Faithful Writers

In Genesis Chapter 10, we are told that the start of Nimrod’s kingdom began in Babylon, Erec, and Accad. Now, all of these cities were located in a place called the Land of Shinar ( modern-day Iraq in our times ). Furthermore, in Genesis Chapter 11, we are told the following: It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin‘ar and lived there. -Genesis 11:2 So the construction of the Tower of Babel was being spearheaded by Nimrod himself. Let’s talk a little bit about Nimrod because there is much more to him than meets the eye. Nimrod was born from Cush who came from the cursed line of Ham. Nimrod took a lady named Semiramis to be his wife. Semiramis proclaimed herself to be the Queen of Heaven. After Nimrod died, his wife proclaimed him to be God. They had a son who was named Tamuz. Now, interestingly, Tamuz was considered to be the reincarnation of the God-man Nimrod. So we have Nimrod , who is God the father, Semiramis, the queen of heaven, who is considered to be the mother, and the son , who is considered to be the incarnation of the father. Doesn’t this teaching strangely resemble something you may have learned in a Christian church? Can you see how the Christian teaching of the Trinity had its origins in paganism? Just know this. All false religions have their beginning in Nimrod. These are also known as the “Mystery Babylon Religions." No wonder the Jewish people have always been at such odds with Christianity. It is interesting to note that the names of Nimrod and Semiramis have changed throughout the centuries, depending upon which culture and language they appeared in. Here is a brief snapshot of the names that Nimrod and Semiramis went by as they were adopted by different cultures. In the Bible, Nimrod is also known as: -Baal-Ninus (the god-man who built Ninevah),-Marduk-Mulch Semiramis (as the mother of all mothers was considered to be the fertility goddess): -In Egypt, her name was Isis-In India, her name was Indrani -In Asia, her name was Cybelle -In Canaan (now the holy land), her name was Ashtoreth or Astarte -In modern-day English, her name is now Easter It is also interesting to note that although the word Babel now means disorder and confusion… It originally meant the “City of God." Remember, “el” means “god." Look closely at the spelling of the word “bav-el." We know from the account of the Tower of Babel that all the languages of the world originated from one language. However, it is also true that all the pagan religions of the world have their origin from that one source as well. “Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it … From Egypt came the ideas of a divine trinity” (The Story of Civilization, Caesar and Christ, Will Durant, Part III, 1944, p. 595). © Richoka

In chapter 19 of Genesis, we run headlong into situations that are just outrageous to our modern sensibilities of social common sense. Again, it is important to remind ourselves to interpret things through the lens of the ancient Middle Eastern culture we find ourselves immersed in as we walk through the Torah. First, in verse one, we find Lot greeting the two angelic messengers with a heavy amount of bowing and scraping. At first glance, our initial impressions might be that Lot recognized the heavenly origin from which these men proceeded and thus accorded them the appropriate degree of respect. This is not the case. At this point, Lot has no idea where these men are from. He just thinks they are a couple of outsiders who have no idea of the wicked nature of the town they have just descended on. The whole situation smacks of your typical Middle Eastern kabuki dance between host and guest. When an offer of kindness is extended to a guest, the recipient is obligated to first turn down the offer, and then after a bit of hemming and hawing, finally accept. As of this writing, I have lived in Japan for close to about 15 years and South Korea for one year before that and I can attest firsthand that such customs do exist and are deeply ingrained among the Asian cultures. But wait, things get even more confusing. The two visitors accept Lot’s invitation to stay at his place, a meal is prepared and eaten, and just as they are about to kick back and relax, Lot’s house is surrounded by the thugs of Sodom. And thus begins, one of the most perverse and confusing dialogues ever to occur in the whole Bible if not all history, the gist of it is as follows: Men of Sodom: Bring your two guests out so we can have sex with them! Lot: Please don’t think of doing such a thing. Here I have two virgin daughters. Please feel free to fulfill all of your carnal desires through them! Men of Sodom: Who does this foreigner think he is telling us what to do? We’re going to harm you more than them. Holy smokes!!! Perversity on top of perversity. First, notice that the Scripture says all the men of the town came and surrounded the house, both young and old. The whole town was given over to perversity. However, as tragic as that situation was, what are we to make of Lot’s response of offering up his daughters to them? Okay, I know my answer is going to jolt your senses to the hilt but the simple truth is that the Middle Eastern cultural norms of that time demanded that a man was obligated to protect the guests under his roof, even at the sacrifice of his family or the cost of his life. As unbelievable as it may sound, Lot’s response would not have been so surprising to the people at that time. It was all about hospitality. I will get into this later, but the whole theme of why Sodom was destroyed was due to the “ lack of hospitality ” of its residents and NOT homosexuality as is commonly believed and taught. © Richoka

“The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking unleavened bread for their supper, which they ate.”- Genesis 19:1–3 I want to share two important points about the above verses that will enhance our understanding of the Scriptural terrain we will be traversing through as we travel ever deeper into the world of the Torah. POINT ONE: Concerning the area where Lot was sitting when the angels came to him, many Canaanite cities had what was the equivalent of a large chamber at the gateway. It was in this large public square that the townsfolk gathered to gossip and conduct business. Even judicial trials were held in this square. Since the business or trial was being conducted in a public area, this ensured there would be witnesses present, which was a reassuring factor for all parties involved. We will see many significant events take place at the town gate of various Canaanite towns, such as Abraham negotiating to buy the Cave of Machpelah as a tomb for his wife… Or Boaz bargaining for the purchase of land on behalf of Ruth and the widowed Naomi. POINT TWO: Depending on the translation, verse 3 says that Lot baked some “ flat bread ” or “ unleavened bread ." The Hebrew word used is MATZAH . In other words, bread without yeast was usually prepared when something to eat had to be hastily whipped up. It indicates a rushed situation. Again, I know I’m being repetitive, but you must understand that the Bible unfolds in patterns. Here we have one important pattern established that will repeat itself. Lot is making matzah in what will quickly become a tense and rushed situation, and he and his family will soon have to make a speedy departure. In the Book of Exodus, we see a similar pattern unfold: God instructs the Israelites to make a final meal of matzah before making a quick departure from Egypt. It’s all about the patterns, folks. © Richoka

From verse 10, we have the lineage of Shem recorded. The primary purpose of this lineage is to introduce us to Abram. Abram, who will later have his name changed to Abraham, is both the father of monotheism and the nation of Israel. Amidst a sea of names and genealogies that can be quite confusing, here is an effective way to logically organize this part of the Bible in your head. -There are 10 generations from Adam to Noah. -The tenth generation of Noah has him begetting three sons: Ham, Japheth, and Shem -There are 10 generations from Shem to Abraham. -The 10th generation ends with Terah begetting three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran. It is also interesting to note that the number of years from the birth of Shem’s son to Abram’s migration to Canaan is exactly one solar year of 365 days. Finally, take a look at verse 31. “Terach took his son Avram, his son Haran’s son Lot, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram’s wife; and they left Ur of the Kasdim to go to the land of Kena‘an. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. ” Although it is generally assumed that it was Abraham who first received the call from God to set out for the land of Canaan, according to this passage, it seems like it was Terah who first got the call. At the time, Terah and his family resided in the city of Ur of the Chaldees which was an ancient culture of that area. Sumer was the area’s name with Ur being the capital city. It was a very wicked place where worship of the moon-god Hurki was prevalent. Today this moon-god goes by the name Allah. So we are told that Terah set out for the land of Canaan but instead of completing his journey he decided to stay in another city somewhere in the Mesopotamian region. I believe there is an important spiritual lesson for us here. How many of us have been called by God to fulfill a plan He has for our lives but due to the pressing cares and circumstances of this world, we let ourselves become sidetracked? I suspect this is what happened to Terah. As a result, God ended up using Abram to fulfill His divine plan of creating a people unto Himself. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once, but has no root in himself. So he stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, he immediately falls away. Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth , so that it produces nothing.” -Matthew 13:20–22 © Richoka

I want to explore a bit the reason or reasons why God destroyed Sodom. The overwhelming consensus on the matter, especially as pushed by the evangelical Christian crowd, is that God’s destruction of Sodom was a blanket condemnation of homosexuality. Before jumping to any conclusions, let’s take a look at what the prophet Ezekiel had to say about the matter: “The crimes of your sister Sodom were pride and gluttony; she and her daughters were careless and complacent , so that they did nothing to help the poor and needy . They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me ; so that when I saw it, I swept them away.” Ezekiel 16:49–50 I don’t think the reason for Sodom’s destruction was homosexuality in and of itself. Certainly, the perverse and degraded mindset of the people of Sodom was a factor. However, more than that was the inhospitable nature of the people that at times bordered on the torture or violent harassment of any individual unfortunate enough to find himself within Sodom’s borders. To give you one example of the type of antics the people of Sodom engaged in, there is a recorded instance of a traveling merchant who went to Sodom to sell his wares. Once he had his stand set up inside the city, the men of Sodom each came by and, one by one, began to strip the merchant of all of his goods. And then when the merchant tried to lodge a complaint, he found his claims falling on deaf ears because each person had only taken a tiny amount. There are many more horrid examples. For example, there is a story of tying a man to a pole, placing food in front of him and jeering at him while he slowly starved to death. And if someone tried to help him, that person would in turn be tortured for trying to help the man. It kind of reminds me of the despicable self-proclaimed Islamic State and the atrocities they are committing against innocent men, women and children of the towns they take over. Sodom was known for engaging in all kinds of repulsive behavior like this that eventually led God to take action. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “And he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ashes and ruin, as a warning to those in the future who would live ungodly lives; but he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of those unprincipled people ; for the wicked deeds which that righteous man saw and heard, as he lived among them, tormented his righteous heart day after day. ”- 2 Peter 2:6–7 “And Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, following a pattern like theirs, committing sexual sins and perversions , lie exposed as a warning of the everlasting fire awaiting those who must undergo punishment.” -Jude 1:7 © Richoka

When faith was not a brand Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash There was a time when being Christian meant you might be fed to lions. Now you can buy Jesus merch at Target. Somewhere between the cross and the conference stage, we lost the plot. Christianity didn’t launch from palaces or polished pulpits. It started out in the dust, at the edges, whispered in alleyways, and shouted from hillsides. A Strange Little Crew A strange little crew gathered around a carpenter — no crown, no title — just calloused hands and truth in His words. His followers? Not exactly society’s finest. Fishermen who smelled like the sea. Women silenced by culture. A tax man nobody trusted. A stew of the overlooked and unwanted. And this carpenter from Nazareth? He spoke in riddles that rattled the rich and comforted the poor. “The last will be first,” he said with a glint in his eye, flipping more than just expectations. He flipped tables — literally — sending coins clattering and priests scowling. He called peacemakers blessed, but never promised peace would be easy. His kingdom wasn’t built with bricks or swords — it came in stories, in scars, in a love that broke rules and raised eyebrows. This wasn’t a religion polished for prime time. It was a revolution dressed in sandals. It wasn’t built for power. It was a protest against it. So, how did we get from there to here? From house churches to $60 million sanctuaries. From martyrs in the arena to pastors with private jets. From “take up your cross” to “God wants you to be rich.” When Faith Was Not a Brand Early Christians had no buildings, no budgets, and no political clout. What they had was a radical sense of community and a stubborn belief that love was more powerful than fear. Rome saw them as a threat because they refused to bow to Caesar. That refusal got them killed. But in the 4th century, everything changed. Constantine converted. Christianity went from persecuted to protected, then to preferred. Eventually, it became the official religion of the empire. That’s where the trouble started. What had been a grassroots movement of outcasts became a religion of kings and conquerors. The cross, once a symbol of execution and resistance, was hoisted as a battle flag. Instead of challenging the empire, Christianity became part of it. As author Diana Butler Bass puts it: “Christianity ceased to be a community and became a hierarchy.” Trading the Cross for Comfort and Control Power is seductive. Once the church had a taste of safety and influence, it started protecting those things at all costs. Doctrine hardened. Dissent got punished. Crusades were launched. Colonies were claimed. People were burned at the stake in the name of the Prince of Peace. We started baptizing empire instead of challenging it. And somewhere in all of that, the revolutionary heart of Jesus’ message got buried beneath dogma and gold. The Gospel stopped being about liberation. It became about control. And yet, Scripture never changed. Jesus still said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He still told the rich man to sell everything. He still warned that you can’t serve both God and money. He still stood with the outsider, the sinner, the oppressed. But we made him safe. Marketable. Vote-able. We made him white, straight, American, and always on our side. Voices Refusing to Stay Silent Progressive Christian leaders have been sounding the alarm. Rachel Held Evans wrote , “When the gospel has become bad news to the poor, to the oppressed, to the brokenhearted, we have replaced Jesus’ words with our own.” Richard Rohr says, “The price for real transformation is always some form of suffering. But churches often protect people from that.” And Rev. Jacqui Lewis reminds us: “If your gospel isn’t good news for everyone, then it’s not the gospel of Jesus.” These voices aren’t trying to destroy Christianity. They’re trying to remember what it was. They’re digging through the rubble of empire to find the radical, liberating Jesus underneath. Middle Age, Middle Ground, and a Crisis of Faith Middle age is a funny time. You start to see behind the curtain. You start asking harder questions. Maybe the faith you grew up with doesn’t make sense anymore. Maybe you watched it cause harm. Maybe you’re wondering if there’s still something worth holding onto. There is. But it might not look like what you were handed. Real Christianity — the kind that makes the powerful nervous and the hurting feel seen — is still alive. It’s just not always on TV. You might find it in a community garden, in a recovery meeting, in a group of misfits gathering in someone’s living room. You might find it in the margins, where it started. Jesus didn’t come to build a brand. He came to set captives free. To call out hypocrisy. To tear down walls. To remind us that the kingdom of God doesn’t look like a throne — it looks like a table. Reclaiming What We Lost Without Burning It All Down We don’t have to burn it all down. But we do have to stop pretending the system we built is the same as the faith we inherited. We can let go of the version of Christianity that cozies up to power, and reach for the one that walks with the broken. We can choose humility over certainty, love over control, and people over policy. In the words of the prophet Amos, which still echo today: “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me… But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21,24) This is not about nostalgia. It’s about rediscovery. Not of a church that once was, but of a Savior who still is. And maybe that’s the invitation: not to give up on faith, but to follow it back to where it began. With the outcasts. With the misfits. With a carpenter who said there was another way. © Gary L Ellis

Today, we begin Genesis Chapter 12. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here . For the King James version, click here . In Genesis chapter 11, we are told that Terah, his son Abram, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai left their hometown called the Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the Land of Canaan. However, for whatever reason, Terah decided to cut his journey short and settle everybody in a place called Haran. Terah ends up dying in Haran. This is the end of Chapter 11. Then, in the first verse of Chapter 12, we are immediately told that God commanded Abram to leave his native land to a “ land I will show you ." Based on this narrative, one would automatically assume that Abraham received his call from God in the land of Haran. However, let’s take a look at the first two verses in Chapter 7 of The Book of Acts. “Then the high priest said, ‘Are these things so?’. And he said, ‘Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of Glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran , and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will show you.” So if this eyewitness account in Acts is also taken into account, it appears that God called Abram during his journey to Haran and not after he arrived in Haran. Regardless of when exactly he received the call from God, it is obvious that Abram’s family was steeped in paganism. Haran was the crossing point of multiple important highways and a center of the cult devoted to the moon-god Sin. That’s right. The name of this god was actually “Sin." © Richoka

“Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before YAHWEH , and looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, scanning the entire plain. There before him, the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! But when YAHWEH destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.” -Genesis 19:28–29 Notice God’s name, which I bolded. I took the liberty of changing this English translation to reflect the name used in the original Hebrew manuscripts. Before I changed it, the translator had substituted the word “Adonai” for God’s name. Most other English Bibles use the word “ Lord ” as a substitute. However, I reiterate that the actual Hebrew is Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh, God’s personal name. So the point I’m making here is that it was the Father God Almighty who instructed the angels to destroy Sodom. Some pre-incarnate Yeshua did NOT give the order. Neither was it the Holy Spirit. It was God the Father who gave the order. I just talked with a Christian the other day about this, and I am amazed at how difficult it is to communicate this point. Rest assured that what I have said is undisputed. The Hebrew letters Yud-heh-vav-heh are really there. And they’re not just in some of the ancient Hebrew manuscripts. They are in ALL of them. However, in verse 18, when addressing the angels, Lot says “ Please no, my adonai ." Actually, in this case, the original Hebrew is NOT “ YHVH ” but “ Adonai ." Adonai has two different meanings. It is a term that can be used to refer to God or a title used to extend deference or respect to an other regular human party. In this case, it’s a title since Lot was using “ Lord ” as a sign of respect. © Richoka

When reading Scripture, do you ever come across a verse that just stops you dead in your tracks? For me, Genesis 5:24 is one of those verses. “And Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him. ” In stark contrast to the lists of other people, it appears that Enoch was granted the privilege of skipping the usual dying process most human beings are subjected to and taken straight to heaven. In fact, besides Enoch, only the prophet Elijah was granted such a privilege. What’s this all about? In some evangelical circles, the story of Enoch is used to teach a pre-tribulation rapture. They say that Enoch is symbolic of the Gentile Christian church and the flood is symbolic of the great tribulation. So Enoch being whisked away before the coming flood is prophetic of how the Christian church will be whisked away before the great tribulation, leaving the Jews behind who will then come to a realization that Jesus is their long-awaited Messiah. As the popular refrain goes, “ The purpose of the tribulation is for the salvation of the Jewish nation ." As much as I would like for the rapture to occur before the tribulation, I have difficulty accepting this teaching because I don’t believe the Scriptures teach that God has two salvation programs, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. I am adamant in my insistence that God for His own good reasons and purposes has chosen to save ONLY ONE group of people on this planet, and that group is the Jews and those Gentiles who join themselves to the Jews by accepting His new covenant through the shed blood of Messiah Yeshua. So what in the world happened with Enoch? Why was he so special? What can be gleaned from the limited information we are given? And what lesson can we derive from the story of Enoch? It is apparent that Enoch’s walk with God was of such an intimate nature that God made a special exception and took him straight to heaven. Hebrews 11:5 says that “ By trusting, ” he was taken away without having to suffer the indignities of growing old and dying. I think the biggest takeaway is that God has special treasures and pleasant surprises reserved for those who TRUST in Him. We live in a very cynical and pessimistic world. We are constantly surrounded by people whose only source of self-esteem is the money they have in their bank account and their place in society. Or the hedonists who live only for sexual pleasure. And lest you think I’m pointing fingers, I’m just as guilty as harboring these attitudes as anybody else. The Apostle Paul was right. There is nobody in this world that cares about the things of God or the Word of God. And I regret to say that such attitudes are just as prevalent among those in the church as well as out. I believe that what God did with Enoch is a strong statement to an unbelieving world. God is telling us that everything you think you know about reality and about how this world works is WRONG, DEAD WRONG! God is saying if your value system is NOT 100% based on me, you’re in for a rude awakening. He is essentially telling us that… …”I am in control of both LIFE and DEATH. And I have the power to take a man who trusts in Me and whisk him away to heaven if I so please.” And here is the great statement from the Bible that God has left to an unbelieving world. “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” -Acts 17:31 I’m done. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT Luke 3:37: of Metushelach, of Enoch, of Yered, of Mahalal’el, of Keinan, Hebrews 11:5: By trusting , Enoch was taken away from this life without seeing death — “He was not to be found, because God took him away” — for he has been attested as having been, prior to being taken away, well pleasing to God. Jude 1:14–15: Moreover, Enoch, in the seventh generation starting with Adam, also prophesied about these men, saying, “Look! Adonai came with his myriads of holy ones to execute judgment against everyone, that is, to convict all the godless for their godless deeds which they have done in such a godless way, and for all the harsh words these godless sinners have spoken against him.” © Richoka Do you agree or disagree with today’s interpretation? Why?

Raising Children with Grace, Not Performance Photo by Tara Glaser on Unsplash We all have that image in our head: The perfect Sunday school kid. Bible memory cards in one pocket, kindness in the other pocket. Says “yes, ma’am” before you even get the whole sentence out. Never talks back, rolls their eyes, or eats the communion bread too early. Spoiler alert: That kid? Doesn’t exist. (And if they do, they probably turn 17 and dye their hair blue just for the sake of feeling alive.) Where did the pressure come from? Somewhere in this parenting journey, especially in faith communities, we confuse discipleship with performance. We thought raising “godly kids” was: Perfect behavior. Pinterest-level quiet times. No tantrums in Target. But God’s Word describes a different narrative. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 Not perfection. Grace. Messy, miraculous, redemptive grace. The Problem with the “Perfect Kid” Myth: 1. It teaches kids to hide. If “good = accepted,” they’ll start editing themselves.They’ll say what they think we want to hear. But their faith becomes a performance, not a relationship. 2. It shames the struggle. If a child feels anxious, angry, curious, or doubtful, and all they’ve been taught is to smile and say, “God is good!” they’ll start believing something’s wrong with them. 3. It robs them of the Gospel. The entire point of the Gospel is that we needed a Savior. If we train our kids to think they are the savior (of their behavior, emotions, image) … We’ve missed the heart of Jesus. So, What Do We Do Instead? Let’s raise real kids with real faith. 1. Normalize Mistakes Don’t think of disobedience as spiritual failure. Think of it as an opportunity to grow. Try saying, “Everyone messes up. Let’s figure it out together.” “This doesn’t change how I view you, or how God views you.” Let grace do the hard lifting. 2. Encourage the internal and not only the external. Instead of praise that focuses on behaviors (“Good job sitting still!”) focus on praising: Curiosity: (“That’s a really deep question.”) Honesty: (“I’m proud you told the truth even if it was hard.”) Compassion: (“You noticed someone else’s feelings, that’s love in action.”) 3. Leave space for the entire story. It’s easy to panic when they say things like: “I’m mad at God.” “I don’t understand why we pray.” “I didn’t even mean to be kind — I just felt bad.” Instead, lean in. Listen. Faith is not a checklist; it’s a conversation. 4. Model Imperfection Allow your kids to see your process. Say things like: “I snapped today, and I shouldn’t have. That’s not who I want to be.” “Sometimes I don’t have the answer either. Let’s learn together.” “God is still working on me.” Humility is contagious. 5. Focus on formation, not performance. You are not raising a brand ambassador for your parenting. You are raising a beloved child of God. Teach them: That their worth is secure. That failing is part of growth. That grace is for every day. Because when they know they’re safe in love, they stop striving and start becoming. You are Not Raising a Trophy. You are Discipling a Soul. You do not need your son or daughter to win the admiration of the church crowd. You need them to feel known, safe, and guided. Stop feeling the weight of raising the ideal child. Instead, journey with them through mistake, doubt, and everything else, pointing back to Jesus. © The Blooming Educator