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Showing posts from November, 2021

Part 3 - And 603,548 Men Fell

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  Welcome back for Part 3, where you may want to cover your ears, as we are about to hear a lot of complaining 😉 If you are just arriving for the first time, hop over to Part 1 and work your way back here.  We've covered a lot of foundational ground on this topic that you won't want to miss. In Part 2 , we left the Sons of Israel drinking water at Elim after failing their first test.   Notice with me, that even though Israel failed this test, YHVH provided them with water.  You know what I call that? Grace. Failure is part of our human existence.  The hope, however, is that from failure, will come growth.   Now that Israel had seen the mighty hand of YHVH deliver them these two times, they would grow to trust Him...right? I so wish that were true! Instead, however, we are given example after example of how Israel continued to walk faithlessly.   Their first complaint was about not having water.  By   Exodus 16 , only one month after crossing the sea on dry land, we hear Isra

Part 2 - And 603,548 Men Fell

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  Welcome back!  If you are just arriving, head back to Part 1 of this series to get your footing.  We will be right here when you return... In Part 1, I shared with you that 603,548 " blood covered " participants of the Exodus Passover did not qualify to enter the Promised Land .  In this blog, I will ask and answer 2 questions: 1) Where did I get that number?  and 2) What kept them from qualifying? 1) The number:   Chapter 1 of the Book of Numbers contains the early census of Israel. We can either add the sums of the tribes, or if you're like me, you can notice that Moses added them for us in verse 46 .  Moses totals Israel to be 603,550 strong.  In reality, this number under represents Israel. Why? A few reasons:   a) the tribe of Levi is not included;  b) only men aged 20+ are counted;  c) women and children are excluded.   Basically, the number 603,550 is representative of men who were able to serve in the army of Israel .   (My personal estimation of the actual n

And 603,548 Men Fell

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  This stadium holds approximately 100,000 people. Greetings Friends and Readers!  As I write today, the long dark nights of late autumn / early winter have arrived. The Fall Appointed Times are a memory, and my eyes are eagerly looking ahead to the Appointed Times of Spring.  In preparation of Passover, I have been reviewing scripture, and a new and daunting realization has come to my attention.  I'm afraid it's not a happy one...but it is important to note. My realization... 603,548 men fell in the wilderness. What are you talking about Debbie? I am going to assume you are familiar with the history of YHVH leading Israel out of the bondage of Egypt through His servant Moses.  It is a miraculous history with the physical / tangible elements (plagues, saving blood, and baptism), that we now recognize as pointing to Yeshua and His work of rescuing and saving individuals from the bondage of sin. It is a history that Israel is commanded to observe and retell every year.   It is

Torah Portion Vayeshev (And He Dwelt)

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Greetings Friends and Readers! I have been reading in Genesis 38 and making what I call "notices."  If you are following the Torah cycle, you may be interested in connecting some dots with me.  Now...it's possible that I'm reaching and stretching.  Feel free to disagree with the placement of my dots, but either way we will be seeking the scriptures together, and that is always fruitful.  Come Seek With Me! Here are the scriptures I will reference: Genesis 38 Ephesians 1 Matthew 1 Matthew 13 John 14 In Genesis 38, we see that Tamar had a problem.  She had been left a widow in her father's house and denied her rightful inheritance.   Judah had not given her his son , as was his responsibility.  If we look at this next part with "Western" eyes, we miss out.  In the Western mindset, Tamar is a "woman of ill repute."  But let us put on our Ancient Eastern mindset glasses.  Without a husband and/or son, in the Ancient Eastern economy, Tamar was desti