News Letter 5846-063
20th day of the 13th month 5846 years after creation
The 13th Month in the first year of the third Sabbatical Year
The Third Sabbatical Year of the 119th Jubilee Cycle

March 26, 2011

Shabbat Shalom Brethren,

In the mail I received the following excellent comment from one sister.

Have you ever studied what scripture means by “leaven”, sa’or/that would be a fermenting agent, yeast to us? What are its properties, how does it work? Do other leavening agents, i.e. baking powder and soda fit with what Abba is seeking to teach? (Only if one is stuck on the “puffing up” aspect) Study how they work. They are dead, and purely chemical in their properties. The fermentation process is alive and working. We are told in the apostolic writings that it is knowledge that puffs up. Can we say that because leaven/sa’or puffs up, it is equated to knowledge? Only when man misuses it. In my studies, it has been almost ten years since i started on this deep study, i have found if you say sa’or = sin, you limit your understanding. We are told of the leaven of the religious leaders, first century, and how it spreads, how it corrupts (the fermentation process), which is what yeast does, turning the dough sour. That i found is the bottom line lesson of the days. And that is why there is so much trouble among believers today – the spreading of sa’or/corruption. Sin can be pretty easy to spot; that slow growing fermentation/corruption, not so much. And as you intimated on many an occasion, it has infiltrated the Body. Sin is a part of the story, but more importantly it is the spreading of all those wrong attitudes, teachings as attributed to the religious leadership we find in the 1st century.

An interesting verse in the Aramaic NT: 1 Cor 5:8 “Therefore let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven (that should have been thrown out), neither with the leaven of evil and bitterness, but with the leaven of purity and sanctity (spiritual application).” This agrees with the example of a woman hiding the “lump”, Hebrew sa’or, in 3 measures of meal exemplifying the spread of the Kingdom. Lk 13:20,21. The lesson of fermention spreading can be a good thing. Sadly, then and today that wasn’t/isn’t generally the case.

Conclusion, it is that subtle hidden spread of lawlessness (the sin part), wrong attitudes (that includes our unjust condemnation of our brethren, in my mind), that we must be focusing on, stop the spreading/ fermention by obedience, by love for our brothers, and we will be living the festival, in the unfermented state we are to come to.
Shabbat Shalom

sandie b.

Some people did not like the fact that Yehovah destroys. Nor did they like it when I quoted the scriptures as I did last week showing you how He laughs at your disasters and mocks you when you cry out to Him. As I explained, if you do not obey His commandments you will not be able to have a conversation with Him.

One lady wrote;

It is sad to me that people do not ask God for mercy on those who do not know Him, but actually want destruction for these people. I also think it is sad that anyone could think He is laughing at their calamity. I do not speak for Him, nor do I pretend to know His ways—my ways are not His ways. That being said, I think I can confidently say that the God I know, love, and serve is grieved by any kind of loss. It is His desire that all know and love Him and that none should perish.

Another wrote;

Your newsletter really got me fuming, because you so misrepresent the heart of God. God is not laughing at the people in Japan. In Ez 18:23 he says, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: [and] not that he should return from his ways, and live?” “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to a knowledge of the truth.”( II Peter 3:9)Your telling people that God is out there laughing will never win anyone to Christ.You have only proved that the letter of the law is what Paul says it is “a ministry of death” because it kills (II Cor 3). It is the Spirit that gives life. Telling people that God is mocking and laughing at their calamities is sick. I should hope you will be on your knees interceding for the people of Japan that through this tragedy many will turn to Christ.

In all probability the New World Order with all it’s weaponized weather and ELF earthquake devices, engineered this catastrophe. They needed to destroy Japan’s economy to move the world along into a global currency and new world order. You play right into their hands by telling everyone it is God who is wreaking havoc on the earth. My bible says when Jesus returns He will “destroy the destroyers of the earth” ( Revelation 11). That means men are the ones destroying God’s earth. And it is not happening because people aren’t keeping feasts and sabbaths either…it’s because their hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked…
Shalom, Janice

This email is what stinken Christian thinken does. It takes one scripture and uses it out of context ignoring the true meaning by not looking at the verses before and after.

Let’s look at Ezekiel 18:20 “The being who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the crookedness of the father, nor the father bear the crookedness of the son. The righteousness of the righteous is upon himself, and the wrongness of the wrong is upon himself.
Eze 18:21 “But the wrong1, if he turns from all his sins which he has done, and he shall guard all My laws, and shall do right-ruling and righteousness, he shall certainly live, he shall not die. Footnote: 1Similar passages in 3:18-21, 33:8-20.
Eze 18:22 “All the transgressions which he has done shall not be remembered against him – in his righteousness that he has done, he shall live.
Eze 18:23 “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wrong?” declares the Master ????. “Is it not that he should turn from his ways, and live?
Eze 18:24 “But when a righteous one turns away from his righteousness and does unrighteousness, according to all the abominations that the wrong one has done, shall he live? All his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered. For his trespass which he has committed, and for his sin which he has committed, for them he shall die.
Eze 18:25 “And you said, ‘The way of ???? is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Yisra’?l, is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?
Eze 18:26 “When a righteous one turns away from his righteousness, and does unrighteousness, and he dies in it, it is because of his unrighteousness which he has done that he dies.
Eze 18:27 “And when the wrong turns away from the wrong which he has done, and he does right-ruling and righteousness, he keeps himself alive.
Eze 18:28 “Because he sees and turns away from all the transgressions which he has done, he shall certainly live, he shall not die.

Again it is those who will not turn from wickedness who are going to be destroyed. In the next verse she quotes is
2Pe 3:7 And the present heavens and the earth are treasured up by the same Word, being kept for fire, to a day of judgment and destruction of wicked men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved ones, let not this one matter be hidden from you: that with ???? one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9 ???? is not slow in regard to the promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.1 Footnote: 11 Tim. 2:4.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of ???? shall come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with intense heat, and the earth and the works that are in it shall be burned up.

We are commanded to turn from our wicked ways and live. But if we insist on not obeying Yehovah and not keeping Torah then we can expect to be killed.

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

One of the troubling things that this last email had in it was how they remove Yehovah from being the one who causes these things and attribute them to the Illuminate and the one world order with men in the back room secretly pulling the levers that causes the earth to quake by ELF or by HAARP. It is the spreading of these type of lies that leads people away from Yehovah into a false searching of endless rumours thinking they are gaining useful knowledge. Brethren I again tell you to stop reading that type of lying wonders put up by Satan. Stop being the messengers of Satan by forwarding this sort of lie on to others. You are not helping them. You are confusing them which is what Satan the author of confusion and lies does. Stop being an acomplis to this type of deception. Stop reading this sort of garbage.

I have received a ton of information about the solar flare ups and how the Moon was to pass very close to the earth this past week and how planet X is coming in line with the earth and is very near and how all of these things are going to cause massive earthquakes and Tsunami and all sorts of this and that. Stop the being the false witnesses. Stop spreading the false stories.

Yehovah is the one who is going to cause the earth to quake, some phantom planet. Yehovah is the one who is going to bring about all these prophecies as He said He would, not some man pushing a button on a some mysterious secret machine that only those on that email list know about because of some secret unidentified source.

Brethren when you spread this garbage you discredit all the truths Yehovah spoke in His word.

Again it is because they are wrapped up in stinken Christian thinken and do not know Yehovah. Many Christians think they know god. But how can they know the true Elohim when they do not keep His commandments and obey the creator of the universe. They quite simply cannot, and as such they come up with false thinking.

One reader from Israel sent it this comment.

we were cracking up reading your letter yesterday….”stinkin thinkin” thanks for being blunt and funny yet right on
love and shabbat shalom

In the News this past few weeks has been this planter X lining up with the earth and how it was going to cause the massive earthquakes around the time of the full moon on March 19 when it would be at it’s closest to the earth with the maximum gravitational pull.

We are now at March 26. Here is a great example of how much time people waste on searching these endless lies and false tales and how they are slowly led away from the truth of the scriptures, becoming experts on the Illuminate Secret Societies and the Jesuits. Read you bible and keep reading it. Do not waste you time running after every false teaching and helping it by sending that lie on to others.

I also get this one type of letter each week. It always has to do with the name of YHVH.

When I used to say God and Jesus when I first started this web site, I was attacked for doing so. I was just learning the name of the Father was Yahweh and Yahshua. I then began to use this and I was attacked by many a sacred namer telling me that the name is this way or that and about 20 different versions. Many of these people condemned me to hell to burn for ever for not using their version of the name of YHVH.

In Feb of 2010 I heard Keith Johnson and Nehemiah Gordon speak on the name and they said it was Yehovah. It could be said to be Yeowah changing the v to w. After this I began to use Yehovah and Yehshua. In Hebrew the Yah is only pronounced at the end of a name. When it is at the beginning of a name Hebrew grammar says it is Yeh. Again I am not an authority, so I rely on those who are.

Not one person anywhere is 100% sure they have the correct pronunciation, Yet so many speak as if they do. Please I am sick and tired of reading the hundreds of emails telling me the name is this way or that. You do not even agree with each other. Stop fighting over this. Stop demeaning each other over the great and awesome name of our Father. Stop turning the new brethren away because of your self-righteousness and demanding that everyone do it your way. Stop!! Just plain stop.

It is self-righteousness plain and simple. Stop it.

Instead of bickering amongst your selves every Shabbat about the name of our Father, go out and teach the Christians to keep Torah. When I hire men to work for me in construction I do not pay them to stand around and argue over the pronunciation of the one part of the workmen’s code of safety. No I pay them to get the job done.

Our Father has selected each of you. He has picked you from the millions of others on this earth He chose you to work in His vineyards. Mathew 20. He has given each of us gifts of various degrees Mathew 25 in order to do His work. Are you investing those talents you have to show others how to keep Torah or are you hindering other workers by bickering with them all the time?

Think about this when you want to fight with one of His workers that He chose, one of His elect. What is that job we are to be doing?

Mat 28:19 “Therefore, go and make taught ones of all the nations, immersing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Set-apart Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to guard all that I have commanded you. And see, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Am?n.

We are to baptize them into the Name of our Father, a Mikvah and to teach them to guard or protect and to keep the Torah. We are to go to all nations where they do not presently keep the Torah and do this. Judah for the most part keeps the Torah. Yet all the wrong Christian thinkers think they have to convert Judah. NOOOOOO!!!!! You have to go to the Christian nations and show them the Torah. Do this first and when that nation is keeping the Torah then go to another one.

I do not see anything here where it says we are to fight amongst ourselves over how to say His name.

So get off your high horse and get your butt out the door and go back to the places you all have come from, the churches and false religions you all used to keep and go back to these places and find others who are looking to know about the truth. Teach them the Sabbath and Holy Days and how they reveal the entire plan of Salvation, and how you will not understand it unless you start to keep and obey it. Stop the endless bickering please. And do not teach them the lies of those things we have spoken of above. Teach them the Torah and quote it to them; then go and find another and another and never stop.

I know of one Chinese couple who have gone back and keep going back to the Chinese Christian church they used to attend to rescue those who seek to keep the truth. And they are also reaching into China. They are running as fast as they can with what they have. Can you say the same thing? This couple comes to Israel one time and they are changed forever. Now they are not trying to convert Israel but are telling everyone that they have to change to Torah.

Remember what the first email said; “Therefore let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven (that should have been thrown out), neither with the leaven of evil and bitterness, but with the leaven of purity and sanctity (spiritual application).” We are to spread this type of leaven around. Stop using the old leaven of bickering.

Another type of email I get a lot of now is the one about the book.

The self righteous are quoting the scripture in Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it – Wisdom and discipline and understanding.

What they focus on is the section that says do not sell it. And in each and every case they miss the part that commands them to buy the truth. The same people who say this never ever send in a donation to help make this giving away possible. They are hypocrite’s pure and simple quoting one scripture and ignoring many others.

Let me explain some things about The Prophecies of Abraham the book I am pushing as much as possible.

To publish the book it cost me almost $4000 just to have it published. I also paid about $2000 to have it edited. I have then endeavored to have it advertised on two occasions which have cost me about $4000 each time.

I have entered the book in a number of book contests to help promote the awareness of the book. Again it cost me money to the tune of about $2000 so far.

When someone buys the book from the publisher at Authorhouse I make just under $7 dollars for each book. Each book cost $30 because of the size of the book, the number of ages and because of the colour content. When they buy it from Amazon I make about $2. I reduced the commission because the price was so high. Each time I give a book away it cost me about $50 once I have included postage. This means I have to sell 7 books to cover the cost of one I give away.

So now you add up the above figures, especially you self-righteous types. I am out of pocket about $16,000 just to get the book to you. I have given many books away but have never sold seven others to make up for the loss. www.sightedmoon.com does not receive or accept tithes. All the gifts I receive from the brethren and all the supposedly profits I receive from the book and DVD I put towards the purchase of the farm in Israel. 100% of them, but that is not very much; I pray it were 100,000 times more.

Why did I publish The Prophecies of Abraham? Was it to be famous? Was it to be rich? Was it to be somebody? Was it for my own vanity?

Each and every chapter of the book was first written and shared with the Brethren in the News letter over a couple of years. This was all done for free on the web site. No one was compensating me for any of that. Yes there were a few who sent in funds to help me pay for the web site and such. If I was a Levite and I am not, but if I was and I had to live on the income supplied by the brethren then I would have died of starvation long ago.

The reason I published The Prophecies of Abraham was because a number of you who read the News Letter said I had to put this in a book for everyone to read. Enough people said this and so I did. Each night I reworked the articles and took out those things in each News letter that did not pertain to the subject. Countless hours every night. Then I had to work with my editor who was a single mom and a believer. I chose her because of these two things. Again we spent countless hours working on the book over the phone in different countries.

All of this was done and has been done at my expense in order to share with you the rich and deep meaning of the Sabbatical and Jubilee cycles shown to us in the life of Abraham Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Noah.

Each and every person who reads the book is blown away. Some think I am pushing a book in the News letter to generate sales. They are wrong. I push the book as it is the best means to share the rich message of the Sabbatical cycles and the Life of Abraham with all the charts needed to make it possible. And it has directions to be obeyed in these last days for those who keep Torah and are targeted by Satan to be killed.

Had I done this to make money then you would never have heard of The Prophecies of Abraham as I have done nothing but lose money in this deal thus far.

“Pro 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it – Wisdom and discipline and understanding.”

You are commanded to buy the truth. So do as you are told and buy it. You never questioned the people who sold you the King James Bible did you or the strong’s concordance or the Interlinear?

Buy the Truth- you’re told to do this as it creates a value upon something. The truth then becomes priceless to you.

The Hypocrites never contribute; they only criticise and try to shut you down. That is Satan’s job and they act as his agents. You are commanded to buy the truth. You cannot buy the truth unless someone sells it. It is only common sense.

The word buy is H7069 ??? qa?na?h kaw-naw’
A primitive root; to erect, that is, create; by extension to procure, especially by purchase (causatively sell); by implication to own: – attain, buy (-er), teach to keep cattle, get, provoke to jealousy, possess (-or), purchase, recover, redeem, X surely, X verily.

And if you’re learning other things here at this web site, do not think your $5 or $20 does not help. If you are taking this information and benefiting from it and it has not cost you anything, then what is that? This information does not just happen without it costing me a number of hours each week and the many books I have used in order to share what I do with you each week.

Again you are commanded to Buy the truth.
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/BookDetail.aspx?Book=286642

And for those who cannot afford to buy the book I understand. Each and every chapter is on the web site and is free for you to read there. It is unedited and is not all together or in order as the book is. But it is free to you if you want to look for it.

In the Geopolitical game of chess Iran has won a strategic move in Bahrain. Yemen is next as the King of the South pulls itself together. It is unfortunate the USA does not even know what is going on. You can though by reading The Prophecies of Abraham. The USA is losing all of its former allies, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen…is Saudi Arabia next.

Bahrain and Iran’s quest for regional power

Posted at 2:02 am on March 10, 2011

In Bahrain, three hard-line groups announced Tuesday that they have united to form a “Coalition for a (Bahraini) Republic.” The secretary general of Haq, one of the parties, said the coalition was “motivated by the rules of our Islamic religion and international charters on human rights to freely decide their faith.”

The new coalition has called for the ruling family to step aside and is seeking a democratic republic. Anti-government protestors have been camped out in the capital, Manama, for nearly a month now.

Stratfor ceo George Friedman believes the demonstrations in Bahrain are highly significant “in their implications for the region and potentially for the world”—particularly with regard to Iran’s quest to dominate the region.

“The Iranians clearly have an interest in overthrowing the Bahraini regime,” writes Friedman. “While the degree to which the Iranians are involved in the Bahraini unrest is unclear, they clearly have a great deal of influence over a cleric, Hassan Mushaima, who recently returned to Bahrain from London to participate in the protests” (March 8).

He goes on to explain: “Bahrain is the focal point of a struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for control of the western littoral of the Persian Gulf.”

If Bahrain were to fall, neighboring Saudi Arabia would be diverted, leaving Iran free to take over Iraq as U.S. troops complete their exit. However, “The Iranians are in a powerful position whatever happens given the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq,” concludes Friedman.

Combine this with a series of regime changes, or simply destabilization on the border of Saudi Arabia, and two things happen. First, the Saudi regime would be in trouble and would have to negotiate some agreement with the Iranians—and not an agreement the Saudis would like. Second, the U.S. basing position in the Persian Gulf would massively destabilize, making U.S. intervention in the region even more difficult.

Keep Watching Iran.

Iranian Leaders: We Caused Unrest

Leaders in Iran are taking credit for the general unrest throughout the Middle East, and they say such a situation gives them hope for the future, especially if the turmoil cuts off the West’s access to fuels….

Iran’s leadership is operating from an overall strategy that is designed to limit and even cut off the West’s access to fossil fuel energy, according to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps general. Mohammad-Reza Naghdi sees Iran’s growing influence throughout the Middle East as a way to cut off or at least control Western access from Middle Eastern oil and natural gas reserves. “Seventy percent of the world’s fossil fuel reserves is under the feet of the soldiers of the supreme leadership and soon oil and gas fields belonging to Muslims, which are now in the hands of America, will fall into the hands of the people (and) that will be the time when all those overlords will have sanctions put on them,” Naghdi said. “The enemy is heavily dependent on this energy and the events in the region have them quite agitated. This of course provides us with a hopeful future.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameni has claimed that all the unrest sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa has its roots in the1979 Iranian Revolution. Indeed, Shia Iran for years has been working through the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas out of the Gaza Strip to gain the upper hand in Egypt whose former president, Hosni Mubarak, made a concerted and coordinated effort along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United States to limit Iran’s growing Shiite influence in the Arab world.

In addition, the Iran leadership has expressed its intention of making the Arabian Peninsula where Saudi Arabia is part of the Iranian republic.

Genesis 27:37 Then Yitsh?aq answered and said to ?saw, “See, I have made him your master, and all his brothers I have given to him as servants. And I have sustained him with grain and wine. And what, then, shall I do for you, my son?”
Gen 27:38 And ?saw said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, me too, O my father!” And ?saw lifted up his voice and wept.
Gen 27:39 And Yitsh?aq his father answered and said to him, “See, your dwelling is of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of the heavens from above.
Gen 27:40 And by your sword you are to live, and serve your brother. And it shall be, when you grow restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Gen 27:41 And ?saw hated Ya?aqob? because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and ?saw said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father draw near, then I am going to kill my brother Ya?aqob?.”

You are watching that yoke being broken on the nightly news right now.

Iran tightens grip on Middle East
Posted at 12:00 am on March 15, 2011

While the recent swarm of protests in the Middle East and North Africa may not have “Islam” written all over them, the chances of Iran-friendly Islamist regimes emerging in the end is becoming more and more likely.

“None of the revolutions over the past several weeks has been overtly Islamist, but there are signs that the uprisings could give way to more religious forces,” wrote the Washington Post. “An influential Yemeni cleric called this week for the U.S.-backed administration of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to be replaced with Islamist rule, and in Egypt, an Islamist theoretician has a leading role in drafting constitutional changes after President Hosni Mubarak’s fall from power last month.”

The Obama administration has also openly acknowledged Islam’s increased role in shaping the emerging governments, stating that Islam and democracy are not necessarily incompatible.

However, this naivety “fails to take into consideration the methodical approach many such parties adopt toward gradually transforming secular nations into Islamic states at odds with U.S. policy goals,” continued the Post.

Even more alarming is the influential role Iran is playing in the emerging uprisings. While the revolutionary road may begin with noble ideas, in the end it is only paving the way for radical Islam—led by Iran—to take over.

An increasing number of commentators and government officials have begun correctly identifying Iran as not just the primary beneficiary of the instability in the Middle East, but as a possible contributor to the cause of it.

In early March, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton told Congress that Iran is “doing everything they can to influence the outcomes in these places.”

By backing protests in Bahrain and Yemen and through Hezbollah, which in turn influences Palestinians and Egyptians, Iran is “either directly or through proxies … constantly trying to influence events,” Clinton said.

But while Clinton seems wary of Iran’s growing influence, such observations have yet to influence U.S. foreign policy.
Case in point: Hezbollah ally Najib Mikati is set to become prime minister in Lebanon’s new government, sparking fears that the U.S.’s $100 million in annual aid to Lebanon might fall into Hezbollah hands. Despite her warning of Iran’s rapidly growing influence in the area, Clinton still pushed for Congress to continue the funding.

The idea that Iran could be manipulating events behind the scenes becomes even more convincing in light of which countries have been most affected by the protests. Willian Dove with the International Business Times wrote:
Tunisia before the unrest was widely considered to be one of the better autocracies in the region, while Egypt under Mubarak was, although not a friend of Israel, at least happy to coexist with it, something Iran does not seem so keen on doing.

This brings us of course to Colonel Qadhafi [who] has in recent years started to come in from the cold and into the warm embrace of the Western leaders like [former Prime Minister] Tony Blair and [Prime Minister] Silvio Berlusconi. … He may not be pro-American in the conventional sense of the word, but he is also little used to Tehran’s ambitions.

By contrast, Dove wrote, the comparatively few protests in other totalitarian but Iran-friendly regimes (including, one could argue, Iran itself) have been relatively inconsequential:
Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, are oppressive regimes but they are all of the rabidly anti-Israel variety and to some degree or another, supported by Iran. Yet protests in these locations have been minimal or non-existent.

Brethren in the News right now you are watching Libya turn from the west back to a Terrorist Al Qaida supporting state. Daniel 11:40-43 tells us Ethiopia will also be part of the group of three nations including Egypt and Libya who will be destroyed by the King of the North.

In the news this week we read of the riots the muslims had caused the how they had attacked and displaced over 10,000 Christians and burned hundreds of churches. Ethiopia will soon be on the nightly news.

You now have just three weeks left to deleaven your homes cars and work places.

Triennial Torah Cycle

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

Ex 6     1 Kings 11-12      Ps 110-111      Luke 21

Ex 6

In verse 9 of this chapter we read; And Mosheh spoke thus to the children of Yisra’?l, but they did not listen to Mosheh, because of shortness of spirit, and from hard slavery.

Shortness of spirit means impatient and angry. The Israelites did not listen to Moses. Israel does not listen now either.

We next read how Moses complains to Yehovah that if the children of Israel will not listen to him then why would Pharaoh?
Exo 6:12 And Mosheh spoke before ????, saying, “The children of Yisra’?l have not listened to me, and why would Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?”

http://urj.org//learning/torah/archives/exodus//?syspage=article&item_id=4997

D’VAR TORAH

In her novel Possession, A. S. Byatt wrote that our lives have defining moments toward which events that precede them flow and from which events that follow them emanate. One of Moses’s defining moments takes place at the Burning Bush. There, when God calls him to redeem the Jewish people, Moses protests that he cannot be Israel’s savior because he is not a person of words. God responds, saying that Moses’s brother Aaron will speak for him. Another defining moment for Moses takes place in Va-eira. Once again, Moses is reluctant to follow God’s instructions—this time, to appear before Pharaoh—because of his poor speech. He protests, saying, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how will Pharaoh listen to me!” (Exodus 6:29–30).

Rashi says that the word “uncircumcised” refers to a blockage and to circumcise something is to remove its blockage. Rashi comments that in Jeremiah 6:10, when the text says the ears of Israel are uncircumcised it means they could not hear, and in Jeremiah 9:25, when it says their hearts were uncircumcised it means they could not understand (Rashi on Genesis 6:12). In the case of b’rit milah (Genesis 17:9–14), there is a physical obstruction; the penis itself is covered up. So Rashi reads the text to say that Moses means he has an obstruction when it comes to speaking, he cannot speak well, the Israelites did not even listen to him, thus there is no way that Pharaoh will listen to him.

But Moses doesn’t use the phrase “uncircumcised lips” just once, but twice. Perhaps the repetition signifies that the phrase has more than one meaning.

Maimonides’ understanding of circumcision is very different from Rashi’s. He says that the purpose of b’rit milah is not to remove a blockage, but rather to weaken the power of the sexual appetite. In other words, instead of removing an obstruction, circumcision is actually placing an obstruction, guarding against something, so that it does not occur too much. Could Moses be saying that he does not want to go before Pharaoh because he is too much of a talker? Is he afraid that he will say things that he shouldn’t say?

Thus the phrase “I am of uncircumcised lips” has two meanings. He has problems both with not being able to speak and with not being able to guard against ill-tempered speech.

When Moses hits the rock (Numbers 20:7–12), for which he is later punished by death in the wilderness, we see both of Moses’s problems at hand. Rashi notes that Moses is punished because he has obstructed speech: he strikes the rock instead of speaking to it as commanded by God. Maimonides, however, says that Moses is punished for his intemperate speech, in telling the Israelites, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” His calling the people “rebels” was contemptuous of them and deserving of punishment.

There is a famous midrash that attributes Moses’s speech problem to a physical defect. According to the story, Pharaoh tests the baby Moses by putting a royal crown and hot coals before him and observing his choice. If Moses were to choose the crown, Pharaoh would know that one day Moses would wish to usurp him. As baby Moses reaches for the crown, an angel pushes his hand toward the coals, which he tries to eat, burning his mouth.

I would suggest though that Moses does not have a physical speech problem, but a spiritual speech problem. Moses does not have faith that he can communicate with words. Either he acts instead of speaking, or he speaks impulsively when he should measure his words so that he will be heard.

I imagine that Moses wants to speak well. The scene at the rock directly follows his sister Miriam’s death. A midrash depicts the people taking Moses from his tent, where he sits shivah, to find water for them. He hits the rock and calls the people rebels, because he does not or cannot express the grief he feels for his sister. Moses’s struggle with speech is emblematic of the basic human struggle to speak. We often wish that we could speak courageously, bravely, or lovingly, but often our tongues cannot match our intentions. Flaubert wrote about this in Madame Bovary: “Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”

Rabbi David Wolpe suggests that Moses’s inability to speak is at the core of Moses’s psyche and the entire biblical drama that unfolds around him. Rabbi Wolpe writes, “At the heart of the Bible is the story of a man who gradually learns what it is to be a leader, to be a hero. …Gradually Moses becomes the man who not only learns to speak, but in an unparalleled way learns the value, the import, and the sanctity of words” (In Speech and in Silence [New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1992], 78, 84).

Far off in the Book of Deuteronomy, Rabbi Wolpe suggests, after the Exodus from Egypt and the forty years of wandering, Moses learns finally how to speak. With age and experience, he finds the wisdom to speak poetry and challenge to the people. His struggle with words reminds all of us struggle with words on occasion. His learning to speak well reminds us that we can do more than make bears dance, that in fact sometimes we do have the ability to melt the stars.

BY THE WAY

• [When God charged Moses a second time to speak to Pharaoh] Moses answered again, “I am of uncircumcised lips.” And God replied, “See I have made you a god to Pharaoh.” This was great prestige for Moses, which he achieved through his modesty, in his embarrassment in speaking with “uncircumcised lips.” That is why it says, “The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants and in the eyes of the people…” (Exodus 11:3) [because of his humility]. (Nachmanides on Exodus 6:13)

• [By saying I am of uncircumcised lips] the real pain emerges with great lucidity: it [Moses’s pain] is “a hearing problem” that besets him. To put it very simply, Moses is saying, “I cannot make them listen—I am of uncircumcised lips.” What he is expressing is a sense of impotence: “I am incapable of communicating with either of my two audiences [Israel and Pharaoh]. . . .” (Avivah Gottleib Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture [New York: Doubleday and Company, 2002], pp. 83–84)

• The complexity of Moses’ complaint is given additional resonance in the reading of the Sefath Emeth. Here, Moses links the “deafness” of both Pharaoh and the Israelites with his own uncircumcised lips, “because they would not listen; therefore I am of uncircumcised lips.” Speech we normally affirm creates listeners (or fails to create them). Here, the converse truth is affirmed: it is the listeners who create the act of speech. The prophet prophesies by dint of the listening of his people. As long as there is no one to listen to God’s words, language impotently stutters. In this vein, Sefath Emeth reads the prophetic call, “Listen my people, that I may speak” (Ps. 50:7) as “Your listening will enable me to speak.” (Avivah Gottleib Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture [New York: Doubleday and Company, 2002], pp. 83–84)

1 Kings 11-12

http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings11.html

1-Kings 11
[1-Kings 11:1] BUT KING SOLOMON LOVED MANY STRANGE WOMEN, TOGETHER WITH THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH, WOMEN OF THE MOABITES, AMMONITES, EDOMITES, ZIDONIANS, AND HITTITES:
Many explain the foreign marriages of Solomon as expressions of his diplomatic activities. This was an undoubtedly so but the Bible comes to tell as that he also “loved” them. The daughter of Pharoah is mentioned separately and the Sages say this comes to tell us that his love for her was equal to that he had for all the others.
In marrying so many women Solomon transgressed an express commandment in the Bible against the King taking many women. NEITHER SHALL HE MULTIPLY WIVES TO HIMSELF, THAT HIS HEART TURN NOT AWAY [Deuteronomy 17:17]. The King according to tradition was to be allowed up to 18 wives. Beyond that it was a transgression.
This is one of the few commandments for which an express reason is given. Solomon was the wisest of all men. He relied on his wisdom and considered himself above the limitations of ordinary mortals. Solomon (say the Commentators) thought he could marry these women and not be affected by them but rather elevate them and through them the peoples they came from. He was mistaken.
WOMEN OF THE MOABITES, AMMONITES. The Bible says that Moab and Ammon were not to be accepted as converts (Deuteronomy 23:3). This commandment however applies ONLY to the males and not the females.
I have had to edit some of what Yair has said here. As you read some of Yairs articles keep in mind he is an orthodox Jew and speaks as he believes. I do nto agree with all he says but do find his teachings on the tribes of Israel of great value and this why I use him.
Deu 23:2 “No one of illegitimate birth does enter the assembly of ????, even a tenth generation of his does not enter the assembly of ????.
Deu 23:3 “An Ammonite or Mo’ab?ite does not enter the assembly of ????, even a tenth generation of them does not ever enter the assembly of ????,
As you can see Deut 23:3 is not talking about marriage but about entering the the assembly. After the tenth generation implies they must have been married and the 11th generation could then be in the Assembly.

Since the commandment against Ammon and Moab ONLY applied to the males Ruth the Moabitess was able to be accepted as an Israelitess and became an ancestress of David and Solomon.
In addition there was NAAMAH AN AMMONITESS (1-Kings 14:21) who became the mother of Rehoboam the son of Solomon. The Bible says that Rehoboam was forty-one when he began to reign. Solomon reigned for forty years. The Commentary “Daat Mikra” points out that Rehoboam was therefore born one year before Solomon became king. Solomon had married her while his father David was still alive. The future Messiah will be a descendant of David through Solomon and most likely also through Rehoboam. The Messiah will therefore on the maternal side be descended from both Ammon and Moab.
EDOMITES. Were to be accepted after three generations (Deuteronomt 23:9). It could be that at that time there already existed in the Land communities of Edomite converts who had been there for at least two generations. Or maybe not. These could also be counted with the foreign women Solomon transgressed in marrying.

[1-Kings 11:2] OF THE NATIONS CONCERNING WHICH THE LORD SAID UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, YE SHALL NOT GO IN TO THEM, NEITHER SHALL THEY COME IN UNTO YOU: FOR SURELY THEY WILL TURN AWAY YOUR HEART AFTER THEIR GODS: SOLOMON CLAVE UNTO THESE IN LOVE.
The Children of Israel were forbidden to intermarry with any of the Seven Canaanite nations who dwelt in the Land when it was being conquered (Deuteronomy 7:1-3): THE HITTITES, AND THE GIRGASHITES, AND THE AMORITES, AND THE CANAANITES, AND THE PERIZZITES, AND THE HIVITES, AND THE JEBUSITES, SEVEN NATIONS GREATER AND MIGHTIER THAN THOU NEITHER SHALT THOU MAKE MARRIAGES WITH THEM; THY DAUGHTER THOU SHALT NOT GIVE UNTO HIS SON, NOR HIS DAUGHTER SHALT THOU TAKE UNTO THY SON.
See also Exodus 34:11, 16.
Marriage with all foreign peoples was forbidden. There is a controversy as to whether marriage with non-Israelite peoples apart from the seven nations was forbidden according to Scripture or by decree of the Sages in Biblical Times with the authority given to them (Deuteronomy ch.17). At all events the prohibition on the seven nations was especially stringent. Even in this case however IF THEY CONVERTED THEY COULD BE ACCEPTED.
It stands to reason that Solomon would have converted the women before marrying them. These conversions were insincere. The women remained pagans as shown below and therefore their conversions may have been invalid. The Bible relates to them in this case as forbidden marriages.

[1-Kings 11:3] AND HE HAD SEVEN HUNDRED WIVES, PRINCESSES, AND THREE HUNDRED CONCUBINES: AND HIS WIVES TURNED AWAY HIS HEART.

[1-Kings 11:4] FOR IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN SOLOMON WAS OLD, THAT HIS WIVES TURNED AWAY HIS HEART AFTER OTHER GODS: AND HIS HEART WAS NOT PERFECT WITH THE LORD HIS GOD, AS WAS THE HEART OF DAVID HIS FATHER.

[1-Kings 11:5] FOR SOLOMON WENT AFTER ASHTORETH THE GODDESS OF THE ZIDONIANS, AND AFTER MILCOM THE ABOMINATION OF THE AMMONITES.
#ASHTORETH. The Venerable Bede writes that the Anglo-Saxons when they were still pagans worshipped a goddess named Aeistoreith i.e. ASHTORETH.

[1-Kings 11:6] AND SOLOMON DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, AND WENT NOT FULLY AFTER THE LORD, AS DID DAVID HIS FATHER.

[1-Kings 11:7] THEN DID SOLOMON BUILD AN HIGH PLACE FOR CHEMOSH, THE ABOMINATION OF MOAB, IN THE HILL THAT IS BEFORE JERUSALEM, AND FOR MOLECH, THE ABOMINATION OF THE CHILDREN OF AMMON.
[This is the southern end of the Mount of Olives. It is currently called Ras al Mud and is above what is called Silwan. This mount is also called the Mount of Offence.]

[1-Kings 11:8] AND LIKEWISE DID HE FOR ALL HIS STRANGE WIVES, WHICH BURNT INCENSE AND SACRIFICED UNTO THEIR GODS.

[1-Kings 11:9] AND THE LORD WAS ANGRY WITH SOLOMON, BECAUSE HIS HEART WAS TURNED FROM THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, WHICH HAD APPEARED UNTO HIM TWICE,

[1-Kings 11:10] AND HAD COMMANDED HIM CONCERNING THIS THING, THAT HE SHOULD NOT GO AFTER OTHER GODS: BUT HE KEPT NOT THAT WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED.
There is an opinion that Solomon himself did not actually worship foreign gods but rather set up means of worship to them for the sake of his wives and the Bible considers this as if he had done it for himself.

[1-Kings 11:11] WHEREFORE THE LORD SAID UNTO SOLOMON, FORASMUCH AS THIS IS DONE OF THEE, AND THOU HAST NOT KEPT MY COVENANT AND MY STATUTES, WHICH I HAVE COMMANDED THEE, I WILL SURELY REND THE KINGDOM FROM THEE, AND WILL GIVE IT TO THY SERVANT.
Here is foretold the future division of the Ten Tribes from the House of David and from Judah. There was a Divine Purpose in all this beyond mere retribution for the offence of Solomon.
We have spoken of this in our works:
Joseph – The Israelite Destiny of America
http://britam.org/bkjoseph.html

“Role to Rule. The Task of Joseph”
http://www.britam.org/Role.html

See also:
The Divine Purpose for the Exile and Division of the Tribes
http://britam.org/tape3.html

THE PURPOSE OF THE EXILE
http://www.britam.org/Broadcasts/Joseph1.mp3
(ca. 1 hour 2 minutes)

[1-Kings 11:12] NOTWITHSTANDING IN THY DAYS I WILL NOT DO IT FOR DAVID THY FATHER’S SAKE: BUT I WILL REND IT OUT OF THE HAND OF THY SON.
The Kingdom would not be rent in two in the time of Solomon but during the reign of his son Rehoboam who would come after him.

For background as to why the Ten Tribes were to be exiled see our article:

The Divine Purpose for the Exile and Division of the Tribes
http://britam.org/tape3.html
We know that descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes are now to be found amongst Western Peoples. We also know that originally they had been part of the Kingdom of Israel that broke away from Judah, were exiled, and lost consciousness of their national ancestry.
Why however were they exiled in the first place?
We are asking, Not How?
but rather Why?
Was there a Divine Purpose behind this?
What cause was served by them forgetting who they were and where they had come from?
Analyzing Biblical Texts and an article by Rabbi Abraham Kook we attempt to clarify some of the issues raised by these questions.
http://britam.org/tape3.html

To Hear a Talk based on the Text:
THE PURPOSE OF THE EXILE
http://www.britam.org/Broadcasts/Joseph1.mp3
(ca. 1 hour 2 minutes)

[1-Kings 11:13] HOWBEIT I WILL NOT REND AWAY ALL THE KINGDOM; BUT WILL GIVE ONE TRIBE TO THY SON FOR DAVID MY SERVANT’S SAKE, AND FOR JERUSALEM’S SAKE WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN.
Here it says that the House of David would receive one tribe.
We later find that both Judah and Benjamin remained faithful to the House of David.
“Daat Mikra” (1-Kings 12:21 note 28) says that only part of Benjamin (the Beth-el sub-province) remained faithful. That may be so but for Scriptural Purposes the Tribe of Benjamin is generally related to as part of Judah and not of “Ephraim”.
The Radak and others say that Benjamin and Judah were in effect already then one tribe since they were unified in the possession of Jerusalem which was the capital city of all Israel.

Another opinion is that the ONE TRIBE that would be given to them means one tribe in addition to Judah. This would apply to Benjamin.
We later find that all or at least more of the Tribe of Levi also joined Judah along with representative smaller segments of the other Tribes. The present-day Jews include descendants of all the Tribes but Judah is prominent and sets the tone. In Biblical Terms they are referred to as Judah.

FOR DAVID MY SERVANT’S SAKE. Ralbag (Gersonides 1288-1344, France): ##This tells us that Divine Providence over the father extends to his son, as it says FOR THE SAKE OF DAVID MY SERVANT. Solomon was watched over [for the sake of David] so that the Kingdom would not be rent in his lifetime and for the sake of David HIS servant [the Almighty] watched over the offspring of Solomon so that the monarchy should not depart from them altogether. Benjamin and Judah are referred to as ONE TRIBE because their Tribal Inheritances were together. ##

We see from the case of David and Solomon (in light of the Commentary of Gersonides) that we should live good lives not only for our own sakes but also for that of others. For whatever good we do the Almighty will repay us a thousandfold in the manner we would want were we to know the options.
Cf.
KNOW THEREFORE THAT THE LORD THY GOD, HE IS GOD, THE FAITHFUL GOD, WHICH KEEPETH COVENANT AND MERCY WITH THEM THAT LOVE HIM AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS TO A THOUSAND GENERATIONS [Deuteronomy 7:9].

[1-Kings 11:14] AND THE LORD STIRRED UP AN ADVERSARY UNTO SOLOMON, HADAD THE EDOMITE: HE WAS OF THE KING’S SEED IN EDOM.

[1-Kings 11:15] FOR IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN DAVID WAS IN EDOM, AND JOAB THE CAPTAIN OF THE HOST WAS GONE UP TO BURY THE SLAIN, AFTER HE HAD SMITTEN EVERY MALE IN EDOM;

[1-Kings 11:16] (FOR SIX MONTHS DID JOAB REMAIN THERE WITH ALL ISRAEL, UNTIL HE HAD CUT OFF EVERY MALE IN EDOM:)

[1-Kings 11:17] THAT HADAD FLED, HE AND CERTAIN EDOMITES OF HIS FATHER’S SERVANTS WITH HIM, TO GO INTO EGYPT; HADAD BEING YET A LITTLE CHILD.

[1-Kings 11:18] AND THEY AROSE OUT OF MIDIAN, AND CAME TO PARAN: AND THEY TOOK MEN WITH THEM OUT OF PARAN, AND THEY CAME TO EGYPT, UNTO PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT; WHICH GAVE HIM AN HOUSE, AND APPOINTED HIM VICTUALS, AND GAVE HIM LAND.

[1-Kings 11:19] AND HADAD FOUND GREAT FAVOUR IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH, SO THAT HE GAVE HIM TO WIFE THE SISTER OF HIS OWN WIFE, THE SISTER OF TAHPENES THE QUEEN.
This Pharoah was related to Solomon by marriage. He may have been his father-in-law or the brother of his wife. Nevertheless he betrayed Solomon by giving refuge to the adversary of Israel and showing him favor.
This often happens when we try and compromise. We say to ourselves that we will be a little bit lenient with ourselves, transgress a little, perhaps release a little tension for constructive purposes and let it end there. The problem is that it often does not end. The evil deed takes on a life of its own. Instead of us controlling it it takes us over.

[1-Kings 11:20] AND THE SISTER OF TAHPENES BARE HIM GENUBATH HIS SON, WHOM TAHPENES WEANED IN PHARAOH’S HOUSE: AND GENUBATH WAS IN PHARAOH’S HOUSEHOLD AMONG THE SONS OF PHARAOH.

[1-Kings 11:21] AND WHEN HADAD HEARD IN EGYPT THAT DAVID SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS, AND THAT JOAB THE CAPTAIN OF THE HOST WAS DEAD, HADAD SAID TO PHARAOH, LET ME DEPART, THAT I MAY GO TO MINE OWN COUNTRY.

[1-Kings 11:22] THEN PHARAOH SAID UNTO HIM, BUT WHAT HAST THOU LACKED WITH ME, THAT, BEHOLD, THOU SEEKEST TO GO TO THINE OWN COUNTRY? AND HE ANSWERED, NOTHING: HOWBEIT LET ME GO IN ANY WISE.

[1-Kings 11:23] AND GOD STIRRED HIM UP ANOTHER ADVERSARY, REZON THE SON OF ELIADAH, WHICH FLED FROM HIS LORD HADADEZER KING OF ZOBAH:

[1-Kings 11:24] AND HE GATHERED MEN UNTO HIM, AND BECAME CAPTAIN OVER A BAND, WHEN DAVID SLEW THEM OF ZOBAH: AND THEY WENT TO DAMASCUS, AND DWELT THEREIN, AND REIGNED IN DAMASCUS.
Damascus of the Bible sometimes means a city on the site of present-day Damascus and at other times another area further to the north.
See:
#3. The NORTHERN BORDERS of Biblical Israel
http://britam.org/now/now402.html

[1-Kings 11:25] AND HE WAS AN ADVERSARY TO ISRAEL ALL THE DAYS OF SOLOMON, BESIDE THE MISCHIEF THAT HADAD DID: AND HE ABHORRED ISRAEL, AND REIGNED OVER SYRIA.
SYRIA in Hebrew is Aram which can mean present-day Syria but also included areas further north.

[1-Kings 11:26] AND JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT, AN EPHRATHITE OF ZEREDA, SOLOMON’S SERVANT, WHOSE MOTHER’S NAME WAS ZERUAH, A WIDOW WOMAN, EVEN HE LIFTED UP HIS HAND AGAINST THE KING.
#JEROBOAM. In Hebrew “Yerevam” which probably originally meant “Yerbeh-Am” i.e. May the People (“Am”) Increase”. Later the name would have acquired the secondary meaning “Creat a Quarrel [“Yerev”] amongst the People”. Here we have the case where the name of a person reflects his future. Presumably it could have gone either way. He had the potential to increase the glory and greatness of the people or of causing a quarrel amongst them. He was to choose the second path and so his name took on the second connotation.
#EPHRATHITE. In Modern Hebrew “Ephrati” i.e. from Ephraim.
It also means “aristocrat”, “important person”.
David had been referred to as THE SON OF THAT EPHRATHITE OF BETHLEHEM-JUDAH, WHOSE NAME WAS JESSE [1-Samuel 17:12] . In the case of David “Ephrati” meant either “important person” or inhabitant of the region of Ephrat which encompassed Bethlehem. In the case of Jeroboam it meant someone from “Ephraim”. Nevertheless the same word is used in both cases. The Midrash points to the poetic justice of David being associated with the term “Ephrati” when he was about to receive the anointment as King when he was worthy and when his descendant was unworthy the opponent of the House of David also being referred to as Ephrati. Such parallelisms etc are found throughout the Bible but usually we overlook them.

AN EPHRATHITE OF ZEREDA, SOLOMON’S SERVANT. One Modern Commentator (Koren) suggested that the father of Jeroboam was a non-Israelite servant of Solomon.
Our impression is that he was an Israelite from the Tribe of Ephraim. Rabbinical Commentaries also support this opinion though one source (Sanhedrin 101:2) identifies his ancestor as SHEBA, THE SON OF BICHRI, A BENJAMITE (2-Samuel 20:1) who had lead a revolt against David towards the end of his life and had been put to death (2-Samuel 20:22). At the symbolic level we have in the person of Jeroboam a continuation of the struggle for leadership between the descendants of Rachel (represented by King Saul from Benjamin) and those of Leah represented by the House of David from Judah.
The Modern expression “Ephraimite” has not equivalent in Hebrew apart from “Ephrati”.
The Sages said that Jeroboam himself was a great scholar, perhaps the greatest in his generation, but extremely proud.

[1-Kings 11:27] AND THIS WAS THE CAUSE THAT HE LIFTED UP HIS HAND AGAINST THE KING: SOLOMON BUILT MILLO, AND REPAIRED THE BREACHES OF THE CITY OF DAVID HIS FATHER.

[1-Kings 11:28] AND THE MAN JEROBOAM WAS A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR: AND SOLOMON SEEING THE YOUNG MAN THAT HE WAS INDUSTRIOUS, HE MADE HIM RULER OVER ALL THE CHARGE OF THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH.
King Solomon towards the end of his reign had began to worship other gods or had tolerated the worship of other gods by his foreign wives and their attendants. Solomon had also built a palace and neighborhood in Jerusalem and other considerations elsewhere for his wife the daughter of Pharoah king of Egypt. Solomon had used a levy (semi-forced conscription) from the Tribe of Ephraim for these works. Solomon had received as a dowry the city of Gezer from the King of Egypt. Gezer was not in the south but in the north in the region of Ephraim. It was an enclave of Canaanites in the Land of Ephraim who in the past had been conquered by Ephraim but later had asserted their independence. Pharaoh conquered Gezer and handed it over to Solomon. Solomon apparently had been justified in using people from Ephraim to rebuild Gezer since Gezer was to be used to populate Ephraimites.
It has been suggested that Solomon however had then “extended” the usage of his “Ephraimite” levy into further works connected with Gezer on behalf of the daughter of Pharoah as if it was to be owned by her or she had rights in the region. Solomon (goes this suggestion) had taken Jeroboam and his Ephraimite workmen after they had completed the rebuilding of Gezer and had employed them in constructing the “Millo” which was an artificial extension of Jerusalem. Jeroboam the son of Nebat had been appointed over the workmen from Ephraim who felt misused. It was then that Ahijah met up with Jeroboam.

[1-Kings 11:29] AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THAT TIME WHEN JEROBOAM WENT OUT OF JERUSALEM, THAT THE PROPHET AHIJAH THE SHILONITE FOUND HIM IN THE WAY; AND HE HAD CLAD HIMSELF WITH A NEW GARMENT; AND THEY TWO WERE ALONE IN THE FIELD:

[1-Kings 11:30] AND AHIJAH CAUGHT THE NEW GARMENT THAT WAS ON HIM, AND RENT IT IN TWELVE PIECES:

[1-Kings 11:31] AND HE SAID TO JEROBOAM, TAKE THEE TEN PIECES: FOR THUS SAITH THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, BEHOLD, I WILL REND THE KINGDOM OUT OF THE HAND OF SOLOMON, AND WILL GIVE TEN TRIBES TO THEE:
Here we have the mention of Ten Tribes destined to split apart from the southern Kingdom of Judah.

[1-Kings 11:32] (BUT HE SHALL HAVE ONE TRIBE FOR MY SERVANT DAVID’S SAKE, AND FOR JERUSALEM’S SAKE, THE CITY WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN OUT OF ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL:)

[1-Kings 11:33] BECAUSE THAT THEY HAVE FORSAKEN ME, AND HAVE WORSHIPPED ASHTORETH THE GODDESS OF THE ZIDONIANS, CHEMOSH THE GOD OF THE MOABITES, AND MILCOM THE GOD OF THE CHILDREN OF AMMON, AND HAVE NOT WALKED IN MY WAYS, TO DO THAT WHICH IS RIGHT IN MINE EYES, AND TO KEEP MY STATUTES AND MY JUDGMENTS, AS DID DAVID HIS FATHER.

[1-Kings 11:34] HOWBEIT I WILL NOT TAKE THE WHOLE KINGDOM OUT OF HIS HAND: BUT I WILL MAKE HIM PRINCE ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE FOR DAVID MY SERVANT’S SAKE, WHOM I CHOSE, BECAUSE HE KEPT MY COMMANDMENTS AND MY STATUTES:

[1-Kings 11:35] BUT I WILL TAKE THE KINGDOM OUT OF HIS SON’S HAND, AND WILL GIVE IT UNTO THEE, EVEN TEN TRIBES.

[1-Kings 11:36] AND UNTO HIS SON WILL I GIVE ONE TRIBE, THAT DAVID MY SERVANT MAY HAVE A LIGHT ALWAY BEFORE ME IN JERUSALEM, THE CITY WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN ME TO PUT MY NAME THERE.

[1-Kings 11:37] AND I WILL TAKE THEE, AND THOU SHALT REIGN ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THY SOUL DESIRETH, AND SHALT BE KING OVER ISRAEL.

[1-Kings 11:38] AND IT SHALL BE, IF THOU WILT HEARKEN UNTO ALL THAT I COMMAND THEE, AND WILT WALK IN MY WAYS, AND DO THAT IS RIGHT IN MY SIGHT, TO KEEP MY STATUTES AND MY COMMANDMENTS, AS DAVID MY SERVANT DID; THAT I WILL BE WITH THEE, AND BUILD THEE A SURE HOUSE, AS I BUILT FOR DAVID, AND WILL GIVE ISRAEL UNTO THEE.

[1-Kings 11:39] AND I WILL FOR THIS AFFLICT THE SEED OF DAVID, BUT NOT FOR EVER.
Jeroboam according to one source was the descendant of Joshuah son of Nun who succeeded Moses and lead the Israelites in the conquest of the Land of Canaan. Jeroboam is also said to have been the ancestor of the Messiah son of Joseph who in the End Times will lead the Ten tribes back and prepare the way for their reconciliation and re-union with Judah. The Messiah son of Joseph will repair the breach between Judah and Joseph that Jeroboam helped bring about.

[1-Kings 11:40] SOLOMON SOUGHT THEREFORE TO KILL JEROBOAM. AND JEROBOAM AROSE, AND FLED INTO EGYPT, UNTO SHISHAK KING OF EGYPT, AND WAS IN EGYPT UNTIL THE DEATH OF SOLOMON.
After Ahijah the Prophet met up with Jeroboam, Jeroboam lead a revolt of the workmen rebelled, the rebellion was put down and Jeroboam fled to Egypt. Later, when Solomon died Jeroboam came back and was appointed as a spokesman for Ephraim and for all Israel in a delegation to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. The delegation requested that Rehoboam agree to be less oppressive that Solomon towards the end of his life had been. Rehoboam refused and so the northern Ten Tribes rebelled and set up their own kingdom with Jeroboam at its head. A few centuries later this independent kingdom of “Israel” was conquered and all its people exiled. Their identity was lost and they became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

[1-Kings 11:41] AND THE REST OF THE ACTS OF SOLOMON, AND ALL THAT HE DID, AND HIS WISDOM, ARE THEY NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE ACTS OF SOLOMON?

[1-Kings 11:42] AND THE TIME THAT SOLOMON REIGNED IN JERUSALEM OVER ALL ISRAEL WAS FORTY YEARS.
[Solomon reigned 40 years. He came to the throne in 971 BC and reigned until 931 BC.]

[1-Kings 11:43] AND SOLOMON SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS, AND WAS BURIED IN THE CITY OF DAVID HIS FATHER: AND REHOBOAM HIS SON REIGNED IN HIS STEAD.

#REHOBOAM. The name Rehoboam is “Rachav-am” in Hebrew and means “[God will cause] the People will be expanded”. It could also conceivably be extended to mean “The People will be spread out”. The mother of Rehoboam was Naama the Ammonitess. Solomon had married Naama in the lifetime of King David.

http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings12.html
1-Kings 12
The Division of the Israelite Nation into Two Separate Kingdoms.
To Hear a Talk based on the Text below:
The Division of the Israelite Nation into Two Separate Kingdoms
http://www.britam.org/Broadcasts/newBAMBI/division12.mp3
(ca. 59 minutes)
Talk may include points not mentioned in the text.

In 1-Kings 11 we saw how towards the end of his life King Solomon had sinned. The Prophet Ahijah told him that as punishment the Kingdom would be split and that rulership over most of the Tribes would be taken away from his descendants (1-Kings 11: 11-13). We also met Jeroboam the son of Nebat who had been appointed by Solomon as RULER OVER ALL THE CHARGE OF THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH (1-Kings 11:28). Ahijah encountered Jeroboam outside the city, stripped his cloak off him, and tore it into ten pieces saying that Ten Tribes would be given unto him to rule over (1-Kings 11:31). Solomon then tried to kill Jeroboam (who may attempt a rebellion in protest at the forced work exacted from Ephraim) who fled to Egypt. Solomon died and his son Rehoboam was in line of succession to rule after him.

[1-Kings 12:1] AND REHOBOAM WENT TO SHECHEM: FOR ALL ISRAEL WERE COME TO SHECHEM TO MAKE HIM KING.
Schechem is in Samaria. It is now also known as Nablus. “Nablus” is its Arab name which is a corruption of the Latin Neapolis. The population consists of ca. 134,000 Arabic speaking mainly Muslims. A few hundred Samaritans also live there. Some of the Muslims in the area are descended from Samaritans who were forced to convert to Islam. Everywhere Islam went it forced others to become Mohammedans. It would do the same in America and Europe if and when it could.
Schechem is situated between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Joseph was buried in Schechem (Joshua 24:32). It was in the territory of Ephraim bordering on that of Manasseh.
For pictures of Schechem see:
http://www.bibleplaces.com/shechem.htm
The verse above tells us that all of Israel came to Schechem to coronate Rehoboam. They did not come to Jerusalem. It may be that at this stage the de facto demographic and economic center of power had already moved northward.

[1-Kings 12:2] AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT, WHO WAS YET IN EGYPT, HEARD OF IT, (FOR HE WAS FLED FROM THE PRESENCE OF KING SOLOMON, AND JEROBOAM DWELT IN EGYPT;)

[1-Kings 12:3] THAT THEY SENT AND CALLED HIM. AND JEROBOAM AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL CAME, AND SPAKE UNTO REHOBOAM, SAYING,
Jeroboam had been in rebellion against Solomon. When Solomon died Jeroboam should still have been in a state of outlawry. Calling Jeroboam back to serve as their representative was derogatory to Rehoboam and the House of David. It should have been considered as an act of defiance.

[1-Kings 12:4] THY FATHER MADE OUR YOKE GRIEVOUS: NOW THEREFORE MAKE THOU THE GRIEVOUS SERVICE OF THY FATHER, AND HIS HEAVY YOKE WHICH HE PUT UPON US, LIGHTER, AND WE WILL SERVE THEE.
Daat Mikra (Yehudah Kiel, “Sefer Malacim”) says that their major complaint was not taxation but rather the corvee or forced labor that Solomon had imposed towards the end of his days to complete his building projects. Before his rebellion and flight from Solomon Jeroboam had been appointed the Minister in charge over the labor of Ephraim.
Jeroboam is described both in the Bible and in Talmudical tradition as being highly gifted:
AND THE MAN JEROBOAM WAS A MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR: AND SOLOMON SEEING THE YOUNG MAN THAT HE WAS INDUSTRIOUS, HE MADE HIM RULER OVER ALL THE CHARGE OF THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH [1-Kings 11:28].

[1-Kings 12:5] AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, DEPART YET FOR THREE DAYS, THEN COME AGAIN TO ME. AND THE PEOPLE DEPARTED.

[1-Kings 12:6] AND KING REHOBOAM CONSULTED WITH THE OLD MEN, THAT STOOD BEFORE SOLOMON HIS FATHER WHILE HE YET LIVED, AND SAID, HOW DO YE ADVISE THAT I MAY ANSWER THIS PEOPLE?

[1-Kings 12:7] AND THEY SPAKE UNTO HIM, SAYING, IF THOU WILT BE A SERVANT UNTO THIS PEOPLE THIS DAY, AND WILT SERVE THEM, AND ANSWER THEM, AND SPEAK GOOD WORDS TO THEM, THEN THEY WILL BE THY SERVANTS FOR EVER.
The people were in effect already in near open rebellion. Rehoboam had been obliged to come to Schechem instead of having them come to Jerusalem. The arch-rebel Jeroboam had openly returned and assumed the position of popular spokesman. They were making demands. The elders advised the King to give in, at least temporarily.
One is reminded of English history when Henry-viii made a break away from Papal dominance over the English Church. The English and Welsh rebelled, Henry pretended to give in, the rebels dispersed, Henry then went back on his word and punished the rebels with a vengeance. The Elders were not saying that Rehoboam necessarily act as Henry later did rather that he should avoid open confrontation
And then take the time necessary to confirm his rulership. Later events show that Rehoboam was already in a weak position and apparently the Elders were well aware of it.

[1-Kings 12:8] BUT HE FORSOOK THE COUNSEL OF THE OLD MEN, WHICH THEY HAD GIVEN HIM, AND CONSULTED WITH THE YOUNG MEN THAT WERE GROWN UP WITH HIM, AND WHICH STOOD BEFORE HIM:

[1-Kings 12:9] AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, WHAT COUNSEL GIVE YE THAT WE MAY ANSWER THIS PEOPLE, WHO HAVE SPOKEN TO ME, SAYING, MAKE THE YOKE WHICH THY FATHER DID PUT UPON US LIGHTER?

[1-Kings 12:10] AND THE YOUNG MEN THAT WERE GROWN UP WITH HIM SPAKE UNTO HIM, SAYING, THUS SHALT THOU SPEAK UNTO THIS PEOPLE THAT SPAKE UNTO THEE, SAYING, THY FATHER MADE OUR YOKE HEAVY, BUT MAKE THOU IT LIGHTER UNTO US; THUS SHALT THOU SAY UNTO THEM, MY LITTLE FINGER SHALL BE THICKER THAN MY FATHER’S LOINS.
#THE YOUNG MEN# In Hebrew “Yaladim” i.e. Children. In Hebrew “yeled” is “boy” or “lad”. The Scottish word “lad” meaning boy comes from the Hebrew “yeled”. This usage of the term “yeledim” is unusual and comes to emphasize the childishness and inexperienced foolishness of his childhood advisors.

[1-Kings 12:11] AND NOW WHEREAS MY FATHER DID LADE YOU WITH A HEAVY YOKE, I WILL ADD TO YOUR YOKE: MY FATHER HATH CHASTISED YOU WITH WHIPS, BUT I WILL CHASTISE YOU WITH SCORPIONS.
#WHIPS# Hebrew “shotim” connoting ordinary horse-whips.
#SCORPIONS# Hebrew “acrabin”. We would suggest that this denoted a whip similar to the later English “cat-o’-nine tails” i.e. a whip with several extensions at its tail end each one laden down with a piece of metal.

[1-Kings 12:12] SO JEROBOAM AND ALL THE PEOPLE CAME TO REHOBOAM THE THIRD DAY, AS THE KING HAD APPOINTED, SAYING, COME TO ME AGAIN THE THIRD DAY.

[1-Kings 12:13] AND THE KING ANSWERED THE PEOPLE ROUGHLY, AND FORSOOK THE OLD MEN’S COUNSEL THAT THEY GAVE HIM;

[1-Kings 12:14] AND SPAKE TO THEM AFTER THE COUNSEL OF THE YOUNG MEN, SAYING, MY FATHER MADE YOUR YOKE HEAVY, AND I WILL ADD TO YOUR YOKE: MY FATHER ALSO CHASTISED YOU WITH WHIPS, BUT I WILL CHASTISE YOU WITH SCORPIONS.

[1-Kings 12:15] WHEREFORE THE KING HEARKENED NOT UNTO THE PEOPLE; FOR THE CAUSE WAS FROM THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT PERFORM HIS SAYING, WHICH THE LORD SPAKE BY AHIJAH THE SHILONITE UNTO JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT.
## FOR THE CAUSE WAS FROM THE LORD## Note this very important statement. There was a Divine Purpose behind the Division.
The Divine Purpose for the Exile and Division of the Tribes
http://britam.org/tape3.html
http://www.britam.org/Broadcasts/Joseph1.mp3
(1 hour 2 minutes)

[1-Kings 12:16] SO WHEN ALL ISRAEL SAW THAT THE KING HEARKENED NOT UNTO THEM, THE PEOPLE ANSWERED THE KING, SAYING, WHAT PORTION HAVE WE IN DAVID? NEITHER HAVE WE INHERITANCE IN THE SON OF JESSE: TO YOUR TENTS, O ISRAEL: NOW SEE TO THINE OWN HOUSE, DAVID. SO ISRAEL DEPARTED UNTO THEIR TENTS.
Concerning this verse, there is a Midrash that says that When Israel returns to seek God, the Temple, and the kingdom of David then the redemption will come.
Extract below adapted from
“Joseph. The Israelite Destiny of America”.
http://britam.org/bkjoseph.html
They were rejecting the House of David son of Jesse represented by Rehoboam. They broke away from Jerusalem and the Temple Service and instituted their own religion. The Ten Tribes set up their own kingdom and made Jeroboam the son of Nebat from the Tribe of Ephraim their king. Later these Tribes were exiled and became known as the Lost Ten Tribes.
Concerning this event the Midrash (Midrash Shmuel 13, Yalkut Shomeoni-2, remez 106, Rashi on Hosea 3;5) tells us:
##Against three things were the Children of Israel destined to show contempt: Against the Rule of Heaven, against the Kingdom of David, and against the Holy Temple. This occurred in the Reign of King Jeroboam. They said, WHAT PORTION HAVE WE IN DAVID? In effect this meant rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven [by whom David had been appointed]. They also said, “NEITHER HAVE WE INHERITANCE IN THE SON OF JESSE”: This meant a rejection of the House of David [son of Jesse] in general. They said too, “TO YOUR TENTS, O ISRAEL: NOW SEE TO THINE OWN HOUSE, DAVID”: This meant turning their back on the Holy Temple.
[The expression TO YOUR TENTS, O ISRAEL in some opinions was a play on words. The real intention of the expression or the original expression had been “TO YOUR GODS O ISRAEL” (Rashi, Radak, Minchat Shi). The Hebrew for YOUR TENTS and YOUR GODS uses the same letters with only a slight change of order, Elohecha (“Your gods”) versus Ohelecha (“Your tents”). The motivation for breaking away from the Kingdom of David had been at least in part a desire to commit idolatry. Jeroboam almost immediately set up two gold calves and all the Northern Kingdom began worshipping them].
The Midrash continues:
##Rabbi Shimeon the son of Menasiah said: Israel will not see a blessing until they return and seek out the three things they rejected. As it says in Hosea:”AFTERWARD SHALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL RETURN, AND SEEK THE LORD THEIR GOD, AND DAVID THEIR KING; AND SHALL FEAR THE LORD AND HIS GOODNESS IN THE LATTER DAYS” (HOSEA 3:5). This means:
[Hosea 3:5] AFTERWARD SHALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL RETURN, AND SEEK THE LORD THEIR GOD, – this is the Kingdom of Heaven.
AND DAVID THEIR KING; – This is the Kingdom of the House of David.
AND SHALL FEAR THE LORD AND HIS GOODNESS IN THE LATTER DAYS: This is the building of the Third Temple.

Another Midrash says:
##About the Ten Tribes it is written: “WOE TO THEM THAT DEVISE INIQUITY, AND WORK EVIL UPON THEIR BEDS! (Micah 2;1) which is at night. Also even during the day [they do the same] “WHEN THE MORNING IS LIGHT, THEY PRACTISE IT” (Micah 2;1). In the Generation of the deluge none survived. Why should these [from the Ten Tribes] have survived” They survived by virtue of the righteous men and women who were destined to emerge from them.##
[1-Kings 12:17] BUT AS FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHICH DWELT IN THE CITIES OF JUDAH, REHOBOAM REIGNED OVER THEM.
The verse uses the expression CHILDREN OF ISRAEL for those dwelling in the Cities of Judah since not only were there people there from the Tribe of Judah but also from Benjamin and from the other Tribes who preferred to dwell in Judah.

[1-Kings 12:18] THEN KING REHOBOAM SENT ADORAM, WHO WAS OVER THE TRIBUTE; AND ALL ISRAEL STONED HIM WITH STONES, THAT HE DIED. THEREFORE KING REHOBOAM MADE SPEED TO GET HIM UP TO HIS CHARIOT, TO FLEE TO JERUSALEM.
#ADORAM# Also referred to as Adoniram (1-Kings 4:6 5:4).
It has been claimed that an inscription was once found on a sepulcher in Sarguntium in Spain that recalled Adoniram being buried there and having come there to collect taxes on behalf of King Solomon. This seems somewhat unlikely. Why should Adoniram be buried in Spain if he was killed in Samaria? Nevertheless it is as a tradition that was reported by Abarbanel and had been extant long before him.
See also:
MASS CONVERSION AND GENEALOGICAL MENTALITIES:
JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN
http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/mrustow/Nirenberg%20Mass%20conversion%20(Past%20&%20present).pdf
In Murviedro [near Toledo?], for example, a tombstone was discovered purporting to be that
of Adoniram, a high official of King Solomon. On the eve of the expulsion [1492] the grammarian Moses ben Shem Tov ibn H1abib visited the same cemetery and deciphered an inscription for the minister of war of the biblical King Amatzya of Judah.

71 Francisco Cantera Burgos and Jos ar ill Vallicrosa, Las inscripciones
hebraicas de Espana (Madrid, 1956), 2978, 3035. These are also discussed in
Shatzmiller, Politics and the Myth of Origins, 59.

ANCIENT ISRAEL IN SPAIN AND BRITAIN
http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/spainandbrit.html
(A Review of an important 1846 work authored by historian and theologian DR. MOSES MARGOLIOUTH: ‘THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN GREAT BRITAIN’

In the year 1480 at Saguntum, Spain, “a Hebrew epitaph” of great antiquity was discovered. It reads, ‘This is the grave of Adoniram, the servant of King Solomon, who came to collect the tribute, and died on the day…’ (page 23) This Adoniram is mentioned in both I Kings 5:14 and 4:6, “and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.” From this we understand that Adoniram was sent by Solomon to the Hebrew colony in Spain, where raw materials were collected for the Temple and other building projects in Palestine. This large stone sepulchre has been called, “the stone of Solomon’s collector.”

A second monument discovered in Spain with ancient Hebrew lettering, reads, “Raise with a bitter voice, a lamentation for the great prince; YAH has taken him. Amaziah.” An old Hebrew book, called “Darcay Noam,” or “Ways of Pleasantness,” gives an account of this epitaph.
[1-Kings 12:19] SO ISRAEL REBELLED AGAINST THE HOUSE OF DAVID UNTO THIS DAY.

[1-Kings 12:20] AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN ALL ISRAEL HEARD THAT JEROBOAM WAS COME AGAIN, THAT THEY SENT AND CALLED HIM UNTO THE CONGREGATION, AND MADE HIM KING OVER ALL ISRAEL: THERE WAS NONE THAT FOLLOWED THE HOUSE OF DAVID, BUT THE TRIBE OF JUDAH ONLY.
They made Jeroboam king over them.
#BUT THE TRIBE OF JUDAH ONLY# It may be that most of Judah followed Rehoboam and only part of Benjamin in line with opinions that we have explained above. Nevertheless from the point of view of Tribal expression the ultimate self-realization of Benjamin seems to have been that destined to take place through his association with Judah.

[1-Kings 12:21] AND WHEN REHOBOAM WAS COME TO JERUSALEM, HE ASSEMBLED ALL THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, WITH THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN, AN HUNDRED AND FOURSCORE THOUSAND CHOSEN MEN, WHICH WERE WARRIORS, TO FIGHT AGAINST THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, TO BRING THE KINGDOM AGAIN TO REHOBOAM THE SON OF SOLOMON.
We see here Judah with Benjamin following after Rehoboam.
Notice here we have THE HOUSE OF JUDAH going up to fight against THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL meaning the Ten Tribes.

[1-Kings 12:22] BUT THE WORD OF GOD CAME UNTO SHEMAIAH THE MAN OF GOD, SAYING,
SHEMAIAH was a prophet (2-Chronicles 12:5) probably from Jerusalem. The Sages said that every Prophet whose hometown is not mentioned came from Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was the place where all the Second Tithe had to be devoured. This (as the Sages pointed out) would have led every family to have an incentive to permanently station one of their member in Jerusalem to benefit from Second Tithe produce. There thus developed the custom amongst many families that at least one of their members permanently study the Torah in Jerusalem being supported from the Second Tithe of all the other family members.
[Similarly the Irish often had large families and there was a practice amongst some of them that in every generation for at least one of them become a priest. The Irish were Roman Catholics but in many ways they followed at times “Old Testament” practices].
At all events the large number of full-time students of the Torah in Jerusalem along with the Temple etc and the unique atmosphere of the city would have been conducive to Prophecy.

[1-Kings 12:23] SPEAK UNTO REHOBOAM, THE SON OF SOLOMON, KING OF JUDAH, AND UNTO ALL THE HOUSE OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN, AND TO THE REMNANT OF THE PEOPLE, SAYING,

[1-Kings 12:24] THUS SAITH THE LORD, YE SHALL NOT GO UP, NOR FIGHT AGAINST YOUR BRETHREN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: RETURN EVERY MAN TO HIS HOUSE; FOR THIS THING IS FROM ME. THEY HEARKENED THEREFORE TO THE WORD OF THE LORD, AND RETURNED TO DEPART, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD.
We see here again the emphasis that the Division had a Divine Purpose behind it.

[1-Kings 12:25] THEN JEROBOAM BUILT SHECHEM IN MOUNT EPHRAIM, AND DWELT THEREIN; AND WENT OUT FROM THENCE, AND BUILT PENUEL.
Schechem had already existed but Jeroboam apparently greatly expanded it. It may be that the city he built was just beside the original one and not in place of it.
PENUEL was east of the Jordan River. The Lands of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as other areas should by rights belong to Israel. The Arabs are illegally squatting on Israelite territory.

[1-Kings 12:26] AND JEROBOAM SAID IN HIS HEART, NOW SHALL THE KINGDOM RETURN TO THE HOUSE OF DAVID:
Certain Ephraimite religious leaders who believe in the Two Houses and that their peoples may be descended from Israel nevertheless sometimes seem to go out of their way to distance themselves from Judah. Are they afraid of something?

[1-Kings 12:27] IF THIS PEOPLE GO UP TO DO SACRIFICE IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AT JERUSALEM, THEN SHALL THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE TURN AGAIN UNTO THEIR LORD, EVEN UNTO REHOBOAM KING OF JUDAH, AND THEY SHALL KILL ME, AND GO AGAIN TO REHOBOAM KING OF JUDAH.

[1-Kings 12:28] WHEREUPON THE KING TOOK COUNSEL, AND MADE TWO CALVES OF GOLD, AND SAID UNTO THEM, IT IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO GO UP TO JERUSALEM: BEHOLD THY GODS, O ISRAEL, WHICH BROUGHT THEE UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.
#THE KING TOOK COUNSEL#. He took advice. He discussed the issue with his advisors who knew what was posssible and what the people would accept.
#CALVES# The word used here is “Aegel” meaning “bull-calf”.
“Aegel” was also a nickname for Ephraim and eventually another name in Europe for the “Angle” who together with the Saxons conquered England and gave England (Angle-land) its name.
The figure of a bull to represent the Almighty or rather to represent the Divine Presence as expressing itself in human affairs was apparently well-known in Ancient Israel. It is hinted at in the Bible. It has both Biblical and pagan (especially Egyptian) parallels. It was not necessarily considered idolatrous, at least not at first.
The Kuzari by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi and other sources say that these golden bull calves were intended to represent the God of Israel but because they made them without Divine Sanction it was considered as if they were committing idolatry and later they did indeed take on idolatrous signifincance.
Archaeological evidence shows that the northern Kingdom quickly become suffused with pagan images taken from Canaanite and Egyptian mythology. Jeroboam had spent many years in exile in Egypt before returning to rule over Israel.
#BEHOLD# Hebrew “Heneh” which probably permutated into the English expression “then”.
#THY GODS# Hebrew “Eloheca” in the plural but not necessarily meaning more than one.

[1-Kings 12:29] AND HE SET THE ONE IN BETHEL, AND THE OTHER PUT HE IN DAN.
There were two townships of Bethel. One was in Benjamin in the territory of the Kingdom of Judah and the other was in the territory of Ephraim in the Kingdom of Israel. The two settlements may well have adjoined each other.

[1-Kings 12:30] AND THIS THING BECAME A SIN: FOR THE PEOPLE WENT TO WORSHIP BEFORE THE ONE, EVEN UNTO DAN.
Dan was in the Northern Galilee. There was another contingent of Dan far to the north in present-day southwest Turkey just to the north of Syria. There is a possibility that this other Dan far to the north is what is intended here.
See:
Dan and the Serpent Way. Dan in Northern Israel, Greece, and Elsewhere
http://britam.org/dan3.html
I, like many others, have a certain sympathy for the Tribe of Dan. Nevertheless Dan is often associated with idolatry and with the far north.

[1-Kings 12:31] AND HE MADE AN HOUSE OF HIGH PLACES, AND MADE PRIESTS OF THE LOWEST OF THE PEOPLE, WHICH WERE NOT OF THE SONS OF LEVI.
As a result of this the Levites moved south into the Kingdon of Judah and so did other Israelites who remained faithful to the God of Israel.
#THE LOWEST# In Hebrew “Miktsot” or literally the “ends”. This has been understood to mean the lowest section or the dregs but I saw a Commentary that claimed that it could alternatively mean the better or more elevated section. In Hebrew the word “Katsin” (from the same root, katseh, as “Miktsot”) means officer.

[2-Chronicles 11:13] AND THE PRIESTS AND THE LEVITES THAT WERE IN ALL ISRAEL RESORTED TO HIM [i.e. to Rehoboam of Judah] OUT OF ALL THEIR COASTS.

[2-Chronicles 11:14] FOR THE LEVITES LEFT THEIR SUBURBS AND THEIR POSSESSION, AND CAME TO JUDAH AND JERUSALEM: FOR JEROBOAM AND HIS SONS HAD CAST THEM OFF FROM EXECUTING THE PRIEST’S OFFICE UNTO THE LORD:
Note that the Bible speaks of the Levites leaving the northern Kingdom and moving into Judah for relgious reasons. This process may have continued over several generations since the dispossession of the Levites from their religious duties is attributed to both Jeroboam and his sons i.e. successors.

[2-Chronicles 11:15] AND HE ORDAINED HIM PRIESTS FOR THE HIGH PLACES, AND FOR THE DEVILS, AND FOR THE CALVES WHICH HE HAD MADE.

[2-Chronicles 11:16] AND AFTER THEM OUT OF ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL SUCH AS SET THEIR HEARTS TO SEEK THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL CAME TO JERUSALEM, TO SACRIFICE UNTO THE LORD GOD OF THEIR FATHERS.

[1-Kings 12:32] AND JEROBOAM ORDAINED A FEAST IN THE EIGHTH MONTH, ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, LIKE UNTO THE FEAST THAT IS IN JUDAH, AND HE OFFERED UPON THE ALTAR. SO DID HE IN BETHEL, SACRIFICING UNTO THE CALVES THAT HE HAD MADE: AND HE PLACED IN BETHEL THE PRIESTS OF THE HIGH PLACES WHICH HE HAD MADE.
The feast of Succoth falls in the seventh Month (Tishrei). Apparently put the feast of for a month. The harvest season in the region of Samaria falls somewhat later than that in Judah so by postponing the feast he may have made it more in synchrony with the local season.

[1-Kings 12:33] SO HE OFFERED UPON THE ALTAR WHICH HE HAD MADE IN BETHEL THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE EIGHTH MONTH, EVEN IN THE MONTH WHICH HE HAD DEVISED OF HIS OWN HEART; AND ORDAINED A FEAST UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: AND HE OFFERED UPON THE ALTAR, AND BURNT INCENSE.

Regarding the two bull calves and the declaration of Jeroboam,
IT IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO GO UP TO JERUSALEM: BEHOLD THY GODS, O ISRAEL, WHICH BROUGHT THEE UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT [1-Kings 12:28],
The following extract from our book, “Ephraim” is appropriate:

[“Ephraim” was first published in 1995. In this work we warned (based on Hosea chapter 9) that the Muslims would use terror against the West. We also pointed out that “Ephraim” (i.e. the Ten Tribes) would attempt to reach a modus vivendi or friendly agreement with Islam and that this is liable to end in a great calamity for Ephraim.]

ISAIAH AND THE RETURN OF THE LOST TEN TRIBES

Extracts:
The Lost Ten Tribes will return. The Jews of Judah will meet the return of the Lost Ten Tribes with mixed reactions:

ISAIAH (49:21) DESCRIBES HOW THE JEWISH PEOPLE UPON SEEING MASSES OF LOST ISRAELITES RETURNING TO THE HOLY LAND WILL HAVE A SERIOUS QUESTION:

“THEN SHALT THOU SAY IN THY HEART, WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE, SEEING I HAVE LOST MY CHILDREN, AND AM DESOLATE, A CAPTIVE, AND REMOVING TO AND FRO? AND WHO HATH BROUGHT UP THESE? BEHOLD, I WAS LEFT ALONE; THESE WHERE HAD THEY BEEN?” (Isaiah 49:21).

In other words, the Jews will ask where were all those now identified as Israel when the Jews needed help and were alone?
On the one hand those few people among the Gentiles who have helped the Jews have more often than not belonged to the Lost Ten Tribes. On the other hand these nations were powerful and rich ones and they could have done much more to help than they did. There were times even when the Lost Ten Tribes had acted as the adversaries of Judah.
A reflection on this future conundrum is provided by a passage in the Zohar.
The Zohar (Breishit, VaYechi, 88m, Sulam edition) comments on the expression “WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE? in the verse we are here concerned with (ISAIAH 49:21). The Zohar notes an emphasis in the question on the Hebrew word “EYLEH” i.e. “these”‘:

The verse says: “THEN SHALT THOU SAY IN THY HEART, WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE, SEEING I HAVE LOST MY CHILDREN, AND AM DESOLATE, A CAPTIVE, AND REMOVING TO AND FRO? AND WHO HATH BROUGHT UP THESE? BEHOLD, I WAS LEFT ALONE; THESE WHERE HAD THEY BEEN?” (ISAIAH 49:21)

The Zohar emphasizes the emphasis on the expression these: “WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE…..? AND WHO HATH BROUGHT UP THESE…THESE, WHERE HAD THEY BEEN?”
The Zohar then refers back to the time when the Patriarch Israel was about to die and his son Joseph had brought his grandsons, Ephraim and Menasseh, to him to receive a final blessing.

“WHEN ISRAEL SAW JOSEPH’S SONS, HE SAID, WHO ARE THESE?” (Genesis 48;8).

[Said Rabbi Yehudah bar Shalom, “And why did he did he not recognize them?” Had he not been familiar with them?… “And now he asks, Who are these?”…”But rather he must have foreseen [through Divine Inspiration] Jeroboam son of Nebat and Ahab son of Omri [both future kings of the northern separated Ten-Tribes of Israel] who would arise from Ephraim and worship idolatry” Midrash Tanchuma, VaYichi,6.]

The Zohar relates:
“Rabbi Abba began to explain [the above question of the Patriarch Israel, “Who are these?”] by relating it to [the verse in ISAIAH 49;21] “then shalt thou say in thy heart: `Who hath begotten me these?’: What does this verse imply?
-That the Heavenly Patriarch Israel foresaw the Children of Israel assembling before him in the future: `In that day the LORD shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left [FROM ASSYRIA, AND FROM MITSRAYIM, AND FROM PATHROS, AND FROM CUSH, AND] FROM ELAM, AND FROM HAMATH, AND FROM THE ISLES OF THE SEA” (ISAIAH 11;11).

The above place names are those to where the Lost Ten Tribes were taken or went shortly after their Exile. Isaiah continues to speak of the ingathering of the Lost Tribes as well as that of Judah and of reconciliation between the Lost Tribes and Judah:

[ISAIAH 11:12] HE WILL RAISE AN ENSIGN FOR THE NATIONS, AND WILL ASSEMBLE THE OUTCASTS OF ISRAEL, AND GATHER THE DISPERSED OF JUDAH FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH.

[ISAIAH 11:13] THE JEALOUSY OF EPHRAIM SHALL DEPART, AND THOSE WHO HARASS JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF; EPHRAIM SHALL NOT BE JEALOUS OF JUDAH, AND JUDAH SHALL NOT HARASS EPHRAIM.

The question concerning “these” therefore refers to the Lost Ten Tribes (Ephraim) in the End Times.
The Zohar goes on to explain Isaiah 49;21, the question `WHO HATH BEGOTTEN ME THESE?’

“And they shall assemble together and be mutitudinous; the Divine Presence [i.e. Heavenly Israel] will wonder and ask, `Where did you all come from?’
`And is it not possible that there exists amongst you someone blemished, of foreign seed?’ “They will answer, `We are all your sons. There is no foreigner amongst us’.
“And they will divide off from each other. The foreign non Israelite element will voluntarily separate from them, and they [i.e. the returning Israelites] will be circumcised, and convert, and these converts will return with [and to] Israel, and they shall be one.”

In other words the Zohar says that the returning Israelites will renew the Covenant and be re-united with Israel meaning (in terms of the Zohar) with the Jewish people. In Biblical terms Israel can mean all of the 12 tribes together or it can mean the Lost Tribes (“Israel”) as distinct from “Judah” (the Jews) or it can stand for the Jews and Judah alone. In religious terms “Israel” can mean those of Israel who did not lose their identity meaning Judah. In this case members of the Lost Ten Tribes will be rejoined to the spiritual reality of Israel represented by the Jews of Judah.
The Zohar states above that the non Israelites will have to be separated out from the real returning descendants of Israelites. The non-Israelites referred to in this case are of a specific type that never really wanted to belong to Israel anyway. They belong to the “mixed multitude”. The real and proper attitude that will hold towards the non Israelite stranger (who previously of his own volition had joined himself to Israel) will be to accept him as a full-fledged citizen as stated in the Book of Ezekiel:
Ezekiel (ch.47) spoke of the future apportionment of the Promised Land amongst the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the Messianic era. The area spoken of includes modern day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, and additional parts of neighboring lands. This final re division of the land takes place after certain physical geographical and climatic changes occur. Ezekiel also speaks of apportioning The Land to “The strangers [i.e. non Israelites] that sojourn amongst you”: The strangers who identify with you will be counted as the same as you. “So shall ye divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel” (Ezekiel 47;21).

“AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT YE SHALL DIVIDE IT BY LOT FOR AN INHERITANCE UNTO YOU, AND TO THE STRANGERS THAT SOJOURN AMONG YOU, WHICH SHALL BEGET CHILDREN AMONG YOU; AND THEY SHALL BE UNTO YOU AS BORN IN THE COUNTRY AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
“AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT IN WHAT TRIBE THE STRANGER SOJOURNETH, THERE SHALL YE GIVE HIM HIS INHERITANCE..”
(Ezekiel 47;22 23)

Ps 110-111

http://www.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Psalms/The-coming-reign-of-David’s-Lord,-the-Melchizedek-Priest_King/default.aspx

“Save With Your Right Hand”
Psalm 110 is a royal psalm of David that affirms the divinity of the Messiah. Note that the psalm begins in verse 1 with “the LORD”-i.e., YHWH (He Is Who He Is, the Eternal God)-giving subordinate regal rule at His right hand to another whom David refers to as “my Lord” (Adoni, meaning “Master”). David was the king of Israel. Who, if not God, was over him as his Lord?

Prior to Jesus’ day, the Jews viewed this psalm as messianic. They saw David here looking to the future Messiah or Christ, the anointed King who would establish the Kingdom of God over all nations. Yet other passages showed that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, which was seemingly problematic for Psalm 110. Jesus used these points in confounding the Pharisees. Note this exchange from Matthew 22 (which gives evidence of the Jewish messianic interpretation of Psalm 110 and confirms David as the psalm’s author):
“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’
“They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’

“He said to them, ‘How then does David call Him ‘Lord,’ saying [in Psalm 110:1]: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him anymore” (verses 41-46; compare Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44).

It was unheard of that a forefather would call a descendant “Lord” (i.e., Master). Moreover, how could David, as the founding father of his dynasty, refer to a king to follow in his stead as his Lord? Some have proposed that David was referring to Solomon when he became king in David’s place while David was still alive. Yet this seems rather unlikely-for why then would the religious teachers of Christ’s day have been confounded? Indeed, David shortly before his death still issued commands to Solomon. So Solomon was not David’s Lord.

Following Jesus and the emergence of Christianity, a new Jewish explanation came about-that le David (“of David”) in the psalm’s title meant not by David but regarding David and that the psalm was written by one of David’s subjects. Yet this was obviously not the traditional understanding in Jesus’ day, as His exchange with the Pharisees makes clear. They considered David the author, as Jesus affirmed. It is interesting that le David in the titles of the preceding psalms (108 and 109) was and still is understood in Jewish interpretation to mean that David wrote these.

The apparent dilemma of having David as the author is resolved if we understand that the messianic descendant of David is also Himself divine. Yet the wording of Psalm 110:1 does not seem to merely say that a future messianic King would one day be David’s Lord. David, rather, appears to say that this One was already his personal Lord-that is, One he already served. This truly makes sense only if David recognized two divine beings existing at that time-one subordinate to the other. So here we have an Old Testament revelation of the existence of God and the Word-later known as God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ).

While this was not generally understood by the Israelites, it should not surprise us to see that God’s specially inspired prophets glimpsed this important truth.

The apostle Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 as applying to Jesus as the subordinate “Lord” at the right hand of God (Acts 2:34-36).

The verse is also quoted in Hebrews 1:13, which shows that this position was given to Jesus and not to the angels.

Whereas Psalm 110:1 describes both Lords from a third-person perspective, verses 2-3 are written in second person-with David using the words “You” and “Your” in addressing the messianic King directly. Depending on the context, the name YHWH (represented here as “LORD”) could refer to God the Father or to the One who became the Messiah, Jesus Christ-or to both. In keeping with verse 1, the use of “LORD” in verse 2 still clearly refers to the Father. The “You” and “Your” with the “rod of…strength” or “mighty scepter” (NIV) in verses 2-3 must refer to the Messiah. Note God making “Your [the Messiah’s] enemies” a footstool (subservient) in verse 1 and the mention again of “Your [the Messiah’s] enemies” in verse 2.

David in verse 3 tells his messianic Lord that His people will be “volunteers” when the Lord comes in power. The wording here is “lit[erally] ‘freewill offerings,’ i.e., they will offer themselves as dedicated warriors to support [the Messiah] on the battlefield…. Accordingly, Paul speaks of Christ’s followers offering their bodies ‘as living sacrifices’ (Ro 12:1) and of himself as a ‘drink offering’ (Php 2:17)” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on Psalm 110:3). The latter part of verse 3 apparently depicts the Messiah “as clothed in royal majesty and glory and perpetually preserving the bloom of youth even as the ‘womb of the dawn’ gives birth each morning to the dew” (same note).

Verse 4 is either another third-person description of a divine conversation or a continuation of the second-person address to the Messiah. God is quoted as telling the divine Messiah, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek (meaning “King of Righteousness”) was in Abraham’s day the King of Salem (meaning King of “Peace”) and priest of God Most High (see Genesis 14:18-20). He was evidently a preincarnate manifestation of Jesus Christ. Unlike the later Aaronic priesthood, His priesthood was not established on the basis of His descent within a priestly tribe. Rather, it was by direct divine appointment.

Jesus would continue in this priestly role on the same basis. Discussion over this point, citing Psalm 110:4, can be found in Hebrews 5:5-11 and 6:20-7:28.

The declaration in Psalm 110 of the Messiah as a priest was a source of confusion for many of the Jews of Christ’s day, leading some to mistakenly think that besides a Davidic Messiah of the line of Judah, there would also be a Messiah of the line of Aaron, who was from the tribe of Levi (and, outside the scope of this discussion, some also believed in a Messiah of the tribe of Joseph). Yet the one Messiah was to be both King and Priest. We will look further into the concept of the Melchizedek priesthood in our later reading of the book of Hebrews.

Note next the opening words of Psalm 110:5: “The Lord is at Your right hand.” The Lord (Adonai) at the beginning of the verse is evidently the Messianic King, Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father (see Acts 5:31; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1). For recall from verse 1 the Father’s appointment of the Lord (Jesus) to sit at His right hand. Therefore, verses 4-7 must constitute an address to God the Father about the future rule of the messianic Lord-thus reciting back to God, in hope and trust, what God has revealed. Jesus will execute divine judgment throughout the world and achieve victory.

http://www.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Psalms/Praise-to-God-for-His-righteousness-and-faithfulness/default.aspx

“He Has Sent Redemption to His People”

Psalms 111-119 all untitled with no attributed authorship, form “a cluster of nine psalms framed by unusual alphabetic acrostics (…Ps 111 [112]; 119) that enclose the ‘Egyptian Hallel’ (…Ps 113-118) [so named because of the use of these hallel or ‘praise’ psalms at Passover in celebration of the Israelites’ deliverance in Egypt]. The framing psalms that enclose the celebration of redemption contained in the Hallel offer instruction in the piety that must characterize those who join in the celebration of God’s saving acts on behalf of his people” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on Psalms 111-119).

Close comparison of Psalms 111 and 112 “shows that these two psalms are twins, probably written by the same author and intended to be kept together…. Structurally, both Ps 111 and Ps 112 are alphabetic acrostics…but unique in that each (Hebrew) half-line advances the alphabet…. Both of these twin psalms are composed of the same number of Hebrew syllables” (note on Psalm 111). Both psalms begin with “Praise the LORD!” or Hallelujah. And Psalm 112 picks up thematically where Psalm 111 leaves off.

While Psalm 111 praises God for His great works-creative, providential and redemptive-the focus is on studying these works as part of wisdom instruction to see the benefits of following Him (see verse 2). God intended His works to be remembered and considered (verse 4). All that He does is characterized by enduring righteousness, grace, providence, truth and justice toward His people (see verses 3-7). Verses 7-8 declare God’s precepts, His laws, to be absolute and eternal. In verse 9, God’s redemption of His people harkens back to His deliverance of Israel from Egypt as well as to other acts of deliverance He performed for their benefit. The psalmist implicitly includes here future redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for he states in the same context that God’s covenant with His people is forever.

Where verse 5 says God provides for those who “fear Him”-who appropriately respect His great power and holy demands, understanding the consequences of disobedience-verse 10 adds the fact that this proper fear of God is “the beginning of wisdom” (see also Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). We are further told that “a good understanding have all those who do His commandments” (Psalm 111:10). The italicized words here would literally be “who do them”-yet the plural pronoun in the Hebrew must refer back to “precepts” in verse 7-the “they” of verse 8. Nothing helps to understand the purpose for God’s laws more than actually living by them. The more we follow them and experience their benefits, the better we understand why God commanded them.

The conclusion of the psalm refers back to its opening call for praise of the Lord-affirming that His praise, like His enduring praiseworthy attributes (compare verses 3, 7, 9), will go on for eternity (verse 10).

Luke 21
Luk 21:1 And looking up He saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
Luk 21:2 and He saw a certain poor widow putting in two mites.
Luk 21:3 And He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all.
Luk 21:4 “For all these out of their excess have put in offerings for Elohim, but she out of her poverty has put in all that she had to live on.”

I find it once again interesting that this is the lead off in this week’s Torah study after I have said what I said above. I also know that of those who contributed to the Farm Project in Israel, the weight of the money raised so far has come from widows and those on a pension. You efforts are seen in heaven and noticed.

When we are in Jerusalem I ask each of those with us on tour this question ’How many stones do you see upon another at the Temple Mount’ And then I quote this verse.

Luk 21:6 “These that you see – the days are coming in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

Luk 21:8 And He said, “See that you are not led astray, for many shall come in My Name, saying, ‘I am,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Then do not go after them.

We are seeing this more often now. False teachers who do away with the law are coming out in droves. This is the white horse of Rev. The false religion.

Luk 21:9 “But when you hear of fightings and unrests, do not be alarmed, for these have to take place first, but the end is not immediately.”
Luk 21:10 Then He said to them, “Nation shall rise against nation, and reign against reign.
Luk 21:11 “And there shall be great earthquakes in various places, and scarcities of food and deadly diseases. And there shall be horrors, and great signs from heaven.

This is Lev 26:21 the third curse for not keeping the Sabbatical cycles. You are seeing the Earth Quake and the severity of them increasing. Food is in shortage the world over and we watch for the coming pestilence which has come during this third Sabbatical cycle like clock work.

Luk 21:12 “But before all this, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the congregations and prisons, and be brought before sovereigns and rulers for My Name’s sake.
Luk 21:13 “And it shall turn out to you for a witness.
Luk 21:14 “Therefore, resolve in your hearts not to premeditate on what to answer.
Luk 21:15 “For I shall give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to refute or resist.
Luk 21:16 “And you shall also be betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And some of you shall be put to death.
Luk 21:17 “And you shall be hated by all because of My Name.
Luk 21:18 “But not a hair of your head shall be lost at all.
Luk 21:19 “Possess your lives by your endurance!

We are warned of this time in Mathew 22 about the invitation to the wedding. Those who invited turn on those telling them to come and kill them. Then the king sends his armies to kill them. The armies come in the 4th Sabbatical cycle. So we can expect to see this persecution during the next 6 years. Now and resolve this in your mind. Your own families will betray you.

Luk 21:20 “And when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then know that its laying waste is near.
Luk 21:21 “Then let those in Yehud?ah flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of her go out, and let not those who are in the fields enter her.
Luk 21:22 “Because these are days of vengeance, to fill all that have been written.
Luk 21:23 “And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing children in those days! For there shall be great distress in the earth and wrath upon this people.
Luk 21:24 “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Yerushalayim shall be trampled underfoot by the gentiles until the times of the gentiles are filled.

You are reading of the first time Jerusalem is to be destroyed in the next few years. It comes at the same time as when Judah fell in 586 BC. That was the third year of the third Sabbatical cycle. In the 4th year of the third Sabbatical cycle the King of North came in Abrahams day.

Judah has not kept the Sabbatical year since returning to the land of Israel in 1948. They have let 10 Sabbatical years go without letting the land rest. Just as they did in 586 BC go into captivity for 70 Sabbatical land rest years they did not keep, so will be now in our day.

The part about the Mount of Olives splitting in two is for the next time just at the beginning of the 3 ½ years of tribulation. This is not that time. This is speaking of 2012-2013-2016. The part where the mountain splits in 2030.

Luk 21:25 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and moon, and stars, and on the earth anxiety of nations, in bewilderment at the roaring of the sea, and agitation,
Luk 21:26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of what is coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
Luk 21:27 “And then they shall see the Son of Ad?am coming in a cloud with power and much esteem.
Luk 21:28 “And when these matters begin to take place, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Luk 21:29 And He spoke a parable to them, “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
Luk 21:30 “When they have already budded, observing it, you shall know for yourselves that summer is now near.
Luk 21:31 “So you also, when you see these matters take place, know that the reign of Elohim is near.
Luk 21:32 “Truly, I say to you, this generation shall by no means pass away till all shall have taken place.

Christian wrongly say this scripture applies to when Israel became a nation in 1948. They then add on to this 70 years for one generation and come to 2018. They are mistaken in doing so. The last Jubilee cycle began in 1996. It is this last generation alive during this Jubilee cycle will by no means pass away till all has taken place.

Luk 21:33 “The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall by no means pass away.
Luk 21:34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down by gluttony, and drunkenness, and worries of this life, and that day come on you suddenly.
Luk 21:35 “For it shall come as a snare on all those dwelling on the face of all the earth.
Luk 21:36 “Watch then at all times, and pray that you be counted worthy to escape all this about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Ad?am.”

The 613 Mitzvot

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 374-380 We also have commentary, with editing from me, again from http://theownersmanual.net/The_Owners_Manual_02_The_Law_of_Love.Torah

(374) The kohein shall not enter the Sanctuary at all times (i.e., at times when he is not performing service). “Yahweh said to Moses: ‘Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.’” (Leviticus 16:2) The High Priest was to enter the Most Holy Place only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the day when the blood of the sacrifice would be sprinkled on the mercy seat to cover the sins of the people until the next Yom Kippur. This ritual, of course, was prophetic of the sacrifice the Messiah would eventually make on Calvary, this time removing the sins of God’s people. The reason given that the High Priest could only enter once a year was that Yahweh’s very presence was to appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. One doesn’t waltz into the presence of Almighty God uninvited. To do so is fatal.

So how do you suppose the Babylonians were able to tear Solomon’s temple apart stone by stone? How did Herod remodel the second temple from the ground up, and how did the Romans dismantle that one without fatally encountering Yahweh’s shekinah? There is only one possible answer: Yahweh was no longer there. Ezekiel even records His departure, in Chapters 10 and 11. The Ark of the Covenant wasn’t there either. The last Biblical mention of the Ark is in II Chronicles 35, during the reign of Josiah (about 621 B.C.). The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s troops thirty five years later. But we read in II Maccabees 2:4-8 that the prophet Jeremiah removed the Ark and hid it away “until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy.”
My point is that without Christ’s fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice, this mitzvah and many others are pointless and impossible. There’s no priesthood, no temple, and no Ark of the Covenant to sprinkle the blood upon.

(375) The ordinary kohein shall not defile himself by contact with any dead, other than immediate relatives. “Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself.”’” (Leviticus 21:1-3) The word translated “defile” (Hebrew tame) means to be unclean, to be ritually impure. There was no shortage of ways an Israelite could “defile” himself or herself, some of which were unavoidable in any practical sense: contact with animals not on the “clean” list, giving birth, having sexual relations, menstruation, bodily emissions, leprosy, and being in the presence of a corpse. Thus being “defiled” didn’t mean you were evil, but it did mean you were temporarily disqualified from participation in certain facets of the life of the community.

Yahweh is seen here tempering law with compassion: under normal circumstances, a priest was to remain as ritually pure as he could, for it was his job to attend to the spiritual needs of the people, at least in a ceremonial sense (that is, metaphorically acting out the Messiah’s role as intercessor). But if a close family member had died, all bets were off. Compassion trumps correctness.

(376) The kohanim shall defile themselves only for their deceased relatives (by attending their burial), and mourn for them like other Israelites, who are commanded to mourn for their relatives. “Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself.”’” (Leviticus 21:1-3) As is so often true, the rabbis have added detail and definition to the Torah that simply isn’t there. This is nothing but an artificial expansion of Mitzvah #375. Of course, after Akiba redefined Judaism in his own image early in the second century, it didn’t really matter what was required of the priesthood—it had no further role to play.

The rabbis had put themselves in the place of honor. The Shekinah had departed and the temple was no more. The rabbis could have demanded that the kohanim must perform summersaults as they enter the Holy Place, and it wouldn’t have made any practical difference.

(377) A kohein who had an immersion during the day (to cleanse him from his uncleanness) shall not serve in the Sanctuary until after sunset. “Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen, or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be—the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food.” (Leviticus 22:4-7) Maimonides has apparently confused emissions with immersions. An emission of semen was one of many things that would render a priest ceremonially unclean—temporarily unauthorized to participate in the temple service or partake of the offerings that would have normally been his sustenance during his course of service. The remedy for being rendered ritually unclean was to wash one’s body with water and wait until sunset—in Hebrew reckoning, the start of a new day. It was not (as Maimonides implies) the washing that disqualified the priest, but rather the contact with the unclean thing.

The whole subject is a lesson on forgiveness. We all sin—that is, fall short of Yahweh’s perfect standard. But “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) The washing of the priest’s body is thus a picture of the confession—the admission of our faults—to a God who wants to maintain fellowship with us. However, there is more to it. The priest also had to wait until the sun had set. This tells us that there are consequences to our sins that follow us throughout our earthly lives. We may have been forgiven by God for robbing the convenience store, but we still have to do the jail time.

(378) A kohein shall not marry a divorced woman. “They [priests] shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.” (Leviticus 21:7) The next three mitzvot prohibit priests from marrying certain classes of women, each of which defines them as—at the very least—not being virgins. Here, a divorced woman is specified. We will note shortly that the restrictions for the High Priest are even more stringent: a regular priest may marry a widow, while the High Priest may not (see Mitzvah #385). The reasons for the marriage restriction are purely symbolic, of course. The women described here represent relationships with the world, with other lovers, with other gods. The priests of Yahweh are to be set apart for His work in every way: they are “holy.” Thus a relationship with the world, even by proxy, is forbidden. God is not saying that divorced women are necessarily evil people. The symbol is what’s important, and they symbolize broken relationships.

(379) A kohein shall not marry a harlot. “They [priests] shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.” (Leviticus 21:7) A harlot, or prostitute, is not only someone who has multiple sexual relationships out of wedlock. In the context of the times, she was often associated with the worship of false gods like Ba’al or Astarte. The Mosaic metaphor is quite plain. Those who minister before Yahweh are not to have relationships with false gods. That may sound obvious, but I must reiterate that both Judaism and Christianity were—and are—permeated with vestiges of pagan worship practices. The letters to the seven Asian churches in Revelation 2 and 3 warn against this very thing. In particular, Thyatira was found to be up to her neck in it. Yahshua, then as now, warns us to repent.

(380) A kohein shall not marry a profaned woman. “They [priests] shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.” (Leviticus 21:7) We’re going to have to go back to our Hebrew dictionaries for insight into this last category—the defiled or profaned woman. The word is chalal, which literally means: the dead, one who has been slain or fatally wounded, a casualty that has died—contact with which, of course, brings a state of ritual defilement. Is God telling us not to marry dead people? Sort of. As John 3:18 reminds us, “He who does not believe is condemned already…” The “dead” are those who have no relationship with Yahweh. So the priest—the one who serves before God—is warned not to be related in marriage to one who has no such desire to serve. As we saw in Mitzvah #364, it’s a question of being unequally yoked together with an unbeliever.