Pastors and Priests; Are you ready to break the drought curse

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: Jul 27, 2012

News Letter 5848-022
7th day of the 5th month 5848 years after the creation of Adam
The 5th Month in the Third year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences
This is also the end of the Eighteenth week of this the Third Tithe Year for the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow Deuteronomy 26:12

 

July 28, 2012

 

Shabbat Shalom Brethren,

Last week I guessed the moon would be sighted on Friday evening. It was not. I had to guess as I post the News Letter for mailing Thursday night and it is sent out Friday afternoon. It was sighted in Jerusalem Saturday evening making it and Sunday the first day of the fifth month. And this makes Shabbat today the 7th day of the fifth month.

On August 4, 2012 I will be speaking with the Brethren in Hanover Ontario about the Great Enlightenment of Our present day. It is the one teaching that never gets recorded even though we have tried many times to do so. This is the teaching that takes you verse by verse through Daniel 9:24-27 and shows you when the covenant with many was made and by whom and with whom and it will show you exactly where we are in the last week of Daniels 70 weeks.

Take the time to make the trip to Hanover on Shabbat August 4 and learn this unbelievable teaching.

Then on Sept 1, 2012, for those of you in the Missouri area. I will be speaking at

The Body of Yeshua Holy Temple
1215 S. Sprigg St.
Cape Girardeau MO 63701
Call: Tracy Zimmermann 573-986-8351 or
Winston Williford 573-382-2248

Again we will be covering the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and the Prophecies of Abraham and the 70 weeks of Daniel. So it will be a very full day. Come and expect to learn a great deal.

Once again I want to remind you all that the Feast of Tabernacles is just 2 1/2 months away from now. I urge each and every one of you to make plans to join a group of brethren and camp out for this commanded Holiday. Yehovah tells you to take a tithe of your income and spend it on you and your family over these 8 days. What an awesome and thoughtful Creator we have.

If you can’t join me and Avi in Israel then make sure you attend some group near you this year. Make a point of doing it and decide that you will do it right now.

If you can join us in Israel then you can view the schedule at http://cominghome.co.il/tours/Sukkot%202012%20Pre-Promo.pdf Once you have experienced the Land of Israel you will never be the same again afterwards. Last time I heard from Avi they were getting close to the full mark. I have not heard from him and Dina as they are on tour around the world and are now in the USA.

Where ever you decide to go, make sure you make time for Yehovah and talk to Him.

In the mail this week we have a couple of comments;

Shalom Joe

PS: Thanks for coming to our group in June. No need to go into detail but you sure have made a positive impact in our group. We prayed for YHWH intervention in our group and He answered our prayer. HalleluYah!

We pray YHWH continue to bless you and your family abundantly as you serve HIM faithfully.
Toronto

 

Dear Bro Joseph;

I just wish I had several lives instead of just one, so I could read more of your material. I very greatly appreciate your research on shemittah. It is
one reason I plan to not do the Rabbinic shemittah this time, but do it a year later, as most of our group do.

My question is, “how do you find the time to do such a long newsletter every week? It would take me all sabbath to read and understand it. I cannot, just too much else going on. I wonder if you will ever go to a more concise publication. There must be people out there reading the whole thing, and I marvel at that. I read and appreciate portions now and then, as time permits.

YHWH bless,
Walter

 

 

Hi Joseph,

You mentioned Revelation in connection with your study on the 4th Commandment, but you skipped over the most relevant part of Revelation 14. There are three angels depicted in Revelation 14 and the first is said to have the everlasting gospel. It is important to notice that the gospel is everlasting and not something that began in the New Testament. There is only one thing that is everlasting and that is Elohim. The gospel did not start with the birth of Yeshua in Bethlehem or with His ministry or with His crucifixion and resurrection. Paul mentions that the gospel was delivered to Abraham (Galatians 3:8) and if it was delivered to Abraham, then it was also delivered to Isaac, Jacob, the twelve tribes, and Moses. The author of the New Testament letter to the Hebrew people agrees that the gospel was preached to them (Hebrews 4:2). The writing of Moses contains the everlasting gospel because it tells us about the everlasting Elohim. The message of the first angel is expressed in Revelation 14:6-7 and is this:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The everlasting gospel is not just for Christians or Jews, but for everyone on Earth. The message of the angel has two parts. First, judgment is coming. Second, worship him that made heaven, the Earth, the sea, and fountains of water.

Q: Why does the angel tell everyone on the Earth to worship the eternal God in the context of the impending judgment?
A: Worship of the eternal God is the best and only proper preparation for the judgment.

Q: Do we know who this God of judgement is?
A: This is the God of creation, the God of scripture, the God of the Jews, the God of salvation.

Q: Has this God expressed to us His expectations for worship?
A: Certainly. The most complete description of His plan for worship is found in Leviticus 23, but there are other instructions in other passages of scripture that give more details than just Leviticus 23. God’s plan for worship, the Sabbath message, is a vital and enduring part of the everlasting gospel. In the written record of the Ten Commandments stated in Exodus 34, the 4th Commandments includes the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the redemption of the first-born, the weekly Sabbath, the Harvest Festival, and the Feast of Ingathering. Exodus 34:18-22. This parallels what Moses wrote in Exodus 23:12-17 that everyone is to rest on the seventh day, that three times each year they are to observe a feast for Elohim: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Feast, and the Feast of Ingathering.

Those opposed to keeping the Sabbaths of the Lord often claim that animal sacrifices are an inherent part of their observance, that it is not possible to keep them without sacrificing animals, and since the sacrificial system has ended, observance of these Sabbaths has also ended. However, no where in these passages is there any mention of sacrificing animals in connection with keeping these festivals and these festivals were kept in the local villages without sacrificing animals even though the men and boys were commanded to appear before Elohim at the place of His choosing. Moreover, the Jews continued to keep the Sabbaths in the Diaspora even after the Temple was destroyed and animal sacrifices ceased. So, it is merely a matter of being rebellious against Elohim for people today to refuse to observe His Sabbaths.

Thank you for your study on the 4th Commandment.

Shabbat shalom,
Gerald Brown

 

This past week I read Nehemiah Gordon’s book Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. And before I had finished the first chapter, I was bawling uncontrollably. I could not believe it. Once I began this book I could not put it down. And a number of times throughout the book and again at the end I was weeping and bawling. I only now realized how much we were robbed not know ing Yehovah as we grew up and not being blessed each Shabbat. That is having the Aaronic blessing over us as Judah has done for thier children each Shabbat.

I urge you all to read this awesome and powerful book. It will shake you to your foundations.
Here is a review;

 


Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence – A Review

Posted on July 23, 2012 – 4 Menahem Av 5772 by Ross Nichols

I just recently read Nehemia Gordon’s newest book, Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. This work is fact-filled and engaging. I could hardly put it down once I started it. The book is written in a very inviting and personal manner, carrying the reader along for the discovery of a lifetime. The book uncovers an ancient conspiracy of silence around pronouncing the name of God. The evidence of a suppression of pronouncing the name is progressively shown and in the process, the true pronunciation is revealed.

From the traditional site of Mount Sinai to the university classroom, to the battlefields where the Yom Kippur War was fought, the reader will feel as if he is part of the re-discovery of a well kept secret. Nehemia explores Rabbinic writings and two of the most cherished copies of the Ancient Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex in his search for textual proof of the pronunciation of what has been referred to as the Shem HaMeforash (the unequivocal name).

The book answers many questions and objections along the way. Advocates of competing pronunciations have presented various arguments for their preferred pronunciation. Each of these points is addressed in Nehemia’s book. For example:
1.Is the third letter in the four-lettered name best represented by a “V” of a “W”?
2.Were the “vowels” for Adonai inserted producing an impossible word?
3.The true pronunciation was only used by the High Priest on Yom Kippur

The implications of this evidence are far reaching. When did the suppression begin and for what purpose? Nehemia writes that as he searched for answers, he “was willing to adjust his assumptions to fit the historical and Scriptural facts.” And his quest led him to do just that.

Central to this book is an ancient Hebrew blessing consisting of 15 words. It is called the Priestly Blessing. Found in the book of Numbers (6:22-27), this three part blessing was to be pronounced over the children of Israel (see also Deuteronomy 21:5). In each part of the blessing the name of God is included. The purpose of the blessing? To place the name upon them! But countless times this blessing has been pronounced over the ages without the name of the God that could bring that blessing – all because of a Conspiracy of Silence. A conspiracy that is shattered in this book, unleashing the power of the priestly blessing.

I highly encourage all followers of Roots of Faith to read this powerful story. It is respectful but unyielding when it comes to sharing the truth. The book is bold and biblical. It holds no punches. In the end it comes down to each of us. Will we be willing to adjust our own assumptions to fit the historical and Scriptural facts or will we be part of the ongoing conspiracy of silence?

You can get the book by clicking here and ordering your copy today! http://www.nehemiaswall.com/shattering-the-conspiracy-of-silence

Nehemia Gordon holds a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies and a Bachelors Degree in Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has worked as a translator on the Dead Sea Scrolls and as a researcher deciphering ancient Hebrew manuscripts. A prominent figure in the Karaite Jewish community, Gordon has written two popular books on the Hebrew origins of Christianity and is active in interfaith dialogue. Gordon speaks at synagogues and churches around the world and leads groups of pilgrims and visitors on tours of biblical sites.

Brethren we all need to begin to bless each other using our Fathers name. I have been so deprived not knowing this valuable information. We all have.

We have also been notified that our teachings from Passover and Shavuot are now online at http://maranathaourlordcometh.com/5.html Listen in some time and know what you’re missing up here in the North. Or plan to come out some time when you’re in need of fellowship.

 


 

In the news this week were the following;

The Death Throes of Free Speech in Europe

Europe News?| July 13
Brussels is the “capital of Europe”, and by all rights should be an enlightened city in the heart of an enlightened continent.
Yet this is not so. The unaccountable bureaucracy of the European Union is now widely considered to be a “soft” totalitarian regime—and getting harder all the time. …

Our basic freedoms have long been guaranteed—first by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as passed by the United Nations in 1948 …. These rights include the freedom of individual conscience, the right to assemble peaceably, and the right to practice our religion freely, or to have no religion at all. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they include the right to voice our opinions freely and to publish them without hindrance.
Yet freedom of speech is under attack today all across Europe. I have experienced the full brunt of it in my own country, Austria—I was prosecuted, convicted, and fined for telling the simple truth about the prophet of Islam.

Today, in 21st century Western Europe, our right to free speech is being shut down quietly and systematically with an effectiveness that the commissars in the old Soviet Union could only dream of.

These legal provisions making all of this possible are detailed in the EU’s public documents, and they enjoy the full force of law in all EU member states as of midnight tonight.

The nations of Western Europe have obediently complied with the EU’s “Framework Decision”, and have enacted laws criminalizing speech that offends Muslims.

The death throes of free speech in Europe have already begun. … The oligarchs who rule Europe are determined to prevent any frank discussion among their citizens about Islam and its legal doctrines.
These are the methods of a totalitarian state.

They are more successful than those of the Nazis and the Fascists and the Communists because they are accomplished quietly and peacefully, with no need for concentration camps or gulags or mass graves or the shot in the back of the neck in the middle of the night.
We are systematically being silenced. … If we lose our freedom of speech, then we are lost forever. …

 


 

Last Shabbat I traveled up to the folks in Hanover. A young lady wanted to talk to me about The Prophecies of Abraham. She had just finished reading it and was very concerned. She could see the severe drought across the USA and the wild fires and the crop damage and she asked me if this is all part of this end time.

I said yes and asked her to watch again the video On the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and how they show you these curses. This video was done in 2008 and is still relevant.

She then told me how her farm had just bailed the hey needed for the cattle for the winter. She farms both her farm and her dads. In the fields where she used get five of the big large round bails per acre, this season she only was able to bail one half a bail per acre. She was telling me that she did not have enough feed for the cattle for the year nor her dad and that she was going to have to sell out the herd and she was in tears. She knows she will not get a second cut.

I asked he if she was keeping the Sabbath or was her Dad. She was still trying to come to grips with this. I asked her if it was the same for the Holy Days as she had been out to some of them. She said it was tough to do with the family putting so much pressure on her. I then stated that she also had not kept the Sabbatical year in 2009 and I told her that this is why.

Yehovah can make it rain on her farm if he wanted. We had rain that day that only went in certain areas. But not to her farm.

This young lady is just one of many who have not been keeping Torah and the many are now asking questions as to why is this happening?

Just read the headline news for the past week. I am not even going to post in here the wild fires that I have mentioned recently.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/17/534331/the-dust-bowl-of-2012-drought-covers-majority-of-us-might-be-a-50-billion-event-for-the-economy/?mobile=nc

 

The Dust Bowl of 2012?: Drought Covers Majority Of U.S. And ‘Might Be A $50 Billion Event For The Economy’
By Rebecca Leber and Joe Romm on Jul 17, 2012 at 8:18 pm

This year’s drought ranks as one of the top 10 worst U.S. droughts for the last century. With more than half the country (54 percent) experiencing drought conditions, it’s the single worst drought since the 1950s.

This drought is hitting farmers hard — and ranchers, too. As Reuters put it:
Ravaged by fires, Western ranchers face “scary” summer
… recent wildfires in states such as Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have displaced thousands of cows from federal rangelands which may not be fit for grazing for years. Where range has not been destroyed, drought has lessened forage.
“We’re going to run out of grass. It’s shaping up to be scary,” University of Idaho Extension Agent Rauhn Panting said.
The next to be hit is the American consumer.The Agriculture Department has declared the largest federal disaster zone in its history for 26 states, as corn and grain crops dry up, particularly in the midwest where 63 percent of the midwest has moderate to extreme drought. Corn production shrunk 7 percent in the last week, according to a Reuters poll: “What began the season as a potentially record corn crop as farmers planted the biggest area since 1937, may now be the smallest in at least five years.”
Consumers will feel the drought’s burden through rising food prices:

“For sure, the full effect of this drought will not be until 2013. It’ll be 2013 when we see it and its in the whole supermarket,” Richard Volpe, an economist with the USDA’s Economic Research Service said. ”But if the price of corn shoots up, we’d see this effect within about two to three months. That doesn’t mean we’ll see a complete jump into food prices. It’s just that we should start to see the effects.”

 

http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/07/16/wheres-beef?cmpid=tp-ptnr-hufpo
Livestock Liquidation: Extreme Drought Forces Ranchers to Sell Herds
As prairies bake, so do Plains cows.
By Lawrence Karol July 16, 2012

The New York Times reports that, “As a relentless drought bakes prairie soil to dust and dries up streams across the country, ranchers struggling to feed their cattle are unloading them by the thousands, a wrenching decision likely to ripple from the Plains to supermarket shelves over the next year.”

They go on to explain, “Heat, drought and high feed prices are leading many ranchers on the Plains to winnow their herds. Ranchers say they are reducing their herds and selling their cattle months ahead of schedule to avoid the mounting losses of a drought that now stretches across a record-breaking 1,016 American counties.”

The Times also notes that, “Because the cattle being sold now are younger and lighter than those fed all summer on prairie grass, ranchers are losing $200 to $400 for each one they are dumping early. That can mean the difference between a year’s profit and loss when multiplied out over herds numbering in the hundreds or thousands.” And this all comes full circle since, “Further down the line, the sales of cows and calves that might have otherwise produced more cows and more calves may play a role in reducing beef production, potentially driving prices higher.”
Because of the ultra-dry conditions, ranchers also have to worry about “the threat of drought-enhanced wildfires that may potentially wipe out existing hay and forage stocks.”

And NPR reported last August about a situation in the cattle town of Emory in East Texas where, “the worst drought in state history is threatening a way of life. Scorching temperatures and a lack of rain have forced many ranchers to sell off their stock. Normally before being brought to market, cattle are penned in a rancher’s best pasture to be fattened. The heavier the cow, the more the buyer pays. But the animals at a recent Emory auction look pitiful. They’re standing in 107-degree heat—that’s in the shade—with their ribs showing, stressed out.”

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-livestock-herds-2012-7
COWPOCALYPSE: Prepare For The Largest-Ever Drop In Livestock Herds
Rob Wile|Jul. 19, 2012, 9:16 AM

And we haven’t begun talking about what the effect will be for livestock. The feed reduction implied by the crop yield drop will translate into the largest-ever decline in livestock herds.

“Even assuming an incremental 46 mln bu (23%) of US wheat feeding YoY in 12/13, our feed demand model suggests that this degree of corn feed rationing would require a nearly 10.17 mln unit decline in the USDA’s grain consuming animal unit (GCAU) index from its current estimate of 92.93 mln.

“While these cuts will have to be spread across the entire livestock industry, this decline in GCAU, if taken in one sector alone would translate into a 5.09 bln head (60%) YoY reduction in chicken production, a 6.6 mln head (48%) reduction in cattle on feed YoY or a 44 mln head (40%) reduction in the US pig crop.

“It would also represent the largest single-year reduction in the livestock herd (from a grain-demand perspective) in history. To achieve the magnitude of rationing needed, in the limited amount of time available, corn and and bean prices will need to move higher yet, in our view.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-livestock-herds-2012-7#ixzz21JOxlsQ8

 

http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Print/hay-supplies-low

Pray for rain’

7/19/2012 3:32 AM
Drought conditions now affecting area farmers probably mean higher food prices next year.
With a rain deficit of about 4 inches since June 1, a second cutting of hay, usually under way between now and August, does not appear likely.
Without sufficient amounts of hay, farmers will be forced to purchase additional food supplies or resort to selling off portions of their herds.
John Hewitt, agriculture administrator with the Washington County Conservation District, said farmers are getting thin crops of hay this year, following the bumper crop of hay they had last year.

“Those who were able to get it in between the showers (last year) could make up for the deficit this year,” he said.
But others may face a problem. Hewitt said it is likely that some farmers will be forced to reduce the number of animals they keep.
“The problem this year is that drought conditions are spread so wide that it’s going to be hard to find somewhere to buy hay,” he said.
One South Strabane Township farmer who had advertised hay for sale in a farm magazine has been selling hay to farmers in Ohio, where the drought hit earlier and is more severe.

One customer has driven regularly from Sugarcreek, Ohio, while another purchased a large load for a dairy farm near Dayton. One woman purchased hay to deliver to her father in Butler County and then stopped on her way home to Nashville, Tenn., for some for her own needs.
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said the area is down 3.62 inches of rain since June 1.

“I doubt anyone’s going to get a true second cutting of hay,” said Don Carter with the Washington County Farm Bureau.
He predicted that at this time next year, people will be paying more for staples such as beef, pork and milk.
Hewitt said he also is concerned that the fruit crop will be taking a hit.

He suggested people freeze as much produce as they can get this year to help them get through the coming months.
His other advice?

“Pray for rain. That’s what we all need to be doing now, because we really need it,” Hewitt said. Copyright Observer Publishing Co.

“We’ve got the ‘storm of the century’ every year now,” we are having extreme weather all the time now. Why?? And why is no one telling the people why?

While many are hurting, it is only at this time that they think of praying for rain. Yet we are told in the following scriptures that Yehovah is hard of hearing from those who will not obey Him.

Pro 28:9 He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, Even his prayer is an abomination.

Pro 15:29 ???? is far from the wrong ones, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Isa 59:1 Look, the hand of ???? has not become too short to save, nor His ear too heavy to hear. 2 But your crookednesses have separated you from your Elohim. And your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing.

Joh 9:31 “And we know that Elohim does not hear sinners. But if anyone fears Elohim and does His desire, He hears him.

1Jn 3:22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we guard His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight.

Jas 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, so that you are healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous one accomplishes much.

Did Australia learn this lesson? Nope!! They suffered the worst drought in 1000 years and once the rain began they did not return to Him and keep the Sabbath and the holy Days of Lev 23 and the Sabbatical years. No they went back to the false teachings of their Sunday preachers that tell them they can do away with the Torah; That they no longer have to keep that Jewish Sabbath.

Now the USA and Canada are in this drought grip. And people are praying to the same false god that they have always prayed to and getting the same results; nothing.

The sign of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. DAHHHHH. Wake up people. Change the place where you worship, it is not working. Begin to Keep the Weekly Sabbath and then the Holy Days when they come and then the Sabbatical year in 2016. Does the group you are now with do any of these things or all of them. If not all of them then ask your spiritual leader why not? You are reaping the curses of Lev 26 which tell you in detail what will happen to you if you do not keep the Torah. If you laugh at the thought of keeping them then read how Yehovah is going to laugh at you in your time of distress.

Pro 1:22 “How long, you simple ones, Would you love simplicity, And shall scoffers delight in their scoffing, And fools hate knowledge? 23 “Turn at my reproof. See, I pour out my spirit on you, I make my words known to you1. Footnote: 1See Ps. 33:6. 24 “Because I called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one inclined, 25 “And you spurned all my counsel, And would not yield to my reproof, 26 “Let me also laugh at your calamity, Mock when your dread comes, 27 “When your dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Let them then call on me, but I answer not; Let them seek me, but not find me. 29 “Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of ????, 30 “They did not accept my counsel, They despised all my reproof, 31 “Therefore let them eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own counsels. 32 “For the turning away of the simple slays them, And the complacency of fools destroys them. 33 “But whoever listens to me dwells safely, And is at ease from the dread of evil.”

Yehovah is sending these droughts, and wild fires and tornados and floods and soon food shortages and diseases and more earthquakes and then war and captivity and death to those of you who will not in you stubbornness repent and return to keeping these holy days, these set apart times.

Lev 26:18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I shall punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 ‘And I shall break the pride of your power, and shall make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 ‘And your strength shall be spent in vain and your land not yield its crops, nor the trees of the land yield their fruit.

Seems pretty clear cut to me and even to a three year old; but you are not a three year old, you can discern the weather as these reports above have done for the next number of weeks but you can’t figure out what is going on.

Mat 16:2 And He answering, said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘Fair weather, for the heaven is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Stormy weather today, for the heaven is red and overcast.’ You know how to discern the face of the heaven, but you are unable to discern the signs of the times!

I had a coffee with a friend of mine the other day. He told me I had made him very ticked off with me. He was angry with me for what I had said in a News Letter. He said I am ripping out the hearts of those who read it and they are left with no hope.
Others teach the feel good message that they will go to heaven and that it will all work out and everything is going to be fine tomorrow.

I do not tickle their ears nor do a pony show and dance for them. No I tell them straight up and no holds barred. And it angers people to know they must change; that they are not good people living the way they currently are.

Yes there is a ton of hope and blessings to those who obey, but those who don’t, then yes I am going to yake your hope out of you until you do repent and do begin to be obedient.

If the Benny Hinn show was the right way to go then why are all these bad things still happening? If the Pentecostal teachings are the right way to go then why are all these bad things happening? If SDA teachings are correct then why are all these bad things happening? If the Protestant Church is so good or the Evangelical Churches are so good then why are these bad things happening in the USA? These are some of the main religious teaching groups in the USA. It must be because they are not all Catholic. I gest.

All of them teach the Holy Days are done away. All of them teach the Sabbatical years are done away. All of them except the SDA teach the Saturday Sabbath is done away.

And yet nowhere in the scriptures nor the New Testament does it say that we are to keep Christmas and Sunday worship as all of these false groups do above. Yes I said they all were teaching false teachings. Lies!

This teaching of Yehshua applies to the pastors and priest of the current churches across North America.

Joh 8:42 ????? said to them, “If Elohim were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from Elohim, and am here. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 “Why do you not know what I say? Because you are unable to hear My Word. 44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you wish to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 “And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 “Who of you proves Me wrong concerning sin? And if I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 “He who is of Elohim hears the Words of Elohim, therefore you do not hear because you are not of Elohim.”

Because you Pastors and you Priest do not and will not teach the 4th Commandment to your assemblies and to your congregations you therefore teach those who follow you a lie. A bold face lie and you do it week after week.

Are you afraid the board will vote you out of the position you now hold. Are you afraid the member ship will drop off? Is the reason you do not teach the Saturday Sabbath is because of the money that keeps you gainfully employed? If you answer yes and you stay there and say nothing to upset your flock then you are working for Satan and are on his payroll.

What does John say?

Joh 14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. 3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy, 4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.

2Jn 1:6 And this is the love, that we walk according to His commands. This is the command, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Over and over John tells you that if you love Yehshua then you will not only keep the Commandments but also guard them. It has not changed since the beginning of time. Yet you think you have the authority to change the commandments.

Those of you who are saying that you do keep the commandments just not the 4th one which also includes the Holy Days of Lev 23 and Lev 25 Sabbatical years are in fact liars.

1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands.. 4 The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Joh 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he shall do also. And greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. 13 “And whatever you ask in My Name, that I shall do, in order that the Father might be esteemed in the Son. 14 “If you ask whatever in My Name, I shall do it. 15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands. 16 “And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever – 17 the Spirit of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.

You get the Holy Spirit if you keep the Commandments. You are a liar if you do not keep them and are working for Satan the king of liars.

The current drought could be rectified if you and your flocks would stop worshipping the false god of Sunday and begin to worship the True Yehovah on Shabbat and then to also keep His Holy Days His set apart appointments as told to you in Lev 23.

Lev 23:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’?l, and say to them, ‘The appointed times of ????, which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, My appointed times, are these: 3 ‘Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to ???? in all your dwellings. 4 ‘These are the appointed times of ????, set-apart gatherings which you are to proclaim at their appointed times.

Then HE lists the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost and Trumpets and Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. All of these along with the weekly Sabbath and the Sabbatical years, lay out the whole plan of Salvation of Yehovah. If you’re not keeping them then you can’t understand the plan and you are causing the cursing of the land that we now have. Yes you Sunday Preacher who will not keep the Saturday Sabbath and you Seventh Day Adventist who will not keep the Holy Days and all of you who will not keep the Sabbatical years. You are the reason for this current severe drought across the USA.

Some have asked, so let me state it right here loud and clear. I do not believe in the Jesus that the churches teach; The one who does away with the Torah and the Sabbaths; Plural.

I do believe in a Jewish Messiah whose name in Hebrew was Yehshua which means God Saves or God Salvation; and He taught and kept all the Torah and never sinned. He never sinned nor taught you to sin. But the fathers of each of your denominations does to this day teach you to sin.

 


What is SIN?

1Jn 3:4 Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Lawlessness is not keeping the commandments. Not keeping the Sabbath. It is what identifies us as His; as Yehovah’s very own special treasure as we explained in last week’s News Letter.

If you want to end the current drought and if you want to end the current cycle of tornados and the floods that are coming and the wild fires; then get off you pew loving behind and get in front of your group and tell them to begin to keep the Saturday Sabbath and the Holy Days of Lev 23 and the Sabbatical years of Lev 25. Start this week and watch Yehovah react to your repentant attitude.
Continue to tech your lies and watch it get much worst. Famine will and is part of what is coming.

Lev 26:23 ‘And if you are not instructed by Me by these, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven times for your sins. 25 ‘And I shall bring against you a sword executing the vengeance of My covenant, and you shall gather together in your cities, and I shall send pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy. 26 ‘When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. 27 ‘And if in spite of this, you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I shall walk contrary to you in wrath. And I Myself shall punish you seven times for your sins. 29 ‘And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 ‘And I shall destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and put your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. And My being shall loathe you. 31 ‘And I shall turn your cities into ruins and lay your set-apart places waste, and not smell your sweet fragrances. 32 ‘And I shall lay the land waste, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 ‘And I shall scatter you among the gentiles and draw out a sword after you. And your land shall be desert and your cities ruins, 34 and the land enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies waste and you are in your enemies’ land. Then the land would rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 ‘As long as it lies waste it rests, for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you dwelt in it.

Yehovah is going to send war to the USA and famine and pestilence. You will be so hungry that people will resort to eating their own children.

Read it yourself. Most people do not want to hear this but this a promise to you if you will not keep the Saturday Sabbath if you will not keep the Holy Days of Lev 23 and if you will not keep the Sabbatical year which the next one is in 2016 starting at Aviv.

Did you also notice that Yehovah is going to destroy your places of worship?

30 ‘And I shall destroy your high places, and cut down your sun-pillars, and put your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. And My being shall loathe you. 31 ‘And I shall turn your cities into ruins and lay your set-apart places waste, and not smell your sweet fragrances

Your sun pillars are the steeples on your buildings. Your idols are the statutes in the building that you pray to. Your set apart places are your worship centers and notice most chuches are built on a high hill in most cities. If you are not keeping the commandments and not keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days and Sabbatical year, then you are worshipping the false god and been deceived by Satan into thinking you are worshipping the true god of whatever denomination you belong to. You are worshipping on Sunday and teaching the SUN god day. You are lairs and working for the king of liars Satan. Time to wake up and smell the situation North America is in and it is in this state of mess because you the majority of Sunday worshipping teachers have been teaching the majority of the population the lies that Satan has deceived you with.

You can repent and you can tell your groups to repent or you can reap the whirlwind or in other words the Tornado.
In 2012 the USA has had 554 tornados not all of them official as yet. In July they have had just 4. I thought I would just point that out.

Well you read this message to your assemblies? Will you post this in your news letter or on your bulletin boards? Or will you coward back into the hole you have come out of and say nothing like one of the foolish virgins. Evil thrives when good people do nothing. Will you stand up and speak out even if you are the only one in your assembly? Will you let evil thrive or will you stop it and begin to turn others back to keeping Shabbath and obeying the creator who never changes.

Opps Someone forgot to tell Him about Sunday. No He never changed it You can read it in the Catholic encyclopedia that they admit that they changed it.

Let me leave you with Mathew 23.

Mat 23:1 Then ????? spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones, 2 saying, “The Pastors and Priests sit on the seat of Mosheh. 3 “Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do. 4 “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but with their finger they do not wish to move them. 5 “And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they make their t’fillen wide and lengthen the tzitziyot1 of their garments, Footnote:1Plural of Tzitzit – See Explanatory notes – “Tzitzit” and Num. 15:37-41, Dt. 22:12. 6 and they love the best place at feasts, and the best seats in the congregations, 7 and the greetings in the market-places, and to be called by men, ‘Pastor Pastor.’ 8 “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brothers. 9 “And do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in the heavens. 10 “Neither be called leaders, for One is your Leader, the Messiah. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 13 “But woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you eat up widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers. Because of this you shall receive greater judgment. 15 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you go about the land and the sea to win one convert, and when he is won, you make him a son of Gehenna twofold more than yourselves. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the Dwelling Place, it does not matter, but whoever swears by the gold of the Dwelling Place, is bound by oath.’ 17 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the Dwelling Place that sets the gold apart? 18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it does not matter, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, is bound by oath.’ 19 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sets the gift apart? 20 “He, then, who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all that is upon it. 21 “And he who swears by the Dwelling Place, swears by it and by Him who is dwelling in it. 22 “And he who swears by the heaven, swears by the throne of Elohim and by Him who is sitting upon it. 23 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin,1 and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others. Footnote:1The wording in Lk. 11:42 is somewhat different. 24 “Blind guides – straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are filled with plunder and unrighteousness. 26 “Blind Pastors and Priests, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them becomes clean too. 27 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly indeed look well, but inside are filled with dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you too outwardly indeed appear righteous to men, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.1 Footnote:1See 5:20. 29 “Woe to you, Pastors and Priests, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who did murder the prophets – 32 and you fill up the measure of your fathers! 33 “Serpents, brood of adders! How would you escape the judgment of Gehenna? 34 “Because of this, see, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scholars of Scripture.1 Some of them you shall kill and impale, and some of them you shall flog in your congregations and persecute from city to city, Footnote:1See 13:52. 35 so that on you should come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Heb?el to the blood of Zek?aryah, son of Berek?yah, whom you murdered between the Dwelling Place and the altar. 36 “Truly, I say to you, all this shall come upon this generation. 37 “Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her! How often I wished to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not! 38 “See! Your house is left to you laid waste, 39 for I say to you, from now on you shall by no means see Me, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of ????!’ ”1 Footnote:1See Ps. 118:26.

 


Triennial Torah Cycle

 

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah Reading 

Num 12     Job 33-35      Romans 1

 

Miriam’s Leprosy (Numbers 12-13)

Resisting God-ordained authority has been as common a temptation as presuming to speak for God when not appointed to do so. Often in the case of sedition and rebellion, we see both. And in chapter 12, we find Miriam and Aaron doing both. Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth (verse 3)—a note probably inserted by Joshua or a later biblical editor to put the challenge against Moses in perspective. And this humble man patiently waited on the Lord to intervene and uphold him. He did nothing to refute his sister and brother.

People who are jealous of someone will often run them down, which is what Miriam and Aaron proceed to do. They start by attacking him over “the Ethiopian [or Cushite] woman whom he had married” (verse 1). Many have built theories on this accusation. We have no other record in Scripture of the woman mentioned here, for the only wife we do know of, Zipporah, was a Midianite. Thus, we cannot know for sure when Moses married this woman. It is possible that he married her decades earlier while a prince in Egypt, after winning a victory against Ethiopia, as this is what Josephus records. This first-century Jewish historian refers to her as Tharbis, daughter of the king of Ethiopia (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 2, chap. 10). Moses may have retrieved her when he returned to Egypt to free the Israelites—we simply do not know. In any case, there is no record of God issuing any criticism of Moses in this circumstance. Indeed, God exonerates Moses as being faithful in all His house (verse 7).

But do not Miriam and Aaron also speak for God? Is not their disapproval sanctioned by Him? The question is even raised as to whether Moses was unique in his role as the one through whom God communicated. At the very least, Miriam and Aaron wanted to have an equal say with Moses. Perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps it was pride, perhaps a family argument. They convinced themselves that they had a valid claim—after all, Miriam was a prophetess (Exodus 15:20) and God spoke to Aaron, too (Leviticus 10:8; 11:1; 13:1; Exodus 6:13; 12:1; etc.). God does, then, speak to all three of them. Yet, while exonerating Moses, He comes down hard on Miriam and Aaron. Miriam, it appears, may have been the instigator of the criticisms of Moses, as her name is mentioned first (verse 1) and the principal punishment befalls her (verses 10, 14). Remarkably, Moses’ wonderful character shines through as he intercedes for his brother and sister despite the personal betrayal he must have felt.

Job Chapter 33

Elihu is so moved that he is about to burst at the seams with what he has to say (verses 18-20). He is insistent about being heard (verse 10; 33:1, 31, 33). Many in modern times have criticized Elihu for being insufferably verbose and pompous. For instance, he takes 24 verses to say he is going to speak (see 32:6-33:7). Yet loquaciousness was a prized attribute in the ancient world. Moreover, Elihu was, as mentioned, a virtual nobody compared to Job and his three friends—so he deems it important to establish why they should listen to him. He does seem somewhat overconfident in his ability to help Job “see the light,” perhaps because of his belief that God has blessed his perception of matters. That combined with youthful brashness and zeal probably accounts for his coming on a bit strong in places.

Elihu begins by explaining why he has waited to speak—he is younger and he wanted to hear what older, wiser people had to say (verses 6-7). This should illustrate that he is perhaps not so arrogant as some believe him to be. Elihu’s mention of the human spirit and breath of the Almighty in verse 8 in context would seem to imply not just God giving intellectual ability to mankind generally through the imparting of the human spirit (which He has certainly done)—but, in contrast to wisdom coming with age, that God can impart wisdom directly to a man’s spirit through His own divine Spirit. So Elihu, it appears, believes God has inspired him. And this may well be the case. Yet, as already mentioned, this would not necessarily mean that everything Elihu said was from God. He makes no claim to being a prophet.

The exact meaning of verse 13 is disputed. The NKJV has Elihu quoting the sentiment of the friends in the first part of the verse and giving his own opinion in the second part. The Good News Bible paraphrases this as: “How can you claim you have discovered wisdom? God must answer Job, for you have failed.” Other versions have Elihu quoting the sentiment of the friends in both parts of the verse. For example the New International Version has: “Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; let God refute him, not man.'” That is, the friends are portrayed as saying that they have done all that can humanly be done and Elihu is here contradicting that.

Elihu then addresses Job. He is much more personal and direct than the three friends. Unlike them, Elihu repeatedly addresses Job by name. For a young man to address his elders so casually—especially someone like Job who, though presently removed from his position due to his condition, had served as a ruler over the people—would surely have seemed impertinent in the society of that day. However, this was evidently part of Elihu’s commitment to show no partiality or flattery (verses 21-22). It is interesting to note that the Hebrew verb translated “flatter,” kanah, means “to call someone by his honorific title” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, footnote on verses 21-22).

Elihu’s words to Job at the beginning of 33:6 are variously translated. The King James Version has: “Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead.” The New King James Version gives just the opposite: “Truly I am as your spokesman [or mouth, according to the margin] before God.” Yet neither of these translations seems to fit with the latter part of the verse, “I also have been formed out of clay.” J.P. Green’s Literal Translation renders the first part of the verse, “Behold, I am toward God as you.” This seems more likely. Notice the NIV rendering of verses 6-7: “I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand by heavy upon you.” Accepting this translation, The Bible Reader’s Companion notes on verse 6: “How refreshing! At last Job hears from someone who does not think of himself as morally superior. Anyone engaged in a ministry of comfort must come with Elihu’s attitude. We are all clay. We struggle together. Only the harmless person, who rejects the temptation to condemn or hold others in contempt, can be God’s agent of healing.” Indeed, Elihu appears to be taking a gentler approach with Job here than the three friends have.

Then, surprisingly, despite all his prior verbosity, Elihu cuts straight to the heart of Job’s problem: Job is not right in his accusations against God’s justice and in treating God as some sort of equal with whom he can contend in court (verses 8-13). Because of this and other statements to follow, some think that Elihu was accusatory in the same way Job’s friends were. Yet it should be recognized that Elihu limits his direct criticism of Job to only the statements Job has made in the dialogue with his friends. He does not, as the friends, accuse Job of having lived an evil, hypocritical life to deserve the suffering he has been experiencing.

Elihu further addresses Job’s frequent plea for a hearing with God by saying that God communicates with people in various ways that they do not always recognize (verse 14). Job had complained of nightmares (7:14), and Elihu suggests that God may have been trying to tell him something this way (33:15). Moreover, Elihu says that God’s objective in this would be to get a person’s attention or teach him something to keep him from perishing: “He causes them to change their minds; he keeps them from pride. He keeps them from the grave” (verses 17-18, New Living Translation). Elihu further suggests that illness is another measure God might use for the same disciplinary and ultimately redemptive purpose (verses 19-22).

Elihu is offering possibilities. He is not, like Job’s friends, bound to the notion that all suffering is punitive and that the measure of suffering corresponds to the degree of a person’s wickedness. He agrees that suffering may be punitive but also sees that its objective may be preventative. Perhaps he thinks that Job could be right in the description of his character but that he was headed for a prideful fall—and that God was intervening to keep that from happening. This may even be true. However, it would be surprising if Elihu simply assumed that Job had absolutely no aspects of his life prior to the trial of which to repent. We have no evidence that Elihu knew anything about the discussion between God and Satan at the outset of the book and, thus, of God’s description of Job. It could be that while Elihu did not think Job some great sinner and hypocrite as the friends did, he may have felt that Job had some relatively minor sins that his generally righteous life was leaving him blind to—and that God could have been using suffering as a means to bring Job to more thoroughly examine himself. Even if such an assumption were wrong, it would not have been unreasonable. And again, Elihu makes no dogmatic pronouncements on why Job has been afflicted.

In verse 23 Elihu presents the idea that God may send a messenger or mediator to the afflicted person. It seems likely that he views himself here as God’s messenger commissioned with showing Job God’s righteousness and justice—with the implication that a person reached in this way would then trust in God’s righteousness rather than his own, thus leading to deliverance. In verse 24, Elihu says God commands the deliverance on the basis of having found a ransom—a kopher, a covering or atonement. Perhaps what is meant here is simply that God has instituted sacrifices for the purpose of redemption. After all, the offering of sacrifices for atonement is mentioned at the beginning and end of the book (1:5; 42:8). Yet there may be a more specific foreshadowing here of what such sacrifices prefigured—the role of Jesus Christ as the ultimate ransom and atoning sacrifice for the sins of all humanity.

Elihu, we should observe, looks on God’s goal in chastening in an entirely different light than Job’s friends. They only saw God harshly meting out judgment until people died or straightened up—and that He was practically ambivalent about the outcome. Elihu sees God disciplining repeatedly just as a loving parent would with the intent of saving people from destruction (see verses 29-30). Elihu appears to have this same concern for Job. Despite seeming somewhat overbearing, Elihu says that his desire in speaking to Job is for Job to be justified (33:32)—”cleared” (NIV)—again demonstrating a rather different attitude than Job’s three friends. As we will see, Elihu will get more severe in his criticism of Job—yet not because he thinks, as the friends do, that Job is a hopeless hypocrite but because he thinks that Job is jeopardizing his relationship with God and spiritual future through now lashing out at God in outrageous accusations.

 

“Will You Condemn Him Who Is Most Just?” (Job 34-35)

It appears that Elihu may have paused at the end of chapter 33 to see if Job had anything to say in response. Job remains silent, and Elihu proceeds with his own comments in chapter 34, addressing both Job and his friends—and perhaps other gathered witnesses.

Elihu now tackles Job’s charge that God is wrongly afflicting him, an innocent man (verses 5-6). In verse 7, Elihu says that Job drinks scorn—disrespect or contempt—like water. We can understand this remark by comparing it to Eliphaz’s earlier comment that man drinks iniquity like water (15:16), meaning that he takes it to himself, indulging in it. Elihu is saying that Job has sunk to coping with his situation by indulging in scorning God’s justice. In 34:8, Elihu is not saying that Job literally keeps company with the wicked. Rather he is saying that Job’s comments make him sound like he is part of the host of scornful, wicked men on earth who disdain God and his justice and see no benefit to serving Him (verse 9).

This seems a bit harsh in light of Job’s condition and character. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary offers this appropriate caution in its introductory note on chapter 34: “As we examine this chapter, we should keep in mind that Elihu had picked out of Job’s speeches those words and ideas that sounded particularly damaging. Job had had questions about the justice of God, and he had emphatically asserted his innocence. But none of this should be viewed independently of Job’s total statement. His claim to innocence was always given in the context of his reason for suffering. And while he had questioned the mystery of theodicy [divine judgment], he had also made clear he believed in God’s justice so much that he was willing to rest his entire case, all his hope, on that one issue (13:13-19; 23:2-7).” Elihu may be too quick to take Job’s remarks at face value, leaving no room for the sufferer to express his feelings as he tries to work through them. On the other hand, Elihu might realize that Job does not truly think the way described in 34:8-9 but be concerned that he would nevertheless give this impression to others.

Elihu may well have a lack of tact and appropriate consideration to Job’s affliction stemming from youth and inexperience. Yet he has a sincere desire to defend God’s justice and also to help Job. Indeed, considering that God Himself was about to intervene at this point, it probably was important at this stage for someone to properly address Job’s accusations against God—both for Job’s own good and for the sake of other people who were listening to all this. We should also consider that Elihu was not like the friends who had by now given up on Job—for Elihu was confident that Job, desiring to maintain his relationship with God, would be convinced by Elihu’s words to take necessary steps to do so.

The Zondervan NIV Study Bible notes that the substance of Elihu’s quotation of Job in verse 5 “is accurate (cf. 12:4; 13:18; 27:6), and much of v. 6 represents Job fairly (see 21:34; 27:5; see also 6:4…)—though Job had never claimed to be completely guiltless. Verse 9 is not a direct quotation from Job, who had only imagined the wicked saying something similar (see 21:15). But perhaps Elihu derives it from Job’s repeated statement that God treats the righteous and the wicked in the same way (cf. 9:22; 21:17; 24:1-12), leading to the conclusion that it does not pay to please God” (2002, note on 34:5, 9).

In verse 10 Elihu stresses that God does no wickedness. “Elihu’s concern that Job was [implicitly] making God the author of evil is commendable. Job, in his frustration, has come perilously close to charging God with wrongdoing (12:4-6; 24:1-12). He has suggested that this is the only conclusion he can reach on the basis of his knowledge and experience (9:24)” (note on 34:10).

In verse 11, Elihu seems to be upholding the traditional belief about retribution that Job’s friends have been reciting—that God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous. Elihu will say more about this in chapter 36. As mentioned before, this is a proper doctrine but the friends were improperly applying it in Job’s case.

In 34:13, Elihu rhetorically asks who put God in charge. God is accountable to no one and yet, as verses 14-15 demonstrate, exercises His rule for the good of all humanity. Elihu points out that if God decided to, He could stop sustaining His creation through His Spirit and all would be destroyed—all people on earth would die. This parallels Hebrews 1:1-2, which describes God as “upholding all things by the word of His power.” (It should be noted that Elihu here upends the view of Job’s friends, as his statement means that all people, including the wicked, are blessed by God’s grace.)

God, Elihu notes, is the pinnacle of justice (see verse 17). Indeed, the Almighty Creator is the very definer of justice. We get our concept of justice from God’s just rule, not the other way around. Whether He is just or not is not up to human judgment. If God were unjust, Elihu seems to be saying, how could He rule the world with any sense of justice, rebuking kings and nobles for ruling contrary to justice? (compare verses 17-18, NIV). God’s impartiality between rulers and commoners, between rich and poor, should further illustrate God’s justice—here in the sense of fairness (see verses 19-20). Again, God is the One who has set these parameters of justice.

Moreover, the fact that God is omniscient ensures that He will make no mistakes in punishing the wicked for disobeying Him and afflicting others (see verses 21-28). And, Elihu attests, God does hear the cry of the afflicted (verse 28). This is evidently to respond to Job’s complaint in chapter 24 that God allows the powerful to freely oppress the weak in this age. Elihu counters that God does often intervene. The beginning of 34:29, which follows, is more likely rendered, as in the NIV, “But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?” It follows from the question in verse 17: “Will you condemn Him who is most just?” Comparing various translations, the difficult wording at the end of verse 29 and in verse 30 could perhaps be paraphrased as: “Even if God chooses to hide his face so that people can’t see what He’s doing, He still rules over nations and individuals to [generally speaking] keep the worst people from governing and thereby destroying everyone.” Or the latter clause might have to do with keeping wicked rulers in power in this age to prevent society from descending into anarchy and chaos.

Translators agree that the wording of verses 31-33 is difficult. But, comparing various translations and commentaries and considering the context, Elihu seems to be saying this to Job: “Suppose someone says to God, ‘Okay, I’ve had enough (of affliction presumably). I will stop offending. Just tell me what I need to stop doing. If I have sinned, I’ll stop.’ Should God now make things right just because the person has recanted? What do you think? You know the answer.” Clearly God is under no obligation to immediately bring people’s suffering to an end even when they say they are ready to get right with Him. He is the determiner of when to make it cease. It is not ultimately up to the sufferer. Perhaps there are yet lessons to be learned, sincerity to be demonstrated or other reasons known only to God. Verse 34 sets up a quote in the NKJV. But it may well instead sum up verses 31-33 as in the earlier KJV: “Let men of understanding tell me [the answer to the question I just posed], and let a wise man hearken unto me.”

In verse 35, the NKJV and some other versions have Elihu quoting others in this assessment of Job’s remarks: “Job speaks without knowledge, his words are without wisdom.” But this seems more likely to be Elihu’s own assessment, as in the KJV. In 35:16, Elihu says that Job “multiplies words without knowledge.” God later affirms this assessment by referring to Job as one who “darkens counsel by words without knowledge” (38:1-2). This does not mean that all Job said was wrong, for we know that he said much that was right. But his accusations against God were unwise and not well thought out. Job will admit as much at the end of the book (42:3).

The NKJV rendering of 34:36 makes it look like Elihu wishes the worst on Job—for him to be “tried to the utmost”—for what he has said about God. This would go far beyond Elihu’s earlier stated desire to see Job cleared. The King James wording is better: “that Job may be tried unto the end.” That is, that Job would be brought all the way to the trial’s conclusion or, better yet, to its intended end or goal. This fits with Elihu’s question in verses 31-33. Consider also the wording of James 5:11: “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord.”

The charge of “rebellion” in verse 37 may seem rather extreme. Yet we should note that the common word for rebellion, from the Hebrew root marah, is not used here. Rather, the word here is pesha, meaning transgression (Strong’s No. 6588; see “Transgress,” Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, p. 266). It can imply deviation from God’s way in a specific area rather than a wholesale turning away from God. Elihu clearly limits the transgression to Job’s excessive complaining against God and God’s justice. Yet as before, considering Job’s circumstances, Elihu appears to lack sensitivity in delivering his evaluation.

 

“You Must Wait for Him” (Job 34-35)

In chapter 35, Elihu takes to task Job’s statements about God’s apparent indifference.
He begins by addressing what he deems a major inconsistency in Job’s reasoning. In the NKJV translation of verse 2, Elihu asks if Job is saying that he is more righteous than God. Yet the New International Version rendering is probably more accurate here. Notice verse 2-3 in the NIV: “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I will be cleared by God.’ Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?” The Zondervan NIV Study Bible explains that the Hebrew for the word “cleared” here “is translated ‘vindicated’ in Job’s statement in 13:18. Elihu thinks that it is unjust and inconsistent for Job to expect vindication from God and at the same time imply that God does not care whether we are righteous (see v. 3). But allowance must be made [as Elihu does not seem to] for a person to express his feelings. The psalmist who thirsted for God (Ps 42:1-2) also questioned why God had forgotten him (Ps 42:9) and rejected him (Ps 43:2)” (note on Job 35:2).

Expositor’s notes on the chapter: “Elihu had missed Job’s point, that he wanted to be vindicated because he did believe God was just. Of course Job, in his struggle to understand what God was doing, had sent out two signals, one of which Elihu, like the others, had not been able to hear.”

Elihu turns the concept of serving God for no benefit around by saying that it is God who gets no benefit if Job serves Him (verses 4-7). People’s wickedness or righteousness impacts only themselves and other people, not God (verse 8). Eliphaz had made a similar point (22:2) yet further wrongly claimed that God did not even care one way or the other (verse 3). Elihu does not appear to go this far in what he is saying. His point, in drawing a contrast, is to say that in any relationship between God and man, it is man who stands to gain, not God. And man should appreciate this fact. But this is usually not the case, which is the basis on which Elihu addresses “Job’s concern over God’s apparent indifference to the cries of the oppressed (cf. 24:1-12). Elihu maintained that God is not indifferent to people, but people are indifferent to God. People want God to save them; but they are not interested in honoring him as their Creator, Deliverer, and Source of wisdom (vv. 9-11). Human arrogance keeps God from responding to the empty cry for help (vv. 12-13)” (same note).

In verse 14, Elihu seems to be saying that even if Job does not see God or what He is doing, he should accept that God really is just and that he will have to wait on Him. Job should be glad, Elihu implies in the next verse, that God does not immediately punish for people’s foolishness. Otherwise Job himself would not be able to say the foolish things he has been saying about God. As harsh as this may sound, Elihu’s point seems to be that God’s justice is tempered by patience and mercy.

Romans

Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the people who made up the Assembly in the provinces of Rome. Verses 1-15 Paul uses to give salutations to the brethren and identity to himself. He also shares his heart with them with words of encouragement and how much he has missed them and desired to visit them to witness their fruits.

Verse 16 seems to be the start of what Paul is planning to share with the Assembly in Rome:
“For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Messiah, for it is the power of Elohim for deliverance to everyone who believes, to the Yehudite first and also to the Greek.”

He goes on to clarify to the Assembly that God has in fact revealed to “man” both His righteousness and His wrath. And this Paul knows, being a member of one of the twelve tribes, raised in the faith, and a Pharisee as is known. In order to read what he has to say to this assembly in proper context, one needs to read on beyond chapter one a bit for he has a certain reprimand to hand out to these brethren. It seems they are being hypocritical in their judgments of one another both inside and outside the assembly. This is the reason he begins as he does with a kind of historical account of the revelations of Elohim.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible [qualities] have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, both His everlasting power and Mightiness, for them to be without excuse, because, although they knew Elohim, they did not esteem Him as Elohim, nor gave thanks, but became vain in their reasonings, and their undiscerning heart was darkened.”

Paul is simply stating to them that the truth was once revealed by Elohim without influence of foolish men, but has now become corrupt because of man throughout the ages.

Foolish men who were given the truth through revelation “changed the esteem of the incorruptible Elohim into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds and of four-footed beasts and of reptiles.” Verse 23.

Once idol worship is introduced among men, they will become what they worship to include things of nature – the created rather than the creator. Therefore Elohim gave them up to uncleanness. Elohim removed Himself from their presence and also removed them from His presence and because of this, all manner of degrading passions became the identity of these ones.

Degrading passions he goes on to list:

  • Women doing that which is unnatural
  • Men leaving the natural relations with women to fulfill passions with other men
  • Whoring, wickedness, greed, evil;
  • Envy, murder, fighting, deceit, evil habits;
  • Whisperers, slanderers, haters of Elohim, insolent, proud, boasters, devisers of evils, disobedient to parents, without discernment, covenant breakers, unloving, unforgiving, ruthless;

Verse 32 “though they know the righteousness of Elohim, that those who practice such deserve death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

And Chapter 2 verse 1 shows us what Paul is saying here, that everyone who judges these matters in one another or others, condemns themselves if they are doing the same. Why? Because just in the very fact that judgment is made reveals the fact that one knows the truth and what is righteousness or what is unrighteousness, what is transgression, and what is the Law. Therefore, no one is without excuse!

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