1 Chronicles chapter 29
Today we are walking in: What Is Praise?
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 5
WHAT IS PRAISE?
Praise is celebrating Yah as our heart’s true home. The Scriptures are filled with injunctions to praise the Most High:
And Daviyd said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahuah Elohaykem. And all the assembly blessed Yahuah Elohai of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Yahuah, and the king. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 29:20 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. O give thanks unto Yahuah; for he is good: for his mercy endures forever. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 106:1 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. Hallelu, O ye servants of Yahuah, Hallelu the name of Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 113:1 את CEPHER.
Hallelu Yahuah, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 117:1 את CEPHER.
Let everything that has breath praise Yah. Halleluyah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 150:6 את CEPHER.
If we are to obey these commands from Yah, we must first learn what praise is. Praise includes commending; expressing approval or a favorable judgment of; and glorifying, especially by crediting with perfections (see Webster’s, “praise”).
Definitions of Praise Commending
To commend someone is “to entrust for care or preservation” or “to recommend as worthy of confidence or notice” (Webster’s, “commend”). Praising Yah by commendation thus means that we entrust ourselves to His care and recommend that others do the same. The Psalms of David, in particular, are filled with testimonies of the Most High’s trustworthiness, and with expressions of confidence that He will again prove Himself trustworthy.
O Yahuah Elohai, in you do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 7:1 את CEPHER.
And they that know your name will put their trust in you: for you, Yahuah, have not forsaken them that seek you. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 9:10 את CEPHER.
GUARD me, O El: for in you do I put my trust. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 16:1 את CEPHER.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of Yahuah Elohaynu. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 20:7 את CEPHER).
Praise by commendation thus applies the promises of Yah to our personal circumstances. Let’s say, for example, that a father has just lost his job and he’s concerned how he will provide for his family. Perhaps his heart is heavy and he’s feeling overwhelmed by the future. His praise of Yah in such a situation might go something like this:
Most High Yah, You are my provider. I praise You, for I know that You care for me and You care for my family. You are the Yah who cares even for the sparrows, and I know that my wife, my children, and I are worth much more to You than the sparrows are. Therefore, I choose not to worry. Instead I will boast of Your goodness to us in the past, for there have been other times, Father Yah, when we didn’t know how we were going to pay our bills. Yet, You have always made a way, even when there seemed to be no way. Thank You for Your goodness. Thank You for Your care and provision. I know that I can trust You. I know that Your eyes are on my family and You will not forget us. Even as You provided food for Your people as they wandered through the wilderness, today I declare by faith that You will provide for us too. You alone are my refuge. I choose not to be shaken by fear. You alone are the source of all I have and ever hope to have. I praise You because You are faithful. You are the Everlasting One. I know that You are aware of what we are going through, and I thank You in advance for what You will do for us. To Your name be the glory today, tomorrow, next week, and next month in my life. I praise You and honor You. You are my Yah.
Expressing Approval or Favorable Judgment
To approve of someone is “to have or express a favorable opinion” of him or to show esteem (Webster’s, “approve”). Personal experience is at the heart of this expression of praise as well. Here again, the Psalms contain numerous examples of personal expressions of approval toward Yah.
You have seen it; for you behold mischief and spite, to requite it with your hand: the poor commits himself unto you; you are the helper of the fatherless. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 10:14 את CEPHER.
But I will sing of your power; yea, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning: for you have been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 59:16 את CEPHER.
O Elohiym, you are my El; early will I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see your power and your glory, so as I have seen you in the sanctuary. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 63:1-2 את CEPHER.
So you see, praise by approving is turning our thoughts toward Yah and remembering how He has won our acclaim. It’s reciting the wonder of who He is and how He has made a difference in our life and the life of others. Many Scriptures do this, but Psalm 23 is perhaps the most well-known passage of Scripture that is a personal recommendation for Yah. David praises Yah by describing Him as the Shepherd who cares for David, His sheep. Each image from the life and work of a shepherd in some way speaks to David of Yah’s work in his own life.
This is why Psalm 23 is such a wonderful Scripture portion to use during private praise and worship . It encourages you, the worshiper, to see and celebrate Yah’s personal care shown in your life and to express your adoration and gratitude to Yah for His goodness to you. To do this, you might read or recite a line from the Psalm, then praise Yah for how it’s been true in your life. As you praise Him, you will find that you are building an impressive résumé of Yah’s greatness, faithfulness, and love as you’ve experienced Him.
The Most High is my Shepherd. ... My Yah, You are an awesome Yah. Even before I was born, You had a plan for my life. You are the Alpha and Omega who sees my tomorrows when I can’t face today. You are the Faithful One who seeks Your sheep even when I wander from the paths You have chosen for me. You are the Tender One who comforts me when I am sad or lonely and heals me when I am hurt. You are the Forgiving One who looks beyond my failures to what I yet can be. You are the Loving and Merciful One who loves me even when I am unlovely and does good to me despite the fact that I don’t deserve it .... I shall not want ... because You are always meeting my needs. You have given me a good mind so I can learn things quickly. You have given me a job I like and an employer who is understanding and fair. You have blessed me and my family with a warm, dry house and an abundance of food in our refrigerator and cupboards. We have never gone hungry or lacked clothes to wear because You have provided for our needs. Thank You for being so good to us. Thank You for providing even more than we need...
Many Scriptures that don’t use the words associated with praise—words like thank, sing, honor, or worship—can be used in this manner. Why is this? They record glimpses of someone’s favorable opinion of Yah, glimpses that invite us to praise Him as well by expressing our approval of Him and our gratitude for His grace and mercy shown to us throughout our life. In essence, praise that approves is like writing a letter of recommendation for Yah!
Glorifying
To glorify someone is to “bestow honor, praise, or admiration” (Webster’s, “glorify”). In other words, giving glory to someone specifically identifies what is admirable in the person. This type of praise is also quite frequent in the Scriptures. Yah is recognized as being good (Ps. 34:8), faithful (Ps. 33:4), righteous (Ps. 11:7), just (2 Chron. 12:6), and merciful and forgiving (Dan. 9:9), to name a few. In addition, Yah, His dwelling p lace, His law, His character, and His actions are described as being perfect and flawless:
As for Elohiym, his way is perfect; the Word of Yahuah is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 22:31 את CEPHER.
The Torah of Yahuah is perfect, restoring the soul: the testimony of Yahuah is sure, making wise the simple. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 19:7 את CEPHER.
O Yahuah Elohai, I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things; your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 25:1 את CEPHER.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 5:48 את CEPHER.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. YA`AQOV (JAMES) 1:17 את CEPHER.
Psalm 103, in particular, is a good example of Scripture that glorifies Yah. In this Psalm, David lists some of the many praiseworthy benefits of knowing Yah. Yah forgives our sin (vs. 3), heals our diseases (vs. 3), redeems our life (vs. 4), crowns us with love and compassion (vs. 4), satisfies us with good things (vs. 5), works righteousness and justice for the oppressed (vs. 6), is slow to anger (vs. 8), does not always accuse (vs. 9), does not keep His anger forever (vs. 9), does not treat us as our sin deserves (vs. 10), and removes our transgressions from us (vs. 12).
I’m sure you see how one or all of these benefits may be the basis for a praise service, whether private or public. Surely, all of us recall times when Yah worked in our life in one or more of these ways. Praising Yah by glorifying Him is simply recognizing and testifying to all these admirable qualities of Yah. For example, it’s saying,
Yes, I know Yah works for the oppressed. My boss was always belittling me in front of the rest of the crew and laughing at me when I didn’t work as fast as he thought I should. I never said anything, although I was plenty angry inside. I just asked Yah to give me strength and to be my advocate. Yesterday I found out that my boss is being moved to another plant. Yah is so good. He’s so good to me.
It’s saying, Yah has every reason to write me off forever. Many times He has helped me get clean from drugs, but I’ve always gone back—usually to a stronger addiction than He saved me from. Yet, I know He loves me, and He forgives me every time I repent. I thank Him for His goodness to me. I don’t deserve it, but that doesn’t seem to stop Him from loving me and from reaching out to me when I get myself into a mess again. He has sent so many people to me who have helped me see His love and mercy. He is one awesome Yah. I don’t understand why, but I know He cares for me, and He hears my cries when I plead for His help. Why don’t you try Him for yourself? You’ll find that He’s faithful to you too.
Another way we honor Yah is to recite His names or other designations of who He is. For example: “The Most High is a warrior” (Exod. 15:3a). “The Most High is Yah in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other” (Deut. 4:39b). “ ... the Most High is [my] life ... “ (Deut. 30:20). “ ... the hand of the Most High is powerful ... “ (Josh. 4:24). “ ... The Most High is
Peace ... “ (Judg. 6:24). “The Most High is a Yah who knows, and by Him deeds are weighed” (1 Sam. 2:3b). “The Most High is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (2 Sam. 22:2). “The Most High is King” (Ps. 10:16a). “The Most High is my light and my salvation” (Ps. 27:1a). “The Most High is the strength of His people” (Ps. 28:8a).
As we honor Yah for who He is and for what He has done in our lives, we make room for Him to work for us and in us every day. We give Him a place to dwell in the midst of our lives because we refuse to take His benefits to us for granted. We know we are sinners saved by grace, and we give Him the glory for saving us and for being there for us when we need Him.
Characteristics of Praise Praise Puts Yah in First Place
Praise is always turning our attention from ourselves to Yah. It’s remembering and recounting who He is and what He has done, instead of wallowing in the mire of self- absorption. Truly, we are incredibly self-centered people. Our first thought is always how something or someone is affecting us.
Praise turns our eyes from ourselves to Yah. It focuses our thoughts on His majesty and power and invites others to do the same. Instead of gazing at our own navel, we raise our eyes and our heart to see His face and to affirm again our awe of Him, our gratitude for His love and mercy, and our absolute dependence on Him.
In essence, praise is bragging about Yah instead of about ourselves or the idols of this world. It’s celebrating who He is and how He relates to His people. Many rarely do this. We are so self-focused that we treat praise and worship as preliminaries that we have to get through to get to the important stuff, which of course is the teaching and personal ministry that makes us feel good. Sadly, we all too often treat our expressions of admiration toward Yah as though He is of secondary importance.
I’m sure Yah is not pleased with this behavior. Indeed, there’s no reason to have a meeting if praise and worship are not the central focus of our time together. We may call our collection of traditions, habits, and activities “worship,” but we have no hope of worshiping Yah if we are not willing to first give Him the praise that is His due.
Praise Flows From Our Friendship With Yah
People who praise Yah on a regular basis do so because they have found the Most High to be so altogether lovely that they can’t stop thinking of Him and talking of Him. They have gotten close enough to Him to see His true nature and character, and they have found in Him more than everything they have ever hoped for.
You see, you can’t brag about someone you don’t know— or at least your bragging cannot be truthful and sincere. Therefore, although praise may start with what you know about Yah, it must eventually progress to what you yourself have experienced of Him. This is when praise becomes more than a chore or a duty. You don’t have to work up your praise, because it automatically bubbles up from within you. Your relationship with Yah has confirmed for you that you are blessed at all times. He is your joy, your strength, your comfort, your peace, and on and on. Your life is anchored in Him, and His goodness to you brings His name to your thoughts and your lips repeatedly.
In other words, praise that flows from a deep relationship with Yah is genuine and true. Your words and acts of adoration arise naturally from your heart. This does not mean that you will always feel like praising. In truth, this does not matter. When your relationship with Yah is deep and lasting, praise comes no matter what you are experiencing, because how you feel does not change who Yah is in your life.
Praise Is a Conscious Choice
Praise is an act of your will. When you offer Yah true praise, you make a conscious decision to commend, approve, and glorify Him. Praise, therefore, is not based on your emotions or feelings. You don’t have to feel great —or even good or OK—to praise the Most High. Despite the many things in your life that may seem to be wrong, praise is your conscious choice because you know that Yah is the answer to your problems. As long as He is in charge, things will get better. Your intimate fellowship with Him makes this difference. You can focus on what is right—Yah and His goodness to you—no matter what else is wrong.
This attitude is quite evident in Psalm 42, where the psalmist laments that his life is not like it once was when he went to the house of the Most High with great joy. His body hurts. Tears are his lot now instead of music and laughter. He even fears that Yah has forgotten him, so long has it been since he felt Yah’s presence. Yet this hurting, despairing man makes a conscious choice. He exercises his will and chooses to remember Yah and His goodness. Notwithstanding his misery and his sorrow, the psalmist gives himself a lecture. He says,
Soul, why are you so upset? Why are you sulking and fretting as though you have no hope? Don’t give up! Put your hope in Yah. He has not given up, even if you have. So, stop dwelling on everything that’s wrong and start thinking about all that’s right. Remember the friendship we’ve enjoyed with Yah. Recall His many acts of kindness to us. The difficult place we’re in right now isn’t the end of the story. I’m still going to praise Him, my Savior and my Yah (see Ps. 42).
Perhaps you are carrying a heavy load right now. You are going through some of the toughest times humans experience. Don’t let your troubles keep you from praising the Most High. I know that you may feel like you are facing hardships few others have had to face, or that you have lost hope that your circumstances will ever change. This is precisely the time, dear friend, that Yah asks you to praise Him. He knows that you are hurting. He also knows that things won’t always be the way they now are. In fact, He’s waiting to act on your behalf, but He needs you to provide a dwelling place for Him, an altar in your life where He can show up. Praise is that altar.
Praise Is a Willing Sacrifice
Biblical expressions of praise often include the word will.
Yah is my strength and song, and he is become my yeshu`ah: he is my El, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's Elohai, and I will exalt him. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 15:2 את CEPHER.
I will praise Yahuah according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of Yahuah ELYON. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 7:17 את CEPHER.
I will sing unto Yahuah, because he has dealt bountifully with me. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 13:6 את CEPHER.
Yahuah is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 28:7 את CEPHER.
Although “will” can indicate a future time, it can also speak of a conscious choice. In other words: “I am determined to praise Yah.” This is what the Scriptures call a sacrifice or offering of praise.
I will freely sacrifice unto you: I will praise your name, O Yahuah; for it is good. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 54:6 את CEPHER.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to Elohiym continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. IVRIYM (HEBREWS) 13:15 את CEPHER.
Praise becomes a sacrifice when you offer your praise to Yah just because He deserves it and asks you to do it. You may not feel like praising Him, and in truth, it may be quite difficult for you to look beyond the difficulties in your life. Yet, when you choose to open your lips and speak forth your adoration, gratitude, and thanksgiving to Yah, you please Him.
Truly, you can always give the Most High some sacrifice. No, you probably won’t bring Yah a lamb, a sheep, or a goat as Yah’s people did in the Tabernacle and the Temple. This does not free you, however, from the responsibility of bringing Him a gift when you come to worship Him. Praise from an obedient heart is the gift that pleases Yah the most. You may not have anything else to bring Him, but you can always give Him this sacrifice of praise.
Notice that Hebrews calls this “the fruit of our lips” (Heb. 13:15). Fruit speaks of a harvest. Farmers will tell you that bringing in the crops is hard work. Sometimes praise requires the same effort. Instead of calling people and waiting for them to minister to you when you are having a hard time, why don’t you go ahead and have your own praise service. Sacrifice your hurt feelings, your financial problems, or your troubles with your boss or your wife or your son or daughter on the altar of praise. Make it your conscious choice to lay aside all that pulls you down or makes you afraid or causes you to feel like giving up, and open your mouth and talk to Yah. Tell Him how wonderful He is. Tell Him how thankful you are that He is in your life. Tell Him that you are glad He is on your side. Tell Him that He is worth more to you than everything else in the world.
This sacrifice of praise won’t cost you any money, but it will cost you your self-centeredness and your natural tendency to dwell on whatever is wrong in your life. Giving Yah your sacrifice of praise means that you choose to dwell on Him instead of on yourself. Your mouth is filled with all that is good in your life instead of everything that is bad. This sacrifice can never be forced from you by someone else. Oh, you may sing or raise your hands because someone tells you to, but outward show is not inward praise. A sacrifice of praise comes from inside you. It is your will taking control over your emotions and doing what Yah wants and empowers you to do.
The Book of Leviticus says it this way:
And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto Yahuah, offer it at your own will. VAYIQRA (LEVITICUS) 22:29 את CEPHER.
PRAISE GIVEN WITH WHATEVER STRENGTH YOU HAVE, HOWEVER LIMITED, IS A SACRIFICE PLEASING TO Yah.
The King James Version ends Leviticus 22:29 with these words: “offer it at your own will.” The sacrifice that is pleasing to Yah is what you give from your heart despite what you are feeling or what your circumstances are. Somehow, you find the power in the midst of your difficulty to praise the Most High with what little strength you have. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to praise with whatever strength I have left in hard times, rather than to complain.
Complaining accomplishes nothing more than to further drain our strength. Praise brings the Most High into our thoughts, thereby lifting us above whatever is causing our struggle. Celebrating Yah by focusing on Him instead of on ourselves is truly the essence of praise. When we do this, Yah takes our sacrifice and blesses us.
So, don’t wait for things to go right before you start praising Yah. Start praising the Most High, and things will go right. After days, weeks, or even months of this sacrifice of praise, you will find that you naturally find many things for which to praise Him. After all, He is deserving of every word of commendation, confidence, approval, good report, and honor you can give Him. The more you notice Him and His benefits to you, the more He will bless you and give you more reasons to praise Him.
Praise Is an Expression of Faith
Faith without deeds (works) is dead (see James 2:17). Likewise, praise that is in the heart but is not expressed is dead. Therefore, faith is the highest act of praise, and praise is the highest form of faith. Both are expressions of agreement with Yah. When you have faith, you hold to His promises no matter what you see at the moment. When you praise Him, you proclaim what you know to be true despite the evidence to the contrary.
Think of Abraham when he tied Isaac to that altar on Mount Moriah (see Gen. 22). I’m sure Abraham wasn’t singing, dancing, and praising Yah in a festive way. Most likely his heart was quite heavy. Yet, the very act of placing Isaac on that altar was an act of praise. Why? Abraham was expressing his trust in Yah and his confidence that somehow everything would come out right.
After all, not only had Yah given Isaac to Abraham and his wife, Sarah, when they were quite late in years, He had also promised that Abraham would have more descendants than the sands of the sea. Moreover, those grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren were to come through Isaac, the son of promise, not through Ishmael. So either Yah would provide another sacrifice in the place of Isaac or He would somehow restore Isaac to Abraham after the sacrifice. In either case, Abraham was willing to trust Yah to keep His covenant and the promises that went with it.
PRAISE IS GIVING Yah ALL THAT IS HIS DUE AND GIVING HIM ROOM IN OUR LIFE TO DO ALL HE WANTS TO DO.
An attitude of faith in the midst of hard times is always at the core of sacrificial praise because it is based in the assurance that anything is possible with Yah. What may be impossible for man is not beyond the reaches of Yah simply because of who He is. So praise that clings to who Yah is rather than to what we human beings see or do is a fundamental expression of faith. It is saying,
I don’t know what You are doing, why You are doing it, or how this whole thing is going to end up, but I trust You, Yah. I know You will be faithful to me. You will never abandon me. Therefore, I’m going to obey You in as much as I understand to do. The rest is up to You. I do this because you are my Yah and my Savior. All I have, am, and ever hope to be is Yours.
Such praise frees Yah to work in our lives.
PRINCIPLES
1. To praise means to commend, to approve, to give a favorable judgment, to glorify, and to esteem.
2. Praising Yah by commendation means that we entrust ourselves to His care and recommend that others do the same.
3. Praising Yah by approval means that we have a favorable opinion of Yah, which we tell Him and others.
4. Praising by giving Yah glory means that we honor Him and express our admiration for Him.
5. Praise turns the focus of our life from us to Yah.
6. Before we can consistently praise Yah, we must get close enough to Him to see His true nature and character.
7. Praise is a conscious choice, an act of our will.
8. A sacrifice of praise is the praise we give Yah from obedience despite how we feel.
The Divine destiny connection, the chain that links us together.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
THE BLESSING OF JUDAH
Psalm chapter 78
Today we are walking in: The Blessing Of Judah
Gen 12:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, H1471 and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
nation
Today we look to the word H1471 gowy--nation, people; of descendants of Abraham; of Israel
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 15:14
And also that nation, H1471 whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 17:5
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations H1471 have I made thee.
Gen 18:18
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, H1471 and all the nations H1471 of the earth shall be blessed in him?
The prophets proclaim..................
Isa 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations H1471 shall flow unto it.
Isa 25:7
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. H1471
Jer 3:17
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations H1471 shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations H1471 that forget God.
Psa 9:20
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations H1471 may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Psa 22:28
For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. H1471
Chapter 4
THE BLESSING OF JUDAH
Yah makes Himself known through praise.
The blessing of Judah is in his name, which is based on the Hebrew word yadah. Yadah means “to revere or worship with extended hands,” “to make confession,” “to p raise,” or “to give thanks, thankful, thanksgiving” (Strong’s, H3034). Thus, Judah’s name is literally a word for praise. “Why is this a blessing?” you may ask. Praise is what attracts Yah’s presence to us.
PRAISE IS Yah’S PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT.
Leah very well could have chosen another name for her son, a name that would not have brought him nearly so much blessing. After all, she was the unloved wife of Jacob, who preferred her younger sister, Rachel, to her. So wretched was Leah’s life that Yah showed her mercy and allowed her to have children while Rachel was barren. Even this, however, did not cause Jacob to love her. Yet, after naming her first son Reuben—because Yah had seen and responded to her misery—and her second son Simeon —because she was unloved—Leah chose to praise Yah in the naming of her third son.
Yah was evidently pleased with the name that Leah chose for her son. He loved Judah (see Ps. 78:67-68) and chose him to receive special favor. This was not so for Reuben and Simeon, Judah’s older brothers, or for any of the other of Jacob’s 12 sons. Certainly, Yah could have chosen any of Jacob’s sons to receive the blessing of being the ancestor of King David and of the Messiah, but Yah chose Judah.
Howbeit Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Yashar'el forever: for he has chosen Yahudah to be the ruler; and of the house of Yahudah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Yashar'el: DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 28:4 את CEPHER.
The significance of the tribe of Judah as seen in both the Old and New Testaments bears witness to this special favor that Yah bestowed on Judah. In the Old Testament, Judah and his descendants are recognized leaders, a responsibility foretold by his father, Jacob, when he blessed his sons.
Yahudah, you are he whom your brethren shall praise: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you. Yahudah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Yahudah, nor a Torah giver from between his feet, until Shiyloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 49:8-12 את CEPHER.
The leadership of Judah is also seen in other Old Testament passages. In the Book of Judges, when the tribes of Israel go to war against the tribe of Benjamin, Yah tells the Israelites that Judah should be the tribe to lead them into battle:
And the children of Yashar'el arose, and went up to the house of Elohiym, and asked counsel of Elohiym, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Binyamiyn? And Yahuah said, Yahudah shall go up first. SHOFETIYM (JUDGES) 20:18 את CEPHER.
At the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem after the exile, the leaders of Judah were stationed on the walls with two choirs (see Neh. 12:27-31). In addition, in the Psalms, Judah is described as Yah’s scepter: Gil'ad is mine; Menashsheh is mine; Ephrayim also is the strength of my head; Yahudah is my Torah giver; TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 108:8 את CEPHER.
A scepter is the instrument that a king holds in his hand to represent his authority and power. To say that Judah is Yah’s scepter, is thus to say that he is a representative of Yah’s authority and power. This is first fulfilled in King David and his descendants, and ultimately in Yahusha Hamachiach, the Messiah. In the New Testament, Yah’s authority revealed in and through the tribe of Judah is seen in Revelation 5:5, where Yahusha is called the Lion from the tribe of Judah. Judah is also listed in Revelation 7:5 at the head of the tribes who are to be sealed at the end of time.
The favor of Yah in Judah’s life is also seen in Psalm 114:2, where Judah is described as Yah’s sanctuary: Judah became Yah’s sanctuary, Israel His dominion.
The Hebrew word translated here as sanctuary means “a sacred place or thing,” “consecrated, dedicated, hallowed, holiness, holy, saint, sanctuary” (Strong’s, H6944). In other words, Yah’s government and His ruling power were evident in the whole of Israel, but Judah was His headquarters, the distinctive place of His dwelling. As such, Judah experienced Yah’s presence in a way the other tribes did not. Jerusalem and Mount Zion, the mountain on which the Temple stood, were within its boundaries. IN Yahudah is Elohiym known: his name is great in Yashar'el. In Shalem also is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Tsiyon. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 76:1-2 את CEPHER.
Perhaps this is why the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom, was spared by Yah long after He destroyed the northern 11 tribes for their apostasy (see 2 Kings 17:18). Yah was preserving the place of His presence. Might it also be that the Mercy Seat of Yah among the people of Judah kept their heart turned toward Yah longer than the hearts of their brothers in the north who did not have this blessing? In any case, Yah’s favor toward Judah caused Him to set up His headquarters in the midst of this tribe. He made Judah His dwelling place, the place of His presence.
The Message of Judah
If the dwelling place of Yah is in Judah, what does this say to us about the significance of Judah? What can we learn from this story so that we too may receive the blessing and favor of the Most High that Judah enjoyed? To answer this, let’s rephrase some of the Scripture quotations from above, inserting the word praise wherever the word Judah is used.
The hand of praise will be on the neck of your enemies (see Gen. 49:8).
Praise shall go first (see Judg. 20:18).
Praise is Yah’s authority and power (see Ps. 108:8).
In praise, Yah is known (see Ps. 76:1).
Praise is Yah’s dwelling place (see Ps. 76:2; 114:2).
Wow! That’s a rather impressive assessment of the purpose and power of praise. Praise is how you come to know Yah. Praise is Yah’s dwelling place, His sphere of influence and authority in your life. In essence, Yah will show up if you praise Him in the midst of your darkest
moments.
This is what Leah, the mother of Judah, did. She chose to praise Yah through the naming of her son instead of telling the world how terrible things were for her. She held a private little praise session despite the scorn of her husband and her sister. The result was, Yah came to her and put His hand of favor on her son.
So often we go looking for Yah when we could be creating an environment that invites Him to come to us. In fact, our human tendency to look for Yah is the reason we have so many religions in our world. People are looking for Yah. They know they need Him, but they don’t know how to get Him. No matter which of the world’s religions you study, you will soon find that they are all motivated by the same thing. Man universally and instinctively knows that he needs Yah, and all his religious beliefs and activities are his efforts to find Him.
ALL HUMAN BEINGS EXPERIENCE AN EMPTINESS OR VOID WHEN Yah IS ABSENT.
This is why I sympathize with those who worship other Yahs. They are looking for what I have found. They are looking for Yah, the Creator of the world. They are looking for Yahusha, the Savior of the world. They are looking for the Ruach HaQadesh, Yah’s truth in the world. Most people probably would not define their search and their religious practices in these terms, but man is universally searching for Yah. We all have this built-in awareness that life as it is does not match life as we need it to be.
Therefore, man’s religious exercises are simply his means of trying to find the presence of Yah. That’s why I can walk up to a Buddhist, a Muslim, or a Hindu with great confidence. I know who they are looking for, and He is part of my life.
Sadly, people of other religions are not the only ones who are looking for Yah. Perhaps you are one of them. You spend much time and effort looking for Him when you don’t have to look for Him at all. He will come to you if you will just praise Him.
Actually, when you learn to live in praise, folks will automatically see Yah in you. They will recognize His presence with you and will see His authority at work in your life. Then they’ll say to you, “What makes you so happy?” to which you’ll have the wisdom to respond, “I’m in my ideal environment, Brother.” “I have my own private incubator all around me every day, Sister.”
Even when your life is full of problems, as it sometimes will be, others will notice that your response is different from that of other people and they’ll ask you, “Why aren’t you afraid? How can you be so calm in the midst of such frightening circumstances?” You can then reply, “I’m not afraid because when troubles and problems come my way, I run to the dwelling place of my Yah through praise and I am safe.”
Just imagine the difference a consistent pattern of praise could make in your life. It would be like having a child named Judah. Every time you spoke to him by name, you would be praising Yah: “Praise Yah, come here.” “Praise Yah, do your homework.” “Praise Yah, it’s time to go to sleep.” Day after day your house would be filled with praise: “Praise Yah, I had an accident but I’m not hurt.”
“Praise Yah, I lost my job but we still have enough money to pay the rent.” “Praise Yah, my back hurts, but I can still walk.”
PRAISE IS YOUR ACCESS, YOUR KEY, INTO THE PRESENCE OF Yah.
Truly, the blessing of Judah was in his name and in the favor Yah showed to him because of his name. The same can be true for you. You can receive the same blessings Judah and his descendants did—the presence of Yah, the power and authority of Yah, the victory of Yah over the difficulties of your life—through your offerings of praise. These blessings are yours because Yah dwells in the people who praise Him as He requires.
PRINCIPLES
1. The name Judah means “praise.”
2. Yah chose Judah for special blessing.
3. Judah was the dwelling place of Yah.
4. Praise is the dwelling place of Yah.
5. All people are seeking Yah.
6. When we praise Yah, we don’t have to look for Him, because He comes to us.
We are the tribe of Judah and we are Yah's dwelling place through Praise! If you never understood why we are studying Kingdom you should get an understanding this morning! My soul cries Holy! As I read this teaching this morning the RUACH is speaking to us so loud Fiveamprayer! Do you know who you are! Wake up this morning and walk in your Yah given authority! The septer will never depart from the hand of Judah! The reason why we can wake up to the truth of the Torah, if we have an ear to hear, is because we are THE LAW GIVER! This is so POWERFUL this morning! If you don't begin to Praise Him constantly I don't know what it will take! We don't have to go looking for Yah! He shows up in our PRAISE! It's out key to trouble! It's our way into the battle of our circumstances! Judah WAKE UP!!!!
Today we are walking in: The Blessing Of Judah
Gen 12:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, H1471 and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
nation
Today we look to the word H1471 gowy--nation, people; of descendants of Abraham; of Israel
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 15:14
And also that nation, H1471 whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 17:5
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations H1471 have I made thee.
Gen 18:18
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, H1471 and all the nations H1471 of the earth shall be blessed in him?
The prophets proclaim..................
Isa 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations H1471 shall flow unto it.
Isa 25:7
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. H1471
Jer 3:17
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations H1471 shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations H1471 that forget God.
Psa 9:20
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations H1471 may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Psa 22:28
For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. H1471
Chapter 4
THE BLESSING OF JUDAH
Yah makes Himself known through praise.
The blessing of Judah is in his name, which is based on the Hebrew word yadah. Yadah means “to revere or worship with extended hands,” “to make confession,” “to p raise,” or “to give thanks, thankful, thanksgiving” (Strong’s, H3034). Thus, Judah’s name is literally a word for praise. “Why is this a blessing?” you may ask. Praise is what attracts Yah’s presence to us.
PRAISE IS Yah’S PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT.
Leah very well could have chosen another name for her son, a name that would not have brought him nearly so much blessing. After all, she was the unloved wife of Jacob, who preferred her younger sister, Rachel, to her. So wretched was Leah’s life that Yah showed her mercy and allowed her to have children while Rachel was barren. Even this, however, did not cause Jacob to love her. Yet, after naming her first son Reuben—because Yah had seen and responded to her misery—and her second son Simeon —because she was unloved—Leah chose to praise Yah in the naming of her third son.
Yah was evidently pleased with the name that Leah chose for her son. He loved Judah (see Ps. 78:67-68) and chose him to receive special favor. This was not so for Reuben and Simeon, Judah’s older brothers, or for any of the other of Jacob’s 12 sons. Certainly, Yah could have chosen any of Jacob’s sons to receive the blessing of being the ancestor of King David and of the Messiah, but Yah chose Judah.
Howbeit Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Yashar'el forever: for he has chosen Yahudah to be the ruler; and of the house of Yahudah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Yashar'el: DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 28:4 את CEPHER.
The significance of the tribe of Judah as seen in both the Old and New Testaments bears witness to this special favor that Yah bestowed on Judah. In the Old Testament, Judah and his descendants are recognized leaders, a responsibility foretold by his father, Jacob, when he blessed his sons.
Yahudah, you are he whom your brethren shall praise: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you. Yahudah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Yahudah, nor a Torah giver from between his feet, until Shiyloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 49:8-12 את CEPHER.
The leadership of Judah is also seen in other Old Testament passages. In the Book of Judges, when the tribes of Israel go to war against the tribe of Benjamin, Yah tells the Israelites that Judah should be the tribe to lead them into battle:
And the children of Yashar'el arose, and went up to the house of Elohiym, and asked counsel of Elohiym, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Binyamiyn? And Yahuah said, Yahudah shall go up first. SHOFETIYM (JUDGES) 20:18 את CEPHER.
At the dedication of the wall around Jerusalem after the exile, the leaders of Judah were stationed on the walls with two choirs (see Neh. 12:27-31). In addition, in the Psalms, Judah is described as Yah’s scepter: Gil'ad is mine; Menashsheh is mine; Ephrayim also is the strength of my head; Yahudah is my Torah giver; TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 108:8 את CEPHER.
A scepter is the instrument that a king holds in his hand to represent his authority and power. To say that Judah is Yah’s scepter, is thus to say that he is a representative of Yah’s authority and power. This is first fulfilled in King David and his descendants, and ultimately in Yahusha Hamachiach, the Messiah. In the New Testament, Yah’s authority revealed in and through the tribe of Judah is seen in Revelation 5:5, where Yahusha is called the Lion from the tribe of Judah. Judah is also listed in Revelation 7:5 at the head of the tribes who are to be sealed at the end of time.
The favor of Yah in Judah’s life is also seen in Psalm 114:2, where Judah is described as Yah’s sanctuary: Judah became Yah’s sanctuary, Israel His dominion.
The Hebrew word translated here as sanctuary means “a sacred place or thing,” “consecrated, dedicated, hallowed, holiness, holy, saint, sanctuary” (Strong’s, H6944). In other words, Yah’s government and His ruling power were evident in the whole of Israel, but Judah was His headquarters, the distinctive place of His dwelling. As such, Judah experienced Yah’s presence in a way the other tribes did not. Jerusalem and Mount Zion, the mountain on which the Temple stood, were within its boundaries. IN Yahudah is Elohiym known: his name is great in Yashar'el. In Shalem also is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Tsiyon. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 76:1-2 את CEPHER.
Perhaps this is why the tribe of Judah, the southern kingdom, was spared by Yah long after He destroyed the northern 11 tribes for their apostasy (see 2 Kings 17:18). Yah was preserving the place of His presence. Might it also be that the Mercy Seat of Yah among the people of Judah kept their heart turned toward Yah longer than the hearts of their brothers in the north who did not have this blessing? In any case, Yah’s favor toward Judah caused Him to set up His headquarters in the midst of this tribe. He made Judah His dwelling place, the place of His presence.
The Message of Judah
If the dwelling place of Yah is in Judah, what does this say to us about the significance of Judah? What can we learn from this story so that we too may receive the blessing and favor of the Most High that Judah enjoyed? To answer this, let’s rephrase some of the Scripture quotations from above, inserting the word praise wherever the word Judah is used.
The hand of praise will be on the neck of your enemies (see Gen. 49:8).
Praise shall go first (see Judg. 20:18).
Praise is Yah’s authority and power (see Ps. 108:8).
In praise, Yah is known (see Ps. 76:1).
Praise is Yah’s dwelling place (see Ps. 76:2; 114:2).
Wow! That’s a rather impressive assessment of the purpose and power of praise. Praise is how you come to know Yah. Praise is Yah’s dwelling place, His sphere of influence and authority in your life. In essence, Yah will show up if you praise Him in the midst of your darkest
moments.
This is what Leah, the mother of Judah, did. She chose to praise Yah through the naming of her son instead of telling the world how terrible things were for her. She held a private little praise session despite the scorn of her husband and her sister. The result was, Yah came to her and put His hand of favor on her son.
So often we go looking for Yah when we could be creating an environment that invites Him to come to us. In fact, our human tendency to look for Yah is the reason we have so many religions in our world. People are looking for Yah. They know they need Him, but they don’t know how to get Him. No matter which of the world’s religions you study, you will soon find that they are all motivated by the same thing. Man universally and instinctively knows that he needs Yah, and all his religious beliefs and activities are his efforts to find Him.
ALL HUMAN BEINGS EXPERIENCE AN EMPTINESS OR VOID WHEN Yah IS ABSENT.
This is why I sympathize with those who worship other Yahs. They are looking for what I have found. They are looking for Yah, the Creator of the world. They are looking for Yahusha, the Savior of the world. They are looking for the Ruach HaQadesh, Yah’s truth in the world. Most people probably would not define their search and their religious practices in these terms, but man is universally searching for Yah. We all have this built-in awareness that life as it is does not match life as we need it to be.
Therefore, man’s religious exercises are simply his means of trying to find the presence of Yah. That’s why I can walk up to a Buddhist, a Muslim, or a Hindu with great confidence. I know who they are looking for, and He is part of my life.
Sadly, people of other religions are not the only ones who are looking for Yah. Perhaps you are one of them. You spend much time and effort looking for Him when you don’t have to look for Him at all. He will come to you if you will just praise Him.
Actually, when you learn to live in praise, folks will automatically see Yah in you. They will recognize His presence with you and will see His authority at work in your life. Then they’ll say to you, “What makes you so happy?” to which you’ll have the wisdom to respond, “I’m in my ideal environment, Brother.” “I have my own private incubator all around me every day, Sister.”
Even when your life is full of problems, as it sometimes will be, others will notice that your response is different from that of other people and they’ll ask you, “Why aren’t you afraid? How can you be so calm in the midst of such frightening circumstances?” You can then reply, “I’m not afraid because when troubles and problems come my way, I run to the dwelling place of my Yah through praise and I am safe.”
Just imagine the difference a consistent pattern of praise could make in your life. It would be like having a child named Judah. Every time you spoke to him by name, you would be praising Yah: “Praise Yah, come here.” “Praise Yah, do your homework.” “Praise Yah, it’s time to go to sleep.” Day after day your house would be filled with praise: “Praise Yah, I had an accident but I’m not hurt.”
“Praise Yah, I lost my job but we still have enough money to pay the rent.” “Praise Yah, my back hurts, but I can still walk.”
PRAISE IS YOUR ACCESS, YOUR KEY, INTO THE PRESENCE OF Yah.
Truly, the blessing of Judah was in his name and in the favor Yah showed to him because of his name. The same can be true for you. You can receive the same blessings Judah and his descendants did—the presence of Yah, the power and authority of Yah, the victory of Yah over the difficulties of your life—through your offerings of praise. These blessings are yours because Yah dwells in the people who praise Him as He requires.
PRINCIPLES
1. The name Judah means “praise.”
2. Yah chose Judah for special blessing.
3. Judah was the dwelling place of Yah.
4. Praise is the dwelling place of Yah.
5. All people are seeking Yah.
6. When we praise Yah, we don’t have to look for Him, because He comes to us.
We are the tribe of Judah and we are Yah's dwelling place through Praise! If you never understood why we are studying Kingdom you should get an understanding this morning! My soul cries Holy! As I read this teaching this morning the RUACH is speaking to us so loud Fiveamprayer! Do you know who you are! Wake up this morning and walk in your Yah given authority! The septer will never depart from the hand of Judah! The reason why we can wake up to the truth of the Torah, if we have an ear to hear, is because we are THE LAW GIVER! This is so POWERFUL this morning! If you don't begin to Praise Him constantly I don't know what it will take! We don't have to go looking for Yah! He shows up in our PRAISE! It's out key to trouble! It's our way into the battle of our circumstances! Judah WAKE UP!!!!
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
CREATING A DWELLING PLACE FOR YAH
Genesis chapter 4
Today we are walking: Creating A Dwelling Place For Yah
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 3
CREATING A DWELLING PLACE FOR Yah
Yah’s goal throughout history has been to get man back into His presence.
Yah is in the restoration business, and the Bible is a record of His efforts to get us back into His presence. Therefore, the stories in the Old Testament are not p rimarily about the p atriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets, or about the victories and defeats of Yah’s people. Rather, the Bible can be summed up as an account of Yah’s acts to get man back into His ideal environment. It tells of Yah’s basic desire: “I want a place on earth where I can put My presence again because I need to rescue this malfunctioning machine called ‘man.’“
This work of Yah to get man back into His ideal environment reached its climax in the life, death, and resurrection of Yahusha, Yah’s Son. Everything Yahusha did was to get Yah’s presence back into man’s experience. This is why He had to shed His blood. Yah’s temple, namely us, had become unholy, so Yah had to cleanse us and make us holy again through the sacrificial death and the poured-out blood of His Son. Truly, we cannot be qualified to receive the presence of Yah into our life until the blood of Yahusha cleanses us and makes way for the return of Yah’s Spirit to our human temples. Therefore, the key to the continuing work of Yahusha in each of us is the Ruach HaQadesh. When the Spirit is alive and well in us, He restores the presence of Yah to our life and leads us into the holiness that was our birthright at creation.
However, long before Yah sent Yahusha and the Ruach HaQadesh, man attempted to bridge the gap that his sin had created between him and Yah. These early attempts at worship begin in the Book of Genesis.
Altars for Yah
Man’s first act of worship is recorded in Genesis chapter 4, right after the story in Genesis 3 of man’s sin and his fall from Yah’s presence.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Qayin brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yahuah. And H'avel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Yahuah had respect unto H'avel and to his offering: BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 4:3-4 את CEPHER.
What were Cain and Abel doing here? They were trying to get back into touch with Yah. They evidently knew they needed to be in communication with Yah. This effort to get Yah’s presence back into man’s life is evident throughout the Old Testament. Repeatedly, Yah’s people built altars to prepare a place for the presence of Yah to come and offered sacrifices either to invite Yah to come or to commemorate a time and a place where He had come.
ALTARS PREPARE A PLACE FOR THE PRESENCE OF Yah TO COME.
After the offerings given by Cain and Abel, the next record in the Bible of man’s attempt to communicate with Yah through sacrifices and offerings is found in the story of Noah. After the flood, when Noah, his family, and all the animals had emerged from the ark, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings unto Yah.
And Yahuah smelled a sweet savor; and Yahuah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore everything living, as I have done. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 8:21 את CEPHER. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” AND Elohiym blessed Noach and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 9:1 את CEPHER.
Please notice that Yah is pleased with Noah’s attempts to communicate with Him. Hence, Yah blesses Noah and his sons. Nonetheless, Noah is still a malfunctioning man. This is, perhaps, most evident in the blessing that Yah gives to Noah, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” This blessing is very similar to Yah’s blessing of the first man and the first woman (see Gen. 1:28), but an important element is missing. Yah does not command Noah to subdue the earth and to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature. Why? Through his sin, man has lost both his right and his power to dominate the earth. He gave that right to HaSatan, whom Yahusha refers to as the “prince of this world” (see John 14:30). Therefore, although man is again communicating with Yah, this relationship does not have the moment-by- moment intimacy of the garden fellowship that Yah and man had enjoyed.
Abraham
Friends With Yah
Abraham (Abram) is the next man who the Scriptures tell us built an altar to the Most High. This follows Yah’s appearance to him when Yah promised Abraham that He would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s offspring (see Gen. 12:7). This is but the first of many altars that Abraham built to Yah. Perhaps the most well-known altar Abraham built was the one on Mount Moriah when Yah commanded him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering (see Gen. 22). This story shows why Abraham was regarded by Yah as His friend. Not only was Abraham a worshiper (as is evidenced by the number of altars he built), but so great was Abraham’s commitment to, passion for, and trust in Yah that he gave Him even his son, the son of promise. Believing that Yah would provide a lamb for the sacrifice, yet not knowing that at the very last minute Yah would provide a ram to take the son’s place, Abraham bound Isaac on the altar and raised his hand to kill him. Only Yah’s voice stopped him from giving Yah what He had asked for.
David
As is often true in the Bible, the place of one sacrifice becomes the place of another. This time the worshiper is David. He has sinned by counting the fighting men of Israel and Yah has shown His displeasure by sending a plague on the people. When David sees the carnage among his people, he entreats Yah to punish him, not them, because he is the one who has sinned. Yah, through the prophet Gad, then tells David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah (later associated with Mt. Moriah where Abraham offered up Isaac; see 2 Chron. 3:1) so that the plague may stop.
This was certainly not the only time David built an altar to the Most High. As a youth tending his father’s sheep, he had learned to seek the presence of Yah. These early experiences with Yah influenced him so much that when faced with the choice of three years of famine, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague, David chose the plague.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahuah; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 24:14 את CEPHER.
Do you see why David chose the third option? He preferred to fall into the hands of Yah rather than the hands of men. Why would David choose Yah over man? David knew the Yah he had sung to as a shepherd boy playing his harp. Now, when he is king and is faced with a difficult decision that means suffering not only for him but for his people, David draws on what he had learned during those years of private worship before he entered the public eye. He knows that Yah is good and His mercy endures forever, so he entrusts himself and his kingdom to Yah.
David’s lasting relationship with Yah is also seen when he takes Bathsheba, another man’s wife, to his bed and tries to cover his sin. When the prophet Nathan confronts him, David immediately responds, “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahuah. And Nathan said unto El-David, Yahuah also has put away your sin; you shall not die. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 12:13 את CEPHER. He doesn’t argue or make excuses. He accepts the truth of Nathan’s words and the justice of Yah’s punishment.
PRAISE MUST BE LEARNED IN PRIVATE BEFORE IT IS EXHIBITED IN PUBLIC.
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahuah. And Nathan said unto El-David, Yahuah also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Howbeit, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Yahuah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto you shall surely die. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 12:13-14 את CEPHER.
Psalm 51, written during this time in David’s life, shows just how much he valued the presence of the Most High. Although he interceded for his son’s life while the child still lived, David didn’t criticize Yah for taking him. In truth, Psalm 51 shows that David thought of a punishment far worse than the loss of his son:
Create in me a clean heart, O Elohiym; and renew a right ruach within me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Ruach Ha'Qodesh from me. Restore unto me the joy of your yeshu`ah; and uphold me with your free Ruach. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 51:10-12 את CEPHER.
You see, David was used to having his own private worship services. He knew the joy and power of living with Yah. He also knew what happens to a man when sin takes the presence of Yah from his life.
As a young man, David had played his harp for King Saul when an evil spirit tormented him. This spirit came to Saul after the Most High had departed from his life because of his failure to obey Yah. The memories of those hours with Saul surely contributed to David’s own plea that Yah not take His Spirit from him. He knew the misery man endures when faced with the absence of Yah. Losing the Ruach HaQadesh and the presence of Yah would therefore have been a punishment far greater than the death of his son.
Moses
Moses was another “friend of Yah.” As the leader of a grumbling, dissatisfied people, he often cried out to Yah. So when Yah told Moses to take the people up to the Promised Land, but that He would not go with them in case He destroyed the people as they traveled, Moses said, “No way!” He wasn’t going anywhere unless Yah was going with him.
And Mosheh said unto El-Yahuah, See, you say unto me, Bring up this people: and you have not let me know את whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people. And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said unto him, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 33:12-15 את CEPHER.
What was Yah’s response? Yah agreed to do the very thing Moses asked because He knew Moses by name and was pleased with him.
Like Abraham before him and David after him, Moses was hungry for Yah. He wanted to know Yah and to find favor with Him. Not only that, he wanted to see Yah. It wasn’t enough that Yah spoke to him from the pillar of cloud whenever he entered the Tabernacle and that his face shown with Yah’s glory even after he had left the Tabernacle. Moses wanted to see Yah face to face.
Yah knew that Moses’ request was a problem. No man in his sinful nature could see Yah and live. But since Moses was so intent on seeing Him, and because Moses was His friend, Yah agreed to let Moses see His glory.
What Moses saw ... Wow! That must have been some close walk Yah took past him. What else could Moses do but bow to the ground and worship. He had seen the glory of the Almighty! Now he was more sure than ever that he didn’t want to go anywhere if Yah was not going along (see Exod. 33).
Temples for Yah
The outdoor altars of Cain and Abel, of Noah, of Abraham and his descendants, and of Moses eventually gave way to the enclosed sanctuaries of the Tabernacle and the Temple, but their purpose remained the same. All were places of Yah’s presence, and sacrifices were offered there with the belief that Yah would accept them and be pleased with them.
In the Tabernacle and the Temple, however, the worship of Yah became more regulated. Indeed, the building of the Tent and the Temple, as well as the praise and worship offered there, were governed by the specifications of Yah Himself, with no room for variance.
AND Yahuah spoke unto Mosheh, saying, Speak unto the children of Yashar'el, that they bring me an offering: of every man that gives it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 25:1-3 את CEPHER. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 25:8 את CEPHER
Do you see what verse 8 says? Yah wanted a place to live among His people so He told Moses to bring an offering. All this money was not about having a nice building with soft comfortable chairs. Yah told Moses to gather an offering from the people because He wanted to get His presence in their midst. It wasn’t enough for Him to meet with Moses on the mountain. He wanted to live with all His people.
Building a place for Yah is always about having the presence of Yah in the midst of His people. In fact, a big fancy building may look like a church and may even be called a church, but in reality it is very far from being one. Why is this? Nothing is happening there.
Building a church for Yah is not about the building or the equipment. It’s about Yah’s presence. If Yah’s presence is not with you, it doesn’t matter how elaborate your building is, how well educated your staff are, how well planned your worship services are, or how dynamic the preaching is. Without Yah’s presence, all you have is a big building filled with people. On the other hand, you can meet in a plain room with simple worship and an untrained preacher but have everything. The difference is in the absence or the presence of Yah.
Yah’s presence is the only essential ingredient in worship. Our praise and the other elements of our meetings must lead us into the presence of Yah. If they don’t, there is no reason to do them. Oh, yes, they may be nice and may make us feel good, but the purpose of gathering is to enter the presence of the Most High. Anything that does not contribute to this is simply unnecessary clutter. Yah’s presence in our worship is the only worthwhile end to our meetings.
This was Yah’s entire purpose for instructing Moses to build the Tabernacle: He wanted to get close to His people. Everything Yah told Moses to do in some way revealed the lost condition of man and unveiled Yah’s plan to rescue man from his wrong environment by getting His presence back in man’s presence.
Yah’S PRESENCE IS THE ONLY ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN WORSHIP.
Yah’s blueprint for the meeting place between Himself and man ensured that man could not just stumble or wander into His presence, lest he be consumed by Yah because of his sin. This is why Yah’s dwelling place was in the central part of the Tabernacle. Yah was safeguarding His presence to keep it holy. He also gave Moses very specific instructions concerning the priests, the sacrifices and offerings, and the atonement procedures so that nothing profane would come close to Him. Each of the furnishings, bowls, plates, and other utensils were also made according to Yah’s exact instructions, as well as the Tabernacle itself and the curtains that hung within it. Particular attention was given to the Ark of the Covenant, where Yah would dwell between the cherubim, and to the rest of the inner chamber that was known as the Holy of Holies.
The furnishings in the Tabernacle each revealed something about Yah’s intent concerning His people and His presence among them. In the Outer Court stood the altar of burnt offerings, where the sacrifices of the people were presented to Yah to atone for their sins. Beyond the altar, closer to the door leading into the Tabernacle, stood the laver, where the rites of purification were done. These washings were probably intended to make the priests and the sacrifices holy. Within the tabernacle in the Inner Court, also called the Holy Place, stood the table of shewbread, on which the priest put the fresh bread of the presence every Sabbath. This was eaten only by priests and only in the Holy Place. Frankincense was also placed on the table of shewbread. This was burnt on the altar of incense, which stood before the veil leading into the Holy of Holies, to make atonement. Across from the table of shewbread stood the golden lampstand or candlestick.
The final part of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. On the Mercy Seat above the Ark and between the cherubim that were part of the lid to the Ark was the place where Yah would dwell. Cherubim, the protectors of Yah’s presence, were also woven into the veil that hung between the Inner Court and the Holy of Holies. (See Exodus 25 and following.) All this was part of Yah’s plans and preparations to provide a place where He could live in the midst of His people. The same was true for the Temple in Jerusalem, when Yah gave the plans to David and entrusted David’s son Solomon with the task of building it.
With the coming of Hamachiach, each of the furnishings in the Tabernacle was revealed to be a type of Him. The Tabernacle, the very house of Yah, was a type of the Church, where Yah wants to live. The table of shewbread represented the physical body of Hamachiach and the Hamachiach that would be incarnated in the man. The lampstand, which never went out, represented the Word of Yah and the Ruach HaQadesh. The altar of burnt offerings was a type of the sacrifices of praise that continually arise from Yah’s people. The courtyard, or Outer Court, spoke of the assembling of Yah’s people. Even the material of the priests’ clothes and the things in the Ark of the Covenant revealed part of Yah’s plan that would be consummated in Hamachiach. The priests’ clothes were linen, not wool, so the priests would not sweat in Yah’s presence. (Sweat represented work. See Exodus chapters 28-29 and Ezekiel 44:17-18.)
The articles in the Ark of the Covenant were the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the rod of Aaron that budded, and a little jar of manna that was a reminder of the wilderness. All these represented important things to Yah. The rod of Aaron represented the death we experience because of sin, and the rebirth and new life that come through Hamachiach. It also represented the burial of Yahusha Hamachiach and His resurrection. The manna represented Yah’s grace, received through no work of man; and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments spoke of our helplessness to keep the law of Yah and thereby be righteous before Him.
When the priests poured the blood on the top of the Ark, it covered all those things that revealed our sin and our lack of grace. Instead of seeing our sin, Yah and the cherubim who protected His presence saw the blood. Thus, Yah could come to dwell above the Mercy Seat without destroying the priest because of his sin and the sin of the people. The law that condemned us was covered by the blood of grace.
Through Yahusha, we gain access to every part of Yah’s dwelling place. He is the sacrifice, the blood, the dwelling place, and the presence of Yah. He is also the One whose death destroyed the veil that separated Yah’s dwelling place from His people. Now everyone has access to Yah— everyone, that is, who accepts the gift of grace that is made available to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Yahusha.
This way provided by Yah is the same today as it was two thousand years ago. There is no improved savior and no improved blood. The Savior has been, is, and always will be Yahusha Hamachiach, and His blood is the only sacrifice sufficient and acceptable to atone for our sins.
Yahusha IS STILL THE ONLY WAY TO Yah. THERE IS NO IMPROVED SAVIOR, NO IMPROVED BLOOD.
We human beings may be looking for new and improved ways to worship, but Yah is not. He does not want experts in worship. What Yah wants is people who will follow His instructions every time they approach Him.
This is just the way Yah is. He isn’t looking for change, since He doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8). His bottom line continues to be His passion for getting His presence back into man’s experience. This is His plan for the entire human race because Adam carried in him all the nations of the world. Therefore, when Yah removed Adam from His presence, He removed all the nations as well. Likewise, when Yahusha came to earth, He came to restore the Ruach HaQadesh to all mankind. Before He could do this, however, He had to clean us up so that we could receive Yah’s Spirit. He had to cleanse our impurity.
To say that we are impure does not mean that we are dirty, as in the filth of dirt. What it does mean is that we are impure in Yah’s sight. What we believe, what we say, and what we do don’t match. This is what impurity is to Yah. Therefore, Yah sent Hamachiach to restore a pure heart to us so that we can be integrated in thought, word, and action. Only when our heart is once more pure can we become the temple in which the Ruach HaQadesh lives (see 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
Since the Ruach HaQadesh is Yah, He is the key to getting us into Yah’s presence today. He is also the only One who can teach us what Yah requires of us now (see John 14:26). Sadly, many Christians miss the joy of living with the Most High because their hopes are fixed on Heaven and what they will someday gain there. This may be the theology of the hymnbook, but it is not the theology of the Bible. Yah’s purpose is not that we will fly away to Him someday, but that we will live in His presence today in this world. Therefore, all His work through the Old Testament and into the days of Yahusha and the Church has been to get us back into the environment where He first put us here on earth. That environment is His presence.
In essence, the issue is not where you are located, but who is located where you are. You need Yah’s presence to function. So wherever He is, be that in Heaven or on earth, you can function there. This makes seeking Yah and living in His presence today in this life quite important.
Why else would Yah create a new Heaven and a new earth?
AND I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:1 את CEPHER.
He’s making another environment for us that is like the atmosphere man once enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. This atmosphere will be on earth because we were created to dominate the earth, not Heaven.
Therefore, Heaven is not the fulfillment of your future. Your eternal home will be a new earth.
AND I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I Yochanon saw the holy city, Renewed Yerushalayim, coming down from Elohiym out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her man. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:1-2 את CEPHER ... And I saw no Temple therein: for Yahuah Elohiym Tseva'oth and the Lamb are the Temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of Elohiym did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:22-23 את CEPHER.
This new earth won’t need a sea to provide water or the sun and the moon to provide light because Yah Himself will be our light and our life. Just as Adam and Eve enjoyed continual fellowship with Yah in the Garden of Eden, we will wake up every morning in Yah’s presence and go through the whole day with Him. No matter where we are, we will breathe in life.
PRAISE IS THE WAY YOU GET INTO Yah’S PRESENCE.
However, you don’t have to wait for this new earth to live with Yah. He wants to come to you right now. He wants to live in your home today. He can if you will start praising Him and filling your home with testimonies of how great He is and how good He has been to you. Just start bragging about Yah from a pure heart, and He will come to you right where you are. He’ll set up His throne in your house. That’s His plan, and He’s bringing it to pass in our generation. He’s creating a new order where the power of HaSatan is defeated in your life and in mine simply because we make room for His presence. We know that He wants us to have His presence. The only question is whether we will make room for Him to come to us.
You do this by filling your environment with praise until He comes and fills the place you have made. That’s all. There’s no more sweating, no more hard work, no more contriving to do this or that to get to Yah. You make room for Him, and He comes. That’s it. And you do this through praise.
PRINCIPLES
1. All Yah’s work throughout history has been to get His presence back into man’s environment.
2. Altars, sacrifices, and offerings invite Yah’s presence to come or they commemorate where He has been.
3. Yah’s friends are worshipers.
4. The whole purpose of the Tabernacle and the Temple was to provide a place for Yah to live in the midst of His people.
5. Yah’s presence is the only essential ingredient in worship .
6. The design and worship of the Tabernacle looked forward to Yahusha and the return of the Ruach HaQadesh.
7. Yah wants His people to follow His instructions
when they come to meet with Him.
8. Yah wants to live with you today.
Today we are walking: Creating A Dwelling Place For Yah
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 3
CREATING A DWELLING PLACE FOR Yah
Yah’s goal throughout history has been to get man back into His presence.
Yah is in the restoration business, and the Bible is a record of His efforts to get us back into His presence. Therefore, the stories in the Old Testament are not p rimarily about the p atriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets, or about the victories and defeats of Yah’s people. Rather, the Bible can be summed up as an account of Yah’s acts to get man back into His ideal environment. It tells of Yah’s basic desire: “I want a place on earth where I can put My presence again because I need to rescue this malfunctioning machine called ‘man.’“
This work of Yah to get man back into His ideal environment reached its climax in the life, death, and resurrection of Yahusha, Yah’s Son. Everything Yahusha did was to get Yah’s presence back into man’s experience. This is why He had to shed His blood. Yah’s temple, namely us, had become unholy, so Yah had to cleanse us and make us holy again through the sacrificial death and the poured-out blood of His Son. Truly, we cannot be qualified to receive the presence of Yah into our life until the blood of Yahusha cleanses us and makes way for the return of Yah’s Spirit to our human temples. Therefore, the key to the continuing work of Yahusha in each of us is the Ruach HaQadesh. When the Spirit is alive and well in us, He restores the presence of Yah to our life and leads us into the holiness that was our birthright at creation.
However, long before Yah sent Yahusha and the Ruach HaQadesh, man attempted to bridge the gap that his sin had created between him and Yah. These early attempts at worship begin in the Book of Genesis.
Altars for Yah
Man’s first act of worship is recorded in Genesis chapter 4, right after the story in Genesis 3 of man’s sin and his fall from Yah’s presence.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Qayin brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yahuah. And H'avel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Yahuah had respect unto H'avel and to his offering: BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 4:3-4 את CEPHER.
What were Cain and Abel doing here? They were trying to get back into touch with Yah. They evidently knew they needed to be in communication with Yah. This effort to get Yah’s presence back into man’s life is evident throughout the Old Testament. Repeatedly, Yah’s people built altars to prepare a place for the presence of Yah to come and offered sacrifices either to invite Yah to come or to commemorate a time and a place where He had come.
ALTARS PREPARE A PLACE FOR THE PRESENCE OF Yah TO COME.
After the offerings given by Cain and Abel, the next record in the Bible of man’s attempt to communicate with Yah through sacrifices and offerings is found in the story of Noah. After the flood, when Noah, his family, and all the animals had emerged from the ark, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings unto Yah.
And Yahuah smelled a sweet savor; and Yahuah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore everything living, as I have done. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 8:21 את CEPHER. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” AND Elohiym blessed Noach and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 9:1 את CEPHER.
Please notice that Yah is pleased with Noah’s attempts to communicate with Him. Hence, Yah blesses Noah and his sons. Nonetheless, Noah is still a malfunctioning man. This is, perhaps, most evident in the blessing that Yah gives to Noah, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” This blessing is very similar to Yah’s blessing of the first man and the first woman (see Gen. 1:28), but an important element is missing. Yah does not command Noah to subdue the earth and to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature. Why? Through his sin, man has lost both his right and his power to dominate the earth. He gave that right to HaSatan, whom Yahusha refers to as the “prince of this world” (see John 14:30). Therefore, although man is again communicating with Yah, this relationship does not have the moment-by- moment intimacy of the garden fellowship that Yah and man had enjoyed.
Abraham
Friends With Yah
Abraham (Abram) is the next man who the Scriptures tell us built an altar to the Most High. This follows Yah’s appearance to him when Yah promised Abraham that He would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s offspring (see Gen. 12:7). This is but the first of many altars that Abraham built to Yah. Perhaps the most well-known altar Abraham built was the one on Mount Moriah when Yah commanded him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering (see Gen. 22). This story shows why Abraham was regarded by Yah as His friend. Not only was Abraham a worshiper (as is evidenced by the number of altars he built), but so great was Abraham’s commitment to, passion for, and trust in Yah that he gave Him even his son, the son of promise. Believing that Yah would provide a lamb for the sacrifice, yet not knowing that at the very last minute Yah would provide a ram to take the son’s place, Abraham bound Isaac on the altar and raised his hand to kill him. Only Yah’s voice stopped him from giving Yah what He had asked for.
David
As is often true in the Bible, the place of one sacrifice becomes the place of another. This time the worshiper is David. He has sinned by counting the fighting men of Israel and Yah has shown His displeasure by sending a plague on the people. When David sees the carnage among his people, he entreats Yah to punish him, not them, because he is the one who has sinned. Yah, through the prophet Gad, then tells David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah (later associated with Mt. Moriah where Abraham offered up Isaac; see 2 Chron. 3:1) so that the plague may stop.
This was certainly not the only time David built an altar to the Most High. As a youth tending his father’s sheep, he had learned to seek the presence of Yah. These early experiences with Yah influenced him so much that when faced with the choice of three years of famine, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague, David chose the plague.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahuah; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 24:14 את CEPHER.
Do you see why David chose the third option? He preferred to fall into the hands of Yah rather than the hands of men. Why would David choose Yah over man? David knew the Yah he had sung to as a shepherd boy playing his harp. Now, when he is king and is faced with a difficult decision that means suffering not only for him but for his people, David draws on what he had learned during those years of private worship before he entered the public eye. He knows that Yah is good and His mercy endures forever, so he entrusts himself and his kingdom to Yah.
David’s lasting relationship with Yah is also seen when he takes Bathsheba, another man’s wife, to his bed and tries to cover his sin. When the prophet Nathan confronts him, David immediately responds, “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahuah. And Nathan said unto El-David, Yahuah also has put away your sin; you shall not die. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 12:13 את CEPHER. He doesn’t argue or make excuses. He accepts the truth of Nathan’s words and the justice of Yah’s punishment.
PRAISE MUST BE LEARNED IN PRIVATE BEFORE IT IS EXHIBITED IN PUBLIC.
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahuah. And Nathan said unto El-David, Yahuah also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Howbeit, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Yahuah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto you shall surely die. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 12:13-14 את CEPHER.
Psalm 51, written during this time in David’s life, shows just how much he valued the presence of the Most High. Although he interceded for his son’s life while the child still lived, David didn’t criticize Yah for taking him. In truth, Psalm 51 shows that David thought of a punishment far worse than the loss of his son:
Create in me a clean heart, O Elohiym; and renew a right ruach within me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Ruach Ha'Qodesh from me. Restore unto me the joy of your yeshu`ah; and uphold me with your free Ruach. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 51:10-12 את CEPHER.
You see, David was used to having his own private worship services. He knew the joy and power of living with Yah. He also knew what happens to a man when sin takes the presence of Yah from his life.
As a young man, David had played his harp for King Saul when an evil spirit tormented him. This spirit came to Saul after the Most High had departed from his life because of his failure to obey Yah. The memories of those hours with Saul surely contributed to David’s own plea that Yah not take His Spirit from him. He knew the misery man endures when faced with the absence of Yah. Losing the Ruach HaQadesh and the presence of Yah would therefore have been a punishment far greater than the death of his son.
Moses
Moses was another “friend of Yah.” As the leader of a grumbling, dissatisfied people, he often cried out to Yah. So when Yah told Moses to take the people up to the Promised Land, but that He would not go with them in case He destroyed the people as they traveled, Moses said, “No way!” He wasn’t going anywhere unless Yah was going with him.
And Mosheh said unto El-Yahuah, See, you say unto me, Bring up this people: and you have not let me know את whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people. And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said unto him, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 33:12-15 את CEPHER.
What was Yah’s response? Yah agreed to do the very thing Moses asked because He knew Moses by name and was pleased with him.
Like Abraham before him and David after him, Moses was hungry for Yah. He wanted to know Yah and to find favor with Him. Not only that, he wanted to see Yah. It wasn’t enough that Yah spoke to him from the pillar of cloud whenever he entered the Tabernacle and that his face shown with Yah’s glory even after he had left the Tabernacle. Moses wanted to see Yah face to face.
Yah knew that Moses’ request was a problem. No man in his sinful nature could see Yah and live. But since Moses was so intent on seeing Him, and because Moses was His friend, Yah agreed to let Moses see His glory.
What Moses saw ... Wow! That must have been some close walk Yah took past him. What else could Moses do but bow to the ground and worship. He had seen the glory of the Almighty! Now he was more sure than ever that he didn’t want to go anywhere if Yah was not going along (see Exod. 33).
Temples for Yah
The outdoor altars of Cain and Abel, of Noah, of Abraham and his descendants, and of Moses eventually gave way to the enclosed sanctuaries of the Tabernacle and the Temple, but their purpose remained the same. All were places of Yah’s presence, and sacrifices were offered there with the belief that Yah would accept them and be pleased with them.
In the Tabernacle and the Temple, however, the worship of Yah became more regulated. Indeed, the building of the Tent and the Temple, as well as the praise and worship offered there, were governed by the specifications of Yah Himself, with no room for variance.
AND Yahuah spoke unto Mosheh, saying, Speak unto the children of Yashar'el, that they bring me an offering: of every man that gives it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 25:1-3 את CEPHER. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 25:8 את CEPHER
Do you see what verse 8 says? Yah wanted a place to live among His people so He told Moses to bring an offering. All this money was not about having a nice building with soft comfortable chairs. Yah told Moses to gather an offering from the people because He wanted to get His presence in their midst. It wasn’t enough for Him to meet with Moses on the mountain. He wanted to live with all His people.
Building a place for Yah is always about having the presence of Yah in the midst of His people. In fact, a big fancy building may look like a church and may even be called a church, but in reality it is very far from being one. Why is this? Nothing is happening there.
Building a church for Yah is not about the building or the equipment. It’s about Yah’s presence. If Yah’s presence is not with you, it doesn’t matter how elaborate your building is, how well educated your staff are, how well planned your worship services are, or how dynamic the preaching is. Without Yah’s presence, all you have is a big building filled with people. On the other hand, you can meet in a plain room with simple worship and an untrained preacher but have everything. The difference is in the absence or the presence of Yah.
Yah’s presence is the only essential ingredient in worship. Our praise and the other elements of our meetings must lead us into the presence of Yah. If they don’t, there is no reason to do them. Oh, yes, they may be nice and may make us feel good, but the purpose of gathering is to enter the presence of the Most High. Anything that does not contribute to this is simply unnecessary clutter. Yah’s presence in our worship is the only worthwhile end to our meetings.
This was Yah’s entire purpose for instructing Moses to build the Tabernacle: He wanted to get close to His people. Everything Yah told Moses to do in some way revealed the lost condition of man and unveiled Yah’s plan to rescue man from his wrong environment by getting His presence back in man’s presence.
Yah’S PRESENCE IS THE ONLY ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN WORSHIP.
Yah’s blueprint for the meeting place between Himself and man ensured that man could not just stumble or wander into His presence, lest he be consumed by Yah because of his sin. This is why Yah’s dwelling place was in the central part of the Tabernacle. Yah was safeguarding His presence to keep it holy. He also gave Moses very specific instructions concerning the priests, the sacrifices and offerings, and the atonement procedures so that nothing profane would come close to Him. Each of the furnishings, bowls, plates, and other utensils were also made according to Yah’s exact instructions, as well as the Tabernacle itself and the curtains that hung within it. Particular attention was given to the Ark of the Covenant, where Yah would dwell between the cherubim, and to the rest of the inner chamber that was known as the Holy of Holies.
The furnishings in the Tabernacle each revealed something about Yah’s intent concerning His people and His presence among them. In the Outer Court stood the altar of burnt offerings, where the sacrifices of the people were presented to Yah to atone for their sins. Beyond the altar, closer to the door leading into the Tabernacle, stood the laver, where the rites of purification were done. These washings were probably intended to make the priests and the sacrifices holy. Within the tabernacle in the Inner Court, also called the Holy Place, stood the table of shewbread, on which the priest put the fresh bread of the presence every Sabbath. This was eaten only by priests and only in the Holy Place. Frankincense was also placed on the table of shewbread. This was burnt on the altar of incense, which stood before the veil leading into the Holy of Holies, to make atonement. Across from the table of shewbread stood the golden lampstand or candlestick.
The final part of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. On the Mercy Seat above the Ark and between the cherubim that were part of the lid to the Ark was the place where Yah would dwell. Cherubim, the protectors of Yah’s presence, were also woven into the veil that hung between the Inner Court and the Holy of Holies. (See Exodus 25 and following.) All this was part of Yah’s plans and preparations to provide a place where He could live in the midst of His people. The same was true for the Temple in Jerusalem, when Yah gave the plans to David and entrusted David’s son Solomon with the task of building it.
With the coming of Hamachiach, each of the furnishings in the Tabernacle was revealed to be a type of Him. The Tabernacle, the very house of Yah, was a type of the Church, where Yah wants to live. The table of shewbread represented the physical body of Hamachiach and the Hamachiach that would be incarnated in the man. The lampstand, which never went out, represented the Word of Yah and the Ruach HaQadesh. The altar of burnt offerings was a type of the sacrifices of praise that continually arise from Yah’s people. The courtyard, or Outer Court, spoke of the assembling of Yah’s people. Even the material of the priests’ clothes and the things in the Ark of the Covenant revealed part of Yah’s plan that would be consummated in Hamachiach. The priests’ clothes were linen, not wool, so the priests would not sweat in Yah’s presence. (Sweat represented work. See Exodus chapters 28-29 and Ezekiel 44:17-18.)
The articles in the Ark of the Covenant were the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the rod of Aaron that budded, and a little jar of manna that was a reminder of the wilderness. All these represented important things to Yah. The rod of Aaron represented the death we experience because of sin, and the rebirth and new life that come through Hamachiach. It also represented the burial of Yahusha Hamachiach and His resurrection. The manna represented Yah’s grace, received through no work of man; and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments spoke of our helplessness to keep the law of Yah and thereby be righteous before Him.
When the priests poured the blood on the top of the Ark, it covered all those things that revealed our sin and our lack of grace. Instead of seeing our sin, Yah and the cherubim who protected His presence saw the blood. Thus, Yah could come to dwell above the Mercy Seat without destroying the priest because of his sin and the sin of the people. The law that condemned us was covered by the blood of grace.
Through Yahusha, we gain access to every part of Yah’s dwelling place. He is the sacrifice, the blood, the dwelling place, and the presence of Yah. He is also the One whose death destroyed the veil that separated Yah’s dwelling place from His people. Now everyone has access to Yah— everyone, that is, who accepts the gift of grace that is made available to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Yahusha.
This way provided by Yah is the same today as it was two thousand years ago. There is no improved savior and no improved blood. The Savior has been, is, and always will be Yahusha Hamachiach, and His blood is the only sacrifice sufficient and acceptable to atone for our sins.
Yahusha IS STILL THE ONLY WAY TO Yah. THERE IS NO IMPROVED SAVIOR, NO IMPROVED BLOOD.
We human beings may be looking for new and improved ways to worship, but Yah is not. He does not want experts in worship. What Yah wants is people who will follow His instructions every time they approach Him.
This is just the way Yah is. He isn’t looking for change, since He doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8). His bottom line continues to be His passion for getting His presence back into man’s experience. This is His plan for the entire human race because Adam carried in him all the nations of the world. Therefore, when Yah removed Adam from His presence, He removed all the nations as well. Likewise, when Yahusha came to earth, He came to restore the Ruach HaQadesh to all mankind. Before He could do this, however, He had to clean us up so that we could receive Yah’s Spirit. He had to cleanse our impurity.
To say that we are impure does not mean that we are dirty, as in the filth of dirt. What it does mean is that we are impure in Yah’s sight. What we believe, what we say, and what we do don’t match. This is what impurity is to Yah. Therefore, Yah sent Hamachiach to restore a pure heart to us so that we can be integrated in thought, word, and action. Only when our heart is once more pure can we become the temple in which the Ruach HaQadesh lives (see 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
Since the Ruach HaQadesh is Yah, He is the key to getting us into Yah’s presence today. He is also the only One who can teach us what Yah requires of us now (see John 14:26). Sadly, many Christians miss the joy of living with the Most High because their hopes are fixed on Heaven and what they will someday gain there. This may be the theology of the hymnbook, but it is not the theology of the Bible. Yah’s purpose is not that we will fly away to Him someday, but that we will live in His presence today in this world. Therefore, all His work through the Old Testament and into the days of Yahusha and the Church has been to get us back into the environment where He first put us here on earth. That environment is His presence.
In essence, the issue is not where you are located, but who is located where you are. You need Yah’s presence to function. So wherever He is, be that in Heaven or on earth, you can function there. This makes seeking Yah and living in His presence today in this life quite important.
Why else would Yah create a new Heaven and a new earth?
AND I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:1 את CEPHER.
He’s making another environment for us that is like the atmosphere man once enjoyed in the Garden of Eden. This atmosphere will be on earth because we were created to dominate the earth, not Heaven.
Therefore, Heaven is not the fulfillment of your future. Your eternal home will be a new earth.
AND I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I Yochanon saw the holy city, Renewed Yerushalayim, coming down from Elohiym out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her man. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:1-2 את CEPHER ... And I saw no Temple therein: for Yahuah Elohiym Tseva'oth and the Lamb are the Temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of Elohiym did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 21:22-23 את CEPHER.
This new earth won’t need a sea to provide water or the sun and the moon to provide light because Yah Himself will be our light and our life. Just as Adam and Eve enjoyed continual fellowship with Yah in the Garden of Eden, we will wake up every morning in Yah’s presence and go through the whole day with Him. No matter where we are, we will breathe in life.
PRAISE IS THE WAY YOU GET INTO Yah’S PRESENCE.
However, you don’t have to wait for this new earth to live with Yah. He wants to come to you right now. He wants to live in your home today. He can if you will start praising Him and filling your home with testimonies of how great He is and how good He has been to you. Just start bragging about Yah from a pure heart, and He will come to you right where you are. He’ll set up His throne in your house. That’s His plan, and He’s bringing it to pass in our generation. He’s creating a new order where the power of HaSatan is defeated in your life and in mine simply because we make room for His presence. We know that He wants us to have His presence. The only question is whether we will make room for Him to come to us.
You do this by filling your environment with praise until He comes and fills the place you have made. That’s all. There’s no more sweating, no more hard work, no more contriving to do this or that to get to Yah. You make room for Him, and He comes. That’s it. And you do this through praise.
PRINCIPLES
1. All Yah’s work throughout history has been to get His presence back into man’s environment.
2. Altars, sacrifices, and offerings invite Yah’s presence to come or they commemorate where He has been.
3. Yah’s friends are worshipers.
4. The whole purpose of the Tabernacle and the Temple was to provide a place for Yah to live in the midst of His people.
5. Yah’s presence is the only essential ingredient in worship .
6. The design and worship of the Tabernacle looked forward to Yahusha and the return of the Ruach HaQadesh.
7. Yah wants His people to follow His instructions
when they come to meet with Him.
8. Yah wants to live with you today.
Monday, April 1, 2024
MAN’S GREATEST NEED
Genesis chapter 1
Today we are walking in: Man’s Greatest Need
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 2
MAN’S GREATEST NEED
Yah’s greatest desire and man’s deepest need is to share an enduring Spirit-to-spirit relationship.
Since Yah is a Yah of principles, everything He created was established to operate by certain principles that guarantee its proper function. So, all created things— whether plant, animal, fish, bird, star, or human being— must adhere to the principles that govern their life if they are to release their potential and fulfill their purpose. One of the most important of these principles ordained by Yah to preserve and protect His handiwork and to assure the maximum performance of each created thing is the principle of environment.
The Principle of Environment
The word environment is defined as “circumstances, objects, and conditions by which one is surrounded” (Webster’s, “environment”). Therefore, an environment may refer to the forces that affect the state of things, the components that make up the climate in which something exists, or the conditions in which a thing exists. Everything in life was created to function within the p articular environment that Yah prescribed for it before He created it.
In essence, before the moment of creation, Yah decided both what He would make His creation from and where He would place it after He had made it. This place designed to individually suit the makeup and purpose of each thing Yah made was its environment. When the environment was ready, Yah called forth each creation from its intended source and put it in the specific environment He had made for it.
So before Yah created the sun and the moon and the myriad of stars, He first called forth the light and separated it from the darkness, calling the light “day” and the darkness “night.” He also made a firmament or expanse to separate the waters above from the waters below and called the firmament “sky.” Only then, after all this was completed, did Yah call forth the lights from the heavens and set them in the sky to mark the day, the night, and the seasons (see Gen. 1:1-8; 14-18).
Yah’s process in creating plants and animals reveals the same pattern. Before He spoke plants and animals into being, He gathered the waters together so that dry ground would appear. The dry ground He called “land” and the waters He called “seas.” Only then did He speak to the sea, commanding it to bring forth the many kinds of fish and sea creatures, and to the land, commanding it to bring forth all manner of vegetation, seed-bearing plants and trees according to their kind, and all living creatures, livestock and wild animals according to their kind (see Gen. 1:9-12; 20-25).
Finally, Yah was ready to make man.
And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohiym created man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym created he him; male and female created he them. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:26-27 את CEPHER.
These verses from Genesis clearly reveal that Yah is man’s source. When Yah made man, He spoke to Himself and man came out of Him. Thus, man was created both to be of the same essence as Yah, who is spirit, and to live in the same environment as Yah, which is the realm of the spirit or the environment of Yah (see John 4:24).
So we see that Yah prescribed an environment for everything He created before He created it. Then He placed the thing in it. Therefore, you cannot expect one of Yah’s products to function properly if you do not understand the environment He prescribed
for it. In essence, a misplaced product will malfunction if you do not follow the prescription for the environment Yah ordained. A product in the wrong environment just won’t work properly.
Yah prescribed an environment for everything He created. Therefore, environments can be good or bad, positive or negative, healthy or unhealthy depending on what the manufacturer prescribed for the product you are using. The environment itself is not necessarily bad, negative, or unhealthy. Rather the problem is a misplaced product. A particular environment is wrong only because the p roduct was not designed to function in it. The prescription and the actuality don’t match.
To say it another way, the nature of the environment will always affect the state, function, and efficiency of a product. If, for example, you buy a $5,000 television, throw it into the ocean, then try to make it work, you will soon find that you wasted your $5,000. Or, if you drag a boat down a highway behind a truck, you will find when you try to use the boat in the water that it has been destroyed by the road. Why has this happened? You put the television and the boat into the wrong environment. The manufacturer never intended that you would put the television into the ocean or drag the boat on the highway.
Therefore, no matter how expensive the product is, it will shut down if the environment of operation is different from what the manufacturer intended. A wrong environment—that is, an environment where the product is out of place—will always translate into wasted potential. Truly the key to a product's efficient and effective operation is the environment in which it is placed.
Consequently, we must clearly understand the environment prescribed for each product because it is the environment that determines the product's success or failure. This prescribed environment is what we may call a product’s ideal environment. An ideal environment means that there is perfect environment that Yah (or a manufacturer) has prescribed for each product. This is why Yah placed man in Eden. Eden is man’s ideal environment.
Man’s Ideal Environment
When Yah planned what man would be (spirit) and how man would function (by faith), He also determined where man would live (his ideal environment). Yah didn’t take the man and put him just anywhere on earth. Yah chose a specific spot on this big planet and put the man in that specially chosen place, which we know as Eden. Now let’s try to figure out what Eden is.
The root in Hebrew of the word Eden is uncertain. The Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, relates the word to the Hebrew verb eden or ayden, which means “delight” (Strong’s, H5731, H5730). Therefore, Eden is translated as the garden of delight. Other occurrences of the word Eden in the Old Testament equate Eden with the garden of the Most High.
For Yahuah shall comfort Tsiyon: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yahuah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 51:3 את CEPHER
You were in Eden, the garden of Yah (Ezekiel 28:13).
This seems to concur with the Genesis description of the garden as the place where Yah walked in the cool of the day (see Gen. 3:8).
Thus, Yah prepared a garden for man, an environment where it was pleasant and where His presence touched earth. This is why the Bible never says that Adam planted the garden. Rather, Yah was the One who planted the garden. That is, Yah came and impressed (planted) His presence in the earth.
Can you get a picture of this? Eden was the one place where Yah’s presence dwelt on earth. It was the garden of His presence, the spot of His pleasantness, and that was precisely where Yah placed Adam. Unbroken fellowship between Yah and man was the environment that Yah planned for man.
This means that you don’t need church services, choirs, worship services, and meetings to succeed in life. There were none of these in Eden. Neither were there prophets, teachers, preachers, or apostles. Your ideal environment is nothing more and nothing less than the presence of Yah Himself, which was Yah’s first gift to Adam.
Yah’S PRESENCE IS YOUR IDEAL ENVIRONMENT.
His presence in your house is the most beautiful presence in the world. You don’t need a husband or a wife to succeed. You need the presence of Yah. Consequently, Yah gave Adam Himself before He gave him a woman. The first presence you need is a Yah-friend, not a boyfriend or a girlfriend. If you get a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or a wife, outside of Yah’s presence, you have created a state of malfunction for yourself.
Why is this true? Everything that is not in its ideal environment malfunctions. This is inevitable. No person or product can function properly outside the environment specifically designed for it by its manufacturer. So just as fish have to stay in water and plants have to stay in the ground if they are to flourish, so man must stay in Yah’s presence. Any fish that removes itself from water or is removed by another creature will eventually die and rot. The same is true of a plant. No plant can continue to live and bear fruit if its roots are not covered and nourished by the ground. In truth, a plant starts to die the instant its roots are removed from the ground, and its death is certain unless its roots are returned to the soil that is its source and ideal environment. Likewise, man’s life and the fulfillment of his destiny are possible only to the extent that he walks and talks with Yah in the garden of His presence.
Man’s Fall From Yah’s Presence
Sadly, what Yah intended and the reality of man’s situation today are quite different. The reason for this difference is man’s choice to throw off what he perceived to be the restrictive principles of Yah’s design. The fall of man, as man’s choice to sin is often called, is really a fall from Yah’s presence, with the accompanying loss of the Holy Spirit. Since Yah created man to live in relationship with Him, and sin caused a breach in that relationship, man’s opportunity to live in Yah’s presence ended. The Book of Genesis describes it this way:
Therefore Yahuah Elohiym sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Keruviym, and את a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 3:23-24 את CEPHER.
Since, as we previously noted, the word Eden in the Scriptures means the place of Yah’s presence, man’s banishment from Eden meant banishment from Yah’s presence. The creature Yah had created to live in His presence was condemned to live apart from the One who was essential to His well-being. Human history
shows the consequences of that separation, consequences that were built into Yah’s principles for man’s life.
Now we have to work hard to get into Yah’s presence; but that was not what Yah intended for the human beings He had created. We were supposed to wake up every morning and go walking in the bush with Yah. We weren’t supposed to have to work ourselves up with singing, instruments, and worship calisthenics to get us into the right mood or frame of mind for worship. Yah’s intent was that we would wake up in His presence, go to sleep in His presence, work in His presence, talk in His presence, go fishing in His presence, eat in His presence, cry in His presence, laugh in His presence, dance in His presence, and on and on. Every part of our life was to be done within the presence of Yah.
Oh, how we’ve fallen. What was once our Yah-given privilege is now denied us by Yah Himself. For when Yah sent the man and the woman away from Eden, from the place or moment of His presence, He also set cherubim at the entrance to the garden to be sure that mankind would not return to the environment that had been his home before his sin.
Why would Yah, who loves man and who created him to live in fellowship with Him, do this? Why would He banish man from His presence and ensure that he could not return? Might it be that the presence of Yah was so important Yah would not allow it to be contaminated by man’s sin? Might it be that man could no longer endure the presence of Yah because he had lost the Holy Spirit, that which enabled him to communicate with Yah and to enjoy fellowship with Him?
Yah Is Holy
The Scriptures clearly state that Yah is holy, which means that Yah is completely pure in motive and perfect in goodness, righteousness, and justice.
Exalt Yahuah Elohaynu, and worship at his holy hill; for Yahuah Elohaynu is holy TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 99:9 את CEPHER.
Sanctify Yahuah Tseva'oth himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 8:13 את CEPHER.
For your Maker is your husband; Yahuah Tseva'oth is his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Yashar'el; The Elohai of the whole earth shall he be called. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 54:5 את CEPHER.
But Yahuah Tseva'oth shall be exalted in judgment, and El that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 5:16 את CEPHER.
Not only is Yah holy, He is “most” holy in that no other Yah, person, or thing is as holy as He is, and His presence is holy as well (see 1 Sam. 2:2 and Isa. 40:25). Moses encountered the holiness of Yah when he approached the burning bush and Yah spoke to him from within the bush.
“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 3:5 את CEPHER.
Years later Joshua had a similar experience.
And it came to pass, when Yahusha was by Yeriycho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Yahusha went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as Captain of the Host of Yahuah am I now come. And Yahusha fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What says Adonai unto his servant? And the Captain of Yahuah's Host said unto El- Yahusha, Loose your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy. And Yahusha did so. YAHUSHA (JOSHUA) 5:13-15 את CEPHER.
It would seem, then, that Adam became a foreign body, a contaminant, a cancer, if you will, to the presence of Yah at the time of his fall. Having lost the Holy Spirit, Adam no longer reflected the holiness of Yah that was his birthright when he was created in Yah’s image. Now Adam’s sin made him an affront to the holiness of Yah. Yah responded by sending him out from the garden of His presence and by placing cherubim at the entrance of the garden to protect His presence from sinful man.
Protectors of Yah’s Presence
Cherubim are winged angels that are guardians of the Most High’s presence. This role is seen not only in the cherubim’s station at the entrance to Eden, but also in their presence near the throne of Yah.
GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Yashar'el, you that lead Yoceph like a flock; you that dwell between the Keruviym, shine forth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 80:1 את CEPHER.
Yahuah reigns; let the people tremble: he sits between the Keruviym; let the earth be moved. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 99:1 את CEPHER.
O Yahuah Tseva'oth, the Elohai of Yashar'el, that dwell between the Keruviym, you are the Elohiym, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: you have made the heavens and the earth. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 37:16 את CEPHER.
This position of protecting the presence of the Most High was particularly evident in the design of the Ark of the Covenant, where the cherubim, with outspread wings, guarded the Mercy Seat where Yah dwelt on top of the Ark. So when the priests went in to the Most Holy Place, the cherubim were the first beings the priests saw. Before they could get to Yah, they had to get past the cherubim. Anything or anyone contaminated by sin that approached Yah’s presence would never get past the cherubim because sinful things and people could not enter Yah’s presence lest they be consumed by Him.
The prophet Ezekiel describes the cherubim as having four wings and four faces, and they were covered with eyes:
Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And everyone had four faces, and everyone had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of everyone were joined one to another, and two covered את their bodies. YECHEZQ'EL (EZEKIEL) 1:5-11 את CEPHER
And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the Ophaniym, were full of eyes round about, even the Ophaniym that they four had. As for the Ophaniym, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. And everyone had four faces: the first face was the face of a Keruv, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. YECHEZQ'EL (EZEKIEL) 10:12-14 את CEPHER.
The task of guarding the presence of Yah is also evidently shared by another group of winged angels called seraphim. Isaiah saw these angels when he received his call to be a prophet:
IN the year that King Uzziyahu died I saw also Adonai sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the Temple. Above it stood the Seraphiym: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Yahuah Tseva'oth: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahuah Tseva'oth. Then flew one of the Seraphiym unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 6:1-7 את CEPHER.
We see here that the seraphim not only protected the holiness of Yah; they also met Isaiah’s need when he recognized his sinfulness in the presence of a holy Yah. Thus, their role was both to protect Yah’s presence and to preserve man when he recognized his sinfulness and repented.
Please note that these angels, or living creatures or beings, as they are often called, didn’t protect man from Yah; they protected Yah’s presence from man. Their task was to prevent man from getting into Yah’s presence—his intended environment and therefore the place where he functions properly, despite his sin and his loss of holiness. For you see, man despite his sin is still made in the image of Yah. His sinful behavior has not changed his basic makeup. What has changed is man’s ability to act like Yah acts.
This is true because man lost the Holy Spirit when he sinned and therefore no longer has the capacity to function from the spiritual and moral character of Yah. In other words, man is still spirit just like Yah is Spirit, but he is no longer truth and righteousness, as Yah is (see Ps. 31:5; 45:4). This is why David, after his sin with Bathsheba, sought Yah with these words,
Create in me a clean heart, O Elohiym; and renew a right ruach within me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Ruach Ha'Qodesh from me. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 51:10-11 את CEPHER.
David knew that his heart and spirit were not right with Yah because of his sin, and that Yah had every right to withdraw His presence from David’s life.
Sinners Are Malfunctioning Saints
This condition of a heart and spirit that are not right with Yah has been man’s plight ever since the first man and woman chose disobedience over obedience. Adam and Eve certainly appeared to be functioning fine after they left the Garden in that they lived to be more than 900 years old. In truth, they were malfunctioning fine. Adam was still working the ground and having kids as Yah had intended when He first created man. Nevertheless, Adam was completely malfunctioning because nothing outside its intended environment can function properly. Adam couldn’t function like he’d been designed to do because the absence of Yah’s presence made it impossible for him to live like Yah had planned he would live.
This is why Adam is said to have died when he sinned. Although his physical being didn’t die immediately, Adam did die spiritually in the exact moment he was cut off from Yah’s presence because death is the absence of the presence of Yah in a man or a woman’s life. So we see that the man Yah had pronounced to be “very good” (see Gen. 1:31) became very wrong because he had lost his ideal environment. He was a good creation in the wrong place and thus began to malfunction (sin).
Death is the absence of Yah’s presence in your life.
This is the whole problem with our world today. Men and women are malfunctioning (sinning) because they cannot function properly apart from Yah. This condition of malfunction would have continued indefinitely had Yah not intervened to rescue the human beings that He had created with His image and likeness. While we were yet unable to return to His presence because we were contaminated by sin, Yah died for us.
For when we were yet without strength, at the appointed time Mashiach died for the wicked. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perchance for a good man some would even dare to die. But Elohiym commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Mashiach died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to Elohiym by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 5:6-10 את CEPHER
Yah came to our rescue because He wants His family back. He knows that sin is the malfunctioning of a saint, and that saints who are in the wrong environment are incapable of functioning correctly, so He sought to restore us to our right environment.
Since Yah’s work of restoration is a work in process, the evidence of man’s estrangement from Yah because of his lost holiness is a constant refrain throughout the history of Yah’s dealings with His people. Indeed, no generation escaped this slavery to sin as “again and again they put Yah to the test [and] vexed the Holy One of Israel” until Yah dealt with them because of their sin (see Ps. 78:41). Moses and Aaron, who lost the opportunity to lead Yah’s people into the Promised Land because they neglected to honor the Most High’s holiness before the people, are but an example of the many who have suffered because of their unwillingness —and indeed their inability because of their separation from Yah—to be holy as Yah is holy.
And Yahuah spoke unto El-Mosheh and El-Aharon, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Yashar'el, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meriyvah; because the children of Yashar'el strove with Yahuah, and he was sanctified in them. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 20:12-13 את CEPHER.
Before the fall it was easy for man to get to Yah—Yah’s presence was where he spent every moment of every day— and to be holy as Yah is holy—that was man’s innate nature. Once man sinned, however, things changed because he lost the right to be with Yah every day.
Now Yah has to deal with all our sin, iniquity, and rebellion before He can let us get near His holy place. And even when we get there, we will find cherubim and serap him hovering around Yah to prevent us from approaching Him before our sin is atoned for.
Restoring you to your garden home has been Yah’s plan all along. You are valuable to Yah despite your sin. Your only problem is that you are in a bad environment, an environment that is something other than where Yah created you to live. So Yahusha paid the exact price you are worth. He laid down His image to buy you back because He knows that although you are a sinner, you still retain His image. In other words, your value didn’t change when your environment changed, so Yah devised a plan to redeem you and to restore you to His presence.
Yah WANTS HIS FAMILY BACK.
Truly every act of Yah since man’s fall from His presence has been done to restore the relationship that man severed through sin. The entire Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, is the story of Yah’s efforts to put man back into the garden environment that he lost.
Please note that the Bible is the story of Yah’s efforts, not man’s, to restore things to the way they once were. Man cannot accomplish this task alone. He cannot regain his proper environment without the help of his Creator. Truly he cannot even know what is his proper environment and how he was made to function unless Yah provides the way to bring him back. Man cannot overcome his sin apart from his Savior.
Man’s inability to restore the communion with Yah that was broken by sin has not stopped him from trying to reestablish this connection. The many religions of the world and the increased interest in spiritual things in our generation show just how hard man has tried and still is trying to become reconnected with Yah. Man, when he is living apart from the presence of Yah, knows that he is lost and empty, with no anchor or foundation for his soul. Whether or not he understands the reason for this void in his life, he feels the effects of it and often spends much time, effort, and money trying to fix his problem.
Nevertheless, none of our self-help books,
exercises, or occult rituals can fulfill our spiritual need. Yah’s prescription for our sin is the only one that works. The only way we become reconnected with Yah is to accept His gift of salvation through Yahusha Hamachiach to cleanse us from all sin. The only way we can stay connected is to practice His presence on a daily basis. Sadly, our refusal to accept Yah’s prescription for sin is quite evident in our sin- filled world.
Do you know why you keep sinning? You sin because you stop, or have never started, practicing the presence of Yah. It’s tough to sin and fellowship with Yah at the same time. This truth is why you must practice the presence of the Most High all day long.
“How do I practice the presence of Yah?” you may ask. “Through praise and worship” is the answer. When you are at your job, just hum a song. It’s hard to cuss, to gossip, or to complain when you’re humming a song. When someone does something to hurt you or to make things difficult for you, just start praying or singing in tongues. You can’t get angry when you are talking to Yah and singing His praises.
This is quite different from what people used to say when I was growing up, “Look, I can put my religion on the side for a minute.” What they meant was, “I’ll stop worshiping, I’ll stop practicing the presence of Yah for a spiritual minute so I can curse you. Then I’ll pick it back up again when I’ve finished taking care of you.” Yah doesn’t intend that we live like this. He designed us to always be with Him. He planned that we would never have to function without Him. He wanted us to know the joy, peace, and power of living with Him: “You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 16:11 את CEPHER. Joy and pleasures are Yah’s gifts for His children when they stay in the environment He planned for them. So if you stay in Yah’s presence, you will always please Him. Then you won’t have to fight anybody, because He’ll do it for you. Indeed, He will make your enemies your footstool (see Ps. 110:1).
MANUFACTURER’S PROGRAM TO PUT US, HIS PRODUCT, BACK INTO OUR IDEAL ENVIRONMENT.
Praise and worship are Yah’s solutions to get us back into His presence. We must be clear, however, that praise and worship don’t put us back into Yah’s presence; they bring Yah’s presence to us. That is, they are but the means that provide the conditions that invite Yah to come to us as He came to Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. They are the tools that set the stage for Yah’s arrival.
All salvation history is the story of Yah’s efforts to do just this: to reestablish the conditions where He can live with His people as He did in the garden. He is our Source and our Manufacturer. Therefore, He is the only One who knows both what He created us to do (our purpose) and where He designed us to succeed (our ideal environment). He is also the only One who can help us regain all that we lost through sin.
PRINCIPLES
1. Everything in life was created to function within a specific environment.
2. Man’s ideal environment is the presence of Yah.
3. Man’s sin has separated him from his ideal
4. Sinners are malfunctioning saints. Therefore, all our problems stem from the fact that we have lost our ideal environment.
5. Yah is holy. He cannot allow sin to enter His presence.
6. Salvation through Yahusha Hamachiach is the only means by which we can return to Yah’s presence.
7. Praise and worship are Yah’s gifts to restore His presence to man.
Today we are walking in: Man’s Greatest Need
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 2
MAN’S GREATEST NEED
Yah’s greatest desire and man’s deepest need is to share an enduring Spirit-to-spirit relationship.
Since Yah is a Yah of principles, everything He created was established to operate by certain principles that guarantee its proper function. So, all created things— whether plant, animal, fish, bird, star, or human being— must adhere to the principles that govern their life if they are to release their potential and fulfill their purpose. One of the most important of these principles ordained by Yah to preserve and protect His handiwork and to assure the maximum performance of each created thing is the principle of environment.
The Principle of Environment
The word environment is defined as “circumstances, objects, and conditions by which one is surrounded” (Webster’s, “environment”). Therefore, an environment may refer to the forces that affect the state of things, the components that make up the climate in which something exists, or the conditions in which a thing exists. Everything in life was created to function within the p articular environment that Yah prescribed for it before He created it.
In essence, before the moment of creation, Yah decided both what He would make His creation from and where He would place it after He had made it. This place designed to individually suit the makeup and purpose of each thing Yah made was its environment. When the environment was ready, Yah called forth each creation from its intended source and put it in the specific environment He had made for it.
So before Yah created the sun and the moon and the myriad of stars, He first called forth the light and separated it from the darkness, calling the light “day” and the darkness “night.” He also made a firmament or expanse to separate the waters above from the waters below and called the firmament “sky.” Only then, after all this was completed, did Yah call forth the lights from the heavens and set them in the sky to mark the day, the night, and the seasons (see Gen. 1:1-8; 14-18).
Yah’s process in creating plants and animals reveals the same pattern. Before He spoke plants and animals into being, He gathered the waters together so that dry ground would appear. The dry ground He called “land” and the waters He called “seas.” Only then did He speak to the sea, commanding it to bring forth the many kinds of fish and sea creatures, and to the land, commanding it to bring forth all manner of vegetation, seed-bearing plants and trees according to their kind, and all living creatures, livestock and wild animals according to their kind (see Gen. 1:9-12; 20-25).
Finally, Yah was ready to make man.
And Elohiym said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohiym created man in his own image, in the image of Elohiym created he him; male and female created he them. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 1:26-27 את CEPHER.
These verses from Genesis clearly reveal that Yah is man’s source. When Yah made man, He spoke to Himself and man came out of Him. Thus, man was created both to be of the same essence as Yah, who is spirit, and to live in the same environment as Yah, which is the realm of the spirit or the environment of Yah (see John 4:24).
So we see that Yah prescribed an environment for everything He created before He created it. Then He placed the thing in it. Therefore, you cannot expect one of Yah’s products to function properly if you do not understand the environment He prescribed
for it. In essence, a misplaced product will malfunction if you do not follow the prescription for the environment Yah ordained. A product in the wrong environment just won’t work properly.
Yah prescribed an environment for everything He created. Therefore, environments can be good or bad, positive or negative, healthy or unhealthy depending on what the manufacturer prescribed for the product you are using. The environment itself is not necessarily bad, negative, or unhealthy. Rather the problem is a misplaced product. A particular environment is wrong only because the p roduct was not designed to function in it. The prescription and the actuality don’t match.
To say it another way, the nature of the environment will always affect the state, function, and efficiency of a product. If, for example, you buy a $5,000 television, throw it into the ocean, then try to make it work, you will soon find that you wasted your $5,000. Or, if you drag a boat down a highway behind a truck, you will find when you try to use the boat in the water that it has been destroyed by the road. Why has this happened? You put the television and the boat into the wrong environment. The manufacturer never intended that you would put the television into the ocean or drag the boat on the highway.
Therefore, no matter how expensive the product is, it will shut down if the environment of operation is different from what the manufacturer intended. A wrong environment—that is, an environment where the product is out of place—will always translate into wasted potential. Truly the key to a product's efficient and effective operation is the environment in which it is placed.
Consequently, we must clearly understand the environment prescribed for each product because it is the environment that determines the product's success or failure. This prescribed environment is what we may call a product’s ideal environment. An ideal environment means that there is perfect environment that Yah (or a manufacturer) has prescribed for each product. This is why Yah placed man in Eden. Eden is man’s ideal environment.
Man’s Ideal Environment
When Yah planned what man would be (spirit) and how man would function (by faith), He also determined where man would live (his ideal environment). Yah didn’t take the man and put him just anywhere on earth. Yah chose a specific spot on this big planet and put the man in that specially chosen place, which we know as Eden. Now let’s try to figure out what Eden is.
The root in Hebrew of the word Eden is uncertain. The Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, relates the word to the Hebrew verb eden or ayden, which means “delight” (Strong’s, H5731, H5730). Therefore, Eden is translated as the garden of delight. Other occurrences of the word Eden in the Old Testament equate Eden with the garden of the Most High.
For Yahuah shall comfort Tsiyon: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yahuah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 51:3 את CEPHER
You were in Eden, the garden of Yah (Ezekiel 28:13).
This seems to concur with the Genesis description of the garden as the place where Yah walked in the cool of the day (see Gen. 3:8).
Thus, Yah prepared a garden for man, an environment where it was pleasant and where His presence touched earth. This is why the Bible never says that Adam planted the garden. Rather, Yah was the One who planted the garden. That is, Yah came and impressed (planted) His presence in the earth.
Can you get a picture of this? Eden was the one place where Yah’s presence dwelt on earth. It was the garden of His presence, the spot of His pleasantness, and that was precisely where Yah placed Adam. Unbroken fellowship between Yah and man was the environment that Yah planned for man.
This means that you don’t need church services, choirs, worship services, and meetings to succeed in life. There were none of these in Eden. Neither were there prophets, teachers, preachers, or apostles. Your ideal environment is nothing more and nothing less than the presence of Yah Himself, which was Yah’s first gift to Adam.
Yah’S PRESENCE IS YOUR IDEAL ENVIRONMENT.
His presence in your house is the most beautiful presence in the world. You don’t need a husband or a wife to succeed. You need the presence of Yah. Consequently, Yah gave Adam Himself before He gave him a woman. The first presence you need is a Yah-friend, not a boyfriend or a girlfriend. If you get a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or a wife, outside of Yah’s presence, you have created a state of malfunction for yourself.
Why is this true? Everything that is not in its ideal environment malfunctions. This is inevitable. No person or product can function properly outside the environment specifically designed for it by its manufacturer. So just as fish have to stay in water and plants have to stay in the ground if they are to flourish, so man must stay in Yah’s presence. Any fish that removes itself from water or is removed by another creature will eventually die and rot. The same is true of a plant. No plant can continue to live and bear fruit if its roots are not covered and nourished by the ground. In truth, a plant starts to die the instant its roots are removed from the ground, and its death is certain unless its roots are returned to the soil that is its source and ideal environment. Likewise, man’s life and the fulfillment of his destiny are possible only to the extent that he walks and talks with Yah in the garden of His presence.
Man’s Fall From Yah’s Presence
Sadly, what Yah intended and the reality of man’s situation today are quite different. The reason for this difference is man’s choice to throw off what he perceived to be the restrictive principles of Yah’s design. The fall of man, as man’s choice to sin is often called, is really a fall from Yah’s presence, with the accompanying loss of the Holy Spirit. Since Yah created man to live in relationship with Him, and sin caused a breach in that relationship, man’s opportunity to live in Yah’s presence ended. The Book of Genesis describes it this way:
Therefore Yahuah Elohiym sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Keruviym, and את a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. BERE'SHIYTH (GENESIS) 3:23-24 את CEPHER.
Since, as we previously noted, the word Eden in the Scriptures means the place of Yah’s presence, man’s banishment from Eden meant banishment from Yah’s presence. The creature Yah had created to live in His presence was condemned to live apart from the One who was essential to His well-being. Human history
shows the consequences of that separation, consequences that were built into Yah’s principles for man’s life.
Now we have to work hard to get into Yah’s presence; but that was not what Yah intended for the human beings He had created. We were supposed to wake up every morning and go walking in the bush with Yah. We weren’t supposed to have to work ourselves up with singing, instruments, and worship calisthenics to get us into the right mood or frame of mind for worship. Yah’s intent was that we would wake up in His presence, go to sleep in His presence, work in His presence, talk in His presence, go fishing in His presence, eat in His presence, cry in His presence, laugh in His presence, dance in His presence, and on and on. Every part of our life was to be done within the presence of Yah.
Oh, how we’ve fallen. What was once our Yah-given privilege is now denied us by Yah Himself. For when Yah sent the man and the woman away from Eden, from the place or moment of His presence, He also set cherubim at the entrance to the garden to be sure that mankind would not return to the environment that had been his home before his sin.
Why would Yah, who loves man and who created him to live in fellowship with Him, do this? Why would He banish man from His presence and ensure that he could not return? Might it be that the presence of Yah was so important Yah would not allow it to be contaminated by man’s sin? Might it be that man could no longer endure the presence of Yah because he had lost the Holy Spirit, that which enabled him to communicate with Yah and to enjoy fellowship with Him?
Yah Is Holy
The Scriptures clearly state that Yah is holy, which means that Yah is completely pure in motive and perfect in goodness, righteousness, and justice.
Exalt Yahuah Elohaynu, and worship at his holy hill; for Yahuah Elohaynu is holy TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 99:9 את CEPHER.
Sanctify Yahuah Tseva'oth himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 8:13 את CEPHER.
For your Maker is your husband; Yahuah Tseva'oth is his name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Yashar'el; The Elohai of the whole earth shall he be called. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 54:5 את CEPHER.
But Yahuah Tseva'oth shall be exalted in judgment, and El that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 5:16 את CEPHER.
Not only is Yah holy, He is “most” holy in that no other Yah, person, or thing is as holy as He is, and His presence is holy as well (see 1 Sam. 2:2 and Isa. 40:25). Moses encountered the holiness of Yah when he approached the burning bush and Yah spoke to him from within the bush.
“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 3:5 את CEPHER.
Years later Joshua had a similar experience.
And it came to pass, when Yahusha was by Yeriycho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Yahusha went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as Captain of the Host of Yahuah am I now come. And Yahusha fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What says Adonai unto his servant? And the Captain of Yahuah's Host said unto El- Yahusha, Loose your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy. And Yahusha did so. YAHUSHA (JOSHUA) 5:13-15 את CEPHER.
It would seem, then, that Adam became a foreign body, a contaminant, a cancer, if you will, to the presence of Yah at the time of his fall. Having lost the Holy Spirit, Adam no longer reflected the holiness of Yah that was his birthright when he was created in Yah’s image. Now Adam’s sin made him an affront to the holiness of Yah. Yah responded by sending him out from the garden of His presence and by placing cherubim at the entrance of the garden to protect His presence from sinful man.
Protectors of Yah’s Presence
Cherubim are winged angels that are guardians of the Most High’s presence. This role is seen not only in the cherubim’s station at the entrance to Eden, but also in their presence near the throne of Yah.
GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Yashar'el, you that lead Yoceph like a flock; you that dwell between the Keruviym, shine forth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 80:1 את CEPHER.
Yahuah reigns; let the people tremble: he sits between the Keruviym; let the earth be moved. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 99:1 את CEPHER.
O Yahuah Tseva'oth, the Elohai of Yashar'el, that dwell between the Keruviym, you are the Elohiym, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: you have made the heavens and the earth. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 37:16 את CEPHER.
This position of protecting the presence of the Most High was particularly evident in the design of the Ark of the Covenant, where the cherubim, with outspread wings, guarded the Mercy Seat where Yah dwelt on top of the Ark. So when the priests went in to the Most Holy Place, the cherubim were the first beings the priests saw. Before they could get to Yah, they had to get past the cherubim. Anything or anyone contaminated by sin that approached Yah’s presence would never get past the cherubim because sinful things and people could not enter Yah’s presence lest they be consumed by Him.
The prophet Ezekiel describes the cherubim as having four wings and four faces, and they were covered with eyes:
Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And everyone had four faces, and everyone had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of everyone were joined one to another, and two covered את their bodies. YECHEZQ'EL (EZEKIEL) 1:5-11 את CEPHER
And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the Ophaniym, were full of eyes round about, even the Ophaniym that they four had. As for the Ophaniym, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. And everyone had four faces: the first face was the face of a Keruv, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. YECHEZQ'EL (EZEKIEL) 10:12-14 את CEPHER.
The task of guarding the presence of Yah is also evidently shared by another group of winged angels called seraphim. Isaiah saw these angels when he received his call to be a prophet:
IN the year that King Uzziyahu died I saw also Adonai sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the Temple. Above it stood the Seraphiym: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Yahuah Tseva'oth: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahuah Tseva'oth. Then flew one of the Seraphiym unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 6:1-7 את CEPHER.
We see here that the seraphim not only protected the holiness of Yah; they also met Isaiah’s need when he recognized his sinfulness in the presence of a holy Yah. Thus, their role was both to protect Yah’s presence and to preserve man when he recognized his sinfulness and repented.
Please note that these angels, or living creatures or beings, as they are often called, didn’t protect man from Yah; they protected Yah’s presence from man. Their task was to prevent man from getting into Yah’s presence—his intended environment and therefore the place where he functions properly, despite his sin and his loss of holiness. For you see, man despite his sin is still made in the image of Yah. His sinful behavior has not changed his basic makeup. What has changed is man’s ability to act like Yah acts.
This is true because man lost the Holy Spirit when he sinned and therefore no longer has the capacity to function from the spiritual and moral character of Yah. In other words, man is still spirit just like Yah is Spirit, but he is no longer truth and righteousness, as Yah is (see Ps. 31:5; 45:4). This is why David, after his sin with Bathsheba, sought Yah with these words,
Create in me a clean heart, O Elohiym; and renew a right ruach within me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your Ruach Ha'Qodesh from me. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 51:10-11 את CEPHER.
David knew that his heart and spirit were not right with Yah because of his sin, and that Yah had every right to withdraw His presence from David’s life.
Sinners Are Malfunctioning Saints
This condition of a heart and spirit that are not right with Yah has been man’s plight ever since the first man and woman chose disobedience over obedience. Adam and Eve certainly appeared to be functioning fine after they left the Garden in that they lived to be more than 900 years old. In truth, they were malfunctioning fine. Adam was still working the ground and having kids as Yah had intended when He first created man. Nevertheless, Adam was completely malfunctioning because nothing outside its intended environment can function properly. Adam couldn’t function like he’d been designed to do because the absence of Yah’s presence made it impossible for him to live like Yah had planned he would live.
This is why Adam is said to have died when he sinned. Although his physical being didn’t die immediately, Adam did die spiritually in the exact moment he was cut off from Yah’s presence because death is the absence of the presence of Yah in a man or a woman’s life. So we see that the man Yah had pronounced to be “very good” (see Gen. 1:31) became very wrong because he had lost his ideal environment. He was a good creation in the wrong place and thus began to malfunction (sin).
Death is the absence of Yah’s presence in your life.
This is the whole problem with our world today. Men and women are malfunctioning (sinning) because they cannot function properly apart from Yah. This condition of malfunction would have continued indefinitely had Yah not intervened to rescue the human beings that He had created with His image and likeness. While we were yet unable to return to His presence because we were contaminated by sin, Yah died for us.
For when we were yet without strength, at the appointed time Mashiach died for the wicked. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perchance for a good man some would even dare to die. But Elohiym commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Mashiach died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to Elohiym by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 5:6-10 את CEPHER
Yah came to our rescue because He wants His family back. He knows that sin is the malfunctioning of a saint, and that saints who are in the wrong environment are incapable of functioning correctly, so He sought to restore us to our right environment.
Since Yah’s work of restoration is a work in process, the evidence of man’s estrangement from Yah because of his lost holiness is a constant refrain throughout the history of Yah’s dealings with His people. Indeed, no generation escaped this slavery to sin as “again and again they put Yah to the test [and] vexed the Holy One of Israel” until Yah dealt with them because of their sin (see Ps. 78:41). Moses and Aaron, who lost the opportunity to lead Yah’s people into the Promised Land because they neglected to honor the Most High’s holiness before the people, are but an example of the many who have suffered because of their unwillingness —and indeed their inability because of their separation from Yah—to be holy as Yah is holy.
And Yahuah spoke unto El-Mosheh and El-Aharon, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Yashar'el, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meriyvah; because the children of Yashar'el strove with Yahuah, and he was sanctified in them. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 20:12-13 את CEPHER.
Before the fall it was easy for man to get to Yah—Yah’s presence was where he spent every moment of every day— and to be holy as Yah is holy—that was man’s innate nature. Once man sinned, however, things changed because he lost the right to be with Yah every day.
Now Yah has to deal with all our sin, iniquity, and rebellion before He can let us get near His holy place. And even when we get there, we will find cherubim and serap him hovering around Yah to prevent us from approaching Him before our sin is atoned for.
Restoring you to your garden home has been Yah’s plan all along. You are valuable to Yah despite your sin. Your only problem is that you are in a bad environment, an environment that is something other than where Yah created you to live. So Yahusha paid the exact price you are worth. He laid down His image to buy you back because He knows that although you are a sinner, you still retain His image. In other words, your value didn’t change when your environment changed, so Yah devised a plan to redeem you and to restore you to His presence.
Yah WANTS HIS FAMILY BACK.
Truly every act of Yah since man’s fall from His presence has been done to restore the relationship that man severed through sin. The entire Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, is the story of Yah’s efforts to put man back into the garden environment that he lost.
Please note that the Bible is the story of Yah’s efforts, not man’s, to restore things to the way they once were. Man cannot accomplish this task alone. He cannot regain his proper environment without the help of his Creator. Truly he cannot even know what is his proper environment and how he was made to function unless Yah provides the way to bring him back. Man cannot overcome his sin apart from his Savior.
Man’s inability to restore the communion with Yah that was broken by sin has not stopped him from trying to reestablish this connection. The many religions of the world and the increased interest in spiritual things in our generation show just how hard man has tried and still is trying to become reconnected with Yah. Man, when he is living apart from the presence of Yah, knows that he is lost and empty, with no anchor or foundation for his soul. Whether or not he understands the reason for this void in his life, he feels the effects of it and often spends much time, effort, and money trying to fix his problem.
Nevertheless, none of our self-help books,
exercises, or occult rituals can fulfill our spiritual need. Yah’s prescription for our sin is the only one that works. The only way we become reconnected with Yah is to accept His gift of salvation through Yahusha Hamachiach to cleanse us from all sin. The only way we can stay connected is to practice His presence on a daily basis. Sadly, our refusal to accept Yah’s prescription for sin is quite evident in our sin- filled world.
Do you know why you keep sinning? You sin because you stop, or have never started, practicing the presence of Yah. It’s tough to sin and fellowship with Yah at the same time. This truth is why you must practice the presence of the Most High all day long.
“How do I practice the presence of Yah?” you may ask. “Through praise and worship” is the answer. When you are at your job, just hum a song. It’s hard to cuss, to gossip, or to complain when you’re humming a song. When someone does something to hurt you or to make things difficult for you, just start praying or singing in tongues. You can’t get angry when you are talking to Yah and singing His praises.
This is quite different from what people used to say when I was growing up, “Look, I can put my religion on the side for a minute.” What they meant was, “I’ll stop worshiping, I’ll stop practicing the presence of Yah for a spiritual minute so I can curse you. Then I’ll pick it back up again when I’ve finished taking care of you.” Yah doesn’t intend that we live like this. He designed us to always be with Him. He planned that we would never have to function without Him. He wanted us to know the joy, peace, and power of living with Him: “You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 16:11 את CEPHER. Joy and pleasures are Yah’s gifts for His children when they stay in the environment He planned for them. So if you stay in Yah’s presence, you will always please Him. Then you won’t have to fight anybody, because He’ll do it for you. Indeed, He will make your enemies your footstool (see Ps. 110:1).
MANUFACTURER’S PROGRAM TO PUT US, HIS PRODUCT, BACK INTO OUR IDEAL ENVIRONMENT.
Praise and worship are Yah’s solutions to get us back into His presence. We must be clear, however, that praise and worship don’t put us back into Yah’s presence; they bring Yah’s presence to us. That is, they are but the means that provide the conditions that invite Yah to come to us as He came to Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. They are the tools that set the stage for Yah’s arrival.
All salvation history is the story of Yah’s efforts to do just this: to reestablish the conditions where He can live with His people as He did in the garden. He is our Source and our Manufacturer. Therefore, He is the only One who knows both what He created us to do (our purpose) and where He designed us to succeed (our ideal environment). He is also the only One who can help us regain all that we lost through sin.
PRINCIPLES
1. Everything in life was created to function within a specific environment.
2. Man’s ideal environment is the presence of Yah.
3. Man’s sin has separated him from his ideal
4. Sinners are malfunctioning saints. Therefore, all our problems stem from the fact that we have lost our ideal environment.
5. Yah is holy. He cannot allow sin to enter His presence.
6. Salvation through Yahusha Hamachiach is the only means by which we can return to Yah’s presence.
7. Praise and worship are Yah’s gifts to restore His presence to man.
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