Abraham Did What??

 It's been almost two years since I have posted, and I have been sensing that it is time to get back to it.  My husband did point out to me that I published a book during my absence, so there is that.  Back to blogging... 

I've been pondering the near-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22.  Judaism calls this the binding of Isaac, or the akedah (Hebrew for binding).  This word is only used once in scripture.

I know people who refuse to put their trust in God because of this account. Their logic is this:  Why would God ask someone to sacrifice their child?  If child sacrifice is wrong, then God is wrong to ask it.

It is a legitimate objection.  On the surface, it seems like God is commanding something heinous, especially to our modern sensibilities (even though those modern "sensibilities" seem to have no problem with the rampant child sacrifice that goes on in our culture today via abortion, but I digress - sort of).

Why didn't Abraham protest?  Why did he go along with it, seemingly without any complaints at all?

The culture.

Abraham lived in a time when child sacrifice was a normal thing in most cultures of the ancient world. He even came out of one of those cultures - Chaldea.  The sacrifice of a child was intertwined with the worship of a pagan deity, often a fertility god/goddess.  Worshipers sought to obtain a blessing from their deities. For instance, when rain was desperately needed for crops, or there was an impending battle, people would sacrifice what was important to them to get the gods to respond to them favorably.

This practice was found among the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Moabites, the Aztecs, Incas, the Druids... just to name a few.  There were many more. It was pervasive in the ancient world.

Abraham was so steeped in this ideology that when the request came, he complied without surprise or a fight.

But why did God do it?

I believe that the LORD was setting up the situation as a demonstration.  He was introducing to Abraham (and the world) what NOT TO DO.  God could have just told him, don't sacrifice children. God was testing Abraham's heart for obedience, but that was not all.  In a dramatic way, the LORD was officially putting a STOP to the evil practice of child sacrifice.

STOP, Abraham!  There is going to be a better way.  The LORD said, here is a ram for now, caught in a thorn bush, but I will provide MYSELF, the Lamb, who will someday wear a crown of thorns. In this whole dramatic scenario, the LORD puts a stop to the practice of child sacrifice, but He also foreshadows a day when He, the LORD will come to earth and become our sacrificial Lamb.

There are other foreshadows in the story.  It was a three day journey to the land of Mount Moriah. Isaac did not protest, but laid down willingly on the altar.  He even carried the wood for the sacrifice.  Abraham announced to his servants that both he and Isaac would be back. Did Abraham believe there would be a resurrection?  Perhaps so.  But he knew that the LORD would somehow take care of it, because Abraham had been promised descendants as numerous as the seashore.

Genesis 22:12 says, He (the LORD) said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

Verse 14 says, So Abraham called the name of that place, 'The LORD will provide,'  as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.'

Abraham named the place the LORD will provide. Or in Hebrew, YHWH Yireh.  Or in English transliteration, Jehovah Jireh.

Someday, the LORD would not withhold His Son from mankind, in that very same place.  He is asking us to trust in Him, in the same way that He challenged Abraham to trust in Him and His provision.

The Cross: Love Embodied

We have just finished another season of Passover/Unleavened Bread/Firstfruits, remembering the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Messiah.  This post has been floating around in my head all week, so it's time to put it down on virtual paper.

The cross. What took place there is the crossroads (pun intended?) of human history.

All the scriptures point to this One Monumental Moment in time. The work of the Messiah on the cross - and His subsequent resurrection - is why the Berean Jews searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were true.

So what is the crux of the cross?

Love.

There is a lot of talk about love today. Love is love. Be kind to everyone. All kinds of love are equally valid.

It all sounds so lovely and good.  And indeed, what did Yeshua say were the two greatest commandments?

1. Love God. In fact, love Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. In other words, love Him with all ya got.

2. Love your neighbor as (much as you love) yourself. Scripture goes on to define your neighbor as those like you (friends, brethren) and those not like you (Samaritans, enemies).

Both of these commands sum up the essence of the entire Sinai Covenant, which points toward (and was fulfilled in) Yeshua.

When Yeshua was sacrificed, He gave us a visual picture of that love - the cross itself.

The vertical part, the trunk of the tree so to speak, is the part that points to the heavens. It points to the love of God. We love because He first loved us.

The horizontal part is the snapshot of love to the world. God Himself in human form stretched out His arms to love all of us. In the same way, it is a picture of the love we are to have for humanity.

Notice that the horizontal crossbar of the cross is firmly attached to the vertical bar. It is because of the love of God that we can love others. We love because He first loved us.

Without that vertical stake, there is nothing on which to hang/fix/attach/base that horizontal bar that represents our love for others.

We can try, for a time, to try and love others in our own power. But because of the sinful nature of people (we can all be jerks at times), eventually, without the firm foundation of God’s love, humanistic love will fall flat.

In fact, it is already happening.

I would like to ask those in favor of a godless, humanistic love for your fellow man: where exactly do you think this love comes from?

Are you being honest when you claim that we should just be kind to everyone? Are you kind to those who hold to a biblical faith? Or do you act like you are, but make fun of them being their backs?

Funny how I  don’t see love for the Bible believers showing up much in your claims. In claiming that those people are intolerant fundamentalists, haven’t you just created your own version of intolerant fundamentalism?

(Side rant:  when atheists use the term "freethinkers," what they really mean is people who think like they do.  Wrap your head around that.  All people possess free will, and are therefore free to come to their own conclusions based on the best evidence before them.)

There is nothing new under the sun.

As believers, this shouldn't really surprise us.  Note the words of Yeshua in John 15:18-19...  

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

They just don't like us/Him.

Two groups of people that I see coming up in humanistic love claims, over and over again, are the Muslims and the gays. Why these two groups, in particular?

Does your kindness to Muslims only include the moderate ones? Or are you also kind, loving, and accepting to the ones who fly planes into buildings and behead followers of Yahweh?

Does your kindness and acceptance toward gays include all of them,  including NAMBLA members and pedophiles?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t love all people, including our enemies. We should.  It is a clear command to us, the second most important one. Yeshua saw worth and value in every person, which is why He sacrificed Himself for every single person on the planet. He desires that NONE should perish but that ALL come to repentance and find life in Him.

Yeshua Himself made the claim, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If His claim is true, then eliminating His atoning death on the cross from the conversation is probably the most unkind, unloving thing a person can do.

However, not every person will accept His love offering that was given for them on the cross. 

They will say, "How intolerant of Him to only provide one way.  How dare He?"

As if that one way - the violent and painful murder of God Himself on an execution stake - was simply not good enough.

The Creator established the rules of the world that He created, and as Creator, He was entitled to do so. In Leviticus 17:11, we are clearly told that without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement. It was His innocent blood that provided that atonement - He paid the  penalty that we owe for sin - death.

I will end with a quote from the Master:  Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down His life for his friends.

He then proved it by laying down His life; not only for His friends, but for His enemies as well, as shown in Romans 5:6-8:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us.

Now that is LOVE!

Plant-Based Theology

I heard a sermon a couple weeks ago that spoke of the sacrifice of Cain that was not regarded by God, whereas God showed regard for the sacrifice of his brother Abel.

Genesis 6:2 tells us that Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain worked the ground.

It didn’t seem fair. Gardening is hard work, even today with all the convenient tools at our disposal. I can’t imagine how tough it was a an early human, fresh out of the Garden of Eden, with no John Deere tractors to lighten the burden.  Cain gave an offering that was from his table, earned by the sweat of his brow. What was wrong with that?

The speaker basically concluded that it was a matter of the heart. Abel demonstrated faith, giving the firstborn and best of his flock, and Cain did not offer his best. (Then the rest of the message was about tithing.)

On my way home, I was asking myself why Abel was even raising sheep in the first place. Their diet was plant-based (such a buzz word today). Man didn’t eat meat until after the flood, according to Genesis 9:3.

It then occurred to me that there wool of the sheep would have probably been used for clothing. This was followed by an aha moment... their clothing was made from the skins of the animal. (I’ve written about Cain and Abel before, but sometimes I get new insights so I repeat myself in order to provide context).

Their covering.

Mural from the Painted Church, Kona, Hawaii
Adam tried to revive Abel.
Note the wardrobe.

In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve had tried to cover themselves with fig leaves after they sinned.  A plant-based wardrobe. It didn’t fly with the Almighty.

God Himself had covered Adam and Eve with animal skins in Genesis 3:21. Blood, the first blood spilled on earth, had to be shed for their acceptable covering.  The Hebrew Word for covering is kaphar- also meaning atonement.

Do you see a common theme here? Blood must be shed to provide a sufficient covering over of sin.

This is why Cain’s plant-based offering was not regarded by God, and why Adam and Eve’s plant-based wardrobe was not sufficient to cover them in the eyes of God.

Genesis gives us these prophetic pictures that foretell of the sacrifice that would cover our sin once and for all -Yeshua and His atoning (covering) death on the cross.

Isaiah 64:6 tells us what God thinks of our own striving to reconcile ourselves to God via “plant-based” efforts: 

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 

Cain’s offering of grain and Adam and Eve’s attempt at the leaf wardrobe both demonstrate  the concept of man working for his own salvation. Neither attempt was regarded by God.

Only blood sacrifice was, and is, acceptable.

The gardening comes later as we work out (not for) our salvation.

Jewish Roots Doctrines and the Two Sauls

I recently met with a friend of mine; a Jewish believer in Yeshua who runs a Messianic dance ministry.  She was telling me about the different groups within the Jewish Roots movement, and sadly she reported that they all hate each other.

Hate each other?  How is this possible when one of Yeshua's main commands was that we love one another?

And yet, we are still humans, running around in these human bodies in a world that still is corrupted.  And often we forget to die to self, as the word instructs us to do.

Anyway, my friend said that there are three main groups:  Messianic Jews, Hebraic Christians, and Hebrew Roots people.  (I knew there were differences within the Jewish Roots movement but did not know they were categorized like this).

Here is a website from a Hebraic Christian congregation that explains the difference between the first two groups:

https://www.myshalom.org/hebraic_christianity

The third group, Hebrew Roots people, can be a little harder to explain since there is such a wide range of doctrines within the group. 

One of the entities that falls into this third category is the Ephraimites.  These mostly Gentile Christians claim to be a part of the ten lost tribes of Israel, so therefore they actually ARE Israel.  This doctrine also shows up as British-Israelism, Two-House (or Whole-House) Theology, and Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God.  The doctrine is heavily based on Ezekiel's vision of the two sticks coming together in Ezekiel 37.

Also within the Hebrew Roots category are people who hold to the teaching that the Messiah's death did not complete the Moses Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded it, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers.  For the most part, those involved advocate the need for every believer to walk what they call a "Torah-observant life."  This means that the ordinances of the Mosaic Covenant must be a central focus in the lifestyle of believers today as it was with the Ancient Jews. 

Hmm. About a third of those ordinances are centered around temple sacrifice - an impossibility to keep today since there is no physical temple.  Didn't James say something about breaking one part of the law breaks the whole thing?  But I digress.

There are a couple people I know who adhere to this third group, and their Facebook posts are rather militant.  In fact, it was a post from one of these people that is the reason for today's post.

This person was elaborating on what she called the false teaching of the Apostle Paul.  She went as far as saying his "conversion" was actually from the Antichrist, and that all of his teachings are false and that his writings should be thrown out of the Bible.

The following is a paraphrase of her example:

King Saul (who was from the tribe of Benjamin) persecuted David and his followers.  The Apostle Paul (whose Hebrew name is also Saul, and he was also from the tribe of Benjamin) persecuted the followers of Yeshua.  Since the Hebrew scriptures are a foreshadow of Messiah, therefore because King Saul was influenced by the devil and met a tragic end, therefore Paul too was influenced by the devil and met with a tragic end.

What a dangerous way to look at the Bible!  This person clearly does not understand how biblical foreshadowing works.  Biblical foreshadows are prophetic snapshots of what is to come, not an exact detail-by-detail fulfillment.

Let me use a different account to make my point.

The LORD stopped Abraham from sacrificing his beloved son, Isaac.  However, the LORD did not stop the sacrifice of His beloved son, Yeshua.  Therefore, since the fulfillment was not exactly like the foreshadow, Yeshua could not be the Messiah.

Can you see the logical fallacy?

However, there definitely is a prophetic connection between the two Sauls, but I never saw it until I read that Facebook post.  

Consider this:

If King Saul the Benjamite (and his ultimate demise) is a prophetic picture of the glorious Sinai Covenant, which is written on stone tablets and ends in death, how much more is Rabbi Saul the Benjamite (and his ultimate redemption) a prophetic picture of the New Covenant, written by the Spirit on our hearts?

Rabbi Saul puts it like this in 2 Corinthians 3:

Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

A story of two hills.  Which is greater?

Well.  No wonder many Hebrew Roots people take issue with the Apostle Paul.  His focus is on the glorious New Covenant and not on Moses and the Mount Sinai Covenant.

So back to the conversation I was having with my believing Jewish friend.  I asked her which of the three groups she identified with, and she said “None.  I am simply teaching people how to worship Yeshua the Jewish Messiah through dance.”  She went on to tell me that one group actually fired her for associating with those from another group.

Agghhh!

I cannot imagine that this is what the Messiah had in mind when He commanded us to love one another or when He prayed that we would be unified.

I love studying the Jewish Roots of my faith because of the richness of understanding that it brings to my faith.  But I cannot say that I fully identify with any of these Jewish Roots groups.  The congregation I attend is part of a Christian denomination, and although I am a member, I do not profess any allegiance to the denomination.

My allegiance is to the crucified and risen Redeemer – Messiah Yeshua – and to His holy Word and to His Holy Spirit dwelling within me.  

And as far as Torah observance goes, the Hebrew word Torah simply means instruction.  I believe all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is our instruction - our Torah, and it must be understood as a whole, complete set of instructions.  So yes, this makes me Torah observant.

Genesis Post 70 - Summary of the Joseph Parallels to Yeshua

I have written several times about the different parallels between Joseph the suffering servant and Yeshua our Suffering Servant.  The purpose of this post is to simply summarize them so that I have them all in one place.  I have heard it said that there are about 100 parallels between the two, and I have only discovered about 40.  So if I discover more, I will come back to this post and add them.

• Both are the beloved sons of their Fathers.
• Both are sent by their Fathers for a special purpose to their brethren.
• Both are given special robes, or mantles.
• Both were willing to be their father's servant.
• Both travel all over the country seeking their brothers.
• Both make bold, audacious claims that their brethren don't like.
• Both expose evil and wrongdoing.
• Both are sent to find their lost brothers.
• Both are shepherds of their Fathers’ sheep.
• Both are promised a remarkable future.
• Both suffer because they are hated and rejected by their brethren.
• Both are turned over to foreigners
• Both are betrayed for silver by a brother named Judah.
• Both have brothers who argue over what to do with him
• Both are stripped of their robes.
• Both are taken to Egypt.
• Both are subject to a plot to kill them.
• Both are left in the ground for three days
• Both are conspired against and falsely accused.
• Both remain silent in the face of their accusers.
• Both suffer although they are righteous.
• Both are tempted.
• Both wash the feet of their brethren.
• Both give warning of troubles to come
• Both bring bread of life to starving people.
• Both save the nations for 2(000) years while being unknown to their brethren.
• Substitutionary blood is shed in both cases.
• Both have stories made up about their deaths.
• Both have fathers who mourn in deep agony
• Both were buried in the land of Israel
• Both forgive those who wronged them.
• The wrongs that men do to both, God uses for good.
• Both are placed with two prisoners, one who was saved and the other who was not.
• Both are elevated to a place of high authority.
• Joseph is adorned with gold and fine linen, symbols of kingship and priesthood. Yeshua is our king and high priest.
• Both are placed in a terrible place but God did not leave them there (the dungeon, the grave)
• Both have every knee bowed to them
• Both claim they are there to save their brethren, not judge them.
• Both have Gentile brides
• Both have offspring who are adopted by their Fathers
• Both weep when highly moved.
• Both have brethren who vowed never to bow down to them. (Most Jewish people today want nothing to do with Yeshua)
• Both bless their brothers abundantly even though they don’t know who is doing it.
• Both appear as a foreigner so that their brethren would not recognize them.
• Both weep over their brethren who don't know them.
• Both bring salvation to their brethren, Israel.
• Both are moved by the repentant hearts of their brothers.
• Both reveal themselves to their brothers privately.
• Both have brothers who weep in sorrow and fear as they recognize them.

Genesis Post 27 - Abram's Journeys (Chapter 12)

Picking up in Genesis 12:4, we see that Abraham finally departed from his father's house in Haran, at age 75.  It was time for his social security checks to be forwarded to the land of Canaan.  So he took his wife, his nephew, and everything he owned and loaded up his camels.  (At this point, Abram still had another century to live!)

Abram made his way to the city of Shechem, and went up a hill called Elon Moreh, as far as the terebinth tree. And the scripture tells us, there were Canaanites in the land.

I have driven up this hill, with three screaming women in my car.  I am trying to imagine 75-year-old Abram making that climb!  It is worth it though.  It is still one of my favorite places in all of Israel, and there is still a terebinth tree at the top.  Is it THE terebinth tree?  I don't know, but I climbed it anyway.

In verse 7, God showed the land to Abram, and Abram immediately built an altar and worshiped the LORD.  This was the very first reveal of the promised land to Abram, and the very first altar to YHVH built in the land.  The context of the first worship in the land is the land itself.

The view from Elon Moreh is astounding.  It is on Mount Kabir and overlooks the Valley of Tirzah, through which Joshua would some day lead the Israelites coming up from the Jordan River.  The mounts of blessing and cursing (Gerazim and Ebal; see Deuteronomy 11:29) are fully in view.  It is easy to picture Abram looking in every direction, seeing the beautiful mountains and valleys that the LORD was giving to his descendants.

Abram's view from Mount Kabir

But those Canaanites.

Is God trying to start a conflict or something?

The modern name is Nablus, and it is located deep inside the contested areas of the Holy Land.  It is interesting to note that in Arabic, Nabulus means new city.  Shechem, on the other hand, means the back; specifically the neck between the shoulders, or figuratively, as the place of burdens; a spur of a hill.

It is sad to say that Shechem is generally off limits to Jews today.  It is the location of Joseph's tomb, and also Jacob's well, both of which I have visited.   Joseph's tomb had just been vandalized right before I got there.  The Jews are allowed, once per month, to visit the tomb of Joseph.  The visit always takes place at night, with IDF soldiers accompanying them for protection.

Moving on...

Abram continued on a southward journey through the land, building yet another altar as he went.

Then we come to verse 10:
Now there was a famine in the land. 

Goodness gracious, can't Abram catch a break?

In the south (Negev in Hebrew), there is no water, nothing green, only death. Gotta go!  Abram had to leave the promised land and go to Egypt.

At this point, we get to learn a little bit about Sarai. She was cute. Sixty five years old and still a looker. Abraham thought, hmm, they’re going to like her… I better say "She’s my sister."  He actually begged Sarai to go along with it.

So, this great man of faith was afraid of the king of Egypt. Sarah was that good looking. Apparently, she was to die for... so he lied.

Technically, she was his half sister, as scripture later tells us.  So it was a half-truth.  Was Abram the first politician?  Telling a lie based on a partial truth, for self-preservation?

All the princes of Egypt concurred that Abraham's sister was a hottie, so they brought her to Pharaoh's harem.

Yikes.  It was time for Godly intervention, because Sarai getting pregnant by the ruler of Egypt would have messed up the line of the promised Redeemer.  So Pharaoh's household was stricken with a terrible plague.

God was preserving and protecting Sarai - and the line of the Messiah - through this plague. The Jewish rabbis say that the plague was some kind of painful STD.

In verse 18, we see that Pharaoh was angry and he sent Abram and Sarai away, along with all of their treasures that they accumulated in Egypt.

Dude, take your wife and get outta here!

We see here a foreshadowing of future exodus, when Israel departed the land amidst great plagues and with great treasures.  Also, scripture will show us yet another exodus, when Yeshua returned from Egypt with His parents.

Hosea 11:1 says,
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

This is quoted in Matthew 2 when Yeshua made His own exodus.

It's almost like the LORD wants us to pay attention to these departures from Egypt!  Egypt is used sometimes as a metaphor for sin in the scriptures.  So chew on that for awhile!  Deliverance from sin?  Both Abraham and Moses departed Egypt with great treasure.  Yeshua departed Egypt, being the great treasure Himself!

Let's look at another prophetic picture that we can see in the lives of Abram and Sarai.  (Sorry, I keep using those names because we haven't gotten to the name change yet.)

Anyway, if Abraham is known as the father of our faith, then this makes Sarah the mother.   And she is beautiful! Is Father Abraham a prophetic picture of the Messiah? And is Sarah a picture of the bride of Messiah?  Is the bride of Messiah beautiful?

We don't know what Sarai looked like.  But we know
she was beautiful.

In the context of husbands and wives, Ephesians 5 tells us this:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

I could say so much more right now about this prophetic picture, but I would be getting ahead of myself.  So stay tuned for more crazy adventures now that Abram and Sarai have returned to the Promised Land. 

Click here to read about the breakup between Abram and Lot.

Genesis Post 12 - The Fall (Chapter 3)

Today is an in-depth look at chapter 3 - the very chapter that the rest of the Bible seeks to remedy.

I have already touched on chapter 3 in previous posts.  The snake deceived Eve, Eve offered to Adam, Adam ate.  God meted out punishment accordingly.  They became naked and ashamed.

And even though it was the woman who ate the fruit first, Romans 5:12 tells us that sin entered the world through Adam!  In other words, the woman was deceived, but Adam knew exactly what he was doing.  Was he just being dumb?  No.  He is a foreshadow of our Messiah, and here is why.

Eve was his wife and he loved her.  When he saw that she was a goner, he willingly took the fruit and ate.  He didn't love the fruit, he loved his wife.  What a picture of the Messiah, Who loved His bride so much that He took on the cross.  He took the fall for us, just as Adam did for his bride.

It is not good for man to be alone.  And it is not good for God to be alone.

Yeshua is even called by the name Adam.  1 Corinthians 15:45 goes back to Genesis and links Yeshua to Adam when it says this:
And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Just like Adam, the Messiah knew exactly what He was doing when He went to the cross.  He loved His bride and willingly took her punishment.  And in doing so, Yeshua reversed the curse that Adam brought to the world, reversing death and bringing life.  God would not have to be alone, without His beloved creations.

Moving on, I want to pause and talk about 3:15, a very key verse in scripture.  The LORD is addressing the devil.

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

This is the first promise of a coming Redeemer.  There will be enmity between the offspring of the devil and the woman, and also the devil's seed and the Seed of the woman (ultimately the Messiah Who would be born of a woman of Israel).  Biblically, the woman is Israel; the one chosen to bring about God's plans for the world. And boy, has there been enmity between the devil and Israel.  

Scripture elaborates on this enmity in Revelation 12:1-9:

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

Why does the woman have the moon under her feet?  Under the feet is a symbol of something being conquered.  What is the moon a symbol of?  It goes back to the false religious system invented in Babylon.  Its ultimate fulfillment shows up today as Islam.  All mosques have a crescent moon on them.  Remember the spiritual warfare that was prophesied in Genesis 3:15?  The seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent.

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan has tried so many times to wipe out the Jews throughout history, but he will never succeed.  Yeshua's return depends on the presence of the Jews and of Israel.

A popular T-shirt in Israel contains a warning to the world

Revelation 12 wraps up with a reminder of the devil's secondary target: Christians.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman [because she was supernaturally protected], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This has always been God's pattern - the Jew first, and then the nations.

Going back to Genesis 3:15, it is interesting to note the use of the word heel, or Ya'acov (Jacob). Do you remember the meaning of the name Jacob?  It means deceiver, or more literally, one who grabs the heel.

And later in Genesis, the name of Jacob would be changed to Israel, which means struggles with God, and also prince of God.  Even in the account of God wrestling with Jacob, we can see Genesis 3:15 being played out.

Jacob went from being a heel-grabber/deceiver/supplanter to a God-chaser by the name of Israel.

The devil, however, is the original deceiver and the Father of Lies, and he will remain so until his destruction.

So the Father of Lies will nip at the Messiah's heel, but the Seed will crush the devil's head.  The Seed of the Woman is the promised Messiah, and He will utterly vanquish the devil in the end.

In the punishment that He meted out, God cursed the serpent, and He cursed the ground.  But take note: He did not curse the people.  Yes, they were punished, but then they were given the first covenant of the Bible.  (Are you familiar with the seven covenants?  If not, click here for this very important framework of the Bible).

Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with leaves; a picture of us trying to cover ourselves with our own good works.  But God had a different idea.

Enter death.

Adam and Eve must have been horrified at the sight of the first bloodshed, which provided the animal skins that would then cover them.

Leviticus 17:11 says that without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins.  Once we understand this foundational Biblical principle, we can clearly see the promised Redeemer right there in Genesis. This same theme of blood atonement will continue throughout the rest of the scriptures.

Buckle your seatbelts!  God is just getting started with His story!

Click here to continue to the next post.

A Trilogy of Messiah

I was at a conference awhile back that had a bookstore on site.  One of the books featured was the "Jesus-Centered Bible."  I had to chuckle a little... aren't they all?

Maybe the publishers
 ran out of marketing ideas?

The Messiah is evident all throughout the scriptures, from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21.

One of my favorite places in the scriptures is the book of Psalms.  I have been hanging out there this month, just enjoying His presence there.

Did you know that the word salvation appears 63 times throughout the book?  And did you know that the Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua, which also happens to be the name of the Messiah?  The name we English speakers know is Jesus, which is a transliteration of the Greek word Iesous.  (Note:  the letter J didn't show up until the 16th century.  The Hebrew letter is a yod, which sounds like a y).

Anyway, the grammar police in me digresses.  I want to visit a particular section in the psalms that gives us a complete picture of the Messiah.  Throughout history, the Jewish sages have been perplexed at the two very different portrayals of the Messiah.  Some concluded that there were two Messiahs.  Others thought that perhaps there was one Messiah, but He came twice.  These two pictures of the Messiah have names - Messiah ben Yosef (son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant), and Messiah ben David (son of David, the Reigning King).

He is the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah

In Psalm 22, He is portrayed as the Suffering Servant.  When you read it, you see such a clear picture of His death.  When Yeshua spoke the first line of this psalm while He was suffering on the tree, it was His way of calling our attention to the entire psalm.  My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?

The psalm describes the sort of death He would suffer... hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented by the Romans as a form of execution. It also foretells the division of His garments.
I am poured out like water
And all My bones are out of joint
My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me
They pierced my hands and My feet
They divide My garments among them
And for My clothing they cast lots

During His first advent, the Messiah suffered, died, and rose again in order to atone for the sin which entered the world back in the garden.  He then went back to heaven so that the good news of salvation by His finished work could circle the globe.

Psalm 24 speaks of His glorious return as the King of Kings.  Scripture tells us that He will return to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem.  Today, the Eastern Gate is sealed.  But the psalm tells us,
Lift up your heads, O you gates.
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD (YHVH), strong and mighty.

The Muslims sealed the gate and put a cemetery in front of it.
This will not stop the Messiah.

This King of Glory is indeed returning soon. 

But let's not forget one of the most famous of the psalms, Psalm 23.  Sandwiched between the Suffering Servant Psalm and the Returning King Psalm is a beautiful passage that comforts us and assures of of His presence while we wait for Him to return.  Additionally, we need our Good Shepherd because like sheep, we are restless, prone to wander, always searching for greener grass, and to often oblivious to danger.

Let the familiar words wash over you today as you read them.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This beautiful psalm ends with the prophecy that leads right into His glorious return in Psalm 24.  Forever we will dwell with Him!

Musings From 2 Samuel

I have read 2 Samuel numerous times, but this time the Lord has seen fit to give me glimpses of the Messiah and of insights that I had not seen before.

It is a very colorful book.  It begins the reign of King David.  He conquers Jerusalem from the Jebusites and dwells in the City of David.

It is interesting to note the Hebrew letter shin created by the three Jerusalem valleys.
A shin is the letter on every mezuzah, and denotes the protection of Almighty God.

The King brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and dances with all his might before the Lord, much to the chagrin of his wife Michal, who is made barren because of her scorn of him.

Immediately after that, the Lord God makes a covenant with David; the covenant that promises no end to King David's reign, through his progeny.  (The human kingship of Israel ended.  This can only mean the everlasting reign of Messiah... a son of David).

It is not long before trouble enters for David.  Most people know the story of Bathsheba and how it causes turmoil to enter David's family.  It leads to the uprising, attempted usurption, and eventual death of his son Absalom.

David's indiscretion had far-reaching consequences.

In the midst of the battle with Absalom is a sweet little account of a man named Ittai. Ittai is a Gittite; a foreign man from Gath who has attached himself to King David.  The king reminds him that he is a foreigner and questions why he is there supporting him.  David goes so far as to tell Ittai to go home, back to his own people.

My mind instantly went to one of my all-time favorites, the Book of Ruth.  See if 2 Samuel 15:21 rings a bell:

Ittai answered the king and said, "As the LORD lives, and as the lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be."

The response from David is thus:

So David said to Ittai, "Go, and cross over."  Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over.

Let me interject a couple of Hebrew meanings for you to ponder.

• Absalom - My Father is Peace
• Ittai - With Me
• Eber - Cross Over.  The word for Hebrew - Ivri - comes from this root word... one who has crossed over.

In the same way, we also attach ourselves to God's people Israel when we cross over via the cross and receive the sacrifice of Messiah.  He grafts us into the household of faith.

Moving on... in chapter 16, a man named Shimei begins cursing King David.  What does David do?  Nothing.  He tells the men with him to leave the man be; the LORD'S will shall be carried out.  Shimei then disappears until chapter 19, at which time he comes to King David and bows at his feet and begs forgiveness.  David's nephew Abishai reminds David that the man should be put to death because he cursed the LORD'S anointed.  

David instead forgives Shimei completely, swearing that he shall not die. What an incredible picture of Messiah Yeshua forgiving us our own trespasses against the King of Kings, as we move from death to life!

That Other Kinsman with the Shoe

As I return from the land of Israel, I am marveling at how my daily Bible reading has been matching up with what I just experienced while in the land.

Two things jump out.

First, a visit to Shiloh coincided with my reading of the account of Hannah, Samuel, and Eli the priest.  Having now seen Shiloh - the place where the miskhan (tabernacle) stood for 369 years, the passage has become much more vivid in my mind.  The rise of the prophet Samuel marks the end of the Shiloh tabernacle.

I just want to mention one thing about Shiloh before moving on to the second thing.  The spot where the tabernacle rested is surrounded by low mountains.  Pilgrims would offer their sacrifice and then eat their portion of the sacrifice on one of these hills, while looking at the mishkan.  Their pottery plates, oily from the meal, would then be broken on the site.  If millions of people broke pottery here every year for 369 years, you would expect to see evidence of pottery shards.  

And can we?  Yes!  They were EVERYWHERE on those hills... pottery shards from the time of the Judges.  I only had to stoop down and pick them up.  The crazy thing is, those shards could only be found on the side of the hills that were facing the mishkan.  The back side of those hills?  Not a single shard to be found.

Ancient pottery shards lying on the ground at Shiloh

The second thing to jump out for me is the story of Ruth, which is read in synagogues at Shavuot (which also coincided with our visit and with my own reading of Ruth).  Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Bible, so I happen to write about her often.  You can re-read my first post about Ruth here if you'd like.

There is one thing that has always stumped me in the story of Ruth.  What was with that other kinsman redeemer that was closer to Naomi's line than Boaz?  I had never given it too much thought before, but I was curious this time and asked the Lord to give me wisdom as I read through it.  The Lord did not disappoint... here is what He showed me.  It's quite simple, actually.

Someone else had a legal right to Naomi's family land and to Ruth.  Boaz was willing to be a redeemer, but he had to go through proper channels to ensure that his redemption of Ruth was legal.  

In the same way, all the earth is legally under the rule of the evil one, ever since the Garden of Eden.  The devil is the default.  Our Redeemer Yeshua, however, came and redeemed the world from sin and death legally, in a way that satisfied God's holy law.  He shed His blood for us to fulfill what is written. Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22 show us that God's legal way of redemption for us is the blood of atonement.

It is interesting to note the custom of the shoe.  The close relative gave Boaz his sandal to confirm that he was giving up his rights to Ruth and to the land.  There is a custom in the Middle Eastern world regarding shoes.  To throw a shoe at someone is considered the WORST. POSSIBLE. INSULT. EVER. The bottom of the shoe is covered in dirt, and throwing a shoe at someone is like throwing dirt at them.  It is the ultimate in uncleanness.  Is there a connection somehow to that other kinsman?

Shoe-wielding protesters

We really don't relate to the shoe/insult custom here in the West.  But I find it interesting that there is another reference to the shoe in the scriptures.  Note the words of the Lord in Psalm 60 verse 8:

Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe.

Afikomen, The Hidden Bread

This year's Passover has come and gone and is now part of history, but I still have thoughts in my head that are rattling around, and I feel like they won't be history until I put them in writing.

First of all, I love the Feasts of the Lord.  I am stating this fact for anyone who might be new to my blog.  If you've been around awhile, you know this.  The word for "feast" means appointed time.  In the scriptures, the Lord God has  made an appointment with His people.   And rightfully so, because like everything written in the scriptures, they point clearly and dramatically to the Messiah.

One of the highlights of the Passover meal (called a Seder, which means order) is the presentation, breaking, and hiding of the Afikomen (ah fee KO men). How did this traditional part of the Seder arise?  If you asked Tevye, he might say "I don't know.  But it's tradition!"

Here's the story.  The word Afikomen is Greek, and has the meaning of "He has come, or that which is yet to come."  During the Seder, Jewish people all over the world take three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread which has been striped and pierced), and place them in a three compartment linen cover called a Matzah tosh -  one piece in each section.

(I asked a Jewish person once what the three pieces stood for, and he wasn't completely sure.  He guessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

At one point in the Seder, the leader removes the middle piece of matzah and breaks it in half.  One of the broken pieces gets wrapped in linen and hidden.  The other piece remains hidden in the middle slot of the Matzah tosh.  After dinner, the children seek the piece hidden by the leader, and the winner returns the piece to the leader to redeem it for a prize.

The clear picture of Yeshua in the Afikomen is astounding to one who knows Him.  He is our unleavened bread - striped and pierced for us - wrapped in linen, and hidden in the ground.  (Note:  leaven in scripture represents sin.  Our Bread of Life, Yeshua, is sinless).  That which was hidden was found and redemption occurs.

This year, however, a friend who joined us for our Seder asked me why the other half remains hidden in the Matzah tosh.  I didn't have a ready answer for her.  However, the next day, as I was researching something else completely, the answer to that question fell into my lap via Google!

Yeshua is still hidden, for the most part, from the Jewish people.  Romans 11:25-27 has this astonishing message:  For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved,  as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

How awesome will that day be when He reveals Himself to them and "uncovers the hidden part" of the Afikomen for them, so to speak.

If some of the Jewish people today believe that the three pieces represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I find it interesting that the broken piece would be representative of Isaac, who himself is a foreshadow of Yeshua when nearly sacrificed by his father Abraham.

It seems that the tradition of the Afikomen contains mysteries for both Jew and Gentile.

Crossing the Jordan and Passing the Torch

I know... it's a month later and part two of my previous post is just coming out now.  Passover is over, and the whole time I had blog post material floating around in my head!  Additionally, I just finished the book of Deuteronomy this morning and am about to start Joshua. Time to cross the Jordan for a new beginning!

So anyway, this post is a follow-up to my last post on John the Baptist.  If you missed it, you can read it here.

We are going to go back in history and look at the significance of the Jordan River, and the passing of the torch from Moses to Joshua.

Moses had led his people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the edge of the Jordan River.  Because Moses had not carefully followed the Lord's instructions in the wilderness -  striking the rock instead of speaking to it - he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Was God being unfair?

Of course not.  Every act of God has meaning and purpose.  God used the situation for His own illustrative purposes - for us!

Moses, just like so many other figures in the Hebrew scriptures, is a foreshadow of Messiah.  In fact, Deuteronomy 18:15 promises:  The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

 Look at this list and see if  indeed Yeshua is a prophet like Moses:

• Moses was the first mediator.  Yeshua was the final mediator.
• Both were born as Hebrews
• Both were chosen by God as leaders
• Both were born while Israel was suffering under cruel leaders
• Both were hidden in Egypt as babies from those who wanted to kill them
• Both performed supernatural acts
• Moses turned water into blood.  Yeshua turned water into wine.
• Both communicated directly with God
• Both instituted a new covenant between God and the people
• Both performed miracles
• Moses told the people about the Passover Lamb.  Yeshua became the Passover Lamb.
• Both were hated by the ruling parties
• Both had siblings who misunderstood them
• Both were lawgivers, one on Mt. Sinai, one on the Mount of Beatitudes
• Moses sent out twelve spies; Yeshua sent out twelve disciples
• Moses chose seventy leaders; Yeshua sent out seventy disciples
• Both had followers who strayed from their teachings
• Both fasted 40 days and faced a spiritual crisis on a mountain
• People picked up stones to stone each of them; and in neither case succeeded
• Moses brought living water out of the rock; Yeshua is the Rock, our Living Water
• Moses controlled the Red Sea; Yeshua controlled the Sea of Galilee
• Both faces shone with glory on a mountain
• Moses lifted the serpent up to bring healing; Yeshua was lifted up to bring healing
• Moses was a shepherd; Yeshua is the Good Shepherd
• Both underwent warfare with arms raised and surrounded by two people
• Both fed thousands of people supernaturally with bread
• Each of them were preceded by 400 years of biblical silence before starting their ministry
• Both showed compassion to women at wells
• Both redeemed people from slavery - Slavery in Egypt, slavery to sin
• Both were loved and supported by women named Miriam
• Both chose humble lives of servanthood
• Moses offered his life after the sin of the golden calf.  Yeshua offered His life for the sin of the world.
• Both died on a hill
• Moses was cut off from the Promised Land, Yeshua was cut off from His father
• Both delivered their people with mighty hands and outstretched arms
• Both died so that there could be a new beginning for their people

Moses died and was buried on Mt. Nebo, just across the Jordan River from Jericho.  The torch was passed to Yahoshua (Joshua) son of Nun, and the people prepared to enter the Promised Land. (There are many similarities between Joshua and Yeshua as well... but we will save that for another post). 

What time of year did they cross the Jordan?  

Just before PASSOVER.  

The priests lead the way crossing the Jordan River

At the beginning of the first month of the year, Nisan, the Jordan River parted and the people of Israel walked through on dry land, led by the priests.  For a number of days, they camped just east of Jericho.  At this time, the Israelites were circumcised as they prepared for the new beginning.  Passover began on the 14th of Nissan, and the very next day - the first day of Unleavened Bread - the Israelites began to eat of the produce of the land and the manna stopped.  

It was also the day they began to march around Jericho.  On the final day of Unleavened Bread, the walls of Jericho toppled by the hand of the Lord, and Israel officially entered the Promised Land.

Crossing the Jordan was very significant.  It is a throwback to the Red Sea.  It is a foreshadow of spiritual deliverance by the Messiah.  This is why our high priest Yeshua was immersed in the Jordan before beginning His ministry.  It is the start of something new!

Peter confirms that Yeshua is the prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18 when he says in Acts 3:22, For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

Yeshua wipes away sin and gives new life to those who will trust in Him. Have you crossed the Jordan yet to meet Him?

The Hitchhiker

I recently returned from a journey to Israel, during which I was blessed to observe the three Fall Feasts - a dream come true!  Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.  My heart is still bursting from all I saw and learned.

A soldier adds palms to the roof of his sukkah

Just before I returned home, I went out beyond the green line to a small village in the land of Benjamin in Samaria, to visit a sweet family that I know.  I had asked them if I could come and see their sukkah (a temporary booth, built every year in honor of the seventh Biblical Feast, Sukkot - a memorial of God's presence and provision during the forty years in the wilderness).

We had a wonderful visit that morning and ate lunch together.  After lunch, I needed to return to Jerusalem for the final Sabbath of my visit - the first day of Sukkot.  (During my 21 days in Israel, seven of them were Sabbaths because of the Feasts.  As a Gentile, I confess that I am not used to resting that much!)

As I was about to exit the community for the hour-long trek back to Jerusalem, I came upon an Orthodox Jewish man who was awaiting a ride to the bus stop from anyone who was willing to pick him up.  Since my friend in the village had already explained to me the procedure (and safety) of Israeli hitchhiking, I felt no qualms in offering this man a ride.

For twenty minutes, we had a lively and engaging conversation.  Even though he was born and raised in a rural area of Israel, he was fluent in English, telling me it was due to computer games, computer programming, and Hollywood.

I let him know right away that I had been visiting a family for Sukkot.  A few minutes later in our conversation, I let him know that I was a gentile... a Christian.  His surprise was palpable.  I could pretty much read his thoughts... "We don't get many of your kind way out here.  And Sukkot?  You even know what that is??"

Driving down the mountain, we spoke of Yeshua.  He had questions on how we could possibly worship three Gods.  I told him that I don't believe Christianity has done a great job at explaining who God is and what we believe about His nature.  Yeshua Himself said that He and His Father were one.  I affirmed that it is blasphemy for a man to claim to be God.

But then I posed the question from the other direction:  "But what is to stop GOD from becoming a MAN?"

Yeshua claimed that He was God.  But then He backed up His claim through His miracles, including the three miracles that ancient sages expected the Messiah to perform:  1)  Healing a leper, 2) Casting out a demon from a mute person, and 3) Healing a man who was blind from birth.

Not only did He do these three miracles, but many, many more.  Feeding thousands.  Walking on water.  He even raised his friend Eleazar (Lazarus) from the dead.  And finally the ultimate miracle:  His Own Resurrection. He had kept every single point of the Moses covenant perfectly, and as such, death had no hold over Him.  He was our Perfect Passover Lamb.  Only God could do that!  (Remember Abraham's words in Genesis?  God will provide Himself the Lamb).

Yeshua did not just back up his claim of being God through miracles.  He is the fulfillment of everything written about Him in the Tanakh.  The entire book Hebrew scriptures points to Him.  He fulfilled every single prophecy that was written about Him.  There are hundreds.

The seven Feasts, as outlined in Leviticus 23, are also a foreshadowing of Him.  He fulfilled the four Spring Feasts perfectly at His first coming, when He became the ultimate Sacrifice for all mankind. He was Messiah, son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant.  The Lamb.

He will fulfill the Fall Feasts when He returns, as the Messiah, Son of David, the Conquering King, when He returns to set up His kingdom on Earth.  In Jerusalem.  The Lion.

My new hitchhiking friend did not agree with me, and that is okay.  History is full of forced conversions that were ugly and cruel.   In fact, I apologized for that cruel history; for the way that my people treated his people.

I made another friend in a shop on Ben Yehuda Street, another Orthodox Jewish man.   I kept going back because we had such great conversations.  People have tried over and over to tell him about Yeshua.  But he looked me in the eye and said, "I am not going to believe it unless God Himself reveals it to me."  I wonder if he realizes that he was paraphrasing the truth found in John 6:44 - No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Romans 11 tells us that Israel will be blinded in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  Isaiah 8:17 confirms this:  And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.

So I continue to love my Jewish friends, tell them about Yeshua when the door is opened, and love them unconditionally, whether they choose to follow Yeshua as Messiah or not.  I trust God for the outcome that He has already foretold.

As for me, I believe that Yeshua IS the Messiah that was prophetically foretold in the Hebrew scriptures, otherwise I wouldn't follow Him.  And if He IS the prophesied Messiah, then trusting in Him is the most Jewish thing that a Jewish person can do!  No need to "convert" to a Gentile faith, only a need for teshuvah (repentance, or turning) from sin to the One who paid the price in full.

To the Ends of the Earth

The other day, I visited Casaerea with my daughter. It was a seaport built by Herod the Great.

Why did Herod build it? Israel already had an important port, the ancient city of Joppa (Yafo) to the south. (This was the same Joppa from which Jonah fled, hoping to avoid his prophetic assignment to the Gentiles at Nineveh.)

Well, Herod wanted a piece of the monetary action (not to mention renown), so he built a new port 60 kilometers to the north. To attract the sailors to his port, Herod built all sorts of amusements for them, such as a horse racing track (hippodrome), amphitheater, and more. Many sailors were happy to spend their winters in Caesaerea, when the Mediterranean was too blustery to navigate safely.

Herod named the port after Caesar. It was a thoroughly Roman city.

Enter Acts 10...

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,

a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

“Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.

As the account continues, we see Peter having a vision while in Joppa, of a proverbial ham sandwich in a bed sheet. The Lord was demonstrating to him that the gospel would also be preached to the Gentiles.

The men sent by Cornelius arrived immediately following Peter's vision.  Peter went with them to Cesaerea, and Cornelius and his household then became the first Gentile believers.

Scripture gives us yet another glimpse of God's ordained order, "To the Jew first."

How appropriate it was that Peter had his vision in a very ancient Jewish port, but was called to a very Roman port to give the gospel to the gentiles. What a picture of the Word going forth to the rest of the world, from a symbolic Roman port!

Back to Jonah... how symbolic is it that Jonah, wanting to avoid his assignment to preach to Gentiles, fled from the Jewish port of Joppa?

(PS. I had planned to share photos on this post, but the app won't let me do it)