FAMILY LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP --- PART 5

FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Mealtimes were strictly family times. It is doubtful whether a meal comparable to a breakfast was eaten, and a farmer would probably have a light lunch in the fields. The mother prepared the main meal of the day, and it would be eaten in the early evening. Although the variety of food available was limited, its preparation was time-consuming. Feast times were periods of great religious significance and were also the days when family members participated in the symbolic rituals of their faith. Among the Israelites, several kinds of food were fundamental to their religious ritual. Special meals moulded together the sense of family unity and the national religion. YHVH designed the family for unity - a place where all its members could draw strength from one another. Daylight played an important part in daily habits. Although oil lamps were readily available in later periods, it was customary to rise with the sun and go to bed relatively soon after dark. The wife would probably be up before sunrise and might continue her labour after dark.

IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
By New Testament times, those who followed the sophisticated styles of Greece and Rome inherited an easier life and a more elegant one, too. Despite that, the status of many family members did not necessarily change. Wealthier families had more slaves, and the children were more likely to have a formal education. Therefore, they did not have as many family chores. Even in Roman times, however, the father still had a legal right to accept or reject his child. The status of women improved in the New Testament period. People respected a Roman matron, and she exerted a strong influence over her husband. Greek women were sequestered in a particular section of the house. In contrast, a Roman woman managed and supervised tasks in any part of her home. She helped her husband in business, had her own place in theatres, games, and religious festivals, and sometimes managed her own property. Yeshua’s attitude toward women helped them to enjoy new status and influence in the early believers church.

FAMILY TROUBLES

FAVORITISM DESTROYS FAMILY UNITY.
Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift-a beautiful robe. -- Genesis 37:3 In Joseph’s Day, everyone had a robe or cloak. Robes were used to warm oneself, to bundle up belongings for a trip, to wrap babies in, to sit on, or even to serve as security for a loan. Most robes were knee length, short sleeved, and plain. In contrast, Joseph’s robe was probably of the kind worn by royalty-long sleeved, ankle length, and colourful. The robe became a symbol of Jacob’s favouritism toward Joseph, and it aggravated the already strained relations between Joseph and his brothers. Favouritism in families may be unavoidable, but its divisive effects should be minimized. Parents may not be able to change their feelings toward a favourite child, but they can change their actions toward the others.

CHILDREN OFTEN BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR PARENTS’ SINS.
I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. -- Exodus 34:7. Why would sins affect grandchildren and great-grandchildren? This is no arbitrary punishment. Children still suffer for the sins of their parents. Consider child abuse or alcoholism, for example. While these sins are obvious, sins like selfishness and greed can be passed along as well. The dire consequences of sin are not limited to the individual family member. Be careful not to treat sin casually but repent and turn from it. The sin may cause you little pain now, but it could sting in a most tender area of your life later-your children and grandchildren.

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES MUST BE A PRIORITY FOR CHRISTIANS.
For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of YHVH’s Church? -- 1 Timothy 3:5. Believers and volunteers sometimes make the mistake of thinking their work is so important that they are justified in ignoring their families. Spiritual leadership, however, must begin at home. If a man is not willing to care for, discipline, and teach his children, he is not qualified to lead the Church. Don’t allow your volunteer activities to detract from your family responsibilities.

FAMILY TRIUMPHS

WHAT ACTIONS MOST STRENGTHEN FAMILY UNITY?

RETELLING STORIES OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS BUILDS UP THE FAMILY.
You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvellous things I am doing among the Egyptians to prove that I am Adonai Elohim. -- Exodus 10:2 YHVH told Moses that his miraculous experiences with Pharaoh should be retold to his descendants. What stories Moses had to tell! Living out one of the greatest dramas in biblical history, he witnessed events few people would ever see. It is important to tell our children about YHVH’s work in our past and to help them see what he is doing right now. What are the turning points in your life where YHVH intervened? What is YHVH doing for you now? Your stories will form the foundations of your children’s belief in YHVH.

CONSISTENT LIVING MAKES THE DEEPEST IMPRESSION ON CHILDREN.
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these Commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. -- Deuteronomy 6:6-7. This passage provides the central theme of Deuteronomy. It sets a pattern that helps us relate the Word of YHVH to our daily lives. We are to love YHVH, think constantly about His Commandments, teach His Commandments to our children, and live each day by the guidelines in His Word. YHVH emphasized the importance of parents teaching the Bible to their children. The church and believer schools cannot be used to escape from this responsibility. The Bible provides so many opportunities for object lessons and practical teaching that it would be a shame to study it only one day a week. Eternal truths are most effectively learned in the loving environment of a Elohim-fearing home.

FAMILY LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP --- PART 4

THE POSITION OF CHILDREN
Children were generally well loved, but their childhood was short, and they were often regarded as labourers for the house or fields. According to the Law, the eldest son received a double portion of the estate as his birth right -- Deuteronomy 21:17. Thus, he was assured of the position of family head. Even during his father’s lifetime, the eldest son took precedence over his brothers and sisters -- Genesis 43:33. Where twins were born, the first to emerge from the womb was considered the elder, with all his privileges -- Genesis 25:24-26; Genesis 38:27-30. The eldest son could lose this right if he committed a serious offense -- Genesis 35:22; Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1. Or it could be surrendered voluntarily, as Esau did by selling his birth right to his brother Jacob -- Genesis 25:29-34. A law protected the oldest son’s rights even if the father favoured the younger son -- Deuteronomy 21:15-17. Nevertheless, King David gave his kingdom to Solomon, his youngest son -- 1 Kings 2:15. In a family with no sons, a daughter could inherit property --Numbers 27:8. Frequently, parents consulted neither sons nor daughters when marriage partners were arranged for them. Marriage was often an alliance or contract between two families, and thus the wishes and concerns of the individuals were considered unimportant. Love matches were few, although occasionally a son would marry in defiance of his parents, as Esau did -- Genesis 26:34-35. Although it was rare for young people to express their feelings and preferences about marriage in an open fashion, Saul’s daughter, Michal, announced her love for David -- 1 Samuel 18:20. There is no record of legal adoption among the Hebrews, but it was practiced from ancient times in Mesopotamia. It was especially useful as a means of ensuring a childless couple that their land would be tilled and that they would be cared for in their old age. All examples of adoption mentioned in the Old Testament took place outside the land of Israel -- Exodus 2:10; 1 Kings 11:20; Esther 2:7, 15 and are not examples of true adoption as a lifetime member of a family.

THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
Children suffered unfortunate distinctions between males and females because of the nature of a male-dominant society. A daughter could be sold into slavery or sold to be the concubine of a man and then possibly sold again -- Exodus 21:7-11. She certainly held an inferior position to that of a son. In the patriarchal period, however, both a son and a daughter could be put to death for disobeying the head of the family. One’s children could also be sacrificed in pagan worship rituals -- see Genesis 22; Judges 11. Pagan nations neighbouring Israel, including Canaan and Ammon, probably practiced infant sacrifice. Many of these ancient family traditions seem so foreign - even barbaric - to us today. Likewise, the family unit of biblical times could not begin to understand the typical family’s modern traditions. Satan has always attacked the family because of its important role in YHVH’s Creation. Children gained more rights from YHVH’s Law at the time of Moses. A father could not put his child to death without referring the case to the elders -- Deuteronomy 21:18-21. A father could accuse his son or daughter of being disobedient, gluttonous or a drunkard. However, the elders heard the cases. A father’s absolute authority even extended to his married son and family if they were living under his roof. According to Law, children could not be responsible for the crimes of their parents -- Deuteronomy 24:16. In King David’s time, a person had the right of appeal to the king if the community convicted him or her -- 2 Samuel 14:4-11. Hebrew families honoured their parents above all else. Children honoured both their mother and father -- Exodus 20:12. The Law condemned offenses against either parent -- Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Deuteronomy 21:18; Deuteronomy 27:16. The Wisdom Literature-mainly Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes-focuses on the respect due a woman -- Proverbs 19:26; Proverbs 20:20; compare to Sirach 3:1-16. YHVH gave His people specific Laws to distinguish them from the pagan cultures around them. Although believing in Yeshua is a relationship more than it is about keeping rules and regulations, the Bible teaches standards for human behaviour. Without Laws, as we see in the pagan cultures then and now, people are ruthless, evil, and unbalanced. YHVH’s Laws helped guide the Israelites in their new culture, and they still guide us today to live a principled life.

DAILY LIFE OF THE HEBREW FAMILY

FATHERS
In the everyday affairs of a Hebrew household, it was the father’s responsibility to maintain the family fortune and to be the provider. He might work in the fields, most probably with crops of flax, barley, or wheat. Or he would work at a trade, possibly as a weaver, builder, potter, dyer, fuller, or a worker in copper or bronze. If he lived near the shore, he might be a fisherman. The father was also responsible for the religious well-being of the family. It was his duty to take over his sons’ education from the mother at an early age, teaching them the tenets of the Hebrew religion -- Exodus 10:2; Exodus 12:26; Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 6:7. He also explained all the facets of the Law and the history of the Jewish people. The father was the disciplinarian of the family. The – rod - was the method of choice to drive home the lessons -- Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 22:15; Proverbs 29:15-17, though it is not completely clear what is meant by these references. Though children were loved and valued, they were not pampered Sirach 30:9-12. After the exile to Babylon, the synagogue became the centre for education. Shortly before the time of Moshiach, a general elementary education was introduced. Fathers, however, still had to teach their sons a trade. They usually passed on their own craft. A man without a trade either starved or became a thief. Another important paternal responsibility was that of a matchmaker - providing wives for male offspring in the household.

MOTHERS
The mother was responsible for her sons’ and daughters’ early education -- Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 6:20, teaching them religious songs and prayers as soon as they could talk. A father took over the education of his sons, but the mother continued with the daughters, training them to spin, weave, cook, clean, trim the lamps, and become competent in all the household duties -- Proverbs 31:13-31. With little furniture, keeping a house clean meant sweeping the floors to keep them free from dust and dirt. Cooking was at once simple and difficult. It was simple in that they cooked much of the food in the form of a soup or stew, or else made it into a cake and cooked it on a griddle. It was difficult in that the corn had to be ground by hand and bread was baked daily. A mother was expected to take wool, card it, spin it, and often weave and make clothes for her family. In addition, she would help her husband in the fields at the time of harvest. Because many families had one or more olive trees, a few grapevines, and fig trees, the mother would also assist in picking the fruit. She would sometimes work at the press when the olives or grapes were being processed. The husband and wife would frequently tread the grapes together in the family vat. Drawing water from the well was considered a menial task and was generally the wife’s responsibility, although sometimes it was given to the children -- Genesis 24:15-16.

CHILDREN
As in all societies, children laughed and played together -- Zechariah 8:5; Matthew 11:16, although childhood and adolescence were not seen as specific stages of development. Children were considered sucklings if they were under three, but they were regarded as boys or girls when they were able to take care of themselves. Mothers played with their children and enjoyed family time together -- Isaiah 66:12. There is no evidence of organized sports for children. Toys, including whistles, rattles, dolls, and miniature cooking utensils, have been excavated at Palestinian sites. As soon as a boy was old enough, he took his place in the family and accepted his appointed task. Among other things, children were expected to gather wood -- Jeremiah 7:18. Young boys and girls tended the flocks. The sheep had to be protected from marauding wild beasts, guarded against their own folly when they wandered near crevices, steered toward good pasture and water, and carried home when sick or injured Genesis 29:6; Exodus 2:16. Children also cared for the cattle 1 Samuel 16:11. Of necessity, boys were trained in the various arts of war. Children sometimes joined their fathers in the fields, and their presence was always welcome. From earliest times, boys would watch their fathers until they too picked up a tool or implement to try their skill; girls watched and learned from their mothers. Young children frequently listened to the talk of the elders at the city gates or in the villages. A visit to a sanctuary at festival time was a family affair, furnishing an ideal learning experience. As a child, Yeshua accompanied Mary and Joseph to the Temple in Jerusalem -- Luke 2:42-47. Young girls were surprisingly free to go about their appointed tasks. They were not secluded or veiled and could visit uninhibited with friends and neighbours -- Genesis 34:1. They were also able to converse with men without embarrassment -- Genesis 24:15-25; Genesis 29:11-12 ; 1 Samuel 9:11-13)

I actually shared this eight years ago on Facebook:

A living relationship with God is the keeping of religious laws.

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
John 15:14

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.
James 1:27

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:21

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:40

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:9

The commandments: which people now believe are insane, harsh, antiquated, merciless, and unchristian. It is in fact love itself that they believe is insane, harsh, antiquated, merciless, and unchristian.

If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.
#exodus 22:6 #mishpatim

The key in dealing with accidental damages is restitution. The idea is not to punish someone for making a mistake, but to make it right. Punitive damages for negligence should be strictly limited regardless of the resources of the perpetrator.

Do you know the word SHALOM means more than just peace?

#shalom #cornerfringeministries #shabbatshalom #sabbathrest #tranquility #contentment #peace #completeness #whatdoesthebiblesay #covenant #scripture #torah #repentance

I think the comic says it all. You will bear one yoke or the other. Yeshua taught the Torah and said his yoke was easy and light. We can also see from Psalms and Proverbs that the way the Torah is described is the same way Yeshua was described. We know from John 1 that Yeshua is the Word (of God). That Word is the Torah. Following Torah IS following Yeshua.

http://thestraightandnarrow.cfw.me/comics/415

#bible #biblestudy #torahobservant #hebrewroots #messianic #christian #comic #webcomic

I believe there are truly noble people and characters. Also I believe there are perfect people, though obviously they're rare (and not "without sin" - I'll explain).

A lot of people take the doctrine that "all have sinned" and "there is none that doeth good and sinneth not" to be a kind of mandatory cynicism, that everyone does small evil acts or underlying evil acts and they just aren't seen or are all considered equal in God's eyes. They also often categorise an exorbitant amount of faults and flaws and things (like not getting up quick enough in the morning) as moral sins to further bolster this idea, and often fall into thinking anything that is less good than another thing is therefore bad, which is of course not logical.
The Bible also says "they also do no iniquity" and "he that is born of God sinneth not" and "in whom is no guile". And it tells us that unborn children have done nothing, either good or evil, yet also that we are conceived in sin. Obviously it isn't contradictory, but rather talking about two different things.

I think it is clear that "all have sinned" and the doctrine that none are "without sin" are referring to the sinfulness of the heart; the best people understand that they are their own worst enemy when trying to do right. If they were without sin, they would have no difficulty, no struggle, no enticement of their own lust, and outward temptation would not be able to allure them at all, like Christ. Our sinfulness is proven whenever people leave themselves without check, and of course there is the fact that you don't have to teach children to do wrong. The sinfulness of our hearts is our fault (after all, if it wasn't, then neither would any action be that arises from it), but those who do not indulge their sinful hearts (such as children, who have done no evil), are those who are the righteous, who "sin not", and "do no iniquity", and these are those whose sinfulness is washed away by the blood of the Lamb.
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." - Pr 28

Righteous people often commit small sins at times (sins not unto death as John puts it), and that also isn't what it is talking about when it says a righteous man sinneth not. Those who break the least commandments still will enter the kingdom of heaven, though they receive less honour.

If "there is none righteous" isn't talking about our sinful tendencies which we must (and can successfully) fight against and control, then we have a problem, as when it expounds on this doctrine it goes on to say:
"there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes." - Ro 3
If this is not describing what we tend to, then everyone is specifically an unbeliever (thus unsaved), murderer, liar, and curser (weird that that isn't a word ); and obviously it has nothing to do with the false idea that small sins are equal in God's eyes (which idea is to accuse God of injustice, and to give license for the heathen to mock his wrath).

I would say that the most perfect person was Moses, who was the counterpart of Jesus ("a prophet like unto me"), who was "faithful in all his house", so that him and Christ are pictured as a house and its builder. He was so perfect that speaking a single sentence, "Must we fetch you water out of this rock?" was punished with great wrath. Others would be Noah, Daniel, Job, Samuel, Elijah, and John the baptist. Joseph is one that I often think of first.

In fiction the first one that comes to mind would be G. A. Henty's protagonists, which are basically meant to picture what he would consider to be the best conduct in their various situations. I disagree with Henty on certain moral points (a major one would be that he sees transvestism as a joke), and his characters are rather plain, but on the whole it is good to read about his good example characters.
The first character who comes to mind that is a truly noble character, which is also interesting and endearing, would be Sam Gamgee.
(The main fault I dislike in bad film adaptation is corrupting good characters; if one sees the character as real - which is the point - then it is slander.)
Other such characters would be Puddleglum, Sybil (in Charles Williams' The Greater Trumps), Scrooge (after his reformation), the Master Monstruwacan (in William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land), and Beowulf.

Yes, Hebrew does have a letter J. We usually call it yod, and it looks like this: י. Our English J is just a fancified version of the Hebrew י.

https://soilfromstone.blogspot.....com/2015/10/the-sac