My drive to work has been like this. Really pretty, but we have to take it slow...

“So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.” ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭1:14-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

““Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord (Yahuwah) of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The Lord will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ””
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭52:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭129:5‬ ‭NKJV‬

“When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.”
‭‭Esther‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“These things I command you, that you love one another.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS -- LESSON 8

SCATTERED

THE TOWER OF BABEL

From Genesis 11:1-9, 27-32

At that time all people of the earth spoke the same language. They began to migrate eastward until a settlement grew up in the land of Shinar, which became known as Babel, or Babylon. [Let us make a city of bricks and mortar,] the people decided. [We will build a great tower in the city which will reach to heaven, bringing us fame and honour. It will unite our people here and prevent us from scattering to other places.] Adonai watched these people build the tower and the city they had planned. [This is not good,] Adonai said. [If they band together too much with one language and purpose, they may be able to do almost anything. Let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand one another.] So, Adonai scattered the people across the face of the earth. This ended the construction project at Babel. The records of the generations of Shem included numerous descendants. One of those descendants was Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot but died while he was in the land of his birth, at Ur of the Chaldeans, where his father Terah still lived. Abram married his half-sister Sarai, the daughter of his father Terah but not the daughter of his mother. Nahor married his brother Haran’s daughter, whose name was Milcah. {She also had a brother named Iscah.} But Sarai was not able to have children at this time. In time Terah left Ur of the Chaldeans with his son Abram, his grandson Lot, the orphaned son of Haran, and Abram’s wife Sarai, and they headed for the land of Canaan. But when they reached Haran, they settled there. Terah died at Haran at the age of two hundred and five. An ancient Jewish tradition identifies the ruined temple at Nimrud as the tower of Babel.

COMMENTARY

THE TOWER OF BABEL

YHVH had told Noah’s descendants, [Multiply and fill the earth.] But the growing multitude settled together on the future site of Babylon, to build a common city and civilization. YHVH dealt with this disobedience in a unique way. He confused their language. Suddenly the builders could no longer understand each other! Then the separate language groups scattered as YHVH had intended. After the Flood, a migration of people went to the plain near Shinar and built a large tower. This has most commonly been called the Tower of Babel, although this name does not appear in the Bible. Babel in the native language, Akkadian, meant [the Gate of YHVH.] In Hebrew a similar word meant [to mix or confuse.] The tower was a ziggurat, one of several built about this time in that part of the world. It was a temple tower, where people worshiped their gods. The ziggurat usually resembled a pyramid, was seven stories high, with each story smaller than the one below it, creating steep tiers or a step like appearance. It was usually about two to three hundred feet across in each direction at the base. Stairs to the top went up from one level to another. Some towers were cone-shaped with stairs spiralling to the top. Building material for the ziggurat was mud brick, either the usual mud and straw combination or clay fired at high heat for additional strength. Instead of using mortar, the builders used asphalt to bind the bricks together. Each of the several levels was painted a different colour. The one at the very top was small, probably with one room. It contained a bed and table made of gold. Only the high priestess was allowed to enter this room. There it was believed their god came to her, and their meeting brought all the people a victorious and fruitful life. The temple tower itself was built in the centre of a large area that contained several smaller temples and towers. Each of these was probably devoted to the worship of one particular god. Very often they were open to the sky so that the gold idols would he brilliant in the sunlight. The ziggurat was the largest structure in the area. It was easily seen from any part of the city and served as a reminder to the people of the importance of their gods.

Thought for Today: Friday December 02:

Let us together, here on TTN, open our minds and our hearts – our entire beings and existence – to receive YHVH’s Love in full measure. So many of His children, believers, limp through their lives starved for Love, because they have not learned the art of receiving. This is essentially an act of faith; believing that Elohiym Loves us with boundless, everlasting Love. The art of receiving is also a discipline; training our minds to trust Him, coming close to Him with confidence. We must remember that the devil is the father of lies. We must learn to recognize his deceptive intrusion into our thoughts. One of his favourite deceptions is to undermine our confidence in YHVH’s unconditional Love. We must fight back against these lies. We must not allow them to go unchallenged. Resist the devil in the Name of Yeshua, and he will flee from you. Draw near to Elohiym, and His Presence will envelope you in Love.