Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 11 – Mark

1:11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
9:7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 17:5 While [Peter] was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

Luke 3:22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Luke 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Psalm 2:7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’”
Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Acts 13:33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
2 Peter 1:17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”?
2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.”

1 Chronicles 17:13 “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.”
Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

Chapter 1 35Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a deserted place; and there He prayed.

36And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

38But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” 39And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Luke 4 42Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.

And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;

43but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee [Judea].

Two things here: (1) by His leaving, He demonstrates the necessity of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, not just good teaching, and (2) His job wasn’t to cater to their desire for the supernatural, which he pointed out their need for signs (Matthew 12:39, Matthew 16:4, Mark 8:12, Luke 11:29) and to be fed (John 6:26).

2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” I bet they were thinking about these verses:
Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…”
Psalm 26:45 “I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.”

Chapter 4 33And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

Matthew 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand [Deuteronomy 29:4, Psalm 69:23, Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah 29:10, Isaiah 30:10, Isaiah 42:20, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Zechariah 7:11].”

Matthew 13:34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them…
Luke 8:10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God [Matthew 13:11], but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand.”

John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
John 10:6 Jesus used this illustration [allegory], but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
John 16:25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language [allegory]; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.”

Father Yah, please keep our eyes and ears open to receive Your word by any means. Amen.

5:39-40 “She is not dead, only sleeping.” The mourners burst into laughter. Yahshua kicked them out the house. LOL! Also see Matthew 9:24-25, Luke 8:52-54, Matthew 27:39, Mark 15:29, Luke 23:35, Job 16:4.
Job 12:4 “I am one mocked by his friends, who called on God, and He answered him, the just and blameless who is ridiculed.”
Psalm 22:7 “All those who see Me ridicule Me. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head…”

6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

Matthew 10:1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

First, He sent the 12, 2-by-2, out to preach with power. He later sent 70 (or 72) others to do the same, except this time, they were to go before Him to every city where He would preach (Luke 10). This is where some got the idea to have either someone or a group pray over an area before the scheduled preacher performed.

6:11 Shaking the dust off their feet reminds me of the name Ichabod “…for the glory [of the Lord] has departed from Israel.” See Matthew 10:14, Luke 9:5, Luke 10:11, Acts 13:51.

9:37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”
Luke 9:48 And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

– Every time the ones trying to trip Him up called Him by a title of respect, I sensed either an eye roll or sigh from Him. LOL!

10:50 “And throwing aside his [outer] garment, [Bartimaeus] rose and came to Jesus.” Clothes symbolize one’s character. Bartimaeus wanted a new character, a new life with sight, physical and spiritual, since he became one of Jesus’ followers

12:34 “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” That answer shocked them silent, because it was a bullseye to their hearts, surprisingly encouraging.

13:36 “…lest coming suddenly, He finds you sleeping.” This reminds me of the Parable of the 10 Virgins.

– “Watch!” Pay attention to who or what is influencing you, for distraction + influence = deception.

– The situation Yahshua described for His disciples concerning His last Passover meal reminds me of Samuel telling Saul everything that would happen to the younger man before Saul became king of Israel.

– Yahshua’s confession of not wanting His sacrifice and acknowledging the Father’s ability to save him always gets me. His humanity on full display gives me hope.

– There were two Simons, so I can understand why Jesus named one of them Peter (little stone or pebble). Also the revelation of Who He was (the Stone—the Word—in which He founded the Ecclesia) came through Peter. The Father’s word through Peter: a declaration we all should make about Yahshua, for when we speak His words, we also become little pebbles, chips off the Old Block (or Mountain, according to Daniel 2:31-45) as His Son is.

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 10 – Matthew, Section 2

12:18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
Isaiah 42:1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”

Chapter 12 43“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Once you get free of the demonic, shut and guard the doors (ears, eyes, actions) to your soul.

13:57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
Isaiah 49:7 Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Psalm 69:7 “Because for Your sake I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.”

15:8 and Mark 7:6 “‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me [Isaiah 29:13].”
John 5:23 “…that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
Luke 10:16 “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
1 John 2:23 “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
Also see Jeremiah 12:2, Ezekiel 33:31, Psalm 78:36, Psalm 78:37, Titus 1:16, John 12:48

15:14 “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’”
23:24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Luke 6:39 Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
Isaiah 59:10 Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.”
Isaiah 9:16 For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up.
Deuteronomy 28:29 “…and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.”
John 9:39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”

– Jesus did pray in public, to praise the Father, pray for His current and future disciples, and bless the food.

21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. Mark 11 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Luke 19 35Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

2 Kings 9:13 Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”

Matthew 22:10-13 “So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’

And he was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Revelation 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 15:6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.
Revelation 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
Revelation 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
Revelation 3:4 “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”
Revelation 7:14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Ecclesiastes 9:8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.
2 Kings 10:18-28 – the worshipers of Baal killed, marked by the outfits they wore.
Zechariah 3:1-5 – Joshua, the High Priest, getting new clothes (new character)

22:16 and Mark 12:14a And [the Pharisees] sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.”

Luke 18:2 “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.”
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.”
John 5:34 “Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.”
John 5:41 “I do not receive honor from men.”
John 5:44 “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?”
John 6:15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

John 7:18 “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.”
John 8:50 “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.”
John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.”
John 12:43 “…for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
1 John 5:9 If we receive the witness [testimony] of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
1 Thessalonians 2:6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You [Psalm 2:7, Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5].”

22:44 and Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”
5:35 “…nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.”
Isaiah 66:1 and Acts 7:49 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?”
Acts 2:34-35 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’”
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
Hebrews 10:13 …from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
Hebrews 2:8 “You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” [Psalm 8:6, 1 Corinthians 15:27] For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

Joshua 10:24 So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and put their feet on their necks.
Isaiah 51:23 “But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, and as the street, for those who walk over.’”
Psalm 66:12 You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
Malachi 4:3 “You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do
this,” Says the Lord of hosts.

2 Samuel 22 39And I have destroyed them and wounded them, so that they could not rise. They have fallen under my feet. 40For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued [bent] under me those who rose against me. 41You have also given me [victory over] the necks of my enemies, so that I destroyed those who hated me.

In case you forgot, mankind is animated spirit dust.

23:5 “All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries [Scripture cases] and lengthen their tassels.”
Exodus 13:9 “It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets [marks, bands] between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 6:8You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead.”
Deuteronomy 11:18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul [mind], and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Proverbs 1:9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.
Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 6:21 Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.
Proverbs 7:3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Psalm 73:6 Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.

Isaiah 49:16 “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
2 Corinthians 3:3 “…clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”
Jeremiah 17 1“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. 2Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles by the green trees and on the high hills.”

Father Yah, Our King of Kings, wanted the Israelites to find ways to etch His Will and Works into their hearts and minds, to imprint them onto their progeny until Shiloh comes. To do this consistently marks one as having good character (blameless).

23:37 and Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”
Ruth 2:12 “The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Ruth 3:9 And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”

Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings…”
Psalm 36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.”
Psalm 57:1 “…Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until
these calamities have passed by.”
Psalm 63:7 “Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
Psalm 91:4 “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”

Deuteronomy 32:11 “As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings…”
Isaiah 31:5 “Like birds flying about, so will the
Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it. Passing over, He will preserve it.
Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.”
Revelation 12:14 “But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

Wings represent protection and strengthening, with healing falling into the latter one.

26:33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
Mark 14:29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.
Luke 22:33 But [Peter] said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
John 13:37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”

Little did Peter know, it was not his time to be martyred yet, and the Lord had to do this alone

26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.
20:22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”
See Psalm 11:6, Psalm 60:3, Psalm 75:8, Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah 51:22, Isaiah 51:23, Isaiah 53:12, Jeremiah 13:12-14, Jeremiah 25:15-16, Jeremiah 25:27-29, Jeremiah 49:12, Lamentations 4:21, Job 21:20, Obadiah 1:16, Mark 10:38, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, Revelation 14:10.

Tears hit me as I heard this being read.

27:24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.

Exodus 30 17Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18“You shall also make a laver [basin] of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute [requirement] forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

Exodus 40:31 …and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.
Leviticus 8:6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
Deuteronomy 21 6And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it.
Psalm 26:6 I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lord…
Psalm 73:13 Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.

While Pilate performed the hand-washing based on his wife’s warning and not finding fault with Yahshua, his superstitions blinded him from seeing he was officiating the blood covenant to cover the world. His job, as a legal representative, was to declare Him innocent.

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 10 – Matthew, Section 1

2:6 “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.”
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
John 7:42 “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
Luke 2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
Ruth 1:19 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

These Gentile wise men knew Scripture, which is why some believe Daniel had his own school, training them to look for signs in the heavens to announce the King of Israel and over all the Earth’s arrival.

2:11 And when [the wise men] had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Gentiles worshiped Yahshua as a toddler. Notice: Back then and today, you always brought a gift to kings or dignitaries when paying them a visit.

– The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:20-26) are the results of seeking after the Lord and His Instruction (or relying on the temporal as in Luke 6:24-26), not commands. These are similar to the rewards of the Overcomers in Revelation.

6:7 “And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.”
1 Kings 18:26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.”

6:24 and Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money worship].”
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’”

8:11 “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
Luke 13:29 “They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.”
Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 18:18 “…since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?”
Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Genesis 28:14 “Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Acts 3:25 “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
Also see Proof Salvation Is for Gentiles, Too.

8:17 “…that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah [53:4] the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
Luke 8:46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
The transference of energy to heal someone or cast out entities weakened Jesus, because of both the corrupt flesh that He had dwelt in and the corruption of this existence. This is another reason why He went off alone to pray, to get recharge in Our Father’s love, to overcome by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). No prayer, no power—He continues the trend from the OT and sets the example for us all.

8:20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Psalm 84:3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God.
Psalm 104:17 Where the birds make their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.
While I agree this is one of those count the cost-type passages, I also see it as my Savior missing home and wanting us to join Him there.

8:33-34 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.Mark 5:16-17 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
Luke 8:37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
Amos 7:12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy.”
1 Samuel 9:9 Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.
Isaiah 30:10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.”
Most people avoid the supernatural out of fear and lack of control over it. This includes Christians, unless they want something from the Lord.

Chapter 9 2Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

3And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

7And he arose and departed to his house.
Also see Mark 2:3-12 and Luke 5:18-25. The Sanhedrin following Him, looking for errors, referred to these Scriptures, demonstrating Father Yah’s authority over forgiveness:

Exodus 34:7 “…keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.
Also see Exodus 34:9, Numbers 14:19, Isaiah 44:22, Psalm 25:7, Psalm 65:3, Psalm 79:8, Jeremiah 31:34b (Hebrews 8:12). Jesus tells them, in modern-day vernacular, “Yes, I have the Father’s authority to forgive sins and the healing of this man is proof.”

9:11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
Also see Luke 5:30, Luke 7:34, Luke 7:39, Luke 15:2, Mark 2:16. Once again, the Sanhedrin knew Scripture:
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
Psalm 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.

But they ignored these:
Isaiah 65:5 “…who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.”
Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs [tests] the spirits.
Proverbs 30:12
There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.
Those sinners chose to be with Yahshua, to listen to Him, to let His words enter their hearts.

Chapter 9 12When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice [1 Samuel 15:22, Hosea 6:6].’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”
Also see Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31-32, Jeremiah 8:22, Psalm 6:2, Psalm 30:2, Psalm 41:4, Psalm 147:3. The Sanhedrin thought Him a mere moral and were ticked off that He (or John the Baptist) hadn’t sought them out, since they had believed they had kept the Law of Moses. Today, many churches, without realizing it, have the attitude that they are right, sinners should come to them, and anyone who does not believe in my pet doctrine that has nothing to do with salvation is a heretic. God forbid if anyone comes to these place with spiritual power.

9:21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”
14:36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched
it were made perfectly well.
23:5 “All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.”
Mark 6:56 Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.
Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.

Numbers 15 38“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. 41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Deuteronomy 22:12 “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.”
They actually touched the Tzitzit, the Fringes on the Prayer Shawl, which is symbolized as a wing.

10:13 “If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.”
Luke 10:6And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.”
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Philippians 4:7 …and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace [Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:5], who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation…

Peace, shalom = completeness, wholeness, balance, well in mind and health. What we receive from the Lord, we should give to others. Amen.

10:21 and Mark 13:12 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.”
24:10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
10:35-36 “For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’”
Luke 12:53 “Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Micah 7:5-6 Do not trust in a friend. Do not put your confidence in a companion. Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the ones of his own household.
Jeremiah 9:4 “Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.”
Isaiah 9:19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire. No man shall spare his brother.
Luke 12:52 “…for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three…”
Luke 21:16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
Psalm 41:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”
Deuteronomy 33:8-9 And of Levi [Moses said] said: “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, whom You tested at Massah, and with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah, who says of his father and mother, ‘I have not seen them’; nor did he acknowledge his brothers, or know his own children; for they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant.”
Exodus 32:27-28 And [Moses] said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
Numbers 25:5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
Numbers 25:8 …and [Phinehas] went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel [Psalm 106:30, Malachi 2:5].
1 Samuel 2:29 “Why are you showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded for My dwelling, and why are you honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?”
Zechariah 13:3 It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.” And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

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Super Quick Bible Study: Hidden in the Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)
9In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Luke 11:2-4 (NKJV)
2So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3Give us day by day our daily bread.
4And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”

In my blog post, Super Quick Bible Study: Hezekiah’s Prayer, I pointed out the need for praise before prayer. I recently realized that the first 2 verses of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and the first verse of the prayer in Luke are praises unto the Lord Above.

The final verses in both versions contain requests according to Father Yah’s Will.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Psalm 42:4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

Thank You Yahshua once again for following the patterns in Scripture so we can duplicate Your actions.

Also see Pray Like This.

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Super Quick Bible Study: Why Read Scripture?

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

If you do not read/listen to Scripture, you limit how much the Holy Spirit trains you in His Will. Stop depending on someone to spoon-feed you; become mature children and feed yourselves.

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 9 – The Minor Prophets, Section 2

Micah
3:5 “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who make my people stray; who chant ‘Peace’ while they chew with their teeth, but who prepare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.” This took a few minutes to sort out. I had to look at the Hebrew, other translations, and a commentary (which is rare for me) to confirm it. Teeth, in Scripture, symbolize man-made power (or control). To “chew with their teeth” means they were paid to prophesy things the bribers wanted to hear, but planned disaster for the Lord’s true prophets. The confirmation is in verse 3:11 “And her prophets divine for money.” Thank Yah, He usually states His viewpoint at least twice.

4:3 “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks…” See Isaiah 2:4, Joel 3:10.

4:6 “I will assemble the lame; I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted…”

Matthew 22:2-14 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’

But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’

So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’

And he was speechless.

Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Also in Luke 14:16-24.

5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” See Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:11, Luke 2:15

5:6 “…and the land of Nimrod at its entrances…”
Genesis 10:8-12 “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.’ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel [Babylon], Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” See 1 Samuel 15:22, Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, Matthew 12:7, Deuteronomy 10:1213, Proverbs 21:3, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Isaiah 1:17, Isaiah 56:1, Isaiah 61:8, Mark 12:33.

7:6 “For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.” See Matthew 10:21, Matthew 10:35, Matthew 10:36, Mark 13:12, Luke 12:53, Jeremiah 9:4, Isaiah 19:2.

7:8-10 is another foreshadowing of Christ’s death, resurrection, and triumph over the religious system (symbolized as a female) of that day.

7:17 “They shall lick the dust like a serpent; they shall crawl from their holes like snakes [crawlers] of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of You.”
Genesis 3:14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.”
Isaiah 49:23 “And lick the dust from your feet.”
Psalm 72:9 “Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust.”

Nahum
1:14 “I will dig your grave, for you are vile.” LOL! Well…

3:13 “Surely, your people in your midst are women!”
Isaiah 19:16 “In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He waves over it.”
Isaiah 3:12As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.”
Isaiah 3:4 “I will give children to be their princes, and babes [the unstable] shall rule over them.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Habakkuk
1:12 “Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction [reproof, rebuke].” The proof text that demonstrates judgment means correction, not solely condemnation.

1:13You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?”
I see this as sarcasm, seeing as the Father dealt with the adversary twice in Job. Also, since creation comes from Him and he announced many times He has eyes everywhere, why wouldn’t He see evil? One has to read the whole verse, not interpret one part of it and assume its entire meaning.

2:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.” See Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38.

2:5 “And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied…”
Proverbs 27:20 “Sheol and Abaddon [Destruction] are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
Proverbs 30:16 “Sheol, the barren womb, land never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’”
Ecclesiastes 1:8 “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity [pointless].”

2:11 “For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timbers will answer it.”
Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”
Joshua 22:34 So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar Witness, for they said, “It is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
Luke 19:40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Genesis 31:48 Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.
There was an ancient belief that since everything came from God, everything could bare witness to mankind’s behavior—an interesting view of Yah’s omniscience.

Chapter 3 contains a prayer and a psalm.

3:1718 represent Israel/Judah as destitute, but the prophet will still give praise to the Lord.

Zephaniah
1:5 “Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom [Malcam or Molech, an Ammonite god]…”
1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
2 Kings 17:41 So these [new] nations [people] feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
Judah was hedging their bets, meaning they were worshiping everything they could to get an advantage over a situation. Later, after Northern Israel was dispersed, the new bunch that dwelt in the land had to get a Levitical priest to bless the area due to lion attacks. Since they were not Israelites under a covenant, they could worship their pantheon of gods.

1:6 “Those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.” They had no patience to wait on the Lord for what they enquired of Him, just like King Saul. Do we today?

1:8 “And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.” Clothes represent character, so these people had taking on the characteristic of foreigners, not the characteristics God had established for them to develop.

1:9 “All those who leap over the threshold…” Uninvited violence or crime against a family.

1:11 “Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh!” Maktesh was a marketplace.

1:12 “Who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.’”
Revelation 3:16 “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

1:18 “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath…”
Revelation 18:11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore…”
Ezekiel 7:19 “They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; They will not satisfy their souls, nor fill their stomachs, because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.”
Proverbs 11:4 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.”
Isaiah 2:20 “In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats…”
Isaiah 30:22 “You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, and the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing [menstrual rag]; you will say to them, ‘Get away!’”
Lamentations 4:1 “How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street.”

2:3 “Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.” In order words, seek His Will, Purpose, and Desire, not just pray. We need to seek His guidance every single day. Hey, that rhymed, heh.

2:8-11 No one gets to insult the people of the Lord without payback from Him; to insult His people is to insult Him. He doesn’t mind foreigners telling others why Israel/Judah was punished (Deuteronomy 29:24-28, 1 Kings 9:8-9, 2 Chronicles 7:21-22), but He will not have His Name (reputation) slandered. On top of that, He will destroy the false gods and have all mankind serve/worship Him. Therefore, He wins, as He did in Egypt, putting their deities to shame via the 10 Plagues.

3:2 “She has not received correction [discipline, instruction]…” We receive correction when we pay attention to the Lord’s work around, in, and through us, to His Holy Spirit checking our behavior.

3:9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language [lips], that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.”
Genesis 11:1 “And the whole earth was of one language [lips], and of one speech.”

3:17 “He will rejoice over you with singing [shouts of joy].” I will never get tired of that verse. I experienced Him singing to me once in my life.

Zechariah
1:18Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.” Horns symbolize power, given authority. Verse 19 states they are the enemies who uprooted Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. Verse 20 are the selected powers to bring down the ones who brought down the Lord’s people, including the ones He had raised up against His people. This demonstrates He has no loyalty to sinners; they are tools in His hands.

Exodus 33:19 and Romans 9:15 “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Romans 9:16 “So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

7:5 When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?” The NKJV got the for Me—for Me part right, doubled listed for emphasis and sarcasm. Today, it would be for Me? Really. Huh. LOL!

9:9 “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Matthew 21 1Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

Mark 11 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”

Luke 19 34And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

37Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38saying:

“‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Jesus set that up, and yet, on the flip side, the Pharisees set up the crowd cheering for Him to be crucified.

10:4From him comes the cornerstone,
From him the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every ruler [dictator] together.”

Who is the Cornerstone?
Who will connect heaven with earth?
Who will conquer the earth?
Who will rule with Him?

11:7 “So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.”
The two staffs remind me of the ones the Lord had Jacob make to increase Jacob’s flocks. In this case, the staffs get destroyed.

11:12 “So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.”
Matthew 26:15 [Judas Iscariot] said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 27:9 “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah [Zechariah] the prophet, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced…’”
Exodus 21:32 “If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.”

12:10 “…whom you have pierced…”
Psalm 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded Me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet…”
John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 9 – The Minor Prophets, Section 1

Hosea
2:16 “And it shall be, in that day,” says the Lord, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master [Baal]…’” There are two words in the Hebrew that mean lord or masterbaal and adoni. In this case, baal refers to a god, and YHWH wanted His people not to confuse Him and His actions with a false god and deceptive practices.

Hosea 3 is another short scroll.

– Teraphim are household (family) idols. For whatever reason, in a few Bibles, it is not translated in verse 3:4. Sometimes, I think these translators got bored, which would explain some of these word switches.

4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…” People quote the first line and ignore the second one; it is speaking of deliberate ignorance.

Chapter 6 1Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bandage us.
2After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the
Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter
and former rain to the earth.

These are my favorite passages from this book, a reminder that suffering is for a moment, but He will fix everything.

Job 5:18 For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.
1 Samuel 2:6 The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.
Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 71:20 “Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.”

Isaiah 26:19 Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust. For your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
2 Corinthians 4:10 …always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.
Romans 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:10 …Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
2 Timothy 2:11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
2 Corinthians 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 13:4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
Colossians 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church…
1 Peter 4:13 …but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

1 Corinthians 15:4 “…that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”
Revelation 1:18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

6:6 “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
1 Samuel 15:22 “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”
Matthew 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 12:7 “If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
Mark 12:33 “…and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Proverbs 21:3 “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

9:17My God will cast them away, because they did not obey Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.” Israel’s bloodline spread all over the globe. The Father used this to His benefit to spread the Good News of His Son’s Kingdom.

11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.”
Matthew 2:15 “…where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son.’”
Exodus 4:22 “Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the Lord says: “Israel is My firstborn son…”
Yahshua is firstborn of all creation:
Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 1:6; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 1:5.

11:4 “I stooped and fed them.” The word meaning to bless [baruch] was also connected to the Hebrew word for knees [berek: Strong’s 1290]. Simply put, a higher being would bend down to offer a gift to a lesser who needed it. The Father humbled Himself repeatedly to help our Way back to Him; He wants us to do the same for Him and others. Amen.

11:1011 “He will roar like a lion. When He roars, then His sons shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt, like a dove from the land of Assyria.”
3:5 “They will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.”
Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.”
Isaiah 66:5 “You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the Lord…”
Psalm 2:11Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
Psalm 119:120 “My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.
Philippians 2:12 “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

12:10 “I have given symbols [parables] through the witness [by the hand] of the prophets.”
Matthew 13:13 and 16 “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. … But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.”

Joel
2:13 “So rend your heart, and not your garments.”
Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.”
Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Leviticus 10:6 “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people.”
Leviticus 21:10He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes.”
Clothes symbolize character or behavior. In this case, He wants humility and submission, not the outwards appearance of such, as Yahshua said, “…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…” and “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.”

Amos
– “For three transgressions of the people of …. and for four…” The 3 (symbolism of the Lord’s work, paradigm shift) meaning “the Lord is taking note,” and 4 (symbolism for boundaries, directions), “the Lord has had it up to here with you.”

1:13 “I will not turn away [Ammon’s] punishment, because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead.” The Lord does care about pregnant women, even the unbelieving ones. Also see Exodus 21:22-25.

2:1 I will not turn away [Moab’s] punishment, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.” Everyone is subject to God’s Will, and He will go after anyone defiling His creation when He deems the stench is too rank for His grace and mercy to endure.

2:7 “A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name.” In case anyone has had any doubt as to Israel being freak-nasty, well here you go, proof text. You’re welcome.

3:2 “You only have I known [gotten close to] of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” See Romans 2:9, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Peter 4:17, Exodus 19:6, 1 Corinthians 8:3, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10.

3:3 “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Leviticus 19:2 “Be holy, for I am holy.”

In other words, we walk the path Yah paved for us, so He can join us, not our own path, leaving Him on the outskirts, waiting for the right moment to poke us back onto His path. Amen.

3:7 “Surely the Lord Yah does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” He still does this today to those who seek after and obey Him constantly.

4:6 “Also I gave you cleanness of teeth [hunger] in all your cities.” I love the creative way they phrased things.

4:10 “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt. Your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses. I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils. Yet you have not returned to Me.” The Lord weakened their army in multiple ways. How many ways has the Lord weakened your defenses in order to get your attention?

4:13 “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” So, that is where the saying, “Prepare to meet your Maker,” comes from.

5:8 “He made the Pleiades [kimah – a cluster of stars] and Orion [kesil – a heavenly constellation]…” These Greek constellation names came years later, another topic to research. Also see them in Job 9:9, Job 38:31, Job 38:32, Isaiah 13:10.

7:1415 “Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’” Anyone can become a prophet; Amos prophesied for only a short time.

8:10 “I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation…”
Matthew 11:1617 and Luke 7:32 “They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance. We mourned to you, and you did not weep.’” I don’t know why Yahshuah’s quotes came to mind. Either the Lord will reveal, or I will figure it out later.

9:1 “Strike the doorposts [pillars], that the thresholds may shake, and break them on the heads of them all.” Their homes will not be a safe place anymore, in contrast to the lamb’s blood anointing of the Israelites’ doorways to spare them from the Angel of Death. Can we lose the protection of Christ’s anointing?

9:2 “Though they dig into Sheol [hell], from there My hand shall take them; though they climb up to heaven, From there I will bring them down…”
Psalm 139:8 “If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”
Obadiah 1:4 “Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.
Job 26:6 “Sheol is naked before Him, and Destruction has no covering.”
Job 34:22 “There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.”

Isaiah 2:10 “Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.”
Isaiah 2:19 “Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.”
Revelation 6:16 “…and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!’”
Luke 23:30 and Hosea 10:8 “At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’”

9:3 “Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.”
Revelation 20:13 “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.”

9:7Are you not like the people [sons] of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor [Crete], and the Syrians from Kir?” Here, the Creator of all tells of how He helped foreigners in their nations.

9:10 “The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.” Are we supposed to have this mindset? No, we are always to assume judgment (correction) is coming on any level of society at any time; that is the fear of the Lord.

9:12 “That [Israel] may possess the remnant of Edom [their brothers] and all the Gentiles [mankind] who are called by My name.” The restoration of the Temple will invite all mankind to serve the Lord there. See Acts 15:17, Psalm 60:8, Numbers 24:18.

Jonah
– He was not the only prophet who sent warnings to Gentiles.

1:5 “But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.” This reminds me of Jesus asleep in the boat while a tempest raged (Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:37-40).

– The seamen on the ship understood how the spirit realm worked, although they served the wrong gods. The Lord used their knowledge (superstitions) to convict Jonah.

– I love how they prayed and humbled themselves before God, before throwing Jonah overboard.

2:7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.” There is a debate whether Jonah had died within the fish or not. I don’t care either way, although him dying would be symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection.

2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” He is thankful in advance and promised a sacrifice, yet not humbled.

– Nineveh, from the least of the animals to the king and its nobles, humbled themselves with sackcloth and fasting.

– A less than perfect prophet is encouraging to me, reminding me to humble myself, be quick to correct my errors, and continue to ask for correction.

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Thought Splatters – Splosh!

“Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.” – Thomas Campbell (1763-1854). The Jews say, “Where the Bible is silent, we will have a discussion. Although we disagree, we will not hold animosity against anyone.” I say, “Where the Bible is silent, that is the Holy Spirit’s domain.”

The vast majority of Christendom has no idea how much the Hebrew Christians (their name before the Charismatic Revival of the late 20th century) have endured to serve our Master in His precious name. Bless and pray for them every change you get.

I think Paul did not write Hebrews, but his influence on the writer is there.

Encourage those chosen to be like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2). May we all have times in our lives to be obsessed with the Purpose of Father Yah as these two.

Adam blamed his bride; Christ saved His.

We cannot become comfortable playing the hypocrite. Nonbelievers are watching, judging, waiting to see us falter. Stay under the Spirit’s guidance. If you sin, course correct quick and thank the Lord for His grace—His shed blood that keeps us covered (atoned). Let our lives be a testimony unto Him for others.

If you are running around trying to find a new move of God, stop. You already have Him. Praise and pray until you see what He has for you. Read Scripture daily. Become obsessed.

How can you tell that you are not being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine? If you have studied enough, you will receive confirmation of what you already know.

Obedience doesn’t = happiness. –The Basement with Tim Ross

Remember, Jesus did not heal everyone. He only healed one at the pool of Bethesda. He missed the crippled man at the gate Beautiful.

These churches need to start telling people the truth: if you want spiritual meat, you will have to seek it on your own with the Father’s help.

Stop complaining to people and take it to the Father. He has the power, not mankind. Set it before Him and relax. In His time, it will be solved. Trust that.

Righteous is a result of seeking after His holiness—how we treat the Father and the people we interact with in life, protecting His Will and Purpose within our hearts—not being right in knowledge alone. Knowledge is worthless without action.

I hate the word manifold being used in English translations; most don’t know what it means. Many, plentiful and multifaceted work great.

We have a bad habit of disconnecting the spiritual power of Yah in the OT from His spiritual power displayed by Yahshua, the Apostles, and others in the NT. Both are activated by submission to the Father and continue today.

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 8 – Daniel

– Belteshazzar means “Mistress (goddess), protect the king.” Was that name supposed to demean Daniel in his eunuch state?

2:22 [Daniel declared,] “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
2:47 [Nebuchadnezzar] said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
Proverbs 25:2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Job 12:22 “He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.”
Isaiah 48:6 “I have made you hear new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them.”
Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Matthew 10:26 “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” Also see Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17, Luke 12:2.

John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
1 Corinthians 4:5 “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”

Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
Revelation 10:7But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”

This is one of my continuous prayers, that He will shine His light into the darkness of the world and reveal everything mankind has hidden, so no one can say on judgment day, “I did not know. I did not know.” I still contend much still needs to be revealed from the Scriptures.

3:26-27 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”
Psalm 66:12 “You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.”
Amos 4:11 “I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord.
Zechariah 3:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Romans 9:29 And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth [Hosts, Armies] had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah [Isaiah 1:9].”
Jude 1:23 “…but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”

4:13 “…there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.”
4:17 “This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones…”
4:23 “…the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven…”
8:13 “Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking…”
For those familiar with 1 Enoch (Dead Sea Scroll fragment translation), these passages are for you. To up the ante, check out the Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32:8 translations from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint.

4:34And at the end of the time [7 years], I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever…” Once again, praises to God after a humbling trial.

Daniel 5 10The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. 11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas [untying knots] were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

Genesis 41 9Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. 10When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, 11we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. 13And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

– Daniel gave Belshazzar bad news, yet Daniel received gifts and a promotion. LOL!

Daniel 6 – The Lions’ Den

Psalm 35 15But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.

17Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.

19Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”

22This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.

27Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.

Daniel 7-9 tells of his own dreams, visions, and interpretations he had received from Yah, instead of the foreign kings’.

7:13 “Son of man” in reference to a heavenly being is only mentioned once. Also see Matthew 8:20, Matthew 16:27, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 26:64, Mark 13:26, Mark 14:62, Luke 21:27, Luke 22:69.

7:14 “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

– Animals in Scripture can symbolize governments/armies.

8:23 “…when the transgressors have reached their fullness…”
Genesis 15:16 “But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
1 Kings 21:26 “And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.”
Leviticus 18:25 “For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has vomited out its inhabitants.”
Deuteronomy 18:12 “For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.”

Because of constant, evil practices, the Lord, Who created creation from His own essence, has the right to kick people out of an area after a grace period only He knows.

8:26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, For it refers to many days in the future.”
12:4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
12:9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”
Revelation 10:4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”
Revelation 22:10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.”
Isaiah 8:16 “Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.”

10:7 “And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.”
Acts 9:7 “And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.”
Acts 22:9 “And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.”
John 12:29 “Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’”

10:16 “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength.”
Ecclesiastes 1:18 “For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
Matthew 24:8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows [birth pangs].”

10:19 And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”
Joshua 1 6“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go. 8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 8:1 Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.”
Joshua 10:8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
Joshua 23:6 “Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.”
2 Samuel 10:12 and 1 Chronicles 19:13 “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”
1 Kings 2:2 “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.”
Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith.
Act like men. Be strong.”
Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”
Deuteronomy 11:8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess…”
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Ephesians 3:16 “I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being…”
Colossians 1:11 “…being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully.”
1 Timothy 1:12 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.”

12:7Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever…”
Once again, the raising of hands for prayer and worship is in the Bible.

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Three-Month Bible Reading Notes – Part 7 – Ezekiel, Section 4

Ezekiel 40-48 speaks of the sacrifice of animals. Some believe the New Temple during Christ’s millennial Earthly Kingdom will reintroduce sacrifices.

– I see the number 6 mentioned for measurements quite a bit here.

40:3 So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.
Daniel 10:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
Revelation 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.

40:47 “And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare.← Is this where that denomination/church system gets its name? 100*100=10000, 4 zeros, a reset?

41:1 Then the man brought me into the outer sanctuary and measured the side pillars to be six cubits wide on each side.
Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.”
Revelation 21:15 The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
Zechariah 2:1 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.

41:19 “…the face of a man was toward the palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion was toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved all the way around the temple.” This reminds me of 3 of Yahshua’s titles: Son of Man, Tree of Life, and Lion of Judah.

– Listening to this gave me the image of Jesus, busy measuring, showing Ezekiel the Millennial Temple during His Kingship.

– “I fell on my face,” is said many times in Ezekiel. Was he trained to do that? Did the images overwhelm him so much, he went prostrate?

42:14 “When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people.”
44:19 “When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people.”

Leviticus 16:23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.”
Leviticus 16:24 “And [the high priest] shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
Exodus 30:20 “When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.”
Leviticus 16:4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers [underwear] on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on.
36:25 “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.”

John 13:8-10 “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash
his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
Acts 22:16 “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.”
Hebrews 10:22 “…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

As part of our meditation upon the Word, do we cleanse our hearts and minds, or ask the Holy Spirit to help cleanse us?

43:3It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I [He] came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.”

43:10-12 “Son of man, describe the temple [house] to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple [house] and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. This is the law of the temple [house]: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.”

Moses recorded the law of the temple/tabernacle on Mt. Sinai. Solomon, with his father David creating the plans, built the first temple under Father Yah’s protection (1 Chronicles 28:11-20). Decades after the Diaspora, the temple was rebuilt slowly, sparking His ire (Haggai 1, Zechariah 4). The replacement did not follow Ezekiel’s design, nor was it of the same splendor of the first one.

I see a pattern here, leading towards the body of believers, Jew and Gentile, being the new temple, but we have to care about His Structure’s holiness and maintenance (us). This started with the Chief Cornerstone, the Rock of His Testimony, Christ Himself. Also, I see this symbolizing the life of the average believer, how we rise in Him, fall, and the Lord does His work to restore us, repeatedly. Ezekiel’s temple is the ideal situation, while the rebuilt one with items added later is the reality. Amen to His continuing revelation from within His Written Word.

44:1-3 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule [portico] of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
1 Chronicles 9:18 Until then they had been gatekeepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King’s Gate on the east.

Is the gate symbolic of where Father enters our mind/heart and Christ is the prince? Notice, Ezekiel’s temple has no veil. Here is a great article with pictures concerning this place: The Missing Veil (Ezekiel 40-42)

44:21 “No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.”
Leviticus 10:9 “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations…”

44:22They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.”
Leviticus 21:14 “A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife.”
A slight change there, since the ancient Eastern custom of avoiding widows as wives still remained. Did the levirate vow only apply to Levites not serving as priests?

45:19 “The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court.”
Looks like the sprinkling of blood in the Most Holy Place will be replaced by anointing blood on entryways (an altar is a connection between this realm and the heavenlies).

45:23 “On the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.

Leviticus 23:8 “But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’”
In
Numbers 23, Balaam had Balak, the king of Moab, make seven altars with a bull and a ram on each one, three times. Each time, the Lord made Balaam bless Israel, instead of the cursing Balak had wanted.

Job 42:8 tells of the seven bulls and seven rams Job’s friends had to submit for their sin offering, while Job acted as priest on their behalf to pray for them. I get the feeling the Lord is saying with this bloodshed, washing and cutting of animal bodies, and fire, “Are you serious about serving Me?”

46:9 “But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate.”
Interesting, but unsure why. The first thing that popped into my mind was
1 Samuel 23:25-28, when David and his men went around the mountain to escape Saul, but then the Lord caused the Philistines to attack Israel, thus rescuing David and his crew.
Psalm 84:7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
Job 17:9 The righteous also will hold on his way, and he that has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

Maybe this represents a progression, how we start off as sinners, but come into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9) to leave as one of His lights (Isaiah 60:1, Proverbs 4:18, Matthew 5:14, John 12:36, Philippians 2:15, Ephesians 5:8).

47:1-2 “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple [house]; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.”
Revelation 22:1 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”
Zechariah 14:8 “And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.”

John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living [moving] water.”
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly [heart] will flow rivers of living water.”
Isaiah 12:3 “With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation…”

Also see Exodus 17:6, Numbers 20:11, Psalm 36:8, Psalm 78:16, Psalm 105:41, Isaiah 41:17, Isaiah 41:18, Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 58:11, Proverbs 10:11, Proverbs 13:14, Proverbs 16:22, Proverbs 18:4, Proverbs 20:5, John 4:14, 1 Corinthians 10:4.
Water symbolizes blessing, cleansing, and Yah’s wisdom.

47:3-6 The bronze being measured out 4000 cubits along the river from the temple, which increased in depth at each measuring point. Some believe there was 4000 years between the first Adam and the 2nd Adam (Jesus). From what I have seen in Scripture thus far is 1000 representing a prophetic time frame; 4 is the number for boundaries: the rivers surrounding Eden, the cardinal points and four winds, for example.

47:7 When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.
47:12 “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
2 Chronicles 7:14 “…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Also see Genesis 2:9, Psalm 1:3, Psalm 92:12, Jeremiah 17:8.

47:10 It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea [the Mediterranean], exceedingly many.
Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind…”

John 21:6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
Luke 5 1So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

47:11 “But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.”
Deuteronomy 29:23 “The whole land is brimstone [sulphur], salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19:24 and 25], Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.”
Psalm 107:34 “…and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.”
Isaiah 34:9 “Its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone; its land shall become burning pitch.”
Isaiah 66:24 “And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

47:22-23 “It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God.

Deuteronomy 10:19 “Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Also see Exodus 22:21, Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:33, Leviticus 19:34, Deuteronomy 10:18, Deuteronomy 24:17, Deuteronomy 24:18, Deuteronomy 23:7, Deuteronomy 27:19, Jeremiah 7:6, Malachi 3:5.
Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
Also see Proof Salvation Is for Gentiles, Too, Acts 13:47, Acts 14:27, Acts 15:9, Acts 20:21, Romans 1:16, Romans 3:22, Romans 3:29, Romans 10:12, Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 3:6, Colossians 3:11, Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:28, Galatians 3:29, Galatians 5:6, Galatians 6:15, 1 Corinthians 7:19, 1 Corinthians 12:13.

48:11It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.”
40:46 “The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the Lord to minister to Him.”
43:19 “You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,” says the Lord God.
44:15 “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God.

Why Zadok’s decedents? Not sure, but…

1 Chronicles 24:3-4 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service. There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar.
1 Kings 2:35 “The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.”

48:14 “And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they may not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.”
44:30 “The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.”

Numbers 18:13 “Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.”
Leviticus 25:32 “Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.”
Leviticus 27:28 “Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord.”

A slight rule change that Israel should have figured out years ago, but they had failed to care for the Levites who remained true to the Word.

48:17 “And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250.”
48:18 “The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.”
A park in the middle of a city, how novel? Only the Lord know how His supernatural Will will operate to feed people from that small plot of land.

48:19 “The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.”
1 Kings 4:7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year.
No more enslaved people or forced labor (Joshua 9:27, 1 Kings 4:6, 1 Kings 5:13, 1 Kings 12:4, 2 Chronicles 8:8). Thank You, Father, King of All! Also see Luke 10:7, Matthew 10:10, 1 Corinthians 9:14, 1 Timothy 5:18 (and 1 Corinthians 9:9) [Leviticus 19:13, Deuteronomy 24:14, Deuteronomy 24:15, Deuteronomy 25:4].

48:21-22 – Yahshua’s future plot of land? Chillin’ with the Levites?

48:30-34 – the gates of the 12 tribes reminds me of the 12 gates of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:12 and Revelation 21:21.

48:35 “All the way around shall be 18000 cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE [YHWH Shammah].”

See Jeremiah 3:17, Jeremiah 33:16, Revelation 21:3, Revelation 22:3, Isaiah 7:14 (Isaiah 8:8, Matthew 1:23), Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 12:6, Isaiah 14:32, Isaiah 24:23, Isaiah 51:11, Psalm 46:5, Psalm 99:2, Psalm 125:1, Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15, Judges 6:24, Zechariah 14:21.

Biblical Names of God: 102 Scriptural Names for God and Jesus

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