It's true that God expects His people to act according to His rules, but why? And why is it that we have trouble in life even whether we follow the rules or not?
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../09/27/beyond-the-ru
It's true that God expects His people to act according to His rules, but why? And why is it that we have trouble in life even whether we follow the rules or not?
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../09/27/beyond-the-ru
Shalom, friends,
We invite you to join us live on YouTube at 3:30pm Central Time on this Sabbath afternoon, 09/27/2025, for scripture study and prayers.
The lesson for the day is titled:
"Chapter 13 - Ivrym (A Concise Commentary on the Book of Hebrews)"
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BIBLE STUDY -- BAAL’S DEFEAT
JEHU DESTROYS BAAL
From 2 Kings 10:17-36
When Jehu arrived at Samaria, he executed all of King Ahab’s friends and relatives, as Adonai through Elijah said would happen. Then Jehu tricked the followers of Baal by pretending to follow their god instead of Adonai. Summoning all the people, Jehu said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but I will serve him much. Call together all the priests, prophets and followers of Baal. If anyone does not come, he will be executed.” Jehu did this to get the followers of Baal all together so he could execute them. The word went throughout Israel and all the prophets, priests and followers of Baal gathered at a solemn assembly at the house of Baal, filling the building. “Be sure that every person who worships Baal has a special robe,” Jehu told the man in charge of the robes. So, the man obeyed and brought a robe for each of Baal’s followers. Jehu and Jehonadab went into Baal’s temple to talk with the people who had assembled there. “Look around you and make sure that everyone here is a true follower of Baal,” he said. “We do not want any of Adonai’s followers here.” Then, as the priests of Baal prepared to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu stationed eighty warriors around the building. “Whoever lets one follower of Baal escape will pay for it with his own life,” he warned them. When Jehu finished offering the burnt offering inside the temple of Baal, he went outside and gave orders to his officers. “Get in there and kill them all,” he said. “Do not let one escape.” The warriors obeyed and went into the temple of Baal and killed every person, then dragged their bodies out. Next, they went into the inner sanctuary of Baal’s temple, hauled out the pillar which Baal’s followers had used in their worship and burned it. They broke down the entire building and made it into a public toilet and so it has remained as of the time this was written. In this way Jehu destroyed the worship of Baal in the land of Israel. He failed however to destroy the golden calves which Jeroboam had set up at Bethel and Dan to lead the people of Israel into idolatry. “Since you have obeyed Me in destroying Ahab’s family, I will allow four generations of your family to be kings after you,” Adonai told Jehu. However, Jehu did not entirely please Adonai, for he still worshiped the golden calves of Jeroboam which had led Israel into so much sin. In those days Adonai allowed Hazael to capture parts of Israel. In several expeditions against Israel, Hazael took much of the land east of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad and Reuben and parts of the land of Manasseh from the Aroer River, which is by the Arnon Valley up to the land of Gilead and Bashan. All the other things that Jehu did are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. When he died, he was buried at Samaria and his son Jehoahaz ruled as king in his place. Jehu ruled as king of Israel at Samaria for a total of twenty-eight years.
COMMENTARY --- THE BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER III
The rulers of Mesopotamia, like those of ancient Egypt, recorded their achievements on stone monuments. These memorials ensured that a king’s name and memory would live on after his death. Typically, a monument boasted of a monarch’s accomplishments in war; the lands conquered, captives taken and tribute collected. One of the most famous ancient monuments is the black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, ruler of Assyria from 859 to 824 B.C. The scenes and script chiselled into four sides of the obelisk relate the history of Shalmaneser’s military campaigns. Of his thirty-five years on the throne, the king spent thirty-one in warfare. Shalmaneser led the Assyrian army in battle farther from its homeland than anyone before. They journeyed north to the mountain kingdom of the Urartu and south to the Persian Gulf. Campaigns to the west pushed Assyria’s border from the Tigris to the Euphrates. But Shalmaneser did not stop there. Year after year his armies crossed the great river on inflated goat-skin rafts, pushing through northern Syria and down to Israel. Most of these campaigns were not actual conquests. Shalmaneser usually exacted an oath of allegiance and returned home with the wealth of the defeated ruler. Tribute usually included livestock and wine as well as chariots, cavalry horses, battle equipment, gold and silver, linen, expensive garments and rugs, valuable ivory and ebony. Five panels on each side of the obelisk depict representatives from five nations delivering gifts to the king. Other panels show the humbling of the king of Israel. They present Jehu kneeling before Shalmaneser; a posture expected only from inferior rulers. The text describes the golden vases, tumblers and other costly tribute Jehu surrendered to the Assyrian invaders. Shalmaneser’s pride was evident even in the artistry of the obelisk. Monarchs usually erected limestone or alabaster monuments, for those soft stones were plentiful in Assyria. But the Assyrian king’s is sculpted in black basalt, a volcanic rock known for hardness and durability. Basalt was rare, and required a journey to a special district north of the country or to a region of extinct volcanoes to the west. The high cost of cutting and transporting such stone blocks did not stop Shalmaneser. At his death the king knew that his monument would endure while others disappeared in the decay of time.
BIBLE STUDY -- AHAB’S LINE DESTROYED
THE DEATH OF AHAB’S FAMILY
From 2 Kings 10:1-17; 2 Chronicles 22:8
Ahab had seventy sons who lived in Samaria the capital, under the care of the officials of that city. After Jehu had killed King Jehoram, he wrote a letter to these officials. “As soon as you receive this letter, choose one of King Ahab’s sons to be your new king,” he said, “for you have charge of his sons, his chariots, his horses, his fortified cities and his weapons. Then let this new king defend his throne.” The officials however, trembled with fear. “Two kings couldn’t defend themselves against this man,” they said. “So how can we?” The palace manager and the city manager joined with the other city officials in sending a message to Jehu. “We are your servants,” they said. “We will obey your commands and will make no other man king. Do whatever seems right to you.” Jehu responded with another letter. “If you really want to obey me, bring the heads of Ahab’s sons to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time. Ahab’s seventy sons lived in the homes of these officials who had cared for them since they were children. When Jehu’s letter came, the officials murdered the seventy sons and put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. When the baskets arrived, a messenger came to Jehu to let him know. “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he reported. “Put them in two piles by the entrance of the city gate until tomorrow morning,” Jehu commanded. The next morning Jehu went to the city gate to speak to an assembly of the people. “The deaths of these men are not your fault,” he said. “It is I who killed the king, but it is Adonai who killed these seventy sons. Adonai declared through His prophet Elijah that Ahab’s sons would die like this.” After this Jehu executed all the other members of Ahab’s family at Jezreel, as well as the officials, friends and priests of Ahab. Then he left for Samaria to do the same there. As he was going to Samaria, he met some men at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, an inn at the side of the road. “Who are you?” he asked them. “We are relatives of King Ahaziah,” they answered. “We have come to visit the sons of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.” “Capture them!” Jehu ordered. His men captured them and killed all forty-two of them at a nearby pit. As he was leaving that place to go on to Samaria, Jehu met Rechab’s son Jehonadab, who had come to join him. “Is your heart as loyal to me as mine is to you?” Jehu asked him. “Yes, it is,” Jehonadab answered. “If it is, give me your hand,” Jehu said. Then Jehu took Jehonadab with him into his chariot. “Come with me to Samaria and see my zeal for Adonai,” he said. So, Jehonadab rode with Jehu in his chariot. When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he executed all of Ahab’s remaining family and friends, as Adonai had foretold through His prophet Elijah. Not one of them was left alive.
COMMENTARY --- THE JEZREEL VALLEY
The Jezreel Valley itself was one of the most vital valleys of Palestine. Dark, rich soil left by the swamps of earlier centuries made it one of the most productive farming regions in the land. Even more important, it formed a link in the main trading routes of the ancient Middle East. Because the valley is a long, flat region surrounded by mountains, it is often referred to as a plain. A strict definition limits the Jezreel Valley proper to the south-eastern half of the plain. This south-eastern section includes only the triangle of land extending from Mount Gilboa to the Jordan River. A broader definition, however, includes the north-western stretch of the plain, often referred to as the Megiddo Plain. Together, the two sections form an open pass through the central mountain ranges. In ancient times, the pass served as a boundary between Galilee to the north and Samaria to the south. The valley was the only route connecting the coast with the Jordan Valley in the centre of Palestine. Such a location made the Jezreel Valley of enormous value to traders and merchants. Via Mans, the major trade route connecting Egypt with Mesopotamia, crossed it at several points. The main pass entered the valley at Megiddo and then split into two major roads. One turned northwest along the Phoenician coast, while the other turned northeast toward Damascus and Mesopotamia. All along the valley, fortified cities were built to protect the smaller branches of the trade route. From these cities, caravans could continue along the northern routes or descend eastward through the valley and across the Jordan River. There, the valley road intersected the King’s Highway; the caravan route that passed between Arabia, Damascus and the commercial centres of Mesopotamia. Attempts to control this region and its trading routes made the Jezreel Valley the site of many battles. Egyptian pharaohs challenged Canaanite control long before the Israelites settled there. In this valley, the judge Deborah led Israelite tribes against the Canaanite armies of Sisera. Here also, the Philistines defeated King Saul and his sons, and hung their bodies on the city wall at Beth-shan. The miles of flat land in the plain allowed chariot armies their full advantage over slow-moving foot soldiers. In times of peace, the valley’s fame lay in its productivity. Sometimes it was referred to simply as “the rich valley,” for it was one of the most fertile regions of Palestine. Its grain crops provided food for much of northern Palestine. Today, the grain fields, orchards and dairy farms of the Jezreel Valley still provide food for the people of Israel.
Something Many as well as myself was taught is that Luke was divinely inspired. However by Luke’s own introduction we read this — Luke 1:1 —3, “Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,” Luke was Syrian and not in the land of Israel while the events surrounding Yeshua/Jesus were happening. Luke tells us by his own words that what he is writing is hearsay and being conscientious he questioned many people to learn the things they observed and heard.
Thought for Today: Shabbat September 27
We can jump over some barriers in life by our own will and our own efforts. YHVH has not left us completely powerless. But some walls are so high we need more than this… When we try to jump over them by ourselves, we repeatedly fall short. With YHVH’s help however, we can conquer them. What wall do you need to conquer today? Maybe a habit you cannot break, or an emotion that defeats you, or an attitude that separates you from others? Maybe a heart beset with doubt, discouragement and fear? Whatever it is you face today, with YHVH’s help, you can leap over that wall.
From Steven Moutria:
When you hear the word "Torah," what do you think of? While many know it's the instructions of God as given through Moses, they also associate many man-made laws with it. However, God's law is just that, God's law. This teaching helps distinguish the Law of God from Jewish law and traditions that have been passed down through the ages.
About 22 minutes
9/27/2025
Shabbath Shuvah (“Sabbath of Return.”)
This Shabbath, with its theme of repentance, draws from the words of the haftarah for the day: “Return, O Yisrael, to YHWH Eloheykem, for you have fallen because of your sins.”
It is observed between Yom Teruah and Yom Hakippurym, that period known as “The Ten Days of Awe”, when all Yisrael re-examines her ways and returns to YHWH in humility and love.
Readings: Devarym 31; Hoshea 14:2-10; Mikah 7:18-20; and Yoel 2:5-27.
(DEVARYM 31)
And Mosheh went and spoke these words to all Yisra’ěl, and he said to them, I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. And YHWH has said to me, You do not pass over this Yarděn.
YHWH your Elohim Himself is passing over before you. He shall destroy these nations from before you and you possess them. Yehoshua himself is passing over before you, as YHWH has spoken.
And YHWH shall do to them as He did to Sichon and to Oḡ, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them.
And YHWH shall give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to all the command which I have commanded you.
Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be afraid of them. For it is YHWH your Elohim who is going with you. He does not fail you nor forsake you.
And Mosheh called Yehoshua and said to him before the eyes of all Yisra’ěl, Be strong and courageous, for you are going with this people to the land which YHWH has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you are to let them inherit it.
And it is YHWH who is going before you, He Himself is with you. He does not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be discouraged.
And Mosheh wrote this Torah and gave it to the kohenim, the sons of Lěwi, who bore the ark of the covenant of YHWH, and to all the elders of Yisra’ěl.
And Mosheh commanded them, saying, At the end of seven years, at the appointed time, the year of release, at the Festival of Sukkot, when all Yisra’ěl comes to appear before YHWH your Elohim in the place which He chooses, read this Torah before all Yisra’ěl in their hearing.
Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your sojourner who is within your gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn to fear YHWH your Elohim and guard to do all the Words of this Torah.
And their children, who have not known it, should hear and learn to fear YHWH your Elohim as long as you live in the land you are passing over the Yarděn to possess.
And YHWH said to Mosheh, See, the days have drawn near for you to die. Call Yehoshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Appointment, so that I command him. And Mosheh and Yehoshua went and presented themselves in the Tent of Appointment.
And YHWH appeared at the Tent in a column of a cloud, and the column of a cloud stood above the door of the Tent.
And YHWH said to Mosheh, See, you are about to sleep with your fathers. And this people shall rise and whore after the mighty ones of the strangers of the land into the midst of which they shall enter, and forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
Then My displeasure shall burn against them in that day, and I shall forsake them and hide My face from them, and they shall be consumed. And many evils and distresses shall come upon them, and it shall be said in that day, Is it not because our Elohim is not in our midst that these evils have come upon us?
And I shall certainly hide My face in that day, because of all the evil which they have done, for they shall turn to other mighty ones.
And now write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Yisra’ěl. Put it in their mouths, so that this song is to Me for a witness against the children of Yisra’ěl.
And I shall bring them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they shall eat and be satisfied and be fat, then they shall turn to other mighty ones, and they shall serve them, and scorn Me and break My covenant.
And it shall be, when many evils and distresses come upon them, that this song shall answer before them as a witness. For it is not to be forgotten in the mouths of their seed, for I know their thoughts which they are forming today, even before I bring them to the land of which I swore to give them.
And Mosheh wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Yisra’ěl.
And He commanded Yehoshua son of Nun, and said, Be strong and courageous, for you are to bring the children of Yisra’ěl into the land of which I swore to them, and I Myself am with you.
And it came to be, when Mosheh had completed writing the Words of this Torah in a book, until their completion, that Mosheh commanded the Lěwites, who bore the ark of the covenant of YHWH, saying, Take this Book of the Torah, and you shall place it beside the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, and it shall be there as a witness against you, for I myself know your rebellion and your stiff neck. See, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against YHWH, then how much more after my death?
Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, so that I speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them.
For I know that after my death you shall do very corruptly and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil shall come to you in the latter days, because you do what is evil in the eyes of YHWH, to provoke Him through the work of your hands.
So Mosheh spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Yisra’ěl the words of this song till their completion:
(HOSHEA 14)
O Yisra’ěl, return to YHWH your Elohim, for you have stumbled by your crookedness.
Take words with you, and return to YHWH. Say to Him, Take away all crookedness, and accept what is excellent, and we render the bulls of our lips.
Ashshur does not save us. We do not ride on horses, nor ever again do we say to the work of our hands, Our mighty ones. For the fatherless finds compassion in You.
I shall heal their backsliding, I shall love them spontaneously, for My displeasure has turned away from him.
I shall be like the dew to Yisra’ěl. He shall blossom like the lily, and strike out his roots like Levanon.
His branches shall spread, and his splendor shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Levanon.
Those who dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall revive like grain, and blossom like the vine, and become as fragrant as the wine of Levanon.
What more has Ephrayim to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after him. I am like a green cypress tree, your fruit comes from Me.
Who is wise and understands these words, discerning and knows them? For the ways of YHWH are straight, and the righteous walk in them, but the transgressors stumble in them.
(MIKAH 7:18-20)
Who is an Ěl like You – taking away crookedness and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? He shall not retain His wrath forever, for He Himself delights in mercy.
He shall turn back, He shall have compassion on us, He shall trample upon our crookednesses! And You throw all our sins into the depths of the sea!
You give truth to Ya’aqov, mercy to Avraham, which You swore to our fathers from the days of old!
(YOEL 2:5-27)
As the noise of chariots they leap over mountain tops, as the noise of a flaming fire consuming stubble, as a mighty people set in battle array.
Before them peoples are in anguish, all faces become flushed.
They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of battle, every one goes on his way, and they do not break ranks.
And they do not press one another, every one goes in his path. They fall among the weapons, but they do not stop.
They rush on the city, they run on the wall. They climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief.
The earth shall tremble before them, the heavens shall shake. Sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars withdraw their brightness.
And YHWH shall give forth His voice before His army, for His camp is very great, for mighty is the doer of His word. For the day of YHWH is great and very awesome, and who does bear it?
Yet even now, declares YHWH, turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.
And tear your heart and not your garments, and turn back to YHWH your Elohim, for He shows favor and is compassionate, patient, and of great mercy, and He shall relent concerning the evil.
Who knows – He might turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for YHWH your Elohim?
Blow a shophar in Tsiyon, set apart a fast, call an assembly.
Gather the people, set the assembly apart, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes. Let a bridegroom come out from his room, and a bride from her dressing room.
Let the kohenim, servants of YHWH, weep between the porch and the altar. And let them say, Spare Your people, O YHWH, and do not give Your inheritance to reproach, for the nations to rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their Elohim?
And let YHWH be jealous for His land, and spare His people.
And let YHWH answer and say to His people, See, I am sending you the grain and the new wine and the oil, and you shall be satisfied by them. And no longer do I make you a reproach among the nations.
And the Northerner I shall remove far from you, and drive him away into a dry and deserted land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his rear toward the western sea. And his stench shall come up and his smell rise, for he has done greatly.
Do not fear, O soil, be glad and rejoice, for YHWH has done greatly!
Do not fear, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness shall spring forth, and the tree shall bear its fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength.
And you children of Tsiyon, be glad and rejoice in YHWH your Elohim, for He shall give you the Teacher of Righteousness, and cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
And the threshing-floors shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
Then I shall repay you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, and the consuming locust, and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
Then you shall eat – eat and be satisfied – and shall praise the Name of YHWH your Elohim, who has done with you so wondrously. And My people shall never be put to shame.
And you shall know that I am in the midst of Yisra’ěl, and that I am YHWH your Elohim and there is no one else. And My people shall never be put to shame.
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