The Two Goats Yahshua and Satan

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: Aug 28, 2014

News Letter 5850-023
3rd day of the 6th month 5850 years after the creation of Adam
The 6th Month in the Fifth year of the Third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilence

August 30, 2014

Shabbat Shalom Brethren,

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The sixth biblical month has begun with the new crescent moon being sighted in Jerusalem and by me in Canada. This Sabbath is now the 3rd day of the 6th month. You have less than one month until the Fall Feasts begin. Are you ready? We have now begun the 40 days of Repentance.
Here is an article for you all to consider as we begin to get ready for Atonement. http://www.jewfaq.org/elul.htm

The month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a particularly propitious time for repentance. This mood of repentance builds through the month of Elul to the period of Selichot, to Rosh Hashanah, and finally to Yom Kippur.
The name of the month (spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym of “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li,” “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine,” a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is G-d and the “I” is the Jewish people. In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word “Elul” means “search,” which is appropriate, because this is a time of year when we search our hearts.
According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 32; 34:27-28). He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for G-d to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.

Customs of Elul
During the month of Elul, from the second day of Elul to the 28th day, the shofar (a hollowed out ram’s horn) is blown after morning services every weekday. See Rosh Hashanah for more information about the shofar and its characteristic blasts. The shofar is not blown on Shabbat. It is also not blown on the day before Rosh Hashanah to make a clear distinction between the rabbinical rule of blowing the shofar in Elul and the biblical mitzvah to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Four blasts are blown: tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah. The MIDI file on the Rosh Hashanah page emulates this combination of blasts. Rambam explained the custom of blowing shofar as a wake-up call to sleepers, designed to rouse us from our complacency. It is a call to repentance. The blast of the shofar is a very piercing sound when done properly.
Elul is also a time to begin the process of asking forgiveness for wrongs done to other people. According to Jewish tradition, G-d cannot forgive us for sins committed against another person until we have first obtained forgiveness from the person we have wronged. This is not as easy a task as you might think, if you have never done it. This process of seeking forgiveness continues through the Days of Awe.
Many people visit cemeteries at this time, because the awe-inspiring nature of this time makes us think about life and death and our own mortality. In addition, many people use this time to check their mezuzot and tefillin for defects that might render them invalid.

Selichot
As the month of Elul draws to a close, the mood of repentance becomes more urgent. Prayers for forgiveness called selichot (properly pronounced “s’lee-KHOHT,” but often pronounced “SLI-khus”) are added to the daily cycle of religious services. Selichot are recited in the early morning, before normal daily shacharit service. They add about 45 minutes to the regular daily service.
Selichot are recited from the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If Rosh Hashanah begins on a Monday or Tuesday, selichot begins on the Sunday of the week before Rosh Hashanah, to make sure that there are at least 3 days of Selichot. The first selichot service of the holiday season is usually a large community service, held around midnight on Motzaei Shabbat (the night after the sabbath ends; that is, after nightfall on Saturday). The entire community, including men, women and older children, attend the service, and the rabbi gives a sermon. The remaining selichot services are normally only attended by those who ordinarily attend daily shacharit services in synagogue.
A fundamental part of the selichot service is the repeated recitation of the “Thirteen Attributes,” a list of G-d‘s thirteen attributes of mercy that were revealed to Moses after the sin of the golden calf (Ex 34:6-7): Ha-shem [1], Ha-shem [2], G-d [3], merciful [4], and gracious [5], long-suffering [6], abundant in goodness [7] and truth [8], keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation [9], forgiving iniquity [10] and transgression [11] and sin [12], who cleanses [13]. Why is “Ha-shem” listed twice as an attribute? And why are three of these “attributes” Names of G-d? Different names of G-d connote different characteristics of G-d. The four-letter Name of G-d (rendered here as “Ha-shem”) is the Name used when G-d is exhibiting characteristics of mercy, and the Talmud explains that this dual usage indicates that G-d is merciful before a person sins, but is also merciful after a person sins. The third attribute is a different Name of G-d that is used when G-d acts in His capacity as the almighty ruler of nature and the universe.

It is now official. The Cabbage has drawn the attention of the entire town. CTV News out of Barrie, Ontario is coming tomorrow to do an interview. The Toronto Star, a national Canadian newspaper, is coming tomorrow to do an interview as well.
Everyone at the Fair was so excited to see it and to take pictures of it. This will create interest in many people to grow some big veggies and enter them in future fairs.
Oh, ya the weight. Drum roll……….The Guinness world record is 42 lbs. set in 1925. The Alaska World Fair was 43 pounds in 2013 but did not register with the Guinness people.
The weight on our Red Cabbage as officiated by the Orangeville Fair Staff and the Orangeville Banner is 26.8 lbs.
We have consistently recommended you to Yair Davidy and his books about the Ten Lost Tribes, and we continue to do so. We are told in the Torah,

Gen 12:3  And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

My Friend Sandy Bruce explains this verse this way.

And I will bless those ( vah-ah-vahr-chah ??????????? ) that bless you { your offspring } ( meh-vah-reh-chehy-chah ??????????? ) and those that ESTEEM you { your offspring } LIGHTLY ( oo-meh-kah-leh-leh-chah ????????????? ) — I will BITTERLY CURSE ( ah-ohr ????? ) (Gen 12:3)

With this in mind I often wonder why some people do the things they do. Why their mouths are in full gear before they ever check their brains to see what it is that they are saying. And especially as we enter this time of the year when we seek repentance.
We have this teaching which I have shared here many times about the evil of the tongue.

Judaism is intensely aware of the power of speech and of the harm that can be done through speech. The rabbis note that the universe itself was created through speech. Of the 43 sins enumerated in the Al Cheit confession recited on Yom Kippur, 11 are sins committed through speech. The Talmud tells that the tongue is an instrument so dangerous that it must be kept hidden from view, behind two protective walls (the mouth and teeth) to prevent its misuse.

The harm done by speech is even worse than the harm done by stealing or by cheating someone financially: money lost can be repaid, but the harm done by speech can never be repaired. For this reason, some sources indicate that there is no forgiveness for lashon ha-ra (disparaging speech). This is probably hyperbole, but it illustrates the seriousness of improper speech. A Chasidic tale vividly illustrates the danger of improper speech: A man went about the community telling malicious lies about the rabbi. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had done it, the rabbi said, “Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers.”
Speech has been compared to an arrow: once the words are released, like an arrow, they cannot be recalled, the harm they do cannot be stopped, and the harm they do cannot always be predicted, for words, like arrows, often go astray.

I am in amazement that someone could write such malicious lies in an effort to slander my name and the things I teach. I am even more amazed because of the position they hold. Here is the quote from a recent post they made this past week.
Brit-Am Now no. 2320. Ten Tribes Studies

7. Reference to Drummond Removed.

A reference made innocuously by one of our followers has been removed from a Facebook discussion.
We try not to interfere and even often remain unaware of what is going on there but there are limits.
A Reference to Joseph Drummond has been Removed.
Joseph Drummond is anti-Jewish. This shows through in his writings but he does not always emphasize it.
Many, including ourselves at first, were unaware of this aspect of the person concerned. He too, 
despite his anti-Jewishness recommended us and quoted from us on occasion.
Even though he is popular and has been successful in promoting himself he is not necessarily the brightest spark in the room, or at least so he pretends. He is liable to say things, or quote others favorably saying them, and then deny the implications of what is being said.
We used to be tolerant of him but then we found him posting and entertaining anti-Jewish Nazi type notions and spreading them.
We have met this type before.
Please do not bring him up on our forums. God bless you, Yair

ps. We note that Jew-haters such as Drummond and others have been quite successful in infiltrating the so-called Ephraimite movement whereas Yair Davidiy of Brit-Am has been successfully ostracized.
We are not really complaining. This might be for the better.
“He stands strongest who stands alone” Napoleon.

Some of my dearest friends are Jewish. I have been to Israel 14 times in the past 10 years. I am not a NAZI nor post things that promote that mentality. Nor do I hate the Jews. Yair Dravidy does need to apologize for his slanderous tongue. But we do not hold our breath. I will continue to teach what the Torah says no matter who it offends, Christian or Jew. And this is what has offended Yairi Dravvidey, because I will not come under his rabbinic authority nor those he is associated with.

This week we also reached out to large Church of God groups to help them understand the Sabbatical and Jubilee years so they can teach this to their 70,000 members. Our expertise has been rejected in favour of their own misunderstandings. I do hope all of you who say “What can I do?” take a moment and write a comment or note to those who need to hear the truth about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. I read some of your threads and many of you are getting it and explaining it properly. And that makes me smile. You are getting it and sharing it. Because many others read the comments that the brethren write in, I hope you will take your talent which Yehovah has given you, that is your understanding and your ability to write, and you will confront the errors of those who teach the Sabbatical and Jubilee years not according to the Torah. You can begin at this site and look at his other articles and let those who read it know where they can find the truth. http://82.221.105.8/~theshini/?page_id=36
The world is waiting for the sons of Elohim to wake up and begin to keep the Sabbath, the Holy Days and the Sabbatical years. You are those sons and daughters, so start telling others so they too can wake up. Write a letter today to some group or some thread.

This week we will revisit a post I had written a few years ago that many continue to comment on, about how much they like this article and how much they learned from it. It is the follow-up article from last week about Balaam.


The Two Goats Yahshua and Satan

 

Lev 16: 7 “And he shall take the two goats and let them stand before ???? at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 8 “And Aharon shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for ???? and the other lot for Azazel.

The reason lots are cast is because we cannot of our own tell which goat is Satan and which is Yahshua.

Revelation 12: 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So many now follow a paganised Jesus they no longer know what the truths of the scriptures are.

Lev 16: 9 “And Aharon shall bring the goat on which the lot for ???? fell, and shall prepare it as a sin offering.
John 1: 29 On the next day Yoh?anan saw ????? coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!
1John 3: 4 Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Everyone staying in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has neither seen Him nor known Him.1 Footnote: 1See 2:4 & 3 John v. 11. 7 Little children, let no one lead you astray. The one doing righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.1 Footnote: 1See 2:29. 8 The one doing sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested: to destroy the works of the devil.
Lev 4: 35 ‘Then he removes all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the slaughtering of the peace offering. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to ????. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
Lev 5: 5 ‘And it shall be, when he is guilty of one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned, 6 and shall bring his guilt offering to ???? for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a female goat as a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin.
Lev 12: 21 And Mosheh called for all the elders of Yisra’?l and said to them, “Go out and take lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin, and you, none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 “And ???? shall pass on to smite the Mitsrites, and shall see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and ???? shall pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.
Lev 16: 10 “But the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell is caused to stand alive before ????, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness to Azazel.
Lev 16:20 “And when he has finished atoning for the Set-apart Place, and the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 “Then Aharon shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and shall confess over it all the crookednesses of the children of Yisra’?l, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man. 22 “And the goat shall bear on itself all their crookednesses, to a land cut off. Thus he shall send the goat away into the wilderness.

This fit man spoken of in verse 21 is representing the angel that is coming down in Revelation to seize hold of Satan and his demons.

Revelation 20: 1  And I saw a messenger coming down from the heaven, having the key to the pit of the deep and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and he threw him into the pit of the deep, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should lead the nations no more astray until the thousand years were ended. And after that he has to be released for a little while.

Upon the goat for Azazel is laid all the sins of Israel which Satan has caused to come about. In Revelation 18 and 19 this is what is happening here. We are being told who the culprit is that has brought about all this misery. Satan.

Revelation 19: 19 And I saw the beast, and the sovereigns of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to fight Him who sat on the horse and His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he led astray those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Revelation 18: 1  And after this I saw another messenger coming down from the heaven, having great authority, and the earth was lightened from his esteem. 2 And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Bab?el the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean and hated bird, 3 because all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her whoring, and the sovereigns of the earth have committed whoring with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her riotous living.” 4 And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.1 Footnote: 1Jer. 51:6 & 45. 5 “Because her sins have piled up to reach the heaven, and Elohim has remembered her unrighteousnesses. 6 “Render to her as she indeed did render, and repay her double according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mix for her double. 7 “As much as she esteemed herself and lived riotously, so much torture and grief give to her, because in her heart she says, ‘I sit as sovereigness, and I am not a widow, and I do not see mourning at all.’ 8 “Because of this her plagues shall come in one day: death and mourning and scarcity of food. And she shall be burned up with fire, because ???? Elohim who judges her is mighty. 9 “And the sovereigns of the earth who committed whoring and lived riotously with her shall weep and mourn over her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torture, saying, ‘Woe! Woe, the great city Bab?el, the mighty city, because your judgment has come in one hour!’

It is by the blood of Yahshua the lamb that is killed at Passover that our sins are atoned for. It is by His blood that we are redeemed.

Lev 16:15 “And he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and shall bring its blood inside the veil, and shall do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the lid of atonement and in front of the lid of atonement. 16 “And he shall make atonement for the Set-apart Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Yisra’?l, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so he does for the Tent of Meeting which is dwelling with them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 “And no man should be in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Set-apart Place, until he comes out. And he shall make atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Yisra’?l. 18 “And he shall go out to the altar that is before ????, and make atonement for it. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 “And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and set it apart from the uncleanness of the children of Yisra’?l.

Having touched the unclean goat both Aaron and the fit man must clean themselves.

Lev 16: 23 “Aharon shall then come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Set-apart Place, and shall leave them there. 24 “And he shall bathe his body in water in the set-apart place,
26 “And he who sent away the goat to Azazel washes his garments, and shall bathe his body in water, and afterward he comes into the camp.

Yahshua cannot be the Azazel Goat as some claim. This Azazel Goat … read on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azazel
Azazel or Azâzêl (Hebrew: ?????, Azazel, Aramaic: ??????,[citation needed]) is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character.

The term in the Bible is limited to three uses in Leviticus 16, where a goat is designated ??????????? la-aza’zeyl; either “for absolute removal” or “for Azazel” and outcast in the desert as part of Yom Kippur.

Later Azazel was considered by some Jewish sources to be a supernatural being mentioned in connection with the ritual of the Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi.). After Satan, for whom he was in some degree a prototype, Azazel enjoys the distinction of being the most mysterious extrahuman character in Jewish sacred literature

The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew Lexicon[1] gives Azazel as a reduplicative intensive of the stem azel “remove”, hence azazel, “entire removal”. This is supported by the Jewish Greek Bible translation as the sender away. Gesenius in his Hebrew lexicon confers with this.[2]

According to some Rabbinic interpretations Azazel is a theophoric name, combined of the words “Azaz” (rugged) and “El” (power/strong/of God) in reference to the rugged and strong rocks of the deserts in Judea. According to Talmudic interpretation, the term “Azazel” designated a rugged mountain or precipice in the wilderness from which the goat was thrown down, using for it as an alternative the word “?o?” (Yoma vi. 4). An etymology is found to suit this interpretation. “Azazel” is regarded as a compound of “az”, strong or rough, and “el”, mighty, therefore a strong mountain. This derivation is presented by a Baraita, cited Yoma 67b, that Azazel was the strongest of mountains.[3]
The Jewish Encyclopedia (1910) contains the following entry:

The Rabbis, interpreting “Azazel” as Azaz (“rugged”), and el (“strong”), refer it to the rugged and rough mountain cliff from which the scapegoat was cast down on Yom Kippur when the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem stood. (Yoma 67b; Sifra, A?are, ii. 2; Targum Jerusalem Lev. xiv. 10, and most medieval commentators). Most modern scholars, after having for some time endorsed the old view, have accepted the opinion mysteriously hinted at by Ibn Ezra and expressly stated by Nachmanides to Lev. xvi. 8, that Azazel belongs to the class of “se’irim,” goat-like spirits, jinn haunting the desert, to which the Israelites were accustomed to offering sacrifice. (Compare “the roes and the hinds,” Cant. ii. 7, iii. 5, by which Sulamith administers an oath to the daughters of Jerusalem. The critics were probably thinking of a Roman faun.)[4]

Pre-Jewish sources

Despite the expectation of Brandt (1889)[16] to date no evidence has surfaced of Azazel as a demon or god prior to the earliest Jewish sources among the Dead Sea Scrolls.Brandt, “Mandäische Theologie,”
[edit] Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Enoch

In the Dead Sea Scrolls the name Azazel occurs in the line 6 of 4Q203, the Book of the Giants. This is a part of the Enochic literature about fallen angels found at Qumran.[17]

According to the Book of Enoch, which brings Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the fall of the angels, located on Mount Hermon, a gathering-place of demons from of old (Enoch xiii.; compare Brandt, “Mandäische Theologie,” 1889, p. 38). Azazel is represented in the Book of Enoch as one of the leaders of the rebellious Watchers in the time preceding the flood; he taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, knives, shields, and coats of mail, and women the art of deception by ornamenting the body, dying the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows, and also revealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity; until at last he was, at the Lord’s command, bound hand and foot by the archangel Raphael and chained to the rough and jagged rocks of [Ha] Duduael (= Beth ?adudo), where he is to abide in utter darkness until the great Day of Judgment, when he will be cast into the fire to be consumed forever (Enoch viii. 1, ix. 6, x. 4-6, liv. 5, lxxxviii. 1; see Geiger, “Jüd. Zeit.” 1864, pp. 196–204).
“ The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin. ”
— 1 Enoch 10:8

According to 1 Enoch (a book of the Apocrypha), Azazel (here spelled ‘?z?’zy?l) was one of the chief Grigori, a group of fallen angels who married women. This same story (without any mention of Azazel) is told in Genesis 6:2-4:

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also afterward, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

1 Enoch portrays Azazel as responsible for teaching people to make weapons and cosmetics, for which he was cast out of heaven. 1 Enoch 8:1-3a reads:

And Azazel taught men to make swords and knives and shields and breastplates; and made known to them the metals [of the earth] and the art of working them; and bracelets and ornaments; and the use of antimony and the beautifying of the eyelids; and all kinds of costly stones and all coloring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray and became corrupt in all their ways.

The corruption brought on by Azazel and the Grigori degrades the human race, and the four archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel) “saw much blood being shed upon the earth and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth […] The souls of men [made] their suit, saying, “Bring our cause before the Most High; […] Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were in heaven, which men were striving to learn.”

God sees the sin brought about by Azazel and has Raphael “bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert — which is in Dudael — and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not see light.”

Several scholars have previously discerned that some details of Azazel’s punishment are reminiscent of the scapegoat ritual. Thus, Lester Grabbe points to a number of parallels between the Azazel narrative in 1 Enoch and the wording of Leviticus 16, including “the similarity of the names Asael and Azazel; the punishment in the desert; the placing of sin on Asael/Azazel; the resultant healing of the land.” [18] Daniel Stökl also observes that “the punishment of the demon resembles the treatment of the goat in aspects of geography, action, time and purpose.” .”[19] Thus, the place of Asael’s punishment designated in 1 Enoch as Dudael is reminiscent of the rabbinic terminology used for the designation of the ravine of the scapegoat in later rabbinic interpretations of the Yom Kippur ritual. Stökl remarks that “the name of place of judgment (Dudael) is conspicuously similar in both traditions and can likely be traced to a common origin.”[20]

Azazel’s fate is foretold near the end of 1 Enoch 2:8, where God says, “On the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. […] The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.”

In 3 Enoch

In the 5th Century 3 Enoch, Azazel is one of the three angels (Azza [Shemhazai] and Uzza [Ouza] are the other two) who opposed Enoch’s high rank when he became the angel Metatron. Whilst they were fallen at this time they were still in Heaven, but Metatron held a dislike for them, and had them cast out. They were thenceforth known as the ‘three who got the most blame’ for their involvement in the fall of the angels marrying women. It should be remembered that Azazel and Shemhazai were said to be the leaders of the 200 fallen, and Uzza and Shemhazai were tutelary guardian angels of Egypt with both Shemhazai and Azazel and were responsible for teaching the secrets of heaven as well. The other angels dispersed to ‘every corner of the Earth.’

A depiction of Azazel in his familiar form of a goat-like demon, from Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris,1825).

 


Triennial Torah Reading

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah reading

Ex 3       1 Kings 7         Ps 107       Luke 18

 

God Speaks to Moses From the Burning Bush (Exodus 3)

The time has come for God to deliver the Israelites in accordance with the prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis 15. The Almighty calls Moses from tending the flock, confronting him in a miraculous sight—a bush that, while burning with fire, was not consumed. God stated the fact that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom the covenant promises were given. And it was now time to fulfill part of that covenant by bringing the Israelites out of captivity and into the land He had promised to their descendants.

Sometimes we must be patient with the trials that beset us. God’s promises are always certain. At times, however, it feels like an eternity when we are beset with trials. Yet when God does step in, His intervention is quick! “And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).

Just as God prepared Moses for what was going to be taking place, including the very outcome, He prepares His people today for events that will take place in the future.

Solomon Builds His Palace (1 Kings 7:1-22; 2 Chronicles 3:15-17)

Solomon also built the main administrative centers of Israel’s government. The massive House of the Forest of Lebanon probably served as Solomon’s armory. Measuring about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall, it obtained its name from the white fragrant cedar wood with which it was paneled—no doubt taken from Lebanon’s famous Mount Lebanus—and from its 45 pillars, which must have looked like the trees of a forest. Around the building ran a three-course row of windows, beveled on the inside to maximize the dispersion of daylight. The doors were similarly beveled on the exterior, for aesthetics, and arranged in groups of three, providing quick access to the interior. Before the building was also a colonnade of pillars supporting an exterior roof.

Solomon’s court was seated in the Hall of Judgment. Here Solomon sat as the Supreme Justice of Israel under God. Under Israel’s system of justice, a citizen could appeal directly to the king in matters of law or equity and, if the king agreed to hear the case, the proceedings were held in the Hall of Judgment. Once again, the hall was paneled with Lebanon cedar. Here also was perhaps the main chamber for what some have described as Israel’s national Assembly of Elders, a sort of House of Lords or Senate for Israel, which, in the opinion of some modern examiners, assisted the king in the government over which he presided. We’ll see further mention of this in a few days.

Solomon’s personal residence was modeled on the Hall of Judgment, although little information is given about its own features. If Solomon followed the typical pattern of Middle Eastern monarchs, his personal residence was at one extreme of the complex, the House of the Forest of Lebanon and the Hall of Judgment in the center, and the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh was at the opposite extreme (along with the residence of Solomon’s harem).

A Foolish Strategy for Peace and Security (1 Kings 7:1-22; 2 Chronicles 3:15-17)

In mentioning Solomon’s personal residence, Scripture adds that Solomon built a similar residence for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh. It was not the practice of sovereigns to dwell with their spouses, and thus a second residence was provided for the daughter of Pharaoh. But this note also raises some questions we have not yet looked at. When had Solomon taken the daughter of Pharaoh? Was it before or after his father’s death? And why was such a pairing permitted, especially given the prohibitions against marrying a non-Israelite (Exodus 23:31-33; 34:12-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-4)? It would appear that she was his first wife, given her mention here and in 1 Kings 11 (even though Solomon’s heir, Rehoboam, was not her son but the son of an Ammonite, 14:21).

First of all, it should be noted that the prohibitions just cited were against marrying Canaanites, not Egyptians. And in 1 Kings 3, the fact that Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh (verse 1) was immediately followed by the fact that he at that time generally walked in obedience to God (verse 3)—that is, his marriage was not referred as something wrong. Still, we can see in it the seeds of what later became a huge problem.
Generally speaking, as mentioned in our earlier highlights on 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1, the marriages of Middle Eastern sovereigns often were the seals of political alliances made with foreign potentates. Solomon’s marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh was most likely the sealing of an alliance with Egypt. Josephus, the Jewish historian, states that Solomon took the daughter of Pharaoh after David’s death (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 8, chap. 2, sec. 1). And it does follow that way in 1 Kings. Did Solomon undertake the alliance with Egypt on the death of David in an effort to forestall a possible war with Israel’s powerful southern neighbor—who might seek to take advantage of a new king suspected of lacking the military acumen of his father? It would appear that one of Solomon’s strategies for maintaining peace and the stability of his kingdom was to enter into marriage and trading alliances with the major nations and many trading sheiks of the eastern deserts surrounding Israel. Thus Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) were not so much wives as tokens of international covenants, most of them probably never being seen more than once by Solomon—though there were a number that he clearly did love (verse 2).

Whatever the reason for Solomon’s marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh, it began a trend that obviously got out of hand. Indeed, this multiplying of pagan wives was clearly in disobedience to God (Deuteronomy 17:17)—as was marrying women from nations that God had certainly forbidden (see 1 Kings 11:2). And it eventually proved to be the undoing of his kingdom for, as recorded in 1 Kings 11, his foreign wives eventually led him into idolatry. The result was the rebellion of the northern 10 tribes after his death, and the voiding of the conditional covenant God made with him concerning the perpetuity of his seed upon the throne of Israel. Solomon had failed to learn the lesson of Psalm 75:6-7: “For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.” While alliances with other kingdoms did serve to strengthen Israel for a while, the true exaltation of Israel would not come from these alliances with temporary rulers of this earth but from God. And so would abasement for disobedience. It is never prudent or wise to contravene the commands of God. War, instability and schism—whether personal or national—are the result.

Huram’s Work (1 Kings 7:23-51; 2 Chronicles 4:1-5:1)

To construct the temple, Solomon employed the skills of a master craftsman, Hiram (or Huram), fetched from Hiram king of Tyre. As explained in previous readings, he was the son of a Tyrian man who himself was a metalworker, but there’s some minor confusion regarding his mother. According to 2 Chronicles 2:14, his mother was “of the daughters of Dan,” yet 1 Kings 7:14 informs us that she was “of the tribe of Naphtali.” One explanation may be that Hiram’s mother was a Danite woman who had formerly married a Naphtalite man and thereby became a Naphtalite by marriage. In that case, we could assume that her first husband died and she then married a Tyrian man, Hiram’s father.

Hiram worked in bronze, an alloy of copper (about 80%) and tin (about 20%); brass is an alloy of copper (about 60%) and zinc (about 40%). While scholars still debate somewhat whether the Hebrew nechosheth should be translated brass or bronze, the weight of evidence seems to prefer bronze. Copper was readily available in many places, and the Phoenicians—actually a Tyrian-Sidonian-Israelite alliance—controlled a brisk trade in tin mined in southwest England. Zinc was a relatively unknown metal in Solomon’s day.

Hiram’s works, no doubt guided by God as with the construction of the original tabernacle furnishings, were truly remarkable. He oversaw the design and construction of the great cherubim whose wings overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place; the altar of incense, the table of showbread, and the great candlestick and its instruments, all of which were in the Holy Place; the two pillars which stood in the porch of the temple, as well as their adornments; the great altar, on which all sacrifices were offered; the laver (ceremonial washbasin) called the Sea, in which the priests washed; the 10 mobile lavers, in which the burnt offerings were washed; the shovels, which were used to remove the ashes of the altar; the basins, which were used to catch the blood of the sacrifices; the pots, which were used to remove the innards of the sacrifices; the 10 tables, on which the sacrifices were prepared; and the doors of the temple.

“Oh, That Men Would Give Thanks to the LORD” (Psalm 107)

The repeated refrain of Psalm 107, which begins Book V of the Psalter, expresses a desire for people to thank God for His repeated mercy and deliverance in rescuing them from their troubles. With this psalm, Book V in fact opens on much the same note as the previous book closes. Indeed, the first words of Psalm 107 are the same as the first words of Psalm 106—taken from David’s psalm in 1 Chronicles 16 (wording further emphasized in Psalm 136).

As the Zondervan NIV Study Bible comments in its introductory note on Psalm 107: “In its recitational style the psalm is closely related to Ps 104-106, and in its language to Ps 105-106. For that reason it has been seriously proposed that with these last two psalms it forms a trilogy from the same author. Whether or not this is so, its affinity with the preceding psalms strongly suggests that it was associated with them before the insertion of a Book division between Ps 106 and 107 and that it was intended to conclude the little series, Ps 104-107 [or perhaps 103-107 since 103 introduces the theme of God’s benefits, including the satisfaction of His people with good (103:5; 107:9)]. Its recital of God’s ‘wonderful deeds for men’ (v. 8)—which climaxes Ps 105-106—balances the recital of his many wise works in creation (see 104:2-26) and his benevolent care over the animal world (see 104:27-30). The editors may have inserted a Book division between Ps 106 and 107 with a view to a fivefold division of the Psalter”—that is, to parallel the Pentateuch in the scriptural reading cycle.

Verses 2-3 mentions the redeemed of God gathered from enemy captivity in foreign lands. A hint as to what captivity is intended is perhaps found in verse 16, which says that God “has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two.” Very similar language is found in Isaiah 45:1-2, which describes the fall of Babylon to the Persian emperor Cyrus: “Thus says the LORD says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: I will go before you…I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron” (Isaiah 45:1-2). Thus Psalm 107:16 points to a fulfillment of this passage. God in fact used Cyrus to issue the first decree allowing the Jewish captives in Babylon to return to Judea.

Verses 4-7 describe the Israelite exiles as having wandered in desolation without enough to eat and drink, with God at last giving them a city to dwell in. This probably refers not to resettlement in Jerusalem (which was not a rescue from severe circumstances) but rather to the Jews eventually settling down in Babylonian communities following their initial deportation. Thus the wording of “go to” rather than “come to” a city (verse 7).

It should be observed that there is also a greater spiritual reality here too—as John the Baptist was later commissioned with words taken from this psalm to show God’s people the way out of spiritual imprisonment (compare verse 10; Luke 1:79), evidently through his message of God’s Kingdom and call for repentance.

Among other trials the psalmist alludes to are dangers at sea while conducting maritime commerce (Psalm 107:23-30)—demonstrating that the psalm does not exclusively concern returning exiles. “No problem is too great for God. This psalm imagines the worse calamities a Jew could think of: homelessness and starvation (verses 4-5), imprisonment (10-12), self-inflicted disease (17-18), and—the ultimate—imminent shipwreck (23-27). Since Israel was landlocked, few Jews had experienced turbulent seas, and thus dreaded them. In all these cases, God was able to rescue those who called for his help” (Zondervan New Student Bible, note on verse 27). When tempest-tossed sailors are at their wits’ end, they cry out to God and He delivers them, bringing them to safe havens (verses 27-30). As Psalm 89:9 states: “He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.”
God is sovereign. In response to wickedness, He can turn fruitful land into barren land (verses 33-34). In showing mercy to the poor and their families, He can turn wilderness into desirable acreage for vineyards, cattle and harvests (verses 35-38). Those who are righteous understand that God punishes wickedness through oppression, affliction and sorrow (verses 33, 39-40) and “sets the poor on high” (verse 41). Wonderfully, as part of God’s great benefits, His involvement in man’s affairs is ultimately for a great purpose—that “they will understand the lovingkindness [hesed, faithful love] of the LORD” (verse 43). That is certainly cause for thanksgiving.

Luke 18

“Always pray and don’t lose heart,” are the opening Words of Yeshua in Luke 18. He tells a parable about the importance of not only persistence but continual hope. If a non-believer can do right by another person, how much more is our Father who loves us going to do right unto us and give us what we ask for.

Yeshua shares the parable of the Pharisee exalting himself in prayer and the tax collector who declared himself a sinner. The tax collect was the man who went home from the Set Apart place declared right.

As Yeshua’s taught ones rebuked those bringing children near to Him to bless them, Yeshua says, “no, for such is the Reign of Elohim and that all must come as a little child to enter.” Another man asked Yeshua what he must do to inherit everlasting life. After discussing the commandments the man says he has kept them. Then Yeshua tells him to sell all he has and follow Him. The rich man goes away sad and Yeshua teaches about the hold that riches and wealth has over people and how it can be a stumbling block to them.

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