Parsha Va'etchanan (And I Pleaded)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link
Genesis {21:1-3; 9-12} "Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2) Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3) Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 9) But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had born to Abraham was mocking, 10) and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” 11) The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12) But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." I think we are aware that Ishmael was a type of the world, the flesh, because he was conceived not by promise but of the flesh. This makes Ishmael a type of the one who is ruler of both the flesh and the world – Satan. Isaac, however, is the son of promise, and as such in the narrative of Genesis 21 he represents the spirit and is a type of Messiah Yeshua. We all know that there is enmity between Satan and Yeshua and enmity between everyone associated with Yeshua. Galatians {4:23} "His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise." There is more to these types than meets the eye. The story of Ishmael and Isaac is more connected to Satan and Yeshua than we might have thought. It is obvious from the passages of Scripture I quoted, that it was God’s will for Ishmael to be sent away, banished from Isaac. However, note that Ishmael was not banished until after Isaac was born. In fact, he could not be banished until after Isaac was born. When Isaac the son of promise came into the world, Ishmael the son of the flesh had to be banished. What significance does it have for us today? Yeshua is the Son of the promise, Satan is the son of the flesh. The temporal cannot live with the Spiritual, so when Yeshua came into the world, all those that received Him as their Lord and Savior were able to cast out and banish the son of flesh from their lives. "
from Ellen… Bible link
Life is filled with so many questions, so many distractions. As of late I have been thinking how simple minded I am. At first, I offended myself, ha, ha but then I thanked Almighty God because I take what is as what is. I will elaborate so as not to be too abstract, another quirky trait of mine. When you were little did your mother tell you not to touch the stovetop because it was hot? Well do not touch the stovetop! Did you ask your father why the sky is blue? Yes, later in life we find out in Earth Science class why but I like my answer better which is…God made the sky blue and that is it. As we grow older and take on our beliefs, we know that God told us of things to eat and of things not to eat, right? He of course told us what is food in the first place; like pigs are not food so just do not eat pork. Halal meats are offered up to idols so just do not eat halal meat. I really do not see what all the fuss is about when so many statements are made and we ask why. I guess I am simple minded, thank goodness. While I was trying to formulate this “simple” little note to you it started to become very complicated, so I am ending it here with this bit of advice. Overthinking will steal your peace…give it to God and get some rest. PS: I think the sky is blue because God and my favorite color is blue!"
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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Parsha Devarim (Deuteronomy)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is often called the “Unpardonable Sin.” Fear of committing the “unpardonable sin” has really haunted many Believers. I am often asked by people if they have committed this sin that cannot be forgiven; if they ever blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I knew a man who had a paralyzing fear that he committed the “unpardonable sin.” The thought that there was something he might have done or said that would forever exclude him from the presence of God haunted him. Understand, there is no sin that is unpardonable or unforgivable as long as we confess it and repent of it. Peter denied Yeshua three times. You would think that would be unpardonable but it was not! Peter went on to unlock salvation for the Gentiles and he remained a faithful disciple of Yeshua until his death. Although I do not believe that I am the last word on this subject, I would like to share what I believe the unpardonable sin is. When Yeshua was walking the earth, He was operating in and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The population witnessed and experienced His miracles. The Holy Spirit was operating through Him as the agent of salvation. Yet, when the religious leaders looked upon Him, they attributed everything He was doing, not to the Holy Spirit but to Beelzebub (Satan). Matthew {12:24} "Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ""This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." If you look to God the Father and embrace sin, that’s bad. If we look to His Son, Messiah Yeshua and embrace sin, that is doubly bad. The Father planned redemption and the Son accomplished redemption. Yet, it is the unique and special role of the Holy Spirit to apply the Father’s plan and the Son’s accomplishment to us. The Holy Spirit shows us where we have gone wrong in our life. The Pharisees saw Yeshua, they looked upon the Son of God and to His face they denied the work that the Holy Spirit was doing through Him and attributed it to Satan. Therefore, there was nothing left for them as a pathway for salvation. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is willful, wide-eyed slandering of the work of the Holy Spirit to Yeshua’s Face. It happened when they attributed to the devil what was undeniably from God. These men had seen, as well as anyone could see, and had known as clearly as anyone could know, that Yeshua performed His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, yet they defiantly insisted that it was Satan who empowered Him. This is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and the “unpardonable sin.” This truth is revealed to us by: Matthew {12:32} "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." This scripture refers to the two ages Yeshua will be on the earth, “this age” being His first coming, “the age to come” being His second coming. Therefore, the unpardonable sin cannot be committed today because Yeshua is not physically on the earth. So, there is no way we can deny Him to His Face. The man I spoke about, had nothing to fear and I believe neither do we. "

from Ellen… Bible link

"Thank You Lord for bringing us through yet another week of challenges and blessings. We also thank You for the new month of Av, meaning Father, and with Him comes healing from above." Friendship has been on my mind the last couple of days. I remember when I was in my twenties, I had these two amazing, best of the best friends. We slept over at each other’s homes. One of the girls and I had super long hair so we would make a date to wash our hair and then drive around in her car with our heads out the window so our hair would dry and then we would go out and party. Yes, party as I was still definitely rooted in Egypt and not yet saved. My other girlfriend was a bit more conservative and had more responsibilities at home so we would go to her house and hangout. Yes, we were the three best of the best friends ever! Or so I thought…my long hair friend overdosed on drugs and faded away which resulted in lost contact. The other friend and I stuck close for many years. I moved to another state but we continued to communicate. Then that glorious day came when I received Yeshua as my Lord and Savior…Hallelujah! So, I was so filled with awe of God that I wanted to share this free gift with my friend. I wrote a letter because that’s what you did way back then, sharing the Good News and hoping she would join me. Did you ever hear the saying and I am paraphrasing, that to lose a friend is showing you that they were never your friend in the first place. Well, that is what happened to me, in fact she responded with, “Never contact me again!” She even accused me of being a traitor to all Jewish people! Well, I was disappointed but loved her anyway. Now for the point of the whole story…firstly do not operate in fear that if you tell someone about Jesus, they will reject you and secondly you cannot lose anything that you never had. Yeshua is our best friend and will never leave us or forsake us so do not be fearful in your evangelizing to those you love because if they love you, they too will not leave!"

Parsha Matot- Masei (Tribes-Stages)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link

Genesis {2:9} "The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." God gave Adam and Eve free will and two choices but He only verbalized one choice. When I was a child, I grew up in the cold northern hemisphere. Have your parents ever told you not to do something but you go ahead and do it anyway? That was the case with me. It was a freezing cold day and the handrail leading up to our house was icy. My mother saw me playing outside and she called out; “Don’t touch your tongue to the handrail.” Of course, I did and my tongue stuck fast. I managed to get it off but I left behind a layer of tongue skin---“ouch.” Do you think we inherited doing what we are told not to do from Eve? God told her not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil yet she did anyway. Do you think if God told her not to eat from the Tree of Life, she would have eaten from it instead? Just a thought! There were two Kingdoms available to Adam and Eve in the Garden. The Tree of Life - Yeshua, and the Tree of Knowledge - Satan. Satan, portrayed in these Scripture passages as a snake, beguiled Eve with the temptation of acquiring knowledge; in other words, to partake of his kingdom. She did and to this very day man has pursued knowledge, worldly knowledge, which is never satisfied. Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of worldly knowledge. In defense you may then quote this passage to me proving that God’s Kingdom is also a Kingdom of knowledge: Hosea {4:6} "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." However, the knowledge Hosea is talking about here is not worldly knowledge but the knowledge of God. Hosea {4:1} "Hear the word of the Lord, You children of Israel, For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land." I have come across so many Believers who are knowledge seekers. Be careful that you are not one of them. Seeking after knowledge for knowledge’s sake so others will be impressed with your knowledge will be feeding your pride from the Tree of Knowledge.

Parsha Pinchas (Phineas)

from Rabbi Jack… Bible link
Many times, God calls on us to do something we do not feel qualified for. When that occurs we can choose to do one of two things. The first and best thing is to admit our inadequacies and in faith accept the challenge and make the necessary adjustments in our lives to accommodate God. Sadly, this is where a lot of people get hung-up because the necessary adjustments may relate to thinking, circumstances, relationships, commitments, and time. That is where faith comes in. Faith is knowing that God will provide what we need, when we need it, where we need it. Or, we can have a faith crisis. A lot of people have faith crises. A faith crisis is when we cannot bring ourselves to trust God, it means we are not willing to adjust our life to do what God is asking. It is here that many people miss out on experiencing God's best in their lives. God has not called us to walk by sight, He has called us to walk by faith. Moses was comfortable in the desert tending Jethro's flocks and being married to Zipporah but that was not God's best for him. He needed to make uncomfortable adjustments in his life. He needed to leave the comfort and security of his home. Quite an adjustment for an eighty year old man, but he did it! Once we determine to follow God by faith, and to make the necessary adjustments in our lives, we will begin to experience God as He accomplishes the impossible through us. He becomes our righteousness, our healer, our peace, our deliverer, our provider. Every step of obedience we take by faith brings us into a closer love relationship with God. Yeshua had that type of love relationship with the Father, and that is exactly why God created us, to have an intimate love relationship with Him. When our love relationship is right with God, we will see Him functioning all around us, through us and in us. That is why Yeshua said: Matthew {22:37-38} "Yeshua said unto him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all thy mind. 38) This is the first and great commandment." Without a love relationship with God, we will always feel inadequate and will never accept to move out of our comfort zones. My prayer is that everyone will desire the kind of love relationship where we accept God’s challenges so that He can accomplish great things in our lives."
from Ellen… Bible link
The Bible, the Word of God, is overflowing with symbolism. We need to know that the black ink on white paper is only one of HIS tools for us to ingest the Word. I was reading the other day and saw the term “threshing floor”. Okay so I am a city girl and only visited a farm environment when on a field trip or some other congregational gathering. But now, only now, is the threshing floor becoming part of my thinking. I must admit that when reading the Word, I just took for granted that kings, prophets and others met on the threshing floor. So, I looked it up… The threshing floor in Scripture is a place of separation and revelation. A place where the harvest was prepared by separating the grain from the useless straw for the purpose of exposing and collecting the most valuable part of the crop. Wow! Now, for some of my finite symbolism. Of course, we are the grain and unbelievers, people practicing paganistic rites like perversion, child molestation, abortionists offering up our children to Molech and more are the chaff!!! Today we are experiencing heightened visualization of homosexual lifestyles and as of late at the so called “pride” parade in NYC the chant was heard from the participants, “we are coming for your children”. Never before have the things, the abominations and perversions of the devil become so every day so out in the open!!! My heart grieves for the young people of today because purity is rare and all this other garbage is commonplace. Anyway, as the grain is being separated from the chaff on the threshing floor the farmer waits for the perfect windy day to lift up what is on the threshing floor so that the Ruach, the wind can blow the useless straw and leave only the grain! God has appointed threshing floors all throughout the world and throughout our lives. Did you know that the Dome of the Rock is built on a threshing floor? Let us watch and wait what our glorious King, our God Almighty does with that one!"
Yours in Messiah Yeshua, "…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Messiah Yeshua." (Titus 2:13) Rabbi Jack & Ellen
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If you are being blessed by the teachings and commentaries we share, please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. We support the needy, the hungry, the elderly and new immigrants (Olim). Most of all we teach and preach the Word of God in both countries and throughout the world. Contact us for more information: daatbina@gmail.com To Donate using PayPal click this link: https://paypal.me/kenyamission If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other donation options.
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