Search until you have found the truth
And then search some more.
Those who are closest to the truth
Are also often the farthest from it.
#proverbs
Bitcoin satisfies Deuteronomy 25:13-15.
#bitcoin #bible #scripture
SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 2
BETHEL
THE LADDER OF HEAVEN
From Genesis 28
After Rebekah warned Isaac that Jacob might marry a Hittite girl, the old man became concerned about his son and called him in to have a talk with him. [You must not marry a Canaanite girl,] Isaac urged. [Go to Padan-aram where your grandfather Bethuel’s family lives. Choose a daughter of Laban, your mother’s brother, and marry her. Adonai will bless you and give you a large family and you will become the head of a great nation with many tribes. May Adonai also give you the same blessings that He gave to Abraham and his family. May you some day possess this land where we now live, for YHVH gave it to Abraham.] With this blessing, Isaac sent Jacob away to Padan-aram, to visit Rebekah’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Before long, Esau heard what Isaac had done and realized that it would please the old man if his sons married distant relatives instead of foreigners. Although Esau already had foreign wives, he married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, who was Abraham’s granddaughter and the sister of Nebaioth. Leaving Beer-sheha, Jacob journeyed toward Haran. By sunset he had arrived at a good place to stop and set up camp for the night. As he lay down to sleep, he took a stone and placed it under his head for a pillow. That night Jacob dreamed of a ladder that was set up between heaven and earth. Angels of YHVH walked up and down the ladder and YHVH Himself stood above it. [I am Adonai, the YHVH of your grandfather Abraham and your father Isaac. The land where you are lying is My gift to you and your descendants. They will be as numerous as the dust on the earth, covering the land from west to east and from north to south, and by you and your descendants shall all nations of the world be blessed. I will go with you and take care of you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. I will stay with you until I have fulfilled all My promises to you.] Jacob woke up suddenly and said, [Adonai is here in this place and I did not realize it. I have walked into YHVH’s home, the gateway to heaven. What an awesome place it is!] Early the next morning, Jacob arose and set up the stone on which he slept as a memorial pillar, pouring olive oil on it to dedicate it. Then he named the place Bethel, [The House of YHVH,] although it had previously been called Luz. Jacob made a vow that morning. [If YHVH will go with me on my journey, and take care of me and give me food and clothing so that I may return safely to my father’s home, then Adonai shall be my YHVH. This stone will become a house of YHVH, and of all that Adonai gives me, I will give back a tenth to Him.]
COMMENTARY
TRAVEL AND TRADE ROUTES
Jacob was forced to flee from the anger of his brother Esau. Night overtook him on a barren hill. He slept there, lonely and afraid. But that night YHVH spoke to Jacob in a dream. The old promises were reaffirmed, and YHVH added, [I will go with you and take care of you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.] Jacob named that hill Bethel: The House of YHVH. Travel was slow in Old Testament times. Rocky ground and deep ruts made wheeled wagons impossible for long trips, and people walked or rode on surefooted donkeys and long-legged camels instead. Ancient roads cut an irregular course through Palestine. They had to follow the easiest route, and so they went around mountains and cut across open plains. Sometimes the road divided in two; a summer and a winter route. The summer route might be more direct, but floods caused by winter rains forced travellers to take the higher route, which stayed dry. Two main highways carried international traffic through Palestine. The Via Maris [Way of the Sea] ran from north to south along the Mediterranean coast. Another north-south road, the king’s highway, crossed the plateau between the Jordan River and the desert. Merchant caravans followed these routes through Palestine as they went between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Finding water was a constant concern for long-distance travellers. A spring or river became a regular stopping place for merchant caravans. As time passed, these stopping points grew into important centres of trade along the major highways. But water could be a barrier as well as a blessing. There were no permanent bridges across the rivers, and travellers had to wade through the water. Caravans were often forced to make long detours before they found a shallow place to cross. The desert was the greatest barrier of all to travel. The major highways went along its borders, following a course that added many extra miles to the journey between east and west. Few travellers tried to cross its endless stretches of dry wasteland. They preferred more miles to the possibility of death in the desert. Travelling merchants arrive in the city marketplace with their goods balanced on the backs of donkeys and camels. These seasoned travellers were accustomed to the dangers of the road.
https://natsab.com/2022/12/10/....livestreaming-with-t
Our Creator will not change who He is for us — We change who we are for Him.
SERIES B --- CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 1
DIVIDED HOME
A DAY OF DECEIT
From Genesis 27
The years passed, and Isaac was an old man. One day he sent for his older son, Esau, to come to visit him. When Esau came to his father’s tent, the old man’s sight had become so poor that he could not see his son. [My son!] old Isaac called out when he heard Esau enter. [Is that really you?] [Yes, I’m here!] Esau answered. [I’m an old man and may die soon so I want to put my blessing upon you now,] said Isaac. [Take your bow and quiver of arrows and hunt some deer in the fields. When you have prepared it the way I like it, bring that delicious food to me so that I may eat it before I give you, my blessing.] While Isaac talked, Rebekah stood close to the tent listening to all that was said. When Esau went hunting, Rebekah found Jacob and told him what she had heard. [Listen to me,] she urged. [I heard this from your father’s own lips as he talked to Esau. He told Esau to get some venison and cook it the way your father likes it. When your father has eaten, he will give his blessing to Esau. Now go and do what I tell you so that you may get that blessing instead. Take two young goats and I will cook them the way your father likes his meat. You will take this to your father and pretend that you are Esau so that he will give his blessing to you.] [But Esau has such thick hair on his skin,] Jacob reminded his mother. [What if father feels me and realizes that I am tricking him? He will give me a curse instead of a blessing.] [Then his curse will be on me instead of you,] Rebekah answered. [Now hurry! Do what I have told you.] Jacob immediately brought the young goats to Rebekah, who prepared them so they would please Isaac. Then she helped Jacob change into Esau’s best clothes, which had been left there with her. She put goat skins over the smooth skin of Jacob’s neck and arms and sent him to Isaac with the food she had prepared. [Father!] Jacob called as he entered Isaac’s tent. [Who is this?] Isaac asked. [Esau! Your older son!] Jacob lied. [I did what you told me. Eat my food and give me your blessing.] But Isaac was suspicious and began to question Jacob. [How did you find venison so soon, my son?] he asked. [YHVH sent it to me,] Jacob lied again. Isaac was still suspicious. [Come here and let me feel you, my son, so that I may be certain that you are Esau.] Jacob went near Isaac, who felt his hands. [The voice I hear is Jacob’s voice but the hands I feel are Esau’s hands,] said Isaac. [Are you really my son Esau?] [Yes, I am Esau,] Jacob answered, lying a third time. [Then bring me your food so that I may eat it and bless you,] said Isaac. When Jacob brought Isaac the food, as well as some wine, the old man ate and drank. At last, when he had finished, Isaac called to Jacob, still suspicious that he might not be Esau. [Come here, my son, and let me kiss you.] Jacob came to his father and received the old man’s kiss. As Isaac smelled Esau’s clothing on Jacob, his last suspicions left and he gave his blessing to his son. [My son has the fragrance of a field which Adonai has blessed. May He send His rain, so that your harvests may be plentiful with grain and wine. May others serve you and nations bow down before you. Rule over your brothers and let them bow down before you. Cursed is everyone who curses you and blessed is everyone who blesses you.] Esau arrived at his father’s tent only moments after Jacob had left. He had cooked the venison and brought it to Isaac. [Sit up, father, and eat my food and bless me,] said Esau. Old Isaac was shocked to hear this. [Who are you?] he asked. [I’m Esau, your older son!] he answered. Isaac began to tremble when he heard that. [Then who hunted game and brought it here to receive my blessing?] he asked. [I ate it all and gave him my blessing, which I cannot take away.] When Esau heard that, he let out a loud, bitter cry. [Bless me, too, father!] he pleaded. But Isaac answered, [Your brother deceived me and took away the blessing that was yours.] [Jacob is the proper name for him, for he has cheated me of my place twice,] Esau said bitterly. [Once he stole my birthright. Now he has stolen my blessing. Have you no other blessing for me?] [I have made him your master,] said Isaac, [and master of all your brothers and servants. I have given him a blessing of food and wine. What other blessing can I give you?] Esau began to weep. [O, my father, bless me with just one blessing!] Then Isaac spoke these words to his son Esau. [You will live by your sword, away from the comforts and plenty of this home. You will serve your brother Jacob, but some day you will break his yoke of service and be free.] Esau hated Jacob because of his deceit and because he had stolen his blessing. [When my father dies, I will kill Jacob,] Esau said. Someone learned of Esau’s plans and told Rebekah, so she called for Jacob to come to see her. [Your brother Esau is planning to kill you,] she told Jacob. [You must go away to my brother Laban at Haran and live with him until Esau’s anger dies down and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and you may come home again. Why should I lose you both at the same time?] To get Isaac’s approval for the trip, Rebekah told him this story. [I’m worn out, worrying that Jacob will marry one of the Hittite girls here. If that should happen, life would not be worth living for me.] YHVH had announced it at the birth of the twins. He intended to keep His great promises to Abraham through Jacob, the younger son. But Isaac favoured Esau. So, Jacob and his mother Rebekah plotted in their tent to steal a blessing YHVH was already committed to provide! How tragic. The blessing was given. But the deceit employed brought with it a heritage of hate.
COMMENTARY
ANCIENT POTTERY
For every golden cup or silver flask found among the treasures of an ancient king, archaeologists have discovered thousands of pottery fragments in the tombs and houses of ordinary people. These clay jugs and bowls were the everyday dishes of the ancient world. They are a very important kind of [time clock] for the modern archaeologist. The shape, the colour of the clay and the kind of design reveal how old the discovery is, and the object itself tells something about how people lived in those times. Clay vessels were first made more than eight thousand years ago. Potters shaped bowls and cups by hand. They rolled the clay in coils and arranged them in the rough shape of a bowl or pitcher. They sealed the cracks and carefully smoothed the outside of the pot with their fingers, the way beginners using clay do it today. Ancient potters’ fingerprints can still be seen on many vessels made in this way. When the potter’s wheel was invented, craftsmen used it to make more complicated and finer things. They continued to shape the bodies of jugs and vases by hand, for example, but bottles could now have long thinner necks. While the clay was still soft, the neck and body were joined together. A pattern pressed in the wet clay with a sharp tool hid the seam. By the time of Jacob, pottery-making had advanced still further. The entire vessel was shaped on the potter’s wheel. This faster method of production made clay dishes stronger, as well as cheap and plentiful. Pressed patterns and painted designs gave variety and beauty to such common household items.
Thought for Today: Shabbat December 10:
May YHVH add a brand-new blessing in you and for others through you. May He break every generational stronghold that keeps you from knowing and experiencing His great Love for you. May He move every mountain that blocks your view of Him. May He fill every low place with pools of blessings. May He restore everything stolen so that you can have a life He intended for you from the beginning of time. Your Redeemer is Strong and Mighty and He Loves you deeply.
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