YAH'S PURPOSE!!!!!

Genesis chapter 2




Today we are walking in: Yah's Purpose!!!!!










Today we look to the word-UNDERSTAND- H8085 shama`--to hear with attention or interest, listen to understand (language)










The Torah testifies...............




Genesis 11:7




Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand H8085 one another's speech.










The prophets proclaim..................




Nehemiah 8:2




And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear H8085 with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.











The writings bear witness...........................




1 Kings 3:9




Give therefore thy servant an understanding H8085 heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

The Cause of Conflict




When we don't understand and appreciate our Yah-given differences, we will inevitably have conflict. If the female doesn't understand why she is the way she is, and the male doesn't understand why he is the way he is, then three kinds of conflicts will occur. Women won't be able to successfully get along with other women, men won't be able to successfully get along with other men, and women and men won't be able to successfully get along with each other.





Many people approach marriage in the same way they buy a car.




This misunderstanding and discord between women and men may be illustrated by the way many people approach marriage today. Most people are unprepared for the marriage relationship. They approach it in the same way that they buy a car. When you want to buy a new car, how do you go about it? You go to various car dealerships, compare the models and features, make your selection, sign the papers, and then drive your new car home. The mere act of getting married is like purchasing that new car; both are relatively simple to do. You look at the choices, find somebody you like, go to a minister or justice of the peace for the ceremony, receive your marriage certificate, and then go home with your new spouse.




At first, everything seems effortless. Buying a new car, driving it home, parking it in the garage, and admiring it in its mint condition isn't any problem. Driving with the full tank of gas that the car dealership gave you isn't any problem. Similarly, it's easy to marry a spouse, step over the threshold, and enjoy the honeymoon. Cruising on lovey-dovey honeymoon feelings is fine for a while.





However, buying a car is one thing; operating and maintaining it is something else. Likewise, getting married is one thing, while maintaining and growing in the relationship is another.




A car is meant to be a benefit to you, to help meet your transportation needs. However, you must understand the needs of the car, because there will come a time when that gas tank will need to be refilled. There will come a time when the car will need an oil change. There will come a time when repairs will need to be made. If you don't know the needs of a car, you will say, "What's wrong with this crazy car? Come on, car, you've been running for the last month. What is wrong with you?" All the time you are swearing at the car, the car is sitting there wanting to serve you. Yet it can't, because you don't know its needs and aren't attending to them.




Suppose you then say to yourself, "Well, when I get thirsty, I drink water, so the car must need water. I'm going to fill the gas tank with water." You try to attend to the needs of the car based on your own needs. Now you're in trouble, because the water you put in the gas tank has gone through the car's system and damaged it. Now your car won't run at all. So you say to your car, "When I drink water, I'm revived. What is wrong with you?" Your needs are not the same as your car's needs, and your car's needs are not the same as your needs. When you want a car or anything else to function, don't give it what you need. Find out what it needs, and then give it what it needs; then it will work for you.





What has been happening in relationships between males and females is that we have, in a sense, been putting water in the gas tank. We've been trying to function without understanding or addressing the other's individual needs. We have been trying to operate based only on what we need. That's why many relationships are at a standstill. That's why there has been so much misunderstanding and conflict between men and women throughout history.




Would you feed a plate of ribs to a plant?




We assume that a man needs what a woman needs and a woman needs what a man needs. In many ways, this is not the case. The differences are so great they will astound you. Suppose ribs are your favorite food. Can you imagine trying to feed a plant with a plateful of ribs? You enjoy ribs, but the plant can't take them in or digest them. To grow plants, you must understand that they need absorbable nutrients, water, and light. The same basic principle applies to men and women. There are certainly similarities between males and females, but each also has a unique design and unique needs. We must come to understand the purpose of all the elements related to the function and design of men and women. Otherwise, we will be continually frustrated in our relationships.





Moreover, because the nations of the world have tended to be governed by men, most societies have been set up to address the needs of the male before the needs of the female. To address the plight of the female and the conflict between men and women, we must learn, understand, and appreciate the woman's unique design. It is important for all people to understand the nature of the female as she was created in Yah's image and as she relates to the man.




This knowledge is not just for those who are in a marriage relationship. Whether you are married or single, male or female, young or old, you have interactions with women in the family, the workplace, ministry, the government, and almost every other arena of life. If you don't understand how a woman is designed, you will not be able to deal honestly and effectively with her in these realms of life.





Of course, understanding the design of a woman (and a man) is also extremely important for a marriage relationship. When we learn what it truly means to be female and male, we can effectively enter into relationships with others, including the marriage relationship. If you are currently unmarried, and you learn who you are and why you are the way you are, as well as how the opposite sex is designed and functions, then if you do marry, your marriage will be successful. You won't have many of the conflicts that arise out of ignorance of the purpose and value of women and men.




The needs of both males and females need to be learned. However, because the woman has been so misunderstood and devalued over the years, the focus of this series is on her design and needs, while also making reference to how her makeup relates to the makeup of the man.





Yah's Purpose





Nobody knows how something is meant to function better than its maker.





Nobody knows how something is supposed to function better than its maker. Can I suggest to you that the best way for us to make progress in the relationship between men and women is to go back to the beginning—to see what was in the mind and heart of the Creator when He made humanity? Knowing our original design and inherent makeup is the only way to bring about lasting, positive change in the way men and women interact with one another in all the realms of life.





I am persuaded that understanding and living in Yah's original purpose is crucial to restoring right relationships between men and women. Proverbs 19:21 summarizes this idea well: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Yah is a Yah of purpose, and everything that He made in this life, including men and women, has a purpose. We can fight against His purpose, but if we do, we will be unfulfilled and frustrated. He made us the way we are for His purposes and for our benefit.




Throughout this series, we will continually come back to these two essential principles:




•​The purpose of something determines its nature (or design).

•​The nature (or design) of something determines its needs.





The nature of the woman must be understood in light of her purpose, and her needs must be understood in light of her nature. Otherwise, she will be unable to fulfill the purpose for which she was created.





The most important thing we can find out about ourselves and others is the purpose of our existence. The sad consequence of men and women misunderstanding each other is that, when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. We've had enough of that.




What Is a Woman's Place?




The controversy over the role, position, and rights of the woman over the years has often centered around these apparently competing views of what a woman's place is:




•​"A woman's place is in the home."

•​"A woman's place is in the world—in business, education, and government."





Both of these views fail to capture the essence of a woman's purpose and design.





A woman's place is in Yah.





Where, ultimately, is a woman's place? A woman's place is, before anything else, in Yah. (The same is true for a man.) It is in the way He created her, in the tremendous value He gives her, and in the purposes He has for her. Only when we grasp the implications of this truth will we resolve the controversy and conflict surrounding the role of the woman in the world.




Principles




1.​If you have to ask somebody for your rights, you are admitting that he or she has ownership of them.

2.​A woman's position and rights are Yah-given and inherent.

3.​The essential nature of women and men has been forgotten by the world.

4.​Culture and tradition have passed along distorted views of humanity.

5.​Most women have obtained their identities from men rather than from Yah.

6.​The devaluing of women is preventing them from living in the fullness of Yah's purposes for them.

7.​The way to make progress is to go back to Yah's original intent in creation.

8.​The purpose of something determines its nature or design.

9.​The nature of something determines its function and needs.

10.​A woman's place is in Yah.







Yah's Purpose in Creation





Many are the plans in a man's heart,

but it is the The Most High's purpose that prevails. —Proverbs 19:21 The source of so many of our problems in this world, including the misunderstanding and mistreatment of women, is that we have lost our understanding of what it means to be human as Yah created us. We have lost our sense of purpose. I am convinced that, in every country in the world, both men and women are suffering from this ignorance of purpose. The best thing for us to do is to discover and live in the original plan of the One who created humanity. Only then will we learn the inherent nature and rights of women and men, so that both female and male can live in freedom and fulfillment.




In the next chapter, we will discover a crucial aspect of Yah's original purpose for humanity—one that has been forgotten by most of the world for thousands of years. This purpose is key to our understanding of how Yah made men and women equal, unique, and complementary in design.




To gain the fullest understanding of this aspect of creation, however, we must first briefly consider the significance of what it means that we have been created purposefully by Yah. When we understand this concept, we will see how important it is for our well-being that we discover Yah's purposes for us.




Seven Principles of Purpose




The following seven principles of purpose will help us to understand Yah's original intent for us in creation.




1.​Yah is a Yah of purpose.

2.​Yah created everything with a purpose.

3.​Not every purpose is known to us because we have lost our understanding of Yah's original intent for us.

4.​Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.

5.​To discover the purpose of something, never ask the creation; ask the creator.

6.​We find our purpose only in the mind of our Maker.

7.​Yah's purpose is the key to our fulfillment.




Yah Is a Yah of Purpose




Yah is a purposeful Being. He purposes, He plans, and then He carries out His plans. Yah always knew what He wanted to create before He made it; similarly, He always knows what He wants to carry out before He accomplishes it.




This theme is found throughout the Bible, which we can consider Yah's handbook for our lives. Here are various expressions of His purposeful nature:




And Yah said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)




But the plans of the The Most High stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:11)




The Most High Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand." (Isaiah 14:24)




As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10–11)




Yah…has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. (2 Timothy 1:8–9)




Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because Yah wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. (Hebrews 6:16–17)




Yah is purposeful, and He always carries out His purposes. I want to direct your attention to Isaiah 14:24 and Hebrews 6:16–17, which illustrate a vital aspect of Yah's purposeful nature. First, the verse from Isaiah: "The Most High Almighty has sworn, 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand'" (Isaiah 14:24).




The first part of the verse says that Yah has sworn an oath. Now, when people swear an oath, they have to find something higher than themselves by which to swear. "Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument" (Hebrews 6:16). We usually swear by the Bible or by some great institution. There is only one problem with Yah's swearing an oath: there is no one above Him. So Yah has to swear by Himself.




If you were called to be a witness in court, you would be asked to swear on the Bible, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me, Yah." If you were to lie, it would be the same as desecrating the integrity of the Bible—and you would destroy your own integrity as well. If you break your vow, then whatever you swear by is desecrated or destroyed.




When Yah swears an oath regarding something, He has to fulfill what He swore to do, because He is totally faithful to Himself. Yah doesn't want us to have any doubt about this aspect of His nature. "Because Yah wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath" (Hebrews 6:17).




Before Yah's purpose would change, He would cease being Yah.




We see this principle expressed in the second part of Isaiah 14:24, which says, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be." Yah is saying, in effect, "When I swear to do something, before that plan fails, I would stop being Yah." The third part of the verse says, "As I have purposed, so it will stand." Again, He is saying, "When I purpose to do something, and when I give something a purpose, before that purpose would change, I would stop being Yah." Yah isn't ever going to stop being Yah. So when He swears an oath regarding something, you can be certain that He is going to do what He has said.




If we look at the verses that follow Isaiah 14:24, we read,




This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the The Most High Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him [stop, interfere with, or cancel His purpose]? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (Isaiah 14:26–27)




In essence, Yah is saying, "My purpose will be accomplished. No one can interfere with it or hinder it. When I give a purpose to something, your plans, ideas, opinions, perceptions, and prejudices about what you think its purpose should be are inapplicable. What you think about what I have purposed is not going to change My purpose and design. And before My purpose could change, I would have to stop being Yah."




Let me ask you, If it comes to a contest between you and Yah, who do you think is going to win? If Yah sets a purpose for something, there isn't anything we can do to change it. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the The Most High's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21). What we need to keep in mind, however, is that if we try to change His plans, we're working against ourselves, because He created us for good and has our best interests in mind.




That means that since Yah made the female and the male for certain purposes, and He designed them to fulfill those purposes, there isn't anything you and I can do to change them. We cannot alter His design. Psychology may try to tell us the purpose of women and men, but psychology cannot influence Yah's purposes and design; they are unchangeable. All psychology can do is investigate and explore the mysteries of the nature of women and men. Psychology can never change their nature. Theology may also try to tell us the purpose of humanity, but theology cannot influence Yah, either. What theology says about Yah and men is only as true as it accurately expresses their nature.




Theology is very limited if it is based on only what a person has experienced. A person should never build a doctrine based solely on his experience with Yah or what he perceives his experience to have been. Don't ever confuse your limited knowledge of Yah with biblical doctrine, because your knowledge may change next week. What you know about Yah today is what He has shown you so far. Tomorrow, you will know and understand more. The Bible is Yah's revelation of Himself to us, and it is our most reliable source of His nature and purposes.