"It is more easy that heaven and earth should pass away, than that one tittle of the Law should fall."

Lk 16

On this date in history, 05/16/1918: The Sedition Act of 1918 forbids "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" against the United States government during war. #otd #tdih #ww1

Tiferet of Yesod

Bonding needs to be not only loving but also compassionate, feeling your friend's pain and empathizing with him. Is my bonding conditional? Do I withdraw when I am uncomfortable with my friend's troubles?

Exercise for the day: Offer help and support in dealing with an ordeal of someone you have bonded with.

Genesis 1:30, “And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.” Yes, this means that Tyrannosaurus Rex never tasted another animal. It was not until after the flood that even the animals were offered meat to eat. Do not be deceived!

"When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me."

Ps 56

Thought for Today: Tuesday May 16:

Your life may seem monotonous and filled with drudgery. Yet remember, if you are a believer, you are not working for an hour or for a day but for eternity. When this body of corruption shall take on immorality, another part of our work will begin, for the Scriptures teaches that YHVH’s servants shall serve Him forever. The difference is that in heaven we will never get bored or grow weary…! Because Moshiach is alive, we have [an incorruptible and undefiled… reserve in heaven. – 1 Peter 1:4. This helps us persevere, even when life seems dull.

BIBLE STUDY LESSON 03

SERIES P --- YHVH’S PROPHETS

POTS AND PLANS

THE LESSON OF THE POTTER’S CLAY

From Jeremiah 18:1-11; 19:1-15

One day Adonai gave Jeremiah another message. [Go down to the potter’s house where he makes his clay pots,] He said, [and I will tell you something there.] I went to the potter’s house, as Adonai had instructed me, and I found the potter working at his wheel, making his clay pots. The pot he was making at the time did not take the shape the potter wanted, so he reworked the clay and made a new vessel from it. [Why can’t I do with My own people Israel what this potter has done to his clay?] Adonai asked. [O Israel, you are like this potter’s clay in My hands. When I say that I will destroy a nation or kingdom because of its evil, and then that nation turns away from its evil, I will change My mind and spare that nation. But if a nation changes its mind and turns to evil, I will also change My mind and destroy it. Now warn the people of Judah and Jerusalem that I am planning to punish them for their evil, but if they will turn from their evil, I may change My mind and spare them.] Another time Adonai said to me, [Go and buy a potter’s clay jar. When you have gathered some of the elders of the people and some of the older priests with you, go out to the Ben-hinnom Valley by the entrance to the Potsherd Gate. There you shall speak the words I give you. Here is what you are to say, ‘O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to the Word of Adonai. Adonai says that He is bringing such trouble to this place that the news of it will make the people’s ears tingle. You people have turned from Adonai and burned incense to strange gods whom you and your ancestors never knew before, filling this place with the blood of innocent children. You have built altars to Baal where you burn your own children in sacrifices, a thing I never commanded or even thought of. ‘The day will come when this valley will no longer be named Topheth or Ben-hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter. Here in this valley, I will overturn your battle plans and cause your people to be slaughtered here. Your bodies will lie in this valley and become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. ‘I will so utterly destroy Jerusalem that people who pass by will hiss because of all its troubles, horrified at what they see. I will let your enemies place such a terrible siege on this city that its inhabitants will be reduced to eating their neighbours and their own children.’] Then Adonai said to Jeremiah, [While these leaders of Israel watch, break the jar which you have brought. Then give them this message from Me, ‘I will break your people and your city, just as you have seen this jar broken, so much that it will never be mended. I will fill this valley with the dead bodies of those who have been slaughtered, and then I will fill Jerusalem with dead bodies also. The homes of the commoners and the palaces of the kings will be defiled with dead bodies, the very homes where incense was burned to the host of heaven and drink offerings were poured out to foreign gods.] When Jeremiah returned to Jerusalem from Topheth, where he had given Adonai’s message, he went to the courtyard of the temple, Adonai’s house. There he gave this message to the people, [Adonai of hosts, the YHVH of Israel warns that He will surely bring all this trouble upon Jerusalem and all the surrounding towns because the people here have turned from Him and refused to hear what He says.]

COMMENTARY

THE POTTER’S SHOP

Jeremiah watched as a potter shaped a clay pot on his wheel. Then the Word of Adonai came to Jeremiah. YHVH has power to shape or shatter Israel, as the potter has power over his clay. If Israel will only repent, YHVH’s threat of judgment will become a promise of peace. The life of a pottery vessel began long before it reached the potter’s hands. Transported from the hills of Palestine, the raw clay had to be dried, strained, and kneaded into a smooth, pliable texture. Most potters in Bible times fashioned their vessels on a wheel, rather than by hand or with moulds. The potter’s wheel consisted of two stone discs fitted onto the ends of an upright shaft. When the lower wheel was turned, usually by the feet of the seated potter, it set the upper one spinning. The potter shaped a ball of clay on the upper wheel while it revolved. But even in the best of shops, things could go wrong. Sometimes the clay was not pure enough, or did not have an even consistency. If the potter did not place the clay in the exact centre of the wheel, his vessel would be lopsided. Since the clay had taken months to prepare, it was reshaped and the process started again. The potter decorated each [thrown] or shaped vessel with paint or inscribed patterns. After it had dried for several days, he took it outside to be fired in the kiln. A large oven with holes in the bottom, the kiln was heated by a fire below it. The temperature had to be carefully controlled at all times.

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

Ja 1