Malachi 2:1 —2, ““And now this decree is for you, O priests: If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.” This warning is an example that even the priesthood of Israel was corrupted by some who hd evil intentions. Little by little the priests allied themselves to be influenced by evil.

BIBLE STUDY -- PROTECTED

THE LOST AXE AND OTHER MIRACLES

From 2 Kings 6:1-23

The young prophets whom Elisha taught came to him one day with some plans. “The place where we live is too small for us,” they said. “Why don’t we go to the Jordan River and each of us cut a log from the trees on the bank so we can build a new place to live in?” “Good idea,” said Elisha. “Why don’t you do it?” “We want you to come with us,” one of them said. “All right, I will go with you,” Elisha answered. So, Elisha and the young men went to the bank of the Jordan River to cut down trees for the new building. As one of them was chopping down a tree, the head flew from his axe and fell into the river. “Oh, how terrible!” he cried out to Elisha. “I borrowed this axe.” Elisha realized that the young man had no money to pay the owner for his axe so he tried to help him. “Show me where the axe head fell,” he said. When the young man showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there. At once the axe head came to the surface and floated on the water. “Reach out and take it!” Elisha commanded and the young man did so. The king of Syria was once at war with Israel. As he planned a battle, he told his officers to lay a trap for Israel at a certain place. But YHVH revealed this secret to Elisha and he told it to the king of Israel. “Don’t go near that place, for the Syrians are planning to trap you there.” The king of Israel sent a spy to investigate and learned that it was indeed true. In this manner Elisha saved Israel from great trouble. After this had happened a number of times, the king of Syria became suspicious and called his officers together. “Which of you is telling the king of Israel about our plans?” he demanded. One of his officers answered, “None of us is a traitor. It is Elisha the prophet. He knows your secrets as soon as you speak them, even in your own bedroom.” “Find him!” the king commanded. “When you do, we’ll send troops to capture him.” Spies returned with the report, “Elisha is at Dothan.” At once the king of Syria sent an army to Dothan with chariots and horses and surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant arose the next morning and looked outside, he was dismayed. There were horses and chariots and soldiers all around the city. “How terrible!” he cried. “What will we do?” “Don’t be afraid of that army,” Elisha said. “We have a bigger army on our side.” Then he prayed, “O Adonai, please, open my servant’s eyes that he may see. Adonai opened the eyes of the servant so that he saw the mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire, ready to fight for Elisha. Soon the Syrian army marched against Dothan to take it. Elisha prayed for help. “Adonai, strike these Syrians with blindness,” he pleaded. Adonai heard the prophet’s prayer and the Syrians were blinded. Then Elisha went out of Dothan and walked into the midst of the Syrian leaders. “You’re in the wrong place,” he told them. “Come with me and I’ll show you the person you are trying to find.” Then he led the Syrian army to Samaria. When the king of Israel saw Elisha bringing the Syrians into the capital city, he cried out, “Oh my father, shall I kill these men? Tell me, shall I kill them?” “Of course not!” Elisha answered. “You wouldn’t kill men you had captured with your sword or bow; how much less these helpless men. Feed them and send them home.” The king of Israel prepared a great feast for the soldiers as Elisha instructed. When they had finished eating, he sent them back to their king. For a long time after that, the Syrians sent no more raiding parties into Israel.

COMMENTARY --- THE AXE; TOOL AND WEAPON

The axe has served as both a tool and a weapon since the earliest prehistoric times. The first axe heads were sharpened flint, granite or other stone, tied to handles of wood or bone. Designed mainly for cutting timber, they had both single- and double-edged blades. These simple tools also worked as hunting and battle weapons. By Old Testament times, axe heads were made of copper, bronze and then iron. The use of metal allowed axes to be designed for specific purposes. Many woodcutters felled trees with a heavy flat blade, but Egyptian lumbermen preferred a small axe head with a rounded edge. Masons quarried stone blocks and cut underground tombs with long pointed pickaxes. Carpenters adapted the axe into various small tools for carving and cutting. The development of metal blades also increased the use of the axe as a weapon. Battle-axes were generally heavy, with broad curved blades. In some styles, sharp spikes extended behind the handle to balance the weight of the blade at the other end. A work axe was designed to cut, but the battle-axe was meant to crush the skull of an opponent; in the hand-to-hand combat of ancient times, it was a powerful weapon. Sumerian, Egyptian and many other war-faring peoples included it in their standard battle equipment. Kings often carried ornate battle-axes with engraved blades and handles richly ornamented with gold, ivory and jewels.

BIBLE STUDY -- NAAMAN

NAAMAN THE LEPER

From 2 Kings 5

Naaman, supreme commander of all the armies of Syria, was highly respected among his people and especially by his king, for he was a great military leader and Adonai had permitted him to win some wonderful victories. But even though he was a mighty man, a hero among his people, he was a leper. In one of the Syrian raids into Israel, Naaman’s men had captured a little girl and given her to Naaman’s wife as a servant. “If only my master Naaman could go to the prophet in Samaria, he could be cured of his leprosy,” the little girl told Naaman’s wife one day. When Naaman heard this, he told it to the king of Syria. “Go,” said the king “and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.” Naaman took with him ten talents of silver, worth about twenty thousand dollars and six thousand pieces of gold, worth about sixty thousand dollars, as well as ten beautiful outfits of clothing. The letter Naaman carried from the king of Syria said, “I am sending Naaman my servant to you so that you may cure his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read that, he tore his clothing. “Who does he think I am?” he cried out. “Am I YHVH, Who alone can give life or take it away? No! He has sent this man with leprosy here just to pick a quarrel with me.” When Elisha heard how the king of Israel had torn his clothing because of his distress, he sent word to the king. “Why did you tear your clothes?” he said. “Send the man to me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” Before long Naaman arrived at the door of Elisha’s house with his horses, chariots and servants, instead of coming out to talk with him however, Elisha sent a servant to the door with a message. “Go to the Jordan River and wash in it seven times,” the servant told Naaman. “When you do, your skin will be healed and you will no longer be a leper.” Hearing these words, Naaman became furious. As he went away, he said angrily, “I thought the man would come out of his house and talk with me. I thought he would call on the name of his YHVH and wave his hand over me to take away my leprosy. Aren’t Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I instead wash in them and be healed?” However, as Naaman went away in great anger, his servants began to reason with him. “If the prophet had commanded you to do something great, wouldn’t you have done it?” they asked. “Since he has asked you to do something simple, like washing to be healed, can’t you just do that?” Naaman listened to his servants. Then he went to the Jordan River and dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had told him to do. At once his skin became as clean and new as the skin of a young child and he was healed. Naaman hurried back with his servants to find Elisha. “I realize now that the YHVH of Israel is the only YHVH,” he told Elisha as he stood before him. “Please accept the gifts I brought for you.” “As surely as Adonai lives, I will not accept your gifts,” Elisha replied. Naaman kept urging him to take the gifts, but Elisha kept refusing. “Then let me take two mule team loads of Israel’s earth with me,” Naaman said. “From now on I will never offer a burnt offering or a sacrifice except to your YHVH. However, may Adonai permit this one thing? When I go with the king of Syria into the house of our YHVH Rimmon and the king bows down to worship as he leans on my arm, may Adonai forgive me when I bow down with the king.” “Go in peace,” Elisha told him. But Naaman had not gone far before Elisha’s servant Gehazi began to think about the rich gifts Naaman had offered. “My master has been very foolish to let that Syrian go away without accepting any of his gifts,” he thought. “I’ll run after him and see if I can get some of them.” Gehazi ran after Naaman and caught up with him. When Naaman saw him, he recognized him as Elisha’s servant and jumped down from his chariot to meet him. “Is anything wrong?” Naaman asked. “Everything is fine,” Gehazi answered. “But Elisha sent me to tell you that two young prophets have just come from the hills of Ephraim and he would like a talent of silver, about two thousand dollars and two outfits of clothing to give them.” “Here, take two talents of silver,” Naaman urged. Then he tied up the silver in two bags, along with the clothing and ordered two of his servants to carry the bags for Gehazi. When Gehazi and the two servants arrived at the hill where Elisha lived, Gehazi took the gifts and sent the servants back to Naaman. After hiding the things in his house, Gehazi returned to Elisha. “Where have you been, Gehazi?” Elisha asked. “Nowhere,” Gehazi answered. “Don’t you know that I could see you in my mind as Naaman stepped from his chariot to meet you?” Elisha answered. “Is this the time to accept rich gifts such as money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, flocks and herds, male and female servants? Since you have done this evil thing, the leprosy that Naaman had will cling to you and your descendants forever.” When Elisha said that, Gehazi’s skin turned as white as snow and he left the room a leper.

COMMENTARY --- CHARIOTS AND HORSES

By about 1500 B.C. the horse-drawn chariot was the major fighting force of many organized countries in the Middle East. It revolutionized the nature of warfare, for armies were able to move with a precision, power and speed never before possible. Migrating Indo-European tribes first introduced the Middle East to the use of the horse in battle and the new horse and chariot combination spread quickly. There is little record of the actual history of this period, but it is known that once the host countries learned the skills of horse breeding and the technique of building war chariots, competition among them became intense. Kings attempted to accumulate as many chariots as possible, for success in battle now depended primarily on the chariot force rather than foot soldiers. Since chariots were extremely expensive to purchase and maintain, they became prize items in war booty and tribute payments. Kings awarded their most skilled warriors with the privilege of driving the chariots in battle. War chariots were constructed differently from the wagons and chariots in use earlier. The earlier ones were flat platforms made of wood, mounted on two or four solid wooden wheels. Hitched to teams of oxen or donkeys, they were heavy, awkward and slow. War chariots were designed for speed. The platform and three sides were of light wicker work covered with leather; the back remained open. Many had attachments to hold arrows, spears and a battle axe. Spoke wheels replaced the solid wheels. Bronze and later, iron rims bound the outside edge of the wheels, providing strength and endurance. As the chariot became more refined, the axle placement shifted from the middle to the rear, providing additional stability. Teams of trained horses drew the chariots in battle. Assyrians began a custom of tethering a third horse to the rear of the chariot to replace lead team horses if one became crippled in battle. Driving customs varied in different countries, In Egypt, a driver and a warrior equipped with bow and spear formed the chariot crew. If one was wounded, the remaining warrior tied the reins around his body, leaving his arms free to wield his weapons. Three-man crews were more common, especially among the Hittites, Assyrians, Syrians and Israelites. The primary function of the third man was to provide defence for the others. In Israelite chariots he may have served as a captain to coordinate the efforts of the other two. Eventually the Assyrians added a fourth warrior to the crew. Bigger teams meant more foot soldiers should the chariots break down in battle.

Which tribes were specifically mentioned as returning from Babylon to Jerusalem?

#quiz #babylon # jerusalem

PS: Discussions are very welcome, but please do not give the answer away in your discussions.

Hint: Ezra

"Cleanse your hands, ye sinners"

Ja 4

there's no such thing as not being allowed to ask why.
'authorities' are quick to command to 'not question God', where in fact there are remarkably few such instructions in the Book, and they don't state don't ask why, but that the answer is in our current state incomprehensible to us or never to be comprehended.
to not question God is to not presume to have a better idea of how things should be, not to not ask why.

so, why the instruction to refrain from strangled animals?
i had a look at what people say, and most (sort of sensible) answers tie it to the (noahide) instruction to refrain from the blood.
which is correct in a way, but it's a derived answer, and where it's derived from is not clear.
quite simply because one can still drain the blood from a strangled creature, - to quote steve hollander (can't refrain, steve) 'duh!' -

i then looked at the Word, and to my surprise there are very few references to strangling. and no direct command to not do so, until it pops up in acts.

excluding a couple of catholic translations insertion of the word referring to david, what comes up is talk in nahum 2 of a bad pride of lions, in job 7 of his despair being so great he'd rather be strangled,
and the twin cases of ahithophel (2 sam 17) and judah (mat 27) strangling themselves.
plus a really interesting take in the aramaic of 2 cor 4.
(for completeness, the unforgiving servant nearly strangled his fellow servant in matt too).

now deut 21 talks of hanging bad guys, but note it is AFTER they are executed.
then there are diverse instances of people actually being hanged, but the curse a person hanged is under, refers to his dead body being hung up, there's no command to strangle anybody by hanging that i know of.

so, while waiting for someone to supply more info, let me talk of what came to my mind.

see, elsewhere we've been talking about the Spirit of the Father, amongst other aspects of Him. and though i only once briefly touched upon the injunction not to blaspheme the Spirit, for it will not be forgiven, which matthew, mark and luke all mention, it got me thinking.
because genesis 2 makes clear it is the Spirit (in His Neshamah function) that breathes life into us, continuously btw, for we perish the moment He departs from us.
now against the Father or the Messiah things can be forgiven, but not the Spirit. the answer to why that is can be found in the Spirit's function. He is fully a servant, not doing things of His own will.
the Father, and Messiah, choose what they will, but the servant just serves.

and that first physical primary service is simply to keep us breathing. breathe in, breathe out.
so when we kill, which is bad enough, we end that creature's life, but when we strangle, we hinder the Spirit Himself in doing His job, akin enough for me to tie strangling to blaspheming against the Spirit, dangerously close to being also something unforgiven.

and now we get to the life being in the blood, and why it needs to be drained, not consumed. because that breathe of the Spirit enters and invigorates us exactly through the blood, HE, or HIS breathe, the source of life, is in the blood.
therefore, eating the blood is in some way eating the Spirit's breathe, again, dangerously close to being also something unforgiven.
(ooh, blood sausage people.)

so, if i'm correct here, it would indicate those apostles had a deeper understanding of the Spirit, and based their injunction on that, not the noahide laws, which only mention the blood.

now, it looks suspiciously like i've answered my own question, but i'd like other takes, and more specifically, does anyone know of texts i've missed that talk around this?

Thought for Today: Wednesday September 24

Some people have a wrong idea of living the believer’s life. Seeing talented, successful believers, they tend to imitate them; But when they discover that their own gifts are different or their contributions are more modest. They collapse in discouragement and overlook genuine opportunities that are open to them. The key is to realise that you are here to serve YHVH, not yourself. He does not call His children to a playground, but to a battleground. In the midst of it all, when we serve the Moshiach, we truly discover that: “the joy of ADONAI is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)

Doers of the Torah | #torah