Afflicting our Soul Part 1 Balaam’s Ass

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Aug 21, 2014

News Letter 5850-022
26th day of the 5th month 5850 years after the creation of Adam
The 5th Month in the Fifth year of the Third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilence

August 23, 2014

Shabbat Shalom Family,

My head is spinning from all that has been going on the past couple of months. The war with Hamas, and the ISIS threat and its many, many atrocities. Both groups are conducting what would be classified as war crimes against humanity, but no one does anything about it. No one has the courage to go there and punish those responsible. Instead they do as President Obama said after the latest beheading of the US journalist this past week. He said he would consult with his allies to see what they could do.

Damn it all to hell, has no one got any back bone any more? I remember the day when every American in the world was protected by the US Government. If they killed a US citizen they had big time trouble to pay. Now it is open season on them all. How utterly sad it has become to watch this happen in front of me.

President Obama should be launching round the clock strikes on these people until this cancer is removed. But he will not. And no one else will, either. And so it grows stronger each day until the time it strikes the US in its own yard. Then it is going to be too late.

This coming week the new crescent moon is not expected to be seen on the 30th day of this the 5th month. It is expected to be the 1st day of the 6th month on August 27th to August 28th. You can look for it on Tuesday evening but it will not be visible until the following evening August 27. This then begins the 40 days of repentance as we count down to the Day of Atonement. The more I learn about this the more humbled I am at the profoundness of it all. The things we are to do yearly are being and going to be played out nationally and we are going to be so humbled that we will not be able to stand it.
In recent years there have been some who say you do not have to fast on the Day of Atonement. Instead you can do charitable works. Is this right? I strongly disagree with this new found teaching. We are to fast and to humble ourselves like our very lives depended on it.

To help you understand this, I will share a new section to the book The 2300 Days of Hell I had to add this week. It is about this word afflict. This part is section 14 of the summary of the book. You can print this off and add it to your copy. We will update the online version when we get time. I am just so busy right now. I have another surprise for you all I am working on. And I am still having problems with the DVD duplicator machine. My hammer is not working to fix it this time. So I apologize to those waiting on the DVDs.

Next week we will speak about Atonement and maybe even the week after that. It is that important for you to get this and understand it. May Yehovah open your minds to His truths and help you to comprehend the deep and sobering meaning of this special day.
Note: foot notes are dispersed at the end of each page in my copy. They appear here in the article, so look for them.

Microsoft Word – Summary 14 Aug. 12th, 2014.docx

14) The Covenant Made With Many spoken of in Daniel 9:27 began with the convening of the United Nations in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. For the very first time in human history, this conference on the Human Environment united the representatives of multiple governments in discussions pertaining to the state of the global environment. This conference directly resulted in the creation of government-based environmental agencies and the U.N. Environmental Program (U.N.E.P.). This original Covenant made in Stockholm back in 1972 has now turned into the bureaucratic monster we know it to be today.

This Declaration originally contained twenty-six principles concerning the environment and development—an Action Plan with 109 Recommendations, and a Resolution. The Stockholm Covenant has, as its first principle and as the most prominent Declaration, a Declaration on “Human Rights.” This Declaration on Human Rights, allegedly intended to prevent another Holocaust, has led to the Declaration on Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered Rights.

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first Resolution recognizing L.G.B.T. rights, which was followed up with a report from the U.N. Human Rights Commission documenting violations of the rights of L.G.B.T people—including hate crimes, criminalization of homosexuality, and discrimination. Following closely on the heels of the report, the U.N. Human Rights Commission urged all countries, which had not yet done so, to enact laws protecting basic L.G.B.T. rights. The practice of homosexuality is still illegal in seventy-six countries, and is punishable by execution in seven of those countries— most of which are Islamic nations.

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. It is recorded and, surprisingly, has played a very prominent role in the history of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The Curse of Balaam1 was to have Israel sin by committing fornication with the Moabite women who either sought to entice them to forsake Yehovah and His Commandments and worship other gods, or to incorporate the worship of other gods with Israel’s worship of Yehovah. I must now explain this in more detail for those who may not understand how significant this actually was and now is, in light of current events for us now living in the Last Days and the time of Jacob’s Trouble.
The Doctrine of Balaam

 

But first let me share some scriptures with you that attest to the true nature of the worship of Balaam.

9 “… then ???? knows how to rescue the reverent ones from trial and to keep the unrighteous unto the day of judgment, to be punished, 10 and most of all those walking after the flesh in filthy lust and despising authority—bold, headstrong, speaking evil of esteemed ones, 11 whereas messengers who are greater in strength and power do not bring a slanderous accusation against them before the Master.” (2 Peter 2:9-11)
12 “But these, like natural unreasoning beasts, having been born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheme that which they do not know, shall be destroyed in their destruction, 13 being about to receive the wages of unrighteousness, deeming indulgence in the day of pleasure, spots and blemishes, reveling in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes filled with an adulteress, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable beings, having a heart trained in greed, children of a curse, 15 having left the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Bil?am the son of Be?or, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 but he was rebuked for his transgression: a dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man restrained the madness of the prophet.”(2 Peter 2:12-16)
17 “These are fountains without water, clouds driven by a storm, to whom the blackest darkness is kept forever. 18 For speaking arrogant nonsense, they entice—through the lusts of the flesh, through indecencies—the ones who have indeed escaped from those living in delusion.” (2 Peter 2:17-18)

I am about to explain the way of Balaam so there is no misunderstanding or mistaking exactly what it entails. Allow me to continue to lay the foundation by providing you with a few more scriptures:

10 But these blaspheme that which they do not know. And that which they know naturally, like unreasoning beasts, in these they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! Because they have gone in the way of Qayin, and gave themselves to the delusion of Bil?am for a reward, and perished in the rebellion of Qorah?. 12 These are rocky reefs in your love feasts, feasting with you, feeding themselves without fear, waterless clouds borne about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, 13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shame, straying stars for whom blackness of darkness is kept forever. 14 And H?anok?, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied of these, saying, “See, ???? comes with His myriads of set-apart ones, 15 to execute judgment on all, to punish all who are wicked among them concerning all their wicked works which they have committed in a wicked way, and concerning all the harsh words which wicked sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, complainers, who walk according to their own lusts, and their mouth speaks proudly, admiring faces of others for the sake of gain. (Jude 1:10-16)

14 “But I hold a few matters against you, because you have there those who adhere to the teaching of Bil?am, who taught Balaq to put a stumbling-block before the children of Yisra’e?l, to eat food offered to idols, and to commit whoring.” (Revelation 2:14)

This Doctrine of Balaam is something we cannot afford in the least to be ignorant of or perishing for a lack of knowledge regarding, especially when we are told to be aware of it in the Book of Revelation.

In Numbers 22-25 and Numbers 31:1-16, we are told the story of Balaam but we are never really told what Balaam or the Moabite and Midianite women did specifically, that led Israel to commit harlotry and spiritual idolatry with them. Balaam could not effectually curse Israel, but he successfully conspired with Balak about how to cause Israel to curse themselves by sinning against Yehovah.

To better understand, one must start with the rape of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob (Israel), by comparing it to the rape of Tamar, the daughter of King David.
The unifying word in both stories is the word afflictH6031. Dinah and Tamar both represent the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the Last Days. That being said, keep this word afflict and its meaning in mind as I continue in my explanation.

1 And Dinah, the daughter of Le?’ah, whom she had borne to Ya?aqob?, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And Shek?em, son of H?amor the H?iwwite, prince of the land, saw her and took her and lay with her, and humbled her. 3 And his being clung to Dinah the daughter of Ya?aqob?, and he loved the girl and spoke kindly to the girl. 4 And Shek?em spoke to his father H?amor, saying, “Take this girl for me for a wife.” 5 And Ya?aqob? heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Ya?aqob? kept silent until they came. 6 And H?amor, the father of Shek?em, went out to Ya?aqob? to speak with him. 7 And the sons of Ya?aqob? came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved and very wroth, because he had done a senseless deed in Yisra’e?l by lying with Ya?aqob?’s daughter, which should not be done. (Genesis 34:1-7)
8 But H?amor spoke with them, saying, “My son Shek?em’s being longs for your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife. 9 And intermarry with us, give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves, 10 and dwell with us, and let the land be before you. Dwell and move about in it, and have possessions in it.” 11 And Shek?em said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I give. 12 Ask of me a bride price and gift ever so high, and I give according to what you say to me, but give me the girl for a wife.” (Genesis 34:8-12)

Now compare the rape of Dinah’s account in Genesis with the rape of Tamar’s account in 2 Samuel:

1 And after this it came to be that Ab?shalom son of Dawid? had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon son of Dawid? loved her. 2 And Amnon was distressed, even to become sick, because of his sister Tamar—for she was a maiden—and it was hard in the eyes of Amnon to do whatever to her. 3 And Amnon had a friend whose name was Yonad?ab? son of Shim?ah, Dawid?’s brother. Now Yonad?ab? was a very wise man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the sovereign’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Explain it to me.” And Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Ab?shalom’s sister.” 5 And Yonad?ab? said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and make the food before my eyes so that I see it, and eat it from her hand.’” (2 Samuel 13:1-5)

6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the sovereign came to see him, Amnon said to the sovereign, “Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me before my eyes, so that I eat from her hand.” 7 And Dawid? sent to Tamar, to the house, saying, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon, and make food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, while he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it, and made cakes before his eyes, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and turned them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Make everyone go away from me.” And they all went out from him. 10 And Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. (2 Samuel 13:6-10)
11 And she brought them to him to eat, and he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 And she answered him, “No, my brother, do not humble me, for it is not done so in Yisra’e?l. Do not do this wickedness! 13 And I, where could I take my shame? And you—you would be like one of the fools in Yisra’e?l. And now, please speak to the sovereign, for he would not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her voice, and being stronger than she, he humbled her and lay with her. 15 Amnon then hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, go!” 16 And she said to him, “No, for this evil of sending me away is worse than the other you have done to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 And he called his young man serving him, and said, “Now put this one out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.” (2 Samuel 13:11-17)
18 And she had on a long coat, for the sovereign’s maiden daughters wore such garments. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her. 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her long coat that was on her, and put her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly. 20 And Ab?shalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now, keep silent, my sister. He is your brother, do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained in the house of her brother Ab?shalom, but was ruined. (2 Samuel 13:18-20)

When we examine the word “violated” in Genesis 34:2 we see it is H6031, which in Hebrew is anah. This is the same word used in 2 Samuel 13:14 but is translated as “forced.”
And when ShechemH7928 the sonH1121 of HamorH2544 the Hivite,H2340 princeH5387 of the country,H776 sawH7200 her, he tookH3947 her, and lay withH7901 her, and defiledH6031 her. (Genesis 34:2)
Howbeit he wouldH14 notH3808 hearkenH8085 unto her voice:H6963 but, being strongerH2388 than

she, forcedH6031 her, and lay withH7901 her. (2 Samuel 13:14) H6031 ??? ?a?na?h aw-naw’
A primitive root (possibly rather identical with H6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating); to depress literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively (in various applications). (sing is by mistake for H6030): –abase self, afflict (-ion, self), answer [by mistake for H6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for H6030], speak [by mistake for H6030], submit self, weaken, X in any wise.
H6030 ??? ?a?na?h aw-naw’
A primitive root; properly to eye or (generally) to heed, that is, pay attention; by implication to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce: – give account, afflict [by mistake for H6031], (cause to, give) answer, bring low [by mistake for H6031], cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, X scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness. See also, H1042, H1043.
Another thing you should notice is how the expression in Genesis 34:7 ‘such a thing is not done in Israel’ is remarkably similar to 2 Samuel 13:12 ‘for no such thing should be done in Israel.’ This too is one of the primary connections between the two stories.
Shechem lusted for Dinah and forced himself upon her in very much the same way Amnon lusted after Tamar and forced himself upon her. In the story of Shechem, you are told that Hamor the Hivite is Shechem’s father and because Shechem is a prince, it means that Hamor is the king of that land. Hamor proceeds to do all the talking on behalf of Shechem.
In 2 Samuel, you are told that the one advising Amnon was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jo-nadab means Jehovah-spontaneously.
H5068 ??? na?dab naw-dab’
A primitive root; to impel; hence to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously: –offer freely, be (give, make, offer self) willing (-ly).
Jonadab is going to voluntarily offer free advice to Amnon, without giving any thought or care to what he is saying or the consequences of it. We are also told that Jonadab is a very crafty man.
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man. (2 Samuel 13:3)
But AmnonH550 had a friend,H7453 whose nameH8034 was Jonadab,H3122 the sonH1121 of
ShimeahH8093 David’sH1732 brother:H251 and JonadabH3122 was a veryH3966 subtleH2450 man.H376 (2 Samuel 13:3)
H2450 ??? cha?ka?m khaw-kawm’
From H2449; wise, (that is, intelligent, skilful or artful): –cunning (man), subtle, ([un-]), wise
([hearted], man).
H2449 ??? cha?kam khaw-kam’
A primitive root, to be wise (in mind, word or act): –X exceeding, teach wisdom, be (make self, shew self) wise, deal (never so) wisely, make wiser.
This word ‘subtle’ leads us right back to the incident in the Garden of Eden.

1 And the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which ???? Elohim had made, and he said to the woman, “Is it true that Elohim has said, ‘Do not eat of every tree of the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1)

Now the serpentH5175 wasH1961 more subtleH6175 than anyH4480 & H3605 beastH2416 of the fieldH7704 whichH834 the LORDH3068 GodH430 had made.H6213 And he saidH559 untoH413 the woman,H802
Yea,H637 & H3588 hath GodH430 said,H559 Ye shall notH3808 eatH398 of everyH4480 & H3605 treeH6086 of the garden?H1588 (Genesis 3:1)
H6175 ????? ?a?ru?m aw-room’
Passive participle of H6191; cunning (usually in a bad sense): –crafty, prudent, subtle. H6191 ??? ?a?ram aw-ram’
A primitive root; properly to be (or make) bare; but used only in the derived sense (through the idea perhaps of smoothness) to be cunning (usually in a bad sense): –X very, beware, take crafty [counsel], be prudent, deal subtly.
This source of Jonadab’s advice to Amnan was satanic advice, the same as it was in the Garden of Eden. Satan volunteered the advice. Eve did not solicit it. The same dynamics were also at work when Hamor advised Jacob to let his sons intermarry with the daughters of Shechem. It was Satan inspired. The key thematic expressions positively identify a common origin from which both stories hail from and illustrate how, in both cases, the counsel given was unsolicited. It was Satan inspired.

Balaam used divination in order to prophesy, which means he used Satan as his undisclosed source.

7 And the elders of Mo’ab? and the elders of Mid?yan left with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Bil?am and spoke the words of Balaq to him. (Numbers 22:7)
22 And the sons of Yisra’e?l killed with the sword Bil?am son of Be?or, the diviner, among those who were killed by them. (Joshua 13:22)

Balaam was hired by Balak (which means “devastator”) to come and curse Israel. Yehovah prevented Balaam from cursing Israel, and only allowed him to bless Israel. But Balaam did volunteer some advice to Balak and this is what we are being shown here. The advice, again, is actually coming from Satan.
Examining the meaning of the name of Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, who was an Amorite, brings new information to bear in mind to the surface. “Hivi” is an Aramaic word meaning “serpentine.” It describes the character of both Shechem and his father, Hamor. Both of them acted in a serpentine-like and treacherous manner.

8 He who digs a pit falls into it, and whoever breaks through a wall is bitten by a snake. (Ecclesiastes 10:8)

Is this not exactly what Dinah did by leaving the safe confines of her hedge or encampment, so that she might see the daughters of the land—after which a serpent found her?

1 And Dinah, the daughter of Le?’ah, whom she had borne to Ya?aqob?, went out to see the daughters of the land. (Genesis 34:1)

And when ShechemH7928 the sonH1121 of HamorH2544 the Hivite,H2340 princeH5387 of the country,H776 sawH7200 her, he tookH3947 her, and lay withH7901 her, and defiledH6031 her. (Genesis )34:2
Hamor means:
H2544 ???? cha?mo?r kham-ore’
The same as H2543; ass; Chamor, a Canaanite: –Hamor.
H2543 ??? ???? cha?mo?r cha?mo?r kham-ore’, kham-ore’ From H2560; a male ass (from its dun red): –(he) ass.
H2560 ??? cha?mar khaw-mar’

A primitive root; properly to boil up; hence to ferment (with scum); to glow (with redness); as denominative (from H2564) to smear with pitch: –daub, foul, be red, trouble.
H2564 ??? che?ma?r khay-mawr’
From H2560; bitumen (as rising to the surface): –slime (-pit).
Hamor was an ass, and based on the description above, would turn red whenever his temper “boiled up” or flared. He could also be described as “scum” or “slime.”
Once again, this links us to the story of Balaam. In both cases it is an ass that is speaking. Who says Yehovah does not have a sense of humor?!

21 And Bil?am rose in the morning and saddled his donkey, and went with the heads of ????Mo’ab?. 22 But the displeasure of Elohim burned because he went, and the Messenger of stationed Himself in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the Messenger of ???? standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Bil?am beat the donkey to turn her back onto the way. 24 Then the Messenger of ???? stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Messenger of ????, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Bil?am’s foot against the wall, so he beat her again. 26 And the Messenger of ???? went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn aside, right or left. (Numbers 22:21-26)
27 And when the donkey saw the Messenger of ????, she lay down under Bil?am. So Bil?am’s displeasure burned, and he beat the donkey with his staff. 28 Then ???? opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Bil?am, “What have I done to you, that you have beaten me these three times?” 29 And Bil?am said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for I would have killed you by now!” 30 And the donkey said to Bil?am, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever known to do so to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then ???? opened Bil?am’s eyes, and he saw the Messenger of ???? standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand. And he bowed his head and fell on his face. (Numbers 22:27-31)

There is more information to be gleaned from reading the rest of story in Genesis.

13 But the sons of Ya?aqob? answered Shek?em and H?amor his father, and spoke with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 And they said to them, “We are not able to do this matter, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. 15 Only on this condition would we agree to you: If you become as we are, to have every male of you circumcised, 16 then we shall give our daughters to you, and take your daughters to us. And we shall dwell with you, and shall become one people. 17 But if you do not listen to us and be circumcised, we shall take our daughter and go.” 18 And their words pleased H?amor and Shek?em, H?amor’s son. 19 And the young man did not delay to do this because he delighted in Ya?aqob?’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. (Genesis 34:13-19)

20 And H?amor and Shek?em his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us, so let them dwell in the land and move about in it. And see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition would the men agree to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to H?amor and Shek?em his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. (Genesis 34:20-24)

In verse 19 it says Shechem was also more honorable than all his brothers, yet he had just raped Dinah. This should speak volumes to his character (or more like, lack thereof) and that of the rest of his sordid clan.

These people were scoundrels, greedy for gain. Shechem not only lusted after Dinah, but the entire clan lusted after all that Jacob had. They wanted to intermarry with Israel so that all that Israel possessed would become their possession too. They coveted the wealth of Israel, would do anything to procure it and little else would suffice.

23 Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us. (Genesis 34:23)
Hamor, Jonadab and Balaam all gave unsolicited advice in the very same way Satan did. Satan caused Eve to lust after the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Hamor gave advice in order to cover up the rape and take all that Jacob had for himself. Jonadab gave advice on how to rape Tamar. Balaam, in an effort to earn the wages being offered to him, gave advice on how to defeat Israel, by causing them to lust after sexual perversions. He offered this advice because Yehovah would not allow him to curse Israel. In each and every case, the advice was unsolicited, and had to do with encouraging the lusting after something forbidden sexually.

The event between Shechem and Hamor, who both represent Satan here, and Dinah and Jacob, both of whom are representative of the whole house of Israel, followed right on the heels of Jacob entering the land after his exile with Laban and his encounter with Esau.

17 And Ya?aqob? set out to Sukkoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. That is why the name of the place is called Sukkoth. 18 And Ya?aqob? came safely to the city of Shek?em, which is in the land of Kena?an, when he came from Paddan Aram. And he pitched his tent before the city. 19 And he bought the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent, from the children of H?amor, Shek?em’s father, for one hundred qesitah. (Genesis 33:17-19)

Joshua would later set up an altar at this same place once they crossed over the Jordan River.

Thirty-eight years after the Exodus and just before the Twelve Tribes of Israel enter the land, when they are still on the other side of the Jordan, the incident of Baal-Peor ensues and Balaam’s proposal to Balak, to use the Moabite and the Midianite women in a sexually deviant manner is now being applied.

1 And the children of Yisra’e?l set out and camped in the desert plains of Mo’ab? beyond the Yarde?n of Yerih?o. 2 And Balaq son of Tsippor saw all that Yisra’e?l had done to the Amorites. 3 And Mo’ab? was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Mo’ab? was in dread because of the children of Yisra’e?l. 4 And Mo’ab? said to the elders of Mid?yan, “Now this company is licking up all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Now Balaq son of Tsippor was sovereign of the Mo’ab?ites at that time, 5 and he sent messengers to Bil?am son of Be?or at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “See, a people has come from Mitsrayim. See, they have covered the surface of the land, and are settling next to me! 6 And now, please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too strong for me. It might be that I smite them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 7 And the elders of Mo’ab? and the elders of Mid?yan left with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Bil?am and spoke the words of Balaq to him. (Numbers 22:1-7)

Israel has now come to the close of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. All those who sinned and were cursed due to their lack of faith when the ten spies brought back an evil report had already died in fulfillment of the curse placed upon them by Yehovah.
Balaam even tells us how pure Israel was at that time.
???? .He has not looked upon wickedness in Ya?aqob?, nor has He seen trouble in Yisra’e?l 21
his Elohim is with him, and the shout of a Sovereign is in him. (Numbers 23:21)

But then we come to Numbers 25 and something of a clearly disturbing nature has happened, but we are not told specifically what it is. This is precisely why I have gone through this thematic analogy of interrelated scriptures with you. The Israelites, along with the Moabite and Midianite women, have committed abominations that are revolting in Yehovah’s sight.

1 And Yisra’e?l dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’ab?, 2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones. 3 Thus Yisra’e?l was joined to Ba?al Pe?or, and the displeasure of ???? burned against Yisra’e?l. 4 And ???? said to Mosheh, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang them up before ????, before the sun, so that the burning displeasure of turns away from Yisra’e?l.” 5 And Mosheh said to the judges of Yisra’e?l, “Each one of ???? you slay his men who were joined to Ba?al Pe?or.” (Numbers 25:1-5)

2 http://www.setapartpeople.com/joshua-altar-found-on-mount-ebal

6 And see, one of the children of Yisra’e?l came and brought to his brothers a Mid?yanite woman before the eyes of Mosheh and before the eyes of all the congregation of the children of Yisra’e?l, who were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 7 And when Pineh?as, son of El?azar, son of Aharon the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8 and he went after the man of Yisra’e?l into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Yisra’e?l, and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague among the children of Yisra’e?l came to a stop. 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. (Numbers 25:6-9)

The rape of Dinah by Shechem just after Jacob entered the Promised Land was a prophetic event foretelling of the time when Israel was going to be returning to the land approximately three hundred years later. The sexual perversion was now at a national level! We are now nearing that same critical juncture when we are about to return to the land, as I have shown you in points #8 and #11 of this same chapter and now some 3400 years later, all Israelite nations are involved in this same sexual perversion.
But what was it that was so evil? Moses gives us a clue a few verses later in Numbers 25 after Phineas took action.

14 And the name of the Yisra’e?lite who was killed, who was killed with the Mid?yanite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Shim?onites. 15 And the name of the Mid?yanite woman who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tsur. He was head of the people of a father’s house in Mid?yan. 16 And ???? spoke to Mosheh, saying, 17 “Distress the Mid?yanites! And you shall smite them, 18 for they distressed you with their tricks with which they deceived you in the matter of Pe?or and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Mid?yan, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Pe?or.” (Numbers )25:14-18

It has something to do with Baal-Peor, but what?
When we look at Hamor and Jonadab, we can also see parallels to Pharaoh of Egypt. He is similar to Laban who pursued Israel after Jacob fled his country. These are all thematic correlations, which help us to understand what will take place in these Last Days.
Pharaoh is pronounced Pa Rah. Pa means Mouth and Rah means Bad. Pharaoh can then be read as bad mouth. Satan is represented by Pharaoh and Laban as well. Hamor and Jonadab also represent Satan speaking evil in the sight of the God of heaven.

6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against Elohim, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tent, and those dwelling in the heaven. (Revelation 13:6)

Each of these events from the past represents in part, what will be just before the final Shuva (aka, the Second Exodus) or the final return to the land of Israel. Satan and the false prophet will be speaking blasphemies against Yehovah. They will encourage the Israelites with false teachings and by whatever other ways and means necessary to cause them to stumble.
But I still have not yet adequately explained to you what this Doctrine of Balaam is exactly and what Baal-Peor exemplifies. But before proceeding, we are reminded of the seriousness of this in Numbers:

13 And Mosheh, and El?azar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Mosheh was wroth with the officers of the army, with the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who had come from the campaign. 15 And Mosheh said to them, “Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, they are the ones who caused the children of Yisra’e?l, through the word of Bil?am, to trespass against ???? in the matter of Pe?or, and there was a plague among the congregation of 17 .???? And now, slay every male among the little ones. And every woman who has known a man by lying with a man you shall slay. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the female children who have not known a man by lying with a man.” (Numbers 31:13-18)

The Doctrine of Balaam—and the inherent conspiracy found therein—is serious business. It was meant to be a stumbling block to Israel back then and it is to us again today. But what is it? This is no longer speaking to a future event. It is speaking to us, today, in our lives now.
Consider the following:

18 Look at Yisra’e?l after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the offerings sharers in the altar? 19 What then do I say? That an idol is of any value? Or that which is offered to idols is of any value? 20 No, but what the gentiles offer they offer to demons1 and not to Elohim, and I do not wish you to become sharers with demons. [Footnote: 1Leviticus 17:7] 21 You are not able to drink the cup of the Master and the cup of demons, you are not able to partake of the table of the Master and of the table of demons. 22 Do we provoke the Master to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? (I Corinthians 10:18-22)
3 Any man from the house of Yisra’e?l who slaughters a bull or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to bring an offering to ???? before the Dwelling Place of ????, blood-guilt is reckoned to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 in order that the children of Yisra’e?l bring their slaughterings which they slaughter in the open field. And they shall bring them to ???? at the door of the Tent of meeting, to the priest, and slaughter them as peace offerings to 6 .???? And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar .???? at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall burn the fat for a sweet fragrance to ???? of 7 And let them no longer slaughter their slaughterings to demons, after whom they whored. This is a law forever for them throughout their generations. (Leviticus 17:3-7)

1 And Bil?am said to Balaq, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 And Balaq did as Bil?am had spoken, and Balaq and Bil?am offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (Numbers 23:1-2)

The sacrifice of Baal-Peor was to demons because it was false worship and not according to Yehovah’s instructions—instructions of which Moses had just taught to Aaron at Mount Sinai. Those who do not sacrifice according to the commands of Yehovah do it as unto demons and are guilty of spiritual idolatry, harlotry and the shedding of innocent blood.

1 Cry aloud, do not spare. Lift up your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression, and the house of Ya?aqob? their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)
Because Israel was upright before the Lord, Balaam’s attempts to curse the nation had failed. They had been to the high places of Satan. Now King Balak takes Balaam to yet another high place called Peor (meaning “open”). Here, Balak again repeats the sacrifices and Balaam again petitions to Yehovah. Once again, Yehovah blesses Israel and does not curse them.
When we look up the word Peor, we learn the following: H6465 ????? pe?o?r peh-ore’
From H6473; a gap; Peor, a mountain East of Jordan; also (for H1187) a deity worshipped there: –Peor. See also, H1047.
H6473 ???? pa??ar paw-ar’
A primitive root; to yawn, that is, open wide (literally or figuratively): –gape, open (wide).
It was here that Balaam counseled Balak on how to defeat Israel. This is recounted in the following Scripture:

14 “But I hold a few matters against you, because you have there those who adhere to the teaching of Bil?am, who taught Balaq to put a stumbling-block before the children of Yisra’e?l, to eat food offered to idols, and to commit whoring.” (Revelation 2:14)

What exactly was the stumbling block Balaam offered to King Balak? It was the worship of Baal-Peor! After Balaam departs from Moab, we see the ramifications of this instruction as Israel joins itself to Baal-Peor.

1 And Yisra’e?l dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’ab?, 2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones. 3 Thus Yisra’e?l was joined to Ba?al Pe?or, and the displeasure of ???? burned against Yisra’e?l. (Numbers 25:1-3)

Baal-Peor is a Moabite god who was worshiped with obscene rituals. The name means “Lord of the Opening” from “Baal” meaning owner/husband and “Peor” coming from pa’ar meaning “open wide.”

10 “I found Yisra’e?l like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first-fruits on the fig tree in its beginning. They themselves have gone to Ba?al Pe?or, and separated themselves to shame, and became as abominable as that which they loved.” (Hosea 9:10)

The worship of Baal-Peor IS an abomination. Notice that those who join themselves to Baal-Peor also “become” an abomination before Yehovah.
Another name for Baal-Peor is Belphegor, who was depicted either as a beautiful naked woman or a bearded demon with open mouth, horns, and sharply pointed nails (the open mouth being an indicator of the sexual rites used to worship him). St. Jerome reported that statues of Baal-Peor he encountered in Syria depicted the god with a phallus in his mouth.

The worship of Baal-Peor is the worship of the “god of holes.” It is the sexual act of either anal or oral sex. Any hole will do, whether it be the mouth or the anus of a man, woman or child—just so long as the man is gratified sexually.
In condemnation of those who abused Israel in the Last Days, Yehovah declares through the prophet Joel:

3 “And they have cast lots for My people, and have given a young man for a whore, and sold a girl for wine, and drank it.” (Joel 3:3)

Young boys and young girls are used for anal or oral sex. This can be nothing else other than the worship of Baal-Peor.
Now in these, the Last Days of this age, what do we see all around us? We see the promotion of L.G.B.T. rights around the world and the unnatural relationships between men and men as well as women and women being legalized. But most disturbingly of all, the pedophilic act against children is all being legalized in many countries around the world.
Just like Israel, a few years before they were to enter the Promised Land, when they fell for the Moabite and Midianite women, being initiated into the worship of the “god of holes,” and were led astray from the purity that had kept them safe before that time, modern day Israel and nations of Israeli heritage such as the U.S., the British Commonwealth—now known as the Commonwealth of Nations,3 etc., have also taken up the L.G.B.T. “Human Rights” cause.

There is now TV viewing of every kind imaginable featuring sexual innuendo and explicit, elicit sexual content. Comedy shows making light of both anal and oral sex as well as the “gay” lifestyle causing it to be more and more readily acceptable.
To get higher ratings, each show has to become raunchier than the one that went before it. Musicians and actors are expected to engage in this kind of depravity on TV in our society to ensure higher ratings. All porn is depicted as anal and oral sex scenes making it part of the normal lovemaking. What are you watching and what are you being attracted to?
Amsterdam is the undisputed sex capital of Europe. Holland is the Tribe of Zebulon— one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Amsterdam is also one the best places to be gay, as is Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Toronto, Sydney, Barcelona, Paris, London and Tel Aviv—all of which are heavily populated with people who are descendants of Israelite nations.
Just as the inhabitants of the land of Israel suffered as a result of a severe pestilence that claimed 24,000, the scattered nations of Israel today are about to suffer from similar plagues. As many of you know, I have been warning you of the 4th Curse coming in the 4th Sabbatical Cycle. It is the Curse of War which begins in 2017 C.E. and persists for seven years before coming to an end in 2023 C.E. Read again what this verse also has to say about the diseases that will be accompanying it:

23 “And if you are not instructed by Me by these, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also shall walk contrary to you, and I Myself shall smite you seven times for your sins. 25 And I shall bring against you a sword executing the vengeance of My covenant, and you shall gather together in your cities, and I shall send pestilence among you, and you shall be given into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.” (Leviticus 26:23-26)

Having posted this article4 on Baal-Peor on my website, I am asked many times if sodomy and oral sex in the context of being married is sin?
The answer is, YES it is a sin—even in the context of marriage. There are several reasons why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations

Sodomy is generally anal sex, oral sex or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal (bestiality), but may also include any non-procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term sodomy was primarily restricted to anal sex, and is derived from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Chapters 18 and 19 of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Sodomy laws in many countries criminalized not only these behaviors, but other disfavored sexual activities as well. In the Western world, however, many of these laws have been overturned or are not routinely enforced.

  1. Sodomy is a sin. Similar to the meaning of Beor (Balaam’s father), the Hebrew word for Sodom literally means “burning.” Sodomy is defined as “anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex; copulation with a member of the same sex; or bestiality.” The act is considered sodomy even when it pertains to the opposite sex. Heterosexuals who participate in this act are sodomites by the very definition of the word. It wouldn’t take long in reviewing the Scriptures to understand how God feels about sodomy. The Bible is not silent on this topic.
  2. It is idolatry. The word “sodomite” in the Old Testament is the word “qadesh” which means “male temple prostitute.” The female counterpart to that (the word “qedeshah”) is often translated as “harlot” or “whore.” Some say that God only disapproved of this act as it related to temple prostitution. Yet, the act itself, by its very nature, is an act of idolatry no matter who performs it. One does not have to be a temple whore of Baal for the act to be sinful. On the contrary, one becomes a temple whore of Baal simply by giving oneself over to performing an act or engaging in any kind of ritual that is Baal-inspired. Holding true to the definition of the word sodomy, these temple prostitutes would perform homosexual acts on anyone, regardless of gender. The act itself was the means by which the participants were joined to or became one with Baal. The act itself was the means of worship by which Baal was sought to cross over and indwell the participants.
  3. The marriage bed should be kept in honor (Hebrews 13:4). Some assert that there is an “anything goes” mentality to intimacy in marriage because “the marriage bed is undefiled.” However the Bible prefaces that text by saying that marriage is first, honorable. The text also states that fornication and adultery defiles the marriage bed. The word for fornication is the Greek word porneia, which means illicit sexual intercourse. So, sex acts that God deems as illicit are not acceptable just because they are practiced well within the confines of a marriage. These acts defile the marriage bed, which should be held in honor. The question then becomes: are acts of sodomy illicit?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy#cite_note-Edsall-1 6http://thelatterdays.blogspot.ca/2009/03/worship-of-baal-peor.html

  1. God only gives us GOOD gifts (James 1:17). God does not give us gifts that would cause us harm. Therefore, we can look at the function, purpose, and design of certain acts to determine whether or not these would be considered natural in God’s eyes. If a sexual act is ordained by God (i.e. it is natural), then it would have certain inherent protections for the participants in the act. Design: The woman and man are given sexual organs that physically correlate to and fit each other. They are designed to meet and come together naturally, without forced manipulation. Protection: God built in special protection within the human body for this kind of interaction. The lining of the uterus is specially designed to prevent the semen from entering into the bloodstream of the woman, just to give an example. God does not provide the same protection for acts of sodomy. These acts can disrupt normal bodily functions and cause damage to bodily systems. There is also an element of danger involved in the act of oral sex performed on women that can lead to death. It is not a protected act (in terms of the body’s design) the way that sexual intercourse is. Union: Man and woman being joined together sexually and becoming “one flesh” occurs only during sexual intercourse. Procreation: Children can only result after sexual intercourse. We can see by its design, function, and purpose that sexual intercourse between a man and woman is a natural use of sex. All of these elements work together to provide a safe, enjoyable, and purposeful interaction. The same cannot be said for acts of sodomy.
  2. It is uncleanness. Apart from the physical uncleanness of the act, there is also a spiritual component. Romans, Chapter 1 describes mans degradation into becoming reprobate. Man doesn’t just wake up one-day reprobate, but there are a series of steps man takes further and further into sin. The sin immediately preceding homosexuality is men and women dishonoring their bodies between themselves with uncleanness. The word for dishonor in that text is a derivative of the word honorable in the Hebrews 13:4 passage about marriage. This refers to all heterosexual sexual sin, which includes oral and anal copulation, as well as bestiality, etc.
  3. It is an “unnatural use.” Romans 1:26 states, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.” The word “use” is the Greek word “chresis” which refers to use of the sexual parts of the woman. Note that there is a “natural” use and an “unnatural” use. What the women were doing with each other sexually was an unnatural use of that part of their bodies.
Similarly, we are told in Romans 1:27 that the acts performed between the men were likewise unnatural. “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:26-27 therefore not only condemns the affections that draw men and women to the same gender (vile affections), it also condemns the acts they performed as a result of these desires (against nature). 7. It programs the mind to be asexual. The act itself is not gender-specific. In an attempt to validate homosexuality as a norm, Jamake Highwater’s book,The Mythology of Transgression: Homosexuality as Metaphor,7 states how the masculine and feminine depiction of Baal-Peor represents a bi-gender nature. He goes on to say, “during the worship of Baal-Peor, priests dressed as women and priestesses dressed as men.” The transgender cross-dressing is entirely consistent with the asexual nature of the act. Since it can be performed by anyone who has a mouth, gender becomes irrelevant. It is an intentional blurring of the sexes. That makes participation in this act a critical step for Satan to use in preparing man’s mind for the acceptance of homosexuality.
The Moabite and Midianite women performed both oral and anal sex upon the Israelites, which was and is, even today, the worship of Baal-Peor. Satan was able to lead the entire nation of Israel into sin just before they were to enter into the Land of Milk and Honey. He is doing the exact same thing now in these Last Days. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
As the time quickly encroaches when we will, once again, be returning to the land of Israel, there can be no mistaking how Satan has thrown the Doctrine of Balaam at us yet again without the majority of us even so much as realizing it.
James Dobson maintains that 80% of all the men in all churches are involved in sexual pornography to some degree. Some are extreme and some are mild in their level of involvement. Some view porn online, whereas others prefer the kind found in magazines, on TV or on videos. It is so easy to get porn today. Sexual advertising is all around us all the time. A recent study has revealed that 80% of the men in your own church or synagogue are, more than likely, into sexual pornography. Think about it.
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mythology_of_Transgression.html?id=ECwbAAAAYAAJ 8http://allnationsfamily.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/is-mary-so-contrary/
Again, read what was said by the Apostle Peter, only now with a better understanding of what he was actually getting at. He was referring especially to those worshiping Baal-Peor.

10 “… and most of all those walking after the flesh in filthy lust and despising authority— bold, headstrong, speaking evil of esteemed ones, 11 whereas messengers who are greater in strength and power do not bring a slanderous accusation against them before the Master. 12 But these, like natural unreasoning beasts, having been born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheme that which they do not know, shall be destroyed in their destruction, 13 being about to receive the wages of unrighteousness, deeming indulgence in the day of pleasure, spots and blemishes, reveling in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes filled with an adulteress, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable beings, having a heart trained in greed, children of a curse, 15 having left the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Bil?am the son of Be?or, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 but he was rebuked for his transgression: a dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man restrained the madness of the prophet.” (2 Peter 2:10-16)
17 “These are fountains without water, clouds driven by a storm, to whom the blackest darkness is kept forever. 18 For speaking arrogant nonsense, they entice—through the lusts of the flesh, through indecencies—the ones who have indeed escaped from those living in delusion, 19 promising them freedom, though themselves being slaves of corruption—for one is a slave to whatever overcomes him. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Saviour ????? Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the set-apart command1 delivered unto them.” [Footnote: 1The singular “command” often means “commands”—see 1 Timothy 6:14, Deuteronomy 17:20, Psalm 19:8] 22 “For them the proverb has proved true, ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘A washed sow returns to her rolling in the mud.’” (2 Peter 2:17-22)

Sexual immorality is spiritual harlotry and spiritual idolatry also. This is the doctrine of Balaam: elicit sex and greed or lust and coveting.
Our sins drive Yehovah away from us. Consider in earnest what it will take on our part for Him to return to us. I don’t know about you, but I find this to be terrifying. For when His face is turned toward us, He is for us and not against us, but when He returns to His abode, His face is turned away from us and He is against us and no longer for us.

15 “I shall go, I shall return to My place, until they confess their guilt and seek My face, in their distress diligently search for Me.” (Hosea 5:15)
I will goH1980 and returnH7725 toH413 my place,H4725 ‘tilH5704 & H834 they acknowledge their offense,H816 and seekH1245 my face:H6440 in their afflictionH6862 they will seek me early.H7836 (Hosea 5:15)
H6862 ?? ?? tsar tsa?r tsar, tsawr

From H6887; narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, that is, trouble); also a pebble (as in H6864); (transitively) an opponent (as crowding): –adversary, afflicted (-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, trouble.
H6887 ??? tsa?rar tsaw-rar’
A primitive root; to cramp, literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively: –adversary, (be in) afflict (-ion), besiege, bind (up), (be in, bring) distress, enemy, narrower, oppress, pangs, shut up, be in a strait (trouble), vex.
Yehovah is telling us that the same type of affliction that occurred with Dinah and Tamar is going to happen to all of Israel. It is only when we are in the middle of being raped as a nation, which will be thrust upon us, will we then seek Yehovah. Only then when we are abjectly afflicted and humbled beyond all recompense will we finally and at long last seek Him.
You only need to watch the nightly news and see how I.S.I.S. is slaughtering all men and taking the women and all the possessions from the Christian community as booty. The women and children are then turned into sex slaves. It has already begun.
I have shown you the Sabbatical Cycle in points #3, #4 and #5 (of this concluding chapter) when Israel is going to be afflicted. The ruling empire at that time will have Satan’s power and authority and will force itself upon us, raping us both materially and physically. The king of the South’s kingdom is Islam and extends across the Middle East and Africa. The king of the North’s kingdom is Assyria (known as Germany today) and when they join forces, as Daniel warns us they will, they will institute and unleash the very same tenets I.S.I.S. is already demonstrating on other religions of Syria and Iraq, but namely upon the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
This begins in 2020 C.E.—just a few years from now.
The Holy Days reveal to us another important point we should be aware of. The Feast of Trumpets begins or is represented by the year 2024 C.E. This is the beginning of the 5th Curse of Captivity, which like the Curse of War, also endures for seven years, from 2024 C.E. to 2030 C.E. This is the period when all Twelve Tribes of Israel are then brought back to the land of Israel from their captivity.
It is during this captivity that all of Israel is humbled to the point of death. They are greatly decimated by this time and in great affliction. Again, take note of this word afflict.
The end of these ten years comes in 2033 C.E. (2024-2033 is ten years). It is the same as the Ten Days of Awe that we keep in the fall during the Holy Day season. From the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur that represents the locking away of Satan, are these Ten Days of Awe.
Going back to the story of Dinah, we read what Levi and Simeon do to rectify the sin against Dinah.

24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to H?amor and Shek?em his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 And it came to be on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Ya?aqob?, Shim?on and Le?wi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 26 And they killed H?amor and Shek?em his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shek?em’s house, and went out. 27 The sons of Ya?aqob? came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. And all their little ones and their wives they took captive, and they plundered all that was in the houses. (Genesis 34:24-29)
30 And Ya?aqob? said to Shim?on and Le?wi, “You have troubled me by making me a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the Kena?anites and the Perizzites. And I am few in number, they shall gather themselves against me and shall smite me, and I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a whore?” (Genesis )34:30-31

Levi and Simeon kill Shechem and Hamor. Levi is the father of Kohath, the father of Amran, the father of Moses and Aaron. Aaron is the father of Eleazar who was the father of Phineas who later stopped the plague of Moabite women. Phineas took action just as Levi and Simeon did.
The Aaronic line is the line from which all High Priests hail from.9
Now consider the events on the Day of Atonement:

26 And ???? spoke to Mosheh, saying, 27 “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a set-apart gathering for you. And you shall afflict your beings, and shall bring an offering made by fire to 28 .???? And you do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before ???? your Elohim. 29 For any being who is not afflicted on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any being who does any work on that same day, that being I shall destroy from the midst of his people. 31You do no work—a law forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your beings. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:26-32)

9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_High_Priests_of_Israel

At the end of these Ten Days of Awe is the Day of Atonement. It is on this day that Satan is taken out of the camp. It is upon the Azazel Goat that all the sins of Israel are placed and then a strong man is to come and lead it away from the camp. And even here, at this juncture, Satan has deceived us again by claiming to be the scapegoat. That is, the one who is blamed, but is not guilty. Satan, without a doubt, is most assuredly guilty.
When you read the procedures in Leviticus 16, you will do well to compare them to the revelation found in Revelation 20.

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

Pay attention to this teaching on this Day of Atonement and consider what is being said and what is happening around us. We are to afflict our souls. We are to be so humbled that we earnestly seek Yehovah’s mercy for our sins and His provision. Just as Dinah was raped and humbled by Shechem, and just as Tamar was raped and humbled by Amnon, so is Satan going to rape Israel and humble all Twelve Tribes who are now nations in these Last Days.
Satan, like Hamor, who was an ass of a man and burned with lust – even as those of Sodom burned with lust – offers free, unsolicited advice in the same form, as does the United Nations today. Just as we near the end of the 120th Jubilee Cycle, we find ourselves in a Covenant Made With Many on June 5th-16th, 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden—a Covenant that was originally suggested by the U.N. and is now accepted as law by 193 nations out of 196.
This Covenant, made with 193 nations, is causing the Israelite nations to allow immoral sexual activity in the form of the worship of Baal-Peor, but disguised under the Human Rights law as L.G.B.T. rights, which is against the Torah. The powers that are behind this environmental movement and Human Rights law are now worshiping, and having us worship Mother Earth and/or Mother Nature and every sexual abomination imaginable, including the worship of Baal-Peor. Balaam’s curse was to get Israel to sin so that Yehovah Himself would punish them. History is now repeating itself as our societies embrace the L.G.B.T. parades around the world and now treat those who practice Baal-Peor worship as just an alternative lifestyle and nothing more—the worst part being, it is even being taught to kindergarten children as such.
Daniel 9:27 says this: The Covenant Made With Many or the Covenant Made With Death10 would last one week or one “shabua”—a forty-nine year period of time. Just days

1018 And your covenant with death shall be wiped out, and your vision with hell shall not stand; when the overwhelming rod shall pass through, then you shall be beaten down by it. 19 From the time that it goes out it shall take you; for morning by morning it shall pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be only a terror to understand the message. (Isaiah 28:18-19)

after the Feast of Pentecost in 1972, on June 16th, this Covenant was made with many and signed by 113 of a possible 196 nations and many N.G.O.’s. Forty-nine years later brings us to Pentecost 2020 C.E. As of this writing, in 2014 C.E.,193 of the 196 world’s nations are now signed on to this Covenant!
Daniel 9:27 says that the saints will be cut off in the middle of this final 70th week, which is the 120th Jubilee Cycle of this, the 6th Millennial Day. The middle of this 120th Jubilee Cycle is 2020 C.E.
Yehovah is going to send His armies to destroy the twelve nations of Israel just as Balaam said He would once they began to sin with Baal-Peor. We are about to be so afflicted and so humbled words cannot begin to describe what is about to come.

 


Triennial Torah reading

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah reading

Ex 2      1 Kings 5-6     Ps 106      Luke 16-17

 

Moses “Drawn Out” (Exodus 1—2)

Here we find an attempt by a Levite family to save their son during the time of Pharaoh’s edict. It’s interesting to note that Yeshua—the ultimate Deliverer of whom Moses was a forerunner—also had to be hidden in Egypt when He was born, as a similar edict was issued during His infancy.

It is also wonderful to see here how God intervened during this very sobering time. Moses drifted right into the bathing area of the daughter of Pharaoh, who desired to save him and raise him as her own son. Though she recognized him as a Hebrew child, perhaps she viewed him as a gift of the gods, perhaps of the Nile god Khnum. Moreover, not only was Moses’ life spared, but his real mother was paid to nurse and rear him! The name the princess gave him, Moses, means “Drawn Out,” as in birth. Interestingly, this was a common suffix for the names of various pharaohs of the Middle and New Kingdoms of Egypt. For instance, Thutmose or Thutmosis is Thoth-mosis, meaning “Drawn (or born) from Thoth,” the god of wisdom. Another example is Rameses or Ra-meses, meaning “Drawn (or born) from Ra” or Re, the sun god. Thus, there is reason to believe that Moses’ name may have originally had a pagan prefix that he, quite understandably, did not record when he wrote the Pentateuch.

More amazing still, considering that the pharaoh’s daughter recognized that Moses was a Hebrew child, it would be rather surprising if the pharaoh himself did not. Yet the pharaoh did not demand the death of the child (perhaps out of a combination of love for his daughter and a belief that the child may have been a divine gift). In fact, he allowed the boy to become a prince of Egypt. In Acts 7:22 Stephen tells us that besides the trappings of royalty, “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.” Indeed, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus informs us that he became a great Egyptian general. But all of this changed overnight when Moses became a fugitive fleeing for his life.

Acts 7:43 tells us that Moses was 40 years old at the time of his flight from Egypt. Verse 30 reveals that he sojourned in the land of Midian for another 40 years. And he would later wander with the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years (verse 36)—finally dying at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7). So Moses had three 40-year segments of leadership training: 1) training as a leader in Pharaoh’s court; 2) training as a shepherd in Midian; 3) training as a leader of the Israelites. From this we can deduce that a period of approximately 80 years, or two-thirds of Moses’ life, transpires in Exodus 2 alone!

Moses was trained for 40 years under Reuel, the “priest” of Midian. This term makes sense when we realize that the Midianites were descended from Abraham (Genesis 25:1-4) and that, even in Israel, the head of each family was the one who would offer sacrifices prior to the institution of the Levitical system. Moses married Reuel’s daughter Zipporah. It should be noted here that Reuel was also known as Jethro—as both names refer in Scripture to Moses’ father-in-law (Exodus 2:18; 3:1; Numbers 10:29). Author John Haley says that, according to several scholars, “Jether, or Jethro, is not a proper name, but simply a title of honor, denoting ‘excellency,’ and about equivalent to the Arabic ‘Imam'” (Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible, pp. 354-344).

Agreement with Hiram for Temple Construction (1 Kings 5; 2 Chronicles 2)

Hiram, king of Tyre, had been David’s ally, and had helped him build his palace at Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:11). Some see the words “Hiram had always loved David” (1 Kings 5:1) to simply denote their political alliance—the word for ally in a number of Old Testament passages literally meaning “lover.” But “Solomon’s note about the temple begins, ‘You know,’ suggesting that David had shared his dream of building a temple with Hiram as well, and that the two may have been [actual] friends” (Bible Reader’s Companion, note on 1 Kings 5:1-6). The area of modern Lebanon along the border between the two ancient kingdoms contained some of the best timber around. And Hiram has some highly skilled workers. So Solomon arranges for workmen from this Phoenician king to help cut and deliver wood for the temple, and to assist in stonecutting. Hiram offers Solomon one craftsman in particular, also named Hiram (or Huram), the son of a man of Tyre and an Israelite woman, who will make most of the temple furnishings—as Bezalel made things for the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Solomon also drafts thousands of Israelite workers. “In addition to slave labor, Solomon relied on the corvee [labor exacted in lieu of taxes by public authorities] to provide workers. This practice was common in ancient times, and involved claiming a person’s labor as sort of a personal tax. By alternating shifts Solomon was able to maintain agricultural production at home, while keeping work moving on his massive construction project. Not many years ago some rural counties in the Midwest had a form of corvee: farmers would keep the roadsides mowed in return for reduction of local taxes” (note on verses 13-17).

Solomon Builds the Temple (1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3:1-14)

The date of the beginning of the building of the temple is given as the 480th year after the children of Israel came out of Egypt, which was also the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. Thanks to the painstaking work of Professor Edwin Thiele, who in 1950 worked out a likely chronology for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (showing the books of Kings to be entirely trustworthy and in harmony with the well-established Assyrian chronology), it can be reasonably ascertained that Rehoboam began his reign in or very close to 931/930 B.C. As 1 Kings 11:42 informs us that Solomon reigned 40 years, Solomon’s first year, according to this chronology, was 970/969 B.C., and his fourth year (in which he began the construction of the temple) was 967/966 B.C. Based on these dates, we may conclude that the Exodus occurred in or very close to the year 1447/1446 B.C.

As regards chronology, this chapter also provides us with a way to determine whether Judah was counting the years of a king’s reign using a Nisan-to-Nisan (spring-to-spring) or a Tishri-to-Tishri (autumn-to-autumn) reckoning on the Hebrew calendar. The work on the temple was begun in the second month of Solomon’s fourth year (1 Kings 6:1), and completed in the eighth month of Solomon’s 11th year, having been under construction seven years (1 Kings 6:38). Months are always numbered from the spring month of Nisan (first month of the sacred year), regardless of whether one is reckoning a year from Nisan to Nisan (sacred year) or Tishri to Tishri (civil year). Reckoning was also inclusive, meaning the first and last units or fractions of units in a group are included and counted as full units. If Judah had been using a Nisan-to-Nisan reckoning of regnal years, the temple would have been described as eight years in building. However, using a Tishri-to-Tishri reckoning yields the seven years of 1 Kings 6:38.

The temple sanctuary, which contained the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies, was a rectangular building measuring about 90 feet long by 30 feet wide by 45 feet high. (This and subsequent measurements assume an 18-inch cubit—although it is possible that they may have used the longer 20.5-inch royal cubit from Egypt or a larger variant, which would make these measurements bigger.) On the eastern side of the sanctuary was an enclosed porch that extended the width of the building, projected about 15 feet from it, and apparently formed a 180-foot tower (compare 2 Chronicles 3:4). Around the sanctuary building Solomon built a very curious “honeycomb” of offices or rooms. These rooms were arranged in three stories; the lowest rooms were about 7.5 feet wide, the middle story rooms were about 9 feet wide, and the upper rooms were about 10.5 feet wide. In 1 Kings 6:6, we are told that Solomon built “narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple.” This indicates that the sides of the sanctuary had a stepped appearance during construction, and the upper story offices each projected one cubit further toward the sanctuary interior than the office below. No doubt the exterior facade concealed this stepped feature once the building was completed. Within the southern side of the office complex was a “winding stairway”—either a circular or square spiral—that provided access to the second and third story offices. This honeycomb of offices would seem to bear on Christ’s statement, “In My Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2, NIV). He may have been using the temple’s architecture as a visual model to His teaching (though, as we will examine when we later come to this verse in our reading, He was also probably using another analogy of His day—that of a groom building on to his father’s house to prepare for the addition of his wife to the family).
Interestingly, 1 Kings 6 also tells us that every stone was cut and polished and prepared for its position away from the building site—”so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built” (verse 7). Just as the physical temple of God was built of stones finished and fitted for their place before they were brought to the mountain and assembled into a glorious building, so believers, each a living stone (1 Peter 2:5), together a spiritual temple (1 Corinthians 3:16), are being finished and fitted for their place before they will be brought together at the resurrection and assembled in glory.

God’s Promise to Solomon (1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 3:1-14)

During the construction of the temple, God sent word to Solomon saying, “If you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David” (1 Kings 6:12). Some mistakenly think that this puts a condition on God’s unconditional promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. It does nothing of the sort. God’s promise to David—that he would have an eternal dynasty and never lack a man to sit upon his earthly throne—is unconditional. But God did not promise this eternal dynasty would continue through Solomon’s line.
The unconditional promise was that one of David’s descendents would occupy the throne forever. God’s promise to Solomon was that if he remained faithful, then his line would occupy that throne forever. But Solomon, as we will see, did not remain faithful. Although Solomon’s line still occupies that throne in the person of the British monarch, that throne will be turned over to another of David’s descendents, Yeshua, who is a descendent of David through Nathan (Luke 3:31), not Solomon. This will occur at Christ’s second coming. Solomon’s ruling line will then cease. So, the unconditional promise to David will be kept, but Solomon’s dynasty will not endure forever because he failed to fulfill the condition (see also the highlights for 1 Chronicles 17 and 2 Samuel 7 on “The Davidic Covenant”).

“They Soon Forgot…For Their Sake He Remembered” (Psalm 106)

In the arrangement of the Psalter as it has come down to us, Psalm 106 is the concluding psalm of Book IV. Yet as explained in the Bible Reading Program’s introductory comments on the Psalms, it appears that Books IV and V originally formed a single collection before a book division was placed here. Furthermore, as was mentioned in the program’s opening comments on Psalm 101, Psalms 101-110 appear to form a collection of hymns. Indeed, Psalms 105, 106 and 107 (now the first psalm of Book V) seem to be very closely related (more on this later). Of course, the location of the book division here, though seemingly artificial, must surely have been very carefully selected. Perhaps this place was chosen so that Book V would flow right on from Book IV in theme and tone, serving to establish the continuity of the psalms.

Recall that Psalms 103 and 104 both begin and end with the same inner exhortation “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” Likewise, as noted in prior comments, it appears that Psalms 105 and 106 both begin and end with a shared doxology or praise expression: Hallelujah or, as translated, “Praise the LORD!” (as this expression on the last line of Psalm 104 seems more likely to open 105). Coming immediately after these opening words in Psalm 105 is the call to gratitude: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD!” (verse 1), taken along with a large section that follows (verses 1-15) from David’s psalm composed for the occasion of bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 16 (see verses 7-22). In Psalm 106 we find a parallel to this. Occurring right after its opening doxology is another call to thanksgiving taken from a later related line in the very same Davidic composition: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy [or steadfast love] endures forever” (compare Psalm 106:1; 1 Chronicles 16:34). The end of Psalm 106 was essentially taken from the same song as well, as we will later consider further (compare Psalm 106:47-48; 1 Chronicles 16:35-36). For this reason we earlier read these parts of Psalm 106 (verses 1, 47-48) in conjunction with our reading of 1 Chronicles 16. Observe moreover that Psalm 107 also opens with David’s words “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy [or, again, steadfast love] endures forever.” (This is also powerfully expressed throughout Psalm 136.)
Many consider Psalm 106 to be a companion to 105 in various respects-including both language and theme. Psalm 106 rehearses much of the same national history covered in 105 but with an expanded perspective. Psalm 105 is a song of thanks to God for His faithfulness in remembering His promises and covenant as a benefit for His people. Psalm 106 thanks God for continuing in His faithfulness despite the rebellion of His people-repeatedly leading them to repentance and restoration. On this basis, the psalm is also a prayer to be included among the recipients of this wonderful benefit of God’s mercy and deliverance, which is here asked for yet again. Note especially verses 4-5: “Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.” Thus, Psalm 106 constitutes a continuation of the presentation of God’s benefits to His people begun in Psalm 103-the benefit here being God’s wonderful patience.

A strong contrast is drawn throughout the psalm: the sinful rebellion of the people versus the constant faithfulness of God; the people who “soon forgot His works” (verse 13), who “forgot God their Savior” (verse 21), versus the God who “for their sake…remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies” (verse 45). In all the confession of Israel’s rebellion throughout the psalm, we must not make the mistake of seeing this as the point of the psalm. As one commentator expresses it: “The purpose of the psalm is not to condemn Israel but to extol the Lord for His longsuffering and mercy toward His people. In order to glorify God, the writer had to place God’s mercies against the dark background of Israel’s repeated disobedience” (Wiersbe, Be Exultant, introductory note on Psalm 106).

The particular circumstance behind the composition of the psalm is not known except that the psalmist appears to have been scattered with others of God’s nation among foreigners (see especially verse 47). For this reason and a statement we will later note in verse 46, many have surmised that the psalm was written during the Babylonian captivity. Furthermore, we can see that the psalmist was familiar with Psalm 105, using it and its source material by David in 1 Chronicles 16 to write Psalm 106. (Some advocate the same author for Psalms 105, 106 and 107.)

The psalmist may have been reflecting on the amazing events described in the previous psalm, “God’s wonders in the land of Ham” (105:27), for He notes that the Israelites forgot that God did “wondrous works in the land of Ham” (106:22). Remarkably, God had done these wondrous works for His people despite the fact that they had basically lost faith in Him and persisted in their failure to acknowledge Him even as He rescued them (verse 7).
Interestingly, the great act of God left out of the Exodus account in Psalm 105 is the Red Sea crossing-but this pivotal event is incorporated as a major focus in the expansion of the story in Psalm 106 (verses 7-12, 22). Verse 12 says that this episode finally led the people to then believe God’s words and sing His praise-yet only, as the next verse clarifies, for a very brief period. They did not wait on God, lacking trust and patience (verse 13), and grumbled for water (see verse 14; compare Exodus 15:22-27), for food (see Exodus 16) and more specifically for meat (see Numbers 11:4-15, 31-35). Although God gave the people what they asked for, He allowed them to suffer consequences (Psalm 106:15; compare Numbers 11:33).

Psalm 106:16-18 recalls the rebellion in Numbers 16 of Korah, Dathan, Abiram and other dissenters who envied and opposed the leadership of Moses and Aaron-though Korah is not named here, perhaps for the simple reason of poetic construction. The earlier horrific episode of the golden calf at Horeb or Mount Sinai, the very site of Israel’s covenant with God, is also recalled (Psalm 106:19-20; see Exodus 32). On more than one occasion God would have destroyed the people for their idolatry “had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath” (verse 23). “The metaphor ‘stood in the breach’ derives from military language, signifying the bravery of a soldier who stands in the breach of the wall, willing to give his life in warding off the enemy” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, note on verse 23). Similar imagery occurs in Ezekiel 22:30, where God finds no one to “stand in the gap” before Him on behalf of His people’s land so that he should not destroy it.

The psalm next addresses the Israelites’ fearful refusal to honor God in embracing and entering the Promised Land, which brought on them the penalty of their decades of wandering and death in the wilderness (Psalm 106:24-27; see Numbers 14).

The next two incidents in Psalm 106 happened near the end of Israel’s wilderness years. The episode of worshipping Baal of Peor (verse 28) is found in Numbers 25, which mentions the people’s involvement in Moabite and Midianite sexual rites. Psalm 106 adds the detail that the people “ate sacrifices of the dead” (verse 28b, KJV)-which horridly might mean that they ate the dead as sacrifices, for Baal worshippers practiced cannibalism (the word cannibal deriving from Kahna-Baal, meaning “priest of Baal”). The idolatrous debauchery so provoked God that He sent a plague that killed 24,000 people, withdrawing it only when Aaron’s son Phinehas executed an Israelite man and Midianite woman who brazenly attempted to perform their lewd rites at God’s tabernacle. Because of Phinehas’ bold stand for the holiness of God and His people, God promised him an enduring priesthood for his descendants.
The incident at the “waters of strife” (verse 32) or “waters of Meribah” (NIV) occurred earlier (Numbers 20). Moses lost patience with the people and reacted to their rebellious grumbling “so that he spoke rashly with his lips” (verse 33). As a result of his angry outburst, Moses lost the privilege of leading the people into Canaan. This drastically contrasts with Moses’ intercessory role in verse 23. The point seems to be that they wore down even their wonderful intercessor so much that he lost patience with them and stumbled.

When the people finally entered the Promised Land, they “did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them” (verse 34). They instead embraced the lifestyle and customs of the native Canaanites (verse 35). They worshipped their idols, even sacrificing their children to the pagan deities behind them, which were actually demons (verses 36-37; compare Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20). By these works they defiled themselves and polluted the land (verses 38-39). Therefore God’s wrath was so great that He “abhorred His own inheritance” (verse 40). Pathetically, in blending with the gentiles (that is, the other nations), the Israelites were actually submitting to the ways of peoples who hated them. God therefore gave them over wholly to these enemies (verses 41-42).

Yet God’s purpose, even in the midst of His wrath, was not to destroy His people but to bring them to repentance and rescue them. “Many times He delivered them” during the period of the Judges (verse 43), but the people always drifted away from Him (verse 44). Nevertheless, He heard their cry (verse 44), remembered His covenant (verse 45) and relented (same verse). Verse 46 further says that God made His people’s captors to take pity on them. The Zondervan NIV Study Bible says this “makes clear that the author’s recital includes the Babylonian captivity (see 1Ki 8:50; 2Ch 30:9; Ezr 9:9; Jer 42:12). Although there were earlier captivities of Israelite communities, no other captive group was said to have been shown pity” (note on Psalm 106:46). This, of course, assumes past Scripture as the only source of the psalmist’s information.

Finally, as previously noted, verses 47-48 are, as with the opening of the psalm, taken from David’s psalm in 1 Chronicles 16 but with some interesting differences. Observe that David in 1 Chronicles 16 tells those who hear his psalm to “say, ‘Save us, O God…” (verse 35). Psalm 106:47 does not say to “say,” but rather simply says, evidently in response to David’s words, “Save us, O LORD our God…” David further said to say, “Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles…” In David’s context of Israel as an independent nation, this would simply have been a prayer for the unity of God’s people and help against foreign enemies bent on destroying them. When applying this statement in Psalm 106:47, notice that it has been changed to fit new circumstances: “…And gather us from among the Gentiles…” (emphasis added). This implies a time of captivity-again commonly assumed to mean that the psalmist and his people are captives in Babylon.

The last two lines of verse 47 and the first two lines of verse 48 are the same as in 1 Chronicles 16:35-36. Yet observe in 1 Chronicles 16:36 that the second line ends David’s psalm. It is followed by this description of what happened following its performance: “And all the people said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the LORD” (same verse). This is transformed in Psalm 106:48 into a directive as part of the song: “And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the LORD!” Thus verse 47 says what David told the people to say. And verse 48 tells people to say what the people did say in response to David’s song. This ending to Psalm 106 very much seems to be an intrinsic part of the psalm rather than an editorial attachment of a doxology and amen as in other book endings within the Psalter-further strengthening the idea that there was initially no book ending here.

Luke 16

Yeshua teaches using the parable of the manager who wasted his master’s possessions. The manager, not having any other skills he was willing to do, was fretful that he was going to be fired. So he went to all his master’s debtors and through cutting a deal with them, only took a portion of what they owed. So that, when he was fired… they may take him into their houses. The master found this quite remarkable in that this manager was quite cunning when he had to be, but this manager was acting purely out for his own well-being. He was not trustworthy… not with little or much.

And again Yeshua confronts the lifestyle of the Pharisees in their love of silver and love of praises of men. He reprimands them on both issues to include their many divorces. The hearts had become so hard that as Yeshua teaches about the afterlife using their own “false” beliefs about what happens after one dies… He specifically alludes to the fact that if they do not hear Mosheh and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded even if one should rise from the dead.

Luke 17

Yeshua teaches it is a terrible thing to cause others to stumble in Him. To them who do this He gives a “woe to them” statement and says it would be better for this person to have a millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.

Yeshua admonishes His taught ones to always forgive. Forgive every single time someone repents for their wrong against you… every time, without limit. His taught ones were amazed at this teaching and cried out for more belief. Yeshua remarks that only the faith of a mustard seed can move and displace trees.

Yeshua tells His taught ones, that there is no special treatment for doing what our Master asks of us, as His servants. We shall receive our reward after it is all over – not during. In this life there is work, humility, and service.

Yeshua heals ten leprous men and advised them to go to the priest – just as the Torah prescribes. Out of the ten men, only one returned to give Him Praise and thanks… only one. Then, Yeshua goes on to tell of the coming of the Reign of Elohim: the days will be as Noah and Lot – how all things will appear to continue on like always. Then, the Son of Adam will appear and all will see Him and they should not worry about running around to see Him for all will see Him.

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