"Doth he thank that servant, because he did that which was commanded unto him? I think not.
So likewise ye, when ye have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

Lk 17

Thought for Today: Monday October 06

Remember today, only what is built on solid foundation of the Moshiach will last. Yeshua said: “Everyone who hears these Words of Mine, and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24) Also remember, following the Law cannot give you access to heaven BUT sin is the transgression of the Law. “Everyone who sins is breaking YHVH’s Law, for all sin is contrary to the Law” (1 John 3:4) By following the Law, you know not to sin and that is why Yeshua also said: “If you love me, keep My Commandments” (John 14:15) Except the Moshiach into your life today, gain access to eternal live and show Him that you love Him through His Commandments.

Salvation… | #salvation

Honor widows who are truly widows.
1 Timothy 5:3 ESV

For a widow to be deserving of support by the community, she needs to be beyond marriageable age, of good morals, contributing to the congregation in some way, and bringing honor to God's name.

“The rod and reproof give wisdom”

Pr 29

Something I hear mentioned by many is some reference to this verse. Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” This ides resonates throughout the Old Testament showing how the mind, Body and spirit are connected. The words heart and kidneys, depending on context is often used to indicate both body and mind.

I think that what is happening in this world today -- we can say the same as Daniel in his time:

"Praise the Name of YHVH forever. To Him belongs all wisdom and might. The times and seasons are in His hands, and the kings ["leaders"] of the world are in His power. Wise men receive their wisdom from Him, and understanding men build upon His knowledge. He reveals what is otherwise deep and mysterious, for darkness hides nothing from Him, and He shines His own light upon these things. O YHVH of my fathers, I thank and praise You, for You have given me wisdom and strength.

BIBLE STUDY -- YHVH’S PROPHETS

JERUSALEM FALLS

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM

From Jeremiah 39-40

Once again King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem and besieged it. It was in January of the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign when the king of Babylon brought his army and surrounded the city. For two years they besieged the city, until July of the eleventh year, when they finally broke through the wall and conquered Jerusalem. The princes of the king of Babylon entered the city in triumph and sat in the middle gate. Among the princes who came were Nergal-sharezer, Saingar-nebo, Sarsechin the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, as well as other princes of the king of Babylon. When King Zedekiah and his soldiers realized that the city was lost, they fled from Jerusalem by night, leaving it through the gate by the king’s garden, between the two walls. They ran toward the Arabah. But the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon waited to judge him. Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to watch his own children and the nobles of Judah murdered before his eyes. Then the king of Babylon gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in chains, and took him away to Babylon. Back in Jerusalem, the Babylonian army burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of the city. Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard of the Babylonian army, took the survivors of the city, as well as the people of Judah who had deserted to him, and sent them away to Babylon. Only the very poor were left behind in the land of Judah. To these were given fields and vineyards. Nebuchadnezzar had given orders to Nebuzar-adan to find Jeremiah. [Take good care of him and do not hurt him,] the king ordered. [Give him whatever he wants.] Nebuzar-adan, captain of the king’s guard, went with Nebushasban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and the other princes of King Nebuchadnezzar to find Jeremiah. They took him from the palace prison and put him in the care of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, who took him home so that he could live among his people. Before all this happened, while Jeremiah was still in the palace prison, Adonai had spoken to him concerning Ebed-melech. [Tell Ebed-melech the Ethiopian that Adonai of hosts, the YHVH of Israel has said: [‘I will do all that I have promised to do to Jerusalem and will punish it as I have said. But Ebed-melech will be spared, for Adonai will not permit him to be killed by those whom he fears, for he has put his trust in Me.’] Jeremiah was still in chains when Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, took him with all the other captives of Judah to Ramah, on the way to Babylon. There Nebuzar-adan released Jeremiah from his chains and set him free. [Adonai your YHVH has brought this punishment on this place as He said He would,] said Nebuzar-adan. [Your people have sinned against Adonai and refused to obey Him, so this punishment has come upon them. But today I am setting you free from your chains. If you want to come with me to Babylon, I will take care of you there. But if you think it is wrong for you to come to Babylon, then you should stay here. You may go anywhere in the land that you wish. If you want to go back to live with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, and grandson of Shaphan, do so, for the king has appointed him governor of all the cities of Judah. You may live with him or you may go anywhere in the land you wish to live. The captain of the guard also gave food and money to Jeremiah when he released him. Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah and lived with Gedaliah, choosing to remain with his own people in his own land. Before long the leaders of the scattered forces which were still out in the countryside heard that Gedaliah had been appointed over the people who remained in the land, so they came to see him at Mizpah, where he ruled. Among those who came were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, as well as their men. [You must not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans,] Gedaliah assured them. [If you live in this land and serve the king of Babylon, all will be well with you. I will remain here at Mizpah to represent the Chaldeans to you and you to them. Now go and live in the cities you have taken over and gather the fruits which are ready for harvest.] Soon some other Jews, who had run away to Moab and Edom and to live among the Ammonites, began to return also. They had heard that the king of Babylon had left some people behind and had appointed Gedaliah governor, so they also came to talk with him at Mizpah. As they went out from there to the deserted countryside, they gathered all the wine grapes and other fruits which they could use. Not long after that, Johanan the son of Kareah and some other captains of the troops that had been in the countryside came to see Gedaliah. [Are you aware that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to kill you?] they said. But Gedaliah would not believe that their report was true. Gedaliah and Johanan then had a secret meeting and Johanan begged Gedaliah to listen. [Let me kill Ishmael secretly so that he will not harm you,] said Johanan. [If he should kill you, what would all of the Jews who have returned here do? Why should these few remaining people of Judah also perish?] But Gedaliah would not let Johanan do this. [You are falsely accusing Ishmael,] he said.

COMMENTARY

KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR

In 587 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon again attacked the city of Jerusalem. Earlier the Babylonians had taken captives. This time the king of Judah fled, but was captured and blinded by the Babylonians. Just as Jeremiah had warned, the holy city was burned and its walls torn down. Jerusalem joined a long line of magnificent cities that were reduced to ruins. Today the name Nebuchadnezzar conjures up the glory of an ancient empire. But twenty-five hundred years ago, the name struck fear in the hearts of enemies and pride in the hearts of Babylonians. By the time the great king died, the fame of his name and his capital, Babylon, had spread across the ancient world. That was exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had desired from the start. As crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar led campaigns of war in the place of his aging father. Years before, his father had conquered the Assyrians by joining with the mountain people, the Medes. The alliance gave Babylon the right to invade lands to the west, and Media the right to the east. While countering Egyptian advances into Syria and Palestine, young Nebuchadnezzar heard the news of his father’s death. Distrusting his younger brother’s ambitions, he rushed home to be crowned king. The twenty-four-year-old king inherited advantages that helped him achieve his dream of ruling the world. Because of his father’s alliance with the Medes, the northern frontiers of his empire were secure. He could turn his attention elsewhere, unlike the Assyrians who fought constantly to keep power at their borders. Nebuchadnezzar adopted some of the strategies that had worked well for Assyrians. He patterned his empire after Assyrian methods of organization, and copied their cruel practice of torturing and killing defeated enemies. In Assyrian style, he conducted yearly campaigns to collect tribute and crush rebellions in Syria, Palestine and Egypt. His last campaign against Judah brought destruction to Jerusalem, then ruled by Zedekiah. His army looted the city, burned Solomon’s temple and deported all but the poor. The tribute collected on these campaigns went toward Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects. With prisoners of war toiling as builders, the great king constructed a new palace adorned with cedar and gold, He restored the sacred Processional Way, flanked by over one hundred sculptured lions. He ensured the capital’s protection with seventeen miles of new double-defence walls, dams and moats to the north and south, and an artificial lake. He brought water into Babylon from the Tigris River through canals. Legend even credits Nebuchadnezzar as architect of the Hanging Gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. According to tradition, the king built the gardens to comfort his homesick Median wife. The great king also expended his energy in erecting fifty-four temples in Babylon and other cities. He worshiped all the Babylonian gods, but paid special attention to Bel and Marduk, protectors of his kingship. The temples’ gold, silver and copper domes gleamed in the Babylonian sun, proclaiming the religious fervour of their builder. Nebuchadnezzar frequently offered food, wine and precious metals to his gods, and attended religious ceremonies along with his people. The inscriptions on his buildings usually include two hymns and close with a pagan prayer. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride grew with his power. By age sixty, the king had become the most powerful man in the world and his capital the richest city in the world. He decided to be worshiped alongside his gods, and ordered his craftsmen to make a huge gold statue of himself. Nebuchadnezzar’s ruthless energy had run out of goals when, according to the Bible, the king went insane and thought he was an ox. The lack of inscriptions from the latter years of his reign indicate that he may have been absent from government for a time. When he regained health, the Empire was shaken with disorder. At the age of sixty-eight, after forty-three years on the throne, Nebuchadnezzar died. The ungifted kings that succeeded him ruled under the shadow of a rising new power, Persia.

BIBLE STUDY -- YHVH’S PROPHETS

IMPRISONED

JEREMIAH’S RESCUE FROM PRISON

From Jeremiah 37-38

In December of 598 B.C., King Jehoiakim died and was buried in disgrace, as Jeremiah had predicted. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin, who was also called Coniah and Jeconiah, became king. He ruled only three months, for by March of 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar had captured Jehoiachin and had taken him to Babylon, appointing Zedekiah in his place. However, King Zedekiah and his officials in the land refused to listen to Jeremiah’s messages from Adonai. Occasionally Zedekiah would send Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to Jeremiah and ask Jeremiah to [pray for us to Adonai our YHVH.] At this time Jeremiah was not in prison, so he moved freely among the people. About this time Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt sent his army to help Judah. When his army appeared at the southern borders of Judah, the Babylonian army withdrew from Jerusalem. Then Adonai spoke to Jeremiah. [Take this message to the king of Judah,] Adonai said. [Tell him that the Egyptians will flee back to Egypt, and the Babylonians will then return to Jerusalem, capture it, and burn it completely. I warn you not to think that the Babylonians will stay away, for they will not. Even if you defeated the Babylonian army, leaving only a few wounded men in their tents, these men would soon return and burn this city completely.] During the time that the Babylonian army had retreated because of the Egyptians, Jeremiah set out for Anathoth to see the land he had bought. As he was going through the Benjamin Gate, a guard at the gate, Irijah the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah, arrested him, charging that he was [deserting to the Chaldeans {Babylonians}]. [No, I am not deserting to them,] Jeremiah insisted. But Irijah would not listen and took him before the nobles. The nobles were very angry and had Jeremiah beaten and thrown into the house of Jonathan the secretary, which had just recently been made into a prison. There Jeremiah remained for many days. But one day King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and held a secret meeting with him. [Is there any word from Adonai?] the king asked. [Yes, there is,] Jeremiah answered. [You will soon be captured by the king of Babylon.] Then Jeremiah spoke further to the king. [What have I ever done to you or your servants or people to deserve this imprisonment?] he asked. [Where are those false prophets who lied to you, telling you that the king of Babylon would not come against you and this land? I plead with you not to send me back to that prison, for I will surely die there.] The king gave orders that Jeremiah should be placed instead in the court of the guard, or palace prison. He further ordered that Jeremiah should be given a small loaf of fresh bread each day from the baker’s street as long as there was bread left in the city. Thus, Jeremiah remained in the palace prison where the king had sent him. Some of the nobles soon became disturbed when they heard what Jeremiah was saying about the destruction of the city and the capture of the king. These included Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah. They rushed to the king and told him how Jeremiah had been saying that the city would be burned and that the king would be captured. [Let us put this man to death,] they insisted. [His words are weakening the will of the soldiers and the people to fight. As it is, we don’t have many soldiers left in the city. This man is hurting our people, not helping them.] [Do what you think is best,] the king answered. [I will not stop you.] These men took Jeremiah from his prison and let him down by ropes into a cistern which belonged to Malchiah, the king’s son. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank clown in the mire at the bottom. When Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch in the king’s house, heard what had happened, he ran out to the Gate of Benjamin where the king was sitting. [My lord, the king,] he pleaded, [these men have done evil in putting Jeremiah into the cistern; he will die there of hunger, for there is not much bread left in the city.] Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, [Take thirty men with you and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.] Ebed-melech gathered thirty men and went with them to a palace storehouse where old clothing was stored. They took some of the old clothes and rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern where Jeremiah was imprisoned. [Put these rags and old clothes under your armpits to keep the ropes from hurting you,] Ebed-melech called to Jeremiah. When Jeremiah did as they said, they pulled him from the cistern and took him back to the palace prison. In time King Zedekiah called for Jeremiah again to meet him secretly at the third entrance to the temple. [I have a question for you, and I want you to hide nothing from me,] the king said. But Jeremiah answered, [If I tell you the truth, you will surely put me to death. If I tell you what you should do, you will not do it.] The king swore before Adonai that he would not kill Jeremiah. [As Adonai lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or let those who want to kill you do it,] he said. [Then here is the message from Adonai,] Jeremiah answered. [If you surrender to Babylon, you and your household will be spared, and Jerusalem will not be burned. But if you do not surrender to the nobles of Babylon, then this city will be captured by them; they will burn it to the ground, and you will not escape from them.] [But I am afraid of the Jews who deserted to the Chaldeans,] the king said. [If the Chaldeans hand me over to them, they will torture me.] Jeremiah replied, [This will not happen if you obey the voice of Adonai now. Surrender, and your life will be spared. Refuse, and the vision Adonai gave me will come to pass. In this vision the women of your household were being led out to the nobles of the king of Babylon. They were saying: [Your trusted friends of Egypt have deceived you and turned against you. Now that your feet are sinking in the mire, they turn away from you.] [Your wives and sons will be led out to the Chaldeans and you also will be taken before them. You will be seized by the king of Babylon, and the city of Jerusalem will be burned to the ground.] Then the king said to Jeremiah, [If you want to live, tell no one what you have told me. The nobles may learn that I have spoken to you and may come to ask you what we have said. If they threaten to kill you if you won’t tell, simply answer that you begged me not to send you back to the prison at Jonathan’s house, lest you die there.] Before long, the nobles did come to Jeremiah and asked him what he and the king had talked about. Then Jeremiah answered as the king had instructed him. They left without learning what really had happened, for the conversation between Jeremiah and the king had not been overheard. Jeremiah remained in the palace prison until the day that Jerusalem was captured again by the Babylonians.

COMMENTARY

ANCIENT PRISONS

Although life in prison long ago meant filth and discomfort just as it often does today, people in ancient prisons were not always there to be punished. Prison was to keep suspected or accused persons from doing harm; they were “guilty until proven innocent,” and very few were ever proven innocent. A prisoner was held until his trial. But no laws limited how long that could be. Some prisoners waited several years, and many sickened from disease or malnutrition and died. Others, like Jeremiah, suffered the additional pain of being flogged, or put in chains or stocks. Israelites before the Exile probably did not have special buildings that served as jails. They imprisoned people in rooms of the royal palace or in houses of high court officials. The most despised prisoners were kept in pits, cisterns and dungeons. After the Exile -- as it is today -- imprisonment became a form of punishment; it was most commonly used to punish those who could not pay back loans. In Babylonia prisoners often were confined in storerooms along with caged animals and supplies. In Egypt and Assyria, however, officials probably kept offenders in public buildings set aside for that purpose, like modern jails. Accused of being a traitor for advising the king to surrender to the Babylonians, Jeremiah was locked in a cell adjoining a dungeon in the house of Jonathan the scribe. The king later transferred the prophet to the court of the guard, probably the quarters of the sentry who guarded the palace. For a short time, he was imprisoned in a cistern, but was then returned to the palace prison.