Sukkot - Drawing Living Water ...

                       ... from the wells of y'shu'ah (salvation)!

And on the last day, the great day of the festival, Yahshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."  John 7:37, 38

“See, El is my salvation, I trust and am not afraid. 

For Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my salvation.”

And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of [y’shu'ah] salvation.  
 Isaiah 12:2, 3

Chag Sukkot Sameach (joyful Sukkot celebration) and Shalom from within my sukkah!

Because this moed (appointed time/”festival”) of YHVH  is such a joyful time and is my very favorite time of year, I would like to share my joy and scripture reading contemplations with you.

It would be great if we could all be sitting in one big sukkah together in Jerusalem reflecting on the Word of Yah together.    
Perhaps not today….but God says that in the end all nations will come together in Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot.  Under the Messiah’s reign, we will live together with Him in eternal Sukkot, and then even small things like the pots and the bells on the horses will be labeled as set-apart to YHVH.  (Read Zechariah 14)

For those of you who have never celebrated this appointed time of Sukkot, there is no way to describe the joy or the richness or the rest or the liberty and freedom that this week brings. 
You have to experience it for yourselves!
Really!
I know many don't believe that it could be so wonderful!
I have heard many comments from believers who do not observe YHVH's commands regarding His appointed times...comments such as doing so is just legalism and that as believers we have been set free from the law.

To that, I simply say "try it...you might like it!"

It is far from legalism.  It is out of love for my Elohim, my Redeemer, my Living Water, my Salvation (Yahshua, my y'shu'ah) that I obey YHVH's Word.
And the result is much joy, great richness, and tremendous freedom...especially during Sukkot!

How will you know unless you experience it?  :o)

(Sidenote:  When I "simply say try it..." I realize that in our western culture's time schedule, it is not so simple to stick to God's appointed time schedule of Shabbat and the "no work" days during His moedim.  Yes, that is very true.  It is difficult to adjust ourselves and those around us to a different schedule.  But as difficult as it may be, it IS possible...and so enriching and restful and satisfying, and worth whatever was given up to do so.)

For now, as I sit in my sukkah on this autumn day, enjoying resting and reading and snacking in my sukkah, I want to share with you some of the things I am reading.

Let's start with the scripture that opened this post - John 7:37-38.
In John 7, Yahshua traveled to Jerusalem during Sukkot (obeying the command of Yah His Father, by the way...see Deut. 16:16).  It is on the last day of Sukkot, the Hoshanah Rabah or Great Salvation, that this scripture takes place.
Hoshanah comes from two the words hoshi'ah na (save now) in Psalm118:25.  It is a plea to Yah for Him to save His people.
Save now, I beseech You YHVH...

The tradition on this day was for the priest to fetch water (Living Water, Mayim Chaim) from the Siloam Pool, bring it to the Temple, and pour it on the altar.  This would be accompanied by sounds of great jubilation and singing (Isaiah 12:2) from the assembled people. He would then pray for YHVH to send His Messiah to save them (Psalm 118:25, 26)

... Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my salvation...
Save now, I beseech You YHVH... Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of יהוה!   We shall bless you from the House of יהוה. 

So here is Yahshua, having traveled to Jerusalem for the appointed time of Sukkot, now standing in the midst of the assembly on the last day of the week-long festival, and during the high point of the festival, the water ceremony and the cry for salvation, He proclaims: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."

Wow! Would that get my attention!  
Would it get yours too?  
It for sure got the attention of the scribes and Pharisees, and it divided the people who heard it (see the rest of the chapter).

What a claim!  Drinking from the wells of salvation, the Mayim Chaim (Living Water) through Yahshua!  
The next verse says that He was referring to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) when He spoke these words.

Which exact Scripture was Yahshua quoting when He said "as the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water"?

Well, in that answer lies the rest of this blog post. 
Yahshua was not quoting one exact specific verse.  He was speaking generally of many places in the Scriptures that deal with this topic of the Spirit, salvation, and the flow of Living Water.

That topic - the Living Water and Salvation, and how they tie into Sukkot - is what I want to focus on in this particular blog post.

Can you think of scriptures that speak of life-giving waters flowing and of salvation?
(Of course, Yahshua would have been quoting from and pointing to the Tanakh, the Old Testament, since the New Testament had not yet been written or even lived yet for the most part.)

Let's start with another instance in the book of John - the Samaritan woman at the well.  Yahshua said almost the exact thing to her personally during their meeting at the well.

John 4:13, 14
Yahshua answered and said to her, “Everyone drinking of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I give him shall certainly never thirst. 
And the water that I give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”


Now let's turn to the Tanakh and read what YHVH had to say through the prophets about Living Water (Yahshua) and Salvation (Yahshua).

Isaiah 55:1 
Here YHVH is speaking directly to Israel in a continuation of Isaiah 54 where He had said to them "For your Maker is your husband, יהוה of hosts is His Name, and the Set-apart One of Israel is your Redeemer....  For a little while I have forsaken you, but with great compassion I shall gather you.... For though the mountains be removed and the hills be shaken, My kindness is not removed from you, nor is My covenant of peace shaken,” said יהוה, who has compassion on you.... No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong. This is the inheritance of the servants of יהוה, and their righteousness from Me,” declares יהוה.

And immediately after that comes invitation in Isaiah 55:1...

“Oh everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no silver, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price."  

Reading Jeremiah 2 gives us a better picture of how vital it is for Israel to choose to accept the invitation for YHVH's Living Waters instead of going after their own dried up and broken water sources.

Jeremiah 2:12-13 

Be amazed, O heavens, at this, and be frightened, be utterly dried up,” declares יהוה. "For My people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns, which do not hold water. 

2:17-19
 “Have you not done this to yourself, by forsaking יהוה your Elohim when He led you in the way?  And now why take the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? Or why take the way to Ashshur, to drink the waters of the River?  Your own evil instructs you, and your back-slidings reprove you.


Now look at the situation in Jeremiah 17:12-14:

An esteemed throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our set-apart place.   O יהוה, the expectation of Israel, all who forsake You are put to shame. “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken יהוה, the fountain of living waters.” 
Heal me, O יהוה, so that I am healed. Save me, so that I am saved, for You are my praise.

This is why Israel cries out "Save now! Hoshiah na!"

 Look at another place in Isaiah where YHVH speaks directly to Israel...

Isaiah 44:2-6

Thus said יהוה who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, "Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, and Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.  For I pour water on the thirsty, and floods on the dry ground. I pour My Spirit on your seed, and My blessing on your offspring, and they shall spring up among the grass like willows by streams of water." 
One says, "I belong to יהוה"; another calls himself by the name of Jacob; another writes with his hand, "Unto יהוה," and names himself by the name of Israel.  
Thus said יהוה, Sovereign of Israel, and his Redeemer, יהוה of hosts, "I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim."


And in Isaiah 58:11-14

“Then יהוה would guide you continually, and satisfy your being in drought, and strengthen your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.   
And those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. And you would be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.  If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in יהוה. And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of יהוה has spoken!” 


And in Psalm 36:7-10

How precious is Your kindness, O Elohim! And the sons of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 
They are filled from the fatness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 
For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. 
Draw out Your kindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
 


Do you see so far how much YHVH wants Israel to know of His refreshing, His provision, His redemption...His Living Waters? 
And do you also see how Israel will reap the benefits in very practical and tangible ways?
Isn't it exciting to read so much of Yah's guidance, through His Spirit, of His people!
And isn't it exciting to know that YHVH had planned all along to provide salvation for His people Himself with His own Strong Right Hand - Yahshua, the Living Water!


Now let's continue to look at what is still to unfold in the seemingly not-so-distant future.  Let's see how these waters, the physical ones and the spiritual ones, are tied together for eternal Salvation...eternal Sukkot with our Redeemer.
(Yes, I am reading YHVH's Word literally.)

Joel chapter 3 begins with "at that time when I turn back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem"... and when YHVH will bring all the gentiles to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgement there for His people Israel and His land of inheritance Israel.

Look at Joel 3:17-21

"Then you shall know that I am יהוה your Elohim, dwelling in Zion, My set-apart mountain. And Jerusalem shall be set-apart, and foreigners shall not pass through her again.  
And it shall be in that day that the mountains drip with new wine, and the hills flow with milk. And all the streams of Judah shall be flooded with water, and a fountain flow from the House of יהוה and water the valley Shittim. 
Egypt shall become a ruin, and Edom a ruin, a wilderness, because of violence done to the people of Judah, whose innocent blood they shed in their land.  
But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. 
And I shall avenge their blood, which I have not avenged. 
And יהוה shall be dwelling in Zion!”

Zechariah 14 speaks of these physical living waters flowing from Jerusalem, and it also speaks of eternal Sukkot.  (And it also speaks of the destruction of those who fought against Jerusalem.)

Zechariah 14:8, 9, 16

And in that day it shall be that living waters flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea, in summer as well as in winter.   And יהוה shall be Sovereign over all the earth. In that day there shall be one יהוה, and His Name one.

And it shall be that all who are left from all the gentiles which came up against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, and to observe Sukkot [Festival of Booths]. 


Again this picture of future living, healing water flowing from Jerusalem is found in Ezekiel 47...the whole chapter.  Let's look at several verses...

Ezekiel 47
[1] And he turned me back to the door of the House. And look, water was flowing from under the threshold of the House [Temple] toward the east, for the House faced east, and the water was flowing from under the right side of the House, from the south of the altar. 
[9] “And it shall be that every swarming creature, wherever the stream goes, shall live. And there shall be very many fish, for these waters shall go there, and they are healed. And wherever the stream flows all shall live.

[12] “And by the bank of the stream, on both sides, grow all kinds of trees used for food, whose leaves do not wither and fruit do not fail. They bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the set-apart place. And their fruit shall be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

(Interesting point - right after this YHVH declares on oath the borders of this land that He gave to Israel as an inheritance.)


After looking through so much Scripture filled with the theme of YHVH's Living Water of Salvation given to His people Israel (and remember, we believing gentiles are grafted into His people Israel), it is so much easier to see the importance of the words Yahshua cried out to the crowd on that final day of Sukkot.
 “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."

The importance of His words, His claim, would not have been lost on the crowd and for sure was not lost on the religious leaders.

He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all the Scripture regarding YHVH's plan of Salvation, His plan to provide Living Water...to save His people.

That was a huge claim...and according to John 7 many of the people were ready to believe that Yahshua really is what He claims...the Living Water, the Salvation (y'shu'ah), the promised Messiah!

But again, many were not.  

Even with the picture laid out so perfectly and completely before them - all of this taking place during the ceremony of the living water, after having praised Yah for providing and being Salvation and after having cried out "Hoshiah na! Save us now!", the religious leaders refused to admit that Yah answered their cries with the Messiah right there in the midst of Sukkot!

We can look back at it and say, "why were they so blind?"

But we can also say the same thing about some believers today. 
Yes, they see the truth that Yahshua is YHVH's provision of Salvation, the Messiah, the Living Water.  But they cannot accept the truth of the Tanakh for His people today...the truth of Yah's Word - beginning to end - for everyday living.  Why live by the Word of Yah?  Out of love for Him!  Obedience - I obey because I love Him and trust His ways.

Well, I'm getting a little sidetracked now.

Let's go back to the Word...back to the very end.
We've been given a preview of what's to come, and you were probably reminded of it while reading some of the Scriptures from the prophets just now.

Let's look at the Final Eternal Sukkot with the Eternal Living Water!

Revelation 7:15-17
...they are before the throne of Elohim, and serve Him day and night in His Dwelling Place. And He who sits on the throne shall spread His Tent over them.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and lead them to fountains of waters of life. And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.


Revelation 21:3-6

  And I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, “See, the sukkah [booth] of Elohim is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them and be their Elohim.  
And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away.” 
And He who was sitting on the throne said, “See, I make all matters new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and trustworthy.” 
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I shall give of the fountain of the water of life without payment. 
 
Revelation 22:1, 2  

And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
 

And Yahshua Himself says in Revelation 22:12-13

And see, I am coming speedily, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work.  I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.  Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.


Finally, in verse 17... 
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears, let him say, “Come!” And he who thirsts, come! And he who desires it, take the water of life without paying!


May you draw water from the fountains of Yahshua our Salvation...with JOY and gratitude!

Gina

Celebrating Hanukkah... Celebrating Yahshua, Light of the World!

Shalom!


Tonight is the beginning of the 8-day Hanukkah celebration...the Festival of Lights or Feast of Dedication!

John 10:21-23... "Then came Hanukkah in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yahshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Solomon's Colonnade."


Although the beginnings of the Hanukkah celebration occurred in the years between the writing of the Old and New Testaments, and it is not a "commanded" feast of YHVH, Yahshua Himself observed this traditional celebration.


It has been a year since I began my blogs chronicling my journey of learning what YHVH says in His Word regarding His appointed times and living in relationship with Him.  I have not been able to write about each of the appointed times, but I did start this blog last year by writing about why I choose to celebrate Hanukkah and not celebrate Christmas.  So if you want to read more about that, look for that blog from December 2009.


Today I just want to point out that this is the beginning of Hanukkah and remind us of several important facts in this life with YHVH:


*YHVH has chosen to make His dwelling place with mankind....and His Temple is an integral part of that.  (see December 10, 2009 blog)


*YHVH has made a way possible for us to dwell in relationship with Him forever...YAHSHUA the Messiah.


*Yahshua is the LIGHT of the world - as is Israel...and we as believers are grafted into Israel - YHVH's chosen people.  (Isaiah 42, 49, 60; Exodus 19:6, Revelation 5:9-10, 20:6)


*The Menorah comes from YHVH's own blueprint...it is a symbol of His holiness and His sovereignty and His eternal presence as Adonai Elohim...our King forever.  It is the only symbol ever given to man that was explicitly and completely designed by YHVH.  
(Exodus 25:31-40; Exodus 37; Leviticus 24:1-4; Numbers 8:1-4; Zechariah 4; Hebrews 9; Revelation 1, 4, 21, 22)


Tonight I will light the first candle on my hanukkiah (lampstand with 9 candles...one servant candle and 8 candles to represent the 8 days).  And I will celebrate my Adonai, YHVH, and Yahshua the Messiah!


Holy, holy, holy is Adonai Elohim Ts'va'ot!  Who was and who is and who is to come!
(This is what is written in Hebrew on the above photo.)


May you also experience a time of YHVH's blessing and presence as you celebrate Him!


Gina

Adonai's New Year - Eternally Tied to His Salvation!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last night at sundown, the new moon (Rosh Chodesh) began the month of Nisan.

What is so special about that?

This is YHVH's commanded beginning of the new year!

It is also the beginning of the preparations for the spring appointed feasts of YHVH.

When Moses and the children of Israel were in Egypt, and the Lord was bringing warning after warning and plague after plague to Pharoah and the Egyptian people, YHVH prepared Moses and the Israelites for what He was about to do.

This isn't just about how YHVH delivered His people from slavery in Egypt. This isn't just about what He did for them with the lamb's blood on the doorposts and the passing over of the death angel and salvation of all Israel's firstborn. YHVH gave a picture, a pattern to His people that would unfold and grow deeper and richer as His Kingdom plan unfolded over the decades and centuries to come.

Exodus 12:1-2
(After one of many plagues failed yet again to sway Pharaoh's heart...)
YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt; he said, "You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you."

This was the first command given to the people by YHVH as they were about to leave Egypt, follow Him to the land of inheritance, become His covenant people in His covenant land, and begin to fulfill all His purposes for them as His people and for the nations.

The first command...

...a new beginning...

...so important for what was about to unfold...

...stepping out in trusting YHVH when things looked like they wouldn't happen the way He promised...

knowing that HIS timing and timeline are perfect!

Take a look at what comes right after this command in Exodus 12...

[YHVH said] 'Speak to all the assembly of Israel and say, "On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family...it is to be without defect...a male in its first year...You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then slaughter it at dusk...take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house....Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is ADONAI's Pesach [Passover]. For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am ADONAI. The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [Hebrew: pasach] you - when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you. This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to ADONAI; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation."'
Exodus 12:3-14


YHVH's command to observe the new year leads directly into preparation for
Pessach (Passover)
...which then leads to
the Feast of Unleavened Bread
...which leads to
the Day of First Fruits
...which leads to
Shavuot or Feast of Sevens (Pentecost).

And the exciting part of all of these feasts is that Yeshua is the fulfillment of them all! They are a picture of HIM!

Even more exciting is that these feasts lead into the fall feasts.
And guess what?! Yeshua is the fulfillment of those too!

Do you see the way YHVH has laid out His covenant, His love, His plan, His salvation, His desire to dwell with His people? He has commanded us to observe these feasts and appointed times, and He uses them to show us HIMSELF!!

How awesome!

Today, since this is the new year, I only want to focus on the command to observe the new year.

It is very interesting to look at some of the events that happened on this day of this month throughout different parts of YHVH's timelime according to His Word.















It was on this day that Noah opened the covering of the ark and saw that the ground was dry.

Genesis 8:13 By the first day of the first month of the 601st year the water had dried up from off the earth; so Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked; and, yes, the surface of the ground was dry.


On the 27th day, he left the ark with his family and the animals.



This day seems to be a day of new beginnings and of cleansing.

In Exodus 40:2, YHVH commanded Moses to set up and anoint the tabernacle, HIS Dwelling Place, on the first day of the first month.
Then YHVH filled it with Himself!

Exodus 40:2 (see also verses 33-34)
YHVH said to Moses, 'On the first day of the first month, you are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. Put in it the ark for the testimony, and conceal the ark with the curtain. Bring in the table, and arrange its display. Bring in the menorah, and light its lamps'...(etc).



In 2 Chronicles we find Hezekiah involved in another important event happening during this month...the process of cleansing the temple.

2 Chronicles 29:3-7
In the first month of the first year of his reign, [Hezekiah] reopened the doors of the house of YHVH and repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and Levites and said to them, "Listen to me, Levites: consecrate yourselves now, consecrate the house of ADONAI the God of your ancestors, and remove the filth from the Holy Place. For our ancestors acted treacherously, they did what is evil from the perspective of YHVH our God, they abandoned him, they turned their faces away from where YHVH lives and turned their backs on him. They sealed the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps and stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.

...and then in verses 15-19...
They gathered their kinsmen, consecrated themselves and, in keeping with the king's order and YHVH's words, went in to cleanse the house of YHVH. The priests went in to cleanse the inner part of the house of YHVH; all the unclean things they found in the sanctuary of YHVH they brought out into the courtyard of the house of YHVH, where the Levites took and carried them out to the Kidron Valley. They began consecrating on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they reached the vestibule of YHVH. Then they consecrated the house of YHVH in eight more days; so that on the sixteenth day of the first month, they had finished. Then they went to Hezekiah the king and said, "We have cleansed all the house of YHVH, including the altar for burnt offerings and the table for the showbread. Moreover, we have reconditioned and consecrated all the articles that King Achaz threw out during his reign, when he was sinning; and they are there, in front of the altar of YHVH."



It was on this day of the year that Ezra began his journey from Babylon back to Jerusalem to rebuild the House of YHVH (funded by the King of Persia!).

Ezra 7:9-10
[Ezra] began going up to Jerusalem from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived on the first day of the fifth month, since the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart on studying and practicing the Torah of YHVH and teaching Israel the laws and rulings.



YHVH gave Ezekiel a detailed vision of the blueprints of a temple that has yet to be built (and therefore must be coming in the future!). In the chapters preceeding Ezekiel 45, you can read for yourself the details of this amazing temple.

And then YHVH told Ezekiel how and when to cleanse and purify the temple.

Ezekiel 45:18-21
YHVH ELOHIM says this: 'On the first day of the first month you are to take a young bull without defect and purify the sanctuary. The priests will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door-frames of the house, on the four corners of the altar's ledge and on the gate of the inner courtyard. You are also to do this on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned inadvertently. Thus you will make atonement for the house. On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to have the Pesach...


(Did you notice that the Feasts are still being observed during the time of this future temple?)


What an important day of new beginnings and cleansing
this day is!

This is about more than "new year's resolutions."
This is about seeking YHVH's commands, His law, His Torah, His precepts...seeking to live HIS way, always!
This is about coming before Him in purity and in His righteousness, about His Dwelling Place, about HIS SALVATION by the BLOOD of the LAMB!

There will be more to come on that topic soon as Pesach draws near...are you preparing for it?

I am!

In the eternal, everlasting covenant of our YHVH,

Gina

Why I Am Celebrating Yeshua in Chanukkah This Year...

Yeshua spoke to them, saying, "I am the LIGHT of the world. He who follows me shall by no means walk in darkness, but possess the light of life." John 8:12

Today (at sunset) begins the 8 day celebration of Yahweh's faithfulness to His people, the Festival of Dedication, the Festival of Lights...Chanukkah. This is my first year to celebrate this festival (and actually, it's my first year to celebrate all of Yahweh's appointed times...what an incredible year it has been!).

Many people might question why I have chosen to celebrate these feasts and festivals. My answer is simple. I have read and re-read in the Word of Yahweh that these feasts are commanded throughout all generations. I am no longer taking only part of His Word and applying it to my life. I want to obey ALL of His Word, from Genesis to Revelation. I want Him to write His Word on my heart in every way. I want my relationship with Yahweh to be what HE desires and commands, rather than the tradition and teachings that come from man.

Is it true that I no longer celebrate Christmas?
Yes.

I have read enough about the pagan origins, date, traditions of Christmas...I have read enough of Yahweh's Word that warns His people about adopting the pagan traditions of worship. I am convinced that since Christmas is NOT in the Word (Yeshua was not born on December 25th...He was most likely born during Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles around September) and since what is commanded in the Word is to observe Yahweh's appointed Feasts throughout all generations, and since Yeshua Himself did NOT celebrate Christmas (he wouldn't have because it was a pagan holiday), and since Yeshua Himself DID celebrate Chanukkah (see John 10:22), then this is what I want to do too!

We have this popular saying and acrostic in Christian circles: WWJD (What Would Jesus Do). I am discovering more and more that the traditions I have embraced are NOT what He would do or did do. I truly want to be a follower of Him, a disciple. I want to follow His commands...ALL of them. Yeshua is the Living Word, from beginning to end. I want to give honor to my Redeemer and Savior by obeying every part of Him.

So, what exactly is Chanukkah? Is it a commanded feast? Is it in the Bible?

Chanukkah is not a commaded feast in the Old Testament like others such as Pesach (Passover), Feast of Unleavened Bread, Sukkot, etc. Chanukkah is a celebration that Jewish people of Yahweh have observed since an event that happened in 165 BC. Since this event happened in the 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments, it is not recorded in Scripture. It is, however, recorded in historical books.

Basically, in 168 BC, Jerusalem and the Jews were conquered by the Hellenist Syrians, who took over the Temple, dedicated it to the worship of Zeus, and desecrated it by sacrificing pigs (and other attrocities). The Jews who resisted at all were persecuted and killed, so some Jews went along with these attrocities. The other Jews who were committed to keeping Yahweh's commandments and cleansing His land and people of forbidden idolatry decided to fight back against the Syrians. For three years they fought, and finally regained possession of the Temple in 165 BC.

They cleaned out the Temple and repaired the broken and missing items. They held a dedication ceremony for the restoration of the Temple and wanted to light the eternal flame of the Menorah. However, they only had enough oil to last one day, and it would take 8 days to prepare the oil properly. Yahweh provided another miracle by providing just enough oil each day to keep the Menorah lit for 8 days until more oil was ready.

This is why this celebration is called Festival of Dedication and Festival of Lights!

Let's look at some important sections of Scripture....

1. Regarding the importance Yahweh places on His Temple:

Exodus 25:8-9... YHWH said to Moses: "The people of Israel are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. You are to make it according to everything I show you - the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it."

Exodus 40:34,35,40... "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of Yahweh filled the Tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud remained on it and the glory of Yahweh filled the Tabernacle....For the cloud of Yahweh was above the Tabernacle during the day, and fire was in the cloud at night, so that all the house of Israel could see througout all their travels."
(read the whole chapter)

Leviticus 26:11-12 (to Israel) "I will put my Tabernacle among you, and I will not reject you, but I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people."
(read the whole chapter)

1 Kings 5:3,5 (said by Solomon regarding building the first Temple for Yahweh) "You know that David my father was not able to build a house for the name of Yahweh his God...so now I intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, in keeping with what Yahweh said to David my father 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, will be the one to build the house for my name.' "

1 Kings 8:10-11 (Solomon prays to dedicate the Temple to Yahweh) "When the cohanim (priests) came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh, so that, because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of Yahweh."
(read the whole chapter to see the relevance of Solomon's prayer)

2 Chronicles 6 (another chapter with Solomon's important prayer...includes Yahweh's plan for foreigners/gentiles)

Ezekiel 37 (important prophetic scripture, not yet completed...proof that Yahweh's Temple is still important in ways we cannot imagine. Proof that Israel will know her Yahweh in His Temple. Who is the Temple?)
"I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. My home will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. The nations will know that I am Yahweh, who sets Israel apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever." (vs 26-28)

Zechariah 6:12,13,15 (Yeshua is the Temple!) "Yahweh Tz'vaot says 'There is coming a man whose name is THE BRANCH. He will sprout up from his place and rebuild the Temple of Yahweh. Yes, he will rebuild the Temple of Yahweh, and he will take up royal splendor, sitting and ruling from his throne....Those who are far away will come and help rebuild the Temple of Yahweh."

Matthew 12:6 Yeshua said, "I tell you, there is in this place something greater than the Temple."

John 2:15-21 "(Yeshua) knocked over the money-changers' tables and said 'Get these things out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market.' So the Judeans asked him, 'What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do all this?' Yeshua answered them, 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.' The Judeans said, 'It took 46 years to build this temple, and you're going to raise it in three days?' But the "temple" he had spoken of was his body."

John 10:22-24 (Yeshua celebrated Chanukkah! Read the rest of the chapter to see the importance of what he said about Himself during this Festival of Lights.) "Then came Chanukkah in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Solomon's Colonnade. So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, 'How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!' "

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you people are God's temple, and that God's Spirit lives in you? So if anyone destroys God's Temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are that temple."

2 Corinthians 6:16-17 "What agreement can there be between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God - as God said, 'I will house myself in them...and I will walk among you. I will be their God, and they will be my people.' Therefore, Yahweh says, 'Go out from their midst; separate yourselves; don't even touch what is unclean. Then I myself will receive you. In fact, I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters' says Yahweh Tz'vaot."

Ephesians 2:19-22 "So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's family. You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. In union with him, the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!"

Revelation 7:14-17 "He told me, 'These are the people who have come out of the Great Persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the Blood of the Lamb. That is why they are before God's throne. 'Day and night they serve him in his Temple, and the One who sits on the throne will put his Sh'khinah upon them. They will never again be hungry; they will never again be thirsty; the sun will not beat down on them, nor will any burning heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them, will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.'"

Revelation 11, 14, 15, 16 (Yahweh's Temple is the place from where the judgments and seals come.)

Revelation 21:22-27 "I saw no Temple in the city (New Jerusalem), for Yahweh, God of heaven's armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb. The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine on it, because God's Sh'khinah gives it light and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there, and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."


2. Regarding the Menorah, Light, and Yeshua:

Genesis 1:3-4 "Then God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light. God saw that the light was goodd, and God divided the light from the darkness."

Exodus 25:31,37 (part of Yahweh's commands for his Tabernacle) "You are to make a Menorah of pure gold. Make seven lamps for the Menorah, and mount them so as to give light to the space in front of it."

Exodus 27:20 (regarding the Menorah lamp in the Tabernacle, as instructed by Yahweh) "You are to order the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pounded olives for the light, and to keep a lamp burning continually."

2 Samuel 22:29 (David's prayer of praise for Yahweh's strength and protection...read the whole chapter and also Psalm 18.) "For you, Yahweh, are my lamp; Yahweh lights up my darkness."

Psalm 132:13,14,17 "For Yahweh has chosen Tziyon (Zion), he has wanted it as his home. 'This is my resting-place forever, I will live here because I so much want to....I will make a king sprout there from David's line and prepare a lamp for my anointed one."

Psalm 27:1 "Yahweh is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? Yahweh is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid?"

Psalm 36:9 "For with you (Yahweh) is the fountain of life; in your light we see light."

Psalm 43:3 "Send out your light and your truth; let them be my guide; let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the places where you dwell."

Isaiah 42:6,7 "I, Yahweh, called you righteously, I took hold of you by the hand, I shaped you and made you a covenant for the people, to be a light for the gentiles, so that you can open blind eyes, free the prisoners from confinement, those living in darkness from the dungeon."

Isaiah 60:1-3,19 "Arise, shine (Jerusalem), for your light has come, the glory of Yahweh has risen over you. For although darkness covers the earth and thick darkness the peoples, on you Yahweh will rise; over you will be seen his glory. Nations will go toward your light and kings toward your shining splendor....No more will the sun be your light by day, nor will moonlight shine on you; instead Yahweh will be your light forever and your God your glory."
(read the whole chapter)

Matthew 4:16 (about Yeshua) "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, light has dawned."

Luke 2:27-32 "Prompted by the Spirit, (Simeon) went into the Temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua to do for him what the Torah required, Simeon took him in his arms, made a blessing to God, and said 'Now Yahweh, according to your word, your servant is at peace as you let him go; for I have seen with my own eyes your yeshu'ah (salvation), which you prepared in the presence all peoples - a light that will bring revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel."

John 1:1,4,5,9 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not supressed it....This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world."

John 12:46 "I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who trusts in me might not remain in the dark."

Acts 26:22-23 (spoken by Paul) "I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what both the prophets and Moses said would happen - that the Messiah would die, and that he, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to both the People and the Gentiles."

2 Corinthians 4:6 "For it is the God who once said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua."

Ephesians 5:8 "For you used to be darkness, but now, united with the Lord, you are light. Live like children of the light."

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, the King's cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Revelation 22:5 (in the New Jerusalem) "They will need neither the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because Yahweh, God, will shine upon them. And they will reign as kings forever and ever."



Isn't it exciting to read about the rich meaning this Festival of Dedication/Festival of Lights holds for us as believers in Yeshua the Messiah and the hope it gives for those who do not yet believe?!

Perhaps you too will see the truth of Yeshua's light dwelling with us forever in the simple but profoundly-important celebration of Chanukkah this week.

In the LIGHT of the world, the Temple of Yahweh, Yeshua HaMashiach,
Gina