??

All of our cultural and national problems can, at least in part, be attributed to a breakdown of the marital and parent-child relationships as God intended them. Jon Behrens offers us several pieces of advice on giving our children a better life and fighting the culture war.

https://rumble.com/v2f3ply-hon....oring-your-parents-w

Q84: What was the purpose of putting the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels during Passover?

#quiz

PS: Discussions are very welcome, but please do not give the answer away in your discussions.






Exodus 12

From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day.
Jeremiah 7:25

God's consistent attempts at communication with his people through the prophets and the Scriptures is evidence of his longsuffering love and devotion.

SERIES K --- ISRAEL’S GOLDEN AGE --- LESSON 17

PLANS FOR THE TEMPLE

PREPARATIONS FOR THE TEMPLE

From 1 Chronicles 22

After the plague ended, David decided that the temple should be built at the location of Araunah’s threshing floor. ‘This is the place for the temple and the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings,’ he said. David ordered all the non-Israelites who lived in the land to prepare great square stones for the temple. He supplied great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and the clamps, as well as bronze in such quantity that it was not even weighed. The men of Tyre and Sidon brought many cedar logs to be used in the construction of the temple. ‘My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced and Adonai’s temple must be magnificent, glorious and famous throughout all lands. Therefore, I must help Solomon by starting preparations for the temple now,’ David said. Thus, before he died, David did much planning and preparation for the construction of the temple. One day he called his son Solomon and commanded him to build the temple. ‘I had made plans to build the temple myself,’ David told him, ‘But Adonai told me not to do it, for He said that I had shed too much blood in war. He also promised that you my son would be a man of peace since I had conquered the surrounding lands. Adonai said in fact, that my son’s name would be Solomon, which means ‘Peaceful’ and that He would give peace and security to Israel during your reign. Yes, Adonai told me how you would build His house for His Name and that you would be like a son to Him and He like a father to you. He also promised that your sons and descendants would rule in Israel throughout their generations. ‘So now, my son Solomon, may Adonai be with you and cause you to succeed in building His house, as He has commanded you. May He grant you wisdom and understanding so that you will follow His laws in ruling Israel. If you follow the Laws and Commandments which He gave through Moses, you will prosper. Be strong, a man of courage, without fear. And never be dismayed! ‘I have gathered many things for Adonai’s temple,’ David continued. ‘There are one hundred thousand talents of gold [worth over twenty billion dollars today!], plus one million talents of silver and so much bronze and iron that it cannot be weighed, as well as cedar wood and stone. You will add more to these things. There are also many stonecutters, masons, carpenters and other craftsmen who can help with the gold, silver, bronze and iron. So do your best! Adonai is with you!’ David also commanded the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ‘Adonai is with you,’ he said. ‘He has brought you peace with the surrounding lands, for I have subdued them before Adonai and His people. Now fix your hearts and minds to this work of building Adonai’s temple, so that the Ark of the Covenant and all the other holy vessels of Adonai may be brought into a temple built in the Name of Adonai.’

COMMENTARY

DAVID’S GIFTS FOR THE TEMPLE

Up through the time of King David, the portable tabernacle remained the Israelites’ central place of worship. Though David had an intense desire all his life to build a permanent structure to replace the temple tent that was not accomplished during his reign. But the drive was great, so he purchased land for the temple site and gathered much of the raw material needed for the building’s construction. The list of materials reveals several things about Israel during David’s; and Solomon’s; time. There must have been much wealth in David’s Israel. Huge amounts of gold and silver were traditionally demanded from conquered peoples and David must have made no exception. David’s; and later, Solomon’s; requirements for the temple were so great that they must have left essentially two groups of people in the country: the very rich and the very poor. The tax and labour demands must have left literally thousands in a state of dire poverty. The materials used also show that permanent structures were generally made of stone. Wood was used for interior decoration, doors and pillars. It is clear too, that the artistic skills of the time were great for any period. Although Solomon brought Hiram of Tyre to do much of the work, there were highly skilled artisans in Israel as well. David prepared the way to build the temple partially because of Solomon’s youth and inexperience. When the temple was finally built, it was a great accomplishment of art and architecture. The temple was as much a tribute to David as to his son Solomon.

Stepping out in faith!

After three months of diligent prayer and thoughtful planning, my wife, Ashlyn Bezuidenhout , and I have decided to quite our jobs at an event hire company so that we can spend our energy to further build the TTN platform. This is not an easy decision, but we believe this is what Father has in store for us.

You may not be aware, but I have been developing and maintaining the TTN platform in my spare time in the evenings and Sundays for the past two years. I haven’t been able to dedicate myself to building the community and draw people together. Our desire for the past 10 years has been to build a self-sustaining community on a farm, but this hasn’t been possible to date. Two years ago at the end of the big covid lockdown in the UK, we started working on TTN so that we could at least facilitate a virtual community.

This has been a task of love and we haven’t taken any wages from TTN and it actually costs us a lot more than what current contributions are bringing in. BUT Father has carried us and we trust that He will further bless our efforts so that we can in the near future draw wages.

We ask that you keep the Torah community in your prayers. Having physical contact with other believers is so important and making virtual contact could be a first step. So do let me know if there is anything that I can help with to get your communities actively involved in TTN.

For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
Jeremiah 7:22-23

Sacrifices were never the foundation of God's true religion nor where they ever necessary for salvation, only a stop-gap mechanism to allow his presence among the people. Obedience, however, is central to all of God's covenants.

The Bible is full of patterns: themes, parallelisms, chiasms, mirrors, etc.

For example, the offerings described in #vayikra (Leviticus 1:1-6:7) are from the offerer's POV. The same offerings in #tzav (Leviticus 6:8-8:36) are from priest's POV.

And then a chiasm in #leviticus 8:1-5 centers on Moses' obedience to God in the inauguration of the priesthood.

https://www.americantorah.com/....2018/03/20/humility-

I hope everyone is having an awesome Tuesday♥️