News Letter 5847-007
24th day of the 1st month 5847 years after the creation of Adam
The 7th Day of the Counting of the Omer
The 1st Month in the Second year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences.

April 30, 2011

Shabbat Shalom Family,

If I have not answered your emails it is because I am busy going about the land of Israel from South to North, East to West. And it has been a blessing to meet so many other groups and brethren along the way. To keep Shabbat with those who live here and struggle here. To see the land at this time when it is green all over is breathtaking.

I saw people by the hundreds stop alongside the road and walk into a field that was planted in solid pink flowers with another field of solid yellow one right beside it. And the people were there just to have their pictures taken. I wondered why and was told the following.

It is said that flowers are very special to Israel, and appreciated because of the holocaust. In the very beginning when Golda Mier was here. The English would not allow anymore than 500 a month to enter Palestine even though all the Jews were trying to come back to Israel at this time. Ships were prevented from coming and off loading the Jews. Many ended up after the war once again in another camp on Cyprus. Golda had to go there and pick the five hundred from amongst thousands who would be allowed to come.

It was once again like being in Germany choosing who would live and who would die. The older ones telling her they should go first and everyone saying why they should go. But she needed the strong young people who could fight and build the land.
While in Cyprus a whole large group of children made paper flowers and gave them to her. Golda thanked them for their gift and was about to go back to the task of picking who would be able to go to Israel when one of the children asked her how they did in making the flowers. She did not understand the question and asked what they meant. The children said they had made the flowers for her from paper because they had never seen real flowers because they were in the prison camps and they made these paper ones from what their parents had described to them.

And this is why the flowers are so appreciated now in Israel.

Brethren I later sat at a table in the kitchen of one of the survivors of the holocaust listening to her and admiring this lady who was full of le’Chaim, Full of life even at the old age of about 85. As I listened at this table made from the railroad tracks that led into her prison camp, and looked at her shoes she had to make from corn husks while in camp, now hung on the wall as a constant reminder of where she had been, I watched the sun set over Mount Tabor and the beautiful rich red soil of this moshav disappear into the night. A moshav is a group of homes that work together on the land but have separate ownership. It is like a kibbutz but better.

As I listened to this lady time flew by and then I saw the starry host of heavens over Mount Tabor with the few city lights around the base and again it was breath taking.

I have learned why many people seem to be rude and pushy here to those from the west. When these people, the survivors of the prison camps came here they brought with them something they had to do while in those camps. They had to fight with each other for their food, for their clothes, and for everything. They were always being lined up and they had to push while in those lines to get in or take the chance of being killed by being left out. It was a survivor mechanism.

So when they came here the survivors again had to fight for this land. They always had to fight for everything they got. When the younger generation was born they too learned to be pushy and to fight like their parents had been forced to learn. And so this now seems to be the norm here in Israel in many places. It is just the way things are here now.

If you do not fight for what you want then you must not have wanted it bad enough is the thinking. This too is a lesson for Ephraim whose holocaust is just around the corner. It will be a survivor mechanism. Yes I said Ephraim’s Holocaust is just around the corner.

In Europe before WWII there was a man who went around Europe warning the Jews of the danger and the rise of the anti-Semitism that was already visible. Very few heeded that warning. Had they listened many more would have survived, but as you know 6 million were later killed.

It is still a shock to my western mind to see the children who one day are holding a teddy bear go off to the IDF and the next day are holding a machine gun and driving tanks. These are just kids, yet in the west we take so much for granted and have grown fat on the sacrifices our fathers and ancestors made. Our liberties are based on the obeying of Torah, not the might of our army, but on the relationship or lack of it we keep with Yehovah.

Last Friday Nehemiah took myself and Yoel and Yo Tom to Masada at 3 AM to walk up the snake trail. We were all gasping for air half way and even though we were all out of breath, a deep debate had developed with Hebrew language points of law being exchanged and challenged. I once again realized just how little I know and how much more there is to learn.

Nehemiah then took us on a tour of Masada. A small group of university students began to listen in and then ask questions. Nehemiah then answered them and began to teach at a level they could understand. This man’s heart is to share the truth of Torah to all even to these secular students who knew not their bibles. I am humbled to see how he does this speaking in a way so that those listening can understand.

We then walked back down the snake path and my legs and knees were shaking and screaming enough already. I was so thankful for Shabbat which came later that day when I arrived up in Northern Israel. But each time I got up to move on Shabbat my legs sure did hurt.

On Sunday as I explain below I traveled all over the Golan exploring all the back roads as I went. Each time I got out of the car again my legs would remind me of the climb at Masada. At the end of the day I found the Horns of Hittim and just had to climb them. I too was amazed at just how far my voice carried in this natural amphitheater. I told the my friend with me who was far off that his mother wore army boots. He turned and in spite of the strong winds, he turned and laughed. He had heard me and I did not yell it out. What an amazing place. You can learn more about this place by googling it or reading what Nehemiah and Keith say about it in their book, A Prayer to Our Father.

Also at the end of Unleavened Bread I was invited out to what the Moroccan Jews do to celebrate the end of Unleavened Bread. It sounded like a great idea and I was looking forward to going. But we could not remember the name of the event and so looked on line to find it. It is called Mimouna, and as I looked it up I found this article from Haaretz.com dated for this very day of the event. Please go and read it at, http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/lady-luck-1.217597 Some of the teenagers were upset with me as they had looked forward to the party that they now will not be going to.

I have met a number of groups who are here trying to make a way here in the land. Some have sold all they possessed back in whatever country they left and said good-bye to come home and stay here in Israel. They have little money and yet their homes have been furnished abundantly from those things others here have thrown out as garbage. Please keep them in your prayers.
Just like the sheet in Peters dream, I have learned that you will recognise Yehovah’s sheep by the love they show each other and the brethren not by the group they belong to. I have watched first hand as families lived this out and acted like Abraham our Father and made me welcome and teaching the Torah to their children. Families of Character, who do not always believe as I do, and in spite of our differences were full of love.

And I have seen those who believed as I do or said they did; act out of selfishness and in a way that was not loving towards the brethren but only in their own self interest. It has been a week of revealing here in Israel.

I climbed a mountain looking for a shepherd who was occupying a mountain with three other families in order to keep it from being occupied by Palestinians. While driving in we saw a huge boar racing down the mountain at a full gallop. I thought it was a bear. It was startling at first and then amazing once we knew we were safe.

There are many people on many plots of land trying to hold on to this land with hardly any help from any one nor from the Government. They do it out of love for the land and for the Torah. Living in beaten up trailors or in tents fighting off those who thieve and murder. Brethren they need your help, they need your prayers. Those people who once lived in Kush Katief in the Gaza and were forcibly removed from their homes back in 2004 are today still living in trailers waiting for the homes they were promised for leaving.

In Ariel I went to the ulpan classes that many were attending for the year. I asked the teacher why she was teaching this class of young and old, and those who knew a great deal of Hebrew and those who knew nothing when the year began. She said she did not want it at first and then she gave up her job of teaching the Russian immigrants to teaching this strange group. As she learned what they had to go through and how they have sold everything to come and how these brethren were not proselytizing but were walking out the Torah as a living light, she began to fall in love with them. She admired their courage and how they had become a family even though they came from 8 different countries to be there and she loved how they were studying so hard to learn this language and history of Israel.

I was so pleased to hear this report from an orthodox Jewish woman and then I go to my emails and read the many emails I get condemning me for encouraging you to come home; the bickering that goes on between groups and the condemning that so many do of others all in the name of their so called god. Yet over here in Israel people from different countries with different understandings of Torah understand that others may be ahead or behind in their understanding of Torah and as such they are accepting of them as brothers who are all learning. Not condemning them because you are not at their level. We in the west have so much more to learn; so much more.

As we count out the Omer we are now at Day 7 this Shabbat April 30, 2011. With each day Judah reads certain psalms. Once again I am encouraged as the psalms to be read are the ones we are currently reading in our study but we will now list each one for this past week and the upcoming week so you will have it.

Read Psalms 67 and Psalms 119: 1-8
Sunday April 24 was the first day of counting the Omer.
Chesed ShebeChesed
Psa 119:1 Blessed are the perfect in the way, Who walk in the Torah of ????
2 Blessed are those who observe His witnesses, Who seek Him with all the heart!
3 Yea, they shall do no unrighteousness; They shall walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us To guard Your orders diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were established To guard Your laws!
6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commands.
7 I thank You with uprightness of heart, When I learn the right-rulings of Your righteousness.
8 I guard Your laws; Oh, do not leave me entirely!

Day 2: Psalms 119:9- 16
Monday April 25 was day two of counting the Omer.
Gevurah ShebeChesed

Psa 119:9 How would a young man cleanse his path. To guard it according to Your word?
10 I have sought You with all my heart; Let me not stray from Your commands!
11 I have treasured up Your word in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O ????! Teach me Your laws.
13 With my lips I have recounted All the right-rulings of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your witnesses, As over all riches.
15 I meditate on Your orders, And regard Your ways.
16 I delight1 myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your word. Footnote: 1See also vv. 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174, Rom. 7:22.

Day 3: Psalms 119: 17-24
Tuesday April 26 was day three of the counting of the Omer.
Tiferet ShebeChesed

Psa 119:17 Do good to Your servant, Let me live and I guard Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I might see Wonders from Your Torah.
19 I am a sojourner in the earth; Do not hide Your commands from me.
20 My being is crushed with longing For Your right-rulings at all times.
21 You rebuked the proud, cursed ones, Who are straying from Your commands.
22 Remove from me reproach and scorn, For I have observed Your witnesses.
23 Though princes sat, speaking against me, Your servant meditates on Your laws.
24 Your witnesses also are my delight, My counsellors.

Day 4: Psalm 119:25-32
Wednesday April 27 was day four of counting the Omer.
Netzach ShebeChesed

Psa 119:25 My being has been clinging to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have recounted my ways and You answered me; Teach me Your laws.
27 Make me understand the way of Your orders; That I might meditate on Your wonders.
28 My being has wept from grief; Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove from me the way of falsehood, And favour me with Your Torah.
30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your right-rulings I have held level.
31 I have clung to Your witnesses; O ????, do not put me to shame!
32 I run the way of Your commands, For You enlarge my heart.

Day 5: Psalm 119:33-40
Thursday April 28 was day five of counting the Omer
Hod ShebeChesed

Psa 119:33 Teach me, O ????, the way of Your laws, And I observe it to the end.
34 Make me understand, that I might observe Your Torah, And guard it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commands, For I have delighted in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your witnesses, And not to own gain.
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at falsehood, And revive me in Your way.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant, Which leads to the fear of You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your right-rulings are good.
40 See, I have longed for Your orders; Revive me in Your righteousness.

Day 6 Psalm 119:41-48
Friday April 29 was day six of the counting of the Omer
Yesod ShebeChesed

Psa 119:41 And let Your kindnesses come to me, O ????; Your deliverance, according to Your word, 42 So that I answer my reprover, For I have trusted in Your word.
43 And do not take away from my mouth The word of truth entirely, For I have waited for Your right-rulings;
44 That I might guard Your Torah continually, Forever and ever;
45 That I might walk in a broad place, For I have sought Your orders;
46 That I might speak of Your witnesses before sovereigns, And not be ashamed;
47 That I might delight myself in Your commands, Which I have loved;
48 That I might lift up my hands to Your commands, Which I have loved; While I meditate on Your laws.

Day 7: Psalms 119: 49-56
Saturday April 30 is seven days, which is one week of the Omer.
Malchus ShebeChesed

Psa 119:49 Remember the word to Your servant, On which You have caused me to wait.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.
51 The proud have utterly scorned me, I did not turn aside from Your Torah.
52 I remembered Your right-rulings of old, O ????, And I comfort myself.
53 Rage has seized me because of the wrong Who forsake Your Torah.
54 Your laws have been my songs In the place of my sojournings.
55 I have remembered Your Name in the night, O ????, And I guard Your Torah.
56 This has become mine, Because I have observed Your orders.

Day 8: Psalms 119: 57-64
Sunday May 1 is eight days, which is one week and one day of the Omer.
Chesed ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:57 You are my portion, O ????; I have promised to guard Your words.
58 I have sought Your face with all my heart; Show me favour according to Your word.
59 I have thought upon my ways, And turned my feet to Your witnesses.
60 I have hurried, and did not delay To guard Your commands.
61 The cords of the wrong have surrounded me, Your Torah I have not forgotten.
62 At midnight I rise to give thanks to You, For Your righteous right-rulings.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those guarding Your orders.
64 O ????, Your kindness has filled the earth; Teach me Your laws.

Day 9: Psalms 119: 65-72
Monday May 2 is nine days, which is one week and two days of the Omer.
Gevurah ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:65 You have done good to Your servant, O ????, According to Your word.
66 Teach me good sense and knowledge, For I have trusted in Your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I myself was going astray, But now I have guarded Your word.
68 You are good, and do good; Teach me Your laws.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me, With all my heart I observe Your orders.
70 Their heart has become like fat, Without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah.
71 It was good for me that I was afflicted, That I might learn Your laws.
72 The Torah of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Day 10: Psalms 119: 73-80
Tuesday May 3 is ten days, which is one week and three days of the Omer.
Tiferet ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:73 Your hands have made me and formed me; Make me understand, that I might learn Your commands.
74 Those who fear You see me and rejoice, For I have waited for Your Word.
75 I know, O ????, That Your right-rulings are righteous, And in trustworthiness You have afflicted me.
76 Please let Your kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant.
77 Let Your compassions come to me, That I might live, For Your Torah is my delight.
78 Let the proud be put to shame, For with lies they perverted me; But I study Your orders.
79 Let those who fear You turn to me, And those who know Your witnesses.
80 Let my heart be perfect in Your laws, So that I am not put to shame.

Day 11: Psalms 119: 81-88
Wednesday May 4 is eleven days, which is one week and four days of the Omer.
Netzach ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:81 For Your deliverance my being has pined away, For I have waited for Your word.
82 My eyes have pined away for Your word, Saying, “When would it comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, Your laws I have not forgotten.
84 How many are the days of Your servant? When do You execute right-ruling On those who persecute me?
85 The proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your Torah.
86 All Your commands are trustworthy; They have persecuted me with lies; Help me!
87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I, I did not forsake Your orders.
88 Revive me according to Your kindness, That I might guard the witness of Your mouth.

Day 12: Psalms 119: 89-96
Thursday May 5 is twelve days, which is one week and five days of the Omer.
Hod ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:89 Forever, O ????, Your word stands firm in the heavens.
90 Your trustworthiness is to all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.
91 According to Your right-rulings They have stood to this day, For all are Your servants.
92 If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93 Let me never forget Your orders, For by them You have given me life.
94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your orders.
95 The wrong have waited for me to destroy me; I understand Your witnesses.
96 I have seen an end of all perfection; Your command is exceedingly broad.

Day 13: Psalms 119: 97-104
Friday May 6 is thirteen days, which is one week and six days of the Omer.
Yesod ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:97 O how I love Your Torah1! It is my study all day long. Footnote: 1See also vv. 113, 119, 127, 163, 165, 167.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies; For it is ever before me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your witnesses are my study.
100 I understand more than the aged, For I have observed Your orders.
101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I might guard Your word.
102 I have not turned aside from Your right-rulings, For You Yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet to my taste has Your word been, More than honey to my mouth!
104 From Your orders I get understanding; Therefore I have hated every false way.

Day 14: Psalms 119: 105-112
Saturday May 7 is fourteen days, which is two weeks of the Omer.
Malchus ShebeGevurah

Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
106 I have sworn, and I confirm, To guard Your righteous right-rulings.
107 I have been afflicted very much; O ????, revive me according to Your word.
108 Please accept the voluntary offerings Of my mouth, O ????, And teach me Your right-rulings.
109 My life is in my hand continually, And Your Torah I have not forgotten.
110 The wrong have laid a snare for me, But I have not strayed from Your orders.
111 Your witnesses are my inheritance forever, For they are the joy of my heart.
112 I have inclined my heart to do Your laws Forever, to the end.

Triennial Torah Cycle

We now return to our 3 1/2 year Torah studies which you can follow online.

Exodus 12      1 Kings 20      Psalm 119:75-131      John 1

Exodus 12

This past week we all kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. As I said it is my belief that Israel exited the land of Egypt via the Red Sea Crossing on the seventh day of Unleavened Bread.

One year I would like to walk this and see if it is possible to do.

But I have found it most assuring to read this part of our 3 ½ year Torah study at this time. Again I urge you to listen to Rico Cortes’s teaching on the Threshold which I suggested last week.

In one the many discussions we have had this week, and everywhere I went we would end up talking into the wee hours of the night about torah. It has been exciting and exhausting at the same time. But on one occasion one man showed me where Moses kept telling Pharaoh that they were going three days journey into the wilderness to sacrifice. It was after Moses turned back and then did not return to Egypt that Pharaoh came after him.

He also showed me that this tied into the resurrection of Yehshua. How after three days He rose from the grave and then on the fourth day He was the wave offering. A most insightful way of looking at the events of this time of the year.

As you all read this week’s portion do not apply it to those Israelites who lived way back in 1379 BC when the Exodus took place, but apply it to yourself today now in our time.

Before Israel left on the first day of Unleavened Bread, they had already asked for silver and gold from the Egyptians, see verse 35. They already had the finances they would need once they crossed over.

I have had a rash of emails condemning me for asking you brethren to support our efforts to build a farm or something like this here in Israel. Many of you think and believe this is a good idea. Some of you think this is my own personal dream.

Let me now explain a few things. I was in the Northern Galilee area and I have seen hundreds of abandoned and neglected properties and homes all over the land. When I asked why they were so run down, I was told that this one and that one and in fact many of them are bought by ministries. Pick any large ministry and they have a place here. It is not for the brethren. It is for the head of that ministry. It is paid for by the widows and those who cannot afford it. And yet these people are not allowed to come stay there. These properties are a scam. I have seen so many here that it angers me. The money raised was not for the ministry or the brethren, but for that particular leader. Million dollar homes sitting idle until that pastor comes for his two weeks to stay and all paid for by the membership; the rest of the year they sit empty unkept and an eye sore.

It makes me sick to see this.

Again let me share with you what we are trying to do and again it changes and is improved as we learn more.

We were looking at a 90 Dunam farm with three large houses on it that could house about 40 people. It had Olive orchards and had room to plant many other fruit trees. It was in bad repair and listed around $300,000. It has now sold and people were already working on the renovations of it.

We were also looking at a Hotel with 80 units on a large piece of property with room to plant hundreds of fruit trees. This place was vacant a while ago. It was now packed with vacationers and campers. The price for it was in the millions.

Another place asking 1.4 Million this winter is also packed during Passover and had about 15 rooms with about 4 dunams and then government land on a mountain. It too is no longer available.

All the places I am looking at are to house a number of the brethren and to have land in which we can also harvest and sell and store food from. None of this is for my own self interest.

I then was up on the Golan and traveled it from one end to the other and I went out on all the side roads until I came to the Jordanian Border and then the Syrian Border and then the Lebanese border. I saw mine fields all over the place, tank traps, and road blocks and buildings destroyed and bulldozed and army barracks that have been abandoned. The closer I got to Mount Hermon the more beautiful the land became.

There are not too many cities up here. The land is the same as being in the foot hills of Alberta; Rolling hills and then mountains. Grasslands everywhere and cattle unlike I have seen anywhere else in Israel; and lakes and streams where I never expected to find them, but very few people.

As I tried to figure out how we could make a living off the land, I saw fruit trees of every kind, but they would take a number of years before they would be able to produce and be ready for our consumption. I kept seeing cows and I also kept seeing honey bee hives everywhere we went.

This truly is a land flowing with milk and honey.

This part of Israel is not really developed. It is still open for Ephraim. When I went back to see what the scriptures say about the Golan I was struck by the prophecy of Amos 4 and 5. So many times we are told ‘But you did not return to me.’

We will not return. Then notice the curses that He sends. Are they not the same ones He is sending now according to the curses of the Sabbatical cycles? Are they not similar to the time of Moses and the Exodus? And yet so many of you want to condemn me for telling you go back; To return.

Condemn me all you want, I do not care. But read the scriptures and believe them. Do not believe me, but do believe your bible.

Also read the news and take note; has the USA not had two weeks with severe storms systems pass through and in both about over 170 people were killed in over 150 violent storms? Have you become so numb to the hearing the voice of Yehovah?

Read Amos and notice that this area of Golan is also part of the mountains of Samaria. It is not just the west bank that so many
of you are worried about. Golan was also part of the territory of Manasseh and Samaria!

Amo 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Shomeron, who are oppressing the poor, who are crushing the needy, who are saying to their masters, “Bring wine, let us drink!”
Amo 4:2 The Master ???? has sworn by His set-apartness, “See, days are coming upon you when He shall take you away with hooks, and your descendants with fish-hooks,
Amo 4:3 and let you go out at the breaches, each woman before her, and you shall be cast out toward Harmon,” declares ????.
Amo 4:4 “Come to B?yth ?l and transgress, to Gilgal, increase transgression. And bring your slaughterings every morning, your tithes every three days.
Amo 4:5 “And burn an offering of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim voluntary offerings, loudly. For you have loved this, you children of Yisra’?l!” declares the Master ????.

Amo 4:6 “And I also gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places.
But you did not turn back to Me,” declares ????.

Amo 4:7 “And I also withheld rain from you, three months before the harvest. Then I would send rain on one city, and on another city I would not send rain. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part would dry up.
Amo 4:8 “Then two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied.
But you did not turn back to Me,” declares ????.

Amo 4:9 “I have smitten you with blight and with mildew. The creeping locust devoured your many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees.
But you did not turn back to Me,” declares ????.

Amo 4:10 “I have sent among you a plague in the way of Mitsrayim. I have slain your young men with a sword, along with your captured horses. And I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils.
But you did not turn back to Me,” declares ????.

Amo 4:11 “I have overthrown some of you, as Elohim overthrew Sed?om and Amorah, and you were like a burning stick plucked from the burning.
But you did not turn back to Me,” declares ????.

Amo 4:12 “Therefore I am doing this to you, O Yisra’?l. And because I do this to you, prepare to meet your Elohim, O Yisra’?l!”

When would Israel be meeting their maker? In the last days when Yehshua was to return. Is this prophecy for Israel before they went into captivity in 723 or is it for us today? Both I say.

Some of us will be like sodom; do you know what this means’……It is a nuclear attack on some who will be turned to ashes.

Brethren these five curses here in Amos are very close to the 5 curses in Lev 26 that we have been telling you about in relationship to the Sabbatical cycles. Are any of you listening to the voice of Yehovah. He is speaking through the storms that are now killing people across the USA, can you not hear?????

Brethren I will not be like all the others out there building things for themselves. If we do not raise the money needed for this farm then I will send every dollar back to those who have contributed. Most of the ones bitching and complaining and objecting are those who do not believe and don’t want to believe and do not have faith in Yehovah and Israel. But once I send back the money I will then begin to work for myself and think of myself like many of you who are only thinking of yourselves. But I will be going back to the land as we are told to do, so many times just here in Amos and as I have been trying to show you these many months in the news letters.

So many people say I am not going to do anything until I hear or get a word from Yehovah. What are they waiting for? Do they think Yehovah is going to speak audibly to them? How is Yehovah supposed to give them this word they wait for?

I am reminded of the story of the man who was drowning. Someone tossed a life saver at him and he refused it because he said he was waiting on god to rescue him. Then a boat came and he refused to get in it because he was waiting for god to rescue him. And then a helicopter came and again the man refused to get in because he was waiting for god to rescue him. Later that day he drowned.

As he met Peter at the pearly gate Peter said your name is not here, why are you here? The Man said I waited on god to rescue me and he did not so I drowned. Peter then checked another book and it said God had sent a life saver and a boat and then a helicopter to rescue the man He could not understand why he kept refusing His help.

You all have just read Amos “But you will NOT RETURN to Yehovah” He is not in Oklahoma, nor South Africa nor Australia. His name is written on the land of Israel and it is here that you are to come home to. We read in Amos how He sends these curses. We read in Lev 26 how He sends the very same curses. We read in the Sabbatical and Jubilee years how He sends these curses. We read in The Prophecies of Abraham when these curses are to come. And still you will not return to Him.

Some of you say you are waiting for that word. In our study this week in John 1 you are going to see that the word you say you are waiting for is the TORAH; and it has just spoken to you in Amos and you have so much wax build up that you cannot hear a damn thing. Pull out that plug of wax and then read Amos again and Lev 26 and know that the very news you are hearing on TV is telling you that these same curses are now happening and you are to go home. Look at the number of dead who are now regularly being killed as these severe weather systems pass over the USA. Repent and return and keep the torah.

Those of you who want to condemn me for telling you these things, think about who you are serving before you write. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and does not want you to do the will of the Father in Heaven. The Fathers will as you keep reading is for you to go home and it is there He is going to protect you just as He did the Israelites when they fled Egypt.

1 Kings 20

Ahab and the First Syrian Campaign (1 Kings 20:1-22)
Ben-Hadad of Syria here is not the same as the Syrian ruler with the same title in 1 Kings 15. Commentators and historians refer to the one here in 1 Kings 20 as Ben-Hadad II. He besieges Samaria, capital of the kingdom of Israel, and offers Ahab conditions of surrender. Ahab agrees to meet those conditions to prevent further war. But whether the Syrian king is simply greedy, or perhaps more interested in war than spoils, he decides to increase the demands, which Ahab then says is too much.
As a demonstration to Ahab of His sovereignty and power, God sends a prophet to tell Ahab that He will grant him the victory. And, as always, God is true to His word. But the fighting is not yet over. After his success, Ahab is warned that Ben-Hadad will return in the spring.

Ahab’s Life for Ben-Hadad’s (1 Kings 20:23-43)
As promised, the Syrians plan another attack. But they make the fatal error of concluding that God is a territorial deity, incapable of assisting the Israelites outside of a prescribed area. They arrange for this battle to take place in the area south and east of the Sea of Galilee, feeling God will be powerless there. Of course, they are profoundly mistaken. The great and omnipotent God delivers them into Ahab’s hands.

But following the Syrian defeat, the servants of Ben-Hadad II attempt to get off easy by appealing to Israel’s tendency to forgive and forget. While this is normally a positive and godly trait in interpersonal relationships, extending it to carnal nations reflects a naïve trust in man, and is sometimes done against God’s will and to Israel’s own hurt.

God sends yet another prophet to Ahab, this time with a theatrical tale reminiscent of some incidents in David’s life (compare 2 Samuel 12; 14). The Living Bible paraphrases the prophet’s words in 1 Kings 20:42 as: “The Lord says, ‘Because you have spared the man I said must die, now you must die in his place, and your people shall perish instead of his.'” Ahab, however, does not respond as David did—but rather sulks back to his capital in anger.

Psalm 119:75-131

“Oh, How I Love Your Law!” (Psalm 119:89-128)
The Lamed stanza (verses 89-96), which begins the second half of the psalm, starts with a three-verse introduction to this half that teaches a general truth-that “God’s sovereign and unchanging word governs and maintains all creation” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on verses 89-91). These verses strengthen the parallel between this psalm and Psalm 19. The Nelson Study Bible comments: “The stability of the universe, or the heaven, mirrors God’s faithfulness, love, and care. But even more important, it reflects the permanence of God’s laws and the fact that the universe serves Him” (note on 119:89-91).

The phrase “for all are Your servants” (verse 91) refers back to the things just mentioned. The NIV renders it as, “for all things serve you.” The existence of heaven and earth, natural laws, the regularity of day and night, and the progression of the seasons are all things that serve the Lord. All creatures, including all thinking beings, in a sense serve God. Even those who are opposed to God’s will today ultimately serve His purposes. For one, they too serve as a witness to the inexorable constancy of His laws-His spiritual laws of conduct. It is sometimes said that you can’t really break God’s spiritual laws, anymore than you can break his physical laws such as gravity. If you try to contravene such laws, they will instead break you. It is essentially pointless to defy God. His purposes will still stand-forever. And in the end, all will be led to willingly conform to His ways or be removed from the picture.

The psalmist recognizes God’s sovereignty and is happy to be part of the universe that serves His will, finding delight in God’s law and knowing that if he did not, he would not have made it through to where he is now (verse 92). God’s laws have preserved him (verse 93), and he asks for God to continue to preserve him. As the Lord’s willing servant striving to obey, the poet utters another plea for deliverance from the enemies who want to destroy him (verses 94-95). Yet even in his trial and cry for help, the major focus is still on resolving to continue in God’s ways.

He closes the stanza with this most remarkable statement in verse 96: “I have seen the consummation of all perfection [probably referring back to the physical creation and its laws, as described in verses 89-91], but your commandment is exceedingly broad.” That is, it is bigger than the universe, providing an inexhaustible source of wise counsel on how to live, a subject given further treatment in the stanza that follows. Thus we should clearly see that even God’s Old Testament law was to be understood and applied not merely in the letter, but in the fullness of its spirit and intent. Furthermore, we should consider that we could not run out of things to study and learn about God’s Word and His laws in countless lifetimes.

In the Mem strophe (verses 97-104) the psalmist devotes the whole stanza to his love for God’s law. Unlike all of the other stanzas following the second one, he makes no requests for help or lament over his treatment by his enemies. He pours out his feelings in a grand hymn of praise, declaring his love for God’s law-that it is his constant meditation (verses 97, 99).
This is reminiscent of the description of the blessed righteous man at the very outset of the book of Psalms: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (1:2). However, there the Hebrew word for “meditate” is one derived from the sound of musing, while the word used here (and in 119:15) more explicitly means reflection or contemplation-derived from a term that means uttering, in the sense of speaking to oneself. The point in both cases is that we are to constantly mull over God’s law, being thankful for it and considering how to apply it as we go through every day.

The author recognizes that God’s commandments make him wiser than his enemies (verse 98). They, with their cunning and craftiness and worldly success, may seem to have the upper hand at this time, but there is no question that the he has made the smarter life choice by following God’s ways. Even at this time, the wicked do not experience the true happiness that comes from living right and absolute confidence in the future. And in that future, divine judgment and reward lie in store.

Indeed, studying and living by God’s laws provides the best life education possible. The psalmist says he has more understanding than his teachers-perhaps teachers he had years ago-and more than “the ancients” (verses 99-100). Most translations consider this latter term to mean not those who lived long before but those who are aged-elders.

Parallel to verse 98, the writer seems to be declaring himself wiser than his teachers and elders. This would certainly make sense if he were raised in a time of apostasy. Jeremiah, for instance, was plotted against by those of his own priestly hometown-including those who would have been his teachers and elders.

However, it is possible that the psalmist simply means he has come to understand far more than what he received from his teachers and elders. He may have learned some valuable things from teachers, wise elders and others in his community. But this does not compare to what he has learned through directly studying God’s law and living by it, developing a loving relationship with the Lawgiver. What the Lord Himself taught him (verse 102; compare verse 24)-through scriptural revelation, inspiration and life experiences-is far more than he learned, or ever could learn, from other people.

Verse 101 gives us the important principle of practicing self-control-exercising willpower to restrain ourselves from wrongdoing. Having access to spiritual power is not enough, for God will not force us to act in accordance with His commands. We must be willing to follow His commands and follow through. This comes from learning to really love God’s ways-to desire them as we desire the pleasure of eating something that tastes good (compare verse 103)-and learning to hate evil (verses 104, 128). Humbly studying God’s Word will help to shape our way of thinking in these regards.

In the Nun strophe (verses 105-112) the psalmist begins by stating that God’s word is a “lamp” and a “light” to show him the right path (verse 105). It is a light in the sense that it provides understanding (see verse 130)-as in the English metaphorical terms enlightenment and illumination. Without the guidance God’s law gives, we would have to grope blindly through a dark world on our own. Yet through God’s revelation we can properly see. Many scriptural passages declare God Himself as well as His truth and ways to be light. All who are His people have been “called…out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). And we are to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 5:7). Light is also representative throughout Scripture of life and blessing.

The writer had sworn (“taken an oath,” NIV) and reaffirmed often, “I will keep Your righteous judgments” (verse 106). The taking of an oath was a serious matter, for “an oath is really a conditional curse which a man calls down upon himself from God, in the case of his not speaking the truth or not keeping a promise” (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, “Oaths”). The law addressed this subject: “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2). The author had personally covenanted with God to serve Him, and he remained committed to this promise.

He again mentions his present affliction, praying to be revived (verse 107). Yet even as he does, he asks that God would accept the “freewill offerings” of his mouth-referring to praise, thanks and statements of commitment-and continue to instruct him (verse 108).

He says that he constantly takes his life in his hands (verse 109). If he were a prophet of God bearing an unpopular message or a counselor of government officials who hated him, the performance of his duties would indeed require him to “lay his life on the line.” Yet even despite this and the plotting of his enemies (verse 110), he has not turned away from God’s way-and will not.
He closes by referring to God’s testimonies as his “heritage” (verse 111)-recalling his earlier statements that the Lord was his “portion” (verse 57), his inheritance-a wonderful gift that he will rejoice in forever.

In the strong>Samek strophe (verses 113-120) the psalmist declares his stand with God against those who won’t obey God’s laws. His statement, “I hate double-minded men” (verse 113, NIV), should be understood in the sense of rejecting them as God does. Note his address to evildoers to get away from him (verse 115) and his recognition that God rejects the wicked (verses 118-119). The point is that the poet wants nothing to do with them, looking on them as his enemies because they are God’s enemies (compare 26:5; 31:6; 139:21-22). Of course, this does not preclude the possibility of such people repenting-and it does not negate our responsibility to pray that they do. Jesus gave us the instruction of praying for our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44), and the best thing we could pray for them is that they repent-though this could require correction from God.

We should understand that a double-minded man, as mentioned in Psalm 119:113, is undecided, uncommitted, inconsistent, wishy-washy, much as were the people to whom Elijah spoke on Mount Carmel: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). “A double-minded man [is] unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). This is unacceptable when it comes to God. He will accept nothing less than full commitment.

It is not clear if the writer is referring to specific people here or if he is just providing a general contrast with his own, fully committed attitude of loving God’s law (Psalm 119:113). It may be that there were some at the time who could not make up their minds on whether to support him in his righteous cause-or perhaps they would offer support and then not follow through. Perhaps there were compromisers among supposed friends who wanted him to comply with some of the demands of his enemies-thus making these friends enemies themselves.

Hoping and trusting in God’s promises of protection (verse 114), the psalmist prays to be sustained through his present dilemma, determined to continue in obedience to God (verses 116-118). He trusts that God will deal with the wicked, realizing that they will be “put away…like dross” (verses 118-119)-that is, like the scum cleared off the top of molten metal (compare Ezekiel 22:18-19).
In light of God’s righteous judgments against evil that are sure to come, the author trembles in awe (verse 120)-soberly respectful and appropriately fearful of the consequences of disobeying the Almighty Judge.

In the Ayin strophe (verses 121-128) the psalmist emphasizes that he is the Lord’s servant (verses 122, 124-125), who has acted faithfully, and he pleads for the Lord to now act to save him from his oppressors.

As a servant looking to his master (compare 123:2), the writer asks God to be his “surety…for good” (119:122). “A person became surety when he or she pledged to pay another person’s debt or fulfill a promise [if need be]” (Wiersbe, Be Exultant, note on verses 121-128). Job also asked for God to be surety for him (Job 17:3). So did Hezekiah, praying to God, “Stand surety for me” (Isaiah 38:14, NEB, REB). The book of Genesis gives us the example of Judah standing as surety for his brother Benjamin (Genesis 44:32)-willing to become an Egyptian slave in his stead so that Benjamin could return free to their father Jacob (see 43:1-10; 44:18-34).

The author is essentially asking God to put Himself on the line as the guarantee for His servant’s deliverance. We can view this beyond the immediate circumstances of the psalm’s composition. In its note on Psalm 119:122, John Gill’s Exposition on the Whole Bible points out that what the psalmist “prays to God to be for him, that [is what] Christ is for all his people, [see] Heb 7:22. He drew nigh to God, struck hands [in agreement] with him, gave his word and bond to pay the debts of his people; put himself in their legal place and stead, and became responsible to law and justice for them; engaged [in work] to make satisfaction for their sins, to bring in everlasting righteousness for their justification, and to preserve and keep them, and bring them safe to eternal glory and happiness; and this was being a surety for them for good.”

The poet’s eyes have failed, from exhaustion and probably tears, in looking for God’s salvation (verse 123; compare verse 136). He asks for God to deal with him according to His hesed-His covenant love (verse 124). On that basis, the psalmist declares that it is time for God to act, to at last intervene, to stop the oppressors from the blasphemy they have been perpetrating-that of pronouncing God’s law void through their ability to so mistreat His servant with impunity (verse 126).

In all this, the writer is still keen to better understand God’s laws, and he declares his great love for God’s commands and the tremendous value he places on them (verse 127, compare verses 14, 72, 162). He knows that God’s way is right, and, as in verse 104, he hates every false way (verse 163).

John 1

This a very informative introduction which you need to read. The word is what Yehovah Spoke and that word became flesh and was Yehshua. Yehshua is the Torah Scroll. He is the Torah which most Christians refuse to obey. But instead they choose to follow a false Jesus who does away with the law and tells people they have nothing to do but sit back and wait. These same people have never read the old testament and jump right into the New testament with little and no understanding of the old, which is what the new testament is based on and they do so to their own detriment.

In John we read how many were asking him if he was Elijah as they know Elijah was to come before the Messiah.

At this time of year at Passover many Jews leave a 5th cup of wine on the table and they also leave the door ajar in hopes that Elijah will come. I would like to share again this subject at this time which you can read about in, “What is aa Prophet and who is Elijah?”

The 613 Miztvot

We now continue to study the 613 laws of Torah which we can read at http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm
We are doing 7 laws each week. We shall study laws 409-415 We also have commentary, with editing from me, again from http://theownersmanual.net/The_Owners_Manual_02_The_Law_of_Love.Torah

(409) Set apart the tithe of the produce (one tenth of the produce after taking out t’rumah) for the Levites. “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh. (Leviticus 27:30) “The Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’” (Numbers 18:23-24) Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: the tithe is not primarily “for” the Levites—it is set apart to Yahweh, who assigns it to the Levites so they can “perform the work of the tabernacle.” As we noted in Mitzvah #394, though there is no tabernacle or temple today and no Levites performing service there, the principle still applies. To recap: Levites were specifically set apart by Yahweh to do a service for God and man. In addition, they had been denied by their divine calling the capacity to earn a living in the normal way.

I’m thinking more in terms of the lady I know who was in Bolivia adopting a child a few years back, saw a dire need for a free medical clinic for the poor, and single-handedly, through prayer and persistence, made it happen. Or the friend of mine who heard the call of God on his life and now spends all his waking hours—and maybe a hundred grand a year out of his own pocket—shedding badly needed light on Yahweh’s Word and the things that war against it. These two, and many like them, are to my mind the “Levites” of the church age, working for man’s benefit and God’s glory in the tabernacle we call earth.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that the biological Levites and priests of Israel are not permanently extinct. They will once again fulfill their appointed roles in Yahshua’s Millennial kingdom. Who are they? I have no idea, but their genealogical records are written in their DNA, and their future role is prophesied in scripture—most notably in the closing chapters of the book of Ezekiel.

(410) Tithe cattle. “Concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to Yahweh.” (Leviticus 27:32) Every tenth clean animal born among the flocks and herds of Israel was to be set apart to Yahweh and therefore given to the tribe of Levi for their services. In this, they were just like the grain harvest, vintage, or fruits of the orchard. One tenth was set aside for Yahweh, and given to the Levites. In the matter of livestock, however, there was another factor. The firstborn—each animal that “opened the womb”—was already set apart to Yahweh, so it wouldn’t count as being among the ten from which the tithe was drawn. In practical terms, this meant that far more than ten percent of the livestock would be dedicated to Yahweh. (Of course, we need to bear in mind that what was “given” to God was actually consumed by His people.) In observing the Torah in this matter, the Israelites were trusting God to bless their herds and make them fruitful. As usual, we find that Yahweh’s math and ours don’t match. For those who are willing to trust Him, His sums come out larger.

(411) Do not sell the tithe of the herd. “Concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to Yahweh. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” (Leviticus 27:32-33) Maimonides has missed the point entirely. It wasn’t that you weren’t allowed to sell an animal and present the money to the Levites instead. That was specifically allowed (see Deuteronomy 14:24-26). What we see here is a prohibition against the purposeful selection of one animal over another for the purpose of the tithe. Notice how it’s worded: “whatever passes under the rod.” The herdsman would notice that his cows or ewes had given birth in the fields. But the newborns wouldn’t be counted until they reentered the fold, when they “passed under the rod.” (This is the short stick he used to keep them in line, moving as he directed. The word for rod—shebet—is the same word used for a king’s scepter. It speaks of authority, control, direction, even punishment. Compare Psalm 23:4 to Isaiah 30:31.) If the tenth lamb or calf was perfect and spotless, while the ninth had two heads and was covered with purple polka dots, it didn’t matter. You couldn’t substitute one for the other. The tenth one was taken for the tithe.

(412) The Levites shall set apart a tenth of the tithes, which they had received from the Israelites, and give it to the kohanim. (This is called the t’rumah of the tithe.) “When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to Yahweh, a tenth of the tithe. And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress.” (Numbers 18:26-27) We looked at this principle in Mitzvah #394. Remember, the priests were a subset of the Levites. A tenth of what was produced in Israel was set apart to Yahweh for the use of the tribe of Levi, which had been given no tribal lands of its own. One tenth of that tithe was set aside for the priests, the Levite family of the sons of Aaron. This one percent was lifted up (“waved” or “heaved”) in symbolic recognition that it was dedicated to Yahweh. The tithes received by the Levites were taken from the increase Yahweh had provided in livestock and crops. But since the Levites had no tribal land upon which to pasture flocks and grow grain, their tithe to the priests, the t’rumah, didn’t actually represent any further increase. Yahweh, however, is telling them to count what they’ve received from the other tribes as if they had grown or raised the bounty themselves, and tithe from it accordingly.

(413) Do not eat the second tithe of cereals outside Jerusalem. “You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand. But you must eat them before Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God in all to which you put your hands.” (Deuteronomy 12:17-18) The next three mitzvot are describing exactly the same principle; Maimonides has broken them down by the type of offering—grain, new wine, or olive oil (though he sort of skipped over livestock for some reason)—but they’re really all talking about the same thing. Note first that there’s no such thing as a “second tithe.” One might presume that this is another description of the t’rumah, the tithe of the tithe that the priests were to receive out of what had been tithed to the Levites in general, except for the fact that Maimonides listed them separately in Mitzvah #403 (where he called for this bogus “second tithe” to be paid after the t’rumah). Nowhere in the Torah is a “second tithe” mentioned or commanded. For that matter, it doesn’t even show up in the rabbinical literature before the time of Flavius Josephus—late in the first century A.D.

Thinking of this passage only in terms of tithing will throw you off immediately. Moses has given a short descriptive round-up of all the offerings Israel would contribute—not just tithes, but everything from vows to thank-, peace-, and sin-offerings, as well as sacrifices made at the feasts of Yahweh. The point here is that they were not to be offered up just anywhere. There would be a “place which Yahweh your God chooses,” where the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant would be, a central location within Israel’s land where the people would gather for worship and celebration. Under the Judges, the tabernacle was at Shiloh. During Saul’s time it was located at Nob, and later at Gibeon. But its final stop was to be Jerusalem, the stronghold wrested from the Jebusites by David, whose son Solomon was given the privilege of replacing the tabernacle with a “permanent” temple.

All of the offerings were to be made here, all the tithes brought here, all the sacrifices to be slain here. Part of being holy—set apart to Yahweh—was that Israel would not be allowed to practice their rites without divine supervision. There was to be no do-it-yourself religion going on. Everything that even resembled a ritual was to be fraught with meaning and significance—and performed by God’s chosen priesthood, assisted by their brothers the Levites.

So all the sacrifices, tithes, and offerings were to be brought to the chosen place of worship to be consumed, a fact that made this place barbeque central—the location the whole country visited three times a year to party with God. But wait! The Levites were supposed to live on the tithes, but their homes were in cities scattered all over Israel. Does this mean that they couldn’t eat unless they came to Jerusalem (or Shiloh, or wherever the tabernacle was)? No, it doesn’t, but allow me to defer discussion of why to Mitzvah #417.

(414) Do not consume the second tithe of the vintage outside of Jerusalem. “You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine….” (Deuteronomy 12:17) See the previous mitzvah, #413.

(415) Do not consume the second tithe of the oil outside of Jerusalem. “You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil….” (Deuteronomy 12:17) Ditto.