God weaves his plan from the beginning of time so that events will converge just so and individuals will be presented with choices that will determine their status in the world to come. We don't always have a lot of control over the basic circumstances in our lives. We do, however, have control over how we choose to interact with those circumstances.
#vayeshev #biblestudy #genesis
https://www.americantorah.com/....2016/12/24/the-cupbe
SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 8
CONFRONTATION
TWO BROTHERS AND HOW THEY MET
From Genesis 33
The day that Jacob feared had come. As he looked south toward Edom, he saw his brother Esau coming with four hundred men. Jacob divided his family into three groups. The two maids and their children were placed nearest to Esau as he approached, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph. When this was finished, Jacob went to the south to meet Esau. As he came near Esau, he bowed to the ground seven times. Esau ran to meet Jacob, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Then Jacob and Esau wept together. [Who are these people with you?] Esau asked when he noticed Jacob’s family. [These are my children,] said Jacob. Then Bilhah and Zilpah stepped forward with their children and bowed before Esau. Next Leah and her children bowed before him, and finally Rachel and Joseph. [And why did you send all those animals to meet me?] Esau asked. [I wanted to please you with a gift,] said Jacob. [But I already have plenty, my brother. You should keep these animals for yourself.] No, Jacob insisted. [Please take them, for it’s worth all those things to see friendship on your face. In fact, it’s like seeing the face of YHVH, for you have received me graciously. You must take my gifts because YHVH has given plentifully to me. Jacob continued urging Esau to accept the animals until at last he took them. Now we must head homeward,] said Esau. [I will lead you.] [The children are still young and cannot go very fast,] said Jacob, [and there is much care required to lead the flocks and herds with their young. If I drive them too hard, even for a day, they will die. Please go ahead of us to your home in Seir and we will follow slowly, at the pace which the cattle and children set.] [Then let me leave some of my men to guide you and help you,] said Esau. [There is no need to do that,] Jacob answered. [I am just grateful that you are friendly to us.] While Esau returned to Seir, Jacob moved onward to a place where he built a house and made booths for his animals. Thus, the name of the place became Succoth, which meant [Booths.] Their next home was at Shechem, in the land of Canaan. Jacob set up camp near the city and bought that piece of land from Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. On his new land, Jacob set up an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel, which meant [YHVH, the YHVH of Israel.]
COMMENTARY
THE LAND OF EDOM
Esau, with an army of four hundred men, met the brother he had sworn twenty years before to kill. But no anger flashed at that confrontation! Esau’s wealth had multiplied. He was satisfied with his riches. He still dismissed the Covenant promises of YHVH, which Jacob {Israel} possessed, as unimportant. Israel’s fears dissolved in the warmth of his brother’s greeting. Edom lay southeast of Israel in the harsh mountainous region beyond the Jordan River Valley. Stony peaks dropped sharply into deep gorges that rose to high-level plateaus along red sandstone cliffs. But in spite of the forbidding landscape, the land of Edom had a few rich resources. Its hills held deposits of copper and iron ore. Some grapes, figs and olives grew on its plateaus. Sheep and goats could graze on its hillside pastures. The several major roads through the land carried rich trade into the country. Edom had a common border with Israel. But they shared much more than that. Both countries were descended from the same family of ancestors, the twin sons of Isaac. The Israelites traced their origins to Jacob, and the Edomites belonged to the line of Esau. Though they shared the same blood, the two countries were old and bitter enemies. The Israelites probably scorned the Edomites because the descendants of Esau had intermarried with the Canaanites and adopted their gods. And the Edomites did not permit the Israelites to use the major route through the country, the king’s highway, during the Exodus. The friction broke out into war during the reign of Saul. This was the first of a long series of battles between Edom and Israel, in which first one side won and then the other. Babylonia finally captured Edom some centuries later, and when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem the Edomites rejoiced. When the Babylonians carried off their prisoners to Mesopotamia, some Edomites took advantage of the land of Judah’s defeat and settled within its southern borders. Their new land came to be called Idumea, and the capital was in Hebron. Edom itself was finally overrun and absorbed by the Nabatean Arabs, but Idumea continued to exist until the Roman conquest of Palestine. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the Edomites and their western territory of Idumea were absorbed into the Roman Empire and disappeared from recorded history.
SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- STUDY LESSON 7
JACOB BECOMES ISRAEL
A NIGHT OF STRUGGLE AND A NEW NAME
From Genesis 32
After Laban left, Jacob and his caravan went on toward his homeland. Along the way, YHVH’s angels met him. [YHVH has set up camp here and this is His army!] Jacob exclaimed when he saw the angels. Therefore, Jacob named the place Mahanaim, which suggested the idea of two camps. From here, Jacob sent messengers to his brother Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, in the country of Edom, giving them specific orders. [Speak to Esau with the respect you would give my master,] said Jacob. [Tell him that his servant Jacob has been living with Laban, and that I have acquired oxen, donkeys, sheep, and servants, both men and women. Tell him that I am sending messengers to let him know that I am coming as a friend and hope that he will receive me as a friend.] When the messengers returned, they gave Jacob some frightening news. [Your brother Esau is coming to meet you; with four hundred men!] Jacob was alarmed when he heard that and he immediately divided the caravan into two companies. [If Esau destroys one company, the other may escape,] he thought. Then Jacob prayed fervently to Adonai. [O YHVH of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac, Adonai Who told me to return to my homeland and You would be kind to me, I am not worthy of any of Your mercy and truth which You have shown to me thus far. I crossed the Jordan River to Padan-aram with only my staff, and now I return with two companies. Spare me from Esau, my brother, for I am afraid of him. I fear that he will come here to kill us all, even the mothers and children. But You promised to take care of me, to make my descendants as numerous as the grains of sand along the sea, which are too numerous to count.] That night, Jacob stayed where he was and prepared a peace offering for Esau of two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep, twenty male sheep, thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. [Keep a distance between each group of animals,] Jacob told his servants. [When Esau meets the first group he will ask ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going?’ Then you will tell him that the animals belong to his servant Jacob, that they are a gift for my lord Esau, and that I am coming behind you.] Jacob told each group the same thing. [As Esau meets each group, you are to tell him what I have said,] Jacob ordered. [Be certain to tell him that his servant Jacob is behind you.] [Perhaps these gifts will cool his anger,] Jacob thought. [When he finally reaches me, he may accept me.] That night, while Jacob stayed in camp, he sent his gifts on ahead of him. But during the night, Jacob got out of bed and woke his wives and their two maids and all their children and took them across the river at the Jabbok ford. When Jacob returned to camp alone, a man appeared to him and wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he was not winning, he hit Jacob’s thigh and dislocated it at the joint. [Let me go!] the man said. [It is almost day.] [I will not let you go until you bless me,] Jacob answered. Then the man asked, [What is your name? Jacob, was the answer. [No longer will you be called Jacob,] said the man. [From now on, your name will be ‘Israel,’ for you have struggled with YHVH and man and have won.] [What is your name?] Jacob asked. [Why do you ask?] the man said. Then he blessed Jacob. Jacob named the place Peniel, or Penuel, for he said, [I have seen YHVH face-to-face but He has not taken my life from me.] The sun rose and Jacob limped away. Because of this incident, the people of Israel refuse to eat the muscle that covers the hip socket, for that is the part of the body where the Angel of Adonai struck Jacob.
COMMENTARY
JACOB’S TRAVELS
YHVH’s protection from Laban did not quiet Jacob’s fear of his bother Esau. The night before the two brothers met, Jacob struggled with his fear in prayer. That night, too, he wrestled with an angel messenger, and was given a new name. Israel. From this time on his descendants would be known as the [children of Israel.] The Jewish people, and the land of Canaan, would forever carry that new name. Jacob’s travels were limited to two long trips. One was from his childhood home in Beersheba through Bethel to Haran. Bethel was about sixty miles northeast of Beersheba. There Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels upon it. When he reached Haran, Jacob remained with and worked for his uncle Laban for twenty years. At Haran he married Leah and Rachel and there eleven of his twelve sons were born. Returning to Canaan, Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and passed through Gilead. At Mount Gilead, Laban caught up with him and formed a tense treaty with him. At Mahanaim, Jacob saw angels from YHVH. He also sent messengers to Esau. Jacob wrestled with YHVH’s angel at Penuel (Peniel) and also met his brother Esau there. In Canaan, Jacob moved first to Succoth, then to Shechem, and finally to Hebron. He remained at Hebron until in later years his son Joseph brought him to Goshen, in the land of Egypt, where he died. Jacob’s total travels throughout his lifetime were perhaps no more than two thousand miles. His descendants, the Jewish people, may be found in almost every land throughout the modern world.
Why NOT to use ice with injuries
When you injure something and it becomes swollen, it is your bodies natural response to heal the tissue and area. A natural response when there is damage to tissue is to increase the amount of white blood cells to the area to start eliminating the dead tissue and begin repair. By applying ice, you lessen the swelling, because you slow down the movement of the white blood cells to the area that are designed to repair the damage. This does not speed healing, but slows it down because the need for anti-inflammatory cells is decreased by the ice, which then will prolong the time it takes to heal. Arnica and DMSO are two great options in these situations that will drastically improve your ability to heal and heal quickly. These remedies work great for children and adult alike, and I would never go without DMSO in the house!
This is Paul Nison's wife from Torah Life Ministries. She wears a niqab (face covering), but she isn't Muslim. She is Hebrew Roots. I believe in modesty, but I think this is extreme. Thoughts?
Tamar, possibly the daughter of a pagan Canaanite priest, was joined to Israel through marriage, and became an honored ancestor of David and Yeshua, one of only three women mentioned by name in the genealogy of Matthew 1.
Rahab was condemned to death as a Canaanite of Jericho, but because she put her faith in the God of Israel, she was counted as an Israelite, and became an ancestor of Messiah as well as an example for all who would believe in Him.
Ruth was a pagan Moabite, an enemy of Israel, but like Rahab, she chose to put her faith in the God of Israel and was counted as an Israelite, becoming an ancestor of King David and Messiah Yeshua.
When Judah heard that Tamar had been "sleeping around", he made a public call for her execution. Contrast this to her discrete defense. She sent a message to him asking "Whose ring and staff and cord are these?" in Genesis 38:25. She tacitly pointed out that if she was guilty, so was he, but she did so in a way that gave him the option of admitting his guilt or denying it. Hence his statement in the v26:
*Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.*
Consider also how different Judah's public shaming of Tamar was from Joseph's decision to quietly put Mary away when he discovered that she was pregnant with someone else's child.
The next 2 weeks will bring Christmas for Christians and Hanukkah for the Jewish believers. These holidays have nothing in common other than they both occur in the winter… or do they? Some have speculated Yeshua/Jesus was conceived at Hanukkah. Of course that would change the birth date to sometime in the fall of the years around the feast of tabernacles.
TTN Music 
TTN Ads 
