Counting the Omer 2012 / 5772
Published April 7, 2012 | 
C
Counting the Omer Biblically We shall begin Counting the Omer for 2012/5772 tonight. The Counting posts will go up around midnight British time. The reason for this being an attempt to compromise between the beginning of a new day for our friends in Israel and those in America. This year we shall be looking at the “Promise of Messiah” in the Tanach/Old Testament and shall seek to find this wonderful promise in all 39 books of Tanach. We pray that you shall know a blessed time of Counting the Omer this year – one that will bring you closer to our lovely Lord & Saviour, Yeshua haMeshiach.
Posted in Bible Study, Counting the Omer, Feasts | 
Biblical, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, Israel, Lord Saviour, Messiah, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, Yeshua | 
3 Comments27th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 42nd DAY
Published May 19, 2012 | Today is the 42nd day of Counting the Omer, the 7th day of the 6th week ~ the fourth Sabbath of Counting!
SHABBAT SHALOM!
(42) MESSIAH TO COME FROM BETHLEHEM
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
Despite having been the birthplace of the great King David, Bethlehem remained merely a small unimportant village a few miles south of Jerusalem. Yet it was once again to be honoured with the birth of YHWH God’s Anointed, the one who would eventually be acknowledged as King of all Kings.
This is a lesson we all need to learn, we do not need to great, clever or rich to be used of God. In fact Scripture suggests the exact opposite is required. God seeks those who will humble themselves before Him and before His People. As Yeshua said, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Matt 23:12)
Micah’s name means “Who is like YHWH?” and he makes a play on his name in Micah 7:18 when he asks, “Who is a God like You?” Obviously there is none like YHWH God for He “pardons iniquity … passes over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage … retains not his anger forever … delights in lovingkindness.”
Micah seems to have started his ministry after Isaiah and ended it earlier than the same prophet. He came from the town of Moresheth – also known as Moresheth Gath in Micah 1:14. This was a village bordering on Philistine territory.
Micah ministered under the reign of three Kings: Jotham, Ahaz & Hezekiah; they ruled from 752-697 BCE. He not only foretold the fall of both Israel and Judah, seeing beyond the Assyrian crisis of his time to the Babylonian Captivity. He alone amongst the Prophets was granted the privilege of revealing the birthplace of Messiah.
Recently some have sought to suggest that the birthplace of Jesus may have been “Bethlehem of Galilee” (not a Biblical term). This Bethlehem is mentioned in Joshua 19:15 as one of the towns allotted to the Tribe of Zebulun. As you can see above the Bethlehem Micah spoke of is most definitely “Bethlehem Ephrathah” of “the clans of Judah”. This is also confirmed in the Gospels as the place of the birth of Jesus (see Luke 2:4). Ephrathah seems to have been the earlier name of Bethlehem.
[Today’s picture shows Tel Goded which is believed to be Moresheth Gath, the birthplace of the Prophet Micah.]
Tags: AGE, Babylonian Captivity, BC, BCE, BETHLEHEM, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Bethlehem Micah, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, eat, EXALTED, God, HIS, His Name, His People, Israel, IYAR, KING, King David, LIGHT, Messiah, ministry, Moresheth Gath, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, ORDER, PEOPLE, PLACE, PROPHET, Prophet Micah, Sabbath, Shabbat, SHALOM, SON, START, Tel Goded, THREE, Yeshua, YHWHPosted in News | AGE, Babylonian Captivity, BC, BCE, BETHLEHEM, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Bethlehem Micah, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, eat, EXALTED, God, HIS, His Name, His People, Israel, IYAR, KING, King David, LIGHT, Messiah, ministry, Moresheth Gath, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, ORDER, PEOPLE, PLACE, PROPHET, Prophet Micah, Sabbath, Shabbat, SHALOM, SON, START, Tel Goded, THREE, Yeshua, YHWH | Leave a comment26th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 41st DAY
Published May 18, 2012 | Today is the 41st day of Counting the Omer, the 6th day of the 6th week!
(41) MESSIAH TO RISE AFTER THREE DAYS
“YHWH prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)
Every Sunday school child is familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale. But this little verse is arguably one of the most important in the Old Testament! The Jews asking Jesus for a sign but this is what he said to them:
“But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”( Mat 12:39-40)
What happened to Jonah foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Messiah! It was also the only sign they would get! If you read the story you will see other parallels, but this sign would be indisputable.
I don’t know about you, but I am realising that there seems to be very little on the Old Testament that does NOT tell us something about Messiah. It’s as if his person and ministry has affected the whole of creation…
But then, of course, it has!
Thank you God for everything you have done for us and for sending Messiah Yeshua to rescue us from our own sin and foolishness.
Jonah is unique in being written entirely in the third person. There is no doubt that Jonah was an historical person, he is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, “He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of YHWH the God of Israel, which he spake by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher.” Yeshua most definitely saw Jonah, and the events outlined in the book named after him, as historical and central to understanding His death, burial and resurrection.
Jonah consists of 48 verses and a total of 688 Hebrew words. However, there are only 272 different lexical items used in it. It is a story children have loved to hear since it’s first being written down. In Hebrew it takes on new depths, with its use of onomatopoeia – that is, it often uses words that dramatically sound like the actions it is describing. Thus, when read in Hebrew with understanding, the reading becomes a dramatic portrayal of the story. This is particularly so during the parts describing Jonah’s experiences at sea.
According to Genesis Nineveh was founded by Nimrod: “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before YHWH: wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before YHWH. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city).” (Gen 10:8-12) The principle diety of Nineveh seems to have been Ishtar and the male god Ashur was closely associated with her. The Ashur Gate can be seen top left above.
Nineveh (ancient Ninua) it became the capital of the Assyrian Empire at its height (about 705-612 BC). It is situated on the Tigris River in northern Iraq is now consumed entirely by the city of Mosel. At nearly 1,800 acre it was thirty three times bigger than Ur. Drinking water was transported to the city from more than thirty miles away by a system of canals. It walls stretched for 7.5 miles and, at times, were 148 feet in width. They were built sometimes of stone and in other places of mud-brick. The long eastern sector, about 3 miles, contained six gates; the southern sector, 2,624 feet, contained only one, the Ashur Gate – to the right & above in the picture; the western sector, about 2.5 miles, had five gates; the northern sector, about 1.2 miles, three gates, Adad, Nergal, and Sin. Several of these entrances are known to have been faced with stone colossi – Lamassu, protective dieties. In the Nergal Gate – lower two pictures above – two winged stone bulls, attributable to Sennacherib, have been reinstalled. These winged bulls acted as portal guardians for the gates of Nineveh and two can be seen in the upper left picture.
According to Jonah this city was huge and important, “Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days’ journey.” (3:3) And Jonah 4:11 tells us it then had a population of 120,000 persons. None of this is contradicted by archaeology. Felix Jones estimated that the population of Nineveh may have numbered 170,000 and a stele of Ashurnazirpal of Nimrud (Kalakh) records that he invited 69,574 guests to a feast, which some have estimated as the population of Nimrud. However, Nineveh is twice the area of Nimrud which indirectly confirms the Jonah figure for its population. As with large cities today, the name of the central city can be used to include a much larger area consisting of its suburbs – an example is London, which many consider to include all within the M25 road which surrounds it. In this way it could easily be that Ninehveh and its suburbs took three days on foot to cross.
Tags: Ashur Gate, Assyrian Empire, BC, BEGINNING, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, DAYS, death, DRINK, eat, Every Sunday, Felix Jones, Genesis Nineveh, God, HIS, Iraq, Israel, IYAR, Jew, KING, MAN, Messiah, Messiah Yeshua, ministry, Nergal Gate, NEW, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, ORDER, PLACE, PROPHET, READ, RISE, SEEN, SERVANT, sin, SON, THREE, Tigris River, TWO, WORD, Yeshua, YHWHPosted in News | Ashur Gate, Assyrian Empire, BC, BEGINNING, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, DAYS, death, DRINK, eat, Every Sunday, Felix Jones, Genesis Nineveh, God, HIS, Iraq, Israel, IYAR, Jew, KING, MAN, Messiah, Messiah Yeshua, ministry, Nergal Gate, NEW, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, ORDER, PLACE, PROPHET, READ, RISE, SEEN, SERVANT, sin, SON, THREE, Tigris River, TWO, WORD, Yeshua, YHWH | 2 Comments25th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 40th DAY
Published May 17, 2012 | Today is the 40th day of Counting the Omer, the 5th day of the 6th week!
(40) PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE
“But in Mount Zion, there will be deliverance {those who escape}, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.” (Obadiah 17)
YHWH will keep His promise. The promise of deliverance for Zion is repeated a number of times in Scripture. Here we learn that the deliverance will be holy. God is not going to restore His people only to have them continue in their sin. It is also clear that is not only the Jews, as we know them today, that will return. The promise is to the whole house of Jacob.
We have seen instances of people from far flung places such as Ethiopia being accepted as having the right of return, but there are many more descendants of Jacob out there. We do not know who these people are, but God does and they are included in the promise. Those who have returned already are just a hint of what will is to come.
What an amazing God we have! He knows everything about each one of us, even our family tree! Let us thank him today that not even this is left to chance in his dealings with us!
“Obadiah” means “servant/worshipper of YHWH”. Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament and gives no overt indication as to when it was written. Jeremiah 49:7-22 talks of Edom having suffered in the way described in Obadiah and of an “ambassador” who declared a message very similar to that found in Obadiah. This suggests that the message of Obadiah had been written down and was well known by the time of Jeremiah. Other helps to understanding when Obadiah ministered is offered by the fact that Edom spoken of, in verse seven, as having more than one ally. This suggests a time during the reign of Jehoram (c.852-841 BCE), Jerusalem was plundered by the Philistines and Arabians (2 Chronicles 21:16-19).
The Bible describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau the eldest son of the Jewish patriarch Isaac. The name Edom means “red” in Hebrew, and was given to Esau once he ate the “red pottage”. (Genesis 25:30)
According to Scripture the Edomite territory stretched from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqabah, modern Eilat. It covered the area from Kadesh-barnea in the west to the Arabian Desert in the east. Fertile land is in short supply in this region but the land is rich with valuable mineral resources. However, we do need to be careful in our description of the land in antiquity. This is due to there possibly being evidence suggesting much more fertile periods. Amongst these being evidence for ancient Pine forests of considerable size in this area.
The Edomites may have been connected with the Shasu and Shutu, nomadic raiders mentioned in Egyptian sources. Indeed, a letter from an Egyptian scribe at a border fortress in the Wadi Tumilat during the reign of Merneptah reports movement of nomadic “shasu-tribes of Edom” to watering holes in Egyptian territory:
“We have finished letting the Shasu tribes of Edom pass the fortress of Merneptah Hotep-hi-Maat, which is in Tjeku (probably Succoth), to the pools of Per-Atum (probably Pithom) of Merneptah Hotep-hir-Maat, which are in Tjeku, to keep them alive and to keep their cattle alive” (Translation based on ANET, p.259)
Posted in News | AGE, ANET, Arabian Desert, BC, BCE, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, dead, Dead Sea, deliverance, DUE, eat, Egypt, Ethiopia, family, God, HIS, His People, Holy, HOUSE, IYAR, Jew, MAN, Mount Zion, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, ORDER, PEOPLE, PLACE, PROMISE, READ, SEEN, SERVANT, sin, SON, Wadi Tumilat, YHWH | 3 Comments24th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 39th DAY
Published May 16, 2012 | Today is the 39th day of Counting the Omer, the 4th day of the 6th week!
(39) PROMISE OF RESTORATION
‘For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say,’ Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’ In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name,’ says YHWH who does this.” (Amos 9:9-12)
YHWH God promises restoration. He made many promises, and the continuation of the house off David through Messiah was one of them. When the nation went into captivity, it would have been hard to see his promises to David working out. It would have seemed as if the promise was not true. But how wrong it would have been to think that! From our place in time we can see that YHWH kept that promise. Amos foresaw it and it is clear that even though the sin of the nation had got to the point that God had to deal with it, he had a plan! He would still keep His word.
We must realise how terrible sin is to God. We tend to think some sins are worse than others. God does not see it that way. He will not overlook un-repented sin and allow it to continue but He still keeps his promises.
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he has become guilty of all. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ said also, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”( Jam 2:10-11)
Sin has to be dealt with. No matter how insignificant or excusable we think it is. If you do not know the salvation YHWH so freely gives, have a look at yesterday’s post to see the solution.
If you do own Messiah Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, take a look at the first letter of John, particularly 1Jn 1:9-10.
Amos was a humble farmer & shepherd from the small village of Tekoa, 11 miles south of Jerusalem and 6 miles south of Bethlehem. However, that did not mean he was an “ignorant peasant”! What we see here is evidence of a people who were generally literate – something unusual for ancient societies. His writing – at least two years after his ministry started (see 1:1-2) – contains instances of great literary beauty and oratory.
Amos ministered as a Prophet at the same time as Hosea, Micah, Isaiah and Jonah. Amos says of himself, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore-trees: and YHWH took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.” (Amos 7:14-15) He is not saying YHWH had not appointed him as a Prophet. Instead he is pointing out that he is not a professional prophet, part of the many schools of prophets.
Amos was called as a southerner to minister to the northerners – never an easy calling! He seems to have ministered mainly around Bethel. Bethel became an important cult-centre for the northern Kingdom of Israel following the division of the kingdom of David & Solomon. Jeroboam, first king of Israel, set up centres for his Golden Calf cult at Bethel on the southern boundary of his kingdom and Dan on the northern boundary. He then appointed non-Levites as his priests (1 Kings 12:25–33). Jeroboam’s decision that he had passed over the Mushite priests of Shiloh, the original cult-centre for Israel.
[Today’s picture shows a view from Herodium, looking South-East towards Tekoa.]
Posted in News | AGE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, eat, God, Golden Calf, guilt, HIS, His Word, HOUSE, Israel, IYAR, KING, Law, MAN, Messiah, Messiah Jesus, ministry, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, PEOPLE, PLACE, priest, PROMISE, PROPHET, RESTORATION, Salvation, SHEPHERD, sin, SOLOMON, SON, START, TRUE, TWO, WORD, YHWH | 2 Comments23rd IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 38th DAY
Published May 15, 2012 | Today is the 38th day of Counting the Omer, the 3rd day of the 6th week!
(38) PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT
“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28,29)
When Messiah came, God’s Spirit would “rest on all flesh”.He brought the possibility of a relationship with God to everyone, not just the prophets as it had been up till then, the exception rather than the rule. Not just free men, but women, children and servants too.
The wonderful gift of Salvation is available to you today.
The first time the Gospel was preached the Apostle Peter said this:
“Repent, and be immersed, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” (Acts 2:38-39)
(To repent means to change your mind, to turn your back on sin , not merely to be sorry. True repentance means we decide not to sin again.)
We do not know what tomorrow will bring.
You may not get this chance again.
What are you waiting for?
The prophecy of Joel seems in part to have been inspired by a devastating plague of Locust. Joel, however, takes this natural phenomena to develop a theology that becomes common in the Bible’s prophetic writings. This theology becomes known as “the day of YHWH”, an event that bringing both judgment and salvation. Within Joel’s writing this phrase is applied to the plague of Locust (ch.1), an invading army (2:1-10), the final battle of the last judgment (ch.3) and to the salvation event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (2:32-29).
Tags: Apostle Peter, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, God, HIS, Holy, Holy Spirit, IYAR, Jesus Messiah, MAN, Messiah, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, PROMISE, PROPHET, Salvation, SERVANT, sin, SON, SPIRIT, TRUE, Within Joel, YHWHPosted in News | Apostle Peter, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, God, HIS, Holy, Holy Spirit, IYAR, Jesus Messiah, MAN, Messiah, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, PROMISE, PROPHET, Salvation, SERVANT, sin, SON, SPIRIT, TRUE, Within Joel, YHWH | 3 Comments22nd IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 37th DAY
Published May 14, 2012 | Today is the 37th day of Counting the Omer, the 2nd day of the 6th week!
(37) MESSIAH, SON OF MAN
“I saw in the night- visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13,14)
Here in Daniel, we read that “one like the son of man” would be given dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom. We have already seen that this person was to be a descendant of Jesse, of the line of David. One of the ways Jesus referred to himself was “Son of Man” when he was talking about what he was here to do:
“The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.” (Lk 9:22)
Paul said this:
“who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ” (Philippians 26-11).
Paul tells us how Messiah Jesus would be humbled and then exalted. By speaking of himself as the Son of Man in the same context as the suffering he would endure, Jesus was telling us that he would not only suffer and die but would, as Paul said, “be highly exalted” and that “every knee would bow to Him” as the prophet Daniel prophesied. He linked both strands of Messianic expectation, the suffering servant and the king.
Let us acknowledge Him today, and willingly bow the knee.
He is both Saviour and King forever.
Daniel, from a noble Judean family, was taken as a teenager into captivity along with King Jehoiachim of Judah with the first deportation in 605 BCE. His ministry lasted the entire length of the Babylonian Exile with his last prophecy dated to approximately 536 BCE, when he would have been in his eighties.
At the top-left of our picture is a replica of a stamp of Nebuchadnezzar II (c.605 BC – 562 BCE). The following is a translation of the inscription:
“Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon who provides for Esagila and Ezida the eldest son of Nabopolassar King of Babylon, am I.”
Daniel was taken into captivity, along with King Jehoiachim by Neuchadnezer II. The Cuneiform tablet on the bottom-left mentions Jehoiachin, son & successor to King Jehoiachim. It was at the end of Jehoichim’s reign Daniel was taken into captivity in Babylon. A number of tablets have been found confirming Jehoiachin’s captivity as described in 2 Kings 25:27-30.
After Nebuchadnezer II Daniel would have lived under the following Kings:
Amel-Marduk (562-560 BCE): No surviving cuneiform documents record anything concerning his life or deeds. One of the reforms to Nebuchadnezer’s policies is recorded in the Bible – where Amel-Marduk is called Evil-Merodach – it was the release of King Jehoiachin from prison after thirty seven years in captivity. (2 Kings 25:27, Jeremiah 52:31)
Nergal-shar-usur (560-556 BCE): He was the son-in-law of Nebuchadrezzar II, whose son and heir, Amel-Marduk, Nergal-sharezer murdered and succeeded. A Babylonian chronicle describes his western war in 557/556. His name is mentioned as one of high-ranking officers of king Nebuchadnezzar II in the Bible (Jeremiah 39:13).
Labashi-Marduk (556 BCE): Labashi-Marduk, was son of Neriglissar. He succeeded his father when still only a boy, after the latter’s four-year reign. It was proably due to his very young age that he was seen as unfit to rule and was murdered in a conspiracy only nine months after his inauguration.
Nabonidus (556-539 BCE): Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Cyrus II of Persia (539-529 BCE): Commonly known as Cyrus the Great, he was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East. He greatly expanded the empire, eventually conquering most of Southwest Asia, much of Central Asia, parts of Europe and the Caucasus. From the Mediterranean sea and Hellespont in the west, to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.
Tags: Achaemenid Empire, AGE, Babylonian Exile, BC, BCE, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, Central Asia, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, death, DUE, eat, Europe, EXALTED, family, God, HEAVE, HIS, His Father, His Name, Indus River, IYAR, KING, King Jehoiachim, King Jehoiachin, Law, life, MAN, Messiah, Messiah Jesus, ministry, Near East, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, PEOPLE, priest, PROPHET, READ, SEEN, SERVANT, SON, Southwest Asia, SUFFERINGPosted in News | Achaemenid Empire, AGE, Babylonian Exile, BC, BCE, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, Central Asia, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, death, DUE, eat, Europe, EXALTED, family, God, HEAVE, HIS, His Father, His Name, Indus River, IYAR, KING, King Jehoiachim, King Jehoiachin, Law, life, MAN, Messiah, Messiah Jesus, ministry, Near East, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, PEOPLE, priest, PROPHET, READ, SEEN, SERVANT, SON, Southwest Asia, SUFFERING | 3 Comments21st IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 36th DAY
Published May 13, 2012 | Today is the 36th day of Counting the Omer, the 1st day of the 6th week!
(36) THE ONE SHEPHERD
“I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. I, YHWH, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, YHWH, have spoken it.” (Ezekiel 34:23,24)
Jesus the Good Shepherd – that is a very familiar concept, even to Sunday school children. I remember as a small child imagining him surrounded by sheep. I thought he had a flock of sheep with him all the time as well as teaching the crowds. Small children take things so literally. My belief was bolstered by the many pictures showing Him with a lamb or two on his knee. It came as quite a shock to find out that from a purely earthly point of view, Jesus did not ever have a flock of sheep!
None the less, He is OUR shepherd. We are likened to sheep many times in Scripture. We recently looked at Isaiah 53 which contains a very well known example, “All we like sheep have gone astray; everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:6)
Very often, the prophets describe His people as lost or staying sheep. In the Middle East, sheep follow the shepherd. They, by nature, flow each other. If the sheep at the front were to stop following the shepherd, many would follow and be led stay. How like us humans! If our lead sheep takes his eye off the Shepherd, how readily we follow, quickly losing sight of the shepherd entirely!
Another well known passage, Psalm 23 gives a different picture:
“Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psa 23:1-3)
This “sheep” has decided to follow the shepherd for himself! Wherever his shepherd goes, he goes, he does not take his eyes off Him.
Which kind of sheep are you? Who are you following? Do you follow the crowd or do you follow Jesus regardless of the consequences?
Choose Him today!
Ezekiel, like Jeremiah and Zechariah, was a Priest. He received his call to minister as a prophet at the time a Priest would normally begin his ministry, thirty years of age. He had been taken into captivity in the second deportation and spent the rest of his life in Babylon. His visions spanned contemporary and future event concerning Jerusalem, including the glories of a future, millennial Temple.
Our passage today comes from the third section of Ezekiel’s writings which deal mainly with the future hopes and trials of YHWH’s People. Ezekiel is concerned to emphasise the primacy of the glory of YHWH and His character. He regularly uses expressions such as “My holy Name” or “for My Name’s sake”, “you/they will know that I am Lord YHWH” and “the glory of YHWH.”
Like Daniel, Ezekiel’s visions are greatly influenced by the imagery he sees about him in Babylon. That those Mesopotamian images were but corrupted copies of the original heavenly hosts – possibly those heavenly beings who rebelled against YHWH and fell – there is little doubt. However, they are confirmed as correctly representing YHWH’s dwelling place by the Revelation given to the Apostle John in the New Testament. The New Testament makes it plain that even genuine prophecy is influenced by our own present weaknesses: “For now we see in a mirror, darkly” (1 Cor 13:12), “given to us … prophecy according to the proportion of our faith” (Romans 12:6) “and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” (1 Cor 14:32)
[Our picture today is a fantasy recreation of the four surrounding Seraphim mentioned in both Ezekiel & Revelation. It has been based upon similar depictions in Mesopotamian imagery.]
Tags: AGE, Apostle John, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, DWELLING, eat, God, HEAVE, HIS, His Name, His People, Holy, IYAR, life, Middle East, ministry, NEW, New Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, One Shepherd, PEOPLE, PLACE, priest, PROPHET, READ, SERVANT, SHEPHERD, sin, Temple, TWO, YHWHPosted in News | AGE, Apostle John, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAVID, DAY, DWELLING, eat, God, HEAVE, HIS, His Name, His People, Holy, IYAR, life, Middle East, ministry, NEW, New Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, ONE, One Shepherd, PEOPLE, PLACE, priest, PROPHET, READ, SERVANT, SHEPHERD, sin, Temple, TWO, YHWH | Leave a comment20th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 35th DAY
Published May 12, 2012 | Today is the 35th day of Counting the Omer, the 7th day of the 5th week ~ the fourth Sabbath of Counting!
SHABBAT SHALOM!
(35) A FORESHADOWING OF MESSIAH’S SORROW
“He has made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.” (lam.3:6) “You have removed my soul far off from peace; I forgot prosperity. I said, My strength is perished, and my expectation from Yahweh. Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.” ( Lam 3:17-19 ) “This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope. YHWH’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. YHWH is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” (Lam.3:21-24)
The book of Lamentations is often offered as evidence that Jeremiah suffered from depression. It is certainly written by a man who was pouring out the anguish of his soul. People suffering from severe depression would certainly understand those “dark places” he speaks of. Jeremiah had every reason to be depressed.
Due to their sin, his own nation, Judah, was going into captivity and the Holy City laid waste. Here in chapter three Jeremiah’s suffering is an image of the suffering of his people. Yet, in the midst of all this, here is hope! This is reminiscent of what Messiah would suffer for our own sin, and of YHWH’s faithfulness. In this chapter we see him first joining the dead in Sheol (v.3); In verses 17-19 we gain a little insight into his suffering; and in the last verses quoted above we see the hope of release from the grave – resurrection.
Even when all seemed lost, Jeremiah was fulfilling his ministry as a prophet. His own anguish look forward to the events of Calvary and beyond.
Thank you YHWH God, for Your plan of salvation, You knew we would need a Saviour, and left nothing to chance!
586 BCE saw the destruction of the Temple. This led to the question as to why this should have been allowed to happen? The first word of this book records that cry of lament, “aichah” or “how” – the Hebrew name for this book. It consists of five poetic laments – conveniently our five chapters.
The first four chapters of Lamentations are written using a poetic form called acrostics. In an acrostic poem each line or section begins with a letter of the alphabet in its corresponding
order. As the Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters this can be seen in the versification of each chapter, each having twenty-two verses (except ch.3 with 66 – see below). The chapter we are looking at, chapter three, differs slightly by using a variation on this scheme where every letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used to to begin three consecutive lines – hence the sixty-six verses.
Because few scrolls containing Lamentations clearly show this structure we have attempted to show it in our picture. This shows the first few verses of chapter three, with each Hebrew letter highlighted in a different colour.
Tags: AGE, BC, BCE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, dead, DUE, eat, FAITHFULNESS, FORESHADOWING, God, HIS, His People, Holy, Holy City, IYAR, KING, LIGHT, MAN, Messiah, ministry, NEW, OMER, Omer Biblically, ORDER, PEOPLE, PLACE, PROPHET, Sabbath, Salvation, SEEN, Shabbat, SHALOM, sin, SON, SORROW, SUFFERING, Temple, THREE, TWO, WORD, YHWHPosted in News | AGE, BC, BCE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, DAY, dead, DUE, eat, FAITHFULNESS, FORESHADOWING, God, HIS, His People, Holy, Holy City, IYAR, KING, LIGHT, MAN, Messiah, ministry, NEW, OMER, Omer Biblically, ORDER, PEOPLE, PLACE, PROPHET, Sabbath, Salvation, SEEN, Shabbat, SHALOM, sin, SON, SORROW, SUFFERING, Temple, THREE, TWO, WORD, YHWH | 1 Comment19th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 34th DAY
Published May 11, 2012 | Today is the 34th day of Counting the Omer, the 6th day of the 5th week!
(34) THE NEW COVENANT (2)
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)
In Hebrew, the New Testament is known as “Brit Hadashah” or New Covenant. The term is used many times; Luke 22:20, I Cor 11:25, II Cor 3:6 and a further four times in Hebrews. It is clear from these verses that Jesus is the mediator of this covenant. See Hebrews 9:15 and12:24. We also see from II Corinthians that it is sealed with his blood. In Old Testament times, covenants were ratified with a blood sacrifice. The New Covenant as described by Jeremiah is different from the Old in that the people will know God without being taught, 1 John 2:27 and the surrounding verses tell us that if we abide in Him we need no one to teach us. This does not mean we can do just what we feel like. We have an anointing that will ensure we are not led astray. Unlike the Old Covenant, the Law will be written on our hearts. Both Jeremiah and the writer to the Hebrews (ch.8) make it abundantly clear that Law is central to the New Covenant.
Jeremiah came from a priestly family and came from Anathoth, less than three miles from the Temple, in Benjamite territory. He was called to be a Prophet of God as a young man in 627BCE in the reign of Josiah of Judah (639-609BCE). He saw five kings on the throne of Judah – Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin & Zedekiah – before Nebuchadnezzar’s forces (587BCE) captured Jerusalem, burned the Temple, blinded Zedekiah blinded and took Judah into exile. Jeremiah himself ended up being forced to join the remnant of Judah that fled into Egypt, whilst his secretary, Baruch, was taken into exile in Babylon.
Tags: BC, BCE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, blood, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, covenant, DAY, eat, Egypt, family, God, HIS, HOUSE, Israel, IYAR, KING, Know Yahweh, Law, NEW, New Covenant, New Testament, Old Covenant, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, PEOPLE, priest, PROPHET, Sacrifice, sin, SURE, TemplePosted in News | BC, BCE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, blood, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, covenant, DAY, eat, Egypt, family, God, HIS, HOUSE, Israel, IYAR, KING, Know Yahweh, Law, NEW, New Covenant, New Testament, Old Covenant, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, PEOPLE, priest, PROPHET, Sacrifice, sin, SURE, Temple | 3 Comments18th IYAR ~ COUNTING THE OMER BIBLICALLY, 33rd DAY
Published May 10, 2012 | Today is the 33rd day of Counting the Omer, the 5th day of the 5th week!
(33) THE NEW COVENANT (1)
“Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 31:31-32)
What a wonderful promise, one for which those of us who know Jesus as Savior & Lord should be ever grateful. Without this promise we would still be lost in our sins! But note to whom this promise is given – the Children of Israel. All of those who have come to faith in Jesus are saved because of God’s promise to Israel. No true Believer can separate themselves from God’s People for, according to Paul in Roman & Ephesians, we have been grafted into God’s People, Israel. All that being so, our relationship, as part of God’s People, is as a wife to her husband – a relationship of loving trust. Wow! How can we not praise our God and His Savior?
This passage contains the Old Testament’s only reference to the phrase “new covenant”. Most people are more familiar with the phrase which has come down to us via Latin as the “new testament”. This phrase has now been applied to the Christian/Greek portion of the Bible canon.
The reference to “to the covenant that I made with their fathers” speaks of the Mosaic Covenant made at Sinai. In Hebrews (8:7 & 9:15,18) this is called the “first covenant”. The salvation of Gentiles has never been dependent upon this covenant at Sinai. Rather, the Gentiles were included in God’s covenant with Abraham: “Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
[Our picture shows the “Great Ziggurat of Ur”. Ur is where Abram originated.]
Tags: Abraham, AGE, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, Braham, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, covenant, DAY, eat, Egypt, God, God's people, HIS, HOUSE, Israel, IYAR, NEW, New Testament, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, PEOPLE, PROMISE, Salvation, sin, TRUE, WHOMPosted in News | Abraham, AGE, BIBLE, Biblical, BIBLICALLY, Braham, CE, COUNTING, Counting the Omer, covenant, DAY, eat, Egypt, God, God's people, HIS, HOUSE, Israel, IYAR, NEW, New Testament, Old Testament, OMER, Omer Biblically, PEOPLE, PROMISE, Salvation, sin, TRUE, WHOM | Leave a comment
Recent Comments