FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – CHUQQATH:

“And all the congregation of the children of Yisrael set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the mouth of YHWH, and camped in Rephiḏim. And there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people strove with Moshe, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ And Moshe said to them, ‘Why do you strive with me? Why do you try YHWH?’ And the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moshe, and said, Why did you bring us out of Mitsrayim, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’ Then Moshe cried out to YHWH, saying, ‘What am I to do with this people? Yet a little and they shall stone me!’ And YHWH said to Moshe, ‘Pass over before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Yisrael. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. See, I am standing before you there on the rock in Ḥorĕḇ. And you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people shall drink.’ And Moshe did so before the eyes of the elders of Yisrael. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meriḇah, because of the ‘strife’ of the children of Yisrael, and because they ‘tried’ YHWH, saying, ‘Is YHWH in our midst or not?’”

“For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were immersed into Moshe in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah.”

FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – CHUQQATH:

The Command:

“And YHWH spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, This is a law of the Torah which YHWH has commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Yisra’el, that they bring you a red heifer, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish and on which a yoke has never come. And you shall give it to El’azar the priest, and he shall bring it outside the camp, and shall slay it before him. And El’azar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times toward the front of the Tent of Appointment. And the heifer shall be burned before his eyes – he burns its hide, and its flesh, and its blood, and its dung. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and throw them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. The priest shall then wash his garments, and shall bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest is unclean until evening. And he who is burning it washes his garments in water, and shall bathe his body in water, and is unclean until evening. And a clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and shall place them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Yisra’el for the water for uncleanness, it is for cleansing from sin. And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his garments, and is unclean until evening. And it shall be a law forever to the children of Yisra’el and to the stranger who sojourns in their midst. He who touches the dead of any human being is unclean for seven days. He is to cleanse himself with the water on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean. Anyone who touches the dead of a human being, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the Dwelling Place of YHWH. And that being shall be cut off from Yisra’el. He is unclean, for the water for uncleanness was not sprinkled on him, his uncleanness is still upon him.”

Why a red cow?

A person becomes unclean through contact with a human corpse. To be cleansed from this defilement, they must be sprinkled by a priest with water containing the ashes of a perfectly red heifer. If they aren’t, they must remain outside the camp of Yisrael and cannot enter the Tabernacle or Temple. Odd, you say? Even odder is that the person who slays the heifer becomes unclean, the person who processes the water and ashes becomes unclean, yet the person sprinkled with them becomes clean. What is the reason for all this oddity? There is none given in scripture. This is the nature of one of the four primary types of laws, and is called a Chuq (kook). Kooky, right? A chuq is a law which has no discernable explanation. In fact, it is believed we are not even supposed to know it. It is something of a test of us by YHWH – will we obey Him and keep it, even though it makes no apparent sense to us? Will you, if asked to do so by the Ruler of the Universes?

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares YHWH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so is My Word that goes forth from My mouth – it does not return to Me empty, but shall do what I please, and shall certainly accomplish what I sent it for. For with joy you go out, and with peace you are brought in – the mountains and the hills break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field clap the hands. Instead of the thorn the cypress comes up, and instead of the nettle the myrtle comes up. And it shall be to YHWH for a name, for an everlasting sign which is not cut off.”

FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – CHUQQATH:

“And the people spoke against Elohim and against Moshe, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Mitsrayim to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our being loathes this light bread.’ And YHWH sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. And many of the people of Yisra’el died. Then the people came to Moshe, and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have spoken against YHWH and against you. Pray to YHWH to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moshe prayed on behalf of the people. And YHWH said to Moshe, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.’ So Moshe made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole. And it came to be, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”

“As Moshe lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Aḏam has to be lifted up, so that whoever is believing in him should not perish but possess everlasting life. For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life. For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only brought-forth Son of Elohim. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked. For everyone who is practicing evil matters hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But the one doing the Truth comes to the light, so that his works are clearly seen, that they have been wrought in Elohim.”

“Thy Torah is Truth”

Thought for Today: Tuesday June 24

We are not hypocritical just because we do not meet a person’s every demand. Would we really be helping them if we met their every demand, no matter how selfish? Instead, we might just be encouraging greater self-centredness on their part; and that is not YHVH’s will. Sometimes love says no, because that is what is best for the other person. If you can fulfil someone’s request however, do so even if it involves sacrifice on your part. The Bible says: “let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth” (1 John 3:18)

Care for a swim? https://thekingdomnetwork.us/2....025/06/16/swimming-l

Not too accurate, but quite fun!

...Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus.
Romans 16:11 ESV

As with Aristobulus, Paul greets the family of Narcissus, but apparently not Narcissus himself. There was a wealthy freedman named Tiberius Claudius Narcissus in the court of Emperor Claudius. Nero’s mother Agrippina forced him to commit suicide after the death of Claudius, shortly before this letter was written.

It’s remotely possible that Paul was addressing believers within this man’s house, but the name Narcissus was probably common, being derived from Greek mythology. Believers were likely a minority in his house and Narcissus was probably not among them, since Paul greets “those in the Lord who belong to the family”.

If this Narcissus truly was the same as Claudius’ advisor, then Paul might have worded the greeting in this way because giving specific names could have put their lives in danger.

...Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.
Romans 16:10 ESV

Aristobulus himself is not greeted, but his household is. This could include Aristobulus, but it more likely refers to believers within his household, which could have included family members, slaves, and hired servants.

There was an Aristobulus who was a grandson of Herod the Great. Although he died in 7 BC, he had been educated in Rome, and some of his descendants lived there during Paul’s ministry. In Roman custom, families often adopted the name of a famous ancestor as a surname, so It’s possible that this is the household being greeted, but by no means certain.

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Proverbs 29:9 ESV

There's no reasoning with a fool, which is why Solomon says several times that the only reason a fool understands is pain. He must be controlled by force or everyone will suffer.

If a woman murdered someone else's baby, would she not be tried for murder? But then if she murders her own baby, she is protected?

This is pro-abortion.