastardly, evil thing—to strike symbols of economic and military power. It’s another to hit the heart of America. Death at the finish line in Boston makes every place (and everybody) less secure. Malls. Churches. Schools. Ask a mother or father who lived in Washington from 2001-02 what was more terrorizing to your family: The 9/11 attacks or the “Beltway sniper”? Many will say the sniper. Two men were later charged in the horrifyingly random killings of 10 people in several locations throughout the Washington area. The dead and injured included a 39-year-old man shot while cutting grass, a 54-year-old part-time taxi driver shot while pumping gas, a 34-year-old babysitter and housekeeper shot while reading a book on a bench, and a 13-year-old boy shot while entering his middle school. Parents kept their kids home from school or formed human barricades at “drop-off” spots. Malls emptied. For three Sundays, I sat in a back pew with my family and looked for terrorists among my fellow parishioners. From the nation’s founding, America has had two sharply delineated lives: one public and one private. The latter is meant to be safe and sacrosanct, part of what Thomas Jefferson called “the pursuit of Happiness.” The public life is rowdy and partisan, even violent as reflected in the Civil War. “What happened in Boston,” said Meg Mott, professor of politics at Marlboro College in Vermont, is that the private life got blown up and hit deep in the heart of our bifurcated American lives. The lines were blurred, and that’s scary.” They targeted life. They targeted liberty. Now somebody has a pursuit of happiness. –National Journal

And the nightly news had not even finished showing all the horror of the explosion on this day when those who call themselves followers of Yehshua and keepers of Torah came out and said that this event never happened. Yes those who call themselves brethren and some of them that teach you, said that what you were seeing on TV was a staged event.

These evil people said that there were no explosions and that those being rushed to emergency were actors.

They then went on to say how the Illuminati and the Jesuits and the boogey man and the Nephilim were all behind this conspiracy to draw you closer to the Vatican.

Brethren I am so sick and tired of reading the crap some of you are sending me about the Illuminatti. Those of you who are following those teachings are so far deceived that you can no longer tell the difference between truth and falsities.

2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming, 9 whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, 12 so that all those who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness, might be condemned.

Those of you who continue to dabble in those luscious lies that these people spin each week and you do continue to read them and by doing so you encourage them to spew more lies next week. You yourselves will be given this strong delusion. Think on this. YOU will be given up by Yehovah to believe the lie. WHY, because YOU DID NOT LOVE THE TRUTH TO START WITH. Consider how Judas was also given up on by Yehshua so that Judas could betray Him. Satan wanted Peter but Yehshua denied satan that opportunity. Will Yehovah turn you over to Satan if you continue to study these lies and then spread them to others?

So once again I am telling you to outright stop reading that crap and stop forwarding it to others and most of all stop sending it to me. If you want to continue to read about the Conspiracies and the Illuminati then remove yourselves from my email list. I am wasting my time with you. If on the other hand you do repent of this evil then read your Bible. There are so many more truths to be revealed by those who actually search it looking for those truths.

In recent weeks I have come to know that certain Messianic ministries out there are now having you subscribe to them by the year and by the month. Only members who have bought a subscription get to read certain teachings. You can then buy a bronze or silver or gold position and this gives you access to other information or better discounts on those products being sold.

So for between $50 and $250 per year you can get some or all of those things being taught by that ministry.

Others take what they teach and put it in a DVD or Audio CD and then sell them to you for about $30 a piece.

Many of these ministries also have tours to Israel and sell those seats. The profits from those tours can be in the multiple thousands of dollars for that ministry and some have multiple trips each year.

The Christian Ministries who say the Torah is done away with and tell their flocks not to be legalistic and not to keep the Ten Commandments, all of them without exception draw on the OLD Testament law of Tithing to support their church programs and expenses and salaries. Hypocritical to say the least. They go on to say that those who do not tithe to them are in danger of losing their salvation. As though you could buy your way to heaven.

Why do good Messianic teachers have to resort to selling you subscriptions to their web site information in order to survive? Many of you wonder why these same ministries must sell you the things they teach. It is because YOU DO NOT SUPPORT THEM financially.

We read in Nehemiah that the Levites were not getting the tithes and so they left their offices to work the fields.

Neh 13:10 And I saw that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; for the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each one to his field. 11 And I contended with the rulers and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 12 And all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil into the treasuries. 13 And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah. And next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah. For they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds which I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices of it.

You will notice that the tithe was collected at the Headquarters in Jerusalem and then distributed to the Levites doing the work. It was not collected by each Levite and kept for themselves.

But we do not all get along and we do not have an organized headquarters to collect and distribute the tithes.

In the Book of Numbers the Levites were charged with ministering to the Kohanim (priests) and keeping watch over the Tabernacle:

2 And with you bring your brother also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.3 They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die.4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.5 And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. Numbers 18:2-6 (ESV)

The Book of Jeremiah speaks of a covenant with the Kohanim (priests) and Levites, connecting it with the covenant with the seed of King David:

Jer 33:22 As the host of the heavens cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so I will multiply the seed of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me. 23 And the Word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Do you not consider what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which Jehovah has chosen, He has even cast them off? So they have despised My people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

The prophet Malachi also spoke of a covenant with Levi:

Mal 2:4 And you shall know that I have sent this command to you, to be My covenant with Levi, says Jehovah of Hosts. 5 My covenant with him was life and peace, and I gave them to him for fear; and he feared Me, and he is awed before My name. 6 The Law of Truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and turned away many from iniquity.

Malachi connected a purification of the “sons of Levi” with the coming of God’s messenger:

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. 3 And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may be offerers of a food offering in righteousness to Jehovah. 4 Then the food offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of old and as in former years.

In ancient Israel, the Levites were not given territory like the other tribes, who were able to pass down their God-given land to their descendants. Instead, the Levites’ inheritance was Yehovah himself (Devarim /

Deuteronomy 10:9). They were to serve Yehovah primarily through caring for the sacred articles of the Mishkan (English: Tabernacle) and later the Temple, and by assisting the priests with the sacrifices. They were also teachers and judges of the people. Under King David they became Temple musicians as well.

Today we do not know for certain who the Levites are. Some may claim it, and for certain false teachers claim they have replaced the Levite and as such you should send your tithes to them. But is that right? No it is not right.

Some of you may be surprised to know the Jews do not tithe and neither should you. If you are tithing and not sending that tithe to the Levite to maintain the Temple then you are sinning.

http://www.askelm.com/tithing/thi003.htm

Jews Do Not Tithe Today

Thankfully, Jewish theologians know better than their Christian counterparts. They are well aware that only Levites have the right to receive tithe of the people. After all, the Jewish leaders have the Old Testament as their Scripture and that’s what it commands. And since there is no Temple in existence (and consequently no ordained Levites or Priests serving in a Temple), then a major factor in fulfilling the laws of tithing does not exist in our modern world.

In regard to this, it may be profitable to relate an event that happened to me over thirty–five years ago when I was just starting to study theology in college. A letter had been given to me for answering. It was from a woman who heard that modern Jews were not tithing. She wanted to know whether the information was true, and if so, why the Jews seemingly violated the plain laws of the Bible which spoke of tithing as a law to be obeyed?

Having read the letter, I began to share her concern. To resolve the matter I telephoned three rabbis in the Los Angeles area for their explanation. Much to my dismay, all three independently of each other informed me that no religious Jew should tithe today. I was startled at their replies. This appeared to be evidence that the Jews were so lax with their biblical interpretation that they were abandoning even the simple words of their own Scripture about the laws of tithing.

By the time I spoke with the last rabbi, my youthful indignation was beginning to emerge. But that rabbi then wisely began to show me my ignorance (not his) in the whole matter. First, he admitted that none of his congregation paid one penny of tithe that was demanded in the Old Testament. He then said: “If any member of my synagogue paid tithe in the scriptural manner, he would be disobeying the law of God—he would be sinning against God.”

I was staggered by his answer. He went on to inform me that since the Bible demands that the tithe be paid to Levites, he said it would be wrong to pay it to anyone else. And further, because there is presently no official Levitical order of Priests ministering at a Temple in Jerusalem, this makes it illegal at this period to pay any biblical tithe. He went on to say, however, that the moment a Temple is rebuilt, with its altar in operation and with the priesthood officiating at that altar (and the Levites there to assist them), then every Jew who lives in the tithing zones mentioned in the Bible will be required to tithe according to the biblical commands.

This teaching was a revelation to me (as it may be to some of our readers), but the rabbi gave the proper biblical answers. To pay the biblical tithe at this time, without Levites and Priests in their regular ordained offices and doing service in the Temple, would be “sin” both to the giver and the receiver. The rabbi told me: “If we are to obey the law, we cannot pay tithe unless we pay it to the ones ordained by God to accept that tithe.”

The rabbi explained that though he was the chief rabbi of his synagogue, he was not a Levite. He said he was descended from the tribe of Judah and was thereby not eligible to receive tithe. The same disqualification applied even to Christ Jesus while he was on earth since he was also reckoned as having come from the tribe of Judah. This same restriction was applicable to the activities of the apostle Peter (because he was as well from Judah) and it applied to the apostle Paul (because he was from the tribe of Benjamin). Neither Christ nor those apostles were Levites so they were all disqualified from receiving any part of the biblical tithe. It is just that simple.

And listen, if Christ, Peter and Paul did not use the biblical tithe for any of their work in teaching the Gospel, Christian ministers today should not use the biblical tithe either. The Jewish religious authorities are wise enough to read what the Word of God states about the tithe and, thankfully, they abide by it. But our Gentile preachers and priests care very little what the biblical texts actually state and go merrily on their way by devising their own laws of tithing which are different from those of the Bible.

The rabbi then gave me some information on the method that many Jews use today to secure adequate funds with which to operate their religious organizations. He went on to say that the activities of his synagogue were financially supported through the adoption of the “patron system” by its members. That is, families would buy seats in the synagogue for various prices each year. The rabbi mentioned that many of his congregation actually paid more than a tenth of their income to get better seats in the synagogue. This method for raising funds is perfectly proper (from the biblical point of view) if Jews wish to use it. This is because the money is paid to the synagogue and not to an ordained Levitical priesthood.

The final rabbi was correctly interpreting the teaching of the Holy Scripture. While many Christian ministers today teach that Christians may be in danger of missing salvation itself if they do not pay tithe to the church, Jewish rabbis know better than to say such a thing. They realize that it is biblically improper (actually, it is a blatant disobedience to the laws of the Bible) for anyone to pay or to receive the biblical tithe today. And any minister or ecclesiastical leader who uses the biblical tithe (or any one who pays to a minister the biblical tithe) is a sinner in the eyes of God.

What a number of Messianic teachers are doing is a good idea. That is selling subscriptions to their teachings. And having read this article about tithing I agree with those Messainics that have sold subscriptions. After all some of you subscribe to National Geographic Magazine or other magazines each year.

What many of you do, who learn from these different leaders, is you forget that they too have mortgages and families and bills to pay. They too need to eat three times a day. You have come to expect them to teach you for free and take up much of their time arguing your points or having them sort out your problems for you. But you do not treat them like you do a lawyer or Doctor or Dentist or therapist; all of whom you would pay for the visit.
Those teaching you Torah, you do not give anything to and their value is higher than any Doctor.

You do not value it by the way you conduct your life. You have money for an exotic coffee and a treat daily if not weekly. You go out for a meal on the town that cost the same as a weeks groceries. You expect to have your Torah study ready and yet you have done nothing to ensure it is there for you next week nor thanked those who did this work for you this week. Yet most of you are ready to condemn and attack those who stick out their necks to teach you those things they have come to learn. And some outwardly do attack those teaching you. I did not set out to be doing this and yet this is what I find myself doing. And there are those who liable me and attack me because they think they can.

2Ti 3:1 Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. 2 For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Are you one of these you loves only themselves and their own interests? Are you one of those who never gives thanks for those things Yehovah has provided through many men’s teachings? Do you blaspheme the Torah by condemning those who teach thing you do not understand or agree with? Are you so busy re-modelling your home or buying properties that you have no time to help those who feed you spiritually? Are you that far away that you can’t post a money order once a month to help them continue to research subjects and articles for your edification?

I want to tell you about what I do here at sightedmoon.com.

We have a small group with 4 great leaders in that group that I attend with on Shabbat sometimes. I want to record some of these teachings to share with those of you who are alone at home with no one to teach you weekly. I also have 4 other ladies from around the world who help me to promote the message of The Sabbatical Cycles.

I also want to do a weekly and if possible a daily radio show with one of the leaders in our group.

I have just published my second book about the Sabbatical Years. I have the third one done and being edited now. And I have sent out dozens of letters looking for a literary agent and have received many rejections. I also have three other books about the Sabbatical Years ready to be written, all of which explain Prophecy and Chronology and the Sabbatical cycles in great detail for these last days. But I have no time to get all of this done.

We have about 11,000 who get the News Letter each week and we have blown past the 2 Million hit mark on the web site.

We have built a new web site and it is ready to begin using.

Those are things I want to do now and or have done.

I have produce a weekly News Letter each week since 2006. I speak on various radio shows from time to time about the Sabbatical and Jubilee year cycles and the prophecies they show us. I answer you phone calls and emails and skype conversations all of which take hours for each one. I spend time between two groups here in Ontario. I have traveled to other groups in other countries to bring this teaching to their understanding. And I work on updating and providing new power point presentations for future teachings and especially for the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles.

But the biggest problem I am having is finding the time to do all I am currently doing and that does not include those things I want to do.

The main reason I have no time is because I have to spend all of my time during the week running the business that pays for my family and repairs to the equipment I use at work and this web site and the publishing of these books.

We have been given money for the vineyard in Israel by some of the brethren and I am grateful for this and we have spent all of it on this project. But there are other projects that just go by because we cannot do them. We have not accepted those cheques that say they are tithe money. Yes we turn them down because we do not want to sin.

We have hosted tours in Israel and each and everyone I have done was for free on my part. I never receive money for showing you our Fathers Home.

I am curious to know just how many teachers out there would still be teaching if their incomes went to zero; If their tithes stopped coming in. I also wonder why so many of you continue to support those ministries that continue to teach falsities.

I bring this up with you because of this.

Most of you know what I am teaching. That is that the Sabbatical and Jubilee years are showing us that after 2017 North America will be at war and that in 2020 we will be defeated in that war. Many of yo know this, but few of you actually believe it.

Many of you have proven this from the Sabbatical cycles as well and are excited to know this. But knowledge brings a responsibility to share this with others.

How am I and how are you going to share this message with the rest of North America?

I have been busy this past week going back and forth with not one but two great potential propositions. In one deal I need to buy Thousands of dollars of camera equipment in order to video the teachings I am presenting and pay the person to do them. You all have already seen his work as he has done two of the leading Messianic groups out there. He has produced videos for Passion for Truth and also for 119 Ministries. These are high grade professional productions. Here is some of his more recent work for 119 Ministries:

What is the Gospel Promo: http://vimeo.com/60684061

The Sabbath Day Promo: http://vimeo.com/60470428

Here is some of his work for Passion for Truth:

God’s prophetic Calendar Promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZKa-Wx_tck

Sukkot 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gl_hUtOkfc

This gentleman is willing to work for us and to raise the level of our teachings so that the world will come and look at them. But He has to eat and he has to pay his mortgage and just like you he too has bills and a young family. So he has to take care of these. If we can pay him, then he will do for us what he has already done for these other two ministries.

On the other hand I also have an opportunity to produce Television quality teachings of my message for TV right now. I believe I have enough material for a series of 40 episodes and even enough to go to 60 episodes.

This group of men already produce Television grade material that you are watching on the Church channel. Messianic Sabbath teachings. And they are keen to begin to work with me and produce some awesome teachings for TV and DVD. I am meeting with them this Sunday as you read this. But this too cost money.

I am also writing to many Literary Agents hoping one of them will take the Newest book Daniels 70 Shabua and present it to a publisher who will promote and sell this book for me. Once I find a literary agent then I am going to need to spend time re working the 400 plus pages of this next book. Will it be ready for Sukkot? I do not know at this time.

And as if this was not enough to keep me busy, I also have people from Germany who are talking with me about Translating the Prophecies of Abraham and Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016 into German. Again another great project, which requires funding.

For the first project of improving out web site and online teachings we will need $15000 to begin with and then an ongoing amount to maintain it.

The second project geared for TV is going to cost over $10,000 per ½ hour program.

If I do not find a publisher who will pay me up front to print and market the 70 Shabua of Daniel then I will will need almost $20,000 to do this one at a very reputable Christian publisher and tap into their huge market.

I do not know the cost of translating into German. But I have been told that this part of the world is very void of good Messainic teachings. SO for us to be able to share with them would be a huge blessing. But again it comes down to financing. We already have some of the Commandment series translated into German now. We will post them when the new site is going.

I want to be able to keep the web site open and free for everyone to go and learn from, especially those who are new and growing in the truth. But the costs cannot continue to be carried by me alone. To get this message in front of Millions of Television viewers and to have multiple thousands coming to the short you tube clips we can do is going to take a committed effort on our part to do this work for the next 7 years before the wars come. After that then we have to take this same message to the rest of the gentile world.

I am asking you to step forward and stand in the gap and help me to get this message out there. I am asking you to help me to do this week in and week out for the next 7 years. So far it has mostly been the widows who have helped me in providing for the vineyard in Israel where we planted 3000 grape vines to prove when the Sabbatical year is. And or to show Yehovah we will keep this year holy and not harvest these grapes at that time.

Where are the families who have the most to loose? I need you prayers and I need your investment to help purchase those things needed to take this message to all in North America and the rest of the world.

Will you help me? Have you proven the Sabbatical years to be true or not? Will you then help me to share this message with those who have not yet heard it? Each week we could reach multiple millions on TV with a professional production of the teachings we have been sharing with you. Each week the nightly news has stories about a disaster hitting this area or that. This week it was the Terror attack in Boston and the huge explosion in Texas, but there are also the Sinkholes that are happening and swallowing people, meteors are falling from the sky, geysers popping up in parking lots, tornadoes and severe and extreme weather are also happening. Europe is doing things and is solidifying its hold on the world scene. We had H1N1 and then H5N1 and Sars and now H7N9 Bird Flu is beginning to kill in China. New York was hit by extreme storms and many lost their homes. Droughts have plagued the USA and Australia and then there are the many earthquakes that are growing in intensity. Remember the Tsunami that hit Japan and India and Sri Lanka? And unfortunately there will be more Terrorist attacks.

You have not heard me begging for money each week. Nor will you. You do not see me driving around in Royal Royce’s or living in Penthouses. I have grease and dirt under my fingernails from working to pay for what many of you have had the pleasure to learn from. And after working 12-16 hours a day I do the Newsletter and answer emails and phone calls.

We must take this to the rest of the USA and UK and CAN and Australia. But I cannot do this alone. We have just seven years to get it done. We need financial help each week and each month until we have it all done. You see all the signs in the nightly news and you know how it is tied into the Sabbatical and Jubilee cycles.

Will you now stand up and fill that gap in the wall and help support this message that no one else is teaching. I have tried to share it with the other groups and none will listen. Will you stand with me and support this drive in these last years in North America and UK and Australia? And when we get done here will you then stand with me as we go to the Beast power and to Asia and to India and to Africa and to Russia. This work does not end in 7 years, but it does for North America and UK and Australia. Canada and New Zealand too.

If you are going to send funds for the vineyard, make sure you mark them as such. If it is for the spreading of this message then state that as well.
I will know your answer within a few weeks time when the mail comes in whether you are going to help or whether or not you believe in what we are saying. Thank you to those who do step up, for your support.

Make cheques and Money orders payable to Joseph Dumond
If your from outside North America please send US Money orders.

You can mail them to Joseph F Dumond
14 Willow Cres.
Mono Ontario
Canada L9W 6L4

Please note the address has been changed because of new boundaries. The old address is now being returned to sender.

Brethren I am not doing this to get famous and I am not doing this to get rich. I am doing this because no one else is warning the brethren and the world about the penalties of not keeping the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. I have come to understand this and so have many of you. It is now our responsibility to share this knowledge with others so they can escape the curses that are coming and the ones that are already here.
No matter which you decide, you will have to answer to the Father and to the King about how you responded.

We are warned in Mathew about the servant who took the money and buried it for fear of loosing it. He did nothing with what was given him. You have been given this understanding and you have been given it at this time, in this the last Jubilee cycle of this age. It was not for you alone that it was revealed to you. What are you going to do with it? Will you invest it to gain ten fold or five fold or will you do nothing and bury it and then have the King take what you had and give it to others who did a work.

How is your treasure buried in the sand? It is when you have gained the great and awesome knowledge of His Torah and of His Sabbatical and Jubilee cycles and you think that that was nice and you do nothing with it. You tell no one and you do not help to promote it in any and all ways that only you can. By doing nothing you are the same as that servant who took his coins and buried them.

Those who had the 5 or 10 coins, they DID a work in these last days. We have proven to you these are those last days. Will you now stand and do that work in this vineyard of people while we still have time to do so?

Some of you are saying we have no money and cannot give anything. OK I understand. Then I am making you an offer. Sell 10 copies of Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016 for $25 US each. That is the cost of the book and shipping of about $5. If you can do that then send me the $250 US and I will send you 11 books. One is yours for free. This will also help us to raise funding for these projects we would like to go forward on. If you sell 20 then I can send you two books for you to keep and if you want you can sell those two and keep the money for yourself.

You are also helping others to learn about the Sabbatical years and at the same time helping us raise the funding needed and getting a copy of the book for yourself. You can approach church groups or you assembly or home group or place an ad in your local paper. You can invite your family and friends over the same as you would for a Tupperware party or make up party. Only now you’re explaining why these disasters are happening on the nightly news. It is because they do not keep the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and with Remembering the Sabbatical Years you can now explain it in detail to them.

If you do not want to sell the books then tell people to buy them directly. Every book sold does result in a royalty that I can use to buy these cameras and pay for the those doing the editing work. But you need to sell lots of books to cover this.

I am trying to give you suggestions to help you find a way if you want, to help us raise the $20,000+ we need to begin these two goals. And then to continue to expand these teaching to many who watch TV for their religious education. Will you help? Please.


Triennial Torah Cycle

Triennial Torah Cycle Charts

Deut 14      1 Chron 14-15       Col 1-2

In this chapter, Moses reminds the Israelites about proper and improper mourning for the dead, about the consumption of clean versus unclean animals, and about tithing. All the laws discussed in this chapter are still valid for us today, with two exceptions.

When a close friend or relative dies, we are not to follow the ways of the heathen by “cutting” ourselves in mourning and despair, as ancient pagans and certain American Indian tribes did, nor by shaving the front of our head (verse 1). The reason is given in verse 2: We are a holy people to God, and as such we are to abstain from all religious practices dedicated to pagan gods or the dead, who were believed to live on in another life.

Further, we are to abstain from eating any unclean animal (verses 3-21), which is a “detestable” or “abominable thing” when used as food. Though the only land animals specifically identified in this chapter as unclean for food are the camel, the rabbit, the rock hyrax and the pig, the general description of unclean land animals is given as all that fail to meet the criteria of both chewing the cud and having cloven hooves (verses 7-8). Thus, all reptiles and amphibians are unclean, as are worms, spiders and most insects. So too are most mammals, the only ones acceptable for food being most of the ruminants, such as bovines, antelope, deer, sheep, goats and, though not always thought of, giraffe. In addition, only those water creatures “that have fins and scales” may be eaten (verses 9-10), thus ruling out things like eels, sharks, catfish, clams, squid, lobster, crab, shrimp and all other shellfish.

Clean birds may be eaten (verses 11, 20)—but these are only indirectly defined by listing unclean birds that must not be eaten (verses 12-18). From this list, we can see which birds are clean by noticing the characteristics of the birds which are unclean: (1) a clean bird has a craw or crop; (2) a clean bird has a gizzard with a double lining which can be easily separated; (3) a clean bird is not a bird of prey; (4) a clean bird does not devour food while flying; (5) a clean bird’s hind toe and middle front toe are both elongated; (6) when a clean bird stands on a perch, it spreads its toes so that three front ones are on one side of the perch and the hind toe on the opposite side. All unclean birds lack at least one of these six characteristics. This means that the following birds are clean among others: chicken, turkey, duck, goose, swan, pheasant, quail, partridge, dove (pigeon), and all songbirds. While the King James Version says the “swan” is unclean in Deuteronomy 14:16 and Leviticus 11:18, the New King James and other modern versions correctly translate the word here as referring to a kind of owl. Birds like owls, hawks and ostriches are unclean—and so are their eggs.

Verse 19 tells us that all creeping or swarming things are unclean. Yet Leviticus 11, the parallel passage to this one, clarifies that certain kinds of flying insects with jointed legs above the feet for leaping may be eaten, e.g., locusts, grasshoppers and crickets (verses 21-22). It is believed that in the ancient Middle East, these insects were ground into a fine meal and baked into cakes—perhaps explaining the later description of John the Baptist’s eating locusts with honey (Matthew 3:4).

In verse 21 of Deuteronomy 14, the Israelites were permitted to give aliens the meat of animals that died of themselves. However, there is no indication that unclean animals were allowed to be eaten by anyone. Therefore, the prohibition for Israelites in verse 21 to eat meat of animals that died of themselves and the permission to give it to foreigners for consumption deals with only clean animals. This was, therefore, a ritual law—a point made even clearer by the fact that an Israelite who did inadvertently eat of an animal that had died of itself became ritually clean again in the evening after washing himself with water (Leviticus 17:15; compare 11:39-40). We do not read anywhere, however, that the eating of an unclean animal brought only ritual uncleanness that ended in the evening after washing. Also, this ritual law against eating animals that have died of themselves is not to be confused with another law that is still very much in effect—God’s prohibition against eating the blood of any animal (Deuteronomy 12:16, 23-25), which outlaws “strangled” clean animals from being eaten (Acts 15:29; 21:25).

Another ritual law mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:8 prohibits the touching of a dead pig’s carcass. Leviticus 11 explains that touching the carcass of any unclean animal made a person ritually unclean, but only “until evening” (verses 8, 11, 24, 26, 27, 31). Indeed, the same was true for touching a dead clean animal (verse 39). The fact that a person became ritually clean again by evening, after washing himself, shows the ritualistic character of this provision. (This is not to say, however, that there were not health benefits to following even these ritual laws. For instance, an animal that died of itself may have fallen victim to a disease, thus making it potentially harmful to eat. And it remains a good practice to wash our hands after we have touched a dead animal of any kind to prevent the possible transmission of harmful pathogens. This is especially apparent when reading about how various pots and utensils were made unclean by the carcasses of dead animals in Leviticus 11.)

Finally, Deuteronomy 14:22-29 discusses some tithing principles that are still valid today. This passage does not address the first tithe, which was to be given to the Levites for their work (compare Numbers 18:21). Some have argued that the tithe mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:22 is the first tithe. Yet, if that were the case, it would be the only tithe mentioned here without an explanation for its use. It makes more sense that the use of the tithe mentioned in verse 22 is spelled out in the verses that follow (verses 23-26)—and these verses clearly refer to a second tithe, which is to be used by the tithe-payer for himself and his family in the observance of God’s feasts. Then follows a brief mention of a third tithe, saved only every third year out of a seven-year sabbatical cycle (verses 28-29; compare 26:12; Leviticus 25:2-4) to be given to the poor—i.e., the Levite (who was not allowed to own any land), the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. All three tithes are attested to by the well-known first-century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus (compare Antiquities of the Jews, Book 4, chap. 4, secs. 3-4; chap. 8, secs. 8, 22).

 

1 Chronicles 14

As time draws on, David’s kingdom increases in fame throughout the region due to God’s blessing and unification of all Israel. But again, one of David’s weaknesses is exposed in that he takes to himself yet more wives. The account in 1 Chronicles 3:5-9 lists the children born to David in Jerusalem. Four sons are born by Bathsheba (including Solomon). Nine sons are born to his other wives. There are also other sons and daughters born to David’s concubines.

Hiram, King of Tyre, a powerful city-state on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel and center of the Phoenician Empire, shows great respect by sending builders and materials to help build a palace for David at Jerusalem. This demonstrates David’s growing prominence—that the ruler of the Phoenician Empire, which dominated ancient maritime commerce, would seek to cement an alliance with Israel through such projects. The Philistines, on the other hand, regarded David’s strength as a threat to their nation. Here, David’s real strength is shown as he once again seeks God first for instruction in regard to the Philistines. After defeating the Philistines, David burns the idols that are left behind. Once again, God is with him in defeating his enemies.

Psalm 30 is written by David in his dedication of the palace built for him in Jerusalem. In these verses, David recounts both the dark times and the bright times. This chapter can be a testimony for us today. All of us have experienced troubling times in our lives in which we cried out to God for His intervention. Though we never deserve it, and cannot earn it, God has constantly shown us His endless grace and mercy. Individually, it would be helpful to record some of our own trials and remember how God has always delivered us when we have sought Him, as David did, with all our heart. Can God look upon each of us and say, “I have found _______ a man/woman after My own heart, who will do all My will”? We have a great advantage today, as we can strive to emulate the positive qualities of a man like King David and also learn not to repeat his mistakes.

Let’s follow the example of David and give thanks to God forever!

 

1Chronicles 15

When David hears that those of the house of Obed-Edom have been blessed due to their possession of the ark, he is once again encouraged to bring it to Jerusalem. The account in 1 Chronicles 15 reveals that David is now aware that the ark had not been transported according to God’s instructions: “Then David said, ‘No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever'” (verse 2). And to them he says in verse 13, “For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order” (Hebrew mishpat, “judgment, law, decree, charge”).

Again, God’s law, charge or decree concerning the transport of the ark can be found in Exodus 25:14-15 and Numbers (4:5, 15; 7:9; 10:21). The ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, through the use of poles that were inserted through rings. That is now done “as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 15:15).

The account in 2 Samuel 6 reveals the deep respect and care that David takes in carrying out God’s instructions concerning transportation of the ark. Sacrifices are offered to God after those bearing the ark have “gone six paces” (verse 13). It is unclear whether this means just once, after the first approximately 18 feet traveled, or if it implies once every 18 feet that the ark is carried, all the way to Jerusalem.
David once again rejoices with shouting, music and dancing as the ark is carried into Jerusalem. This is not just loud “noise,” because those appointed to perform are skilled musicians and singers. David is a skilled musician and composer himself. His manner of celebration, however, earns the contempt of his wife Michal. We will see more about the specifics of her derision in this instance when we read soon of David’s return home, but it is apparent that Michal despised him for much more than his actions on this occasion.

Michal’s is a terribly tragic story. She was very much in love with the young heroic David in his earlier years (1 Samuel 18:20, 28). And when he bravely killed 200 Philistines to marry her (verse 27), she must have loved him even more. But her love for David estranged this young princess from her father King Saul. Indeed, when Saul sought to kill David, Michal put her own life on the line to help her husband escape (19:11-18). But his escape only resulted in her separation from him as David spent at least 10 years fleeing from Saul. In fact, Saul annulled her marriage to David and had Michal wed to another man named Palti (25:44). While in this new marriage, her father and Jonathan, her brother, died in battle.

David, now recently established with the full regal power of Israel, had demanded that Michal be restored to him. So she was forcibly taken from her husband, Palti. As he wept uncontrollably (2 Samuel 3:15-16), it is apparent that he sincerely loved her—and perhaps she had come to love him in return. Yet here she was back with David—no longer the young hero but king in her father’s stead (a position no longer disputed since the assassination of her brother Ishbosheth shortly after her return to David). Worse, she could expect no monogamous devotion from her husband. David now had a harem—and she had to compete with at least six other women for whatever attention she might receive from him.

As The Nelson Study Bible concludes: “It is not likely that these mere actions of David, as he celebrated before the Lord at the return of the ark, brought about Michal’s hatred of him (6:16). Her hatred had probably grown over the years. Her sarcastic words [which we’ll soon read] on David’s great day of religious and spiritual joy came from a lifetime of pain (6:20). Unlike her brother Jonathan, Michal did not accept her God-given lot and trust God for her future happiness (1 Sam. 23:16-18). Instead, she became bitter not only at David, but also toward God [which appears evident in that she was not joyful over the return of the ark and the restoration of tabernacle worship—even staying home instead of participating in the celebration]. Tragically, Scripture gives no indication that there was any healing for Michal. She died childless ([2 Samuel] 6:23)” (“A Love That Turned to Hate,” p. 517).

How Are We ‘Translated Into the Kingdom’?

Colossians 1:13 describes physical saints as already having been translated into the Kingdom.

As such, this passage seems to imply that Christians are now in the Kingdom of God. However, this clearly isn’t the case, since 1 Corinthians 15:50 tells us that “flesh and blood [physical bodies] cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”

Part of the confusion here comes from the meaning of the word kingdom. In addition to meaning a literal kingdom, the Greek word basileia , translated “kingdom,” denotes sovereignty and royal power ( Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words , “Kingdom”).

This passage in Colossians shows that God’s sovereignty and power begin in the life of the Christian at conversion. The New International Version Study Bible explains that in this verse the word kingdom “does not here refer to a territory but to the authority, rule or sovereign power of a king. Here it means that the Christian is no longer under the dominion of evil (darkness) but under the benevolent rule of God’s Son.”
Virtually all other occurrences of basileia , when referring to the Kingdom of God, point to the literal dominion that Christ will establish at His return (Matthew 6:33; Revelation 11:15). As “heirs of God” in training to inherit that future Kingdom (Romans 8:15-17; Matthew 25:34; Revelation 20:4, 6), Christians are thus already subject to the sovereignty and authority of that Kingdom, although not yet residents of it.
Jesus Christ, ruler of the coming Kingdom, is the Lord and Master of Christians now (Philippians 2:9-11). God rules the lives of converted Christians who voluntarily obey Him and His laws. They submit themselves to God’s basileia—His royal sovereignty and power. They individually are part of the Church, the Body of Christ, which God also rules. But the Church collectively looks to God’s coming world rule when the basileia will be fully established.

The context leading up to Colossians 1:13 also helps clarify the meaning. Verse 9 begins a description of points Paul and Timothy regularly included in their prayers. One of the blessings they were thankful for was that God had qualified them and the other members to receive the inheritance of the saints (verse 12). That inheritance, eternal life, does not come until Christ returns (1 Corinthians 15:50-52; Romans 8:17). This is why the Bible refers to the saints as heirs of the Kingdom (James 2:5).

Verse 13 of Colossians 1 continues this theme, adding that those qualified as heirs, those whose status had changed from nonheirs to heirs, were also “translated,” or transferred, from the power of darkness to the Kingdom of God.

We, as modern-day saints, also exchange systems of government when we are converted. We now give our allegiance and obedience to the Kingdom of God, even though that Kingdom has not yet fully come.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul uses a different comparison to help us understand this, calling us “ambassadors.” An ambassador is one who represents a kingdom or other government, but resides in a different land. Christians are thus ambassadors for God’s Kingdom, representing His way of life in our current earthly situation and age in which we reside. We are not yet in the Kingdom of God.

Colossians 2:16-17: Are God’s Laws Obsolete?

Many people assume from Colossians 2:16-17 that Paul is saying that God’s laws about the Sabbath, Holy Days and clean and unclean meats are no longer necessary.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days . . .” he wrote (KJV). Let’s examine these verses’ context and historic setting to see if they support that view.

Did Paul intend to say that God’s laws are abolished? If so, we find some immediate problems. If this is what he meant, it’s difficult to explain why he left the issue so muddled by not clearly stating that these practices were unnecessary. After all, the Colossian church was primarily gentile (Colossians 2:13), so Paul could have used this epistle to make it plain that these practices were not binding on Christians.
However, Paul nowhere said that. Instead, regarding the practices of festivals, new moons and Sabbaths, he said only to “let no one judge you,” which is quite different from saying these practices are unnecessary or obsolete.

A more basic question to ask is whether Old Testament practices were even at the core of what Paul was addressing here. Was Paul even discussing whether Christians should keep the laws regarding clean and unclean meats, the biblical festivals, the weekly Sabbath or any other Old Testament laws?

When we read the rest of this chapter, it quickly becomes obvious that other issues were involved. Among these were “principalities and powers” (verse 15), “false humility and worship of angels” (verse 18), ascetic rules forbidding to touch, taste and handle (verse 21) and “neglect of the body” (verse 23).

Further, Paul referred to the false teachings in Colosse as rooted in “persuasive words” (verse 4), “philosophy and empty deceit” and “the tradition of men” (verse 8). He also referred to submitting to “regulations” of this world (verse 20) and “the commandments and doctrines of men” (verse 22).

Could Paul, who in Romans 7:12 described God’s law as “holy and just and good,” possibly be referring to the same law here, or is he addressing something entirely different?When we consider the historical context, the answer becomes clear. As the Church expanded from the Holy Land into pagan areas such as Asia Minor, Italy and Greece, it had to deal with pagan philosophies, some with very ascetic beliefs. These influences are particularly noticeable in the writings of Paul, Peter and John.

Some of these philosophies overlapped in the idea that spirit is good while matter is evil. The physical body, consisting of matter, was considered evil. And since the body was evil, it was to be treated harshly.
The Colossian Christians were being judged by a worldly philosophy for how they observed festivals, new moons and Sabbaths—which they apparently did in a joyous and festive manner. The Colossians celebrated these days in a manner that was entirely contrary to the ascetic approach of self-denial. They understood that the Sabbaths and annual festivals are clearly commanded in the Old Testament. (New moons, it should be noted, were used as the biblical markers of time but never declared to be sacred Sabbaths, nor are they listed among the annual sacred festivals.)

By cautioning the Colossian members not to let others judge them for how they observed these times, Paul didn’t question whether they should be kept. The obvious implication of these verses is that these gentile Christians were in fact observing these days, and in no way did Paul tell them to desist.

Instead, the issue he addressed is that Christians should not let others judge them by misguided ascetic standards concerning what they ate or drank or how they observed the Sabbaths or festivals (verse 16).
Colossians 2 is actually a condemnation of ascetic human philosophy, not a discussion of which laws are binding for Christians!

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