☆ Treasure Hunt ☆
***This is a new category. When I come upon a scripture; which no scripture is ever just added for filler; yet it clearly requires the Spirit to teach beyond it. I’ll post them. Please share what the Spirit of the Lord shares with you.***
Mark 11:12-14
The next day, as they came back from Beit-Anyah (Bethany), He felt hungry. Spotting in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find anything on it. When He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves; for it wasn’t fig season. He said to it, “May no one ever eat from you again!” And His talmidim (disciples) heard what He said.
That’s it, placed in the middle of the donkey fetching and His ride through Jerusalem, and His clean out of the temple, this seemingly odd thing is written. Notice, it wasn’t fig season. The fig tree was not supposed to have fruit. Did Yeshua (Jesus) throw some kind of fit? Of course, we know different. Name a fit that doesn’t involve sin.
We cannot throw what we think into this. The only way these little adds to the word gets filled in for context and meaning is by the Spirit of God alone. Hint: is there anywhere else in scripture where a tree is mentioned where the fruit or lack of it offended God? The Spirit most often takes us deeper into other parts of God’s Word to teach. This is an amazing little piece of gold dropped in Mark here. But wait! Lets look further.
Mark 11:20-22
In the morning, as the talmidim passed by, they saw the fig tree withered all the way to its roots. Kefa (Peter) remembered and said to Yeshua (Jesus), “Rabbi! Look! The fig tree that you have cursed is all withered up! He responded. “Have the kind of trust that comes from God!”
He goes on to say the famous: “your trust (faith) can move mountains”. All part of the teaching in this passage but not what it usually gets taught like in church. Fruit is highly important to God, all the symbolic/parabolic language is highly significant! Notice He cursed, it dried up. Where else in scripture does this happen by God? Very important when studying to go and see the “pattern”, if you will. In fact, everything God did prior to Yeshua coming, Yeshua did while He was here! This is one of the signs of Messiah! To prove Yeshua was sent by God and was God. To dive into the study of this will take a while but I promise the rewards are beyond treasure. Remember think function of all things, and dysfunction. What is each passage pointing to in regard to function and dysfunction? Good, in Hebrew is defined as functional, bad or evil is defined as dysfunctional. God made everything to function a certain way, if diverged from such way, it will be dysfunctional. Hence sin/evil, anything that doesn’t operate according to the Engineers plans. All fruit has a specific and designed function. What makes this passage so interesting is that it wasn’t “doing anything wrong”. It wasn’t fig season. Which begs the ultimate question: why did Yeshua curse it?
Time to treasure hunt! 🙂
2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.
♡ Grace and peace in Yeshua the Messiah ♡
What did Yeshua Think? ~ Part 5
Psalms 51:5-6
True, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.
Still, You want Truth in the inner person; so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart.
**The following is taken from the Ancient Hebrew Dictionary by Jeff A. Benner.**
Heart ~ ley-vav (Hebrew)
Definition: Literally, the organ which pumps blood, but also seen as the seat of thought; the mind.
More about the word…
To the ancient Hebrews the heart was the mind, the thoughts. When we are told to live Elohiym with all our heart (Deut. 6:5) it is not speaking of emotional love, but to keep our minds and our thoughts working for Him. The first picture in this Hebrew word is a shepherd staff and represents authority, as the shepherd has authority over his flock. The second letter is a picture of the floor plan of the nomadic tent and represents the idea of being inside, as the family resides within the tent. When combined they mean “the authority within“.
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I love this way of learning!! It pulls everything Yeshua (Jesus) said right into everything Adonai said from the beginning!
John 14:23
Yeshua answered him, “If someone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.
Ever wonder why it says…“if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.“? Or why we “receive Yeshua into our hearts?”
God is not a “pace maker” for the physical heart in this regard. Everything represents something much more concrete in spiritual terms. Meaning…if I don’t think in my mind Yeshua is Lord, my heart will still keep beating but I can not begin to call my actions to His attention without my mind knowing Him! Indeed one won’t even think much about that which they disregard or don’t believe. Example:
I, Lisa, do not believe that man over rides God in anything. So therefore I don’t follow the whole “global warming” trend. I disregard any “science” that says anything contrary to Gods Word. And “globally we are warming” but it has nothing to do with green house gases! So my thoughts surround very little in unity with this worldly perspective. I don’t worry about driving my car to do as God tells me. The air is in His hands, and obeying Him is more important. I will trust Him.
So you see…what we think in our heads is what determines our “state” – emotionally, physically and mentally. I am fully convinced of Yeshua, Adonai and the Spirit, I aim to please Him and seek out how to do so diligently, every conscience minute I am here. By my mind’s acceptance of Him as Truth, I indeed reap the rewards of understanding that The Father, Son and Spirit are indeed making their home in me! And now read the scriptures with the word heart, completely different than I used to based on His teaching me what heart means! Paul was extraordinary in his words…”For those who identify with their old nature set their minds on the things of the old nature, but those who identify with the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Having one’s mind controlled by the old nature is death, but having one’s mind controlled by the Spirit is life and shalom (peace – completeness). For the mind controlled by the old nature is hostile to God, because it does not submit itself to God’s Torah (teachings – authority) – indeed it can not!” (Romans 8:5-7)
He then goes on to say how one is transformed…by the renewing of the mind. In the Kingdom of God, the heart beats with His thoughts! In this perspective we can vividly See that Adonai’s heart has been laid out from the beginning…by sharing His thoughts…mind! We find them in His written Word! If you pick up a Bible…you hold in your hands some of God Almighty’s heart! When you invite Yeshua into your heart you begin to hold more of His heart inside your inmost being! He is still speaking to His Children! Still sharing His heart! Transforming our hearts with His!
Everyone who enters the Kingdom gets a heart transplant! Wow! God is so breath-takingly GOOD!
Grace and peace in Yeshua the Messiah ❤
How Did Yeshua Think?? ~ Part 1
So, so many Scriptures become more alive and complete each other when understood from a Hebraic perspective. That is as Yeshua (Jesus) understood it. It also makes what He The Living Word said mean so much more, becoming fulfillment of every Word before 🙂
Below is an excerpt from The Living Words ~ Volume 1 by Jeff A. Benner. Page 137-139
The Aaronic Blessing
The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
~ Numbers 6:24-26 (RSV)
Each of the Hebrew words behind the English in this passage is filled with images, lost when translated into the English language. When we examine each of these words from their original meaning, the message in the passage comes alive.
Bless: barak – This verb is written in piel form, literally meaning “to kneel down and present a gift in respect to another.”
Keep: shamar – This verb comes from the corral of thorns erected by a shepherd while out at night with his flocks and it is best translated as “guarding” and “preserving”.
Face: panyim – The face reflects the many different moods, emotions, and thoughts of the person. This Hebrew word can mean the face but also the “presence” or the “wholeness of being” of an individual.
Shine: or – This verb means “to give light” or “to shine” and is equated with bringing about order as light illuminates or reveals what has been dark.
Gracious: hhanan – A momad’s camp consisted of many family tents, arranged in a circle, and was viewed as a place of beauty. Not just the appearance of beauty but the action, a place of warmth, love, friendship, community and sustenance. This verb is the expression of these concepts.
Countenance: paniym – This is the same Hebrew word as before meaning “face”.
Give: siym – This Hebrew verb means to “set down in place.”
Peace: shalom – This noun is derived from the verbal root shalam meaning to “restore” in the sense of replacing or providing what is needed in order to make someone or something whole and complete. The noun shalom is used for one who has, or has been provided, what is needed to be whole and complete.
With the Hebraic understanding of each of these Hebrew words, we can better understand the true meaning of the Aaronic Blessing as it was understood by the Ancient Hebrews.
Yahweh will kneel before you presenting gifts, and He will guard you with a hedge of protection, Yahweh will illuminate the wholeness of His being towards you, bringing order, and He will provide you with love, sustenance, and friendship, Yahweh will lift up the wholeness of His being and look upon you, and He will set in place all you need to be whole and complete.
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I have often said to myself, that reading from this perspective is much like the Amplified Bible in its nature. God loves expression, He loves to express Himself! He has bent way down to make sure we can know His heart towards us! What a gift!
Grace and peace in Yeshua the Messiah ❤
How did Yeshua Think?? ~ Introduction
Take a good look at the picture above…
The only thing you may say is illustrated inaccurately is that the Yeshua (Jesus) depicted is well…handsome. Isaiah and all the prophesies said he was not handsome by human standards. So in effect, our culture can not refrain from it’s need to “market” a good-looking God.
The rest of the picture is exactly how we should see our Savior in our mind from His human-dwelling days here on earth. Most pictures have Him in Roman garb – the red and white robe is the tale-tale sign.
I am completely baffled at how many people who say they love Jesus are offended at the thought of Him as a Hebrew! If not offended, then they at least see no point in understanding Him from this perspective. Again, this catches my sensibilities as odd. I wonder…
Did not God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and such; did He not invent the Hebrew/Jewish lineage by simply calling out a people to be so??
What language do you suppose God, the Father, used to write the 10 Commandments in to Moses on the Stone tablets?
Since God is God, He could have brought Yeshua (Jesus) down through any culture. But He chose the Hebrew/Jewish one He made special/set apart; quite different from bloodlines. It must be for a very important reason. God doesn’t just flip switches and hope for the best. He does every microscopic, teeny tiny thing for a very specific reason.
Do people really believe He spoke Greek/Latin??
If so…then don’t you think He would have been criticized at least in the Synagogue’s? Temple? Yet for all the criticizing He did get…not one word is written that He spoke anything other than the language of Gods people…Hebrew.
In all those scriptures in the Old Testament, where it says – God said; The Lord spoke– and the like…what language do you think He spoke in? Every one of the prophets, Moses, Noah; they were all Hebrew/Jews. Their language was Hebrew.
I am driving in these questions not as a “personal” perspective dear fellowsheep; but tell the truth when I say: This is a Biblical Truth, not mine! When I began to get to know God I realized the key was in knowing Jesus…everything about Him was of the greatest importance! Because of this God led me straight to His lineage/language/culture He created. Hebrew language requires completely different thinking than English/Western culture types. Example:
In Hebrew/Eastern thinking the concept of looking forward and back is opposite Greek/English/Latin/Western thinking. Everything in front or forward is what is known. In other words the past all the way up to the moment one is in. Looking back is everything unknown. The Greek/Latin/English/Western way of thinking see’s “looking back as the past(what can be known). The Hebrew/Eastern way of thinking see’s “looking back” as looking into the future (what can not be known).
Now let’s look at something Yeshua (Jesus) said that will in bold and black and white reveal the difference as to how one can interpret what He said incorrectly without knowing the perspective above.
Luke 9:62 ~ Yeshua speaking…
To him Yeshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”
Most my life, and most the people I know thought He was saying basically “Don’t live in the past.” Wrong…wrong a thousand times wrong! Yeshua thought from God, the Father’s perspective; the type of thinking taught to Hebrews/Jews. Looking back means looking into a future you can’t know. This is why He repeatedly said…”Don’t worry about the future. God knows it, not you, trust God for the future. I.E. clothes, food, where you will live, what you will say if so-n-such happens etc. If one is continually trying to understand that which only God can know…how can they serve in His Kingdom? We follow, meaning He will give us all we need in the moments we are in and we grow by trusting Him alone to take care of an hour from now, a day, a week, a year. Let’s look at another scripture which reveals a completely different perspective than what is typical of its perspective.
Philippians 3:13
Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having gotten hold of it: but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward towards what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in Messiah Yeshua.
Paul, being a Hebrew scholar, having been raised in the same culture/language and perspectives as Yeshua wrote this. His call was to teach the gentiles (western/Greek/Latin thinkers – who did not grow up cutting their teeth on the Word of God). But, he did not stop thinking like a Hebrew. This “forgetting what is behind me” is saying…I don’t look for what I can’t know. It makes more sense with what is said previous. The “straining forward towards what lies ahead” means pushing on in the trust of what God has revealed; what he has already been given to know. This makes the statement after complete and full in its message.
The concept of past and future to Yeshua and all Hebrews is based upon God. What He has revealed and what He has not. Its origin is found in the Garden of Eden where we took our fall. Where we wanted to be like God, knowing what He knows. Is this not what the serpent said to Eve?? Everything ties together when taken from our Saviors perspective.
I am not saying everyone should learn Hebrew! This will not teach the culture and perspectives!
I am saying it is wise to start asking God…God who has been revealing all truth and correct perspective…to teach you His Son. Yeshua was Hebrew/Jewish, it starts by learning what that means! God will show you resources to begin. I have given a few here on this blog. I will provide links below if you are called to learn. But! In essence this series will do what I just did above to help with understanding what Yeshua’s thinking/perspectives/views/meanings were that often have been taken in from the “wrong one”. Not “wrong” because we are guilty of error; we can not be guilty of having been brought up in Western/Greek thinking! No more than the gentiles of Paul’s day were considered “wrong”. Yet, having now been shown a truth one must – “work out their salvation” by pursuing its way 🙂
Books are available by Jeff A. Benner at Amazon. Any of his material is exceptional. You could say this is the “call” similar to Paul’s of Mr. Brenner. To teach the Hebraic perspectives of Scripture. He has awesome YouTube videos, and a website.
http://m.ancient-hebrew.org/index.html
I will be using much of his work as a resource for this series.
Also Hebrew for Christians is a good resource.
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/
I also greatly enjoy and use The Complete Jewish Bible as my Bible of choice. It has a good translation based on Hebraic translation written in English. It has a dictionary in back to look up words that are written and kept in their Hebrew form. For example: in it you will find the Hebrew names of people written in English but kept in their Hebraic form – Yeshua – Jesus. In my About page I spoke of this preference for myself. Again it changes nothing about God’s word except that it keeps it more in Hebraic thought. Though no Bible has yet been accurately done this way in its entirety. It is a monumental undertaking, yet I pray someone will one day be called to do it.
These can get you started. I began by watching all of Benner’s YouTube videos. They were excellently done, short and easy to follow. I also got all His books. Again they have not taught me to speak Hebrew, but to understand it.
If anyone has other good resources please feel free to share them. You may also benefit from looking up a Messianic Jewish church in your area…this will be greatly enjoyable. These are churches of Jews who believe Yeshua is the Messiah.
Please note: I am not saying these sources are infallible! I am saying God has used them greatly! But He, Himself has taught me more!! 🙂 What does He say throughout His Word??
“If you seek Me, you shall find Me!”
I pray this series will bless you and lead you ever closer to our Shepherd/Savior/Teacher Yeshua – Jesus our Messiah and Lord. Its the only desire for it in my heart. Not to force my perspective, but share all He has shown me of Himself. I can not stay silent…its Life!
Grace and peace in Yeshua the Messiah ❤
Strength and Courage
The word Torah – defined.
Torah – translation – Teaching
Definition – Acquired knowledge or skills that mark the direction one is to take in life. A straight direction. Knowledge passed from one person to another.
More about the word: Torah
To interpret the Hebrew word torah as law is about the same as interpreting the word father as disciplinarian. While the father is a disciplinarian he is much more and in the same way torah is much more than law. The word torah is derived from the root yarah meaning to throw. This can be the throwing of a rock, the shooting of an arrow, or the pointing of the finger to show direction. Another word derived from this root is the word moreh, which can mean an archer, one who throws the arrow, or a teacher, as one points the way. The word torah is literally the teachings of the teacher or parent. When a parent is teaching a child a new task and he demonstrates a willingness to learn, but fails to grasp the teaching completely, the parent does not punish the child, but rather encourages him. In contrast to this, a law is a set of rules that if not observed correctly, will result in punishment, and there is no room for teaching. The torah of Elohiym are His teachings to His children which are given in love to encourage and strengthen.
~ Taken from the Ancient Hebrew Dictionary by Jeff Benner (page 159)
I can not begin to say what a difference this little tid-bit made to me. Affirming yet again, the longing heart of a loving and patient God. Rather than the “rule giving stern task-master” God, I was taught and chose to interpret Him as most my life. Learning His intentions makes all the difference in the world in wanting to be close to Him.
Hebrew interpretations take us to His Heart, purpose, intention. Instead of just reading about His loving, kind, patience…you can “see” the intention of Him behind the language He originated!
Growing up, Gods word was; commands, truth, and laws. Those were hugely impersonal and distant words to me. Strict, authoritative and demanding. No one (mind you, no one I knew…knew any different) taught me that God is a teacher, like a loving parent, understanding I needed time to learn of Him and His ways. With this new teaching I have found strength and courage in my walk with Him. He has went from GOD to Abba, Father and I am His child!
I pray this opens a new door to your understanding and ushers in a strength and courage in your approach to Him as well 🙂
Grace and peace in Yeshua the Messiah ❤
Unfolding My Wings One Day at a Time
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