The bookends of the year

Today is the 7th and last day of Unleavened Bread for us. There were all total 5 special days or feast meals in this week that began with Passover 8 days ago: 1) Passover and the Passover meal; 2) the first day of Unleavened Bread and a Sabbath; 3) the regular Sabbath; 4) the Feast of the Waving of the Barley Sheaf and Resurrection Day; and 5) the 7th day of Unleavened Bread and a Sabbath. We did a lot more this year than last and it has kept me busy all week, as the lack of posts attests! But we have had such a joyful and wonderful time, with lots of family and lots of food! Yesterday was my favorite day so far; it was Resurrection Sunday, and we got to spend the entire day with all our children and grandchildren.

Something I noticed this year that I didn't notice last year: the biblical festival year begins and ends with week- long festivals: Unleavened Bread at the start of the festival year and Tabernacles at the end of the festival year. Then there is an extra 8th day associated with each week- long festival: the Passover meal at the beginning of Unleavened Bread, and "The 8th Day" at the end of Tabernacles. Passover, which begins the festival year, is the reminder of our Lord's delivery of us from slavery! And The 8th Day, which ends the festival year, is the foreshadow of our eternity with the Lord! They are just two beautiful "bookends" of YHVH's plan of salvation and love for us and all of humanity!

The spring feast days

The new moon was sighted in Jerusalem today. Since they are 12 or so hours ahead of us, it is night there while it is day here, so even though the new moon has not been seen yet in the Western Hemisphere, we should by all rights see it tonight if they have already seen it in Israel. (Look above the western horizon at dusk; you should see a very thin sliver after the sun sets). This new moon marks the beginning of the first biblical month of the year - Abib, or Nissan. On the 14th of Abib, we celebrate Passover.

If this evening marks the start of the 1st day, then the evening of April 20th marks the start of the 14th day, so at our house we are eating our Passover supper on Monday, April 21st, at the end of the 14th day. The next day, then, Tuesday, April 22nd, is the first day of Unleavened Bread, and a High Holy Sabbath of rest. Nothing New Press will be closed. That makes Sunday, April 27th --  the Sunday which falls during the week of Unleavened Bread -- Resurrection Sunday! It is the Feast of the First Fruits of Barley, that holiday which gives thanks to God for New Life! Monday, April 28th, closes this holiday season: it is the 7th day of Unleavened Bread, and a High Holy Sabbath of rest. Nothing New Press will be closed.

I did some research into the different dates different people use for eating the Passover supper. Apparently, since the dispersal of the Sanhedrin (which set the biblical calendar in ancient days) there have been different methods for determining where we are in the calendar. The most common one used by the Jews was established by Hillel after the majority of the Jews were dispersed from Judea by the Romans. It is a complex mathematical system which allowed Jews all over the world to know with a fair degree of certainty when the 1st of Nissan was, even if they were very far from Jerusalem and had no way of receiving communication from there of the new moon sighting. According to this calendar, the Passover supper will be eaten on the evening of April 19th. And other groups use other calendars; apparently there are 16 different calendars in use!

This year the Hillel calender is two days off from the actual position of the moon. Nowadays, however, with the Internet, we have instant communication and instant access to nearly every point in the globe. I received an e-mail announcing the sighting of the new moon in Jerusalem earlier today in real time as it was still hanging in the twilight sky over Jerusalem. How amazing is that!

To be continued ...

Coming out of Babylon

Previously: Tying together loose ends

So for me, knowing what I know about the Babylonian origin of rebellion against God, the nature of Nimrod's rebellion at the Tower of Babel, the historical (traditional Protestant) understanding of Revelation, which sees the Roman system ultimately of Satan; and also learning my Hebrew roots and Torah: I cannot any longer participate in Roman holidays. That means Christmas and Easter, primarily, but also anything originating with the Roman church: Lent, for example. For me to do so would be to stay in Babylon when the Lord is calling me to leave Babylon.

In Daniel, it is prophesied of the antichrist that he will change the times and laws. That is "appointed times," if you look up the original Aramaic, which is the exact term used to describe the Lord's feast days in Leviticus 23:2. We know from Daniel that the antichrist comes out of the Roman kingdom - he is the "little horn." We know from Revelation that the name of the beast is ROMAN, and its number is 666. We have the evidence of history and the Roman church's own testimony that they replaced the "Jewish" holidays (which are the biblical holidays, YHVH's feast days) with others rooted in Babel.

I am the Lord's. but have spent my life celebrating Christmas and Easter, not Passover and the other biblical holidays. I thought Roman thoughts. Thus I have been marked on my hand and forehead with the mark of the beast, with his name: ROMAN. But as the Lord has been showing me all this, I have been endeavoring to learn all I can about the biblical feast days, how they are shadows cast by the substance of Yeshua Messiah, Jesus Christ, what that means, and my legitimate Hebrew heritage. I have been trying to learn to think like a Hebrew, not like a Roman. I want to be the Lord's, not in name only, but I want to be marked on my hand and forehead with His name, YHVH, by observing that which He commanded which marks me as His. I am making my way out of Babylon.

What that means for me: we have for many years celebrated Passover. Last year we celebrated all seven of the annual feasts, and we began celebrating Sabbath as Scripture commands (more on that coming up). I have also begun distancing myself from Roman practices. Last year at Christmas we were not at home, so I had an easy out for not decorating the house or putting up a tree. This year I am not going to decorate a tree. I am going to decorate the house with candles for Hanukkah, but no evergreens. We did not celebrate Easter last week. We will celebrate Crucifixion day on Passover (evening of April 20 this year), and Resurrection day on the Feast of Firstfruits (Sunday, April 27 this year).

What about Sundays? What about family? What about presents? To be continued ...

The Christmas connection, part three

Previously: The Christmas connection, part two
The first post in the Babylon connection series

Ephraim's punishment is now over. He was scattered among the Gentiles like seed, until he had his fill of living like a Gentile. For the past 2000 years God has been calling the Gentiles to Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord. You know, all who come to the Lord by the grace of Jesus Christ, even though they might begin as Gentiles, once they attach themselves to the God of Israel, God does not consider them Gentiles any longer. He considers them His chosen, Israel. So we have had a change of status, people. We began as Gentiles and pagans, and are now sons of the living God. So let us not refer to ourselves as Gentiles any longer.

Now that we belong to God, what do we do about the Babylon connection to Christmas? This is what I am seeing from the word of God:

"Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”" Isaiah 48.20

“Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.” Zechariah 2.7

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
     "I will dwell in them And walk among them.
     I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
Therefore
     "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord.
     Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”
     "I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters,
     Says the LORD Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

"And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her [Babylon], my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”" Revelation 18.4-5

Jesus told us it would be like the days of Lot before His return. Lot was a righteous man living in the midst of a city which practiced the sins the ancient world learned from Babylon. The time came for God to judge the city, but before He did, He called His righteous out of the city so that the righteous would not be condemned with the wicked. And now God is calling His righteous out of Babylon again. Will we listen, and leave? Will we, like Abraham, leave our fathers' household and our fathers' city behind, that of our Gentile heritage, and go to the place the Lord will show us, and so prove to be Abraham's children indeed?

With the Lord's help, we can. This year, before the next Christmas season rolls around, I hope to blog occasionally about leaving behind pagan traditions and the all- important sticky question of what to do about family and friends who do not share our views. Stay tuned!

The two houses

I want to finish the conclusion to The Christmas connection posts. But I thought I would first clear up some misunderstandings about the two houses of Israel that invariably come up.

The house of Judah became the Jews. The Jews are not ALL there is to Israel. The Jews are primarily from two tribes - Judah, and Benjamin. It is a common mistake to think that the patriarchs and the blessings and the covenants and the commandments and the feast days of the Lord apply ONLY to Jews. Sometimes they are even called "Jewish laws," or "Jewish feasts." I sometimes call them that myself out of habit; I have to watch for that. I have even read that some of the Jews get very upset if any non- converts to Judaism practice what they consider their laws. The truth is, all those things were given to the TWELVE tribes of Israel, and God's teaching in His ways and in righteousness applies to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Not every Jew is a physical descendant of Abraham, or of Judah or Benjamin. Many times "foreigners" (i.e. Gentiles) joined themselves to the Jews to serve the God of Israel. Ruth is only one example. Of course, the descendants of these converts were considered full Jews (in fact it is a crime in Judaism to consider converts as second- class because they are not native- born).

The house of Ephraim, the remaining ten tribes, became the Gentiles. Of course there were Gentiles before Ephraim was taken into captivity. But Ephraim was scattered among all the Gentile nations like seed, or like leaven, until they leavened the whole lump. That means that there are "Gentiles" walking around this planet who are really descendants of Ephraim, and to them too belong the patriarchs and the promises and the covenants and the commandments and the feast days of the Lord. To them too belongs the Torah. Even if they don't know it yet.

Not every Gentile is a physical descendant of Abraham through Ephraim. Physical descent from Abraham does not make someone of Judah or of Ephraim (of Israel or of Abraham), as Jesus and Paul attest. In fact. it seems that the Lord planned it so that physical descent in our day cannot be known. The Temple records (which included the genealogies) were destroyed in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed, and our day is far enough removed from then, and so many migrations, invasions, and the like have taken place in the intervening years, that it is impossible to know.

It is primarily Gentiles who have become Christians in the last 2000 years. Does this mean that every Christian is an Ephraimite, i.e., is physically descended from Abraham through Ephraim? It most likely means, some might be and some might not be. Enough time has passed that the only one who can know today for sure is the Lord.

So what I am saying, is that if it is not necessarily physical descent that makes someone of Judah or of Ephraim, then what does? The Jews worship YHVH in Judaism, and the Gentiles worship YHVH in Jesus Christ, and those who worship YHVH are of Israel, either of Judah or of Ephraim. If someone is not physically descended from Abraham through Judah or Ephraim, that does not exclude them from Israel, because God in many places says that there is to be one law for the native- born and the sojourner (i.e. "Gentile") alike. Besides, those who came to the God of Israel through Jesus Christ have been grafted in to Israel, no matter their origin. God is making one olive tree.

I am NOT saying that Ephraim, i.e. the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, are Britain and America. The Bible says that Ephraim was scattered among ALL the nations.

I heard that John Hagee said that the Jews have their own covenant with God and don't need Jesus Christ to be saved. Whatever. I half doubt that he really said this, anyway. When Jesus said, No man comes to the Father but by Me, I believe He meant it.

So I believe God's plan is this: wake up the Ephraimites, who became scattered among the Gentiles, who became the Christians, to their Hebrew roots, their Israelite status. Teach them His ways as is outlined in the Torah. Do not take grace away from them, but add to them OBEDIENCE to the word and ways of the Lord, and stop this nonsense of Christians doing whatever they feel like and ignoring what the word of God says because they are saved by grace. Those who love Jesus will keep His commandments.

At the same time, wake up the Jews to their Hebrew Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus our Lord. Do not take obedience away from them, but add to them GRACE, and stop this nonsense of Jews working their way into God's favor by being righteous. The fact is, no man can ever, by works of the Law, become righteous in God's sight. Those who love the Father will love the Son also.

Then, at the second coming of Jesus Christ, both houses will be made into one people in the hand of Jesus the Messiah. There will be one faith, one people, and one ekklesia, just as there is one God and one Name by which men can be saved. Well, it is happening, the two houses are waking up. Can the return of Jesus be far behind?

The Christmas connection, part two

Previously: The Christmas connection
The first post in The Babylon connection series

Constantine nor the Council, I believe, did anything in order to purposely and specifically exalt paganism, as some have suggested. As we can see with Constantine's placement of the Basilica of St. Anastasia, he was taking a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ against paganism.

What we have to be aware of, is that God Himself has ordained times and seasons according to His sovereignty and His plan and purpose. The partial blindness of the Jews was to be temporary, UNTIL a certain purpose of the Lord had been accomplished, that of bringing every tribe and tongue to faith in Jesus Christ. Then, God would open their eyes and they would see that Yeshua is their Messiah, and be saved.

In the same way, God had partially blinded the eyes of the Christians, also. In Isaiah 8, the Lord says,

"The LORD of hosts, Him shall you hallow; and let Him be your dread.
He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel."

The Lord of hosts will be a stone of stumbling to both the houses of Israel. We learned in our study of the two witnesses of Revelation 11, that one witness is the Jews, who correspond to the house of Judah. We learned that the other witness is the Christians, who correspond to the Gentiles and the house of Ephraim. It was part of Ephraim's punishment and destiny to become a fullness of Gentiles. The house of Judah stumbled over the Cornerstone, Messiah Yeshua. They were blinded in part to the fact that Yeshua was their Messiah. But the house of Ephraim, the Gentiles or Christians, stumbled too. They were blinded in part too. They were blinded to the fact that they were Israelites, that they had Hebrew roots, that the patriarchs and covenants and commandments and feast days of the Lord applied to them too. (The book of Hosea in particular deals with Ephraim's unfaithfulness, punishment, forgetfulness that they ever were the people of God, and restoration as the people of God again. Peter quotes from Hosea, applying Ephraim's restoration to believers in Jesus Christ!)

But just as Judah, the blindness of Ephraim was to be temporary, until a certain purpose of the Lord had been accomplished. The Lord declared that the years of Ephraim's iniquity were 390 years. The Lord had also promised that after punishment comes upon Israel for their sins, if they do not return to Him and obey Him, then He will extend their punishment sevenfold. Well, Judah repented when they were taken captive to Babylon, and the Lord returned a remnant of them to their land. But Ephraim never returned from their captivity in Assyria, because they did not repent. 390 years x 7 = 2730 years. Ephraim was taken captive beginning in 731 BC and ending in 721 BC, and if you add 2730 years to that, you get 1998 to 2008 (subtracting a year since there was no 0 BC). Ephraim's punishment is now over! So the Lord is removing Ephraim's (i.e. Gentiles, i.e. Christians) blindness to his Hebraic roots, and he is again seeing that he is an Israelite and that the patriarchs, the feast days, the commandments and the Torah is for him. Christians everywhere are realizing that they did not replace Israel; that they are not spiritual Israel and the Jews are physical Israel. They are realizing that they too are Israel along with the Jews; they are also the olive tree, and they, even though a wild olive, have been grafted in to the cultivated olive tree, whose root is Jesus Christ, Messiah Yeshua.

So if Constantine and the church fathers at Nicaea did not see that the Jewish feast days were for them in 325 AD, and they made new holidays not found in Scripture, to distance themselves from the Jews, well, it is not really their fault, since Ephraim's punishment was not yet over. God ordains times and seasons according to His sovereignty and His purpose and plan. What they did, they did out of fervent love for the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we know today, in 2008, that December 25 never had anything to do with the birth day of Jesus Christ, but that it had since antiquity been the day to honor the sun as a god, with roots stretching back to Nimrod and the Tower of Babel (Babylon) rebellion against God's sovereignty, and that paganism as a religion is again growing and gaining converts, then what?

To be continued ...

P.S. To learn more about the two houses of Israel and what is in store for Israel - both houses - now that Ephraim's punishment is over, please read Redeemed Israel by Batya Ruth Wooten and Restoring Israel's Kingdom by Angus Wooten.

***
Update: continued in The Christmas Connection, part three

The city of man

Previously: Citizenship matters

Now we come to the city of man. We have already seen how Jesus identified the worldly Jerusalem with the city of man: the worldly Jerusalem stones the prophets and kills those who are sent to her. The worldly Jerusalem refuses to be gathered under the Lord's wings. The evidence for a distinction between the citizens of the city of God, and the citizens of the city of man, even among the Chosen People, are all through the New Testament:

"But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Matthew 3:7-10

"Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 8:10-12

"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God." Romans 2:28-29

"I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Revelation 2:9

And it is not only Jews who are in danger of believing they are of the city of God, only to find out they are of the city of man; according to Jesus it is Christians as well:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  (22)  "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'  (23)  "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" Matthew 7:21-23

In Revelation 11 we find more characteristics of the city of man:

"When they [the two witnesses] have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." Revelation 11:7-14

The great city which is mystically - or spiritually - called Sodom and Egypt is the city of man. Sodom was destroyed four millennia ago and has not been rebuilt. But its spiritual characteristics were great wickedness and immorality, so much so that there was only one righteous person in the whole city - Lot. Jesus told us that it would be like the days of Lot before His return. And today we even see those who practice sodomy as ministers, not just unreproved members, but unrepentant ministers, in the counterfeit church!

Egypt was never a city, but it was the country which enslaved Israel, and it is likened to the kingdom of darkness from which believers in Yeshua are also redeemed. The city of man venerates the age- old serpent as its mentor and guide. The city of man honors man's ways, not God's. The city of man comes up with its own definitions of sin and righteousness, which fly in the face of God's which have existed from the foundation of the world. The city of man does not practice the revealed will of the Father. The city of man stones those who speak the word of the Lord. The city of man kills those whom the Lord sends, to warn it of its ways, that they are in conflict with the King of the Universe. The citizens of the city of man -- the citizens of this earth, the world which is opposed to God -- are tormented when the truth about God and man is spoken to them, and they celebrate over the misfortune or death of the citizens of the city of God.

The beast that arises from the abyss, from whence comes Islam, will rule the city of man as king. He, or it, will kill the citizens of the city of God, whether Christian or Jew. Those citizens of the city of man will also be of every tribe and tongue and nation, just as those citizens of the city of God are. And the citizens of the city of man will rejoice and make merry when the citizens of the city of God are slain.

As we sit on the threshold of the seventh millennium, the millennium of the sovereignty of Yeshua Messiah the King of kings, let us each ask ourselves: where is my citizenship? Let us be as Abraham: doers of the word of the Lord, and so become his children indeed.

Citizenship matters

In the ancient world, people did not have citizenship in countries, as they do now. They were citizens of cities. Paul, for example, was a Roman citizen, even though he was never there till the end of his life. He was born a citizen of the city of Rome, because his parents were citizens of the city of Rome, even though they lived in Antioch. Because Rome was the premier city of the empire, Paul's citizenship gave him special status (with the Gentiles) no matter what city of the empire he was in at the time.

Abraham was a citizen of Ur of the Sumerians. We might today think it not such a big deal that Abraham left his city and became a sojourner in a land he knew not. We move from city to city or travel from city to city without giving it a second thought. But in those days, in what city you dwelt determined in a large part who you were, as much as who your family was. To leave your city was to leave comfort, order, and civilization. Because Abraham left the city of his fathers, and obeyed God, believing Him through faith, he has become the father of all those who by faith come to God.

We learn from the book of Hebrews just what Abraham's change of citizenship meant:

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham dwelt in tents here on this earth, having left the city of men, because he was looking for, not just "a" city, but "the" city, whose builder was God. Abraham changed his citizenship from the city of Ur, a city built by men, to the city of God.

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16

God has prepared a heavenly city for those who have renounced earthly citizenship, who live as strangers and exiles on the earth as did their forefather Abraham.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24

The city of God is Mount Zion. The writer of Hebrews is careful to identify Mount Zion with the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly Jerusalem. Why? Because the earthly Jerusalem, Jesus laments, kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. The earthly Jerusalem is unwilling to be gathered under the Lord's wings.

For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Hebrews 13:14

Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews tells us that the city in which we have citizenship, we who are sojourners on the earth, does not exist here, in this age. We are citizens of a city which is still to come on this earth. The Pilgrims who settled America had a dream to build an earthly city in which earthly citizenship and heavenly citizenship harmonized, but it did not last. Here, in this age, we do not have a lasting city.

Augustine of Hippo took inspiration from Hebrews when he wrote his book, The City of God. In it, he showed that there were really only two cities and two kinds of citizens: the city of God and those who dwell therein, who have heavenly citizenship, not of this earth; and the city of man which is always in opposition to God. Revelation shows us a picture of the city of God, which the writer of Hebrews calls Mount Zion: it is the new Jerusalem, who is the bride of the Lamb.

Now the Scriptures also describe the city of man ...

To be continued ...

The Sabbath, part nine

Previously: The Sabbath, part eight

We have already learned that the Sabbath day is a day of rest, of remembering and acknowledging YHVH God as Creator of heaven and earth (since He rested from His act of creation on the seventh day), and incidentally, that as our Creator, we owe Him worship and service. The flip side of rest on the seventh day, is to do no work on the seventh day.

"But the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:10-11

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times are these: 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.: Leviticus 23:2-3

"You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Jeremiah 17:22

But what, according to God's dictionary -- the Old Testament -- defines "work"?

The word is melakah in Hebrew, and means "deputyship" first. This is interesting. If there is a deputy, then there is a sheriff, or one higher in rank and authority, who has delegated his authority to his deputy. I believe the word for "work" meaning "deputyship" is referring to God's command to Adam (and by implication, all men after him) in the Garden: to subdue the earth and have dominion over all the living things on the earth. For dominion belongs properly to God as Creator, but in the Garden He made man His deputy, and delegated dominion to him.

Besides deputyship, melakah also means employment or any abstract or concrete work; occupation, business, property as a result of labor; workmanship or craftsmanship, or public, political, or religious business or service.

I take that to mean, first, that of course we should not work at whatever our daily labor is: the job or career for the men, or the housework, laundry, cooking, and homeschooling for the women. Also, gardening or any other caring for and improvement of property comes under the definition of work. So do hobbies such as sewing, quilting, or furniture making, since that all involves craftsmanship. And even government and church business is included in the definition of work.

But Jesus taught us that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, and of course, to care for dependents. My first rule of thumb for myself is that since the Sabbath is a set apart day, doing that which I could easily do and ought to do on any other day I will not do on the Sabbath. And the Lord gives clues throughout Scripture as to what keeping and not keeping the Sabbath entails.

To be continued ...

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Update: continued in Resting on the Sabbath

The Lord dwells with the humble of heart

Previously: The attitude of gratitude
The first Ten Commandments post

I was wanting to write the next post in the Ten Commandments series today; when I realized I already did without knowing it -- it is the Life in the pressure cooker post. We were talking about all the things which the Lord admonishes us not to forget, in order to guard our hearts and keep it knit into the Lord's heart to worship and serve Him only. And that the things He tells us not to forget, are designed to thwart the enemy's common traps which he employs to try to deceive even the elect, if possible.

The first common trap is forgetting to be grateful to the Lord for all He has done; then we often start complaining about whatever we perceive is wrong in our lives. The Israelites did the same thing, over and over again in the wilderness. They would get to someplace without water, and immediately start in about why did the Lord bring them out to the desert to kill them with thirst, and wouldn't it have been better if they stayed in Egypt (the land of slavery!), etc.

Of course the Lord knew there was no water there. But I bet He was hoping that instead of immediately starting to gripe about being thirsty, the Israelites would first say, "Lord, thank You for delivering us from the land of slavery, thank You for leading us by Your own presence through this wilderness, and thank You for giving us the hand- picked leader You have gifted us with in Moses. We are thirsty. You are a good God and a wonderful provider, please provide water for us to drink. We will patiently look to You in the meantime, for we know You will bless us abundantly as You have done so many times in the past." Now wouldn't that prayer have delighted His heart? I think it would have. (But He gave them water anyway, even though they did not ask for it nicely. He is a good and gracious God, after all.)

The spirit of complaint is really the spirit of coveteousness  - it is not being satisfied with what God has already provided for us. So, forgetting to be thankful is trap number one; and the heart attitude that defeats it is GRATITUDE.

The second is described in the Life in the pressure cooker post. It is allowing trial, suffering, and hard times to cause us to turn away from God, instead of allowing the trial to become a training ground to learn to submit to the Lord's will and become obedient to Him. Allowing an attitude of defeat, discouragement, and bitterness to take hold is probably one of the most successful traps the enemy uses against those who are called to be His. So forgetting that the Lord uses wilderness experiences to teach us obedience to Him is trap number two; and the heart attitude that defeats it is HUMILITY - not my will, but Thine be done, O Lord.

To be continued ...

Marked on the hand and forehead, part four

Previously: Marked on the hand and forehead, part three
First post in the Babylon connection series

The first instance of marking in Revelation is during the first interval period, when 144,000 from Israel get sealed on their foreheads. The Greek word used in Revelation for "sealed" happens to be the same word which Paul uses when he says we are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge, as the distinguishing mark of our participation in the New Covenant. It means, "to stamp with a signet or private mark." Think of a king pressing his signet ring into a blob of wax on a letter to mark it as authentic and not a forgery. So we can say that 144,000 of Israel get marked on their foreheads (and this leads to a multitude beyond counting worshiping God before His throne).

So what does that mean? The prophets shed some light on it:

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Jeremiah 31.31-33

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." Ezekiel 36.25-27

What is new about the New Covenant is that, according to Jeremiah (and Hebrews), it is not that the word of the Lord or the commandments of the Lord have been done away with, but the new part is that now His law, statues, and ordinances will be written by God's own finger on hearts instead of on tablets of stone.

For if He meant for His Law to be abolished with the advent of Jesus, then why say that when we receive the Spirit within us,, which was not possible until after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, that we will walk in His statutes and be careful to observe His ordinances? What is new about the New Covenant is that now we can obey the Lord motivated by love of Him from our hearts within, instead of just by obligation or fear of punishment from without. And also, of course, the Spirit empowers us to obedience, for His fruit does not transgress His law.

So, I believe that those 144,000 who were sealed, or stamped as with a signet or private mark, were marked, as the Old Testament tells us, by the action of their hand -- obedience to the word and commandments of the Lord -- and the thoughts of their mind -- belief in Jesus Christ, and keeping His word in their hearts and minds so as not to transgress it -- through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within them, which empowered them to walk after the example that Jesus set for us.

That brings us to the final instance of marking in the Scriptures ...

To be continued ...

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Update: The Babylon connection series continued in The Christmas connection

Marked on the hand and forehead, part three

Previously: Marked on the hand and forehead, part two
The first post in the Babylon connection series

But what does the Lord mean when He says do certain things, and they shall serve as a distinguishing mark on your hand and on your forehead, as He says in Exodus 13.6-9 and 13.11-16; or bind My words on your hand and on your forehead as a distinguishing mark, as He says in Deuteronomy 6:6-8 and 11:18?

In Exodus the Lord says to do something, and that doing shall be as if you had a distinguishing mark on your hand and forehead. He furthermore says that the doing of it shall serve as a reminder of something else on your forehead. Well, doing involves the action of the body, or more specifically, the hand: it is with the hand that we act, make, give, prepare feasts or sacrifices or any other thing. Remembering something involves the action of the mind, or figuratively, the forehead. I believe the Lord is telling us, in Exodus, that what we do and what we think about will serve to mark us -- and if we do the things He has commanded and remember why we are doing them - that the Lord is our Deliverer and Redeemer - we will be marked as the Lord's.

In Deuteronomy, the Lord says to keep His words and His commandments in our hearts. To teach them and talk of them, at all times, and in all places. In Hebrew thought, we have to remember, that keeping the Lord's word in our hearts involves obeying it, too. And if we keep His word in our hearts (and by implication, obey it from our hearts in our lives), then that word will be bound on our hands and foreheads; i.e. by the action of our hand and the thoughts our mind we will be marked as the Lord's.

So what we have seen is that those who belong to the Lord are also marked on their hand and their forehead. It is their actions, what they do, their way of life, their obedience to the word of the Lord, that marks them on their hand, the agent of action; and it is their remembering what the Lord has done for them, why they observe feasts and give offerings, speaking of and teaching the Lord's word at all times and in all places -- their worldview and thoughts -- that marks them on their forehead, the agent of the thoughts of the mind.

Going through the whole Bible, there isn't another mention of marking, hands, and foreheads, until we get to Revelation.

To be continued ...

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Update: continued in Marked on the hand and forehead, part four

Marked on the hand and forehead, part two

Previously: Marked on the hand and forehead
The first post in the Babylon connection series

We were discussing being marked on the hand and the forehead, and what that means. I was surprised to learn that when people are marked with the mark of the beast on their hand or forehead, in Revelation 13, that this was not the first time that people in Scripture were marked on the hand and on the forehead.

For example, we read:

"For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. You shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' And it shall serve as a sign (oth - distinguishing mark) to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt." Exodus 13.6-9

"Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb ... And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' then you shall say to him, 'With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.' So it shall serve as a sign (oth - distinguishing mark) on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt." Exodus 13.11-16

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign (oth - distinguishing mark) on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." Deuteronomy 6.6-8

The forehead is considered as being between the eyes. What is a frontlet? It is a thin band like a fillet which encircles the head, with a distinguishing ornament on it. The frontlet is worn so that the ornament rests on the forehead. By the way, the exact same Hebrew word in Deuteronomy 6 translated as "frontlet," is used in Exodus 13 and translated as "phylactery." Why they translate it differently, I don't know.

"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign (oth - distinguishing mark) on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead." Deuteronomy 11.18

A frontal is the same thing as a frontlet and a phylactery; it is the same word again in Hebrew. But what does the Lord mean when He says do certain things, and they shall serve as a distinguishing mark on your hand and on your forehead, as He says in Exodus; or bind My words on your hand and on your forehead as a distinguishing mark, as He says in Deuteronomy?

To be continued ...

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Update: continued in part three

Life in the pressure cooker

I have been thinking about something for some time, and would like to bounce it off of all of you. It seems like every Christian I know is going through some sort of major trial or trials ... One Christian woman's husband got discouraged and left following the Lord, and since he is so convicted every day and feels horrible and depressed, he takes it out on his family, so she is miserable and has been and wants to leave him ... some are battling cancer or other life- threatening diseases ... some are facing financial ruin ... some have children who have left following the Lord, and are a source of constant heartache for the parents ... and on and on. The trials are all different, but everyone is in a pressure cooker.

So I was thinking about pressure cookers, and about how when the pressure is on, what is really in our hearts tends to come out. Including the ugly dross. The heat of the fiery trials can purify away the dross, so that what is left in our hearts is refined silver. Then the smith has material for a vessel, Proverbs tells us. When the dross is purified away, God can finally use us as He sees fit.

I have been thinking about in my own life, and in the lives of the people I know who are in the pressure cooker, the various ways we Christians tend to respond to the pressure, the trials, the tribulations. We can get confused or discouraged as to why God is even allowing us to go through trials. To us, the Lord says, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing" (1 Peter 4:12-13). And about this testing, the Lord further says, "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not" (Deuteronomy 8:2).

So perhaps that explains why we have the wilderness experience in the pressure cooker. A common response to the pressure cooker is to run from whatever the perceived pressure is. Escape! This is when people get divorced or quit jobs or churches. The problem is, that doesn't get us out of the wilderness; we just have to keep going through more of the same until we finally face the dross coming out of our hearts and resolve to be purified of it by walking in the Lord's commandments.

Others respond to the pressure cooker by giving up, in various ways. Stop going to church or actively serving the Lord, perhaps get involved in some sin in the hopes that we can numb the pain. Maybe even change our theology in order to accomodate whatever compromises we end up making. Giving up does not, however, deliver us from the pressure cooker either.

But there is a better way. While many of Israel fell in the wilderness because they chose one of the above options, many did keep to the Lord their God and entered into the Promised Land. So there is another way. If we notice the dross coming out, and we are appalled by how ugly it is, we can repent of whatever the dross is and take hold of the fruit of self- control or of patience or of gentleness or whatever we need, and walk in newness of life.

We can keep our eyes focused on the log in our own eye, and not on whatever our brother is or is not doing, and pass the test! If we keep in mind that we are being tested, then when the next pop quiz comes up (LOL) hopefully we can learn to look to the throne of grace for help in time of need and pass the test. And as we learn what the commandments of God are, we can be even more determined to adhere to obedience to the Lord with our whole heart. Blessings eventually will follow obedience!

Marked on the hand and forehead

Previously: Dwelling in Babylon
The first post in The Babylon connection series

In order to understand what it means to dwell in Babylon, and to come out of her, we first have to understand what it means to be marked on the hand and the forehead. Stick with me, it will all become clear, I promise. A few chapters back in Revelation, those who worship the beast get marked on their right hand and their forehead. Along with the rest of Christianity, I used to think this was an actual, physical mark, like a tattoo or a microchip in an actual, physical hand. But it is not. Let me explain. This is not the first time in Scripture that persons are marked on their right hands and foreheads. Let's look at the history of "marks" in Scripture, shall we?

Mark: oth in Hebrew, literally, a signal, a flag, a token, a pledge, evidence, a miracle, a sign, a warning, or a distinguishing mark (as a uniform distinguishes the one who wears it as belonging to a certain class, position, job, or company). We are looking at the Hebrew because, as we have seen with the Revelation series, the Old Testament is the dictionary of the Bible. It reveals what the New Testament writers and Jesus (all Hebrews, by the way) meant when they used terms such as "covenant," "circumcision," "sacrifice," "righteousness," "sin," and so on.

The first occurrence of oth is in creation week:

"Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs (oth) and for seasons and for days and years;" Gen 1:14

And as we all know, the sun and moon and stars mark the passing of time, the seasons, days, and years for us. The next occurrence of oth is not much later:

"So the Lord said to him, "Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord appointed a sign (oth) for Cain, lest anyone finding him should slay him." Gen 4:15

We don't know what Cain's mark was, just that he was marked in some distinguishing manner, and that others would know what it meant. Then after Noah's Flood:

"And God said, "This is the sign (oth) of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign (oth) of a covenant between Me and the earth." Gen 9:12-13

And this introduces the fact that from here on out, God's covenants with man were marked by a pledge, which would remind both parties of their covenant status. The mark of the Noahic covenant was the rainbow; the mark of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision. Those who were circumcised acknowledged before God and man that they were partakers of Abraham's covenant. The mark of the Mosaic covenant was the Sabbath. Those who observed Sabbath acknowledged before God and man that they were partakers in the covenant which God instituted on Sinai (which was a marriage covenant, according to Jeremiah. Jesus is returning as a Bridegroom for His Bride, just as a side note. We who are married also wear a sign showing that we are married: it is the wedding ring. You might say honoring the Sabbath is the wedding ring which the Bride wears, to indicate to all Whose she is). The mark of the Davidic covenant was the Temple. This is why, when the religious leaders asked Jesus for a sign of His authority to cleanse the Temple, He replied that if the Temple were destroyed, He would rebuild it in three days. He was essentially telling them that He was acting in the authority of David, as the branch of David (now you can understand why those who refused to believe that He was the root and branch of David were so infuriated with Him). And the mark of the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, for it says in 2 Cor 1:22 that we were sealed by the Holy Spirit as a pledge (sign, token, evidence, distinguishing mark) given to us by God that He has set us in firm union with Christ.

Now we are seeing a mark spoken of in Scripture as evidence of a covenant which exists between one party and another. But there is more ...

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Update: continued in part two

The attitude of gratitude

Previously: Take heed not to forget
The first Ten Commandments post

I noticed right away that the facts which Moses admonished us to remember in order to keep our hearts knit in love to the Lord our God, so that we will worship and serve Him only, were designed to thwart the enemy's common traps for the elect. A huge trap that a lot of us fall into, is a simple absence of gratitude toward the Lord for all that He has done for us. It is characterized by discontentment and maybe even a touch of bitterness in our hearts.

Oh, this is a common one, even among American Christians, we who have been blessed above all the peoples on the earth with possessions, freedoms, and an abundance of godly worship, Bibles and Bible teaching. We can get snagged into this sin by expecting things to go a certain way because we are holy to the Lord, because we have been chosen to belong to Him, because He does love us and He does regard us as a special treasure above all peoples (Deut 7:6-8).

And then when various trials, tribulations, and deprivations happen to us (and they happen to EVERYONE, perhaps only in different areas for different people; no one gets a free ride on this earth) we can become discontent, or disappointed, or bitter toward the Lord, because of the suffering. So the Lord warned us in advance that we would suffer a wilderness experience, and that it is in the wilderness that He tests us to see whether we will obey His commandments or not (Deut 8:2). Even Jesus did not escape, but He suffered in the wilderness too, and He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.

The suffering of the wilderness is like a giant pressure cooker: because it is when the pressure is on, that what is really in the heart comes out. Once what is really in our hearts comes out (and some of it will be dross, so don't be shocked that ugliness will need to be purified away by a trial by fire), the Lord then chastens us where we have disobeyed Him, as a father chastens his son, so that we will learn to be obedient to Him and His ways (Deut 8:5-6). Why chasten us? Because He is just a stickler for rules and regulations? No! We parents know this by chastening our own children. We know that if they are allowed to continue in some ungodly character trait or habit, it will cripple them as adults and leave them open to the devastating consequences of foolishness. We do not want that kind of suffering for our children, the suffering which is reserved for fools and the wicked, so we allow them to suffer a temporary and light suffering for disobedience now so that they can learn obedience. And the Lord is the same way with us.

So even when we are in the wilderness, let us not test the Lord by complaining about His care of us or the life He has given us (Deut 6:16): the house, the husband (or wife), the children, the job. Well, perhaps they are less than perfect, but be grateful that you have a house when Christians in other places don't; be grateful that you have a family when Christians in other places lose their families for their faith; be grateful that you have a job when Christians in other places cannot find employment for the sake of Jesus Christ. Let us be characterized, church, by a spirit of praise and thanksgiving toward our God, and let us repent of every trace of discontent that tries to get a foothold within us, because when we are discontent, we are really saying to God: "You are not a good provider, and I am unhappy with the life You have seen fit to give me." It is ugly. Let us give Him thanks in everything. He could have left us a slave in the kingdom of darkness, but didn't; He brought us out from there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut 6:12, Deut 7:18), so let us never charge God with wrong.

To be continued ...

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Update: continued in The Lord dwells with the humble of heart

The Sabbath, part eight

Previously: The Sabbath, part seven

I was talking with a friend today, and the conversation turned toward keeping the Sabbath day holy. She asked me if I thought that resting on Sunday, the first day, was good enough.

"If you are resting on Sunday already, why not just make a few adjustments and rest on Saturday instead?"

"Well, it says in Hebrews that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, so I do agree that we should rest one day a week; but nowhere does it say it has to be on the seventh day."

"It says all over the Bible that the Sabbath day is the seventh day, and also, that the seventh day is the day of rest! It says that the Sabbath day is the seventh day MORE times than it says we should rest or do no work on the Sabbath day!"

"Yes, but Sabbath just means 'rest,' As long as I am resting, it doesn't matter the day."

"I just read this actually!" In Genesis 2:2-3:

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

This is the first appearance of the word "rest" in the Bible. It is the Hebrew primary root word, shabath, to cease, desist, rest. In the same verse, "seventh day" is yom shebiith, the day of the ordinal number for seven. And the Sabbath, the name of the seventh day holiday, is in Hebrew Shabbat. All of these words are related and come from the same root! So you actually can say that Sabbath means "rest," but if you adhere to that, you must also adhere to the fact that Sabbath means "seventh," because "Sabbath" and "seventh" come from the root word which means 'rest!"

That opened up a whole fascinating conversation on what sola scriptura means, but that is for another post ...

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Update: continued in The Sabbath, part nine

Take heed not to forget

Previously: Loving means doing
The first Ten Commandments post

We have been studying the Ten Commandments and the explanation of them in Deuteronomy. We saw last time that the Lord uses repetition over and over in the Scriptures to get His point across, and in the section in Deuteronomy which explains how to worship the Lord God alone, the 1st Commandment, the Lord repeated four instructions: Listen to His word, pay it heed, observe it, and teach it to your children.

Then there was a second repetition that I noticed in Deuteronomy chapters 6 through 11, the chapters that explain HOW to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our strength. The second repetition was the numerous times Moses admonished the people to remember something, or not to forget something. So I traced it back to the first occurrance:

"Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Deut 6:10-12

Moses is telling us that in order to maintain a heart devoted to the Lord our God, we must watch ourselves - guard our hearts (PAY HEED!) - by remembering certain facts. The facts which we are to remember:

1) The Lord brought me out of the land of slavery by a mighty hand against my oppressors (Deut 6:12; 7:18);
2) Fear the Lord and worship Him only (Deut 6:13);
3) The Lord is a jealous God, and if I forsake Him, I will earn death for myself (Deut 6:15);
4) Do not test the Lord by complaining about or despising His care of me and the life He has given me (Deut 6:16);
5) I am holy to the Lord, and the Lord God has chosen me to belong to Himself because He loves me, and I am a special treasure above other peoples (Deut 7:6-8);
6) The Lord does not love me because of my own merit, but because of His great faithfulness to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deut 7:7-8);
7) All the Lord's commandments (Deut 6:6-9; 8:1);
8) The Lord leads me through the wilderness with provision, and humbles me, and tests me, to see whether I will keep His commandments or not (Deut 8:2);
9) I shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deut 8:3);
10) The Lord chastens me to teach me obedience during my time of testing as a father chastens his son; therefore obey His commandments (Deut 8:5-6);
11) When I prosper because of the blessing of the Lord on me for my obedience, it is the Lord who is prospering me, not me myself (Deut 8:18);
12) When I disposses those mightier than me before me, it is not because of my self- righteousness that the Lord dispossessed them before me, for in myself, I am stubborn and stiff- necked (Deut 9:4-29).

It is interesting that each of these points which we are to remember, which we are to take care not to forget, is designed to thwart the enemy's common tools which he uses to try to deceive even the elect if possible. We have already discussed a few of them: not knowing the word of God is thwarted by living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; the deceitfulness of sin and focusing undue attention on the adversary or others' faults is thwarted by remembering all of the Lord's commandments and being careful to observe them. The other common tools?

To be continued ...

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Update: continued in The attitude of gratitude