Faithful Writers

“Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants .”- Genesis 19:30–32 When God rained down sulphur and brimstone on Sodom, Lot’s wife didn’t make it. We are told that she “ turned back ” and was turned into a pillar of salt. There is a powerful spiritual lesson to be learned from this event which is that half-hearted commitment is no better than zero commitment. The phrase “ turned back ” is a Hebrew idiom meaning to hesitate or dilly-dally. Yeshua echoed the same notion: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”-Luke 9:62 Unfortunately, the repercussions of Lot’s wife’s actions didn’t end with her death. The now wife-less Lot ends up escaping to a cave with his two daughters. We then witness an interesting turn of justice as the drunken Lot unwittingly takes the virginity of his daughters, the very same virginity he had first offered up to the gang of rapists earlier. One might ask, what possessed Lot’s daughters to do what they did? First, the primary role of a woman in those days was to bear offspring. They would have been terribly ashamed to not have had any children. Second, notice they said “ Our father is old and there is no man on earth to come to be with us. ” They literally thought they had witnessed the end of the world. Third, having grown up in Sodom, where there appeared to be little, if any, moral restrictions placed on sexual behavior, the decision these girls made to mate with their father would not have been that big of a stretch. The result of this unholy sexual union would be the nations of Moab and Ammon. These two nations became the arch enemies of Israel and would later be singled out as those nations with which Israel could NOT intermarry. A final word about Lot. Here I think we get a good portrayal of the fleshly, uncommitted and worldly believer. Although he never renounced his faith in God, never do we never see him actively pursuing the things of God. When Abraham gave him his choice of what land to take, Lot chose Sodom. He wanted the comfort and excitement of living in a big city with all of its wealth and attractions. In the end, God spared Lot the destruction he wrought on Sodom and Gomorrah. So technically he was “saved” but because of the choices he made and the worldly temptations he succumbed to, he became unusable by God. Let all who have ears to hear listen. © Richoka

If there is one area among Gentile believers where misunderstanding reigns, it has got to be in the area of Biblical covenants. This is unfortunate because this is precisely the area where understanding is key. Because it is through the covenants that God made with Israel that anyone is saved. The Gentile believer is grafted into the covenants God made with Israel via his faith in Yeshua. In the same way, the Jewish person has his or her faith completed via his or her faith in Yeshua. Let’s take a look at Webster’s definition of “covenant." Covenant: (1) Binding agreement (2) Agreement among church members (3) Formal contract First, Webster’s definition is NOT the biblical definition of a covenant. To make matters even worse, the Greek word “ DIATHEKE ” used for covenant in the New Testament also misses the true Hebrew flavor of the word. The simple truth of the matter is there are some Hebrew concepts that simply don’t exist in other cultures. And “covenant” is one of them. The Hebrew word for covenant is “ BRIT ." “BRIT ”, most literally, means to cut or divide. During a covenant-making ceremony in the ancient Middle East, an animal was cut up and divided into two. The participants would then walk between the two pieces with the understanding that if they failed to keep their end of the covenant, their bodies would end up like the animal that had just been severed in two. Christians have long believed that a “will” or “testament” is the modern-day equivalent of a covenant. THIS IS NOT TRUE! First, a biblical covenant is permanent unless God makes it clear it is conditional. This is usually indicated by the qualifying word “ if ." If you obey or IF you do this, then in response, I will do this. If man has to uphold some part of the covenant for it to remain valid, then it’s a conditional covenant, which means it can be broken, and therefore a consequence will result. Second, when God makes a covenant, the spiritual and physical universe is never again the same. A God-made Biblical covenant becomes a physical law of the universe. The Hebrew word for covenant , “BRIT,” is the same word used to indicate a law of nature. From a Hebrew perspective, it would not be strange to say the covenant of gravity as opposed to saying the law of gravity. God’s eternal covenants support the very fabric of the universe. © Richoka

Today, we begin Genesis Chapter 20. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here . For the King James version, click here . Following on the heels of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Scripture tells us that “Abraham journeyed onward from there to the Negeb region and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur , and he sojourned in Gerar. ” Much geographical significance is contained in this one verse, especially as it pertains to our evening news. So let’s do a quick word study of the bolded words. Negeb (or Negev): “Negev” means South. So Abraham travelled South. Kadesh: It was in the exact same place as the Biblical Kadesh-Barnea. This area was a little distance into the barren Sinai. However, Kadesh itself was anything but barren. The area was a good source of water, so it undoubtedly attracted many nomads and wanderers who needed to quench their thirst and get some R&R. The area also served as a pagan god worship site. Shur: First, Shur is simply the Hebrew derivation from the Aramaic Shur-a, which means “a wall fortress." Now, Shur was located in Egypt. About 400 years before Abraham, the Egyptians built a huge wall along the Suez Canal to ward off Asian invaders to the North of them that were constantly encroaching on Egyptian territory. In due time, these Asian invaders would take over Egypt. Here’s a little-known historical fact that most people don’t know about. When Joseph was living in Egypt, Egypt was NOT being ruled by the Egyptians, but instead was being ruled by these Asian invaders I just mentioned. ( I’ll go into this in detail when we come to that chapter. ) Gerar: Gerar, where verse one says Abraham ended up sojourning, is none other than the Gaza Strip. That’s right. Gerar is the location of that hotbed of Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is being beamed into our television sets nightly. However, of more importance biblically, this is the area where Israel’s most consistent and fearsome archenemy will end up residing, not only in all of biblical history but up until our present times. I am talking about the Philistines. And Abimelech, the king whom Abraham will butt heads with, was an early Philistine settler. “Now wait a minute! ” you may be thinking. “You just said that the Philistines are Israel’s archenemies even to this day.” “There isn’t any nation called the Philistines in existence today.” Well, here is another little-known fact. The word “PALESTINE” is none other than the Greek word for “Philistia." Having said that, the majority of those who call themselves Palestinians today are displaced Arabs (descendants of Shem) who have adopted the name Palestine because the ancient Philistines were Israel’s arch enemy, and the title serves their anti-Israel cause well. © Richoka

When examining the history of ancient covenants in the Bible era, it is clear that blood played a central role in the covenant-making process. In the early stages of covenant history, the participants would cut their arms with a knife and then hold their cuts together to seal the covenant. During this process, the name or names of pagan Gods were invoked. In time, instead of the participants cutting each other up, a different procedure came on the scene that entailed the cutting up of an animal in half and the covenant parties walking between the two halved animal parts. Our modern - day English expression “ to cut a deal ” originates from this ancient custom. Just remember that in ancient times, entering into a covenant involved blood and vows made to a god or gods. Another important tradition that will greatly enhance our understanding of certain texts of the Bible is the custom of eating salt together with bread as the final event of a covenant ceremony. This practice was so prevalent that the covenant ceremony also came to be known as The Covenant of Salt . During the days of Moses, when the sacrificial system was established, God commanded the Levites to always sprinkle the sacrifices with salt. Fast forward 2000 years to Yeshua’s day; whenever the expression “covenant of salt was used," it referred to a holy and eternal covenant. This expression also came to be understood as referring to the Abrahamic covenant that we just looked at. Just know that whenever you encounter the word “salt” in the Old or New Testament… Be aware that it is connected to God’s holiness in relation to His covenants or sacrifices. © Richoka

It seems like Abraham can never stay put in one place. Although the Bible doesn’t specifically mention why Abraham was constantly on the move, the answer would have been apparent to anybody in that era. As a shepherd with a huge amount of flock to tend to, it would have been necessary to constantly be in search of fresh water and land for his animals. When he arrives in the land of Gerar, we can see that Abraham is harboring the same worries he had when he ran off to Egypt due to a famine. He fears that his wife’s ( now 90 years old ) beauty will incite the jealousy of the ruling King Abimelech in that area, and he will end up being killed. Before moving on, let’s take a quick look at the etymology behind the name “ Abimelech ." Abi is another form of the word “Abba” which means “father” in Hebrew. “Melech” means king. So “ Abimelech ” means my “ My Father is King ." Abimelech is a fairly common name in Scripture which will come up again referring to a different individual. So history repeats itself as Abraham lies again by informing King Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. Thinking that all is well, Abimelech brings Sarah into his household to make her his wife. However, he doesn’t get very far. The God of Israel appears to Abimelech in a dream and makes it very clear that if he so much as lays a hand on Abraham’s wife, he and all his household will be as good as dead. Abimelech defends himself, saying that he acted on what Abraham told him. God replies, “ I know, and that is why I kept you from touching her. ” God commands Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham, and in return Abraham will pray for him. As a result, Abimelech and all his household will be healed “ for the Lord had shut up every womb in the house of Abimelech ." There is much spiritual insight to be gleaned from this episode. First , although it is a common notion that God only speaks to believers, here we see that when the situation warrants it, God can and will speak to the heathen. Second, God is in control of everyone and everything and while He has basically given all human beings free will, He can and will override the free will of men in certain situations. Third, in verse 4, when speaking to God, Abimelech addresses Him as “My Lord." I know I’ve been harping on the fact that normally when we see the words “ Lord ," “ God, ” or “ Adonai ” in our Bibles, 99% of the time the original Hebrew is YHVH. However, here we have an exception. In this case, the original Hebrew is actually “ Adonai ” and NOT “ Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh ." Abimelech knew he was talking to some type of god but he didn’t know which one. So he simply addressed him as “ My adonai ." Fourth , this is the first scriptural instance of God having one of His servants intercede via prayer for somebody else. Now that this pattern has been established with Abraham, we will see it repeated through Moses and then ultimately through Yeshua, as He is called our ultimate intercessor before the Father. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Messiah Yeshua who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us .” -Romans 8:34 © Richoka

There are two important points about the call of Abraham. First , when God called Abraham, He made it clear to him that his family was NOT welcome. God was calling him to a complete separation from his past and everything he held dear. To Abraham, this must have been a terrifying prospect. He had to leave his homeland and become an unprotected wanderer abroad. In addition, in a society where one’s culture and family were held in the greatest esteem, it could not have been easy for Abraham to have to reject his father’s pagan values and standards. Second, why did God choose Abraham out of all the people of the earth to become the one through whom He would bring about a holy nation unto Himself? I would like to share the following excerpt I got from a heavy volume titled The Jewish Study Bible. “In Genesis chapter 12, these extraordinary promises come like a bolt from the blue, an act of God’s grace alone ; no indication has been given as to why or even whether Abram merits them.” -The Jewish Study Bible, page 30, commentary on Genesis Chapter 12. This passage is similar to the Mishna excerpt I quoted in a previous lesson regarding why Noah was considered worthy of the salvation that God extended to him. The conclusion in both of these cases was that neither Noah nor Abraham merited their election from God. It was all God’s grace. I mention this again because of the common misconception that grace began in the New Testament era. This ain’t true homies! I reiterate pretty much word for word what I said in an earlier lesson. The Hebrews did NOT believe they could work their way into heaven. Their obedience to God’s laws was predicated on their gratefulness to God for saving them. Even in the Old Testament ( and boy I sure hate to use the term Old Testament ), the pattern set down is salvation first and then obedience to God’s ways. Remember God saved Israel from Egypt first and then gave them His Torah. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”- Luke 14:26 “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”- Matthew 19:29 © Richoka

Although Abraham is the father of our faith… We see in Chapter 20, through his dealings with Abimelech, that he was beset by the same worries and fears we all have. First, his faith in God was limited because obviously from his words of “surely, I thought there is no fear of God in this place” , he was assuming that God’s sovereignty was in someway confined to certain regions. Second, even though it was the truth, Sarah was his sister through having a common father, it was still a lie. The Rambam has noted that even if Sarah was Abraham’s half-sister, Abraham was still in the wrong for not mentioning the much more important point that she was his wife. The ancient sages have called this scene a “ comic inversion of common expectations ” as here we have a Gentile king righteously scolding an Israelite prophet for his failures. The following are also two interesting differences between Abraham’s earlier encounter with Pharaoh and his encounter with Abimelech. 1) When God confronts the Pharaoh in Egypt, he only speaks to him through plagues whereas Abimelech is given direct address from God in a dream. 2) After finding out that Abraham lied to him, Pharaoh kicks Abraham out of Egypt ( for those of you who know the story of Exodus, notice a pattern here? ). However, in contrast, Abimelech allows Abraham to settle wherever he wants. Finally, there is an interesting linguistic point that I would like to show you. Let’s read verse 13 from both the King James version and the New International Version. “And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.” Genesis 20:13 from the King James version “And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me,” He is my brother.”- Genesis 20:13 from the New International Version First, the original Hebrew here is ELOHIM . Remember, ELOHIM can have two meanings. When used as a “ PLURAL OF MAJESTY ” form, it is referring to the one and only true God of Israel. However, it can also mean “ gods ” with a small “ g ” when referring to the pagan gods of the heathen nations. So which one is it here? First, the word “Elohim," although normally taking a singular verb ( even though it has a plural suffix ) when it refers to God in this episode IS LINKED WITH A PLURAL VERB . Second, in a world where monotheism was practically nonexistent, Abraham wouldn’t have been speaking to a pagan like Abimelech using the word god in such a way as to imply that there is only one God. So a correct translation should read “ when the gods caused me to wander ." I believe conventional translations are wrong when they render ELOHIM here as “ God ” or “ Heaven ." The whole world was polytheistic at this time, and Abraham’s speech would have reflected this. It is also interesting to note that Abraham in his speech, far from suggesting that God has directed him to a promised land, stresses to Abimelech that the gods have imposed upon him a destiny of wandering. © Richoka

Today, we begin Genesis Chapter 5. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here . If you’ve ever wondered what’s up with all the genealogies listed in the Bible, I gave you the answer in my last post . In the Bible, bloodlines are everything. These genealogies stand as an objective and enduring testimony to God’s faithfulness to preserve His chosen nation, Israel. And the great news is that you too, can become one with Israel through faith in the Messiah. In my last post , I pointed out that Cain (the one who killed his brother Abel) would be the forerunner of the wicked line of Satan while Seth would be the ancestral forerunner of the people of God. So, Genesis Chapter 5 is the genealogy of Seth and his descendants. It is from this holy line that Noah of Noah’s ark fame will emerge. Note that Noah’s father is named Lamech. However, this is NOT the same wicked Lamech mentioned in Genesis chapter 4. Lamech was likely a typical name for that era, just as Bill and George are typical names in our day. In the Bible, when you see the same name pop up repeatedly two or three times, do NOT immediately assume it’s the same person we are talking about. Another interesting feature that stands out as we read this list is that folks lived quite a long time back then. As unlikely as it may seem to be, there is nothing symbolic or metaphorical about the ages listed. Those are real ages. At the close of this chapter, two important things are revealed to us. First, we are introduced to Noah, who will be commissioned by God to build the ark. Second, we are introduced to Noah’s three sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham from whom the whole human race will emerge. However, again, keep in mind that these were NOT Noah’s only sons. At the time, he was 500 years old and had already given birth to quite several children. It was only these three sons who were specially chosen by God to be saved from the flood. Soon, we will be discussing the great flood that God sent to destroy every human being and every creature that dwelled on the land. There is an interesting historical fact that I would like to point out. The great flood will effectively put an end to Cain’s race. However, through Noah and his offspring, Seth’s line will live on. What this teaches us is that any man or nation that chooses to go against God will eventually be cut off. No matter how many grand accomplishments any one individual or nation achieves, in the end their surefire destruction is guaranteed. Look at what the God of Israel did to Egypt. Look at what happened to the Roman Empire. In closing, I leave you with this insightful quote from Mark Twain testifying to the eternal nature of the Jewish people. “If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are also very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, and have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities, of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert but aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” — Mark Twain, September 1897 © Richoka What’s your biggest takeaway from this article?

In his book “The Gifts of The Jews — How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels,” Thomas Cahill made the following profound observations. “The Jews started it all-and by " it” I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, tick. Without the Jews, we would see the world through different eyes, hear with different ears, even feel with different feelings.” And: “For better or worse, the role of the West in humanity’s history is singular. Because of this, the role of the Jews, the inventors of Western culture, is also singular: there is simply no one else remotely like them; theirs is a unique vocation. Indeed, as we shall see, the very idea of vocation, of a personal destiny, is a Jewish idea. ” What’s interesting is that Mr. Cahill attributes this monumental shift in human consciousness to Abraham’s calling from God to “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. ” I don’t think many of us realize how utterly staggering and revolutionary this calling was. In response to God’s calling, the Scriptures tell us “ WAYYELEKH AVRAM ” (“Abraham went.”) These are two of the boldest words in all literature. They mark a final departure from everything that has come before in the long evolution of culture and traditions. Before the Jews entered world history, the existing view of the cosmos was cyclical. In other words, there was no such thing as a unique event. Every event that occurs is already an event that has occurred in the past and will occur again in the future. Life was seen as part of an uncontrollable, endless, and hopeless circle of birth and death. However, once the Creator of the universe called Abraham, this circle was broken. Abraham and his progeny, the Jews, would begin seeing time differently. Once God called Abraham away from the paganism of his ancestors, time would now have a beginning and conclude with a triumphant end. To put it simply, God gave Abraham hope for the future! In a world mired in a circle of hopelessness and despair, God promised Abraham that he would have a son and eventually end up becoming the father of a great nation. Again, I reiterate, before Abraham, there was no hope for the future. All civilizations believed that man could not escape his fate. Upon hearing of Abraham’s journey, the Egyptians would have informed Abraham: “There is none born wise. Copy the forefathers. Learn what has been said in the past. And then you will set a good example.” The early Greeks might have proffered: “Remember the story of Prometheus, whose quest for the fire of the gods ended in personal disaster. Do not overreach. Come to resignation!” In India, Abraham would have been told: “Time is black, irrational, and merciless. Do not set yourself the task of accomplishing something in time, which is only the dominion of suffering.” In China, the anonymous sages would have advised: “There is no purpose in journeys or in any kind of earthly striving; the great thing is to abolish time by escaping from the law of change.” The ancestors of the Maya in America would have pointed to their circular calendars and said: “Everything that has been comes around again. Each man’s fate is fixed. Lao-Tsu and the Buddha would have told Abraham: “Do not journey but sit; compose yourself by the river of life, meditate on its ceaseless and meaningless flow-on all that is past or passing or to come-until you have absorbed the pattern and have come to peace with Great Wheel and with your own death and death of all things in the corruptible sphere.” On every continent, in every society, Abraham would have been given the same advice reflecting the cyclical worldview of the universe. Yet God called Abraham, and he went. I believe God is calling you to a new life as well. How will you respond? CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT "By trusting, Abraham obeyed, after being called to go out to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were to receive what was promised along with him. For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:8–10 © Richoka

Today, we begin Genesis Chapter 21! For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. If you’re a King James diehard, click here. Verse one of this chapter informs us in a somewhat nonchalant fashion that God came through on His promise, and Sarah gave birth to a child. Abraham and Sarah were overjoyed. In her joy, Sarah named her son Isaac, which means “he laughs." So, finally, after many, many long years, God’s promise to give Abraham a child from his loins was fulfilled. But until it did, boy, what a roller coaster ride it was! We can learn a lot about the frailties of human beings and ourselves by examining the life of Abraham and his wife Sarah before the occurrence of this seminal event. We know that we have been saved. We know the sealed promises given to us in Scripture. Yet despite that, how often have we worked ourselves into major fits of worry because the circumstances seemed so contrary to what God had promised? Out of disbelief, Sarah gave her slave-girl, Hagar, to Abraham. A decision she would later regret. Out of fear and worry, Abraham pleaded with God to let Ishmael be the inheritor of the promises. But God would have none of it. I can glean two very important life application principles from this story that we can put to immediate use. 1) Always keep your focus on God, NOT on your circumstances. 2) Remember that God always says what He means and means what He says. There is a major mistake that people make when it comes to Biblical prophecies. WE DO NOT TAKE GOD’S PROMISES LITERALLY ENOUGH! There is too much allegorizing going on. Every promise that God made to Abraham was literally fulfilled… And in the future, every promise that God has made to Israel will also be literally fulfilled ! The rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948 is a prime example. Before this event occurred, since it was such a long time in coming, the Christian church didn’t think it was going to happen, and eventually concluded that the church had replaced Israel. However, this theory was turned on its head once Israel was resurrected following World War II. Despite this, I find it quite laughable that there are still segments of the institutional church that uphold replacement theology ( the idea that the church has replaced Israel ). And now that Israel is back in their land, Bible prophecy is also very clear that no matter what happens, they will not be removed. Even if every nation in the world comes against Israel, the Scripture says that Israel will become a stone so heavy that nobody will be able to lift it. You can count on this, literally! So when Isaac was born, Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 years old. Given that Sarah’s womb was as good as dead, there is no doubt about the miraculous nature of what occurred. Even though we normally only consider the birth of Yeshua to be the first virgin birth, the birth of Isaac was also, in a sense, a virgin birth. Here are a few other fascinating similarities between Isaac and Yeshua. -God established a specific appointed time when Isaac would be born. The same for Yeshua. -Isaac’s name was determined by God far in advance of his birth. So was Yeshua’s. -There was a huge length of time between the prophesied birth of Isaac and its happening. The same happened for Messiah. © Richoka